Wireless Technologies

Wireless devices: small enough to easily carry or wear, have sufficient computing power to perform productive tasks and can communicate wirelessly with the Internet and other devices.

The wireless application protocol (WAP) is the standard that enables wireless devices to access Web-based information and services.

WAP-compliant devices contain microbrowsers, which are Internet browsers with a small file size that can work within the confines of small screen sizes on wireless devices and the relatively low bandwidths of wireless networks.

Microwave transmission systems are widely used for high-volume, long-distance, point-to-point communication. Point-to-point  has two characteristics: first, the transmitter and receiver must be in view of each other (called line-of-sight); and second, the transmission itself must be tightly directed from transmitter to receiver.

Satellite transmission systems make use of communication satellites; three types of satellites, each in a different orbit:

·         Geostationary (GEO): orbits 22,300 miles directly above the equator and maintains a relatively fixed position in relation to a dish on earth;     excellent for TV signals.

·         Medium-earth-orbit (MEO): are located 6,000 miles above the earth’s surface and move; used for the GPS system.

·         Low-earth-orbit (LEO): are 400 to 700 miles above the surface, so they move much faster with respect to a point on the earth’s surface; require many to cover the earth.

Global Positioning System: a wireless system that uses MEO satellites to enable users to determine their position anywhere on the earth.

Internet over satellite: allows users to access the Internet via GEO satellites from a dish mounted on the side of their homes.

Wireless Computer Networks and Internet Access

Short-range wireless networks generally have a range of 100 feet or less.

Medium-range wireless networks are the familiar wireless local area networks (WLANs). The most common type of medium-range wireless network is Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi).

Wide-area wireless networks connect users to each other and to the Internet over geographically dispersed distances.

Mobile Computing and Mobile Commerce

The characteristics, mobility and broad reach, create five value-added attributes that break the barriers of geography and time:

n  Ubiquity: mobile device can provide information and communications regardless of user’s location.

n  Convenience, Instant connectivity: Internet-enabled mobile device makes it easy and fast to access the Web, intranets, and other mobile devices without booting up a PC or placing a call.

n  Personalization: information can be customized and sent to individual consumers (e.g., as a short message service).

n  Localization of products and services: knowing a user’s location helps companies advertise their products and services.

Pervasive Computing

Pervasive Computing (Ubiquitous computing) is invisible “everywhere computing” that is embedded in the objects around us – the floors, the lights, our cars, washing machine, microwave oven, cell phones, clothes, and so on. (e.g., smart home, smart appliances)

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology allows manufacturers to attach tags with antennas and computer chips on goods and then track their movement through radio signals.

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are networks of interconnected, battery-powered, wireless sensors that are placed into the physical environment.

Wireless Security

Four major threats:

·         Rogue access point: is an unauthorized access point to a wireless network.

·         War driving: is the act of locating WLANs while driving around a city or elsewhere.

·         Eavesdropping: refers to efforts by unauthorized users to try to access data traveling over wireless networks.

·         RF (Radio frequency) jamming: is when a person or a device intentionally or unintentionally interferes with your wireless network transmissions.

Overview of E-Business & E-Commerce

Pure vs. Partial EC

o   The product can be physical or digital.

o   The process can be physical or digital.

o   The delivery agent can be physical or digital.

Brick-and-mortar organizations are purely physical organizations.

Virtual organizations are companies that are engaged only in EC. (Also called pure play)

Click-and-mortar organizations are those that conduct some e-commerce activities, yet their business is primarily done in the physical world. i.e. partial EC.

Types of E-Commerce:

·         Business-to-consumer (B2C): the sellers are organizations and the buyers are individuals.

·         Business-to-business (B2B): both the sellers and buyers are business organizations. B2B represents the vast majority of e-commerce.

·         Consumer-to-consumer (C2C): an individual sells products or services to other individuals.

·         Business-to-employee (B2E): An organization uses e-commerce internally to provide information and services to its employees. Companies allow employees to manage their benefits, take training classes electronically as well as buy discounted insurance, travel packages, and event tickets.

·         E-Government: the use of Internet Technology in general and e-commerce in particular to deliver information about public services to citizens (called Government-to-citizen [G2C EC]), business partners and suppliers (called government-to-business [G2B EC]),

·         Mobile Commerce (m-commerce) refers to e-commerce that is conducted in a wireless environment. For example, using a cell phone to shop over the Internet.

Electronic Payments

  Electronic payment systems enable you to pay for goods and services electronically.

·         Electronic checks (e-checks) are similar to paper checks and are used mostly in B2B.

·         Electronic credit cards allow customers to charge online payments to their credit card account.

·         Purchasing cards are the B2B equivalent of electronic credit cards and are typically used for unplanned B2B purchases.

·         Electronic cash

o    Stored-value money cards allow you to store a fixed amount of prepaid money and then spend it as necessary.

o    Smart cards contain a chip called a microprocessor that can store a considerable amount of information and are multipurpose – can be used as a debit card, credit card or a stored-value money card.

o     Person-to-person payments are a form of e-cash that enables two individuals or an individual and a business to transfer funds without using a credit card.

Ethical and Legal Issues in E-Business

·         Fraud on the Internet i.e. stocks, investments, business opportunities, auctions.

·         Domain Names problems with competition.

·         Domain Tasting is a practice of registrants using the five-day "grace period" at the beginning of a domain registration to profit from pay-per-click advertising.

·         Cybersquatting refers to the practice of registering domain names solely for the purpose of selling them later at a higher price.

·         Taxes and other Fees when and where (and in some cases whether) electronic sellers should pay business license taxes, franchise fees, gross-receipts taxes, excise taxes, …etc.

·         Copyright protecting intellectual property in e-commerce and enforcing copyright laws is extremely difficult.

Network Applications

n  Discovery

n  Communications

n  Collaboration

n  Web services

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is a loose collection of information technologies and applications, and the Web sites that use them.

Markus Angemeier took a look at the most common memes of the Web 2.0 phenomenon in this figure.

A meme is any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one person to another.  Examples include thoughts, ideas, theories, practices, habits, etc.

Note the basic memes of Web 2.0 are: usability, participation, economy, convergence, remixability, design, and standardization.

Web 2.0 Information Technologies and Applications:

·         AJAX: A web development technique that allows portions of web pages to reload with fresh data instead of requiring the entire web page to reload

·         Tagging: A tag is a keyword or term that describes a piece of information (e.g., blog, picture, article, video clip)

·         Blogs and blogging: A blog is a personal web site, open to the public, in which the site creator expresses his or her feelings or opinions.

·         Wikis: A wiki is a web site on which anyone can post material and make changes to other material.

·         Really Simple Syndication (RSS) : RSS allows users to receive, or customize the information they receive when they want it without having to surf thousands of web sites.

·         Podcasts and Videocasts: A podcast is a digital audio file that is distributed over the web using RSS for playback on portable media players or personal computers. A videocast is the same as a podcast, only with digital media and audio content.

  

E-Learning and Distance Learning

Benefits of E-Learning

n  Self-paced learning increases content retention.

n  Online materials deliver high-quality, current content.

n  Students have the flexibility of learning from any place at any time at their own pace.

n  Learning time generally is shorter, and more people can be trained due to faster training time.

n  Training costs can be reduced.

Drawbacks of E-Learning

n  Instructors may need training to be able to teach electronically.

n  The purchase of additional multimedia equipment may be necessary.

n  Students must be computer literate and may miss the face-to-face interaction with instructors.

n  There are issues with assessing students’ work, as instructors really do not know who completed assignments.

Telecommuting

Telecommuting allows workers to work anytime and anyplace.

Telecommuting Benefits:

• For Employees

n  Reduced stress, improved family life

n  Employment opportunities for single parents and persons with disabilities

• For Employers

n  Increased productivity

n  Ability to retain skilled employees

Telecommuting Disadvantages

• For Employees

n  Feelings of isolation

n  No workplace visibility

n  Potential for slower promotions

• For Employers

n  Difficulties in supervising work

n  Potential information security problems

n  Additional training costs

Managing Data

Difficulties in Managing Data

·         Amount of data increases exponentially.

·         Data are scattered and collected  by many individuals using various methods and devices.

·         Data come from many sources.

·         Data security, quality and integrity are critical.

The Database Approach

n  Database management system (DBMS) provides all users with access to all the data.

n  DBMSs minimize the following problems:

n  Data redundancy: The same data are stored in many places.

n  Data isolation: Applications cannot access data associated with other applications.

n  Data inconsistency: Various copies of the data do not agree.

n  DBMSs maximize the following issues:

n  Data security: Keeping the organization’s data safe from theft, modification, and/or destruction.

n  Data integrity: Data must meet constraints (e.g., student grade point averages cannot be negative).

n  Data independence: Applications and data are independent of one another. Applications and data are not linked to each other, meaning that applications are able to access the same data.

Database Management Systems

A database management system is a set of programs that provide users with tools to add, delete, access, and analyze data stored in one location.

The relational database model is based on the concept of two-dimensional tables.

Structured query language allows users to perform complicated searches by using relatively simple statements or keywords.

Query by example allows users to fill out a grid or template to construct a sample or description of the data he or she wants.

Data Warehousing

n  Data warehouses are organized by business dimension or subject.

n  Data warehouses are multidimensional.

n  Data warehouses are historical.

n  Data warehouses use online analytical processing.

Knowledge Management

Knowledge management is a process that helps organizations manipulate important

knowledge that is part of the organization’s memory, usually in an unstructured format.

Knowledge that is contextual, relevant, and actionable.

Intellectual capital is another term often used for knowledge.

Knowledge Management System Cycle:

n  Create knowledge

n  Capture knowledge

n  Refine knowledge

n  Store knowledge

n  Manage knowledge

n  Disseminate knowledge