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Personal Technology

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7.1 Convergence, Portability, &

Personalization Digital Convergence

Describes the combining of several industries – computers, communications, consumer electronics, entertainment, and mass media – through various devices that exchange data in digital form

Pros: Multiple-use machines such as Xbox that can play games,

display DVD movies, and play music CDs Cellphones with enhancing features such as address books

and digital cameras that also shoot videos Cons:

Multiple features that compromise the primary feature—no single feature works optimally

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7.1 Convergence, Portability, &

Personalization Portability

Pros Devices that enable phone and email access from

anywhere, portable digital music, and convenient cheap digital photos that allow people to remain connected even while on the move

Cons Bombardment by emails and phone calls Lack of face-to-face contact can lead to misinterpretations

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7.1 Convergence, Portability, &

Personalization Personalization

Tree-and-branch telecommunications model A centralized information provider sends out messages

through many channels to thousands of consumers Used by AM/FM radio and by TV broadcasters Hard to personalize

Switched-network communications model A common carrier provides circuit switching that creates a

temporary two-way connection between one public user and another

In a telephone network, the connection is made by dialing Personalized by default

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7.1 Convergence, Portability, &

Personalization Personalization Advantages & Disadvantages

People are unhappy when they have too many choices Regret: People are more likely to regret their decisions Inaction: People can’t decide now, because they might later

regret their decisions Excessive Expectations: Reality has a hard time meeting

the expectations when there are so many choices Self-blame: People blame themselves for making the wrong

decision Having many personalized devices leads to

multitasking, which can lead to “absent presence” and nonfocus.

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7.1 Convergence, Portability, &

Personalization Popular personal technologies

Portable media players Satellite, high-definition, and internet radios Digital cameras Personal digital assistants and tablet PCs The new television E-books Smartphones Videogame systems

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7.2 Portable Media Players

MP3 is a format that allows audio files to be compressed so they are small enough to be sent over the internet and stored as digital files

Portable media players (PMPs) are portable devices that play digital audio, video, and still image files

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7.2 Portable Media Players

Technology Considerations: What’s Useful to Know? Storage capacity (both hard drive and flash memory) Sampling rate Transferring files Battery life Color screens and photo viewing Other features such as:

FM radio reception Music recording using extra microphone Car stereo adapter to connect player to your car’s speakers

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7.2 Portable Media Players

Societal Effects One in five American adults owns an iPod or other MP3

player PMPs offer convenience and portability to music listeners Warning! Over 85 decibels can cause hearing loss! (85

decibels is as loud as a vacuum cleaner or a crowded restaurant – not that loud)

For more information, see www.lhh.org/noise/

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7.3 High-Tech Radio

Satellite radio Digital radio signals are sent from satellites in orbit

around the earth to subscribers that have special radios CD-quality sound is better than normal radio More channels than regular radio Providers are Sirius satellite radio (merged with XM

satellite radio in 2008) Commercial-free

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7.3 High-Tech Radio

Satellite Radio Provides CD-quality sound No commercials No limits to format Broadcasters serve a diverse group of niche markets

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7.3 High-Tech Radio

HD Radio Provides CD-quality sound Allow broadcasters to squeeze one analog and two

digital stations on the same frequency Broadcasts are free—no subscription charges Broadcasters are hoping HD radio can introduce more

local or innovative programming

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7.3 High-Tech Radio

Internet Radio Internet users can listen to radio on their computers and

various handheld devices, such as a Blackberry and the iPhone

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7.3 High-Tech Radio

Podcasting Involves the recording of internet radio or similar internet

programs Requires no studio or broadcast tower and is not

regulated by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission)

Allows amateur deejays and hobbyists to create their own radio shows and offer them on the internet

Podcasting-receiving software, called an aggregator, is necessary

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7.4 Digital Cameras

Cameras that take photographs but do not require film Types to consider

Point-and-shoot digital camera Automatically adjusts settings such as exposure and focus Easy to use, but manual controls can allow you to tweak the

settings to get better photos (under $500) Single-lens reflex (SLR) digital camera

Uses a reflecting mirror to reflect the incoming light so the viewfinder shows what the lens is framing ($450 on up)

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7.4 Digital Cameras

Resolution: Megapixels and Sensors Megapixels = millions of picture elements; the more

megapixels, the higher the resolution 7 – 12 megapixels common for point-and-shoot cameras;5 –

12 for SLR The larger the sensor chip, the sharper the images

Lenses Digital zoom

Means the image is cropped in the camera Lowers the resolution and so can produce a grainy photo

Optical zoom Enlarges the subject without you needing to move closer Lens extends to focus on distant objects; clearer image

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7.4 Digital Cameras

Storage Use flash memory cards inside camera; cards are reusable

Viewing images Optical viewfinders let you see the image to be

photographed before you snap the picture LCD screens let you review the photos you have taken

take

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7.4 Digital Cameras

Start-up time Digital cameras require time to start up Look for one that has a short start-up time Also, the shutter can lag, delaying the time between

when you press the button and the shutter clicks; look for a camera that allows “burst” or “continuous “ mode

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7.4 Digital Cameras

Battery life The camera requires a battery to function Some rechargeable batteries are available with many

models Some recharge in the camera, while others require a

separate charging stand Video clips

Most digital cameras can shoot movies, too 1-gigabyte memory cards can shoot as many as 44

minutes of video at 30 frames per second

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7.4 Digital Cameras

Principle methods for transferring images Use a direct connection between your camera and your

computer (with a USB cable and software). Insert the memory card into your computer or card reader Put your camera into a cradle attached to the PC Use an online photo developer Use a photo printer with a built-in card slot Use a portable hard drive, CD burner, or MP3 player Use a photo-printing kiosk Use a photo lab Bring along your own card reader and CDs and use

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7.4 Digital Cameras

The Societal Effects of Digital Cameras People are taking their cameras everywhere People take far more pictures than they used to Photography is becoming more casual People are touching up their photos, making them look

better

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7.5 PDAs & Tablet PCs

Have touch-sensitive screens so you can enter data with a stylus by tapping or writing on screen

Store data in RAM that stays on even when the unit is off by using the PDA’s battery

Can be augmented by flash memory Commonly use lithium ion batteries Transfer files to your PC in one of three ways

Pull out the PDA’s flash card and insert it into the PC’s card reader using a USB port

Put your PDA into a special cradle plugged into a USB port

Transfer data wirelessly

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7.5 PDAs & Tablet PCs

Many cellphones are usurping features from PDAs To compete, PDAs must develop new features Examples of possible PDA evolution

Display television and photos Handheld weather meters GPS locators

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7.5 PDAs & Tablet PCs

Tablet PCs A special notebook computer with a digitizer tablet and a

stylus so the user can handwrite input from the screen Recently only about 3% of laptops being sold Used in niche markets such as schools

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7.6 The New Television

New equipment available for TV Interactive TV

Lets you interact with the show you’re watching Internet TV

Television distributed via the internet Internet-Ready TV

Allows viewers to watch TV shows as well as go online to get news, stream movies, view photos, etc.

Mobile TV “Tiny TV,” displayed on cellphone screens

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7.6 The New Television

Three kinds of TV Digital television (DTV)

FCC has mandated that all TV stations be capable of digital broadcasting

People with analog TVs use a converter box to deal with digital broadcast signals

High-definition television (HDTV) Works with digital broadcasting signals Has broader screen and higher resolution than analog TV Uses a lot of bandwidth

Standard-definition television (SDTV) Uses lower resolution than HDTV and so can transmit more

information within the HDTV bandwidth Allows multicasting

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7.6 The New Television

Societal Effects Changing when you watch TV Changing where you watch TV Changing the nature of TV programs

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7.7 E-Book Readers

E-Book, or electronic book An electronic text, the digital-media equivalent of a

conventional printed book E-Book Reader

A device specifically designed to allow people to read electronic books

Examples Amazon’s Kindle Sony’s Reader Barnes & Noble’s Plastic Logic eReader

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7.7 E-Book Readers

How an E-Book Works Different e-books use different e-software formats Vizplex technology (E Ink) reduces eyestrain and battery

consumption E-books are downloaded by wireless access (3G or Wi-Fi)

Some benefits One e-book reader can store hundreds or thousands of books Easy to download books by wireless access; books are less

expensive Type size and face can be adjusted Usually can be read in low light Automatically opens to the page where you left off Text can be searched and cross-referenced Dictionary automatically available

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7.7 E-Book Readers

Drawbacks of E-Book Readers High price--$300-$400 Photos, charts, diagrams, foreign characters, and tables

not as good as in print version—or are left out of the e-book

Battery needs to be recharged Reader doesn’t own the downloaded books Are not designed for college textbook use

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7.8 Smartphones

Smartphone = cellphone with microprocessor, memory, display screen, and modem Allows phone calls, email, web browsing, music

availability, text messaging, videogames, digital TV viewing, search tools, GPS, personal information management, and so on

Storage Data is stored in ROM Data does not disappear when phone is turned off

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7.8 Smartphones

Input Have a keypad for entering numbers and text Microphone for picking up your voice, such as for voice-

activated dialing May have a touch-sensitive screen or a screen that uses a

stylus Output

Speaker to hear voice calls Display ranging from LCD to full-color high-resolution

plasma MP3 players May also use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth

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7.8 Smartphones

Smartphone Services Text messaging and SMS Download ringtones Email Internet access Photography Games Radio and music TV and video GPS Payments

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7.8 Smartphones

Societal Effects of Cellphones Positive (among others)

Parents can more easily monitor their children Police dispatchers can help people who are lost Information and amusements are readily available

Negative (among others) People are less polite, courteous, and respectful using

cellphones Cellphones are answered in theaters and restaurants Cellphone users engage in loud conversations in public

places Cellphone use while driving is dangerous

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7.9 Videogame Systems

These may be the “ultimate convergence machine” People buy them to play games, but they do a lot more

Xbox 360 Sony PlayStation 3 Nintendo’s Wii

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