ISSN: 1391 - 0531
Sunday June 08, 2008
Vol. 42 - No 54
Mirror  

Challenges of going digital

Techno Page By Harendra Alwis

A world that is in transition from analogue to digital poses new challenges and important dilemmas arise for businesses and policy-makers. Even individuals and families are caught up in a whirlpool of information and communications needs. As our communication needs become increasingly complex, there is a fundamental need for the solutions to those needs to offset that with simplicity of use which will make technology assessable to a wider spectrum of users.

In an era of digital convergence, technology seems to be entangled in a struggle between complexity and simplicity, due to services having to be delivered through a complex array of channels, yet their purpose is inherently simple. Therefore, deriving value from these services is no longer as straightforward as it has been in the past. Users demand simple solutions for their complex problems and those who can most creatively reduce complexity have a distinct competitive edge.

A good example of this is the sudden rise of Facebook – which essentially did well to provide users with a simple interface that could perform many of their complex tasks – ranging from tracking down long lost friends to looking for new friends, exchanging pictures, building new relationships with like-minded people across the world and even 'poking' someone across the oceans.

Change, which lies at the very foundation of the new digital world, will be a constant driving force and will require continuous adaptation and rapid response. As always-on digital access becomes the norm, users must learn to manage a new digital lifestyle – both in terms of the benefits it yields but also the threats it poses which makes life more complex. One of the most important areas in this regard is the protection of privacy and identity. In the digital world, there are times when people need to represent themselves accurately and securely, for instance, for the purposes of e-commerce. However, there are other circumstances in which people may want to have the freedom to project a persona in cyberspace which is quite different to that in the real world. All these are complex problems with complex needs at their root.

Being able to resolve that complexity in a manner which is predictable, proportional, manageable, and socially acceptable – or in other words 'comprehensibly simple' – is the challenge of navigating through an ever deepening sea of digits.

Faceplate

(1) Any type of metal or plastic plate designed to fit over a device or computer component to enhance the device's functionality or its looks. Cellphones, iPods and even handheld game devices are types of consumer electronics that consumers can purchase faceplates for. These faceplates, usually snap on plates, can change the way the device looks, enabling consumers to change the design to better suit their own tastes and personalities.

(2) A motherboard plate, also called a faceplate, is a metal plate that fits over a motherboard's ports to supply a secure casing around the ports. A motherboard's faceplate helps keep the motherboard enclosed within a PC and helps prevent dust from accumulating on the motherboard.

Some manufacturers provide faceplates with motherboards and others do not. Faceplates typically are installed into the back of a computer's case.

World on your palm

Last week, Nvidia announced a processor line-up it believes will power a new class of fast, small devices with long battery life that can surf the full Internet, play high-end games and display high-definition video. The graphics chipmaker is calling the Tegra 600 and Tegra 650 processors "computers on a chip" for highly portable, visual devices, and it is aiming squarely at a market also targeted by No.1 chipmaker Intel Corp. Nvidia hopes the Tegra chips, which also include its previously announced application processor APX2500 used in smartphones and handsets, will go into a broad array of computing devices. But it's aiming first for an emerging category called mobile Internet devices, or MIDs.

Intel was among the first to start bandying about the term, and its Atom family of chips is targeted at MIDs. But Intel and Nvidia both say people are still unsure exactly what a MID is. Nvidia says it is more than a dumbed-down notebook PC or super-portable notebook with keyboards suited more for the hands of Smurfs than humans. MIDs have screens of four to 12 inches in diameter and may have a touch-screen or keyboard, a connection for a game controller or a wireless high-speed Internet connection. Super-compact notebooks that are even smaller than so-called ultra-mobile personal computers (UMPCs), have already taken off. The Asus Eee PC has been a runaway success, and Intel has said it would not be surprised to see sales of what it calls Netbook PCs such as the Eee PC and others top 50 million by 2011.– Reuters

Secret Seven

Microsoft is finally opening up about when Windows 7 will ship, but the company continues to share just a few, yet tantalising details of what the eagerly anticipated OS update will be all about. The latest sneak peak of Windows 7 is its multitouch interface support.

The functionality of the multitouch interface is quite reminiscent of what's possible with the world's most popular, commercially available gesture-based interface device: the iPhone. To be fair, this is not Microsoft's first foray into the multitouch arena. The company's innovative "Surface" computing platform, combines cameras to sense the gestures and touches of either a single user or multiple users, allowing them to interact with a table-top full of digital objects. Surface then uses a projector to project the image onto a screen. Windows 7 would use touchscreen technology to achieve similar effects. Microsoft would not say specifically whether the OS will support gestures as well as multitouch support, like Surface does. Given the gesture support in Apple's products, however, something similar is likely.

A video posted on Microsoft Windows Client Communications Team Director Chris Flores' blog shows the interface on a laptop and table-mounted LCD screen. During that demonstration a user edits and manipulates photos with his fingertips, navigates a map and plays a virtual piano. Officially, Windows 7 is scheduled to ship as early as November 2009, with a beta release in advance.

 
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