Laptops and Sun

A definitive goal for purchasing a pc is to fit individual wants and needs from a computer, so to make all personal computers personal they must become, in a way, “one size fits all”. The design intent of microprocessors in 1975 allowed for tremendous amounts of people from all backgrounds to buy into this idea of uniformity on an exterior basis but a unique experience for a user. This then enabled mass pre-production in 77’. Business and home have since split what software was valuable three quarters to one, and the capabilities of a home computer for entertainment in games. Communication through email again made separation for individual choice while fitting in the design intent needed for all. From 1975 till 2002 approximately a billion computers were shipped worldwide and blended all uses, allowing many functions needed for work or play and established affordable costs so that one computer could fit all depending solely on the software. An inspiring example is the One Laptop per Child association (OLPC), where the chairman and founder Nicholas Negropote hopes to educate every child with a conventional product, the XO laptop.

A passive solar design of a building is to make a building efficient while using the essentially free energy of the Sun. Having a house that faces south is essential in the design, and shading should not detract the south wall from the Sun. The angles of sunlight during the summer and winter solstice determine where it is appropriate to have shading. Essentially, solar design is eco-effective if it maximizes the heat gain in the winter and maximizes the heat loss in the summer using environmental advantages such as the Sun.

Speech Recognition

The design of speech recognition is a developing technology, but the applications are currently being used by companies to answer and direct calls without the presence of an operator and human resources. Conceptually the idea of voice recognition has many applications in the military and medical industries. Accuracy is difficult with factors such as dialect and the environment of the speaker. In 1954 Manfred Schroder joined Bell Labs to research speech and computer programming and came up with ways in which audio can be transformed through certain formats. He made over forty relative patents. Twenty two years later research and analysis of mel-frequency cepstral coefficients enables further development of speech recognition from mathematical concepts. Defining and experimentation of the cepstrum lays a foundation for programs but is not robust (not very accurate unless in specific conditions). In 1993 Lawrence Rabiner publishes “Fundamentals of Speech Recognition” and in 1995 intense publications on robustness are written by Jean-Claude Junqua. Jean-Claude writes about studies done by the IEEE Signal Processing Society and the future of PC enabling voice command. Problems and goals are assessed bianually at the IEEE workshop on Automatic Speech Recognition and Understanding. The 10th annual meeting was held December 9th through 13th last year. Presently, Dr. Joseph Olive heads GALE project for DARPA. GALE is largest ongoing project in speech recognition and related areas. The ultimate goal of Global Autonomous Language Exploitation is not just having voice to text computer software but also to store large amounts after any given time of speech. The developing programs will be able to analyze and translate the audio accurately into “consolidated information in easy-to-understand forms.”

Timeline for Fiber Optics

1870 - Light by refraction is demonstrated by John Tyndall to the Royal Society. He calls the tube of water the "light-pipe".

1956 - First patent of fiber optic semi-flexible gastroschope by Unviresty of Michigan's Basil Hirschowitz, C. Wilbur Peters and Lawrence E. Curtiss.

1960 - Narinder Singh Kapany starts Optics Technology Inc. and retains the executive positive for 12 years.

1965 - Practical use of optical fibers was cosidered and suggested by Charles K. Kao and George A. Hockham of Standard Telephones and Cables (STC).

1970 - Attenuation of 20dB/km by researchers from Corning Glass Works was successful by doping sicica glass with titanium.

197(3) - A few years after Corning Glass Works produces 17dB/km fiber they expiriment with germanium dioxide as a dopant and conduct 4dB/km. This allowed for intense communication such became the internet.

1973 - Gerhand Bernsee invents glass core and sheath fiber that resists aging.

1981 - GE, General Electric makes fused quartz ingots drawn into fiber optics 25 miles long.

1991 - Studies of photonic crystals leds to photonic crystal fiber which uses periodic structre, opposed to internal refraction.

2000 - Commercially available photonic crystal fibers enable manipulation to improve performance and create a faster internet over longer distances.

2008 - Rumors that companies are in development of fibers that manage speeds of up to 1 Tb/s.

Telecom Corridor

Telecommunications is essential for a global city in the modern era because as Sassen pointed out it has shaped the layout and planning of metropolitan areas. Richardson, Texas is a fine example of how the telecom industry elevated and expanded the metroplex. Known as the telecom corridor, more than five thousand companies have headquarters in the metroplex, such as, Sprint, Texas Instruments, Verizon, and Cisco Systems. Dallas, Richardson, and Irving act as a hub for the entire industry, and the market depends particularly upon these cities. Additionally, north Texas relies in several ways on the telecommunications industry to maintain the status of a global city. The telecom corridor makes the metroplex economically sound, and in respect to the headquarters of corporations keeps them present.

Telecommunications helps people communicate and conduct business faster and more efficiently. Creating jobs, the industry can help and support the economy tremendously. Entertainment and a better quality of life are often results of updated telecom products. Computers, television, cell phones all rely on the global cities ability to meet the telecom needs of the population.

Power and energy can create a shortfall of information, systems can crash and devastation can occur due to natural disasters or human error. The loss of jobs is just as likely as jobs being created when the industry takes a downward turn, and as a result the economy could suffer that much more. People can take advantage; hacking and identity theft are major problems caused by telecommunications.

Bullets

The bullet supports and has supported the military for a number of reasons. Ballistics in the 16^th century is a far cry from those such as the hollow point of today. The evolution of the round bullet demonstrates the military’s reliance on the bullet and firearm. The purpose of the bullet is to damage a target. When at war, a military will often need to destroy targets or defend their own targets in order to defeat their opposition. The study and science of bullets lead to the development and the widespread use of the bullet throughout the 19^th century. By the American Civil War 90% of casualties were by the minnie ball (wiki/Bullet).

Economically, bullets are a buy compared to the overall spending on defense in the United States. Of the 489 billion dollars spent less than a percentage was toward bullets. The high casualty rate makes any military a threat with the use of up to date weaponry. A major factor in a military’s strength is having this type of high casualty rate. The technological advances in the bullet industry advantage a military which has the most progress in this field. Lastly, the use of guns is coupled with this arguement and can be used for intimidation. There are complementary goods in the industry making both catalysts for the military.

Corrosions on the military by the bullet include cornering the market for weapons; for example, other technologies are not as well looked into that might have the same function as a bullet but better cost wise. Communication and information are examples of other means of winning a battle or war, but are used only in the prenup. The bullet makes a military violent.

Internet

Information technologies have become a fast growing industry in past several decades. The internet, in particular made many individuals a tremendous amount of money, and by sheer concept the World Wide Web supports the building and existence of “the State”. Local area networks (LANs) support a gross amount of people in any given area such as State College. LANs are reasonably complex for the transfer of data on such a large scale. The LANs can link individuals or organizations globally. Government agencies use the transfer of information as a source of power; the FBI can communicate within itself to determine potential terrorist threats and address them appropriately. Catalysts are namely communication and accessible information. On the other hand, when the misuse of information and abuse of these powers occurs they corrode the state.

The iPod

The iPod has definite influence on the experience of citizenship. Looking around campus at the headphones in everyones ears it implies the social force of music. This technology has political elements in this case and the complimentary technologies associated with the device. Apple, iTunes, and now the iPhone have all changed the values of people in society by indulging them in an easy access to music. The interpretation of the iPod leading to individualistic and decentralized traits among society is a most likely choice for Langdon Winner. Using the iPod typically results in listening to music. Although the consumer chooses which music he or she wishes to listen to, the arguement that music and politics are closely related is an arguement easy to win. The qualities of the iPod having politics mainly have to do with setting and promotion, but with the increase and now abundance of use of this technology it is clear that the iPod does indeed have powerful political elements.