News Blog 4

What I learned from class:

Internet Telephony: a category of hardware and software that enables people to use the Internet as the transmission medium for telephone calls. For users who have free, or fixed-price Internet access, Internet telephony software essentially provides free telephone calls anywhere in the world.

Mass customization, is the use of flexible computer-aided manufacturing systems to produce custom output. Those systems combine the low unit costs of mass production processes with the flexibility of individual customization.

Relevant Article:

Internet Telephony: Coming in Clear
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2006/tc20060710_291171.htm?chan=technology_ceo+guide+to+technology

It is true that VoIP's benefits outweigh its drawbacks for business. First, this type of service can dramatically lower the telecommunications costs. For instance, the operating costs for VoIP service providers are significantly lower than for traditional phone companies. With lower expenses, VoIP providers can charge much less than their competitors. And with VoIP, businesses no longer have to maintain separate networks for phones and data--another significant money saver. Second, VoIP also provides useful features and capabilities that conventional phone technology can't offer. For example, you can get virtual phone number and get voice mail and faxes with your e-mail. In other words, VoIP service can make the phone system highly flexible and increase the productivity. Even though it has some drawbacks such as difficulty in sending faxes and the frequent reliance upon internet connection, one thing is for sure: VoIP technology is continually evolving, with compelling new benefits being developed for businesses.

News Blog 3

What I learned from class:

There were two new things that caught my eyes in Team C's presentation. The first one is iGoogle. It is a customizable homepage, which supports the use of specially developed "gadgets" to display content on a users page. With iGoogle, users can also select unique themes for one's Google homepage.

The second one is WiMAX. It is a standards-based technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to wired broadband like cable and DSL. WiMAX provides fixed, nomadic, portable and, soon, mobile wireless broadband connectivity without the need for direct line-of-sight with a base station.

Relevant Article:

http://searchengineland.com/070501-084656.php

“Personality goes a long way.” I can’t agree more with this comment. The lower case “i” in iGoogle refers to "I," as in you, or me--it's about the personalization aspect. First, when you gain initial access to the default start page, you are able to edit, drag, drop, add, or delete to your heart's desire. Next, you may want to choose a theme and/or color palette for your page. Initial default content will fill your screen based on your location! Afterward, specific content can be added via a URL or RSS feed. Once you're satisfied with the content you've added, you can begin personalizing your page. You can even edit individual gadgets! Apparently, Google's emphasis on personalization shows real marketing savvy. The personalized homepage segment has grown exponentially in the past year, so we can no doubt expect more tweaks and upgrades to come!

Individual Assignment Blog 1

Question: Touch screen technology is revolutionizing the making of comics. Pick two Wacom products and briefly describe their features. In what way do you think these products would affect the graphic arts industry? Why? Do these products need color calibration and how can this be done? Does Wacom have competitors? If yes, list some of them.

1. Founded in 1983, Wacom has established itself as the leader in the world market for pen tablets and the pen as a computer input device. Here are two of its prominent products. The first one is Intuos3. It is composed of Intuos3 tablet, cord- and batteryless Intuos3 Grip Pen and the ballfree, cord- and batteryless Intuos3 Mouse. The Intuos3 professional pen tablet makes it easy to quickly and professionally edit photos and create digital artwork by turning on the full power of Adobe, Photoshop and over 100 other leading software applications. Its features include pressure-sensitivity with 1,024 levels, tool ID, expressKeys, touch strip, and absolute positioning. In other words, Intuos3 A4 can give you more creative freedom, increased efficiency and improved precision than any other professional Wacom pen tablet ever. The other product is Cintiq 21UX. It has almost the same features as those of Intuos3. Moreover, Cintiq 21UX has rotation sensitivity that the Intuos3 doesn’t have and that helps Cintiq recognize the rotations of some input devices and transform those rotations into rotating brush strokes. Cintiq 21UX doesn’t have the feature of absolute positioning, though.

Wacom Cintiq 21ux in action

2. Evidently, those types of Wacom products are facilitating the development of the graphic arts industry. Firstly, it is more efficient to create with those digital products than with traditional paper and pens. The proven pen technology by Wacom enables artists to work within the digital realm as they would do with traditional tools. However, mistakes can be more easily and immediately corrected when using the digital products. Secondly, because all Intuos3 and Cintiq 21UX input devices and tablets are ergonomically designed, they can effectively reduce physical stress and strain while creating, designing, painting or editing. Thirdly, it is environmentally friendly to choose Wacom products. At least, countless pieces of paper and trees can be saved by working electronically.

3. Intuos3 and Cintiq 21UX use true color monitors and they come with the necessary color calibration files. As recommended by the Wacom, for the average person professional color calibration may be the most cost effective way. Users should contact local color calibration service providers and color management professionals are most familiar with the complicated software and have the equipment on hand to provide quality service.

General speaking, the techniques and procedures of color calibration are as follows. (From wikipedia)
In the first stage, an external calibration device is attached flat to the display's surface, shielded from all ambient light. The calibration software sends a series of color signals to the display and compares the values that were actually sent against the readings from the calibration device. This establishes the current offsets in color display. Depending on the calibration software and type of monitor used, the software either creates a correction matrix for color values before being sent to the display, or gives instructions for altering the display's brightness/contrast and RGB values through the OSD. This tunes the display to reproduce parts of a desired color space. (It is technically and procedurally not possible to reproduce an exact color space on a computer display). The calibration target for this kind of calibration is that of print stock paper D65 at 120 cd/m2.In the second stage, the software sends a test print to the printer and compares the print result with the original file with the use of an external calibration device, similar to the display calibration. A calibration profile is necessary for each printer/paper combination.

4. There are 5 competitors for Wacom: Interlink Electronics, Logitech, Microsoft, SMK and Synaptics.

News Blog 2

What I learned from class:

Digital book reader, an innovation that allows people to carry a library of books in a device as small as a paperback and it is exactly what I need now!

A Surface computer is able to recognize physical objects from a paintbrush to a cell phone and allows hands-on, direct control of content such as photos, music and maps. Surface turns an ordinary tabletop into a dynamic surface that provides interaction with all forms of digital content through natural gestures, touch and physical objects.


Relevant Article:

Microsoft Surface: Behind-the-Scenes First Look (with Video)
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4217348.html


The Surface computing technology is fascinating! “Using a giant table-like display, users are able to draw, interact with media, and use another new technology called domino tagging, in which a real-life object on the computer's surface is identified and becomes an on-screen object that can be interacted with.” (Quoted from http://www.news.com/ Microsoft unveils touch screen computing)

It is no doubt a revolutionary advancement and opens up several exciting possibilities. Stock trading, video editing, music production and etc would benefit greatly from such an interface. Even though there are some voices saying that this surface computer sounds more like a concept car (cool too look at, but has limited practicality), it won’t be very surprising if strong demand for these products helps bring a surface computing coffee table or wallpaper to your home much faster than is currently thought.

Anyway, these Microsoft Surface computers will cost $10,000 to start, and are being sold to enterprises such as T-Mobile and Starwood to liven up their retail stores and hotels. Still, I wonder if this technology is getting ahead of itself, or are we truly on our way to a more immersive, Minority Report-like era of computing?

News Blog 1

What I learned from class:

Supply chain strategy is essential for competitors in the PC market. It can identify and quantify supply chain improvements and assist PC makers in transforming their operations, from suppliers to the ultimate customer, to enable real strategic change and competitive advantage. Differentiation is also an important source of competitive advantage for PC makers. It distinguishes the differences of a product or offers from others, to make it more attractive to a particular target market.

Relevant Article:
Can Michael Dell Refocus His Namesake?
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/09/technology/09dell.html?ref=technology

As Dell has seen its stock price collapse, slowing growth and resurgent competition, it has been eschewing its almost exclusive “make-to-order” supply chain model to begin selling and stocking computers in Wal-Mart stores. On the one hand, there is no doubt that, to compete in retail, Dell will need to substantially transform supply chain processes. The direct sales model may not work as well in many international markets, such as China, and in the US the steady progression to laptops over desktops has led more buyers to want some hands-on experience before buying. On the other hand, getting up to speed on the vagaries of the retail supply chain and in-store execution will take Dell some time, and probably cause quite a bit of frustration among shareholders. Some critics have observed it negatively so far. “If you want a definition for cut-throat competition and low margins in the technology world, it would probably involve three words: consumer, Wal-Mart and desktop,” said one Wall Street Journal commentator. However, in my opinion, whether it can in fact lead to improved financial performance really depends on how well Dell manages this supply chain transition.