Describe
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182 CHAPTER 6 Data Communication and tine Cloud
Bluetooth is a n o t h e r c o m m o n wireless p r o t o c o l . I t is designed for t r a n s m i t t i n g data over s h o r t distances, replacing cables. Some devices, s u c h as wireless m i c e a n d keyboards, use B l u e t o o t h to connect to the computer. Smartphones use B l u e t o o t h to connect to a u t o m o b i l e e n t e r t a i n m e n t systems.
Connecting to the Internet A l t h o u g h y o u m a y n o t have realized i t , w h e n y o u c o n n e c t y o u r SOHO LAN, p h o n e , i P a d , or K i n d l e t o t h e I n t e r n e t , y o u are c o n n e c t i n g t o a W A N . You m u s t do so because y o u are c o n n e c t i n g to c o m p u t e r s t h a t are n o t p h y s i c a l l y l o c a t e d o n y o u r premises. You c a n n o t start r u n n i n g wires d o w n t h e street t o p l u g i n s o m e w h e r e .
W h e n y o u c o n n e c t to t h e I n t e r n e t , y o u are a c t u a l l y c o n n e c t i n g t o a n Internet service provider ( I S P ) . A n ISP has three i m p o r t a n t f u n c t i o n s . First, i t provides y o u w i t h a l e g i t i m a t e I n t e r n e t address. Second, i t serves as y o u r gateway to the I n t e r n e t . The ISP receives the c o m m u n i c a t i o n s f r o m your c o m p u t e r and passes t h e m o n to the I n t e r n e t , a n d i t receives c o m m u n i c a t i o n s f r o m the I n t e r n e t a n d passes t h e m o n t o y o u . Finally, ISPs pay for the I n t e r n e t . They collect m o n e y f r o m t h e i r customers and pay access fees a n d other charges o n y o u r b e h a l f
F i g u r e 6-3 shows t h e t h r e e c o m m o n a l t e r n a t i v e s f o r c o n n e c t i n g t o t h e I n t e r n e t . N o t i c e t h a t w e are d i s c u s s i n g h o w y o u r c o m p u t e r c o n n e c t s t o t h e I n t e r n e t v i a a W A N ; w e are n o t d i s c u s s i n g t h e s t r u c t u r e o f t h e W A N i t s e l f . W A N a r c h i t e c t u r e s a n d t h e i r p r o t o c o l s are b e y o n d t h e scope of this d i s c u s s i o n . Search t h e Web f o r " l e a s e d l i n e s " o r " P S D N " i f y o u w a n t t o l e a r n m o r e a b o u t W A N a r c h i t e c t u r e s .
SOHO LANs (like t h a t i n Figure 6-2) a n d i n d i v i d u a l h o m e a n d office c o m p u t e r s are c o m m o n l y c o n n e c t e d t o a n ISP i n one of three ways: a special t e l e p h o n e l i n e c a l l e d a DSL l i n e , a cable T V l i n e , or a w i r e l e s s - p h o n e - l i k e c o n n e c t i o n . A l l three o f these alternatives require that the digital data i n the c o m p u t e r be converted to a wavy signal, or an analog signal. A device called a modem, or m o d u l a t o r / d e m o d u l a t o r , p e r f o r m s t h i s c o n v e r s i o n . Figure 6-4 shows o n e w a y o f c o n v e r t i n g the d i g i t a l byte 01000001 to an analog signal.
(By t h e way, because L A N devices a l m o s t always c o n t a i n a m o d e m , t h e y are sometimes called modems. As y o u have learned, however, they c o n t a i n m u c h m o r e t h a n just a m o d e m , so we do n o t call t h e m m o d e m s i n this text.)
As s h o w n i n Figure 6-5, once the m o d e m converts y o u r computer's d i g i t a l data to analog, that analog signal is t h e n sent over the telephone l i n e , TV cable, or air. I f sent b y t e l e p h o n e l i n e , the f i r s t t e l e p h o n e s w i t c h t h a t y o u r s i g n a l reaches c o n v e r t s the signal i n t o the f o r m used b y the i n t e r n a t i o n a l telephone system.
Q2 What Are the Components of a LAN?
LAN or Personal Computer
Modem Switch at Telephone or Cable Company
Internet Service Provider Personal Computer (PC)
Internet Access
/ You
Modulated Signal on Telephone Line
or Cable TV Cable Internet
DSL Moclenm
A D S L m o d e m is t i i e f i r s t m o d e m type. DSL stands for digital subscriber line. DSL m o d e m s operate o n the same lines as voice telephones, b u t they operate so t h a t t h e i r signals do n o t i n t e r f e r e w i t h voice t e l e p h o n e service. Because DSL signals do n o t interfere w i t h telephone signals, DSL data transmission a n d telephone conversations can occur simultaneously. A device at the t e l e p h o n e c o m p a n y separates the p h o n e signals f r o m the c o m p u t e r signals and sends the latter signal to the ISP. DSL m o d e m s use t h e i r o w n protocols for data transmission.
CaJ:sls Wtoder»is
A cable m o d e m is a second m o d e m type. Cable modems provide high-speed data trans- m i s s i o n using cable television lines. The cable c o m p a n y installs a fast, high-capacity o p t i c a l fiber cable to a d i s t r i b u t i o n center i n each n e i g h b o r h o o d that i t serves. A t the d i s t r i b u t i o n center, the optical fiber cable connects to regular cable-television cables that r u n to subscribers' homes or businesses. Cable m o d e m s m o d u l a t e i n such a w a y that their signals do n o t interfere vwth TV signals.
Because u p t o 500 user sites c a n share these f a c i h t i e s , p e r f o r m a n c e varies d e p e n d i n g o n h o w m a n y o t h e r users are s e n d i n g a n d r e c e i v i n g d a t a . A t t h e m a x i m u m , users can d o w n l o a d d a t a u p t o 50 M b p s a n d c a n u p l o a d d a t a at 512 K b p s . T y p i c a l l y , p e r f o r m a n c e is m u c h l o w e r t h a n t h i s . I n m o s t cases, t h e d o w n l o a d speed o f cable m o d e m s a n d DSL m o d e m s is a b o u t t h e same. Cable m o d e m s use t h e i r o w n p r o t o c o l s .
WASM WH-efess Connection
A t h i r d w a y t h a t y o u c a n c o n n e c t y o u r c o m p u t e r , i P h o n e , i P a d , K i n d l e , or o t h e r c o m m u n i c a t i n g device is via a WAN wireless c o n n e c t i o n . Amazon.com's K i n d l e , for example, uses a S p r i n t wireless n e t w o r k to p r o v i d e wireless data c o n n e c t i o n s . T h e i P h o n e uses a L A N - b a s e d wireless n e t w o r k i f one is available a n d a W A N wireless n e t w o r k i f one is n o t . The L A N - b a s e d n e t w o r k is p r e f e r r e d because p e r f o r m a n c e is c o n s i d e r a b l y h i g h e r . As o f 2012, W A N wireless p r o v i d e s average p e r f o r m a n c e o f 500 K b p s , w i t h peaks o f u p t o 1.7 M b p s , as o p p o s e d t o t h e t y p i c a l 50 M b p s f o r L A N wireless.
Before we leave the t o p i c of n e t w o r k connections, y o u s h o u l d learn the m e a n i n g of t w o o t h e r terms used t o classify n e t w o r k speed. Narrowband lines t y p i c a l l y have t r a n s m i s s i o n speeds less t h a n 56 Kbps. B r o a d b a n d lines have speeds i n excess o f 256 Kbps. Today, a l l p o p u l a r c o m m u n i c a t i o n t e c h n o l o g i e s p r o v i d e b r o a d b a n d capability, a n d so these terms are l i k e l y to fade f r o m use.
Q5 How Do Organizations Use Web 2.0? 277
Storytelling must observe one l i m i t , however. Stories must be authentic accounts of interactions that are i m p o r t a n t to the SM c o m m u n i t y . T h i n l y disguised advertisements w i l l be ignored at best a n d r i d i c u l e d at worst. You can find a story example that Microsoft d i d of an early user of Office 365 at www.youtube.com/watch?v=204Uc5mUSLA.
How Do Organizations Use Web 2.0? Social m e d i a a n d SMIS are the l e a d i n g edge i n I n t e r n e t c o m m e r c e today. However, Web 2.0, the n a m e for another set of I n t e r n e t capabilities, emerged i n the early 2000s a n d is s t i l l i m p o r t a n t . We w i l l address Web 2.0 here because i t includes features a n d f u n c t i o n s t h a t y o u need t o know.
Prior t o Web 2.0, e - c o m m e r c e sites d u p l i c a t e d the experience o f s h o p p i n g i n a grocery store or other retail shop. The customer m o v e d a r o u n d the store, placed items i n a s h o p p i n g cart, a n d t h e n checked o u t . Such e-commerce sites were, and s t i l l are, effective at s e l l i n g goods o n l i n e , b u t t h e y do n o t take f u l l advantage o f the Web's p o t e n t i a l .
A m a z o n . c o m was one o f t h e f i r s t t o recognize o t h e r p o s s i b i l i t i e s w h e n i t a d d e d t h e "Customers W h o B o u g h t This B o o k Also B o u g h t " feature t o its Web site. W i t h t h a t feature, e - c o m m e r c e b r o k e n e w g r o u n d . N o g r o c e r y store c o u l d or w o u l d have a sign t h a t a n n o u n c e d , "Customers w h o b o u g h t t h i s t o m a t o soup, also b o u g h t . . . ." T h a t idea was t h e f i r s t step t o w a r d w h a t has c o m e t o be k n o w n as Web 2.0.
What Is Web 2.0? A l t h o u g h the specific m e t m i n g of Web 2.0 is h a r d to p i n d o w n , i t generally refers to a loose g r o u p i n g o f c a p a b i l i t i e s , t e c h n o l o g i e s , business m o d e l s , a n d p h i l o s o p h i e s . Figure 8-12 compares Web 2.0 t o t r a d i t i o n a l processing. (For some reason, the t e r m Web 1.0 is n o t used.)
W a r n i n g : As s t a t e d i n t h e c h a p t e r p r e v i e w , s o m e p e o p l e d e f i n e Web 2.0 to i n c l u d e s o c i a l m e d i a . We separate Web 2.0 a n d s o c i a l m e d i a here because s o c i a l m e d i a , a n d e s p e c i a l l y h y p e r - s o c i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s , r e p r e s e n t a d i f f e r e n c e i n t h e n a t u r e o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n o r g a n i z a t i o n s a n d h u m a n s . P r e - h y p e r - s o c i a l
Web 2.0 Processing Traditional Processing
Major winners: Google, Amazon.com, eBay Major winners: Microsoft,Oracle, SAP
Software as a (Free) Service Software as product
Frequent releases of thin-client applications Infrequent, controlled releases
Business model relies on advertising or other revenue-from-use
Business model relies on sale of software licenses
Viral marketing Extensive advertising
Product value increases with use and users Product value fixed
Organic interfaces, mashups encouraged Controlled, fixed interface
Participation Publishing
Some rights reserved All rights reserved
Comparison of Web 2.0 with Traditional Processing
278 CHAPTER 8 Socia\a \niormaVion Systems
o r g a n i z a t i o n s can use the tools and techniques described here for Web 2.0 w i t h o u t any f u n d a m e n t a l change i n t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p t o consumers.
S o f t w a r e as a (Free) Service
Google, Amazon.com, and eBay exemplify Web 2,0. These companies do n o t sell software licenses, because software is n o t their product. Instead, they provide software as a semce (SaaS) i n the cloud. You can search Google, r u n Google Docs, use Google Eartli, process G m a i l , a n d access Google M a p s — a l l f r o m a t h i n - c l i e n t browser, with the b u l k of the processing occurring i n the cloud, somewhere o n the Internet. Like all Web 2.0 programs, Google releases new versions of its programs frequently. Instead of software license fees, the Web 2.0 business m o d e l relies o n advertising or other revenue that results as users employ the software as a service.
Figure 8-13 shows features t h a t Google was at one t i m e c o n s i d e r i n g a d d i n g to Google Maps. Notice the w a r n i n g t h a t they " m a y change, break, or disappear at any t i m e . " By p r o v i d i n g f r e q u e n t updates this way, Google m a i n t a i n s i t r e p u t a t i o n as an innovative c o m p a n y w h i l e o b t a i n i n g testing and usability feedback o n new features.
Software as a service clashes w i t h t h e r e v e n u e m o d e l used b y t r a d i t i o n a l s o f t w a r e v e n d o r s , s u c h as M i c r o s o f t , Oracle, a n d SAP. Software is the t r a d i t i o n a l v e n d o r s ' p r o d u c t . T h e y release n e w v e r s i o n s and n e w p r o d u c t s i n f r e q u e n t l y . For example, 3 years separated the release of M i c r o s o f t Office 2007 f r o m 2010. Releases are m a d e i n a very c o n t r o l l e d f a s h i o n , and extensive t e s t i n g a n d t r u e beta p r o g r a m s precede every release.
T r a d i t i o n a l software vendors d e p e n d o n software license fees. I f a large n u m b e r of Office users s w i t c h e d to free w o r d processing a n d spreadsheet applications, the h i t o n M i c r o s o f t ' s revenue w o u l d be c a t a s t r o p h i c . (See Case 6, page 210 for a n example.) Because of the i m p o r t a n c e of software l i c e n s i n g revenue, s u b s t a n t i a l m a r k e t i n g efforts are made to convert users to n e w releases.
I n the Web 2.0 w o r l d , n o such m a r k e t i n g is done; n e w features are released a n d v e n d o r s w a i t f o r users t o s p r e a d t h e news t o one a n o t h e r , one f r i e n d s e n d i n g a
R Testing of New Features, Web 2.0 Style
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Q5 How Do Organizations Use Web 2.0? 279
message to m a n y f r i e n d s ; m o s t of w h o m send t h a t message, i n t m n , to t h e i r f r i e n d s ; a n d so f o r t h , i n a process called v i r a l marketing. Google has never a n n o u n c e d any software i n a f o r m a l m a r k e t i n g c a m p a i g n . Users carry the message to one another. I n fact, i f a p r o d u c t requires a d v e r t i s i n g t o be successful, t h e n i t is n o t a Web 2.0 p r o d u c t .
By the way, t r a d i t i o n a l software companies do use the t e r m software as a service. However, they use i t o n l y to m e a n t h a t they w i l l p r o v i d e t h e i r software p r o d u c t s v i a t h e c l o u d rather t h a n h a v i n g c u s t o m e r s i n s t a l l t h a t s o f t w a r e o n t h e i r c o m p u t e r s . Software licenses for t h e i r p r o d u c t s s t i l l c a r r y Ucense fees. You can, for e x a m p l e , o b t a i n a license to use Office as p a r t of the Office 365 SaaS o f f e r i n g .
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A n o t h e r characteristic of Web 2.0 is that the value of the site increases w i t h users a n d use. A m a z o n . c o m gains more value as m o r e users w r i t e m o r e reviews. A m a z o n . c o m becomes the place to go for i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t books or other products. Similarly, the more people w h o b u y or sell o n eBay, the more eBay gains value as a site.
OrgariiG User i n t e r f a c e s and l\^ashups
The t r a d i t i o n a l software m o d e l c a r e f u l l y c o n t r o l s t h e users' experience. A l l Office programs share a c o m m o n user interface; the r i b b o n (toolbar) i n W o r d is similar to the r i b b o n i n PowerPoint a n d i n Excel. I n contrast, Web 2.0 interfaces are organic. Users find their w a y a r o u n d eBay a n d PayPal, and i f the user interface changes f r o m day to day, w e l l , t h a t is j u s t the n a t u r e of Web 2.0. Further, Web 2.0 encourages mashups, w h i c h occur w h e n the o u t p u t f r o m t w o or more Web sites is c o m b i n e d i n t o a single user experience.
Google's My Maps is a n excellent m a s h u p e x a m p l e . Google p u b l i s h e s Google Maps a n d provides tools for users to make c u s t o m m o d i f i c a t i o n s to those maps. Thus, users m a s h the Google M a p p r o d u c t w i t h t h e i r o w n k n o w l e d g e . One user d e m o n - strated the g r o w t h of gang activity to the local police b y m a p p i n g new g r a f f i t i sites o n Google Maps. Other users share t h e i r experiences or p h o t o s of h i k i n g t r i p s or other travel. See Figure 8-14 for another example.
IVIashup Example
Source; © 2 0 1 1 Google.
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