Application Service Providers Overview

Application Service Providers (ASPs)

• ASPs provide access to software or services for a fee, often under a Software as a Service (SaaS) model.
• Users can save application data on ASP servers, ensuring data portability and ease of access.
• ASPs offer various software forms: general use, specific services, and vertical market services.
• Advantages include cost savings similar to outsourcing and faster information delivery.
• Prominent ASP vendors: Google, NetSuite, Inc., and Salesforce.com.

Virtual Reality (VR)

• VR aims to create environments for users to interact as in real life, using computer-generated 3D images.
• Key VR terms include simulation, interaction, immersion, and telepresence.
• Two main types of virtual environments:
  • Egocentric: Offers full immersion; often uses head-mounted displays (HMDs).
  • Exocentric: Data rendered in 3D; viewed onscreen using standard 3D graphics.

CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment)

• CAVE is a virtual space with walls as rear-projection screens, allowing interaction from multiple locations.
• Utilizes high-speed cameras to capture user movement and presence, facilitating remote collaboration.
• Used in various research fields such as architecture and physics.

Virtual Reality Applications

• Diverse applications include military flight simulations, medicine, entertainment, architectural design, education, and group support systems.
• VR is developing further for user interfaces in information systems.

Obstacles in Using VR

• Challenges include insufficient fiber-optic infrastructure, confusion between real and virtual environments, and mobility issues with HMDs.
• Sound representation and the need for additional computing power are also concerns.

Virtual Worlds

• Virtual worlds allow users to interact via avatars, which are 2D or 3D representations of individuals.
• Predicted that by 2011, 80% of active internet users will engage in virtual worlds.
• Popular platforms include Second Life, Active Worlds, and Club Penguin.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

• RFID tags consist of a chip and antenna, enabling unique identification without direct contact.
• Two types of RFID tags:
  • Passive: No battery, with a lifespan of around 10 years.
  • Active: More reliable with a battery.
• Key applications include tracking, payment systems, access control, anticounterfeiting, and healthcare monitoring.

Biometrics

• Current uses: ATM, credit card security, network login, voting, and airport security.
• Biometrics enhance security in various sectors, including government ID cards and event security.

Networking Trends

• Emphasis on wireless technologies, grid computing, and the emerging importance of WiMAX and cloud computing.
• Wi-Fi enables broadband wireless communication across devices within short distances, supported by various standards.
• WiMAX provides broader data transfer capabilities for metropolitan area networks but faces challenges like interference and costs.

Grid and Cloud Computing

• Grid computing combines processing power from multiple computers for enhanced reliability and scalability.
• Utility computing offers IT services on demand, focusing on cost savings, though it raises privacy concerns.
• Cloud computing integrates SaaS, Web 2.0, and grid computing, allowing users to access a variety of online resources.

Nanotechnology

• Deals with material structures at the nanoscale (one billionth of a meter).
• Emerging techniques are crucial for the next generation of transistors and components, with some products already using nanomaterials.

Summary of New Trends

• Key emerging trends in technology include:
  • Software as a Service (SaaS)
  • Virtual Reality
  • Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
  • Innovative networking solutions
  • Grid, utility, and cloud computing
  • Advancements in nanotechnology.