Second Life is a disruptive technology because of the drastic change it has brought in the computing life style of computer users. People have moved into this virtual world called Second Life by the millions. They have left whatever they were using before and have become residents in this virtual world buying property and doing business so it can be considered a disruptive technology because of the drastic change it brought on users of technology.
Second Life has replaced the video conferencing technology as really does expose business people, students and teachers to an interaction that is more vivid and captivating than the ageing video conferencing.
Source:
Linden Lab (2009). Virtual World: Real Change
http://secondlifegrid.net/casestudies/IBM
The world has become very competitive and innovative and I guess Second Life may last for another five years before another disruptive technology replaces it in the same way it replaced those technology that were before it.
The social benefits can be many but Collaboration, sharing, reducing on cost and interacting are the ones that come to mind immediately.
One social implication is that people could get caught up in that virtual world and neglect to interface with real people in the real world in which we live. People are likely to socialize less.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Assistive Technology
Assistive Technology
We live in a world where more emphasis is placed on normal people than people who have some form of disabilities. There is a technology called Assistive technology that does help to make life much more comfortable for persons who are physically challenged. Assistive technology exist in several forms and more continue to evolve as time passes. The following are some of the assistive technology available on the market today.
Iriscom is a system that enables the total control of a computer through the movement of the eye. People who are not mobile and who have little or no use of their limbs than control the computer through their eye movement.
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/information_technology/report-23600.html
Light signaler alerts monitor computer sounds and alert the computer user with light signals. This is useful when a computer user can not hear computer sounds or is not directly in front of the computer screen. As an example, a light can flash alerting the user when a new e-mail message has arrived or a computer command has completed
Braille embossers transfer computer generated text into embossed Braille output. Braille translation programs convert text scanned-in or generated via standard word processing programs into Braille, which can be printed on the embosser.
The talking calculator is one with voice output that speaks aloud what is on the screen of the calculator.
Text to speech is a powerful tool that allows learners the option of listening to text rather than reading it. Some text to speech software will simply read the text from the screen while others will allow you to convert the text to MP3 format which can then be used away from the computer.
When one considers and examines those few assistive tools listed above one has to agree that truly assistive tools are helping in the lives of people with disabilities. I still think it is an evolving technology and maybe we will see much more advanced ones in the years ahead. Unlike Dr Thornburg who speaks about embodiment, restructuring and co-dependence, I think co-dependence is the most visible component of assistive technologyhttp://www.microsoft.com/enable/at/types.aspx
We live in a world where more emphasis is placed on normal people than people who have some form of disabilities. There is a technology called Assistive technology that does help to make life much more comfortable for persons who are physically challenged. Assistive technology exist in several forms and more continue to evolve as time passes. The following are some of the assistive technology available on the market today.
Iriscom is a system that enables the total control of a computer through the movement of the eye. People who are not mobile and who have little or no use of their limbs than control the computer through their eye movement.
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/information_technology/report-23600.html
Light signaler alerts monitor computer sounds and alert the computer user with light signals. This is useful when a computer user can not hear computer sounds or is not directly in front of the computer screen. As an example, a light can flash alerting the user when a new e-mail message has arrived or a computer command has completed
Braille embossers transfer computer generated text into embossed Braille output. Braille translation programs convert text scanned-in or generated via standard word processing programs into Braille, which can be printed on the embosser.
The talking calculator is one with voice output that speaks aloud what is on the screen of the calculator.
Text to speech is a powerful tool that allows learners the option of listening to text rather than reading it. Some text to speech software will simply read the text from the screen while others will allow you to convert the text to MP3 format which can then be used away from the computer.
When one considers and examines those few assistive tools listed above one has to agree that truly assistive tools are helping in the lives of people with disabilities. I still think it is an evolving technology and maybe we will see much more advanced ones in the years ahead. Unlike Dr Thornburg who speaks about embodiment, restructuring and co-dependence, I think co-dependence is the most visible component of assistive technologyhttp://www.microsoft.com/enable/at/types.aspx
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Smart Objects
Smart Objects Tetrad
Enhances:
· Objects “knowing ” about themselves
· Objects can tell you their location and state
· Items can be traced to anywhere
Retrieves:
· Bar coding information
· ATM/Credit cards
· Metallic detectors/scanners
Reverses:
· Surveillance systems
· Manually stored records
· Existing shopping cards
Obsoletes:
· Tracking systems like GPS and SATNAV
· Less reliance on human investigators
· Items /people being lost
Explanation:
Smart objects have the ability to “tell” where they are and they can feed vital information to any location. We have not seen anything like before and this is certainly something that is new.
With smart objects being able to tell where they are and the state or condition they are in, traditional tracking systems have become obsolete. Libraries for example can track their books to any place on this earth.
Smart objects bring to mind the old military way of wiring someone’s vehicle to track their movements. The problem with that method was that the intelligence built into the devices were very limited in capability and they were restricted to geographic locations.
Smart objects are likely to proliferate into several other aspects of society and business and are likely to be the standard devices in the next few years
Source:
Horizon Report ( 2009). Retrived on October 1, from http://wp.nmc.org/horizon2009/chapters/smart-objects/
Enhances:
· Objects “knowing ” about themselves
· Objects can tell you their location and state
· Items can be traced to anywhere
Retrieves:
· Bar coding information
· ATM/Credit cards
· Metallic detectors/scanners
Reverses:
· Surveillance systems
· Manually stored records
· Existing shopping cards
Obsoletes:
· Tracking systems like GPS and SATNAV
· Less reliance on human investigators
· Items /people being lost
Explanation:
Smart objects have the ability to “tell” where they are and they can feed vital information to any location. We have not seen anything like before and this is certainly something that is new.
With smart objects being able to tell where they are and the state or condition they are in, traditional tracking systems have become obsolete. Libraries for example can track their books to any place on this earth.
Smart objects bring to mind the old military way of wiring someone’s vehicle to track their movements. The problem with that method was that the intelligence built into the devices were very limited in capability and they were restricted to geographic locations.
Smart objects are likely to proliferate into several other aspects of society and business and are likely to be the standard devices in the next few years
Source:
Horizon Report ( 2009). Retrived on October 1, from http://wp.nmc.org/horizon2009/chapters/smart-objects/
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