Email Received This Week
Getting rid of previous Windows Installations ? Ed Smock IP Phones wont work in power outage ? Jean Jolkovski File sharing through firewall using SPX/IPX ? Pat Neary When are MP3s posted, love show ? Phil Scarbrough, Draper, Utah I?m only Assistant Chief in Amarillo ? Rober Taylor
Technology Trends of 2003
Digital Cameras is out selling Film Cameras (Kodak makes a move) PC performance goes up while prices drop (Consumer Nirvana) MP3 Audio sales over the Internet (iTunes Music Store in the lead) Computer Manufacturers have invaded the living room (Gateway?s Flat Panel TV) Wireless is gaining ground (802.11g finally arrives) VoIP gets making real headway
Top IT Career Trends of 2003
Security, Security, Security
Security Policy Security Technology (especially wireless)
e-Business using databases connected via the Internet
Web services, Database Technology are central to this trend ASP, JSP, PHP are all applicable SQL Databases (Oracle, MSSQL, or MySQL)
Job re-structuring as some coding jobs move off-shore. Information Technology is morphing into Information Management
IT has left the laboratory and is now in the executive suite IT and Business must both be mastered in this new environment
Online Data Availability Causes Concern
Google has reverse phone number lookup Just put in a phone number and get name and address Some now fear to give out phone numbers Database does not include cell phone numbers
Getting Started with VoIP
10% of all calls are now VoIP
Try it out at home with your broadband connection Skype — P2P calls are free to other skype-heads, Kazaa spinoff. 1.2 million downloadsNet2phone — Ring any phone in the word with pre-paid calling, about 1c per minute. 110,000 usersFreeWorldDialup — Calls are free to US and UK, super cheap world wide. Can only talk to other VoIPsters. 72,000 usersVonage — Reach an conventional phone use your existing handset (free adapter) $35/month. 64,000 usersSIPphone — Free calls anywhere once you buy the $80 handset. Can only call other IP phones
Microsoft?s Top Challenges for 2004
Provided by research firm, Directions, recent analysis Act like a more mature company in a mature market
Obeying the spirit of the antitrust settlement will allow further growth
Not providing API to RealNetworks is bad business
Current business model based on creating software ?grand slams? to force upgrades needs to be replaced
MS has not found an effective way to convert its installed based advantage into a steady revenue stream Makes its money on upgrades
Provide a better road map for its product development
Customers need to be able to plan
Getting security under control
Enforce a consistent set of patch technologies and procedures across independent product groups
Keeping Linux at Bay Rebuilding Partner Network to garner support for .Net Simplify licensing programs Improve system management technology
Uru: Ages Beyond Myst
Fourth in the ground breaking Myst sequence Fantastic graphics and complicated challenging puzzles ?Candidates? assist with the restoration of D?Ni Tech Talk rating (10 out of 10) Downside: required that I upgrade my video card Previous games include
Uru retails for $49. Available for $45 from Amazon. Check out the Ubisoft Store for some interesting Myst gift packages
Graphic Card Basics
Video card has a dedicated video processor to off-load tasks from the CPU Video processor supports graphic commands (DirectX, Direct3D, OpenGL) Buss basics of video (PCI versus AGP)
Acelerated Graphics Port (AGP)
Dedicated to the video card AGP4x (1066 MB per second) AGP8x (2132 MB per second)
Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) Connects all components to the CPU (Drives, RAM, Nics)
PCI100 (100 MB per second PCI133 (133 MB per second)
Graphic Card Ram (32MB minimum, 256 MB maximum) Video Output (S-video output for connection to TV) Dominant Chip Sets (ATI Radeon versus NVidia GeForce )
Get last year?s models for around $100 Get the two year old model for $50 These two companies keep getting better Competition is lowering prices and raising performance
If you get a new PC with graphics integrated on the motherboard, make certain to get an AGP plug for expansion What About MP3 Audio Quality?
CD quality
CD quality is 44,100 samples per second, 16 bit, stereo sound Size is 44,100 * 60 * 2 (bytes) * 2 (tracks-stereo) = 10.5 MB per minute Audio CDs hold about 700 MB, can have 70 minutes of music For music 22050 samples, 16 bit, mono sound is good for Web delivery
MP3 Files
MP3: compression that uses perceptual criteria Size and quality measured in throughout Kb/s (Kilobits/second): good is 128 Kb/s CD quality mono (44,100 * 2 bytes) = 88.2 KB/s, or about 700 Kb/s: MP3 compresses by factor of 6
Audio Box has tested MP3 quality
5% can hear detect 3:1 compression quality loss 10% can detect 6:1 compression quality loss More than 50% can detect 10:1 compression quality loss More than 50% can detect a ?difference? between MP3 and CD regardless of the compression Test results at www.audioboxinc.com
Using GPS to track the kids
Big Brother, meet Big Mother Wherify Wireless GPS let you pinpoint you kid?s location to within a few feetCircle representing you child in displayed on a street map Breadcrumb feature can trace movements over time In an emergency, wearer can place a 911 call by pressing two buttons $200 plus $20-$45/month service fee
Stratford News
Next Start January Masters Degrees e-Business, Telecommunications Bachelor Degrees in IT, Business Administration, and Hospitality Associated Degrees in Digital Design and Animation, Web Services and e-Business, Networking and Security, Culinary Arts, Hospitality, and Business Administration Website: www.stratford.edu Phone number: 800-444-0804