ANNOTATION
ANNOTATION
Where does the communication world
go? What is its goal and destiny? These are the questions everybody would like
to clear out, also the magazine Sakaru
Pasaule. Generally speaking, there is no doubt that the road goes upwards.
However we have to clear more and more hurdles like e-commerce, e-government,
3G and severe competition. Is it always as easy as to say hop and be on the
other side of the hurdle? Autumn is the right time for contemplation and searching
for the right answers.
In this issue:
· CyberVidzeme on the e-highway
(pages 42-43)
The 4th Valmiera Forum tried to clear out how many e-optimists,
e-sceptics and e-realists do we have. It turned out that e-realists are mostly
those who work in the leading IT companies and are connected with different
e-commerce and e-government projects. To turn e-sceptics into e-optimists it is
necessary to implement more e-solutions in everyday life. One of the most
successful regional e-government projects is implemented in Cēsis City
Council. It was possible thanks to the assistance of Microsoft and Tilde. Especially
popular in Cēsis is the business e-mail list where all the companies of
the city which have e-mails are involved. It is a convenient and quick way to
receive all the City Council news, concerning the exact company. It is quite
clear that in the future more and more private companies must be involved in
different service providing for
e-government (or B2G) solutions. These could be IT, network administration and
telecommunication services.
There is a significant tendency in
Latvia that IT companies and valuable IT solutions are more and more expanding
in rural districts. Some of these solutions were presented also in the Forum,
among them Session management system (it gives an opportunity for City Council
or Saeima deputies to participate in sessions via laptop from any place in the
world) and Industrial management system (automatically
sending an e-mail or SMS alarm signal in case of a system failure).
· Fail server family SNAP
(pages 58-59)
As data that we regularly store on
our PCs and servers is becoming more and more valuable, also the ways to loose
this information are increasing. Quantum
Corporation and Ontrack Data
International offer an efficient way for data storage and recovering by means of Snap file servers and Network
Attached Storage (NAS) solution. It is
very cost-efficient and easily administrated. Snap file servers offer a storage solution that is only a fraction
of the cost of traditional file servers. The cost per gigabyte of a Snap server is about half the cost of an
NT server, but it is not just hardware costs that have been reduced. Unlike
network operating system software that requires per-user licensing fees, Snap OS requires no user licence.
Snap file server family is available with capacity range
from 40 to 960 GB and from one to 12 drives. New modules can be added if
necessary and thus the amount of the stored data is in fact unlimited.
·Mobile content becomes richer
(pages 80-81)
Mobile users can be introduced to
an attractive array of content with differing content types and capabilities,
with user interface for downloading of all types of media. The downloading
process can be further complemented by letting user preview the content before
purchase. Verified content installation and rights protection are key factors
that will allow the mobile services market to really expand.
The users have shown that they are
ready to pay fees of between a few cents to several euros for a new tone, icon,
alert or greeting card. Similarly, Java (MIDP)
applications can already be downloaded to mobile phones and users are charged
for the download transaction and content based on a subscription or transaction
model. At present also non-Java (generic)
content downloading is available in cases when the content objects are too big
to fit into an SMS. Examples of such downloadable content objects are
interactive games, news alerts, multimedia clips, time management tools,
virtual pets and polyphonic ringing tones. Content downloading extends the
range of portal services with reliable and well-controlled content services
that is an attractive revenue stream both for operators and service providers.
·Clothing - a screen for future communications
(page 97)
France Telecom R&D has designed a prototype
for a flexible screen made of woven optical fibres capable of downloading and
displaying static or animated graphics (such as logos, texts, patterns, scanned
images etc.) directly on clothes. Thanks to this innovation, clothes can now
act as a graphical communication interface, displaying visual information in
real time, and offering access to all telecom services (Internet, video,
e-commerce, and 3G mobiles). The screen is like a simple fabric, on which users
can download all kinds of visual images from fixed desktop or mobile terminals.
The prototype includes software with which users can create and publish their
own illustrations, drawings and texts online via a dedicated server. It also
handles effects such as scrolling, intensity or brightness, and interaction
with sounds and gestures.
The display technology comes from
optical fibre woven into standard textiles. This combination of properties
provides a natural solution to the problems of rigidity, volume and weight
characteristic for current wearable video screens, and has good future prospects for using such optical
fibres for bags, scarves, clothes and furnishing. According to Gartner Group 60 % of the population in
developed countries are likely to own a communicating garment by 2010.
Where does the communication world
go? What is its goal and destiny? These are the questions everybody would like
to clear out, also the magazine Sakaru
Pasaule. Generally speaking, there is no doubt that the road goes upwards.
However we have to clear more and more hurdles like e-commerce, e-government,
3G and severe competition. Is it always as easy as to say hop and be on the
other side of the hurdle? Autumn is the right time for contemplation and searching
for the right answers.
In this issue:
· CyberVidzeme on the e-highway
(pages 42-43)
The 4th Valmiera Forum tried to clear out how many e-optimists,
e-sceptics and e-realists do we have. It turned out that e-realists are mostly
those who work in the leading IT companies and are connected with different
e-commerce and e-government projects. To turn e-sceptics into e-optimists it is
necessary to implement more e-solutions in everyday life. One of the most
successful regional e-government projects is implemented in Cēsis City
Council. It was possible thanks to the assistance of Microsoft and Tilde. Especially
popular in Cēsis is the business e-mail list where all the companies of
the city which have e-mails are involved. It is a convenient and quick way to
receive all the City Council news, concerning the exact company. It is quite
clear that in the future more and more private companies must be involved in
different service providing for
e-government (or B2G) solutions. These could be IT, network administration and
telecommunication services.
There is a significant tendency in
Latvia that IT companies and valuable IT solutions are more and more expanding
in rural districts. Some of these solutions were presented also in the Forum,
among them Session management system (it gives an opportunity for City Council
or Saeima deputies to participate in sessions via laptop from any place in the
world) and Industrial management system (automatically
sending an e-mail or SMS alarm signal in case of a system failure).
· Fail server family SNAP
(pages 58-59)
As data that we regularly store on
our PCs and servers is becoming more and more valuable, also the ways to loose
this information are increasing. Quantum
Corporation and Ontrack Data
International offer an efficient way for data storage and recovering by means of Snap file servers and Network
Attached Storage (NAS) solution. It is
very cost-efficient and easily administrated. Snap file servers offer a storage solution that is only a fraction
of the cost of traditional file servers. The cost per gigabyte of a Snap server is about half the cost of an
NT server, but it is not just hardware costs that have been reduced. Unlike
network operating system software that requires per-user licensing fees, Snap OS requires no user licence.
Snap file server family is available with capacity range
from 40 to 960 GB and from one to 12 drives. New modules can be added if
necessary and thus the amount of the stored data is in fact unlimited.
·Mobile content becomes richer
(pages 80-81)
Mobile users can be introduced to
an attractive array of content with differing content types and capabilities,
with user interface for downloading of all types of media. The downloading
process can be further complemented by letting user preview the content before
purchase. Verified content installation and rights protection are key factors
that will allow the mobile services market to really expand.
The users have shown that they are
ready to pay fees of between a few cents to several euros for a new tone, icon,
alert or greeting card. Similarly, Java (MIDP)
applications can already be downloaded to mobile phones and users are charged
for the download transaction and content based on a subscription or transaction
model. At present also non-Java (generic)
content downloading is available in cases when the content objects are too big
to fit into an SMS. Examples of such downloadable content objects are
interactive games, news alerts, multimedia clips, time management tools,
virtual pets and polyphonic ringing tones. Content downloading extends the
range of portal services with reliable and well-controlled content services
that is an attractive revenue stream both for operators and service providers.
·Clothing - a screen for future communications
(page 97)
France Telecom R&D has designed a prototype
for a flexible screen made of woven optical fibres capable of downloading and
displaying static or animated graphics (such as logos, texts, patterns, scanned
images etc.) directly on clothes. Thanks to this innovation, clothes can now
act as a graphical communication interface, displaying visual information in
real time, and offering access to all telecom services (Internet, video,
e-commerce, and 3G mobiles). The screen is like a simple fabric, on which users
can download all kinds of visual images from fixed desktop or mobile terminals.
The prototype includes software with which users can create and publish their
own illustrations, drawings and texts online via a dedicated server. It also
handles effects such as scrolling, intensity or brightness, and interaction
with sounds and gestures.
The display technology comes from
optical fibre woven into standard textiles. This combination of properties
provides a natural solution to the problems of rigidity, volume and weight
characteristic for current wearable video screens, and has good future prospects for using such optical
fibres for bags, scarves, clothes and furnishing. According to Gartner Group 60 % of the population in
developed countries are likely to own a communicating garment by 2010.