Systems Essay Example For Students

Systems Essay Computer technology: Thats entertainment, 2000CNN NewsStands James Hattori finds out what entertainment might look like in the year 2010Web posted at: 4:00 p. m. EST (2100 GMT)(CNN) As we reach the year 2000 and the next phase of the Information Age, its easy to forget that just 10 years ago, the Information Age was stuck on its launching pad. The Internet was unknown to nearly everyone except university researchers; TV was still patting itself on the back over cable success; films were searching for the next big thing; music was sold at record stores. Now, television and computers are colliding and millions of channels are on the horizon; films are bigger, clearer and cheaper to make; and music, more than any other industry, is using the Internet to market itselfHDTV will soon be rolling into homes, delivering a wider screen and digital picture Television is on the brink of major changes that may forever alter the way we live. It should all happen with the inevitable switch from analog to digital technology. Right now, most homes are equipped with analog, the design of which has remained largely unchanged since the invention of television. The new kid on the block is HD, or high-definition television, with more than three times the resolution of a standard analog set. Unfortunately, you cant see HDTVs higher quality on regular TV. And for now, HDTV does come with high price tags and scarce programming. But theres little doubt that television signals are going digital. I think the world of television and entertainment is poised for explosion, and that explosion comes about because television becomes digital, says Andy Lippman, associate director of Massachusetts Institute of Technologys (MIT) Media Lab. Its one of the premiere technology think tanks in the world. When television becomes digital, it becomes a lot more like the Internet, and that means that instead of a hundred or 500 or 1,000 channels, you have to think of television in terms of 243 million channels and accessing channels from all around the world. With a laser-pointer-like device, users can click on images on a interactive TV to purchase clothing and objects used by the actors on screen That new type of TV becomes interactive, too. For instance, you should be able to watch a favorite sitcom, and shop at the same time. This, through innovations like hypersoap. With underwriting by the JCPenney company, MIT professor Michael Bove along with a team of MIT students created the idea. Using a clicker like a remote control, hypersoap viewers can shop by highlighting any clothing or objects they see on the screen, allowing viewers of to buy the outfits worn by their favorite actors if not quite the shirts off their Friends' backs. And shopping is just one possibility. Interactive TV is also expected to allow viewers to gather additional relevant information on programs. For example, if youre watching a cooking program featuring chicken, youll be able to click one part of the screen and get the recipe. If youre watching a newscast on a Balkan uprising, you can click the remote and learn the history of the conflict, along with latest headlines and video. Your favorite TV show may soon follow you.. . from your living room, to your car radio, to your office computer There are also ideas in the works that can keep us from missing TV, even without using the VCR. Its always annoying when one is watching a television program, says Bove, and the telephone rings or one has to get into the car and go drive to work. And it would be possible, using almost the infrastructure we have right now, to make a television program that when Im watching, if I go out in the car, maybe it follows me by means of my pager and then my car, and when I get to work, it follows me up the steps and on to the screen of my PC. Genetic traits for Marfans syndrome Essay We will see a billion users of the Internet before the end of the year 2000, says Nicholas Negroponte, founder and director of MITs Media Lab. That is basically 20 percent of the planet. And whats really frightening, or interesting, depending on your perspective, is that the change from now will even be faster and bigger than were expecting. The only problem with MP3, however, is that it is a lossy compression scheme that is, one that must throw out musical data from the high and low ends of our hearing in order to achieve its small size. When you expand those files to put on an audio CD, they will not sound as good as the original tracks, because the information just isnt there. Enter SHN, a file format gaining popularity with fans of live music. SHN (or shortened) files only offer about 2:1 compression (unlike the 10:1 ratio common with MP3), but SHN files are lossless in every way the same as the source files from which they were made. Of course, with less compression, the files are also much larger a full shortened disc can take up about 400MB so theyre not exactly quick downloads. But with high-speed DSL and cable modems at home (and those blessed high-speed lines weve got at work), waiting several hours for a download while you sleep is much quicker and often more reliable than setting up and completing a CD trade by mail. Its also a great way for a single source (or seed) to get out to hundreds of people in a hurry. Often, a show will be transferred from DAT and encoding in SHN format just days after taking place perfect for us music junkies who cant wait to hear Phishs *http://www.phish. com/* latest version of Chalkdust Torture or You Enjoy Myself. As any music collector knows, you can never have too much of the same thing. The software youll need to take advantage of this great-sounding technology is called Shorten for Macintosh, which can expand SHN files to either AIFF or WAV formats, but only compresses WAV files. The free download is still in an early stage of development, but is very stablenot to mention that its currently the only choice for Mac users when it comes to SHN. Remember, however, that you cant play an SHN file like you would an MP3 it must be expanded for listening or recording onto a CD. Bibliography: