Current CITE-ings from the popular and trade computing press: focus on mobile computing and computer hardware and software

Lois Trapasso (Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, USA)

Library Hi Tech News

ISSN: 0741-9058

Article publication date: 4 August 2014

290

Citation

Trapasso, L. (2014), "Current CITE-ings from the popular and trade computing press: focus on mobile computing and computer hardware and software", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 31 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-07-2014-0051

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited


Current CITE-ings from the popular and trade computing press: focus on mobile computing and computer hardware and software

Article Type: Current cite-ings From: Library Hi Tech News, Volume 31, Issue 6

This column continues the increasing fast pace of mobile computing and the impact it is having on business and customer engagement and with definite relevancy to libraries. Hardware continues to become more powerful and even robots will become household and library entities in the not so distant future. Security is a constant issue. Gamification has great potential for information literacy. And guess what, the help desk is back (reference anyone?).

Mobile computing

Apps keep coming at a huge rate, and this article discusses many of the up and coming chat apps such as WhatsApp, Snapchat, Kik, Line and KakaoTalk. Facebook bought WhatsApp, aware of this growing trend to use chat apps to connect with friends. These players are fighting over the future of mobile communication. Young people are leaving Facebook because of its permanence in posted text and photos. Chat apps are very compatible with most phones, and their pricing is cheap. This article includes a guide on how to pick the mobile messaging app that is right for you (#B10).

There is less of a gap than ever between typical computers and laptops with mobile devices. The major reasons for these moves are portability and price. But, it does not stop there – new mobile devices will have better and faster processors, already have cloud storage, and with Windows 8, we are already seeing a merging of operating systems between devices (#B2).

In the same vein, this article discusses if Windows 8 tablets are a good choice at the moment. Comparisons are made between x86 Windows tablets with chromebooks, the Android-based Nexus 7 tablet and the hybrid Surface RT. Some of the x86 tablets reviewed include the Lenovo Thinkpad 8, the Dell Venue 8 Pro, the Toshiba Encore WT8 and the Acer Iconia W4. Although there are some good capabilities, there are still some major drawbacks such as USB storage, speed and better HD video (#B11).

For mobile computing, St. Edwards University decided to allow flexibility of the use of mobile devices for educational purposes. Because of this, they turned to AirWatch Enterprise Mobility Management Software. It allows central configuration, monitoring, security and the efficient management of sensitive data. Enterprise mobility management software allows IT departments to enforce password policies, to configure devices to authenticate and connect to Wi-Fi and to sync users to email. It makes sure sensitive information is properly secured and not compromised (#B19).

Digital music has provided Playlist, iPod, YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Shazam and are now an important part of our gadget ownership. This has changed our relationship with music forever. This article provides guidance on how you can connect to the songs you like in the digital age. For example, in the cloud you can use SoundCloud, /yourstrulysf, /yvyny/, and /weekly podcast. (#B16).

Businesses are seeing mobile devices as a way to engage with customers. Also, hopefully with opt-in capabilities, mobile devices offer data such as a customer’s buying behavior, or their physical location. It is complex to create mobile apps because of the number of mobile platforms, the short development time and the need for skilled employees. This article highlights three companies’ experience with mobile apps (#B15).

How do you make the app you develop stand-out among the crowd? First, create an app worth sharing that solves a problem. Second, use social networks to promote the app and let others know about it and its capabilities. Third, an app must demonstrate long-term value and be continually updated to stay relevant. Fourth, reward your user community in some way to use your app and let others know about your app. Finally, be certain to design your app for several operating systems, in particular Android and IOS (#B12).

Computer hardware

Personal computers are becoming very versatile because different ones serve a different purpose. The newest PCs to come out are called Ultra-Compact Form Factor. Intel has a Next Unit of Computing (NUC) initiative, and is delivering smaller PCs. Its latest product is the NUC D54250WYK. It is small and powerful. Specs are included in the article. Another NUC is Gigabytes’ Brixbox (#B18).

Three-dimensional (3D) printers are all the rage now, and this article focuses on educational ways of incorporating arts into STEM. In many libraries, now there are makerspaces that include 3D printers where users can create their own content. This article also highlights how MakerBot Academy plans to put 3D printers in every classroom in America. To register, go to donorschoose.org/teachers (#B6).

For those new to Apple computing, this article serves as a basic guide to Apple iPhoto, Photo Stream, editing images, iMovie and editing clips. Photo Stream is part of Apple’s iCloud service. It allows you to create an account, and sync any images on a device associated with your Apple ID with other devices that use the same ID (#B3).

A major breakthrough in computing is the D-Waves quantum computer. The chip is made of niobium wire, cooled to a temperature 150 times colder than deep space. It can crunch numbers faster than any other machine on earth. Google uses it for computational problems called optimization. Optimization is finding solutions to mathematical problems with many constraints. Quantum computers use qubits which can exist as 1’s and 0’s at the same time. This allows the machine to work on many numbers simultaneously (#B16, #B17).

Technology has changed the way home automation repairs are handled. Technology, often through the cloud, can allow remote access to your home automation network to determine where problems are and recommend fixes. Remote access can also tweak settings according to your preferences. It can also monitor your home while you are away, and fix problems quickly (#B7, #B8).

4K resolution monitors are here and a major game changer in video resolution. 4K has 3,840/2160 pixels. It arrived because graphic cards became more powerful. Most PC games support the resolution. The article says retina display means having enough pixels that the human retina cannot distinguish between them. A PPI (pixels per inch) is different depending on how close you are to the display. Any additional resolution may not be perceived by the human eye, so there is a limit to how much demand there will be for even greater resolutions such as 8K. The article comes with a guide on how to pick the right monitor (#B13).

Here come the robots. Robots with artificial intelligence are here. We just do not trust them yet. To program them with this self-doubt allows gives people pause to balance their reliance on the machine with their need to jump into an emerging technology in which robots become more social and have “personalities”. In the end, establishing trust and building productive relationships with robots would be the same as dealing with people (#B1).

Computer software

Computer security is in the news and continues to be an important concern. Unified threat management tools are helping campuses to protect against spyware and malware. They also include Web filtering, help for IT to monitor bandwidth and network use and prohibition of illegal activities. For a college or university campus with limited financial resources, a software approach may be best. Up the scale are hardware appliances. Examples are Sophos, Barracuda Networks and SonicWall. Hardware appliances offer more granular control in Web filtering, and also have insight on encrypted traffic, network regulation and remote filtering capabilities. As added protection, a managed- (or subscription-) based service works well, as it provides the most updated information (#B7, #B8).

In the IT world, the help desk is returning. It is also giving businesses a competitive advantage. Now in the mobile device environment, the help desk has broad areas to provide assistance. They have migrated from order taker to problem solver. Customers and employees like the personal touch (#B5).

Gamification software is gaining importance in computing. It is the use of game design and game mechanics in any kind of non-entertainment context. An expert says gamification should be fun and motivating. It initially was used to form stronger bonds with customers. Now it is being used to engage employees. By 2015, 40 per cent of 1,000 global organizations will use gamification as the primary mechanism to transform business operations (#B9).

Open APIs are gaining attraction. They present your data to the world. The world could be end-users, external developers or customers. The World Bank successfully incorporated an API. As the API grew, the organization added performance monitoring and institutional policies to ensure good traffic flow. The World Bank also added increased server capacity and server redundancy to ensure availability of the API (#B14).

For some, Google Drive is still a mystery. Well, this article reviews the major features and as a result, the advantages of Google Drive for an individual’s productivity. Some of the capabilities outlined are searching by person, the ability to search Google Docs and Gmail, saving to the drive while browsing, collaboration via chat, social media use with docs, use of apps and keyboard shortcuts, customizing forms, working with files offline and, most importantly, working over a variety of computers and operating systems (#B4).

References

Anthes, E. (2014), “Trusting our robots”, Wired Magazine, June, p. 19.

Averbach, D. (2014), “The post-PC revolution”, iPhone + iPad Life, p. 18.

Breen, C. (2014), “What you should know about iLife”, MacWorld, April, p. 46.

Chartier, D. (2014), “Unleash Google drive”, MacWorld, March, p. 64.

Collett, S. (2013), “The help desk is hot again”, Computerworld, 16 December, p. 17.

Delaney, M. (2014), “Full steam ahead”, EdTech, Spring, p. 24.

Editors (2014a), “Remote monitoring and the cloud”, Electronic House, Spring, p. 26.

Editors (2014b), “Filter smarter”, EDTech, Winter, p. 6.

Harbert, T. (2014), “Giving gamification a go”, Computerworld, 13 January, p. 12.

Honan, M. (2014), “The rise of chat apps”, Wired Magazine, April, p. 82.

McNamara, T. (2014), “Tablets on trial”, Maximum PC, p. 52.

McNeish, K. (2014), “5 Stes to make your app go viral”, iPhone + iPad Life, July-August, p. 92.

Norem, J. (2014), “4K is here”, Maximumpc, April, p. 22.

Savage, N. (2013), “Open your data to the world”, Computerworld, 9 September, p. 18.

Stackpole, B. (2014), “Courting customers with mobile apps”, Computerworld, 10 February, p. 20.

Thompson, A. (2014a), “Searchin”, Wired Magazine, March, p. 84.

Thompson, C. (2014b), “The age of quantum computing has now arrived”, Wired Magazine, June, p. 112.

Ung, G. (2014), “Actual-size computing”, Maximumpc, March, p. 47.

Wong, W. (2014), “Containing mobile”, EDTech, Winter, p. 28.

Lois Trapasso (ltmanuscript@hotmail.com) is based at Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, USA

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