Automated Production- pros and cons

Consider the position of a factory manager faced with the problem of producing a product to be sold in competition with others. He/She is hard-pressed to keep the cost of production down. The cost of labor has been steadily increasing over the last few years, and is now the major expense. Added to this, his/her competitor has computerized some aspects of their production, and is now offering a wider and better range of products than he/she can. What can be done in this situation ?

If the business continues to operate without change, sooner or later it will shut down. Employees will become unemployed. The manager then pursue choices. He/she can increase production and cut costs. Laying off some employees would cut cost but, most likely, production would fall.

The most modern choice available in this era is computerization.

For example if the business is car assembly, automating the production line would make the assembly more precise and production would rise. The robots can work three shifts without complaint; they may break down from time to time, but the never take sick leave.

Clearly, from my point of view, this is the way to go. But what happens to the employees ?
Many of them would have to be laid off. They have been spared having to do boring, dirty work but what do they prefer ? Boring, dirty work or no work at all ?

In the mining and chemical fields, a lot of the work is potentially hazardous. Robots can and do perform these dangerous jobs. But is this desirable to the employee who has been put out of work ? Is there a choice ? Perhaps there is, but it seems we must choose the lesser of the two calamity: do not automate and everyone loses their jobs, or automate and only some become unemployed.

References: An Introduction to Computer Studies by Noel Kalicharan
page 351.

Smartphone App to 'ID' Fireballs

A meteoroid is a small rocky or metallic body traveling through space. Meteoroids are significantly smaller than asteroids and range in size from grains to 1 meter-wide objects. Most are fragments from comets or asteroids, while others are collision impact debris ejected from bodies such as the Moon or Mars.The visible streak of light from space debris is the result of heat as it enters a planet's atmosphere and the trail of glowing particles that is shed in its wake is called a meteor, or in other words "shooting star" and "falling star".

Researchers have designed a smartphone app that sends back information to users about their meteor sightings.

The app called "fireballs" in the sky, was developed by a team at Curtin University in Australia. This app can inform users details on what created the fireball and where it came from in the solar system. It can be used anywhere in the world.
The app main purpose is to determine a trajectory of a meteor. For instance, you might get a message that the rock that made your fireball came from the outer asteroid belt, or that it was a chunk of a comet. User are asked to point at the sky where they think the fireball started and click on their phones. Then they asked to do the same for where they think it ended.

This app uses a phone's accelerometer, GPS and compass to provide data to sufficient quality that it could be used to create a crowd sourced smartphone fireball network. Essentially, members of the public can help track anything that's coming through the atmosphere.

To me this app launched will give a lot of opportunities for Grenadians who have dreams and desires of studying or flowing astrology. It will make more people involved in learning about outer space as well.

references: BBCnews.com

ATM vs Bank Clerk

One of  the earliest uses of computers was in the banking industry. Initially a typically bank had a central computer centre which processed the data from various branches. For example , the withdrawal/deposit slips collected by a branch during the day would be forward to the computer centre when the branch closed to the public. The customers' accounts would be updated and a report on the current status of the accounts would be prepared for the use the next banking day.

The two most common used computerized banking system are the ATM's and banking clerks.

The clerk/teller enters transactions directly via a terminal, which is connected to the computer which can access the files of customers' accounts. Accounts can be queried and/or updated in a few seconds. Thus making the service much faster and easier. For example, suppose a customer name Kieth Clark wishes to make a withdrawal of $100.00 from his account numbered 76543210. The clerk would type the account number on his/her terminal. The computer would then accept this number and retrieve Kieth Clark banking record from its file. With the information displayed on the screen the clerk can carry out the necessary transaction. From this we can identify some components of a computerized banking system. At the centre of the system is a computer whose memory contains the computer program which accept directions from the clerk and responds to those directions, usually by accessing the customers' accounts.

What if customers can access their accounts without going to a clerk in the bank or need a clerk to do so?

This is where the ATM is considered a major competitor for the bank clerks. Also known as the automated telling machine (ATM), is a computer-controlled device at which a customer can make withdrawals or deposits, check the balance in his/her account or even request an appointment with the loan officer, all without involving a human operator. In order to use this system, a customer is issued with a plastic card which is coded with his/her name and account number, also known as a ATM card. With this the ATM functions both as an input and output device. It can accept data from the customer and it can be used by the computer to display information. From the bank's point of view, an ATM makes the customer do the work normally done by a clerk, this reduces the need for a clerks. For the customers, the machines are available for 24 hours a day. In other words a customer can therefore choose his/her banking hours, rather than be restricted to the times when the bank is open to the public.

Banking relies so heavily on computers that it is difficult to imagine how the industry could survive without them. Or with so much popular use of ATM is there still a need for clerks?

reference: An Introduction to Computer Studies by Noel Kalicharan

The Importance of AntiVirus Software

One of the most common reasons for failures or problems in computers is the lack of antivirus software. It is an issue which often overlooked and has drastic consequences for the unfortunate computer owner.

These days there are so many different types of virus which are usually hidden and can do a number of things, as it relates to the health of the computer.












Virus can be spread between computers, transferred via email and even occurred by USB drives.

There are different type of virus that are opened across the internet that users should be aware of. Certain types are:
1. Worms: these are programs which copy themselves to other computers on a network. Thy tend to slow things down as they consume more and more bandwidth or computer resources.
2. Trojans: performs functions(sometimes malevolent) on the computer without the awareness of the user.
3. Malware: technically this is not classed as a virus but it is a software used to spy on computer user's activities and collect personal information.

Now here is where antivirus software is required.

The Antivirus software acts like a "policeman". It protects the computer from incoming threats, seeks out, destroy and warns of possible threats to the system. But in doing this it has to be daily up dated with antivirus database definitions to neutralize the latest threats to provide constant protection.

To me not having antivirus on a computer is like inviting a criminal into your home or having uninvited guest. They will only cause havoc or steal from your house. The internet have many  avenues for virus attacks and there are thousands of threats.

There are various free antivirus software packages that are available on the internet and can be easily installed in your convenience.AVG, AVAST, Norton, McAfee  and the lists goes on.
Don't underestimate antivirus software, protect your computer.
 
reference: An introduction to Computers Studies by Noel Kalicharam

Europe Allows Full Flight Gadget Use

Europe is loosen up rules about the use of electronics during flights, conceding the way for devices to be used during take-off and landing. Smartphones, tablets and other devices can be used only while a flight is in the air. With this permission, devices must be used in "airplane mode", meaning passengers cannot use voice or text services. This is a precaution due to the possibility of radio interference with flight equipment.

"This is a major step in the process of expanding the freedom to use personal electronic devices on-board aircraft without compromise in safety," said Patrick Ky, EASA executive director.

The EASA is the European Aviation Safety Agency.

The changes will apply to aircraft operated by European airlines and are likely to be introduced at the end of the month.

It is a great approach in my opinion. Now I can keep myself occupied while on a long flight. It will be very beneficial to business people who are preparing for meetings, seminars etc and need to use various devices such as tablets, smartphones. I hope this path will attract other countries, especially the Caribbean as it seek to make using technology gadgets much easier to use on flights in the air.

References: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/



 
 
 

Should Computers have Emotions?

Emotion is a strong feeling deriving from one's circumstances, mood or relationships with others.
As people interact and use computers on a daily basis, I question myself, should computers have emotions to interact with humans ? Will emotions help a computer in interacting with humans result in more productivity ?

As we grow more in the technology world, we aspire more interaction from computers to be more accurate and efficient . Smartphones, tablets and computers are on the demand now, making life on a hold more interesting and easier to communicate. 

With the crucial aspect of interaction scientists are always looking for a simple and agile way to connect with computers and robots.






Therefore making computers and robots more user friendly so that an average person can person can perform complex and simple functions of a computer.



I feel if computers are more embedded with emotions they can understand humans expectations more.






Enabling to leave room for zero errors, in other words to be flawless and prefect. People are already developing computers and robots with the techniques of human beings.

To me I will always follow up and seek into experimental operations of robotics and computer technology when it comes to human computer interaction.

 reference: Human-computer interaction third edition by Alan Dix, Janet Finlay, Gregory D.Abowd and Russel Beale.