RealTime Communication on the Internet

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Real-Time Communication onthe Internet
Tutorial 8

• Using Chat, Instant Messaging, and Wireless
  Technologies

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Objectives

• Learn different ways to chat on the Internet.
• Learn about virtual worlds that offer
  entertainment opportunities
• Learn about different wireless networks.
• http//www.course.com/downloads/newperspectives/In
  ternet5/T08.cfm

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What Is Chat?

• Chat is a general term for real-time
  communication that occurs over the Internet.
• Originally, the term chat described the act of
  users exchanging typed messages, or a text chat.
• Voice Chat where participants speak to each
  other in real time, much like they would be using
  a telephone.
• Video Chat where participants can see and speak
  to each other.

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What Is Chat?

• Private Chat occurs between individuals who
  know each other and are invited to participate in
  the chat.
• Public Chat occurs in a public area, sometimes
  called a chat room, in which people come and go.
• Chats can be continuous, with participants
  entering and leaving ongoing discussions or they
  can be planned for a specific time and to last
  for a specific duration.

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What Is Chat?

• Most chat tools allow users to save a transcript
  of the chat session for future reference.
• The practice of reading messages and not
  contributing to the discussion is called lurking.
• Text chatting requires participants to type
  quickly, therefore, chat participants often omit
  capitalization and do not worry about proper
  spelling and grammar.

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Commonly Used Chat Acronyms
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What Is Chat?

• Shouting typing in all capitals letters.
• Flaming when a participant insults or ridicules
  another participant.
• Spamming when someone or an organization sends
  unsolicited and irrelevant messages to a chat
  room.
• Netiquette rules of the Internet.

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Internet Relay Chat

• You must have special chat client software and
  connect to an IRC server to use Internet Relay
  Chat.
• Early UNIX computers included a program called
  Talk that allowed users to exchange short text
  messages.
• In 1988, Jarkko Oikarinen wrote Internet Relay
  Chat (IRC).
• that extended the capabilities of the Talk
  program to multi-user.
• IRC uses a client-server network model IRC
  servers are connected through the internet to
  form an IRC network.
• Individual chat participants use IRC clients that
  connect to the servers in the network.

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Internet Relay Chat

• IRC networks organize their chats by topic.
• Each topic area is called a channel, and
  participants who connect to an IRC network join
  specific channels in which they conduct their
  chats.
• Each channel has a name, or a channel heading,
  that uses the pound sign () to indicate the
  chats topic.
• When a participant creates a new channel, he
  becomes responsible for managing the channel and
  is called the channel operator, channel op, or
  IRCop.

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Internet Relay Chat

• The channel operator can change the channels
  topic and heading at any time, determines which
  users may participate in the channel, and can
  change whether the channel is public or private.
• Participants select nicknames when they log on to
  an IRC server. Nicknames must be unique.
• A channel operators nickname is preceded by _at_.
• IRC servers run automated programs, called IRC
  robots or bots, which perform routine services on
  the IRC network.

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Commonly Used IRC Commands
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Instant Messaging Software

• Instant messaging software lets two users chat in
  real time over the Internet.
• Instant messages usually occur between people who
  know each other, and are especially popular with
  friends and families separated by geographic
  distances.
• The software has built-in tools that let you
  identify your friends and alert you when your
  friends are online.

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Instant Messaging Software

• Instant messaging is different from e-mail in two
  important ways
• When you send an e-mail message to a user, you do
  not have a way to determine if that user is
  online at the time you send your message.
• An instant message occurs faster because you do
  not have to wait for your e-mail program to send
  and download messages.

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Instant Messaging Software

• To use instant messaging to talk to other
  Internet users, you must download an instant
  messaging software program.
• ICQ
• AOL Instant Messenger
• Windows Messenger
• Yahoo! Messenger

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Instant Messaging Software

• You must use the same instant messaging software
  to chat with other users.
• Some instant messaging software programs have
  options for logging on to your chat account using
  a Web page so you can use the software when you
  are away from your primary computer.
• All instant messaging software programs have some
  features that work on wireless devices, such as
  cell phones.
• All instant messaging software is free and
  requires an Internet connection, preferably a
  broadband connection.

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Chat in Progress Using ICQ
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Windows Messenger
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Web-Based Chat Sites

• Web-based chat sites offer the same features as
  text-based IRC chat networks and instant
  messaging but are often easier to use and do not
  require users to download and install any
  software.
• In Web-based chat, some users lurk and others
  have multiple conversations going at the same
  time.
• The chat room identifies users as they speak with
  their user names.
• Conversations are often open-ended and rarely
  follow the prescribed topic.

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Web-Based Chat Sites

• Most Web-based chat sites prohibit spam messages,
  the use of automated programs, profane and vulgar
  language, and threats to individuals.
• Most sites require you to register before using
  their chat rooms.
• Although Web sites that provide chat rooms have
  rules of appropriate conduct, you might encounter
  conversations taking place that are offensive to
  you.

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Web-Based Chat Sites
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Virtual Worlds

• Computer games date back to the early days of
  computing research.
• An early multi-user adventure game program was
  multiuser dungeon (MUD).
• New forms of the program were created that
  allowed participants to modify the games
  structure as they played it. These programs were
  called MUD, object oriented, or MOOs.

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Virtual Worlds

• MOOs that were highly oriented toward creative
  tasks and programming objectives were called
  multiuser shared hallucinations, or MUSHs.
• Some virtual worlds let participants interact
  with each other almost as they would in real
  life.
• In a GUI virtual world, each participant assumes
  a virtual physical existence and appearance.
  Such an artificial person is called an avatar.
• Some firms will create an avatar based on a photo.

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Evolution of Wireless Networks

• When you connect to your Internet service
  provider, youre creating a wired connection.
• A wireless connection occurs when data, such as a
  persons voice, is transferred to another
  location without the use of any wires.
• Cell phones were one of the first wireless
  connections to transfer a persons voice.

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Evolution of Wireless Networks

• The year 1999 saw the introduction of the first
  wireless connections to the Internet.
• Personal digital assistant (PDA) a handheld
  computer that can send and receive wireless
  telephone and fax calls, act as a personal
  organizer, perform calculations, store notes, and
  download Web pages formatted for handheld
  devices.
• The wireless Internet has expanded to include
  different hardware devices, networks, and other
  options.

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Evolution of Wireless Networks

• Some handheld computers use Infrared technology
  to beam information from one source to another
  without the use of wired connections.
• Japan and South Korea have new 3G wireless
  systems (third-generation wireless) in place.
  Some European countries are building and
  licensing 3G wireless systems.
• 3G wireless systems offer data transfer rates of
  up to 2 Mbps and constant connections.

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Evolution of Wireless Networks

• The conversion from 2G to 3G wireless requires
  the carriers to invest in technology to make the
  change.
• The technology is only as good as the network and
  its coverage area.
• Many carriers have transformed and upgraded their
  existing networks by creating 2.5G wireless
  systems.

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Evolution of Wireless Networks

• With the number of wireless Internet users
  expected to increase in the next several years,
  more devices are being manufactured to support
  wireless technology.
• There is not a network standard on which to
  transmit information.
• Three network standards, EDGE, cdma2000 and
  W-CDMA, are expected to be the competing
  standards.
• A wireless device is manufactured to work only on
  a single type of network, just like a cell-phone.

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Wireless Local Area Networking

• Wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) a trademarked name of
  the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance
  (WECA) that specifies the interface between a
  wireless client and a base station or between two
  wireless clients.
• A wireless local area network (WLAN) is a network
  in which devices use high frequency radio waves
  instead of wires to communicate.
• Wi-Fi operates in the 2.4 GHz radio spectrum,
  which is the same spectrum used by cordless
  phones, garage door openers, microwave ovens, and
  other devices.

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Wireless Local Area Networking

• Because Wi-Fi is unlicensed, it is free. The 3G
  wireless spectrum needs to be licensed for huge
  fees.
• Four of the most widely used standards for WLANs
  are 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g.
• Transfer rate the speed at which data is
  transmitted from an access point (or base
  station) to the wireless device.
• Access point a hardware device with one or more
  antennae that permits communication between wired
  and wireless networks so wireless clients can
  send and receive data.

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Wireless Local Area Networking

• Range physical distance between the access
  point and the wireless device.
• Wi-Fi usually refers to the 802.11b specification
  which is the specification on which most Wi-Fi
  devices operate.
• Dual access point a new device that makes the
  802.11a and 802.11b wireless standards and the
  802.11b and 802.11 g wireless standards
  interoperable.
• Wi-Fi is often used as an alternative in an
  office building or other area in which you might
  find a traditional wired local area network. It
  may be used where wiring cannot be installed.

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Wireless Local Area Networking

• Laptop computers and other devices must have
  Wi-Fi compatible hardware installed in them to
  send and receive data with the network.
• If you position enough access points within the
  appropriate range of each other, the WLAN can
  grow to cover an entire office complex or
  geographic area.

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Personal Area Networking

• Personal area networking refers to the wireless
  network that you use to connect personal devices
  to each other.
• There are two major types of personal area
  networks Infrared and Bluetooth.

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Infrared Technology

• The Infrared Data Association (IrDA) is a group
  dedicated to developing low-cost, high-speed
  wireless connectivity solutions.
• Using Infrared technology, you can wirelessly
  beam information from one device to another
  compatible device using Infrared light waves.
• This technology is used with PDAs, notebook
  computers, printers, phones, and other peripheral
  devices.
• A disadvantage is the lack of software products
  that can handle the transfer. The devices and the
  software that runs them must be compatible with
  each other.

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Bluetooth

• Bluetooth is a technology that provides
  short-range radio links between personal
  computers, handheld devices, wireless phones,
  headsets, printers, and other electronic devices.
• For devices without chipsets that enable them to
  receive Bluetooth radio waves you can purchase an
  adapter to enable use with other Bluetooth
  devices.
• Bluetooth doesnt need an access point for
  communication devices communicate with each
  other automatically.
• Bluetooth isnt really owned by any specific
  manufacturer or group.

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Bluetooth
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Bluetooth

• Using Bluetooth technology, you can synchronize
  and share data between as many as eight Bluetooth
  compatible devices within the specified range at
  a rate of up to 1 Mbps.
• A collection of devices connected via Bluetooth
  technology is called a piconet. A piconet can
  connect to eight devices at a time.
• You can use Bluetooth-enabled devices to transfer
  files, listen to music playing on a computer
  through a headset, print documents, or connect
  your notebook computer to the Internet using a
  wireless phone that is in your desk drawer or
  briefcase.

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Wireless Wide Area Networking

• The next horizon for wireless connections is
  being able to access the Internet on a PDA,
  wireless phone, or notebook computer from
  anywhere in the world without a wired connection.
• A WLAN provides a wireless connection to a
  network, but devices must be within the stated
  boundary of the WLAN.
• In 2.5G and 3G wireless systems, wireless wide
  area networking (WWAN) makes it possible to
  access the Internet from anywhere within the
  boundaries of the wireless network to which you
  are connected.

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Using Wireless Devicesto Access the Internet

• The technology and standards that dictate what
  you can accomplish with a wireless device change
  on a daily basis.
• New standards emerge, new hardware is created,
  and new ways of connectivity arrive.
• Some networks, such as those found in airports
  and hotels, let you pay a daily fee to use the
  networks. Others require a monthly fee.

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Summary

• There are different Internet resources to chat in
  real time with friends and business associates.
• There are different types of wireless networks,
  wireless network standards, and wireless devices.
• When selecting a wireless device, make sure that
  you understand the features of the network on
  which that wireless device operates.

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Summary

• You should carefully examine the networks
  geographic coverage area, pricing options, and
  the providers future expansion plans before
  selecting the device that most closely matches
  the functions that you need it to perform.

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Assignment

• Case Problem 2 of this chapter. Submit as usual,
  not to instructor personally, as stated in text.
  Go to online companion for the link.

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Lab

• http//www.course.com/downloads/newperspectives/In
  ternet5/T08.cfmlabs