Recent trends in technology

 

 

 

NEB Important Questions for Computer Science XII

 

Unit 7 Recent Trends in Technology

 

1.      What is e-commerce? Explain its role to enhance the digital economy.

 

2.      Write the impact of e-commerce technology in our society.

 

3.      What is cloud computing and robotics?

 

4.      Define term e-learning and virtual reality.

 

5.      What is AI? Write its applications.

 

6.      What is big data? Write its advantage and disadvantages.

 

7.      What is e-governance? List out the objectives.

 

8.      Write Short notes on the following.

 

a)  IOT

 

b)  Mobile Computing

 

c)  Social Media

 

d)  e-medicine

 

e)  AI

 

      

 

 

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

(Artificial Intelligence) refers to the development of computer systems that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and language translation. AI involves the use of algorithms, machine learning, neural networks, and other advanced computing techniques to enable computers to perform tasks that would otherwise require human intelligence. AI is used in a wide range of applications, including healthcare, finance, manufacturing, transportation, and many other industries. As AI technology continues to advance, it is expected to have a significant impact on the way we live and work in the coming years.

Components of AI

Some of the key components of AI include:

1. Machine learning: This is a subset of AI that involves the use of algorithms and statistical models to enable machines to learn from data, identify patterns, and make decisions.

2. Neural networks: These are computer systems modeled after the human brain, consisting of interconnected nodes that process information and learn from experience.

3. Natural language processing: This involves enabling machines to understand and interpret human language, both written and spoken.

4. Robotics: This involves the use of machines that can sense, act, and learn in the physical world, enabling them to perform tasks that would otherwise require human intervention.

5. Expert systems: These are computer programs that mimic the decision-making abilities of a human expert in a particular domain, such as medicine or finance.

6. Computer vision: This involves enabling machines to interpret and understand visual information, such as images and videos.

      

Uses/Applications of Al

 

AI has a wide range of applications across many different industries and fields. Some of the most common applications of AI include:

1.     Healthcare: AI can be used to develop predictive models for early disease detection, assist in medical diagnosis and treatment planning, and improve patient outcomes through personalized medicine.

2.     Finance: AI can be used to analyze financial data and make predictions for investment decisions, detect fraud, and automate trading.

3.     Manufacturing: AI can be used to optimize production processes, improve quality control, and reduce waste and costs.

4.     Transportation: AI can be used to optimize logistics and supply chain management, enable autonomous vehicles, and improve traffic flow and safety.

5.     Customer service: AI can be used to develop chatbots and virtual assistants that can provide customer service and support, automate responses to common queries, and personalize customer experiences.

6.     Education: Following are areas where AI are used in education.

 

   Automated Grading: AI grades assignments and exams, freeing up teachers to focus on instruction.

  

  Adaptive Learning Platforms: AI customizes educational content to each student’s needs and learning style.

  

  Early Warning Systems: AI identifies students at risk of falling behind, enabling timely intervention.

  Intelligent Tutoring Systems: AI provides personalized tutoring and feedback, enhancing learning outcomes.

  

  Resource Allocation: AI optimizes the allocation of educational resources, ensuring efficient use of funds and materials.

7.     Agriculture: AI can be used to monitor crop health, optimize irrigation and fertilization, and predict yields based on weather and soil conditions.

8.     Entertainment: AI can be used to develop personalized recommendations for movies, TV shows, and music, and to create interactive and immersive experiences in gaming and virtual reality.

 

 

 

 

Robotics

 

Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots. It is a discipline overlapping artificial intelligence and mechanical engineering. It is concerned with building robot programmable devices consisting of mechanical actuators and sensory organs that are linked to a computer. The mechanical structure might involve manipulators, as in industrial robotics, might concern the movement of the robot as a vehicle, as in mobile - robotics. Robotics research is used in artificial intelligence as a framework for exploring key problems and techniques through a well-defined application.

 

1.     Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots.

2.     It is a discipline overlapping artificial intelligence and mechanical engineering.

 

3.     It is concerned with building robots programmable devices consisting of mechanical actuators and sensory organs that are linked to a computer.

 

4.     Robots are being used in applications like: Industry, scientific research, Military applications, Intelligent home applications, Health Services.

 

Cloud Computing

 

Cloud computing is the use of various services, such as software development platforms, servers, storage, and software, over the Internet, often referred to as the "cloud". It is defined as a type of computing that relies on sharing computing resources rather than having handle applications.

In cloud computing, the word cloud is used to represent "the Internet," so the phrase cloud computing means "a type of Internet-based computing," where different services - such as servers, storage, and applications are delivered to an organization's computers and devices through the Internet. Cloud computing allows application software to be operated using internet-enabled devices.

Types of Clouds

Clouds can be classified as public, private, and hybrid. Public cloud is made available to the general public or a large industry group. Private cloud computing environment resides within the boundaries of an organization and is used exclusively for the organizational benefits Hybrid cloud is the combination of both public and private cloud. Sensitive With this cloud organizations might run non-core applications in a public cloud, while maintaining core applications and data in a private cloud.

 

Service Models of Cloud Computing

 

1.  IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): In this service, computing infrastructural components like server hardware, storage, bandwidth, and other fundamental computing resources are provided through the cloud.

 

2  Saas (Software as a Service): This service includes complete software on the can access software hosted on the cloud without installing it on the user's own computer.

 

3.  PaaS (Platform as a Service): It allows the user to rent virtualized servers and associated services used to run existing applications, or to design, develop, test, deploy and host applications. It provides clients with access to the basic operating software and optional services to develop and use software applications without the need to buy and manage the underlying computing infrastructure.

 

 

Advantages of Cloud Computing

Some of the advantages of this technology are:

 

1.     Cost-efficient: It is probably the most efficient method to use, maintain and upgrade.

 

2.     Almost unlimited storage: Storing information in the cloud gives us almost unlimited storage capacity.

 

3.     Backup and recovery: Since, all the data is stored in the cloud, backing it up and restoring the same is relatively much easier than storing the same on a physical device.

4.     Automatic software integration: In the cloud, software integration is usually something that occurs automatically. It also allows us to customize the options with great ease.

 

5.     Easy access to information: Once the user is registered in the cloud, the user can access the information from anywhere, where there is an Internet connection.

 

6.     Quick deployment: Once the method of functioning is selected, the entire system can be fully functional in a matter of few minutes.

 

Disadvantages of Cloud Computing

 

 

Despite its many benefits, as mentioned above, cloud computing also has its disadvantages.

 

1.  Technical issues: This technology is always prone to outages and other technical issues. Even the best cloud service providers run into this kind of trouble. Despite keeping up high

standards of maintenance.

 

2.  Security in the cloud: Storing all the sensitive information to a third-party cloud service provider could potentially put the company at great risk.

 

3.  Prone to Attack: Storing information in the cloud could make the company vulnerable to external threats and attacks.

 

Big Data

 

Big Data refers to complex and large data sets that have to be processed and analyzed to uncover valuable information that can benefit businesses and organizations. It has features like:

 

1.     It refers to a massive amount of data that keeps on growing exponentially with time.

 

2.     It is so voluminous that it cannot be processed or analyzed using conventional data processing techniques.

 

3.     It includes data mining, data storage, data analysis, data sharing, and data visualization.

4.     The term is an all-comprehensive one including data, data frameworks, along the

tools and techniques used to process and analyze the data.

 

Types of Big Data

Big data can be classified as Structured, unstructured, and semi-structured.

 

1.     Structured Data: Structured data refers to the data that is organized in a well-defined format such as tables, rows, and columns. This type of data is easily searchable, and it can be analyzed using traditional methods. Examples of structured data include financial data, sales data, and inventory data.

2.     Unstructured Data: Unstructured data refers to data that is not organized in a predefined manner. It includes data such as text, images, audio, and video files. Unstructured data is difficult to analyze using traditional methods. Examples of unstructured data include social media posts, email messages, and customer reviews.

3.     Semi-structured Data: Semi-structured data refers to data that is partially structured and partially unstructured. It includes data such as XML files, JSON files, and log files. Semi-structured data can be analyzed using both traditional and modern methods.

Characteristics of Big Data

The main characteristics of big data are:

 

1.  Variety: It refers to the variety of data gathered from multiple sources. The variety can be structured, unstructured, or semi-structured.

 

2.    Velocity: It refers to the speed at which data is being created in real-time. It also comprises the rate of change, linking of incoming data sets at varying speeds, and activity bursts.

 

3.  Volume: Big Data indicates huge 'volumes of data that are being generated daily from various sources like social media platforms, business processes, machines, networks, human interactions, etc.

 

4.   Veracity: It refers to the reliability or trustworthiness of the data. Due to the large volume of data, we have uncertainty about the validity, the accurateness of data.

 

5.  Value: It refers to the worth of business value of the collected data.

 

6.   Variability: It refers to the inconsistency of the big data and how the big data can be used and formatted.

 

 

Application Areas of Big Data

 

Major application of big is data is:

1.     Healthcare or Medical sector.

2.     Academia.

3.     Banking.

4.     Manufacturing.

5.     Information Technology (IT).

6.     Retail business.

7.     Transportation.

 

Advantages of Big Data Processing

Some of the advantages of big data processing are:

1.     Businesses can utilize outside intelligence while taking decisions.

 

2.     Improved customer service.

3.     Early identification of risk to the product/services,

4.     Better operational efficiency.

 

5.     Big data analysis derives innovative solutions. It helps in understanding and targeting customers. It helps in optimizing business processes.

 

Disadvantages of Big Data Processing

 

Despite its many benefits, big data processing has the following disadvantages.

1.     Traditional storage can cost a lot of money to store big data.

 

2.     Big data analysis is not useful in the short run. It needs to be analyzed for a longer duration to leverage its benefits.

3.     Big data analysis results are sometimes misleading.

                         

 

 

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) is a term that expresses computer-based simulated environments. Which can perceive as in the real world, as well as in unreal worlds. The virtual reality environments are primarily concerned with the visual experiences, displayed either on a computer screen or through special stereoscopic displays, but some simulations include additional sensory information, such as sound through speakers or headphones. Virtual reality creates such a realistic artificial environment that the s/he should feel as in the real world. Today the Virtual reality (VR) technology is applied to advance fields of medicine, engineering, education, design, training, and entertainment.

 

Some of the application areas of virtual reality are:

1.      It can be used in medical studies to enable students to know the human body.

 

2.      It can be used in scientific research laboratories so that scientists can easily research a structure.

 

3.      It can be used in entertainment like games and movies to make the gaming experience more real and to allow individuals to experience adventures under extreme conditions.

 

4.      It can be used in driving schools as it gives a real look at roads and traffic.

 

5.      It can be used in military training for the soldiers to get familiar with different areas on the battlefield.

 

Advantages of Virtual Reality

 

Some of the advantages of virtual reality are:

1.     Virtual reality creates a realistic world.

2.     It enables users to explore places.

3.     Through Virtual Reality, users can experiment with an artificial environment.

4.     Virtual Reality makes education easier and more comfortable.

 

Disadvantages of Virtual Reality

 

Some of the disadvantages of virtual reality are:

1.     The equipment's used in virtual reality are very expensive.

2.     It consists of complex technology.

3.     In virtual reality environment we can't move by our own like in the real worl                           

 

E-Commerce, E-Medicine, E-Governance

 

E-Commerce

 

Electronic commerce (e-Commerce) is a process of buying and selling or exchanging products, services, and information using electronic media. There are many definitions for electronic commerce that include elements of electronic transactions and the buying and selling of goods and services online.

 

e-Commerce is a modern business methodology that addresses the needs of organizations, merchants, and consumers to cut costs while improving the quality of manufactured goods, services and increasing the speed of service delivery.

 

More commonly, e-commerce is associated with the buying and selling of products, and services via computer networks,

The main platforms of e-commerce remain the Internet, e-mail, fax, telephone orders

 

Classification of e-Commerce

 

1.     B2B (Business to Business) Sells products or services to other businesses. e.g. www.freemarkets.com

 

2.     B2C (Business to Consumer) Sells products or services directly to consumers. eg.. www.amazon.com, www.yahoo.com.

 

3.     C2B (Consumer to Business) Consumer fixes a price on their own, which businesses accept or decline, e.g., www.priceline.com

 

4.     C2C (Consumer to Consumer) Consumer sells directly to other consumer. e.g. www.ebay.com

 

Advantage of e-Commerce

Some of the advantages of e-commerce are:

 

1.     It enables more individuals to work at home, and to do less traveling for shopping, resulting in less traffic on the roads, and lower air pollution.

 

2.     It allows some merchandise to be sold at lower prices, benefiting less affluent people.

 

3.     It enables people in Third World countries and rural areas to enjoy products and services which otherwise are not available to them.

 

4.     Facilitates delivery of public services at a reduced cost, increases effectiveness, and/or improves quality.

 

5.     It enables consumers to shop or do other transactions 24 hours a day, all year round from almost any location.

 

6.     It provides consumers with more selections or choices.

 

7.     It provides consumers with less expensive products and services by allowing them to shop in many places and conduct quick comparisons.

 

8.     It allows quick delivery of products and services, especially with digitized products.

 

9.     Consumers can receive relevant and detailed information in seconds, rather than in

 

days or weeks walk-around to search a product.

 

10. It makes it possible to participate in virtual auctions. It allows consumers to interact with other consumers in electronic communities and exchange ideas as well as compare price-tag.

 

11. It facilitates competition, as a result of substantial discounts.

 

12. It expands the marketplace to national and international markets. It decreases the cost of creating processing, distributing, storing, and retrieving paper based information.

 

Disadvantage of e-Commerce

 

1.     Businesses often calculate return on investment numbers before committing to any new technology. Costs, which are a function of technology, can change dramatically during even short-lived e-commerce implementation projects.

 

2.     Many companies have had trouble recruiting and retaining employees with the technological, design, and business process skills needed to create an effective e-commerce presence.

 

3.     The difficulty of integrating existing databases and transaction-processing software designed for traditional commerce into the software that enables e-commerce.

 

4.     Many businesses face cultural and legal impediment (barrier) to e-commerce. Some consumers are still fearful (afraid) of sending their credit card numbers over the Internet.

 

5.     Consumers are simply resistant to change and are uncomfortable viewing merchandise on a computer screen rather than in person.

 

                          

 

E-Medicine

 

e-Medicine is an online clinical medical knowledge database, which is an approach to providing health care service to a large number of people spread in different locations.

 

It is mainly beneficial for the people of rural areas with limited or no medical facilities. e-Medicine is targeted to provide high-quality healthcare service. It minimizes the time and cost required for treatment.

 

e-Medicine usually contains up-to-date, searchable, peer-reviewed medical journals, online physician reference textbooks, and a complete article database on medical specialties. This Internet medical library and clinical knowledge base are available to physicians, medical students, nurses, other health professionals, and patients.

 

 

With the use of e-Medicine, doctors and patients who are physically apart can connect so that patients can share his/her problem with the doctor, and the doctor can suggest treatment or any test required.

 

E-Governance

 

e-Governance is the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to enhance the access and delivery of government services to benefit citizens, business partners, and employees. It transforms the traditional government using ICT to make it clear, effective, and accountable. However, it doesn't mean that putting more computers on the desks of government officials is e governance.

                             

 

Objectives of e-Governance

Some of the objectives of e-Governance are:

• E-governance refers to the provision of online public services to citizens and businesses.
• Services for citizens include the registration to government services such as health care, education, or employment benefits.
•   For businesses, E-Governance services can take the form of online alerts for public procurements or funding opportunities as well as information and support on applicable legislation in a given sector.
•   E-Governance helps to cut down their administrative costs, speed up procedures and therefore increase efficiency and reactivity.
•  It could improve and accelerate administrative efficiency.

 

 

Challenges of implementing e-Governance

 

The key challenges of implementing E-Governance mainly in developing countries like Nepal are

•  High-speed infrastructure to access the Internet is required.  
• Creating trust and transparency of successful delivery of E-Governance service.
• The digital divide exists in developing countries. All the citizens may not have ICT knowledge.
• Network security and protection against viruses, spam, unwanted attacks, etc.
•    Online privacy.
•    All the citizens may not have access to computing resources.

 

Mobile Computing

Mobile computing is a generic term describing one's ability to use technology while moving as opposed to portable which is only practical for use while deployed in a stationary configuration. A mobile computing device is created using mobile components, such as mobile hardware and software. Mobile computing devices are portable devices capable of operating executing, providing services and applications like a computing device. It is a computing device used in transit. Users can access data and information from wherever they are.

Many types of mobile computers have been introduced since the 1990s, including a wearable computer, PDA, enterprise digital assistant, smartphone, UMPC (Ultra-mobile PC), Tablet PC

 

Features of Mobile Computing Device

 

Features of Mobile Computing devices are

•   It is a portable device that can be used during mobility.
•  It has limited processing and storage capability.
•  It includes mobile communication, mobile hardware, and mobile software.
• It usually contains a touch screen for providing input.
•  It contains an on-screen or virtual keyboard for proving text inputs. However, an external keyboard can be connected by using the USB port, infrared, or Bluetooth.
•   It contains a camera, speaker, and microphone.
•  It contains handwriting recognizing software.
• Most mobile computing devices contain a memory card slot to expand the storage capacity.
•   It has wireless connectivity such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi to connect the Internet or with other computing devices as well as a wired connection through the USB port connectivity services like need either Wi-Fi.
• The most mobile computing device can synchronize their data with applications on users' computers.
• It can be used for cloud computing and remote access.
•   It uses a mobile computing operating system such as Android, iOS, Windows Mobile OS, Palm OS.
•  It can include GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver for navigation.

 

Advantages of Mobile Computing

• It enables users to work from any location at any time.
• It saves time for accessing data and information.
•   It helps to increase the productivity of users reducing the time and cost.
•  It has made research easier.
•   It is one of the major handheld sources of entertainment of users at present.
• Nowadays, Business processes are easily available through secured mobile connections.
• It is portable.
•  It supports cloud computing.
•   It provides remote access to the organizational data from any location.
•  It is an independent platform. It can be accessed from any hardware or software.

Disadvantages of Mobile Technology

•  Mobile technology requires faster and quality or GPRS or 3G or 4G connectivity.
•    It has security concerns; most wireless connectivity is unsafe.
•  Large power consumption is due to the use of batteries continuously and they do not tend to last long.
•   The danger of misrepresentation i.e., credential
•  Extensive use of mobile devices results in health problems.

  Internet of Things (IoT)

Internet of things (IoT) is the network of physical devices, vehicles, home appliances, and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and connectivity, which enables these things to connect, collect and exchange data.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals, or people that are provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human to-computer interaction.

 

By combining these connected devices with automated systems, it is possible to "gather information, analyse it and create an action" to help someone with a particular task or learn from a process. A thing in the internet of things can be a person with a heart monitor implant, an animal with a biochip transponder, an automobile that has built-in sensors to alert the driver when tire pressure is low, or any other natural or man-made object that can be assigned an Internet Protocol (IP) address and can transfer data over a network.

 

Advantages of IoT

• It automates tasks and helps to improve the quality of a business's services and reduces effort.
•   It helps to operate the business operations more efficiently, better understand customers to deliver enhanced customer service.
•  It supports to improve decision-making and increases the value of the business.
•    It has the ability to access information from anywhere at any time on any device.
•  It provides improved communication between connected electronic devices.
•  Transferring data packets over a connected network saves time, effort, and money.

 Disadvantages of IoT

•  As the number of connected devices increases and more information is shared between devices, the chances of the system being attacked also increases.
•  Organizations may eventually have to deal with massive numbers (maybe even millions) of IoT devices, and collecting and managing the data from all those devices will be challenging.
•  If there's a bug in the system, every connected device will likely become corrupted.
•  Since there's no international standard of compatibility for IoT, it's difficult for devices from different manufacturers to communicate with each other.