Tag: information technology

Internet Protocol

What is an IP address?

An IP address abbreviation of Internet Protocol address, it is an address that is provided by the Internet Service Provider to the user, it is just like a postal address code that is pin code to find the location or place where to send the message.  An IP address is a unique group of number what are separated by the period (.), it varies from 0 to 255, and   every device has a separate and unique IP address that is assigned by the specific Internet Service Provider (ISP) to identify which particular device is communicating with them and accessing the internet from there.

If you want to access internet from you device which may be your Android, I phone, Computer the service provider assigned them a particular, unique  address  that is help them to communicate send, receive information from the right person without any misunderstanding, mistake the message is pass to the authentic person to whom it has to send.  This problem is solved by the IP address, in olden days; we have postal address to send the message/letter to the person, the message that has to be sent with the help of the address which may be his house number, city, town, postal code.  The sender will write the address on the top of the letter envelope so that it will be delivery to the right person.  If the person connected his device to internet provide by the hotel, the hotel‘s Internet Service Provider will assign an IP address to the device.

Types of IP addresses

There are different types of IP based on different categories, types.

Consumer IP addresses

A Consumer IP addresses is the individual IP addresses of a customer who connects his/her  device to a public or private  network.  A consumer connects his device through internet from his Internet Service Provider, or from the Wi-Fi.  In these days the Consumer has many electronic gadgets which he connects to his router that transfer the data from the Internet Service Provider.

Private IP addresses

A  Private IP addresses are a secure one that is connected Private Network and every devices that is connected to this Private Network is assigned a unique IP address that is assigned by the Internet Service Provider.  All Mobile devices, Computer, and Internet of Things that are connected to this private network are assigned a unique string number to the devices.

Public IP addresses

A Public IP addresses is the main address that is related to your network, as stated above that the IP address are assigned by the Internet Service Provider, the Public IP address is also assigned by the Internet Service Provider, The Internet Service Provider has a large amount of IP addresses that are stored and assigned to the customer. The public IP address is the address that  devices that are outside the network use to identify the network.

The Public IP addresses are further classified into two types they are:

  1. Dynamic
  2. Static

Dynamic IP addresses

                The Dynamic  IP address  are the IP address that changes very frequently, so the Internet  Service Providers  purchase a very huge amount of IP addresses , they assign it mechanically to the customer . This frequently changing the IP address helps the customer not to make the security actions. The frequently changing IP address won’t let the hacks to track or pool your data.

 Static IP addresses

The Static IP addresses is the contradictory to the Dynamic IP address, it remain fixed. The IP address remains fixed when it is assigned by the Internet Service Provider.  The mostly many person and business man don’t   choose static because it is risk of getting easily track, but most business which are trying host her own website server choose Static IP address so it will easier  for the customer to find them.

                The IP address can be protect by 2 ways that are using proxy and the other one is use of Virtual Private Network.   A proxy server acts as a intermediary between the internet server and your internet service providers, when you visit any website it will show the proxy IP address not yours. 

Where to find IP address is Device?

                The IP address set up in every device that is connected to the Internet, but the steps or direction is different in different devices. Some of device direction is given below:

In Window or any other Personal Computer

  1. Go to the Start Menu
  2. Type  ‘Run’ in the Search bar
  3. A Run Tab pops up
  4. Type  ‘cmd’
  5. A black screen pops up
  6. Type ‘ipconfig’
  7. Your  IP address is found.

In Android Mobile

  1. Go to the Settings
  2. Tap on Network and Internet
  3. Tap on Wi-Fi, it will show the IP address

Rapid Antigen Test Kit for COVID-19 developed by IIT Delhi

 Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ virtually addressed students, teachers and stakeholders regarding Board Examinations today.

Shri Pokhriyal expressed deep gratitude and thanked Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for taking a decision to cancel the class 12 CBSE Board Exam in the interest of the students keeping in view their health and safety in the wake of Covid.

In his address, Shri Pokhriyal stated that CBSE has already issued comprehensive guidelines on assessment and evaluation for Class 12th Board examinations. He assured that those students who are not satisfied with the assessment, will be provided with an option to take the exams, whenever the situation becomes conducive, in August.

The Minister reiterated that safety, health and the future of the students are the top priorities of the government.

*****

Convocation of Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Sri City Chittoor

 Minister of State for Education Shri Sanjay Dhotre virtually addressed the students at the convocation of Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Sri City Chittoor today. Chairman of the Board of Governors of IIIT Sri City Mr. Balasubramaniam was present on the occasion. During the convocation, a total of 261 students comprising 164 Computer Science and Engineering students and 97 Electronics and Communication Engineering students received degrees. This includes 28 Honours students from both disciplines.  

Shri Dhotre said that National Education Policy 2020 aims at making India a global knowledge super power. It endeavours to develop scientific temper, rational and critical thinking in students, ensure students are endowed with 21st Century knowledge and skills, while displaying a strong character, filled with humanistic values, that flow from the ethos of India, i.e.Bharat.  He further added that our students will not only be the top-class students, they will also be the top-class citizens of this country and the world.

Speaking on the importance of Technology, Shri Dhotre urged students to explore how these technologies can be used to solve common man’s problems, such as to improve farming efficiency, and in turn improving his income; in  ensuring energy security, in ensuring piped water to every household in an efficient way.

Minister noted that Technology is playing a massive role in transforming the whole world economy. While working to achieve a goal of a 5 trillion-dollar economy, India is actively focusing on the strength of the digital economy.  He further added that this new India needs young technocrats to provide smarter solutions to the problems. He urged the students to play their part and contribute in making our country a world leader in every aspect of digital technology.

Shri Balasubramaniam said, “The remarkable growth of the fast-growing 180 billion USD IT/ITES industries in India over the past decade has shown the world India’s scientific, engineering and technological prowess and capabilities. The best multinationals of the world are leveraging Indian talent and rushing to set up large R&D hubs in India. We need to be self-reliant as Aatmanirbhar Bharat has now turned the gaze of this world-class innovative talent inwards, to create products and services for the Indian market at par with other countries.”

Dr. G. Kannabiran, Director said that “We propose to significantly improve faculty-student ratio, augment R&D infrastructure and focus on student development initiatives.  We plan to launch online BTech programmes and other continuing education programmes at the certificate, diploma and MTech levels in our key areas of strength.  We also plan to take up in-house corporate training in emerging technology areas, joint degree programmes with suitable overseas universities, enhance our campus infrastructure for next generation students.   We will continue as a family to make IIIT Sri City as a Nationally Relevant and Globally Recognized Entrepreneurial Institution.” 

IIIT Sri City is presently serving as the Secretariat of IIIT Coordination Forum. Besides enabling and coordinating regular meetings, few key activities are being taken up by the Secretariat for the member institutions, including FICCI-Panel discussion with Industry Leaders, Faculty Development Programme on E-Content Development and NOSSCOM Conference for IIIT Directors to benefit the member institutions.

*****

KP/AK

"Main Bhi Digital 3.0" campaign aimed at digital onboarding of Street Vendors

 Digital onboarding and training of Street Vendors (SVs) is an integral part of PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbharNidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme.Lending Institutions (LIs) have been instructed to issue a durable QR Code & UPI ID at the time of disbursement and train the beneficiaries in conduct of digital transactions.

In order to give further impetus to the digital onboarding and training of beneficiaries, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) jointly launched ‘Main Bhi Digital 3.0’from September 9 to November 30, 2021, to complement the efforts of LIs in adoption of digital transactions by the PM SVANidhi beneficiaries.

“Main Bhi Digital 3.0” campaign is aimed at digital onboarding of Street Vendors (SVs)who have already been provided loans under PM SVANidhi Scheme.

An Integrated IT Platform has been developed for implementation of this Scheme. The application process is fully online. SVs can apply for loan directly through PM SVANidhiPortal. The application can also be submitted at Municipal Offices and Common Service Centres (CSCs). In addition, the SVs can approach municipal functionaries or representatives of Lending Institutions to apply through PM SVANidhi mobile App.

PM SVANidhi Scheme is available to all street vendors across the country, including those from Dahod tribal area, who are engaged in vending in urban areas on or before March 24, 2020. InDahod Municipality of Gujarat, out of 868 beneficiaries of the scheme, 337 are from Scheduled Tribes Category.

"Main Bhi Digital 3.0" campaign aimed at digital onboarding of Street Vendors

 Digital onboarding and training of Street Vendors (SVs) is an integral part of PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbharNidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme.Lending Institutions (LIs) have been instructed to issue a durable QR Code & UPI ID at the time of disbursement and train the beneficiaries in conduct of digital transactions.

In order to give further impetus to the digital onboarding and training of beneficiaries, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) jointly launched ‘Main Bhi Digital 3.0’from September 9 to November 30, 2021, to complement the efforts of LIs in adoption of digital transactions by the PM SVANidhi beneficiaries.

“Main Bhi Digital 3.0” campaign is aimed at digital onboarding of Street Vendors (SVs)who have already been provided loans under PM SVANidhi Scheme.

An Integrated IT Platform has been developed for implementation of this Scheme. The application process is fully online. SVs can apply for loan directly through PM SVANidhiPortal. The application can also be submitted at Municipal Offices and Common Service Centres (CSCs). In addition, the SVs can approach municipal functionaries or representatives of Lending Institutions to apply through PM SVANidhi mobile App.

PM SVANidhi Scheme is available to all street vendors across the country, including those from Dahod tribal area, who are engaged in vending in urban areas on or before March 24, 2020. InDahod Municipality of Gujarat, out of 868 beneficiaries of the scheme, 337 are from Scheduled Tribes Category.

what is Information technology?

Information technology or IT is a very interesting and popular field in our life. Basically ,information technology is the use and development of computer software , system and networks or we can say , it is anything related to the computers, and a person or employee who is working on information technology is refer to as IT professional who has a descent knowledge of dealing with it.

We all know that in this generation, computers have revolutionized in today’s industries. whether it is Business, entertainment , shopping , software development or any other. Today computer are being used almost in every sector. IT has played a huge role in this.

In brief, IT includes all matters concerned with advancement of computer science and technology with its use , development and implementation of information systems. We all have become dependent on it we cannot imagine even a single day without it. It also plays a huge role in networking. IT industry is considered as the quickest growing industry in the world.

Now let us discuss about what is a work of an IT professional, but first let us think about making of computers. The one who makes its CPU, one who makes processor ,one who makes monitor, one who develops software , one who connects the computer with internet for us, one who makes websites and other things. these all things that I have stated are not all jobs and work that are linked with IT. IT have a very vast scope. Almost all things are connected with information technology for example , traffic lights that switch between different lights , train ticket reservation system that tells us the number of seats in a train for a particular destination. And books it automatically. There are many many other examples also which is all about information technology. Our life is connected with IT or products of IT.

IT as a career option

It is a very good field for choosing as a career option. IT has many fields that requires good planning to decide on the area that we can choose our career. It can be software development , networking or Animation. we have to update ourselves with new technologies day by day because software keeps on upgrading in short periods of time. if we have a training in a particular domain or or an extra knowledge it is always beneficiary for us with our bachelor’s or master’s degree. We can also do different courses through various platforms to learn various technology and use that certificates in future. And there are many other ways to become good in information technology.

In today’s world different IT companies are hiring IT professionals from different countries. To extract best talent available and make their network large. With a good internet speed , professionals can also work from home or from their preferred location .There are different posts in an IT company. like a programmer . network engineer , hardware technician , Project manager and many other important posts. To sum up , Information technology is a very important and one of the biggest sector in the world and we can build a secure career in it.

Ethical Hacking and IT

Data Technology (IT) is one of the greatest and most mainstream businesses as far as building up a profession on the planet today. Industry 4.0 has invited various innovative headways because of which specific IT experts have discovered conspicuousness, in IT organizations as well as in different enterprises. Maybe, the most famous among them is a vocation in online protection.

More than 1 billion network safety experts are required to be sought after over the course of the following 2 years in this field, making it perhaps the most worthwhile profession ways on the planet today. Notwithstanding being a mammoth association, National Health Services couldn’t shield themselves from a huge scope hack. A main nourishment application, MyFitnessPal, likewise went through a monstrous security penetrate where the individual information of more than 150 million clients was taken. The recurrence of these assaults has expanded off-late, making network safety basic in each association.

Huge banks and gems stores regularly enlist proficient hoodlums to endeavor burglaries, to recognize provisos in their security frameworks. Through these preliminaries, these establishments can reliably redesign their security frameworks, to ultimately arrive at a phase of becoming invulnerable. Taking motivation from this interaction, the network protection space has likewise reversed the situation on hacking and made it a legitimized idea through moral hacking.

Moral hacking is a cycle through which experts are paid to hack into an association, to pinpoint weaknesses in the security framework that the association needs to fix. Ill-conceived programmers have likewise discovered lawful conspicuousness in the IT world today because of the developing significance of moral hacking as an idea.

Moral programmers are recruited and prepared to utilize a huge number of methods to attempt to penetrate various associations. They help in the identification of holes inside the security framework as well as during digital assaults.

Government associations wherein digital fighting holds extraordinary unmistakable quality, moral programmers are accustomed to balancing endeavors made by noxious programmers with the expectation of outmaneuvering them, and protecting the information. Another use of moral hacking is of supporting in the examination that follows a digital assault.

Law implementation offices frequently recruit moral programmers to follow the means of a programmer and distinguish the culprit.

Thinking about the incredibly specialized nature of the calling, a basic degree is for the most part insufficient to build up an effective vocation in the field a particular preparing is fundamental. Many driving IT organizations today offer affirmed courses in Ethical Hacking that involve the nuts and bolts of PC organizing as well as intricate methods and driving cycles for keeping up with digital protection.

Think inventively and out-of-the-box:

Aside from these specialized ideas, it is additionally fundamental for moral programmers to have the option to think imaginatively and out of the container. The explanation programmers are developing and can penetrate confounded security frameworks is that they are reliably attempting to concoct new ways and approaches for something very similar.

Another significant quality to have is critical thinking, as the expertise can be fortified after some time, and sharpened with experience and down to earth openness. In this manner, getting ready for a vocation in moral hacking needs to involve a decent blend of both, specialized and reasonable viewpoints.

Be that as it may, there is an exceptionally clear ability hole in the business today, and subsequently, an absence of qualified staff in the field. Attributable to the hole between the interest and supply of moral programmers, this vocation way has gotten very rewarding with monstrous extension later on.

Brief steps for innovation in the era of E-commerce

As the Economist Joseph Schumpeter said Entrepreneurs can’t sit idle and try to innovate. They are the people who have an uncanny sense of using the resources from less productive use to more productive use. They are the ones who do Value creation, this is what we call innovation.

E-commerce belongs to this generation and Technology is irreversible; no one can hold it back and only curiosity won’t help us. Research activity is also needed. Scientific knowledge is essential (supported). Research is also supplemented by Developmental activities (R&D), closer to practical uses.

The Technological Innovation world involves product and process development activities (converted into manifestation forms). Then it transcends to the market/people with practical uses. Invention and discoveries constitute the technology world/innovation world- product process- market development activities (Administrative capabilities needed as well).

This all has to be assembled holistically and make the tech happen/forward driven with innovation. Business world needs tech entrepreneurship and administrative skills.

We have to question what value the tech will bring to our product. Simple innovation without value creation cannot create Blue Ocean/has no meaning.

Technological importance means the value that the technology brings to a product/potential product

We have to ensure not to bring value to other products in the competition. We need technological positioning. Frontier-ending R&D investment is needed to compete with the rival companies that are deeply entrenched in technology. Keep competitive parity is not an advantage.  

A technology portfolio consists of- Bet, Draw, Cash, and Fold

Regime of Appropriability

Is the effectiveness of legal mechanisms of protection of technology, Patents, copyrights, trade secrets, tacit knowledge, and codified knowledge.

Process innovation can’t be protected by patents.

Codified knowledge is very prone to industrial espionage, in other words, Hiring people from other companies. The regime of appropriability can be from high to low depending on the technology. E.g. KFC spice formula (easy to safeguard) or a new search algorithm (hard to seep safe).

Any innovation passes through two stages-

Pre Paradigm and Paradigm stage

Pre Paradigm is when a technology is in the process of innovation. Every innovation goes through this stage when it remains in the domain of the innovators and scientists.

In the Paradigm stage product designs are fluid and the manufacturing process is loosely organized whereas in the Paradigm stage less uncertainty for the design emerges and a final design emerges. The focus is now on process design.

Our objective is to transit from the pre paradigm stage to the paradigm stage as fast as possible. Successful transit of tech to practical use is called commercialization and has to be ensured with another set of capabilities called complementary assets.

The tinkering or invention needs to be followed by research and then a complimentary stage in development. Entrepreneurs have to ensure that complementary assets have to be built around innovation to be successful. Innovators need to have certain complementary assets which are not generic (highly specialized).

There is a third category of assets called Co specialized. These assets have a bilateral dependence. These assets have no other use other than their intended use. E.g.: A spacecraft manufacturing facility.

Many innovators fail and succumb and they don’t have the complementary assets. To counter that, entrepreneurs can do collaborative strategy by collaborating with partners with complementary assets. It should exclude the possibility of any other collaboration.  

Technology has to be adopted by people otherwise, it has no meaning. Early adopters need to leverage by patronizing the products. This gives way to the early majority who are more market-orientated. If they are satisfied they give way to the late majority. This transition will secure our position in the market.

But there is a catch, when technology falls between the transition space of early adopters and the early majority. This is known as ‘Chasm’. This change in emphasis poses a problem for innovating firms since incumbents are often much better equipped to meet the desire for complete products and low-risk purchases,and once you fall into this space. It gets really difficult to get out of it. A tornado (another group of people) is needed to take it out of the chasm and hit it into the mainstream.

E-commerce implementation can have two strategies:

Bottom-up approach and Top-down approach

Introduction of Ecommerce has complemented traditional business. This has also made traditional businesses more competitive.

Top-down approach implementation is preferred on a large scale and national level but when it comes to administrative (meeting the requirements of civil services), local trade and commerce services are suited to have a bottom-up approach.

Digital infrastructure is essential for making e-commerce successful. Cradle to grave digital identity is emerging as the new measure to the unique identification of people.

Common service center: Helps in providing e-Services to rural and remote locations where availability of computers and Internet is negligible or mostly absent. With the help of Interoperability and common information center data and information can be accessed at any location.

Mobile banking is another approach that is also increasing its proliferation.  But it’s still in its nascent stages.

Another concept that is emerging is Cashless transactions where all the POS and banking services can be attained remotely. Although the security issue remains which has to be taken care of by a central agency (Government).

One of the most important things to consider is Digital literacy. A certain amount of literacy is needed for availing all these digital infrastructure and access. For a widespread utilization of digital services, we have to ensure that more people are digitally literate.

We also have to keep in mind that common support ICT infrastructure and adequate private and public partnership will help to make these services more efficient and better.  With the help of aforementioned knowledge, an E-commerce can certainly endure in the realm of digital world.

References:

https://www.reed.edu/economics/parker/f10/201/cases/appropriability.html

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/stages-paradigm-shift-organization-78904.html

Why should we care about our privacy?

Privacy in general terms is the right to be left alone or freedom from interference or intrusion. In terms of the internet, privacy is the right to have some control over how your personal information is collected and used.

More technical innovation gives way to more efficient and advanced technologies. In recent years the information has become the most important component to cultivate this innovation. As many new people are coming on the internet and the amount of information being shared is increased manifold. Every organization or individual is entering the realm of the digital world and data is the entity of this world. Data is also very essential to understand a user or a customer or a client but sometimes there is no limit to the amount of data that an internet corporation is willing to extract. Somewhere there has to be a line that needs to be drawn. In recent years there have been many issues regarding the privacy policy of many tech corporations. Facebook has been in controversy much time. Recently Whatsapp’s privacy policy also raised many questions, then in an ironic move Whatsapp raised the question of privacy by suing the government regarding the new Information technology rules. But this is just the tip of the iceberg and numerous other aspects get overlooked. First, we will need to understand what this privacy means for us as individuals. Only then we can clearly determine the relevance of these rapidly changing developments in this subject.  

“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.”

-Edward Snowden

It’s not that privacy means that there is something to hide; rather privacy is having things you don’t want to show. For instance, people would not like to post their Bank account online or Bank statements. People would also not like to have a public camera inside their homes. Similarly, there are some things that an individual would not like to share online. Privacy can provide secrecy, but there is more to it. Privacy also provides autonomy and therefore freedom to an individual. Well, there is even more to privacy than the freedom that many people do not realize which is that when we think we’re being watched, we make behavior choices that we believe other people want us to make.  Humans intrinsically like to avoid societal condemnation and perception of whether or not we are in private changes the way we behave. This indicates the benefit that a state can have with surveillance and can lead to a conformist population.

As it is stated by many that data is the oil and for many tech organizations it truly is. We can witness this with the various technological corporations that rely upon user data including Facebook, Google, Amazon etc. But Even Smartphone manufacturers like Xiaomi have realized the lucrative benefits of collecting and selling user data. For these companies, our data is money and they earn billions of dollars with this data. Both the private tech giants have clauses in their privacy policy that allows government agencies and third parties to access the data. The data that gets uploaded on the internet never gets deleted and stays there forever. What we have to realize is that even if the information seems futile today, it may have an importance tomorrow. In conclusion, privacy is not a trivial issue and people will have to understand its importance until it’s too late.

References:

Video Game crash of 1983

In 1983 the video games industry was hit with a recession that almost ended the existence of video games of that time period. This period lasted for almost two years from 1983 to 1985. Many people and journalists who were critical were calling video gaming a fad. Numerous companies went bankrupt or stopped making video games entirely. This recession is known as the Great North American Video Game Crash or Atari Shock (Primarily in Japan).

Video games in the 1970s were dominated by arcade machines and by the end of the decade home game consoles were also getting popular. With the start of the 1980s, the video gaming industry witnessed a boom with numerous companies like Mattel, Atari, and Coleco dominating the market. The early 80s was a time of innovation and growth in the video game industry but there was instability in the industry as well. This was a time period when video games were becoming more mainstream and popular. Many new players entered the market ranging from industries to small developers that had no association or prior experience in game development in general.

  • Super Nintendo Entertainment System released on November 1990 (Successor to NES)

Pacman was a big hit in the early 80s and it was not of the most popular video games in the arcades. Its successor Miss. Pacman improved on the formula and was a success as well. After the success of Pacman in the arcades, Atari wanted to replicate the success in the home game consoles. But with the limited constraints with the memory and short development period, the game was not well received by the consumers and critics alike. In 1982 Atari also brought the license to release the video game of the movie for 21 million. The game was developed in a time period of only 5 weeks. The game was negatively received and only 1 million copies of the game were sold off the 5 million manufactured. Many of the sales were also returned to the retailers furthering the damage. During this period video games were being published by small developers with very poor quality and many big developers were producing games that were more of a marketing token than the game. There were many clones of the same games with little to no redeeming quality and replayability. There were also numerous consoles unlike today with too many options that were no different from one another. With the abundance of supply and low sales of games, retailers started to remove stocks of video games and this led to the shrinking of the industry. Atari had lost $500 Million in 1983 and had to cut its workforce from 10,000 employees to just 400 employees.

During the 1980s there was a boom in the Personal Computers market as well. The PCs were much more powerful than consoles and they could play games and do many tasks like word processing and spreadsheets. The PC industry was unaffected by this low point of video game consoles.

In 1985 Nintendo Corporation launched the Nintendo Entertainment systems in North America and Nintendo ensured that only a limited number of games to be released under their license agreement. This ensured a certain threshold of quality for the games that were released for the system and Nintendo emerged out of the survivor from the video game crash. The Nintendo Corporation started to dominate the video game industry with an assurance of quality that was unmatched by any other corporation at that time. Many other entrants like SEGA also emerged after the crash. Nintendo with its approach and license and quality assurance of video games has left a big impact on the industry to this date. Video games industry has only grown since then and also overtaken other source of entertainment. Nintendo can be credited to provide the industry a trajectory that was severely needed after the crash of 83.

References:

Right to repair

Right to repair is a proposed legislation/movement that allows consumers the ability to modify and repair their own electronic devices.  

Planned obsolescence is the practice when goods are manufactured with a pre-determined expiry date aimed at forcing consumers into repeat purchases. The term was first termed in the 1950s by American industrial designer Brooks Stevens. This practice was introduced in the advent of mass-produced manufacturing at the start of the 20th century. But the practice was not as severe and prevalent as it is in recent years. One of the recent changes in the product design has been to make the goods very hard for end consumers to repair.

For instance smartphones, a couple of years back had a user-replaceable battery but with more features crammed into the chassis of a phone. Manufacturers have not only made it unnecessarily difficult to replace the battery but also to even open the panels of smartphones. With the recent MacBook Pro releases, Apple has soldered the SSD (Solid State Drive) on the motherboard. The reasoning for justifying the soldering by Apple is better reliability and the thinness of the laptops. But there is also another aspect. Apple’s business model is about selling laptops and not upgrading the systems. Upgrading an SSD can be a potential loss for them and to counter that Apple might have decided to make the laptop non-upgradable. The problem is that even SSDs are definitely much more reliable than mechanical hard disks but SSDs still fail and combining them with the motherboard means that if one of the two fails, the whole system fails. This also makes it much more difficult for end-user to repair their laptop. It also becomes a problem for the third-party repair business to access the repairing of these devices. This is just one of the instances of how access to repair is being restricted by the manufacturers but various companies are attempting to follow similar practices with varying degrees.          

With the introduction of newer and sophisticated technological components in electronic devices, it has become much more complicated to operate these modern devices. To reduce the access to repair these devices, manufacturers state that repairing the devices might violate their “Proprietary” rights. These repair limitations are a critical problem for not just the first owners but also for the second-hand/ used market. Due to proprietary information and diagnostics tools while evaluating a device. It has become difficult for third parties and end-user to even attempt the repair their own devices that they own. It took Apple the lawsuit to introduce the battery replacement program after the fiasco of the performance throttling issue on older iPhones. It clearly indicates that companies do not like it when consumers try to fix their products and companies deliberately try to reduce the user experience of older devices so that they can sell the newer models to maximize profits. With a monopoly on repair manufacturer’s intent is to lock down the user to the official service centers which can be significantly expensive than third-party service shops.

The right to repair movement intends to enact power into the consumer’s hands for the devices that they own. This means that consumers can open and modify everything they own. Also to root, unlock or jailbreak the software in their devices.

References:

How Archives transformed in the Digital era

The Word archive is derived from the Greek word ‘Arkheion’. The word was further referred from ‘Archon’, which meant a magistrate who oversaw the town hall where all the official public documents were stored. The Word Archive came to use for the first time in the 17th century.

Archives are also known as ‘memory institutions’ because they record and preserve memories and form a significant part of culture, community, official and unofficial history of any place or region or state, or any institution. Their function is to collect, store and preserve artefacts and documents of historical, cultural, and legal importance from the yesteryears and the present so that they remain accessible, informative, and useful to future generations. In general, any organization, government institution or individual can build archives. The National Archives, UK has described archives as “collections of records or documents, selected for lasting preservation due to their historical value, significance as evidence, or as a source for research studies”. International Council on Archives (ICA) has defined archives as “documentary result of various human activities conserved for its long-term value”. They further described archives as contemporary accounts created to can provide a true and verified version of past events.

The significance of the archives lies in the orderly collection of crucial source documents accumulated over an individual’s or organizations’ lifespan and preserved, which can serve as evidence or reference for future work. As archives are the repositories housing various historical documents and records of value, archival research is facilitative for scholars and researchers looking for data to assess and facts to study from the original documents. However, owing to the vastness and diversity of ample archival documents and records, archival analysis is a hectic and tedious job. Access to the artefacts and documents stored in an archive is not an easy task and requires permission from the respected authority. In addition, most of the information stored in traditional achieves is paper-based and thus, is susceptible to decay with time. The aforementioned limitation of traditional archives can be overcome by archiving documents and artefacts in various digital formats, which can ensure that the information is preserved for a substantially longer period.

With the advent of newer digital technologies, it became easier and more convenient to store and preserve the information in the digital space. With the assistance of new digital tools and methods, the process of transcending information from the physical world to the digital world became much efficient and easier. 

Digital archiving is an area where the relationship between digital tools/methods and information preservation can be witnessed. It is a blend of the former and current storage of information. Their function is similar to traditional archives, as repositories of elaborated collection of information in various digital formats at a virtual location. This also makes digital archives more accessible and democratic as the physical constraints are eliminated.

Advantages of Digital Archives:

  • The the digital archive allows “anywhere-anytime” accessibility to users ensuring a reduction of time, cost, and money.
  • The redundancy of information stored in digital archives can be reduced, which can promote ease of access.
  • No geographical site is required to build a digital archive, which is cost-effective.
  • The simultaneous requests of access from multiple users can be addressed by creating multiple copies of information stored, which can overcome the issue of bottlenecks encountered in traditional archives.
  • Managing and navigating objects or records stored digitally are easier in digital archives, which allow developing capacity to preserves terabytes of information.
  • Digital archives are less subjected to bureaucracy like traditional archives, which can ensure data accessibility to the general public.

Digital archives are not perfect. Many times due to the digital divide and other constraints, researchers are not able to access the information. Sometimes the information challenges the authority and due to this, the information can be unavailable in the digital archives because of censorship. But there is no denying that digital archives have transformed the way information is stored and processed.  

References: