Did You Know Wireless Devices Were This Important in Today's World?

Image courtesy of Jope at Flickr.com

Telecommunication devices have come a long way from the time of smoke signals and notes on a pigeon's foot, but one of the most amazing advances has by far been the possibility of doing all of this without any of the traditional wires needed. Wireless communication does not only refer to smart-phones and Wi-Fi, it is every kind of possible communication where there is a transfer of information or power, but there is no connection whatsoever. The most common and known is the radio, which can be at short-wave and travel only a few meters, or as much as millions of kilometers for deep-space communication. You can find on the list great variety in the different types of communication like two-way radios, PDAs, GPS, garage door openers, wireless gadgets like headphones, keyboards and mice, broadcast and satellite television and of course cell phones and Wi-Fi. If you take a minute and start to really analyze how many of the devices you use on a regular basis are wireless, and not to mention which ones you’ll be using a year from now. Wireless is on the rise while offering consumers a more pleasurable experience without any of the hassle brought on by cables, and receiving the same service. 

We think wireless and of course we immediately think Wi-Fi and the advances there have been with 4G and now 5G communication, which you can read more about on the Don Burns Blogspot page, but it goes beyond that. Wireless communication, believe it or not, started off even before the 1900s when Guglielmo Marconi developed the first wireless telegraph, which started off a wave of other inventions including basic data compression, initial technology behind cellular phones, and radiotelephones during the early 1900s. From there, you could easily list the devices that started popping up in the 50s and 60s from microwave signals and satellites, which were launched into space. Around this time, some associations also started appearing with the purpose of controlling communication as it started to be implemented, among these were: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the International Telecommunications Satellite Consortium (INTELSAT). In the 80s, you could definitely say there was a boom in technology and it can be said this was the birth of the cell phone, since this is when the technology we know today was refined, leading to the beginning of the “technological wars” that would establish the competition grounds for digital cellular standards in 1989. In the 90s, there’s no surprise when records are broken, and the 10 million milestone was surpassed by cell phone users and the size of the internet just continues to exponentially grow.

The 2000s brought tons of new and interesting advances that now allowed users to interact more than ever. This tech had become such a part of everyday life that in 2009 it was registered that over 6.2 billion minutes were used by clients and more than 5 billion SMS messages were sent per day, all via wireless networks. During these years, was also the creation of the iTunes and the Android Play Store bringing about a brand new way of interacting. Apps on smart phones are now integrated into almost every part of our lives, and it seems that this is not the end of it. From here there was an even more advanced integration, which is the Internet of Things (IoT), allowing users to use the internet networks to communicate with devices around the home, office or city to carry out specific tasks.

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So, even though this was a brief timeline, you need to also realize that there are different types of wireless signals, which will be determined by the device being used. For instance, on a TV you are either using analog video or digital video, whereas on a cell phone you are using voice, be it via analog or digital, 3G, 4G or LTE, Bluetooth, or two-way radio. Satellites can carry all types of signals independent if they carry voice, audio, video or data, or even if they do so through analog or digital. The other consideration is the frequency of the signal, which are all supported by these satellites from 3400 MHz to 23 GHz, or others. Then you Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and finally radio which synchronizes on AM and FM radio. In this whole mix you’ll find devices that could be transmitters, receivers, or transceivers. Each of these will take on a particular role in the wireless communication service: wireless clients (which are the stations that use the connection to interact), access points (which the host of the signal), and Ad-Hoc Nodes (which allow a network of devices to connect to a specific access point).

The list could go on about devices or wireless tech, but at the end of the day the purpose of all of this is maintaining communication as we have the possibility of going mobile. There’s now doubt that there will only continue to be advances in this field in the years to come.

Using Location-Based Services to Make Your Life Easier

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Today’s apps are all about making our lives easier. You can find apps to do, find or make almost anything. But one of the most popular ones lately have been those that interact depending on your location. Location-based services have been around for a while now, since its origins in 1989 when the first research began that lead to the location-based services that we know today, it has been groundbreaking tech that has allowed people to know exactly where they are located at any given moment. There are many different types of location-based services that are used in the various apps depending on their uses. Although the most known one is GPS, there are other ones that also just as effective. Location-based services can vary from recommending events in a city or knowing what services are nearby to receiving advertisements based on your location. Many apps also use this system to send their customers alerts when they are nearby or if there is important news about surrounding events. The uses can vary greatly, and the reality is that companies are finding more and more ways of using this service to make apps, services and products that can use it to their advantage. We know the internet has changed the game in many aspects from how the Internet of Things has changed how cities work to location-based services, and many other technological advances, which you can always read about on the Don Burns Blogspot page.

First of all, let’s analyze how your phone knows where you are in the first place. The first and most known is GPS, or Global Positions System. This system has been around since the 1990s as an integrated part of cellphones and to this date it is still the best way to know your location when you are outdoors. Since GPS works with satellites, and only once it has connected to three or four will it give you an exact location. In many cases this may take too long, or may simply not happen due to the fact that you are indoors or in the middle of the city where buildings interrupt your satellite signals. In these cases, you could use Assisted GPS. This is basically just a series of tools that are set up to help you get a GPS signal. Although nowadays the same location data can be sent over cellular or Wi-Fi networks, so it becomes a lot faster for the GPS to start up. Assisted GPS still requires data network and time, while it transmits the information to the satellite. Another way is using Synthetic GPS, which uses computing power and forecasts where the satellites will be located days or even weeks in advance. By having this information at hand, a phone can identify its own location in a matter of seconds. All of the above mentioned need at least three satellites to give you your location. Another way of doing it without relying on GPS is to use Cell ID. A phone company can figure out the cell that someone is using and how far they are from other cells. Basically it can use nearby cell towers to pinpoint a person’s location, and is much more precise in urban areas than rural due to the amount of cell phone towers in the area. In the same way, Wi-Fi can also pinpoint a location without the need of GPS. With Wi-Fi you could either use RSSI (received signal strength indication), which is the most common, makes use of your signal strength and the information provided from the Wi-Fi networks’ database to determine your location. The other way to use Wi-Fi is wireless fingerprinting. It basically uses stored information that offers profiles on given locations. You can use this the best when you are located in places that you go to often. This way the fingerprint can be taken and your location can be found very easily. Even though there are more, these are the most popular ways to find your location from your phone.

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Now, location-based services are used in tons of different types of products, services and apps. So let’s take a look at a few of the most popular ones. Of course, you’ll find social media at the top of the list with apps like Foursquare, GetGlue, Facebook Places and Instagram, just to mention a few. These basically let you share your location with others and let them know where you are and what you are up to. If you’re into shopping, then you’ll love apps like Groupon and Shopkick that will point you in the right direction to get the best offers depending on where you are. If you’d rather get instant information on restaurants or a good movie to watch you’ll really enjoy Open Table, Fandango and Yelp. By checking in at a location and sharing your thoughts on it, your helping other users make up their mind about what they want to do. Finally, location-based services also let you get fit, by including it in wearable tech it can keep track of the distances, speed and other metrics that can help you get into shape in no time.