The Power of Internet Technology

SMS, or Short Message Service, is the technology behind what we often refer to as ‘text messages’ or ‘SMSes’, as well as what allows for news alerts on cellular phones. In recent years SMS has ballooned to over a 50 billion dollar industry and is quickly taking the communications world by storm.

How SMS Works

Short Message Service actually refers to a framework that uniquely allows computers, or in this case phones, to communicate with each other without the need of a central hub. With SMS, phones can find each other, send short packets of information back and forth, and do it all without any central computer to guide them. But because the system does not rely upon fixed lines like a land based telephone system does, the amount of information that can be sent at one time is limited in size. This depends on the language spoken, but for English letters this typically means around 150 characters.

The most common form of SMS is ‘texting’. This usually takes place with a cellular phone in which individuals use the letters behind the number pad on their phone to spell out words and phrases and then send them out. Because many companies charge by the word, individuals have come up with a sort of ‘texting slang’ to cut down on the amount of words required to convey a particular message. For example, ‘gr8’ and ‘BTW’ mean ‘great’ and ‘by the way’. In addition, other words have just been shortened, such as ‘lata’ to mean ‘later’. Most users simply pick up the lingo through frequent use, and although some slang is widely understood and used, other shortcuts are developed within circles of friends and family. Read more…

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In low tech local environment where an overwhelming majority is still struggling to access and find required information, there are some high end-users who are already complaining of information overload.

Busy executives, decision makers and other people taking advantage of computing in work and meaningful pursuits need all the quality information they can get. They turn to the web because it has amassed huge amounts of information in almost all areas of human activities. But what is information in the first place? Technically speaking, “information is stimuli that have meaning in some context for its receiver. When information is entered into and stored in a computer, it is generally referred to as data – information translated into a form that is more convenient to move or process. When information is packaged or used for understanding or doing something, it is known as knowledge – to an enterprise or an individual, the possession of information or the ability to quickly locate it.” For the purpose here, I think the term ‘information’ is the correct description of some of what is available on the web, rather than knowledge or wisdom. Read more…

Techno Info impact technologies