Real-Time Communication on the Internet

1. Real-Time Communication onthe Internet Tutorial 8 Using Chat, Instant Messaging, and Wireless Technologies New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

2. Objectives • Learn different ways to chat on the Internet. • Explore different chat client programs. • Find chat rooms devoted to specific topics. • Explore businesses that let you create your own chat rooms. • Explore virtual worlds that offer entertainment opportunities New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

3. Objectives • Explore the history of the wireless Internet. • Learn about different wireless networks. • Locate wireless devices that let you access the Internet. • Evaluate wireless carriers in the United States. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

4. 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 textchat. • VoiceChat: where participants speak to each other in real time, much like they would be using a telephone. • VideoChat: where participants can see and speak to each other. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

5. 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 chatroom, 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. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

6. 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. • Chatting requires participants to type quickly, therefore, chat participants often omit capitalization and do not worry about proper spelling and grammar. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

7. Commonly Used Chat Acronyms New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

8. 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. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

9. 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 a communications program that extended the capabilities of the Talk program to multi-user. It was called InternetRelayChat (IRC). • IRC uses a client-server network model: IRC servers are connected through the internet to form an IRC network. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

10. Internet Relay Chat • Individual chat participants use IRC clients that connect to the servers in the network. • The original network was EFNet, which is still one of the largest IRC networks today. • Other major IRC networks include IRCNet, Undernet, DALnet, and NewNet. • Servers in each of these IRC networks are connected to each other as part of the Internet, but IRC traffic is segregated by network. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

11. Independent IRC Networkson the Internet New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

12. 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 channelheading, that uses the pound sign (#) to indicate the chat’s topic. • When a participant creates a new channel, he becomes responsible for managing the channel and is called the channeloperator, channelop, or IRCop. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

13. Internet Relay Chat • The channeloperator can change the channel’s 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 operator’s nickname is preceded by @. • IRC servers run automated programs, called IRCrobots or bots, which perform routine services on the IRC network. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

14. Commonly Used IRC Commands New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

15. Instant Messaging Software • Instant messaging software lets two users chat in real time over the Internet. • Instantmessages 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. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

16. Chat in Progress Using ICQ New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

17. 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. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

18. Instant Messaging Software • To use instant messaging to talk to other Internet users, you must download an instant messaging software. • Instant messaging software programs: • ICQ • AOL Instant Messenger • Windows Messenger • Yahoo! Messenger New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

19. Instant Messaging Software • You must use the same instant messaging software to chat with other users. • Some instantmessagingsoftware 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 instantmessagingsoftware programs have some features that work on wireless devices, such as cell phones. • All instantmessagingsoftware is free and requires an Internet connection, preferably a broadband connection. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

20. Windows Messenger New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

21. 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-basedchat, 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. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

22. 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. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

23. Web-Based Chat Sites New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

24. Finding Web Chat Sites • Use a directory that provides an organized list of chat site hyperlinks. • The descriptions for each hyperlink might tell you more about the nature of the chat to which it leads. • Use a Web search engine and include the word chat in the search expression. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

25. Creating a Chat Room • Use the features at a portal site such as Yahoo! Chat to create your own chat room. • Easy, inexpensive, and usually includes tools that let you give access to only those people you want to participate in the chat that you create. • Several businesses offer services that support the different situations in which an organization might need to conduct a private, moderated chat. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

26. 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 game’s structure as they played it. These programs were called MUD, objectoriented, or MOOs. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

27. Virtual Worlds • MOOs that were highly oriented toward creative tasks and programming objectives were called multiusersharedhallucinations, or MUSHs. • Some virtual worlds let participants interact with each other almost as they would in real life. • In a GUI virtualworld, each participant assumes a virtual physical existence and appearance. Such an artificial person is called an avatar. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

28. Virtual Worlds ActiveWorlds home page New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

29. Evolution of Wireless Networks • When you connect to your Internet service provider, you’re creating a wired connection. • A wirelessconnection occurs when data, such as a person’s voice, is transferred to another location without the use of any wires. • In 1994, carriers created digital networks, or PersonalCommunicationService(PCS), where data was carried in bits at a rate of up to 14.4 Kbps. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

30. Evolution of Wireless Networks • The year 1999 saw the introduction of the first “wireless” connections to the Internet. • Personaldigitalassistant(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 wirelessInternet has expanded to include different hardware devices, networks, and other options. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

31. Evolution of Wireless Networks • Cell phones were one of the first wireless connections to transfer a person’s voice. • Text messaging occurs over second-generationwirelesssystems, or 2Gwireless. • ShortMessageService(SMS) lets you send text messages of up to 160 characters over a 2G wireless network to a wireless phone. • SMS is slow and you must have a network connection to receive the data. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

32. 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 3Gwirelesssystems(third-generation wireless) in place. Some European countries are building and licensing 3G wireless systems. • 3Gwirelesssystems offer data transfer rates of up to 2 Mbps and constant connections. • Bandwidth and cost are two obstacles for getting 3G wireless systems going in the United States. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

33. 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. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

34. 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. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

35. 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. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

36. wired local area network wireless local area network Wireless Local Area Networking New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

37. 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. • Accesspoint: a hardware device with one or more antennae that permits communication between wired and wireless networks so wireless clients can send and receive data. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

38. 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. • Dualaccesspoint: 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. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

39. 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. • Cometa Networks was formed in December 2002 as a joint project between AT&T, IBM, and Intel. It intends to activate more than 20,000 access points for use by more than 100 million Internet users. If successful, it might provide a wireless network across the U.S. without encountering the obstacles that 3G wireless faces. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

40. 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. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

41. 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. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

42. 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 doesn’t need an access point for communication; devices communicate with each other automatically. • Bluetooth isn’t really “owned” by any specific manufacturer or group. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

43. Bluetooth New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

44. 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. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

45. Comparing Wireless Network Standards and Bluetooth New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

46. 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. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

47. Creating a Wireless Wide Area Network New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

48. 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. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

49. 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. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8

50. Summary • You should carefully examine the network’s geographic coverage area, pricing options, and the provider’s future expansion plans before selecting the device that most closely matches the functions that you need it to perform. New Perspectives on The Internet, Fifth Edition—Comprehensive, 2005 Update Tutorial 8