By Alissa Arford-Leyl
Shop Site of the Month
John's 4x4 Center Inc. - Boulder, Colo
www.johns4x4.com
This site has a striking appearance and is easy to navigate.
Web Wise
Emerging Technology
As we begin to rely more regularly on the Internet in our daily lives, new technologies are being developed to make our Internet experience more efficient and comprehensive. The two main uses of the Internet are to communicate with others and to conduct research.
Digital Subscriber Lines (DSLs), cable modems and satellite access are new methods of connecting to the Internet that may be available to you now. These technologies boast having connection speeds more than 100 times faster than the traditional dial-up connections. One benefit to these methods is that you can stay connected to the Internet whenever your computer is on without tying up the phone line. Keep in mind that even with the potential for a fast connection, your computer or Internet Service Provider (ISP) may have limitations.
DSL uses your phone line and allows you to connect to the Internet, send and receive faxes, and use the phone all at the same time. Contact your phone company for pricing. A cable modem is an external device that allows your computer to connect to the Internet via cable television network (CATV). Cable modems enable the fastest connection, connecting at an average speed of 10 megabits per second (Mbps). Cable access can be obtained through your local cable operator. Satellite access is an option for people in remote areas where cable modems and DSL are not available.
Natural Language Information Retrieval (NLIR) is a technique that may eventually make searching for information on the Internet more efficient. NLIR hopes to improve how search engines work to find matches for a query. The goal is to add artificial intelligence to keyword searches so the results from all related pages will be generated and displayed in the most effective format. The will enable the user to search for concepts and ideas, conducting searches using "fuzzy logic."
Most people who use the Internet are familiar with chat rooms. Chat rooms are normally associated with entertainment, but in the next few years we may see an increase in the use of this technology for business purposes. Once mainstream business software begins integrating chat options, online conferences may become preferred over the typical telephone conference call. A major benefit is that a clear record of the discussion can easily be saved into a text file. This is a more realistic option for communicating with multiple locations than using video conferencing, which requires a greater investment.
Some other technologies to look for in the upcoming years are: electronic books, wearable computers, speech recognition and IP telephony. Visit the Web sites above for more information on emerging computer-related technologies.
Net Numbers
28.8 Modem: 28.8 kbps
56K Modem: 56 kbps
ISDN Connection: 128 kbps
T1 Connection: 1.5 Mbps
DSL Connection: 1.5 Mbps
Satellite Access: 3.2 Mbps
Cable Modem: 10 Mbps
T3 Connection: 45 Mbps
1 Mbps = 1,000 kbps
kbps: Kilobits per second
Mbps: Megabits per second
ASA Web Ways
Employment Classifieds
All ASA members are able to post free advertisements for available positions in the Employment Classifieds section of the ASA Web site (http://www.asashop.org). Nineteen classifications are available in four categories: technical support, technician, management and administrative. There is no word limit and ads automatically expire in 30 days.
To post an ad for your shop in the Available Positions area, you will need to enter your six-digit ASA member number into both the name and password fields. Anyone looking for a job in the automotive service industry can post a free advertisement in the Positions Wanted area. The Employment Classifieds section is the most visited area of the ASA Web site for automotive professionals.
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