Chrysler Pacifica
January 17, 2012 | 
Author This is an original entry in its category with no predecessors. The Chrysler Pacifica can seat five to six passengers and the consumer is also left with a choice or all-drive or front-drive. If compared to other wagons, the Pacifica is comparatively upscale, and it also offers an array of comforts wrapped in stylishly chiseled metal. The clever trick to the Pacifica when it comes to its stylish design is the fact that it looks much smaller than it appears to be.
The suspension used in the Chrysler Pacifica is from Mercedes-Benz and this has been praised around the world, especially for the fact that the wagon has a more carried feel and handle. Compared to the earlier versions of this wagon that were heavy and had an unsophisticated transmission, in addition to the fuel consumption, the Pacifica was updated with a V6 engine, a sophisticated 6-speed transmission and overall style.
There are 3 levels available to be offered in the Chrysler Pacifica series. There is the base, Limited and the Touring. Each of these levels is available to the consumer in all and front-drive. The front-drive Pacifica base vehicles are powered by a self-effacing 200-hp V6 engine and connected is a 4-speed transmission that is automatic. All the other Pacificas in the series are powered by a more sophisticated 255-horsepower V6 engine. All Chrysler Pacifica models are able to tow up to 3500 pounds.
The base models provide the owner with a five-passenger-two row seating and they are comfortable, along with particulars as climate control and leveling suspension. There are features in the Touring models that are standard; in addition the option lists are much longer. The Touring models provide comfortable seating for six people by means of two passengers in the third row. Two bucket seats and center console replaced the bench in the second row. To decide at the end of the day when looking for something luxurious pay attention to the Limited. Its features are more styling, it has a long list of luxury, the wheels are bigger, the audio system is top-notch and it includes power liftgate. The liftgate and audio system is optional when looking at the Touring collection.
The Chrysler Pacifica has proved to the world to be a safety record. This is thanks to features like antilock breaks, all-row airbags, knee airbags, stability control and tire monitor. There is a backup camera that is optional when considering the Limited and the Touring models.
The strengths of the Pacifica wagon have received credit for its upscale interior, exceptional comfort, sedan characteristics, and safety scores that are just top-notch.
Consumers that are interested in a Chrysler Pacifica have a few models to choose from, since the Pacifica made it appearance to the world in 2004. At the time, only the Limited and the base were available. The original base had fewer features compared to the base today. In 2005 the Touring was launched, and at first all Pacifica were introduced with the same 250-horsepower V6 engine, however consumers have not experienced any problems with the Pacificas then, and they have certainly nothing to complain about today.
Hook Up A Receiver For Your Home Theater
What is a Receiver?
A receiver is that big, heavy thing that you plug your speakers and other components into (like a DVD player, TV, CD player, Xbox, PlayStation, iPod, and etc.). Its the “brain” of the show, really. The idea of connecting all your components to a receiver is the concept of audio/video switching, allowing you to switch to different video sources (like TV, DVD, camcorder) on your TV
and thus changing the audio source accordingly – all without touching anything but the receiver.
Of course, the main purpose behind audio/video switching with a receiver is to drive audio to external speakers, like surround sound or stereo speakers.
Most receivers have a plethora of inputs; up to 8 speakers and a subwoofer (more commonly, 5.1, or five speakers and a subwoofer), several video inputs, and even HDMI inputs. You could plug your Xbox, Plasma, and DVD player into the receiver and use one remote to switch between all the different video sources (games, TV, DVD video) and have your speakers pump out surround-sound. Let’s start with inputs and outputs. If you don’t understand something, read through the entire How-To as most of it will be explained in detail.
Keep in mind that a receiver is the hub of your entire home theatre, so this How-To will actually guide you through the basics of connecting your complete home theater.
So what the heck is all this ‘stuff’ on the back of your receiver?
I’m going to go over just about anything that you would find on the back of your receiver. The one I’m basing this guide off of is a Harman Kardon AVR-247 I’m going to start from the top left of the unit and work my way to the right, then I’ll start at the left of the next row and so on.
The first three inputs are for antennas. An FM antenna cable would slide on to the first jack while two speaker wires would plug into the remaining slots for AM. Of course, you don’t have to plug your antennas in, but if you’d like AM/FM reception through your speakers, you’ll want to go ahead and do that. These are standard connections, so if you lose one of your antennas, just go buy another for a few bucks.
You’ve probably heard of composite video. Its a very basic video connection used by most any component (TV, DVD, VCR especially). Its common and its cheap. As such, its very low quality.
Composite uses an RCA cable for video (yellow) and two more RCA cables for audio (red and white, stereo). The problem is that a composite video cable combines luminance and chrominance in the same cable, reducing the quality of the picture. You lose a lot of sharpness, and the color begins to degrade from the original source. Its useful when you need the extra input or the device you’re connecting only has composite video. Otherwise, use something else, like component video. Sounds similar; very different.
S-Video is next in line after composite. It uses a different type of connector (five pins in a circle) and gives you marginally better video quality. It is also a video-only cable, so you’ll need to plug in audio separately. In this case, you’ll probably use a pair of red and white RCA cables for your audio inputs.
Next up: a ton of composite audio inputs. These inputs use left channel and right channel RCA cables, typically red and white. They look just like the yellow composite video cable, and you could even use them for video and the yellow for audio, but let’s keep the color scheme how it is 
Composite audio is the bottom-of-the-barrel in audio. Its perfectly fine for most use, but if you’re looking for high quality surround sound, you don’t want composite. Game systems, like the Wii or Xbox, and very basic DVD players are a perfect match for composite audio.
The same goes to VCRs, CD players, and anything that only has a composite audio output. Plus, if you don’t have surround sound, or your receiver is only two channels (2.1, stereo sound), you won’t be able to use anything but composite audio. Note that there is a composite audio input under each composite video input so that it is easy to match them up. Plug them in the wrong inputs and you won’t get sound when you’re on that particular video input.
Here we have one of the least-used features of a modern receiver: 6 (or 
channel direct input. This is only used for two purposes: SACD or DVD Audio. SACD is an acronym for Super Audio CD. It is a proprietary audio format developed by Sony for special CDs that are recorded in 5.1 surround sound. That means you need a CD or DVD/CD player that supports SACDs, a receiver with SACD support (as in the picture), and of course Super Audio CD’s. DVD Audio is the same idea, different brand, different media (its a DVD, not a CD!).
DVD Audio discs are special DVDs that are recorded in 5.1 surround sound and can only be played by devices with support for them. These CDs go all the way up to 7.1 surround sound, meaning you would need to have two front, two rear, two side speakers and a subwoofer to enjoy full 7.1 surround sound. Most receivers support up to 7.1 now but you won’t find DVDs with that kind of capability for movies. 5.1 surround is still the defacto standard, so don’t run out and buy more speakers any time soon.
You could skip this next little item because it is unique to this brand of receiver (Harman Kardon). The Bridge” is a proprietary connection they developed for you to connect
an iPod. You need to buy a separate component that includes a docking station and special cables to connect the iPod. It fully integrates with the receiver, displaying
menus and songs on the front LCD screen of the receiver. This allows you to easily pump your tunes through your speakers, whether it be stereo sound or full surround sound.
Of course, the music on your iPod is stereo sound, so the best you can get is simulated surround sound or stereo surround; the same music playing in the front two channels
is put through the rear and center channels. Some receivers do this more intelligently than others, but more on that later.
Here we have our high-end sound inputs/outputs. Basically the same performance wise, you have fiber optic connections (with the square shape) and digital coaxial (just like an RCA cable).
Both of these are 100% digital, whereas composite is analog. The only way you can get true surround sound from any source is by using one of these connections (or the SACD/DVD Audio option)
Almost all DVD players these days have either optical or digital coaxial outputs (sometimes, both). Many high definition cable and satellite boxes also come with these
connections so you can enjoy 5.1 surround sound on high definition channels. Choosing between the two, there’s really no different in audio quality, so feel free to use
what you’d like (or what you’re forced to).
I don’t think I need an image for the next plug. Its a pair of power inputs. One is for powering the receiver, the other for whatever you’d like. This way, when you turn
on the receiver, you give power to the other device (be it a DVD player, CD player, cable box, whatever). I don’t necessarily recommend this unless it specifically suits
your needs. It is useful if you’re running low on outlets, of course.
Something else you’ll never use: D-bus RC-5 input/output. This is used for infrared remote controls to take over your home theater system. Honestly, its not something any of us will ever use. Some of the real high-end junkies might be using something for it, but I’ve never even come across a device that uses this technology. Stick to the remote that came with your unit, or buy a quality universal remote control. There’s no need for this option. An alternate use for this may be a bit more common: if your receiver’s front panel is blocked (like inside a cabinet), you could get an infrared transmitter to latch on to the front of it. This transmitter would hook up to another device somewhere in your room that will accept signals from your remote control. The receiving device then transmits the remote’s commands to your receiver (via the transmitter you’ve attached to the front over the regular infrared transmitter).
Pre-outs , located right under the Remote in/out. Pre-outs are used when you’d like to add an amplifier to your system to boost the power (and hence volume/audio quality). Average
users will not use this for anything but the subwoofer preout. You’ll want to run a subwoofer cable from your subwoofer to the subwoofer pre-out to provide it with
the right frequencies. This is the proper way to connect your subwoofer to your surround sound system. The other inputs won’t be used unless you plan on adding
an amplifier. This is highly unnecessary for home use. You might add an amp if you’re trying to fill a room the size of a small house with enough sound, but you’re not, right?
Here we finally get to the meat of the system: the speaker inputs! Harman Kardon receivers use bind posts for connecting speakers, as seen in the picture. They
work by being loosened up as your turn them counter-clockwise, then you sneak the speaker wire in underneath the caps and tighten them back up by turning clockwise. This’ll
give your speaker wire a nice tug fit that probably won’t loosen up on itself over time. Other brands may use other types of connectors, but bind posts are very common.
You might have been able to tell this is a 7.1 channel receiver because of the speaker inputs.
You’ve got room for 2 front left and right speakers, 2 rear left and right speakers,
a center channel, and two left and right “surround” channels which are placed somewhere in between your front and rear speakers (“side surround”, or 7.1). If you have enough
speakers, you can go ahead and plug in those extra 2 side ones, but they won’t play any sound at all on a 5.1 DVD. You would need a DVD that supports 7.1
surround sound, and at this time, there just isn’t a market for it. CDs will gladly blast stereo surround through all 7 speakers, though, so for some larger rooms, that’s an
advantage.
Our final set of connectors for this receiver: component video . The best video you can get next to composite or s-video. You’ll notice its a set of three cables (all for video),
usually Red, Green and Blue. Don’t think that’s what the cable does, though – it separates the video signal by luminance and two separate color channels. In the past, component
did it in fact represent R, G, B (splitting the primary colors in transmit and recombining them at the destination device), but that is not used in current component video
connections. Component video can carry high definition signals, all the way up to 1080p, so it is the most cost effective and readily available high definition input.
Not seen on this receiver are DVI and HDMI, the two all-digital video connections.
HDMI is the newest, fastest, sharpest video and audio connection available today. Its the only cable that can carry audio and video in one – not to mention, in high definition.
HDMI must be supported by the source and the display you’re connecting it to to use all of its features. Not all DVD players, cable boxes, or receivers support both
audio and video in HDMI. Its becoming more and more of a standard now to support both. The advantage is clear: less cable clutter, higher quality audio and video. You can get up
to 1080p high definition video and 7.1 surround sound through an HDMI cable. Newer cable and satellite boxes, DVD players, high definition DVD players, and more expensive receivers
support the full capability of HDMI. Its the best you can get as all-digital goes.
The last connection for this article is DVI. DVI is also all digital like HDMI, but it cannot process audio signals. HDMI may provide a technically superior image,
but I don’t think anyone could tell the difference. DVI supports high definition video all the way up to 1080p, just like HDMI. Its being used less frequently now,
but if you’ve bought a new computer or video card for your PC recently, it probably has a DVI (or two) port on it. Most computer monitors use DVI now and video cards
have followed suit. HDMI is edging its way into the PC market, but its dominance is seen in the home theater arena.
Now that you’ve familiarized yourself with common connections, let’s plug it all together.
This part of the receiver How-To is going to guide you through hooking a 5.1 surround sound system(5 speakers and a subwoofer) with a high-definition TV, a high-definition cable or satellite box, a DVD player, and a 5.1 receiver.
Your TV & Components
Where you put your TV is dependent on how large it is, how large your room is, and where you will be sitting. If its 50 inches, don’t sit more than 10-15 feet away; but no less, either.
A 60″ set is perfect for 12-20 feet. If you have a 32 inch set, try to sit no farther than 8-12 feet away. Your receiver, DVD player, cable box, and other components should obviously be close together, but don’t place them physically on top of each other. They all get hot, especially your receiver. If you have no other choice, slide a thin piece of plywood between the components to help dispense the heat.
Lay Out of Speakers
The first step is to lay out your setup. Different rooms call for different locations for your speakers and subwoofer. If your room is a typical rectangle, go ahead and place your two front left and right speakers somewhere flush with the television on that side of the room. Your left speaker goes toward the left corner, right speaker toward the right corner. Don’t bother with speaker wire yet (unless your speakers come with speaker wire attached already; in that case, just let them dangle for now). Note that which speaker is left or right is solely dependent on how you connect them to your receiver. Your speakers aren’t actually designated “left” or “right”.
Depending on how you acquired your speakers, your front speakers could be larger than your rear speakers. That’s how you know they’re for the front. Otherwise, all your speakers are the same shape and size, and you can use each for any purpose.
One exception: the center channel. Usually, a center channel is much shorter and wider than your other speakers. It should only be used for the center channel. Sometimes, all 5 of your speakers could be the same, usually on a very inexpensive setup. You can use any of these speakers for any purpose.
Your center channel should always go either directly on top or under your television set. However you have to do this, get it done! It’s not called the center channel for nothing, you know. Any movie will pump out almost 90% of the voices you hear and a majority of the rest of the sounds through the center channel. It is a vitally important component to your surround sound setup.
Your subwoofer should always be on the floor. If it is impossible to place it on the floor, get it as close to the floor as possible. Placing it behind objections or in closets will diminish its effects. In a perfect setup, the subwoofer would be on the floor close to the TV (perhaps off to the left or right) in your line of sight. Nothing should block the side of the subwoofer that air will come out of (usually covered by a grill protecting the subwoofer speaker itself).
When it comes to finding a good spot for your speakers, you might want to mount them. You can usually buy compatible speaker mounts online or in stores. You can also
use existing shelving, buy some shelving, or place them on tables or other objects. No matter how you do it, try to keep the speakers as close to ear level as possible. A speaker mounted at the ceiling of your room isn’t going to give you the optimal aural experience.
The last thing to keep in mind about layout is speaker wire. You’ll probably need at least 100ft of speaker wire, but you’ll often find yourself using much more if you
try running wire through your ceiling, under carpeting, up through the basement, or around objects to conceal it. Take measurements and buy at least 10% more wire than
you think you need. You’ll probably use it!
Cabling
You need to know the different kind of speaker wire available to you before setting up your home theatre. If you bought an HTIB (home theater in a box), it probably came with 100ft of horribly cheap speaker wire. You don’t want that! Do yourself a favor: buy some high-quality, 14-guage speaker wire. Anything higher than 14-guage is just to thin and will be susceptible to interence, quality loss, and poor quality over longer distances. Fourteen guage is a good thickness and suitable for most home theatres. Make sure its also not too thick – some speaker wire simply will not fit in to the speaker wire jacks on some receivers.
Some receivers use proprietary speaker inputs. Sony is one example. Many Sony receivers have special connectors for speaker wire and will not accept a standard speaker wire. You’ll need to use either the Sony-provided speaker wire, take the ends off of Sony speaker wire and put it on your own, or buy some of these special connectors from Sony directly to place on your speaker wire. My recommendation? Avoid any receivers with non-standard speaker wire posts/jacks/connectors. Look for bind posts or other jacks that allow you to slide in and clamp down on a typical speaker wire.
Once you’ve got your speaker wire sorted out, you’ll have to do some cutting and stripping if you opted to purchase your own. This is way easier than it sounds, so don’t worry!
Measure out each length one at a time, cutting the speaker wire with either really great scissors or a sharp blade. Now you need to strip the ends of the wire. Use either a stripping tool or plain old scissors. You can place the scissors on the cable and gently apply some pressure as you twist the scissors around the cable, carefully slicing into the plastic coating. Eventually, it’ll get weak enough that you can just slide it off by tugging on it with your fingers. You need at least 1/4″ of exposed wire.
Now you can connect your speakers. Note on your speaker wire the difference between the two ends. You’ll need to use one as your positive and one as your negative. Sometimes the coating is a different color between the two or there is text on one and not on the other. Keep track of this – whichever side you use for positive on your speaker, use it for positive on your receiver. Crossing the two can cause damage, either immediately or sometime in the future. It might work this way but you don’t want it to!
Connecting the speakers is easy enough. Front left to front left on your receiver, center speaker to center on your receiver, etc… Your rear speakers may be referred to as “Surround” or “Rear Surround” instead of just “Rear”, but keep in mind, if you have a 7.1 or 8.1 channel receiver, “Surround” may indicate side surround speakers, not rear speakers.
Subwoofers
Your subwoofer is going to be a little more complicated. There are a few different ways to do it and many variations of inputs/ouputs on the back side of subwoofers. I’m going to go with the most standard and efficient method first.
You will need a subwoofer cable for connecting your sub. If you don’t have one or don’t want to buy one, you can substitute it for a standard red or white RCA cable (or a pair, since they are usually connected; just let the other cable dangle). It will work, but its really not the best way to do it. You’ll also need whats called a Y adapter. On the back of your sub, there should be a left/right input (red and white). You plug the Y adapter in to these connections and then your subwoofer cable (or RCA cable) in the other end of the Y (note: if you don’t have a Y adapter, just choose the left or right input to plug into).
Now, take the other end of your cable and plug it into your receiver’s
subwoofer preout. Hopefully you have a powered sub, meaning it gets plugged into an AC power outlet. All you need to do now is plug that in and your subwoofer is good to.
If you don’t have RCA jacks on your subwoofer, or it only has speaker wire jacks (and its most likely not powered), you’ll need to connect it the old fashioned way. Your front left and right speakers will plug into your subwoofer’s ouput jacks instead of your receiver. You’ll then run speaker wire from the left and right inputs on the subwoofer to your left and right speaker outputs on your receiver. This way, the subwoofer is powered by the receiver and will not work as well as a powered sub. You also take some power away from your front speakers with this method. A good idea is to buy a new, powered subwoofer with line in RCA jacks.
Connecting the Dots
You’ve got the hard stuff out of the way. Now finish it up by connecting your TV, DVD, and cable/satellite box. Always try using the best options first. If your DVD
has HDMI and so does your receiver, use it. If your DVD only has composite, s-video, and component, use component video cable. When it comes to audio, you absolutely need
to use digital coaxial (jacks are usually orange) or fiber optic (usually the jack is recessed into the unit and has a door on it; when the door is open, a red light is visible). If you do not use either of these two, you won’t get true surround sound! When all else fails, resort to composite (red and white) audio connectors.
Note: Look closely at the connections on your receiver. Everything is labeled, like the first set of red, green, and blue component video inputs might be labeled “Comp 1″. If you’re using composite audio cablesfor your sound, you’ll need to plug them into the jacks that coordinate with “Comp 1″. This might not be clear by looking at the receiver, so refer to your receiver’s manual to figure out which video inputs use which audio inputs. Most often, you’ll be able to configure them from the receiver’s internal menu using the remote control.
On some receivers, all the component video inputs, for example, are linked to a single composite audio input (usually “DVD”), so if you connect more than one of the component inputs, you will be competing for sound when more than one device is active. This is why you’d want to configure the component inputs to use different audio inputs.
Your manual is the only way to figure out how to go about it. Composite video will usually match up to composite audio inputs with naming conventions like Video 1 -> Video 1, Video 2 -> Video 2, etc., but cables like component and DVI may not. You should also configure digital audio inputs to match up with the video inputs you’re planning on using. For example, if you’re using a digital coaxial input (possibly “Digital 1″), and you use component video, you’ll want to match “Digital 1″ with “Comp 1″. Again, refer to your users manual for how to do this.
How is Technology Making Life Better?
The recent development of technology has made it possible for us to live in ways that have never been possible before. From accessing massive amounts of information on the internet to simply experiencing an enriched personal lifestyle, technology continues to push the boundary of our living standards every day. It is undoubtedly true that technology is an important part of our daily lives.
Since the internet was first made public, it has changed and improved in many ways. It is foolish to underestimate the change that easy and widespread access to the Internet has made to our way of life. The web is now so common that it has become a part of our everyday life, changing the method of how we share and finding information, staying in touch, real-time online services, and even helping people with disability.
Surfing the Internet is a global phenomenon. It has been expanded its reach and influence in one way or another to all parts of the world. It can serve as an individual’s public commentary on whatever takes their interest on a particular day. For instance, an employer seeking new employees simply needs to post the wanted add on their business web site to start receiving applications from qualified candidates. The other side, employees who are looking for jobs, search job postings and if they found jobs that are interested in, they sent e-mail or fax their resume. Potential employees can also obtain information about the company to help determine if this is the right choice for them.
Another example of the technology improving our lives would be email. We used to write letters to stay in touch with those living far away. It was also not uncommon for persons to send pictures to others as part of sharing life experiences. This process would have included developing the photographs-waiting anywhere from an hour to days to get the prints. We’d then hand over the cash, go home, put everything in the envelope, stick a stamp on it and post it off. Nowadays, we grab our digital camera, take as many shots as we want, upload them directly on to our PCs, attach a copy to an e-mail and send it off into the recipient. No more delivery charges, no more postage is needed, no more waiting for days to share our experiences.
People with certain disabilities can also benefit from the technological advancements. People with disabilities can receive enquiries via Internet, phone or fax. They can equip themselves with machines that can help them move, communicate, work or relax. Medical support is made a lot easier with patient monitoring equipment. Future technological discoveries will further increase the living standards of the disabled.
A whole new revolution in technology has sprung up dedicated to providing new ways to improve productivity, in the process changing how we communicate and allowing us to fit ever more into our ever busier lives. I wonder what the future holds for us and the Internet, and if services like Google Earth are anything to go by, the future is going to be pretty amazing stuff.
For
another great article on technology click here.
How IP-based Video Surveillance Works — Way Beyond Analog
When you’re shopping around for an IP-based video surveillance system, you will need to be particularly cautious about what exactly you’re looking at and what the individual terms mean. How IP-based video surveillance works is open to interpretation as far as some video surveillance and security salespeople are concerned — not because they are trying to confuse the issues, but because there is no genuine consensus on what the term “IP-based” or related ones such as “networked” or “web-based” means.
Originally video surveillance was done based on analog technology — closed
circuit television (CCTV) and recording on video tapes. This was fine for
recording what was going on, but it didn’t broadcast actual live information, so
it wasn’t practical for monitoring stores, for instance, from a remote location.
It simply provided what happened after the fact. The picture quality wasn’t
great and it relied on human reliability as well — someone had to remember to
change the tapes regularly, etc.
Digital revolutionizes video surveillance
With the Internet revolution and the ever-increasing presence of Local Area
Networks, technology took great strides in video surveillance in the 1990′s.
Analog camera tubes were replaced with CCD (Charged Coupled Devices) and digital
cameras became affordable for most people.
This combination meant that video surveillance could do two things: go live
over the Internet or a closed network for surveillance and provide clearer,
crisper images that could be tracked and manipulated easily. For law
enforcement, digital surveillance meant it was much easier to zoom in on images,
track particular scenes and enhance features.
The basics of IP-based surveillance
A digital camera “views” the scene in front of it, broadcasts the video
images as a digitized signal over a LAN line (Local Area Network) where it’s
then transmitted to a computer or server. The server in turn manages all of this
information. Depending upon the software used to manage the digital images, it
can record, display or retransmit the images to anywhere in the world.
The software package can easily be upgraded to allow for analyzing data,
selecting specific “flagged” items to watch for and a host of other functions,
making it a truly customizable security tool.
True IP-based digital surveillance uses CCD cameras that use signal
processing that send packetized video streams over the LAN through a Cat 5 cable
rather than a coax cable network, utilizing greater bandwidth and standard
TCP/IP communication.
It also provides more intelligent data mining and information retrieval. If
security is an issue, full digital surveillance also offers the added advantage
of data encryption opportunities to protect against image tampering — something
not possible with analog recording.
Recently, a few companies such as D-Link and Linksys have also developed fully
digital cameras that actually have completely integrated, built-in web servers
so that no external computers are needed for operating them. The signal is
transmitted directly to the terminal location for storage or play-back.
Halfway there…
The “middle of the road” of video surveillance is upgrading video
surveillance by utilizing a Digital Video Recorder (DVR). A DVR system is not
really fully IP-based, but is step toward the more advanced IP technology. In
actuality, a DVR system uses the same camera and structures for cabling as the
older CCTV analog systems, but the old VCRs have been replaced with DVR for
storage of the data. The data is converted to digital so that it can be stored
on hard disks, but the quality of the images captured remains analog since this
is how it originated.
When shopping for a system, be sure to ask if the system is digital based on
the recording (DVR) or on the camera, since many manufacturers consider a system
digital by virtue of the DVR storage system even if the camera recording the
images is still analog.
Going all the way
Some people will move to the hybrid models of a CCTV/DVR system when they
first move beyond an analog system because it seems like the next practical
evolutionary step in video surveillance. However, shifting to this method
largely ignores how IP-based video surveillance works.
With CCTV/DVR surveillance you have actually simply delayed the inevitable by
adding on a relatively new technology (hard disk, digital storage) to an old
technology (analog video over coaxial transmission lines). Rather than moving
forward into something new, you have prolonged the demise of the old.
Advantages of IP-based video surveillance
The leap into completely IP-based technology is the best bang for your buck
both monetarily and in terms of security by far. Digital surveillance can be
done over a LAN network, of course, but TCP/IP transmittal of surveillance makes
sense for remote monitoring of multiple locations and for remote recording of
data onto back-up servers and hard disks for long-term storage.
With IP-based video surveillance, you can connect your surveillance camera or
cameras to any network or wireless adapter, and you are extremely flexible in
your placement of the camera itself. A typical PC-attached video camera, while
providing digital picture image quality, still has to be within approximately
ten feet of the computer itself.
Set-up of an IP-based video system is easy — once you’ve set up an IP
address, you’re up and running and it’s extremely stable and reliable. Because
this is the technology of the future, it is also upgradeable. You won’t be
outgrowing an IP-based video surveillance system any time soon because new
developments are based on improving this market. Therefore, you will be able to
add on and improve this system for years to come while older, CCTV+DVR hybrids
will dead-end and become obsolete.
Comparing analog and IP-based video surveillance
A better way to understand the differences between analog and IP-based video
surveillance may be to compare the two and how they work:
Analog or CCTV+DVR video surveillance
o Easy to use — operates like a VCR
o Changing cassettes and rewinding regularly means human error frequently interferes with effectiveness
o Image quality is poor
o Storage tapes wear out over time
o Broadcasting images live isn’t practical
o Storage is bulky
o Uses analog recording, recording in low-grade picture quality and inability to search and track easily
o Adding DVR systems must be done in ‘blocks’ of 16 channels
IP-based video surveillance
o IP-based recording means instant transmittal of images anywhere in the world
o Can monitor multiple cameras from one remote location
o No decrease in recording quality over time or with repeated replays
o Digital picture quality far superior to analog
o IP-base recording is highly compressed for easier storage and can be transported over a variety of media
o Digital images can be encrypted for security purposes
o Updates and add-ons are relatively inexpensive through software packages and Internet computer networking
o Adjustable frame rates
o Remote or shared viewing may be done over the Internet or a wireless connection
o Standard IP video compression techniques are used
o IP surveillance cameras may be added individually or in groups according to your needs
If you are contemplating increased or upgrading video surveillance for your
company or home, understanding how IP-based video surveillance works will make
your decision easier. It is the future of video surveillance and, although in
the short term may be a bit more expensive, is obviously an investment in
superior quality and flexibility.
This article on “How IP-based Video Surveillance Works” reprinted with
permission.
Copyright © 2004-2005 Evaluseek Publishing.
Indian Textile Machinery Industry
Overview and Trends
Textile industry in India is considered as a pioneer industry, as India’s industrializations in other fields have succeeded through the resources generated by textile industry. Though, from the early 1970s to the beginning of liberalization in 1992, the industry tended to be isolated as measures taken by the Government (with the apparent objective of protecting the cotton growers, the large labor force and the consumers) have constantly eroded its prosperity.
World over, the Indian textile industry is considered as the second largest industry. It has the biggest cotton acreage of 9 million hectares and is considered as the third largest producer of this fiber. In terms of staple fiber production it comes fourth and sixth for filament yarn production. The country reports about one fourth of global trade in cotton yarn.
With over 15 million people employment, the textile industry accounted for 20 percent of its industrial production. Covering textiles and garments, thirty percent of India’s export comes from this sector, in terms of exports it is the largest contributors for the growth of Indian economy. In spite of high capital and power cost, the Indian textile and garment sector’s strength comes from the availability of cotton, lower labor costs, well skilled supervisory staff and plentiful technical and managerial skills.
Although very few countries are endowed with such resources, today’s globalization has brought new opportunities for the India textile industry. Concurrently, it is exposed to threats, particularly from cheap imported fabrics. Thus, India has to fight for her share in the international textile trade. Even if it is assumed that WTO will mean better distribution of the world trade, the benefits for India will not be any different than for the other developing countries. The Indian textile industry would, therefore, have to not only rely on its strengths but should also endeavor to remove its weakness.
India’s apparel exporters, though, have been employing various strategies to make sure that they remain competitive in the liberalized trading environment of 2005 and beyond. Many manufacturers are taking action for improving production efficiency through advanced automation system, re-engineering of production systems, merging separate production units and backward and forward integration of operations and are keen to expand their production capacity in anticipation of enhanced demand in 2005 and beyond Among other manufacture are seeking changes through diversifying their product ranges, exporting high value apparel and improving their design capabilities and some of are planning to raise added value by setting up joint ventures with foreign firms, to take benefit of their technical, design and marketing proficiency. Others are making relationships with foreign buyers to increase their marketing capability.
Support has also arrived from the Indian government in the removal of restrictions on investment by large companies and foreign investors. The Government has also provided assistance to expand the infrastructure for exporters and has given incentives for techno-logical up-gradation. Though, most important restriction is the inflexibility in labor laws, which cause it hard for large firms to cut their workforces when require.
Textile industry in tenth plan
The Tenth Five Year Plan of India (2002-2007) forecasted a GDP growth rate of 8 percent for which an industrial growth of 10 percent is predicted.
The aim of the Tenth Plan is to facilitate the textile and apparel industry to:
. Develop world class state-of the-art production facility to accomplish and maintain a leading global position in production and export of textiles and clothing.
. Withstand demands of import penetration and uphold a dominant existence in the domestic market.
. To accomplish these aims heavy funds are needed in technology and modernization in critical areas particularly in spinning, weaving, knitting, finishing and apparel sectors.
. The technology up-gradation scheme (TUFS) introduced in 1999 intended to make investments component attractive. This scheme has been established to promote modernization and technology up-gradation in the specified sectors of textile and jute industries.
. The Government of India has also declared the National Textile Policy-2000 to expand a sound and vibrant textile industry. The objectives and plunged areas of the national textile policy cover technology up-gradation, enhancement of productivity, quality consciousness, product diversification and so on.
Schemes to strengthen investment in textiles during the Tenth Plan cover:
Rearranging spinning capacity
At present nearly 38 million spindles are already existed. About 10 million old spindles required to be scrapped, and another 15 million spindles to be modernized. Adding on, about 3 million new spindles have to be set up during the Tenth Plan period.
Loomage
The decentralized power loom sector, which reported 68 percent share of the cloth in the country, is in very strong and immediate need of renovation. The textile package declared in the Central Government included renovation of the weaving sector with 2.50 lakhs semi-automatic/automatic shuttle looms and 50,000 shuttleless looms.
Finishing
There are nearly 2324 precessing establishments in the country of which 83 belong to composite units, 165 to semi composite and others 2076 are self-governing processing houses. Among of 227 establishments are modern, 1775 are of medium technology and 322 are obsolete establishments. Reconstruction of finishing units will need a huge financial expenditure.
Schemes for expansion and development of the knitting sector, technical textiles, and woolen and jute industries are to be considered. The textile Engineering Industry is to be encouraged to modernize and offer state-of-the-art technology to the textile industry and through focused textile machinery R&D efforts, domestic reaches and development are to be initiated.
Growth in the textile machinery
Due to high investments on renovation of plant and machinery in the textile manufacturing industry, the manufacturing of textile machinery, their parts and accessories rose last fiscal by 25 percent to Rs 1,668 crore from Rs 1,341 crore in the previous fiscal.
According to the Textile Machinery Manufacturers’ Association of India (TMMAI), the industry also witnessed its capacity of consumption at 55 percent during the year.
But, on the other hand the total projected demand of Rs 4,200 crore of the textile industry, a major contribution was satisfied through imports. This has identified for an urgent requirement on the part of both the user-textile industry and the textile engineering industry (TEI) to start a joint assessment to reverse this movement, said the outgoing Chairman of TMMAI, Sanjay Jayavartanavelu.
On the event of the 45th annual general meeting of Textile Machinery Manufacturers’ Association of India, Jayavartanavelu said the surge in demand for textile machinery has initiated the TEI to make production capacity bigger to satisfy the increasing demand, particularly in the spinning machinery sector. The units in the industry were dynamic to step up production to cut down the delivery period.
This is regardless of the truth that they had to compete with longer delivery schedules from main machinery suppliers. In spite of this, the TEI should make an effort to satisfy the demand in volume/quality and performance with effective after sales service.
The TMMAI Chairman felt amendment in fiscal policy and elimination of hurdles being faced by the TEI required to be effected to make the indigenous textile machinery sector gain strength and scale up its technology and export competitiveness. The areas of fiscal modification needed are letting down the rate of excise duty on textile machinery from 16 percent to the merit rate of 8 percent, continuation of the relaxation in excise duty, which should be extended to inputs required for making of specified textile machines.
The intermediate products required in producing textile machinery as well as spares should be put at four percent excise duty subject to actual-user stipulation. At the same time, the present customs duty concessions on specified machines must be detached and one common rate of import duty of 10 per cent should be charged for all textile machines.
The TMMAI Chairman also emphasize the requirement for early creation of a Rs 2,500-crore development fund for TEI to facilitate the units to use on R&D, infrastructure building, export promotion and plans on environmental protection.
Recent developments in technology
In the international textile and clothing trade, the elimination of decades old quota system has thrown up new challenges as well as unlocks new prospects for the Indian textile industry.
According to the vision statement made by the ICMF for the textile sector, by 2010 the Indian textile industry has the potential to have the market size of worth of $ 85 billion from the present size of $ 36 billion. This development can be gained by the opening of new domestic as well as export segments. Textile export could arrive at $ 40 billions mark by 2010 from current 12 billion dollar level. Result on export side can be measured satisfactory during the last six months. For receiving the prospective business, the textile industry has to move towards value added products. The most value addition in textile segment is created by the apparel segment. Processing, fabric manufacturing and spinning segments in order to make quality apparels will require up-gradation
During last decade, there has been observed fast progress in machinery/technology. A concise representation of modern developments in a range of areas is given below.
Spinning
Manufacturing facility in blowroom line has enhanced to 800 kg/hr with a prerequisite to work 3 mixings all together. To process broad range of cottons, the latest blowroom is provided with automatic bale opener with integrated mixer and cleaning systems. For the latest carding machine as a substitute of one licker-in, multiple licker-ins is built-in serially. And provide more stationary flats. For feed roll, doffer, web doffing, maintenance free digital drives are used. The whole card clothing can be separated with a less function of operation. For full flange of operation, a variety of systems like NEP control, flat control and waste control etc., are integrated.
For modern draw-frame machine, delivery speed up to 1000 mt/minute made possible with an alternative of automatic draft control mechanism which gives out requirement for gear change for controlling draft and delivery speed. In few machines separate deliveries can be restricted without help. Supplier also offers draw frame which can be connected to carding machine. It is stated that owing to digital autoleveller the precision measurement is in its height on an average one meter CV of sliver can be controlled below 0.4 percent.
Combers speed up to 400 nips/min is possible due to technological advancement. From latest comber up to 1.3 tones/day productions is achieved. Touch screens display system also provided with these machines. The display covers production data, process setting, machine parameters setting and fault message display. To save installation time many machines are provided with fully assembled in four modules.
Latest speed frame are offered in atomization system including all the operations. All the functional set ups can be fitted on electronic panel. Bobbin size 6″ x 16″ or 7″ x 16″ can be available. There is an availability of alternative of manual or auto doffing. Machines are provided upto 160 spindles capacity hence considerable saving in the operational cost possible.
In the latest ring spinning system winding geometries are further give to maximize result with less winding tension. Hence, superior draft up to 80 are received with higher spindle speed (above 20000 rpm). A number of other features of modern ring frames are adopted with inverter drive for spindles, independent spindle ring rail and drafting system drives, fast doffing system with no trailing ends. Ring frame up to 1344 spindles are provided. In presents rotor spinning system, diverse yarn can be spun in several part of the machine. It is feasible to get package of changeable density. All the technical factors and machine adjustment can be controlled by computer. In the latest rotor machine it is viable to make a package with 30% higher package density than old rotor machine.
In the latest winding machine path of ring cop from bottom to winding head is further developed. Hence, superior control of winding tension produces lower augmentation in hairiness. The adaptable knotting cycle combined with tailored acceleration dynamics facilitates to alter production system. The immediate controlled cylinder inverter and suction motor inverter are provided for energy conservation. Modern vortex spinning system is available to spin cotton yarn at a speed of 400 mt/min. The technology was previously applied for spinning synthetic blended yarn only.
The latest DREF spinning system can make numerous kinds of multi-component yarns. The drafting unit can manage all kinds of synthetic fibers such as aramid, preoxidised fiber, polyamide, phenol resin fibers and melamine fibers. The machine is able to perform with several cores. The manufacturing facility is achieved as high as 250 mtr/min and fineness of yarn can be from 0.5 to 25 nm.
Weaving
The important aspects of modern weaving preparatory/ weaving machines are reviewed as under:
Machinery producers of both weaving preparatory and weaving machines have received gain in technological aspects to make fault free fabric for the garment sector. Nearly all the machines are provided with electronic control panels and micro-processors controls which monitors and control the machine utility to satisfy the fabric quality need and modification in design styles.
Maintenance of machine has turn out to be stress-free due to proficient lubrication system and improved machine design and substitution of mechanical tools with electronic control system. There is an obvious progress to resource the components and auxiliary equipment from the selected good manufacturers rather than making themselves, hence decreasing the cost of the machines. In latest rapier looms weft insertion rate ranges from 1200 – 1500 mt/min. Many looms are provided with weaving a broad range of fabrics. In many weaving machines weft insertion rate is achieved at higher and ranges from 1800-2500 mt/min.
Latest sizing machine is provided with uniform size pick up facility across the warp sheet and for least amount hairiness and loss in elongation. These are maintained by temperature control and moisture control devices. Squeeze pressure can be maintained by programmable controller to synchronize the compressing at all the speeds. Stretch monitoring instrument is imparted to control the stretch.
Knitting
In recent times the quality requirements imposed on a knitting factory by its customer have become even more precise due to greater emphasis on the reproducibility in case of repeat order. Typically a modern knitting machine has following features as:
Automatic computation of fabric reduces speed, feeders per course, stitch/cm and elongation
Automatically managed thread infeed by inflowing the needed thread infeed per cm
Automatic management of height modification through computer
Automatic supervision of yarn infeed and yarn tension
Through user friendly software, computer helps to make the goods on the selected pattern
Processing
New generation processing machine incorporates microprocessor controls. Various process parameters can be programmed in microprocessor for strict adherence of processing conditions. Apart from good control, machines are also energy efficient and features are incorporated for the reduction of consumption of chemicals, water and steam etc. The developments are also taking place keeping environment requirement and eco-friendly processing while manufacturing the textile products and safer conditions for those involved in the manufacturing.
Process control or quality control
In the area of cotton testing, latest instruments are mostly available as High Volume Instruments (HVI) and are prepared with automatic sampling. They also evaluate short fiber content and maturity index values besides testing of length, strength and fineness parameters. It is stated that maturity values are fairly precise. Instruments are also provided with test color, trash neps and fluorescence values. Few suppliers are offering bale management systems.
For the manmade fibers and its connected instruments offered with the measurement in denier, tenacity, elongation and crimp properties. From the creel, robotic arm can carry the fiber samples automatically.
In the part yarn quality, latest evenness tester can measure, evenness, imperfection and intermittent errors at a greater speed. Many of them instruments are prepared to measure hairiness, diameter variation, shape, and dust as well as trash contents. Single thread strength testing machine are provided with a testing speed of 400 mt/min. The machine is prepared to take out 30000 tests per hour. It is noted that weaving operation of the yarn can be expected advanced with this machine. Some of the single thread strength machines are fitted with automatic yarn count determination device.
Yarn fault classification device has shifted to the winding machine from the laboratory. Data of entire yarn lot can be readable from the winding machines. Electronic check Board can perform the yarn grading, based on yarn output and observed by applying CCD camera and software to measure yarn report. Instrument can also offer fabric simulations if needed.
In fabric testing, automatic fabric inspection device can examine grey and single cotton dyed fabrics for all materials covering air bag fabrics and glass fiber fabrics. The imperfection can be recovered from their reports and images. In the area of process control and management ERP systems are establish which supply 3-tier solution covering the online data acquisition, offline data entry cum reporting device and intelligent business management device.
Conclusion
Today, Indian industry is extremely fragmented. In the organized spinning sector there are nearly 2300 players with 280 composite mills, There are 1000 weaving units and around 1,45,000 independent processing units and innumerable garment makers. The position of machinery technology is not well apart from the spinning sector. Nearly 100000 modern shuttleless looms are needed to set up and to satisfy the target by 2010. Processing sector will also require big amount of up-gradation. It is calculated that a total investment of 35 billion dollar might be needed to achieve the growth intended by ICMF.
What is the Difference Between Plasma TV, LCD TV and LED TV?
Over the past decade home entertainment technology has really taken some huge leaps forward. Today, the task of buying a new TV is not just a matter of picking your favourite brand or buying the largest size you can afford. There seem to be more options than ever, and this has certainly led to a lot of confusion among consumers. With that in mind, what exactly are the main differences between the different types of TV, and which is the best?
Plasma TVs are one of the older types of flat screen. They are relatively cheap to produce meaning that prices are generally low for the screen size, which led to plasma becoming a popular choice with consumers who wanted to get the largest screen for their money. These TVs use a gas, which then turns into plasma when an electronic current is passed through it; the plasma then emits the light to create the pictures. This results in a high quality, realistic picture that doesn’t suffer from motion blur. It also offers a particularly wide viewing angle.
However, plasma screens do tend to only have a lifespan of about 10-15 years and do use a relatively high amount of energy, which is now frowned upon as many consumers are trying to become more environmentally friendly. Plasma screens are also quite thick, and are very heavy for their size, so they can be awkward to move. The screen is also fairly susceptible to glare, especially in bright rooms.
LCD TVs can trace their roots back to computer monitors and were first introduced at around the same time as plasma TVs. These TVs use the same basic technology as your pocket calculator screen and are backlit with florescent light. They have a much longer lifespan than plasma screens, something in the region of 30+ years, and also use much less power. Traditionally LCD prices were higher than plasma, but as new manufacturing techniques have evolved the prices are now rapidly falling.
While LCD TVs are available in a wide range of sizes, they do offer the worst performance of all the flat screens though, not only do they have the lowest contrast level but they also have a slow refresh rate meaning that motion blur often occurs. The viewing angle is also much narrower than that of plasma TVs, which means that it can be difficult to find a location that offers a good view for everyone, especially in smaller rooms.
LED TVs are actually the next generation of LCD screens, as they are based on a similar technology but use LED backlighting instead of the florescent backlighting found in traditional LCD screens. The new backlighting technology means that they are able to deliver a much more dynamic picture quality, they also use significantly less power than even the most efficient LCD TVs. LED screens can be made to be extremely thin, so they offer consumers the ability to place the TV practically anywhere – indeed it is now commonplace to see TVs fastened to the wall in order to save floor space.
As this is still a relatively new development, LED screens do tend to be more expensive than their LCD counterparts. However as LED TVs become more widespread the cost of production is expected to drop significantly, which will be reflected through dramatically lower prices in-store. Having said that, LED technology is considered to be the most reliable of all the flat screen formats so many people don’t mind paying a little bit more.
The world of home entertainment can certainly be a confusing place, especially as new advances in technology seem to come along on an almost monthly basis. Hopefully this article has shed some light on the current generation of flat screen TVs, so at least you can stand a fighting chance the next time you venture into the home entertainment section of the electronics store.
Car Audio Capacitors – Why You Can’t Do Without Them
I’ve heard the question asked many times before, ‘Do I really need a capacitor?’ Before answering that question I ask, ‘Do you have a high powered system?’ ‘Does it require sudden power bursts?’ ‘Is your amplifier being robbed of power?’ If the answers to my questions are yes, make every effort to connect a capacitor to your car audio system.
A capacitor is a bit similar to your car battery; it stores electrical energy. But unlike a battery it doesn’t produce its own power, it simply stores it. A car audio capacitor will help you get the most from your amplifier. It will store power for release on demand, delivering it to your amplifier just when it’s needed.
Your car amplifier requires a lot of power to play loud music, especially when there’s lots of heavy bass. Without a capacitor your amplifier will be robbed of power by parts like your lights, engine, and air conditioner.
So what happens when your car audio amplifier doesn’t receive enough power?
A common occurrence is dimming lights. In such a situation the light will follow the beat of the music. The light will dim each time a heavy bass note sounds. If you were to turn off the lights, your car stereo system would suddenly sound louder and the music would be cleaner.
Your amplifier is simply trying to use more energy than the electrical system can supply. If a capacitor had been present there would have been enough energy to power your amp. That electrical energy would have already been stored.
When you want to reduce headlight dimming, improve bass response, and increase the power of your amp, a stiffening capacitor is a must. Equipped with capacitor and an adequate power supply, your system will get every bit of current it needs. Voltage drops will be a thing of the past.
With so many brands available online, it’s easy to find a capacitor that meets your needs. You can choose from popular brands like Phoenix-Digital, Blitz-Audio, Kole-Audio, Pyramid, SoundStorm, Lanzar, Power-Acoustik, Pyle, Legacy, Nitro-BMW, SPL, and Volfenhag. No longer will your car amplifier be hungry for power.
Wireless Home Security Camera – Should You Install One?
In this article, we will discuss whether you should setup a wireless home security camera in your house. Why would you want to do this? There are many reasons and you will have to continue reading if you want a safer home.
In order to secure your homes or apartments, most of you have installed alarm systems that will make a noise when the home has been burglarized or otherwise infiltrated. With some of you, this alarm system will also trigger an automatic phone call to the police station. This call ensures that the police will come in the unfortunate event that someone has broken into your home.
The problem with these alarm systems that exist today is that they are reactive. Nobody is caught in the act of breaking into your house. And the reality is that, overwhelmingly, those that break into your house will not be caught and they may even return to break into your home again.
Feeling safe in your own home is one those things in life that is non-negotiable. If you cannot feel safe in your own home, you probably shouldn’t be there.
One thing that allows you to feel much safer in your own home, and know what is going on at all times, is a wireless home security camera. These cameras now come in all prices to fit any budget. Wireless security cameras for your home not only take live video of many rooms at one time, they can also contain a DVR. Just as you record DVR programs, these quality home cameras can record every ounce of video to a hard drive. Thus, you will not only know when someone has entered a room, you can identify them.
Break-ins are not the only reason to learn how to setup wireless security cameras in your home. There are many other good reasons for getting security cameras in your house. Not only do they allow you to identify someone who has broken into your house, they also often will prevent intruders in the first place. One thing that potential intruders hate is recordings of their activity. Simply by advertising that you have built-in security cameras, you prevent several break-ins. In this way, home security cameras serve as proactive crime prevention as opposed to simply reactive, like the home security system that you probably have installed at the moment.
There are other, simpler reasons that I enjoy our wireless camera security setup. My simpler reason is our two kids. Many of us have baby monitors so we can hear the sounds of our children. Well, just as we prefer TV to radio, we prefer video to just sounds. With a click on our laptop, my wife and I can quickly see how the kids are doing in their rooms. Are they simply making noises in their sleep or is there a real problem? All of these problems can be quickly identified and dealt with. My wife and I sleep much better after having placed a wireless security camera in our kids room.
iPhone 4S: Features and Challenges
Since its launch, the iPhone 4S has gathered a mixed bag of reviews. While some were disappointed with the same old looks, missing NFC, no 4G connectivity, the others could not stop talking about the new optics and Siri. However, there are a good number of users who have bought this Apple device for the other popular Android devices like Samsung Galaxy S2, Motorola Droid Razr, etc. This post highlights why you must buy the iPhone 4S and be aware of any associated challenges.
Unlike some of the popular hot selling Android phones, the iPhone 4S runs on the latest iOS 5 software. Some of its key features and applications are A5 dual processor, Siri, iCloud, support for dual bands, an 8Megapixel camera, over-the-air iOS upgrades etc. The iPhone 4S is also the first global smartphone released by Apple. It works on both the telecom bands – GSM and CDMA. In spite of having a string of signature features, it does pose some challenges for users and enterprises. Some of them are:
Data Loss from iCloud: Users can store their device data on different devices in a centralized location in the cloud. To prevent any confidential data loss, it is recommended not to upload any sensitive personal and financial information in the cloud. IT administrators can enforce data protection in the iCloud by deploying different device data management policies. However, the prerequisite to monitor these smart devices is to have an in-house or third-party mobile device managemnt (MDM) solution.
Siri: Apple has designed Siri with a smart voice recognition technology to recognize voice accents, eliminate background noise and interpret commands without errors. Since Siri’s intelligence and voice recognition capabilities are dependent on Apple’s back-end server, its performance is dependent on the load of the servers. Also, Apple has not yet released any APIs for app developers to integrate Siri into new or existing applications.
Corporate Data Leakage: Many enterprise users may knowingly or unknowingly take photographs of important documents or designs or share sensitive corporate data with the outside world over iMessage. Thus, IT administrators must identify the potential threats, educate the employees of smartphone policies and implications on violating them, deploy essential tools or MDM solutions in the infrastructure to control the data loss.
Furthermore, enterprises and users may feel concerned about being burdened with long and expensive phone bills and heavy data roaming charges. Using an MDM solution, enterprises may impose data usage policies for different devices to send warnings when a user reaches his data limit. If required, enterprises may also deploy a mobile expense management solution to track and manage the mobile expenses. Check this page for more details on supporting iOS 5 devices in your enterprise.
The Psychology of Advertising
On why it is important to understand mass psychology and the psychological processes of cognition for any successful advertising endeavor…
Advertising has been a form of glorifying or gaining publicity for goods and merchandise since very early times. In fact, advertising has been around as an informal concept since the beginning of civilizations and former methods were oral advertising or claiming the benefits of products verbally when merchants sold goods to people directly on the streets. However with the advent of paper and writing, advertising took a more formal shape.
Egyptians and Ancient Greeks used the papyrus for advertising and rock painting was also used. Advertising in English in magazines as we know today dates back to the end of the 17th century and newspaper advertising in America began during the first part of the 18th century with advertisements for estates. With the growth of mass media and different forms and avenues of communication like radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, and of course the internet in the 20th century, advertising started becoming an important aspect for commercialization of products. People started understanding the potential of advertisements and it became a business with the establishment of advertising agencies with the first advertising agency in US opened in 1841.
With advertising becoming a business in itself, the methods of using advertisements became even more formalized, controlled and systematic and the advertisements for products started appearing as newspaper ads, on billboards, hoardings, as handbills, leaflets, on magazines, newspapers, on TV and radio as commercials and more recently on the internet. Web advertising is now a very powerful means to take the message across to the customers. However to actually appeal to customers, advertising will have to work in accordance with the principles of psychology and sociology. Thus an advertiser or an advertising professional will also have to be a sociologist and a psychologist to really have an impact on the minds of consumers.
The principles of advertising are largely based on cognitive psychology and the psychological processes of attention, perception, association and memory to bring out the complete impact or uses of a product or ‘brand’. Any advertisement will have to first focus on the attention that it is able to capture of the consumers. Strong messages, strong visuals and glaring colors are sometimes used on hoardings and billboards. For commercials, attention catching clothes and attractive models are sometimes used.
Once the attention is drawn with the colors and the sounds or words, the focus is on retaining consumer interests by using ‘association’. Themes or products which a particular segment of customers could associate with are used thus for baby food, mothers and babies are featured so association would have more to do with relevance or context of the advertisement. Certain colors also have associative value and certain brands and companies use a specific color to promote their products. For example easygroup uses orange and Vodafone uses red as standard color for all advertising. The company logo or symbol is also a part of developing a brand and helps in giving identity to a brand and has a strong associative value.
The association should be such that it not only serves the purpose of quick understanding and perception of the consumers but is also retained in their memory for a long time. Thus memory or retention is an important aspect of the psychology of advertising as only an advertisement that consumers can easily remember for a long time for its novelty or use of words, colors and figures will be the most effective.
The development of a ‘brand’ is just as effective because a brand helps in driving attention, in developing association (for example, we associate Coke or Pepsi with youth, celebration and a soft drink popular for all occasions) and in memory or retention of any image associated with a service or product. So branding is vital in advertisements as brands help in giving a name and distinct identity of a product. So a Gucci bag or a Sony camera is known for the brand rather than the product.
A brand is recognized in terms of its name, its quality and its reputation with advertisements these days highlighting the uniqueness of brands. For example, HSBC recent advertisements across airports around the world, focus on the differing points of view and different likes and preferences of people across cultures. So when you see such advertisements showing two different perspectives for the same thing, you know this is HSBC. Certain brands develop taglines or motto that sets the brand apart and gives it a distinct character.
You might have wondered why models look lifeless on fashion shows. Fashion shows are usually arranged for designer brands selling clothes and accessories and usually these fashion shows try to accentuate the clothes and that is why the models tend to be rather ‘expressionless’. Although these fashion shows project the clothes sans the emoting, in case of commercials, expressions are widely used because through visual medium, emotions have to be transported through the screen to the consumers to create an effect. Putting across a message through a medium is a challenge and advertisers use emotions widely to help people retain the message that describes the product.
Whatever it is, the mantra is to create an impact and have a lasting effect on the minds of the consumers. The message of the product, the motto of the brand and the mind of the consumer, these are the three Ms that are important in advertising.
However it is important to understand that advertising will have to be different for different media. Radio ads should focus on the strength of sounds and words; internet ads will focus on visuals and colors; newspaper ads will focus on space and the theme; and TV ads would focus more on the emotions and the context used. Using motion, capitalized letters, contrasting colors etc are all important and in order to draw attention to the product, some form of highlighting of the product is also done.
How does all this affect the masses, the consumers who will actually buy the product? Apart from the attention drawing process, the retention producing sounds and words that help memory and the associative value of the products and the advertisements, there is another factor namely necessity of the consumer. Advertising is not just enough, as a customer is driven to buy a product largely considering the necessity, quality, features and price of the product.
If a company solely focuses on the physical aspects of any product, like say – an Apple iPhone looks good on the table, then it’s probably not the best method to have an impact on the market. The features are as important as the price. Then of course, the ‘hype’ that triggers a certain mass psychology in a certain way so people sometimes queue up for newly released products. But trying to tap in on mass psychology or a kind of hype or hysteria for a product is only a short term advertising strategy. The longer term establishment of a product is through real quality, usability and price and all companies should emphasize on these ultimately.
Competition may have a lot to do with the type of advertising used by companies, so the weaknesses of other similar products by other companies are highlighted subtly although this may not always have a positive impact on the mind of the customer. Usually most products advertised as unique and not even remotely similar to other products can have a positive effect and can effectively generate hype and consumer curiosity. Focusing on the unique and highlighting the dissimilarity and novelty of a product in a way that attracts curiosity is a certain method to improve popularity of a product, so this gives consumers the reason to know more and they will enter the shops to enquire about the product. Although celebrities are largely used in advertisements to endorse products or promote a brand, the celebrity culture affects only the youth strongly so the entire value of celebrity advertising may be a bit overrated. This will require a separate discussion on celebrity culture.
The final goal of all advertisers and promoters is to ensure that products and services sell and to increase sales and potential consumer interest creating curiosity is a first short term step while introducing a new product into the market. Retaining customer interest is a different ballgame and requires reputation of the brand, product quality, right pricing and continued high quality advertising to ultimately ensure success of the product.