1	Real-Time Communication on the Internet Using Chat, Instant Messaging, and Wireless Technologies
2	Objectives Learn different ways to chat on the Internet. Learn about virtual worlds that offer entertainment opportunities Learn about different wireless networks. http://www.course.com/downloads/newperspectives/Internet5/T08.cfm
3	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 text chat. Voice Chat: where participants speak to each other in real time, much like they would be using a telephone. Video Chat: where participants can see and speak to each other.
4	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 chat room, 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.
5	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. Text chatting requires participants to type quickly, therefore, chat participants often omit capitalization and do not worry about proper spelling and grammar.
6	Commonly Used Chat Acronyms
7	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.
8	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 Internet Relay Chat (IRC). that extended the capabilities of the Talk program to multi-user. IRC uses a client-server network model: IRC servers are connected through the internet to form an IRC network. Individual chat participants use IRC clients that connect to the servers in the network.
9	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 channel heading, 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 channel operator, channel op, or IRCop.
10	Internet Relay Chat The channel operator 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 IRC robots or bots, which perform routine services on the IRC network.
11	Commonly Used IRC Commands
12	Instant Messaging Software Instant messaging software lets two users chat in real time over the Internet. Instant messages 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.
13	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.
14	Instant Messaging Software To use instant messaging to talk to other Internet users, you must download an instant messaging software program. ICQ AOL Instant Messenger Windows Messenger Yahoo! Messenger
15	Instant Messaging Software You must use the same instant messaging software to chat with other users. Some instant messaging software 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 instant messaging software programs have some features that work on wireless devices, such as cell phones. All instant messaging software is free and requires an Internet connection, preferably a broadband connection.
16	Chat in Progress Using ICQ
17	Windows Messenger
18	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-based chat, 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.
19	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.
20	Web-Based Chat Sites
21	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, object oriented, or MOOs.
22	Virtual Worlds MOOs that were highly oriented toward creative tasks and programming objectives were called multiuser shared hallucinations, or MUSHs. Some virtual worlds let participants interact with each other almost as they would in real life. In a GUI virtual world, each participant assumes a virtual physical existence and appearance. Such an artificial person is called an avatar. Some firms will create an avatar based on a photo.
23	Evolution of Wireless Networks When you connect to your Internet service provider, you’re creating a wired connection. A wireless connection occurs when data, such as a person’s voice, is transferred to another location without the use of any wires. Cell phones were one of the first wireless connections to transfer a person’s voice.
24	Evolution of Wireless Networks The year 1999 saw the introduction of the first “wireless” connections to the Internet. Personal digital assistant (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 wireless Internet has expanded to include different hardware devices, networks, and other options.
25	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 3G wireless systems (third-generation wireless) in place. Some European countries are building and licensing 3G wireless systems. 3G wireless systems offer data transfer rates of up to 2 Mbps and constant connections.
26	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.
27	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.
28	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.
29	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. Access point: a hardware device with one or more antennae that permits communication between wired and wireless networks so wireless clients can send and receive data.
30	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. Dual access point: 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.
31	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.
32	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.
33	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.
34	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.
35	Bluetooth
36	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.
37	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.
38	Using Wireless Devices to 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.
39	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.
40	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.
41	Assignment Case Problem 2 of this chapter. Submit as usual, not to instructor personally, as stated in text. Go to online companion for the link.
42	Lab http://www.course.com/downloads/newperspectives/Internet5/T08.cfm#labs