Chapter 8: Wireless, Mobile Computing, and Mobile Commerce

Question 1

Describe the most common types of wireless devices.

Define Wireless and Dematerialization in phones

Answer 1

Wireless is used to describe telecommunications in which electromagnetic waves, rather than some form of wire or cable, carry the signal between communicating devices such as computers, smartphones, and tablets.

• ex. includes both wireless devices, such as smartphones, and wireless transmission media, such as microwave, satellite, and radio

Most common: Smartphones
They posses, Dematerialization: occurs when the functions of many physical devices are included in one other physical device (ex. camera, television, radio, etc. all embedded in phone)

Question 2

Describe the various types of transmission media.

Answer 2

Microwave transmission systems: transmit data through electromagnetic waves. These systems are used for high-volume, long-distance, line-of-sight communication.

Satellite transmission systems: make use of communication satellites. Geostationary-earth-orbit satellite, Medium-earth-orbit satellites, and Low-earth-orbit satellites

Radio transmission: It uses radio wave frequencies to send data directly between transmitters and receivers.

Question 3

What are the three types of orbit satellites

Answer 3

Geostationary-earth-orbit satellites are the highest positioned.
* They are ideal for broadcasting TV programs and sending signals directly to homes.
* However, they have a significant limitation, with a quarter-second transmission delay, making two-way telephone conversations challenging.
* Additionally, GEO satellites are large, expensive, and require substantial launch power.

Medium-earth-orbit satellites middle highest. Requiring more of them to cover Earth due to their smaller footprints compared to GEO satellites.
* They are more cost-effective and have negligible propagation delays.

• Global positioning system (GPS) is a wireless system that uses satellites to enable users to determine their position anywhere on Earth. GPS is supported by MEO satellites that are shared worldwide.

Low-earth-orbit satellites Lowest position. Resulting in minimal propagation delay.
However, like MEO satellites, LEO satellites move relative to a point on Earth’s surface, requiring receivers to track them. Tracking LEO satellites is more challenging than tracking MEO satellites due to their faster movement relative to a point on Earth.

Question 4

Describe four threats to the security of wireless transmissions.

Answer 4

A rogue access point is an unauthorized access point into a wireless network.

• The rogue could be someone in your organization who sets up an access point meaning no harm but fails to inform the IT department

An evil twin attack: is when someone creates a fake Wi-Fi network that mimics a real one you trust

War driving is the act of locating WLANs while driving (or walking) around a city or elsewhere.

Eavesdropping refers to efforts by unauthorized users to access data that are travelling over wireless networks.

Radio frequency (RF) jamming, a person or a device intentionally or unintentionally interferes with your wireless network transmissions.

Question 5

What is Bluetooth? What is a WLAN?

Answer 5

Bluetooth: is an industry specification used to create small personal area networks

• Bluetooth uses low-power, radio-based communication.

Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN): is a type of network that allows devices to connect and communicate wirelessly within a limited geographic area, such as a home, office, or campus, using radio waves instead of physical cables

Question 6

Describe Wi-Fi,
cellular telephones, and WiMAX.

Answer 6

Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) is a medium-range WLAN, which is a wired LAN but without the cables. In a typical configuration, a transmitter with an antenna, called a wireless access point

Cellular telephones (cell phones) provide two-way radio communications over a cellular network of base stations with seamless handoffs

• The cell phone communicates with radio antennas, or towers, placed within adjacent geographic areas called cells

WiMAX can provide long-distance broadband wireless access to rural areas and other locations that are not currently being served.

Question 7

What is the major driver of mobile computing?

Define mobile computing

Answer 7

Mobile computing: refers to a real-time connection between a mobile device and other computing environments, such as the Internet or an intranet.

• This innovation is revolutionizing how people use computers.

Question 8

Describe mobile portals and voice portals.

Answer 8

mobile portals and voice portals: are designed to gather and provide information in a way that fits well on small screens or through spoken commands.

• These portals provide information anywhere and any time to users.

Question 9

Describe wireless financial services.

what are Mobile financial applications and define Mobile wallet

Answer 9

Mobile financial applications include banking, wireless payments and micropayments, money transfers, mobile wallets, and bill payment services
Mobile wallet (m-wallet), also called a digital wallet, is an application (app) that people use to make financial transactions.

Question 10

Discuss some of the major intrabusiness wireless applications.

Answer 10

Intrabusiness Applications
most of today’s m-commerce applications actually are used within organizations. Especially to support employees.

• For example, companies can use mobile services to assist in assigning jobs to mobile employees, along with detailed information about the job

Question 11

Define Mobile commerce (m-commerce)

Answer 11

Mobile commerce (m-commerce): refers to electronic commerce (EC) transactions that are conducted in a wireless environment, especially on the Internet.

Question 12

Define the Internet of Things and RFID.

Answer 12

Internet of Things (IoT) “machine-to-machine (M2M) communication”: is a system in which any object, natural or manmade, has a unique identity (i.e., its own IP address) and is able to send and receive information over a network (i.e., the Internet) without human interaction.

• describes devices with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications networks

Radio-frequency identification (RFID): technology allows manufacturers to attach tags with antennas and computer chips on goods and then track their movement using radio signals. RFID was developed to replace bar codes.

Question 13

Provide two examples of how the Internet of Things benefits organizations (public sector, private sector, for-profit, or not-for-profit).

Answer 13

Examples of Internet of Things in Use:

• Health care: Patients with non-life-
  threatening conditions can either wear sensors or have them implanted—for example, to monitor blood pressure or glucose levels.
• Supply Chain Management: A company can now track, in real time, the movement of raw materials and parts through the manufacturing process to finished products delivered to the customer
• Environmental Monitoring: Sensors monitor air and water quality, atmospheric and soil conditions, and the movements of wildlife.

Question 14

Provide two specific business uses of RFID technology.

Active RFID tags vs Passive RFID tags

Answer 14

• Active RFID tags use internal batteries for power, and they broadcast radio waves to a reader. Because active tags contain batteries, they are more expensive than passive RFID tags, and they can be read over greater distances.
• Passive RFID tags rely entirely on readers for their power. They are less expensive than active tags, but they can be read only up to 6 meters. For these reasons, they are generally applied to less expensive merchandise.