Computer telephony

Introductions

Technology has brought human beings to the new heights of sophistications. Telecommunication has led the road of innovation. The existence of mobile phones, SMS, MMS and computer telephony has shown the simplicity and usefulness of technology. Computer has created a situation when no one can be away from the technological development. Technology has reached to every individual and every home across the world. In these emerging technologies, one very important aspect is to handle Information. One side, when Information is an assets, it is a challenge to handle them fruitfully.

Information age is maturing. Computing and communication technologies are progressing exponentially with individual technologies advancing. Computer telephony is helping us to handle information. However, the generation and accumulation of sea of Information have started putting tremendous challenge to the technologists. It is important to see how the future going to be in the midst of this chaos. In this article, you will come to know about various theories and principles which help us managing information.

Laws which governs Information

Science has always shown us the path towards development through different laws and theories. Technologies have shown us the practical aspect of scientific discoveries. It is always important for us to comprehend relevant laws to get better picture of the subject. In case of proper utilization of information, we need to know few basic laws which govern them. There are various laws of Information which have evolved since last four to five decades. Besides other communication media, they help us to plan the growth of computer telephony. These laws have provided some views to future as far as present development of electronics. At the same time, they also helps us to visualize generation and processing of Information.

Joy?s Law ? It states that the computing power expressed in millions of instructions per second (MIPS), double every two years.

Moore?s Law ? It states that the number of components on an IC would double every year (the original law predicted in 1965 for the then next ten years), the doubling of circuit on an IC every 18 months (known as revised law) and the processing power of computers will double every year and a half (Moore?s second law which closely resembles Joy?s law). In other words, Moore?s law states that the average cost of a semiconductor transistor will decrease by half every 18 months. This directly relates to creation, generation and duplication of information.

Rock?s Law ? Rock?s law?s central thesis is that the costs of capital equipment in the semiconductor industry will double every four years. It states that over the years the computing, processing, storage and speed up power of computers will continue to increase, whereas the price of computers will continue to fall.

Since the inception of digital electronics, the computer has gone through a number of generations. Today, it is in fifth generation. The reduction in size and cost on one hand and tremendous increase in the processing power and capacity of computers on the other hand has been the normal phenomena for last fifty or sixty years. The credit for all these changes have gone to the basic component of computer and that is IC (Integrated Circuits). These laws have helped to understand the growth of computer and communication.

The changes in the electronics industry begin with small scale integration (SSI) to ultra large scale integration (ULSI). The extrapolation of the trend predicts that the future will be the age of molecular dimension inherited by the already established subject of molecular electronics that is based on organic materials rather than inorganic semiconductor.

Beyond ULSI, the further integration on a chip will face serious problems from physical constraints like quantum effect. This may lead to the death of Moore?s law. But there is other dimension to this situation. It is said that economics may constrain Moore?s law before physics does. What ever be the case, computer telephony will move along the growth of ICs. We will have to plan accordingly.

Billion- Transistor IC ? Hope or Hype

Presently ICs are made of around 250 million transistors. If Moore?s law continues to hold true, it is predicted that by 2010 ICs will be made of billion transistors. The threats to the survival of the Moore?s law are heat dissipation and quantum effect, which is a physical limit to IC integration.

The expectation of realizing billion transistor ICs by 2010 has been further heightened by the current research of Intel expanding Moore?s law. Pat Gelsinger?s vision of expanding Moore?s law includes Intel 90nm fabrication process. Although several alternative technologies, namely, quantum computing, bio computing, molecular electronics and chemical computing are under investigation as possible replacement of digital computing, the year 2010 may achieve the landmark of billion transistors IC ? another leap forward in IC technology. The changes in IC technology will perforce ensure changes in computer telephony. The chips used in telephony can accommodate more features than the present one. The expectation will rise accordingly.

Laws of Communication

Once we understand the growth of ICs, it is important to learn about the laws governing communication to get broad picture of computer telephony. The laws governing the progress of communication technology are

Ruge?s Law - This estimates that the communication capacity necessary for each MIPS is 0.3 ? 1 Mbps.

Metcalfe?s Law ? This states that if there are ?n? computers in the network, the power of the computer in the network is multiplied n square times. This law estimates that from a figure of 0.25X10^12 in 1988 to 2,433,600X10^12 in 2000, a 9,734,400 (10^7) times increase over gap of only twelve years in the power of networking was made possible. It shows the future scope of computer connectivity. The utilities of networking are increasing drastically.

The future is indefinite, but, is it super information power or infinite information power! Due to this power, flexible transport technology, ATM and very high rate carriers like SONET/SDH, the requirement of any service at any time, anywhere with a single communication number may be possible even though the modest Internet, which was basically designed to carry data only. Computer telephony will make the communication almost free of charge. Free and reliable communication will pave the way for a new world order.

Laws of Information

A few basic requirements of information networks are reliable, secure and high speed data transfer. The emerging technologies are giving us a hope of these expectations. There are few laws which govern the information. They are as follows-

Edholm?s Law, which states that the data rates for all three communications namely wired, nomadic and wireless are as predictable as Moore?s law. The rates are increasing exponentially and the slower rates trail the faster rates within a predictable time gap.

Shannon?s information theory states that more entropy means more information. Whereas, in the probabilistic second law of thermodynamics, it states that more entropy means more disorder. It means that more information results in the decrease in the order.

Once you get some information, you get so by consuming some energy either by computer processing or by network information downloading or other means of communications. These functions produce some waste heat that is not reversible. Thus the definition of entropy by Shannon that entropy is a measure of information perfectly matches with that of entropy of thermodynamics.

The appropriate definition of information in this IT age has been given by Tom Stonier. In his work Information and Internal Structure of Universe, there is an analogy between mass/matter/energy/heat and information/order of an organization. It has been argued that information (I) resident in any organization is proportional to the order (O) of the organization.

I=C X O

Where C is the constant of proportionality.

If this relation exists, there is a possibility of interchangeability of information with energy (which, otherwise speaking, will establish a measurable and quantifiable relation between industrial society and information based society). Stonier established the following exchange rate ? 1 Joule per degree Kelvin = 10^23 bits of information.

It may raise many criticism and questions, but there is a direction that, if proved correct in future, may lead to a conclusion that information is not something external to nature but a fundamental unit of nature. In that case, the value of information should be judged accordingly.

Life is an open system that exchanges energy and information with its surrounding for any effect due to any cause. The second law of thermodynamics confirms that an open system or the life system can be made more knowledgeable by increasing the disorder in its surrounding or environment. Thus the knowledge increases the order of organization or otherwise speaking, minimizes the organizational consumption of energy, space and time. Shall we be able to manage information efficiently?

Conclusions

These laws show us the path. The technology has come a long way. Computer technology has a scope of reaching to every home. The managing of information in such scenario will put tremendous challenge as well opportunities in the years to come.