Applications supported by wireless Internet connectivity

Wireless broadband connecti-vity also means access to a rich multimedia environment. Multi-media defines a convergence of sound, video and pictures. It incorporates written text, a graphical interface, animation, audio and full motion video components. It involves a hete-rogeneous collection of techno-logies for information to be stored, transmitted, presented or perceived, on multiple platforms. Some of these applications include:

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP): Also called IP telephony, this is the practice of using an Internet connection to pass voice data using IP instead of using the standard public switched telephone network. This can avoid long distance telephone charges, as the only connection is through the Internet. IP telephone calls bypass the typical public-switched tele-phone network and transmit voice calls over a private network (the same network that carries Web, e-mail and data traffic). The main advantage for users of VoIP connections is that they generally only have to pay their wireless Internet connec-tion charges regardless of where they are calling anywhere in the world

Video conferencing: Video or teleconferencing allows you to have face-to-face conversations with other people on a network, whether they are around the corner or on the other side of the world. Video conferencing uses compressed digital images transmitted over wide area networks or the Internet. Each user has a video camera, microphone and speakers mounted on his or her computer or Wi-Fi-enabled device. As the participants speak to one another, they hear each other’s voices and see a video image of the other participant(s).

MP3: A standard technology and format for compressing a sound sequence into a very small file (about one-twelfth the size of the original file) while preserving the original level of sound quality when it is played. MP3 is the most popular Internet audio format and is revolutionizing the music distribution industry by allowing users to download music over the Internet. MP3 is an increasingly popular way to store audio in electronic format. The MP3 format compresses audio files in such a way that the file size is relatively small, but the song sounds near perfect. You can identify MP3 files because they end in the ".mp3" extension. This technology means music can be transferred over the Internet wirelessly in a fraction of the time that it used to take using slow dial-up modem connec-tions.

Online multi-player ga-ming environments: There is now a multitude of websites which provide online gaming which involves interaction with other "live" players in a simulated themed universe or world. The most recent example of which is Ragnarok, a hugely successful online RPG (role-playing game) transcen-ding geographical borders.

Search engines: A generic term for the software that "searches" the Web for pages relating to a specific query. Search engines are websites that help you search the Internet for other websites based on keywords you provide.

E-mail: The standard termi-nology for electronic mail (i.e., messages that are sent by computer network). E-mail is electronic messaging that uses standard conventions for addressing and delivering content across the Internet and is a much appreciated and indispensable tool of persons whose work attaches them to the Internet. E-mail can be dealt with according to the receiver’s own schedule. It allows the receiver to prioritize messages. Another advantage is that when e-mail is saved, it leaves a written record of exchanges that can be built into a substantial information data-base. Most e-mails can be traced back to the sender by examining the headers of the message, which shows the system from which the message originated and any systems it passed through between that system and the recipient’s system.

Short Messaging Service (SMS): SMS was introduced in the GSM system and later supported by all other digital-based mobile wireless communi-cations systems. Over the Internet, people can either visit a SMS webpage and type a short message which is sent to your phone or e-mailed to your phone.

Fax: A process by which fixed graphic material, including pictures, text or images, is scanned and the information converted into electrical signals which can be transmitted via the Internet to produce a paper or electronic copy of the graphics on the receiving machine.