Technological convergence and Colletotrichum musae: Difference between pages

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{{Taxobox

'''Technological convergence''' is the modern presence of a vast array of different types of [[technology]] to perform very similar tasks.

| color = lightblue

| name = ''Colletotrichum musae''

| regnum = [[Fungi]]

| phylum = [[Ascomycota]]

| classis = [[Sordariomycetes]]

| subclassis = [[Incertae sedis]]

| ordo = [[Phyllachorales]]

| familia = [[Phyllachoraceae]]

| genus = ''[[Colletotrichum]]''

| species = '''''C. musae'''''

| binomial = ''Colletotrichum musae''

| binomial_authority = (Berk. & M.A. Curtis) Arx, (1957)

}}

'''Colletotrichum musae''' is a plant pathogen.

The term ''convergence'' is commonly used in reference to the synergistic combination of voice (and telephony features), data (and productivity applications) and video onto a single network. These previously separate technologies are now able to share resources and interact with each other creating new efficiencies.

== External links ==

Also included in this topic is the basis of computer networks, wherein many different operating systems are able to communicate via different [[Protocol (computing)|protocols]]. This could be a prelude to [[artificial intelligence]] networks on the internet.

[http://www.speciesfungorum.org/Names/Names.asp Index Fungorum]<br>

==Convergence in the media==

[http://nt.ars-grin.gov/fungaldatabases USDA ARS Fungal Database]<br>

[[Category:Plant pathogens and diseases]]

Convergence of media occurs when multiple products come together to form one product with the advantages of all of them. See [[Concentration of media ownership]] for the similar sounding phrase of ''media convergence''.

For example, the [[PlayStation 2]] is not only a [[games console]], but also a [[CD player]], [[DVD player]] and [[Internet]] connector. [[Mobile phones]] are another good example, in that they increasingly incorporate [[digital camera]]s, [[mp3 players]], [[camcorder]]s, [[dictaphone|voice recorder]]s, and other devices.

This type of convergence is very popular. For the [[consumer]] it means more features in less space, while for the [[media conglomerate]]s it means remaining competitive in the struggle for market dominance. The announcement of [http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/sep/07rokr.html a new cell phone] that incorporates iTunes music songs is an example of media convergence in consumer electronics.

However, convergence can have its downside. Particularly in their initial forms, converged devices are frequently less functional and reliable than their component parts (e.g. a DVD may perform better on a traditional DVD player than on a games console). Further, as single devices address a wide spectrum of consumer needs, breakdowns and problems become more likely, and more disruptive to the consumer. The greater the degree of convergence in a device, the more vulnerable consumers are to the failure of that device and face more complex [[user-interface]]s.

Regardless, an ever-wider range of technologies are being converged into single multipurpose devices.

Since technology has evolved in the past ten years or so, companies are beginning to converge technologies to create demand for new products. This would include phone companies integrating 3G on their phones. Television itself is a technology which has been around for a long time, now being converged with the mobile phone industry. Phone calls are also being made with the use of personal computers. Converging technologies seems to be squashing many types of demanded technologies into one. Mobile phones are becoming manufactured to not only carry out phone calls, text messages, but also hold images, videos, music, television, camera, and multimedia of all types

==Multi-play==

Multi-play is a [[marketing]] term describing the provision of different [[telecommunication]] services, such as [[Broadband Internet access]], [[television]], [[telephone]], and [[mobile phone]] service, by organisations that traditionally only offered one or two of these services. Multi-play is a catch-all phrase; usually, the terms [[triple play (telecommunications)|triple play]] or quadruple play are used to describe a more specific meaning.

A dual play service is a marketing term for the provisioning of the two services: it can be [[Broadband Internet access|high-speed Internet]] ([[ADSL]]) and [[telephone]] service over a single [[broadband]] connection in the case of phone companies, or [[Broadband Internet access|high-speed Internet]] ([[cablemodem]]) and [[TV]] service over a single [[broadband]] connection in the case of cable TV companies.

The convergence can also concern the underlying communication [[infrastructure]]. An example of this is a [[triple play (telecommunications)|triple play]] service, where communication services are packaged allowing [[consumer]]s to purchase [[TV]], [[internet]] and [[telephony]] in one subscription.

A quadruple play service combines the [[triple play (telecommunications)|triple play]] service of [[broadband Internet access]], [[television]] and [[telephone]] with [[wireless]] service provisions. This service set is also sometimes humorously referred to as "The [[Fantastic Four]]".

Incidentally, the "mobile service provisions" aspect refers not only to the ability of subscribers to be able to purchase [[mobile phone]] like services as is often seen in co-marketing efforts between [[Service provider|provider]]s of land-line services. Rather it is one major ambition of wireless - the ability to have access to all of the above including voice, internet, and content/video while on the go and requiring no tethering to the network via cables.

Given advancements in [[WiMAX]] and other leading edge technologies, the ability to transfer information over a wireless link at combinations of speeds, distances and non line of sight conditions is rapidly improving. It is possible that one could never need to be connected by a [[wire]] to anything, even while at home.

One fundamental aspect of the quadruple play is not only the long awaited broadband [[Technological convergence|convergence]] but also the players involved. Many of them, from the largest global service providers to whom we connect today via wires and cables to the smallest of startup service providers are interested. The opportunities are attractive: the big three telecom services - [[telephony]], [[cable television]] and [[wireless]] - could combine the size of their respective industries.

The next level of service might be the integration of [[RFID]] into the quadruple play which will add the capability for home equipment to communicate to the outside world and schedule maintenance on its own.

In the UK, the recent merger of [[NTL]] and [[Virgin Mobile]] will result in a company offering a quadruple play of Cable Television, Broadband Internet, Home Telephone and Mobile Telephones.

==Fixed Mobile Convergence==

A clear trend is emerging in the form of a FMCA|fixed and mobile telephony convergence. The aim is to provide both services with a single phone, which could switch between networks [[ad hoc]]. One example of this convergence is the [[BT Fusion]] offer in UK, where [[British Telecom]] offers a [[Vodafone]] handset capable of making calls through the [[ADSL]] line via a [[bluetooth]] connection.

Other examples are provided in France with wifi connectivity around the base station, by the [http://www.beautifulphone.com/html/en/ BeautifulPhone] from [[neuf cegetel]] by the means of a [[QTek]] 8300 or [[Home Zone by Wanadoo|Home Zone]] from [[Wanadoo]] with a [[Nokia]] handset. [[Free (french ISP)]] develops a wifi mesh network of HD [[freebox]]es to be used to provide mobile telephony and compete with traditional cellular operators.

The [[Generic Access Network]] is a standard roaming system between [[WLAN]]s and [[WWAN]]s. Among the first handsets capable of this switching are the [[List of Nokia products#Eseries|Nokia E series]], which will be used by the British operator [[Truphone]] starting its service in may 2006. <ref>[http://www.truphone.com/pdf/Truphone_1st_4G_operator.pdf Truphone is World’s first 4G network operator], May 8th 2006 – London, UK, Truphone Press Release</ref>

At the end of the nineties, some dual mode [[DECT]]/GAP and [[GSM]] services were envisionned. In the UK, [[BT Cellnet]] launched its [[OnePhone]] offer in 1999. [[Ericsson]] and [[Sagem]] have produced a few handset models, and [[Ascom]] resold some Ericsson units. Those offers have not taken any sufficient ground and have been stopped. <ref>[http://www.dectweb.com/Products/dual_mode.htm Dual Mode DECT Phones] and [http://www.dectweb.com/News&Views/Features/9906Dectweb.htm DECT/GSM dual mode and the advent of the OnePhone service], DECTweb, accessed April 2006</ref>

Six companies, [[British Telecom]], [[NTT]], [[Rogers Wireless]], [[Brasil Telecom]], [[Korea Telecom]] and [[Swisscom]] have formed the '''[[FMCA|Fixed-Mobile Convergence Alliance]]''' with the purpose to encourage the seamless integration of [[mobile]] and [[Plain old telephone service|fixed-line]] telephone services.

==See also==

[[Bernard Stiegler]] (philosopher)

==References==

<references />

==External links==

{{wikibooks|Nets, Webs and the Information Infrastructure}}

* [http://www.dcitexas.org Digital Convergence Initiative]

[[Category:MARS FOR LIFE ]]

[[Category:Telephony]]

[[Category:Digital television]]

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[[uk:Конвергенція інформаційних технологій]]