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The Impact of Tiny Computing Devices

The ability of tiny computing devices to control complex operations has transformed the way many tasks are performed, ranging from scientific research to producing consumer products. Tiny 'computers on a chip' are used in medical equipment, home appliances, cars, and toys. Workers use handheld computing devices to collect data at a customer site, to generate forms, to control inventory, and to serve as desktop organizers.

Not only is computing equipment getting smaller, it is getting more sophisticated. Computers are part of many machines and devices that once required continual human supervision and control. Today, computers in security systems result in safer environments, computers in cars improve energy efficiency, and computers in phones provide features such as call forwarding, call monitoring, and call answering.

These smart machines are designed to take over some of the basic tasks previously performed by people; by so doing, they make life a little easier and a little more pleasant.

Smart cards store vital information such as health records, drivers' licenses, bank balances, and so on. Smart phones, cars, and appliances with built-in computers can be programmed to better meet individual needs. A smart house has a built-in monitoring system that can turn lights on and off, open and close windows, operate the oven, and more.

With small computing devices available for performing smart tasks like cooking dinner, programming the VCR, and controlling the flow of information in an organization, people are able to spend more time doing what they often do best - being creative. Computers can help people work more creatively.

Multimedia systems are known for their educational and entertainment value, which we call 'edutainment'. Multimedia combines text with sound, video, animation, and graphics, which greatly enhances the interaction between user and machine and can make information more interesting and appealing to people. Expert systems software enables computers

to 'think' Re experts. Medical diagnosis expert systems, for example, can help doctors in pinpoint a patient's illness, suggest further tests, and prescribe appropriate drugs. Connectivity enables computers and software that might otherwise be incompatible to communicate and to share resources. Now that computers are proliferating in many areas and networks are available for people to access data and communicate with others, personal computers are becoming interpersonal PCs. They have the potential to significantly improve the way we relate to each other. Many people today telecommute - that is, use their computers to stay in touch with the office while they are working at home. With the proper tools, hospital staff can get a diagnosis from a medical expert hundreds or thousands of miles away. Similarly, the disabled can communicate more effectively with others using computers. Distance learning and videoconferencing are concepts made possible with the use of an electronic.

classroom or boardroom accessible to people in remote locations. Vast databases of information are currently available to users of the Internet, all of whom can send mail messages to each other. The information superhighway is designed to significantly expand this interactive connectivity so that people all over the world will have free access to all these resources.

People power is critical to ensuring that hardware, software, and connectivity are effectively integrated in a socially responsible way. People - computer users and computer professionals - are the ones who will decide which hardware, software, and networks endure and how great an impact they will have on our lives. Ultimately people power must be exercised to ensure that computers are used not only efficiently but in a socially responsible way.

Data mining is simply filtering through large amounts of raw data for useful information, that gives businesses a competitive edge. This information is made up of meaningful

Patterns and trends that are already in the data but were previously unseen.

The most popular tool used when mining is artificial intelligence (AI). AI technologies try to work the way the human brain works, by making intelligent guesses, learning by example, and using deductive reasoning. Some of the more popular AI methods used in data mining include neural networks, clustering, and decision trees.

Neural networks look at the rules of using data, which are based on the connections found or on a sample set of data. As a result, the software continually analyzes value and compares it to the other factors, and it compares these factors repeatedly until it finds patterns emerging. These patterns are known as rules. The software then looks for other patterns based on these rules or sends out an alarm when a trigger value is hit.

Clustering divides data into groups based on similar features or limited data ranges. Clusters are used when data isn't labelled in a way that is favourable to mining.

For instance, an insurance company that wants to find instances of fraud wouldn't have its records labelled as fraudulent or not fraudulent. But after analyzing patterns within clusters, the mining software can start to figure out the rules that point to which claims are likely to be false.

Decision trees, like clusters, separate the data into subsets and then analyze the subsets to divide them into further subsets, and so on (for a few more levels). The final subsets are then small enough that the mining process can find interesting patterns and relationships within the data.

Once the data to be mined is identified, it should be cleansed. Cleansing data frees it from duplicate information and erroneous data. Next, the data should be stored in a uniform format within relevant categories or fields. Mining tools can work with all types of data storage, from large data warehouses to smaller desktop databases to flat files. Data warehouses and data marts are storage methods that involve

Archiving large amounts of data in a way that makes it easy to access when necessary. When the process is complete, the mining software generates a report. An analyst goes through the report to see if further work needs to be done such as refining parameters, using other data analysis tools to examine the data, or even scrapping the data if it's unusable. If no further work is required, the report proceeds to the decision makers for appropriate action.

The power of data mining is being used for many purposes, such as analyzing Supreme Court decisions, discovering patterns in health care, pulling stories about competitors from newswires, resolving bottlenecks in production processes, and analyzing sequences in the human genetic makeup. There really is no limit to the type of business or area of study where data mining can be beneficial.