Techie Talk
Trends and Definitions

By Joey Mechelle Stenner, Editor

It’s 2007 and as we move into the future our knowledge is expanding and technological advances are on the rise. Our music may be an early American artform, but just as our repertoires, arrangements, choreography and costumes change with the times, so does our equipment and everyday life.

The Mp3/IPod generation has revolutionized the music industry. Cassette tapes, videotapes and record albums are virtually things of the past - traditional radio is now satellite or Internet radio, with hundreds of different styles of music available 24/7. Many choruses now produce and deliver learning CDs and/or Mp3s to members and guests, rather than learning tapes.

A large majority of choruses and quartets have Web sites and what can be done with those Webs sites is nearly limitless.
Surf the Web and you will find that many individual members and choruses post daily journals about their Sweet Adelines life, with daily blogs. Many even post performances and rehearsals on the Web through sites such as Youtube and MySpace. The popularity of networking Web sites, where a person can become part of an online community of people with the same interests, is on the rise.

Today’s technology is user-friendly and no longer for the quintessential computer nerd.

As President Pat LeVezu said, “the times are changing,” and the staff at headquarters and your Sweet Adelines International leaders are preparing to launch this organization into the 21st century. Watch for new advances in technology, including additional Web features and functions, and distance learning opportunities on the International Web site.
To give you a brief overview of some of the technology terms that are becoming a part of our everyday lives, here is a list of definitions:

Portable Media Player

A Portable Multimedia Player (PMP) is a self-reliant electronic device that is capable of storing and playing files in one or more media formats. Digital audio players (DAP), which display images and play videos, are considered PMPs. Like DAPs, data is typically stored on a hard drive, microdrive or flash memory.

MP3 Player

A digital audio player (DAP) is a device that stores, organizes and plays digital music files. It is more commonly referred to as an MP3 player (because of the MP3 format’s ubiquity), but DAPs often play many additional file formats. Some formats are proprietary, such as Windows Media Audio (WMA.) The Apple iPod, Creative Zen and Microsoft Zune are examples of popular MP3 players.

Midi File

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is an industry-standard electronic communications protocol that enables electronic musical instruments, computers and other equipment to communicate, control and synchronize with each other in real time. MIDI does not transmit an audio signal or media — it simply transmits digital data “event messages” such as the pitch and intensity of musical notes to play, control signals for parameters such as volume, vibrato and panning, cues and clock signals to set the tempo.

Podcast

A podcast is a media file that is distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds, for playback on portable media players and personal computers. Like radio, it can mean both the content and the method of syndication. The latter may also be termed podcasting. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster. The term podcast is derived from Apple’s portable music player, the iPod.

Web Conferencing/Webinar

Web conferencing is used to hold group meetings or live presentations over the Internet. In the early years of the Internet, the terms “web conferencing” and “computer conferencing” were often used to refer to group discussions conducted within a message board (via posted text messages), but the term has evolved to refer specifically to live or synchronous meetings, while the posted message variety of discussion is called a forum, message board, or bulletin board — much like the Yahoo SING group (groups.yahoo.com).

In a web conference, each participant sits at their own computer, and is connected to other participants via the Internet. The most basic feature of a web conference is screen sharing, whereby conference participants see whatever is on the presenter’s screen. Usually this is accompanied by voice communication, either through a traditional telephone conference, although sometimes text chat is used in place of voice.

A webinar is a seminar that is conducted over the World Wide Web. It is a type of web conferencing. In contrast to a Webcast, which is transmission of information in one direction only, a webinar is designed to be interactive between the presenter and audience. A webinar is live in the sense that information is conveyed according to an agenda, with a starting and ending time. In most cases, the presenter may speak over a standard telephone line, pointing out information being presented on screen, and the audience can respond over their own telephones, preferably a speakerphone.

Distance Learning Education

Distance Learning Education is a field of expertise exploring situations in which the learner and the teacher are separated in time, space or both. The technologies used to mediate in the teaching/learning situation are classified in four groups: printed, audio, video and electronic, according to the following structure:

• Printed Correspondence education. books, study guides, texts and other printed materials.

• Audio Broadcast radio, telephone, audiocassette, CDs, audioconference.

• Video Broadcast and cable TV, satellite, videoconference, recorded video.

• Electronic Computer mediated communication, mobile learning.

In Distance Learning Education, students may not be required to be present in a classroom, but that also may be a question of option. As for an electronic classroom or Virtual Learning Environment, it may or not be a part of a distance education set up. Electronic classrooms can be both on campus, and off campus.

E-Learning/Online Learning

Electronic learning or E-learning is an all-encompassing term generally used to refer to computer-enhanced learning, although it is often extended to include the use of mobile technologies such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and MP3 players. It may include the use of web-based teaching materials and hypermedia in general, multimedia CD-ROMs or Web sites, discussion boards, collaborative software, e-mail, blogs, text chat, computer aided assessment, educational animation, simulations, games, learning management software and more, with possibly a combination of different methods being used.

RSS Feed

RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated digital content, such as blogs, news feeds or podcasts.
Image/Video Hosting Sites

Video/image server sites like Photobucket.com and Youtube.com host images, videos and slideshows on its servers. They are typically free (although upgrades cost) and usually used for personal photographic albums, remote storage of avatars displayed on Internet forums, and storage of videos. Photobucket’s image hosting is often used for eBay, MySpace, Bebo and Facebook accounts, LiveJournals or other blogs, and message boards. They advertise 99.9% uptime, and offer 1 GB free storage (10 GB with paid account), 10 GB free bandwidth (unlimited with paid account). Photobucket currently has Terms of Service that disallows inappropriate content, so its uses are even appropriate for children. Youtube.com allows you to post videos (under 10MB) for free — the site provides HTML and URL links so you can send to family or post on Web sites.

Internet Radio (digital radio and digital broadcasting)

Internet radio (E-Radio) is a broadcasting service transmitted via the Internet. Not every Internet radio station has a corresponding traditional radio station. Many Internet radio stations are completely independent from traditional radio stations and broadcast only on the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted broadly through wireless means but is delivered over the World Wide Web. E-Radio suggests a streaming media that presents listeners with a continuous stream of audio to which they have no control much like traditional broadcast media. It is not synonymous with podcasting, which involves downloading and therefore copyright issues. Nor does e-Radio suggest on-demand file serving.

Because the radio signal is relayed over the Internet, it is possible to access the stations from anywhere in the world. This makes it a popular service for expatriates and for people who have interests that may not be adequately catered for by their local radio stations. Some of the Internet radio services offer news, sports, talk and various genres of music.

Streaming Media

Streaming media is multimedia that is continuously received by, and normally displayed to, the end-user while it is being delivered by the provider. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather than to the medium itself. The distinction is usually applied to media that are distributed over telecommunications networks, as most other delivery systems are either inherently streaming (e.g. radio, television) or inherently non-streaming (e.g. books, video cassettes, audio CDs).

Blog

A blog is a user-generated Web site where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order. Blogs often provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Companies use blogs to generate a discussion and build a buzz around a particular topic.
Most blogs are primarily textual although some focus on photographs (photoblog), sketchblog, videos (vlog), or audio (podcasting), and are part of a wider network of social media. The term “blog” is derived from “Web log.”

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is a brand originally licensed by the Wi-Fi Alliance to describe the underlying technology of wireless local area networks (WLAN). A person with a Wi-Fi enabled device such as a computer, cell phone or PDA can connect to the Internet when in proximity of an access point. The region covered by one or several access points is called a hotspot. Hotspots can range from a single room to many square miles of overlapping hotspots. Wi-Fi also allows connectivity in peer-to-peer mode, which enables devices to connect directly with each other. This connectivity mode is useful in consumer electronics and gaming applications. You may also find that your computer can connect to printers and other external devices with Wi-Fi capabilities.

Bluetooth Technology

Bluetooth is an industrial specification for wireless personal area networks (PANs). Bluetooth provides a way to connect and exchange information between devices such as cell (mobile) phones, laptops, PCs, printers, digital cameras and video game consoles over a secure, globally unlicensed short-range radio frequency. Bluetooth is most commonly used with phones and hand-held computing devices, either using a Bluetooth headset or transferring files from phones/PDAs to computers.

Digital Images for Publication

Oftentimes a member will send images to be placed on the Sweet Adelines International Web site or in its publications. These images need to be of print quality. Which means the images should be at least 300 dpi (dots per inch) and at least 3x5 in size. If the images are not in the specific format stated above they will be too low of quality to print. Even if an image looks good printed on your home laser printer, it does not necessarily mean it will look good printed in a magazine. If you are sending images to HQ, please make sure they are of appropriate print quality, otherwise they will not be used.

Dots Per Inch (DPI)

Dots per inch (DPI) is a measure of printing resolution, in particular the number of individual dots of ink a printer or toner can produce within a linear one-inch (2.54 cm) space.

Audio CD Recorder

Gone are the days when cassette recording was your only option for learning materials. Today you can record directly to CD and it’s just as fast and easy as using a tape recorder. Many CD recorders feature enhanced key and tempo change controls, vocal reduction, one-button recording, record-review, reverb, a built-in metronome and chromatic tuner and more. With the combined CD recorder/players you can buy today it’s easy to program song play lists, record a few measures from the middle of a song, select start and end points for music practice loops, create your own music compilation CDs, convert MP3 files on a CD-ROM to song tracks on a standard audio CD, or continuously record an event such as a concert or church service while playing various CDs. You can find high quality CD recorders at superscope.net

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If you have technology questions you would like to have answered here in The Pitch Pipe, please send them to Ask a Techie, 9110 South Toledo, Tulsa, OK 74137 or saijoey@yahoo.com.

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