Using Cellphones and Computers to Transmit Information

Modern technology can do some pretty incredible things. It’s possible, with current technological capabilities, to
transmit digital information over long distances using coding and decoding processes without losing the contents
of the original information. The best part is we don’t have to do anything besides send the message and wait for it
to be received.

Consider, for instance, the cellular phone. It wasn’t until the early 1980s that this mobile variation on the standard
telephone was even available for people to use. Now, it seems like everyone has a cellphone, sending and
receiving information in speedy ways invisible to the human eye.

There’s so much going on below the surface of what we can see when we use our cellphones. One difference
between a mobile phone and a traditional landline telephone is you can move the cellphone just about anywhere
geographically and still use it to talk to other phone users. No matter how far away you are from someone you call,
you can usually still understand each other’s voices over the phone, thanks to radio waves and something called a
cellular network.

It took many evolutions in phone technology to get where we are today, but the current cellphone wirelessly
transmits information by connecting to a cellular network. Mobile phone operators provide these cellular
networks, which function with the help of cellphone towers, and then calls are made over what is known as a radio
link. Through this process, information—in this case, voice input—is broken down and reassembled over the radio
link, so the person on the other end instantaneously hears what is said.

In other words, as you speak into the phone, your voice is converted into an electrical signal, transmitted in the
form of a radio wave by these towers, and then converted back into the sound of your voice by the phone on the
receiving end. All this happens in the blink of an eye while you chat over the phone without any distortion.

The process of transmitting digital information is not exclusive to telephones. Computers are another instrument
that can receive, decode and convert information, though typically this information is not a person’s voice, but
written content.

We may take for granted the ease with which we can pass along information with computers and the Internet, but
many forces are hard at work processing information to make computers easier for us to use and communication
more reliable.

The first computer showed up around 1941, but it was much more limited in its capabilities than computers now.
In fact, computers are everywhere—sometimes they are so small we do not think of them as computers at all,
though they serve the same function as the computers we have at home, the office or school.

Much like cellular telephones, computers were actually first used to transmit sensitive information across
geographical spaces by the military at a point when government officials worried it would be possible to knock out
a country’s entire telephone grid.

Computer engineers began finding ways to link their computers together in order to share information among
them. This linking began with just a couple of computers and grew to the millions which connect regularly today.
Ultimately, that’s how what we know as the Internet was developed.

Wireless computer networking is also similar to cellular phone use in that computers use the same networks our
mobile phones use.

While you speak into the telephone using your voice, you typically insert data into your computer by typing on the
keyboard. You may decide to share information through an email or access information on a website by typing in
or visiting what is known as a hyperlink.
When you use the Internet to share and access information, you connect to the relevant network. You can send a
message from your computer to another computer anywhere in the world and it will arrive almost immediately,
going through many different networks in the process.

Still, the information you send does not travel in a single piece as it might through the standard mail service;
instead, it is broken down into smaller digital information. As with a cellphone, the information you send is
fragmented into tiny pieces and then reconstructed once it’s reached its destination. Along with your message
comes other information, for instance about ordering, or how the message should be restructured to make sense
to the reader. Your message will also include more basic data about where it came from and where it is supposed
to go.

Computers and the Internet require many high-tech and complicated pieces to run properly, but something known
as a router is a key instrument that keeps information being sent from one computer to another going along the
correct pathway. The Internet also relies on telephone wires and satellite links for wireless information sharing.

It’s important to note that for the Internet to work as it does, many companies have to agree to work with one
another. The Internet is really a collection of networks working together toward a common goal of allowing
information to be shared.

The Origins of The Internet

All of the men were nervous as they waited. But Len Kleinrock was the most nervous. The year was 1969, and just
over 20 people were crowded into the room. A group of pale men in their 20s and 30s, the computer scientists
stood beside executives from big telephone companies. The men tapped their feet impatiently. They waited.

The computer itself loomed along the wall, 15 feet wide and 35 feet long. A long grey cable snaked from the
computer to a smaller machine, the router or “switch,” in the corner. The two machines were important, but the
real reason the men had gathered was the activity happening in that long grey cable. They were about to see
whether information could successfully flow between a computer and router, for the first time in history.

At the center of the group was Len Kleinrock, the 35-year-old star of computer networking. Kleinrock was a
professor at UCLA and was the one who had engineered this system. “Everybody was ready to point the finger if it
didn’t work,” said Kleinrock. “Happily, the bits began to flow from the host to router. I like to refer to that day as
when the Internet took its first breath of life, first connected to the real world. It’s like when a baby is born and has
its first experience of the outside world.”

For Kleinrock, that moment had been almost a decade in the making. He originally became interested in the
problem of network connection while working on the East Coast. He recalled, “I looked around at MIT and Lincoln
Laboratories [sic]: I was surrounded by computers and recognized that one day they’re going to have to talk to
each other. And it was clear that there was no adequate technology to allow that.”

At the same time that Kleinrock was growing absorbed in the problems of network connection, the United States
government was ramping up its investment in science and technology research. The Soviet Union’s famous launch
of a satellite called Sputnik had been an embarrassment for the United States—the United States thought that it
should be the leader of space travel. Eisenhower created a branch within the Department of Defense to ensure
that the scientific leadership of America wouldn’t be eclipsed again in the future. This new organization, the
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), became one of the major engines of technological innovation
throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

In 1962, while Kleinrock was finishing up graduate school, ARPA created a new department devoted to computer
science. The head of this division was J.C.R. Licklider, a fellow scientist at MIT who also worked on network
structures.
“He was one of those visionaries who foresaw the advantages of combining humans with computer,” said
Kleinrock of his former colleague and boss. “He created a concept called man-computer symbiosis, recognizing
that if you put the two together, you could get very significant results.” Licklider ran into political problems at
ARPA and ultimately left to return to MIT, but not until he had planted the idea of networking as a concept worthy
of funding.

Bob Taylor took over ARPA’s computer science division in 1966 and reinvigorated the project. Taylor had been
funding different projects in computer science departments at universities across the country and realized it was
growing too costly to give each department the machines and resources to do every task. What he needed was a
way for geographically far-flung research centers to somehow share each other’s computing resources. Taylor
needed to create a network. The man he brought in to build it, Larry Roberts, happened to be Kleinrock’s old
officemate at MIT.

“We were all intimately familiar with each other’s work, so when they asked, Roberts said, ‘Look, I know exactly
what this technology should be, and I know it can work. Len Kleinrock has already proven it,’” recalled Kleinrock.
“And bang, the project came to life. After a number of years, it came to action.”

And so it was that all of the men were crowded into the room watching a long grey cable. An air conditioner
hummed in the background, fighting against both the heat outside and the heat generated by the massive machine
in the room. Cheers broke out when they saw that the information was flowing, but the real test was to come a
few weeks later.

The first message between two computers was sent on October 29, 1969. This time the room was empty, except
for Kleinrock and one other engineer. They didn’t know that it was such an important milestone, so there was no
camera or tape recorder. The two men were trying to log onto a computer at the Stanford Research Institute and
successfully got through two letters of the message “login” before the system crashed.

“It was not until this thing called the Internet hit the consumer world that we recognized this network was really
important. At that point we looked back and said, ‘What was the first message ever sent on the Internet?’”
Kleinrock remembered. “Samuel Morse sent, ‘What hath God wrought?’ Alexander Graham Bell said, ‘Come here
Watson I need you.’ Neil Armstrong had his giant leap. These guys were smart and they understood media. We had
no such concept, but the message we created, ‘lo,’ [short for ‘login’] that’s the most prophetic, succinct, powerful
message we could have come up with by accident.”

Indonesiane :

Asal Usul Internet

Semua pria gugup ketika menunggu. Tetapi Len Kleinrock adalah yang paling gugup. Saat itu tahun 1969,
dan lebih dari 20 orang berdesakan di dalam ruangan. Sekelompok pria pucat berusia 20-an dan 30-an,
para ilmuwan komputer berdiri di samping para eksekutif dari perusahaan-perusahaan telepon besar.
Orang-orang itu menepuk kaki mereka dengan tidak sabar. Mereka menunggu.

Komputer itu sendiri menjulang di sepanjang dinding, 15 kaki lebar dan 35 kaki panjang. Kabel abu-abu
panjang meliuk dari komputer ke mesin yang lebih kecil, router atau "switch," di sudut. Kedua mesin itu
penting, tetapi alasan sebenarnya orang-orang berkumpul adalah aktivitas yang terjadi dalam kabel abu-
abu yang panjang itu. Mereka akan melihat apakah informasi dapat berhasil mengalir antara komputer
dan router, untuk pertama kalinya dalam sejarah.

Di pusat kelompok itu Len Kleinrock, bintang jaringan komputer berusia 35 tahun. Kleinrock adalah
seorang profesor di UCLA dan adalah orang yang telah merekayasa sistem ini. "Semua orang siap untuk
menuding jari jika itu tidak berhasil," kata Kleinrock. “Happily, bit mulai mengalir dari host ke router.
Saya suka mengacu pada hari itu ketika Internet mengambil nafas pertama kehidupannya, pertama
terhubung dengan dunia nyata. Seperti saat bayi lahir dan memiliki pengalaman pertama di dunia luar. ”

Bagi Kleinrock, momen itu sudah hampir satu dekade dalam pembuatannya. Dia awalnya tertarik pada
masalah koneksi jaringan saat bekerja di East Coast. Dia ingat, “Saya melihat sekeliling di MIT dan
Lincoln Laboratories [sic]: Saya dikelilingi oleh komputer dan menyadari bahwa suatu hari mereka harus
berbicara satu sama lain. Dan sudah jelas bahwa tidak ada teknologi yang memadai untuk
memungkinkan hal itu. ”

Pada saat yang sama ketika Kleinrock semakin terserap dalam masalah koneksi jaringan, pemerintah
Amerika Serikat meningkatkan investasinya dalam penelitian sains dan teknologi. Peluncuran satelit
yang terkenal oleh Uni Soviet bernama Sputnik telah memalukan bagi Amerika Serikat — Amerika
Serikat berpikir bahwa itu seharusnya menjadi pemimpin perjalanan ruang angkasa. Eisenhower
membuat cabang di dalam Departemen Pertahanan untuk memastikan bahwa kepemimpinan ilmiah
Amerika tidak akan hilang lagi di masa depan. Organisasi baru ini, Advanced Research Projects Agency
(ARPA), menjadi salah satu mesin utama inovasi teknologi sepanjang tahun 1960-an dan 1970-an.

Pada tahun 1962, ketika Kleinrock menyelesaikan sekolah pascasarjana, ARPA menciptakan departemen
baru yang ditujukan untuk ilmu komputer. Kepala divisi ini adalah J.C.R. Licklider, seorang rekan ilmuwan
di MIT yang juga bekerja pada struktur jaringan.

"Dia adalah salah satu dari para visioner yang meramalkan keuntungan menggabungkan manusia
dengan komputer," kata Kleinrock dari mantan rekan kerja dan atasannya. "Dia menciptakan sebuah
konsep yang disebut simbiosis manusia-komputer, mengakui bahwa jika Anda menempatkan keduanya
bersama-sama, Anda bisa mendapatkan hasil yang sangat signifikan." Licklider mengalami masalah
politik di ARPA dan akhirnya pergi untuk kembali ke MIT, tetapi tidak sampai ia menanam gagasan
jaringan sebagai konsep yang layak untuk pendanaan.

Bob Taylor mengambil alih divisi ilmu komputer ARPA pada tahun 1966 dan menghidupkan kembali
proyek tersebut. Taylor telah mendanai berbagai proyek di departemen ilmu komputer di universitas-
universitas di seluruh negeri dan menyadari itu tumbuh terlalu mahal untuk memberikan setiap
departemen mesin dan sumber daya untuk melakukan setiap tugas. Yang dibutuhkannya adalah cara
untuk pusat-pusat penelitian geografis yang luas untuk berbagi sumber daya komputasi satu sama lain.
Taylor perlu membuat jaringan. Pria yang dia bawa untuk membangunnya, Larry Roberts, kebetulan
adalah pejabat lama Kleinrock di MIT.

“Kami semua sangat akrab dengan pekerjaan satu sama lain, jadi ketika mereka bertanya, Roberts
berkata," Lihatlah, saya tahu persis apa teknologi ini seharusnya, dan saya tahu itu dapat bekerja. Len
Kleinrock telah membuktikannya, '”kenang Kleinrock. “Dan, proyek itu hidup kembali. Setelah beberapa
tahun, ia bertindak. ”

Dan begitulah semua laki-laki itu berdesakan masuk ke ruangan sambil menonton kabel abu-abu
panjang. Sebuah AC bersenandung di latar belakang, melawan panas luar dan panas yang dihasilkan
oleh mesin besar di ruangan. Tepuk tangan meriah ketika mereka melihat bahwa informasi itu mengalir,
tetapi tes yang sebenarnya akan datang beberapa minggu kemudian.

Pesan pertama antara dua komputer dikirim pada 29 Oktober 1969. Kali ini ruangan itu kosong, kecuali
Kleinrock dan satu insinyur lainnya. Mereka tidak tahu bahwa itu adalah tonggak yang penting, jadi tidak
ada kamera atau tape recorder. Kedua orang itu mencoba masuk ke komputer di Stanford Research
Institute dan berhasil melewati dua surat pesan "login" sebelum sistem crash.

“Tidak sampai hal yang disebut Internet ini menghantam dunia konsumen yang kami kenal jaringan ini
benar-benar penting. Pada saat itu kami melihat ke belakang dan berkata, 'Apa pesan pertama yang
pernah dikirim di Internet?' ”Kleinrock ingat. "Samuel Morse mengirim," Apa yang Tuhan tempa?
"Alexander Graham Bell berkata," Kemarilah Watson, aku membutuhkanmu. "Neil Armstrong
mengalami lompatan raksasa. Orang-orang ini pintar dan mereka mengerti media. Kami tidak memiliki
konsep seperti itu, tetapi pesan yang kami buat, ‘lo,’ [kependekan dari ‘login’] adalah pesan yang paling
kenabian, ringkas, dan kuat yang dapat kami temukan secara tidak sengaja. ”

Geometric Patterns in Islamic Art

Geometric patterns are decorative designs that usually consist of repeated shapes, specifically lines, squares, and
circles. In Islamic art, these patterns are extremely popular, and are used to ornament many different objects and
buildings. Their popularity, in part, can be tied to the fact that many sects of Islam forbid artists to depict the
natural world in any of its living forms. As a result, artists could not represent humans, animals, plants, or flowers
in their artwork. Although artists certainly faced limitations with regards to choosing an artistic subject, there was
still a great deal of innovation and variety in the abstract geometric patterns. Creative approaches to visually
depicting geometry arose out of the need to diversify and to individualize art.

In developing this geometric style, artists relied heavily on the discoveries made by Islamic scientists and
mathematicians. The typical patterns found in Islamic art reflect this relationship between visual art and the fields
of science and math. There are four shapes that can be found in a majority of geometric designs: the circle, star,
and both the four-sided and the multi-sided polygon. The shapes often connect with each other, making up
complex designs. These designs can be colorful or monochromatic. One of the most notable characteristics of
Islamic art and its use of geometric patterns is the use of repetition. The patterns will repeat, repeat, and repeat,
so that it is hard to tell when the pattern begins or ends.

News Debate: Virtual Ed

Do cyber schools make the grade?

Students in Caldwell, Idaho, can attend class in their pajamas! At Vallivue Virtual Academy, courses are taught
online. Students work at home with parents, who serve as learning coaches. A certified teacher oversees the
students’ progress.

The cyber school was launched as a free option for students in kindergarten through grade 8 who have trouble
succeeding in the district’s traditional public school. Supporters of the program say that virtual schools help
students avoid the social pressures that can interfere with learning. In addition, supporters argue, online courses
provide kids with more focused instruction and course options than they can get in a typical school.

Not everyone gives cyber schools a passing grade, however. Some educators argue that online learning makes it
hard for students to make friends. Many parents also feel that cyber schools put unrealistic time demands on them
because they have to oversee their kids’ daily work.
Are virtual schools a valid option? Current Events student reporters Sophia Platcow and Peter Brosnan each log in
on a side.

Crash Course to Failure

Technology can benefit education, but it shouldn’t take over education. Students who go to virtual schools will
miss many of the benefits of being in a real school.

If kids attend school online, they will miss out on important social interactions. Payton Mcdonough, 13, a seventh
grader from Glencoe, Ill., agrees. “I don’t know how I could sit at a computer all day without actually interacting
with my peers and teachers,” he says.

In addition, virtual schools don’t have enough structure. Students who take online courses can set their own
schedules, which will cause problems for students who have trouble staying motivated.

Furthermore, online schooling puts stress on parents because they have to supervise what their kids do at home.
Many parents have full–time jobs. How are they going to run their children’s education, excel in their jobs, and
take care of their other responsibilities at home?

Virtual schools will make it harder for students to learn and will put too much pressure on parents.

It’s Time for Tech

In this ever–changing age of technology, it is important for students to learn to work in the virtual world.

Virtual learning does not need to replace classroom learning entirely, but it can help students work at their own
pace. If students struggle with subjects, they can take those courses online and spend more time on them. Valerie
VanSelous, a teacher from Hopewell Township, N.J., agrees. “Teachers, students, and parents need to embrace
new technology and not be afraid of it. Offering different teaching aids just might be the key to unlocking a
student’s potential.”

Virtual schools can also offer students much more flexible schedules. Students often juggle extracurricular
activities, sports, and schoolwork, and cyber schools could help them manage everything.

Finally, attending virtual school can prepare students for college and for work after graduation. “We need to be
responsible for working on our own,” says Angela Goscilo, a senior from Pound Ridge, N.Y. “We need to develop
technology skills that will help us in whatever we do. Getting an early start is a good idea.”

Berita Debat: Ed Virtual

Apakah sekolah siber mencapai nilai?

Siswa di Caldwell, Idaho, dapat menghadiri kelas dengan piyama mereka! Di Vallivue Virtual Academy, kursus
diajarkan secara online. Siswa bekerja di rumah dengan orang tua, yang berfungsi sebagai pelatih belajar. Seorang
guru bersertifikat mengawasi kemajuan siswa.

Sekolah-sekolah virtual diluncurkan sebagai pilihan gratis bagi siswa di taman kanak-kanak hingga kelas 8 yang
mengalami kesulitan untuk berhasil di sekolah negeri tradisional. Pendukung program mengatakan bahwa sekolah
virtual membantu siswa menghindari tekanan sosial yang dapat mengganggu pembelajaran. Selain itu, pendukung
berpendapat, kursus online memberikan anak-anak dengan lebih banyak instruksi.

Namun, tidak semua orang memberikan kelulusan sekolah virtual. Beberapa pendidik berpendapat bahwa
pembelajaran online menyulitkan siswa untuk berteman. Banyak orang tua juga merasa bahwa sekolah cyber
menempatkan pekerjaan harian anak-anak mereka.
Apakah sekolah maya merupakan pilihan yang valid? Mahasiswa hari ini, Sophia Platcow dan Peter Brosnan,
masing-masing masuk di satu sisi.

kursus kilat ke Kegagalan

Teknologi dapat bermanfaat untuk pendidikan, tetapi tidak boleh mengambil alih pendidikan. Siswa yang pergi ke
sekolah virtual akan kehilangan banyak manfaat berada di sekolah yang sebenarnya.

Jika anak-anak pergi ke sekolah, mereka akan kehilangan interaksi sosial yang penting. Payton Mcdonough, 13,
siswa kelas tujuh dari Glencoe, Ill., Setuju. "Saya tidak tahu bagaimana saya bisa duduk di komputer sepanjang hari
tanpa benar-benar berinteraksi dengan teman-teman dan guru saya," katanya.

Selain itu, sekolah virtual tidak memiliki struktur yang cukup. Siswa yang mengambil kursus online dapat mengatur
jadwal mereka sendiri, yang akan menciptakan masalah bagi siswa yang mengalami kesulitan untuk tetap
termotivasi.

Selain itu, sekolah online memberi tekanan pada orang tua karena mereka harus mengawasi apa yang dilakukan
anak-anak mereka di rumah. Banyak orang tua memiliki pekerjaan tetap. Bagaimana mereka menjalankan
pendidikan anak-anak mereka, unggul dalam pekerjaan mereka, dan mengurus tanggung jawab mereka yang lain
di rumah?

Sekolah-sekolah virtual akan menyulitkan siswa untuk belajar dan akan memberi terlalu banyak tekanan pada
orang tua.

Saatnya untuk Tech

Di era teknologi yang selalu berubah ini, penting bagi siswa untuk belajar bekerja di dunia maya.

Pembelajaran virtual tidak perlu menggantikan pembelajaran di kelas sepenuhnya, tetapi itu dapat membantu
siswa bekerja dengan kecepatan mereka sendiri. Jika siswa berjuang dengan subjek, mereka dapat mengambil
kursus online dan menghabiskan lebih banyak waktu untuk mereka. Valerie VanSelous, seorang guru dari Hopewell
Township, N.J., setuju. "Guru, siswa, dan orang tua perlu merangkul teknologi baru dan tidak perlu takut,
menawarkan bantuan pengajaran yang berbeda mungkin menjadi kunci untuk membuka potensi siswa."

Sekolah virtual juga dapat menawarkan jadwal yang lebih fleksibel kepada siswa. Siswa sering menyulap kegiatan
ekstrakurikuler, olahraga, dan sekolah, dan sekolah virtual membantu mereka mengelola semuanya.

Akhirnya, menghadiri sekolah virtual dapat mempersiapkan siswa untuk kuliah dan bekerja setelah lulus. "Kami
harus bertanggung jawab untuk wirausaha," kata Angela Goscilo, senior Pound Ridge, N.Y. "Kami perlu
mengembangkan keterampilan teknologi yang akan membantu kami dalam apa pun yang kami lakukan. Memulai
lebih awal adalah ide yang bagus."

Pola Geometris dalam Seni Islam

Pola geometris adalah desain dekoratif yang biasanya terdiri dari bentuk berulang, khususnya garis, kotak, dan
lingkaran. Dalam seni Islam, pola-pola ini sangat populer, dan digunakan untuk ornamen berbagai objek dan
bangunan. Popularitas mereka, sebagian, dapat dikaitkan dengan fakta bahwa banyak sekte Islam melarang
seniman untuk menggambarkan alam dalam bentuk apapun yang hidup. Akibatnya, seniman tidak dapat mewakili
manusia, hewan, tumbuhan, atau bunga dalam karya seni mereka. Meskipun seniman pasti menghadapi
keterbatasan dalam memilih subjek artistik, masih ada banyak inovasi dan variasi dalam pola geometris abstrak.
Pendekatan kreatif untuk menggambarkan secara visual geometri muncul dari kebutuhan untuk melakukan
diversifikasi dan untuk memilah-milah seni.

Dalam mengembangkan gaya geometris ini, para seniman sangat bergantung pada penemuan yang dibuat oleh
para ilmuwan dan matematikawan Islam. Pola-pola khas yang ditemukan dalam seni Islam mencerminkan
hubungan antara seni rupa dan bidang sains dan matematika. Ada empat bentuk yang dapat ditemukan di
sebagian besar desain geometris: lingkaran, bintang, dan poligon empat sisi dan multi-sisi. Bentuknya sering
terhubung satu sama lain, membentuk desain yang rumit. Desain ini bisa berwarna atau monokromatik. Salah satu
karakteristik yang paling menonjol dari seni Islam dan penggunaan pola geometrisnya adalah penggunaan
pengulangan. Pola akan berulang, ulangi, dan ulangi, sehingga sulit untuk mengatakan kapan pola dimulai atau
berakhir.