What is the digital wallet? explain google wallet as an example of digital wallet

Digital Wallet

Encryption software that works like a physical wallet during electronic commerce transactions. A wallet can hold a user's payment information, a digital certificate to identify the user, and shipping information to speed transactions. The consumer benefits because his or her information is encrypted against piracy and because some wallets will automatically input shipping information at the merchant's site and will give the consumer the option of paying by digital cash or check. Merchants benefit by receiving protection against fraud.

A digital wallet functions much like a physical wallet. The digital wallet was first conceived as a method of storing various forms of electronic money (e-cash), but with little popularity of such e-cash services, the digital wallet has evolved into a service that provides internet users with a convenient way to store and use online shopping information.

(2) The term “digital wallet” is also increasingly being used to describe mobile phones, especially smartphones, that store an individual’s credentials and utilize wireless technologies such asnear field communication (NFC) to carry out financial transactions.^[1][2][3][4]An individual’s bank account is usually linked to the digital wallet. They might also have their driver’s license, health card, loyalty card(s) and other ID documents stored on the phone. The credentials can be passed to a merchant’s terminal wirelessly via NFC. Certain sources are speculating that these smartphone “digital wallets” will eventually replace physical wallets.^[5] The system has already gained popularity in Japan, where digital wallets are known as Osaifu-Keitai or “wallet mobiles”.

How is a server different from a desktop? What are storage area networks? Can I use a high-end desktop in place of a server?

How do you know when you need a server? database software Do I need more than one server?

How much memory and disk space will it need? Will I have to replace it in six months? How much will a server cost?

Google Wallet As An Example Of Digital Wallet\

The digital wallet is a new variety of mobile banking technology. It is an alternative to paying merchants with cash (bills and coins), debit cards or credit cards. With the digital wallet, the user pays a merchant electronically by passing a smart phone by a sensor at the cash register or checkout terminal. Current concepts for the digital wallet rely on application of a technology called near field communications, or NFC.

Interest in developing digital wallet technology is spurred by projections that 70% of U.S. residents will own smart phones (such as iPhones and Androids) by 2014, and that 52% of these smart phones will support near field communications applications.

Privacy advocates are concerned about the potential for parties such as merchants, coupon services and market research firms, among others, to gather detailed information about people and their shopping habits. Researchers into the psychology of finance worry that the digital wallet will promote reckless spending, just as credit cards have, since the funds thus spent lack the tangibility of paper money and coins. Other analysts, by contrast, see a benefit to using the digital wallet, since it would facilitate personal budgeting and the tracking of spending. Smart phones used as digital wallets conceivably can be programmed to alert users about reaching personal budget limits, and to dissuade or even block their attempts to patronize certain merchants or to buy certain categories of goods or services.

Another potential positive is that data security promises to be much better with the digital wallet than with the traditional plastic credit or debit card, according to some analysts. The reason for this is that data encryption and user authentication can be more robust with this new technology.

he digital wallet is a specific technology within the broader fields of mobile banking and mobile money. Meanwhile, clearXchange is a new joint venture between several major U.S. banks in the mobile banking field.

Alternate Spellings: While there is no other common spelling for digital wallet, smart phone often appears as a single compound word, smartphone.

Examples:

Google, MasterCard, First Data Corp. and Citigroup are launching Google Wallet in the summer of 2011. It will be compatible with hardware supporting MasterCard PayPass, which allows the user to pay by tapping a credit card with an embedded smart chip on a terminal. PayPass was used in a recent trial at select subway stations and routes in New York City, as an option to pay fares.

Google also is working with 16 leading retailers (including American Eagle Outfitters, Walgreens, Macy's and Subway) to develop a new point of sale service called SingleTap. The system would draw down balances stored on users' smart phones.

Define NFC,Why Is a NFC chipset gonna be a basic part of every device in future?

Near Field Communication (NFC) has been a popular topic lately.  NFC is not a new technology, but it is new to most of the general public.  The primary premise of this technology is to allow users with compatible devices, such as smartphones, the ability to tap a similar device and transfer funds, files or specific data.  While this may not sound exciting, it is a huge step forward for mobile technology.  It is important to understand NFC technology and its many uses; it could benefit your business now and in the future.

companies such as MasterCard and Google have jumped on the bandwagon with both feet.  For example, a new application called Google Wallet was announced.  This application will allow you to check out at retail stores by simply tapping your phone on a device that will accept your funds for goods or services.  The application on your smartphone will be connected to your account with MasterCard.

There are many enticing opportunities with NFC for businesses.  Here are just a few:

• Check into a local establishment with much greater accuracy, as current GPS readings are not always correct.  This will allow establishments the ability to provide coupons and be sure the visitor has entered their store.  Once a coupon is redeemed, the user can also purchase in the store with their NFC compatible device.
• Restaurants can provide checkout services that allow multiple parties to purchase and add tips after a meal.  This will speed up the process for the patron as well as waiters and waitresses.
• Travel and Mass Transit can utilize NFC for Passenger and Baggage Check-In for increased efficiency as well as Boarding and Luggage recovery.  For example, should a piece of your luggage get lost, use a kiosk to locate it instead of waiting in lines to speak to an attendant.
• Vending machines will allow you to tap your phone and purchase a soda.

While there can be many uses for NFC technology, it is important to understand the benefits.

NFC is a very simple technology that anyone can use, and will soon be available to most smartphone users.  NFC utilizes a chip that can be embedded on SIM Cards, Micro SD Cards or on the phone unit itself.

NFC will provide for more efficient and timely customer service.  Reporting on the data the users are providing will instantaneously allow businesses to track and view results of various campaigns in real time.  When a customer checks into your establishment, redeems a coupon and purchases the discounted product or service, the business will immediately know the path and trend for that customer.

For the customer, NFC will allow them to redeem coupons, archive receipts, build on various loyalty programs such as check-ins, redeem gift cards/certificates and connect to their existing credit card accounts.  All of these options will bring great value to the end user and provide a much more efficient way to purchase products and services.  These factors help aid in the technological transition to NFC as many will be skeptical in the beginning.

Over time, technologies such as NFC and “mobile wallets” will continue to progress and act as prominent payment methodologies in our daily lives.  Security will always be an issue and pose as the primary threat to future adoption.  However, as these mobile technologies grow, the security measures that help protect your valuable assets will strengthen.  Security for mobile is no different for security for web; it will be an ongoing battle.  

However, NFC lends itself to a more secure environment.

It’s important to understand and acknowledge the concerns associated with emerging mobile technologies, such as NFC. However, as mobile continues to be a leading field for technological innovations, the public can be assured that the proper care and dedication will go into making sure these advancements are safe for the consumer and a benefit to business. Early adopters of NFC are already witnessing the benefits of this type of mobile technology. As the field continues to grow, your role as a consumer and as a business will also bear witness to these benefits.

What is QR code and what is it used for ?

They come to us from Japan where they are very common. QR is short for Quick Response (they can be read quickly by a cell phone). They are used to take a piece of information from a transitory media and put it in to your cell phone. You may soon see QR Codes in a magazine advert, on a billboard, a web page or even on someone’s t-shirt. Once it is in your cell phone, it may give you details about that business (allowing users to search for nearby locations), or details about the person wearing the t-shirt, show you a URL which you can click to see a trailer for a movie, or it may give you a coupon which you can use in a local outlet.

The reason why they are more useful than a standard barcode is that they can store (and digitally present) much more data, including url links, geo coordinates, and text. The other key feature of QR Codes is that instead of requiring a chunky hand-held scanner to scan them, many modern cell phones can scan them.

How could you use a QR code?

Your business, no matter how small or large, could use QR codes in a number of ways. You might auto generate one next to every product on your web site containing all the product details, the number to call and the URL link to the page so they can show their friends on their cell phone. You could add one to your business card containing your contact details so its easy for someone to add you to their contacts on their cell phone.

Add them to any print advertising, flyers, posters, invites, TV ads etc containing:

• Product details
• Contact details
• Offer details
• Event details
• Competition details
• A coupon
• Twitter, Facebook, MySpace IDs
• A link to your YouTube video

What is augmented reality ? How can it help us to navigate,discover things we don't know or get more information about things we know ,

Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented bycomputer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality. By contrast, virtual reality replaces the real world with a simulated one.

Augmentation is conventionally in real-time and in semantic context with environmental elements, such as sports scores on TV during a match. With the help of advanced AR technology (e.g. adding computer vision and object recognition) the information about the surrounding real world of the user becomes interactive and digitally manipulable. Artificial information about the environment and its objects can be overlaid on the real world. The term augmented reality is believed to have been coined in 1990 by Thomas Caudell, working at Boeing.^[1]

Research explores the application of computer-generated imagery in live-video streams as a way to enhance the perception of the real world. AR technology includes head-mounted displays and virtual retinal displays for visualization purposes, and construction of controlled environments containing sensors and actuators.

How does augmented reality work?

So, we’re all now experts in what AR is and how it came about. Today inAR Week is where we get into the nitty gritty a little further. What we’re going to take a look at is how augmented reality actually works and, from that, you should get a pretty good idea of why we are where we are with AR applications and what it’s going to take to get this branch of technology up to that next level.

To make sense of the process, we’ll break it down into the necessary components which make AR possible. So, from the viewer to the world and beyond, this is how AR works.

Window on the world

The first thing you’re going to need for augmented reality is some reality. If you haven’t got that then you’ve got nothing to work with and all you could possibly create is an entirely virtual world. So, effectively what you need is a window on the world of some sort. Whether that’s a remote view through a video screen - as in the case of a television - or, more likely, the location with which you wish to augment. You need that backdrop, the canvas of reality to add information to which you otherwise would not be able to appreciate. If there’s no reality, there’s no AR. Simple enough so far.

AR display device

Now that you’ve got your background environment, you need a way of displaying the augmentations to your brain. The idea of AR, of course, is to supply information of your environment that’s otherwise undetectable to your naked senses. So, for it to work, you need a method of displaying those annotations that wouldn’t ordinarily exist. Most often, what we’re talking about is effectively a frame through which to look at the world. The classic examples are a mobile phone, head mounted display (glasses or a visor), heads up display (in the case of a fighter pilot’s windscreen) or even a tablet in this day and age.

There are other possibilities; such as a projector to provide on overlay directly onto the surface you wish to augment, or even the most common one of all, a television or monitor which supplies quite neatly a view of reality via a remote camera and also the power to display graphic information depending upon what’s added by the production team in their broadcast studios or your computer hardware.

Beyond the visual world, you could also have devices for other senses such as a glove or earpiece which could supply more information to both the sense of touch or hearing. Whatever the case, there needs to be something in between your organic senses to allow them to translate an unseen stimulus from the environment into something you can detect.

Data

It’s one thing to have your reality and a way to display the desired augmentations, but a crucial piece of the puzzle is having that extra information to add in the first place. What we’re most usually talking about is a database of some sort and there’s two main forms that this is likely to take.

The first is that it could be a local source of information. In other words a database stored somewhere on the AR user. More likely in this day and age is the second option, and that’s using that great source of freely accessible data that is the Internet. We could be talking about something very specific such as the information on Wikipedia or it could be a more complex application pulling in data from a variety of places such as Facebook, Flickr and Twitter to, perhaps, offer face recognition based on photographs followed by whereabouts, telephone numbers, status updates and likes and dislikes - all from information shared on these social networks.

Of course, the data doesn’t have to be free if it’s on the Internet. It could be something stored in the cloud but still secured and private and only accessible to certain people. That way it’s still information that can be accessed from anywhere without having to walk around with a hard disk strapped to the user’s back. However, if you wish to wear that backpack or keep all the data on your mobile phone, then that's okay too.

Connection

Whether or not the user has to physically carry around the data or whether it’s found on the Internet instead, the fact remains that one requires a live connection to that information for AR to work. In the case of having it all locally with a backpack strapped on, it’s simply a case of using high speed cables to wire a direct connection between the computer and your window on the world, that is your AR display device.

In many ways, this is actually the best solution because the connection is both quick and reliable. The limitation is that it’s rather impractical on the mass user level, so heading into the future the connection that we’re talking about is a connection - usually wireless - to the Internet. That’s either going to be over a local network to a router, via Wi-Fi if in a more controlled environment, but more probably if AR is really going to kick off in a big way, it’s going to be need to be done over something further reaching and more ubiquitous in the shape of the mobile broadband network; be that over HSDPA, LTE, Wi-Max or whatever the best available technology is at the time.

Naturally, the downside here is that the user is relying heavily on coverage and speed of connection for a consistent AR experience as well as the servers at the other end being in good shape too. Thankfully, all of this is getting better as time goes on and, although it might seem like the weak link at the moment, it’s not, in fact, the area that’s holding AR back, but more on that later in AR Week.

Application

The hardware is in place but there’s a lot of reality out there and bags of information on the Internet for your AR display device to connect to. What you now need is some software to recognise what’s coming into your device from the outside world, call up the required information based on that and then instruct your mobile phone, your HMD or whatever it is to display and overlay the data correctly - and all in the blink of an eye. Not an easy task.

For most of the top labs studying AR in the technology institutions of the world, this is exactly what they’re working on. Potentially this application could be stored on the Internet, on your display device or a dedicated box somewhere on your person. Generally speaking it’s going to require some decent graphics processing hardware to work properly for the initial recognition part of the process as well as having the ability to generate the augmentations for the user to see. What’s more, all of this has to be done in real time for it to work.

One way around the recognition part of the equation is by using GPS to track the user's position instead of having to rely on the software correctly identifying your surroundings, based on a view of information through the lens on your cameraphone or whatever it may be. The issue there, though, is that you need the positional information to be dead on, as well as a data set that includes maps, although the latter isn’t such a problem with the likes of Google Maps and Street View available to all.

Perhaps one of the hardest tasks of all is to track the virtual objects and render them correctly in 3D so that the user can move through his or her environment while still receiving accurate annotations of that which they see. To do all that without so much as having the overlay a millimetre off, in real time and with the correct perspective, is one of the toughest challenges of all.

Finally, on a more conceptual than technical level, the developer also needs to make sure that any information that they display to the user is done so in a meaningful way that’s relevant to the task. We can only take in so much at once and it’s no good bombarding someone with more than their brain can process. So, while it might be possible for an application to pull in 3D details of absolutely everything in a scene, it’s important to have something that’s both selective and unobtrusive as well. This is augmented reality and both the augmentations and the reality are just as important as one another.

Conclusion

So, those are the elements that make AR possible and if you manage to complete that chain from one end to the other, then you’ll have a system that works and is hopefully useful at the same time. From our brief look at each step so far, it’s very easy to see that none of this is straight forward and we’ll take a closer look at where most of the challenges lie later in AR Week. Stay tuned.

Compare Resistive Touch Screen And Capacitive Touch Screen In Terms Of Technology, Cost, Power Comsumption,Touch Senseitivity,Display Quality and abundance Of Raw Materials.Can You Name Any Other Technology Used In Touch Screen Beside These Two.

Compare Resistive Touch Screen And Capacitive Touch Screen 


Capacitive touch screen
The capacitive touch screen is made up of a glass panel that is coated with a material.
The property of this material is that it can store electrical charge. So the capacitive touchscreens basically stores electrical charge.
But for good, Human body can also store charge. So, when you touch this screen with your finger, some of these charges on the screen gets transferred to your finger. The oscillator circuits located at the corner of your system will then sense this decrease in the charge on screen and the spot the exact location where touch occurred, and then transfers this specified information to the touchscreen driver software.
   

Pros:

• Multi touch support available
• Visibility good even in sunlight
• Highly sensitive to finger touch leading to ease of use
• Not prone to dust particles
• Glossy look and feel

Cons:

• Need to have atleast 5% humidity to achieve capacitive effect
• More expensive than Resistive touch screen
• Doesn't work with inanimate objects/fingernails/gloved fingers
• Latest technology, may need to evolve a bit more!

Resistive touch screen
Resistive touch screen, on the other hand is again made up of normal glass panel. However, this glass panel in this case is coated with three layers.Two of these layers being conductive and resistive are kept apart using spacers while the third scratch-resistant layer covers the whole setup. When the resistive touch screen system is running, current flows through these layers. On a finger touch, the two layers get connected and change in electrical field occurs. The system calculates the coordinates of point of contact and passes them to touch screen driver software.


Pros:

• Relatively cheaper
• Can operate with any pointing devices like stylus, pen, nail etc
• Can operate at any level of humidity
• Ease of use, as it could be used even with your winter gloves on!
• Very useful for people using handwriting recongition system, due to ease of use with a stylus!
• More accurate than capacitive touch screen!
• Old technology and hence more reliable!

Cons:

• Multi touch support not available. Though technology did evolve after some modifications with the existing resistive touch screen circuitry, its still not 100% developed yet!
• Highly sensitive. As it can operate with almost any sort of pointing devices, can be more vulnerable with dust particles!
• Poor visibility in sunlight, mostly due to multiple layers reflecting light!
• Screen, being sensitive at the upper layer, can be more vulnerable to scratches!

	Resistive Touchscreen	Capacitive Touchscreen
Visibility indoors	Typically very good	Typically very good
Visibility in sunlight	Typically poor, the extra layer reflects too much ambient light.	Typically very good.
Touch Sensitivity	Pressure is needed to make the contact within the screen's layers, can be affected with fingers (even with gloves on), fingernails, stylus, etc. The latter is important in Asian markets and anywhere where gesture or character recognition is important.	Even the slightest contact of your electron-rich finger with the screen's glass is enough to activate the capacitive sensing system below. Doesn't work with inanimate objects/fingernails/gloved fingers. Handwriting recognition is therefore cumbersome.
Accuracy	Accurate to at least display pixel resolution, as can be seen when drawing (or writing characters) with a stylus. Useful for handwriting recognition and interfaces with smaller control elements.	Accurate to within a few pixels, in theory, but seriously limited by the physical size of your fingertips, which make it hard to accurately press any control element or select something on screen that's smaller than 1cm2.
Cost	Cheap to use in a phone design.	Definitely more expensive than resistive screens, by between 10% and 50%, depending on who you talk to. On a flagship device, the extra build cost isn't that important, for a mid-priced phone, using a capacitive screen might be prohibitive.
Possibility for multi-touch	None, without re-engineering the way a resistive screen is wired into a device's electronics.	Depends on implementation and software, but used in the iPhone and tech-demoed on the HTC-made G1. Also may be legal battles with Apple, depending on how multi-touch is used?
Robustness	The very nature of resistive screens means that their top layer is soft, soft enough to press down and indent. This makes such a screen vulnerable to scratches and other minor damage. A resistive screen also gradually wears out and requires more frequent calibration.On the plus side, a resistive layer over a plastic screen does make for a device that's generally robust and unlikely to be damaged by a fall.	Glass can be used as the outer layer. Although not invulnerable (and certainly prone to shattering on major impact), glass is more resistant to casual scratches and blemishes.
Hygiene	Because a stylus or fingernail can be used to effect each touch, there's a potential for less fingerprints, finger grease and germs to be transferred to the screen.	Full finger touch is needed on the screen, but the use of glass as the main material means that the screen's also very quick and easy to clean.
Environmental concerns	Nokia has stated that the Nokia 5800, like all their phones, will work happily between -15°C and +55°C and at all real world humidities.	Typical operating temperature is 0° to 35°, requires at least 5% humidity (for capacitive effect to work)

Name Any Other Technology Used In Touch Screen Beside These Two.

Infrared

An infrared touchscreen uses an array of X-Y infrared LED and photodetector pairs around the edges of the screen to detect a disruption in the pattern of LED beams. These LED beams cross each other in vertical and horizontal patterns. This helps the sensors pick up the exact location of the touch. A major benefit of such a system is that it can detect essentially any input including a finger, gloved finger, stylus or pen. It is generally used in outdoor applications and point of sale systems which can't rely on a conductor (such as a bare finger) to activate the touchscreen. Unlike capacitive touchscreens, infrared touchscreens do not require any patterning on the glass which increases durability and optical clarity of the overall system.

Acoustic Pulse Recognition Touchscreens

lo Acoustic Pulse Recognition (APR) touchscreens use a completely new and unique way of sensing touches on a display. Consisting only of a glass overlay mounted in front of the display, together with a small electronic controller board, APR technology provides a new set of benefits that have only been partially achieved before by other touch technologies.

APR combines the ultimate in optical qualities, durability, and stability, with excellent dragging properties. By combining stylus, glove, bare finger and fingernail activation, with low-cost advantages, APR is well-suited for many diverse applications including kiosk, point-of-sale and medical instrumentation. In addition, its pure-glass surface is resistant to scratches, water and other contaminants on the screen, and can be scaled from 2.5-inch to 42-inch displays.

APR works in a simple and elegant way—by recognizing the sound created when the glass is touched at a given position.

Benefits

• Optics and durability of pure glass
• Works with finger, glove, pen, credit card, fingernail
• Resistant to water, dust, grease
• No wear-out mechanism
• Works even with scratches
• Excellent drag performance
• Sealable to NEMA 4/IP65 standards
• One time factory calibration, no drift
• Thin borders—only 5mm
• True flat surface
• Small and large sizes
• Palm rejection

Applications

• Restaurant and hospitality automation
• Retail
• Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals
• Pharmacy automation
• Industrial automation
• Office automation