The Challenge of NFC for the DoD

NFC access card technology, via smart phones, like the Blackberry and iPhone. NFC is near field communication and is essentially two-way RFID, or radio frequency identification. NFC key cards are already in use in the hotel and airline industries, with downloadable room keys and boarding passes. Experts believe that eventually driver’s licenses and passport information will migrate to the NFC platform, but currently, there are too many problems with issuance, interoperability and security, that must be resolved first. One major issue for NFC-enabled mobile devices is that older cell phones do not have the installed chips. Existing smart phones without embedded NFC readers could work via Bluetooth tethering or a USB port.

The DoD put out a request for information in September of 2010, to start looking at NFC, to replace its Common Access Card and government employees’ PIV, or personal identity verification, credentials. Used by three million people for logical and physical access, the DoD CAC/PIV smartcard would be a big boon to the winning developer of the chip technology contract. The DoD is considering adding global payment, ATM access, and management of public transit service benefits to the card’s functionality. The DoD would also like to develop a debit card for military personnel, to be able to buy groceries both on and off base.

NFC is divided into two camps, open and secure. Open NFC allows for checking into hotel rooms, stores, or flights. Secure NFC enables financial transactions, whether through NFC access keys or NFC-enabled smartphones. The former can be developed much more rapidly than the latter because of the necessity of multiple layers of security and the complex nature of creating data protection software. Security is obviously the biggest concern for the DoD. Because of the many platforms and systems that support NFC, the potential for hackers and cyber-terrorists to develop viruses and malware is great.

Another problem, with NFC-enabled smartphones, is access control. PIN numbers and pattern codes for locking the phone are common, but the mechanism is usually optional. Any NFC mobile device approved for military use would need additional security layers. Some solutions to this are one-time passcode generators, biometrics, and GPS location tagging. The cameras on smartphones could be utilized for facial or iris recognition or fingerprint swiping. The phone’s GPS technology could flag fraudulent activity from individuals attempting to gain access from a computer that is far removed from the mobile device.

The rate of innovation for mobile apps is a further vulnerability in security. New versions of software are released at a frenetic pace and present problems for organizations trying to keep up. Imagine deploying and maintaining the technology over an organization the size of the Department of Defense. Whether the DoD goes with NFC-enabled smartphones or NFC access keys, it will certainly be a challenge. “>The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is considering replacing its Common Access Card with NFC access card technology, via smart phones, like the Blackberry and iPhone. NFC is near field communication and is essentially two-way RFID, or radio frequency identification. NFC key cards are already in use in the hotel and airline industries, with downloadable room keys and boarding passes. Experts believe that eventually driver’s licenses and passport information will migrate to the NFC platform, but currently, there are too many problems with issuance, interoperability and security, that must be resolved first. One major issue for NFC-enabled mobile devices is that older cell phones do not have the installed chips. Existing smart phones without embedded NFC readers could work via Bluetooth tethering or a USB port.

The DoD put out a request for information in September of 2010, to start looking at NFC, to replace its Common Access Card and government employees’ PIV, or personal identity verification, credentials. Used by three million people for logical and physical access, the DoD CAC/PIV smartcard would be a big boon to the winning developer of the chip technology contract. The DoD is considering adding global payment, ATM access, and management of public transit service benefits to the card’s functionality. The DoD would also like to develop a debit card for military personnel, to be able to buy groceries both on and off base.

NFC is divided into two camps, open and secure. Open NFC allows for checking into hotel rooms, stores, or flights. Secure NFC enables financial transactions, whether through NFC access keys or NFC-enabled smartphones. The former can be developed much more rapidly than the latter because of the necessity of multiple layers of security and the complex nature of creating data protection software. Security is obviously the biggest concern for the DoD. Because of the many platforms and systems that support NFC, the potential for hackers and cyber-terrorists to develop viruses and malware is great.

Another problem, with NFC-enabled smartphones, is access control. PIN numbers and pattern codes for locking the phone are common, but the mechanism is usually optional. Any NFC mobile device approved for military use would need additional security layers. Some solutions to this are one-time passcode generators, biometrics, and GPS location tagging. The cameras on smartphones could be utilized for facial or iris recognition or fingerprint swiping. The phone’s GPS technology could flag fraudulent activity from individuals attempting to gain access from a computer that is far removed from the mobile device.

The rate of innovation for mobile apps is a further vulnerability in security. New versions of software are released at a frenetic pace and present problems for organizations trying to keep up. Imagine deploying and maintaining the technology over an organization the size of the Department of Defense. Whether the DoD goes with NFC-enabled smartphones or NFC access keys, it will certainly be a challenge.

What Are The Computer Hardware Business Trends In India

If you are thinking of starting a computer hardware business in India, it is a favorable time to do so. Computer and other hardware components have become common items in households, at offices and commercial places as well. The computer hardware manufacturers are enjoying success in all segments of the industry.

Apart from computer manufacturing and computer hardware selling businesses, a third type of computer related business is that of computer repair services. Many users in the country, who are quite new to the use of computer hardware, end up misusing various hardware components. So, expert hardware professionals are required in large number in all cities to provide hardware repair services.

The first requirement to start a computer hardware business in India is to be computer educated. You must have familiarity with different hardware components so that you can purchase quality parts for your customers and also offer hardware repair and replacement services as and when required. Besides, it is important to learn about the ongoing trends of the hardware industry in the country.

As per the reports, the total sales of the personal computers increased by 42 percent between October and December 2009 as compared to the same period during the previous fiscal year. In terms of actual sales, over 2 million units of personal computers were sold all over the country. This figure and the corresponding increase in the growth percentage indicate that the computer hardware industry in the country has come out of the depression period in a praiseworthy manner.

Talking about the portable computers, the popular netbook brands were able to record a growth of 27 percent during the aforesaid time period. However, the notebooks went far ahead by recording the growth of 90 percent during the same period. In total, nearly 0.66 million units of netbooks and notebooks were sold in the computer stores in the country.

The branded desktop units sold in this quarter of 2009 accounted 65 percent of the total share. Out of this, 52 percent of the branded desktops were those manufactured by the multinational brands and only 13 percent belonged to the Indian manufacturers. The remaining 35 percent of the share was dominated by the assembled desktops. The growth is no different for other segments of the computer hardware industry, as printers and storage hardware too enjoyed an increase in their sales. Laser printers enjoyed the growth of 70 percent while the remaining 30 percent was shared by the inkjet printers and dot matrix printer.

As for the current year, the expectations of the computer hardware business owners are quite high. It is expected that the annual growth of about 7 percent should be recorded by the total sale of personal computers in the current fiscal year. In terms of actual sales, the figure for total number of personal computers to be sold is expected to cross the mark of 7 million.

So, you must consider it a good opportunity to have a computer hardware business in one of the cities of India. However, make sure that you analyze the level of competition already existing in the areas market.

Computer Software Products Why Photo Editing Software is a Must Have

Computer software products are some of the most popular commodities on the market. The rate at which computer software interest rises is extraordinary. A lot of the reason has to do with the variety of functions a computer can do for you while another part of the reason is because of the promise of awesome things to come.

One of the coolest kinds of computer software on the market is photo editing software. It serves a purpose that everyone can use at one point or another. The software can even serve to be a product that allows you to create your own company editing photos for other people. When it comes time to shop for your computer software products, take the following tips and tricks into consideration. The More Features, the Better Just because you might not need a lot of features in your photo editing computer software right now, doesn’t mean that you won’t need those features later down the line. Don’t try to save money now by purchasing a bare bones product because you’ll regret it later by having to invest in a new program. Give yourself some room to grow and get something that will allow you to learn new skills as you use the program. Quality Counts Don’t buy a product just because it is the cheapest option on the market because chances are that you won’t be able to create the quality you were hoping to tap into with your software. Not all computer software products are created equally so you have to do your homework to figure out which one is going to provide you with the quality that you need, want, and expect.

This probably means that you won’t get away with buying the cheapest image software on the market. Shop Online if You Can You might be surprised at all the options you will find on the Internet for photo editing computer software products. Not only is there a ton of different options to choose from but if you’re lucky you can find some products that come with free shipping which makes the investment even more worth your while. Don’t be afraid to check your local stores and compare prices with the online options but if you don’t at least browse the Internet for deals on top of the line products then you can be missing out on some serious money savings and high end software.

And if you have never heard of the software before then you’d be best off checking around for consumer reviews of the product before you purchase it yourself. This will give you an opportunity to understand what you can expect from the product if you do end up investing in it.

Why An Masters In Computer Science In Usa Is Beneficial Compared To An M.tech From India

Why pursue Masters in Computer Science in USA: The United States has 168 universities in the world’s top 500, 17 of which are in the top 20. The United Nations assigned an Education Index of 99.9 to the United States, ranking it number 1 in the world. One of the most impressive facts is the large number of presidents, prime ministers and leaders from other countries who have experienced the American education system and graduated from a university in the USA. The U.S. is one of the world’s most ethnically and socially diverse nations. Graduating from an accredited American university and being exposed to the rigors of the American education system is an investment in your future.

USA is the birthplace of technology: Technology has progressed at an accelerated rate in the United States. It is the birthplace of technology. Back in the 50s the first hard disk was used in the year 1956. Later in the year 1958, computer modem was introduced. Companies like IBM and Apple Computer developed personal computers while Microsoft created operating systems and office productivity software to run on them. With the growth of information on the World Wide Web, search companies like Yahoo! and Google developed technologies to sort and rank web pages based on relevance. Most of these companies have their headquarters in the US giving birth to the Silicon Valley.

Students pursuing masters in computer science in US acquire range of skills: Students pursuing MS in the US acquire range of skills within a short span of time such as
Knowledge of key computer science concepts, techniques and algorithms
An understanding of the workings and the API (Application Programming Interface) of modern computer systems including database systems
Skills in programming and software development
Expertise in the chosen area of Computer Science
Research skills and experiences that can be applied in any endeavour.

Students who want to pursue masters in computer science in US have opportunity to learn various things besides programming: Students have the opportunity to study from top
Computer Science Universities in USA and develop applications in diverse applied areas such as:
Computer Security
Robotics and Computer Vision
Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery
Databases
Mobile and Embedded Systems
Intelligent Systems
Computer Games
Distributed Systems and Web Development
Computer Graphics
and many similar cutting edge specialties from best universities in USA for computer science

Choosing right Computer Science Universities in USA for studying masters in CS in the USA is very important: Once you are done with giving your GRE/GMAT/TOEFL tests, the next things you must look forward to be choosing the right and top ranking US University to take admission in. GRE scores are required for admissions to most colleges in U.S.A. Apply to 5-8 universities. You could keep a few schools above your range, a few within your range and a few “safe options”. You might get some rejects- Do not feel disappointed. At our institute we provide guidance to our students from the very start i.e. from coaching for the entrance test to applying for the US F1 Visa.

Duration of pursuing Masters of computer science in USA: Each year, over 200,000 students earn a masters degree of which at least around 30,000 are Indians. This makes the
masters in computer science in US the most frequently awarded graduate degree in the US. Students typically spend between two and three years studying to earn a masters degree. However it is possible to earn some degrees in just one year. In general, masters degrees require that you complete six to eight advanced courses, in addition to an intensive study project and/or a thesis (a long paper based on independent scholarly research). Some graduate programs offer internships that provide a chance to work in your specific field of study with the sole purpose of gaining knowledge and experience.

Most graduates get a job soon after completing their Masters in computer Science in USA: Most graduates with Masters of computer Science in USA degree secure a job within three months of graduating. Furthermore, graduates either commence at a higher level than they would have, or are soon promoted. Employers recognize, and studies show, that professionals with a Masters degree on average perform better at work than their counterparts.

Interesting Facts Behind The Applemac Computers

Before Steve Jobs became one of the driving forces behind the personal computer revolution, he held the mundane job as a summer worker at an apple farm. The job left him with the belief that apples were the perfect fruit. Add to this the fact that he loved the simplicity and style of the Beatles’ Apple record label, coming to the decision of naming his new computer company “Apple Computers” was a natural.

Jobs and co-founder Steve Wozniak struggled over the name and finally decided that if no brainstorming session could come up with a better name, Apple it would be. You know the rest of that story and on April 1, 1976, Apple Computer, Inc. was born. The next item on the agenda was then to come up with a logo.

The pair’s first design incorporated an image of Sir Isaac Newton along with a tree and a simple banner that read “Apple Computer.” Steve Jobs wasn’t happy with the result, thinking it was too busy and didn’t send a strong enough message. With the challenges that a personal computer company faced in the early days of the computer revolution, a strong and simple brand was needed. The logo was simplified to show just an apple – similar to what the company still uses today. But it still didn’t satisfy Jobs and Wozniak. It wasn’t until the pair took a bite out of the apple that the logo stuck. The same simple logo is still being used today.

Apple Computer Inc. was incorporated in the state of California on January 3, 1977. Apple’s initial public offering (IPO) on the stock market happened on December 12, 1980. They went public at a rate of $22.50 per share. The stock has split three times since the IPO so on a split-adjusted basis the IPO share price was $2.75. Apple common shares are traded on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol AAPL, and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol APCD. At the time of this writing, Apple Computer Inc.’s common stock was trading on the NASDAQ at $129.06.

In October of 2008, Apple researched its carbon footprint and provided their personal computer users with estimates of the total greenhouse gas emissions generated by every new product sold. Manufacturing and using the MacBook, which is currently the company’s most popular notebook, results in 460 kg of CO2e emissions over four years of consumer use. According to calculations from the Environmental Protection Agency, that’s roughly the same amount the average car emits in just a month of driving.