A digital video recorder (DVR), also referred to as a personal video recorder (PVR) particularly in Canadian and British English, is an electronic device that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card, SSD or other local or networked mass storage device. The term includes set-top boxes (STB) with direct to disk recording, portable media players and TV gateways with recording capability, and digital camcorders. Personal computers can be connected to video capture devices and used as DVRs; in such cases the application software used to record video is an integral part of the DVR. Many DVRs are classified as consumer electronic devices. Similar small devices with built-in (~5 inch diagonal) displays and SSD support may be used for professional film or video production, as these recorders often do not have the limitations that built-in recorders in cameras have, offering wider codec support, the removal of recording time limitations and higher bitrates. == History == In the 1980s, prototype high-definition (HD) digital video recorders were developed by Fujitsu, Hitachi, Sanyo and Canon Inc. In 1985, Hitachi demonstrated a prototype digital video tape recorder (VTR) that used digital recording video tape as storage media to record digital HD video content. In 1987, the first commercial digital video recorder was the Sony DVR-1000, a digital video cassette recorder (VCR) that recorded digital video content on D-1 (Sony) digital video cassettes. === Hard-disk-based DVR === In early 1995, Tektronix introduced the "Profile" series PDR100 Video Disk Recorder, which recorded and played back video stored on hard disk as motion JPEG. In 1996, Sweden's TV4 used the PDR100 extensively in building a new facility in Stockholm, and NBC used PDR100s at the Olympic games in Atlanta Georgia. The Tektronix Profile disk recorder won an Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development" at the 1996 Primetime Emmy Awards. In 1997 the U.S. Patent Office granted Tektronix patent 5,642,497 for two claims key to Profile. In 1998, Tektronix introduced two Profile models which were combined VDRs and file servers: the PDR200 and PDR300. The PDR300 stored its compressed video as MPEG-2 (ISO/IEC 13818-2) A working disk-based DVR prototype was developed in 1998 at Stanford University Computer Science department. The DVR design was a chapter of Edward Y. Chang's PhD dissertation, supervised by Professors Hector Garcia-Molina and Jennifer Widom. Two design papers were published at the 1998 VLDB conference, and the 1999 ICDE conference. The prototype was developed in 1998 at Pat Hanrahan's CS488 class: Experiments in Digital Television, and the prototype was demoed to industrial partners including Sony, Intel, and Apple. Consumer digital video recorders ReplayTV and TiVo were launched at the 1999 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Microsoft also demonstrated a unit with DVR capability, but this did not become available until the end of 1999 for full DVR features in Dish Network's DISHplayer receivers. TiVo shipped their first units on March 31, 1999. ReplayTV won the "Best of Show" award in the video category with Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen as an early investor and board member, but TiVo was more successful commercially. Ad Age cited Forrester Research as saying that market penetration by the end of 1999 was "less than 100,000". In 2001, Toshiba introduced a combination DVR that allows video recording on both DVD recordable and hard disk drive. Legal action by media companies forced ReplayTV to remove many features such as automatic commercial skip and the sharing of recordings over the Internet, but newer devices have steadily regained these functions while adding complementary abilities, such as recording onto DVDs and programming and remote control facilities using PDAs, networked PCs, and Web browsers. In contrast to VCRs, hard-disk based digital video recorders make "time shifting" more convenient and also allow for functions such as pausing live TV, instant replay, chasing playback (viewing a recording before it has been completed) and skipping over advertising during playback. Many DVRs use the MPEG format for compressing the digital video. Video recording capabilities have become an essential part of the modern set-top box, as TV viewers have wanted to take control of their viewing experiences. As consumers have been able to converge increasing amounts of video content on their set-tops, delivered by traditional 'broadcast' cable, satellite and terrestrial as well as IP networks, the ability to capture programming and view it whenever they want has become a must-have function for many consumers. === DVR tied to video service === At the 1999 CES, Dish Network demonstrated the hardware that would later have DVR capability with the assistance of Microsoft software, which also included access to the WebTV service. By the end of 1999 the Dishplayer had full DVR capabilities and within a year, over 200,000 units were sold. In the UK, digital video recorders are often referred to as "plus boxes" (such as BSKYB's Sky+ and Virgin Media's V+ which integrates an HD capability, and the subscription free Freesat+ and Freeview+). Freeview+ have been around in the UK since the late 2000s, although the platform's first DVR, the Pace Twin, dates to 2002. British Sky Broadcasting marketed a popular combined receiver and DVR as Sky+, now replaced by the Sky Q box. TiVo launched a UK model in 2000, and is no longer supported, except for third party services, and the continuation of TiVo through Virgin Media in 2010. South African based Africa Satellite TV beamer Multichoice recently launched their DVR which is available on their DStv platform. In addition to ReplayTV and TiVo, there are a number of other suppliers of digital terrestrial (DTT) DVRs, including Technicolor SA, Topfield, Fusion, Commscope, Humax, VBox Communications, AC Ryan Playon and Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB). Many satellite, cable and IPTV companies are incorporating digital video recording functions into their set-top box, such as with DirecTiVo, DISHPlayer/DishDVR, Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8xxx from Time Warner, Total Home DVR from AT&T U-verse, Motorola DCT6412 from Comcast and others, Moxi Media Center by Digeo (available through Charter, Adelphia, Sunflower, Bend Broadband, and soon Comcast and other cable companies), or Sky+. Astro introduced their DVR system, called Astro MAX, which was the first PVR in Malaysia but was phased out two years after its introduction. In the case of digital television, there is no encoding necessary in the DVR since the signal is already a digitally encoded MPEG stream. The digital video recorder simply stores the digital stream directly to disk. Having the broadcaster involved with, and sometimes subsidizing, the design of the DVR can lead to features such as the ability to use interactive TV on recorded shows, pre-loading of programs, or directly recording encrypted digital streams. It can, however, also force the manufacturer to implement non-skippable advertisements and automatically expiring recordings. In the United States, the FCC has ruled that starting on July 1, 2007, consumers will be able to purchase a set-top box from a third-party company, rather than being forced to purchase or rent the set-top box from their cable company. This ruling only applies to "navigation devices", otherwise known as a cable television set-top box, and not to the security functions that control the user's access to the content of the cable operator. The overall net effect on digital video recorders and related technology is unlikely to be substantial as standalone DVRs are currently readily available on the open market. In Europe Free-To-Air and Pay TV TV gateways with multiple tuners have whole house recording capabilities allowing recording of TV programs to Network Attached Storage or attached USB storage, recorded programs are then shared across the home network to tablet, smartphone, PC, Mac, Smart TV. === Introduction of dual tuners === In 2003 many Satellite and Cable providers introduced dual-tuner digital video recorders. In the UK, BSkyB introduced their first PVR Sky+ with dual tuner support in 2001. These machines have two independent tuners within the same receiver. The main use for this feature is the capability to record a live program while watching another live program simultaneously or to record two programs at the same time, possibly while watching a previously recorded one. Kogan.com introduced a dual-tuner PVR in the Australian market allowing free-to-air television to be recorded on a removable hard drive. Some dual-tuner DVRs also have the ability to output to two separate television sets at the same time. The PVR manufactured by UEC (Durban, South Africa) and used by Multichoice and Scientific Atlanta 8300DVB PVR have the ability to view two
AI anthropomorphism
AI anthropomorphism is the attribution of human-like feelings, mental states, and behavioral characteristics to artificial intelligence systems. Factors related to the user of the AI – such as culture, age, education, gender, and personality traits – are also important determinants of the strength of anthropomorphic effects. Since the earliest days of AI development, humans have interpreted machine outputs through anthropomorphic frameworks, but the recent emergence of generative AI has amplified these tendencies. In research and engineering, there is a distinction between anthropomorphism and anthropomorphic design. The former is an innate human tendency toward non-human entities. The latter is the scientific community effort to “design anthropomorphism”. Such a design can involve the manipulation of cues, including AI appearance, behaviour and language. Contemporary AI systems today can generate extremely human-like outputs and are often designed specifically to do so, meaning that their anthropomorphic effects can be especially powerful. In some cases, anthropomorphism is accompanied with explicit beliefs that AI systems are capable of empathy, goodwill, understanding, or consciousness. == Background == === In early AIs === Views of artificial agents possessing a human-like intelligence have existed since the early development of computers in the mid-1900s. The use of the human mind as a metaphor for understanding the workings of machine systems was prevalent among researchers in the early days of computer science, with multiple influential works widely distributing the idea of intelligent machines. Among the most widely cited papers of this period was Alan Turing's "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" in which he introduced the Turing Test, stating that a machine was intelligent if it could produce conversation that was indistinguishable from that of a human. These academic works in the 1940s and 1950s gave early credibility to the idea that machine workings could be thought of similarly to human minds. The public quickly came to view artificial systems similarly, with often exaggerated conceptions of the capabilities of early machines. Among the most well-known demonstrations of this was through the chatbot ELIZA designed by Joseph Weizenbaum in 1966. ELIZA responded to user inputs with a rudimentary text-processing approach that could not be considered anything resembling true understanding of the inputs, yet users, even when operating with full conscious knowledge of ELIZA's limitations, often began to ascribe motivation and understanding to the program's output. Weizenbaum later wrote, "I had not realized ... that extremely short exposures to a relatively simple computer program could induce powerful delusional thinking in quite normal people." Comparisons between the intellectual capabilities of artificial intelligence and human intelligence were continually intensified by the attempts of computer scientists to develop machines that could perform human tasks at a level equal to or better than humans. A symbolic turning point was achieved in 1997, when IBM's chess supercomputer Deep Blue defeated then-world champion Garry Kasparov in a highly publicized six-game match. The defeat of a human by a machine for the first time in chess – a game viewed as a canonical example of human intellect – and the media attention surrounding the match led to a significant shift, where views of parallels between human and artificial intelligence moved from abstract speculation to being concretely demonstrated. A similar achievement was reached in the board game Go in 2017, when the program AlphaGo defeated world top-ranked Ke Jie. === Large language models === The AI boom of the 2020s brought about the widespread emergence of generative AI; in particular, chatbots such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude based on large language models (LLMs) have become increasingly pervasive in everyday society. These systems are notable for the fact that they are able to respond to a wide range of prompts across contexts while producing strikingly human-like outputs – research has shown that humans are often unable to distinguish human-generated text from AI-generated text, and modern AI chatbots have formally been shown to pass the Turing test. As such, the anthropomorphic effects of AI are more powerful than ever. Given that LLMs have brought AI into the technological mainstream, considerable scientific effort has been devoted in recent years to understand existing and potential ramifications of AI in the public sphere; the prevalence and effects of anthropomorphism is one of those domains where much of this effort has been directed. == Current anthropomorphic attributions == === In the general public === Surveys have shown that a substantial portion of the public attributes human-like qualities to AI. In one sample of U.S. adults from 2024, two-thirds of people believed that ChatGPT is possibly conscious on some level, though other research has shown that the public still views the likelihood itself of AI consciousness as comparatively low. Another study conducted in 2025 found that women, people of color, and older individuals were most likely to anthropomorphize AI, as well as that – in general – humans view AIs as warm and competent, and anthropomorphic attributions to AI had increased by 34% in the past year. A YouGov poll reported that 46% of Americans believe that people should display politeness to AI chatbots by saying "please" and "thank you", demonstrating the application of social norms to AI. These beliefs extend to behavior, where majorities of AI users claim to always be polite to chatbots; of those who behave politely, most say they do so simply because it is the "nice" thing to do. In many recent cases, humans have developed robust interpersonal bonds with AI systems. For example: users of social chatbots like Replika and Character.ai have been documented to fall in love with the AIs, or to otherwise treat the AIs as intimate companions, and it has become increasingly common for individuals to use LLMs like ChatGPT as therapists. Chatbots are able to produce responses deeply attuned to users, as they are often designed to maximize agreeableness and mirror users' emotions; this can create compelling illusions of intimacy. === In the research community === In many cases, even AI researchers anthropomorphize AI systems in some capacity. Among the most extreme and well-publicized of these instances occurred in 2022, when engineer Blake Lemoine publicly claimed that Google's LLM LaMDA was conscious. Lemoine published the transcript of a conversation he had had with LaMDA regarding self identity and morality which he claimed was evidence of its sentience; he asserted that LaMDA was "a person" as defined by the United States Constitution and compared its mental capability to that of a 7- or 8-year-old. Lemoine's claims were widely dismissed by the scientific community and by Google itself, which described Lemoine's conclusions as "wholly unfounded" and fired him on the grounds that he had violated policies "to safeguard product information". It is much more common that AI researchers unintentionally imply humanness of AI through the ordinary use of anthropomorphic language to describe nonhuman agents. This kind of language, which Daniel Dennett coined the "intentional stance", is very common in everyday life in a variety of different contexts (e.g., "My computer doesn't want to turn on today"). For AI agents that may actually appear to very closely replicate some human abilities, however, the casual use of such anthropomorphic language in research has been scrutinized for being potentially misleading to the public. As early as 1976, Drew McDermott criticized the research community for the use of "wishful mnemonics", where AIs were referred to with terms like "understand" and "learn". In the LLM era, these criticisms have further intensified, with the negative effects of AI anthropomorphism in the public posing an especially salient danger given the elevated accessibility of modern AI. In some cases, the use of anthropomorphic language for AI is not unintentional, but is willfully used by researchers in order to promote better understanding of the brain – the idea being that, as AI can be functionally similar in some ways to the human brain, we may gain new insights and ideas from treating AI as a kind of model of the brain's workings. In particular, deep neuronal networks (DNNs) are often explicitly compared to the human brain, and significant advances in DNN research have stirred considerable enthusiasm about the ability of AI to emulate the human abilities. Caution has been urged in this domain as well, however; the use of anthropomorphic language can mask important differences that fundamentally distinguish AI from human intelligence. When it comes to DNNs, for example, it has been pointed out that they are still structurally quite different
Digital inclusion
Digital inclusion involves the activities necessary to ensure equitable access to and use of information and communications technologies for participation in social and economic life including for education, social services, health, social, and community participation. Digital inclusion includes access to affordable broadband Internet services, Internet-enabled devices, access to digital literacy training, quality technical support, and applications and online content designed to enable and encourage self-sufficiency, participation, and collaboration. Related concepts include digital divide, digital exclusion and digital inequality, however digital inclusion focuses more on the strategies, policies, and programs required to address the digital divide. As many services have moved online and with the increasing use of telehealth to deliver primary care, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, digital inclusion, including digital literacy and internet access is increasingly regarded as a social determinant of health. Accessibility, relevance, and impact have been identified as essential elements of digital inclusion as it pertains to health information systems. "Digital inclusion is broadly defined as different strategies designed to ensure that all people have equal access, opportunities and skills to benefit from digital technologies and systems" (ITU, 2019, as cited in Carmi and Yates, 2020). Since 2020, there have been many technology companies that have begun implementing different features or roles within their companies to support breaking down the digital divide. For example, HP has announced the digital divide accelerator. This accelerator will support nonprofits in Greece, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Spain. The goal for this role is to help equip children and other people within the community to understand the skills needed to become a part of the digital community. == Background == With the increasing use of computers and the Internet in the 1990s and early 2000s concerns rose around digital equality, however this primarily focused on the physical access to technology. This gave rise to the concept of the digital divide which was originally developed to describe the growing disparity in Internet access between rural and urban areas of the United States of America. This gradually expanded to considerations of digital access between countries in what is termed the global digital divide, which mirrors many of the disparities seen within countries but on an international scale. However, with the adoption of digital technologies across most sectors of society, and the increasing diversity of technologies and programs, access and use of ICT became more complex and essential for many aspects of daily life. This led to new terminology and a second wave of research on digital inequality which has been identified as the (1) usage gap, (2) second level digital divide, (3) emerging digital differentiation, and (4) digital inclusion. == Strategies for digital inclusion == A review of the literature in 2019 found that while physical access to digital technologies and the internet continues to be a barrier to digital inclusion, digital ability and attitude were also potential barriers. Key strategies identified for improving digital inclusion are social support, direct user experience and collaborative learning/design. Education is a key aspect of digital inclusion as digital technologies have become a key means of engaging with all levels of the education system, requiring levels of digital competence for successful engagement with the curriculum. In addition lifelong learning is required as technologies, services and systems are changing constantly. Public libraries and community service providers play a key role in supporting digital inclusion through access to computers, internet connection and expertise and training. Designing for digital inclusion may also help with poor written literacy, which remains a barrier for 10% of the world's population. UNESCO has developed Guidelines for designing digital technologies in ways that could assist those who are illiterate. == Indigenous digital inclusion == Digital inclusion is a critical issue for many Indigenous communities across the globe, many of whom lack access to adequate resources. The Australian Government has set a National Closing the Gap target for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have equal levels of digital inclusion by 2026. Many people on tribal land and in Native Hawaiian land struggle with the technology gap. The Native Entities Capacity and Planning Grant Program has $45.3 million available to help address these challenges and empower Indian Tribes, Alaska Native entities, and Native Hawaiian organizations. Some of the impacts so far are in the education and workforce development and healthcare access through telehealth.[13] == Measuring digital inclusion == The Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII) is a research project which has been tracking digital inclusion throughout Australia since 2016. It uses survey data to measure digital inclusion across three dimensions of access, affordability and digital ability. == The Future of Digital Inclusion == On February 16, 2021, a global dialogue within the United Nations (UN) took a look at the future of digital inclusion. Through the adoption of the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development, Member States made a commitment. They pledged to "leave no one behind." By 2030, the UN's goal is to close the digital divide by providing access to the Internet and mobile technologies for all nations and peoples and for all segments of society. The UN sees the crisis of too many people in our global society still living unconnected and how the digital divide remains a challenge that must be addressed. == Gaming == The Xbox Adaptive Controller is a groundbreaking example of digital inclusion, designed to make gaming more accessible to people with limited mobility. Developed by Microsoft, it features large programmable buttons and ports that connect to a wide range of external devices like switches, joysticks, and mounts, allowing users to customize their gaming experience based on their unique needs. By removing traditional physical barriers to gameplay, the Xbox Adaptive Controller empowers more people to participate in digital entertainment, promotes equal access to technology, and fosters a more inclusive gaming community. == Digital inclusion advocacy groups == Australian Digital Inclusion Alliance National Digital Inclusion Alliance (US)
Data communication
Data communication is the transfer of data over a point-to-point or point-to-multipoint communication channel. Data communication comprises data transmission and data reception and can be classified as analog transmission and digital communications. Analog data communication conveys voice, data, image, signal or video information using a continuous signal, which varies in amplitude, phase, or some other property. In baseband analog transmission, messages are represented by a sequence of pulses by means of a line code; in passband analog transmission, they are communicated by a limited set of continuously varying waveforms, using a digital modulation method. Passband modulation and demodulation are carried out by modem equipment. Digital transmission and digital reception are the transfer of either a digitized analog signal or a born-digital bitstream. Baseband digital transmission is regarded as comprising part of a digital signal, whereas passband transmission of digital data may also or alternatively be considered a form of digital-to-analog conversion. Data communication channels include copper wires, optical fibers, wireless communication using radio spectrum, storage media and computer buses. The data are represented as an electromagnetic signal, such as an electrical voltage, radiowave, microwave, or infrared signal. == Distinction between related subjects == Digital transmission or data transmission traditionally belongs to telecommunications and electrical engineering. Basic principles of data transmission may also be covered within the computer science or computer engineering topic of data communications, which also includes computer networking applications and communication protocols, for example, routing, switching and inter-process communication. Although the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) involves transmission, TCP and other transport layer protocols are covered in computer networking but not discussed in a textbook or course about data transmission. In most textbooks, the term analog transmission only refers to the transmission of an analog message signal (without digitization) by means of an analog signal, either as a non-modulated baseband signal or as a passband signal using an analog modulation method such as AM or FM. It may also include analog-over-analog pulse modulated baseband signals such as pulse-width modulation. In a few books within the computer networking tradition, analog transmission also refers to passband transmission of bit-streams using digital modulation methods such as FSK, PSK and ASK. The theoretical aspects of data transmission are covered by information theory and coding theory. == Protocol layers and sub-topics == Courses and textbooks in the field of data transmission typically deal with the following OSI model protocol layers and topics: Layer 1, the physical layer: Channel coding including Digital modulation schemes Line coding schemes Forward error correction (FEC) codes Bit synchronization Multiplexing Equalization Channel models Layer 2, the data link layer: Channel access schemes, media access control (MAC) Packet mode communication and Frame synchronization Error detection and automatic repeat request (ARQ) Flow control Layer 6, the presentation layer: Source coding (digitization and data compression), and information theory. Cryptography (may occur at any layer) It is also common to deal with the cross-layer design of those three layers. == Applications and history == Data (mainly but not exclusively informational) has been sent via non-electronic (e.g. optical, acoustic, mechanical) means since the advent of communication. Analog signal data has been sent electronically since the advent of the telephone. However, the first data electromagnetic transmission applications in modern time were electrical telegraphy (1809) and teletypewriters (1906), which are both digital signals. The fundamental theoretical work in data transmission and information theory by Harry Nyquist, Ralph Hartley, Claude Shannon and others during the early 20th century, was done with these applications in mind. In the early 1960s, Paul Baran invented distributed adaptive message block switching for digital communication of voice messages using switches that were low-cost electronics. Donald Davies invented and implemented modern data communication during 1965–7, including packet switching, high-speed routers, communication protocols, hierarchical computer networks and the essence of the end-to-end principle. Baran's work did not include routers with software switches and communication protocols, nor the idea that users, rather than the network itself, would provide the reliability. Both were seminal contributions that influenced the development of computer networks. Data transmission is utilized in computers in computer buses and for communication with peripheral equipment via parallel ports and serial ports such as RS-232 (1969), FireWire (1995) and USB (1996). The principles of data transmission are also utilized in storage media for error detection and correction since 1951. The first practical method to overcome the problem of receiving data accurately by the receiver using digital code was the Barker code invented by Ronald Hugh Barker in 1952 and published in 1953. Data transmission is utilized in computer networking equipment such as modems (1940), local area network (LAN) adapters (1964), repeaters, repeater hubs, microwave links, wireless network access points (1997), etc. In telephone networks, digital communication is utilized for transferring many phone calls over the same copper cable or fiber cable by means of pulse-code modulation (PCM) in combination with time-division multiplexing (TDM) (1962). Telephone exchanges have become digital and software controlled, facilitating many value-added services. For example, the first AXE telephone exchange was presented in 1976. Digital communication to the end user using Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) services became available in the late 1980s. Since the end of the 1990s, broadband access techniques such as ADSL, Cable modems, fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) and fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) have become widespread to small offices and homes. The current tendency is to replace traditional telecommunication services with packet mode communication such as IP telephony and IPTV. Transmitting analog signals digitally allows for greater signal processing capability. The ability to process a communications signal means that errors caused by random processes can be detected and corrected. Digital signals can also be sampled instead of continuously monitored. The multiplexing of multiple digital signals is much simpler compared to the multiplexing of analog signals. Because of all these advantages, because of the vast demand to transmit computer data and the ability of digital communications to do so and because recent advances in wideband communication channels and solid-state electronics have allowed engineers to realize these advantages fully, digital communications have grown quickly. The digital revolution has also resulted in many digital telecommunication applications where the principles of data transmission are applied. Examples include second-generation (1991) and later cellular telephony, video conferencing, digital TV (1998), digital radio (1999), and telemetry. Data transmission, digital transmission or digital communications is the transfer of data over a point-to-point or point-to-multipoint communication channel. Examples of such channels include copper wires, optical fibers, wireless communication channels, storage media and computer buses. The data are represented as an electromagnetic signal, such as an electrical voltage, radio wave, microwave, or infrared light. While analog transmission is the transfer of a continuously varying analog signal over an analog channel, digital communication is the transfer of discrete messages over a digital or an analog channel. The messages are either represented by a sequence of pulses by means of a line code (baseband transmission) or by a limited set of continuously varying waveforms (passband transmission), using a digital modulation method. The passband modulation and corresponding demodulation (also known as detection) are carried out by modem equipment. According to the most common definition of a digital signal, both baseband and passband signals representing bit-streams are considered as digital transmission, while an alternative definition only considers the baseband signal as digital, and passband transmission of digital data as a form of digital-to-analog conversion. Data transmitted may be digital messages originating from a data source, for example, a computer or a keyboard. It may also be an analog signal, such as a phone call or a video signal, digitized into a bit-stream, for example,e using pulse-code modulation (PCM) or more advanced source coding (analog-to-digital conversion and
Extremely online
An extremely online (often capitalized), terminally online, or chronically online person is someone who is closely engaged with Internet culture. People said to be extremely online often believe that online posts are very important. Events and phenomena can themselves be extremely online; while often used as a descriptive term, the phenomenon of extreme online usage has been described as "both a reformation of the delivery of ideas – shared through words and videos and memes and GIFs and copypasta – and the ideas themselves". Here, "online" is used to describe "a way of doing things, not [simply] the place they are done". == Criteria == While the term was in use as early as 2014, it gained popularity over the latter half of the 2010s in conjunction with the increasing prevalence and notability of Internet phenomena in all areas of life. Extremely online people, according to The Daily Dot, are interested in topics "no normal, healthy person could possibly care about", and have been analogized to "pop culture fandoms, just without the pop". Extremely online phenomena such as fan culture and reaction GIFs have been described as "swallowing democracy" by journalists such as Amanda Hess in The New York Times, who claimed that a "great convergence between politics and culture, values and aesthetics, citizenship and commercialism" had become "a dominant mode of experiencing politics". Vulture – formerly the pop culture section of New York magazine, now a stand-alone website – has a section for articles tagged "extremely online". == Historical background == In the 2010s, many categories and labels came into wide use from media outlets to describe Internet-mediated cultural trends, such as the alt-right, the dirtbag left, and doomerism. These ideological categories are often defined by their close association with online discourse. For example, the term "alt-right" was added to the Associated Press' stylebook in 2016 to describe the "digital presence" of far-right ideologies, the dirtbag left refers to a group of "underemployed and overly online millennials" who "have no time for the pieties of traditional political discourse", and the doomer's "blackpilled despair" is combined with spending "too much time on message boards in high school" to produce an eclectic "anti-socialism". Extreme onlineness transcends ideological boundaries. For example, right-wing figures like Alex Jones and Laura Loomer have been described as "extremely online", but so have those on the left like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and fans of the Chapo Trap House podcast. Extremely online phenomena can range from acts of offline violence (such as the 2019 Christchurch shootings) to "[going] on NPR to explain the anti-capitalist irony inherent in kids eating Tide Pods". United States President Donald Trump's posts on social media have been frequently cited as extremely online, during both his presidency and his 2020 presidential campaign; Vox claimed his approach to re-election veered into being "Too Online", and Reason questioned whether the final presidential debate was "incomprehensible to normies". While individual people are often given the description, being extremely online has also been posited as an overall cultural phenomenon, applying to trends like lifestyle movements suffixed with "-wave" and "-core" based heavily on Internet media, as well as an increasing expectation for digital social researchers to have an "online presence" to advance in their careers. == Participants and media coverage == One example of a phenomenon considered to be extremely online is the "wife guy" (a guy who posts about his wife); despite being a "stupid online thing" which spent several years as a piece of Internet slang, in 2019 it became the subject of five articles in leading U.S. media outlets. Like many extremely online phrases and phenomena, the "wife guy" has been attributed in part to the in-character Twitter account dril. The account frequently parodies how people behave on the Internet, and has been widely cited as influential on online culture. In one tweet, his character refuses to stop using the Internet, even when someone shouts outside his house that he should log off. Many of dril's other coinages have become ubiquitous parts of Internet slang. Throughout the 2010s, posters such as dril inspired commonly used terms like "corncobbing" (referring to someone losing an argument and failing to admit it); while originally a piece of obscure Internet slang used on sites like Twitter, use of the term (and controversy over its misinterpretation) became a subject of reporting from traditional publications, with some noting that keeping up with the rapid turnover of inside jokes, memes, and quotes online required daily attention to avoid embarrassment. Twitch has been described as "talk radio for the extremely online". Another example of an event cited as extremely online is No Nut November. Increasingly, researchers are expected to have more of an online presence, to advance in their careers, as networking and portfolios continue to transition to the digital world. In November 2020, an article in The Washington Post criticized the filter bubble theory of online discourse on the basis that it "overgeneralized" based on a "small subset of extremely online people". The 2021 storming of the United States Capitol was described as extremely online, with "pro-Trump internet personalities", such as Baked Alaska, and fans livestreaming and taking selfies. People who have been described as extremely online include Chrissy Teigen, Jon Ossoff, and Andrew Yang. In contrast, Joe Biden has been cited as the antithesis of extremely online—The New York Times wrote in 2019 that he had "zero meme energy".
Smart speaker industry in South Korea
Smart speakers, or AI speakers, have been developed by multiple domestic electronics and telecommunications firms in South Korea. Since their introduction to the local market in 2016, they have been used by millions of people in the country. == Brands == === Google === In September 2018, Google Home (including the Google Home Mini) launched in South Korea. Running Google Assistant, it featured simultaneous recognition of two languages among a total of seven, including Korean. At launch, it could play music from Bugs!, in addition to YouTube. === Kakao === In November 2017, Kakao launched the Kakao Mini, featuring integrated KakaoTalk functionality. === KT === KT launched the GiGA Genie smart speaker in January 2017, using a Harman Kardon speaker. In November 2017, KT announced GiGA Genie LTE, a portable AI speaker with LTE support. They also released a mini speaker called GiGA Genie Buddy. In 2018, KT created a special version of GiGa Genie with a screen for use in hotels. On 29 April 2019, KT announced the GiGA Genie Table TV, a consumer-oriented smart speaker with a display. It featured paid TV access through Wi-Fi. Based on usage data from the hotel model, KT decided not to add a touchscreen. The Table TV also featured a limited-access "personalized-text-to-speech technology" which could use parents' voice recording inputs to read children books. In February 2022, KT began rolling out Amazon Alexa integration into its speakers for English support. === Naver === In August 2017, Naver announced the Wave smart speaker, operating on Clova. In October 2017, Naver launched the Friends smart speaker, which were designed based on Line characters. ==== LG Uplus ==== In December 2017, LG Uplus launched the Friends+ speaker with Naver, operating on U+ Home AI. === Samsung === In August 2018, Samsung announced the Samsung Galaxy Home in partnership with Spotify. The original size was delayed, while the Galaxy Home Mini appeared briefly as a bonus for Samsung Galaxy S20 preorders in South Korea in February 2020. === SK Telecom === SK Telecom launched the Nugu smart speaker in September 2016, using an Astell & Kern audio system. In August 2017, SKT released a portable speaker named Nugu mini. In July 2018, SKT launched the Nugu Candle, featuring expanded mood lighting. The first-generation Nugu was subsequently discontinued. On 18 April 2019, SKT released the NUGU Nemo AI, which featured a display and JBL stereo speaker. In August 2019, SKT collaborated with SM Entertainment, incorporating functions related to the agency's artists into Nugu. In January 2022, SKT showcased the NUGU Candle SE, introducing Alexa support. == Usage == In 2018, approximately 3 million people in South Korea used smart speakers. According to data from KT in 2018, the most common commands to its speakers were for controlling televisions. Based on a broader survey in 2017, music was selected as the most frequent use case. By 2018, smart speaker companies were partnering with reading and other education services, adding potential use-cases for children. By 2022, smart speakers were being utilized by the South Korean government. SKT, in partnership with 70 regional governments, distributed smart speakers to 12,000 senior citizens living alone. The government paid for monthly subscriptions to help seniors stay mentally engaged. Naver made an agreement with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to provide Clova CareCall, an automated health checkup program to hundreds of senior citizens living alone. KT's AI care service included an emergency dispatch call function and medication notifications. == Criticism == === Communication === In a survey of 300 users in 2017, approximately half reported having some type of communication issue with their smart speakers. === Privacy === South Korean smart speakers sparked privacy concerns when they were found to be collecting and documenting user audio data in 2019. The speaker companies responded that only a minority of data was collected and that it was anonymized. They stated that such recordings were collected for performance improvements.
Homeboyz Interactive
Homeboyz Interactive (HBI) was a faith-based recruitment, training and job placement non-profit business in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, founded by a Jesuit brother in 1996 to transform gang members into productive workers. == History == James Holub, a former Jesuit brother affiliated with Wheeling Jesuit University, asked gang members in the Southside of Milwaukee, WI how they could be helped, to break the cycle of poverty and violence. The youth suggested that they be trained for work they found exciting. To attract interest, the training must lead to jobs that paid at least a living wage, and computer skills seemed the most attractive. The non-profit Homeboyz Interactive was established to prepare professionals in web design, application development, and PC/network support. This non-profit outfit spawned the for-profit web design firm HBI Consulting, which provided trainees with work experience. It turned out more than 20 teachers yearly for computer and computer network programs for high schools and other clients, as well as for computer service providers. Some graduates of the program continued their education, some founded their own business, and others continued working at HBI. The Economist described this effort as "turning thugs into programmers" on Milwaukee's South Side, which has proportionally twice as many murders as New York. Holub had "buried his 28th gang member" before he implemented the Homeboyz plan, with the understanding that "nothing stops a bullet like a job." The programs would pass through about 80 prospects a year who successfully completed training and provide them with a job while studying for their high school equivalency test, before they were asked to decide in which direction to go. Most accepted a job or went on to community college but about 25 entered the Homeboyz training for computer programmers. Of first 150 graduates of this program none lost their job; their average pay after two years was US$63,000. Some preferred to return to full-time work at HBI. By 2002, a total of 142 people had graduated from HBI training and moved into full-time IT careers. The training curriculum as of 2000 included JavaScript and Photoshop, among other web-development tools. In 2000, HBI received a 14% ownership stake in reEmploy.com, a payrolling company, in exchange for the development of an electronic time sheet created by the organization. As of 2001, HBI Consulting, the for profit web design firm, had 72 clients. Among those clients were GE Medical, Toyota Forklift, Northwestern Mutual Life, Verizon Wireless, BP; and Marquette University. Companies that graduates of HBI's training programs secured positions have included Northwestern Mutual and Manpower Inc., United Community Center in Milwaukee and EKI Consulting. A pair of graduates also started their own company in 2002, Innovative Source, a web design firm, which itself has had clients such as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Women's Center. This was a common path forward, graduates starting their own consulting firms. In 2004, HBI received a grant for General Support from the Vine and Branches Foundation in the amount of US$120,000. The product Project Foundry found its start in the difficulty of managing project-based learning across dozens of students with widely varying levels of skill, a problem encountered by Shane Krukowski, who developed the software while teaching at HBI. Krukowski subsequently an eponymous company to commercialize the software through a subscription-based business model. Some came to Homeboyz through the criminal courts or Department of Corrections. A Jesuit Volunteer (JV) was assigned to work with the program, and to add a spiritual dimension through regular reflection together. Gradually the market began prioritizing graphic design and flash images more than site construction. After 2006 Homeboyz HBI morphed into several spinoffs and ceased to exist as a separate entity.