The European Cloud Partnership (ECP) is an advisory group set up by the European Commission as part of the European Cloud Computing Strategy to provide guidance on the development of cloud computing in the European Union. The ECP is led by a steering board composed of representatives of the IT and telecom industry as well as European government policymakers. == History == After publishing a document, "Unleashing the Potential of Cloud Computing in Europe", the European Commission set up the European Cloud Partnership in 2012, with a steering board including both government and industry representatives. The ECP's first meeting was held on 19 November 2012; it was chaired by the President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves. In 2013 the ECP began drafting its charter. That year, as information about the PRISM scandal came to light, the ECP emphasized the need for Europe to develop its own cloud infrastructure, rather than depend on that of the United States. It completed a report titled "Trusted Cloud Europe" in February 2014 defining its policy, and outlining a process for effective public and private sector participation in cloud computing development in Europe. The report recommended that the commission identify technical, legal and operational best practices, and promote these through certifications and guidelines, and facilitate recognition across national boundaries. The report also recommended that the commission identify cloud computing stakeholders and help them work together through consultations and workshops. In March 2014, the European Commission invited external parties to submit opinions, take part in a discussion forum and complete an online survey in response to the report.
Alibaba Cloud
Alibaba Cloud, also known as Aliyun (Chinese: 阿里云; pinyin: Ālǐyún; lit. 'Ali Cloud'), is a cloud computing company, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group. Alibaba Cloud provides cloud computing services to online businesses and Alibaba's own e-commerce ecosystem. Its international operations are registered and headquartered in Singapore. Alibaba Cloud offers cloud services that are available on a pay-as-you-go basis, and include elastic compute, data storage, relational databases, big-data processing, DDoS protection and content delivery networks (CDN). It is the largest cloud computing company in China, and in Asia Pacific according to Gartner. Alibaba Cloud operates data centers in 29 regions and 87 availability zones around the globe. As of June 2017, Alibaba Cloud is placed in the Visionaries' quadrant of Gartner's Magic Quadrant for cloud infrastructure as a service, worldwide. == History == Alibaba Cloud was founded in September 2009, and R&D centers and operation centers were opened in Hangzhou, Beijing, and Silicon Valley. === 2010–2013 === In November 2010, the company supported the first Single's Day (11.11) Taobao shopping festival, with 2.4 billion PageViews (PV) in 24 hours. Two years later, in November 2012, it became the first Chinese cloud service provider to pass ISO27001:2005 (Information Security Management System). In January 2013, Alibaba Cloud merged with HiChina (founded by Xiangning Zhang) for the www.net.cn business as one of the largest acquisitions in the company's history at the time. In August of that year, ApsaraDB architecture supported 5000 physical machines in a single cluster. === 2014–2017 === The company's Hong Kong data center went online in May 2014, and in December of that year, Alibaba Cloud defended a 14-hour-long DDoS attack, peaking at 453.8 Gbit/s. In July 2015, the Alibaba Group invested US$1 billion in Alibaba Cloud. A month later, Alibaba Cloud's first Singapore data center opened, and Singapore was announced as Alibaba Cloud's overseas headquarters. Two US data centers went online in October 2015, and that same month MaxCompute took the lead in the Sort Benchmark, sorting 100 TB data in 377s compared with Apache Spark's previous record of 1406s. The Alibaba Cloud Computing Conference was also held in October 2015 in Hangzhou and attracted over 20,000 developers. A month later, in November, the company supported the 11.11 shopping festival with a record of $14.2 billion transactions in 24 hours. Alibaba Cloud partnered with SK Holdings C&C in April 2016 to provide cloud services to Korean and Chinese companies. A month later, the company formalized a joint venture with SoftBank to launch cloud services in Japan that utilize technologies and solutions from Alibaba Cloud. In June 2016, Alibaba Cloud expanded its data center operations in Singapore with the establishment of a second availability zone. Alibaba Cloud also achieved two new certifications overseas: Singapore Multi-Tier Cloud Security (MTCS) standard Level 3, and the Payment Card Industry Three-Domain Secure (PCI 3DS). The company partnered with Vodafone Germany in November 2016 for Data Center operations and to provide cloud services to German and European companies. Alibaba became the official cloud services provider of the Olympics in January 2017. A month later, in February, the company became a founding Member of the EU Cloud Code of Conduct. In June 2017, Alibaba Cloud was placed in the Visionaries quadrant of Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Cloud Infrastructure as a Service, Worldwide. Alibaba Cloud partnered with Malaysia's Fusionex in September 2017 to provide cloud solutions in Southeast Asia, and the Malaysia data center commenced operations in October. That same month, the company partnered with Elastic and launched a new service called Alibaba Cloud Elasticsearch. Alibaba Cloud India data center commenced operations in December 2017. In addition, Alibaba Cloud received the C5 standard certification from the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) for its data centers in Germany and Singapore. === 2018–2021 === In February 2018, Alibaba Cloud's Indonesia data center commenced operations. The company's first data center opening in the Philippines in June 2021. Alibaba Cloud unveiled the ARM-based Yitian 710 chip, designed in-house, for use in its data centers in October 2021. On November 24, 2021, the bug Log4Shell was disclosed to Apache by Chen Zhaojun of Alibaba Cloud's Security Team. On December 22, 2021, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology suspended a partnership with Alibaba Cloud for "failure in reporting cybersecurity vulnerabilities" related to the Log4Shell bug. === 2022 === In September 2022, Alibaba Cloud announced a $1 billion pledge to upgrade its global partner ecosystem. == Data center regions == Alibaba Cloud has 25 regional data centres globally. The Data Center in Germany is operated by Vodafone Germany (Frankfurt) and certified with C5. == Products == Alibaba Cloud provides cloud computing IaaS, PaaS, DBaaS and SaaS, including services such as e-commerce, big data, Database, IoT, Object storage (OSS), Kubernetes and data customization which can be managed from Alibaba web page or using aliyun command line tool. AnalyticDB was first released in May 2018, and the latest version 3.0 was released in 2019. On April 26, 2019, TPC published TPC-DS benchmark result of AnalyticDB. In 2019, a paper about the system design of AnalyticDB was published in VLDB conference 2019. == Academic partners == List of academic alliances: Shanghai Jiao Tong University Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) University of Malaya Hong Kong Shue Yan University Macao University of Science and Technology Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) Télécom Paris SUPINFO International University Université de technologie sino-européenne de l'université de Shanghai Gadjah Mada University Universitas Prasetiya Mulya Bina Nusantara University Krida Wacana Christian University Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education Nanyang Polytechnic Republic Polytechnic Sekolah Tinggi Teknologi Informasi NIIT Usman Institute of Technology AISSMS Institute of Information Technology == Controversy == On October 26, 2016, Zhang Kai, CEO of ITHome issued an announcement stating he could no longer tolerate Alibaba Cloud's overselling and service interruption issues, and had migrated the hosting entirely to Baidu Cloud. Alibaba Cloud subsequently issued an apology letter, but indirectly mentioned that website performance should consider system architecture and avoid single-point design.
Global digital divide
The global digital divide describes global disparities, primarily between developed and developing countries, in regards to access to computing and information resources such as the Internet and the opportunities derived from such access. The Internet is expanding very quickly, and not all countries—especially developing countries—can keep up with the constant changes. The term "digital divide" does not necessarily mean that someone does not have technology; it could mean that there is simply a difference in technology. These differences can refer to, for example, high-quality computers, fast Internet, technical assistance, or telephone services. == Statistics == There is a large inequality worldwide in terms of the distribution of installed telecommunication bandwidth. In 2014 only three countries (China, US, Japan) host 50% of the globally installed bandwidth potential (see pie-chart Figure on the right). This concentration is not new, as historically only ten countries have hosted 70–75% of the global telecommunication capacity (see Figure). The U.S. lost its global leadership in terms of installed bandwidth in 2011, being replaced by China, which hosts more than twice as much national bandwidth potential in 2014 (29% versus 13% of the global total). == Versus the digital divide == The global digital divide is a special case of the digital divide; the focus is set on the fact that "Internet has developed unevenly throughout the world" causing some countries to fall behind in technology, education, labor, democracy, and tourism. The concept of the digital divide was originally popularized regarding the disparity in Internet access between rural and urban areas of the United States of America; the global digital divide mirrors this disparity on an international scale. The global digital divide also contributes to the inequality of access to goods and services available through technology. Computers and the Internet provide users with improved education, which can lead to higher wages; the people living in nations with limited access are therefore disadvantaged. This global divide is often characterized as falling along what is sometimes called the North–South divide of "northern" wealthier nations and "southern" poorer ones. == Obstacles to a solution == Some people argue that necessities need to be considered before achieving digital inclusion, such as an ample food supply and quality health care. Minimizing the global digital divide requires considering and addressing the following types of access: === Physical access === Involves "the distribution of ICT devices per capita…and land lines per thousands". Individuals need to obtain access to computers, landlines, and networks in order to access the Internet. This access barrier is also addressed in Article 21 of the convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by the United Nations. === Financial access === The cost of ICT devices, traffic, applications, technician and educator training, software, maintenance, and infrastructures require ongoing financial means. Financial access and "the levels of household income play a significant role in widening the gap". === Socio-demographic access === Empirical tests have identified that several socio-demographic characteristics foster or limit ICT access and usage. Among different countries, educational levels and income are the most powerful explanatory variables, with age being a third one. While a Global Gender Gap in access and usage of ICT's exist, empirical evidence shows that this is due to unfavorable conditions concerning employment, education and income and not to technophobia or lower ability. In the contexts understudy, women with the prerequisites for access and usage turned out to be more active users of digital tools than men. In the US, for example, the figures for 2018 show 89% of men and 88% of women use the Internet. === Cognitive access === In order to use computer technology, a certain level of information literacy is needed. Further challenges include information overload and the ability to find and use reliable information. === Design access === Computers need to be accessible to individuals with different learning and physical abilities including complying with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 in the United States. === Institutional access === In illustrating institutional access, Wilson states "the numbers of users are greatly affected by whether access is offered only through individual homes or whether it is offered through schools, community centers, religious institutions, cybercafés, or post offices, especially in poor countries where computer access at work or home is highly limited". === Political access === Guillen & Suarez argue that "democratic political regimes enable faster growth of the Internet than authoritarian or totalitarian regimes." The Internet is considered a form of e-democracy, and attempting to control what citizens can or cannot view is in contradiction to this. Recently situations in Iran and China have denied people the ability to access certain websites and disseminate information. Iran has prohibited the use of high-speed Internet in the country and has removed many satellite dishes in order to prevent the influence of Western culture, such as music and television. === Cultural access === Many experts claim that bridging the digital divide is not sufficient and that the images and language needed to be conveyed in a language and images that can be read across different cultural lines. A 2013 study conducted by Pew Research Center noted how participants taking the survey in Spanish were nearly twice as likely not to use the internet. == Examples == In the early 21st century, residents of developed countries enjoy many Internet services which are not yet widely available in developing countries, including: Mobile phones and small electronic communication devices; E-communities and social-networking; Fast broadband Internet connections, enabling advanced Internet applications; Affordable and widespread Internet access, either through personal computers at home or work, through public terminals in public libraries and Internet cafes, and through wireless access points; E-commerce enabled by efficient electronic payment networks like credit cards and reliable shipping services; Virtual globes featuring street maps searchable down to individual street addresses and detailed satellite and aerial photography; Online research systems which enable users to peruse newspaper and magazine articles that may be centuries old, without having to leave home; Electronic readers such as Kindle, Sony Reader, Samsung Papyrus and Iliad by iRex Technologies; Price engines which help consumers find the best possible online prices and similar services which find the best possible prices at local retailers; Electronic services delivery of government services, such as the ability to pay taxes, fees, and fines online. Further civic engagement through e-government and other sources such as finding information about candidates regarding political situations. == Proposed remedies == There are four specific arguments why it is important to "bridge the gap": Economic equality – For example, the telephone is often seen as one of the most important components, because having access to a working telephone can lead to higher safety. If there were to be an emergency, one could easily call for help if one could use a nearby phone. In another example, many work-related tasks are online, and people without access to the Internet may not be able to complete work up to company standards. The Internet is regarded by some as a basic component of civic life that developed countries ought to guarantee for their citizens. Additionally, welfare services, for example, are sometimes offered via the Internet. Social mobility – Computer and Internet use is regarded as being very important to development and success. However, some children are not getting as much technical education as others, because lower socioeconomic areas cannot afford to provide schools with computer facilities. For this reason, some kids are being separated and not receiving the same chance as others to be successful. Democracy – Some people believe that eliminating the digital divide would help countries become healthier democracies. They argue that communities would become much more involved in events such as elections or decision making. Economic growth – It is believed that less-developed nations could gain quick access to economic growth if the information infrastructure were to be developed and well used. By improving the latest technologies, certain countries and industries can gain a competitive advantage. While these four arguments are meant to lead to a solution to the digital divide, there are a couple of other components that need to be considered. The first one is rural living versus s
General time- and transfer constant analysis
The general time- and transfer-constants (TTC) analysis is the generalized version of the Cochran-Grabel (CG) method, which itself is the generalized version of zero-value time-constants (ZVT), which in turn is the generalization of the open-circuit time constant method (OCT). While the other methods mentioned provide varying terms of only the denominator of an arbitrary transfer function, TTC can be used to determine every term both in the numerator and the denominator. Its denominator terms are the same as that of Cochran-Grabel method, when stated in terms of time constants (when expressed in Rosenstark notation). however, the numerator terms are determined using a combination of transfer constants and time constants, where the time constants are the same as those in CG method. Transfer constants are low-frequency ratios of the output variable to input variable under different open- and short-circuited active elements. In general, a transfer function (which can characterize gain, admittance, impedance, trans-impedance, etc., based on the choice of the input and output variables) can be written as: H ( s ) = a 0 + a 1 s + a 2 s 2 + … + a m s m 1 + b 1 s + b 2 s 2 + … + b n s n {\displaystyle H(s)={\frac {a_{0}+a_{1}s+a_{2}s^{2}+\ldots +a_{m}s^{m}}{1+b_{1}s+b_{2}s^{2}+\ldots +b_{n}s^{n}}}} == The denominator terms == The first denominator term b 1 {\textstyle b_{1}} can be expressed as the sum of zero value time constants (ZVTs): b 1 = ∑ i = 1 N τ i 0 {\displaystyle b_{1}=\sum _{i=1}^{N}\tau _{i}^{0}} where τ i 0 {\textstyle \tau _{i}^{0}} is the time constant associated with the reactive element i {\textstyle i} when all the other sources are zero-valued (hence the superscript '0'). Setting a capacitor value to zero corresponds to an open circuit, while a zero-valued inductor is a short circuit. So for calculation of the τ i 0 {\textstyle \tau _{i}^{0}} , all other capacitors are open-circuited and all other inductors are short-circuited. This is the essence of the ZVT method, which reduces to OCT when only capacitors are involved. All independent sources are also zero-valued during the time constant calculations (voltage sources short-circuited and current source open-circuited). In this case, if the element in question (element i {\textstyle i} ) is a capacitor, the time constant is given by τ i 0 = R i 0 C i {\displaystyle \tau _{i}^{0}=R_{i}^{0}C_{i}} and when element i {\textstyle i} is an inductor is it given by: τ i 0 = L i / R i 0 {\displaystyle \tau _{i}^{0}=L_{i}/R_{i}^{0}} . where in both cases, the resistance R i 0 {\textstyle R_{i}^{0}} , is the resistance seen by elements i {\textstyle i} (denoted by subscript), when all the other elements are zero-valued (denoted by the zero superscript). The second-order denominator term is equal to: b 2 = ∑ i = 1 N − 1 ∑ j = i + 1 N τ i 0 τ j i = ∑ i 1 ⩽ i ∑ j < j ⩽ N τ i 0 τ j i {\displaystyle b_{2}=\sum _{i=1}^{N-1}\sum _{j=i+1}^{N}\tau _{i}^{0}\tau _{j}^{i}=\sum _{i}^{1\leqslant i}\sum _{j}^{ Microelectronics is a subfield of electronics. As the name suggests, microelectronics relates to the study and manufacture (or microfabrication) of very small electronic designs and components. Usually, but not always, this means micrometre-scale or smaller. These devices are typically made from semiconductor materials. Many components of a normal electronic design are available in a microelectronic equivalent. These include transistors, capacitors, inductors, resistors, diodes and (naturally) insulators and conductors can all be found in microelectronic devices. Unique wiring techniques such as wire bonding are also often used in microelectronics because of the unusually small size of the components, leads and pads. This technique requires specialized equipment and is expensive. Digital integrated circuits (ICs) consist of billions of transistors, resistors, diodes, and capacitors. Analog circuits commonly contain resistors and capacitors as well. Inductors are used in some high frequency analog circuits, but tend to occupy larger chip area due to their lower reactance at low frequencies. Gyrators can replace them in many applications. As techniques have improved, the scale of microelectronic components has continued to decrease. At smaller scales, the relative impact of intrinsic circuit properties, such as unintended interactions between components or their parts, may become more significant. These are called parasitic effects, and the goal of the microelectronics design engineer is to find ways to compensate for or to minimize these effects, while delivering smaller, faster, and cheaper devices. Today, microelectronics design is largely aided by electronic design automation (EDA) software. Dropbox Paper, or simply Paper, is a collaborative document-editing service developed by Dropbox. Originating from the company's acquisition of document collaboration company Hackpad in April 2014, Dropbox Paper was officially announced in October 2015, and launched in January 2017. It offers a web application, as well as mobile apps for Android and iOS. Dropbox Paper was described in the official announcement post as "a flexible workspace that brings people and ideas together. With Paper, teams can create, review, revise, manage, and organize — all in shared documents". Reception of Dropbox Paper has been mixed. Critics praised collaboration functionality, including content available immediately, the ability to mention specific collaborators, assign tasks, write comments, as well as editing attribution, and revision history. It received particular praise for its support for rich media from a variety of sources, with one reviewer noting that the Paper's support for rich media exceeds the capabilities of most of its competitors. However, it was criticized for a lack of formatting options and editing features. While the user interface was liked for being minimal, reviewers cited the lack of a fixed formatting bar and missing features present in competitors' products as making Dropbox Paper seem like a "light" tool. == History == Dropbox acquired document collaboration company Hackpad in April 2014. A year later, Dropbox launched a Dropbox Notes note-taking product in beta testing phase. Dropbox Paper was officially announced on October 15, 2015, followed by an open beta and release of mobile Android and iOS apps in August 2016. Dropbox Paper was officially released on January 30, 2017. == Reception == In a comparison between Dropbox Paper and Evernote, PC World's Michael Ansaldo wrote that "With its emphasis on document creation, you might expect formatting to be front and center in Dropbox Paper. That's not the case." Ansaldo noted the lack of a "fixed formatting toolbar as you'd find in Evernote or a word processor like Google Docs or Microsoft Word. Instead, the text editor appears as a floating ribbon only when you highlight selected text." The only formatting options available for emphasis were bolding, strikethrough, bulleted and numbered lists, and H1 and H2 tags. Users can also add links, convert text to checklists, and add comments. Ansaldo wrote that "Both Evernote and Dropbox Paper make it easy to add images to a document", but also noted that "Dropbox Paper doesn't support any image editing". Paper supports rich media, and users can "add rich content to your document just by pasting a link to the file. In addition to Dropbox, Paper supports media from a variety of popular services including YouTube, Spotify, Vimeo, SoundCloud, Facebook, and Google's productivity suite. Once the file appears, you can delete the link for a cleaner display." To start working with other people, Paper "allows you to invite people via email from within a document", with sharing options for who can view the link (anyone with the link or just the invited person), and action permissions (edit or only comment). Regarding collaboration, Ansaldo wrote that "Creative collaboration is Paper’s marquee feature, and it provides a variety of ways to work effectively with others in real time". Users can "make any content immediately visible and accessible to a specific collaborator with "@mentions"", and "You can also use @mentions to create and assign task lists within a document." Paper also "boasts essential collaboration tools including comments, editing attribution, and revision history." Writing for TechRadar, John Brandon wrote that Dropbox Paper "might be a 'light' tool for now without the extensive templates of Microsoft Office or the integration with other apps in the Zoho suite, but it does work well with the Dropbox storage service that's so popular with office workers these days." Kyle Wiggers of Digital Trends wrote that Paper is "all about minimizing distractions. Its interface is quite literally a big, blank canvas on which you tap out your agenda. You can organize notes by title and create to-do lists, but even basic formatting tools are obscured from view", noting Paper's "floating box above words and phrases highlighted by your cursor". Wiggers stated that "Paper is not a to-do organizer", but that it's "well suited to the purpose thanks to a bevy of labor-saving conveniences", highlighting that Paper "supports more media than most of its to-do and note-taking counterparts". He praised the collaboration tools, writing that they "are as extensive as you'd hope, and then some", citing its invitation system with permission controls, lists of changes and revision history, comment and chat support, and "perhaps best of all", the ability to assign tasks with a "@" mention. Business Insider's Alex Heath praised that "Paper's interface is spotless and friendly to write in. You don't feel overwhelmed with formatting options", but criticized the available features, writing that "Google Docs is much more full-featured in the formatting department, so Paper has some catching up to do if it wants to be on par with the competition". Writing for The Verge, Casey Newton praised Paper's handling of rich media, complimenting it for being "great", and added that "I imagine that creative types who work on teams will appreciate having rich media embedded in the documents they're working on rather than in a series of infinite tabs". Far-Play (stylized fAR-Play, from augmented reality) was a software platform developed at the University of Alberta, for creating location-based, scavenger-hunt style games which use the GPS and web-connectivity features of a player's smartphone. According to the development team, "our long-term objective is to develop a general framework that supports the implementation of AARGs that are fun to play and also educational". It utilizes Layar, an augmented reality smartphone application, QR codes located at particular real-world sites, or a phone's web browser, to facilitate games which require players to be in close physical proximity to predefined "nodes". A node, referred to by the developers as a Virtual Point of Interest (vPOI), is a point in space defined by a set of map coordinates; fAR-Play uses the GPS function of a player's smartphone — or, for indoor games, which are not easily tracked by GPS satellites, specially-created QR codes— to confirm that they are adequately near a given node. Once a player is within a node's proximity, Layar's various augmented reality features can be utilized to display a range of extra content overlaid upon the physical play-space or launch another application for extra functionality. == Development and features == fAR-Play began development in 2008, emerging from a collaborative project undertaken by a group of University of Alberta students from the Computer Science and Humanities Computing departments. fAR-Play is still under development, but a beta version is available for testing by request. fAR-Play's development is managed by a team of interdisciplinary professors and students at the University of Alberta. Currently, the developing team's roster includes Supervising Professors Geoffrey Rockwell and Eleni Stroulia, Developers Lucio Gutierrez and Matthew Delaney, and Website Developers Calen Henry and Garry Wong. === Technology === fAR-Play relies on a number of open- and closed-source web technologies as tools to create, and enhance the users' experience. Layar is the recommended client-side frontend for delivering game content to the player; it is available on Android and iOS, which covers over 91% of smartphones. While Layar is not a requirement to play fAR-Play games, the application does supply additional augmented reality functionality; Layar also includes a built-in QR scanner. Depending on the design of the particular game, the player may instead use a dedicated QR code scanner; the developers recommend BeeTagg, but any such application will do. Layar or a QR code scanner are the maximum software requirements to play a fAR-Play game, making implementation of games on a wide variety of platforms relatively straightforward. fAR-Play games can also be designed for play strictly within a mobile phone's web browser. On the server side, fAR-Play's engine is composed of an Apache server which manages the system's web interface, including the mobile and desktop versions of the fAR-Play website, and a Java-based REST framework for managing the database of nodes. === Features === As a platform for designing AR games, as opposed to an AR game itself, fAR-Play offers little in the way of explicit shapes or patterns for games to take; instead, these elements are left to the game designer or players to develop. However, the nonspecific nature of nodes, the many options they offer for content delivery, and the open design of the platform are such that these elements can be developed extensively. Functionally, fAR-Play is a tool for tracking arbitrary points in space and a given player's proximity to them; what it does beyond that is up to the developers' and players' discretion. However, the fAR-Play website contains a leaderboard which tracks registered user's total scores. Players are assigned levels based on their total score, ranging from Novice — Super Player. Player profiles will display nodes that the player has recently caught, and any achievements the player has gained. Additionally, players can share their adventure progress, achievements, and the capture of vPOIs on Facebook. == How to play == In order to participate in the locative aspects of fAR-Play games, users must have an Android or iOS mobile device and access to wireless internet. Players can participate in fAR-Play anonymously, or create and sign into a fAR-Play account. Those who choose to play anonymously will lose the ability to track their progress across multiple games. When signed in, the player is presented with a list of games that are currently available for play. Each game includes a brief description and the various "adventures" available to the player. Once the game has been started, the player has three different methods for capturing nodes: they may scan a QR in the physical space, discover a node through the Layar camera virtual view, or receive a link in their device's web browser. === QR codes and Layar === QR codes can only be used as a method for capturing nodes and initiating games when there is a physical code present. In order to scan a QR code, players are required to have an application which can capture and recognize QR codes. If the player is utilizing a QR scanning application that has a built in browser, they will be required to log into fAR-Play through the app. Layar is a free to download augmented reality app, containing a built in QR code scanner, which enables its users to participate in fAR-Play games. === Capturing nodes === Layar permits the player to see nodes on their mobile device, guiding the player to their goal. Using this application, the player is able to navigate to their objective with map provided by Google Maps' API or by using their camera — Layar overlays a virtual image onto the real-world scene presented by the camera. The representations on screen expand in size as the player approaches the node destination, simulating relative distance. If the player taps any of the nodes that are presented on the screen, they will be provided additional information about that node, including the node's name and a brief description. Nodes can be captured by tapping the "capture" button. === Playing on browsers === The player can also play fAR-Play games within their mobile device's browser. By visiting https://archive.today/20131123223038/http://farplay.ualberta.ca/far-play/ on a mobile device, players will be presented with a fully realized user interface, permitting full interaction with the games. The player can capture the in game vPOIs through their browser by tapping the "nodes" button. This will bring up a list of all the accessible nodes, complete with a brief description for each location. By clicking on one of the nodes, the player is shown to a screen with a mapped location of the vPOI, an in-depth description of it, and hints. At the top of the page, the player can tap "CAPTURE THIS NODE" and advance in the game. When attempting to capture a node, the developer may or may not associate a challenge with the node. For example, in the game "Zombies ate my Campus", when players are attempting to capture a node, they're presented with a multiple choice question associated with the current node. === Game types === Players complete an adventure when they have captured all of the nodes within it. fAR-Play provides two game modes: in a Virtual Scavenger Hunt, nodes must be captured in a specific order; in a Virtual Treasure Hunt, the order is unimportant. == Existing fAR-Play games == Games currently available through fAR-Play include: Giselle Ever After Thought Hub Comics Arts Capture Challenge Pioneering Edmonton The Intelliphone Challenge A Tour of Atwater Zombies ate my Campus == For developers == fAR-Play's ultimate goal is to provide a simple, effective platform for the creation of locative augmented reality games, but the developer tools are still under active development and not openly available to the public. Access can be granted on a case-by-case basis, however, and a developer's manual is available. Users with development privileges can create new games or edit their existing games, in addition to playing their own or others' games. === Adventures === Games that are developed with fAR-Play are segmented into components called "Adventures". To progress through each game adventure, the player must reach and capture virtual points of interest, referred to in the game as vPOIs. In order to capture a vPOI, the player must travel to a physical location that is set by the developer. It is the developer's choice to include a challenge question to capture the vPOI, though it is not mandatory. A deduction of points can be implemented if the player submits an incorrect answer to a challenge question. === Points and achievements === Each of the nodes will reward the player with a predetermined number of points once they have been captured by the player. These points are added to the player's total points. Each of the adventures that are created require a predetermined number of vPOIs Microelectronics
Dropbox Paper
Far-Play