212 lines
9.1 KiB
HTML
212 lines
9.1 KiB
HTML
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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
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<HTML><HEAD>
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<title>Collaborative Community Linux Extranet for Improved Health LG #89</title>
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<TABLE BORDER><TR><TD WIDTH="200">
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<A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/">
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<IMG ALT="LINUX GAZETTE" SRC="../gx/2002/lglogo_200x41.png"
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WIDTH="200" HEIGHT="41" border="0"></A>
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<SMALL>...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I></SMALL>
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</TD><TD WIDTH="380">
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<CENTER>
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<BIG><BIG><STRONG><FONT COLOR="maroon">Collaborative Community Linux Extranet for Improved Health</FONT></STRONG></BIG></BIG>
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<BR>
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<STRONG>By <A HREF="../authors/lodato.html">Janine M Lodato</A></STRONG>
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</CENTER>
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</TD></TR>
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<blockquote>
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Abstract: A proposal to architect and offer Linux based low cost and reliable
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collaborative systems to be used by the virtual support communities for all
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applications in support of the community especially in the arenas of distance
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learning and telemedicine.
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</blockquote>
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What is needed by the population of these communities including
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<UL>
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<LI>users: members of the community
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<LI>professionals in support of the community
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<LI>moderators, experts in specific applications
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<LI>government
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<LI>health care
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<LI>teachers, parents, kids
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<LI>aged
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<LI>ailing
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<LI>disabled
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</UL>
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is a unified, simple, reliable, affordable telecom platform system,
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preferably voice-activated, that lets the user check for caller ID, receive
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short messages, check for incoming and outgoing E-mail, access address books
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for both telephone numbers, URLs and e-mail addresses, and place and end
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telephone calls. All this without using the maddening complexity of Windows.
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<P>
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These segments of the population are in deep need for telemedicine and
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distance learning applications which could be delivered on Linux based low
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cost, rugged and simple platforms.
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<P>
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These segments of the population are in deep need for telemedicine and
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Linux based platforms in which all systems: client desktops, client
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laptops, client tablets, embedded sensors, communication nodes, blade
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servers, all run on Linux. One good example is the Yellow Dog Linux software
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from www.terrasoftwaresolutions.com.
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<P>
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The end users of the collaborative community extranet systems appreciate the
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higher grade reliability of the hardware on which Yellow Dog Linux runs since
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it is more rugged and reliable than the PC hardware: Yellow Dog Linux runs on
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the same chips Apple OS X runs on: Power G4, iMAC and variations of it. In
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fact any problems with the hardware or with the OS running on it would defeat
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the collaborative community since the users including the professionals and
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the people in need of health services are not that computer-wise so have no
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tolerance for any glitches.
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<P>
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Of course we do not need to be purists and we should also use AMD or Intel
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chip based PCs and even servers as long as they run under Linux such as
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Lindows. The competition between AMD and Intel is providing better and more
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cost effective processor chips including hyper-threading which allows
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multitasking: running multiple applications at the same time.
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<P>
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Many other Linux hardware and software sources are also worthwhile to
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mention:
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<UL>
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<LI>to lower the cost of the server farm for the community www.eracks.com
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provides blade servers
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<LI>to make available any application software www.linuxiso.com offers
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downloadable Linux software distribution
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<LI>to learn about Linux www.freshmeat.com provides Linux tutorials
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<LI>some telemed applications such as sensors and actuators may need custom
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hardware from www.penguincomputing.com
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<LI>certain legacy application interfaces may need will need switching between
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Linux and Windows using the www.pogolinux.com offerings
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</UL>
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One of the most important features for the collaborative community system
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will be the server based voice recognition capability. Everything that is now
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done by typing and text, will be more quickly and easily performed with voice
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recognition. That is, a voice will identify a caller, read short messages
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aloud, provide e-mail services in both text-to-voice reading of the incoming
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e-mail and voice-to-text for outgoing E-mail, voice access of address books,
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and voice-activated placing and closing out phone calls, search the web,
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collaborate with the mentor, etc.
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<P>
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Once the users are able to answer, make and end a call or a web session
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using just their voices, working with the Linux collaborative system will be
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a breeze and seniors will not feel isolated and lonely. What a boon to
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society voice-activated unified services will be including telephony and web
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services.
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<P>
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Whether or not users are at all computer-savvy, e-mail will also be
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extensively applied in the Linux based collaborative community support system
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machine. It is, after all, a form of communication as is the telephone.
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Of great value to the user would be e-mail and its corresponding address
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book. As e-mail comes in, messages could be read by way of a text-to-voice
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method. Also of great value would be a telephone system with its
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corresponding address book and numbers. Short messaging could be read
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through text-to-voice technology and short messages can be left using
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voice-to-text methodology.
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<P>
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With the attractive price of a Linux-based unified communication device
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encompassing all the applications mentioned above, users can be connected and
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productive without the need for an expensive Windows system. Anything that
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allows independence for the user is bound to be helpful to every aspect of
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society.
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<P>
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Of course the professionals in support of the community will also benefit
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from the simplicity of the user interface of the Linux-based client machine:
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desktop or laptop or later even a tablet. Simpler interface makes it quicker
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to use the system as well as voice recognition will make it more convenient
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resulting in higher precision records and faster execution of sessions.
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<P>
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Even the able-bodied eyes-busy, hands-busy professionals can use it to
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improve their productivity. This low cost virtual community platforms and
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associated Web connectivity could be very useful in many government and
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commercial employment arenas as well reaching out to the individuals who are
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in need of upgrading in skills.
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<P>
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Of course there is still work to be done. Applications for the community
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system must be developed or perfected to allow collaboration between the
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health service professionals or social worker professionals and the many
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people in need. Web connected AT oriented software components running on
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Linux client machines connected to Linux servers have to be created such as...
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<UL>
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<LI>simple and application specific user interface,
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<LI>voice based interaction via computer/telephone,
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<LI>always on and always available systems,
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<LI>a collaborative virtual community systems,
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<LI>life function sensors: blood pressure, respiration, retina, etc.
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</UL>
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In fact voice recognition offers great promise for the future. However, it
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isn't perfect and needs to be improved. One improvement could use lip reading
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to bolster its accuracy. Still another is multi-tonal voice input. Another is
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directional microphones. Every generation of voice recognition software will
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improve as the hardware for Linux gets bigger and stronger.
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<P>
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Using such telephone simple systems the professionals can monitor, mentor and
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moderate and even medicate the members of the collaborative community.
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<P>
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For a good example:
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<P>
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Dealing with students who have learning disabilities, it is
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important to get their attention, to bolster their behavior
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and finally to improve their cognitive productivity. With
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assistive technology people can prevent further destruction
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of their faculties, improve their quality of life and can even be
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rehabilitated somewhat. Just the idea of being productive
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adds to a person's self-esteem enormously.
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<P>
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Another very important example is the telemedicine capability which can be
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used in preventative fashion to detect some of the early and silent
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conditions of diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular conditions.
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<!-- *** BEGIN author bio *** -->
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<P>
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<P>
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<!-- *** BEGIN bio *** -->
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<!-- P>
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<img ALIGN="LEFT" ALT="[BIO]" SRC="../gx/2002/note.png">
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<em>
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</em>
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<!-- *** END bio *** -->
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<!-- *** END author bio *** -->
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<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
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<hr>
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<CENTER><SMALL><STRONG>
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Copyright © 2003, Janine M Lodato.
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Copying license <A HREF="../copying.html">http://www.linuxgazette.com/copying.html</A><BR>
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Published in Issue 89 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, April 2003
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</STRONG></SMALL></CENTER>
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