Distributed multimedia systems

A distributed multimedia system (DMS) is an integrated communication, computing, and information system that enables the processing, management, delivery, and presentation of synchronized multimedia information with quality-of-service guarantees. Multimedia information may include discrete media data, such as text, data, and images, and continuous media data, such as video and audio. Such a system enhances human communications by exploiting both visual and aural senses and provides the ultimate flexibility in work and entertainment, allowing one to collaborate with remote participants, view movies on demand, access on-line digital libraries from the desktop, and so forth. In this paper, we present a technical survey of a DMS. We give an overview of distributed multimedia systems, examine the fundamental concept of digital media, identify the applications, and survey the important enabling technologies.published_or_final_versio

Access to and Encoding of VRML State Information

In this paper we propose a concept for transparent access of VRML state information. Our approach enhances VRML-browsers to provide additional functionality instead of placing the burden for state access on content developers. The enhanced functionality is realized as an extension to the External Authoring Interface (EAI). Any application which relies on a VRML-browser as 3D presentation engine can use the new EAI functionality to get and set the state of arbitrary VRML content. In order to support diverse applications, the proposed methods not only allow to retrieve the full state of a complete world, but also the state of single objects and state changes. Since the results of state access should be independent of browser implementations, we also specify an encoding for state information. Data in this form is either produced or consumed during state access. For the encoding of state information we use an easy-to-parse and efficient binary encoding

Decision Support System and Customer Relationship Management as Components of the Cybernetic System Enterprise

This study analyzes the role played by the information system and its component, the software system, in a larger system - the Enterprise. In this context, the paper focuses on the structure of Decision Support System and Customer Relationship Management and their benefits in the functioning of the global system, by examining the conditions of implementation of these tools in the organization. We will show that used independently these tools offer reduced services, but when interconnected, they become a very powerful tool for command and control. Viability, evolution and autonomy requested by users for their information system are obtained more easily by a systemic-cybernetic approach to the Enterprise.DSS, Data Warehouse, CRM, Information System, Cybernetic System

Beyond the Hype: On Using Blockchains in Trust Management for Authentication

Trust Management (TM) systems for authentication are vital to the security of online interactions, which are ubiquitous in our everyday lives. Various systems, like the Web PKI (X.509) and PGP's Web of Trust are used to manage trust in this setting. In recent years, blockchain technology has been introduced as a panacea to our security problems, including that of authentication, without sufficient reasoning, as to its merits.In this work, we investigate the merits of using open distributed ledgers (ODLs), such as the one implemented by blockchain technology, for securing TM systems for authentication. We formally model such systems, and explore how blockchain can help mitigate attacks against them. After formal argumentation, we conclude that in the context of Trust Management for authentication, blockchain technology, and ODLs in general, can offer considerable advantages compared to previous approaches. Our analysis is, to the best of our knowledge, the first to formally model and argue about the security of TM systems for authentication, based on blockchain technology. To achieve this result, we first provide an abstract model for TM systems for authentication. Then, we show how this model can be conceptually encoded in a blockchain, by expressing it as a series of state transitions. As a next step, we examine five prevalent attacks on TM systems, and provide evidence that blockchain-based solutions can be beneficial to the security of such systems, by mitigating, or completely negating such attacks.Comment: A version of this paper was published in IEEE Trustcom. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8029486

Proceedings of the 4th Workshop on Interacting with Smart Objects 2015

These are the Proceedings of the 4th IUI Workshop on Interacting with Smart Objects. Objects that we use in our everyday life are expanding their restricted interaction capabilities and provide functionalities that go far beyond their original functionality. They feature computing capabilities and are thus able to capture information, process and store it and interact with their environments, turning them into smart objects