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B. Context-awareness Is Not Location Data Based. According To Schmidt, ...


b. Context-awareness is not location data based.
According to Schmidt, Beigle and Gellersen (1998), there is a general misconception that context-aware applications are limited to location-based data. Instead, the application is based on context more than location. Models used have to be technically focussed so that its application recognizes the physical environment, human factors and the user's emotions, habits, and physical status to be able to facilitate services congruent to his/her needs. It is not merely about establishing ID and mapping it on location data (qt. Olsson 2003).
c. Useable Interfaces
Another aspect of context-aware applications is the interface used by users. There is a dearth of user interfaces, which support context-aware applications in the sense it has been designed to be used. This includes interfaces that facilitate the cognitive model, contextual awareness, adaptive tasks and pervasive computing. Devices with all of these features are still to be developed to support mobile media context-aware applications (Siewiorek 2002).
d. Infrastructure
Needless to say, for every technology to be used widely by the public, an infrastructure that supports it is required. For context-aware applications to be used in mobile devices or otherwise, software, hardware and network communication infrastructure must be developed to support its capabilities. In mobile applications, for example, delivery of context-aware applications is only possible if it allows the mobile computing devices to communicate through the network. Hong and Landay (2001) outline that there is a great need for Internet related service based infrastructure to become independent from hardware, operating system and programming language etc. Such an infrastructure would, therefore, need to have its own standard data formats and protocols, automatic path creation and discovery of sensors in proximity, access model for devices to interchange context-related data (Olsson 2003).
e. Design
While developers claim the concept of "sensitivity" synonymous with intelligence, but actually comparing it with human intelligence is difficult. There is a problem of designing a system that replicates human intelligence without certain degree of computation by the user him/herself. The fundamental problem of writing an application that reflects the use and need of millions of users is difficult as every user is unique and located in different events and situations. Designers of context-aware applications are, therefore, limited by the information available about the preferences, utilities, usage frequency, and applications that would best suit the users (Fischer 2001; Banavar and Berstein 2002).
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