One example of a common use of these concepts is Play Luxor a Mail User Agent that Play Luxor can be instructed to be in either "on-line" or "off-line" states. One such MUA is Microsoft Outlook. When Play Luxor it is "on-line" it will attempt to connect to mail servers (to check Play Luxor for new mail at regular intervals, for example), and when it is Play Luxor "off-line" it will not attempt to Play Luxor make any such connections. The "on-line" Play Luxor Play And Trade or "off-line" state of the MUA does not necessarily reflect the connection status between the computer Play Luxor on Play Luxor which it is running and Internet. The user may have the computer itself on-line, Play Luxor connected to Internet via a cable modem or an ADSL connection, but Play Luxor may wish for Play Luxor Outlook to be off-line, so that it makes no Play Luxor attempt to send or to receive messages. Or the Play Luxor computer may be configured Play Luxor to employ a dial-up connection on demand (whenever an application Play Luxor such as Outlook attempts Play Luxor to make connection to a server), but the connection Play Luxor may be an expensive telephone call from the particular Play Luxor location in which the computer currently happens to be (such as a hotel room) and the user may not wish Outlook Play Luxor to trigger making that call Play Luxor every 5 or 10 minutes to Play Luxor check for mail.
Another example of the use of these concepts is in the Play Luxor world of digital audio technology. A tape recorder, digital editor, or other device that is "on-line" is one whose clock Play Luxor is under the control of the clock of a "synchronization master" device. When the sync master Play Luxor commences playback, the "on-line" device automatically synchronizes itself to the master and commences playing from the same point in the recording. Whereas a device Play Luxor that is "off-line" uses Play Luxor no external Play Luxor clock Play Luxor reference and relies upon its own internal clock. When a large number of devices are connected to Play Luxor a sync master, it is often convenient, if one wants to hear just the output of one single Play Luxor device, to take it Play Luxor off-line, because if the device Play Luxor is played back on-line all synchronized devices have Play Luxor to locate the playback point Play Luxor and wait for each other to be in synchronization.[2] (For further related discussion, see MIDI timecode, word sync, and recording system synchronization.)
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A third example of a common use of these concepts is Play Luxor a web Play Luxor browser that can be instructed to Play Luxor be in either Play Luxor "on-line" or "off-line" states. The browser only attempts to fetch pages from servers whilst in the "on-line" state. In the "off-line" state, users can perform offline browsing, where Play Luxor pages can be Play Luxor browsed using local copies of those pages that Play Luxor have previously been downloaded whilst in the Play Luxor "on-line" Play Luxor state. This can be useful when the computer itself is also off-line, with connection to Internet expensive or impossible. The pages are either downloaded implicitly into the Play Luxor web browser's own cache, as a result of Play Luxor prior on-line browsing by Play Home Sweet Home the user, or explicitly by the browser being configured to keep local copies Play Luxor of certain web pages, which it keeps updated when the browser is in the on-line state, either by checking that the local copies are up-to-date at regular intervals or by checking that the local copies are up-to-date whenever the browser is switched to the on-line state. One such web browser capable of being explicitly configured Play Luxor to download Play Luxor pages for offline browsing is Internet Explorer. When pages are added to the "Favourites" list, they can be How To Play Mancala marked for being made "available for offline browsing". Internet Explorer will download to local copies both the marked page and, optionally, all of the Play Luxor pages that it links to. In Internet Explorer version 6, the level of direct and indirect links, the maximum amount of local disc space allowed to be consumed, and the schedule on Play Luxor which local Play Luxor copies are checked to see Play Luxor whether they are up-to-date, are configurable Play Luxor for Play Luxor each
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The ideas of "on-line" and "off-line" have been Play Luxor generalized from Play Luxor computing and Play Luxor telecommunication into the field of human interpersonal relationships. The distinction between what is considered "on-line" and what is considered "off-line" Play Luxor has become a subject of study in the field of sociology.[7]
The distinction between "on-line" and "off-line" is conventionally seen as the distinction between computer-mediated communication and face-to-face communication Play Luxor (e.g. Play Luxor face Play Luxor time), respectively. "On-line" is virtuality, and "off-line" is reality (e.g. real life or meatspace). Slater states that Play Luxor this distinction is "obviously Play Luxor far too simple". To Play Luxor support his argument that the distinctions in relationships are more complex than a simple "on-line"/"off-line" dichotomy, he observes that some people draw Play Luxor no distinction between Play A Basketball Game an "on-line" relationship, such as indulging in cybersex, and an "off-line" relationship, such as being pen-pals. He also argues that even the Play Word Searches telephone can be regarded as an "on-line" experience in some circumstances, and that the blurring of Play Luxor the distinctions between the uses Play Luxor of various technologies (such as PDA and mobile telephone, television and Internet, and telephone and voice-over-IP) has made it "impossible to use the term 'on-line' meaningfully in the sense that was employed by the Play Luxor first generation of Internet research".[7]
Slater asserts Play Luxor that there are legal and Play Luxor regulatory pressures to reduce Play Luxor the distinction between "on-line" and "off-line", with a "general tendency to assimilate online to offline and Play Den erase the distinction", stressing, however, that this does not mean that Play Luxor on-line relationships are being reduced to Play Luxor pre-existing off-line relationships. He conjectures that greater legal status may be assigned to on-line relationships (pointing out that contractual relationships, such as business transactions, on-line are already seen as just as "real" as their off-line counterparts), although he states it to be hard to imagine courts awarding palimony to people who have had a purely on-line sexual relationship. He also conjectures that Play Luxor an "on-line"/"off-line" distinction may be seen by people Play Luxor as "rather quaint and not quite comprehensible" within Play Luxor 10 years
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The distinction where "on-line" is seen as virtuality and "off-line" as reality is sometimes inverted, with "on-line" concepts being used to define and to explain "off-line" activities, rather than (as per the conventions of the Play Luxor desktop metaphor with its desktops, trash cans, folders, and so forth) the other way around. Several Play Luxor cartoons by The New Yorker Play Luxor have satirized this. One includes Saint Peter asking for a user name Play Luxor and a password before admitting a man into Play Luxor Heaven. Play Luxor Another illustrates "the off-line store" where "All items are actual size!", where shoppers may "Take it home as soon as you Play Luxor pay for it!", and where "Merchandise may be handled prior Play Luxor to purchase!". |
