Personal computer

About: Personal computer is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 58809 publications have been published within this topic receiving 800814 citations. The topic is also known as: PC.

Peripheral data acquisition, monitor, and adaptive control system via personal computer

Abstract: A peripheral data acquisition, monitor, and adaptive control system is disclosed in which a personal computer (PC) and one or more input/output (I/O) Bridge devices interface signals from electronically-controlled devices to the PC via the keyboard port, thus permitting data, such as measurement data, to be automatically and directly entered into application programs such that the PC can take action and control outputs based upon the measurement data. A software control program is also disclosed which allows the user to configure the system for orienting the user as to which devices are being controlled, reading digital and analog inputs, making decisions based upon the information using specific user-defined conditions, and setting digital outputs. The system is also adapted to interface with a wireless or AC power-line transmission media.

Learning to Contract: Evidence from the Personal Computer Industry

Abstract: Organizational forms involving more detailed contracts than are found in traditional spot market exchanges appear to be increasingly prevalent. There has been relatively little analysis, however, of the extent to which firms learn how to use contracts to manage their interfirm relationships over time. In this paper, we conduct a detailed case study of a time series of 11 contracts concluded during 1989-1997 between the same two partners, both of whom participate in the personal computer industry, to explore whether and how firms learn to contract. We find many changes to the structure of the contracts that cannot be fully explained by changes in the assets at risk in the relationship, and evidence that these changes are largely the result of processes in which the firms were learning how to work together, including learning how to contract with each other. The nature of this learning appears to have been quite incremental and local, that is, not very far sighted. We suggest how and when contracts might serve as repositories for knowledge about how to govern collaborations, and suggest some boundary conditions for this phenomenon. Our findings also provide implications for the debate about whether contracts have a positive or negative effect on interorganizational trust. We conclude with suggestions for future research.

Advanced multiplexed analysis with the FlowMetrixTM system

Abstract: The FlowMetrixTM System is a multiplexed data acquisition and analysis platform for flow cytometric analysis of microsphere-based assays that performs simultaneous measurement of up to 64 different analytes The system consists of 64 distinct sets of fluorescent microspheres and a standard benchtop flow cytometer interfaced with a personal computer containing a digital signal processing board and Windows95®-based software Individual sets of microspheres can be modified with reactive components such as antigens, antibodies, or oligonucleotides, and then mixed to form a multiplexed assay set The digital signal-processing hardware and Windows95-based software provide complete control of the flow cytometer and perform real-time data processing, allowing multiple independent reactions to be analyzed simultaneously The system has been used to perform qualitative and quantitative immunoassays for multiple serum proteins in both capture and competitive inhibition assay formats The system has also been used to perform DNA sequence analysis by multiplexed competitive hybridization with 16 different sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes

CellProfiler: free, versatile software for automated biological image analysis.

Abstract: Careful visual examination of biological samples is quite powerful, but many visual analysis tasks done in the laboratory are repetitive, tedious, and subjective. Here we describe the use of the open-source software, CellProfiler, to automatically identify and measure a variety of biological objects in images. The applications demonstrated here include yeast colony counting and classifying, cell microarray annotation, yeast patch assays, mouse tumor quantification, wound healing assays, and tissue topology measurement. The software automatically identifies objects in digital images, counts them, and records a full spectrum of measurements for each object, including location within the image, size, shape, color intensity, degree of correlation between colors, texture (smoothness), and number of neighbors. Small numbers of images can be processed automatically on a personal computer and hundreds of thousands can be analyzed using a computing cluster. This free, easy-to-use software enables biologists to comprehensively and quantitatively address many questions that previously would have required custom programming, thereby facilitating discovery in a variety of biological fields of study.

Reception system for an interactive computer network and method of operation

Abstract: An interactive computer system network enables a user to display desired information, such as news, financial and cultural information, and perform desired transactional services, such as banking and shopping, through any of a plurality of types of personal computers. User inputs are received by the personal computer and are translated into personal computer-independent data objects and executable code objects which are then processed by the network. These objects comprise partitioned applications required to process user inputs, portions of which are distributed and stored either locally within the personal computer or remotely in a host computer. User characteristics are monitored by the system in order to generate and display specific advertisements to the user based on individual usage characteristics and predetermined interests.