Tools and Appliances
Webpages concerning "Tools and Appliances"
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Wikipedia-Article "Tools"
- For other uses, see Tool (disambiguation).
A tool is a device that provides a mechanical or mental advantage in accomplishing a simple machine, or a combination of them. For example, a crowbar simply functions as a lever. The further out from the pivot point, the more force is transmitted along the lever.
Philosophers once thought that only humans used tools, and often defined humans as tool-using animals. But observation has confirmed that monkeys and other animals, mostly primates, but also some birds (ravens, for instance), and sea otters can use tools as well. Later, philosophers thought that only humans had the ability to make tools, until zoologists observed birds[1] and monkeys[2][3][4] making tools. Most anthropologists believe that the use of tools was an important step in the evolution of mankind. Humans evolved an opposable thumb (useful to hold the tools) and an increase in intelligence (aiding in the use of tools).
Most tools can also serve as weapons, such as the hammer and the knife. Similarly, people can use weapons, such as explosives, as tools.
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Varieties of tools
- Devices often typify newly invented or specific-purpose tools.
- Instruments are concrete or abstract tools, especially if they are refined.
- Utensils aid in eating.
- Machines can function as ordered systems of tools or as super-tools.
Physical tools
- Hand tools such as pliers, adze, or axe
- Agricultural tools such as scythe or sickle
- Power tools such as drill or wood router
- Machine tools such as lathe, milling machine or shaping machine
- Hydraulic tools such as the Hurst tool or hydraulic ram
- Heat-based tools such as soldering iron, welding torch and thermic lance
- Eating utensils such as chopsticks, fork, knife, or spoon
- Writing instruments such as ballpoint pen or pencil
- Special use tools such as Buggy whip or whetstone
- Multitools such as Swiss Army knife or Leatherman
Toy tools make popular playthings. Some simply consist of a cheap or small version of the real thing, such as a shovel and bucket to use on the beach or in a sandbox. Others are less functional, e.g. a dull plastic knife, or not functional at all.
Mental tools
- Language
- Logic
- Tradition
- Algorithms
- Memorization, such as being mindful that physical tools may be recalled from a list
In computing, the term tools can also apply to software programs that assist people doing work on computers, such as Computer Aided Software Engineering tools, Lint programming tool, software or web-based collaborative tools, software development tools, programming tools.
Slang Usage
Stemming from a double-entendre where a "tool" is a phallus; this became a popular word in the 1990's. Individuals may be described as "tools", as an insult meaning that someone is a klutz or easily taken advantage of.
Functions of tools
Many tools or groups of tools serve to perform one or more of a set of basic operations, such as:
- Cutting (knife, scythe, sickle, ...)
- Concentrating force (hammer, maul, screwdriver, whip, writing implements, ...)
- Guiding (set square, algorithm, straight edge, tradition, ...)
- Protecting
- Seizing and holding (pliers, glove, wrench, ...)
History
Use of tools started at the beginning of the Stone age. Humans have fabricated knives, amongst the oldest tools, since that time.
Mechanical devices, though known to Alexandrian Greeks, experienced a major expansion in their use in the Middle Ages with the systematic employment of new energy sources: water (waterwheels) and wind (windmills).
Machine tools occasioned a surge in producing new tools in the Industrial revolution. Advocates of nanotechnology expect a similar surge as tools move down-scale.
WikiProject Metalworking: This article is part of Metalworking hand tools.
Wikipedia-Article "Appliances"
The word appliance has several different areas of meaning, all usually referring to a device with a narrow function:
- One class of objects includes items that are custom-fitted to an individual for the purpose of correction of a physical problem, such as prosthetic and orthotic appliances.
- Another class of objects includes items that accomplish routine household tasks, using electricity or some other energy input. These are grouped into two categories: small appliances and major appliances. Such items as toilets and sinks are not appliances, but plumbing fixtures, because they operate only with water and not with energy input.
- A certain class of computer products, where the device is has a specific function, and limited ability to configure.
- A fire engine or fire truck (British English).
Networking of home appliances
There is an increasing trend to network home appliances together, and combine their controls and key functions. For instance, energy distribution can be managed more evenly so that when the washing machine is on, the oven can ge into a delayed start mode, or vice versa. Or, a washing machine and dryer may share information about load characteristics (gentle/normal, light/full), and synchronize their finish times so the wet laundry does not have to wait before being put in the dryer.
Computer appliances
Traditionally, all computing functions were written as software applications running on top of a general-purpose operating system. The consumer (whether home computer user or the IT department of a company) bought a computer, installed the operating system or configured a pre-installed operating system, and then installed one or more applications on top of the operating system. An e-Mail server was just an e-Mail application running on top of Linux, Unix, Microsoft Windows, or some other opearting system, on a computer that was not designed specifically for that application.
Specialized applications have recently started to use a different model. Instead of installing firewall software on top of a general purpose computer/operating system, the engineers have built computers that are designed specifically for the task. This has taken three forms:
1) The vendor builds an ASIC, so there is no separate "software" or operating system. The device has a limited interface, usually terminal console or web-based, to allow some basic configuration by the consumer. The manufacturer often has some way of accessing deeper configuration mechanisms.
2) The vendor uses or creates a general-purpose computer, and designs a new operating system that integrates the application into the operating system. Cisco's IOS is an example; the Unix-like operating system has firewall functions and network/firewall configuration commands built into it. Sometimes, the device is also sealed, so the consumer has no access to reinstall the operating system or replace it with another operaing system. The consumer may also be restricted to a small group of configuration commands, while the more deatailed and lower level functions of the operating system are only available to the vendor. The more this "locked down" approach is carried out, the closer this type of device comes to appearing like an ASIC device.
3) Off the shelf computers and operating systems are used, but the user interface and "box" are designed so the user cannot access anything on the computer, except for the application interface that the vendor has created. Since the underlying computing architecture is locked down and essentially invisible, it becomes difficult to discern that the device really functions on top of general purpose hardware and operating systems. Linux, and BSD to a lesser degree, has become the operating system of choice for this type of appliance.
Sometimes, these three techniques are mixed. For example, a VPN appliance might contain a limited access software firewall running on Linux, with an encryption ASIC to speed up VPN access.
Some appliances are solid state, while others use a hard drive to load an operating system. Again, the two methods might be mixed -- an ASIC print server might allow an optional hard drive for job queueing, or a Linux-based device may encode Linux in firmware, so that a hard drive is not needed to load the operating system.
The term "appliance" came to be applied to these devices because of their similarity to home appliances. Home appliances are generally "closed and sealed" -- not serviceable by the owner; in computer appliances, the hardware box is usually sealed and not repaiarable or upgradable to the user. Home appliances usually have a button or dial interface designed to allow the user to adjust its functions within a limited set of parameters; computing appliances have a limited user interface to configure the device within parameters allowed by the vendor, while underlying aspects of the device that support its function are only configurable by vendor technicians. A home applicance may have a motor, but the motor can only be used within the appliance's function, and not for other purposes; computer appliances that use a general purpose computer platform hide the operating system commands and functions from the user, and only expose the application interface.
Some examples of computer functions that are often available as appliances are:
- firewall
- encryption
- VPN
- e-Mail filters for spam and viruses, or S/MIME message management
- file servers (network attached storage, or NAS)
- backup (e.g. Unitrends sells a data protection appliance incorporating its bare-metal restore software)
- GPS map/driving direction devices, especially when installed in a car
- search engines (e.g. Google sells a search appliance incorporating its search technology for use with corporate computing networks and databases)
Some consider the PDA to be a form of appliance, since most consumers do not make use of them as genetral purpose computing platforms.