Thursday, 30 October 2008

Impact of access to telecoms

In the UK we have 33.682 million main telephone lines, this is a very large for a small country and s a siginificant difference to the amount they have in other countries. Central African Republic had only 12,000 and this are such a larger country with a greater population the difference between the access to telecoms the UK have compared to Central Africe is astonishing. Costa Rica have 1.437 million this is a large amount also compared to Central African but still a small and insiginificant amount compared to the UK access to them . Once again Singapores has a lot of access but not much in comparison with the small country of the UK, Singapore has 1.859 million. This all shows the vast difference between the countries and the different styles of living. It clearly demonstrates the difference in technology across the world, which is quite astonishing.

Data response

Some of the reasons for the lack of ICT is the lack of electricity in these places and the simple fact that they do not have the funds to invest in the upto date technology.
Computer-aid projects have been very successful due to the fact that they cant afford to give the countries the most upto date technology as it is constantly improving and even when computer aid projects send computers over to these countries, the people do not know how to use one or how to build it into their normal lives to make things easier and do not know how to put them to good use. It would be necessary for the people of these countires to also recieve some much needed help and advise in how to use a computer and how to put it to good use for business use, it is important for them to get this help to help them move over to the other side of the divide.

Wrong side of the divide

Some countries are on the wrong side of the digital divide due to many factors, such as. they do not have sufficient funds in order to catch up with the technology the rest of the world now have. They have to put their money into housing and food before things such as the digital world. Also, for some coutnries they can survive without, unlike man y countries who are just greedy and are never happy and continue to improve things. So the matter of their countries economy not being developed enough can be a reason for them being on the wrong side of the digital divide. Also, the countries that are on the wrong side tend to be countries that are very small and do not have a massive population and stricken with poverty. Also, such countries do not have great electricity supply and this is necessary in order to run the majority of current technology. Although to a certain degree techinology may help these countries it isnt a necessaity and they are fine sitting on the other side of the divide for the moment and even if they transfer over to the other side they will never be able to keep up with the ever growing and improving technology in todays informtaion age.

Friday, 24 October 2008

Investigation ICT Legislation

The main provisions of the Data Protection Act are :
Data must:
-Be processed within the law
-Only be used for specific purposes
-Be adequate, relevant and not excessive
-Be accurate and up to date
-Be kept for no longer than is necessary
-Be processed within your legal rights
-Be kept secure
-Not to be transferred to countries that do not have similar Data Protection laws.
The main benefits of the Data Protection Act for individuals as well as groups in the information age are:
-Anyone misusing your personal data can be prosecuted as it is against the law
-People feel safer as they are more reassured that their data will be kept secure

The disadvantages of the Data Protection Act for people in the information age are:
-It is easier than ever for people to use someones elses data and get away with it for a long time, so the data protection act is certainly mistreated and people do not always reasuured by the act.

Wednesday, 22 October 2008

Monitoring internet and e-mail use

It certainly has some advantages, such as, it prevents employees from wasting time on the internet and looking work unrelated things, also, the employers are able to find out whether any workers are thinking about moving to a new job and it also makes their internet work space safer and lessens the risk of contracting viruses or getting any unwanted websites up and so forth.
It will most importantly have some negative impacts on the business as it is crowding workers independence and they are unlikely to want to work that way and it will probably force them more into looking for a new job which they wont search at work so the employers won't know about it and demonstartes that the employers have little trust in the workers and not many people are likely to want to work under these conditions.
I do not think it has many advantages for the employees accept them seem like good workers to the employers if they do not get reported for doing anything wrong ans the line manager will be able to send a positive report about them to their employer.
Sometimes it is necessary to use the internet for different things that usually wont be deemed for business purposes but on occasions it is and the employeees then have difficultly in doing so due to the monitoring system. An employee who only uses it for business purposes and feels that there is no need for their computers to be tracked and therefore will feel like it is an invasion of privacy and this can cause problems in the work place.

Monday, 20 October 2008

Discussion Teen Arrive Alive GPS Tracking system

I do not think it is a good idea, it stops teenagers idependence and parents should have faith in their children to behave while driving, if they dont then they shouldnt buy or give them a car to use and if they wasnt safe they wouldnt have passed their test. Also, some teenagers may react badly to their lack of indepenence and purposely drive wrecklessly to maybe prove a point. However, if it does work efficiently it could protect teenagers as if they know someone is watching them they are more likely to drive safely and also if they do get into trouble and have an accident some can call for help and still be able to give the emergency services directions as to where they are. However, parents will not be able to constantly watch where their children and also the techonlogy is sure not to work constantly and it is unlikely that many teenagers will agree to it.

Dicusssion US Passports and RFID

The US department of homeland security has decided that 1 millin US passports will contain radio frequency ID chips in 2005, moving to a universal system from 2006.
While this idea will be faster and more convenient it does have dnagers and flaws. How do you decide which 1 million people have the radio chip inserted into their passport and it they may not be relevant or useful to the system at all, sop will it actually be achieveing much? Also, it can be danger to the people and they can be traced from a wide range, sometimes helping to contain crimes but sometimes causing more trouble than they are worth.

Wednesday, 15 October 2008

The pros and cons of ID cards

ID cards will provide an easy and secure way for legal UK residents to prove who they are when they apply for services at private businesses or for government benefits or in order to purchase alcohol or cigarettes,etc. The cards are linked to their owners by unique biometic identifiers(fingerprints. This is reliable way to ensure the cards are legitimate and helps protect everyone from identity theft.
These new and improved ID cards are available for any UK resident over the age of 16. These ID cards, which are certainly more safe than the previous ones, were praised by the queen in her May 2005 speech and The identitity cards act became law in March 2006. They are expecting to be rolling out the first ID cards for British Citzens in 2009. Starting from 2010, ID cards will be offered to young people on a voluntary basis.
This is all to clamp down on Identity theft and fake ID cards, I think it will definitely have an impact on Britain. But whether they will make a difference for the best i dont know. I think it is important that the government have put careful consideration into this and i hope that will be successful. I think the majority of people would like something in place in order to stop their identitys being stolen and i think the new and upcoming system may work, however, the people who still identitys are very clever and will soon work out a way to carry on committing the crime, however, we can still try and prevent and i personally certainly see the need for ID cards, not only for this reason but also as a form of age prove and other such things. I definietly think they are a must of the current society and even if the latest system doesnt stop identity theft we will eventually find a way and they are useful for other things meanwhile.

Monday, 13 October 2008

Information overload

Spreadsheets can help considerably with an information overload because they can deal with a lot of informtaion being entered. They also keep all the information neat and orderly and also you can hide information, so that is not in the way.

Making Choices

I think the Nokia 6300 would be most suitable for a grandmother. It is a basic mobile phone, which is all an elderly person would need, it is easy to use and uncomplicated to make phone calls and is the easiest of phones today in order to write and send text messages and therefore is ideal for an old person, who only wants a phone to make phone calls in an emergency or for the freedom it can bring. It is also fairly light and small, so therefore not weighing their bags down. It also has a small camera on it, which is useful if they want to capture a moment, it really is simple to use compared to the majority of phones. It also has a large screen, making it easier for the person to see what is on the screen. It is about £130 at the moment, but it is constantly dropping in price as newer phones come out, this is a reasonable price for a phone in todays world and would be the perfect phone for any elderly person.

Sunday, 12 October 2008

Computer games

Computer games are a extremely popular form of entertainment and are played by a wide age group. There are millions sold every year and they are popular due to the enjoyment they bring, with the factor of competition and excitment. I think it is fair to say that some computer games can encourage children to be more violent and also some people get high rate when playing some games. Fighting and shooting games are always going to demonstrate violence which is bound to have an affect. Some people are obsessed with the games and therefore isolate themselves from their friends and just concentrate on their computer games, when other use it as a reason to socalise, they use it as a common topic of conversation. Networked computer games, can have two affects, once again they can make you more social while they can also make you antisocial.

Pirated Entertainments

There are many advantages to paying a supplier such as apple for legal music downloads. It ensures you do not get into any trouble for having illegal downloads. Also, it know that you are actually recieving the official version of the song you actual want and it is certain to be good quality unlike pirated copies. The disadvantage of buying a pirate DVD from a market stall; is that is is bound to be poor quality and you are unable to take back to the stall and complain because it is your own fault for buying a pirate copy and the stall owner will not care and also once again you can easily get in trouble for buying pirated copies. Tne disadvantage of getting a pirated copy og the latest hollywood blockbuster before its UK release; is the copy is bound to be filmed from from a video recorder at the back of a cinema in a different country and will therefore be really wobbly and bad quality and may even have people walking in front the camera and will really not do any justice to the film and therefore people normally end up going to the cinema to watch it anyway. The disadvantage to visiting a illict music download site, is more often than not you do not actually download the song you intended to download, you can also get yourself in serious trouble and it is generally more hassel than it worth. The illict downloading sites discourage the funding of new talent because people would rather download the music illegal for free and take the risk of not getting the official song and maybe getting caught rather than paying the money for the real song and therefore artists are not getting the money that rightly deserve.

Original entertainment

With all the technology around now it has become apparently easier to create original entertainment so the statement, 'it has never been easier to publish original entertainment. ' I think it has become much easier to publish original entertainment in todays 'information age'. However, it is believed that it is now harder than ever to hear and see original entertainment. I agree with this to a ceratin degree, i think it is harder than before to find a good piece of original entertainment, however, it isn't impossible to find.

Valid Information

There isn't much that indicates the website www.about.com is relaiable and holds valid information. It does not have any signs of reliability and it is doubtful that it actually is. Also, the following website, http://www.dreamweaverstudios.com/moonbeam/moon.htm seems extremely unreliable at first sight. There is no indication of its validity and demonstrates that the information isn't a reliable source. These two sources as well as many others are unreliable websites that shouldn't be relied on to be a valid source and therefore i would not advice for use

Friday, 10 October 2008

Business Commmunications

Business' use e-mail, instant messaging, mobile phones and lots more on a regular basis. E-mail's are used a lot in the workplace in order to communicate internally and externally, e-mails have replaced the old fashioned way of communicating internally, memos. E-mails are a much more quicker and efficient way of getting a message to many people in the workplace and allows people to send the same message multiple. Also, business make a large amount of phone calls in a day from mobile phones and office phones, it is a quick way of communicating and a good way of ensuring a client or collgeaue has got the message you wanted them to have and a fast way of getting a response.

Other communcation services.

I use MSN messenger as a way of communcation for the social benefits, this allows me to talk to my friends at only the price of my broadband and i an able to talk for as long as i want and it is easy to have a full length normal conversation. I also use facebook, social network, this is a really good way of communcation and allows you to do so in a number of different ways; personal messages, e-mails, instant message or message posts. It is available for all to use and is fairly easy to navigate round. I also send e-mails to friends and family abroad, this is a quick and cheap way of communcating with people in other countries. I often use e-mails at college to, to e-mail my peers about work related things, sometimes in order to gain help or to help them.

When do you use mobile phones?

You use a mobile phone in order to contact people and to have a point of communcation in case of an emergency. People can use there mobile phones anyway as long as there is a strong enough signal reception. However, you are unable to use them in places such as hospitals as it interfers with medical equipment. It is easy to send text messages or dial calls anytime throughout the day or night and it is very easy to use the majority of the time. The major benefit of using a mobile phone is it is cheaper to communicate with people by sending text messages and it enables you to ring people whereever you are and once again it allows you to have an instant point of contact in an emergency and is veru useful on a day to day basis. Mobile phones aren't always easy to use however, quite often it is not easy to see what is the one screen and the buttons are too small and in certain places you are unable to get signal whiich is incredibly fustrating. Mobile phones do certainly fulfil their intended purposes, they enable to ring and talk to people freely and easily just like they were designed for.

Wednesday, 8 October 2008

When do you use E-mail?

You use E-mails inorder to send a quick message to someone in order to usually recieve a instant repsonse. Also, it is common to use E-mail in a work situation, as it is much quicker than actually finding the person and then having a conversation with them. Also, it is more efficient to use E-mails to talk to someone abroad, as it is free unlike the expensive phone calls it would take to talk to them over international phone lines.

Digital Communication vs Voice Conversation

Communticating with SMS in text language does have some disadvantages. Sometimes, the receiever of your messages does not understans what you mean when writing in text language and this can cause complications and mean that you have to use more texts explaining what you actually meant, writing it in proper english the second time round. Also, it is hard for someone to detect when somebody is using sarcasism or is actually being serious and this can sometimes cause problems. However, it is much cheaper to send text messages but more often than not it takes you 5 or more texts to have a conversation you could have within 3 minutes on the phone. So it does take more effort and a much longer time period to have a conversation via text message.
When having a proper voice conversation, phone call, it is a much quicker way of having a conversation, due to the fact that both communicators are able to understand each easily, it is easier to detect what some really means as you can hear the tone of their voice, detecting if they are joking or not and you can talk in proper english which takes alot less thought and effort.
Also, the downside to sending a wuick e-mail against having a short conversation is, the reciever of the e-mail does not always recieve the e-mail quickly enough and the repsonse is very delayed, some people are confident enough with computers to send one back. Once again, it is hard to detect what people actually mean. Also, secondly, it is much simpler to have a short face to face conversation with someone, as you then definietly know that they have the message you wanted them to have, you have their response and there is no confusion.

Analysing the 'good old days'

I think the business should begin to use Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel. By using Access they would be able to create a database to store all necessary information. Also, using Access it is easy to perform accurate calculations, furthermore, you can create validation rules, which make sure only vaild and correct information is entered into the database. Also, by using Excel it allows the business to create a spreadsheets that will safely hold all of their information and data.
It will be much more beenficial for the business to have all there important data held on a computer as it is easy to back it up several times in case of an emergency. Also, it is much more efficient and ensures the safety of the businesses data. I think Access will be more useful for the company over Excel, due to Access having a wider range of tools needed. The accurate calculations it will easily carry out,the validation rules and easy way to store data.
It is fair to say that not all people would find it easy to be confident with Access and Excel. However, with a bit of training the company's seceraty would soon be able to enter information safely into the database or spreadsheet. I do not think it would be necesassary to have a typist, as it would be suitable for the secetary to do both jobs, saving the company money.
The introduction to the office package will have a great affect on the business and allow them to complete things in a shorter time period and with more efficiency.

Friday, 3 October 2008

Ambulance Services

'Tool man'

If John used a laptop it would help him out considerably. As he would be able to keep a diary on his laptop, he could use it to listen to music while or while not working. There is also a calculator allowing him to do all his adding up without carrying around an extra calculator. He could also create a spreassheet to hold the price list from his catalogue. Also, if he had the internet on his laptop, he would then be able to use a map online whenever he got lost instead of carrying around a map and he could also create a website and this would enable to advertise his company better and also he could communicate with his clients via e-mai, also it would be beneficial to John to have a mobile phone, as he could keep all his contact numbers and addresses on there and he always has it in case of an emergency and also it enables him to contact clients. Also, if John has GPS it would enable him to find his way to his clients quicker and easier and therefore he would have no need for the map anymore.
Although, there some disadvantages to this, John would find it hard to learn how to use all the different programs on the laptop and how to work a mobile phone and GPS and also it isn't always really sometimes the mobile phone and laptop may run out of power this then becomes a problem for John as he doesn't have his necessary information.
However, I think overall it would be very useful for John to have this equipment, although i think he shouldnt just rely on them but it would condense the amount he carries around everyday.

Wednesday, 1 October 2008

Online Entertainment

The latest online entertainment I have used was the Playstation 3. It is very entertaining and suitable for a wide range of people. When it is connected to the internet it makes the experience better as you can play people all over the world and therefore the element of competition makes it more exciting and you can play a large variety of different games, from fighting to music games. One limitation is that it isnt always to maintain i good internet connection and can spoil your games at time.

Downloads

In our small groups, we discovered that all of us download music at home using itunes. However, this is only good if the person has an ipod, due to its format. It is easy to buy songs over the internet, as when you buy an ablum you do not necessarily want all the songs on the CD and therefore when you download music you only have to download the music wish to, however it is easy to run a big bill when buying music over the internet, as a song is 79p which initally seems cheap but to fill your an ipod with songs costs alot of money. We also, download the latest versions of programs such as itunes, it is usual to get a pop-up telling you to download the newest version, this is very easy to complete and is usually beneficial to the costumer in some way.