This is the task about legislations.
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Using Mobile Phones in Public - 21/11/2012
A debate about mobile phones and where we use them has been going on for quite a while. A lot of people think that they have the freedom to use their mobile phones where ever they are however others argue that it's disrespectful. Both sides have a good point and therefor I decided to do a Cons and Pros list of using mobile phone in public.
Pro: Safety
- In airplanes and hospitals, cell phones can interfere with the functioning of delicate instruments, a serious consideration. Many states have banned cell use while driving, citing a relationship between phones and traffic accidents. A 1997 "New England Journal of Medicine" study found that talking on a phone while driving quadrupled the risk of an accident, nearly equal to the danger from driving drunk.
Pro: Peace and Quiet
- Many people go to places such as libraries specifically to focus and do work. Others attend church or religious services for time to worship and reflect. People who use their "cell yell" in such a setting distract others. When they have paid for a nice (or even a not-so-nice) restaurant meal, restaurant-goers feel entitled to soft conversation and a relaxed atmosphere in which to unwind. Some cell phone chatter remains inappropriate for anyone to overhear, especially young children.
Pro: Inconveniencing Others
- Often cell phone users will multitask, attempting to carry on a conversation while using an ATM, driving or completing a store transaction. Their divided attention becomes an obstruction to the cashier and an inconvenience to those behind them, who must wait longer.
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Con: Safety
- Some argue that having 911 available at the touch of a button is critical to maintaining personal security. Cell phone bans impede drivers' ability to report an accident, road rage incident, medical emergency or crime. Drivers assert the importance of calling for directions if lost or receive help if their car breaks down.
Con: Emergencies
- Genuine emergencies do occur, and some calls truly cannot wait. People who have sick or elderly family members, parents expecting an important call from their child, and those in the midst of a crisis believe it's acceptable to leave their phones on in public.
Con: Personal Freedom
- Some people believe they have a right to talk on their phones under the First Amendment, and that cell phone bans intrude on their personal freedom. As they pay a high monthly price for this communication option, they believe they can use the devices wherever and whenever they choose.
Thursday, 15 November 2012
Employment opportunities - 15/11/2012
Employment opportunities
The vast growth of IT has resulted in changes to the way people live and function from day to day. One of the areas that IT has greatly affected are businesses. Before the IT revolution, most of the jobs like calculating spreadsheets were done by hand and therefore businesses had to spend a lot more of their wages on trained staff that could do this efficiently. This meant that there were certain jobs people trained for and have worked at for years however with the introduction of computers, those jobs started to disappear. This is because specialised staff was no longer needed, everything could've been done on a computer, operated by one person. It was a lot cheaper and the amount of errors was also smaller because all the calculations were done automatically; all you have to do is type in the numbers and the computer will do the rest for you.
Word & Excel
In this age businesses have the choice to use all kinds of software however the microsoft software still remains the most popular. The two mostly used by businesses are Microsoft Office Excel and Microsoft Office Word. This is because both of them are ridiculously easy to use but they also have a lot more advanced options for the more knowledgeable.
Word is used for documents like letters. Before Word was invented, businesses had to employ typewriters who needed training and had to be payed. Because everything was written on a typewriter, it meant you couldn't make any alterations and therefore if any mistakes were made, the document had to be written all over again and this was time consuming. It also didn't give you much of a choice, you could only write in one font which meant that every document looked the same and kind of boring to read. Using Word allows you to; choose from thousands of fonts, edit your work at any stage, delete single letters, and even paste pictures like the company logo or a graph. When you're done you can print it all of in a matter of seconds.
Excel on the other hand is mostly used for spreadsheets like balance sheets, profit and loss accounts or any other document that involves calculations. It can also be used to make timetables, statistics, comparisons, etc. For businesses it's one of the most useful software because again, it only needs one person to operate where as years ago it would've had to be replaced with a whole team of employees who would have to make calculations themselves with a possibility of making mistakes. They also had to be paid a lot meaning that business expenses were going up.
Jobs
As I've already mentioned, a lot of jobs disappeared however a lot also opened up meaning that the job opportunities increased. These are some of the office jobs that opened up with the introduction of IT:
The vast growth of IT has resulted in changes to the way people live and function from day to day. One of the areas that IT has greatly affected are businesses. Before the IT revolution, most of the jobs like calculating spreadsheets were done by hand and therefore businesses had to spend a lot more of their wages on trained staff that could do this efficiently. This meant that there were certain jobs people trained for and have worked at for years however with the introduction of computers, those jobs started to disappear. This is because specialised staff was no longer needed, everything could've been done on a computer, operated by one person. It was a lot cheaper and the amount of errors was also smaller because all the calculations were done automatically; all you have to do is type in the numbers and the computer will do the rest for you.
Word & Excel
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myfirstmac.com |
Word is used for documents like letters. Before Word was invented, businesses had to employ typewriters who needed training and had to be payed. Because everything was written on a typewriter, it meant you couldn't make any alterations and therefore if any mistakes were made, the document had to be written all over again and this was time consuming. It also didn't give you much of a choice, you could only write in one font which meant that every document looked the same and kind of boring to read. Using Word allows you to; choose from thousands of fonts, edit your work at any stage, delete single letters, and even paste pictures like the company logo or a graph. When you're done you can print it all of in a matter of seconds.
Excel on the other hand is mostly used for spreadsheets like balance sheets, profit and loss accounts or any other document that involves calculations. It can also be used to make timetables, statistics, comparisons, etc. For businesses it's one of the most useful software because again, it only needs one person to operate where as years ago it would've had to be replaced with a whole team of employees who would have to make calculations themselves with a possibility of making mistakes. They also had to be paid a lot meaning that business expenses were going up.
Jobs
As I've already mentioned, a lot of jobs disappeared however a lot also opened up meaning that the job opportunities increased. These are some of the office jobs that opened up with the introduction of IT:
- Web Designer
- Network Administrator
- IT technicians
- Computer Sales
- Technical Support (Call Centres)
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www.brightsideofnews.com |
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
Download services - 14/11/2012
Download Services
There are lots of online services that give you the option to download different types of items at a certain cost or even for free and they are being used by millions of people around the world. This is because it's much more convenient than actually going to the store yourself and buying the physical goods. Instead when you buy a song or a film, it doesn't actually take up any space because it's all digital, and stored on your computer. If it's not digital, than it is usually delivered to your house within a certain period of time which is also very convenient because the item arrives right at your door without you having to go and pick it up.
So why do people shop online?
In my opinion the main reason why people shop online is because of the technological revolution. In the past decade, internet and technology have evolved so much that it is almost unnecessary for people to go out because everything they need can be bought online and delivered to them. With inventions like kindle, there is no reasons for people to go to libraries and buy books because they can just buy digital versions of them online, and store them all on this little device without taking up any physical space. Those books bought online are also usually cheaper so it makes more sense to buy it online instead of from a book store.
There are also other gadgets and software that makes online shopping more convenient. For example, when an ipod was introduced, Steve Jobs also created the itunes store which provided milions of songs to their customers. The best thing about it was that you could buy your favourite song seperately for less than a dollar instead of buying a whole album just for that song.
However as good as all this sounds, there is also the other side. People soon realised that if everything is so easy to get online, and there seems to be no one watching, they can just download items for free, ilegally. "It's one song and it only takes up 3mbs, so why should I pay for it if I can get it for free without consequences?" The economy is getting worse, people don't have the money to pay for entertainment like films and music so they choose to download it illegally at no cost. It's just as convenient as actually buying something online but without the drawback of actually paying for it.
There are lots of online services that give you the option to download different types of items at a certain cost or even for free and they are being used by millions of people around the world. This is because it's much more convenient than actually going to the store yourself and buying the physical goods. Instead when you buy a song or a film, it doesn't actually take up any space because it's all digital, and stored on your computer. If it's not digital, than it is usually delivered to your house within a certain period of time which is also very convenient because the item arrives right at your door without you having to go and pick it up.
So why do people shop online?
- "A recent Nielsen survey of US shoppers found the ability to shop any time was the chief advantage of online shopping for 81%, closely followed by 77% who said they enjoyed the time-saving from not having to navigate the traffic jams and queues of Christmas shopping.
Low prices ranked fifth in the survey, with just 46% naming bargain prices as their primary reason for shopping online.
These findings are in sharp contrast to the results of another recent survey by market research firm Synovate. It found that 67% of shoppers feel lower prices as the main motivator for them to shop online, with the availability of free shipping the second most important factor.
Convenience, on the other hand, ranked way back in the pack, with only 8% citing it as a key motivating factor for shopping online."
These findings are in sharp contrast to the results of another recent survey by market research firm Synovate. It found that 67% of shoppers feel lower prices as the main motivator for them to shop online, with the availability of free shipping the second most important factor.
Convenience, on the other hand, ranked way back in the pack, with only 8% citing it as a key motivating factor for shopping online."


However as good as all this sounds, there is also the other side. People soon realised that if everything is so easy to get online, and there seems to be no one watching, they can just download items for free, ilegally. "It's one song and it only takes up 3mbs, so why should I pay for it if I can get it for free without consequences?" The economy is getting worse, people don't have the money to pay for entertainment like films and music so they choose to download it illegally at no cost. It's just as convenient as actually buying something online but without the drawback of actually paying for it.
The Reasons why people download items ilegally over the internet: | |
Convenience and price are the main factors driving illegal downloading/streaming of TV shows, movies and music. The top five reasons given for illegally downloading/streaming TV shows were:
The top five reasons given for illegally downloading/streaming movies were:
The top five reasons given for illegally downloading/streaming music were:
The willingness to pay for a convenient legal downloading/streaming option is highest for movies (with 78.3% willing to pay). For TV shows and music, 66% reported being prepared to pay for a legal alternative. http://www.wipo.int/ip-outreach/en/tools/research/details.jsp?id=2534 |
Monday, 5 November 2012
4th Generation Internet Coverage - 05/11/2012
So what is 4G? In short, it's the name given to the fourth generation of mobile networks, just as the previous generation is called 3G. It's basically an improved, faster version of 3G which is only just developing in the UK. So far it's mainly available in London and a few other big cities however a company called Everything Everywhere (who owns Orange and T-Mobile) plan to provide 4G network to 98% of Britain by 2014.
So how is 4G so much better than 3G? Well for starters you should be able to stream video to your handset much more fluidly, without the endless buffering message. You’ll be able to use 4G to make and receive better quality audio and video calls. Just as you can load several webpages at once on a desktop PC, the same should be possible from your mobile phone – meaning you can get more done, more quickly. It will also be good news for software developers who will produce a new generation of smartphone apps that can take advantage of faster connection speeds.
For businesses, and especially SMEs, the benefits stretch even further. You’ll be able to send and receive larger, more complex documents more rapidly, opening up the option for remote-working for thousands more people. With a fuller rollout of 4G, even people in rural locations should benefit from a reasonable standard of mobile broadband – an exciting prospect for any business that isn’t based in a major city.
- http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/11/07/4g-%E2%80%93-is-now-the-time-to-join-the-party/
4G vs 3G
3G 4G
- http://www.diffen.com/difference/3G_vs_4G
So how is 4G so much better than 3G? Well for starters you should be able to stream video to your handset much more fluidly, without the endless buffering message. You’ll be able to use 4G to make and receive better quality audio and video calls. Just as you can load several webpages at once on a desktop PC, the same should be possible from your mobile phone – meaning you can get more done, more quickly. It will also be good news for software developers who will produce a new generation of smartphone apps that can take advantage of faster connection speeds.
For businesses, and especially SMEs, the benefits stretch even further. You’ll be able to send and receive larger, more complex documents more rapidly, opening up the option for remote-working for thousands more people. With a fuller rollout of 4G, even people in rural locations should benefit from a reasonable standard of mobile broadband – an exciting prospect for any business that isn’t based in a major city.
- http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/11/07/4g-%E2%80%93-is-now-the-time-to-join-the-party/
4G vs 3G
3G 4G
Data Throughput: | Up to 3.1mbps | Practically speaking, 3 to 5 mbps but potential estimated at a range of 100 to 300 mbps. |
Peak Upload Rate: | 50 Mbit/s | 500 Mbit/s |
Peak Download Rate: | 100 Mbit/s | 1 Gbit/s |
Switching Technique: | packet switching | packet switching, message switching |
Network Architecture: | Wide Area Cell Based | Integration of wireless LAN and Wide area. |
Services And Applications: | CDMA 2000, UMTS, EDGE etc | Wimax2 and LTE-Advance |
Forward error correction (FEC): | 3G uses Turbo codes for error correction. | Concatenated codes are used for error corrections in 4G. |
Frequency Band: | 1.8 – 2.5GHz | 2 – 8GHz |
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Taken from - www.expertreviews.co.uk |
Sunday, 4 November 2012
Social Networking - 01/11/2012
Social Networking has been around for some time now. The first sites were created as early as the 90's but since then, none of them have survived because the thing about those sites is that they get old just as quick as they become popular. Many big websites have been the giants in this industry for months or even years but the market changes quickly and so do the demands. Facebook has been probably the most popular social networking site in history and many say it will stay like this forever however if you look at the statistics, there are other websites that are taking away their customers. Their biggest competitor at the moment is Twitter and a lot people around the world actually switched from Facebook to Twitter in the recent time.
The amount that social networking has grown in the last decade is unbelievable. It is thanks to sites like Facebook, Twitter, myspace or Linkedin that social networking has spread so much. To prove this I researched some facts and found these figures:
- Total number of Facebook users worldwide 1.2 Billion
- Total percentage of 18-24 year olds 98%
who already use social media
- Total percentage of people on Earth 11%
who use Facebook
source - http://www.statisticbrain.com/social-networking-statistics/
The amount that social networking has grown in the last decade is unbelievable. It is thanks to sites like Facebook, Twitter, myspace or Linkedin that social networking has spread so much. To prove this I researched some facts and found these figures:
- Total number of Facebook users worldwide 1.2 Billion
- Total percentage of 18-24 year olds 98%
who already use social media
- Total percentage of people on Earth 11%
who use Facebook
source - http://www.statisticbrain.com/social-networking-statistics/
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
The Digital Divide - 25/10/2012
The digital divide has changed the we live. It has introduced new lifestyles and has widely affected the whole world. It drastically changed our educational, economical and social systems and has provided us with many benefits. However not every country has benefitited from this and are simply far behind the rest of the world. In this post I'm going to talk about the reasons why that is and why they are on the wrong side of the digital divide.
The least digitally developed countries in the world according to the ITU are: Guinea Biseau, Chad, Mali, Burkino Fasso and Niger. They're located next to each other which suggests that the living standards in that part of Africa are quite bad compared to the rest of the world.
As you can see on the graph above, the gap between developing countries like the ones I mentioned and countries in Europe or America, is massive and it's not getting any smaller. This is because people living in Europe are a lot wealthier and therefore can afford to buy new technologies. On the other hand, people in Africa are considered to be one poorest people in the world, and therefore they can't afford luxuries like internet and really any sort of technology. To put this into perspective, an average annual salary in the UK (one of the richest countries in the world) is around £26,500, however the average annual salary in Mali (one of the poorest countries in the world) is just under £1000. This gives you an idea of just how big a difference there is and makes you realise that those people simply can't afford all those luxuries that others take for granted.
On of the biggest reasons for this is the economical state of those countries. They have to face other, much bigger problems like war and survival rather than introducing new technologies.
However economy isn't the only problem. The state of the technological infrastructure is also a big issue because if there isn't a stable electricity supply, then it's very difficult to actually
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Detailed map of Africa - Google Images |
The least digitally developed countries in the world according to the ITU are: Guinea Biseau, Chad, Mali, Burkino Fasso and Niger. They're located next to each other which suggests that the living standards in that part of Africa are quite bad compared to the rest of the world.
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Statistics - www.wrsc.org |
As you can see on the graph above, the gap between developing countries like the ones I mentioned and countries in Europe or America, is massive and it's not getting any smaller. This is because people living in Europe are a lot wealthier and therefore can afford to buy new technologies. On the other hand, people in Africa are considered to be one poorest people in the world, and therefore they can't afford luxuries like internet and really any sort of technology. To put this into perspective, an average annual salary in the UK (one of the richest countries in the world) is around £26,500, however the average annual salary in Mali (one of the poorest countries in the world) is just under £1000. This gives you an idea of just how big a difference there is and makes you realise that those people simply can't afford all those luxuries that others take for granted.
On of the biggest reasons for this is the economical state of those countries. They have to face other, much bigger problems like war and survival rather than introducing new technologies.
However economy isn't the only problem. The state of the technological infrastructure is also a big issue because if there isn't a stable electricity supply, then it's very difficult to actually
Entertainment Timeline - 24/10/2012
1877 - Phonograph invented - Edison was trying to improve the telegraph transmitter when he noticed that the movement of the paper tape through the machine produced a noise resembling spoken words when played at a high speed. Experimenting with a stylus (hard-pointed instrument like a large needle) on a tinfoil cylinder, Edison spoke into the machine.
1892 - First phonograph records sold
1895 - Movies and movie theaters
1897 - Radio first sent over long distance
1919 - Shortwave radio
1920 - Technicolor invented for movies
1929 - FM radio introduced in U.S.
1930 - Jukebox marketed in U.S.
1931 - Pinball machine marketed in U.S. - Pinball machines appeared in mass, during the early 1930s as countertop machines (without legs) and they featured the characteristics created by Montegue Redgrave. In 1932, manufacturers began adding legs to their games. The term "pinball" itself as a name for the arcade game was not seen until 1936.
1931 - Electronic TV demonstrated in Britain
1941 - TV broadcast begins in U.S.
1948 - LP (long-playing) records sold in U.S.
1949 - 45 rpm (revolutions per minute) records sold in U.S.
1952 - Transistor radio invented - three USA research scientists of Bell Laboratories, Shockley, Bardeen and Brattain managed, in December 1947, to invent a solid state device that they called the transistor. They succeeded in creating a completely new amplifying device just by adding a second contact point to the already popular crystal diode based on a piece of germanium crystal with a pointed "cat's whisker" touching its surfaceBy 1953 a firm called Texas Instruments was already producing its own line of transistors under Bell Laboratories licence.
1954 - Color TV broadcast in U.S.
1957 - Stereo phonograph introduced
1962 - Telstar satellite broadcasts TV worldwide
1962 - Video games created - In 1952, A.S. Douglas wrote his PhD degree at the University of Cambridge on Human-Computer interraction. Douglas created the first graphical computer game - a version of Tic-Tac-Toe. The game was programmed on a EDSAC vaccuum-tube computer, which had a cathode ray tube display.
1970 - VCR (videocassette recorder) marketed
1970 - CDs (compact discs) marketed
1976 - The Apple I is introduced - it was Steven Wozniak's first contribution to the personal computer field. It was designed over a period of years, and was only built in printed circuit-board form when Steve Jobs insisted it could be sold. It debuted in April 1976 at the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto, but few took it seriously. The Apple I was based on the MOStek 6502 chip, whereas most other "kit" computers were built from the Intel 8080. The Apple I was sold through several small retailers, and included only the circuit board. A tape-interface was sold separately, but you had to build the case. The Apple I's initial cost was $666.66
1979 - Sony Walkman sold - In 1979, Sony began selling the popular Walkman in Japan.
1980s - Cable TV networks aired in U.S.
1981 - MTV broadcast in U.S.
1982 - Wristwatch TV introduced in Japan.
2005 - First iPod introduced
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0768876.html
1892 - First phonograph records sold
1895 - Movies and movie theaters
1897 - Radio first sent over long distance
1919 - Shortwave radio
1920 - Technicolor invented for movies
1929 - FM radio introduced in U.S.
1930 - Jukebox marketed in U.S.
1931 - Pinball machine marketed in U.S. - Pinball machines appeared in mass, during the early 1930s as countertop machines (without legs) and they featured the characteristics created by Montegue Redgrave. In 1932, manufacturers began adding legs to their games. The term "pinball" itself as a name for the arcade game was not seen until 1936.
1931 - Electronic TV demonstrated in Britain
1941 - TV broadcast begins in U.S.
1948 - LP (long-playing) records sold in U.S.
1949 - 45 rpm (revolutions per minute) records sold in U.S.
1952 - Transistor radio invented - three USA research scientists of Bell Laboratories, Shockley, Bardeen and Brattain managed, in December 1947, to invent a solid state device that they called the transistor. They succeeded in creating a completely new amplifying device just by adding a second contact point to the already popular crystal diode based on a piece of germanium crystal with a pointed "cat's whisker" touching its surfaceBy 1953 a firm called Texas Instruments was already producing its own line of transistors under Bell Laboratories licence.
1954 - Color TV broadcast in U.S.
1957 - Stereo phonograph introduced
1962 - Telstar satellite broadcasts TV worldwide
1962 - Video games created - In 1952, A.S. Douglas wrote his PhD degree at the University of Cambridge on Human-Computer interraction. Douglas created the first graphical computer game - a version of Tic-Tac-Toe. The game was programmed on a EDSAC vaccuum-tube computer, which had a cathode ray tube display.
1970 - VCR (videocassette recorder) marketed
1970 - CDs (compact discs) marketed
1976 - The Apple I is introduced - it was Steven Wozniak's first contribution to the personal computer field. It was designed over a period of years, and was only built in printed circuit-board form when Steve Jobs insisted it could be sold. It debuted in April 1976 at the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto, but few took it seriously. The Apple I was based on the MOStek 6502 chip, whereas most other "kit" computers were built from the Intel 8080. The Apple I was sold through several small retailers, and included only the circuit board. A tape-interface was sold separately, but you had to build the case. The Apple I's initial cost was $666.66
1979 - Sony Walkman sold - In 1979, Sony began selling the popular Walkman in Japan.
1980s - Cable TV networks aired in U.S.
1981 - MTV broadcast in U.S.
1982 - Wristwatch TV introduced in Japan.
2005 - First iPod introduced
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0768876.html
E-Learning - 24/10/2012
Online education has become quite big thing over the last couple of years. It is a helpful device which can help students with their work, without having to seek out teachers. It is also useful for older people who want to educate themselves better, possibly get some more qualifications. Internet is a great source of education because on the web you can find out about almost anything. Below are some educational websites that I have analysed:
Net Frog 2002: http://frog.edschool.virginia.edu/Frog2/
The website is pretty straight forward, in a sense that it does exactly what its suppose to; show you how to dissect a frog. This can be very helpful to some people, as dissecting a frog is not as easy as you might think. This website provides pictures of every step of the process, with detailed explenations and definitions. It gives you so much information that you don't actually need to dissect a frog if you don't want to; all you need can be found within this website. As it says on the website, "Dissecting a frog helps you learn human anatomy", and thats what makes this website very useful.
On the other side it doesn't look very appealing, it looks like a website maybe in an hour and it's not actually a simulation as much as an instruction guide showing you all the steps. Animated simulations look a lot more interesting and fun to play with therefore they would attract more people.
Science Museum Website: http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/
This website is a bit more complex however it does contain lots of potentially useful information. There isn't much writing so it's easy to read but at the same time gives you a lot of information on the subject.
The website does exactly what it's suppose to, it's clear to read, easy to navigate yourself around it and it looks user friendly. On top of that it also has some games make online education more fun. It shows us that online education can be entertaining.
Macromedia Tutorial Website: http://www.tutorialized.com/tutorials/Flash/1
This is a very informative website giving you a lot of pictures and videos explaining every step of the process very carefully. It uses visual learning in order to teach which is kind of like the Net Frog website however this has a lot more info on it and includes videos, not just pictures which for some people is easier to learn from. The videos are very specific and everything is always explained very carefully to make the process as easy as possible which makes this website very useful to people with less or no previous experience.
Lynda.com: http://www.lynda.com/
Lynda.com is a very similar website to Macromedia Tutorial website however it's much more professional and it's not free; you can use a free trial but afterwards you'll have to pay to see their material. It's very organised making it easy to find exactly what you want and also has a lot of material so you can choose from a variety of videos if you're struggling with something. The Lynda website also offers videos on a much higher number of subjects than Macromedia website, but then you do have to pay for it so it's not exactly the best option for everyone.
Net Frog 2002: http://frog.edschool.virginia.edu/Frog2/

Science Museum Website: http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/

The website does exactly what it's suppose to, it's clear to read, easy to navigate yourself around it and it looks user friendly. On top of that it also has some games make online education more fun. It shows us that online education can be entertaining.
Macromedia Tutorial Website: http://www.tutorialized.com/tutorials/Flash/1
This is a very informative website giving you a lot of pictures and videos explaining every step of the process very carefully. It uses visual learning in order to teach which is kind of like the Net Frog website however this has a lot more info on it and includes videos, not just pictures which for some people is easier to learn from. The videos are very specific and everything is always explained very carefully to make the process as easy as possible which makes this website very useful to people with less or no previous experience.
Lynda.com: http://www.lynda.com/
Lynda.com is a very similar website to Macromedia Tutorial website however it's much more professional and it's not free; you can use a free trial but afterwards you'll have to pay to see their material. It's very organised making it easy to find exactly what you want and also has a lot of material so you can choose from a variety of videos if you're struggling with something. The Lynda website also offers videos on a much higher number of subjects than Macromedia website, but then you do have to pay for it so it's not exactly the best option for everyone.
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
E-Government - 10/10/2012
The E-Government is a very useful device because it allows you to post your opinions online which means they'll be looked at sooner. It's also a lot more convenient because you can visit those websites from home. They also give you a lot of information and some of them give you the option to make payments online.
http://www.number10.gov.uk/
Number 10 is the government website where people can post their views and opinions. The matters are then look at by the Government and if it has been brought up multiple times then it might even get to the Prime minister.
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Home page - Number10.gov.uk |
Number 10 is the government website where people can post their views and opinions. The matters are then look at by the Government and if it has been brought up multiple times then it might even get to the Prime minister.
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
Online Banking - 03/10/2012
Online Banking
Banks have been operating for hundreds of years. In the recent years the development of technology has allowed people to use internet to manage their own bank accounts. This is called online banking, and it has been around since the 1980s, however only in the recent decade it had seen a significant growth in online transactions.
Originally online banking was made for business people to make business transactions faster, easier and more efficient. However over time other people and mostly younger generations have started to use online banking as well because it's much more convenient and can be done from home.
"Online Banking forecasts indicate Generation Y will drive this aspect of technology as it goes forward. This group will become 40% of all households using online banking by 2014. Until recently, online banking saw annual spurts of 25-27%, which slowed to 8% and it would slow further, according to the forecasters. From 2009 until 2014, growth should be approximately 4% per year as 66 million households enter the fold."
- taken from http://www.wwwmetrics.com/banking.htm
HSBC
Registering with HSBC online banking is very easy. All you need is a current account with HSBC. You then need to go on their website and go through an easy, four step process. When you're done, you can start to enjoy all the benefits that HSBC offers. The access to your account is quick and secure which is one of the main reasons why people choose to open an online account. As well as security, HSBC offers a lot more perks like Interest free overdraft, No extra fees and lots more. On top of that they will also help you switch to HSBC if you already have an account with another bank. Their website is also friendly and easy to use. This is good especially for older people who don't have as much knowledge about computers as the younger generation has.
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current accounts - hsbc.co.uk |
Online banking at Lloyds doesn't stand out too much. They were actually one of the last banks to introduce this option and to be honest it's not as good. Their security system is safe but time-taking and not as secure as Barclays or HSBC. It also receives a lot of negative reviews from their customers, “DO NOT BANK WITH LLOYDS TSB”, “Appauling”. On the upsite, once you've managed to make an account, it's actually quite easy to use and operate.
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online banking - Lloydstsb.com |
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Weather Information - 02/10/2012
Weather Information
In this post I will be writing about the BBC's weather forecast and how accurate it actually is.
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Weather for Tuesday 02/10/2012 - BBC Weather |
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Weather for Wednesday 03/10/2012 - BBC Weather |
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Weather for Thursday 04/10/2012 - BBC Weather |
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Weather for Friday 05/10/2012 - BBC Weather |
Friday's weather was a lot less accurate. The was much nicer than BBC predicted. Although it did rain a little in the morning, the rest of the day got a lot sunnier and hotter with the temperature also going up. The wind calmed down a little bit however you could still feel it.
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Weather for Saturday 06/10/2012 - BBC Weather |
Saturday was a sunny day without any rain what so ever. The wind had almost completely gone. Temperature had gone up too, higher than BBC said it would be. You can clearly see how the accuracy goes down as the prediction is further in future. However the first day or two is a lot more accurate with only a few smaller mistakes.
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Driving directions - 26/09/2012
Driving directions to Tottenham Court Rd, London, UK
Journey time: 1h 20mins
Cost: £11.83
- 0.2 mi - At junction Edgware Road , take sliproad right
Entering Congestion Charge Zone. ,Applies Monday to Friday - 7am to 6pm.
Stop for toll booth
The last intersection is Chenies StreetIf you reach Alfred Mews, you've gone too far
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The route from MK41 7XF to Tottenham Court Road, London, by car - Bing Maps ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
Bedford [BDM] to Tottenham Court Road London Underground
Journey time: 1h 42mins
Cost: £22.50
Thursday 27 September 2012
- Walk to Brickhill, opp Marlow Way
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About 1 min (404 ft) |
- Brickhill, opp Marlow Way |
Bus towards Bedford, Bus Station
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15:06 - 15:18(12 mins, 10 stops) |
- Bedford, opp Lansdowne Road |
Walk to Bedford, o/s North Parade
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About 3 mins (8 mins to make transfer) |
- Bedford, o/s North Parade |
Bus towards Bedford, Bus Station
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15:26 - 15:27(1 min, 1 stop)
Service run by Stagecoach in Bedford
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- Bedford, Bedford Railway Station (Stop R3) |
Walk to Bedford
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About 2 mins (22 mins to make transfer) |
- Bedford |
Corby to London St Pancras (Domestic)
Train towards London St Pancras (Domestic)
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15:49 - 16:29(40 mins, 2 stops)
Service run by East Midlands Trains -
Buy tickets |
- London St Pancras (Domestic) |
Walk to King's Cross St. Pancras
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About 6 mins (12 mins to make transfer) |
- King's Cross St. Pancras |
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Underground towards Hammersmith
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16:40 - 16:42(2 mins, 1 stop) |
- Euston Square |
Walk to Tottenham Court Rd, London, UK
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About 9 mins (0.4 mi) |
Tottenham Court Rd
London, UK
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The route from MK41 7XF to Tottenham Court Road, London, by train - Google Maps |
Wednesday, 19 September 2012
Email - 19/09/2012
Email (Electronic mail)
Email was invented in the early 70's. Ever since then, the use of it has been growing, especially when the internet developed. The way that email works is actually quite simple. The mail sent to an individual, online post box on the mail server like Google mail or Hotmail. The mail client then picks it up. A mail client is a program like Outlook Express which is used to receive and look through your email. There are also browser-based clients, which are provided by websites like Yahoo. For both clients you need internet access. With the recent development of technology, email can now also be used on mobile phones as long as you're connected to internet.
The email system has been very popular among people because of it's practicality and multiple uses.
Your email allows you to:
- See all your messages that have been sent to you. It shows you who sent it and the exact time and date that it was sent
- View every message seperately
- Write up your own messages and send them to any other email address
- Send attachments together with your emails and save attachments that have sent to you
Messages are sent SMTP server and are received using a POP3 or an IMAP.
Email risks
However email does have some disadvantages. It's very easy to use and access and therefore they be easily hacked or infected with viruses, worms or trojans.Spoofing and Spamming - a spoofing attack is a situation in which one person or program successfully covers up as another and sends messages containing potentially dangerous data. The receiver is mislead by the fake address and can easily mistake it for a different person. A spamming attack. Spam is the use of email to send unsolicited bulk messages, especially advertising, indiscriminately.
Virus - virus is a computer program that attaches itself to other programs or files. It can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another.
Worm - worms are a specific type of virus that are very dangerous because once opened they are capable of replicating in greater volumes and can dig deep into the systems allowing its creator to take control of that computer systems remotely.
Trojan - a trojan is another form of virus in the form of a code. It is usually spread using emails. They're hidden in the attachment of an attractively looking message. Once it's installed on the systems it carries on spreading, attaching itself to other programs and files and can do damage by taking control of it.
Monday, 17 September 2012
Statistics - 17/09/2012
AS ICT
Today was my first ICT lesson. I created this blog in order to record my work and share it with other people. Blogs are easy to access and operate therefore I'll be able to use mine almost anywhere, as long as I have internet access. In the lesson we also found out a bit about search engines. We compared 4 different search engines: AskJeeves, Bing, Yahoo and Google. We checked how many results each search engine came up with after typing the same phrase in each one. In turned out that Google is indeed the best and the most reliable search engine.
Statistics
For our first study I had to look at the internet usage in the UK and how it changed over the years. This is the website I used for my study - http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/index.html.
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Internet Access in the UK/GB from 1998 to 2012 - ons.gov.uk |
In 1998, the internet access in the UK was only 9%. This number fired up in the first couple of years, almost doubling from 1999 to 2000. Since then it has been gradually increasing every year by about 2-5%. At the moment in 2012 the internet access has grown to 80% and based on the pattern it will keep increasing in the future years.