A/L ICT Topic: 01 Section: 02
ü Networks:
· LAN (Local Area
Network) - a small network that physically
connects nearby computers (computers within the firm, organization, or a
household)
·
Intranet - a smaller network, closed version of internet to which only
certain (authorized) people are granted access (members of an organization)
· Extranet – an intranet version, to which only certain people are granted
access (not exclusively members of an organization, but also outsourced experts
for performing common tasks),
·
World Wide Web (WWW)
- one of the services that can be used on Internet which enables us
to view and search contents in a form of web-pages
· other
services on Internet that can be used:
§ Voice
over Internet Protocol (VoIP) -
protocol used for voice transfer over IP network; it basically enables us to
use internet in order to make phone-calls
§ Really
Simple Syndication (RSS) – used
for dissemination of information or articles etc. published on web page using
RSS channel (RSS news usually consists of title, few sentences and link to a
web page where users can read the whole article). Users have to subscribe to
RSS channel in order to receive news in their RSS reader. This eliminates a
need for visiting a web page in order to find out latest news
§ web log
ü Network communication:
· ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) – most common communication
standard in the consumer market.
ü Internet data transfer:
o
Bit
per second (bps), kilobit per second (kbps), and megabit per second (mbps).
·
Internet
access:
§ Usage is directly proportional to the time spent on the Internet
and/or the amount of data transferred.
§ Broadband
– the bill is formed according to speed of data transfer.
Additionally, in areas where informational infrastructure for broadband is not
developed enough (or for other reason), amount of data transfer is also
charged. Unlike dial-up, time spent on the internet is not charged and as a consequence there is a greater
risk from hacker intrusion in computers or networks that are connected to
internet 24/7
§ Internet
can also be accessed through phone, mobile, and cable line, as well as through
wireless access or via satellite connection.
ü social
networking websites: Facebook,
Bebo, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, Nexopia, Hi5, Tagged, XING, Orkut, etc.
Ways to publish and share contents on the internet: blog, podcast,
photos, video and audio contents.
ü Advices on how to protect oneself while using virtual communities:
•
protect privacy
of your profile,
•
limit
publishing and use of your personal data,
•
be
aware that published information can be publicly accessible,
•
be cautious
while communicating with strangers.
ü Computer in the workplace:
• tasks
more suited to a computer than a human:
o repetitive
tasks,
o
Easy
automated tasks
o
Mathematical
operations,
o
Tasks
that require high precision and speed.
•
tasks
more suited to a human than a computer:
o
Logical
reasoning and shape interpretation,
o
Consulting
and social interaction,
o
New
product presentation,
o
Developing
business plan and strategies.
• Information
and Communication Technology (ITC) exists in every aspect of modern society.
Some well-known applications include:
o
Applications
for corporations (airlines, insurance companies, internet banking)
o
Applications
for state organizations (electronic voting, tax refund)
o Applications
for healthcare (data about patients, diagnostic tools and instruments, special
surgical equipment)
o Adaptive learning time, flexible learning location,
multimedia learning experience, reduced
o Costs.
•
Advantages:
o Increasing
the employment of vulnerable groups: parents with small children, people with mobility problems and people living in the remote areas
o
Commuting
time reduced or not necessary at all; cost and time of transportation to the workplace decreased or nonexistent
o
Greater
possibility to concentrate on the job
o
Flexible
working hours
o
Reduced
maintenance costs for the workspace
•
Disadvantages:
o
Lack
of business human contact
o
Lack of direct
teamwork
o
Requires great
self-discipline
•
ICT in everyday
life:
- e-commerce
- Online shopping
- e-government
- e-banking
- e-education
ü The most common health problems associated with the computer usage:
• Repetitive,
excessive or improper use of keyboard and mouse
• Flickering
screen or working from an improper distance from the monitor
o
Vision
impairment, headache
• Artificial
light from monitors
o
Insufficient
light, improper contract or glare can cause eyestrain, headache and decreased
productivity
• Improper
seating and the use of inappropriate chairs
o
Spinal
problems (position of the computer, desk and chair affect posture and can
therefore create problems)
• Well-being
while using computers will improve through regular exercise, regular
mini-breaks (5 - 10 minutes per hour) and rest frequent eye rest.
v Precautions
ü
Cables - always
use electric cables obtained with the computer
ü
Power supply -
overloading the power source may result in fire
v Environmental protection
ü
Use of
electronic documents reduces the need for printed material
ü Recycling of printed materials and printing equipment (paper and
toners/cartridges)
ü
Using monitors
with lower energy consumption
ü Disposing damaged or old computer components at the recycling
center
ü Information security is defined as:
•
Preservation
of information confidentiality, integrity and availability
•
Information
security measures are the rules of data protection on physical, technical and
organizational level
ü Increased
level of the data security can be reached through the use of the following
procedures:
•
Username and password
• Properly shut down computer the use of continuous power supply (UPS
- Un-interruptible Power Supply) - in a case of power failure, without
•
UPS your desktop computer will shut down and all data that are not
saved on hard disk will be lost. Documents
should
be often saved in order to narrow down the possibility for losing data but only
UPS will enable saving
Your
work as well as shutting down the computer properly without losing anything.
•
professional maintenance of computer is recommended
•
creating backups of all important data on portable memory devices,
network disk etc. (i.e. copy them from your computer to another location)
v Malware - computer code - program that can infect computer, spread on other
computer independently or with a help from a user thus stealing or damaging
data, and enabling crackers to take over control of your computer.
ü most commonly spread via attachments in e-mail,
ü Symptoms of infection: slow performance, computer not responding to
commands or crashes and restarts; in extreme situations malware damages files
responsible for proper functioning of the operating system which can totally
disable computer.
ü removing malware: use one of the antimalware programs
ü malware protection:
o
Never
use pirated software which is usually infected with malicious software, o install antimalware software which detects
computer malware,
o
Open
e-mails and web pages from recognized senders and authors
(The safest way
is not to connect to the Internet or any other computer network)
v Copyright - the right of an author of text, images, music, film, etc. to
protect their intellectual property.
v Product identification number (PID) is a number that comes with legally purchased software as an
authenticity validation.
ü Licensed software identification: serial number check-up,
registration, software license inspection.
v Open source - software whose source code is publicly available for
inspection, use, modification and redistribution; for example, OpenOffice.org -
office suite software, Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird, MediaWiki, Joomla.
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