Sunday, 27 November 2011

Life in the Information Age

“Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?” T. S. Eliot

This is a quote that simply shows or portrays how information has changed our life. Our life has now drastically changed during years as technology and how we can collect and produce information.

Information age is also known as computer age or digital age. Information age is the idea information will be transferred freely and to have instant access to knowledge that would have been difficult back in the days. Information age changed was brought through by industrial revolution or industrialization. Fast evolution of technology in daily life, as well as work lifestyle and educational lifestyle is shaping the modern society today. Information is very powerful tool.

Differences between 1980’s offices to today’s offices


1980
Today















We can see the change that has happened in an office. Throughout the years, offices as well as how we gather information changed. In 1980’s offices, it’s very hard to keep files or documents, offices also use to just have typewriters and not computers. Telephones or phones we’re not developed as much by then therefore offices who does have telephones are very lucky, but they’ll usually be only few telephones available and not everyone would have them in each of their tables. There is also no printer and fax machines etc, therefore it is very time consuming and very busy at all times. But in today’s offices, you can find printers, fax machines, and newly developed computer and other sort of technologies. Even though these technologies are very expensive, they are willing to pay as this will enable their employees to work more efficiently and quicker. The main difference or the big area that has changed is that communication in today’s office is so much easier than before. Today, everyone has their own mobile phones and can contact one another any time, there is also many social networks or other sites that enables them to communicate with each other whilst before communication is very difficult as the main way of communication then was sending letters as few people only owns telephones. This shows how life in the information age is very beneficial.

Some advantages of working in the 1980’s offices

  • More people working together
  • Maybe the workers are closer, more bonding time together

Some disadvantages of working in the 1980’s offices

  • Time consuming and very busy- too much paper work, without modern technologies all information must be done manually.
  • Communication with co-workers is quite difficult

Some advantages of working in modern offices

  • Easy to contact co-workers- if problems occurs, co-workers or bosses are just a phone call away
  • New technologies makes the job easier
  • Transport base use root planning software- get to the office faster and avoid traffic etc
  • More freedom for the workers

Some disadvantages of working in modern offices

  •  Some office sacks their workers if their phones are turn off
  • expected to work at all times even in trains or at home

Impact on jobs

Jobs today has been massively affect positively and negatively by how we collect information or how technologies have developed. They way people and how they work has changed. Many managers that are looking for employees are looking for the one who has a good knowledge of how to use computers, so many jobs require computers now this means that people who have low level of computing skill will be at disadvantage. Many jobs today now use technologies to make their work even faster and more efficient. The information age had a massive impact in the workforce. Workers today are gradually being replaced by computers that can do the job faster and more effectively; this is obviously big problem for works in industrial societies. Sooner or later, jobs that are traditionally associated with middle class are beginning to disappear.

Shop assistants now uses computerize till system, they use the system called EPOS and sometimes in some shops you can now pay without using cash, you can use your cards instead. This system is call electronic fund transfer, where you just swipe your card and the shop assistant will then collect the money from there. They can also look up if an item is in stock or not with even checking physically, they can check

Teachers today are also expected to have high level of skills computing skills. They are now expected to use computers, networks and other software. But other teachers like the old version of teaching, the use of blackboard, chalk and textbooks. Car mechanics today also uses different machineries to make their jobs easier and quicker. They said that the best repair or mechanic shop is the one with the best or up to date technologies and machineries, as people would not entrust their cars to a shop with outdated machinery and equipments. Troubleshooting software is one the most popular technology that car mechanics uses. Troubleshooting is software that can detect any problems that’s occurring or will occur in your vehicle. New car mechanic technologies helps speed up diagnosis, this means that the car owners’ would be happy with the hours of work needed with their car and may pay less because of this.

Example
Before modern technologies-John is a sale rep. He’s been selling tools at garden centres for the last 20 years. He is usually on the road every time, he travels thousands miles a week and always carry large diary, address book of his clients, calculator, catalogue and coins for telephones. Sometimes he’s delayed in his meetings due to traffic. Every Friday, he’s on the office checking if his sales are handled properly.

Today/modern- How to make John’s job easier or quicker for him?

  • Instead of driving around every time, maybe some other time he could get trains which is faster and traffic doesn't occur at all. Therefore there is no chance of him being late.
  •  He could also just carry a small laptop or some sort. This laptop should contain client’s details, address, and catalogues for the items he’s selling.
  • Maybe the company should put up a website to get people to buy their items; this could save money and time.

It seems to me that the fast development of technologies is massively affecting our society and having a big impact on jobs availability. Everything today seems to be so much quicker than before, it seems like there is always an alternate or another way of doing something. I’m not saying this is a bad thing; all I’m saying is that we should be careful as sometimes technologies can mislead and sometimes technologies do create more problems than solving them. Life in the information age has changed a lot and I think it will be very interesting to see what else would change and how this could affect our lives and the way we live.

Sunday, 20 November 2011

Online Entertainment


Many people now cannot live without their laptop, computers and any other technologies. Before, it can be very difficult to find fun and entertaining websites on the internet. More and more people are now heavily relying on their technologies for entertainment and due to this manufacturers are trying their best to produce the best entertaining product to compete against one another. Many technologies now have different features that allows or able to entertain us, the audience. Features like online movies, social network, sports websites, online games, music, and more.

Advantages of online entertainment
  • Online entertainment is just a click away
  • Variety to choose from- games, music etc
  • Flexibility- catch up on TV programmes is you have missed an episode
  • Convenient
Disadvantage of online entertainment
  • Can be very addictive
Downloading movies online
Have you ever watched or downloaded movies via online? Did you find that easier than going to the cinema? I think your answer would be yes. There are now countless amounts of websites that allows you to watch and download movies online. Many people now especially teenagers, chooses to watch movies via online instead of going to the cinema this is due to it being more convenient and some offers free viewing.

Advantages of downloading movies online
  • You can watch the film numerous times, over and over again
  • Some sites are free therefore saves money
  • Many films to choose from
Disadvantages of downloading movies online:
  • Security concern, viruses can occur
  • Audio and video quality in free viewing sites are not always up to good standard
YouTube
Tired of using the old VHS to play or watch your videos? Now there is a site called YouTube. YouTube is another way of entertainment online. YouTube was created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005. YouTube has become one of the most visited website online since its creation. You can watch and posts your own videos on YouTube, share it to everyone and this will then be watched possible by millions of people. There are many varieties of videos available, from funny videos to music videos. One of the reasons why YouTube has become so popular is that, there is always something for everyone due to it having different type of videos available. You can also share your videos and put on your blog etc in other sites.

Advantages
  • Share videos to millions of people
  • You don’t necessarily need to sign up
  • It’s free- watching videos and sharing videos are free
  • Great way to be exposed to public- many singers nowadays were first noticed in YouTube
Disadvantages
  • Sometimes loading can take a long time
  • Internet connection needed
  • Can be really addictive- once you’ve started watching videos on YouTube, you’ll be using it at all time
Online or Internet television- (bib iplayer, 4od, itv player etc)
Have you missed an episode of your favourite TV programmes and you don’t know how to catch up with it? Well today, as technologies develop the features within these technologies also develops. Internet televisions cover the delivery of television shows and other video content over the internet. Online television has become very popular through services such as BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4od and more. The availability of internet television is sill gradually growing. Internet televisions allow the users to choose which ever programme they wish to watch. Some online televisions now also offer HD services in order to compete with against others. Online TV guides are now also available in the internet. This allows the audiences to plan their TV schedule ahead. This just proves that technologies are still developing and I’m sure in a short period of time, another great feature will come out and change peoples’ lives.

Advantages
  • More convenient- just a click away
  • Catch up- you can easily catch up when you missed a programme
  • TV programmes are always available- you can watch programmes all over again and again.
Disadvantages
  • Internet connection needed
  • Sometime people are more use to watching TV on TV and they feel more comfortable doing this
  • Comfort- watching TV online is hard as you might need to sit right in front of your computer or laptop whilst watching TV on TV you can sit on the sofa and relax more.
Online games
Need something new to entertain you when you’re bored of playing football, card games or even board games? Then you should try out online games. Playing online games are one of the most popular things online, that people do when using the internet. Online gaming is still developing but even now there are many people who play online. Online gaming is more of a technology rather than a genre; it is use for connecting players together. Online games can now be associated as a social activity as there are many online games that have their own forums, online communities, websites etc. There are many different types of online games, from simple text based games to virtual games. There are now also many gaming websites created which are free but if you do want the best gaming online you going to need to either buy it or download it but it would cost you. Online gaming can also be way to interact with your friends or even families. Online gaming is expanding quickly among teenagers because of its benefits but we should also be careful with his due to its disadvantages.

One of the most popular games right now is World of Warcraft. World of Warcraft is a multiplayer online role playing game which allows you to create your own character, take control of this character and develop this character. World of Warcraft was released on November 2004 and as of today; it has 100.3 million of subscribers and is currently the world’s most subscribed multiplayer online role playing game. It also holds the Guinness World Record for the most multiplayer online role playing game by subscribers.

Advantages
  • Plenty of games available for everyone that would suit your own taste 
  • Multi player- Good way to make new friends or online friends 
  • Different technologies can be use, console or pc or laptops
  • Very accessible
 Disadvantages
  • Cases of addiction- online gaming can be very addictive and this might cause some sort of problems. This could seriously affects people physically and mentally 
  • Cyber bullying might occur 
  • Some games might be a bit slow or laggy 
  • Some people consider as waste of time as you keep investing and you get nothing back
Other ways of online entertainment
  • Pod casts
  • Online gambling
  • Sports- BBC sport
  • Books Social network- communication or entertainment
  • Download- Music- spotify (tailored to users, you can choose specific music)
  • Radio
Online entertainment is still casually and gradually growing and I think in many more years of developing technologies, other ways of entertainment will come up or developed and this will not just entertain us but also improve our everyday lives.

Sunday, 13 November 2011

Download Services

Download services have now become an important part of technologies. There are many things that now can be downloaded from the internet. We all use different technologies to download varied things instantly and constantly, whether it is for entertainment, manuals or others. There are now becoming more and more things that can be downloaded and this all due to the fast developing of ICT. But everyone should be very careful of what they download for security reasons as some files could contain viruses that could destruct your technology. These services have many advantages but also have few disadvantages.

Software

Computer stores are still available around, but instead of practically going to the shops you now have the option of downloading software. Software downloads is one of the most important download service. These download are important in ICT world and the simplicity of how to download these are a bonus. Many companies now offer software downloads like Microsoft Office Word, Excel, etc.  Software can be downloaded through many devices, this make it easier to keep your technologies up to date. Being able to update your technology quickly is a huge benefit and it’s now more accessible for everyone.
You can’t just update software on your technologies; you can also add some software into it. You can now download software such as Microsoft office and Photoshop online; this would be much cheaper as you won’t have to pay for delivery, packaging etc.

Advantages
  • I think one of the main advantages is that you can now easily download/buy any software from anywhere in the world, it is now more accessible.
  •  There is also no risk of losing the “CD”, as the software you have downloaded will be directly into your technologies’ system, it is now much easier to get hold off and there is no way of losing it.
Disadvantages
  •  One of the problems is that if you do not have good internet signal or connection, downloading might take a long time or might even get cancelled.
  • There is also a possibility that you might be downloading a virus without knowing and some software companies will ask you to give details like address or name in order to download their software, these details might get out and this would be a huge security concern.

Device driver

A device driver is a program that controls particular type of device that is attached in your computers.  There are different device drivers for printers, CD-Rom readers and so on; many device drivers are built into the product. Device drivers are used by the operating system to control the hardware of the system. There are programmes that will automatically check all your device drivers and will tell you when or if you need to update it.

Advantage
  • Quick to connect- no adapters needed

Disadvantage
  • Sometimes device drivers don’t work as well as intended or conflict with other components

PDF (portable document format)

Portable document format is a file that captures all elements of a printed document as an electronic image that you can view, navigate, print etc. PDF files are useful for document such as magazines articles, brochures or flyers. PDF files can also be downloaded, it allow you to transfer information between devices.  There are many different reasons why PDF files are downloaded from user manual to local rugby results, exam answers, bus time tables etc.
I think that PDF files are very useful and are a great invention. I think in the future PDF files can be develop further more.

Advantages
  • Environmental friendly, saves paper- you can get the manuals over the interment instead of getting a box of paper with manual on it.
  • Saves time- instead of flicking through the pages, you can just easily scroll down
  • Can be downloaded in individual language- instead of having the Chinese, English or Japanese manuals you can specifically pick a language for you

Disadvantages
  • Not all companies have PDF files- some companies like the old passion way of sending box of papers instead of putting the manuals on the internet
  • Losing your copy- with no paper manuals etc. delivered, you will need to print off another copy each time you lose it

Apps

App is a piece of software that can run on the internet, on your computer or on your phone or other electronic devices. Recently app is one of the most downloaded things; this is maybe due to it having many purposes, for game purpose, entertain purposes to further more purposes. Apps are a really valuable and beneficial addition in the technology world. There is a wide variety of ranges of Apps but Games are one of the most popular types of app available, but there are plenty of other apps to choose from. Due to many Smartphone that are created, for sure many more Apps will develop and many more will be added to millions of Apps.

Advantages
  • So simple, easy to get and you can use it many times possible
  • Variety of Apps to choose from, some are free

Disadvantages
  • If your Smartphone or computer crash, there is a possibility you will lose all of your Apps
  • When updating Smartphone, some Apps are lost

Other services that you can download
  • Application forms
  • Cloud- apple- Icloud
  • Open source software