What leads to being on the wrong side of the divide

Niger, Chad, Mali, Guinea Biseau and Burkino Fasso are the least digitally developed countries, they may be on the wrong side of the digital divide because, these countries are not particularly wealthy which means that these countries do not have the money to spend on the technology. Niger is also a landlocked country in north Africa which means it is very hard to get ntew technology to the country because it has no access by sea.

Discussion society and the individual

We should allow society to 'look after us' to the extent that we still have our freedom, we should not be controlled on what we do each day so society can 'look after us'. Our individual freedom should still count and matter, society should not be taking away our own individual freedom to 'look after us'. Our freedom should not be deprived, but we should allow society to 'look after us' by looking through databases and using technology to find things that could harm us/the society.

Case study- Monitoring internet and email use

The advantages of content monitoring in an estate agency is the managers can tell if employees are wasting time on the computers during working hours e.g. going on games ect also it can track down the source of a virus if any viruses are found on the computer.

The negative impacts of this method of monitoring is that the employees might feel entrusted with what they are doing on the computers and could want to leave, also content monitoring may make employees feel like they are being constantly watched by there managers making them feel uncomfortable and make them feel insecure.

The advantages it has for employees is that it can protect them from any websites that could be a threat to the them and stops them from being in any danger from viruses, also the employees will not be dragged into any inappropriate websites because the content monitoring is stopping any bad websites from being viewed on the computer.

The system can cause problems if the system is only used for business purposes because the system will not allow the computers to be used for any thing else that strictly business purposes, the system could see business purposes as something different than the users.

The system should be used but also it should be monitored by someone at the same time to make sure the system is running well and not sending reports to the managers by accident.

Teen Arrive Alive GPS tracking system

The benefits of using a this new technology is that the parents can be sure were there child is anytime they want to check up on them, also this technology can help the emergency services if on the GPS it says that they have had a crash then the parents can contact the emergency services. The drawbacks to having this is that there daughters and sons may think that this technology is invading there privacy, also the GPS could fail and not work or have a technical fault making the GPS show something that is not happening.

Discussion US passports and RFID

These passports will save a lot of time but the dangers of this new technology are that there could be fake micro chips, which could cause people to have fake identities. Also the dangers are that the scanner could fail or not work properly which will make the ID checks slower and less convenient. Also the tags will only be inserted to 1 million passports not all the passports, which there will be no need for the scanners because only 1 million people will have them.

Investigate the pros and cons of ID cards

The government is proposing to have ID cards for anyone over 16 that is a UK resident; the 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. The ID cards will be able to meet its purposes how it will be used for other things that are not part of its intended purpose. The advantages of having ID cards is that the cards can prove a persons identity and age which can be helpful, also the ID cards will no be will be easy to carry around and not be a huge risk if lost, were as if you use your passport or driving license as ID and lose it, it will be a bigger risk if lost. The disadvantages are that the ID cards may be violating a person’s privacy; also if the ID cards are successful then they may become compulsory when a lot of people may not want ID cards. I think ID cards should be aloud but only issued if people want them.

Managing information overload

Spreadsheets can keep a lot of information organised and stored together so not much information is overflowing. Simulation software can enable you to create a simulation on what would happen if you made certain decisions, so that if you run a simulation making a decision and you do not like the out come you can change you decision without changing all the information. Data mining tools can greatly help the organisation of data, mining tools can pick out relevent information from a large amount of information.

Making Choices

The mobile phone that I suggest for her would be the LG KP100 RUBY. I have choosen this phone because it is a cheap and easy phone to use. It has some modern features e.g. a colour screen, but is not to fancy. It is a good basic phone to do what a phone should do, it is £9.99 on T-Mobile Network pay-as-you-go.

Discussion Impact of game players

Computer games are so popular because, it is new technology making the games more and more in detail, making the graphics a lot better makes the games stand out more. Also younger people have free time to play so the new technique of playing games becomes more appealing to younger players. Computer games can and cannot make you more violent, if you do not understand the difference to being violent in life and violence in the game you are likeier to become more violent. If you do understand the difference between violence in games and violence in life then you are not going to become more violent. Computer games can make you more isolated because you can become more into games and less into having a social life. Networked computer games make you more social because you are communicating and playing with lots of people around the world.

Discussion Pirated entertainment

The advantage of paying a supplier such as Apple for legal music downloads is that you have legally downloaded the music so, you have the right to use the music without being accused of illegally downloading music. Also downloading from a supplier such as Apple you can trust what you are downloading is the correct thing and does not contain any viruses. The disadvantages of buying a pirated DVD from a market stall is that the DVD quality will be very bad, there might be people moving around and the sound could be bad. The disadvantages of getting a pirated copy of a new Hollywood blockbuster before its UK release is that, the DVD will not be able to work on any UK DVD player, also you are more likely to be caught for copyrighting. The disadvantage of visiting an illicit music download site is that you IP address could be noted by them which they can send you viruses and messages ect. Widespread of illicit downloading does discourage the funding of new talent because sales would go down due to illegal downloading, and new talent will not make as much money because of illegal downloading.

Discussion Access to original entertainment

Discussion-It has never been easier to publish original entertainment...

1. Original entertainment indeed never has been easier to publish, sites like www.youtube.com make it very easy for users to publish entertainment.
2. Sites that have blogs and writing walls make it very easy for users to publish entertainment such as images.
3. Entertainment is easily accessed by users because of how easy it is to publish it now.

Discussion- It has never been harder to see and hear original entertainment...

1. I disagree original entertainment can still be easily accessed, things such as radio ect can still be used online so it is easier to access original entertainment such as radio.
2. Also things like TV can be accessed online from a lot of sites so the original entertainment can be easily accessed.

Finding reliable, valid information

The websites i just viewed are all famous hoax websites, we can assess that the information displayed was incorrect because, the information my have spelling mistakes, limited evidence, photo shopped images, unheard of theory’s, a badly put together website, the information is not kept up to date and has very bad evidence to support there theory’s. The signs that should make us distrust a site is that the site may have incorrect spelling and doesn’t have very good evidence to support there evidence also things like spam and strange ad's may make you distrust a site.

Business communications

The main uses of VoIP is essentially a phone network that uses the Internet to transmit calls. This is one of the most modern business communications, the main uses for this form of communication is for things like insurance companies ect. The benefits of using this form of communication is that the information can be transferred very quickly from a phone network to internet to transmit calls. The draw backs are that the internet that this use of communication uses may not be a very good internet browser which means it could be slow or not work very well.

Evaluate your communications

The communication that I use is different for the different uses i want to use it for, I use email to send important files to other email accounts such as sending teachers course work. I use SMS and voice communication on my mobile phone to contact people instantly and to socialize. I use IM to socialize with my friends for instantly replies and I also use it to send files such as photos ect.
I best communication that I use is voice communication because it gives an instant reply rather than having to wait for them to log onto their account to check there emails or check there mobile phone for a text.

When do you use mobile phones?

The purposes that I use my mobile phone is, I use it to SMS text friends, to have conversations with friends and family, use it for its media e.g. MP3 player, camera, camcorder.
I use my mobile phone anywhere, I use it at home, when I am out ect. I use when ever I need to contact someone for some information or when I am contacted.
The major benefits of me using my mobile phone is that, my mobile phone can be used almost anywhere, my mobile phone can contact any number at anytime I want it to, my mobile phone does’ not just contact people but also can be used for entertainment, its extra applications such as alarm clock, calendar ect.
The major disadvantages of using a mobile phone is that it can only be used to contact people if it has good signal strength. Also the mobile phone battery is not a very long lasting battery and needs to be recharged every few days.
My mobile phone fulfils its intended purposes of being able to contact people I want it to, being able to use its alarm clocks, calendars ect.

When do you use e-mail?

What purposes do you use email?
The purposes that i use email for;
1.I use email to send important work files to people, also I use email to send important information to contacts that I do not have any other contact information.
2.I use email on any computer at home or at college, I use it by logging into an online internet account which then can enable me to send and receive emails.
3.The major benefits of using email is that email is very quick it will get to the contact email address very quickly. Also emails are free of charge to send.
4.The problems/disadvantages of using email is that email can only be used or accessed or used if you are connected to the internet. Also you can only send a email to someone if you have there email address.
5.Email makes you more productive when you have to send out important information and important files to other accounts.
6.Email makes you less productive because some people may not reply to the email instantly, where as with voice communication the person is instantly replying.
7.Emails fulfil its purposes by it being able to exchange information and files to other people and files.

Discussion Digital communication versus voice communication

Communcating with SMS in text language does have some social downsides compared to have a proper voice conversation, communicating with text language may confuse some people, because they may not understand your text language. Also using SMS it cannot show body langauge to what someone is saying, some body language cannot be read in SMS e.g. sarcasim cannot be as easily read in SMS than it would be in person.

There is social downsides in an e-mail body language can'not be read, rather in a short conversation body language is easily shown. Also not every person has e-mail account or may not always check their e-mail accounts, so e-mails may not be read or there may not be a reply.

Tool Man

John can use PDA's to use it as an address book that is a lot smaller and also a lot easier to find contacts and their address's. Also the PDA will be a lot more organized and can be used to set dates, also the PDA can be used as a calculator so their is no need for John to carry an extra calculator.

GPS: John can use GPS to replace his map books which can take time to look for your route, the GPS can navigate for John so he does not have to worry about navigating. Also the GPS is a lot more accurate than road maps, the GPS also can find the fastest routes to the location, missing massive traffic.

Laptop: John can use a laptop to have an electronic catalog of the tools he is selling, also the laptop can help and speed up the admin he does in his office on Fridays.

Software: John using software will decrease the amount of time it takes him to do his admin also it makes his letters he is sending out if any a lot more professional and up to date.

Mobile phone: John using a mobile phone means that john will not have to carry numerous small coins to use pay phones, also john can use this mobile phone anywhere he needs to rather than having to find a payphone to use.

Internet: Using the internet means that john can get up to date with any details he needs to no e.g. road news etc. Also it means that he can use it to listen to online music.


What possible disadvantages are there for him in employing a lot of ICT? The ICT is not guarantied to work 100% of the time, it could fail at times making it harder for him to work, and also using a lot of ICT means that some of it needs to be fully charged up before he leaves each day.

Yahoo mail

Today I logged onto my E-mail account with Yahoo-email, the logging in was easy and quickly loaded up my emails. Next to my inbox was my avatar which can be good because it makes the webpage more interesting and have some interaction. However the website can become slower and take time to process links because their is animation/interaction.