Mobile usage

Mobile phones are being used more and more frequently in public places nowadays. They are used in shops, on public transport, in schools, colleges, workplaces, in pubs, restaurants and cafés. They are used when walking or driving, and it is now considered a normal thing to do.

Is this right?

Pros of using a mobile phone in public:

• Being able to contact emergency services in seconds is invaluable and this would not happen if you did not carry a mobile phone with you.
• If you are in your car and it breaks down, it is useful to be able to call for help and you can do that from your mobile phone.
• If you are expecting an important call, (e.g. a job interview, an ill family member, a problem from your child or other relative), then you will be able to talk to contact them with ease if you have your mobile phone on. 

Cons of using a mobile phone in public:

• People want peace and quiet when they are out and about, so they won't want to hear half of someone's conversation as they walk along talking on their mobile phone.
• It is inconvenient to talk on the phone when you are in a shop because if you are trying to pay for something but are still talking on the phone then your attention will be divided and it will take you much longer, which is unfair to others
• A 1997 "New England Journal of Medicine" found that, if you use your phone when you're driving, you are four times more likely to have an accident, nearly equal to the danger from driving drunk.

 Many people use contract for their mobile phones which means they pay a set amount of money per month that allows them to use their phones. If they have paid this money, why should they not be allowed to use their phones in public?

There is no point in people owning mobile phones and not using them in public because that defeats the purpose of them being mobile. If you only use them in your own home, you may as well use a telephone or a laptop to call people and go on the internet.
 
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Websites I used:
http://www.ehow.com/list_6773806_pros-cell-phones-public-places.html

Digital Communication

Activity 3 - When do you use email?

1. I use my email to: communicate with friends/family members, to ask about potential job vacancies with companies, and to email my home email account when I am at college if I find a link I think will be interesting or useful to me at home.
2. I use my email either at home (on my laptop or phone), at college (on the computers or my phone), when I am out (on my mobile), or when I am visiting friends/family (on my laptop or phone).
3. I think the major benefits of email are that you can communicate with people who you otherwise may have lost touch with. You can email people all over the world for no money at all which is something you cannot achieve with phone calls, text messages or even writing letters. Another benefit is much quicker than writing a letter and arrives in the person's inbox the moment you send it.
4. A disadvantage of using email is that your inbox can become full of spam which might mean that you miss something important. Also, if there is a problem with your internet connection then you cannot use your internet, meaning that you cannot contact anyone.
5. Email can make you less productive if you are at work and become distracted by your emails, since you would need to reply or delete as appropriate, which would stop you completing your work. However, email can make you more productive if you find an interesting or useful website and use your email to send the link to someone who would equally appreciate it.
6. I think email fulfills its intended purpose because it is meant to allow you to communicate with people worldwide for free and that is what it does. However, I don't think the amount of spam that people receive was foreseen and that is not an email's intended purpose.

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 Activity 4 - When do you use mobile phones?

1.  I use my mobile phone to ring or text family members / relatives, to take pictures, record videos and audio, listen to music and go online.
2. I use my mobile phone whenever I want to look something up or am bored so that could be at home, at college, when I'm travelling or walking, or when I'm out with friends / family. I use it mainly to go on the internet, to text or ring my family / friends and to use the notepad on it.
3. The major benefits of a mobile phone is that you can contact people with ease and they can be anywhere in the world if you don't mind spending the money. In addition, you can look things up online and use your phone as a camera, video camera, audio recorder or music player which is useful and means you don't have to purchase these in gadget form which would cost more money.
4. A disadvantage of mobile phones is that people text you spam, you can't always ring or text someone if there is bad signal, and it is not free so you still have to spend money contacting people or looking something up online.
5. I think my mobile phone fulfills its intended purpose because I mainly use it to ring people, text people, take pictures, go online and use the notepad on it which is what it was designed to do.

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Activity 5 - Evaluate your communications:

Other than communicating with people using my mobile phone and my email, I also use:

• Skype - I use skype as either an email, to video chat or just to call someone as if I were on a phone.
• Twitter - I use skype to tweet people I am friends with and, occasionally, as an email.
• Facebook - I can have online chats, comment on people's statuses, or to email them privately.
• Tumblr - I can comment on people's posts, email them or ask them questions, either using my account or anonymously.
• Wattpad - I use this story-uploading website very occasionally as an email or to comment on people's posts / comments, but usually I just use it as a story-uploading website.

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Activity 6 - Business communications:

At the workplace, people often use emails, phone calls, Skype and letters to complete their work.

An advantage of using an email is that it is immediate but a disadvantage is that something written in an email instead of face to face can be misunderstood, i.e. the context might not be clear in an email.

An advantage of using phone calls is that you can hear someone talking to you so any queries can be cleared up immediately. However, a disadvantage is that it isn't free and someone will have to pay for the phone call.

An advantage of Skype is that you can talk (and sometimes see) the person you are talking to and any queries you may have can be fixed. On the other hand, a disadvantage is that if there is no internet connection or the signal is bad then your call will not work properly, which could prevent you from completing your work.

An advantage of letters - whether handwritten or typed - is that, if there is something difficult that you have to write, it can look more formal and it is also easy to file it away for a later date. A disadvantage is that it does not arrive immediately and can take a long time if there is a problem with the post.


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Websites I used:

http://bexinfu.com/2011/10/02/10-best-practices-for-better-business-communication/

The Digital Divide

Activity 1 - What leads to being on the wrong side of the digital divide?

According to the ITU, the least digitally-developed counties are Guinea Biseau, Chad, Mali, Burkino Fasso, and Niger. A selection of reasons for the digital divide are as follows:

1. Income differences - The richer a country is, the more (digital) technology it has, and vice versa; those with an income tax of $75,000 are twenty times more likely to have internet access than those at the lowest income level, which explains why people in poorer countries are less likely to use computers.
2. Education - Better educated people are more likely to have / use digital technology since they are more likely to come from a rich country; only 6.6% of people with a public school education or less use the internet.
3. Location - Rural areas are likely to experience lower levels of connectivity, and lagging behind cities in terms of broadband access.
4. Age - People aged 50+ are less likely to use the internet - less than 30% of this group were "connected" in 2000; furthermore, those of that age group and in employment are three times more likely to use computers than individuals not in employment.
5. Single parent families - Two parent families are more than twice as likely to have internet access than single parent families; in addition, the proportion in respect of single parent, female-headed families in cities is significantly lower.
6. Disabilities - Although 25% of able-bodied people have never used a computer, the proportion of disabled people using PCs has risen to 60%.
7. Race / ethnic groups - Large gaps exist regarding households who have internet access in different races and ethnic origins; furthermore, large gaps remain when measured against the National average for internet penetration.
8. Language - If you do not speak the language with which most websites and made then you will find it increasingly difficult to navigate the web and use a computer if you don't understand. 

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Activity 2 - Data response:

•  In the article - Women and information technology in Sub-Saharan Africa - an infrastructural reason that there is a lack of effective ICT is that the majority of the population are subsistence farmers and developing ICT skills is not a priority when you have to worry about growing enough food to survive. Furthermore, one in every two women in Sub-Saharan Africa is illiterate which would inhibit the use of computers further.
• The most pressing need for Africa (in terms of ICT) is identified as increasing women's participation in ICT by making ICT training and career opportunities more accessible, or to advance their ICT careers.
• Computer-aid projects have been unsuccessful for the most part, although some basic courses help women learn to use email and other software, which would allow them to get better jobs and a higher pay.
• They have been unsuccessful since women from priveleged families are more likely to attend the courses while the women who are really being seperated due to the digital divide - the subsistence farmers who are trying to grow enough food so that they and their families can survive - do not attent the courses and so learn no ICT skills, causing them to be left even further behind the modern world.
• The computer skills identified as lacking are that women do not know how to use basic word processors or emails, which would allow them to keep up with the modern world and world save money too, (i.e. pens / paper wouldn't need to be bought if emails were used more frequently and, since the article is about a very poor country, this would help no end).
• Certain business skills that are lacking are the fact that women don't know how to make business cards or brochures, so no one knows about the business and they will not make any money, which is a major problem.

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 Activity 3 - Investigate the impact of access to telecoms:

Countries	Population	Telephones / landlines	Mobile / cellular	Telephone system	Radio broadcast stations	Country code	Internet hosts	Internet users
Central African Republic	5,057,208	2,300	1.124 million	low-powered radiotelephone communication	government-owned network	236	20	22,600
Costa Rica	4,636,348	1.491 million	4.358 million	good domestic telephone service	multiple privately-owned TV stations and 1 publicly-owned TV station	506	146,164	1.485 million
Singapore	5,353,494	1.984 million	7.307 million	excellent domestic facilities	state controls broadcast media	65	1.932 million	3.235 million
United Kingdom	63,047,162	33.32 million	80.799 million	technologically advanced domestic and international system	largest broadcasting corporation in the world	44	8.409 million	51.444 million
Iran	78,868,711	27.767 million	56.043 million	currently being modernized and expanded	state-run broadcast media with no private, independent broadcasters	98	167,453	8.214 million

In large, densely populated countries, there are many more telephones, both landline and mobile, and many more internet users and hosts. An example of this is that the UK has a population of 63,047,162 people, has 33.32 million landlines and has 8.409 million internet hosts.

On the other hand, the Central African Republic has a population of 5,057,208 people, has 2,300 landlines and 20 internet hosts.

However, Iran is a poor country and yet, with its 78,868,711 people, it has 56.043 mobile phones and 8.214 internet users.

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EXTRA:

	Population	Main telephone lines		Mobile subscribers		Internet users
	000s	000s	%	000s	%	000s	%
Central African Republic	5,057,208	2,300	0.05	1.124 million	22.23	22,600	0.45
Costa Rica	4,636,348	1.491 million	32.16	4.358 million	94	1.485 million	32.03
Singapore	5,353,494	1.984 million	37.06	7.307 million	136.49	3.235 million	60.43
United Kingdom	63,047,162	33.32 million	52.85	80.799 million	128.16	51.444 million	81.59
Iran	78,868,711	27.767 million	35.21	56.043 million	71.06	8.214 million	10.41

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Conclusion:

I think the gap caused by the digital divide is growing since the countries that have with ICT technology can develop so much more quickly than countries that do not have that option, leaving them further behind.

The gap is being bridged by computer-aid projects, like the one in the article mentioned above, that aim to educate people on ICT and get more computers for people to use.

We power the world to have internet access using solar power, wind turbines and other renewable sources of energy. However, you can also get wind-up laptops if they have built-in modems with internet available nearby, so you would not need an electricity source.

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Websites I used:
http://www.itu.int/en/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/digitaldivide/
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
http://www.irma-international.org/viewtitle/32485/
http://www.onlineconversion.com/percentcalc.htm
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/parade/hq69/Protected/Features/Digital%20Divide.html

What effect will 4G have on mobile phones?

What effect will 4G have on mobile phones?

4G is superfast broadband service. It will be available to 20 million people across 16 cities, and offers speeds up to five times faster than 3G.

4G will allow people to download HD movies in minuties and TV streaming without buffering. EE (Everything Everywhere - a company who own Orange and T-Mobile) say that it will make Britiain a "more modern country".

London, Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham, Glasgow and Belfast, along with ten other cities,were booted up with 4G on the 11th of September, 2012.

However, 4G is only available on certain Samsung, Nokia, HTC and Huawei handsets - Apple's iPhone 5 is expected to follow suit - and so customers will not be able to use it on their current devices.

By 2014, EE plan to offer 4G to ninety eight per cent of Britain by 2014.

~

4G will most likely make people use mobile technology much more than just owning a computer or laptop since, if things are quicked to load on a mobile than their own laptop, it will be easier to carry a mobile phone around and you will be able to do more things on it.

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EXTRA: The timeline of the history of the television

Date	Invention
1872-1877	Stroboscopic disc	A series of photographs can be viewed by stroboscopic disc.
1844	Flexible photographic film	George Eastman invents flexible photographic film.
1887	Motion picture camera	Thomas Edison patents motion picture camera.
1888	Record pictures	Edison attemps to record picture photos onto a wax cylinder.
1891-1895	15 second motion pictures	Dickson shoots numerous 15 motion pictures, using Edison's kineograph, his motion picture camera.
1895	First public demonstration	First public demonstration of motion pictures displayed in France.
1897	Cathode Ray Tube	Development of the Cathode Ray Tube by Ferdinand Braun.
1907	Use of cathode ray tube	Use of cathode ray tube to produce television images.
1923	Patent for the iconoscope	Patent for the iconoscope, the forerunner of the picture tube.
1927	Talking films	Talking films begin with Al Jolson in "The Jazz Singer"
Early 1930s	Black and white broadcasting experiments	RCA conducts black and white broadcasting experiments.
1936	First television broadcast	First television broadcast made available in London.
1938	Colour TV broadcast	Initial proposal for colour TV broadcast made by George Valensi.
1945	Fewer than 7,000 working TV sets	There were fewer than 7,000 working TV sets in the country, and only nine stations on air.
1946	The Blue Network	The Blue Network, part of NBC, officially becomes the ABC network.
1948	Advertisers accept the medium	Throughout the year, 933 sponsors buy TV time, a rise of 515% over 1947.
1948	By Autumn, FCC has issued 108 licenses	108 licenses for new stations, with hundreds more applications pending across the nation.
1948	The earliest cable systems	The earliest cable systems are born in remote areas.
1949	The number of TV stations grows	By January, the number of TV stations grows to 98 in 58 market areas.
1952	The number of TB households grows	The number of TV households grows to 20 million, up 33% from the previous year.
1953	Colour broadcasting	Colour broadcasting officially arrives, when FCC approves modified version of an RCA system.
1957	Countries worldwide allow TV advertising	By August, for the first time, more countries worldwide allow TV advertising than forbid it.
1967	An opinion survey	An opinion survey sponsored by National Association of Broadcasters shows a high level of public dissatisfaction with TV commercials and programs.
1967	An opinion survey	63% of those surveyed would prefer TV without commercials.
1968	Manufacturers make 11.4 million TV sets	Manufacturers make 11.4 million new TV sets, up from 5.7 million receivers made in 1960.
1971	Transition from 60-seconds to 30-seconds	The transition from 60-seconds to 30-seconds as the standard length of adverts takes hold.
1977	More than 75% of TV-equipped homes	More than 75% of TV-equipped homes are able to receive colour on one or more sets.
1993	Many households own two or more TV sets	By the start of the year, 98% of households own at least one TV set, 64% have two or more sets.
1996	Digital satelite dishes hit the market	Digital satelite dishes that are only 18 inches in diameter hit the market.
2000	The year of the DVD	The year of the Digital Disc - A.K.A. the DVD.
2003	DVD camcorder is released	The first DVD camcorder is released.
2006	Blu-Ray DVDs	Blu-Ray DVDs are released, storing up to 27 GB of data.
2010	3D arrives	3D movies and 3D television sets arrive.

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Websites I used:
http://www.high-techproductions.com/historyoftelevision.htm

Entertainment Through The Years

The world we live in today is known as the Digital Age. We have digital radio and television, digital entertainment of video games, and cinema. The world has changed a lot over the years and here's how:

Timeline of technological advances: 

Date	Invention
1822	First computer was created.
1844	First use of Morse Code.
1876	First telephone was created.
1877	First music player was created.
1922	First radio broadcast.
1936	First television broadcast.
1948	The earliest cable systems were born.
1953	Colour TV arrives.
1960s	First E-Book was created.
1968	11.4 million new TV sets are made.
1971	Adverts go from 60-seconds to 30-seconds in length.
1973	First mobile phone was created.
1988	Videocassette recorders take TV viewers away.
1996	Digital satellite dishes that are only 18 inches in diameter hit the market.
2000	The year of the Digital Disc - A.K.A. the DVD.
2003	First DVD video recorder is released.
2005	Flat screen TVs are very popular.
2006	Blu-Ray DVDs are released in the middle of the year.
2010	3D movies and television sets arrive.

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Examples of television in:

1948...










1965...











1993...











2012



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Video games are another example of how far technology has come. They are electronic games that involve human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. Sometimes you can also interact with other players although this isn't always a good thing due to "trash talk" - when someone is feeling competetive, it is not unusual for them to say abusive or hurtful things to their opponent.

The newspaper article below shows this:




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The world's technology has developed so much because there is much more computing power at our disposal now - this is known as Moore's Law. (Moore's Law is the observation that over the history of computing hardware, the computing power doubles while the devices that provide that power become smaller, approximately ever two years.)

Everything has changed and become more powerful during the digitial age. An example of this is cinemas: 3D cinemas used to be an extremely new thing but now they are common and there are even films that have 4D viewings available, such is the advances of technology.


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(EXTRA: To see a timeline of the history of the television, please look at my next blog post or the following link: http://274093katyanker.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/extra-timeline-of-history-of-television.html)
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Websites I used:
 http://www.high-techproductions.com/historyoftelevision.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore's_law
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game