Case Study ~ Laos

The digital divide in Laos is quite large due to the area and the large amount of natural disasters that would cost lots to repair if IT technology was set up.

The digital divide is most prominent in Laos because of the amount they have to spend on repairing damage done by natural disasters, meaning that if they were to implement the systems needed for effective ICT, there would be high amounts of costs to pay if they were heavily damaged.

The main problems that have caused the divide are the vast mountainous regions that make it hard to supply effective ICT to all the regions in Laos, the lack of ISP make it hard for effective ICT to be started, the high costs also make it harder for a country like Laos to increase its amount of ICT, also, weather and the annual monsoons damage systems that would cost a lot to repair or replace if needs be

The impact of the divide in Laos has caused them to become far behind in the technical revolution in IT.

The solutions in Laos are; Cantennaes which are devices that can be made from cans to boost wireless reception, pedal powered wireless computers which have been made by the poorest country in the world called, Phon Kham.

The success of wireless technology

Wireless technology helps reduce the digital divide because it enable the internet to be supplied to towns and houses, without having to install major infrastructure, becuase of this it overcomes the major problem that lead to the digital divide in the first place, that the counrties just dont have the money to spend on improving and maintaining these telecoms services.

The growth of wireless technology does have clear social, economic and educational benefits, the advantages of wireless technology is that it will allow business prospects and job oppirtunities to grow with the new ability to use and work with the internet and to send and receive information, it allows people to stay in touch with society and friends. It will also have positive implications for education, in that they can extend their learning with the use of the internet and other applications.

Reducing the digital divide.

The advantages of reducing the divide are that everyone will live in an equall world in that sense, it will for people in these previously deprived countries to have a new wave of entrepreneurs that America and the UK saw 10-20 years ago, allowing them to create and develope a stronger economy for themselves.

President Clinton was correct because he made sure that everyone in the USA was computer literate, or had the chance to learn, by the 21st century, preparing them for a world that we know nothing about yet. Meaning, that everyone has the chance to work in the same environment.

I feel  that they do, do more good than harm because they are actively helping to reduce the gap between digitally capable countries and non-digitally capable ones, by supply countries that could not support themselves in the digital areas.

Data response

The infrastructural reason why there is a lack of effective ICT there is because they just dont have a budget for it, there are much more important things for such places to worry about before they consider the digital revolution.

There most pressing need is to enter the 21st century and update their means of recieving and using ICT, this means they need to put in place the neccessary infrastructure to allow the people that already have computers or are about to have one, can recieve and have a good connection at their dispossal.

Computer aid projects have helped africa to modernise itself, in that they have made computer systems more avaliable to everyone, Microsoft for example introducing the $100 laptop to help increase the ammount that Africa and such places have at their dispossal.

They have failed simply because there is a lack of knowledge about the systems they have, they may have a laptop but that doesn't mean they know how to use it. They got the right idea, just not the correct way to implement it.

The main areas that are lacking in computer skills, are things like programmers, engineers, and people just are lacking the most basic skills of all, browsing the net, writing a letter.

Many business's have just abandoned using ICT at all, becuase they do not understand the basics, that and there is no one able or willing to show them.

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

Guinea Biseau, Chad, Mali, Burkino Fasso and Niger are the least digitally developed because they dont have the bugdet to increase the standard of the digital infrastructure that allows them to be connected to the internet, e.g. phone lines, isp's, etc. 

Its the lack of these telecoms that means they cannot advance anywhere until they have them in place. If they were to get this basic infrastructure installed then they could embrace Micrsoft's $100 laptop scheme.

Monitoring Internet and Email use.

The advantages that content monitoring has for this estate agent is that it means people have no way of becoming sidetracked or distracted while at work, maximising the workforce. Also by monitoring the emails sent by employees, they can see whether employees are un happy in their job and then the people in human resources can help to motivate their team. 

However despite all of the positive aspects about internet monitoring the disadvantages are as follows; employees may feel that they no longer have the freedom of speech to other colleagues, they can’t do some personal research during their lunch break. That and employees aren’t going to care whether they are going to be logged for seeking other employment, because they may feel strongly in their views.

The advantages it has for employees is that it means they can keep a constant concentration, as work is a place for working. They may see the email monitoring system as a way to speak to higher powers without directly having to speak to them. 

This system is not perfect though, for someone who is always using the system for business only, may experience some problems connecting to sites that have the triggering keywords on them, therefore stopping him going any further with his/her work. If someone is also just using the system for business purposes, then they may become over tired and run-down.

I would say that this system is probably a good idea, if its not used as just a way to limit what people do, it needs to be used simply to keep employees on work. I feel that the email monitoring is going a bit to far however, although it does offer a way for employees to stress concerns without actually doing so, I feel it’s a too bigger infringement of privacy. 

Teens Arrive Alive (AKA IntelliOne Technologies)

Teens arrive alive seems to have been bought out by IntelliOne, they still do the basic things, in that they still are in the tracking business. They offer a service that will track a vehicle through the internet, a mobile or PDA, and something called IP-TV, this service is called TrafficAid.

They also offer a another service that tracks the traffic in an area, telling you how busy it will be, and whether or not to avoid a certain area.

There are benefits in that it offers real time information and real time tracking. There are some drawbacks in that if their servers go down, then the many people that rely on the information stream.

US Passports and RFID

RFID or Radio Frequency ID, is where passports are fitted with a chip that could be picked up by a special radio reciever. These allow people to be checked, but at a distance, so officials dont need to approach people to check their credentials. This means that if someone is scanned and is suspected of terrorism, they wont be 'spooked' and flee and the authorities can be informed to lead to an arrest. 

They do come with their downfalls though:

• People could fake these passports, if they understand and have the needed technology,
• If the wrong person gets hold of the long range scanner, people's identity could be stolen.

The Pros and Cons of ID cards.

The main ICt used in the ID card scheme will be database software, holding and managing all of the user's that are registered. This will contain every piece of information on a person, biometric information, fingerprints and retiner scans, personal information, name, DOB, etc, security information, personal ID number.

Full details of what will be recorded on the cards is at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4630045.stm

The purpose of the ID card is for British Citizens/British Nationals, to prove who they are, when applying for UK services and for a private business. 

In terms of actually achieving this goal I feel that the scheme should work, if they can get enough interest in it. 

The advantages:

• Its a solid way to prove who you are.
• Can help combat imagrantcy.
• Can help catch British criminals.

The disadvantages: 

• Will be very costly to set up.
• Can be classed as an invringement of human rights, by being seen as just another way for the British Government to know where we are at all times, a modern day 'Big Brother'
• They may become a compulsory feature of being a British Citizen, with no way of opting out.

Managing the information overload.

Many ICT tools have been created to help in dealing with the information explosion. These are the main ways that people have been able to cope with such a boom.

Spreadsheets, they are a great way of holding and processing numbers and data, allowing you to use highly advanced formulas or just the low level formula. It has uses both in the commercial world and for home owners. Allowing them both to organise and keep track of finances or work related information. It can allow them to decide whether or not something needs to be re-ordered

Simulation software, can be used if any phenomena can be reduced to mathematical data. Its aim is to imitate and correctly predict the outcome of a situation. For example, simulation can predict the weather, chemical reactions or business models. These allow a business to see what would happen if they employed a strategy, without them even having to employ it, however simulation software isn't always correct. It allows a company to decide whether following a new business venture is worth taking.

Data mining tools, this is where software sorts through large amounts of data, to find information best matched to your query. Businesses can specify an age, a gender, postcode, etc, so they can target certain people for advertisement. It can also be used to search for a persons information in a national database, saving time and therefore money. It allows a company to decide who to target their research or advertising at.

Execption reporting tools, allow you to compare actual results to predicted results, allowing you to draw a conclusion from it more accurately. Its allows a company to see what conclusions come from a huge set of results data.

Making Decisions.

I have chosen to start my search at The Carphone Warehouse, and there I found a Nokia 2630, which meets the requirements of cheepness, at it costing £24.95.

I then searched Tesco.co.uk, finding the Nokia 1208, for £15.98.

My final search was at play.com, finding the Nokia 1112, at £24.99.

Therefore the cheapest phone that satisfies all the needs would be the Nokia 1208 at Tesco.co.uk, this is also Pay as you go, so it will work out cheaper for her if she doesn't need or want to use the phone for long periods of time.

Discusion ~ Impact of game players

Computer games offer the chance for players to be able to do things, they wouldn’t necessarily do in real life. For example, in GTA, you can freely steel cars, now you wouldn’t go around steeling a car every time you see something else you like.

I feel strongly that computer games have no effect on people, making them more violent. However there are cases that have been linked to violence from video games.

Video games can make you more isolated in some ways, but in other ways not. They can give you common ground with someone, and something to discuss on the day after, they can remind you of good memories playing on a video game with friends, they can make you isolated in that your not socialising in the normal sense.

Networked video games can make you more social amongst your already made friends, or social groups. This is probably the best way to play games, and I am a huge fan of online gaming.

Discusion ~ Pirated Entertainment

An advantage of legally paying Apple for a music download would be, the security that it gives, knowing you haven’t committed an illegal act. That and what you are paying for is quality assured, so you know what your getting is of best quality.

The disadvantage of buying a pirated DVD would be that, you lose any consumer rights you had before, so you can’t return it if it’s not even the right film, etc.

The main disadvantage of downloading a pirate of the latest blockbusters are that, the quality is going to be rubbish, it might not even be in your language, it could drop in and out of the film, and that it will probably just frustrate you to the point, that you go and see it in the cinema anyway.

The disadvantage of visiting illicit music download sites are that, they also don’t need to worry about quality assurance so you may not get what you try to download or it may be of very bad quality, some of these sites even charge a fee to use them.

I think that yes illicit downloading does discourage the funding of new talent, mainly because the investors need to make their money back, and that means the sales of singles and albums, and if people would rather download them for free, then making that money back isn’t going to happen.

Discusion ~ Access to original content

There are so many ways that someone could post a piece of original entertainment on the web, be it a movie, song, game, or art work. New software and sites allows all this to be possible, sites like YouTube, and MySpace Music have allowed for loads of people around the world to get their ‘work’ noticed by someone. YouTube is a favourite for all types of people posting all sorts of entertainment, such as, Comedy movies, news, etc.

Software such as Flash and other software allow people to create and host their own games, on their own servers, or a shared server. Some people try experimenting with these methods of making games, but some people do try and make brilliant games and have ideas for better games.

As for art and images, software such as Picasa, allow users to post images to web pages of their own.

I feel it isn’t harder to see and hear original entertainment, because, there is all these ways to create and publish your own stuff. That and you do need to know what you are looking for when trying to find original aspects of entertainment.

Finding reliable, valid information.

When it comes to trusting websites, its not an exact science. Sites can seem to be the real thing or convey information that looks like it could be true. But many 'hoax sites' are now all over the internet.

People make these sites, either to simply play a joke by posting fake information, or to scam people of their money, by making sites that seem genuine, but are out to rip people off.

You should always distrust a site for the first time you visit it. Any site can be a mock of a real one. These are some rules to follow when surving the web;

1. Watch for statements that go against common sense.
2. Look for irony or satire in the text.
3. Check for words that are made up or nonsensical.
4. Look for exaggeration in the text.
5. Look at pictures to see whether or not they make sense.
6. Watch for sites that look official, but are not.
7. Watch for images that look like they've been altered.
8. Watch for total nonsense

Busniess Communications

The presentation of 'Business Communication' is on my hosting site, at this address:

http://sites.google.com/site/craighandleyrofl/Home/the-filing-cabinet

Evaluating My Own Communication.

I do use many of the modern 21st century tools for communication available. SMS, Email, IM. These are all modern ways to communicate with people, friends, family, the advantage is that it doesn't matter where they are, in the world.

I use email, everyday, to communicate with people or if they are communicating with me, this includes commercial and noncommercial email. For example, commercially, I receive a monthly update email from Microsoft about system updates, important new software, free trials, etc. Which is handy because it means I don't have to scan for them myself. I also receive, roughly, about 6 emails a day from the BBC, news updates, etc. I receive emails from Channel 4, about new programmes coming to their channel, and emails from paypal and my online bank account manager.

These are all trying to sell or offer me something, which is one way email has evolved for the better, some cases the worse, for example, Spam is one of the most hated thing about email, its pointless and endless. Luckily most email account managers have a built in spam removing tool, Windows Live Mail, but it helps if you don't give out your details to any old site.

I don't really use SMS much, but when I do its only to get hold of someone, etc.

As like email, I use IM everyday, but on a personal use, contacting friends, etc. In a way IM is just as good for using as an email service, on most IM services you are able to send images, movies, messages, links, etc, but only when they are online, but now Microsoft have introduced an offline messaging system.

To conclude I would say that i prefer the application of email and IM as apposed to SMS, they both have their uses but i find email to be more helpful when it comes to communication wit others.

Evaluating Mobile Phones.

You generally use a mobile phone to contact people, portably, via text or calls, mobile phones can also be used to subscribe to updates, etc.

Generally, I use a phone when i need to contact someone in a hurry, or because I need to talk to them, or in a drastic case, an emergency.

The major benefits of using a mobile phone is that they are a portable way of communicating with people. The other main advantage is that, most modern phones now act as a potable media player.

The disadvantage of a mobile phone is that they have an exponential battery, meaning that when the charge is running out, the decrease is one that is exponential, so gathering speed.
e.g. My phone will use about 60% charge in 3 days, but once its hit that 40% mark, it could go dead in an hour or 2.

It does fulfil the major purpose that it intends to provide to users, in that it provides a "mobile phone".

Evaluation of Email.

I use email everyday of my life and for good purpose, I use it to consolidate something someone has said to me during the day, to arrange things, to inform someone of something I have found interesting that day and to forward an email sent to me that I think is important that someone else see's.

I mainly use email at home, sending and receiving mail with MS Outlook, which is connected to my hotmail account, I also use the Windows Live Mail facility sometimes, if Outlook is giving some problems.

The major benefits of email are that it’s quick because it takes no time at all to type an email, easy because it’s easily accessible and easy to use, and can be done at any time.

There are some disadvantages to email though in that, they can be delayed, so you don’t get your message to a person in time so the message becomes pointless, emails don’t convey everything you are trying to say to a person and to access your mail you need access to the web.

Email can make you more productive because you can send multi emails, therefore cutting down on you having to type each one from start. You can send photos, images, files, movies, etc.

They can be also be less productive, if you are trying to finish some work on the computer/laptop; there is always the temptation to check your mail, etc.

Email does fulfill its intended purpose, because it enables wide spread communication.

Digital communiction versus voice conversation

Modern communication has evolved vastly, with new technology enabling a new wave of different comms.

These include SMS, Email and IM.

The modern language used in SMS, text speech, has had social implications, with people preferring to send an email or chat in IM, rather than having a face-to-face conversation. Body language and emotion is a huge part of modern conversation, Email and SMS remove the use of these meaning people on the other end of the conversation, do not fully understand what you’re trying to get across.

I personally feel that SMS and Email are a positive revolution of the modern world, and so should not be slandered for bringing a new way of thinking or communicating.

Analysing the "good old days"

The two office applications i would choose to replace a paper based accounting system would be, MS Excel and MS Access.

The 2 major advantages these have over the paper based system would be that they can do, sums and work out formulas and problems in seconds, easily beating the smarter accountants. Another advantage is that they can store massive amounts of data in all in one place, making it more economical.

The main advantages that Excel has over Access are that it can do a wider variation in calculations it has at its expense, creating visual graphs etc. Access has advantages over Excel though, it can store much more data in a more ordered manor, it can link databases and create junctions between them, it can produce reports and visual aspects, like a front end. Therefore Access would be the better applications to use in this scenario, as it meets more of what I think are the required needs.

With the advent of these new office applications, many of the old jobs were lost because a computer and this software could do the calculations, more accurate and quicker than any person could. This introduction, also lead to most typist losing there jobs, apart from those who went into different departments or ones that could type very fast and grasped the new software fast and easily.

A variety of jobs were opened up in the advent of office applications, mainly consisting of people that specialised in certain areas of the new office apps, new IT manager positions opened up to guide and help people to learn how to use these apps, and of course to make sure that they work and are frequently updated.

Ambulance Services

In the ambulance service there are many different roles that are crucial to maximising the officiency of their service, the ambulance drivers, the person that is relaying information to the ambulance staff when they receive a call, the staff that monitor/track an ambulance's position through GPS,  and the local staff, that are based at the prime location in a town/city.

The impact on my area from the advances in technology has helped to decide where to send a crew from, that would mean drivers getting to their destinations quickly and efficiently, and making sure that the patient has a safe and quick journey to the nearest hospital.  

The impact on the London ambulance services has been huge, as they are now able to cover a larger area with more ambulances and effectively, help more people by placing these ambulance stations in cleverly decided locations as to increase their overall efficientcy.

Some people object to the introduction of this new technology because it now means that they now, may, need to employ less people, they would in hand need to change the way they fund the ambulance service, as all this new and 'fancy' technology costs a lot more, and because they are introducing this new technology, people now need to be more extensively trained in an area that is nothing to do with saving lives, as such.

One aspect of this, that is worrying to think of, is that a strong powercut or targeted attack on the HQ's, would render most of the ambulances and equipment useless. 

The advantages of this introduction, would be that it now increases ambulances response times and therefore increasing the ammount of lives they save each year, so its not all bad when you look at it from that perspective.

Tool Man

A summary of the what john could use the following technology for:

PDA, GPS, Laptop, software, Mobile Phone, the internet;

John could use a PDA to act as his diary and address book, so he would not need to carry so many paper based sources of information, as a PDA is lightweight, stylish, can store than a diary can, endless capabilities with ad-ons, etc. This is what he should really choose to replace the diary and address book.

John would mainly use a GPS system to navigate to and from clients, replacing all his maps and A-Z's. It would mean he could still enjoy his personal time in his car just without the major stress of getting lost or stuck in traffic.

John would obviously use his laptop for replacing his bulky sales catalogue's' everywhere. There would be a version of them on screen where it can be edited, unlike the catalogue, he only ever needs to have one copy of the catalogue on his laptop. He could also use it as a calculator or for him to make sure all the administration and sales data are handled properly, as he can take his time over it. 

The latest software like iTunes, will allow him to download the latest music, or an older song, onto his mobile phone or laptop, for this though he needs to have access to the internet. 

The possible disadvantages of all this technology is that he becomes too reliant on it, and if any of it were to crash hours of work or lots of money could be lost, so therefore, i would alsoo suggest still keeping a paper copy in the boot or back at his office, to make sure he would still be able to work if a piece of this hardware were to fail.

Online Education

For my presentation on this go to:

http://sites.google.com/site/craighandleyrofl/Home/the-filing-cabinet

Evaluating these sites I feel that the BBC and NEC websites were by far the best, offering the best courses and content of all the sites I looked at and, explaining each topic in detail, explaining in depth and simply for easy understanding.

Using a Learning object.

Coming Soon.

Macromedia's Virtual Classroom

Coming Soon.

Using an online simulation ~ NetFrog

To be very frank, I hated this site, its layout, its perpose, the level of interaction, and what you could actually do there.

The layout is all over the place with no clear links to specific page areas and its visually not great either.

The purpose is to "Show a real dissection of a frog without having to do it yourself", which is sort of you get, if you can find it. The images were of poor quality and the description was a bit bleak, so basically it diliveres what its set out to do, but just not very well.

The level of interaction is very poor, with the highest level of interaction being hotspots placed on the picture, of where to click. Apart from that the its pretty poor.

Therefore I feel it does meet its main purpose, but does not achieve it very well.

Exploring Learning objectives and simulations

I thought that this website was more of a boring history lesson, that wasn't very interactive with the user, the site is poorly laid out, I found it difficult to find the page and I had instructions.

I felt that I didn't learn anything that was important to my A-level course in that it evaluates elements of the computer's and IT's past, that are quite obvious to anyone.

To conclude, i felt this site to be quite repetitive and boring.

Online Entertainment

Many online entertainment services are available to anyone on the web. Online entertainment has boomed in the last few years with the increased advances in Internet viewing and increased machine speed's mean that people can watch or interact with things with better quality, than ever before.

One thing that has came out of this is the online TV Catch-up service, with Channel 4 starting it off with 4oD, and then the BBC, with iPlayer, and ITV, with ITV catch-up, jumping on the band waggon, it now means that people no longer have to pick between many different programs on all at the same times. I myself use many of these catch-up services, mainly iPlayer and 4oD, and they are an revolutionary idea. The main limitations to this would be copyright laws, this means that the BBC, for example, cant post a movie on there site, unless they have brought the rights to.

Another major thing to come of the internet is Online Gaming. This includes both Online gaming, where you play it as an application on your computer, and online gaming where a games console is connected to the web via a network. Millions of people are drawn to play online games every year, with some of the major players making huge profit margins from the sale of exclusive, yet virtual, items. Corporations such as Nexon and Blizzard making up to 85% profits up on last year.

The other major aspect of online gaming is consoles. Where people hook up there consoles to the web and play against or with people on there chosen game. This has taken off most successfully on the X-Box 360, X-Box Live, mainly because of its ease of use and social structure. PS3 launched its version of X-Box Live, but was not nearly as successful as they would have hoped. The major limitations of this sort of gaming is that, the users connection speed dictates how much they enjoy it.

At the moment these online services do not meet there maximum potential in that there will be many advances in the future that will massively increase these services, capability, and enjoyability.