Using Mobile Phones in Public

Using Mobile Phones in Public

 

Why use a moblile phone in public?:

 

• The invention of the mobile phone was to talk to someone pretty much anywhere and whenever you want/need.
• If it's an emergency then it's perfectly acceptable to use your phone in public.
• It's convenient if you're 'on the go' and need to 'walk and talk'

Why shouldn't you use a mobile phone in public?:

• You may be having quite a vulgar conversation which could offend people.
• People will be briefly let in to your private life.
• Details may be stolen.

These set of bullet points refer to taking a call. However, if your text messaging then no one, unless you think the sun shines out your rear end, will really care if you're texting in public.

 

 

 

 

Social Networking

What is it?

Social networking is a way of using your computer to talk to other people, exchange pictures, whatever you want to do.

Examples:

• Twitter

  This is one of the fastest-growing networks. You follow people you know or in whom you’re interested, they follow you, you exchange brief text-only messages. If you say something interesting, one of your followers might ’re-tweet’ it, which means repeating it and saying who said it. So, some of their followers might start to follow you too, and that’s how you meet new people. Great for asking quick questions.

• Facebook

  Unlike Twitter, you get a page on the web and can use this for longer bits and pieces. You can upload pictures, videos, play games, whatever you want to do. There are Facebook applications for reviewing books, reviewing films, areas for private messages and for more open discussions. This can really be your place on the internet if you want it to be.

• Google+

  It's still early days for Google's competitor to Facebook and Twitter, but the company is such a behemoth that it's not a good idea to count them out. Google+ lets you put all your acquaintances in separate "circles", so you can post something to your best friends that you might not want sent to your work colleagues

Since Facebook is the longest running social networking site of these examples, I'll guide you through a brief history of it since it is a good benchmark in relation to most social networking sites. (This is an edit from The Guardian's article).

Mark Zuckerberg, 23, founded Facebook while studying at Harvard University. Mr Zuckerberg had already developed a number of social-networking websites for fellow students.

In February 2004 Mr Zuckerberg launched "The facebook", as it was originally known; the name taken from the sheets of paper distributed to freshmen, profiling students and staff. Within 24 hours, 1,200 Harvard students had signed up, and after one month, over half of the undergraduate population had a profile.

 It became Facebook.com in August 2005. US high schools could sign up from September 2005, then it began to spread worldwide, reaching UK universities the following month.

The site remains free to join, and makes a profit through advertising revenue. Yahoo and Google are among companies which have expressed interest in a buy-out, with rumoured figures of around $2bn (£975m).

Users can now give gifts to friends, post free classified advertisements and even develop their own applications.

By 2007 roughly 30million people had made account(s) on facebook.

This month officials banned a flash-mob-style water fight in Hyde Park, organised through Facebook, due to public safety fears. And there was further controversy at Oxford as students became aware that university authorities were checking their Facebook profiles.

The legal case against Facebook dates back to September 2004, when Divya Narendra, and the brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who founded the social-networking site ConnectU, accused Mr Zuckerberg of copying their ideas and coding. Mr Zuckerberg had worked as a computer programmer for them when they were all at Harvard before Facebook was created.
The case was dismissed due to a technicality in March 2007 but without a ruling.

4G - What affect will it have on Mobile Phone Usage

What effect 4G will have on what we can do with our mobile phones?

Advantages:

• Higher bandwidth: Bandwidth is a term used to describe how much information can be transmitted over a connection. It is usually given as bits per second, or as some larger denomination of bits, such as Megabits per second, expressed as kbit/s or Mbit/s. Bandwidth is a gross measurement, taking the total amount of data transferred in a given period of time as a rate, without taking into consideration the quality of the signal itself.
• Better repsonstime. 10 times better then 3G
• Works at 2.6GHz frequency wich means better coverage.
• Less time to buid 4G because it use the same tower and fibercables as 3Gs - they only have to upgrade the towers with 4G components.

Disadvantages:

• Involves the possibility of some interference though not much.
• Capable of being attacked (jamming frequencies).
• Invasion of privacy increased.
• Obtaining information from everday people illegally becomes easier.

People have to weigh up between super fast download rates and risk of data being stolen.

4G in a nutshell: Its way faster.

Employment Opportunities - Working Styles Example

Name two different office applications that could be used by the small business to improve upon the paper based systems employed in the 1970s:

• Open Office - Calc

• Microsoft - Excel

Describe two advantages of each over the paper based system:

Since these two bits of kit do the same thing I'm going to talk about them together.

 It is a good way of organising and creating things like; invoices, making graphs and charts, keeping on track with budgets, controlling stock etc. Things that a small business would need to do.
 It doesn't diminish any jobs that people had using the paper based systems, but rather changes them. For example accountants will now use special software on a computer these days rather than 30 years ago when they had to use pens and paper and file it all away, after they've proof read it all for mistakes. The advantage to storing everything digitally is that with both Excel and Calc, you can type in formulae that allows you to update your statistics as soon as something changes. All that requires you to do is press a few buttons and the data is then up to date a lot quicker than recovering a piece of paper copying it over to another one just so you can change a little part of the data.
 And then you can save the file you made in to "My Documents" so space is never an issue since excel and calc files are only a matter of megabytes (which isn't much at all).

Describe one advantage of each over the other:

If you're a small business, then you probably budget very carefully and want to get the cheapest things possible without comprimising the profits of your business. In which case, Calc is free and pretty much does exactly the same thing that Excel ($150 - $500) does, putting you at a finacial advantage. Also, just another quick point, Calc is open source and anyone computer language savvy can change how the program runs and does different things. Excel can not do this.
 However, Excel has one major factor that is especially usefull when sharing your data across various systems. It is compatible with nearly every version of windows and linux only requires a few drivers to be installed to view the file (which doesn't take long). Another handy attribute is that even if you haven't blown $300 dollars on Excel but you need to view an Excel file, you can still view it as "read only". Open Office does not have this ability and when you have to view a Calc file on a computer that doesn't have Open Office then you are asked to go through an installation process in which you'll probably end up with all their services that you don't want on you're computer. Not good if you already own Microsoft Office.

How are secretaries and typists employment prospects affected by the advent of these office packages?

I personally can't see any disadvantage bestowed upon these occupations. In fact their jobs will just be exactly the same but all the data is typed (which is quicker), updated faster, and saved in a secure hard drive. If they need to look at the same data on a computer on the other side of the building then all they have to do is set up network sharing and just open the file up on the other computer. Ultimatley saving them from carring bundles of paperwork through the building which just isn't as practical.

How Marketing Can Develop An Online Presence

What Is An Online Presence?

An online presence is any existence of an individual or business that can be found via an online search on a search engine and even social network.

How to develop your online presence:

As tv is adding channels by the day and various newspapers are going online, it becomes increasingly difficult to find a dense population of people who you can present your company/concept or product to.

  But there is a new way in the last few years to overcome this problem, and that is social networking.
Millions upon millions of people are constantly glued to social network sites each day and if it is possible to market your product on one of these sites then you will gain a lot more publicity compared to a small time channel on the average joe's Sky+ box, even at peak viewing time.

Facebook allows you to set up different types of pages for getting your product or concept straight to user's news feed very quickly and cheaply. If you get a few people to 'like' and or 'share' your posts then you will gain more publicity because your post will be put on to every person's news feed that the person who originally shared is freinds with. Eventually your post will branch out to hundreds and maybe thousands of people if your product is good enough.

 Social network marketing is great because people can not find a way of scrolling past your post so it makes sure that people see it when it is posted to their news feed. It's like watching tv and not being able to walk out the room when the adverts are on, so those who are watching that channel have no choice but to at least briefly scan over what you're selling.

Quick tips when developing your online presence:

A clear market definition

Understandable and appropriate keywords

Website and/or social media pages that are properly optimized for the search engines

A website and/or social media pages that are aesthetically appealing and properly organized so that any of your visitors immediately understand what your business offers

Complete social media profiles

A clear focus on your target connections and target market

A strategy on how to gain fans, followers and business connections

A strategy on how to promote yourself and/or your business and disseminate your marketing messages

Compelling content and effective calls-to-action

An effective social media marketing campaign for your business

A high volume of traffic on a consistent basis

(source for quick tips: http://www.compukol.com/blog/what-is-an-online-presence/)

How texting has changed and influenced our lives

Texting, in the last century has dramatically changed our social habbits. To expand, humans have always been trying to invent new ways to improve convenience and response times of socialising with people. So it's no surprise to me that in the 20th century we can instantly talk to someone by pushing a few buttons on a tiny hand held device we keep in our pockets.  Seems great...right?

  However, to me it seems that this has not improved our social lives at all. With 150billion texts sent in Britain each year (according to recent reports), there must be people in this day and age that never even see half of their contacts they've stored in their phone. I don't know about you but if I hardly ever met up with my friends or family face to face it would drive me crazy.

  Recent reports show that sms has declined in Britain from 39billion to 38billion. That does not mean lots of people have finally got off their lazy arses and decided to meet up for a coffee. I've noticed in the last year or so that the Blackberry is back in fashion, it's become much more than a businessmans fancy push email device and is now available with Blackberry Messenger so now the average layman can pick one up for about £25 a month and triple their sms rate to hundreds of messages a day. So, sms and Blackberry have killed real life and lured people in to a "better" virtual life where no one has a face, just a name.

 And just one last point, it's not just social lives being affected, it can take a life too. Texting whilst driving can not just kill you because you wern't concentrating it can take other people's lives to.

Test Week Work November 2012 - ICT and Legislation

Macromedia Virtual Classroom

Macromedia Virtual Classroom

Unable to complete because resources are incorrect.

How has the world of entertainment changed over the years?

How has the world of entertainment changed over the years?

Today we take most technology we use for granted.

Things such as:

• Mobile Phones
• Personal Computers
• MP3 Player
• Games Consoles

etc.

There has to be a starting point for each of these products. Or a process of which they have gone through to become widely accessible for the public to use.

This is known as the PROJECT LIFE CYCLE. Here is diagram to explain this theory.

 

 

 

 



Mobile Phones:

History

• During the 1950s, mobile phone technology was used extensively in trains throughout Europe. Radio communication was common in the United States in taxicabs and emergency vehicles. Car phones were luxury items that spread slowly in popularity. Their great weight, size and cost limited mobile phones to the extraordinarily wealthy. The technology did not catch on until the FCC approved commercial cellular phone service in 1982. Within several years, they were a mass market product.

Function

• The first generation of mobile phones (commonly referred to as 1G) made analog transmissions only--meaning that they transmitted data through a sliding scale of information, rather than through binary code as in digital transmissions. The transmission protocol that the phones used was almost entirely determined by the FCC regulations regarding bandwidth usage. The FCC restricts what frequencies are allowed for use for certain purposes by selected licensed companies. The mobile phones of this period were very hefty--often weighing two to four pounds--and cost thousands of dollars.

Geography

• Mobile phone technology developed around the world at roughly the same pace as in the US. Japan and Europe deregulated their airwaves at a slightly quicker pace than in the US. Mobile phones were launched first in Japan in 1979, for example, years before they entered the market in the US. However, the first mobile phone in the US was launched by an American company, Motorola. Europe, Japan and South Korea adopted third generation (3G) phone standards much faster than in the US during the early 2000s, in part due to slower deregulation in the US.

Effects

• The advance of computer miniaturization during the 1980s allowed mobile phone companies to shrink down the size of their briefcase units to handheld phones by the late 1980s. In the 1990s, very small phones became common, as did those with significant additional features, such as note-taking, personal organization and e-mail. Second generation (2G) phones that used digital transmission--most significantly making it possible to send and receive SMS text messages--became common throughout the world beginning in 1990.

The Personal Computer:

Benefits

• In just a few short decades, mobile phone technology has greatly enhanced human communication. People can stay in touch with their friends and family at all times. Workers can collaborate with one another instantaneously, around the world, at any time and in any place. The most advanced phones can browse the internet at high speeds and run complex applications that would have taxed an advanced computer just 20 years ago. Modern phones can serve as GPS systems, provide mobile video feedback, trade stocks and much more. In the developing world, cell phones have provided low-cost communications infrastructure, connecting the world's poorest people to the global marketplace like never before.

Early Inventions

• Originally referred to as microcomputers, personal computers came into existence after two pivotal inventions. In 1959, a device known as the integrated circuit was created. It allowed for computer-memory circuits to be much smaller, thus allowing the machines to be portable. The other invention, the microprocessor, was first introduced in 1971. Microprocessors reduced computers' central processing units to the size of a single silicon chip.

Competitors

• Several companies, many no longer in existence, quickly followed MITS in the growing personal computer market. Some of the companies releasing personal computers in the late 1970s included Apple, Commodore, Northgate, Zenith and Zeos.

Growth in the 1980s

• According to CNET, personal computer sales shot up dramatically in the early 1980s when businesses began introducing computers into the workplace. IBM began manufacturing computers specifically for businesses because of this trend. Personal computer sales rose from 609,000 in 1975 to 1.6 million in 1981. From one year to the next, the number of personal computers manufactured and sold throughout the 1980s surged.

Pre-Internet Advancements

• Early personal computers were used primarily for word processing, storing information and playing video games. As further technological refinements were made, and consumer demand continued to rise, new features were added. Some of these enhancements through the 1990s included CD-ROMs, hardware used for playing multimedia, and Zip drives, which were used in lieu of floppy disks and had greater memory storage capabilities.

Windows and the Internet

• Starting in the mid 1990s, and into the new millennium, features on personal computers began to change dramatically. By the mid-1990s, Microsoft introduced its Windows platform, which made navigating a personal computer more user-friendly from any of the models introduced in the prior 20 years. Also in the mid-1990s, the World Wide Web also started taking off, and Internet browsers proliferated as memory capacity increased.

Modern Computers

• Personal computers manufactured and sold after the turn of the 21st century are far more versatile than preceding models. As technological advancements have continued, computer users today can watch movies, download music, store photos and perform tasks that weren't possible on most PC models before 2000.

 

MP3 Player:

 

Format History

• Invented by an international team led by Fraunhofer-Gesellshaft, a German company, the MP3 digital audio format stands for MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3. MPEG stands for Moving Picture Experts Group. Since its invention in 1991, MP3 has risen to replace and dominate all other digital audio formats because of its high quality-to-size compression ratio. With the invention of flash-based memory, MP3 players took off, eventually replacing the CD-based Discman.

Eiger Labs MPMan F10

• SaeHan Information Systems, a Seoul-based company, developed the first MP3 player sold in North America. It was imported by Eiger Labs and branded the MPMan. Appearing in stores in 1998, the MPMan had 32MB of memory and was very compact. It could not be upgraded easily, and most users found the MPMan difficult to use.

Diamond Rio PMP300

• Soon after the MPMan, a company called Diamond Multimedia launched the Diamond Rio PMP300. With a built-in screen and easy-to-use navigation, the Diamond Rio was similar to modern simple MP3 players, but like the MPMan, only had a 32MB storage capacity. Its high retail price and poor branding made the Rio popular only among a niche group.

The iPod

• MP3 players gained in popularity through the early 2000s with many manufacturers taking advantage of the new market. Hundreds of models in various styles were produced, and each had its own loyal following. In 2001, when the first iPod launched, the MP3 player was an established portable music player but the style and ease of use of the iPod opened up whole new consumer groups. Soon Apple dominated the market and continues to this day.

Future

• MP3 players have continued to evolve with more features and more storage capacity. Many new devices like PDAs, personal media players and smart phones have integrated MP3 players. Soon, MP3 players as pure music players will probably disappear and be replaced with these multi-purpose devices exemplified by the Apple iPhone.

Timeline - History of MP3

• 1987 - The Fraunhofer Institut in Germany began research code-named EUREKA project EU147, Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB).
• January 1988 - Moving Picture Experts Group or MPEG was established as a subcommittee of the International Standards Organization/International Electrotechnical Commission or ISO/IEC.
• April 1989 - Fraunhofer received a German patent for MP3.
• 1992 - Fraunhofer's and Dieter Seitzer’s audio coding algorithm was integrated into MPEG-1.
• 1993 - MPEG-1 standard published.
• 1994 - MPEG-2 developed and published a year later.
• November 26, 1996 - United States patent issued for MP3.
• September 1998 - Fraunhofer started to enforce their patent rights. All developers of MP3 encoders or rippers and decoders/players now have to pay a licensing fee to Fraunhofer.
• February 1999 - A record company called SubPop is the first to distribute music tracks in the MP3 format.
• 1999 - Portable MP3 players appear.

Games Consoles:

First Generation
The origin of video game console can be traced back to the 1950s, when computer games using vector displays, not video screens, came to the scene. But, it was Magnavox that released the first console, Magnavox Odyssey, which had a video display. Initially, the Odyssey was successful only to some extent, and it was Atari's arcade game called Pong which loudly announced the entry of video games and took the public attention to the emerging industry. By 1975, Magnavox frantically suspended the sales of the Odyssey and released a new scaled down console, the Odyssey 100, that played only Pong and hockey. A higher end console called the Odyssey 200 was simultaneously released with the 100, and had added features like onscreen scoring, ability to support up to four players and had a third game - Smash. So, it was this year in which gaming consoles vigorously initiated this consumer market. This phase in the development of video game consoles is called the first generation.

Second Generation
In 1976, the Fairchild Video Entertainment System (VES) was released. This console made the first true use of the cartridge as game storage device. Previously there had been other consoles like the Odyssey that used cartridges, but had no data and served a function similar to flipping switches. The VES, on the other hand, had a programmable microprocessor and the cartridges only required a single chip (ROM) to store the processor's instructions. Soon RCA and Atari introduced their own cartridge-based consoles.

Third Generation
In 1983, Japanese gaming giant Nintendo introduced the Family Computer, also known as Famicom in Japan. It supported high-resolution sprites and with more colored tiled backgrounds. This facilitated games in Famicom to be longer and have higher graphics detailing. Famicom came over to the US in 1985 in the form of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and almost instantly gained immense popularity.

Fourth Generation
In October 1988, Sega, another electronics baron, retrieved market share by releasing its own high featured console in Japan called the Mega Drive. It was released in the U.S. in August 1989 under the brand name of Sega Genesis and in Europe a year later. Two years after this, Nintendo released its extremely popular Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). This era was a watershed in the history of video games, when video game consoles were fiercely demanded by kids across north America.

Fifth Generation
Initial fifth generation consoles included the Atari Jaguar and the 3DO, which were loaded with many more features than the Super Nintendo. But, the 3DO was more costly than the SNES and Genesis combined together while the Jaguar was not easily programmable leading to both consoles being discontinued in 1996. However, it was in this era, on December 3, 1994, that Sony's PlayStation was released in Japan and nine months later in North America. The PlayStation could have been a result of a business partnership between Sony and Nintendo to make a CD based add-on for the SNES. But, this was not to be and Nintendo walked out of the deal approached Philips. With the PS project nearing completion, Sony used its own resources and marketed this console under its own brand name, which was, undoubtedly, a landmark event.

Sixth Generation
This generation saw consoles moving towards PC-like features and mulled a shift towards using DVDs for storing game media. This led to enhanced playing experience as games were longer and had spectacular visually effects. Furthermore, this generation saw another noticeable development in the history of game consoles. There was experimentation with LAN type online console gaming and introductions of flash drives and hard drives for game data storage. Consoles like Sega's Dreamcast, Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft XBox belonged to this era.

Seventh Generation
The most remarkable feature introduced in this time period was the new disc formats - Blu-ray Disc and the HD DVD, the later one getting discontinued soon. The use of motion as input, IR tracking (implemented on the Wii and demonstrated on the PS3) and standard wireless controllers were the highlights of this generation game consoles. This era included Microsoft's XBox 360, Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii game console which are the most sought after consoles today.

This is where we can sum up the evolution of video games and gaming consoles. The experience on modern-day gaming consoles is on a completely different level and all its spectacular features can be attributed to the immense effort put over these eras.

Sources: ehow.com and buzzle.com

 

I looked at various other websites such as techradar.com and cnet.com but ehow and buzzle produced the simplest and most straight forward explanation in an almost timeline like format.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Types Of Online Education

Use A learning Object

Advantages and Disadvantages Of e-Learning

Advantages of e-Learning

• Class work can be scheduled around personal and professional work, resulting in flexible learning.
• Reduces travel cost and time to and from school
• Learners may have the option to select learning materials that meets their level of knowledge and interest
• Learners can study wherever they have access to a computer and Internet
• Self-paced learning modules allow learners to work at their own pace
• Flexibility to join discussions in the bulletin board threaded discussion areas at any hour, or visit with classmates and instructors remotely in chat rooms
• Different learning styles are addressed and facilitation of learning occurs through varied activities
• Development of computer and Internet skills that are transferable to other facets of learner's lives
• Successfully completing online or computer-based courses builds self-knowledge and self-confidence and encourages students to take responsibility for their learning

Disadvantages of e-Learning

• Unmotivated learners or those with poor study habits may fall behind
• Lack of familiar structure and routine may take getting used to
• Students may feel isolated or miss social interaction thus the need to understanding different learning styles and individual learner needs.
• Instructor may not always be available on demand
• Slow or unreliable Internet connections can be frustrating
• Managing learning software can involve a learning curve
• Some courses such as traditional hands-on courses can be difficult to simulate

Employment Oppertunities

Employment Opportunities

New Jobs (those that were created by the technology)

• Web Designer
• Network Administrator
• IT Consultant
• IT Teacher
• Games Designer
• IT technicians
• Computer Sales
• Software Engineers
• Hardware Engineer
• Manufacturer of Technology
• Programmers
• Technical Support (Call Centres)
• Computer Security System Designer & Testers
• U-Tube Video makers
• Website managers
• Database managers

Jobs that have changed

• Sky Television Installers (there were TV installers before satellite TV was invented)
• Bloggers (previously pamphlets makers)
• Accounts
• Banking
• Shop Workers
• Film Makers
• Music Makers
• Postal Workers
• Typists (reduced as more people able to write their own letters)

Jobs that have reduced or disappeared

• shorthand typists
• ticket collectors on stations
• gas light lighters
• chimney sweeps
• thatchers
• fletchers
• stage coach drivers (became taxi drivers)
• domestic servants (new technology has meant people could do these things themselves oremploy fewer people to do the same amount of work)

Net Frog

Net Frog (http://frog.edschool.virginia.edu/Frog2/)

Net Frog is a website which allows the user to interact with a simulation of disecting a frog.

Here is an image of the first screen you are brought to:

 It tells you why you should disect a frog, offers resources and research towards frog disection. This is very useful if you are not familiar with what the site is about and even if you are knew to learning biology.

As you begin to flick between each slide, you may notice that the website looks very basic, almost as if it was made by Microsoft Front Page. It could do with being updated to look modern and maybe a little bit more elegant or classy to compensate for the people that find frog disection an unsettling subject.

However, despite the lack of artistic vision, each slide comes complete with a clear heading putting each step in to a nutshell, and giving you more detail in little bullet points. So despite the basic look of the website it is proving itself to be clear and straight to the point providing at least some clarity for the user.

If you have a reading disability or are just to lazy to read the steps it provides on each slide, you may notice the cute little audio clip, or 'narrative' as they call it. This will also come in useful for auditory learners. Some slides even provide a video for people who like seeing frogs corpses being totally destroyed and for those who learn better through visual aids.

If you are new to the linguistics of biology or more specificaly frog disection, certain key words are highlighted in blue and underlined. Upon the act of clicking these words a new window will be opened to give you a definition of that word.

There are also images next to the slide showing you where the knife should go, what organs are where etc.

Out of the ridiculous large sum of slides it provides, it finally gives you a review of what you've been doing and encourages you to keep learning by providing you with links to revision sites etc.

Overall, it makes a good but somewhat flawed attempt at looking classy, it needs visual updates (how the page looks, the layout is simple but effective (yeah I know that's a cliche phrase that middle school students use when describing things) but it's true. It's clear, not over complicated, it's great for finacially challenged schools and easy to learn from for people with minor disabilities.

HOLY LORD THIS POST WAS GOOD.

Explore Learning Objects & Simulations

http://www.makingthemodernworld.org.uk/stories/ is a website that provides a small service to help educate people who do not know very much about "personal computers and information networks".

The purpose of this site is to educate people on the evolution of personal computers and IT. It starts off by giving a little background information from the evolution of using mainframe computers to to 'personal machines' used for communication.  It takes you through different sections of IT history and tells you what section you are in with this sidebar:

 

Each section tells you information relavent to the name of the section you are in. Significant people, significant inventions and events that affect the course of how our ICT is made up today.

The problem that I find with some of the sections is that it will give you a lot of jargon without fully (or not at all) explaining what it is.

 

The site itself is clear and seperates/intergrates navigation with the topic you are looking for well so anyone not familiar with the resourse will know where they are at with in the site.

 

E-Government & the Digital Divide

E-Government & the Digital Divide

What Is 'E-Government'?

E-Government is  ‘the employment of the Internet and the world-wide-web for delivering government information and services to the citizens.’-United Nations.

 

What is 'the digital divide'?

 A digital divide is an inequality between groups, broadly construed, in terms of access to, use of, or knowledge of information and communication technologies (ICT) - Wikipedia

Information access capability gulf that separates those who are connected to the internet and those who are not. -technologysource.org

National IT Services

The majority of libraires in the UK now have computers ready for use for the general public. They provide you with a free login and you have an hour per day to use the internet. This is helpful for the government because they can now send information to people quicker and cheaper now that everyone has access to a computer.

Quick Facts on how IT is being used today:

 

 

 For more information on national services visit: direct.gov.uk

Here is a screen snap from the direct gov website, this should halp give you an idea of the national online services they can help you with:

 

 

Plan A Journey

Plan A Journey (via AA Route Planner)

From Shakespeare Road, Bedford to Tottenham Court Road Underground Station, London
Distance: 57.4 miles (show in km) | Time: 1 hr 29 min

Road	Distance (miles)	Directions	Total (miles)
A5141	0.00	Start out on Shakespeare Road	0.00
A5141	0.30	At roundabout take the 2nd exit, then at mini-roundabout turn left onto the A5141 Signposted Kempston	0.30
	0.17	Bedford Railway Station	0.47
	0.21	At mini-roundabout turn left onto the A5141 Signposted All routes	0.68
A5141	0.08	At roundabout take the 3rd exit onto the A5141 Signposted Kempston B531	0.76
	0.36	At traffic signals turn right onto the A5141 (not shown) Signposted Luton M1	1.12
	0.27	At traffic signals turn right onto the A6 Signposted Luton	1.39
	0.30	Warning: Speed Cameras along the A5141	1.69
	0.63	At traffic signals continue forward onto the A5141 Signposted Luton A6	2.33
	0.09	At mini-roundabout continue forward onto the A5141 Signposted Luton A6	2.42
	0.20	At traffic signals continue forward onto the A5141 Signposted Luton A6	2.62
A421	0.24	At roundabout take the 4th exit, then merge onto the A421 Signposted M1, Milton Keynes	2.86
	1.09	At Marsh Leys Junction continue forward onto the A421 Signposted Milton Keynes	3.95
	6.90	Branch left, then at traffic signals turn left onto the A421 Signposted M1 South	10.84
M1	0.46	At roundabout take the 2nd exit, then join the M1 motorway Signposted London	11.30
	7.35	Toddington Service Area	18.66
	9.08	Warning: Speed Cameras along the M1	27.74
	0.67	Holiday Inn (Luton-South M1, Jct.9)	28.41
	7.24	Continue forward at junction 6a Signposted London	35.65
	9.24	London Gateway Service Area (WELCOME BREAK)	44.89
	4.84	End of Motorway (junction 1)	49.73
A406	0.12	At roundabout take the 1st exit, then merge onto the A406 Signposted N Circular (E), C. London, Wood Green	49.85
A41	0.48	At Brent Cross Interchange branch left, then at roundabout take the 3rd exit, then merge onto the A41 Signposted Kilburn, Cricklewood, C London	50.33
	0.59	Warning: Speed Cameras along the A41	50.92
	0.84	At traffic signals continue forward Signposted Central London, Kilburn, Swiss Cottage	51.76
	0.32	At traffic signals turn right onto Finchley Road - A41 Signposted C. London, Kilburn, Swiss Cottage	52.08
	1.18	Finchley Road Underground Station	53.26
	0.32	At Swiss Cottage, traffic signals continue forward	53.57
	0.13	Take right-hand lane and at tarffic signals turn right, then merge onto the A41 Signposted Central London, St Johns Wood	53.70
	0.08	At traffic signals turn left onto Finchley Road - A41 Signposted Central London, St Johns Wood	53.78
	0.52	St Johns Wood Underground Station	54.30
	0.43	At roundabout take the 2nd exit onto the A41 Signposted Central London, Marylebone	54.73
	0.61	Keep in left-hand lane then continue forward onto Allsop Place Signposted Ring Road A501, The City, Kings Cross	55.34
A501	0.19	Turn left onto Marylebone Road - A501	55.53
	0.06	Madame Tussaud's	55.58
	0.33	Regents Park Underground Station	55.91
	0.25	Warning: Speed Cameras along the A501	56.16
	0.00	At Euston Underpass branch left Signposted Camden Town, Westminster	56.16
A400	0.13	At traffic signals turn right then left onto the A400 Signposted West End, Westminster, Holborn	56.29
A400	0.13	Then at next traffic signals bear right take right-hand lane then shortly	56.42
	0.07	Continue forward onto the A400 Central London Congestion Charges Apply Mon-Fri 7am-6pm	56.48
A40	0.72	At Shaftesbury Theatre, traffic signals turn right then bear right onto the A40 Signposted St Giles Circus, Euston	57.20
	0.11	Branch left Signposted Local Access	57.31
A400	0.09	At traffic signals turn right onto the A400	57.40
	0.03	Arrive on Charing Cross Road	57.43
		Section time 1:29, Total time 1:29 The following directions from this point are from walkit.com: Distance Time Calories CO2 Saved 0.7 miles 10 mins (fast) 77 Cal (fast) 0.08 kg tube 1.1 km 14 mins (med) 69 Cal (med) 0.22 kg car 1555 steps 21 mins (slow) 67 Cal (slow) 0.16 kg bus I looked at various route/direction planning websites such as Bing and Google but the layout wasn't clear and it sometimes wouldn't take you to where you want to go. On the other hand, AA route planner gives clear step by step instructions, times, and even services, in effect this is a lot more convinient and also safer for the person using the instructions due to service and stopping locations. Since the AA instructions only took me to Charring Cross Road and not exactly on to Tottenham Court road, I used walkit.com to walk there since it's not to far away (only 0.7miles). This activity makes it clear that technology does not have a built in 'initiative' so you have to be very precise on where you want to go otherwise you can end up in places you don't want to be. This analogy applies to technology in general. Cost: Approx £8 (average 40-50 mpg). Traffic and congestion will affect price.