AS Level ICT - Topic 6d Uses of ICT in the Home

Use of ICT for Playing Games

- Games are important drivers in the computer industry and many home computers used to play games have more processing power than many computers used in a business setting

 - For fast action computer games it is necessary to use a fast processor, a large screen, a large amount of RAM, a disk drive with plenty of storage capacity, a high quality graphics card, a high quality sound card and large powerful speakers

Advantages of computer games - learn from them, makes learning fun, encourages team work and it can lead to well-paid employment as a games designer etc.

Disadvantages of computer games - Addictive, obesity, violence causes violence, wastes time, health problems

The Use of ICT for Photography

- Digital cameras and computers with image editing software have allowed people to produce inexpensive high quality photographs

 - Digital images can be shared by attaching them to e-mails, they can be sent via mobile phones, they can be passed to social networking sites and they can be edited

 - Using editing software and a digital image you can copy part of an image, add text, re-size, crop, remove red eye, alter the file format and apply filters

Music - Downloads from the Internet

- Become popular due to the ease with which they can be obtained, the ability to just download tracks that you want, you can burn the tracks to a CD and due to the ease with which they can be loaded onto portable players such as i-Pods, MP3 players and mobile phones

Problems with downloads - Avoiding to pay, cut off from Internet and no actual CD

Making Music - MIDI, Sequencers, Notators and Sound Wave Editors

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)

- Hardware and Software designed to MIDI standards are able to send digital messages to MIDI devices like keyboards

 - The digital messages contain information about pitch, loudness, vibrato and the tempo

Sequencers

- Hardware or software used to create and manage electronic music

 - Examples include drum machines, music workstations

Notators

- Piece of software that allows you to compose your own music by entering notes via the keyboard, a MIDI system and scanning a piece of music on paper -> The Notator allows you to experiment and it can be used to make music for individual musical instruments which can then be played together  to create a final piece of music

Sound Wave Editors

- Sound wave editors are software which allow editing of sound waves

 - You can edit, cut, copy and paste sound waves

 - They can also be used to change a person's speech pattern

Interactive Digital TV Services

- Features include playing games, shopping, using e-mail, placing bets, etc.

Pay-to-view Services

- Subscription based services where you pay a monthly fee for digital TV services like satellite channels and other services, cable TV and other services, etc.

Pay-per-view Services

- Include video on demand and some major sporting events

Home On-line / Interactive Shopping

- Refer to Topic 6a (More detail on this part)

On-line Booking Systems

- Need to make bookings for a theatre or concert ticket, a flight or holiday, a train ticket or car hire

 - Using the Internet you can check the availability and prices of some flights and holidays, you can make savings when you book direct, you can read reports of people who have been on the same holiday that you intend to book, you can arrange your own travel + accommodation and you can find out about the resort before you go

 - Less mistakes are likely to be made due to the fact that the customers enter their own details and you don't have to pay them either

 - Savings are passed to the customers because there are fewer costs for printing and staff

E-mail

- E-mails are free and this cheap type of communication is brilliant for families who want to keep in touch with each other -> Attachments can be made too (photos and short videos)

Advantages of it - Very fast, quick to write, saves time searching for original e-mail, cheaper than a letter, no need to leave the house, no time wasted shopping, file attachments and document / diagram is in digital form

Disadvantages of it - Not everyone has the equipment to send and receive e-mail, junk mail, hacking, relies on people checking their e-mail regularly, older people may fell left out, EQUIPMENT to send and receive e-mail is quite expensive

Interactive Services (Betting, Voting and Dating)

On-line Bettings

Advantages - Don't have to leave the house, special Internet offers, faster and pick up earnings straightaway

Disadvantages - Credit / debit card is required, addictive, more gambling (CC and not cash)

On-line Voting

Advantages - Eliminates need to print paper ballot forms, votes would be counted much faster and more accurately and voters could vote from anywhere in the world

Disadvantages - Not everyone has access to the Internet so polling booths will still be needed, the system is more open to abuse by hackers etc. and older people may not understand the new system

Teletext Services

- Broadcast service which means it comes to our TVs as a TV signal and this means that it doesn't slow down when more users access the service

 - Useful service for finding information like the weather and news

 - Teletext only offers limited pages and it is non-interactive meaning you have to go through lots of pages to find the information you actually want

Mobile Phones

- When they were first invented they were simply the mobile equivalent of an ordinary telephone

 - Mobile phones now offer a huge range of features e.g. sending and receiving texts and taking digital photographs

What a Bank Does

- They keep your money safe and allows you to withdraw it when required, issue you a cheque book so that you can pay bills using the post, issue you with credit or debit cards etc.

 - Banks are closing because their customers are banking in a different way, they are banking from home via the Internet or via a telephone

Advantages - More convenient, don't have to wait in a long queue and they can bank 24/7

 - Banks have fewer loyal customers as the customers constantly change accounts for the best deal

Disdvantages - More well-off people are the ones who are able to take advantages of higher saving rates and lower borrowing rates offered, poorer people may see their local branch shut down. -> Because there is no costly branch network for the banks to pay for, they can offer customers more interest and cheaper mortgages and loans

EFTPOS (Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale) and EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer)

EFTPOS is the method used by stores to transfer money from customers' credit or debit cards directly to the store bank account

 - When a debit card is used, the customer is usually asked at a store if they would like cash back which takes money from their bank account and gives them cash

 - EFT enables you to move money from one bank account to another electronically and lots of people now us EFT when they pay bills

Advantages of On-line Banking - 24/7, no need to keep paper statements, import data in bank statements into spreadsheet or budgeting software, saves time, best rate of interest etc.

Disadvantages of On-line Banking - Hacking, cannot get cash so you still need to visit a cash machine and older people may prefer the personal service offered by a conventional bank

Card Services (Credit and Debit Cards)

Credit and Debit Cards

- Most popular electronic payment for on-line payments

 - Most credit / debit cards are chip and PIN which means there is a small chip on the card containing encrypted data that only the reader in the store can read

 - Chip and PIN has reduced card fraud but owing to the rise of transactions where the customer is not present there has been a total increase in credit / debit card fraud

PayPal

 - Set up for users of e-Bay to pay for goods they had bought

 - Useful for consumers who wish to pay for goods quickly from e-Bay and don't want to give details to firms or individuals that they know nothing about

Nochex

- Bit like PayPal but is UK based and it gives a secure on-line payment system

 - It allows you to send payments to other people without giving them your card details

 - You create an account, you put money into your account using your credit or debit card and you then buy goods on-line and then transfer money from your Nochex account to the seller

Splash Plastic

- Can be used to make payments in the same way as any bank card

 - Aimed at people who don't have a bank account or bank card

Card Crimes and Methods of Prevention

- Lost and stolen card fraud is where cards are physically stolen and then someone would pose as you buying goods and services using them -> Chip and PIN has reduced this

 - Counterfeit cards - Clone of your card is made and a piece of equipment is used to read the data on the magnetic ***** and then transfer the information to a fake card which has been embossed with the same card number -> Fake card is used fraudently to pay for goods and services

 - Card not present fraud - Criminals find card details in your rubbish by adding a program to your computer or by using fake e-mails from your bank asking you for the information

 - Phishing - Fraudsters send random e-mails asking people who are using the on-line banking system to update their account details and when the user clicks on the link they are taken to a fake website which looks similar to the proper bank site -> Then it asks for details

Identity Theft

- Occurs when a criminal uses your fraudulently obtined personal info to open or access banking services or credit cards

 - By getting info the criminals can take over the running of your account

Banks Impose Home Chip and PIN Machines to Fight Fraud

- Most banks are starting to supply customers with their own home chip and PIN devices to help identify them when they are accessing on-line bank accounts or using cards for on-line purchases

 - Banks are hoping that these devices will beat fraudsters as they will be independent of a user's computer

 - This will therefore prevent scams