A Level IT

1
A Level IT

• Role of Communication Systems

2
Aim

• To examine the role and importance of
  communications systems

3
Objectives

• By the end of the lesson you should
• understand how comms systems are used
• understand how the importance of comms systems
  has grown in recent years
• understand how the internet has grown in use over
  recent years

4
Communication systems

• To conduct business must have communications
• IT and Communications linked - Telecommunications
• Transmission of data of all kinds over different
  communications mediums
• Telephone, Cable, Microwave, Satellite

5
The Internet

• Largest wide area network
• Not a single network but a network of networks
• LAN (Local Area Network)
• WAN (Wide Area Network)
• 4 computers in 1969
• 200 by 1979 in US Military and research estab
• Now 4M Hosts as many as 50M people

6
The World Wide Web

• Collection of pages stored throughout world
• Joined by Hypertext links
• Uses Web Browsing software
• Internet Explorer and Netscape

7
On-line information services

• Services usually provided by ISP
• News
• Travel
• Holidays
• Shopping
• Education
• Entertainment

8
Electronic bulletin boards

• Internet Sites
• Groups of people with similar interests
• Enables user to exchange ideas and information
  and discuss issues E.g.
• Open learning providers
• Software manufacturers
• Doctors
• also less savoury groups like paedophiles and
  terrorist groups and extremists

9
Intranets

• Company wide network run on similar lines to
  Internet
• Allows sharing of info, docs, databases.
• Can allow external users (customers) access.
• Latest software Internet ready
• Allows general user to Web Publish

10
Electronic mail (E-mail)

• Allows user to send memos, letters and files to
  any other user with an E-Mail address
• E-mail has many advantages over both ordinary
  mail and the telephone. For example
• A message can be sent from your desk to anywhere
  in the world at the price of a local call
• The same message can be sent simultaneously to a
  group of people

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E-mail Advantages (cont)

• Message will arrive in at most a few hours, can
  be picked up the next time recipient looks at
  their e-mail
• It is easy to reply to an e-mail as soon as
  received, using a Reply button
• Long files inc video, sound and graphics can be
  sent automatically when the cheap rate starts
  after 6pm
• Graphics and text can be electronically
  transmitted and placed in a document by the
  recipient

12
Facsimile transmission (Fax)

• Indispensable to even the smallest business
• Greatly speeds up business transactions
• Scans and digitises images (text or graphics)
• Transmits them in analogue form over a telephone
  line to another fax machine, which then produces
  a copy of the image on a piece of paper

13
Voice Mail

• Sophisticated answering machine
• Acts as automated switchboard
• Hello this is
• Press 1 for
• Press 2 for
• Leave a message after the tone..
• Message can be saved, forwarded or deleted

14
Teleconferencing

• Allows people in diff locs to exchange ideas
  and info via telephone or E-mail
• Videoconferencing - see and hear
• Need
• Video cameras
• Microphones
• Large monitors
• Special software

15
Task

• Read Case study page 26
• Do questions on page 28
• 1, 2