Analyzing Technology Issues

Computer Basics

The Impact of Technology on

Education• Education

– Internet– Distance Learning- Using Technology

as a medium for schooling or learning.– Computer-Based Learning- Using a

computer as a tutor– Simulations- Models a real-world

activity.

The Impact of Technology on

Science• Science

– Artificial Intelligence- tries to improve computers by endowing them with some of the characteristics associated with human intelligences.

– Genetic Engineering- changing DNA in living organisms

– Virtual Reality- an artificial environment that appears to feel like a real environment

• Multinational Economy• Electronic Commerce- having an

online business.

The Impact of Technology on Work

• The flying car• Voice recognition • Space travel• Smart houses• Electronic shopping

The Impact of Technology on Our

Lives

Exploring Technology Careers

• Business and Office– Administrative Assistant– Desktop Publisher/Graphic Designer

• Network Support and Administration– PC Support Specialist– Manager of Information Systems

• Web-Based– Web Developer– Web Master

Computer Crimes

• A criminal act committed through the use of a computer. It can also involve the theft of a computer and any equipment associated with the computer.

Types of Computer Crimes

• Computer fraud– Conduct that involves the manipulation of a

computer or computer data in order to obtain money, property, or value dishonestly or to cause loss.

• Computer hacking– Involves invading someone else’s computer,

usually for personal gain or just the satisfaction of invasion.

Other Computer Crimes

• Theft of computer time– An employee uses a company’s

computer for personal use such as running a small business, keeping records of an outside organization, or keeping personal records.

• Data diddling– Changing data before it is entered into

the computer or after is has been entered into the computer.

Computer Viruses

A virus is a program that has been written to cause corruption of data on

a computer.

Types of Computer Viruses

• Worm• Makes many copies of itself, resulting in the consumption

of system resources that slows down or actually halts tasks.

• Time bomb• Virus that does not cause its damage until a certain date

or until the system has been booted a certain number of times.

• Logic bomb• Virus triggered by the appearance or disappearance of

specified data.• Trojan horse

• Virus that does something different from what it is expected to do.

Privacy and Security Issues

• Any time you submit information on the Internet, it is possible for the information to be gathered by many persons and used for various situations including being sold. Information can be gathered from online sources such as schools, banks, hospitals, insurance companies, and many other sources.

Security Measures

Maintain and Enforce Security Measures such as:

• Passwords• Electronic identification cards• Firewalls• Antivirus software• Selective hiring process

Advantages and Uses of Telecommunications

• Telecommunication involves electronically transferring data.– Distance learning

• Allows the user to take classes without being physically present.

– Teleconferencing• Provides conferencing capabilities from

several locations without leaving the office, reduces costs for time and travel.

What is a browser?

• The software program that you use to retrieve documents from the World Wide Web (WWW) and to display them in a readable format.

• Examples:– Internet Explorer– Netscape Communicator

Title bar

• The bar on top of the window that contains the name of the document.

• A horizontal menu that appears on top of a window.

Provides a selection of options related to the Web page.

Menu Bar

• Icons for single-click access to most commonly used menu commands.

Tool bar

• Contains the URL, or address, of the active Web page; also where you type the location for the Web page you want to visit.

Address bar

• Connects you to address displayed in the Address bar. Document Window displays the active Web Page

Go button

• Located at the bottom of the browser; shows the progress of Web page transactions.

Status bar

• A small picture in the upper right corner of the browser; when animated, it means your browser is accessing data from a remote computer.

Access Indicator

• Vertical and horizontal scroll bars; lets you scroll vertically and horizontally if the Web page is too long or too wide to fit within one screen.

Scroll bars

What is Email?

• Email, or electronic mail, is similar to regular mail. You have a message, an address, and a carrier that figures out how to get it from one location to another.

• Email is used to stay in touch with family and friends, conduct business, and send attachments such as text and image files.

Advantages and Uses of Email

• Faster way to communicate and respond• Quick and easy way to send messages• Forward messages to other individuals• Send messages to multiple individuals• Include attachments such as pictures,

audio files, and documents

Email Terminology

• Inbox• Outbox• Sent Items• Deleted Items• Drafts• New Message• Send• Address Book

Electronic Mail Addresses

The address consists of three parts:• The user name of the individual• The @ symbol• The user’s domain name

Example: rsmith@yahoo.com

What is a search engine?

• A tool that lets you find Web pages that match a particular word or phrase.

• Examples of search engines:– Altavista– Google– HotBot– InfoSeek– Excite

Search Engine Terminology

• Search expression• Index• Spiders or bots• Meta tags• Directory• Keyword search• Hyperlink

Background of the Internet

• Early origin in 1960s• Closely tied to a networking project

started by a governmental division called the Advanced Research Projects Agency.

• Original name: ARPANET• Created so that scientists were able

to share information on military and scientific research.

Features of the Internet

• The World Wide Web– Began in March 1989 when Tim

Berners-Lee wrote a small computer program for his personal use.

Web Protocols• HTML

– Hypertext Markup Language• A series of tags that are integrated into

text documents and describes how the text should be formatted when a Web browser displays it on the screen.

• HTTP– Hypertext Transfer Protocol

• Standard that defines how messages are formatted and transmitted.

Chat Rooms• Using the computer to create real-

time communication between yourself and another user or a group of users.– Internet Relay Chat (IRC)

• A text-based chat developed by Jarkko Oikarinen in 1988.

• One of the most widely used chat forums on the Internet today.

Chat Options• Web chat

– Incorporates graphics, audio and video– Hosted by search engines such as Yahoo,

Snap, and Excite.• Proprietary chat

– Requires that you download and install software from a company.

– Examples are Microsoft Chat, AOL, and Prodigy.

• Buddy lists– You specify your list of friends and even tell

when they are online.– Examples are ICQ and AOL Messenger

Mailing Lists• A group of people with a shared

interest.• Their email addresses are collected

into a group, and this group is identified by a single name.

• When a message is sent to the group, everyone on the list receives that message.

Newsgroups• A discussion forum or a type of

bulletin board.• Each board is dedicated to

discussion on a particular topic.• USENET

• Worldwide network of computers that facilitates the transmission of messages among the news servers.

Research on the Internet

• Two basic tools used to find information:• Search engines

• Used to search for keywords.• Subject directories

• Used to find specialized topics.

Types of Search Engines

• Keyword Search– Uses keywords to perform search

• Multimedia Search Engines– Used to find graphics, video clips, animation,

and MP3 music files.• Meta Search Engines

– Search several major search engines at one time.

• Subject Directories– Organized by subject categories and

displayed in a series of menus.

Tools and Techniques

• Phrase Searching• Search Engine Math• Boolean Operators• Wildcard Searching• Title Searching

Phrase Searching

• A phrase is entered using double quotation marks and only matches those that appear adjacent to each other and in the order in which you specify.– Example: “baseball cards”

Search Engine Math• Symbols used in formulas to filter

out unwanted listings.– Use the plus symbol (+) before words

that must appear.• Also known as an inclusion operator.

– Use the minus symbol (-) before words that you do not want to appear.• Also known as an exclusion operator.

Boolean Operators

• Boolean logic consists of three logical operators:– AND– NOT– OR

Wildcard Searching• The * symbol, called an asterisk, is

considered a wildcard character.• Used if you don’t know the spelling

of a word– Example: N*Ryan to search for Nolan

Ryan• Used to search plurals or variations

of words.

Title Searching

• Searching the title of a web page.

• When a web page author creates a Web page, the Web page generally contains a HTML title.