Unit 1.3

The role of communication systems
Explanations taken from How Stuff Works, FOLDOC and Learn the Net


Email

Electronic Mail is defined as:
Messages automatically passed from one computer user to another, often through computer networks and/or via modems over telephone lines.

A message begins with several lines of headers, including the address of the recipient, the name and return address of the sender, the time and date that the message was sent and a subject. This is followed by the body of the message. An increasing number of e-mail systems support the MIME standard which allows the message body to contain "attachments" of different kinds rather than just one block of plain ASCII text. It is conventional for the body to end with a signature.

Click here for an animated explanation of how the process works

If you want to know more, check out How stuff works

Teletext

Teletext is a data information service, offering information on demand with no on-line charges.
It is transmitted together with normal television signals. Teletext Ltd, the most successful commercial teletext service in the world, allow viewers to call up around 3,200 pages with regular updates - on a typical day there are around 50,000 updates!
They are owned by Associated Newspapers, Philips Electronics and Media Ventures Ltd.
They have a London based staff of 91. Their service is free and is financed by advertising.
Theirs is the largest holiday advertising medium in the UK. They have 25 transmitter sites around the UK.
A television signal is made up of lines, (625 in the UK) some of which are spare. These are used to carry the teletext information. Televisions with teletext facilities are normally used to receive this data.

What is available on teletext?
Transmitted pages include:

Financial - including share prices, traded options, currencies, commodities, city news, company reports, family finance etc...
Racing - including news, results, tips, totes, greyhounds etc...
Sports - including news, football, cricket, tennis, rugby, speedway etc...
News - including World, UK and regional, News Headlines etc...
Roads and Travel - including roadflashes, motorways, local roads, flights etc...
Holidays & Travel - flight and info (both UK and abroad), skiing, special and early booking offers, bargains of the day, tourist rates etc...
Weather - including both local and national, air quality etc...
Entertainment - including cinemas, music, astrology, fun and games, kids, computer games etc...
Miscellaneous - including regional guides, teens magazine, environment, home and leisure, family finance, whats' on, jobs/advice and much more......

Landline Telephones

Mobile Phones

Fax Machines

Connecting to the internet

Computer users often become confused between the internet and the World Wide Web. They are not the same! The internet is the infrastructure - the servers, cables and computers that are used to connect together in the biggest WAN of all! The World Wide Web is just one way (protocol) for storing information on the internet. It is regulated by W3C the World Wide Web Consortium . There are other formats in which data is stored, eg ftp (file transfer protocol) which allows users to transfer data between computers (you may have uploaded a web page to your ISP using ftp) and store text. It does not allow links between pages. An example of an FTP directory can be found at ftp://ftp.colostate.edu/www/TheWeb/ . Note that the address does not start with HTTP:// (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol, which is used by the WWW) since the FTP protocol is being used.

Hardware

A computer?
This is becoming less necessary as digital television, mobile phones and other devices like the Amstrad Emailer make connection to the net possible.

A modem
A modem is a MOdulator / DEModulator. It changes the electronic signals that the computer produces into sounds that can be transmitted down telephone lines. It's transmission speed (baud rate) is measured in kilobits per second or kbps, but is often just referred to as 'k' (eg 56k)

Read more about modems here

Software

Network utility software
This is needed to activate the modem and dial the number of the ISP. Check out the Start Menu -> Programs -> Accessories -> Communications -> Phone Dialerr on your Windows 9x computer.

Applications software
For accessing the WWW a browser such as Internet explorer is required.

For accessing POP email accounts an email client such as Outlook Express is required.

For FTP access an FTP client is required such as WS-FTP. Gopher and Archie software is also useful for browsing anonymous FTP sites. WhoIs and Finger programs allow users to find other users on the net.

A Chat client like mIRC can be used for online chatting.

Advantages of the internet

Voting

Using the internet

Communications

The internet has dramatically increased the ease of communication throughout the world. Technologies such as instant messaging, email and teleconferencing have made staying in touch with friends, relatives and colleagues very easy. Try to jot down some advantages and disadvantages of these technologies.

Information Searching

The WWW contains a huge amount of information, to which anyone with a connection to the internet can gain access. The sheer number of pages means that it would be nearly impossible to find any useful information without a search engine.

Information dissemination

Dissemination means distribution or sharing. So Information Dissemination is the process of sharing information. The Internet is particularly good at this, since it was specifically designed to be a communications tool. FTP sites are used to store documents and articles. The WWW links information sources together. Bulletin Boards and discussion / conferencing tools allow interested users to 'talk' about the latest developments. Email allows users to be informed when new information is available and where to find it. In short the internet provides a wide range of methods for sharing information.

The Internet as a business tool

See How Stuff Works

Advantages to business

* Larger catalogs - A larger range of products can be presented on-line than in a paper catalog.
* Lower costs - Fewer retail staff and fewer retail outlets are required, saving on wages and rent and reducing both ordering and customer service costs.
* Different ways of shopping - customers can build up an order over several days, or can be encouraged to buy more by using techniques such as 'Customers who bought this product also bought...' Amazon offer customers the chance to make a 'Wish List' so that customers who want to buy gifts can check out what the person actually wants.
* Cheaper and more effective communication with customers - Order confirmation or dispatch emailss can be sent at no cost to the company.

Advantages to the Customer

* Better information about orders - if the company has an order tracking system (like Jungle), then the customer can log on to see if their purchase has been dispatched or not.
* More choice - it is much easier to shop around. Sites like Kelkoo allow consumers to check prices in different shops.
* Different ways of shopping - see above

Disadvantages to business

* Crime - Hacking and credit card fraud is a seerious concern.
* Who creates and maintains the site? - It is unlikely that small companies will have staff with the expertise to create a website which will attract customers or be safe enough to allow transactions. This means hiring expensive web development companies to create the site. This is not only expensive, but places the companies image in the hands of outsiders.
* Sales Technique? - Companies who rely on salemen putting pressure on customers to buy lose out because it is easier for the customer to move on to another business.

Disadvantages to the customer

* Lack of personal contact - Some people prefer to have someone they know in a business so they can contact them if something goes wrong.
* Concerns about payment - Many customers are put off shopping on the internet because they are uncertain about how safe it is to give credit card details.