Entertainment in the Information Age

The entertainment industry has been greatly affected by the Information Age, long gone are the days of board games and jigsaws; games consoles and handheld devices are the future of entertainment. The latest devices can vary in size and function from the biggest 60 inch plasma 3D TV’s to the smallest handheld devices.

Games

There are many different platforms that offer the consumer gaming, the most popular are the devices which are solely dedicated to gaming such as PlayStation (Sony), Xbox (Microsoft) and Nintendo these three different consoles dominate the gaming world and I can’t see them being challenged any time soon. People use different consoles depending on what they plan to use them for. For example, the Nintendo Wii is great for any age and everyone can get involved where as consoles such as Playstation’s and Xbox’s are targeted more at serious gamers. Different types of games also dominate the entertainment industry. Multiplayer games are usually the most popular such as Call of Duty, FIFA and Guitar Hero – these games give gaming a whole new dimension of playing with or against your friends. All these consoles and games offer online options but I believe that this ruins the meaning of the game; I think they are put to better use playing against friends or family. Games have now found their way onto handheld devices such as Apple’s iPhones and iPads these games are usually simple and easy to play, but extremely addictive! These games give people gaming on the move and are great for long or short distance travelling. I believe that games are rapidly changing for the better.

Music

Music, much liking gaming, has come on leaps and bounds in the 20^th Century. The introduction of Apple’s iPod was the first real leap forward from the days of tapes and CD’s. Music is one of the most popular sources of entertainment – before the introduction of the iPod handheld CD players could be carried around with a maximum of around 10-15 songs on them. This was all changed with the introduction of the iPod on the 23^rd October 2001 and since then they have sold over 300’000’000 iPod’s worldwide. You can now get iPod’s with a memory capacity of up to 160GB which can hold 40’000 songs!

Truly portable music players has transformed the way we listen to music, in my opinion the for the better! It is rare now-a-days for someone to sit down and just listen to music, in such a dynamic world everything must be done on the move. I store all of my music on my iPhone and I really couldn’t imagine carrying around a portable CD player and a case of CD’s. I cannot think of any disadvantages of the iPod or any portable music players; however they are quite desirable items so they could be targets for stealing.

Digital Cameras

Digital Cameras and photography in general properly wouldn’t be the top of most people’s lists if you ask them want they find entertaining, but I believe that cameras offer entertainment that no other devices can. The majority of people now carry cameras on them most of the time; whether it be a camera phone or a high detail digital SLR. Digital cameras have a huge advantage over disposals cameras – they allow you to view the photo you have taken as soon as you’ve taken it on a screen (usually about 3 inches). As digital cameras have advanced as have the editing software that allows you to re-touch and improve your photos.

eBooks

Books have always been and always will be a good source of entertainment but they are on the decline with the release and sales of ‘e-books’. eBooks are handheld devices which can hold hundreds and even thousands of books in a device about the same size as a small paperback. Kindle from Amazon and the iPad from Apple are seen as the biggest players in the eBook industry. My family own a kindle and I find it much better than the iPad, I think the biggest advantage it has over the iPad is the ‘e-ink’ feature. e-Ink doesn’t require a backlight which means it is easier on the readers eyes and has a longer battery life. Another advantage the Kindle has over the iPad is the price. The bog standard Kindle costs only £89 which is an absolute bargain for the product and services it provides. The iPad, although it offers many other uses other than reading is way to over prices at £399 and the reader will start to develop a headache after around 30 minutes of use.

Education in the Information Age

Education within the ‘Information Age’ has effected how students and teachers work within schools, colleges, universities and any other place of learning. Technologies effects the way in which we, the students, learn. It has also affected the styles of teaching with more variety in lessons due to the advancements in technology.

Obviously the level of technology which is used varies depending on the level of education. Within primary schools students are taught the basic ICT skills, such as using Microsoft Software such as Word and PowerPoint. Primary schools in this day and age now have interactive whiteboards, which I will come to later. Teaching progresses when students go to secondary school, they start to learn more in dept about the different uses of computers  and just how useful some technology can be.

Student Information Management System or SIMS for short is used for capturing and handling student data. SIMS is also used for a variety of tasks such as; holding personal details, monitoring attendance, taking the register and student and teacher timetables. Before the advancement of technology all of these tasks would require hundreds of piece of paper for an average sized secondary school, this would take up valuable time that could be used for something else. Another advantage of SIMS is that it allows the operator to have all the information on pupils in one place this allows the school to create an individual programme on each student in the school – this can be useful in seeing if the students has any past history at the school which could be seen as a problem. Again SIMS helps saves time and is much quicker than any paper records would be. Although in my opinion the positive’s of SIMS largely out weight the negatives there are negatives present. Like most electronic systems they are prone to crash this means that records could possibly be lost, this however is not a problem with paper records.

Personal Experience

I have had firsthand experience with paper systems and the SIMS system. Obviously my experience with paper registers was in primary school at a very young age but I don’t think they are a very good idea with paper sheets beings very easy to lose. SIMS, however, is a much more organised system with no records being lost, in my experience, and it is a fast and easy to use system.

The systems that are used, such as SIMS, are not the only things that have been affected by the ‘information age’. The equipment we use now, such as interactive whiteboards and large computer suites are now available in every school I know. Firstly, interactive white boards allow the teacher to show things such as PowerPoint Presentations on large screens so everyone in the room can view them.  However, in my opinion, the biggest advantage of having interactive whiteboards is, obviously, the interaction they provide the students. These whiteboards allows the students to play games and simple games with links to the topic they are learning about, which there for enhances their learning.

Computer Suites offer a new dimension for teachers to use. Computer Suites can be used for any subjects, not just ICT; with the new software they can be used for anything from academic maths and sciences to creative Art and Textiles. There are downsides to this technology. The interactive whiteboards especially are expensive to install and if these systems go wrong then they can be quite hard to fix.

More recently (in the last few years) there have been talks about supplying students in education with laptops that they would be able to have as a portable ‘workstation’. Some schools already have this system in place and supply the students with laptops for lesson. This could be a benefit because the students would be able to take their work with them anywhere they go in a laptop instead of carrying around lots of books. However some schools discourage their students staring at screens none stop all day, this could be seen as a downfall.

Another way in which the information age has changed education is the subject’s that are taught. ICT is now taught in schools all over the UK and is an important part of the curriculum. ICT is seen as a useful skill to acquire due to world outside school become ever more reliant on technology. ICT skills are looked for by employers and are useful in a variety of situation. Many people argue that ICT isn’t as important as people make it out to be and students begin to become dependent on computers. Some student’s handwriting starts to deteriorate as they become ever reliant on computers this can become a serious problem in exams when their writing becomes un-readable. It is also believed that writing notes by hand makes them easier to learn than when typing them.

Most textbooks now come with a compact disc which allows students to view all the text within the book from a computer – this comes in handy when partnered with a interactive whiteboards. This is a good system to use because it allows the school to have 1 compact disk for each class this is a good alternative to every student having a textbook of their own.  As previously mentioned I believe that interaction in lessons make learning a lot easier. However to access these tools you have to have access to a computer.

Employment

 Technology is now considered to be a necessity in today’s society. However, although computing systems can increase the effectiveness of companies their employees need to be trained and taught how to use these in order for them to be effective.

What are the disadvantages of Employment in the Information Age?

·          Unemployment rates are increasing due to computers being developed to perform a job more effective and quicker than humans can.

·          Computers lack the ‘human instinct’. When a computer system is faced with a decision making situation they will not be able to deal with it, unless they have been programmed to do so.

·          Computers can be prone to power cuts.

·          Companies must invest heavily in computing systems.

·          The use of computers can reduce the amount of human interaction with the company – this can result in the company losing customers.

What are the advantages of Employment in the Information Age?

·          The obvious advantage of computer systems is that the efficiency or the job in hand is improved – almost instant success of the task can be achieved.

·          More consistent standard – this is due to computers being programmed to do the job, unlike humans they won’t make mistakes due to a slip of the finger or being tired.

·          Computers, although they may cost in the first place, they do not need to be paid hourly or monthly unlike humans – so cost in the long run is cheaper.

·          Companies can use computers to advertise to specific people who take interest in similar things to their companies on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Employment in the industry

Computing can be used in the industry for a variety of different tasks. Computing Numerical Control or CNC ensure that the computers and machine deliver and complete tasks to high standards. The CNC is used most frequently in the textile industry. As machines are becoming more able it has a huge impact on the employment/unemployment figures as previously mentioned computers are cheaper, quicker and much more efficient.

CIM is another form of computing found in industries. CIM allows the whole production line of a company to be controlled by machines – this result in the process being less at risk to mistakes or faults.

Online Employment Industry

There are many sites online now which can be used to help people find jobs, with unemployment being at an all-time high, this is a necessity. Large shops, especially supermarkets uses computer systems to check the stock and control online shopping within the store; in the long run this is a quick, efficient and reasonably cheap alternative to employing staff to do it.

Personal Experience:

In Sainsbury’s small hand held scanners are available when entering the store.  This means that customers can scan their own items and reduce the time taken at the till – this again increase efficiency and speed. In business such as Fujitsu large documents can be store on systems such as Microsoft Excel or Word – this saves space and they can also be backed up making them much more reliable than hard copies.

Google AdSense

AdSense allows website owners to register their site to allow different forms of advertisement. It is seen as the most popular advertising application available online.

Different types of AdSense:

·          Feeds: Inserting images into a feed. If a user was to click on the image shown they would be redirected to the advertiser’s website.

·          Search: Allows website’s to have Google search boxes on their websites.

·          Mobile content: Generates earning from their mobile website using Google advertisements

·          Videos: Placing ads on sites such as YouTube.

'Digital Revolution'

This is sometimes referred to as the ‘third industrial revolution’. The Digital Revolution is the change from analog to digital technology which has been going on from the 1980s to the present day. The key to this revolution is the mass production and widespread use of digital devices such as computers, mobile phones etc.  

Online Entertainment

Online TV

How people use their computer has changed dramatically over the last century. With the introduction of sites such as YouTube, iTunes and BBC iPlayer people have stopped using their devices as means of communication and started using them as entertainment devices.

Online Games, Music and Videos

Gaming businesses such as Sony (PS3) and Microsoft (Xbox) have tapped into the online entertainment industry. Sony and their PS3 have introduced PlayStation Network which allows people to sign up and play online. How does it work? PlayStation Network requires people to use and individual username, you can then add and play against friends. There are also online arenas – these allow a group of total strangers or a group of friends to enter and play against each other, in teams or individually. Another feature of Online Gaming is the Online Gaming Competitions – these allow serious gamers to enter these competitions and earn/win money from playing a game. These competitions are popular with games such as FIFA or Call of Duty. Xbox’s online service is very similar to that of PlayStations however Xbox charge customers to sign up – however it argued that the gameplay is much better so it is worth playing.

Another popular game played online by millions is World of Warcraft. World of Warcraft was originally released in November 2005, and now it has over 10.3 million subscribers who pay to play. It is currently the world’s most popular M.M.O.R.P.G (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game); and also hold the Guinness record for the most popular M.M.O.R.P.G. World of Warcraft allows you to create your own ‘avatar’ – you then go through the game fighting monsters, completing quests, explore the landscape and interact with other online players.

Advantages

One advantage of Online Gaming is the variety of games available. The variety of games means that everyone, no matter what their preference is can find a game that they enjoy playing. Another advantage of Online Gaming is how you can make new friends. The online arena feature allows you to meet new people and even talk to them using a headset device. A third advantage of Online Gaming is, as I previously mentioned, the chance to win money. Virgin Media do a competition on FIFA were up to 5000 pounds can be won.

Disadvantages

One disadvantage of Online Gaming is the addictive nature of them. There have been many cases of people becoming addicted to the games – this can cause serious mental and physical problems. Another disadvantage of Online Gaming is cyber bullying can occur. With the use of headsets – racial or gender related abuse can be thrown by other people playing the game. Online gaming can also start to drain you wallet – with many people spending real money on the games they play in order for them to be the best.

Personal Experience

I have a PlayStation 3 and enjoy regularly against my friends on games such as FIFA and Call of Duty. I think it is a great way to make games more competitive and fun, however I can see the negative side of Online Games.

Online Films

Watching films online is becoming more and more popular. The conventional way of going to the shop and buying a DVD is long gone and if the films aren’t bought online then they are streamed straight from the internet. Sites such as Netflix allow customers to access online films for just 6 pounds a month – on the other end of the scale sites such as 1channel allow people to watch films online for free.

Netflix

Netflix allows people to access unlimited films on their TV, or more popularly stream them to a games console. Netflix offers a wide range of films that people can watch instantly and for a reasonable price. On the other hand sites such as 1channel allow people to watch films and TV series for free but the quality is usually poor.

Advantages

One advantage of Online Films is that you can get them instantly this is a hassle free process and save time. Another advantage of Online Films is the variety that they offer – in store you have a limited space to get in as much as possible but online you can have a much wider range of films.

Disadvantages

A possible disadvantage of Online Films is the video copying or ‘piracy’ many sites offer videos that have been filmed in the cinema – this is illegal. Another advantage of Online Films is the poor video quality, this again comes from piracy.

Personal Experience

I have had experience with Netflix and I find it to be an excellent service it has a wide range of films and for an affordable price.

Online TV

Many broadcasting companies have invested in setting up Online ‘Catch up Sites’. Companies such as BBC, ITV and Channel 4 have the most popular ones with BBC iPlayer being fair and away the most popular.

iPlayer

“Making the un-missable, un-missable”

BBC iPlayer offer a ‘catch up service’ this allows people to watch shows that they may have missed, this service is offered for both TV and Radio. They offer a feature piece which would be a popular TV show from that week, as well as an A-Z of shows. Both ITV and Channel 4’s sites are very similar.

TV Catch Up

TV Catch Up is a site that allows people to watch live TV on a device connected to the internet. This site offers the same channels that free view does but for free! You have to sign up and become a member to use this site but you don’t get any annoying emails from them which could be seen as a downside.

Advantages

One advantage of this site is the free usage. They say nothing is free these days but TV Catch Up really is! Another advantage of TV Catch Up is the on the go TV you can watch. TV Catch Up can be accessed on a laptop, tablet and even now on a hand held device with the purchase of the App.

Disadvantages

One disadvantage of this site is that you need internet connection to use it, but other than that I can’t think of anything.

Personal Experience

I have registered to TV Catch Up and find its service very useful.

Music

 

The days of going to the shops and buying the newly released CD are over! Now songs are downloaded (legally or illegally) from the internet. With iTunes being the obvious choice for most people sites such as Spotify are becoming a serious challenger.

Spotify

Spotify is a music streaming service, which offers a huge range of music. Daniel EK, Martin Lorentzon launched it in 2006 with the help of an internet marketing company called TradeDoubler. By 2010 Spotify had around 10 million users, 1 million of which payed for using Spotify. Spotify has 3 different membership accounts: Free, Premium and Unlimited. Free, as the name suggests is free. It offers users access to most songs, but not all and there is a 5 time play limit. Spotify Unlimited, which at 4.99 a month is a great option if you just want unlimited music at home. Unlimited offers unlimited music and no adverts, unlike the free service. Spotify Premium, at 9.99 a month is the most expensive by as you may expect offers the most. Premium allows you to access songs on the go without internet access, this is good for people on the move all the time.

iTunes

iTunes is Apples software that allows you to download music, podcasts, apps and even movie. Some items are free, some are not, for example some apps are free on the other hands some albums can cost up to 10 or even 20 pounds. These items can then be synced onto an Ipod or other hand held devices.

Advantages

One advantage of sites such as iTunes and Spotify is that massive range of downloads available, either for free or for a small sum of money. Another advantage of these sites is that it’s all on your computer so you don’t have piles of CD’s in your house. A third advantage would be that prices would be cheaper due to the lack of packaging.

Disadvantages

One disadvantage to this is that it you always have to be connected to the internet in order to access the store. Another disadvantage would that you have to create an account some people do not trust this and don’t like giving details to a website.

Personal Experience

I use both iTunes and Spotify and I find them very useful! I use Spotify at home connected to the internet and iTunes is used to download music onto my iPhone.

Piracy 

Film piracy is now being considered a serious offence, with people serving jail sentences for up to 5 years! this short clip shows how video recording a film in a cinema is no different to stealing.

Download Services

These days there are a huge variety of things that can be downloaded from the internet. As well as being able to download things straight from the Internet, you can now share files between each other with different programmes, although if you do use them you have to be very careful with what you download because some files can contain viruses or other malicious software.

Software

Store such as Curry’s and PC World still stock software in store that can be purchased however there is now an easier way to do it. You can now visit an online site and download software straight onto your computer. These downloads are important in the ICT world and the simplicity of them is a massive bonus. Some of the most common software downloads are items such as Microsoft Office Word, Excel etc. Software can be downloaded through many devices and not just a computer, this makes software download’s easy do. It also helps keep all your technologies up to date. Software can also be added to your device. For example, Apple’s Mac lines do not come with items such as Microsoft Word etc. This is a huge disadvantage for students wanting to use them. However Microsoft Office can be downloaded and added to the device.

Advantages

One of the main advantages is that you can now easily download/buy any software from anywhere in the world, this makes it highly accessible to a wide range of people. Another advantage of software downloads is that there is no risk of losing of disk of CD with the software on. With software downloads there is no danger of this because there is a download straight from the system to the device.

Disadvantages

One disadvantage of software downloads is that if you do not have good internet connection, downloading would take a long time or may not even work. Another disadvantages of software downloads is the danger of viruses of malware. These can affect the computer you are downloading onto. Some software companies may ask for personal details and credit card details can also be affected.

Personal Experience

I have had previous experience of downloading software online. When I purchase a new laptop I downloaded the newest Windows software (Window 7 at the time), I found it quick an easy with step by step instructions.

Apps

An app (application) is a piece of software that can run on the internet, on your computer on your phone or other electronic devices. Apps are one of the most frequently downloaded items; this is down to its multiple uses such as gaming, entertainment etc. Apps are a really valuable and beneficial addition in the technology world. Due to the introduction of smart phones and different operating systems (iOs and Android) the popularity of apps has risen sharply.

Advantages

One advantage of apps is the simplicity of them, they are easy to get and you can use them as many times as you want. Another is the variety of apps to choose from, as I previously mentioned apps range from business and photography to games and cooking.

Disadvantages

There are some disadvantages of apps however. For example if you smartphone crashes there is a possibility that you can lose a number of your apps. Another disadvantage to apps is that they need quite a lot of updating, this can become tedious. 

PDF (Portable Document Format)

A PDF or Portable Document Format is a file that ‘captures’ all element if a printed document as an electronic image you can print, view and navigate. PDF files are useful for advertising documents such as magazine articles, broachers or flyers. PDF files can contain a variety of information such as: previous exam papers, bus timetables etc.

Advantages

One advantage of PDF files is that they are environmentally friendly, because they keep paper use to a minimal. For example, you can get manuals for new products as PDF files, so viewing them online with save tonnes of paper. PDF files are a massive time saver, using the example of a manual again; instead of flicking through page after page, you can search for what you are looking for or just enter the page number you want. Another advantage of PDF files is that they can be downloaded in individual languages instead of receiving page after page of language that you cannot read.

Disadvantages

Not all companies adopt the PDF files. This means that some companies still send masses of paper. Another disadvantage of PDF files is that if you lose the first copy then you will have to print off another – this impacts the ‘environmentally friendly’ aspect of the PF file.

Education

As I have previously mentioned download services can be useful for Educational purposes. You can now download files such as; podcasts, past papers and newsletters. Whilst I was studying for my GCSE’s and my A Levels I found past papers useful in finding out how to answer specific questions. Exam board such as OCR or AQA offer papers from the year’s previous exam so they are obviously kept very current.

Advantage

Downloading education material can be really useful for revision and practice for an upcoming test. Downloading podcasts are another advantage of download services, this podcasts can be downloaded onto an MP3 player so you can revise on the go. Another advantage of this is the lack of paper; you can download things like past papers and keep them in files on your computer.

Disadvantage

A possible disadvantage of this service is that some less well known exam board don’t offer their services online – this means students using that exam board won’t be able to find what they are after.  

Online Banking

Online Banking

The first online banking system (RBS 1983) only provided online banking services to commercial companies and not to their customers. In today’s age, however, many of the major high streets banks, NatWest, Nationwide, HSBC etc. offer online banking services to their customers.

Egg

Egg is an exclusively online banking service. It was founded in 1998 and has been growing in popularity since. Egg have a large number of customers, competing in numbers with the main high street banks, but have very few employees purely due to the fact they operate exclusively online, according to the latest statistics egg only employee 1100 people. This is an advantage of working exclusively online, because the less employees you have the lower your cash output will be.

Advantages for the customer

One advantage for the customer is getting an online statement quickly; because online banking is open 24/7 you can receive it any time of day.

It is convenient for people who work 9-5 days.

You can make instant transfers from anywhere in the world, this is better than high street banks, as bank transfers can take 3 – 5 days.

Online banking can be accessed from handheld devices such as iPhones and Android Phones; this is great for people today.

There is no paper!

Disadvantages for the customer

Banks have very complex security systems, and entering security details can be time consuming.

With online banking there is no personal contact, some people have trouble trusting others without human contact.

As I previously mentioned banks have very complex security systems, but these still can be accessed and therefore you money can be accessed.

Advantages for the bank 

Banks such as egg operate just online, this saves paying for a shop floor/premises, this saves them a lot of money, and they can then invest that money into security for their site.

Adapting their system to use online banking will attract a lot of new customers as in this day and age a lot of people are now on the move and do not have time to go to a bank, they would prefer to do it online.

An online bank doesn't have to employ as many employees as a usual brick and click one.

Advertising is much easier and you have a wider audience to entice them to sign up.

Disadvantages for the bank

They invest a lot of money into their security system. This can be very expensive, but also pays off after a while.

Some of the customers enjoy going into the bank and having a face-to-face interaction,

Advantages for the employees

New jobs will be created and this will help improve the current economic climate.

Working in IT will give you a range of new skills.

Disadvantages for the employees

Some employees will have to be retrained to use the system.

Eventually they may no longer be required to work there, as sooner or later everything will become fully automated.

I have no personal experience with online banking, however, members of my family have tried it before and they have said that they find branch banks easier to trust. I can however see there are a number of positives to online banking.