APPLICATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY

Internet and Communications Technology

DATA COMMUNICATION

Definition: This is the transmission of data and information between two or more computers.

What is a network?

A group of two or more computer systems linked together.

How are computers linked?

Computers are linked in different ways, or configurations, to transmit data. Two configurations are: Point-to-point and ; Broadcast

POINT-TO-POINT
A

direct link between two computers in a network

BROADCAST
Using

one computer to transmit data and information to serve the needs of several terminals or computers connected to it in a network.

Transmission of data
Data

is transmitted via telephone lines, coaxial cables, fibre-optic cables, microwaves, satellite, wireless technology.

MODEM
(Modulator/Demodulator)

A modem converts between analog and digital signals.

modem allows computers to exchange information through telephone lines.

BANDWIDTH
A

characteristic of a communication channel that determines the speed at which data can be transmitted over the channel.

Voice band
A

voice band channel can transmit data at a rate of 300 bits per second (bps) to 9600 bps.

Narrowband

Narrowband describes telecommunication that carries voice information in a narrow band of frequencies. More specifically, the term has been used to describe a specific frequency range set aside by the U.S. Fcc for mobile or radio services, including paging systems, from 50 cps to 64 Kbps

Broadband

A term used to describe a technology that provides bandwidth that is greater than that provided by ordinary telephone lines, greater than 64 kilobits per second. The greater the bandwidth, the greater the data-carrying capacity.

PROTOCOL
A

set of rules and procedures that govern transmission between components in a network.

DIRECTION OF DATA FLOW

Simplex data flows in one direction only. Eg. Traffic on a one-way street.

Half-duplex data travels in both directions but only one way at a time. Eg. A CB radio or walkie-talkie.
Full-duplex data can be both sent and received at the same time. Eg. Traffic in a two-way street.

LAN
This

refers to Local Area Network where a few computers, printers, large hard disks are usually on one site

WAN

This refers to a Wide Area Network. Computers located on different sites spread over a large geographical area or in different countries. The Internet is a Wide area Network.

Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

Short for Metropolitan Area Network, a data network designed for a town or city. In terms of geographic breadth, MANs are larger than local-area networks (LANs), but smaller than wide-area networks (WANs). MANs are usually characterized by very high-speed connections using fiber optical cable or other digital media.

UPLOAD
To

send information from one computer to another in a network.

DOWNLOAD
To

receive information from another computer on the network.

E-MAIL
A

method of communication between computers on a network. The mail is sent and received electronically using special software from one computer to another.

BULLETIN BOARD
A

facility on the Internet where people can post messages on a particular topic.

DATA TRANSFER MODE

This

determine the number of characters that can be transmitted in one second. Two modes are asynchronous and synchronous

Asynchronous
Data

transmitted at irregular intervals and at a low speed of one character at a time.

Synchronous
Data

is transmitted at regular intervals, with high-speed simultaneous transmission of large blocks of data.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is an open wireless protocol for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks (PANs). The name of a popular wireless networking technology that uses radio waves to provide wireless high-speed Internet and network connections.

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi (pronounced /wafa/) is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance for certified products based on the IEEE 802.11 standards. This certification warrants interoperability between different wireless devices.

Infrared

Infrared is a wave of light that is in the area beyond the visible part of the color spectrum. While it is invisible to human eye infrared is often used to enhance visibility when using night vision devices.

Hotspots

A specific geographic location in which an access point provides public wireless broadband network services to mobile visitors through a WLAN. Hotspots are often located in heavily populated places such as airports, train stations, libraries, marinas, conventions centers and hotels. Hotspots typically have a short range of access.

XHTML

Short for Extensible Hypertext Markup Language, a hybrid between HTML and XML specifically designed for Net device displays.

Internet Relay Chat (IRC)

Short for Internet Relay Chat, a chat system developed by Jarkko Oikarinen in Finland in the late 1980s. IRC has become very popular as more people get connected to the Internet because it enables people connected anywhere on the Internet to join in live discussions. Unlike older chat systems, IRC is not limited to just two participants.

BLOGGING

A type of blog that lets users publish short text updates. Bloggers can usually use a number of services for the updates including instant messaging, e-mail, or Twitter. The posts are called microposts, while the act of using these services to update your blog is called microblogging. Social networking sites, like Facebook, also use a microblogging feature in profiles. On Facebook this is called "Status Updates".

Podcasting

Podcasting allows subscribers to subscribe to a set of feeds to view syndicated Web site content. With podcasting however, you have a set of subscriptions that are checked regularly for updates and instead of reading the feeds on your computer screen, you listen to the new content on on your iPod (or like device).

VoIP

Short for Voice over Internet Protocol, a category of hardware and software that enables people to use the Internet as the transmission medium for telephone calls by sending voice data in packets using IP rather than by traditional circuit transmissions of the PSTN (public switched telephone network).

Archiving

Archiving is the process of removing a precise set of infrequently used reference data from an overloaded relational database and keeping it active where it can be easily and quickly retrieved when needed.

Archiving (contd)

For example, a credit card company acquires large amounts of mission-critical data on its customers - names, addresses, balances, account numbers, interest rates. This information is critical to the company's daily operation. So the data is taken out of the relational database where it would slow the system down but left available so that it can be quickly accessed when needed.

What is a newsgroup?

Newsgroups are technically distinct from, but functionally similar to, discussion forums on the World Wide Web.

Internet, intranet and extranet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standardized Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), serving billions of users worldwide.

An intranet is a private network that uses Internet protocols to securely share any part of an organization's information or operational systems with its employees.
An extranet is a private network that uses Internet protocols, network connectivity, and possibly the public telecommunication system to securely share part of an organization's information or operations with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers or other businesses

E-commerce

Electronic Commerce, commonly known as (electronic marketing) e-commerce or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks.

E-learning

E-learning is web-based distance education, with no face-to-face interaction. It may include all types of technology that supports the learning process

Web browser

A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard network protocol used to exchange and manipulate files over an Internet Protocol computer network, such as the Internet.