Happy Birthday Computer!

60 Years old today!

Usability

Check out this site that presents the elements of good web design and interface design:
http://www.usability.gov/tags/user-interface-design/index.html

Design Choices

Our website has working links that lead to every page no matter where the user is, it will also be able to sense the type of device that the is be used to view the website and scale and move elements of the page to better suit specific devices.

Smartphones users will be able to navigate through pages by tapping the links in the menu, we will also include links to the the sub-topics within the relevant pages. Each link is labelled in a way that clearly describes the contents of the page.

We have decided not to use symbolic icons in place of text to reinforce the simplicity of our website, as such, we have made sure that each page is identical in colour and structure to ensure that users are not confused.

The only information contained in the website are facts and research that inform users of our reliance on technology and relevant issues.Following the 'F' writing convention ensures that users will not have trouble finding our information or where they should start reading.

Our limited colour palette and font gives our website a sense of professionalism and makes users more likely to consider our information rather than ignore it. The use of white space ensures that the contents of each page is not cluttered and illegible.

We decided on a landscape orientation as a portrait page would stretch the information down the page, making users have to scroll down for long periods of time. We made sure that the content on the homepage was minimal or brief in comparison to the available space on the page to ensure that we could add extra content or media later on to catch the user's eye.

~Bunmi, Rahaul, Jackson

Salting

Check out this link and find out more about "Salting":
http://www.msn.com/en-au/money/company-news/millions-of-linkedin-ids-for-sale/ar-BBtcVl9

Short Report

We decided to include the research we conducted as well as some our primary data to better inform users about technology reliance and illustrate the presence of technology in our lives. Some of the primary and secondary data was removed as it was descriptive rather than informative.  For example, we did not include what the survey participants primarily used technology for.

We’ve arranged the menu by topic and utilized simple drop down sub-menus to make it easier for users to choose whether they want to learn about a specific part of technology reliance or it’s issues, such as the stakeholders in technology reliance or the impacts of our reliance on technology and navigate back to the homepage swiftly at anytime.

Our website has an about us page which will have contact details so that users can email any questions or suggestions they might have to us, which will provide room for more information to be included and enables us to identify when to update our website if it turns out the data is inaccurate or outdated.

Due to the fact that the information takes up small portions of the screen, additional information can be added without the need to scroll down for long periods of time. In the event that we have an excess of information on one page, it can be broken down into separate topics on the menu bar or the fill down sub menus as additional pages.  

~Bunmi, Rahul, Jackson

PART A: DESIGN

Both groups need to return to the decisions you made in PART A: Design and Justify your choices.

READ pp181 - 195

One poster per group - Post your Design layout & Site Map and write a justification for your decisions including all the features listed below:

Functionality:

• Usability
• Robustness
• Flexibility
• Scale ability
• Ease of Use

Accesssibility

• Error tolerance
• Navigation
• Meaning
• Comprehension
• Consistency
• Appropriateness and Relevance

Appearance

• Alignment
• repetition
• Font Selection
• Contrast
• Colour 
• Space
• Conventions
• Proportions
• Orientation

Design Tools

Design Layout

Site Map

IPO

Storyboard

The other Issue

Environmental Damage from E-Waste

Australians are early adopters of technology: Deloite

What is e-waste? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-kay/the-dark-side-of-the-digi_b_7140120.html

The cost of recycling: http://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/node/237222


The global time bomb, e-waste is toxic! http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2013/09/16/3849737.htm

Visualization Tools

Oh look..... a whole website about visualisation tools.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/graphicorganizers/pmi/

The Other Issue

Environmental Hazardous Waste.

http://www.wired.com/2016/05/location-trackers-reveal-e-junk-really-ends/

Chapter 4# Q's

CHAPTER 4# Questions

Information systems in action

Q2)List the four components of an information system: Data, Hardware, Networks, Software.

Q4)Explain what the term ‘digital system’ means:  Digital computer, a computer handling information represented by discrete values. Digital electronics, electronic circuits representing signals by discrete bands of analog levels, rather than by a continuous range.  

Q6)Identify a situation where downloading a file may be legal:  It would be legal to download Free and open source software. It is software that is released under licences that ensure that end users always have the freedom to run the program, for any purpose, the freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to their needs, the freedom to redistribute copies of the program to others  

Q8)Explain how the concepts of copyright and intellectual property are related: Both are legal rights for a business/corp to apply use and distribution of its product.

Q10)Explain how peer-to-peer(P2P) file sharing works:  The file-transfer load is distributed between the computers exchanging files, but file searches and transfers from your computer to others can cause bottlenecks. 

Q12)Outline how artists may be disadvantaged by illegal downloading and streaming:  Illegal downloading of an artist's work, be it an author or a musician, deprives that artist of the residuals connect to the sale of his/her production.

Q14)Disscuss three ways that social media may become problematic for sportspeople: Foul language, Entertainment from trolling and morale issues arise.

Q16)Explain the purpose of a hashtag: A hashtag is a type of label or metadata tag used on social network and microblogging services which makes it easier for users to find messages with a specific theme or content. Users create and use hashtags by placing the hash character (or pound sign) # in front of a word or unspaced phrase, either in the main text of a message or at the end. Searching for that hashtag will then present each message that has been tagged with it.

Q18) Disscuss some of the negatives around the introduction of new technology in the agricultural sector: The current work force in the agriculture industry may have poor skill and require qualifications to operate newer technology. Being in an isolated position means it is harder to find the skilled workers.

Q20)Explain why e-commerce has become so popular: Shopping online makes it easy to browse a full selection of products easily without having to sort through all of the items commonly found in a brick and mortar store. eCommerce stores have made it seamless to find exactly what you are looking for and complete the transaction quickly and efficiently.

Q22)Explain what ‘Phishing’ means: Phishing is the attempt to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and sometimes, indirectly, money), often for malicious reasons, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.

Q24)Discuss three precautions people can take to reduce their chances of both card and identity theft:  

• Clear your logins and passwords. This is especially important if you’ve been working on a public computer. Change logins and passwords monthly.

• Pay for online purchases with your credit card, which has better guarantees under federal law than your online payment services or your debit card.

• Be alert for phishing, a trick in which spam or pop-ups mimic legitimate banks or businesses to obtain your personal information, which they use to access your accounts. Always verify that you’re on a familiar Web site with security controls before entering personal data.

Q26)Outline two issues arising from the use of an Electronic Health Record(HER):

-There are chances of health records being sent to a wrong location.

-Network failure can delay access to any records.  

Expressing opinions

Q28)  Discuss why social media sites are a popular outlet to express opinions about information systems:

Q30) Describe the advantages of written comments over a rating system for opinions: Written comments give a more detailed and in-depth review of the ‘persons’ opinion, it also gives a better idea of what the person is think.  A rating system could mean anything, or poorly display the users full opinion.

Methods and techniques to acquire data and information

Q32) Explain the difference between primary and secondary data sources:  The difference between primary and second research collection is that primary research data collection involves conducting research oneself, or using the data for the purpose it was intended for. Secondary research data, on the other hand, was collected by a third party or for some other purpose.

Q34)Discuss when a survey would be preferable to an interview when collecting data: Surveys can be more in quantity and provide more perspectives from people.

Q36)Explain how qualitative data differs from quantitative data: Qualitative data collection is a method in which the characteristics, attributes, properties, qualities, etc. of a phenomenon or thing is described. It is the description of data in a language rather than in numbers. This method does not measure the characteristics but describes them.

Q38)Explain how a histogram can be used to process qualitative data: A histogram is a graphical representation of the distribution of numerical data. It is an estimate of the probability distribution of a continuous variable (quantitative variable) and was first introduced by Karl Pearson.

Data integrity

Q40)List the three characteristics of quality data:

·         Degree of excellence exhibited by the data in relation to the portrayal of the actual scenario.

·         The state of completeness, validity, consistency, timeliness and accuracy that makes data appropriate for a specific use.

·         The totality of features and characteristics of data that bears on its ability to satisfy a given purpose; the sum of the degrees of excellence for factors related to data.

Storing shared files

Q42)List three advantages of cloud computing:  Flexibility, Document control and Security.

Mobile devices and web design

Q44)Explain why websites used in mobile devices need to be designed to differently to websites used for notebooks or desktops:  

Q46)List three ways that data may be entered into a mobile device:  

** Unanswered Questions and untidy layout will be edited shortly.

Worst Website 1# Jackson

Worst Website

So yeah, here is literally the worst website,
It ticked all of the boxes so much that I have only just realized what its purpose of a website it is. So yeah http://www.theworldsworstwebsiteever.com/

Examples of good and bad websites

• Useable
• Good
• Bad
• Accessibility
• Good
• Bad
• Tolerance
• Good
• Bad
• Legible
• Good
• Bad
• Visibility
• Good
• Bad
• Consistency
• Good
• Bad
• Affordance
• Good
• Bad
• Skeuomorphism
• Good
• Bad

-Bunmi

Web Hosting

I found this cool video that explains the processes of web hosting. Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISSdLB83um0

Chapter 3# Q's

Chapter #3 Questions

COMMUNICATIONS

Q1)  what does the terms data communications mean?: Data communications refers to the transmission of digital data between two or more computers

Q2) identify the devices you use on a day-to-day basis that connect to a network: Laptop, Desktop, Mobile phone.

NETWORKS
Q3) Provide an example of a sending device and a receiving device: SENDING: Phone, Desktop, Modem. RECEIVING DEVICE: Printer, Router, Phone, and Switch.

Q4) what is a network? How is a local area network (LAN) different from a wide area network (WAN)?: A network consists of two or more computers that are linked in order to share resources (such as printers and CDs), exchange files, or allow electronic communications. LAN covers a small geographic area, it has a higher data transfer rate.

Q5) How does a peer-to-peer network differ from a client-server network?:

Peer-to-Peer Networks	Client/Server Networks
Each PC is an equal participant on the network	One PC acts as the network controller
PCs are not reliant on one PC for resources such as the printer	One PC controls access to network resources

Q7) Describe the type of network a business might use if they have a head office in one city and wish to enable other branches and travelling salespeople to maintain regular contact and access data and files stored on their central servers: The ‘Business’ would use a WAN network, because it will be able to cover a large amount of area and the salespeople can accesses data from any place at any time.

Q8) What security risks can occur if a user shares files on an internet P2P network?: For files to be shared on a P2P network, a specific TCP port must be opened. Allowing internet peer-to-peer file sharing expose your computer. The computer would be exposed to malicious software.

Q9) describe the benefits in downloading a file from a P2P network using torrents rather than from a single source: P2p is more efficient, P2p files can take large files and make them more manageable, and allowing for faster downloads

Q10) What do the terms ‘Peer’,’Seed’ and ‘Leech’ refer to when referring to torrent downloads?:

Seed: Seeders are people who have already downloaded the file and are uploading them. The more seeders the faster the download will go.

 Leech: Leechers are people who are sharing what they have and are downloading what you have. When searching torrents, always get high seeded torrents.

Q11) what is an intranet? What benefits to organisations are there in setting up an intranet?: An Intranet is a private network accessible only to an organisation’s staff.

Q12)Describe the advantages or setting up a home network: Multiple users can simultaneously interact with each other and share resources.

A home network can have as many wireless devices like laptops and mobile phones can connect to it, that’s if it has a wireless router.

Easy to create

Q13) There are four types of home network in common use. Which type would you choose to set up a network in your home? Why would you choose that type?: LAN would be the most viable option, because of its small area of coverage and high transfer speed would be mostly suitable a house hold.

COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES

Q14) Routers and switches are used to connect separate networks. Explain the circumstances in which each of these would be used: Routers: is a networking device that forwards data packets between computer networks, so the ‘Router’ would take part in downloading any software and receiving message via social media.

Switch: The network switch plays an integral role in most modern Ethernet local area networks (LANs). Mid-to-large sized LANs contain a number of linked managed switches. Small office/home office (SOHO) applications typically use a single switch, or an all-purpose converged such as a residential gateway to access small office/home broadband services such as DSL or cable Internet

Q15) What is the function of a wireless broadband router in a home network?: A basic router that connects a LAN network to the internet, also functioning as a switch, a firewall and a wireless access point.

Q16) Identify the components that need to be installed in a home or business to enable LAN to connect to the NBN connection box?: It is required for the user to have a FTTP router to connect to an NBN.

Q17) What is the intended purpose of two voice ports on the NBN connection box?: The two voice ports are used to connect to telephones and cordless base station.

Q18) What is the purpose of a network interface card? What do mobile computers use in place of a network interface card?: A Network interface card, NIC, or Network card is an electronic device that connects a computer to a computer network, usually a LAN.

Q19) A wireless access point can be wired to the fibre-optic backbone of a bus network. What is the purpose of the wireless access point?: To allow transmission of data between computers and mobile phones at a distance.

Q20) It may be difficult to pick up a consistent wireless signal in a large home with solid brick walls. Where should the access point be located to provide the strongest signal throughout the house? What solution would you recommend to ensure that some of the more distant parts of the house, such as the back patio, receive a signal?: The WAP should be located In the centre of the house, to equally spread its coverage.

Q21) Many home networks include a smart TV and a network-attached storage device. Describe the functions of these devices: Network-attached storage (NAS) is a file-level computer data storage server connected to a computer network providing data access to a heterogeneous group of clients. NAS is specialized for serving files either by its hardware, software, or configuration.

Q22) A particular network-attached storage device has a capacity of 8 Terabytes. How many megabytes is this equivalent to?: 8*1024*1024 = 8388608 Mb

SENDING AND RECEIVING DEVICES

Q36) Provide three examples of wearable technology: Smart watch, Go pro(Wearable camera),Virtual reality headset.

COMMUNICATIONS CHANNEL AND TRANSMISSION DATA

Q37) What advantage do fibre optics have over wire cables?: Fibre optic cable advantages:

-Greater transfer data rate

-Is less prone to interference

-Is better at transferring media data.

Q38) In what circumstances would a network designer consider using wireless transmission media?: A network designer would use a wireless transmission device if installing wires or cables is impractical or impossible.

Q39)Briefly describe the broadcast radio and cellular radio wireless transmission media: Broadcast radio: Radio broadcasting is a unidirectional wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both.

Cellular radio: A cellular network or mobile network is a communication network where the last link is wireless. The network is distributed over land areas called cells, each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver, known as a cell site or base station. This base station provides the cell with the network coverage which can be used for transmission of voice, data and others.

Q40) Describe how near field communication technology allows a user with a smartphone to read information at a museum exhibit:

• Q41: Line-of-sight will be disrupted if any obstacle, such as new buildings, are in the way
• Signal absorption by the atmosphere. Microwaves suffer from attenuation due to atmospheric conditions.
• Towers are expensive to build

Q42) Many companies use satellite transmission to access the internet. Web satellites, however will provide faster downlink transmissions than uplink transmissions. Why is the difference in speed not of major concern to these companies?: 

Web Design Notes [04.05.16]

Web Design

Annoying Websites:

• Popups
• Visuals not practical
• Not enough contrast
• Accessibility
• Misleading
• Auto play videos
• Heavy
• Re-directions
• http://www.libertyvan.com/ or http://www.libertyvan.com/home/
• www.constellation7.org/Constellation-Seven/Josiah/Index.htm

What makes a Good Website?

• Minimal scrolling
• Page layout should be consistent
• Effective color + style to the purpose of website
• Consistent fonts
• Icons & thumbnails small (quick to download)
• Needs to be cross-compatible with browsers and operating systems

Interface Design

• Useable
• clearly labelled
• consistent design and layout
• uses conventions (how things are actually done)
• touch zones (mobile ready sites)
• Accessibility
• WC3 (guidelines)
• Tolerance
• cope with user error
• Legible
• contrasting colours
• fonts that work on the screen
• Visibility
• white space and the F shape where readers eyes lie
• Consistency
• predictable navigation - each page needs to have consistency of design
• Affordance
• the in-build clues as to how the interface is to be used (why we avoid using underline on web pages - confuses users - thinking its a link)
• designer tells the user what to do with instinctive/intuitive object and design elements such as text boxes, links, buttons, etc.
• Skeuomorphism
• a design principle where you take design elements from the real physical world and put them into an interface.

Principles of Design Appearance

• Alignment
• Repetition
• Font Selection
• Contrast
• Space
• Balance
• Proportion
• Orientation

Extra's
Serif - the legs or links between letters; groups the letters to make it easier to read on paper but more difficult on screen.
Sans Serif - makes it easier to read on screen; sans = without.

~Rahul

Web Design Standards and Guidlines

World Wide Web Consortium (WC3) Guidelines for Accessibility: https://www.w3.org/standards/webdesign/accessibility

Web Standards: https://www.w3.org/standards/

Good Mobile Web Site Design: https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/getting-started/principles/?hl=en

Best practice in Web Design: http://shortiedesigns.com/2014/03/10-top-principles-effective-web-design/