The major disadvantage with it is that I have to have the Internet to use it and this means that the Internet bill can be expensive if I write a long e-mail when I am online. (On the Internet at the time) There is however a way of getting round this by typing my e-mail offline. (Not on the Internet) Another major disadvantage is that I cannot send e-mails when I are on the move unless I have a Hotmail account or something similar which I can access from anywhere in the world with ease.
On-Line shopping has its major advantages in that I can buy items from a variety of countries, for example I may buy a t-shirt from Aberdeen and a pair of shoes from Singapore. This is helpful as products in some countries are cheaper than others, although the delivery is a lot the overall price is sometimes cheaper. Another advantage is that I can buy things at any time of the day and can also buy things of a sensitive material or that are difficult to buy on the high street.
On-Line shopping also has its down points such as returning things is often difficult as I may not have a returns address or contact phone number. This is obviously a problem when purchasing items of clothing as the sizes differ from brand to brand. Another let down is that I do not own a credit card so I can not often purchase items, although I do have access to one I sometimes have to supply information over an insecure website.
Teletext is a quick and simple way of finding out information in the comfort of my armchair. There are a variety of uses for this and some of those are for finding out what television programmes are on, finding out cinema times and the gig guide for concerts. It is a free service provided by all terrestrial channels. (1-5)
The only problems with this is that my television has to be able to provide Teletext and there is a limit to the amount of information held in the Teletext also there is a limit to the quality of the graphics.
MSN Messenger is an instant messaging service provided by MSN and Hotmail, it is free to use and files can be transferred quite quickly. This means that pictures can be sent in a sort of chat room environment the only difference is that I can choose the people who are in it, for example I may only want to talk to people I know. I can also choose my screen name and change it, and have different status’s like ‘appear offline’, so no one knows that I am signed in or ‘be right back’ for when I have to leave the room. It is also private so no one can access my messenger service unless they have access to my password.
The only disadvantages are that, like e-mail I cannot access it on the move, and I have to be connected to the Internet to use it. Another drawback is that not every computer has the software installed on it, and it does take a while to download it and hard to find it on the MSN website.
Mobile telephones, or mobiles are telephones that can be taken almost anywhere to be used and have the capability to use SMS, taking and sending pictures, playing games, using the internet, playing the radio and of coarse as a telephone. I can use it to tell my parents about events, or chatting to friends.
The major drawbacks are that it costs a lot to ring another mobile or landline and also that not all mobiles can perform the mentioned tasks and if they can then they also cost money. As with most people that are under 21 I have a ‘Pay As You Go’ mobile, which means that I have to buy ‘credit ‘ whenever I run out. The amount of credit is the amount I spend, for example, I spend £10 on credit then I get £10 worth of credit, if I have no credit then my mobile can not be used for SMS, ringing people, sending pictures or using the internet. The Internet is also limited highly to the amount of information accessible as there is only a small screen.
Playstation is a games console developed by Sony, it is one of the best selling games consoles ever. It can only be used for playing games on for playing CDs, this means you are limited to what I can do with it. It is however very good at its job.
Really the only downside is that it doesn’t do anything except play games and CDs plus the games are not free.
Computers are very useful for a variety of things, like downloading music, shopping, word processing, finding information and for communication. There are a lot of advantages for example it is a fast way of doing things, I can go back and edit work, it gives documents better presentation etc. There are too many to list.
The disadvantages are that they are not that portable, although I do have a laptop which is rather portable, also since I am often sat so close to the screen it affects my eyesight.
- Touchscreen Bus Timetable
This is an interactive timetable, which is located in the Spilsby bus stop, it allows me to check for buses without having to have a paper bus timetable with me. It is also fun to use.
The disadvantages are that it may be out of order so I am not prepared so I may not find out the times of the bus.
School
This is a touch sensitive board that has the computer screen projected on to it. I find this useful as it enables a teacher or me to present work done on the computer to the whole class. It can be used just like a computer but I do not have to use a mouse as I can just use my finger to click on the board or the move the cursor around.
I find that the main disadvantages are that the screen is not always focused to everyone’s eyes and I have difficulty reading the screen sometimes rather than others. Also I find that it is difficult to read close up as I can see the individual pixels on the screen, which aggravates my retina and causes headaches after prolonged usage.
I use e-mail to send work home from school because it saves a considerable amount of time and it means that I do not have to fold up or crumple my work just to take it home.
I believe that one of the problems with it at school is the program we use, it is called Eudora Mail, and it is not very good because I can hardly ever remember my password and it does not tell me whether I entered the incorrect password or not.
A light gate is a beam of light, which can sense when the beam is broken. I use this so I can calculate the speed or acceleration of an object, it is very easy to use and I find it is very accurate.
The only problem I find with the light gates available are that the size of the object that can be recorded is very limited due to the fact that the arm which one of the light sensors is on cannot be extended very far. This makes measuring acceleration over a large distance near impossible.
The bar code scanner is used in the library for the loan of books and a record of who has which book is stored on a computer, this means that the loan of books is monitored. It benefits me because it saves a lot of time, as all the librarian has to do is scan the bar code on my library card, to find out who I am and then scan the bar code on the book and the information is automatically stored.
The disadvantages I find with the bar code scanner is that the program has to be set up to recognise the different bar codes on the books and the library cards.
This allows me to put my pictures on to the computer, so I can put pictures that I may have drawn and scan them into the computer, which creates an exact copy of it which I can edit using a paint program. This helps because it means that I do not have to produce a picture on a clumsy paint program for me to e-mail it around the world I can just scan it in and send it.
The disadvantages encountered by me while using this is that the programs which are needed to use a scanner are often difficult to use, also the purchase of a good scanner is necessary which can sometimes cost a lot of money.
