In video conferencing each ISDN line has an Internet speed of 128kps, four lines would then have 512kps. Using internet would also have an internet speed of 512kps, but this can be bottlenecks which can cause piscilation which means the image goes fuzzy and you cant see the picture. Bottleneck can be quite common to happen in schools. When using video conferencing in schools, all calls need to be checked for security reasons. A public IP address is used therefore it can easily leave access for hackers.
Video conferencing is based for giving talks to schools. Also an example of how a school might use video conferencing is to connect to museums so that someone can teach the students from the museum in their own classroom without either of them having to travel. Another example of how video conferencing can be used is when Golbourne used video conferencing to communicate with the SAS (the army) to learn how to jump out of a plane.
Internet Café- Internet
Internet cafes are a very common place for most people who like to surf the Internet. It is like a normal café but you have access to computers at the same time. These cafes usually offer high speed Internet and the latest computer games. Internet Cafes meet the community’s needs as it offers them access to a computer with a fast Internet connection. It also offers them a friendly environment where they can use the computer, scanners and printers.
In this piece of coursework I will be writing about “Net Time” in Ladbroke Grove. “Net Time” is opened every weekday from 9am-10pm and every weekend from 10am-12am. “Net Time” offers access to the Internet for £1 an hour.
There are 35 computers with flat screen display available to the public at “Net Time”. All PCs are connected to high quality Logitech webcams, scanners and printers. There is also help at hand for all customers who may have any problems with the computer or the Internet.
At “Net Time” they use an Intel Celeron processor followed by a 2.60ghz bullet genuine windows XP home edition with approximately (256-512mb) ddr ram and a 40 Gb hard drive. The computers have a full installation of Norton Anti Virus; this will help the business by protecting them from any viruses which could infect the computer. This is very useful in such a big business as so many people use the computers for various reasons. They also have a built in network card system followed by LAN and wireless which is needed in such a big business. This is used for supplying the computers with broadband Internet.
The Internet they use is a high-speed cable broadband Internet approximately (512 Mb or 1Gb), not DSL (phone line) mainly in case the phone line gets faulty, and that would cause the Internet to stop working. They also use a broadband router to supply all the other computers with Internet by using LAN cards and not wireless, this is because for such a big business LAN is more powerful.
The printer that they use at “Net Time” is a Lexmark Z735 desktop printer. This printer is supposed to print both in black and white and in colour but recently the printer has stopped printing in colour so the customers have to print all documents in black and white. This printer is easy to use and has a compact, space saving design. It has a print resolution of up to 4800 x 1200 dpi and can print up to 15pages per minute in either black and white or in colour. To print a document at “Net Time” it will cost the customer 25p per page. This is quite expensive and there have been many customer complaints regarding the cost of each page to print.
Currently at “Net Time” they do not have a scanner.
Train Station- CCTV cameras
Train stations like many other public places in a community will have CCTV cameras to help keep people in the community safe. It is there to help the police in catching anyone who is trying to harm any member of the community by collecting evidence of these crimes, to reduce vandalism and graffiti, and so that it will also allow the police to keep more control of what goes on in the streets of Ladbroke Grove. This meets the community’s needs as it keeps them safe within their community.
A CCTV system is a system in which the circuit is closed and all the elements are directly connected. The camera will create the picture and that picture will be transmitted to the control position. Most CCTV cameras will not be fitted with a lens. The lens will have to be provided separately and screwed onto the front of the camera. The camera will then have a “BNC” plug which is used for connecting the coaxial video cable.
The CCTV cameras currently being used in Ladbroke Grove train station is the Voltek Black & White Bullet CCTV Camera with an excellent quality CCD lens which has a 90 degree angle lens. Its is waterproof. Its has dimensions of 22mm diameter and 69mm length. This camera can be connected to a TV, VCR or computer capture card and a BNC connector which allows connection to a security monitor.
Evaluation- CLC
The CLC in some ways meets the community’s needs. It meets their needs as it offers them other forms of communication that can make their lives much easier at times. Saves people the trouble of travelling and if the video conferencing is being used in schools it also saves the school from having to get supply teachers. But there is always room for improvement. For example, at the moment the CLC uses ISDN which is costing them too much, it is costing them £350 per month. This can easily be improved. To do this they can use IP calls, this way the can do calls with many parties at the same time and multi-point conferencing. For this they would only need 2 buy a microphone to put in the centre of the room. The microphone would only cost them £450 but they wouldn’t have to be paying the £350 a month for the ISDN.
Another problem with the CLC is that there is not enough access for the public. There should be more diversity of the people who have and use the equipment. Also the video conferencing room is quite small so to improve this they could try and buy the house next door to the CLC to create an extra building.
Whilst using video conferencing you will be using a public IP as the video conferencing is going straight out of the school and the security must be very high. As they as using a public IP this could very easily leave access for hackers. To fix this all the CLC has to do is set up a strong firewall that will prevent hackers from hacking in during or after a videoconference.
Evaluation- Internet Café
“Net Time” does not entirely meet the community’s needs. It offers high quality computers and a 512mbps Internet connection. However, this Internet connection is quite slow and so does not meet the community’s needs as they need a fast Internet connection. To meet the community’s needs “Net Time” should upgrade their Internet connection to 1 Gbps.
Also at “Net Time” their current printer only prints in black and white that has caused a few problems with the customers as some wish to print out photos and cannot as the printer does not print in colour. To improve this “Net Time” would need to buy a new printer that would print in black and white as well as in colour. This new printer could also be a 3 in1 and include scanner, printer and copier. The EPSON DX4200 3 in 1 printer, scanner and copier would be the ideal solution for “Net Time” to improve their resources available to the community. It has a print resolution of up to 5764 x 1440 dpi and a scan resolution of up to1200 x 2400 dpi. It has 4 individual DURABrite ultra ink tanks and will print up to 20 pages per minute in black and 19 pages per minute in colour.
This would solve the problem with the colour printing, scanning and also the wait for each printing would be faster as they would then have two printers instead of just one. But for “Net Time” to improve their service even more they could lower their printing price on black and white printings.
Evaluation- CCTV Cameras
The CCTV cameras in Ladbroke Grove train do not meet the community’s needs entirely. As the cameras only produce a black and white image it may sometimes miss out certain details of a person and this could make the polices job much harder. A way in which the CCTV cameras could improve in order to meet the community’s needs would be to get new colour CCTV cameras. They could get a 70CS series outside true day/night IR colour camera with a range of 30m, max 40m, with a lens of 4.3mm and 78 degrees angle of view.