Categories of Technology
- Internet e.g. email, websites, messenger, chat rooms
- Communication e.g. mobile phone, video phone, video conferencing, information points
- Entertainment e.g. games console, MP3 player, digital TV
- Mobile access e.g. laptop, PDA, Wi-Fi, WAP
- Data capture e.g. digital camera, voice recorder, scanner
- Financial transactions e.g. ATM, EPOS, smart card
Internet
How the Internet Is Used
The internet is used in many different ways such as; communication, finding information, publishing, commerce and for online learning. The most widely used facilities on the internet are; The World Wide Web (WWW), electronic mail (e-mail), newsgroups, chat and publishing. The web is the most popular and fastest growing part of the internet. It provides easy access to a vast range of information stored on computers all over the world. E-mail allows people to send messages from one computer to another almost immediately. It is widely used and has become an alternative to the conventional letter post, the fax, and telephone. Newsgroups are discussion groups that usually focus on one particular subject and therefore enable people with common interests to communicate. Chat is similar to a telephone conversation, except people type instead of talk. People can hold conversations with one or more people by typing their messages on the screen. These appear instantly on the screens of everyone involved. Publishing is not just for organisations or businesses. Anyone can create their own Web site or weblog and ‘publish’ their files on the World Wide Web.
Benefits of the Internet
There are a numerous benefits of the internet such as communication, information, downloading software, services and e-commerce. People can benefit from internet communication because people can communicate in seconds with a person who is in the other part of the world. We can also e-mail people from all over the world and we can chat for hours with loved ones. Information is probably the biggest benefit the internet offers. Any kind of information on any topic in the world is available on the internet. People can almost find any type of data on any kind of subject that they are looking for. There is a vast amount of information available on the internet ranging from government law and services, market information, new ideas and technical support. Another benefit is downloading software. This is one of the most happening and fun things to do using the internet. People can download countless games, music, videos, movies, and lots of other entertainment software from the internet, which are mostly free. Many services are now provided on the internet such as online banking, job seeking, purchasing tickets for favourite movies, guidance services on a range of topics, and hotel reservations. Often these services are not available off-line and can cost more. Ecommerce is the idea used for any type of commercial planning, or business deals that involves the transfer of information across the globe via Internet. Ecommerce has got a real incredible and wide range of products from household needs, technology to entertainment.
