The Millennium Bug
Although it is called ‘The Millennium Bug’ it is not a virus, you can’t catch it and it certainly doesn’t creep around at the bottom of your garden. Quite simply it is the name given to what happens when computers and electronic systems can’t recognise the year 2000 and read the date as 1900 or another date instead.
The Millennium Bug affects very little in the home, but in the workplace its impact can be extensive. It isn’t something that just concerns the computers on peoples decks: a wide range of equipment, from the factory’s production line to the company’s switch board may be effected
In the early days of computers, memory capacity needed to run the computer was limited and expensive. Computer programmers saved precious memory by representing year dates with only two digits. The year 1963 was 63, 1985 was 85 and so on. Programmers assumed their shortcuts would be replaced before the Millennium, but some programs are still in use today. So when the date changes to the year 2000, not all computers and electronic systems will recognise the two digit 00 as the year 2000.
Many people think The Millennium Bug will strike as soon as the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve 1999. The truth is, it could happen any time a computer uses a date in the year 2000.
Testing and Trailing
Testing and trailing is a very good way of developing ideas into realistic formats. Over the course of history many ideas have gone to waste because they couldn’t test them. For example in Tudor times Henry VIII wanted to make a new type of battle ship. So he spent hundreds of pounds on this ship and when he went to put it in the water it turned over and sank.
If Henry VIII had desiegned and tested the ship on a computer or using minture test models, he would have had a much better chance of perfecting this enormus ship. He would have had a even better chance if he had had the type of technology we have today. Nowadays you can actually test things on a computer, if Henry VIII had this type of technology he would of been able to test if it would float in water or how much wieght it could take without sinking, there is a range of things he could do.
Before computer technology the only way to test a pilot was to fly him on a plane and make him fly it. Now you can put a pilot in a simulator and make him do anything. For example you could say that the plane left engine has just been hit and the pilot ha to deal with that and otherwise the pilots license is revoked and he has to take his test again until he passes.
Dangerous and Costly
Over the course of history there have been many examples of Dangerous and costly situations, for example the most famous example is the Titanic, it was very costly and in the end proved to be very dangerous.
The most recent example is the Eurostar tunnel which links up the two countries in Europe, England and France. This was extremely dangerous because it meant that the builders would have to build from either side of the and meet half way underneath the English Channel, about 1000ft below the sea. The problem was that the English messed up and built the tunnel at a completely different angle to the French and wasted about £5,000 worth of manpower but in the end they managed to meet up with the French and now the train travels hundreds of times a day.
A final example is Marks and Spencer. When it is the year 2000 the date on the products they sell will be 1900 instead. This is a scare mainly related to canned food because they normally have long sell by dates.
Morals and Ethics
Many people have a computer, we as a society use them in our daily life and take them for granted, we don’t appreciate the time and trouble that takes to build a computer. The only thing is that we don’t think how dangerous they can be. They can sometimes crash and make people lose all there work and there wages, accounts and very important information. Although this only happens very rarely, it still does happen to people everyday. Still, computers have many uses, they can make jobs like filling and things like that go 10x as quick as doing it by hand. They are also about learning with intelligent and fun programs for exams and work in school/work. Of course the most popular thing on a computer is the Internet and playing games. My Dad uses his computer to write letters to his workmen and is company, here is what my Dad thought of computers know days.
Q: How do Computers effect you?
A: They are a great help and speed my work up by 10x, they are also great for finding out information and a quick and easy way to shop.
Q: Are there any bad points?
A: Yes, there are some bad points about computers, for example they can shut off conversation, some of the surcurity on the Internet is not as good as it should be, also if you by a expensive top of the range computer it will be out of date by the next month and that is quite irritating. But I believe that the good things over power the bad.
In conclusion I say that computers will be essential in the near future and are a suberb example of human technology.
Cellular Mobile Communication
Michael Archer 8F
Contents:
Introduction
Past
Present
Future
Conclusion
Introduction
If you haven’t got a Mobile Phone and you are in the business world then you are not well equipped to survive in the business world. To not have a Mobile Phone today is like to not have a Television, these fantastic feasts of human technology are vastly becoming the most popular way to communicate between each other. They appeal to nearly every age group, from 10-70. It is becoming a new ‘trend’ to have a mobile phone when you are about 13, and as I have already said it is a necessity to have one in the business world. In this project I am hoping to explain why mobile phones are becoming so popular and also what is the cost of having a mobile phone.
Past
The mobile phone was first bought out in 1946 in the United States and was introduced by AT&T. The system employed only 2 frequencies on the 35-megahertz or 150-megahertz. The user of a mobile would have to turn his phone on and find the correct frequency for the mobile they wanted to call. They would then have to call the operator and then they would call the number and finally they would get through. The actual mobile would cost about $400 and would be about 25x10x8cm. It would also be about 500g in weight. Finally the reception is really bad, so they have to be close together.
Present
At present the mobile phone world is huge and is fast expanding, there are several ways with which to decide what phone to get. There are 4 major networks to choose from:
BT Cellnet: This network covers 99% of Britain with the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) and 98% of the Analogue Network.
Vodafone: This network covers 99% of Britain with the GSM and 98% of the Analogue Network.
One2One: This network covers 98% of the PCN (Personal Communication Network) and it does not cover Analogue.
Orange: This network covers 98% of the PCN and does not cover Analogue.
Then there are different types of shop’s, the likes of The Pocket Phone Shop, The Link, The Carphone Warehouse and DX Communications.
When you find a Mobile Phone Shop and ask to buy one they will go through 5 separate stages with you. First, Which Network which means you have to choose one of the above networks. You then have to say where you live, Thirdly you have to decide which Tariff you what, which means that you have to say what type of calls you will be making (local/long distance) when these calls will be made (Peak/Off Peak) and how long you will be on it for at a time. Fourthly, you must decide what handset you want and finally Whether you what to pay as a monthly bill or Pay as you Go.
A monthly bill is when you buy a phone (usually the actual phone costs a lot less), then you have to pay for connection to the network, you then have to pay for line rental, which is the phone number, finally you have to pay for the SIM card. A SIM card is a small card like device that is installed into your phone which save all the memory on your phone. After purchasing the phone every month you will have to pay in-between £9-£30+the call charges that you make during that month. This money is taken straight out of your account because you have to give your account details when you buy the phone.
A pay as you talk phone comes in different packages with different networks. You can have Pay & Go (this is what BT Cellnet call it, Orange call it Otalk, Vodafone call it Pay as you Go and One2One call it Up2You) which is when you pay for a phone usually between £50-£100, after that all you do is tell them your details and then you are away. But then there is a catch, you must first buy a voucher. What you do with these vouchers is, take them out of there packet then you type in the number into your phone, which is at the bottom of the card. These vouchers have a time limit on them. Then there is a different type of Pay as you Go, it is called All Calls by Vodafone, Just Talk by Orange, More 2 Say by One2One and Pay and Go by BT Cellnet. These vouchers are different because they don’t have a time limit on them, effectively you get £10 of calls when you spend £10.
There are many manufactures of Mobiles now days, for example, Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia, NEC, Siemens, Bosch and many, many more. All these manufactories have one thing in common, they are all striding and pushing for there goal, which is to make the most futuristic phone…..
Future
Nobody knows what the future will hold for us but we can always guess. Phone companies do it every day, they sit down at a big table and design the best phone ever, most of these designs never get put on the market because they would be to expensive. The ones that do come onto the market are usually very expensive and are not very good value.
The most futuristic phone on the market now is the New Nokia 9110, it has an in-built modem, 1000 name and address memory and it folds out into a Lap-Top. Another new phone is the Ericsson T28, it also has a in-built modem, 999 name and number memory and it is one of the smartest, neatest and smallest phones on the market. The final example of future hones on the market is the Motorola Timeport L7089, it also has an in-built modem, 999 name and number, it has the widest scope of net, finally it is tri-band which means you can have a four way conversation.
So far, Ericsson are leading the way in the future market of Mobile Phone Technology. They have accomplished many things, these include the Internet, keyboards, diary and personal organiser.
Now days there are around 1,500 satellites in orbit around the world, these are used for spying, weather, Sky Television and of course communication. There are around 250 satellites used for communication, most are BT owned because BT are the prominent communications operators. BT predict that in 25 years time there will be around 2,900 satellites devoted to communication. Nokia have announced plans to produce a mobile which has the Internet, all the other known facilities a mobile can have but this mobile has GPS (Global Positioning System). For the first time ever SWATCH are planning to make there first mobile but this mobile will be placed on your wrist (like a normal watch) and it will have all the features of a top mobile.
In the future I predict that you will be able to talk to your friends into anything. These ideas include wallets, shirts, pens/pencils, cameras, belts, binoculars, watches and the list could go on forever. Maybe in the far future humans will have mobiles inserted into there ears, but that is a little optimistic. They may be inserted into cars, so all you have to do is type in the number. The mobiles of the future will probably be totally voice activated so you don’t even have to touch the mobile to make a call. Also I think the call quality will be very much better so that it will be like standing right next to the person, finally I think that with the amount of satellites that will be in space, the world will have a 100% reception all the time wherever you are in the world, from Mount Everest to where the Titanic lies.
Conclusion
In conclusion I would like to say that human communication technology has come a long way in a very short space of time. From 1946 when AT&T bought out a 25x10x8cm, 500g, brick of a mobile to 1999 when Nokia bought out a 5x2x1cm, 86g, suberb bit of technology. And if will continue to invent and proceed in the tense, fast world of technology the way we have in the last 50 years who knows what the future will bring, we can only guess.
Evaluation
I think that I have done very well in this project because I did a lot of research and I did a lot of thinking to try to come up with original ideas for this project. I have learnt that the mobile phone world is growing very fast and that the business person of today’s world needs a mobile to stay in touch with the rest a the business world.
Bibliography
www.nokia.com
www.genie.com
www.genie/Btfuture.co.uk
www.siemens.com
www.piont.com
www.vodafone-retail.co.uk
www.ericsson.com
10 booklets from various stores, including Carphone Warehouse, Dixons, Vodafone etc....
Sky Interactive Service
My Cousin.
Michael Archer 8F REGISTER INSTRUCTIONS
This register was extremely easy to make and it is extremely easy to use, all you have to do is follow these simple guidelines.
- You must go into START/PROGRAMS/MICROSOFT OFFICE/MICROSOFT EXCEL
-
To start enter 1 for present or 0 for absent
- Then click on total days and drag the mouse along the row of presents/absences until they are black, then press a button which looks like a E and is next to the repeat arrow button.
- Add then money they paid in total in the next column and then highlight the row and on the bottom space press that E button again.
- You should buy now have something like this:
The last thing you need to do is write in the money they paid on the separate days, it should look like this:
And then all you do is print! Simple!
Michael Archer 8F Maths Programs
DLK GraphReader
The Task:
A graph is shown on the screen, the task is to answer the question posed at the bottom of the screen.
When you are satisfied with the answer, click on Check.
You will get one of two responses:
That’s Right!, Click on Another.
You got that wrong, the answer is, click on Another.
When reading the graph don’t forget the scale on the left. The Y axis on the left may have a scale factor, for example the legend on the left may say Population in 1000s. this means that if you read 100 from the graph you will need to enter 100 x 10000 = 100000 into the answer box.
