- Phoning a colleague to see how a contract is working out
- Texting my mother to say what time he will be home
- Phoning AA to use their traffic updating service
- Being located and contacted by one of his ‘underdog’ colleagues to ask for assistance
1.2 Email
How it works
Email is used via the internet and is becoming an extremely popular way of communicating with people. Generally, people tend to restrict messages by email to short, direct and to the point messages, and this is generally how my Dad uses email. However, with larger attachments and emails being able to be sent across servers on the Internet, this is changing slightly. It is used a lot now for exchanging files and documents between people in one business, but working in a different office, so they cannot access the same Intranet. Email can travel across the world as easily as it can travel to the person in the next desk and only takes a few moments.
User’s Needs
Dad needs email for both personal and work related needs. At work, reading and sending emails forms a very large part of his day. Being able to access documents is an advantage of email which he finds particularly useful and also being able to communicate with people without having to speak to them over the phone is a big advantage for my Dad. He needs email to be fast and easy to use, and so also needs software to accompany the technology of email and enable it to be accessible to him. After trying various different email software programs, he now uses Outlook at both work and home. At home, Dad needs email to keep him in easy contact with friends and family, and it also helps our lives by enabling quick group messages to be sent, whenever there is a development in any of the charity organisations we belong to, or with the network of people with the same disease as my mother.
Why it is used
It is used because it does do all of the above things, although the software does make a big difference to the ease of use, and so people using email with a different piece of software could report it to be difficult and temperamental, this is not my Dad’s experience at all. He finds that email makes everyone’s lives much quicker and simple, and also that email is simple, clear and easy to use. It is really simple, all you have to do is type the correct address of the person you want to send to and then the message you have, then press send. A good email provider such as the computer based Outlook or the web based Hotmail, does everything else for you.
Email is also used because it is really environmentally friendly. All of the people that Dad emails would have had computers whether or not they could be used for email, and so basically no new equipment has to be brought, and yet it enables the usage of paper, in the past used in huge quantities, to be nearly nothing, as everyone reads and exchanges everything using email.
Examples of use
There are many many examples of use of email from the work side of Dad’s life, as it is the main form of communication and exchange of documents that they use, not having a particularly effective or interactive Intranet where he works. It allows for all kinds of things to be exchanged and updated, really easily.
2.0 Entertainment
2.1 MP3 Player
How it works
MP3 players compress sound, and so can hold a much larger amount of sound – music – than would otherwise be possible. MP3 stands for MPEG Audio Layer-3, which is a subsystem from the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) standard compression system, , which had already been developed for DVD’s, so that more moving pictures could be stored than the disc space would have allowed normally.
The compression system format allows the number of bytes in a song to be reduced, without any impairment to the quality of the song. A 32-megabyte song on the computer can now be compressed down to about 3megabytes on a MP3 player, which means that songs can be downloaded much quicker, as well as more being stored. The technology used in an MP3 player could be used on a computer, but people wanted to take their music with them everywhere, as with a portable CD player.
User’s Needs
My Dad needed a small portable and easy to use music system. He has had CD’s and a portable CD player, but wanted something which would not take up so much space by the time you have the music as well. He also needed it to be discreet and light as he quite often travels abroad, but does not like carrying more than the absolute minimum.
He also has a wide range of music depending on the mood that he is in, and so wanted something that could hold a large number of songs so that he had the right genre when he wanted it, wherever he was.
Why it is used
He has therefore brought himself a smart, small and large memory MP3 player. He did not buy an integrated system such as an iPod, as he has heard that they are more difficult to get the hang of, go wrong easily and also take up vital memory space with, for him, unnecessary applications.
The reasons why he has brought himself the MP3 player that he did then are –
- It is small and easy to use
- It allows him to easily copy music from either CDs that he currently owns or from his computer.
- It has a large memory and so holds the number of songs which he wanted it to.
- He can create custom play lists on it.
- It does not require anything else other than headphones to be ‘off and away’.
- It will play music which has been downloaded in another format to MP3.
Examples of use
He uses this both at work when he is in the office and it is quiet, for example on a traditional holiday day, and also when he is travelling for work, for example on an aeroplane. He also uses this at home, for his own entertainment.
2.2 DVD’s/DVD Player
How it works
DVDs are still relatively new, but becoming huge, and are expected to take over completely from VCRs in the next few years. DVD are doing for films and documentaries what CDs did for music, taking over from tapes. The sound and picture quality is so much better with a DVD. A DVD is actually really similar to a CD, just designed slightly differently so that it holds more data. This means that it can only be read by DVD player, although many people now have a DVD/CD-Rom player all in one job in their computers. DVDs can actually hold songs as well – 8 hours worth per side, meaning some people use portable DVD players for music as well as films. DVD’s are MEPG-2 encoded, and so use compression in the same way a MP3 does. DVDs can hold a full length movie easily, and so are often ‘filled up’ with other information and extras.
User’s Needs
My Dad needs DVDs for entertainment, as for one they are so much easier to use and manipulate than videos. He needs the technology he uses, which including anything to watch films on, to be simple so that it cannot go wrong easily, something which annoys him intently. My Dad also likes to be environmentally friendly and feel that he is putting something towards the future of the planet, and as VCRs are not at all environmentally friendly in the way they are made in the materials that they are made of, he wanted something better. The Open University courses which he does also find DVDs far better to send their students through the post than VCRs ever were, they get damaged less easily and post and packaging costs are so much lower.
Why it is used
Here are some of the main reasons why DVDs are used by my Dad in particular –
- Easier to store than VCRs
- More easy access to the part of the film you want to be watching - Instead of fast forwarding and rewinding for ages, which you can still do, you can skip to specific chapters.
- More features, meaning you get more than you get with an ordinary VCR, such as edited out scenes, parts where the actors went wrong, all of which can be really fun to watch and is my Dad’s favourite part of a film.
- Lighter to carry around.
- Courses with the Open University require that you use DVDs.
Examples of use
As previously mentioned, DVDs are used by my Dad for study, with the Open University courses, and also for home entertainment. He does not use DVDs for any part of his work, but this could change in the future.
3.0 Personal Computer
3.1 Hardware
How it works
My Dad uses a personal computer and a laptop, with removable storage equipment and/or email to exchange files between the two. The personal computer, situated at home, he uses for both work and personal use, whereas the laptop is for work use only. He finds that using both shares out disk space and prevents his laptop batteries from needing to be charged a lot. The hardware on his personal computer includes a flat screen monitor, a mouse, a keyboard, a computer tower, a microphone, a laser printer/scanner and speakers. This all work together to provide the workstation which he requires, as discussed below. I will not go into detail about how all the hardware parts of computer work, I think that is fairly self explanatory.
User’s Needs
My Dad needs his computer to be powerful and to be able to run the complicated software which he has to manipulate and produce results from for his work. He needs the monitor to be far enough away from him that he can see it, as his long sightedness is a major problem if the screen is too close. He does not need a powerful graphics card, as although he does occasionally watch DVD’s on his computer, rather than using the DVD Player, he does not use his computer for computer games or any other application which requires a larger graphics card than normally provided. In the same fashion, he does not really make use of the sound card, he may occasionally play music but nothing needing a really high tech card.
He needs the memory card to be large enough to store all of his work, so that is an important specification.
Why it is used and Examples of use
He uses a Personal computer to compliment his laptop because it is more efficient, easier to use and has much more memory space. He prefers the keyboard and the fact that he can move the monitor to as far away as he needs, whereas with a laptop he is more restricted. As he has a flat LCD screen for his computer, he can have the monitor really far away. The laptop is also less powerful than the personal computer, so that is another reason why the PC is so good.
Reasons why he uses the computer in the first place include a whole list of things. Here are a few main reasons why he uses a Personal Computer –
- It allows him to run programs which complete work for him in hours rather than the days working it out manually.
- It allows him to use one of his main forms of communication at work – email.
- It gives him freedom to order things for work or the home use online.
- His presentations can be more better with the use of a computer Powerpoint presentation.
- He can type up contracts or other documents making them look official.
3.2 Software
How it works
The software that he uses at work is not that varied really. He uses a very complicated program called Paragon, which works by receiving various bits of data and then doing the ‘Maths’ for him, working out solutions to problems or just arranging lorry schedules and delivery dates, as well as taking in to account limitations, such as not having too much stock in the warehouse at once or something like that.
At work, he also uses Powerpoint, which I had already mentioned. This is one of the best if not the best presentation programs. It works by helping you to make up ‘slides’, to form a slide show, which is generally shown in the background to provide extra interest and give emphasis the main details of what a speaker is says, or to illustrate the talk with pictures. You generally type clear concise notes on the slides, then talk around and about them in the talk.
He then also uses a program called Quick Books Pro, for invoices for my mums own business. This is an example of a piece of software he uses just at home, then Outlook Express he uses both at home and at work.
User’s Needs
With Paragon, the main and from what he has said, the most important piece of software, he needs it to be accurate and correct in its calculations. It cannot make mistakes, as that could throw whole contracts out. It must not take too long to process information, and must be easy to input the information and make it perform the calculations required, using all the data required.
Why it is used
He uses Paragon because it revolutionises the way in which he works and can work for people. He can now work much quicker, and much less human labour is needed than in the past. Companies using the company are now much happy because the contract is so much better in its specifications, which have been worked out using this program. Dad and his company would not be able to outdo or even keep up with any of the competition if they were not using this program or a similar one, and so it must be used. Paragon could be improved though by having the data processing happen much quicker, as it still does take a few hours.
The invoicing program is used even though it is not simple to work with and to put in the figures, it produces impressive results in the end. This means that Mum’s simple home book service looks much more impressive and official than it otherwise could.
Outlook is used because Dad finds it to be the best email management program he has come across. It does have its disadvantages, but the advantages still outweigh these.
Examples of use
I think that I have covered most of the examples of use for the various pieces of software which Dad uses whilst talking through why and what he uses them for!
4.0 Evaluations
4.1 Personal Evaluation
I think that the technologies which I have talked about which Dad uses for his own ends, do meet his needs quite well. These technologies include –
- DVD Player
- Personal Computer – software (Quick Books Pro)
- Personal Computer – hardware
- MP3 Player
Although each of the technologies might have its disadvantages, none of them are so bad that he has said that he would really rather to not have to use them. Without most of these ones, his home entertainment and relaxing time would be very different. Although he does like reading, now that he has a DVD player he really enjoys watching them, finding them so much more appealing and interesting than normal videos can be. They are also more versatile, as if he wants to check his emails at the same time as watching a film, he can show the film on part of his screen on his computer, with Internet Explorer working away as well.
The MP3 player is relatively new but is proving to be a big hit, and definitely seems to be fulfilling all of Dad’s requirements of it. His Personal Computer is probably the piece of equipment which lets him down the most, and although I have tried to justify his use of it, I think he would be more suited to either using his laptop solely for both work and home use, or buying another laptop. Most of the associated computer hardware is all reasonable and meets his basic needs.
Overall, I think that the technology does meet his needs at the moment, but as the technology available changes and develops, I am sure that his needs will suddenly develop and increase!
4.2 Social Evaluation
The technologies that we are talking about for this evaluation, of the technology that he uses to interact with others, includes the following from the ones that I have talked about in the report –
- Mobile
- Personal Computer – software (Outlook)
- Personal Computer – hardware (to enable the above!)
First I will evaluate his mobile phone. He uses this mostly for interaction and communication with others in work, but he also uses it a lot for contact with his family, and so I think that overall, having a mobile is extremely important to both his job and life. He uses both of the phone and text message applications on his phone, although he phones most of the time still, having only just been introduced to the world of text messaging. This I think will be used much more in the future, as our lives all get busier and a text message fits in more conveniently and with less disruption than a phone call.
The software program Outlook, which he uses to read, write and generally manage his emails is perfect and meets his needs well and without being too complicated. It is no problem to send or receive a simple email, and although there are many extra features available for use if he needed, they do not clutter or complicate the simple procedures where they are not required. It meets his needs well, as it enables him to stay in contact with people that we have not met or do not see very often, without any problems. Email is fairly vital to our lives, as it allows us to hear about new information regarding my mum’s illness, without having to wait the long while before ‘snail mail’ arrives, which would be quite detrimental to all of us.
His Personal Computer, which I have included here because it allows him to interact through email, as talked about above, I have already discussed the advantages and disadvantages of.
4.3 Work Related Evaluation
The technology which I have talked about which enhances his work life, or even completes jobs for him or provides him with a job are –
- Personal Computer – Software (Outlook and Paragon)
- Mobile
Paragon is an incredible program which I think is a huge part of my Dad’s work, in fact I am not sure if his job would or even could exist in today’s technologically minded world, where such a program would in fact be automatically assumed to be in use by customers. In fact, it is only a few years old, but as other advances in the world have happened so quickly, the company would still be definitely looked down on if there were still employing people to process the sort of data that it does by hand.
His mobile phone is also very important to his work life as well as his social life as talked about above. Without his mobile, as with the Paragon, the company would not be able to work fast enough to satisfy their customers or potential customers, and so would lose out on important business. Being able to communicate with each other wherever they are is therefore really crucial, and a mobile is the only really efficient way of doing this at the moment. Although technology such as pagers do work to a certain extent, you have not got the flexibility with them that you have with a mobile phone, and so it would not be as easy. As mobiles are not too expensive to buy or to run, the company, whilst they paid for the cost of the phone and the upkeep of it, they do not mind the phone being used for a limited amount of personal use as well as work related. Without a mobile, keeping in contact with us would be much harder and more expensive when he has to go abroad for a work business meeting, and so a mobile is very useful in that respect.
Although mobiles are super, and crucial to the work of Dad’s company, as outlined above, and so a very important part of his life as an adult in employment, I think that the mobile phone itself could be better. It meets all of his basic needs, but it is still more complicated than is really safe in the car.
Outlook I included as he uses Outlook a lot at work as well as using it for home use. It meets his needs in just about the same way as it did for his home usage needs, and is still a fairly vital part of his life, as his company without email would be again not be as fast and effective as it needs to be.
Style of Working
Overall, I think that his style of working has been completely revolutionised by the introductions of the technologies that I have talked about and analysed in this report. Before all of this technology was invented or widely known about and employed, I do not think that he could have been able to work as fast and efficiently. He said in the interview that they could not now go back to the ways in which they worked 15 years ago, because all of their customers use ICT and so it would simply not work.
The style of working is completely different now, documents are sent around the world in minutes and similarly, replies are sent back within minutes and the responses can be worked on basically immediately. This is instead of having to send a document through the post, wait 3 days for in to arrive, another three for it to reach the correct person within the company, and then 3 days for the response to arrive back. It is so starkly different it is almost mind boggling.
There are very few problems with technology that my Dad experiences, and these usually centre around the user not knowing how to use the technology properly, or the technology breaking down. This can cause many repercussion problems, but this happens so rarely that the advantages of technology far out weigh the disadvantages.
Overall Evaluation
So overall, my Dad’s personal, social and work, including his style of working at work, lives have been completely changed and enhanced by technology. The problems always far outweigh the disadvantages, and his use of technology is now a standard part of his life.
