Extended Learning - Week 4

Across

3. This keeps your user area secure

7. Another name for a computer on a network

8. This usually connects a LAN together

9. The software that keeps the network safe from hackers and viruses

Down

1. The machine that stores your data and files

2. This tells the server who you are and which files to present to you

4. Hardware that can be connected to a network and shared

5. The largest WAN in existence

6. The network topology which has a server in the middle

10. The network topology which sends data in one direction only

Extended Learning - Week 3

Task 4 - Storage Devices

FOUNDATION

HIGHER

Q1) DESCRIBE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A 'BYTE' AND A 'KILOBYTE'.
First of all, a kilobyte is large than a byte, so a storage device with 1 kilobyte of memory would be able to hold 1024 times as much as a storage device with one byte.

Q2) LIST THREE THINGS THAT YOU KNOW ABOUT A HARD DISK.
It is a non-volatile storage device.
They tend to have high amounts of memory
They store digitally encoded data on the spinning 'platters'

Q3) OUTLINE TWO ADVANTAGES AND TWO DISADVANTAGES OF USING A HARD DISK TO BACK UP YOUR DATA.
Advantages;
It has a high storage capacity.
It is cheaper by cost per megabyte than over storage devices.
Disadvantages;
They can crash and shut down the computer, or even lose your data.
It is difficult to transfer the data from one computer to the other.

Q4) COMPARE AND CONTRAST A HARD DISK WITH RAM.
A hard disk accesses data much slower than a RAM chip would, however a hard disk would have a much higher storage capacity than RAM.
RAM also loses all data when the computer is switched off, while the hard disk keeps it.

Q5) EXPLAIN HOW A HARD DISK WORKS.
The hard disk contains metal platters with are coated with magnetic substance. The data is stored in this magnetic material. So a hard disk is essentially a magnetic storage device.
In order for the hard disk to work, the platters spin ridiculously fast as a head reads the data just above the platter's surface.

Q6) YOU ARE ATTENDING A JOB INTERVIEW FOR AN IT TECHNICIANS POST. DURING THE INTERVIEW, YOU ARE ASKED WHAT STORAGE DEVICE YOU WOULD RECOMMEND FOR BACKING UP THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OVERNIGHT. YOU NEED TO EXPLAIN AND JUSTIFY YOUR DECISION.
I would use magnetic tape to back up the school's system every day because it has a high storage capactiy. It uses serial access to find the data, but this would not be a problem because it would not need to be found quickly.
It is relatively cheap and it can also be set up to back up data overnight, or even over the weekend.

Extended Learning - Week 2

I wouldn't buy parts to put together and create a computing device, because i would have to spend money to pay someone to build it for me.
So i would buy a laptop. The only thing that i would want is a big LCD screen, which is bright and a very fast connection speed. A reasonably high amount of memory would be needed aswell. Because it is a laptop i wouldn't want it to be heavy and would want it to be portable.
I could get a perfect laptop like this for around £850.

Task 3 - Comparing Computing Devices

IPHONE 3G
£67.55
http://www.swoopo.co.uk/

480 x 320 pixel resolution
Plays video
Built in microphone
2.0 mega pixel camera
Ambient light sensor
5 hours talktime
300 hours standby battery
8-16G flash drive
Wi-fi and Bluetooth
http://www.apple.com/uk/iphone/specs.html

iPhones are portable, easy and quick to use and do most of the basic things you would want in a computer, such as connecting to the internet to browse websites, or typing in a word document. However, unlike a computer, they can also make phone calls and send text messages.
However, they have much less memory and less battery life. Although they are lots cheaper at £67.55, although they are normally a bit more expensive.



MACBOOK AIR
£1271
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/

1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
120 GB 4200 RPM Serial ATA hard disk drive
4.5 hours wireless connection
Built in Wi-Fi
Built in speakers
http://www.apple.com/macbookair/specs.html

The first thing you notice about the Mac Book Air is the price. While the memory capacity is huge and there is a selection of built in features, the battery life, whilst connected to the internet, is just that tiny bit lower than the Apple iPhone.
However, the graphics are better, connectivity is faster and the Mac Book is just as portable.



HP iPAQ 114
£150.54
http://www.kikatek.com/

624 MHz processor
256 MB ROM
Bluetooth
Integrated Speakers
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/sm/WF06b/215348-215348-64929-215384-215384-3544251-3544258.html

This phone isn’t exactly cheap and doesn’t have a lot of features. It’s more like a computer than a phone, as it doesn’t have the main features of most phones (camera, mp3 player) however it does come installed with a variety of HP software.

Extended Learning - Week 1

OMR stands for Optical Mark Recognition;
This simply means that the OMR device scans the form or paper with a beam of light. It can then read the reflected light from the areas of paper that have been filled in and then determine what these marks mean by calibrating them with predetermined positions.

The Naional Lottery could work without OMR but the process would be slow, difficult and prone to human error. Without OMR the process would also be more expensive, as specialists would need to be hired and a longer lottery draw would not to be broadcast.

Task 2 - Input & Output Devices

The image shows a variety of input (controller, scanner, keyboard) and output (screen, printer, speakers) devices.

Task 1 - Computer Hardware & Software

This image shows a variety of hardware (things you can touch) and software (things you can't).