Personal and Social Uses of ICT Essay Example for Free

Personal and Social Uses of ICT Essay I use ICT personally as well as socially and at home which is sometimes very helpful for me as I can do my work faster and in a better quality. Here are some examples of technologies I use: * Mobile Phone * DVD Player * Digital TV * Calculator * MP3 Player * Digital Camera * Digital Video Camera * Printer * Game Consoles * Email * Projector * Cds, DVDs * Telephone Personal Use of ICT: DVD Player and DVDs:: I use the DVD player personally and socially to watch films or even listen to music. I use the DVD player personally to watch films with my friends and family or listen to music personally. I use the DVD Player at school to present my projects on it or watch educational Movies on it. There are sometimes faults in DVD Players such as the CD sometimes gets stuck in there and the drive doesnt opens. There are many types of DVD cds used in the DVD Player, one of the latest type of Cds is a Flexplay DVD that takes care of the rental period itself it hits a chemical stopwatch when you open the package, and when your time is up (in 48 hours, say), the disc stops working. Now you can return it or give it to get recycled. The idea of using these type of Cds is that even snack bars are able to sell these DVDs in a rental price and once they are soled no one needs to worry because as I mentioned it will get deleted by itself. Once I used a DVD player to present a Movie clip during my project at school which was very helpful as I didnt had much to explain. Evaluation: Currently use a DVD Player with an unknown brand, the reason for this is as I got it as a gift with my m mobile phone from the mobile phone provider, but according to my research the more quality a DVD Player has the more likely it reads discs with special formats, but the disadvantage is that it mostly blocks DVDs which are pirated or copyright protected. Internet: I sometimes use the internet socially to chat to my friends as well as cousins. I sometimes also use the internet to download games as well as music or DVDs. I also use internet for online shopping which is very helpful as I am able to find products cheaper then anywhere else. Such as games which are a lot cheaper on the internet then in any shops. The disadvantage of online shopping is that there is a bit of chance of getting hacked. Evaluation: I currently have TalkTalk Broadband at home which meets my needs fully and is very helpful to me as researches can be done very quickly, as well as online shopping or communication can take place socially. Calculator: I use the calculator to calculate the price of any products I want to buy or I use it. Personannly, for example at school to calculate answers. I have used the calculator a few times during my maths lessons to help me to find the answers of questions which were to hard to work out by my own. There are a few types of calculator the most known are simple and scientific calculators. The main difference between simple and scientific calculators are that scientific calculator have got more functions and can work out difficult questions where as the simple calculator can mostly only add, subtract, multiply or divide. Evaluation: In this case a Calculator is the most efficient way to calculate difficult equations as working the answer out with the mind an a pen and pencil consumes a lot of time whereas a calculator is the most time efficient and accurate way. Printer: I use my Inject printer personally; I use it personally to print out any research or receipts of any items I have bought. I also use it to print out pictures by connecting my digital camera directly to my printer. I sometimes use the printer to print out interesting researches or any coursework personally for the school. As I have chosen applied science I have to print out a lot of courseworks so I believe that the printer helps me a lot in my daily life. Once I had printed out my coursework but I lost it by mistake so I just printed it out again which saved me time and was very helpful as I didnt had to do all the hard work again. I also use the printer for home use to print out pictures or interesting researches which may be shared amongst other house members or shown to someone at home. Evaluation: The reason I have decided use the Inject Printer is as the ink Cartridges can be bought very cheaply and have a long lasting duration. Also the printing speed is reasonable and if someone does not print a lot just like me that printer can be made to a perfect use. MP3 Player: I use my Mp3 player only personally to listen to music when I am on my way to my friends or even school. I can listen to my favourite sound tracks at any time I want to and anywhere I am without disturbing other people. The MP3 player is connected to the computer using the USB connection and then tracks can be downloaded and stored on the MP3 player. The main advantage of a MP3 player is that it has got a smaller size then a CD player and a smarter look. It also has got a bigger internal size and you can save your favourite tracks on it. If you use a CD player you always have to swap the CD if you want to listen to any different track which is a disadvantage as it wastes time and sometimes you dont even are in the mood to do it. I personally use the MP3 player not to get bored and it keeps me active and awake. Evaluation: Currently I use a Phillips A260 MP3 Player as it provides me with brilliant sound quality and is not to expensive to purchase. Also he purpose of an MP3 Player originally is to provide music in as good quality as possible. Game consoles: I use Game consoles for my personal life to have a bit of fun after doing hard work. Game consoles are not really helpful but it is fun to use them as you are able to play games such as football which would be hard to play outside if it would be bad weather. The advantage of Game consoles is that you can play multiplayer with your friends or family members. The best thing about game consoles is that the latest game consoles have got special function which make it even more fun for example the Xbox 360 is one of the latest game consoles which has got a Xbox live function, this is used to connect to the internet and play with someone you dont know if he has go the same game. Secondly it has got wireless pads which help you as normally a lot of people step over cables which may get annoying. You can also store music or DVDs on the Xbox 360 or even watch it. With the use of XBOX Live, Xbox can be used socially to play and communicate with other people using XBOX Live. Evaluation: Currently I have a XBOX Console; the reason for me buying this system was as I used to have a playstation 1 and as I got bored I decided to try something new, for this reason I bought the XBOX Console. Digital still and video camera: I use Digital cameras in my personal life which are helpful as I am able to take pictures or videos of the things I have enjoyed with my friends or family. There are many digital cameras available these days which are very helpful as most of the latest once have got a LCD screen at the back which helps you to view the picture during the time you are taking it or after you have taken it and show it to someone directly without giving them to photo shops so that they can create them for you. So basically you can retake the picture if you dont like it with out doing a lot of work. Of course there are some disadvantages such as that if your memory card is full you cant store any pictures any more and you have to delete some but now days you can get memory card with a very great size which make it able to take more then 200 pictures until it is full. The other disadvantage is that digital cameras take a lot of battery however there are special batteries called Nimah batteries which make it able for me to use the battery a lot longer until it is finished. I use the digital camera at home to take pictures of my family or cousins and then I can remind me using them or I just connect them to the printer and I got the pictures without even doing a lot of work. Evaluation: At the moment I have a Panasonic Digital Camera, the reason for this is as it has an external display as well as a night view system and a brilliant quality. Also it is not to expensive to purchase but provides full performance. The battery life is also not too bad for home use but can be upgraded if required. Social Use of ICT: Mobile Phone: There are many new mobile phone models out these days which have got a lot of functions and mobile phones get improved daily as more softwares and also hardwares are added to it. Examples of hardwares are: Bluetooth, Infrared, Camera, 262000 colour display etc. I use my Mobile Phone Socially to contact any companies for information about any products I dont know how to use. I also use a mobile phone personally to talk to my friends as well as my parents if I am not at home. I sometimes use my Mobile Phone personally to listen to music or play games on it. For example once I used my Mobile to contact my parents to inform them that I am going to come home later as I have got work to do. In these cases mobile phones are very helpful as you can talk to people anywhere the net is available. There are sometimes faults in mobiles such as sometimes if your Bluetooth is turned on viruses are able to attack your mobile and destroy the software so that the mobile can sometimes not work again. Evaluation: I currently use the Motorola L7 as it is reasonable cheap to purchase and does not weight a lot, also it is very thin so is able to fit into a pocket very easily, also it Is able to serve me with the requirements I have, these include: sending text messages, camera, phone Email: I use the Email software personally and socially to help me as it has got many advantages as well as some disadvantages. I use the Email software socially to contact my friends or sometimes remind them about anything such as the homework. I use it socially to email to companies for any inquiries I have or I use it to send emails regarding eBay to people to ask them about any information such as delivery time. The main advantage of the Email is that it is much faster then sending a letter and can be send to many people at the same time. Where as a letter has to be packed in separate envelopes and then the address has to be written on it before it can get send. The disadvantage of email software is that it may get hacked or sometimes even can contain a virus. Evaluation: Currently I have a Hotmail Email address, the reason for this is as Hotmail have a website very easy to use and new softwares are being developed by hotmail very quickly which may be a great help to me. Another reason for me using hotmail is as at the time I created my email address only hotmail email addresses worked in MSN Messenger and MSN Messenger was the only software to be able to provide webcam for free. Telephone: I use the telephone socially to talk to friends or even my cousins. I use it socially to make phone calls to company to contact them for any inquiries or for any help. Nowadays there are wireless telephones which have got a range of meters but are very helpful as you are able to use it and mover around with out any problems so they dont stop you from doing work and talking to mated or someone at the same time. The telephone is a very simple technology as the phone only has three parts named microphone, hook switch and a speaker. The latest phones however have got more technology in them so that in older phones you could hear your own voice which people found very annoying but in new phones it is not like that. I believe that the telephone will remain as one of the simplest devices. Evaluation: Currently I have a Phillips phone which was expensive but has an external loud and good quality speaker, is wireless and also has a function to send and receive SMS. The reason for me buying this phone was as it had the longest warranty and seemed to be the one with the functions I required and functions which were required at home. School Related Use: Projector: I use the projector socially at school to present my presentations. It is very helpful as it can make a computer screen or anything else look bigger then it really is. So basically you dont need to have a big screen TV to show it in a way so that the whole class can see it. Because of the projector I can present my work in a way that everyone can see it. The main advantage is that it doesnt weights a lot so that you are able to move it easily without any problem. You can not move a big TV easily. I once had produced my project on a projector which was very helpful as everyone was able to see what I was trying to say. The main disadvantage is that some projectors dont display the picture very clearly. Evaluation: Currently we have Epson Projectors at School which are very helpful and are truly the best way to meet the schools standards as Presentations or explanations can be presented to everyone very clearly. Microsoft office: I use Microsoft office socially at school and at home. I use it at school to write reports or produce risk assessments. Also sometimes I use Microsoft office at school to do my courseworks or save my research results. Microsoft office is very helpful and is used in many offices or even businesses. Microsoft office has a lot of functions and can be used for many purposes such as creating database. Microsoft office is also secure as you can password protect your documents so that even if someone steals it he will be unable to use it. The main advantage is that you can update your documents without rewriting it again and again. It also saves a lot of space and you can find your documents quickly. As normally you would use paper which will get together and it will be hard for me to store them somewhere so that they are safe and I can find them whenever I need them. I use Microsoft office a lot at school and it helped me a lot of times when there was a need to write letters I was able to write it quickly and in a descent layout , also a copy was saved which can be very helpful In case the letter needs to be resend etc. Internet: I use Internet at school to do researches. Also I use the Internet to find pictures and put them into my coursework. Internet is very helpful as it helps me in a lot of ways and if there would be no internet there would even be no email. I use the Internet at school to do my homework as well as find pictures for any courseworks needed any shops. The disadvantage of online shopping is that there is a bit of chance of getting hacked. Evaluation: I currently have TalkTalk Broadband at home which meets my needs fully and is very helpful to me as researches can be done very quickly as well as courseworks can be improved at a great speed and efficiently, this saves me a lot of time. Overall Evaluation: For my personal use of ICT as I have mentioned above I use a lot of technologies as they enable me to work more efficiently, save time, save paper work. I also personally and socially use technologies just to enjoy or have fun with such as the Game Consoles. I also use technology Socially at School such as Projectors, Computers but in this case they do not meet my needs up to the full limit as the Computers mostly seem to have a problem at School as well as the Personal Space Limit on the Computers does not meet my requirement. I personally believe this can be improved by making the computers much more stable and by improving the Space limits for each user. Also the Network Cards and Cables have some problems as the network crashes a lot of times which again does not meet my full requirement. At Home ICT is able to meet my needs as I use a Phone, Speakers, Computers, Modem and other technologies as mentioned above, but all of them work up there full capability and meet my needs. For this reason I do not truly require any more technology for home use, but for social use technology has still not met its full capability at every place such as at my school, as technology makes problems in some cases or could be set up more efficiently at my school. E.G As Network Cables are available and all the computers are networked the school should be able to set up the network in such a way that if one computer is updated with a new windows or software, the other computers should be updated automatically at the same time Conclusion: Finally I believe that the Technology will have along way to go and I am looking forward to see more interesting pieces of technology. I dont really know what I would like to get produced but I know that if something new and interesting product will get produced I will be looking forward to it. I hope that a new technology gets produced which will help us and the community.