Chapter 3

 Help you understand and compare different types of facilities found in: ◦ Fax ◦ ◦ Bulletin (Discussion Boards) ◦ Video Conferencing ◦ Internet Relay Chat (IRC)

 There are many way of communicating with people.  Each method has different facilities which make it appropriate for different types of communication.  This presentation will look at some of these methods and will help you understand when to it is appropriate to use it.

 A fax machine looks very much like a printer and performs similar actions…  The main difference is that a fax machine can send a document to another fax machine.  Fax machines are an effective device for sending data to another location almost instantly.

 Fax machines tend to be found in offices in a location which is easily accessible to those people who need to use it.  This means that anyone can access the receiving document as it is being printed.  Documents also tend stored in memory – so even if you think the document has been printed…it can be reprinted!

 Sending draft copies of a document to another department.  Sending quick hand drawn notes or drawings to other people.  There is a nice little webpage with some more examples here. here

 Send and receive two-dimensional documents.  Send documents to lots of different fax machines. ◦ This is done by dialling one machine and sending, then dialling the next and sending…  Documents are received automatically.  Produce a delivery report for all faxes received over a period of time.

 is the most popular form of communication in developed countries.  They have a large number of facilities including sending different attachments both as downloadable content and as ‘onscreen’ attachments.  You can also send s to multiple recipients very quickly.  Another big bonus is that you can access s wherever you are providing you have access to the internet.

 s also have the added advantage being that they can be sent fairly securely using encryption algorithms.  You can also have user access rights by requiring users to log into their account using a username and password.  The popularity of s is also increasing because of laptops and mobile phones.  People are now able to access their s ‘on the go’.

 Unfortunately…in certain respects… has caused us a whole load of problems with advertising.  Because it is very cost effective to send s…companies flood our inboxes with advertising s.  Some companies SPAM boxes with junk mail.  In fact…there is so much SPAM floating through the internet it now equates to 90% of all the we receive!

 Advertising (which can be tailored to user’s spending habits).  Sending messages to family, friends and work.  Sending documents to family, friends and different organisations.  lists to send out different things to different people…like a teacher reminding his students that there is a test on all of this stuff coming up!

 Advertising (which can be tailored to user’s spending habits).  Sending messages to family, friends and work.  Sending documents to family, friends and different organisations.  lists to send out different things to different people…like a teacher reminding his students that there is a test on all of this stuff coming up!  Forward received messages.  Encrypt s to increase security.  Provide secure access to s.

 These are used to allow people to discuss topics that are of interest to them.  A fantastic example of a bulletin board is…DUH DUH DUH!!!

 They are structured similar to this:

 Talk about areas of interest: ◦ Gaming ◦ Political issues ◦ Educational issues ◦ Etc

 Users can: ◦ Post replies to current threads ◦ Create new threads ◦ Read posted messages ◦ Search facilities to find topical threads ◦ updates to alert you to a change in a thread you have subscribed to ◦ Look at member profiles

 These are used to allow people to communicate with both visual images and sound.  Typical uses include:  Meetings can take place via this means which reduces transport costs.  Social chats in lieu of telephone calls.  Some schools make use of them to teach students a subject that the school can’t provide due to low numbers.

 Can include lots of participants.  Shared whiteboards allow ideas to be expressed visually.  Presentations can be shared across video streams.  Some conferencing applications allow you to control the camera.

 These applications work in a similar way to s but with a few exceptions.  In order for them to work you must have at least two participants as messages are sent instantly.  Some IRC applications do allow messages to be sent when another participant is not present but they will only receive the message when they log into the service.

 Two or more people can communicate using text or images.  Logs of conversation can be kept.  Sending files within a conversation.  Use of emotions to help convey meaning.  Blocking unwanted users.  Setting up a status (online, busy, away, etc).  Some IRC applications also allow you to have video conferencing.

 Give two disadvantages of fax.  Give three reasons why should be used instead of fax.  Describe the following in terms of bulletin boards: ◦ Discussion forum ◦ Thread ◦ Post  Identify two facilities of video conferencing that are not available in teleconferencing (Hint: you need to research teleconferencing).  If you wanted to sent the same message to multiple receipts which method would you use? Fax or ? Justify your answer.  Describe how IRC could be used by a teacher if s/he was away from their lesson because their car broke down and they live too far away to get a taxi!