4.1.6(c) Uses of ICT in the home/ 1 Entertainment

1. 4.1.6(c) Uses of ICT in the home/1Entertainment

2. Starter: What do you use ICT for at home? (remember ICT is not just about using a computer)

3. Task: WikispacesYou will be placed into groups. You must use wikispaces to research your given topic. You will have 25 minutes to do this. You must then Make notes for all other topics given. Groups • ICT for playing games • ICT for photography • ICT for playing music (including composing your own music) • ICT for TV • ICT for online booking • ICT for interactive services • ICT for mobile phones • ICT for online shopping

4. ICT for playing games • Games are important drivers in the computer industry. • Home computers used to play games have more processing power than many computers used in a business setting. • Fast action computers games need: • A fast processor • A large screen • Large amount of RAM • Disk drive with plenty of storage capacity • High quality graphics card • High quality sound card • Large powerful speakers. • Advantages: • Young children can learn from them • Make learning fun • Can play online and as a team • Can lead to well paid employment as a games designer, programmer, etc. • Disadvantages: • Addictive • Little physical activity takes place leading to obesity • Can be violent • Wastes time • Health problems (RSI, Back ache).

5. ICT for photography • Using editing software and a digital image you can: • Crop part of an image • Add text • Re-size • Crop • Remove red eye • Alter the file format • Apply filters Computers with image editing software have allowed people to produce inexpensive high quality photographs. Digital cameras, Mobile phones with cameras. Digital cameras offer flexibility: • Can be shared via email • Sent via mobile phone • Passed to a social networking site (Facebook) • Can be edited.

6. ICT for music Downloads have become popular owing to: • Ease of which they can be bought • Ability to download tracks when you want them • Burn the tracks to a CD • Ease of which they can be added to Ipods, mobile phones etc. • Problems with downloads: • File sharing sites used to avoid paying for music • People downloading music or films illegally will be cut off from the internet by their ISP. • You do not have a physical CD which can be sold on e-bay/car boot.

7. ICT for composing your own music MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) This is a protocol or standard used by the music industry to allow musical files to be shared between devices. Hardware and software designed to MIDI standards are able to send digital messages to MIDI devices such as keyboards, musical sythesisers and drum machines. These contain digital messages about pitch, loudness, vibrato and the tempo.

8. ICT for composing your own music Sequences Hardware or software used to create and manage electronic music. Examples: • Drum machines (simulate the sound of a drum. They are sequences because they create and manage the drum beat). • Music workstations (allows a musician to create electronic music using a single piece of equipment).

9. ICT for composing your own music Notators A piece of software that allows you to compose your own music by entering notes in the computer via: • The keyboard • A MIDI system • Scanning a piece of music on paper Once the notes are in the system the musician can experiment by changing notes, loudness, tempo etc. It can be used to create music for individual musical instruments which can then be played together to produce the final piece of music.

10. ICT for composing your own music Sound Wave editors Software that allows the editing of sound waves. They can be cut, copied and pasted. Can also be used to alter a person’s speech pattern to disguise a voice or simulate another person’s voice.

11. ICT for Interactive digital TV services Pay-to-view Subscription based services where you pay a monthly fee for digital TV services (satellite channels, cable TV, digital terrestrial tv). Interactive features of digital TV: • Sending in comments to programmes • Seeing extra news storage of sports coverage • Booking cinema and holiday tickets • Playing games • Shopping • Placing bets • Using e-mail • Placing votes for programmes (possibility of using it in parliamentary elections) • Interactive advertisements Pay-per-view Video on demand and sporting events. • Problems of interactive services: • Encourage children to play games on tv then exercise • Could cause addiction (to gambling).

12. ICT for TV Teletext (A broadcast service) A predecessor of the Internet. Used to find out information on weather, news, share prices, holiday offers etc. It does note slow down when more people use it. Only offers a limited number of pages, it is free with a television license. Non interactive, you have to go through several pages to get the information you want.

13. ICT for home shopping • Looked at in topic 6(a)

14. ICT for On-line booking Less mistakes are made as the customer is entering their own details. The savings for companies are large, no intermediary commissions to pay, no input staff to pay. Theatre, concert, flight, holiday, train, car hire. The best savings and special offers can be found on the internet. Using the internet you can: • Check the availability of prices for flights/holidays • Make savings by booking direct • Read reports on the same holiday (trip adviser) • Arrange your own travel/accommodation

15. ICT for e-mail Emails are free (after paying for internet use). Cheap form of communication. Ideal for people wanting to keep in touch across the world. You can exchange pictures/videos by adding attachments. • Advantages: • Fast • Quick to write • The original email can be included in your reply • Cheaper than a letter • No need to leave the house • File attachments • Disadvantages: • Need a computer and internet access to send/receive an email. • Junk mail • Can be intercepted or hacked • People need to check it regularly • Equipment to send / receive emails is expensive

16. ICT for Interactive Services On-line betting Sports websites on the internet will have links to on-line betting sites. Some are casino style games like poker and others offer betting on sporting events. • Advantages: • Don’t have to leave the house • Special internet offers • No need to pick up your winnings • Faster • Disadvantages: • Need a credit/debit card • Can become addictive • May gamble more than you usually wood.

17. ICT for Interactive services Dating Convenient to use a dating site as people have busy live. By looking at pictures and learning about a person’s interests you may feel you know more about them than you would chatting in a bar.

18. ICT for Interactive Services On-line voting It would be easier to vote in general elections via the internet than going to a polling centre. • Problems: • It’s hard to make sure they are fair (each voter would be given a pin but they could given or sold to others). • Not everyone is on the internet (still need polling stations). • Advantages: • No need to print paper ballot forms • Votes could be counted faster • Could vote from anywhere in the word

19. ICT for mobile phones The development of the internet and other messaging systems means that mobile phones offer many new ways of communicating. • Send and receive text messages • Make phone calls • Take photos • Take video clips • Surf the internet • Watch live TV • Send and receive email • Listen to music • Play games

20. Activity: Peer to peer file sharing You are going to research peer to peer networks and file sharing. Use the internet and access www.kazaa.com/us/help/glossary/p2p.htm Look through the glossary until you have a good grasp as to what peer-to-peer is, how it works and why it is useful, and then answer the following questions: • Explain how a peer-to-peer network differs from a client-server network. • Peer-to-peer networkign using the Internet is very popular. Give two things you can do using a peer to peer network. • People often have on their computers personal files that they would not want to share with others. How does the Kazaa P2P file sharing system deal with this? • File sharing systems are not popular with music publishers. • Give the name of the Act which protects musicians and music publishers form having their work copied. • Give one reason why musicians may not like systems such as Kazaa. • Some groups trying to get on the ladder might like systems such as kazaa. Give one reason why. 6. Explain how kazaa can be provided free, yet still make money.

21. Worked example 2. There has been a huge increase in peoples’ use of ICT in the home, particularly in the area of entertainment. Many traditional activities such as sport and reading have been replaced by new forms of entertainment making use of ICT. • Discuss, by giving four distinctly different examples, the benefits that ICT developments have brought to home entertainment (8) • There are a number of disadvantages in using ICT for entertainment. Discuss by giving two distinctly different examples, two such disadvantages (4).

22. Plenary: Past exam question • ICT has had a big impact on the home. • Illustrating your answer with suitable examples, discuss both the benefits and drawbacks of the impact of ICT on ‘home entertainment’. (10)