Topic 2- The Internet Flashcards
What is FTP?
File transfer protocol is a standard set of rules that have been established to allow the exchange of large files over the Internet
What is the Internet?
A group of networks that are joined together, each network consisting of smaller networks
Advantages of FTP?
- you are not limited to a file size unlike with email attachments
- it allows reliable transfer of files between platforms
- greater security in the transfer of information
Examples of FTP?
- used for uploading a database of sales from one branch of the organisation to the head office
- to distribute information between the company and their customers or suppliers
What is the advantages of e-commerce to customers?
- ability to order goods 24/7 and you can order them from anywhere and on a range of devices as long as you have an Internet connection
- you have a greater choice of goods from a global market
- cost savings are passed to customers with cheaper goods
- there is no travelling needed which will save money on travel costs as the goods can be ordered from home and you can by a range of different products from different places to save you travelling to each store
- allows disabled people to do their own shopping
What are the disadvantages of e-commerce to customers?
- there may be problems with fraudulent sites or people may be worried about the security of their credit or debit card details when paying for products on line
- sometimes more hassle and costly when needing to return goods
- there could be hidden costs of postage or duties e.g. VAT
- harder to assess the quality of goods before ordering and you cannot try on the clothing to see if it fits first
- loss of the social pleasure of shopping
What are the advantages of e-commerce to businesses?
- they have a low start up and running cost compared to traditional stores and online catalogues and products are more easily updated
- fewer staff are needed reducing costs
- more fluid pricing as it is easier to change prices from day to day
- they have the ability to reach customers at any time of the day as they are available 24/7 and they have a global market place meaning they will reach and gain more customers from around the world
What are the disadvantages of e-commerce to businesses?
- if the network goes down it can be very expensive
- the cost of delivery may mean the good have to be more expensive
- they may have to rely on third party delivery companies who may be unreliable
- there is more increased competition from abroad where the goods are cheaper
What is distributed computing?
Where a series of computers are networked together and they each work on solving the same problem. Each computer shares the data, processing, storage and bandwidth in order to solve a single problem
What are the advantages of distributed computing?
- it reduces costs as an expensive supercomputer is not needed
- It can pass work to anywhere in the world using the Internet
- improved performance as each computer can work on part of the data
What are the disadvantages of distributed computing?
- there may be issues with the security of the data spread out on so many different computers
- there may be issues with communication breakdowns
What is a web crawler?
A program that automatically browses web pages in a systematic manner providing up to date information about web pages in order to produce an index which can be used by search engines to enable fast searching
What is bandwidth?
A measure of the speed at which data can be transferred along a communication channel which could be a cable or wireless
What is dialup?
A method of connecting to the Internet which makes use of a modem and a telephone line- this offers a slow connection
What is broadband?
A fast connection to the Internet which does not use a modem
What are the advantages of broadband?
- it has very fast download times e.g download music films and large files quickly
- it does not use the telephone line so you can use both Internet and telephone at same time
- enables fast streaming e.g of films online
- webcams and videoconferencing can be used and phone calls using the Internet can be made cheaply e.g Skype
- you can search for information quickly and there is no time wasted connecting to the internet
What are the disadvantages of broadband?
- expensive owing to a higher monthly subscription service
- broadband may not be available in the area or country where you are
What are the advantages of mobile access to the Internet?
- you can access emails/surf the Internet 24/7 wherever you are
- you can work more productively I.e do things when you remember like sending an important email
- you can work anywhere in the home or office
- you can make changes to plans e.g flights easily
What are the disadvantages of mobile access to the Internet?
- you may feel like you are never away from work
- it can be very expensive if accessed from a mobile phone, especially abroad
- increased security problems e.g hackers
- there are many places where there is no access
What are some moral issues associated with the Internet?
- deliberately setting up websites displaying incorrect information as people may believe them
- bullying e.g through chat rooms, blogs, emails and social networks
- phishing could be a problem where you use a website to write an essay for you or copy an essay from the Internet and then carry off as your own
- inappropriate websites- e.g pornography or violent videos which is easy for any one including children to access
- using email to spread rumours or give bad news as it could cause distress to people
What are some social issues associated with the Internet?
- gambling addiction as online gambling is easy accessible could lead to money problems
- addiction to computer games becoming more popular with children spending long hours playing them could cause them sleeping problems and may make schoolwork suffer
- copying music off Internet illegally
- pornography is easier to access as it is put on the Internet for anyone to see including children
- obesity caused through lack of exercise
What are some ethical issues relating to the Internet?
- sending spam by sending an email advertising something to millions of people which they likely will not want
- companies monitoring staff e.g the boss of a company may want to see all of the emails their staff have sent both personal and business which is ethically wrong as they don’t need to see the personal ones
- searching for inappropriate information e.g a student searching for how to make a bomb as this could be dangerous and could hurt people
What is ‘intranet’?
A network set up entirely win a LAN and can only be accessed internally
Requirements needed to implement and interactive online shopping service?
- secure method of payment e.g. PayPal
- an electronic catalogue/database of stock
- database of customers orders
- trained staff to create and maintain/update website
- facility in place so customers can track their orders
