LO2 – Understand Computer Software 2.5 – Communication Methods

Communication Methods: Email, instant messaging, text messaging and Short Message Service (SMS) These are written communications, although the introduction of emoticons recognises that some pictorial information is also communication. Email and instant messaging require internet access, whereas text messages and SMS are sent to mobile telephones via the mobile network. Many mobile devices, including tablets and smartphones, offer both internet and mobile network access and so all of these services can be accessed simultaneously through one or more service provider. Types of Written Communication Methods

Communication Methods: Email SMS Instant Messaging

Communication Methods: Voiceover Internet Protocol (VoIP) This method can apply to digital telephone systems, video-conferencing and teleconferencing as well as to users with a computer, microphone and speaker system. Each has a codec (coder and decoder), which can be hardware or software. You speak into a microphone connected to your computer and the VoIP software converts it into a format that can be sent over the Internet. The person receiving the call must also have the VoIP application running in order to listen. Personal assistants Personal assistants, such as Siri or Cortana, are software applications that recognise and act on voice commands. They can adapt to the user’s speech, including accents, as the interaction continues. If the software cannot understand an instruction, it asks for it to be repeated or provide a pre-programmed list of commands to aid understanding. Social Networking A social network site allows you to post messages, upload pictures and stories on to your own personal page. You can include favourite video clips along with your ‘likes’. Friends, family and colleagues can then visit your page to see what is going on. They can also post comments and messages on your page and you can do the same to their page. Some sites also provide blogs, forums, automatic links to your favourite music artists, online games and other ‘Apps’. To join a social network, you have to provide some personal information; this is called your ‘personal profile’.

Communication Methods: Social Networking Advantages: You do not need particular technical skills to create a personal page It is usually free Very easy to keep in contact with people of similar interests The site makes it simpler to get in touch with long-lost friends You can post interesting things about yourself and your achievements online Everything that is an advantage can also be a disadvantage in that you lose your privacy as you have volunteered personal information that is not online. Every site allows you to set privacy settings. These can be changed from their default settings to limit what other people can see and read about you. You could set your pages to be only viewed by friends whilst other parts could be made public and other parts could be set to family only. Disadvantages: You lose some privacy compared to not being on a social network You may later regret posting pictures or comments that you thought funny at the time Online bullying can be a problem if someone posts unkind or untrue things about you Some people may use a fake profile in order to befriend people They can be a real distraction and time waster; some people spend may hours on social networking when they should be working or studying.

Communication Methods Audio/Video and Teleconferencing Teleconferencing allows people in different locations to talk to each others as a group. This is also known as an Audio-conference or simply ‘Conference-Call’. It works by each person ‘logging on’ to the conference call. When you switch on your conference call device and enter your user ID number, an automatic voice saying something like ‘Mr Jones has joined the conference’ is broadcast to let others know you have joined the meeting, the meeting then carries on. Video conferencing is similar to teleconferencing except that people in the meeting can not see one another because video cameras are using to send live images over telephone lines. Now that broadband is offering good speeds, video conferencing with friends and family is also popular. Eg: FaceTime and Skype

Communication Methods: Cellular/Satellite It works like this Making a call: Your mobile phone makes radio contact with a nearby mobile phone mast owned by your provider. (O2, Vodaphone etc) Each mast has a working range called a 'cell' (hence 'cell phone') Masts are located so they overlap to some extent to reduce the number of dead spots There may be more than one in range. In which case the masts and the mobile phone work out which is the strongest signal then the other masts drop the connection A number of masts are controlled by a local base station controller. This begins to route your call once the mast-mobile connection is established in the previous step. Each base station is in contact with the mobile switching centre. The centre checks whether you have enough credit to make the call and whether the dialled number is allowed in your contract set up e.g. some block international calls or block premium rate numbers. If everything is OK, then the mobile switching centre routes your call to a normal telephone exchange. The call is carried along the normal PSTN telephone system and pops out to another mobile switching centre if it is a mobile-mobile call. Or it contacts a normal land line phone. Receiving a call: If it is a mobile-to-mobile call then eventually a call request is received by a mobile switching centre. This may or may not be the one that started the call. Each base station controller keeps a log of all the mobiles it is currently connected to. This data is fed into a master database held in the mobile switching centre. So the call request is checked against the database - if the number is active, then it is routed to the relevant base station controller and eventually to the phone itself. All this takes less than a second to accomplish.

Communication Methods – how mobile phones work: