The Internet and Office Technologies Outcome 4 The Internet and Office Technologies

Advertise their products to reach potential customers Advertise vacant positions to reach potential applicants Find out about competitors’ products, prices and special offers

Organisations use the Internet to Find out about developments eg new machinery to increase productivity To send e-mails to customers or suppliers Retrieving up-to-date information from anywhere at any time Set up discussion groups to allow people with a common interest to communicate with each other

Connection may be slower at certain times of the day Equipment failure may be experienced Length of time to download information can be frustrating Finding information can take a long time even with search engines No guarantee information is of good quality and up-to- date

Provides a vast amount of information on practically any subject Many organisations use a web site to access more customers than they could otherwise have Convenient access from home, office and on the move Finding what you want is speeded up by using search engines eg Google, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves The quality of information is better on the more reputable sits Sound and graphics can be included with the information

Searching for information online can be costly Telephone calls may not be possible while on Internet unless you have broadband Second telephone may be needed at home Staff need good training Cost of designing and maintaining web page can be expensive Difficult to monitor staff use of internet

How does a fax machine work? The paper-based information is scanned by the machine Information is converted into code The encoded data is sent over the telephone lines to its destination On arrival at the recipient’s fax machine the data is decoded An exact paper copy of the original is printed

Cheap and easy to use Does not need expensive cabling installed Text and graphics can be transmitted Information is received almost immediately Cost is the same as a telephone call

This should be sent as the first page of each fax and should include: Name, title, phone no of sender Fax no of receiving machine Name and details of person receiving fax Date & no of pages being sent

Prepare a Fax Cover Sheet Place the document to be sent in the fax machine (correct way up) Enter the recipient’s fax number Press the start button to send the fax

Equipment error eg paper jam or no toner Problems contacting the destination fax machine eg number engaged, machine switched off Anyone can see and read the fax – confidential information must not be sent by fax

Provides a paper copy Can be received without anyone being present Most companies have them Can send/receive hand-written or keyed data and drawings Most computers have fax software already installed

Must make sure that there is a good supply of paper, toner Fax machine may be engaged so re-dialling may be necessary Quality of reproduction may be poor especially drawings

E-mail is a form of electronic conversation Popular method for internal and external business use Allows messages to be sent and received from computers Users are given own e-mail address Efficient way of sending and receiving information particularly using distribution lists

You can create and send messages and mark as urgent Receive and read messages Reply to messages Send documents as an attachment Store messages Forward messages you receive to other people Set up automatic reply messages eg ‘out of office’ Set up distribution lists so that the same message is sent to multiple recipients, saving time and money

Delivery is quick Replies can be sent immediately E-mails can be read wherever there is a computer Messages can be sent at any time Same e-mail message can be copied to many people E-mailing is cheaper than telephoning

For customers requesting information Requests for catalogues, product information Requests for job application forms Placing orders with suppliers Requests for quotes from suppliers Getting fast feedback on a document attachment

Each user must have an address where all messages will be sent User name Domain name The user name and domain name are separated by @ The last part indicates the type of organisation

Messages can be sent to the wrong person Equipment can fail Messages can be deleted accidentally File attachments can take time to download Staff may require training on how to use an e-mail system SPAM or junk mail can contain viruses which bring down networks People can choose to ignore e-mails holding up workflow

Sending and receiving an e-mail is much quicker than traditional mail Most of the features of e-mail are easy to use and understand Now accessible while ‘on the move’ as you can receive e-mails on mobile phones Data can be sent throughout the world for the cost of a local telephone call

Not every business has an e-mail address Problems can arise if your ISP is not working If an attachment was prepared using different software you may not be able open it Some people still prefer to receive paper copies The nature of the wording on e-mails means they can be misunderstood

The choice of method depends on: Equipment available – both the sender and receiver must have the equipment available to communicate electronically Ability of employees to use the equipment – training will be needed Type of information being searched for – sending a fax or e-mail to a competitor about their product or prices is unlikely to receive a reply – visiting their web site may however help

Instant Messaging Also known as chat rooms Allows users to communicate in real time It is an electronic conversation between multiple users on-line Has the disadvantage of not knowing if a fellow users is really who they make out to be ie security concerns

Networks What are Networks? a series of computers link together using the telephone network allows for the sharing of software, data files and printers the computers are run by a ‘server’ which is a much more powerful computer than those it serves can be local area networks (LANs) eg the GSN you use can be wide area networks (WANs) eg UK wide

Advantages of Networks sharing software and printers means costs can be reduced data files can be accessed by multiple users at the same time e-mailing across the network is faster and more efficient security measures can be put in place to limit access to the network itself and to files within the network files are easier backed up as all the data is stored on the server management of the system is done centrally giving greater control

Disadvantages of Networks initial set up costs can be high management of the network requires high level knowledge the whole network can fail when the server goes down viruses can spread quickly through the network so constant upgrading of anti-virus software is essential expensive security measures are required to prevent ‘hacking’

Legislation The laws that cover the use of information and technology are: The Data Protection Act 1998 The Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988 The Computer Misuse Act 1990

The Data Protection Act 1998 sets out how personal information is collected, used, stored and destroyed information must be collected fairly and honestly must only be used for the original purpose it was collected must be kept up-to-date and accurate individuals must have the right to have corrections made

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 controls the copying of ‘protected’ material protected material is books, newspapers, music and computer programs the owner’s permission must be sought when copying large proportions of a writer’s work otherwise, a fee is paid to the Copyright Licensing Agency any work bearing the © symbol means you are not free to copy it

The Computer Misuse Act 1990 designed to prevent unauthorized access to computer systems ie hacking also covers using computers to commit a crime, so you are not permitted to: break through password protected files make unauthorized changes to computer material illegally copy software