Download Services

When different types of media are in digital form then it makes sense to use the internet itself. This stops a person needing to go to a shop or even wait for a distribution company to deliver it to your address. Since anything in digital form can be transferred through the internet it allows users to download a massive variety of items from the internet just with a click of a button.

Software
Most software nowadays uses the internet to transfer upgrades and virus definition updates are all now done over the internet. Downloading over the internet have gone as far as being able to be download and install in the background without the user needing to intervene. As well as that it allows them to use the computer while the software is being downloaded and installed. Most new programs and program upgrades are usually downloaded off of the internet. The good point about this is that updates are usually free because the cost of them is so low but also they can be used strait away and most of the time automatically. All software should be transferred in this way but the reason they are not is because of the size of the file, typically it takes a while to download even a small file. Another reason is because no matter the size of the application the user generally would want a physical copy of the the software and manuals.

http://www.thebrowserdownload.com/

Music and Video
Music downloads have become very popular, originally it was downloaded and put onto an MP3 in the relevant format. The reason for the large popularity growth was because to the vast number of peer-to-peer file sharing services provided where they could get expensive music for next to no money. This caused legal action to arise from the industry and has reduced the peer-to-peer activity, causing legal download services to really become more popular than anything else. Apple Inc. was one of the first to launch this idea and it has allowed them to sell millions if not billions of songs and albums legally on it's iTunes service. Apple does not tend to use MP3 anymore, they use MPEG-4 advanced audio coding (AAC) which is a high quality format that contends with CD quality.
Video is starting to follow in Audio's footsteps in the way that there are numerous sites where it is possible to download films while breaking the law. Like audio the film and video industries are starting to provide legal downloadable content. The issue with video's is that the size of files a very large compared to audio files, even in compressed form a quality video can use up many gigabytes per hour. Video's are able to be streamed on the internet to enable people to watch videos when enough data has been buffered. The effectiveness of this method depends on how quickly the video is buffered, if it takes too long to buffer then you will have to wait a long time for the video to start.

Books
Many books have been transferred into electronic form, these can be downloaded quite easily because of their small size. There is another section explaining this... see 'Net Books'.

Downloading Goods and Services
There is quite a long list of items that I have downloaded off of the internet but i am only going to keep the list fairly short.
Downloading Music on iTunes
Downloaded Software from Adobe
Downloaded Software from Microsoft.
This is a short list of some of the items that I have downloaded off of the internet. The reason I downloaded these off the internet was because they were easy to find and very convenient in the way that I did not have to leave the comfort of my own home. Also after downloading I did not have to wait around to receive the software and I could apply it straight to my PC or in the audio's case I could listen to my music straight away.
The problems you could face from downloading software off the internet is that you will not have any proof of where you bought the product just in case you are asked under serious circumstances and also if something goes wrong then there will be a problem in the fact that there will be no instruction manuals to help with the found problem.

E-commerce and Social Networking

E-bay
E-commerce is simply an online shop. Sellers set up online shops, this is a specialised type or website and will typically have a payment processing interface. In the online shop there is usually web pages with pictures of products with product descriptions. They way it works is exactly as if you were to shop within a literal store, shop for the products that you want to buy and place them in their virtual basket. Once all desired products have been placed in the virtual basket they can then pay for them. Items are payed for usually on a separate page.

The major purpose of ebay is to allow people to buy and sell items nationally or even internationally. This website however is an online auctions which means random people sell their second hand goods to other people. This means that it is not ebay that is directly selling all the products. As a result of anyone being able to sell anything on ebay then it means that it has a very broad target audience, buyers and sellers ages can range from 18 up. There are 2 ways of buying good from a seller on ebay, one is by buying the object instantly or by having the winning bid in an auction. The auction allows someone to place a bit on an object and this sets a benchmark for all bidders bidding on that item, this benchmark must be exceeds for another person to win the bid. There is a time lapse for when bidding must end and the winning bidder has bought the item.
This website does do quite well to achieve it's purpose as it does use quite simple and efficient techniques to allow all age groups to use it with ease. Unfortunately sometimes with an online auction something doesn't get sold to the winning bidder and therefore the person is unsuccessful at selling their item. However this is not a fault on ebay's behalf as it is just lack of interest on the particular item. This can also be a major disadvantage to selling something on ebay. But on a good note it is easy to advertise an object for sale on ebay as long as you have an account.

Snoox

This is a new type of website that works via a new concept. Snoox is the first website of it's kind that allows people to socially recommend different forms of entertainment and shops. It is truly unique because instead of asking strangers it allows you to see reviews and recommendations that your friends and family have given. The idea behind this website is based on the fact that most businesses and ventures exist and rely heavily on word of mouth through people that have tried their products or services. This means that, for example, if individuals want to see how good a restaurant is then they can log onto Snoox and see what their friends and family say about it. After all you are more likely to trust what a friend says then a complete stranger.
This idea has existed of a long time but it did not get much recognition because it ran through Facebook and therefore it couldn't make it's break because in theory it was a sub app for Facebook. Now that it has been separated from Facebook it has been very successful. Within 5 days of it becoming independent it gained 10,000 users.

E-commerce linked to Social Networking
Social Networking websites are being used more and more by businesses as a method of advertisement and also recognition. This is because businesses have realised that a lot of people nowadays use social networking sites on a daily basis and so and advert would be seen by most people at some point. Just to hammer this point home here are some facts and figures about facebook in general:
-Today, Facebook is valued at over $10 billion and it has over 400 million active users and 70% of them actually live outside of the USA.
-An average user spends more than 55 minutes each day on Facebook.
With these facts listed you can see why businesses have opted to use Facebook as a means for occasional advertisement. Really you would be silly not to use social networking sites with them sort of statistics.

Why Businesses Should Use Social Networking Websites
-Facebook is a very good way for a business to expose their brand and also obtain some recognition as a business. This can be performed through making pages, setting up events and heading up groups. All of this contributes towards getting the business recognised.
-Another reason businesses should use Facebook is because it is a good way to engage with customers that are both existing and potential. This is usually done by sharing industry news and updating customers on new and great offers from the business.
-Lastly, Facebook is a great way for customers of a business to give feedback on what they think about the business but not only that they could give potential improvements. This is good as it allows the customer to speak their mind via the comment window.

Why Businesses Should Not Use Social Networking Websites
-Way too often businesses become reliant on Facebook as a direct form of advertising and this can have a major negative effect on Facebook users in relation to the business. Users do not want to constantly be bombarded with business offers and other advertisements after all they are on Facebook to socialise. So constant adverts will just make them want to stop being a fan and so the business will get negative views and people will not want to consume what the business has to offer.
-A rarer occurrence is how some businesses make the mistake of using Facebook as predominantly a website for their business. This is bad because all of a sudden it instantly narrows your customer base because a lot of people still don't use Facebook within their daily lives, so not having an individual website will cloud the business' existence. In essence the business would want to use Facebook as a means to enhance their web presence.
-Lastly a complete no go area would be using Facebook as another email list. This would be because it could get confusing for the customer and they could become intolerant. It is also bad because it will cloud the business' distinction for the customers and this could become a permanent thing if they were to pass on business to their friends through word of mouth. Besides Email is still a lot more professional and effective.

Blogs

What is a Blog?
A Blog is a specialised form of website that allows people to keep a online journal. In order to keep blogs up to date and interesting a system has been evolved by which makes it easier for people using blog sites to post material. The blog editor interface is connected to a database system that can manage posts and allows links to other articles/websites. Also allowing comments to made on posts and interlinked with that allows the mechanics of HTML to be used fluidly. This allows the 'journalist' to concentrate more on the content rather than the actual blog.
Blogs are now considered to be very important in a wider context, eg. group blogs are a big part of it because it is usually the central focus of discussing or promoting events, ideas and concepts.

My Example Blog
This is an example blog that I made specifically for this post to allow you to understand the functionality and ease of creating a blog using Blogger. There are many different blog sites that exist but my exam board require me to use Blogger.
First thing you want to be doing is going to the Blogger website by typing 'blogger' into Google and clicking on the top link that is highlighted in red on the screenshot below.

Once you have clicked on the link Highlighted in red it will take you onto the Blogger web page that allows you to either sign in or sign up. The sign up button is in the top left of the screen and on the screen shot it is circled in blue.

Once you have clicked on the sign up button it will take you to a page that will ask you create a Google account, this is because Google owns Blogger. You need to enter all your details and click on the blue button saying 'Next Step' in the bottom right corner of the grey box on the right where you entered your details. for my example I have made an account using the name Joey Cazzari.





Once you have clicked the blue button and created a Google account then it will take you to a page that resembles the screenshot below. From this page you can create a new blog, you do this by simply clicking the 'New Blog' button that is contained in the screenshot's blue circle.

Immediately on clicking the 'New Blog' button a square window will pop up in the middle of the screen that looks like the screenshot on the left and this is where you will enter basic details about your blog. Once you have entered relevant details then click the button circled by a blue ring to create your blog.
Upon being clicked Blogger will take you to the page that looks like the screenshot below. To confirm that you have created a new blog there should be a little message that appears that states exactly that and is circled in the screenshot with a blue ring. Then you want to click on 'Start posting' that is next to the confirmatory message.

Once you have clicked on 'Start posting' then you will be forwarded to a page that resembles the screenshot below, this where you write your posts. I have given the post a title and written relevant information in there that is related to my ICT course but you can write your preferred subject in this area. When satisfied that you post is ready you click the orange box that says 'Publish' that is in a blue circle in the screenshot.

When you have published your post you can then view it on your blog page by pressing 'View blog' that is circled in the above screenshot with a red ring.
Immediately on pressing 'View blog' it will take you to your blog page. Depending on what template you chose to begin with, it will appear and might look like the screenshot below. Nonetheless your post should be presented on your blog page as demonstrated below.

Open Universtity

History of the Open University

http://www.wessexscene.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/open-university.jpg

The open university was founded in 1963 by the a politician called Harrold Wilson. He was the Labour Party Leader at the time and he was the person who imposed his vision about having a 'University of the Air'. Not long after this he wrote a report on Labour's higher education policy and without cabinet consultation he pushed his ideas out in speeches even though it was not party policy. This idea had been opposed by the civil service, BBC, his shadow cabinet and after time even his own cabinet but despite this he persevered with his idea. The Open University (OU) was actually opened in 1969, and did not resemble what Mr. Wilson first planned nonetheless it was still a great deal to him. Harold has always said that he felt that the OU was one of his greatest achievements.


Why it is Different from other Universities
'Through academic research, pedagogic innovation and collaborative partnership we seek to be a world leader in the design, content and delivery of supported open learning.' This was quoted from the OU website: http://www.open.ac.uk/about/main/the-ou-explained/the-ous-mission. This demonstrates and explains exactly what the Open University does. With supported open learning it allows people studying at the OU to be able to study for their degree whilst also fitting it around their normal life, this could be around their job or even for their job. It also specifies on a different page how they have always supported open learning, they tend to have online forum that you can refer to if you need help with a certain part of the degree study and there are always OU tutors at hand to help. They deliver supported open learning by providing high quality teaching materials and use professional logistics to deliver it to the students, there is also a locally based support centre in most towns and cities in the UK.

Students that The Open University has Taught
They claim to be the largest academic institution in the whole of the UK, they support their argument by saying they currently have around 240,000 students currently studying at the OU and to support these students there are 7,000 tutors, 1,100 full time academic staff accompanied by more that 3,500 support staff. The OU has 16,125 students that are studying directly with them oversees and they have 15 curriculum partnerships in 23 countries. 45% of students had one A level or lower at entry level. 31,000 students are under the age of 25 and they claim to be the largest provider of higher education for people with disabilities, the figure being around 17,000. Over 71% of OU students work full-time or part-time during their study time. No wonder they are so successful!