Exercise 3. Work in small groups. In what area of IT would you most like to work? Why?

Exercise 4. Write a report about developing in IT. Your report should have these sections:

1. Area of IT – definition

2. Technology involved – hardware and software

3. Applications

4. Possible future developments  

 

Lesson 31. Legal considerations in IT.

Exercise 1. Read and translate the text.

Legal considerations in IT.

The laws in different countries and legal jurisdictions vary, but generally actions such as the following are considered to be illegal:

· It is not permissible to make any changes to system software or hardware configurations without customer permission.

· It is not permissible to access a customer’s or co-worker’s accounts, private files, or email messages without permission.

· It is not permissible to install, copy, or share digital content (including software, music, text, images, and video) in violation of copyright and software agreements or the applicable law. Copyright and trademark laws vary between states, countries and regions.

· It is not permissible to use a customer’s company IT resources for commercial purposes.

· It is not permissible to make a customer’s IT resources available to unauthorized users.

· It is not permissible to knowingly use a customer’s company resources for illegal activities. Criminal or illegal use typically includes obscenity, child pornography, threats, harassment, copyright infringement, Internet piracy, university trademark infringement, defamation, theft, identity theft, and unauthorized access.

· It is not permissible to share sensitive customer information. You are required to maintain confidentiality of this data.

This list is not exhaustive. All businesses and their employees must know and comply with all applicable laws of the jurisdiction in which they operate.

Exercise 2. Classify these jobs under the heading that best describes their function.

Software engineer	Help desk technician	Database administrator
Network analyst	Network analyst	System analyst
Network administrator	Network administrator

Analyze	Design/Develop	Manage	Support

Exercise 3. How have computers changed the way you work or study?

                                                                           

Supplementary reading.

Storage devices.

Storage drives read information from or write information to magnetic, optical, or semiconductor storage media. The drive can be used to store data permanently or to retrieve information from a media disk.

The following are common types of storage drives:

· Hard Disk Drive (HDD) - HDDs are the traditional magnetic disk devices that have been used for years. Their storage capacity ranges from gigabytes (GBs) to terabytes (TBs). Their speed is measured in revolutions per minute (RPM). This indicates how fast the spindle turns the platters that hold data. The faster the spindle speed, the faster a hard drive can find data on the platters. Common hard drive spindle speeds include 5400, 7200, and 10,000 RPM.

· Solid State Drive (SSD) - SSDs use nonvolatile flash memory chips to store data. This means that they are faster than magnetic HDDs. Their storage capacity also ranges from GBs to TBs. SSDs have no moving parts and therefore make no noise, are more energy efficient, and produce less heat than HDDs. SSDs have the same form factor as HDDs and are increasingly being used in place of magnetic HDDs.

· Hybrid Drive – Also called a Solid State Hybrid Drive (SSHD), these are a compromise between a magnetic HDD and an SSD. They are faster than an HDD but less expensive than an SSD. They are a magnetic HDD with an onboard SSD serving as cache. The SSHD drive automatically caches data that is frequently accessed.

· Optical Drive - An optical drive uses lasers to read data on optical media. There are three types of optical drives including compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), and Blu-ray disc (BD). CD, DVD, and BD media can be pre-recorded (read only), recordable (write once), or rewriteable (read and write multiple times).

· Tape Drive - Magnetic tapes are most often used for archiving data. The tape drive uses a magnetic read/write head. Although data retrieval using a tape drive can be fast, locating specific data is slow because the tape must be wound on a reel until the data is found. Common tape storage capacities vary between a few GBs to TBs.

· External Flash Drive - An external flash drive, such as a USB thumb drive that connects to a USB port. An external flash drive uses the same type of nonvolatile memory chips as SSDs. It does not require power to maintain its data. Their storage capacity ranges from MBs to GBs.

Note: Older computers may still incorporate legacy storage devices including floppy disk drives.

 

Adapters and converters.

There are many connection standards in use today. Many are interoperable but require specialized components. These components are called adapters and converters:

· Adapter – This is a component that physically connects one technology to another. For example, a DVI to HDMI adapter. The adapter could be one component or a cable with different ends.

· Converter – This performs the same function as an adapter but also translates the signals from one technology to the other. For example, a USB 3.0 to SATA converter enables a hard disk drive to be used as a flash drive.

There are many types of adapters and converters available:

· DVI to HDMI adapter – The adapter is used to connect an HDMI monitor to a DVI port.

· DVI to VGA adapter –The adapter is used to connect a VGA cable to a DVI port.

· USB A to USB B adapter – This adapter is used to connect a USB A port to a USB B port.

· USB to Ethernet adapter – This adapter is used to connect a USB port to an Ethernet connector.

· USB to PS/2 adapter – This adapter is used to connect a USB keyboard or mouse to a PS/2 port.

· HDMI to VGA converter – The converter translates the VGA output signal of a PC to an HDMI output signal so that an HDMI monitor can be used.

· Thunderbolt to DVI converter – The converter translates the Thunderbolt mini DisplayPort video signal to a DVI video signal so that a DVI monitor can be used.

Input devices.

An input device enters data or instructions into a computer.

The following are examples of input devices:

· Mice and Keyboards – These are the two most commonly used input devices. The keyboard is used to enter text while the mouse is used to navigate the graphical user interface (GUI). Laptops also have touchpads to provide built-in mouse features.

· Touch Screens – These input devices have touch or pressure sensitive screens. The computer receives instructions specific to the place on the screen that the user touches.

· Joysticks and Gamepads – These are input devices for playing games. Gamepads allow the player to control movement and views with small sticks and multiple buttons. Many gamepads also have triggers that register the amount of pressure the player puts on them. Joysticks are often used to play flight simulation-style games.

· Digital Cameras and Digital Video Cameras – These input devices capture images that can be stored, displayed, printed, or altered. Stand-alone or integrated webcams capture images in real time.

· Scanners – These devices digitize an image or document. The digitization of the image is stored as a file that can be displayed, printed, or altered. A bar code reader is a type of scanner that reads Universal Product Code (UPC) bar codes. It is widely used for pricing and inventory information.

· Digitizers – This device allows a designer or artist to create blueprints, images, or other artwork by using a pen-like tool called a stylus on a surface that senses where the stylus tip is touching it. Some digitizers have more than one surface, or sensor, and allow the user to create 3D models by performing actions with the stylus in mid-air.

· Biometric Identification Devices – These input devices identify a user based on a unique physical feature such as their fingerprints or voice. Many laptops now have fingerprint readers to automate logging in to the device.

· Smart Card Readers – These input devices are typically used on a computer to authenticate the user. A smart card may be the size of a credit card with an embedded microprocessor that is typically under a gold contact pad on one side of the card.

A keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) switch is a hardware device that can be used to control more than one computer while using a single keyboard, monitor, and mouse. For businesses, KVM switches provide cost-efficient access to multiple servers. Home users can save space using a KVM switch, as seen in Figure 8, to connect multiple computers to one keyboard, monitor, and mouse.

Newer KVM switches have the capability to share USB devices and speakers with multiple computers. Typically, by pressing a button on the KVM switch, the user can change the control from one connected computer to another connected computer. Some models of the switch transfer control from one computer to another using a specific key sequence on a keyboard, such as Ctrl > Ctrl > A > Enter to control the first computer connected to the switch, and then Ctrl > Ctrl > B > Enter to transfer control to the next computer.

Output devices.

An output device presents information to the user from a computer.

Monitors and projectors are primary output devices for a computer. There are different types of monitors. The most important difference between these monitor types is the technology used to create an image:

· LCD - Liquid crystal display (LCD) is commonly used in flat panel monitors and laptops. It consists of two polarizing filters with a liquid crystal solution between them. An electronic current aligns the crystals so that light can either pass through or not pass through. The effect of light passing through in certain areas and not in others is what creates the image. LCD comes in two forms, active matrix and passive matrix. Active matrix is sometimes called thin film transistor (TFT). TFT allows each pixel to be controlled, which creates very sharp color images. Passive matrix is less expensive than active matrix but does not provide the same level of image control. Passive matrix is not commonly used in laptops.

· LED - A light-emitting diode (LED) display is an LCD display that uses LED backlighting to light the display. LED has lower power consumption than standard LCD backlighting, allows the panel to be thinner, lighter, brighter, and display better contrast.

· OLED - An organic LED display uses a layer of organic material that responds to electrical stimulus to emit light. This process allows each pixel to light individually, resulting in much deeper black levels than LED. OLED displays are also thinner and lighter than LED displays.

· Plasma - Plasma displays are another type of flat panel monitor that can achieve high levels of brightness, deep black levels, and a very wide range of colors. Plasma displays can be created in sizes of up to 150 inches (381 cm) or more. Plasma displays get their name from the use of tiny cells of ionized gas that light up when stimulated by electricity.

· DLP - Digital Light Processing (DLP) is a projection technology. DLP projectors use a spinning color wheel with a microprocessor-controlled array of mirrors called a digital micromirror device (DMD). Each mirror corresponds to a specific pixel. Each mirror reflects light toward or away from the projector optics. This creates a monochromatic image of up to 1024 shades of gray in between white and black. The color wheel then adds the color data to complete the projected color image.

Note: Legacy monitors include cathode ray tube (CRT).

Printers are output devices that create hard copies of computer files. Some printers specialize in particular applications, such as printing color photographs. All-in-one printers are designed to provide multiple services, such as printing, scanning, faxing, and copying.

Speakers and headphones are output devices for audio signals. Most computers have audio support either integrated into the motherboard or on an adapter card. Audio support includes ports that allow input and output of audio signals. The audio card has an amplifier to power headphones and external speakers.

Televisions are also output devices, but may have input capabilities. A Smart TV runs an operating system which allows it to receive input from the user and connect to many content sources over the Internet and from smartphones, tablets, and other connected devices. Using a Smart TV virtually eliminates the need for a set-top box. A set-top box is a device which connects a standard TV to content sources such as a cable, satellite, or streaming.