THE IMPACT OF ICT ON SOCIETY

Faster Communication Speed

In the past, it took a long time for any news or messages to be sent. Now with the Internet, news or messages are sent via emails to friends, business partners or to anyone efficiently.  With the capability of bandwidth, broadband and connection speed on the Internet, any information can travel fast and at an instant. It saves time and is not expensive.

Lower Communication Cost

Using the Internet is cost-effective than the other modes of communication such as telephone, mailing or courier service. It allows people to have access to large amounts of data at a very low cost. With the Internet we do not have to pay for any basic services provided by the Internet. Furthermore, the cost of connection to the Internet is relatively cheap.

Reliable Mode of Communication

Computers are reliable. With the Internet, information could be accessed and retrieved from anywhere and anytime. This makes it a reliable mode of communication. However, the input to the computer is contributed by humans. If the data passed to the computer is faulty, the result will be faulty as well. This is related to the term GIGO.

Effective Sharing of Communication

With the advancement of ICT, information can be shared by people all around the world. People can share and exchange opinions, news and information through discussion groups, mailing list and forums on the Internet. This enable knowledge sharing which will contribute to the development of knowledge based society.

Paperless Environment

ICT technology has created the term paperless environment. This term means information can be stored and retrieved through the digital medium instead of paper. Online communication via emails. Online chat and instant messaging also helps in creating the paperless environment.

Borderless Communication

Internet offers fast information retrieval, interactivity, accessibility and versatility. It has become a borderless source for services and information. Through the Internet, information and communication can be borderless.

Social Problems

There are some negative effects of ICT. It has created social problems in the society. Nowadays, people tend to choose online communication rather than having real time conversations. People tend to become more individualistic and introvert.

Health Problems

A computer may harm users if they use it for long hours frequently. Computer users are also exposed to bad posture, eyestrain, physical and mental stress. In order to solve the health problems, an ergonomic environment can be introduced. For example, an ergonomic chair can reduces back strain and a screen filter is used to minimize eye strain.

INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

DEFINE ICT

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is the use of computers, communication devices and software applications for processing, storing, retrieving, protecting and transmitting from anywhere at anytime. 

THE BRIEF EVOLUTION OF COMPUTERS

First Generation ( 1940-1956 ) : Vacuum Tubes

First generation computers used vacuum tubes for circuity and magnetic drums for memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. these computers were expensive and bulky. they used machine language for computing and could solve just one problem at a time. they did not support multitasking. Their input was based on punched cards and paper tape.

Examples :

• ABC - (1937-1942) by John V.Atanasoff and Clifford Benry. 
• ENIAC - (1945-1946) by John W. Mauchly and J. Presper Eskert
• EDVAC, EDSAC and UNIVAC 1, IBM 709 - (1951) by John Von Neumann, Mauchly and Eskert.
• IBM 701 and IBM 702 (1953)

Credit to Yahoo Image.com

Second Generation (1956-1963) : The Transistor Revolution 

Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and lead in an exciting new development of the computer. Transistors made computers smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy efficient and more reliable than the first generation models. But transistors were responsible for the emission of large amount of heat from the computer. Due to this computers were subject to damage. Computers belonging to this generation used punched cards for input and printouts for output. They used assembly language. High-level programming languages were also being developed at this time, such as early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN.

Examples :

• IBM 1400 - by John Bardeen, William Shockley and Walter Brattain.
• UNIVAC M460, IBM 7090, NCR315 and BURROUGHS
• ERMA - (1959) by General Electric Corporation.

Credit to Yahoo Image.com

Third Generation (1964 - 1971) : Integrated Circuits

The use of Intergrated Circuits ushered in the third generation of computers. Small transistors placed on silicon chips, called semi conductors. this increased the speed and efficiency of computers. Operating system were the human interface to computing operations and keyboards and monitors became the input-output devices. High-level programming languages developed at this time, such as BASIC and Pascal. 

Examples :

• IBM 360 - (1964)
• PDP-8-(1965)
• ICL 1900 ( International Computer Limited ) and VAC 9000

Credit to Yahoo Image.com

Fourth Generation (1971-Present ) : Microprocessor based

Thousands of Intergrated circuits placed onto a silicon chip made up a microprocessor. the Intel 4004 chip, developed in 1971, located all the components of the computer - from the central processing unit and memory to input-output controls - on a single chip. It was this new microprocessor that led the way for modern-day computer technology. Fourth generation computers also saw the development of GUIs, the mouse and handheld devices.

 Examples :

• MITS (Altair 8800)-(1975)
• Apple I and Apple II- (1977) by Steven Mozniak and Steve Jobs
• VisiCalc ( Visible Calculator ) - by Dan Brickland
• CRAY I. ( Super Computers )

Credit to tecnomec.tradeindia.com 

Fifth Generation ( Present & Beyond ) : Artificial Intelligence

Fifth generation computing devices, based on AI ( Artificial Intelligence , are still in development, though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. The use of parallel processing and superconductors in helping to make artificial intelligence a reality. Quantum computation, molecular and nanotechnology will radically change the face of computers in years to come. The aspiration of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices that respond to natural language input and are capable of learning and self-organization. 

For the most part of fifth generation of computers is yet to be written. we are fortunate to live and experience a very exciting time in the midst of a technological revolution. 

Artificial intelligence is the branch of computer science concerned with making computers behave like humans. 

Artificial intelligence includes:

• Games Playing: programming computers to play games such as chess and checkers
• Expert Systems: programming computers to make decisions in real-life situations (for example, some expert systems help doctors diagnose diseases based on symptoms)
• natural Language : programming computers to understand natural human languages 
• Neural Networks: Systems that stimulate intelligence by attempting to reproduce the types of physical connections that occur in animal brains
• Robotics: programming computers to see and hear and react to other sensory stimuli

Credit to en.wikipedia.org 

Example: HAL9000 - (2001) by Arthur C. Clarke's 

ICT in Everyday Life : Education, banking, Industry and Commerce

The usage of ICT in everyday life.

• Education - online
• Banking 
• Industry
• E-Commerce
• Other sector - Architecture, Arts Career, Government, Healthcare, Home, Law, Enforcement, Transportation, 

The Differences between Computerised and Non-Computerised Systems

	Non-Computerised	Computerised
Banking	·         Banking was done manually by taking deposits directly ·         Transactions can only be made during working hours ·         Takes time to approve any loan applications	·         All transactions are done by computers ·         Transactions can be done at anytime and place ·         Online services, phone banking system, credit cards are available
Industry	Production was slow because everything was done manually and totally depended on human labour	Computers and communications industry became very popular and profitable since production can be increased through an all day operation.
E-Commerce	·         Trading was made using the barter system and it was then later developed into currency. ·         Advertisement was in the form of word of mouth, billboards and printed flyers. ·         Trading globally was extremely slow, late and expensive. Trader had to find ways to market local products in the global market	E-commerce play an important role in the economic scene. It includes distributions, buying, selling and servicing products that are done electronically.