Life in the information age- Entertainment

With the development of technology the life of entertainment has improved massively with new technology being developed every day. Technology has impacted our entertainment we now have new applications we can use for entertainment, a huge aspect of entertainment is games. The platforms of games is rapidly expanding with more users using different sources of games, including the playstation, xbox and the Nintendo however these video games have no been developed so they can also be motion captured games.  Although, games is not the only popular aspect of entertainment many people also use music as a source of entertainment, MP3 known as 'MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3' is what started the listening to music using a portable device known as the mp3 player however this developed to the ipod which is know being developed every year to improve the ipod with new ideas the latest ipod consisted of a touch screen with games applications that could be installed.

MPEGS- Are a group that develops standards for digital video and digital audio compression. Certain types of audio or video files are called MPEGs. They are usually of a short duration. You can access MPEGs through your Windows Media Player. In my personal experience I have used windows media player to construct a video and the MPEGS were very effective the quality of the video was good with good pictures and sound quality. MPEGS have a variety of advantages and disadvantages some advantages of using MPEGS are videos can be compressed in an encoder before transmission or storage, perhaps to 1/50 of the original size, and then decompressed in a decoder for playback. Disadvantages of using MPEGS are MPEGS are tightly compressed videos and tends to lose quality quickly the smaller you try and make the file. If you are looking to place video online, you may try QuickTime, or even better - Flash video, which is optimized for web-streaming.

Digital Television- is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals. Digital television is a contrast to analog television that uses analog signals. With the develop of technology analog televisions are now being scraped and all television broadcasting is in digital television, therefore this shows the development reflecting technology with the old analog signals being withdrawn. Digital television has allowed consumers to view broadcasts in ways not possible with analog signals. Images broadcast by digital means arrive to the television with less distortion and with less delay. Even with all of its technological advantages, some drawbacks do exist for the technology. Digital television is an all or nothing scenario. Either the signal comes through in crystal-clear quality or the image is not present this is probably the biggest disadvantage because comparing with analog televisions seeing nothing on a television was not common even if the signal was bad the picture could still be seen, whereas digital television has the all or nothing effect. Advantages of using digital television are digital television allows stations to broadcast in more than one programming stream. I believe that digital television was a great creation and has impacted society massively with digital television becoming worldwide.

Games- Games is probably the most popular source of entertainment, video games. Sixty-eight percent of American households play computer or video games. But what is a video game? A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction. The electronic systems used to play video games are known as platforms; examples of these are personal computers and video game consoles. These platforms range from large mainframe computers to small handheld devices.  Video games have expanded massively with the growth of technology. The video games consoles began with playstation and Xbox however with the development of technology motion censored games began to become popular with the Nintendo wii console furthermore Xbox and Playstation developed the Playstation move and Xbox kinect both motion censored consoles. U.S. computer and video game software sales grew 22.9 percent in 2008 to $11.7 billion – more than quadrupling industry software sales since 1996. This fact conveys on the impact these video games have had in society. Advantages of using games are fun and enjoyable, there is also a wide range of different video games platforms therefore choice is a huge advantage. Although these games do have disadvantages video games can cause video game addiction which can cause many problems furthermore, video games not including motion censored video games can cause serious illnesses. I view video games as a huge element of entertainment, nowadays mostly all children and teenagers have a video game console there wide range of games play allows for games for everyone and the games are fully enjoyable.

Music- Music is massive part of everyday life, with the expansion of technology handheld musical devices have now been created allowing music to be played portably. MP3 players more commonly known as a portable media player. Again the contrast is evident with the growth of technology cassette players are now being replaced by MP3 players or ipods. However ipods and MP3 players have got their downfalls. With loud music playing regularly in the ear this can damage ear drums which can cause people becoming death in the ear.  Although the key aspect of why these portable media devices are so popular is they are so easy to use and can be used anywhere. I believe these portable media devices is a great piece of technology they are simple and easy to use they are also effective and not highly priced I have a ipod touch and believe its very good.

DVDS- A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, again the key talking point is with technology being developed the videos have been replaced by DVDS. Why is this? A factor I believe that has withdrawn videos and replaced with DVDS is the fact that DVDS are formatted using digital rather than analog whereas videos use analog, with analog signals being overshadowed by digital signals this factor is a key aspect of why DVDS have replaced videos. Advantages of using DVDS are good for large media files furthermore the quality is a lot better than videos, although DVDS have some disadvantages the key disadvantage being a DVD being played requires a DVD player, it also requires a physical distribution.

E book readers-A e-book reader, also called an e-book device or e-reader, is a mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books.  My knowledge of e- book readers is very basic as I have had no experience using a e-book readers. The e-book readers have a wide range of advantages including the have a specific screen size, battery lifespan, lighting and weight making the picture clear and easy to read. Although the e- book readers also have disadvantages such as they are often expensive when compared to multi-purpose devices such as laptops.  

Digital cameras- A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images. Again my knowledge on digital cameras is basic as I have not got much experience using digital cameras. The digital cameras have various advantages including the key advantage being  Digital cameras can do things film cameras cannot for example they can display images on a screen immediately after they are recorded, storing thousands of images on a single small memory device, and deleting images to free storage space. However, digital cameras do have disadvantages a disadvantage of digital cameras is that the cameras are much more sensitive to breaking after being dropped or hit, as the casing is usually made of plastic. In addition another disadvantage is they usually have poor focusing ability in poor or low-light situations.

Virtual learning enviroment

What is Virtual learning environment?

“A virtual learning environment is a collection of integrated tools enabling the management of online learning, providing a delivery mechanism, student tracking, assessment and access to resources its more commonly known as a VLE it is a computer program that facilitates computerized learning or e-learning. A more correct term may be a virtual environment for learning, rather than virtual learning environment. A student will normally work over the Internet and a VLE provides a collection of tools such as those for assessment (particularly of types that can be marked automatically, such as multiple choice), communication, uploading of content, return of students' work, peer assessment, administration of student groups, collecting and organizing student grades, questionnaires, tracking tools, etc. New features in these systems include wikis, blogs, RSS and 3D virtual learning spaces. VLEs are often used in schools and other educational establishments in order to make the learning experience more interactive and with the technology of today all in done via the internet. With the modern technology increasing everyday programs like VLE are beginning designed to make it easier for students and teachers. I believe that VLE’s are a great learning tool, Their interactive easy to use. Work is easily set by teachers. An example of a VLE I use is frog the program is easy to use. Work is easily accessible, I believe that frog has developed my learning. There are resources on frog such as revision notes submitted by teachers that is really useful.

What can we do with Virtual learning environment?

Using a virtual learning environment allows us to do a wide range of different function, the key aspect of using a virtual learning environment is for handing work set by teachers and also if for an circumstances we are not in teachers can set us work via are virtual learning environment. For my virtual learning environment frog has a variety of different functions including I can access my timetable using frog therefore so if I forget my journal I can still access my timetable using frog. In addition, using frog I can also look at my set work by teachers.

Using frog I can access my school work from home, I believe this is the key aspect of why a virtual learning environment is so good for students. Furthermore, frog allows users to access videos. Therefore any important videos that are educational for students can be accessed through frog.

Advantages of using VLE

Frog has a various advantages these advantages include,The accessibility of the course is improved for students with special needs, and for distance learning and part time students. It can also make a difference to students in any category who learn best by being able to watch a video, or by interacting in a virtual environment instead of in the classroom, or by repeating their learning process at their own pace. Frog can also be used for revision purposes therefore it is a good source of revision material. Frogs special features allow for it to include disability and special needs some of the features that frog does for the disabled/special needs are its available in variety of formats/customisable. There is also no need to take notes (NB auditory impairment will require script or subtitles for video elements) this evidently shows that frog can be used for everyone. Frog is self directed/paced.  Frog can be described as a personalised study area. It also allows student to feel part of a learning community. The areas in which this is most effective are assessment and bulletin boards.

Disadvantages of using VLE

Although frog does have its disadvantages it can be difficult to change/update (unless you have an accompanying content management system) to use frog you need access to a PC.  It can also be hard to take account of whatever hardware the students have to work with off school premises. Using frog can impact on reducing face to face contact which some students need face to face contact to help if stuck on work. My personal experience using frog I found it hard when work was set via VLE it was hard to understand what work has been set.

Life in the information age education

What is life in the information age- education?

Life in the information age can be defined as Bringing about a fast evolution of technology in daily life, as well as of
educational life style, the Information Age has allowed rapid global usage of ICT in schools.

ICT has become a huge element of ICT in schools, ICT is even used out of ICT specific lessons. On my average day I use ICT in various ways to help develop my learning. ICT has impacted massively on school life. It has also resulted in new resources being made to help improve education. ICT is also developed at an earlier age, it’s been incorporated into primary schools curriculum, and So ICT skills can be developed at an early age. Furthermore, in primary and secondary schools more subjects are using ICT to help interact children’s learning, this could be by using interactive whiteboards. I believe this scheme is a clever idea because I find things easier to remember if they are taught in an interactive manner using the advantages of modern technology.

Smart cards- Smart cards are vital for are learning in school we use smart cards for a wide range of different purposes. Smart cards allow us to gain access to buildings in addition, they allow us to pay via the paypal. Smart cards purpose is security. Using paypal helps to prevent money loss of cons and prevents hackers.  Smart cards has various advantages, it can secure maximum security it’s a useful tool to use and is easy to use. However it can have its disadvantages using a smart card can result in the card getting lost or even falling into the wrong hands where a person can use your card to gain access to places they are not suppose to be or even use your card to purchase items.

Registration- Registration in schools is now done using computer software, this process is a lot easier for teachers, and means the data can be stored on a computer hard drive, therefore if you need to find out if a student was in on a specific day this process can be easy to do. I think this creation is down to the multi purpose of computers they can now be used for a variety of different things, which is the reason computers can now be used for registration. I believe registration done online has helped improve attendance and can easily outline to the teachers students who have no been participating in lessons. This creation has many advantages, its relatively easier to use doesn’t require a lot of effort, Can be stored on a PC therefore access is easy. However, it can have its downfalls, if the PC is not working than this can result in the register not getting done.

Surveillance- Surveillance is essential to enhance our learning, without surveillance in ICT class rooms. Teachers wouldn’t be able to monitor what is going on in lessons. Surveillance is crucial for teachers when an instance happens in a computer room, surveillance allows us to monitor what has happened. I believe that surveillance is a great creation and is vital to be in all computer rooms in the school and without surveillance it would make teachers lives a lot harder. Surveillance has a wide range of advantages including it helps teachers monitor students. It can prevent bad behaviour in the class rooms. Disadvantages are its expensive to run, it can also be hard to see every part of the computer room therefore for some areas of the computer room bad behaviour still happens.

Bitesize-  BBC Bitesize is the name given to the BBC’s free online study support resource for school-age students in the United Kingdom. It is designed to aid students in both school work and, for older students, exams. Bitesize use many different ways to engage students to help them revise. Some of these ways include games, quizzes, audio listening and message boards. All of these ways entertain the users and help them to learn. Bitesize was launched in 1998 and was created by the BBC to try and help develop students learning by using new ways of teaching.  Advantages of using bitesize are that bitesize is an interactive learning resource designed to help students learn in different ways, it’s effective and is very useful.  I use Bitesize a lot there is a wide range of ideas that help me to learn, There interactive diagrams with audio explaining about the diagram is a great way of understanding information its breaks it down and explains point by point, however some people may view this as a disadvantage its very tedious and take a long period of time to explain one topic.  Furthermore bitesize is only designed up to GCSE’s it doesn’t cater for higher education so for someone that enjoys using bitesize after they have done their GCSE’s bitesize can no longer be used.

Interactive white boards- 10 years ago a key aspect of learning was using white boards, however know with the development of technology, all schools use interactive white boards, in school there is a interactive white board in every class room.  An interactive white board is a large interactive display that connects to a computer and projector. A projector projects the computer's desktop onto the board's surface where users control the computer using a pen, finger or other device. The board is typically mounted to a wall or floor stand. I believe that the interactive white boards is a key aspect of learning, its different with interactive learning some students believe is a better source of learning.  Advantages of using interactive white boards are its different and easy to use, in addition, its interactive therefore a wide range of students can participate in educational games. Disadvantages are their expensive can be complex to set up also requires a huge wall surface.

Computer use in schools- Computers in schools help develop learning and are essential for all students nowadays all jobs require a basic understanding of ICT therefore ICT is essential in schools.  I believe that computers in schools has helped develop my understanding of ICT, and without computers I would struggle in the job I am currently doing. Advantages of computer use in schools are it helps develop a understanding in ICT, for some students computers are easier to use to present information the writing, in addition,  computers can also be used to hand in and collect work. However computer use in schools has disadvantages some students don’t work in lessons and simply play on games therefore computers can be distracting.

SIMS- School Information Management System is a management information system used by more than 21,000 schools in 150 local authorities across the United Kingdomboasting around 80% of the market share. SIMS started in 1984 and is now used in a wide range of schools spread all over the UK. Sims helps schools manage student registration and truancy, student performance, personalised learning, exam organisation, timetable construction, cover management and a range of other school activities.  I believe SIMS is a fantastic programme which has a wide range of functions that help teachers.  Advantages of using SIMS are it has a variety of different features furthermore it also has a database filled with information that data is stored on students for 10 years. Although, SIMS has its disadvantages data can be entered wrong therefore data saved is incorrect.

Life in the information age

Some have begun to call it the Information Revolution. Since the last 20 years some people would view the world as a different place with the technology sector rapidly expanding the information age life has been created to such a way that now ICT is apart of our everyday life.  The generation of today would not be able to cope without ICT. From the beginning of the decade until the end, new forms of entertainment, commerce, research and work have been established and all these elements have been developed through the expansion of technology. The driving force behind much of this change was an innovation popularly known as the Internet. However ICT has not just developed technology it has also become a new way of communication through email, chat and messaging. People ask the question why has communication through ICT become so popular? The answer is down to the speed and collaboration of ICT, Emails can require you to communicate with anyone that has an email address, the messages are sent instantly and pictures can also be attached.  Furthermore, education has also helped develop technology, in primary schools children are taught how to use computing software, therefore, they gain skills at an early age that can help them use ICT as part of there everyday life. ICT is also linked with a wide range of other subjects that help develop knowledge in different subjects for maths; maths knowledge can be developed by using mymaths. In addition the style of teaching has also been developed with the growth of technology, interactive whiteboards have replaced whiteboards. Researching holidays can now be done online this saves time for people not having to go to travel agents to find out about holidays. The information age has also enabled us to interactive in more games  and leisure time has now been changed from being outside playing too spending more time on computer games and on social networking sites. Banking and shopping elements have also been urbanized with the expansion of technology shopping used to be barcodes scanning however now even though barcodes scanning still happens new systems have been created like automatic stock control and processing system furthermore on the Banking side  technology has now allowed us to purchase items online from the comfort of our own homes. Life back in the 1960s was like a different world compared to the world we live today, in offices in 1960s computers were rarely seen, furthermore files were not saved on databases, every office had a high proportion of fileling cabinets.  Office desks were filled with a telephone and a type writer. Nowadays if we need to make a maths calculation we use a computer or a calculator, back in the offices in 1960 adding machines were used.

Car mechanic- Life for a car mechanic has changed massively in the last 20 years.  Life in the 1960s was very much “hands on” technology was un heard of back then, however in the last couple of years technology has impacted on their day to day life.  Mechanics now use databases to store information, some garages also use computerized technology as a calendar for when the car is due to come into the garage and when it will be released. This technology has resulted in life’s becoming a lot easier and more stress free, although technology does come at a price, nowadays to get a job for example like a car mechanic requires a basic skill in ICT. ICT has only been developed in schools in the past couple of years therefore the older generation are not aware of the use of ICT this has resulted on them finding it hard to find jobs.  Car mechanics now use ICT for a wide range of work they do, the key element of technology the use is computerized technology that helps service a car, it can pick out faults and parts of the car that aren’t working correctly.  Furthermore, with  the growth of technology this has allowed for more jobs, the development of car mechanics is  automotive mechanics. These people use computers to tell the automotive service technicians and mechanics how well the car or truck is performing. To do their job, technicians must know a lot about how complex parts of the car and truck work together. They must be able to work with electronic equipment that tells them what is wrong. They must be able to read and understand manuals and machines that are computer-based. At the same time they must be able to use the power and hand tools they have used in the past. They usually follow a checklist to make sure that they check every critical part, including belts, hoses, plugs, and brake and fuel systems. In fact, there are so many parts to an automobile that some mechanics specialize in fixing only one certain part of it. For example, some technicians will only fix brakes while others will only work on problems with the air-conditioning system. Therefore this shows that with the growth of technology it has had huge positive effects on helping jobs like car mechanics that do require an element of computerized technology. I believe the information age we live in is a good thing, it is helping to create jobs and is making jobs massively easier.  

Online Entertainment

Introduction- Online entertainment has become increasingly popular with the growth of internet users, with the wide range of sources that online entertainment covers, the most crucial source of online entertainment is the downloading element of online entertainment, and this can be anything from downloading the latest movie, via websites like http://www.alluc.com/. Furthermore, 20% of UK households watch the television online. This percentage is rapidly increasing, with the increasing of television channels for online users to use as a television usage. However television isn’t the only source of online entertainment. Internet radios are also becoming increasingly popular, http://www.onlineradiostations.com/  these websites are escalating and expanding everyday, with the increase of internet users.  In addition, social networking websites like facebook people view as a source of communication however it now has a huge theory of entertainment with a wide range of games and other applications all for entertainment purposes.  However, online entertainment can also be portrayed through online virtual video games like Second-Life or world of warcraft which is an online multiplayer role-playing game designed for entertainment.

Downloads-   Downloads come in many different elements on the internet, one of the most popular sources of downloads for entertainment purposes is downloading films online, a wide range of websites offer users to view films for free, although this is illegal these websites still continue to function offering illegal downloading.  Furthermore the illegal downloads sector is growing with many different sources of entertainment including TV stations like sky sports which is a exclusive TV station for sky sports users only, however now websites have been set up to broadcast theses games illegally for users who don’t have sky sports. By scanning the internet I have discovered these websites are very popular and numbers are increasing on websites like this http://www.ziggytv.com/sports.htm. There are a wide range of advantages and disadvantages for the illegal downloading sector online, a key advantages is its free and users claim it’s quick, however this depends crucially on the downloading speed of your internet, if your downloading speed is poor  then your downloads can take a long period of time.  In addition, downloading any file from the Internet (more frequently in this kind than regular software) offers risk of virus. Furthermore if downloading movies online there is a high risk of getting caught, if you do get caught the laws states you can be fined up to $250000 and sentence you to
five years in prison. Recently in the United Kingdom a students website which helped people watch films and television shows for free was merely operating in the same way as Google, a court has heard. Richard O’Dwyer from Sheffield is facing a extradition to the united states of copyright infringement, ultimately he faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. His website was called TVShack, and the US authorities claims that the films accessed via TVShack were pirate copies. But his lawyer merely claimed that his site operates like Google and yahoo do, just linking to other sites, you were not able to watch a film from TVShack directly. The site ultimately generated all its income from advertising, the same way Google does.

Spotify- Spotify is a radical new platform offering free and legal access to a huge library of
music.  which was founded in Sweden it offers music ranging from major and independent record, labels. Spotify currently has three different membership accounts, first of all is the bog standard free one which just allows you to listen to tracks on your PC. Secondly you have the Spotify Unlimited membership, which at £4.99 is a great bargain which is for users who are only going to listen to music on your PC and don’t want to buy songs, for £4.99 a month you will gain access to unlimited streaming of music and no advertisements within the music. You can also use the Spotify Premium, which is for the ultimate media user, at £9.99 it is great if you compare it to buying songs via iTunes, £9.99 a month will allow you to access all Spotify songs on your mobile, you can also play songs when your not connected to the internet which is a great bonus because if your on the move, you don’t have to be connected to the internet. Along with those features you also get no adverts and unlimited streaming. I believe spotify is a brilliant programme, its effective you can create your own playlist and listen to music for free. Some advantages of using spotify is you can listen to music for free, the programme offers a wide range of music old and new,   in addition you don’t have to be connected to the internet therefore you can use it at any time. However it does also have its disadvantages advertising is a huge turn off, it can go on for a maximum of 2 minutes and can frustrate users, it also requires you to create an account which is time consuming.

Online TV-   Online TV comes in many different forms, with the internet rapidly increasing in websites,  online TV is becoming increasing popular with TV licenses becoming more expensive, people believe that viewing TV shows online for free could be the next generation of viewing TV shows.  BBC iplayer has been established for 4 years now and now has over 162 million users a month however this statistic is increasing by an average of 12% a month. However BBC iplayer is not the only popular online radio and television station, 4OD and ITV player. http://www.hmmm.ip3.co.uk/online-tv-bbc-itv-channel4-five.shtml websites like this host over 50 channels which consist of the most popular channels that are on TV. Catching up on TV online can allow for you to watch your favourite shows in your own time, this convenience is a huge aspect of why the online TV sector is rapidly increasing. Furthermore now 4OD has signed a landmark deal with YouTube, becoming the first broadcaster worldwide to make full-length TV shows such as Skins, Hollyoaks and Peep Show available to users of the Google-owned video-sharing website. Channel 4's TV shows will be fully available via YouTube in early 2010. The deal is non-exclusive, allowing Channel 4 to continue distributing its 4oD service via its own website, Channel4.com, and other third-party sites and services.

Advantages;

·         You can catch up on the programmes you’ve missed

·         You can view a wide range of videos online

·         It is entertaining and free, meaning more cost effective

Disadvantages;

·         You may experience buffering/lagging due to bad internet connection

·         You need an internet connection to view them

·         Some things require you have an account

Online Gaming- With the growth of the internet it’s no surprise that the online gaming sector has expanded, with more sources of entertainment on the web its no surprise there are so many elements of online gaming. There are a wide range of games on offer on the internet including classical games like brickbreaker or more recently updated games like Second-Life. Second-Life is an online virtual world launched in June 2003, it was designed for users to interact with over avatars. Furthermore game that has “taken off” in the past year is world of warcraft It is currently the worlds most subscribed MMORPG (Massively multiplayer online role-playing game) and also holds a Guinness World Record for the most popular MMORPG by subscribers. World of Warcraft allows your to create a personal character ‘avatar’ and allows you to fight various monsters, complete quests that you have been set, explore the landscape and most of all interact with other online players. In my personal experiences I have never interacted in these types of games, however, I know of a lot of people that are hooked to these online games and they say how interacting they are.

Advantages;

•     Allow you to interact with other users
•      Can make friends and meet new people

Disadvantages  

• Can end up being very costly 
•    Can get addicted

Online gambling- Online gaming is becoming a hit, with various ways of gambling online the internet is becoming increasing filled with gambling sites that  you can play online poker, go into casinos, place bets for sports, online bingo and horse race betting. However the most popular element of gambling is the online poker which is most popular with Texas hold ‘em poker, this has become so popular it has its only specialised websites specifically for this poker type. In my personal experience I have never done online gambling as I am to young however, when I am older I may try it for the experience, in addition I do know a lot of people that are addicted to online gambling and enjoy it a lot and view not just as entertainment but a way of making money.

Advantages;

·         Could possibly win money

·         Could meet new people

Disadvantages;

·         Could become addicted

·         Could loose a lot of money

 

Download Services

Nowadays the internet can be the source for many downloads, including anything from entertainment to printer manuals. With the increase of internet users more and more things are being downloaded straight from the internet. Furthermore,  users  can also share files between each other with programs such as 4shared although using these sites requires initiative some files may contain viruses.

Software- Boxes of software are becoming hard to find, all Downloading software requires no packaging or manual set up, everything can be downloaded separately via the desktop source.

With the download of software there is a wide range of advantages, the main advantage is allowing people to purchase and download software anywhere in the world this is so much more simple and its more convenient. Other advantages are the environmental factors that are being saved  by using software downloaded via CD’s and the internet have resulted in saving packaging and therefore saving the software company money, this is usually why they usually tend to be cheaper online. However it does also have its disadvantages if downloading software via the internet downloads that are relatively big and take a long time to download can take even longer with slow internet this is one huge aspect that can affect users downloading software online.

In my experience with downloading software, I Downloaded the new Norton 360, they software was installed in seconds and was alot quicker as there was no manual or large amounts of packaging. However in some respects users maybe put off with having no manual as they have no resource booklet to findout information about the software.

 This picture displays the information that appears in the beginning of the process of downlaoding.

Cloud Computing- A cloud service has three distinct characteristics that differentiate it from traditional hosting. It is sold on demand, typically by the minute or the hour.  A user can have as much or as little of a service as they want at any given time, and the service is fully managed by the provider and as well as improved access to high-speed Internet have accelerated interest in cloud computing. A cloud can be private or public. A public cloud sells services to anyone on the Internet. (Currently, Amazon Web Services is the largest public cloud provider.) A private cloud is a proprietary network or a data centre that supplies hosted services to a limited number of people. When a service provider uses public cloud resources to create their private cloud, the result is called a virtual private cloud. Private or public, the goal of cloud computing is to provide easy, scalable access to computing resources and IT services.
The primary potential advantage of cloud computing is the significantly lower cost required for data processing services when compared with the older model of establishing and maintaining software and its associated hardware on an internal system. The use of a cloud system removes the need for the potentially large capital and operating costs associated with purchasing or leasing such software and hardware and shifts the costs to a usage-based model. This can also substantially simplify a company’s software and hardware structure and the associated costs. A cloud-based system can also substantially increase the mobility and freedom of your employees and consultants, as it no longer matters where they are located. As long as they have an Internet connection and can access the cloud, they can utilize the same software packages and do the same work as if they were all in a physical office location. Obviously the advent of easy access to high speed broadband Internet connections has helped to make cloud computing a viable option.
Cloud computing has its risks and disadvantages, however. Its dislocated nature, which is an advantage in many cases, can also be disadvantageous because the user loses control over the software application and becomes dependent on the provider to maintain, update and manage it. If something goes wrong, the user does not have direct access to the software and must depend on the provider to fix the problem. If the provider is unresponsive or unable to fix the problem quickly, the user can experience significant issues. For example, problems would occur if your company uses a cloud-based payroll software system and that system goes down the night before payroll is due. These problems would quickly become much worse if the provider is unwilling or unable to fix the problem and reliable backup services are not available. Similarly, if your company becomes dependent on a cloud-based software application and the provider is unable or unwilling to continue to provide that application, you will quickly encounter trouble. This trouble would quickly become more serious if the provider was not required to give notice of the cessation of the application in time to allow your business to locate an alternative. In today’s turbulent economic climate, cloud providers may encounter financial problems or bankruptcy, either which could seriously impair or eliminate the provider’s ability to continue to provide the cloud services to your company.  Remember that these financial problems can happen quickly, and you will often have limited recourse in these situations.


Patches-A patch can be an upgrade (adding increased features), a bug fix, a new hardware driver or update to address new issues such as security or stability problems. While most patches are free to download, ultimately the developer will determine which versions of their software will be updated for free (older releases of a program usually get fewer updates). In some cases, only registered users may get certain upgrades, and at other times the only way to upgrade is to purchase the newer version at a discounted upgrade price (and requiring a reinstallation of the program). Typically, a patch can be installed over the top of an existing program, but again this will depend on the supplier and the nature of the patch. Unless otherwise stated, patches and updates on this site are for PCs using English language settings.
Upgrades- occur automatically on desktops. Software upgrades appear without confirmation, if software requires an update it doesn’t always tell you, some updates do however require a confirmation. There are a wide range of advantages and disadvantages on software upgrades.
Advantages

1.       Ease of use – the user usually doesn’t have to do anything at all during software updates that occur automatically. And ease of use makes it efficient, which is a key consideration for IEs.
2. Effective – viruses change almost hourly, so all protection software updates must occur weekly, sometimes daily. For software like this, the system has to get automatic updates as quickly as possible to be effective. And that is the beauty of automatic software updates; they remain effective via their automatic checks and updates. For security patches, automatic updates are critical.
3. Software point releases become seamless with automatically updating software. This is far easier than asking a distributed user base to install new software on all of their systems.
4. Standard – the code for programming in software updates is standard; check location/server X for updates, download if there is one. Implementing an automatic software update is a standard software feature, and frequently deemed a necessity.

Disadvantages

1.       If the user’s system isn’t on, the update doesn’t happen.
2. If a user’s system is on but not on network, the updates don’t occur.
3. If there are over-rides on the date and time the user can have the checks and downloads occur, they may keep forestalling critical updates. Thus flexibility results in ineffectuality.
4. If users install freeware that then decides to update, the automatic update may include a licensing agreement which the company does not want liability for.
5. The latest and greatest software update may be incompatible with the existing software image, and cause compatibility problems when the update occurs.

I believe that automatic upgrades are a good an effective way of upgrades being updated, it saves time and hassle of agreeing to confirmation and if its benefiting the desktop software then the upgrade is crucial wherever its updated automatically or being signed to confirmation.