Real time data

Real time data denotes information that is delivered immediately after collection, there is no delay. Often referred to as RTD, its data that updates on its own schedule, some examples of real time data is stock quotes, manufacturing statistics, tracking products, Sat Navs, Webcams and travel times. All these ways of real time data have the same objective. It’s a way of displaying data immediately. However real time data also involves tracking and navigation.  Real time data has impacted our lives today, with the use of real time data it’s made our lives a lot easier. For example 10 years ago navigation systems were not built into cars making long journeys a great deal harder although now a vast majority of cars being made have a built in navigation system.

Real time data offers the following advantages:

• Has Excel function-like syntax.
• Puts the real-time data in a cell.
• Uses cell references as part of the formula.
• Updates in real time.
• Is extremely efficient.
• Does not drop updates; modal dialog boxes shouldn't have any effect.
• Is able to drive calculation; formulas based on cells that reference real-time data should update accordingly.
• Keeps track of the state and location of real-time data formulas so that the server doesn't have to.

An example of real time data is a webcam, a webcam is a video camera which feeds its images in real time to a computer network. Webcams are also having a huge impact on the way we live. Furthermore is becoming increasing popular, and have resulted in new ways of communicating. Video conferences are now being done via a webcam.  Webcams are useful because they can be done from anywhere to anywhere therefore can be handy if you want to communicate with somebody in a different county.

Another example of real time data is search. There are many different real-time search engines that approach search in many different ways. People think that real time is just Twitter and sure enough, some of the search engines put Twitter search front and center. Few search only Twitter, though - there are only about 3 million links shared on Twitter each day. Most real-time search companies believe that's not enough to power a full index and rely on other sources of additional links to look at, often from the click-streams of users who have downloaded their software and opted-in to exposing their online behavior anonymously. A combination of links from Twitter, other online sources and the clickstreams of users powers search engines like Wowd, OneRiot and Faroo.


Tracking is becoming more regular in modern society, tracking can involve tracking products, and many businesses involving product deliveries are using product trackers. This is designed for the customer to find out where the product is and when it will arrive. In addition there are also other forms of tracking. With modern technology plane tracking is also becoming hugely popular. People waiting for flights to land can use the plane tracker website to pinpoint exactly where the plane is.


Travel times are also an example of real time data, the data is updated immediately, and there is no delay. Travel times can be anything from buses to trains to planes. All these forms of transport are updated with travel times. Therefore the data is real time.


In some forms statistics can be real time data it can be updated an example of this is manufacturing statistics it’s constantly updated and altered. Another example is birth statistics the data is always changing therefore is continuously being updated as a result this means the data is real time.

Different methods of communications

There are a vast amount of online communication methods in the day and age. One of the most popular communication methods is email, on average there are 160 billion email messages sent per day. Furthermore technology has resulted in new ways of online communication. Skype has become one of the most well-liked forms of online chat nowadays. Skype is a software application that allows you to make a video and voice call over the internet to another user online, however it also has additional features including instant messaging and file transfers.  Skype was released in august 2003 and to date has over 25 million users. The creation of instant messaging has formed many online websites that allow users to chat in real time. Users can send text messages to anyone online and receive instant replies if the user is also online. Blogs are also a huge element to online communication. A blog can be described as an online journal and daily diary. Some blogs are interactive, allowing users to respond and comment on posts. Technology has also enabled us to use instant messaging on our phones for example blackberry’s have a feature called “bbm” which stands for blackberry messaging which is a instant way for blackberry users to communicate. The biggest change in online communication is social networking sites. Social networking sites like facebook are nationwide. These sites have changed the means of online communication. Forums are also a key aspect of online communication a form is an online discussion group.

·         Mobile phones: there are now a wide range of brands of phones that allow us to access the internet. Furthermore these smart phones have additional features that allow us to communicate through instant messaging. Skype can be accessed through your iphone.

·         Phones with built in 3g enable to use to surf the internet quickly and online communication is easier and quicker. However even with built in 3g surfing the internet in areas where the signal strength is low makes the internet slow to load and hard to access sites.

·         Email: In this day and age email is without a doubt the greatest creations of online communication.Emails are fast and easy to use. Emails in some ways have replaced letters nowadays its more common for someone to send an email rather than a letter. However 160 billion emails are sent a day, 97% are spam. So email does have its pros and cons but with the touch of a button all the spam can be deleted, in addition some email websites can block spam from being sent to their address. Never the less if spam is clicked on than this can result to viruses on the computer which can cause signification problems to your hard drive. With the conception of email this has helped our society and the way we live, emails can be sent from space, the first email was sent from space on august 26^th 1991. In addition emails are an easy way of communicating within a organisation, emails can be sent to more than one person which is good for businesses. Personally I feel that group emails are great because it saves times and is easily accessed.

·         Blogs: Is an online journal or diary, there are a variety of blogs, interactive blogs and topic specific blogs. Interactive blogs are blogs that allow users to respond and comment on posts. Whereas a topic specific blog is blogs that provide relevant and interesting content on a daily basis can be a challenge. The idea of a blog is getting your point across. A big impact on blogs not being very popular is down to having to be constantly updated which some users don’t like. I personally don’t feel very strongly on blogs, I believe that blogs are time consuming and if you’re trying to get your point across I feel that there are better forms of communication to use e.g. forums. However blogs have impacted on businesses, brands are looking at blogs to see what the customers think about their products and using this to help them improve their products. In addition Blogs can be a positive way of getting feedback.

·         Forums/newsgroups: is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived. The forums give you a chance to establish your expertise in your subject.  Furthermore these sites have been set up so you can gain educational information, and discuss the issues of society. I believe forums are a good means of online communication because it’s beneficial as well as fun because you learn from forums, whereas a social networking site is more a communal way of communicating.

·         Social networking: without a doubt social networking is a huge portion of online communication, its apart of everyone’s daily lifestyle. In addition its become more of a means of communication. For example on facebook groups have been set up so people can access information about the group via facebook. Facebook is probably one of the biggest hits of online communication. Facebook grows at over 10 million users a month and sits currently at number two on web traffic rankings according to Alexa.com. 1 in every 13 people on Earth is on Facebook. This fact shows how popular facebook has become. I personally believe that facebook is a great creation and has impacted enormously on online communication more websites are being set up like facebook for example twitter, even though I personally don’t use twitter from what people say twitter is beneficial and a great way of communicating.

·         Instant messaging: is a form of real time direct text. It can be done using anything from a computer to a blackberry. Blackberry’s instant messaging is “bbm” and is a hit for blackberry users. However instant messaging does have its downfalls. Viruses can be sent via messages and can be hard to notice. Also for bbm it’s very hard to track and the latest London riots communication was done from the looters via bbm. Although instant messaging is a lot safer environment than chat rooms.

• Online conferencing: is basically summed up as a conference done online via webcam, this means it’s cheaper and easier. However can be hard if the signal strength is bad you may not be able to understand what is said and may not be as beneficial as face to face conferences. Although typically, more people will actively participate in an online conference than in a face to face conference, and the standard of the discussions is often higher. I personally have not ever experienced a online conference but I think the concept of an online conference is a great idea and will benefit businesses extremely.

the effects of ageing ict

The first email was sent by computer engineer Ray Tomlinson in 1971, since then ict has evolved rapidly. Ict is now part of our everyday life and not just email. There are many other forms of ict which have made this world more advanced and easier. Letters nowadays are not as regular as say social networking sites such as facebook

Ict has aged dramatically from what we saw ict as 10 years ago, businesses especially have benefitted widely from ict, the technology that ict now produces such as video conferences makes big company’s lives a lot easier, a video conference is a normal conference however, if a member is unable to attend the conference because they are in a foreign country means they can use a webcam and a computer and still be in on the conference even if they are in a different country.

Email is a huge aspect ict, According to a digital research made by the Radicati Group, more than 294 billion emails are sent and received daily. Emails some people would say have replaced letters, letters are still used however emails are cheaper and easier to use. Furthermore it’s more common for companies to use emails it is an easier way of communicating. Emails have made people’s lives easier and emailing companies such as hotmail are becoming bigger and better and soon will find new technology to update emailing.

Ict has also impacted businesses immensely, however strangely enough clothes brands have become more beneficial due to internet shopping. Internet shopping is basically the stores clothes published online so the public can buy it online and get it delivered to your door. It is not just clothes brands using internet shopping. Brands such as Tesco have set up online shopping designed for the public to buy their food online then get it delivered to your door, internet shopping is designed for people who don’t have time to shop, its only just begun to become more popular the last couple of years.

Social network sites is one of the reasons why ict has changed the way we live, there are more than 100 million people that use facebook, social networking sites is mainly targeted at teenagers however all ages in this day and age use it. These sites have become so popular they now have more relevance than just a way of communicating with your friends. You can now do things like play games and have video chats. Technology is changing the way we live, Ict is becoming a daily habitat instead of a way of entertainment.

Education also relies on ict, such tools such as interactive white boards, and computers have helped the teaching sector, without ict now think of what life would be like?  In addition Ict has made life easier more and more programs are being designed to make life easier. Ict will keep on developing and becoming more of everyday life. Ict has evidently created new jobs and helped towards making lives easier.