Real- Time Information

Real Time Flight Tracker You can find many different types of real time within the internet which show real time information. ‘Flight Tracker 24’ is a programme where you can see all the planes that are in the world’s airspace at this very moment in time. This website is extremely helpful for people because it lets you see where each plane has come from and what destination it is heading to, it also informs you on how much flight time is left. Some planes show up in an orange colour, this means they could be delayed up to 5 minutes and onwards.

Advantages

- You can find out how far away from the airport your friends or family member are, this gives you a rough estimate on what time to leave to go and collect them.

- You can see what plane you are looking for, how far it has gone up in the air and what destination it is going to.

- You can discover new airlines and countries you possibly haven’t heard of before.

Limitations

- Not all planes you click on give you information on where they have come from and where they are going to.

Personal Experience

I haven’t ever used ‘Flight Tracker 24’ but I think it sounds very useful for people who are going to collect loved ones from the airport as they know roughly what time to leave so there not having to wait around the airport for hours. My friend has used it before and she told me that it wasn’t very useful because the plane she was looking for there wasn’t any information that showed up for it.

Webcam
Another fantastic feature that is available for all those who have access to the internet is a live webcam. This is where you can get a live feed from a variety of different countries and states. To the right hand side shows you an example of a live feed that is happening in America, it shows you the date and the exact time it is over in that specific state.
Advantages - If there is a certain event which is happening in a specific state or country you can find a webcam which is linked to that place to see what is going on.
- If a friend or a member of family has gone travelling abroad then you could have the option of doing a live webcam feed with them if your missing them or want to see them.
Disadvantages
- Some people may not like the world watching what they’re doing all the time.
- Some actions that people do may be offensive to some people.
- Some people could possibly find the idea of live webcamming strange.
Personal Experiences
I use Skype a lot which is like a live web cam streaming with someone. My dad often goes away on business to America so I hardly see him therefore it is good having Skype where I can video call him to still see him every day. However, sometimes when I use web cam it isn’t a very clear picture because the connection isn’t very strong therefore it makes it very annoying when you’re trying to video call someone and the screen keeps freezing or if they’re really fuzzy.

Parcel Tracking
Parcel tracking is another good real time information source. Parcel tracking is a service where customers who have purchased something and is waiting to receive it in the post can search for their parcel they have brought by entering a specific order code into the search bar, this will then inform you whether your parcel has either been dispatched or delivered.
Advantages

- You can find out how long your parcel will take to be delivered to you and where about it is.

- If you brought something off of Ebay etc you can see if the seller has actually sent the parcel off to you by looking and seeing if it has been dispatched yet.

Disadvantages

- If someone finds out your order code they can abuse the right of having this certain feature.

- If you forget or lose your order code you have no other way of tracking your parcel.

Personal Experience

I think parcel tracking has both scopes and limitations. I think parcel tracking is good because when I purchased something form New look or Topshop it is very handy to know where my order is. I have had a negative experience of parcel tracking, I have purchased something from Ebay before and the seller marked it as dispatched and didn’t add a tracking number therefore when I went to look for my order I couldn’t see where it was. My delivery came two weeks after it was meant to come.

News Feeds

News feeds is another good feature of real time information. Here is where people can get the latest news and information on what is happening in the world. This is a good feature for people who don’t have time to watch the news on TV or to sit down and read the paper as they could possibly be very busy. Another good thing about news feeds is that they are updated every minute of the day making is easier and more efficient to keep up to date with the latest information.

Advantages

- It’s easier to find out information.

- You can see what is happening in the world at that exact moment.

Disadvantages

- News feeds may not work; this could possibly mean that someone could end up hacking you.

- It may cost lots of money to watch news feeds on your phone as they use up a lot of your internet, this could cost up to a lot of money if you don’t have much internet usage.

Personal Experience

I don’t watch online news feeds but I have heard there a very good way of keeping up to date on what is happening in the world. The only negative experience I have heard of is when they can sometimes crash and go all fuzzy and not work. They also waste a lot of internet usage so you go over your phone contract or run out of credit.

Online Services

Online Services

Online services have dramatically changed over the years. Social networking sites such as Bebo and MSN no longer exist because new networking sites such as; Facebook, Twitter and Skype have taken over. Not only are there online services that are social networking sites, you can also access online services such as train and bus timetables online. School websites and VLE links which include online revision sites etc can also be found on the internet as an online service. Not only these services you find online but you can find out information such as traffic reports, weather reports, news services, banking online, auctions and many more online services.

Social Networking

Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are used by millions of people every day. Twitter is a good online service because you can see when high street shops release new stock or even when celebrities tweet and tell you where they are or where they have brought something from etc. Some companies have a page where you are able to leave positive or negative feedback, most of these pages come with a box where you write up to 140 characters. It has been stated that Twitter is more carefully monitored than Facebook therefore causing less issues to do with cyber bulling. You can find the link for Twitter and Facebook below: https://twitter.com/ www.facebook.co.uk.

Advantages

- You can see the latest news from celebrities.

- Find out interesting facts about the world.

- You can read funny Tweets about people or celebrities.

- It is monitored more carefully than any other social networking site.

Disadvantages

- Some tweets may be rude or offensive for some Twitter users.

- There is no age limit for Twitter which means anyone can use it.

- As soon as you send a Tweet anyone can see it or re-tweet it.

- Some tweets may seem very informal to others making personalities seem diverse.

Online Revision sites

There are also online services such as the VLE system where teachers can post work online if you miss the lesson etc. There are also online revision sites such as BBC Bitesize which is now used by most schools as a revision tool. There are also other online revision resources that are available on the internet which include study tips such as past paper questions, key words or facts and helpful pictures. There is also an online group chat where on each section for an exam board you can ask other people for help as some people may know more about a certain topic than others.

Bibliography

http://frogserver/index.phtml?d=96247 http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize http://getrevising.co.uk/

Advantages

- There is help when you need it and you can pretty much find what you want on the internet.

- It helps making revision easier.

- It could make it easier for you to remember information for your exam.

Disadvantages

- Some information may be false, either purposely or it has just been a mistake. Websites such as Wikipedia are well known for withholding false facts or information.

- You could possibly learn information which isn’t on your correct exam. For example, you could have a sample of questions and you have to choose which the right one to answer is, if you have learnt the wrong information for the wrong question you may fail the exam.

- Certain people may try and contact you and ask for personal information.

Every day Helpful Information

Thirdly the next online service which is available is bus and train timetables these can be found on the Arriva website for buses or the South East rail service website. Technology changes fairly often and there are many ways of seeing bus or train time information. The most recent way of finding out travel information is through Apps that have been formed where you can download the timetable of the service you require on to your Ipod or Iphone. Also on bus timetables there is sometimes a barcode which you can scan using your Ipod or mobile phone, when you scan the code it will tell you how far away your bus is and how long it will take to get to you.

Bibliography http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/ http://www.arrivabus.co.uk.

Advantages

- The app can be very accurate and precise.

- It saves you having to wait for the bus for a long period of time.

- It tells you specific times of when the bus or train should arrive.

Disadvantages

- The majority of the time buses or trains can be early or late so normally you need to arrive a couple of minutes before hand to ensure you don’t miss your form of transport.

- You don’t know whether the form of transport you have been waiting for has already gone or if it’s just very delayed.

General Information

Other online services that help keep you informed on information are services such as: shopping websites, banking, traffic reports, weather reports and news reports. Down below you can see that most of these websites are run by the BBC, practically all of these websites can be found on the App store so you can view the BBC news page on the go.

Bibliography

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/ http://bbc.co.uk/news/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/travelnews/ http://www.natwest.com/personal.ashx

Advantages

- All of these websites can be found on the Apple App store and are free of charge; this means you can view most of the links above on the go.

- These have made websites easier to use and understand for the public.

Disadvantages

- You can’t always connect to the internet easily.

- Sometimes Apps crash therefore meaning you are unable to view the App or piece of information you want as you have to delete it and re-download it again.

E-Petitions

E-petitions are now used in the UK. E-petitions are a way to influence the government and parliament in the UK. If votes get over 100, 00 signatures it will be considered for debate at the House of Commons. Bibliography http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/

Advantages

- That you get to decide on what you want to change in the UK.

- It gets considered by the Houses of Parliament if the public can get over 100, 00 votes.

Disadvantages

The E-petition isn’t actually compulsory therefore there are no limitations, it just informs the general public.

Online Banking

Online Banking
The first online banking society was named ‘EGG’, here was where you could add or transfer money to ‘Money Manager’ by sending a secure message to the ‘EGG’ banking society. Online banking is extremely popular nowadays, however online banking comes with both scopes and limitations. Online banking is used every day by people when they want to either check their balance, transfer money over to another account or just or just to get instant feedback and a quick service. Banks have to guarantee that they can keep your money safe and secure at all times. To access your online bank account you have to enter your username and a specific code that is assigned to you through entering your pin code on a card machine. This is where your banking society gives you your code to enter your online banking account; this is then followed by a number of security questions.

Advantages

- You can check your account whenever you want.

- You can pay other people to transfer your money over to other accounts.

- Direct debits.

- Standing orders
- Your banking society can give you instant feedback and service.
- Many security questions are asked to make sure your account is secure and safe as possible.
Disadvantages
- If a Branch closes- people are made to lose their jobs because less staff is needed to run a bank online.
- There have been many cases of fraud; it’s hard to make websites 100% secure.
- Fail safes, guarantees for a credit card transaction.
- Banks have to guarantee that your money will be safe.
- Even if you do cancel your card you can still miss a lot of money in a short period of time.
- Identity theft- guarantees need to be there otherwise no-one would use it.
- The idea of money not being real made it hard for people to understand.

Online internet scams are beginning to increase around the UK and a larger amount of people are being fleced for lots of money purly because people have scammed them into giving their online banking details. In April 2009 Zhen Xing Yang and his girlfriend Xi Zhou were murdered because they were thought to have made money from an internet betting scam by selling false qualifications such as providing false visas. Internet scams can happen very easily so lots of websites advise you to look out for warning signs of internet scams to prevent it happening to you.

Personal Experiance
Although I don’t not have an online banking account my parents do and find it very easy and efficent to use. My family have always has fairly postive experiences with online banking because they have always been able to transfer money over to other accounts easily as well as being able to check their balance whenever they want which they find very helpful. Also the online banking society have always provided instant feedback for my parents when they have had questions about being interested in a loan so they could build an extension on my house. However, there was one time where the online banking system transferred a certain amount of money over to the wrong account making it very time concuming for my dad to sort out.

E- Commerce

E-Commerce is something which is used by many people who have internet access. E-commerce varies from online banking to online auction sites. There are both scopes and limitations to this variety of e-commerce going on within the online community.
Online Auctions

One type of e-commerce is online auctioning such as ‘Ebay’, this is where people can sell things to other people at fairly cheap prices. Ebay now sells products from local retail stores such as new look, Topshop and Jack Wills. Sometimes these products can even get sent as whole sales from jewellery to handbags.

Advanatges

-You are more likely to get a good price for your unused belongings, this is because ‘Ebay’ gives you the option to ‘bid’ on something or in some causes you can ‘buy it now’. This gives customers time to buy the product for the appropriate price or click on the ‘buy it now’ option if they prefer that price or just want to buy it before other people get the chance to win the auction.

-‘Ebay’ is also good because users are advised to leave feedback and reviews on the seller to see if people should buy from them. If users have higher rating than other users customers are more likely to buy a product from them as they know they are reliable.

Disadvantages

-Some users of ‘Ebay’ could be selling not appropriate products, however there can be photographic evidence of the product which speaks otherwise. Because of the high quality image of the photo this may lead the buyer to believe that the product is going to be better than they thought.

-Some sellers may misuse your right of privacy such as giving out information like your address, email address or even your phone number to other people. Sometimes people can even find out your PayPal account or credit card details. Customers could possibly get cheated out of a lot of money.

Personal Experiences

I have purchased and sold things on auctions sites such as Ebay. I sent an item of clothing to someone before and they claimed they didn’t receive it even though I had proof of P&P; it took Ebay a long time to resolve the situation which was very stressful and annoying. Similarly when I have purchased an item off Ebay before I haven’t received it and I never got a refund because the seller had proof of P&P therefore I lost out on a lot of money. Nevertheless, I do like to use Ebay because I can get things cheap from this online auction site and most of the time they do arrive on time. The pictures are normally of a good quality as well when purchasing an item from Ebay.

Online Shops

Most shops sell their products online as well as having a retail store which is centered in a town or shopping centre. Shop owners try to rejuvenate their shop by hosting an online retail store. Online shopping is the best way for customers to shop as they are in the comfort of their own home. Customers also like to shop online in case they want to look up the price of a specific product; if they like the price of the product then they can purchase the item in store so they don’t have to pay for post and packaging.

Advantages

-Online retail shops are more efficient for customers to purchase items and to have a look to see what reviews other people have wrote about a specific product. This information can be very helpful and informative to customers as it can help them come to a conclusion whether they want to buy the product or not.

-Another thing that is good with online shopping is that it saves the company money because they don’t need to pay as much staff if there store is online.
Disadvantages

-You don’t know the full extent of what the item of clothing is like.

- You never know if it will be the right size for you or not.

- You don’t know about the quality of the product.

- It could be a fake.

- You have to wait for the product to arrive.

Personal Experiences

I have had experiences from online shopping for both high-street stores as wells as stores which are only based online, for example- ‘Topshop’ and ‘Missguided’. The only disadvantage I have had from online shopping is that you have to pay extra for P&P which can be annoying sometimes and you sometimes have to wait a long time to receive the package. I sometimes prefer shopping in a store because you can get what you want then and there, you don’t have to wait around for it.

Communications

Online Newspapers
Print newspapers are becoming far more risky than traditional newspaper models. This is because there has been a decrease in advertising revenue newspapers; this has caused a lot of people to become unemployed. Radio and television news broadcasts are also being affected; this has a serve impact on non-print new media. Nowadays people can read the news and other media sources through modern technology such as Kindles and Ipad’s.
Advantages
- Newspapers online are a lot more efficient if you can get them on a phone or tablet.
- It’s easier than carrying a newspaper around.
- It costs less to publish for readers if it’s done electronically.
- You can read a wider variety of news articles online than on just a newspaper.
Disadvantages
- Companies are getting less advertisement space.
- There is less advertisement for car sales people.
- You can’t see advertisements for houses around your area e.g. Kent’s local area.
- Spending money on a newspaper rather than buying it online.
Personal Experience
My personal experience with online newspapers has been good. I hardly read the news and when I do I only look at the headlines that capture my attention or interesting pictures. Also if I do read the newspaper I will only read the first couple of paragraphs to see what the story is about or if it is interesting. I believe online newspapers are good because it updates you with information every time you refresh the page. I prefer newspapers online because with a newspaper you have to buy it every day you don’t get the latest news as often as you do online. Online newspapers are also good because they are free and all you need is wifi to connect to the internet which most cafés or shops have for free.

Social Networking
There are many types of different services which allow you to communicate online such as Facebook, Skype and Twitter. Facebook took over and became one of the most dominant social networking sites with over 500 million users having an account. Social networking hasn’t always been a good way to communicate to other people. Recently people have started to make fake accounts to pretend to be other people. It has become so common to do this that people have ended up in serious situations all because they met someone online as they thought it was who they could see in the picture. Nowadays social networking has become a lot safer, users can now put privacy settings to the highest ones so only their friends can see what is on their page. Despite the good uses for all of these popular services, they do all come with both scopes and limitations.
Advantages
- It allows you to connect and communicate through the internet with your friends or your family much more easily.
- It is efficient as you are able to contact or message people individually, as well as reaching them all in one post.
- You can share information and pictures with your friends which you have on Facebook.
- It’s a good way of keeping in touch with old friends as well as making new ones.
Disadvantages
- People can make fake accounts and pretend to be people who they are not by using a stolen photo and become a person who does not really exist.
- Another problem would be that it is an easy way for your computer or device to get hacked or scammed as they are a very worldwide service.
- Social networking is a way of bulling.
- You could get some users that could take advantage of you.
Personal Experiences
My personal experience with social networking has been positive and negative. My positive experience of having a social networking site such as Facebook is that I have managed to stay in touch with my friends from primary school and see what they’re up to with their life etc. Another positive experience I have had with Facebook is that it is good for chatting to anyone in the world for free. Facebook is a good way of saving money rather than texting people abroad which costs lots. I have also had a negative experience with social networking sites such as Facebook when I have had people add me on Facebook pretending to be someone else.

E-mail
Email is commonly known as the most popular way of communicating to other people. Many people such as teachers, business people, friends and family use email. Business people use emailing to advertise products and sales. Friends and family could use emailing to contact or send pictures to other family members who could be abroad or just to keep in touch with friends. Colleagues may use emails to send off work information or to give advice on certain projects. There are many different ways that you can receive emails, examples of electronic ways to receive emails are through: a phone, tablet, laptop, Ipod touch, Xbox, PS3 etc. Emails are good because they often keep you informed and they are very easy to receive.
Advantages
- Email can be sent 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
- Webmail means emails can be received and sent from any computer in the world that has internet connection.
- It’s a cheaper way of contacting people abroad.
- It’s effective
- It’s good to organise events or appointments with customers or colleagues.
- Emails can be sent to several people at a time rather than one by one.
Disadvantages
- There is no guarantee that the mail will be read until the user logs on.
- Spam mail can be an issue for email users.
- Viruses are also seen as a limitation as most viruses can attack your computer.
- E-mails are not very personal.
- E-mails could also be seen as being more time consuming.
- Sensitive information can be easily distributed either purposely or accidently.
- The e-mail may become impersonal or misunderstood; this could cause tension in the work place.
Personal Experience
My personal experience with e-mailing has been positive as well as negative. I have had my email account since I was the age of 12 and therefore have a lot of junk and un-opened emails on my account which can become very annoying. The majority of the time Hotmail informs me that my mailbox is almost full. If my mailbox does become full I will not be able to receive any emails until I go through all of them and delete them, this is very time consuming as I have over 2000 emails on my account that I would need to delete. However, I have had a positive experience of using emails. When I go to enter someone’s email address in the space to send it Hotmail notify me if it is wrong by marking it in red and showing a red cross next to it, this is helpful to me because then I know that person has given me their wrong email address.

E- mailing

Email is a lot older than the internet. When e-email was first invented it was very simple and easy to use people would leave messages on another person’s directory in a spot where they could see it when they logged in. you can compare this as to leaving a note on someone’s desk. The first type of email system was the ‘MAILBOX’ which was used at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. There was another type of programme that sent messages to other people; this was called ‘SNDMSG’. Ray Tomlinson was an internet investigator who worked for Bolt Beranek and Newman as an ARPANET contractor. In 1972 Ray Tomlinson became well known for inventing email. Tomlinson chose the ‘@’ symbol to denote sending messages from one persons computer to another persons computer. When people were on the internet and needed to sign into their email address you would simply enter: name-of-the-user@name-of-the-computer. Email is very common these days and nearly every person in the UK has a email address. People who may use e-mails are:
Teachers
Teachers use emails to contact other students or to receive important notifications from other members of staff.
Businesses
Businesses use e-mails to advertise their products and sales. Also lots of business people use e-mails to contact clients or other members of staff who are in the same businesses as them and are part of the same company but there in different locations. E-mailing is a quicker way of getting a message to someone important.
Friends
Friends may use e-mailing to keep in contact with other friends who have moved away. Also most students who go to school have a school e-mail address so they can send work to themselves and others etc if their email server (i.e- Hotmail, AOL) is blocked from the school networking site.
Family
Family members often use e-mails to connect to other family members who live far away. Email is a cheaper and quicker way of speaking to your family if they live abroad or just very far away.

Advantages
- Emails can be sent 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
- Webmail means emails can be received and sent globally by any computer that has internet connection.
- It is cheaper than calling people abroad.
- Emails can be sent to several people at a time.
- Reduces the waste of paper.
- It is more effective.
- It is good to make appointments with work colleagues who are busy with a hectic work schedule.
Disadvantages - There is no guarantee that the mail will be read until the user logs on.
- Spam mail can be an issue for email users.
- Viruses are also seen as a limitation as most viruses can attack your computer.
- E-mails are not very personal.
- E-mails could also be seen as being more time consuming.
- Sensitive information can be easily distributed either purposely or accidently.
- The e-mail may become impersonal or misunderstood; this could cause tension in the work place.

Personal Experiences My personal experience with e-mailing has been positive as well as negative. I have had my email account since I was the age of 12 and therefore have a lot of junk and un-opened emails on my account which can become very annoying. The majority of the time Hotmail informs me that my mailbox is almost full. If my mailbox does become full I will not be able to receive any emails until I go through all of them and delete them, this is very time consuming as I have over 2000 emails on my account that I would need to delete. However, I have had a positive experience of using emails. When I go to enter someone’s email address in the space to send it Hotmail notify me if it is wrong by marking it in red and showing a red cross next to it, this is helpful to me because then I know that person has given me their wrong email address.