3.5+Personal+and+Public+Communication

=3.5 Personal and public communications=

Introduction
Developments in technology have allowed an increasing number of mobile devices to be developed that enable people to communicate anytime, anyplace, anywhere. There is a wealth of information available to society that can be accessed on demand and has changed the way in which people behave. It is important that the ITGS student is able to discuss the social impacts and ethical issues related to these technologies. These may include the health implications of mobile devices, unauthorized access to wireless networks, interception of communications, storage of personal communications for security purposes, and tracking of people.


 * IT concepts to address in this topic **

Technologies
A PDA is a handheld mobile device which functions as a personal information manager. PDAs can usually connect to the internet and use a touch screen nowadays to input data. [|How PDAs work]
 * Personal digital assistants (PDAs) and handheld digital devices **
 * PDA** stands for personal digital assistant, it is also known as a palmtop computer or a personal data assistant.

__** Global positioning systems (GPS), navigation systems and geotagging **__

[|How GPS works] (Includes video)
 * GPS** stands for global positioning system. It provides reliable location and time anywhere on earth as[[image:gps.jpg width="234" height="173" align="right"]] long as the GPS receiver is in sight of 3 or more GPS satellites.

This data usually consists of latitude and longitude coordinates.
 * Geotagging** is the process of adding geographical data to media such as photographs, videos and websites.

__** Cell/mobile phones **__ A **mobile phone** is an electronic handheld device used to make mobile telephone calls across a wide geographic area.

[|How mobile phones work] (Includes video)

__** Digital radio and TV **__ __[|How TV works]__ __[|How Digital Radio works]__ An **embedded system** is a computer system designed to perform specific functions.
 * Digital radio** "refers to digital radio broadcasting technologies, such as the digital audio broadcasting (DAB) system. The analog audio signal is digitized into zeros and ones.” - Wikipedia
 * Television** "is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochromatic (shades of grey) or multicolored. Images are usually accompanied by sound.” – Wikipedia
 * __ Embedded systems __**

Services
• Accessing, distributing and sharing text, photos, video, audio, television via portable and non-portable digital devices • Synchronization of information between portable systems, desktop systems, servers and web-based services • Videoconferencing • Remote access: for example, teleworking, distance learning • Telephony: voice over internet protocol (VOIP)