Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

Using Information Technology, 10e

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© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

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Using Information Technology, 10e © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

DEFINITION: Information Technology (IT)

describes any technology that helps to produce,
manipulate, store, communicate, and/or
disseminate information.

• Part 1: Computer Technology

• Part 2: Communications Technology

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 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY: A computer is a programmable,

multiuse machine that accepts data—raw facts and figures —and
processes, or manipulates, it into information we can use, such as
summaries, totals, or reports.

- Its purpose is to speed up problem solving and increase

productivity.

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 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY :
Communications technology , also called telecommunications
technology , consists of electromagnetic devices and systems for
communicating over long distances.

The principal examples are telephone, radio, broadcast

television.

In more recent times, there has been the addition of communication

among computers—which is what happens when people “go
online” on the internet.

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 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

- Online: means using a computer or some other

information device, connected through a network, to
access information and services from another computer
or information device.

- A network is a communications system connecting

two or more computers; the internet is the largest
such network.

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 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

• Information technology is essential on college

campuses.
• IT is used in teaching, labs, and in course
management.
• Many college classes are either taught online or
have a class website.

DEFINITION: Distance learning is online

education

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 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

• Problem: Computers in the classroom can be

used or misused.
• What should they be used for?
• Following the lecture
• Working along with the instructor
• Performing instructor-assigned Internet searches
• Completing assignments for this class
• What is misuse?
• Text messaging or emailing friends
• Surfing the Internet for entertainment
• Doing assignments for other classes
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 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

• DEFINITION: Virtual means something that is

created, simulated, or carried on by means of a
computer or a computer network.
• Virtual money
• Cash-value cards
• “Electronic wallets” (e.g., PayPal)
• Online bill paying
• E-Commerce:

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 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

• Cash-value cards: (such as subway fare cards)

• Online bill paying : it has been possible to pay bills online, such
as those from phone and utility companies, with special software and
online connections to your bank.

• A digital wallet  allows an individual to make electronic

commerce transactions. This can include purchasing items on-line with
a computer or using a smartphone to purchase something at a store.

• E-commerce The buying and selling of products and services by
businesses and consumers through an electronic medium, without
using any paper documents.

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 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

• Videogames
• Photo sharing
• Downloading
• Music
• Movies

Downloading: transferring data from a

remote computer to one’s own
computer
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 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

• Hotels: use computer reservations

systems.
• Law Enforcement: Officers use computers
• On patrol
• To check stolen cars
• To check criminal records

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 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

• Office careers: Budget, payroll, letter-writing,

email
• Fashion: Sales/inventory control systems,
ordering, personnel
• Job-hunting:
• Use word processor to create résumés
• Post résumés online
• Online job searches

Discussion Question: Can anyone think of a career that does not

require computer skills at all?

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 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

The Telephone Grows Up

•1973: First cellphone call
•Mobile phone use estimated to rise to 3.9 billion
users by 2013
•Today’s cellphones:
• Can connect to Internet & web for all sorts of
activities
• Can send and receive text messages
• Can take and send pictures, download music &
video
• Can obtain news and TV programs
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 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

• Introduced in 1981
• Reached 10 million users in about one year
• Has been the fastest-growing technology
• 1998 surpassed hand-delivered mail
• In business, at least, email requires writing
skills

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 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

• Cyberspace
• Term coined by William Gibson in Neuromancer
(1984)
• Described a futuristic computer network people
“plugged” into directly with their brains
• Now the term cyberspace encompasses:
• The Internet & the World Wide Web in particular
• The wired and wireless communications world in general
• Thus, cyberspace includes chat rooms, blogs, ATMs,
conference calls, texting, etc.
• Two most important aspects: Internet
and web

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 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

• Internet
• The worldwide computer network that links
thousands of smaller networks
• Links educational, commercial,
nonprofit, and military entities,
plus individuals
• Originally developed to share
only text and numeric data;
through the web now also
supports multimedia
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 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

• World Wide Web

• The multimedia part
of the Internet
• An interconnected system of servers that support
specially formatted documents in multimedia
form
• Includes text, still images, moving images, sound
• Responsible for the growth and popularity of
the Internet

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 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to store, retrieve, transmit,

and manipulate data or information. Computers are generally used in the context
of business operations instead of personal or entertainment technologies. IT is
seen as a subset of information and communication technology (ICT).

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Using Information Technology, 10e © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

Information technology (IT) is the use of any computer, storage, network,

and other physical devices, infrastructure, and processes to create,
process, store, protect, and exchange all forms of electronic data. IT is
generally used in the context of business operations rather than personal or
entertainment technologies. Commercial use of computers includes
computer technology and telephony.
It includes several layers of physical equipment (hardware), virtualization
and administration or automation tools, operating systems and applications
(software) used to perform essential functions. User devices, peripherals,
and software, such as laptops, smartphones, or even recording equipment,
can be included in the IT field. The IT department can also consult the
architectures, methodologies and regulations that govern the use and
storage of data.

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 Introduction to Information Technology: Your Digital World

The most basic definition of information technology is that it is the application of

technology to solve large-scale business or organizational problems. Whatever
the role, a member of an IT department works with others to solve technology
problems, big and small.
There are three main pillars of responsibility for an IT department:
IT governance: is the combination of policies and processes that ensure that IT
systems are managed efficiently and in line with the needs of the organization.
IT Operations: This is a general category for the daily work of an IT
department. This includes technical assistance, network maintenance, security
testing, and device management tasks.
Hardware and infrastructure: This area of intervention refers to all the
physical components of the IT infrastructure. This pillar of computing includes
the configuration and maintenance of equipment such as routers, servers,
telephone systems, and individual devices such as laptops.

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Using Information Technology, 10e © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.