Blogs & Forums

Blogs and Forums are very similar, however they do have some differences.

Forums are created for discussion between many people, whereas blogs are created for single user input, with the option to allow other people to comment on your post. So, blogs are more like a simple homepage where other people may contribute with comments, but there is one overall ruler, the blog owner, who can delete any comment they do not like. However, in forums there can be hundreds or even thousands of people posting discussion topic messages and also adding comments to those topics.

It is difficult to use a forum as a journal because their message will get lost in the constant stream of messages posted by other people. People tend to post shorter messages in forums, but blogs usually have longer messages on average.

MMS - Multimedia Messaging Service

Multimedia Messaging Service, or MMS, is a new standard for mobile messaging. Like SMS (Short Messaging Service), MMS is a way to send a message from one mobile phone to another. The difference is that MMS can include not just text, but also sound, images and video. It is also possible to send MMS messages from a mobile phone to an email address. MMS messages can contain formatted text, images, audio and video.

An MMS message is a single entity, not a collection of attachments. One of the main practical differences between MMS and SMS is that whilst SMS messages are limited to 160 bytes, an MMS message has no size limit and can be many kilobytes, or even larger. MMS requires a third generation (3G) network to enable such large messages to be delivered, although smaller messages can be sent even with the second generation networks using GPRS.

Photoshop - Storm Tracker Logo

Today I learnt to understand and develop intemediate Photoshop skills by creating a style sheet, I also learnt to use a variety of tools. I created 3D text use Filters such as Motions Blurs, I created a sky in the background with rain and lightning using the Cloud filters. Here is my finished product:

3G

History

The first 3G was introduced in 2001 in Japan only for commercial use, the technology was still very limited and wasnt very reliable. The second 3G network was released commercially in 2002 in South Korea, making koreans the first to view the competition of all 3G operators. Telenor opened the first commercial network in Europe for in December 2001. There were no commercial handsets, however, so there was also zero clients. The first 3G network in the United States that was released commercially was by Monet Mobile Networks. Later on, the network provider had to shut down operations. Verizon Wireless released the second 3G network operator in the United States in October 2003. Today, 3G is a very common feature among modern models and designs, and is continuously improving.

What it offers

• Fast connection to the internet on your phone and Mobile Broadband dongle
• Download music, pictures and games up to 10 times faster than on 2G.
• Quickly access up-to-the minute weather reports, sports bulletins and Twitter or Facebook updates at the touch of a button.
• Stream music and videos using services like YouTube and Spotify on compatible phones.
• Use applications like Google Maps or Nokia Maps to get to where you’re going easily.
• Upload photos quickly and easily to your favourite websites, like Facebook or Flickr.
• Communicate in different ways with Skype, Windows Live™ Messenger, Facebook, Twitter and email.
• 3G offers better quality calls compared to 2G

What devices is it compatible with?

3G is available on most modern smart mobile phones and is also available for laptops/pcs via a 3G wireless USB dongle.

General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)

General Packet Radio Service, or GPRS, is a method of enhancing 2G mobile phones to enable them to send and recieve data more rapidly. With a GPRS connection, the phone is "always on" and can transfer data immediately, and at higher speeds (32-48 kb/s). An additional benefit is that data can be transferred at the same time as making a voice call. GPRS is available in most new phones.

GPRS is part of a series of technologies that are designed to move 2G networks closer to the performance of 3G networks. The key characteristic of a 3G network is its ability to transfer large amounts of data at high speed (up to 2 Mb/s), enabling applications such as video calling, video downloads, web browsing, email etc. By increasing the speed of a 2G network, some of these applications become possible, e.g. web browsing and sending or recieving emails with large attachments. These technologies are now called 2.5G.

GPRS is measured in classes which determine the speed at which data can be transferred. The GPRS' class usually refers to the number of timeslots available for uploading or downloading data. Timeslots are available simultaneously, so the more slots you have, the faster you can send or recieve data. The most common GPRS classes available are Classes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12. Generally speaking, the higher the GPRS class, the faster the data transfer rates.

WAP & GSM Technology

Wireless Application Protocol, or WAP, is an open international standard for application-layer network communications in a wireless-communication environment. Most use of WAP involves accesing the mobile web from a mobile phone or PDA. A WAP browser is a commonly used web browser for small mobile devices such as mobile phones of PDAs, developed to allow a realistic browsing experience to users.

Global System for Mobile Communications, or GSM, is the most popular standard for mobile telephone systems in the world. The GSM Association estimates that 80% (1.5 billion people) of the global mobile market uses the standard.

Forums

Today we have been learning to create discussions and post replies on the course forums. Forums are really easy to understand and use. To create a topic all you have to do is click the 'Add a new discussion topic' button and create a title and write your message. To reply to topics all you have to do is click the 'Reply' button and enter your message. Simple. :)

W3C Website Information

After reading the W3C website and completing the W3C worksheet I understand the guidelines and rules our website will have to follow to promote accesibility. Our website will need accesible to people with disabilities and bad eye sight etc. Here are the 3 advisory techniques given when creating a website:

• Using readable fonts (Arial, New Times Roman etc.)
• Making sure text and images of text are at a readable font size e.g. 14 point.
• Links are clearly visible (Usually highlighted blue and underlined).

Websites that flash must not flash more than 3 times per second. This prevents people with Epilepsy from having epileptic fits when viewing the web page.