1. Social and Ethical Issues Flashcards
Define Intellectual Property
The result of mental efforts
Define Ergonomics
The study of how humans interact with their work environment
What is a Command Line Interface?
The user is presented with a prompt where they enter commands or inputs to the system. To execute operating system commands using a CLI the user must be familiar with the required syntax
What are the advantages of CLIs? (x3)
- Popular when performing specialised or automated tasks e.g. web and database servers are administered using a CLI
- For users with extensive expertise and knowledge of the available commands, an additional overhead of a GUI is unnecessary in terms of usability
- A series of commands can be stored within a text (batch) file and replayed many times e.g. backing up files
What is a person’s social network?
It includes all their personal associations with others. This includes family, friends, work colleagues and interest groups.
What do social networking applications allow a user to do? (x3)
- Allow users to create public or semi-public profile
- Allow users to meet new people and add them to their social network, often without ever meeting them face to face
- It can be used as an additional means of day to day communication which adds to existing face to face and telephone communication
What are some of the original spreadsheet ideas which were incorporated into VisiCalc? (x8)
- Input, processing and output all merged into a single interface
- Scrolling ability of the window. Left, right, up, and down
- Instant recalculation of cells as contents change
- Inclusion of a status and/or formula line
- Ability to replicate a range to any other range
- Relative and absolute referencing
- Formulas could be entered using minimal keystrokes
- Cursor moves are used to select cells and ranges
What are some of the original ideas that form the basis of today’s GUIs?
During the 1970s, Xerox developed an experimental machine known as ‘Alto’, the first computer to include a fully bitmapped display, including drop down menus and icons.
What does SMTP do?
Email messages are sent across the internet using SMTP. It relays messages from one mail server to the next until the message reaches the recipient’s server
What does POP/IMAP do?
POP or IMAP are used to retrieve messages from the user’s mail server
What is the privacy concern with SMTP?
Servers can relay messages across the internet without authentication; anybody can send email messages to anybody else without restriction. There is also no guarantee that messages are not being read as they move through different mail servers.
Name some of the founders of important developments in software, as well as the years which they were founded on (x3)
- The GUI was first developed in 1981, and seen in the Apple Lisa in 1983.
- Ray Tomlinson developed email in 1971
- Tim Berners-Lee developed the first web browser in 1990
What are the origins of internet applications and the internet? (x2)
- Emails were sent via mainframes operated by a variety of organisations
- Network technologies were first developed and implemented in the early 1970s for specific military applications, and the internet came about during the early part of the 1990s
What changes have occurred in the development of email?
All email messages are sent as plain text; this has not changed. Images, audio and other media types are first encoded as text characters before transmission.
What does the MIME standard do?
(Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) It specifies how encoding and decoding of emails is performed.
What are the origins of web browsers? (x2)
- The first widely available browser was Mosaic, the predecessor to Netscape. It was written in 1993 for UNIX machines.
- During 1990 to 1992, the internet was primarily of academic interest. Most information was text based being distributed via FTP and Gopher servers.
How did the WWW operate in 1990?
There were large numbers of files spread across a vast network. The primary method of transferring files was via the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). FTP servers acted as repositories for files. To download a file you had to firstly know the file existed and secondly know its precise location.
What is a spider?
A program that automatically fetches web page data for inclusion in search engines. The spider follows links on web pages to direct its exploration.
What are the origins of the ideas in GUIs?
The initial concept was developed in the early 1970s by researchers at Xerox, and were expanded on and use by Apple computers to produce the Lisa and then the Macintosh. Bill Gates realised the potential of a GUI and began work on Windows in the early 1980s. GUI operating systems from both Microsoft and Apple introduced personal computers to the masses.
How do GUIs systems work?
They use bitmapped display and hence require significant processing and storage to work successfully.
What should license agreements do?
They protect the developers from legal action should their products result in hardship.
Define License
Formal permission or authority to use a product. Almost always non-exclusive; the product can be licensed to multiple users but does not give users ownership of the software, rather the right to use the software.
Define Agreement
A mutual arrangement or contract between various parties. Often done via pressing “ok” to an on-screen T&C.
Define Term
The period of time the agreement is in force. Mostly immediately in force. Agreement is in force as long as the terms and conditions have been upheld.
Define Warranty
An assurance of some sort – a guarantee. Most warranties will state the product is sold ‘as is’
Define Limited Use
Software licenses do not give purchasers unrestricted use of the product
Define Liability
An obligation or debt as a consequence of some event.
Define Program
Refers to the computer software, including both executable files and included data files. It does not include the media; it refers to the software stored on the media.
