JINJA COLLEGEJINJA COLLEGE840/1840/1

COMPUTER STUDIESCOMPUTER STUDIES(Theory Lesson)(Theory Lesson)

JINJA COLLEGEJINJA COLLEGE840/1840/1

COMPUTER STUDIESCOMPUTER STUDIES(Theory Lesson)(Theory Lesson)

MUKALELE ROGERSMUKALELE ROGERS

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SUMMARY

Over view of internet •What is internet?•Uses of internet •Advantages and disadvantages of internet•The difference between internet, intranet and extranet•Characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of intranets •Characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of extranets

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What is internet?

• The internet is a global network of computer networks linking together millions of computers, to exchange and share information.

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Uses of internet

• Access a wealth of information, such as news, weather reports, and airline schedules.

• Shop for goods and services. i.e. E – commerce • Use online banking services and manage

investments.• Do research and take online training courses.• Download files, software etc. • Advertisement. People use internet to publish

information about them selves or their work

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Uses of internet (cont)

• Make internet calls• Send and receive messages to and from other

connected users.• Communicate with others around the world

through chat rooms, videoconferencing e.t.c • Access sources of entertainment and leisure,

such as online games, magazines, and vacation planning guides, listen to music, and watch movies..

• inspect the information they hold anywhere in the world.

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Merits & Demerits of Internet• Today internet has brought the globe into a single

room. • Right from news across the corner of the world,

wealth of knowledge to shopping, purchasing the tickets of your favorite movie-everything is at your finger tips.

• Internet has great potential and lot to offer… • However, like every single innovation in science and

technology, internet has its own advantages and disadvantages.

• Though, internet can also create havoc, destruction and its misuse can be very fatal, the its advantages outweigh its disadvantages.

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Advantages of Internet

• It is cheap: you can communicate abroad and access information at a very small cost.

• It saves time as compared to using post offices• Has storage where you can store information

safely and can access it anywhere.• It is accessible 24/7 (always on)• Search Engines can help you get what you want

– compared to looking for a information in a Library. Eg Yahoo, Google, Excite, Lycos, Go.com, AltaVista, msn e.t.c

NB THE USES OF INTERNET SEEN ABOVE CAN ALSO BE PRESENTED AS ADVANTAGES

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Disadvantages of internet

• Computer viruses these can be downloaded and spread across machines and have destructive effects.

• Internet provides unsuitable material such as Pornography, the biggest threat related to healthy mental life.

• Theft of Personal informationIf you use the Internet, you may be facing grave danger as your personal information such as name, address, credit card number etc. can be accessed by hackers or thieves.

• Spamming: Spamming refers to sending unwanted e-mails in bulk, which provide no purpose and needlessly obstruct the entire system.

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Disadvantages of internet

• Some people are getting addicted to the internet and thus causing problems with their interactions of friends and loved ones.

• Some of the sites on the internet require passwords to have access to information that you want.

• The initial cost of connecting to the internet is high. e.g. buying computers.

• Many people are computer illiterate and so can not use internet.

• There is a lot of wrong information on the internet. Anyone can post anything, and much of it is deceit/garbage

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INTRANET& EXTRANET

• What is the difference between internet, intranet and extranet?

• All the three terms refer to a collection of computer networks but differ in terms of characteristics and restriction of access.

• We have already looked at internet. Lets look at intranet and extranet to see the differences.

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INTRANET

• Intranet is the refers to a collection of private computer networks within an organization.

• An intranet uses network technologies as a tool to facilitate communication between people or workgroups to improve the data sharing capability and overall knowledge base of an organization's employees.

• Many schools and non-profit groups have deployed intranets

• A simple intranet consists of an internal email system and perhaps a message board service.

• More sophisticated intranets include Web sites and databases containing company news, forms, and personnel information.

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EXTRANET

• An extranet is a computer network that allows controlled access from the outside for specific business or educational purposes.

• Extranets are extensions to, or segments of, private intranet networks that have been built in many corporations for information sharing.

• Most extranets use the internet as the entry point for outsiders, a firewall configuration to limit access and a secure protocol for authenticating users. Eg http://www.mainestreet.com/services/extranet/

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Questions

1. How can the Internet be useful in the area of education?

2. List at least possible advantages and disadvantages connected with a school being online.

3. State the similarity and difference between internet and intranet.

4. List and explain some of the services offered by the internet.

5. What is an information network? Give examples of computer networks.

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Advantages of intranet• Workforce Productivity: Intranets can help

employees to quickly find and view information and applications relevant to their roles and responsibilities.

• Time: With intranets, organizations can make more information available. i.e, employees can link to relevant information at a time which suits them) rather than being deluged indiscriminately by emails.

• Communication: Intranets can serve as powerful tools for communication within an organization, vertically and horizontally.

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Disadvantages of Intranet

• It is expensive to set up• It is expensive to maintain • Staff resources have to be updated

almost every day • Intranets may cause "information

overload", delivering too much information to handle.

• There could be security concerns with who accesses the intranet

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Advantages of extranet • Exchange large volumes of data using

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) • Share product catalogs exclusively with

trade partners • Collaborate with other companies on joint

development efforts • Jointly develop and use training programs

with other companies • Provide or access services provided by

one company to a group of other companies, such as an online banking application managed by one company on behalf of affiliated banks.

• Share news of common interest exclusively

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Disadvantages of extranet

• Extranets can be expensive to implement and maintain within an organization (e.g., hardware, software, employee training costs)

• Security of extranets can be a concern when hosting valuable or proprietary information.

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Conclusion

• We have looked at three connections of computer networks:

• Internet; which is global

• Intranet; used within an organization, &

• Extranet which is and extension of an intranet.

• We have also looked at the characteristics, uses, merits and demerits of each.

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LESSON ENDLESSON END