NC Digital Media Computing

SQA Unit DW7J 11Social Software

Historical Context and E-mail

Russell TaylorLecturer in Computing & Business Studies

Historical ContextGaming company Atari created the first computer

game in 1970 called “Pong” (after Ping Pong)!

This was renamed Paddle Battle after the Japanese developers discovered the use of this word in English!

‘Pong Tournaments’ developed in people’s homes or in bars where these gaming machines were popular.

The game was based on Tennis/Table Tennis, was simple to understand and easy to use.

Historical Context (2)New developments quickly followed with advent

of Personal Computers in mid 1970s onwards:Sinclair Spectrum, Commodore 64, Acorn’s BBC

ComputerNew games appeared including one of the world’s

most popular – PacmanMulti-platform game – now even available on

Mobile PhonesPacman was played by individuals – less by

groups and gamers started to become isolated

Historical Context (3)Isolation has persisted until advert of Internet-

based gaming in 1990sNow Multi-player gaming common with 1000s

of titlesEarly multi-player game – Doom (1993)

Voted greatest game of all time in 2004!

‘World of Warcraft’ Series now dominates this market with 11.5 million monthly subscribers A social phenomenon - changed the way that

gamers view their activity

Social Software - Birth of E-mailIndispensible now – but ‘invented’ in 1971 by

Ray Tomlinson – he chose the ‘@’ symbol too!Once only available on a PC

Now accessible using a variety of devices MP3 Players, Blackberrys, Personal Digital

Assistants, Mobile ‘Phones, Handheld PCs

Two main types of E-mail - Dial-up and On-lineOlder e-mail ‘clients’ worked on dial-up

connections – before birth of ‘Broadband’ Used ‘Store & Forward’ technology – messages were

downloaded onto client for ‘off-line’ reading

Dial-up E-mailAdvantages

Mail can be taken away on laptops for reading / replying later

Messages were text only – short with no pictures, formatting

DisadvantagesVirus-proneMessages were text only – short with no

pictures, formattingData could be lost if dial-up connection was

unstable

On-line E-mailOn-line E-mail

Usually over BroadbandServer-basedUsually scanned for viruses before viewingE-mail ‘hoster’ can be different from Internet

Service Provider (ISP) – e.g. Hotmail

Advantages/Disadvantages of E-mailAdvantages

Cheap or even free to send / receiveIf charged for – same charge for local, national or

InternationalNormally accessible from Internet-connected deviceNormally secure – if you do not share password!

DisadvantagesNeed to be connected to Internet

Stable connection needed Can host viruses – even when scanned SPAM / Junk e-mail is common

Basic FeaturesFrom – the e-mail address of the sender.To – The e-mail address of the intended

recipient.Subject - What the e-mail is aboutThe Message area – The large box where you

type your message.

More Advanced FeaturesAttachmentsAddress Book /

Contact ListThe ‘cc’ BoxThe ‘bcc’ Box

- role of as a marketing tool

ActivitiesLog in to Hotmail – creating account if

necessaryLog in to Google Mail - creating account if

necessary

Task 1 – Compare Hotmail & Google MailTask 2 – Send a short polite message to

LecturerTask 3 – Send a message to a friend, a group

and create a Distribution (Mailing) List