Internet Activities
Computing with a Smile
Typed messages are the primarycomponentof mostonlinecommunication - e-mail, online chat,postings on online forums, and the like.One problem with typed messages isthat people can neither hear tones ofvoice nor see gestures and facialexpressions.
Smileys are representations of facial expressions made by a certainseries of keystrokes. The basic smiley, which indicates a good mood ora statement meant to be taken humorously, consists of a colon, a hyphen,and a right parenthesis, as follows:
:-)
Other commonly use smileys and their meanings are as follows:
:-pSticking tongue out
:-vShouting
:-OYawning, boredom
:-o Surprise
:'-( Crying
:-x Lips are sealed
:-s Confusion
:-D Laughing
:-@ Screaming
:'-) Being so happy that one is crying
;-( Angry
X-( Dead
An e-mail (electronic mail) is a digital document sent from one user toanother. Just as with postal mail, e-mail must be addressed correctly to arrive atits destination. Typically, an e-mail address is:
userid @ domain.com
User ID @ Mail Server domain name
Feature
Advantages
Price
The cost of e-mail is the same regardless of distance and the number of people you send it to
Speed
An e-mail should reach its recipient in minutes
Convenience
An e-mail can be sent at any time, and the same message can easily be sent to a large number of people
Flexibility
You can attach any sort of digital file to an e-mail message
Permanent record
A record can be kept of messages and replies
E-mail messages are transmitted through an e-mail system and storedon a mail server. Because the mail server stores e-mail, your computer doesnot need to be turned on when someone sends an e-mail message to you.
When you use an e-mail program to login the mail server and check your email,the mail server forwards new messages to your computer's mailbox.Then you can use the e-mail program to read the message, print it, delete it,reply to it, or forward it.
Video-conferencing
Video-conferencing allows two or more people at different sites to talkto one another while sharing images over the Internet in real time. It simulatesa live conference between participants but reduces travel costs. With thistechnology, virtual meetings can be set up anywhere in the world, and remoteworkers can communicate face to face with their colleagues in the central officewhile working from home or travelling.
The effectiveness of a video-conferencing depends on the bandwidthavailable. Delays in the transmission of audio or video components will distortthe sound or picture, and may even make them unintelligible. Video-conferencingover the Internet using a standard telephone line and a modem is possible, butthe heavy image data demand and Internet congestion allow only postage stampsize video windows and slow frame rates. Therefore, to video-conference atreasonable quality, a broadband Internet connection is needed.
The equipment needed for video-conferencing includes a Web camera tocapture images, and video-conferencing software to control the camera. Thevideo-conferencing software packages include MS NetMeeting, and Polycom.