ICT and Criminal Investigation

With the development of certain technologies. ICT now has the potential to assist in and against crime prevention.

The main thing that is used for Criminal investigations is the Police national database, which stores large amounts of data about people from their name and fingerprints to the kind of  car that they drive. The Police National Computer has 185 million transactions through it per year. The Police National Computer is also the largest database in the UK. Despite it being stored on computers nowadays it was once stored in a paper database before being computerised. It still allos the ability to query and cross reference.Under the Data Protection Act, police can now remain in contact with information about certain suspects. The computers are also used to examine evidence as well as an expert person to analyse fingerprints and other evedence. Police also use face recognition software to identify people from CCTV or from descriptions.

Airports also use IT for crime prevention and investigation. One new example of this is the full body scanner which allows people to see if there is anything potentially dangerous under someone's clothes. Airports have also been known to X-ray people's bags which thanks to the development in IT now allows clearer pictures of the contents of bags and so protecting the passengers from any potential threat.

The police have also had IT used to improve their communication with each other. From originally banging a trunchion on the ground the police have gone into whistles and radios and now into using mobile phones. The police can alos use tracking software and SatNavs to co-ordinate the forces.

IT is also used by criminals as well as the police. Criminals also use computers to commit cyber crimes (which are not always based on the internet). One thing that criminals can do is hack into someone else's computer and steal the contents of the hard drive which could include personal information. Another thing that the criminals can attempt to do is defraud people by tricking them into giving up bank details to them via e-mails and viruses. With these stolen details, criminals can now rob the person's bank account by transferring money to one of their accounts. Many new laws being passed are based to countering cyber crime such as the Computer Misuse Act.

IT is now also used with speed cameras to catch those breaking the traffic laws. The computers can now set up the cameras to take photos of not only the number plate but the driver as well. a similar system is currently being used in Japan where both a photo of the licence plate and the person driving it are required for a criminal conviction which means there is the problem that it is possible to wear a mask to prevent yourself being convicted. These are also used in main cities such as London which have the congestion charge to catch those who have not paid the charge by caputuring a picture of the licence plate and checking it with a computer database to see if that plate owner has paid the charge, if he has not then a fine is automatically sent out to the vehicle owner by the computer.

IT is also used in crime prevention with monitoring. The police can now use IT to track people's mobile phone records as well as monitor their bank account to see if there are any irregular transactions. Under the Computer Misuse Act, the police can monitor bank transactions but they can't stop them.

The Police also use IT in Investigations with the electronic tags worn by those who have ASBOs or are suspected terrorists. These tags electronically inform the police that that person has violated their curfew, gene somewhere they're not allowed or attempted to tamper with the tag by sending a signal remotely to the police national computer.

The police computers also have a DNA Biometric database which allows the police to hold DNA and fingerprint evidence about suspects and use them to find out who commited a certain crime at a later date if that perswon reoffends however if the person is aquitted, then the police have to remove the evidence about that person from their system which could be counter productive if that person breaks the law for real.

In conclusion, the police now have the ability to use ICT to their advantage in preventing, investigating, and recording crimes. However criminals are getting more computer smart and are causing the police to continuously upgrade and update their IT technology to keep pace with criminals.

ICT Entertainment

In the world nowadays, ICT has been responsible for assisting in the development of entertainment.

One of the things that is mainly used in music entertainment now is the MP3 files which contain music on digital audio files as MPEGs. This technology is often used to play music with digital music players such as MP3 players and iPods. This now revolutionised the entertainment as it now allows people to listen to music without the need for a physical product for the players to play music off of.

DVDs (Digital Versitile Disks) came into existance as a result in developments in ICT. DVDs share similar optical technology to CD-ROM disc drives and CD players. DVDs are also read in DVD players by lasers. As a result of the new developments and they share similar technology CD and DVD technologies often overlap and now CD players can play DVDs and vice versa. The now commonplace of the technology means it's more common to see Personal DVD players to go with personal CD players as well as there being both CD and DVD players now in cars as well as in the home and on someone's person.

ICT now also has the ability to send out digital Radio which allows certain radio stations to broadcast solely on computers and certain digital radio players. The rising interst in this has lead to the government planning to phase out the FM radiowave bradcasts by 2015. However there is a preassure group in parliament to oppose this change or at least put it back until 2020.

Televisions also have ICT entertainment based on them nowadays. TVs now have the ability to reciveve TV via satelite. The development of HD and 3D televisions along with 3D Cameras are also a creation of IT works. The idea of Plasma TV's came out of the same technology was inspired by the use of plasma computer monitors.

Cinemas have also been influenced by the development in ICT. As a result of new updates in technology, the films are shown at better quality than before. Space is often saved as now the projectors show films that have been downloaded in digital medas rather than in filmstrips as it now means that theres less space needed for filmstock. The fact that when it is released yoiu can also download films onto your computer and watch them there to save you on a need to buy DVDs. This option however makes movie piracy a lot easier as all someone now has to do is hack the site that offers the films. Most films made nowadays require the use of CGI (Computer Graphic Imaging) to create scenes that are impossible nor not safe to do in real life. The ease of use of this technology can be seen in the film, Monsters which was created by 5 people on a laptop.

IT is majorly involved in gaming nowadays, in all platforms and in different categories. The issue of computer gaming was once a topic for a BBC Panorama programme which discussed the idea of video game addiction. IT also has been able to create cameras that pick up movement and transfer it to the computer. Cameras such as the Playstation 2's EyeToy and the Xbox 360's Kinect are examples of these gaming webcams where people are the controller. The physical activity that people are forced to do in order to play games with these cameras as well as games consoles such as the Wii could mean that as a result of excercising while playing without controllers, it could make physical activity clubs such as gyms obsolete. Games can also now be played on mobile phones such as the smartphone thanks to IT's assists in file transfer.

In conclusion ICT has been able to change forms of technology and adapt them for entertainment purposes. An example of this is that they have been able to adapt webcam technology and turn it into console controllers. Films such as Avatar would not have been able to have been such a success without advances in IT 3D graphics design and CGI.

Mobile Phones in Buisness and my personal use

The advent of the mobile phone nowadays used in business allow ease of access for many businessmen. It also allows people to use them to make recreational telephone calls away from normal landline phones.

I personally have a mobile telephone and the way in which is unlike many people of my age.  Instead of using text messages, internet access, video recordings etc. I really only use it to make phone calls when I know I need to or if I am expecting a call. I really only use it to schedule meetings and to inform people of new and/or intersting developments. The benifits are that it allows me contact with my friends and family to tell them of the current situation and because I rarely use it I don't have to charge it often saving money on electrical bills. The main disadvantage for me is that because I so rarely use it it is often off and not topped up often so it is sometimes out of credit when I really need it. In my opinion my mobile does fulfil the intended purpose even if it is a bit underused.

The mobile phone in work now allows people to ring others inside their work without having to use a landline telephone to avoid cost to the employer and allows people to keep in contact when away from their desk.  It also allows businessmen to conduct business away from their offices and even manage it outside working hours.

There are also many updates for the mobile which increase efficiancy for the users. One example of this is the Smartphone which merges making telephone calls with attributes of a computer. An example of this is that smartphones can run certain programmes on it which a normal mobile would not be able to do as well as that a smart phone can compose, send and recive e-mails from others for ease of access while a person is on the move.

Mobile phones also have certain additional features that allow disabled people to use a mobile similar to other able people. They now have mobile textphones for people who are deaf to allow them to be able to contact other people while out. There is also mobile phones with braille keypads for those with a visual disability to give them the freedom to communicate with others away from their homes.

In conclusion buisness communication has been vastly reliant on more technological advances to contact other people. The ability to contact people on the move allows speed of buisness transactions as well as the phones being used as fashion accessories with technical updates for personal usage.