bank order

advantages and disadvantages of shopping online

Advantages Of Shopping Online...

1. Saves Time

If you already know what you're looking for, shopping online can save you a significant amount of time. With just a few clicks of the mouse, you can place your order and move on to other things.

2. Price Comparisons

While shopping online, it is very easy to do price comparisons for a given item. Once you have determined what you want to purchase, you can see if you are getting the best deal with just a few clicks. And making it even easier, there are now search engines specifically designed for price comparisons, and these sites will often even calculate and include any shipping charges, so you get to compare the actual, total cost of the item.

3. Saves Fuel

Fuel prices have been up and down in recent years, but no matter how expensive or inexpensive gasoline might be at any given time, shopping online does not require any driving, so it doesn't consume any fuel, no matter what the cost.

4. Larger Inventory

With online retailers, it is much easier to find the item, model number, color, style, and size you want. You can also quickly determine whether the item is "in stock" or not. Also, online shopping does not restrict you geographically -- the pool of products and available inventory for you to choose from is vastly larger than those available to you via local retailers within driving distance.

5. Shop 24/7

Online stores are available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, all year long. The same claim cannot be made by most (if any) retail stores. Online shopping allows you to shop whenever you want, at your convenience.

6. No Waiting

When purchasing online, there are no long lines that you are forced to stand in line just to make a purchase. In fact, when you purchase online, your wait time will simply be the time required to display the website ordering page.

Disadvantages Of Shopping Online...

1. Shipping Costs

Unless you purchase digital products, there will sometimes be an additional expense to ship your purchases. The shipping cost will often depend on the size and the weight of the item. Many online retailers offer "free" shipping, but only if the cost of your order reaches a certain minimum amount. The additional shipping costs can make the overall cost of purchasing online, especially for larger and heavier items, much less attractive than buying locally.

2. Lack Of Instant Gratification

Unlike retail stores, purchasing online will require some patience after you place your order, while you wait for your order to be packed, shipped, and delivered to you. Unless you are purchasing digital goods that can be "downloaded" immediately, you will have to wait a few days for your order to arrive. You simply can't walk out of the store with your newly acquired item in-hand.

3. See It, Touch It, Feel It

Some shoppers like being able to see and feel an item, and to test it or try it on prior to purchasing. By actually seeing the item, and being able to physically feel and inspect the item, the purchaser can often make a far more reasonable assessment of the quality. This is difficult to do if you are just looking at an online photo of the item.

4. Personal Data

Some people are concerned about the potential security risks of storing and sharing of their personal data and credit card numbers with online retailers. While this risk is also an issue for local retail stores (and some security experts say an even greater risk), many people feel that purchasing online is an added security risk that they are just not willing to take.

5. No Relationship

When you purchase online, you rarely have the opportunity to build a relationship with the seller. On the other hand, local retail stores are far more likely to form relationships with their customers, simply because of the personal interaction between buyer and seller.

6. Support

Online support may be limited, or even non-existent, for items purchased online.

7. Defective Items

When trying to deal with defective items purchased online, quite often the only option is to pack the item up and ship it back to the online retailer for a credit or replacement. And the customer is often responsible for any return shipping costs. After waiting a few days for your item to arrive in the first place, this adds even more time to the overall process.

As you can see, each type of shopping has its advantages and disadvantages, so weigh the pros and cons yourself to decide which type best suits your needs.

civil rights

who has data on us?

- college or school
- work
- the uk government
- DVLA
- hospital/ NHS
- national insurance
- pention schemes
- websites
   - facebook
   - twitter
   - google
   - youtube
   - email services
   - places where you shop
- the bank
- certain shops take your information
- airports/ passport
- apple/ itunes

The 'digital divide'

Communication via computer networks, and the use of digital media in general, is significantly restricted by the issue of access. There are significant barriers to the exercise of rights relating to digital media:

• Access to the equipment necessary for communication - this includes hardware, operating software, telecommunications links, and the costs entailed in obtaining them, and as such is greatest obstacle to be overcome;
  
  
• Access to education and skills is necessary in order to be able to use the new media - the ability to use computers and information technology will become increasingly crucial in our society;
  
  
• The language in which these new media can be accessed - the electronic media are dominated by English, and the languages of the other main industrialised nations. Many people are not able to access significant parts of the Internet, for example, in their first language.
  

These barriers make up the digital divide - that is, the gap between people who have the ability to access the new digital media, and people who do not. The digital divide is a clear example of the failure to address human rights within the initial development of new digital media, both within states (at the level of individual rights), and between them (at the global level - some countries have become networked whilst others have not).

The digital divide is not always clear or constant. Most often it is shows up as a lack of access to computers or the Internet. Even when people have access to the Internet, it can be seen as arising through other inequalities in society. The current emphasis on the Internet as a means of buying things, and the necessity of having a bank account and a credit card to do this, is a good example of how many poorer people, who are unable to obtain credit, are excluded from participation. As we noted above, another example of the digital divide is where people have problems in accessing computers or the Internet in their first language. This is partly because most software is produced by companies in the main industrialised nations, but also because it can be difficult to obtain software, and hardware (such as keyboards) outside the country where they were developed, due to copyright or patent licensing restrictions.

There has been little research on the digital divide in the UK. Research by the Information Society Commission in the Republic of Ireland has resulted in a number of reports on social implications, however. It shows that despite government initiatives, many poorer people are still not participating in the new information society. A recent survey found that 41% of the Republic's population had access to the Internet; 54% of adults were familiar with the use of personal computers, 43% with the use of the Internet and 41% with the use of email. But the study also found that 30% of the unemployed had no understanding of personal computers; only 13% had some familiarity with the Internet, and only 10% were familiar with email, compared to 64% 45% and 39% respectively for those in employment.

So far, the Internet has largely developed on laissez faire basis, with little state involvement. As has moved from being a minority interest to a means of mass communication, however, the attitudes of governments have changed. States have begun to perceive public use of the Internet by the public as a potential threat to the state - either because it is difficult to control (in terms of content, for example, and in particular content that is critical of the state), or because encryption systems prevent the state monitoring what people are sending to each other. This has led to a variety of responses:

• In the UK, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 was developed to allow the widespread tapping of the Internet, and to require the decryption of encrypted data on demand. The new Anti-Terrorism Act 2001 widens state powers still further;
  
  
• In Singapore, new laws require web sites to be registered; otherwise, their transit across telecommunications systems is blocked so that the public cannot access them (originally intended for hate or pornography sites, in August 2001 the government minister responsible indicated that these measures would be enforced against 'political' sites);
  
  
• In the USA, following the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, new laws seek to implement not only powers to monitor the use of the Internet, but also to control activities such as Internet gambling, or the use of the new digital media for activities that might involve proprietary information.
  

Some regulation of the Internet is of course necessary in order to protect the rights of individuals and to prevent the spread of racial or sectarian hatred via the Internet. But it can be argued, in Europe at least, that current proposals for regulation of the Internet do not strike an appropriate balance between the threat presented by serious crime or terrorism using the Internet and the rights people have to use the new media for expression and communication under Article 10 of the ECHR (for a good analysis of the UK regulatory situation see the FIPR web site).

Individual states' approaches to Internet regulation threaten the right under Article 19 of the UN Convention (see above) of people to communicate 'regardless of frontiers'. Regulation may block communication or access to information between those within a state, and also between states. People who carry out activities that are lawful in one state may be criminalised under the law of another. The applies, for example, to the use of the Internet to express dissent against repressive states.

The recent rush to develop laws in relation to the Internet therefore represents another form of digital divide - between those to whom the Internet is freely available, and those for whom the same uses may carry legal penalties.

If steps are not taken to make new technologies and means of communication available to everyone, people who are already disadvantaged within society will be further excluded. At the global level, too, the divide between those states who are networked, and those who are not, will further reinforce economic divides between countries.

crime and crime prevention

 

in the current day there are many crimes that are committed through the Internet. Many Internet criminals are using a number of different methods in order to take what they want from unsuspecting members of the public. There are a whole range of reasons why criminals commit crime via the Internet, however the most common crimes are the theft of money, the theft of identities or information and finally the damaging of others computers via methods such as viruses.

Out of all of the crimes committed via the internet the theft of money from others is the largest due to a number of reasons, however the main reason is that its probably the easiest to do as more and more people are buying and selling products via the internet with the use of credit or debit cards. Criminals are easily able to access these details if members of the public aren’t careful with their details, for example if a member of the public puts their details into an unsecure website there is a great risk of a criminal obtaining this information.

The theft of identity and information is also very common Internet crime in the current day. Many computer criminals will try and attack big businesses to steal data and information on a massive scale, for example in the news a while ago there was the story about the PlayStation Network, a group of cyber criminals attacked the company and stole millions of pieces of data from the PlayStation Network users. To businesses, data is one of the most important things to them, and if they are stolen by a group of criminals it can cause huge problems for the business. For example if everything was taken the business would have to recollect of the customers information which could be very time consuming and some customers may be cautious and not give the business their information again in the fear that it could be accessed by other computer criminals.

Cyber bullying is another crime that occurs frequently in the current day. With many people registering for social networking sites such as Facebook the crime is committed more frequently than ever, however this usually happens between the younger generation.

Phishing is also popular amongst Internet criminals. Criminals will spend huge amounts of time devising these schemes to make you fall for their methods, the most common type are mass emails that are sent with links within the email. Things such as “get rich quick” schemes are a sure sign of phishing and should be avoided at all costs. You can usually tell the difference between a legitimate and a fake website simply with common sense.

With crime on the up in the information age crime prevention has to come into play and be a lot more effective and it has with the newest technologies available to the police. For example a great method of crime prevention available to the police these days are databases, the Police are able to store huge amounts of data about anyone in the country, information can include previous convictions if you have any, simple personal information such as your date of birth and your fingerprints if they have taken them. The use of the databases to the Police is invaluable to them as it saves them huge amounts of time when searching through records as they can filter through results quickly.

Another method of crime prevention in the information age is the introduction of CCTV back in 1994. CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) is hugely important to police in these current times, CCTV allows the police to see exactly what’s going on without actually being at that location. The cameras capture footage and transmit it to a set of monitors wherever they may be. CCTV is enforced in areas such as stores, airports, banks, casinos, estates, nightclubs/bars and car parks.

Another method in which you yourself can protect your machine from harm is to install anti virus software, this will protect your system from all types of viruses, some can even sort out your emails for you so you can avoid phishing scams if you’re unable to tell the difference between a legitimate and a fake website.

crime and crime prevention

Identity theft and fraud

The impact on the UK economy from identity crime is estimated to be £2.7 billion per annum and it is believed that identity crime affects 1.8 million people every year.

Identity theft is when somebody steals your name and other personal information. Financial information is also often stolen and transactions and purchases are made in your name. Identity fraud is when that information is used to commit fraud.

Identity theft is not a victimless crime

Identity theft can be an upsetting experience for the victim. It can be months before the fraudster's actions are discovered and it can take several months more to sort out the problems created as a result.

Identity thieves are often linked to organised criminal networks and money fraudulently obtained by them is used to finance larger scams. Identity fraud has also been closely linked with human trafficking, illegal immigration, drug running, terrorism and money-laundering.

Your information can be used to open bank accounts, obtain credit cards, loans, state benefits, order goods in your name, take over existing accounts and/or obtain genuine documents like passports and driving licences.

How to stay safe

Always think before you give away your personal details. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Who exactly is asking for my details?
• What details are they asking for?
• Why do they need to know these details?
• Dispose of documents with any personal information on them securely. A shredder is one of the most effective methods. Even envelopes with your name and address on can be useful to an identity thief.
• Be aware of 'shoulder surfing' when you're filling out an application form in a shop, entering your PIN number at an ATM machine and when having phone conversations discussing personal information in a public place.
• Shred all debit and credit card receipts. Many receipts show all or part of a card or account number and may even show your signature.

communication: the history of mobile phones

for what purpose do you use your mobile phone?

there are many reasons why i use a mobile phone. communication is the main reason i use my phone. i do most of my communicating by text form and i also soetimes call people if i really need to. another reason i use my phone is for things like apps, apps have become a big thing in many peoples lives, they can range from educational apps to game apps. most of the apps i use on my phone are educational because they are better for me and tend to use less battery then some of the game apps. another thing i use my phone for is searching the internet, things like social networking and online shopping have now become accessable on phones and it means that there has become many more reasone why people now use phones. with internet on the go it means that you do not have wait and connect to certain wifi signals or things like that, with 3g and 4g it is right there at your fingertips and there is no need for you to even need to carry a laptop around with you anymore because most phones nowadays do everything that a laptop does but they are just much smaller.

how and where do you use your mobile phone?

there are many places that i use a mobile phone, infact pretty muh everywhere i go i use my mobile phone. its good because you can literally be anywhere and you will still be able to be in touch with people at the end of your fingers. other places i use the mobile phone, are places like schhol or college, this is because that when i am on frees and things like that and i am bored i like to keep in touch with people and see where they are, also when i am bored i sometimes play games on my phone so that i can pass the time by doing something a little more fun then just sitting around.other places i use my phone are generally when i am at home and  when i out with mates or on a night, again then is for the reason of keeping in touch with people and making sure people are alright.

what are the major benefits for you in using your mobile phone?

there are many benefits for me when i use my phone. a good benefit is keeping in touch with people and making sure that there is always a way to contact people through the use of my phone. another benefit for me is having the internet on my phone. like most young adults certain social networking sites have become a big part of our lives, so being able to stay in touch with that is a must have on most phones nowadays. another benefit of a phone is having the internet this means that if there is anything that desperately needs to be shown to someone or to be used then i can always access it. also probably the main benefit of having a phone is the fact that it is a boredom killer and if there is ever a time when boredom does infact need to be killed then i have my phone right there and ready to do it for me. also there are things like an MP3 playerbuilt into the phone so this means i can put all the tracks that i want to put on the phone and means i dont always need to carry my MP3 around with me a lot of the time. also the camera sometimes comes in handy when there is a moment that just needs to be remembered.

what problems or disadvantages do you have in using your mobile phone?

the biggest problem that occurs with mobile phones is the battery, because of all the apps and how mch the phone is used it is very difficult to make the battery last, sometimes the battery doesnt even last a full die and can die on me in the times when i need it most. another problem that can sometimes occur is that the phone can sometimes lose signal, this problem can prevent me from keeping in contact with people and then i can also not use the internet so the phone pretty much becomes useless.

does your mobile phone fulfil its intended purpose?

in my opinion my phone defonately fulfils its intended purpose it is pretty much everything i need right at the end of my fingertips, and its always ready to use when i need it, the only thing that it does not fulfil is its battery life and i sometimes wish that the battery would last longer but in every other case the phone is fine.

iphone: rotten to the core