introduction to my blogs: November 2013

Wednesday, 20 November 2013

Legal effects on the IT industry

The legal effects of the IT industry

The law has a massive impact on the IT industry because without it we would have effective search engines or online shopping destinations because people would hack everything there are to hack out of a website.

There are three laws against internet crime.

The first law is:

The data protection act (1998)

The DPA is a government based law passed to ensure that personal data is secure and is kept private, however keeping data in things like address books is legal and although there is no mention of the work “private” in the act it is there to ensure the privacy of the individual. Anyone can get hold of personal information but in order to use it legally they need consent from the person involved and for the purpose of the question.

These are some other things that fall into the DPA.

o The government protects personal data on computers.

o Companies can only use the information they hold on an individual for its intended purpose.

o Hacking and viruses lead to corruption of data

o Copyright gives the creator of some types of media to control how it is used and distributed.

The second law for data is:

The Computer Misuse act.

The CMA is there to ensure safety and privacy while on a computer which is connected to the internet. If there is unauthorised to computer material then the punishment is 6 months imprisonment or a fine, the maximum fine is £5000. If there is unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission then it is punishable by 6 months imprisonment or a maximum fine. The final part is unauthorised modification of computer material and is subject to the same as the crimes above.

This protects peoples’ data from:

o Hacking

o Unauthorised transfer or copying

o Copying software

o Email and chat room abuses

o Pornography

o Identity and financial abuses

o Viruses

The third law is:

The copyright law

There is lot of confusion in the topic of copyright and plagiarism because they have either never heard of plagiarism or don’t have background knowledge of the copyright act, and then have a huge shock when they are being shown a fine. There is typically a minimum requirement for something to be copyright protected and this can also come at a cost. There is also a little confusion between a piece of work being unique means that it needs to be copyright protected however they evaluate it by originality not unique.

This is to prevent:

Limitations imposed by copyright

o Giving a copy to a friend

o Selling the software illegally etc.

Prevention of the software policy.

o Agreement between companies wishing to use the creator’s item.

o Certain pieces of software require a unique licence key before the installation can continue.

The federation against software theft (FAST)

This was created in 1984 and wasn't created to increase profit but to stop piracy. And has a policy of prosecuting anyone breaching the copyright law.

The Ethical issues with the IT industry

The Ethical issues on the IT industry

Social networking sites are there for the public, the vast majority of the world use thing like Facebook and twitter, others use either but not both and the very small minority don’t have any of them.

When something happens or something comes up then people broadcast it on a social network site to tell others about it

For example:

“Jake bugg concert….can’t wait”

This gets others involved and interested and this raises reputation on the things/people that are mentioned.

However as good as the news is about what people that are talking about, there are things that get out that shouldn’t have got out and this brings down the faith of the public, and the politicians are seen negatively because of the lack of information security. For example the NSA leaks thanks to someone called Edward Snowdon.

Social networks are seen as an improvement on society and this creates relationships with other people who you wouldn’t have otherwise met or spoke to because they live too far away or they don’t tend to talk to you outside the chat room. What the people who use the social networks is that how pathetic they look when the computer decides to act slow and they start shouting that it is slow, or the internet goes down and they say they can’t cope without it… but now as time goes on more and more people are moving from Facebook to Twitter, Twitter is a social network that has started to take over Facebook.

What people don’t realise is that while we are on the internet the government is watching us and monitoring what we do, whether it is watching you favourite musician’s new music video or online shopping, they monitor it, however they aren’t monitoring everyone all the time. What they do is they hack the IP address and see the sites that are visited in the space of the internet history.

Most of the time children and the elderly are the ones that miss out on things like internet shopping or playing educational games on the internet and so as a result of this, the elderly have more accidents with falling down when shopping, and the children fall behind in their work because they have a lack of interactive learning. Sites like TESCO direct, ASDA, Sainsbury’s and Morrison’s for the elderly getting their food delivered… and sites like

http://www.coolmath-games.com/

Those children can improve their maths skills and improve their intellect.

Wednesday, 13 November 2013

The economic Issues on the IT industry

Economic effects in the IT industry

What are the economic effects on the IT industry?

It is said that:

Ø People are expected to be available 24/7 e.g. with Blackberries or iPhones which means that people are not only office bound but they work on the go, and they may have restricted social/family life.

Ø People are to have flexibility of working patterns: working from home, working shifts, etc. this also means that there is no choice when it comes to a job because of the flexibility.

Ø It is easier to source products from all over the world (growth of economies in India and China), and also if they keep their international contacts longer they could get it cheaper and make a little more profit.

Ø Machines are taking place of number of workers – less need for unskilled labour; this has a negative impact on our employment status around the world.

Ø It is easier to set up small businesses using web host servers and this can spread out around the world and this can influence more jobs and then there is a demand for employees and then more people can earn money.

Ø It is easier to track consumer spending – marketing

Have EBay, Amazon, Last-minute, iTunes and go Compare really affected the market?

Some companies would believe that these online destinations have had a big impact on the market because this has led to the loss of their customers and this means that they have lost their profit margin, however when it comes to the comparison of Amazon and Tesco there is a little difference because Tesco sell Brands straight from a source whereas Amazon sell used and new goods which realistically shouldn't cause any competition but some people use it to buy the things that Tesco may sell and it may be cheaper than them. iTunes are at competition with stores like HMV and have also allowed the store to sell their products e.g. gift vouchers.

There is now a popular demand for businesses starting online and this means that there is less money lost when it comes to purchasing or renting a premises. Amazon have a recommended purchase links next to the page you have viewed based on what you have purchased.

the legal effects on the IT industry