The document discusses several digital devices: 1. PDAs are mobile devices that function as personal information managers, similarly to smartphones. Their future is combining with smartphones. 2. GPS systems provide location using satellites. Their future involves combining with smartphone apps and potentially live road camera images. 3. Mobile phones allow calling and texting. Their future also involves combining with smartphone capabilities. 4. Radios receive broadcasts and TVs receive signals for images and sound. Their future is decreasing as the internet provides alternatives. 5. Embedded systems are computer systems within devices that allow technology to function. They are constantly improving to enhance technological capabilities.

1. Elliot Smith

3. PDA
GPS
Mobile
Phones
Radio &
TV
Embedded
Systems

4. A PDA is a ‘Personal Digital Assistant’ otherwise known
as a ‘Palmtop’. It is a mobile device that functions as a
personal information manager. The PDA currently runs
similarly to smart phones.
Benefits Drawbacks
It enables users to have instant access to
mass amounts of information.
Can be a danger if used at the wrong
times (when driving)
Users can store their data on it so they
can work more efficiently.
Quite expensive
Has many helpful functions such as
being able to call people and connect
to the internet.
Isn’t 100% reliable as I could crash or
break, meaning all the data on it is lost
The future of PDA is
not exactly evolving
but is combing with
the similar ideas as
the smartphones
which nowadays can
perform every task
that users need.
The social and ethical issues that would link to the use of a PDA would be that if people
were to rely too much on the PDA it could fail and vital information stored on them
could be lost so it is always good to keep multiple back ups of the information. But
overall the PDA is a handy piece of technology.

5. A GPS is a ‘Global Positioning system’ which is a space-
based satellite navigation system that provides location
and time information in all weather conditions anywhere
on or near the earth where there is an unobstructed line
of sight to four or more GPS satellites.
Benefits Drawbacks
People can use this system all over the
world to find their destinations
Can be dangerous if driver takes their
eyes off the road to look at the GPS
It can access the quickest route to a
location
Can be misleading when it comes to the
voice that directs the users – thus drivers
get lost
It prevents people from getting lost The GPS needs to be updated quite
often to stay accurate (doesn't’t pick up
new roads or road works)
Similarly to PDA’s, the
future of GPS systems
are combining with
smartphones as some
of the latest phones
have apps which
include GPS software.
Also, GPS could evolve
to produce live camera
images of the roads
ahead for drivers to
look at before a
journey or during.
GPS systems can be helpful in many situations, they can be used to navigate through terrains that
seemed impossible for an average human to navigate through when the first were invented.
Nowadays they are an efficient way for citizens to get around efficiently, increasing social efficiency.

6. Mobile phones are small, portable handheld devices that
allow users to call and SMS other people that also have
mobile phones.
Benefits Drawbacks
This is a very efficient way to contact
anyone, anywhere (as long as they have
a signal)
Can distract people if used whilst
driving
Can be used to for emergencies and
save lives (calling the police or an
ambulance)
If the mobile phone is overused it can
become unhealthy for the body (Radio
Signals)
Very useful for social interactions or
business interactions
Expensive to buy and also cost a lot to
pay phone bills
The future of mobile
phones is also
combining with the
concept of
smartphones as it is
now rare to find just
a plain mobile phone
for sale nowadays.
Mobile phones have taken over the world and nowadays, someone would seem ‘weird’ if they didn’t
own a phone. Most forms we fill out now include a section to input our mobile phone number and
phones in general have become a major part of our lives. People are less aware of their
surroundings as they are more concentrated on what's going on on the screen of their mobile device.
These phones maybe useful, but as a race we are slowly losing our most basic social interaction
habits.

7. A radio is a device where users can receive radio signals
that transmit signals so users can here radio broadcasts that
are received and in range of the device.
A TV is a piece of hardware that gains signals from
satellites that enable images and sound to appear from the
TV
Benefits Drawbacks
They both allow us to keep up to date
with what's going on in the world
Too much staring at a TV screen screen
can damage a persons eyes
Can be used for educational purposes They are expensive
Creates jobs for those on the other end
(TV show producers and radio hosts)
Prevent people from exercise
The future of TV and
Radio is slowly
decreasing as the
internet has taken
over. Nowadays,
anything you can hear
on a radio or watch
on a TV can be
watched or heard via
the internet.
Radio and TV got increasingly popular when they were first released and they have
grown and become an important produce within the economy, bringing many jobs
for manufacturers and also those who work on the shows watched and listened to by
viewers. Almost every family or person in the world watches TV which has grown as
the main way to bring information to viewers all over.

8. An embedded system is a computer system with a
specific function within a device. They are used in
almost every single piece of technology that is
produced.
Benefits Drawbacks
They are what allow the devices to work If one part of the embedded system
breaks, the whole system fails
Can always be upgraded to better
quality
Cost a lot to replace
Create many helpful uses for the
technology we use
Very delicate
The future of
embedded system will
always be getting
better, technology is
always improving as
computer scientists are
always finding new
ways to improve our
technology
All of our technological devices are based on embedded systems. The embedded
system is like the brain for the device. From the beginning of our technological
developments, embedded systems have been built and improved to allow us to be
more efficient in general life and with every day tasks either at home or at work.

9. Digital Devices
Telephony (VOIP)Remote Access
Synching
Videoconferencing

10. • ‘Accessing, distributing and sharing text, photos, video, audio, television via portable and non-portable
digital devices’
• The official definition of a digital device is: ‘ A device that works with discrete numbers or digit.’
• Examples of portable and non-portable digital devices are things such as; Cell phones, stoves and
cameras etc…
• Social Impacts:
• Digital devices have become a prime factor of our everyday lives. The ongoing breakthrough of
technology has allowed us to evolve and work more efficiently and made tasks that were once hard
and complicated, a lot easier. For example, mobile phones have become a necessity for the most
people all over the world.
• Ethical Issues:
• The ethical issues that are brought by digital devices would be things such as health. Now that we live
in a world with the internet and mobile phones and laptops and computers, we have grown
increasingly lazy as a population. For example, instead of young boy going out to the park with his
friends playing football, instead he stays inside on his Xbox playing FIFA with his friends.
• Those who become attached or even addicted to digital devices can get health problems from lack of
exercise or staring at a screen for too long, which is why we need to level out the amount of time we
spend using these devices, and the amount of time we go out and get fresh air and exercise.

11. • ‘Synchronization of information between portable systems, desktop systems, servers
and web-based services.’
• Synchronization is when two or more devices ‘synch’ together and can share and
exchange data, for example when an iPod synchs to iTunes, it allows music to be
transferred to the iPod.
• Social Impacts:
• Synching has enabled us to be able to share and exchange data in many ways. It is
helpful in business and allows helpful data to spread all over which overall increases
efficiency as everybody has access to the vital data.
• Ethical Issues:
• The ethical issues that can be caused by synching could be the accidental sharing of
data that was supposed to be private. If a mistake is made during the synching
process, it could turn out very badly for many people.

12. • Video conferencing is when two or more users use a device such as a desktop or iPad,
that have a microphone and a webcam, and have a video conferencing software, such as
Skype, to then contact each other via internet connection and have a virtual face to face
conversation
• Social impacts:
• Software such as Skype and Line have allowed us to be able to talk to other people
wherever we are in the world. They have made interviews a lot easier for those applying
for jobs. For example, if a teacher was applying for a job abroad they can do their
interview via Skype. Overall, videoconferencing has enabled us to keep in contact to
whomever we need, wherever we are.
• Ethical Issues:
• Videoconferencing software such as Skype and Line allow random people to send
anyone a friend request, so there is a risk of dangerous people coming into contact with
young children.

13. • Remote access is when one device is controlled by another device. Similar to
a remote control controlling a TV. For example when someone is displaying a
power point on a desktop, they can link their iPad and control the power
point from their.
• Social Impacts:
• Remote access has enabled people such as business men and teachers to be able to
run meetings and classes more efficiently, which leads to a better education for
children.
• Ethical Issues:
• Remote access may be efficient in places such as hospitals, schools and businesses but
an ethical issue may be that the quality and type of software used for remote access
may not be as good and efficient as a normal device, which in places like hospitals,
could have a large affect as hospitals need optimum efficiency.

14. • ‘(VOIP) Voice over internet protocol’
• Telephony is the field of technology involving the development, application, and
deployment of telecommunication services for the purpose of electronic transmission
of voice, fax, or data, between distant parties.
• Social Impacts and Ethical Issues:
• Telecommunications has enabled us to be able to contact people from anywhere with
a phone signal. It is helpful and can save life when used for emergencies. However it
has cause many problems in our society. It involves people disturbing others due to
talking loudly out in public, children in school texting during lessons and has caused
many accidents due to driver concentrating on their phones rather than the road.
• On the other hand, telecommunication has had some good and bad influences on our
everyday lives.

15. Article 1
Article3
Article 2

16. • Link: http://www.parentsareimportant.com/2011/04/four-rules-for-cell-phone-use-by-kids.html
• How did the IT Development emerge? – In this article, the topic is about children having mobile
phones. This has emerged due to the popularity and necessity of mobile phones nowadays.
• Who are the stakeholders? – The stakeholders, or the people affected by this situation, are the
parents of the children. Also the teachers can be affected too.
• What are the advantages or disadvantages for the stakeholders? – The advantages would be
that the parents have a way to always keep in contact with their child to know that they are
safe. For the teachers, the mobiles may assist the children and enable to them to research
independently and efficiently. The disadvantages would be that the children spend too much
time texting and calling their friends which make large phone bills for the parents. The
disadvantage for the teachers would be that the phones distract the children from learning as
they play on them or text during classes.
• What are the social impacts of the IT development on human life? – In the long run, mobile
phones could either enhance the children’s education or interfere with it. Thus their could be an
improvement of intelligence for our youth or a decrease.
• What feasible solutions can be applied to overcome problems? – Parents and teachers could
restrict the children's use of the phones to only using them when needed.

17. • Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15341910
• How did the IT development emerge? – The recent rise in the popularity of smartphones for young
Koreans has produced the idea of virtual grocery shopping via smartphone.
• Who are the stakeholders? – The stakeholders are the citizens of Korea as they are all affected by
this new style of shopping.
• What are the advantages and disadvantages for the shoppers? - The advantages would be that it is
more efficient to be able to shop this way and it would decrease congestion in the actual supermarket.
It also decreases the chances of theft by 100%. The disadvantages would be that this is only
available to those with smartphones and there is no assistance there if the scanning system isn't
working as it is less reliable. Additionally, it may cause congestion in the areas where the scanning
takes place.
• What are the social impacts of the IT development on human life? – This is a brand new, revolutionary
way to shop and would increase efficiency of shopping making shopping a much easier and more
exciting task. Also it decreases the chances of theft therefore business will be safer and will not lose
any profits.
• What feasible solutions can be applied to overcome problems? – It would be handy to employ people
to work at the scanning areas in case there are any problems with the scanning process and also have
the scanning area within the supermarket to avoid any congestion problems in other areas.

18. • Link: http://www.fastcompany.com/1676954/your-smartphone-will-soon-double-your-wallet
• How did the IT development emerge? – The smartphone has forever been evolving since its first
released, and now is gaining another everyday function that we need to make it evermore ‘smart’.
• Who are the Stakeholders? – The Stakeholders are all those that begin to use this new technology on
their phones and people that work as cashiers.
• What are the advantages and disadvantages for the stakeholders? – The advantages would be that
people will not have to carry around wads of money or worry about losing credit card details or even
the card itself. The new smartphone wallet will increase efficiency in purchasing items and also make
money control much easier for consumers. The disadvantages would be the unreliability of mobile
phones and the risk of them being stolen and all the money being in the wrong hands. Additionally,
lots of jobs may be lost as cashiers will no longer be needed which could lead to a rise in
unemployment which will effect the economy’s income.
• What are the social Impacts of the IT development on human life? – The social impacts would be that
the way we work with money is becoming a lot easier and more controlled as we can now do almost
everything with our smartphones. Therefore we can be more efficient in our everyday lives, and makes
all the little tasks of purchasing things a little bit easier.
• What feasible solutions can be applied to overcome problems? – The problem of the risk of phones
being stolen leading to a risk in the loss of the owners money, could be that all the money is stored in
some sort of back-up system elsewhere and also the ‘wallet’ part of the smartphone has a very secure
security system.

19. Article 3
Article 2Article 1

20. • Link: http://gizmodo.com/5829910/uk-prime-ministers-anti-tech-crackdown-stupid-
useless-and-wrong
• Who is responsible? – The person responsible for this issue is the UK prime minister, David
Cameron.
• Who is accountable? – Those accountable would be all the people that use the social
media which is an extremely large percent of the population.
• What policies, rules or laws apply to the scenario? – The prime minister’s plan is an
infringement upon an entire society. His decision would largely affect the majority of the
country and would cause more problems than the one he is trying to solve.
• What are the alternative ethical decisions? – He could try to compromise with the rioters
and try and handle the situation professionally and ethically, instead of taking an easy
route which would end up making the situation much worse.
• What are the consequences of these decisions? – The consequence of the alternative
decision may be that there is no possible outcome that both the prime minister and the
rioters can agree on which would mean continuous riots and havoc until one of the sides
give in. The consequence of the prime ministers original plan would be huge problems and
complaints coming from the entire population of the country and he would most likely be
voted out of his position.

21. • Link: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/your-mobile-devices-know-where-
you-are-so-do-the-authorities/4260
• Who is responsible? – Smartphone producers are responsible as they are having the
location services inputted in all of the smartphones that they produce.
• Who is accountable? – All the consumers that own the smartphones
• What policies, rules or laws apply to the scenario? – The policies that apply to this
scenario would be that the location settings on the phone may be an invasion of
privacy to the users and they can be tracked by other devices. In contrast, the phone
companies make the users agree to the terms and conditions that their location will be
tracked and it is the consumers choice to use it or not.
• What are the alternative ethical decisions? – The user should have full control of who
can track their phone as it is their personal belonging and they have their privacy
rights
• What are the consequences of these decisions? – The consequences may be that
criminals may use their privacy rights to commit crimes which could corrupt the
economy and cause problems for the country.

22. • Link: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/07/digital-drugs/
• Who is responsible? – The people responsible for this issue are the online dealers
that are providing the kids with the opportunity to try ‘I-dosing’
• Who is accountable? – The children that use the ‘i-dosing’ sites and the Oklahoma
state
• What policies, rules or laws apply to the scenario? – The main laws would be that it
is illegal to use drugs such as ecstasy and narcotics. But this new way of drug taking
is not yet a crime.
• What are the alternative ethical decisions? – The ethical decisions would be to source
the online dealers and track them down or simply block the websites that these
dealers are working on.
• What are the consequences of these decisions? – The consequences of these decisions
could be that children may still be able to get through the online security and with
these drugs being in place it could cause many problems for the children in the
Oklahoma state. Additionally, blocking some of the sites may block some of the
innocent people that make their living through these sort of sites by using it legally.