6. In the context of data transmission, what is “error detection”?

Error detection is the detection of errors caused by noise or other impairments during transmission from the transmitter to the receiver.

5. Define the term URL. Explain the components that make up the url.

URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator.
URL is the global address of documents and resources on the World Wide Web (WWW). It is a specific character string which is a reference to an Internet source.
An example of URL: http://google.com

http
The first part of the URL is a protocol identifier, which indicates which protocol to use (eg. HTTP, FTP, etc.).
google.com
The second part of the URL is a resource name, which specifies the IP address or the domain name (ie. google.com) where the resource is located.

These two parts (protocol identifier and resource name) are separated by a colon and two forward slashes. ://

4. There are two methods of data transmission – serial and parallel. Explain the difference between them.

Serial Data Transmission is the process of sending data one bit at a time, in a sequence, over a communication channel.
Parallel Data Transmission is the process of sending several data signals simultaneously over several parallel channels.

The difference between a parallel and a serial data transmission is that serial transmission sends data one bit/data at a time, while parallel transmission sends multiple bits/data in the same time. Also, serial transmission uses only one communication channel while parallel transmission uses multiple communication channels.

Smartphone Tour Review

1. Technology Hardware:
Mobile Phones – used to scan the QR code in order to view the information
Computers – used for the accessing and designing of the website, editing of photos, etc.
Digital Camera – used to take photos
Printer – used to print posters for the tour
Router – used to connect to the Internet which allowed for access to the websites

Software:
Image software – used to edit images: resize, rotate, add arrows, etc.
QR Code Reader – scans QR codes to present information on the websites
Google Docs – online collaboration tool to plan the tour
Google Sites – used to host and create websites for the tour
Voice recording app – used to record voices for audio for the websites

2. Constraints

Time – Only 4-5 lessons were given to make the whole tour which limited what we can do in a small amount of time.

Internet speed – The internet speed affected the amount of time it took to download and upload files (on StudentNet, website, etc.).
File size of the photo – compressed file formats (.jpeg) were used. The resolution of the images were limited in order to allow for a faster loading time.

Cost – We resorted to using free hosting services in order to  

3. Roles in the group

I had to make the website for the follow parts of the tour: BM Building to Science Labs and BM Building to Language Other Than English (LOTE) rooms. I had to create the QR codes to link to these websites. I had to find the appropriate photos for the tour (17 photos). After finding the photos, I edited them by adding arrows in to indicate which direction to go.

4. Problems and Solutions

Problem: Internet speed

Solution: Bringing the files (via USB) and working on the websites at home.

Problem: Knowing the status of each website

Solution: Using colour coding on a collaborative document to indicate which websites needed work.

Problem: Finding photos
Solution: Finding the photos needed and copying and pasting them into another folder, as well as renaming the photos with numbers in chronological order.

2. What are the following protocols used for?

TCP/IP
TCP stands for Transmission Control Protocol is one of the core protocols of the Internet Protocol Suite.
IP has two primary responsibilities: providing connectionless, best-effort delivery of datagrams through aninternetwork; and providing fragmentation and reassembly of datagrams to support data links with different maximum-transmission unit (MTU) sizes.

HTTP
HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. HTTP's use is to exchange or transfer hypertext in distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems (ie. websites). HTTP defines how messages are formatted and transmitted and what actions Web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands. When the URL is entered in the browser, it sends an HTTP command to the web server 'telling' it to retrieve and transmit the information on the web page. This is why 'http://' is found at the beginning of a URL. Essentially, it is a method by which computers communicate webpages to one another. It is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web.

SMTP
SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. SMTP is an Internet standard for email transmissions (sending) across IP networks. It is used by most e-mail systems that send mail over the Internet to send messages from one server to another. Essentially, it is a protocol used for sending e-mail messages between servers.

POP
POP stands for Post Office Protocol. POP is an Internet standard protocol used by local e-mail clients to retrieve e-mail from a server (ie. SMTP) over a TCP/IP connection. Essentially, POP is a protocol used to retrieve e-mail from a mail server. It is used by most e-mail applications/clients, along with IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol).

FTP
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is a standard network protocol used to transfer friles from one host to another over a TCP-based network (ie. the Internet). Essentially, FTP is the protocol used for exchanging files over the Internet. It works the same way as:
HTTP - for transferring web pages from a server to a user's browser
SMTP - for transferring e-mails across the Internet.
Essentially, FTP is used to download a file from a server using the Internet or to upload a file to a server.

1. Define the term - Protocol

A communications protocol is a system of digital message formats and rules for exchanging those messages in or between computing systems and in telecommunications. Protocols may involve signaling, authentication, and error detection and correction capabilities. A type of protocol is an Internet Protocol (IP).

The Internet Protocol (IP) is a network-layer (Layer 3) protocol that contains addressing information and some control information that enables packets to be routed.IP has two primary
responsibilities: providing connectionless, best-effort delivery of datagrams through an
internetwork; and providing fragmentation and reassembly of datagrams to support data links with different maximum-transmission unit (MTU) sizes.

part a question 4

• Copyright

In relation to online music stores, copyright is a form of legal protection for music and images (eg. album covers). The copyright laws provides the artist with legal rights to their original works. There are several copyright issues involved with online music stores. It is illegal for such databases to distribute music without the permission of the owner of the copyrighted sound recordings. Online music stores need a license from the record labels (of the songs) to legally distribute music and make it available for customers to download the songs. Also, there are issues involved with the album covers that are included in the purchase of a song/album. Ultimately, an online music store has to make it their responsibility to respect the rights of the copyright holders. They can do this by properly asking for permission to distribute their images and music and/or get approval from the record labels.

• Fair Pricing

Online music stores need to consider what they price their songs. It is one of their ethical responsibilities to ensure that the price that they are charging for the songs are fair. Online music stores should not take advantage of the fact that most people are purchasing their music online. They should make their prices reasonable and fair in order to avoid legal issues that may stem from it. This is important because if the songs were overpriced, customers may be discouraged from legally purchasing their music online. Instead, they may resort to illegal methods of obtaining music like stealing music from music sharing programs, etc. Also, this is disadvantageous for the copyright holders who gave permission for the distribution of their work. It is detrimental because people would not buy their music. It may also tarnish their reputations because people may think that the artists are overpricing their songs and are taking advantage of their listeners. The issue of fair pricing needs to be considered when implementing this database because it may potentially prevent future legal issues involving online distribution of music.