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CIS
CIS 3003
3003 Fundamentals
Fundamentals of
ofInformation
InformationTechnology
Technology
1

Information Technology in Theory

By Pelin Aksoy and Laura DeNardis

Chapter 1
Introduction to
Information Technology

CIS 3003 Fundamentals of Information Technology 2

Objectives

• Define
e e “information”
o at o and a d understand
u de sta d the
t e four
ou
methods of representing and conveying information

• Describe some important historical milestones in

recording and exchanging information

• Explain what technical topics are included in the field

of information technology

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Objectives (continued)

esc be tthee role

• Describe o e information
o at o tec o og es pplay
technologies ay in
modern society

• Articulate some cutting-edge trends in information

technology

• Gain familiarity with current career specializations in

information technology

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Defining Information
• Defining “information” is not straightforward
– A fact or series of facts that carry meaning
– The value of these facts strongly depends on context
• Examples of information
– Spam
– 911 emergency call
– Air traffic control map
– Text message
– Instructions for building a bomb
– Sports scores
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What Counts as Information?

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The Various Forms of Representing
Information
• The routes to representing information have not
changed
h d for
f centuries
t i
– Spoken word (sound)
– Text
– Pictures
– Numbers
• Today,
T d information
i f ti technologies
t h l i (e.g. ( Web
W b sites)
it ) still
till
represent information with text, images (including
video), numbers, and sound

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How Historically Have Humans
Conveyed Information?

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Image Technology Milestones

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Sound Technology Milestones

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Alphanumeric Technology Milestones

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The Speed and Scope of Information
• What has changed is the speed and scope of information
technologies
• Consider what a student can do in an hour:
– Check out the day’s most viewed videos on YouTube
– Make two cell phone calls
– Download a homework assignment for class
– Exchange several text messages with friends
– Book an airline reservation for a spring break trip
– Consult a news source
– Download a new music file
– Use the electronic library system to reserve a book
– Check the day’s sports scores
– Play an interactive online game

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Defining Information Technology

• Information technologies are systems of hardware

and/or software that capture, process, exchange, store,
and/or present information using electrical, magnetic,
and/or electromagnetic energy
• Technologies meeting this definition range from
digital cameras to Internet radio to corporate
computer networks

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Two IT Examples

• Two examples of information technologies

that capture, process, exchange, store, and
present information:
– Cellular telephony
– Wireless Internet access

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Cellular Telephony

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Wireless Internet Access

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Organization of this Textbook

• I. Introduction to Information
f Technology
gy
• II. Fundamentals of Computers
• III. Creating Digital Multimedia
• IV. Transmission of Information
• V. Introduction to Computer Networking
• VI.
VI Telephony
T l h and Wireless
d Wi l Multimedia
M l i di

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IT-Enabled Activities

• People rely on information technology for

entertainment, communication, and a variety of day-
to-day functions
• Most national economies are enmeshed in
information technologies
• IT has improved government communications and
information sharing

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IT-Enabled Activities for People:

Personal Communications
• Con
Conversations
ersations via
ia phones and cell phones
• Messaging via e-mail and text messages
• Video communications

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IT-Enabled Activities for People:

Entertainment
• Surfing the Web
• Listening to the radio
• Downloading MP3 files
• Watching television
• Playing interactive games

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IT-Enabled Activities for People: Day-

to-Day Living
• Buying an airline ticket
• Ordering books
• Checking the weather forecast or news
• Electronic banking
• Investing in the stock market

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IT-Enabled Activities for Businesses:

Internal Communications
• Internall computer networks
k
• Internal corporate Web sites
• Video teleconferencing
• Phone systems, cell phones, voice mail
• essag g via
Messaging v a e-mail
e a anda d text
te t messaging
essag g

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IT-Enabled Activities for Businesses:
Electronic Commerce
• Call centers
• Electronic transactions with
suppliers
• Online sales
• Point of sale devices and
networks
• Customer transaction servers

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IT-Enabled Activities for Businesses:

Business Operations
• Factory floor systems
• Inventory tracking systems
• Customer databases
• Payroll and human resources

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IT-Enabled Activities for Universities
• University phone systems
• Messaging via ee-mail
mail and text messages
• University Web site
• Electronic course schedules
• Online academic calendar
• Electronic classrooms
• Library information systems
• Online registration
• Online applications system
• Payroll and human resources
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IT-Enabled Activities for
Government/Citizen Interaction
• Electronic votingg systems
y
• Motor vehicle registration
• Electronic tax filing
• Electronic voting systems
• Social Security transactions
• I f ti dissemination
Information di i ti

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IT-Enabled Activities:
Government Functions
• Military information systems
• Electronic surveillance
• Intelligence networks
• Air traffic control systems
• IRS database
• Internal
I t l information
i f ti networks
t k andd phone
h systems
t
• Library of Congress catalogs

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The State of IT: Wireless

• What’s hot
– Being “unplugged”
– Wireless LANs (Wi-Fi)
– Mobile telephony
• What’s not
– Being “plugged”
– “Dark” fiber
– Traditional telephony

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The State of IT: Security

• What’s hot
– Critical
C i i l infrastructure
i f protection
i
– Firewalls
– Biometric authentication
• What’s not
– Wi-Fi spoofing
– Unencrypted transmission
– Worms and Viruses

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The State of IT: Media-Free

• What’s hot
– Distributed file sharing
– Video downloads
– Digital audio files
• What’s not
– CDs
– DVDs
– Floppy drives

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The State of IT:
Interoperability and Openness
• What’s hot
– O
Open source code
d
– Interoperable approaches
– Open standards
• What’s not
– Closed source code
– Proprietary technology
– IM incompatibility

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The State of IT:
Small Technologies
• What’s hot
– Mobile
bil devices
d i
– Nanotechnology
– Distributed processing
• What’s not
– Personal computers
– Macrotechnology
– Centralized processing

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The State of IT:

Convergence
• What’s hot
– Voice over Internet
– Video phones
– Multimedia
• What’s not
– Traditional telephone service
– Voice only cell phones
– Data only LANs

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The State of IT:

Speed
• What’s hot
– Compressed formats
– Broadband
– Gbps+
• What’s not
– Uncompressed formats
– Dial-up
Dial up

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The State of IT Careers

• Information security jobs
• p
Computer/IT analyst
y
• Network administration
• Management consulting
• Database administration
• Computer forensics
• IT sales
• Software development
• IT advocacy and marketing

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Information Security Jobs

• Implement and test intrusion detection

systems (IDS)
• Configure firewalls
• Implement encryption technologies
• Perform security audits

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Computer/IT Analyst

• T
Translate
l t business
b i requirements
i t into
i t technical
t h i l
specifications
• Work with business units to document
requirements
• Support end-user desktop applications,
a dwa e, and
hardware, a d shared
s a ed systems
syste s
• Train employees who use these systems

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Network Administration

• Install and manage networks

net orks
• Provide direct end-user support
• Troubleshoot and fix network problems
• Performs hardware and software upgrades
• Certifications are often required

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Management Consulting
• IT consultants work as part of a team on
limited term engagements for clients
limited-term
• Involves considerable travel
• Some consultants specialize in specific
industries
• Some consultants specialize in specific
technologies
h l i

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Database Administration
• Businesses have database management
systems that track thousands,
thousands millions,
millions or
billions of records.
• Database administrators design, create, and
maintain these computer systems
• Requires programming skills such as SQL
and familiarity with specific database
products such as those created by Oracle,
Microsoft, or Sybase

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Computer Forensics

• Detect and prosecute IT crimes

• Determine whether information has been deleted or
modified
• Recover deleted information
• Trace and locate the source of transmitted or stored
material
• Search enormous stores of data for evidence
• Serve as expert witnesses in court

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IT Sales

• Must understand business requirements

• Must understand technology
• Usually involves extensive travel

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Software Development

• Programming opport
opportunities
nities eexist
ist in eevery
er industry
ind str
• Programming touches upon every type of information
exchange: music, video, images, voice, etc.
• Requires skills like C++ and Java

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IT Advocacy and Marketing

• “IT activists”
• Non-profit groups
• Think tanks
• Lobbyists for corporations
• Marketing engineers for IT companies
• M k t researchers
Market h

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What Affects Job Prospects?

• Regional
i l differences
diff
• Overall economic conditions
• Geopolitical circumstances
• Industry trends
• O s o g
“Offshoring”

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Summary
• Information Technology in Theory
– Introduces students to IT concepts
– Explains computational methods in IT
– Explores social issues in IT
• Information is represented in four ways
– Text, numbers, images (including video), and sound

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Summary (continued)
• IT hardware and software can capture, process,
exchange store,
exchange, store and present various types of
information using electrical, magnetic, or
electromagnetic energy
• Cutting-edge IT trends include technologies that
are secure, high-speed, interoperable, mobile,
small, and user controlled

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