Technology has affected all aspects of our lives. During history there has been a lot of inventions, some of them crucial to the time we live, as the printing machine, the car or the television, but none of those developments have been so revolutionary as the computer.
Personal computers (commonly shortened by PC) were the most common way to connect to the Internet and work from home. Nowadays, PC and laptops are still used in households, but there are many other ways to connect to the Internet, still they deserve some attention because they are relatively cheap, and easy to use for working purposes. PCs started to be more enjoyable when their operating system evolved and changes such as adding colors, icons, windows, mouse and other friendly interfaces make them more appealing to people.
Smartphones, tablets and computers can access and display the same services on the Internet. Apart from that, there is not a difference on any of the options apart from the size of the screen, what makes reading or surfing more comfortable or less, or the use of a keyboard in a computer what makes writing easier.
When looking for a technological device we must pay attention to some interesting aspects such as: size, hardware, working memory, storage memory, screen, etc. Of course, the operating systems differ depending on the device. For example the most common one in computers are Windows and Mac in much the same way that Android and Apple are the most common ones in mobile phones.
We all use laptops, smartphones and other technological devices, but do we really know how they work? To better understand them, we must talk about operating systems. The operating system is the programme that initiates when you switch on your computer. It also controls all other programmes, help you to manage all your data, devices (as the printer, mouse, keyboard, webcam…), connect with others (through Internet) and install other Apps (as a word processor, image processor, internet surfer, etc). But among the programms we use in the PC, the most used ones are apps, browsers and subsequently search engines.
The biggest difference between the apps to surf on the internet and search engines is that apps are commonly used to surf on the Internet are accessed through the Operating System (using an icon on the desktop, or in the Start menu). You need to install then.The search engines (in my example Google, Bing or DuckDuckGo) are websites, offered as a services through addresses.
Apart from common devices such as PCs mobiles or tablets, technology has been exploring new fields in the last years, therefore new ways of approaching have appeared. Another important technological progress is domotics. It’s been a while since we have been using technological instruments in our homes, such as telephones or TVs but it is now that we are able to control our house through technological systems. Domotics is the name given to systems capable of automating a house or building of any kind, providing energy management, security, welfare and communication services, and which can be integrated by means of internal and external communication networks, wired or wireless.
Internet of Things, probably has been the last concept to appear. IoT makes reference to the digital interconnection of everyday objects with the Internet. Those objects or things could be the same as referred under the section domotics or wearables but going further, as cars, buses or other public transportations, a parcel, medicine dispenser, luggage, pen, key, etc. Imagine a world where everything is connected to the Internet and you are able to know everything about that object (place, status, etc.). Currently, that is already becoming a reality, following some examples: cars can connect between themselves, a device in the restaurant to make a quick order, items in a shopping card, etc.
Thanks to the manual developed under the CUMILA project, you will get to know the main characteristics of computers and tablets, and in case some problems arise, or we want to purchase a new electronic gadget, we need to understand some basics about memory, softwares and other functionalities.
We will also learn different types of apps and programmes, webs and search engines, which sometimes are difficult to be differentiated and make the most of them. Such variations are explained, in the book, via concrete examples.
Therefore, the main idea of this chapter in the manual is to present advantages and risks of domotics, wearables and IoT among other things. As said before, those are technologies that are becoming more prominent and rapidly raising in our society. Sometimes, news related to this field appears in TV and press so, if you have basic knowledge about this kind of technology, you will be easily informed about it and be able to keep up with the information given. Read our manual and delve into the world of technology.
