A report on the ICT system of the UCI cinema Essay Example

newspapers, for their tickets and for their film schedules. They also use the keyboard to type letters and information for their internet sites and perhaps on stock order forms and mainly for E-mails.

BAR CODE READERS:

Inside the barcode there is a light, which is emitted and the reflections from a bar code detected by sensors. These reflections are then converted into a digital code, which is picked up onto the computer and is used to find prices and information of certain products or items.

The barcode readers are often found in supermarkets, libraries and video rental shops, and sometimes found in warehouses. They can be used to find the price of items and information on the product. But the code on the products have to be readable and often don't work and are unusable so then you would have to enter the products code number which takes a longer time.UCI might use bar code readers at the food and drink kiosk they have a sheet of paper of all the bar codes of each item e.g.

large popcorn or medium soft drink. They would scan the barcode and that will be recorded on to a computer.

SCANNER:

A scanner works by laying a piece of paper flat on the see through glass underneath the lid, when the paper is placed in the right place a light moves slowly forward over the paper. The reflections of the light are used to convert the image/text into a signal, which can be interpreted by the computer.

The most common scanner is a flatbed scanner because it is small and doesn't take up as much space as other scanners do.A scanner is an excellent way

of getting paper form or handwritten resources onto electronic form and saved onto the computer. Images can then be edited and sometimes, through Optical Character Recognition also known as OCR, text can be edited as well. The size can be limited by the size of the scanner.

Images are only as accurate as those the scanner reads. Colours do not always match well with the original and can also be blurry and never perfect, OCR is rarely 100% accurate to the image.

DIGITAL CAMERA:

A digital camera is a camera, which can store pictures in an electronic form instead of on a film. The images can then be transferred to a computer. The digital camera is a quick way of capturing images that you want.

It is also ideal for newspapers photographers to capture and electronically transmit photographs. Also you can delete pictures that you don't need or want and you can have more than one copies of the photo, also you can have a great memory so the camera can hold more photographs than a normal camera. Some cameras have screens on the back so you can already see the pictures before uploading them to computers.The disadvantages of the digital cameras are that when advertised as having different quality of image or resolution and different storage capacity. Some are quite limited. Also the final print out will depend on the quality of the printer you own.

UCI could use digital cameras to promote their company and the cinema itself by taking images of the building also they could use it for people who have behaved bad in the cinema and have been banned and then they can refer to

their picture so they know if they have done something bad before and can through them out.

PROCESSOR/ PROCESSING UNIT:CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT:

A central processing unit is a microchip often a Pentium or a Celeron processor. It is the brain of the system. It controls the computer's actions, performs all calculations and generally dictates the speed at which these happen it controls the performance of the computer.MOTHERBOARD:The motherboard is a large circuit board into which all the computer a component including the computer is plugged in here. It carries the signals between the different parts of the Main Processing Unit.

STORAGE:

The storage is where data is kept which the processor needs. The storage provides the computer with a memory. The computer has its own storage microchips on the motherboard known as the RAM and ROM.MODEM or ADSL:A modem or ADSL is a means of connecting to the World Wide Web or to send and receive information.A modem facilitates the transfer of information across the Internet using various protocols.

NETWORK INTERFACE CARD:

A network interface card is a device, which allows a standalone PC to connect to a network, which converts signals to and from the network.OUTPUT DEVICES:MONITOR:The display is made up of tiny dots called pixels. These pixels react to the electronic signals received from the main processing unit. This produces an image.

The display is made up of tiny dots called pixels. These pixels react to the electronic signals received from the main processing unit. This produces an image. As the images change previous screen images are lost. It does not provide a permanent record for future reference.

SPEAKERS:

Electronic signals sent by the main processing unit are received by this device

and converted into sounds which the user can hear. The speakers are very useful for listening to stored multimedia/sound files. Sometimes the quality of sound heard is dependent upon the quality of the speaker. The sound, once heard, fades away and is therefore not in itself a permanent record for future reference.

PRINTER:

Electronic signals sent by the main processing unit are received by this device and converted into images/text produced on paper, fabric and other materials, it is very useful for providing a permanent record for future reference. But the quality of output depends upon the resolution of the printer. Different types of printer work in different ways.

PORTS AND CABLES:

A port is a point at which you can attach cables from devices to the Main Processing Unit.

Ports can be at the front or the back of a computer. A flap at the front of the PC hides the ones in the picture. Ports are of different types and are of different shapes and sizes

USB CABLE FOR PRINTERS:

The USB cable is a cable from the printer that links to the small socket usually labelled USB (Universal Serial Bus) In the back of the computer. This is a fast and alternative way to connect to the printer to the computer. You can also connect the printer to the computer with another cable to another port but most modern devices use the USB cables.

USB CABLE FOR SCANNER:

Just like the cable for the printer, the USB is a cable from the scanner that links to the same small socket usually labelled USB in the back of the computer. This is a fast way to connect the scanner to the computer.

You have to connect the scanner to the computer through the USB because there isn't any other cable that can link it. Sometimes you may have to many devices for the USB ports so you can buy adapters so you can save time instead of having to get to the back of the computer to swap over all the USB cables.

PORT FOR MOUSE:

The port for the mouse is usually found at the back of the computer and is a small round circle. The cable on the mouse fits in the back of the computer. Some mouses you can get different ports for and you would need an adapter also some mouses fit into the USB ports. The port for the mouse is called a PS/2 port.

PORT FOR KEYBOARD:

The port for the keyboard is pretty much the same as the Mouse it is a PS/2 port and is the same size the only difference is that it has a little picture of a keyboard next to it. The cable from the keyboard fits here and you can also getsome keyboards with cables that fit into the USB ports.

SERIAL PORTA: serial port is a common small D shaped connector for serial devices A mouse and a Keyboard are often fitted into these.

PARALLEL PORTA: Parallel port is longer but thin D shaped connector for parallel devices often used for connecting a printer.

A NETWORK PORTA network port is a port where you connect network cables too. The network cables and ports look just the same as on the telephone ports at home and the cables the same as on the phone.

They are rectangular and have a little catch on

the end to clip in to the computer easier with out falling out. They are used to link up with other computers so you can share files and run the same programmes.

STORAGE DEVISES:

FLOPPY DISKS:Floppy disks are very useful for storing small amounts of data and transferring small amounts of data to another computer. They can be rather unreliable though often subject to data corruption. Also rather small capacity of 1.44 mega bytes of data can be stored on each disk and they are quite slow.

HARD DISKS:Hard Disks are very useful for storing large amounts of data around 10Gb of data within an average computer, usually reliable but are not useful for transferring data to another computer and can become faulty leading to enormous data loss.CD ROM:Electronic signals are stored permanently on a surface in a form, which can be collected optically, by the computer, using a laser. CD ROMs are very reliable and can hold large quantities of data. Disks can be removed easily so they can be used in different computers.

But unfortunately they cannot be used to store data without the use of a CD Writer Device. The ROM implies read only.

DVD ROM:Like the CD ROM but specifically stores multimedia files in a digital format. Again like the CD ROM but also very good quality multimedia e.g.films can be watched using this medium on a computer.

RAM:A RAM is a microchip on the Motherboard, which at any one time stores the data more immediately required by the Main Processing Unit. It is extremely fast access to store and recall data, but it is limited to fairly small capacity e.g. 64 MB of data. It is

very expensive.

All data contents are lost when the computer is turned off.

ROM:A ROM is another microchip on the Motherboard, which stores special data required by the Main Processing Unit. It is extremely fast access to recall permanently stored vital data like the data, which gets the computer started when first turned on. There is a small capacity.

Again they are very expensive. Cannot be used to store new data. The ROM stands for read only memory.Input devices are linked to the Main Processing unit because you need the main processing unit such as the motherboard, storage, modem and network interface for all the inputs to actually be put in to the computer, but its not just the Main Processing Unit you also need the storage devices to put the data onto. That is why Storage devices is linked to main Processing Unit, because you need the RAM and ROMs to use the inputs and to process to outputs, which Main Processing Unit is linked with.

Necessary applications software:Microsoft Word:With Microsoft word you can produce letters, letterheads and many other documents.Many Businesses use Microsoft word because it is the software application where you can type documents, save documents and print documents also it is a very common software application and almost everyone has it. This is why when you share document you can use Microsoft word to read those files. UCI cinema uses MS Word to type their documents and letters as do almost every other business and companies. Microsoft ExcelWith Microsoft Excel you can make spreadsheets within the worksheets and you can make tables and lists. Microsoft Excel is a great program for storing information and is

very easy to refer to.

Many Businesses, companies, schools and home computers have Microsoft excel, companies use it to store information of expenditure, savings and for a list and quantity of stocks, It can be used for anything from addresses and banking expenditure to making performance pie charts it can be used for anything, and it can also do sums for those who aren't very good at maths.UCI use Excel for all these reasons stated above.Microsoft Power PointMicrosoft Power point is used for making presentations, it is mainly used in schools and businesses and occasionally at home. It is used to present ideas and work in a decent quality, You can make slide shows and add sounds to make the presentations more classier and it is very easy to use.

UCI cinema could use this program at meetings to present information to the employees showing their performance and ideas for the future.Sage Accounting SoftwareSage Accounting Software can help businesses like UCI to be as efficient as possible. It cuts through standard accounting routines such as the production of Sales Ledgers, Nominal Ledgers and Purchase Ledgers, Credit Control and VAT Management.It can also store information of employee's salaries and payroll information.

EVALUATION

Hard drive/CD RUCI can store the name of any employee and information about them on a specific program such as Sage Accounting Software Database and then they could file it or save it on to the Hard drive or copy it on to a CD using a CD Rewriter so they can refer to it at anytime.Lots of data Processed Need for fast processing Choice of fast processorIf UCI had a lot of data to be stored onto

their hard drive or if they are running out of space and lots of data needed to be Processed it would take a lot of time to do it, if they had lots of data to be processed quite often they would want the processing to be fast so they would need to invest in a faster processor like a Pentium 4 as an example, so this way the data is processed much faster.

Typing Letters Keyboard RSI special hand restsMany UCI employers are writing letters to customers all the time from using the keyboard all this strenuous typing could lead to RSI which means repetitive strain injury which you can get from typing, there are many ways of reducing the risks of getting RSI and UCI could invest in buying special hand rests for their staff which can save them from being absent from work with injuries.Network PCs All work saved on server need to back up workIf UCI have they PCs Networked or were going to network the PCs they would be able to save their work onto one big server where all the PCs are linked. This means there would be a lower risk of the system corrupting and a lower need of backing up work, but still you would need to back up the work and server because you can still get viruses and the server can still corrupt.Barcode reader Fast data entry Sell goods customer get tothe movies on timeUCI use barcode readers to scan the barcodes on certain products like ticket prices and consuming goods such as food and drink, using the bar code reader you are able to get

to information much quicker in UCI's case prices of the products.

This way when they are selling products like food and drink behind the kiosk, they just have to scan the barcode on the item or on a sheet with the barcode on. This way it is much quicker than adding the prices manually through the till, instead it is faster for you and enables the customer to get to watch their movie on time.Software MS centred company standard reduced training timeUCI cinema are centred around Microsoft software such as Microsoft Word, MS excel and MS Access which standardises operations with Microsoft throughout UCI cinema, all of UCI's staff are trained within the operating Microsoft software which then reduces staff training time, rather than training staff on different software packages, this in turn allows UCI to save money on staff training packages. This way as everyone in UCI can use the same software, information is easier to import through networked PCs. Data can then be shared and analysed to study sales of UCI, growth, the spend of employees as individuals and to study the location.

Same PCs throughout standard installation reducedcompany maintenance timeUCI use the same PCs throughout their company this means their computer technician can work on the PCs easily and quicker, this is because he only has to be trained to fix a certain type of PC this then amounts to saving a lot of maintenance time and wouldn't have to spend time training on how to maintain other types of computers, this also saves UCI money on maintenance training packages.Back up on CD/R limited to 640Mb need to use tape orDVD/RWhen you back up

data onto a CD/R you usually tend to backup quite a lot of data and it leads to you running out of space because you are limited to space and this means you might have to use lots of CDs or you could back up on to a tape or using DVD/R this is because the tapes and DVD/R hold a lot more memory and have more space, it can save time and money.CRT Monitors Excellent for graphics causes eye strainneed to changeLCD panelCRT monitors provide high quality displays and reliability they are a great value for people who generally desire good text and graphics viewing. They are designed with high resolution and fine dot pitch for sharp text, spreadsheets, and crystal clear images.

In CRT monitors, images are created by an electron beam activating glowing phosphors, these phosphors are reflective and create glare. LCD monitors however do not use phosphors and therefore do not have this problem. Also CRT monitors use glass whilst LCD monitors can use plastic/polymer instead also helping to reduced glare from office lighting interfering with the image on the monitor. The light weight and reduced size of LCD monitors means that they can easily be positioned on the desk thus allowing the viewer to more easily focus on the screen, it also means that LCDs can be mounted in a variety of ways to allow height adjustment and/or tilting for the most comfortable viewing position and a more flexible office space.

The image on a CRT monitor must be refreshed around 80-90 times a second to negate flicker in the image, LCD monitors provide a continuous display at lower refresh rates making

them inherently flicker free. Flickering can lead to visual fatigue and headaches preventing your staff from using their monitor for long stretches of time. The electron beam in CRT monitors gets larger at high brightness levels, this means there has to be a trade off between character brightness and sharpness. In LCD monitors the brightness adjustment and sharpness are independent allowing a brighter image with no loss of character sharpness, minimising eyestrain.If UCI could afford to buy CRT screens it would be a good investment because with LCD screens it could cause employees to get headaches and therefore with CRT the work rate would be higher.