e-Commerce

e-shopping keyboard

Electronic Commerce, also known as e-commerce, refers to the buying or selling of products throughout Internet.

One type of e-commerce is the “C2C” (Consumer-to-Consumer). Many websites such as eBay allow this kind of e-commerce. Most of the time, we use Internet in order to buy products like books, computers: this type is the “B2C” (Business-to-Consumer).

For companies, it's cheaper than a traditional commerce, because there are no shops, just warehouses. Despite the company’s profits thanks to fewer employees, there are almost 10 million unemployed people in France.

We may think that the e-commerce could be beneficial for the environment. However, a survey conducted in the USA brought to light that three times more energy is wasted just to buy a book on Internet than in a traditional bookstore.

You have to be aware of the fake e-commerce websites: you may find a counterfeit one. All things considered, buying products has become easier and faster for everyone, it changes our ways of consuming.

Thomas Leroy

 

The impact of ICT on society

Child in front of TV

We all know that the today's ICT industry is rapidly evolving and getting bigger and bigger, but unfortunately our needs are also growing with it, without us even knowing it... and here lies the problem.

Nowadays, Computers, mobiles and television take so much of our time, and this has a bad influence on today’s childhood. When a kid prefers staying at home watching TV or playing on the computer instead of going outside and playing real life soccer, there is a problem. When today we prefer reading books on tablets instead of using real books, then here there is a problem; the book is in danger. I wonder what our grandchildren will use at school, a pen or a button...

How can I feel safe and say anything I want on the internet, if privacy isn’t taken into consideration, people talk in the name of justice and liberty of expression, but are these rights really given?

Kinan Swaid

 

Google logo

Google was created in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in California. Larry Page, an American, is the creator of the Page Rank Algorithm. He is Google's CEO, and succeeded Eric Schmidt. Sergey Brin is Russian and he's Google's CTO. In 2011 they are both the 24th richest men in the world with $19.8 billion each.

The most popular Google product is the search engine but, since 2002, Google has widened the range of products with, for example, Google Earth, Google Maps and Gmail. They also bought YouTube in 2006, their biggest acquisition. The last innovation was Google+ to compete with Facebook.

Today they have about 25,000 employees, most of them working in Google's headquarters, the Googleplex. Google has offices all around the world. Today, 91% of the French use Google, but they are only 60% in the USA. Since May 2011 Google has more than 1 billion visitors each month.

Elsa Fermaut

 

Viruses

virus alert sign

A computer virus is a malicious program that spreads from computers to other computers. There are many kinds of computer infections, like Trojan horses.

Trojan horses claim to be a simple program, but when you start it, it does damage and may erase your hard disk. But these programs are not really viruses because they can’t replicate automatically.

First independent software didn’t have the same goal as today. It was a sort of game: each player wrote a program, and this program had to destroy adverse programs and make copies of it.

Computer viruses appear around 1980, because personal computers became famous, and more and more people bought computers. Viruses became more sophisticated.

To protect their computers, people uses antiviruses. This software can detect viruses, destroy them, put them in quarantine and sometimes, repair infected programs. Computer viruses are very common today: there are several thousand viruses in circulation. Most infect Windows, because it’s the most popular operating system.

Laura Fassier

 

Facebook logo

Facebook’s design is in blue because its founder Mark Zuckerberg is color-blind and the color he sees the clearliest is blue. The New Yorker wrote that he was a really shy man. That’s a kind of paradox for a man who wants the world to be a more open and honest place, where people share their personal information with the entire world…

In the beginning, Mark had a verbal agreement with some Harvard students on a project called Harvardconnection which gave him the idea for Facebook. The first version of Facebook appeared in 2004 called “thefacebook”.

Facebook is a social networking service which has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile called a “wall”. They can post messages, upload videos, photos and music or even create a webpage. Some games like Farmville, City Ville or Zynga Poker are available for entertainment. Since 2011 they can also make video calls.

Thomas Daviau

 

Internet Addiction

Internet addiction

Addiction is defined as a physical and psychological dependency on drugs, alcohol, tobacco. Now, new addictions exist, such as dependency on sex, food or internet.

Video games addiction is an excessive use of the computer to play video games. Video games interferes with daily life, they usually have a lack of social interaction. In a video games, generally, they create a new life which appears wonderful, contrary to what they live in real life.

In 2006, Keith Baker, an addiction specialist, created a detoxification centre, but none of those treatments worked. In fact, this addiction reflects social problems.

The second addiction is chatting, some people spend more time with their chat-room friends than these real friends. Some people are unable to assume their personality. As a result, they create their personality as they like on internet.

There are many others addictions. There are people who spend all their free time on Internet to watch pornographic videos, and those who hack films. Internet is necessary but it provides an escape from reality.

Thomas Leroy

 

Netflix logo

The company was founded in 1997, and with more than 25 million members worldwide, Netflix, is the world's leading Internet streaming website for enjoying movies and TV shows. For a low monthly subscription, Netflix members can instantly watch unlimited movies and TV episodes streaming over the Internet to computers and TVs.

The domain netflix.com attracted at least 194 million visitors annually by 2008, according to a Compete.com survey. This is about five times the number of visitors to blockbuster.com, the leading competitor of the site. During the summer 2011 Netflix announced they will expand into the European market, starting in Spain by 2012.

Learning by the information given and the sort of movie the member is watching, the website picks some suggestions for him. In another heading the site makes a list of movies talking about the same subject as the last movie seen. It also asks you to rate the movies you’ve watched to help them to make better suggestions.

Sixtine Quinchon

 

Smartphones

an Apple iPhone

A smartphone is a mobile phone that combines the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone.

The first smartphone was the IBM Simon; it was designed in 1992 and shown as a concept product that year at COMDEX (computer industry). In 1997 the term 'smartphone' was used for the first time when Ericsson unveiled the concept phone GS88. In 2000, the Ericsson R380 Smartphone was the first device to use an open operating system, the Symbian one. It was the first phone marketed as a 'smartphone'.

In 2007, Apple introduced the first iPhone on the market, the price was about 500$ for the cheaper model. One year later Apple introduced his second generation of iPhone with a lower price (200$) and the 3G. The same year Apple created the App store. In 2010 Apple released the iPhone 4.

The competitor of Apple in the market of smartphone is Blackberry whose first big success was the blackberry curve in 2007. The last Blackberry smartphone put on the market (in August 2011) is known as the “Bold touch”.

Alexis Lomet & Wikipedia

 

Advantages and disadvantages of Internet

Internet was invented in the 60’s and has improved year after year. However, most people only started using it around 10 years ago.

It has many advantages:
-        Internet has become the biggest and easiest source for research.
-         Internet provides entertainment, free games, online chats, so it’s a means of socializing.
-        You can also follow the news and find practical information such as the weather or sports scores.
-        Internet makes communication all around the world easier with email or instant messages.
-        Today, lots of people use the Internet to buy or sell things. 

But there are numerous disadvantages:  
-    Privacy doesn’t exist: sometimes malicious people can get access to your personal information.
-        You can get a virus on Internet which can destroy your hard drive.
-        Since everybody can publish information, some can be wholly wrong.
-        It’s addictive: lots of people spend too much time in front of their screens.
-         Finally, Internet can be dangerous for children: they can meet people with bad intentions or accidentally come across inappropriate sites.

Justine Labbe

 

Anonymous

Anonymous mask

Anonymous is a kind of modern secret cyber-organization founded in 2006. Basically, Anonymous members are just activists on the web.

Their main way of acting is harassment of their enemies (dictators, sects, and corrupt politicians), by bringing to light some annoying information about them (secret documents, scandals). One can notice that this is a common goal for many hackers. Wikileaks does the same kind of work, and it is a well-known fact that these organisations are all very closely related to each other.

Another technique, very often used against multinational companies or governments is the denial of service attack: it consists in overloading an internet server in order to make the host website useless.

In a nutshell, Anonymous has, in a few years, become the symbol of civil disobedience, and liberty of expression on the internet. It has always supported peoples in search of freedom, and struggled with everything that scorns human rights.

Georgy Scholten

 

Tumblr logo

Tumblr is a micro blogging platform, which means that blogs contains short posts with texts, videos, images, quotes...

In 2007, on Internet, traditional blogs had a big success. But David Karp felt that websites were too complicated, especially when you don't have time. So, he created Tumblr where on your own micro blog, you can post your thoughts and your images as quickly as possible. It is very easy to use. From your computer, your phone, your iPod, you can share everything. You can incorporate your content into any other site, make your own domain name and do anything with the data. This platform allows also to reblog a post to your blog. In this way, one post can spread rapidly across thousands of blogs with just a click.

12,427,533,403 posts and 33,644,911 blogs were created since the beginning of Tumblr. About 25,000 people sign up for Tumblr every day. It is the new phenomenon on Internet like Facebook or Twitter before. Tumblr has not finished revolutionizing the world of blogs!

Clementine Maes

 

Internet & child safety

Internet & child safety

Internet is an interconnected system of networks that connects computers around the world. Everybody can use it, which is why children must be careful. Some popular social networks such as Facebook can pose a real danger to them.

Before allowing their children to surf the Internet, parents must educate them to make sure they understand what can be posted online or not to avoid bad experiences. They can employ useful tools:
-Filter sexually explicit descriptions or images.
-Have an access to their child's Facebook to check their messages or create their own profile and be "friends" to monitor what they are doing online.
-Limit the amount of their online time.
-Block the child's personal information.
-Browsers for kids which block inappropriate images.
-Check their ISP. It offers tools protecting children.
-Install parental control with passwords.

Although there are numerous campaigns to warn of the danger online, take care, somebody could trick you! "Safety is as simple as ABC: Always Be Careful"

Lucie Solar. Image

 

Plastic Logic 100

Plastic logic 100

Plastic logic 100 is a product invented by the Plastic Logic Company. It is a spin off company from Cambridge university's laboratory specialized in polymer transistors ans electronics. It was founded in 2000. The main product the firm has developed is a flexible A-4 size and robust plastic electronic display the thickness of a credit card. It is an electronic textbook which is intented for educational use. Plastic logic company announced its availability for september of this year.

It uses the plastic-based e-paper technology. To present the display : a shatter proof polymer, anti-glare, anti-finger print, a hard coat. The screen size is 27 cm diagonal. It looks like a tablet PC but its particularity is also its weight : 475 gr. The device will be running a windows processor. The battery is supposed to last a week under regular use which includes reading, underlining, and anotation of the text.

So now the question is : "when are we going to use it a school ?"

Peurdy Sanli and Wikipedia

 

New! Your Free English Magazine: TeaTime Mag!

TeaTime Mag logo
Some very interesting podcasts! Sign up for your free monthly subscription!

 

Technology in the Arab revolutions

man at computer

Before talking about the advantages and disadvantages of technology in the Arab revolutions,  I must refer to the main topic that got me to think about my subject, which is ICT, also known as “Information and Communication Technology”.

I am obliged to start talking about the importance that ICT had in this new political era in the Middle East. Unfortunately most of the ruling governments in the Middle East are dictators, but fortunately they made the mistake and let ICT into their countries. Such as Facebook, Twitter, SMS, YouTube, TV etc. By allowing all this, they were telling the people ”See all that freedom you’re discovering on the Internet, you’re not getting it”. The Internet and the TV Media helped the people discover freedom.

Now let’s look for the disadvantages. Videos and TV medias were the best way to emotionally get the people’s support and attention, but sometimes these means were not always reliable and could be easily faked and published on the Internet and presented as the main source of information.

Kinan Swaid

 

Below are some articles written by last year's Terminale section euro

 

Jailbreaking

Cydia icon

Jailbreaking is mainly used for Apple devices but it can also be used for other devices. It has many purposes:
- personalize the iPhone (or iPod , or iPad)
- download applications that are not allowed by Apple
- use the iPod like a hardware device
- transfer folders with Bluetooth
- change EDGE options

Apple disapproves of jailbreaking and fights against it. For example the guarantee can be cancelled if the device is jailbroken. Each update disables the last jailbreak but hackers always find a way to crack it again after a certain amount of time.

In France the law is not clear about jailbreaking but in the United States the Congress recently allowed it. So in the USA having a cracked iPod is from now authorized.

It has been established that between 4 and 5 million iPods, iPads and iPhones have been jailbroken around the world. That makes about 10% out of the 50 million sold.

Hippolyte Heuberger

 

Ebooks

Kindle 2 ebook

Ebooks are digital books. The growth of ebooks was most important in the 90s, going from academic books in the public domain to paying books for the average readers. The big event that contributed to broadcast them was the launching of the iPad in 2010.

They were either scanned from paper books or entirely re-typed. Ebooks most famous format is .pdf, and the second one .awz. The latter corresponds to a special hardware designed for ebooks, an E-reader, the Amazon Kindle, which imitates the aspect of a real book.

Ebooks have the advantages of the size, the Internet services, the price and the ease of self-publishing. However, they are still fragile electronic files. Really too easily downloaded, not likely to last through time, they will never surpass the symbolic value of a tangible old paper book.

Tiphaine Rapicault

 

 

Want to improve your accent?

Try Tuneintoenglish, The essential resource for learning English through pop music". Or English Karaoke - wide choice of songs

 

 

Notions de base en anglais à revoir ?

100 activités de rattrapage

 

 


Creative Commons & Copyright video

 

The MegaQuiz (B2-C1)

Un quiz grammatical de Rodolphe Martin pour s’entraîner et/ou réviser temps, mots de liaison, vocabulaire, synonymes, anto-nymes, etc.

A faire et à refaire !!

 

 

Tablets

iPad2

A tablet is a portable computer that uses a touchscreen as its primary input device. Tablets are slightly smaller and weigh less than the average laptop. While some tablets include fold out keyboards, others, such as the Apple iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab, only offer touchscreen input.

Early tablet touchscreens were designed to work with light pens. Many tablets now support multi-touch input, which allows you to perform gestures with multiple fingers, such as pinching an image to zoom out, or spreading your fingers apart to zoom in. When you want to write something, a pop-up keyboard appears on the screen.

Tablets are different than a typical laptop, because they don’t use a mouse and a keyboard. For example, instead of double-clicking to open a program, most applications open with a single tap.

Because of their small form, they are extremely portable and can be easily put in a backpack or a briefcase. However, some tasks such as typing documents and writing email messages are more difficult on tablets due to the absence of mouse and keyboard.

Valentin Chabault & TechTerms.com. Image

 

Mind Controlled Technology

mind control headset

Mind controlled technology is a technology which uses brain waves to control various devices.

The origin of this technology is the EEG which stands for Electroencephalography. It is a test performed in hospitals which allows us to detect electrical problems in the brain; it can therefore help diagnose various diseases.

Scientists then figured out others purposes for the EEG. They developed a device which allows the user to control a cursor on a screen and type a letter just by thinking it. The system doesn’t really read thoughts; it measures fluctuations in electrical voltage in the brain and translates them into commands on the computer screen.

Mind control technologies were also developed in a European project in order to allow 26 year old Italian, who lost his left hand and forearm, to control a biomechanical hand only with his mind. The project was a huge success because he succeeded in doing complex movements with the hand. But this device needs 4 surgically implanted electrodes to connect the brain with the hand.

Augustin Poyet

 

Bill Gates

Bill Gates at the Medef


Chairman of Microsoft, the worldwide leader in software and services, Bill Gates was born in 1955 in Seattle. He discovered his interest in software at school and began programming computers at 13 with his friend Paul Allen.

He attended Harvard but dropped out to concentrate on his passion. His first success was the creation of a BASIC interpreter that made the Microsoft Corporation stand out. The Windows operating system promoted him to the circle of billionaires. His vision of personal computing has been central to the success of the company.

In addition to his successful professional life, Gates is a philanthropic man who loves reading, writing and art. He and his wife created the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to reduce inequities all around the world. Nowadays he doesn’t work full time for Microsoft anymore but spends time at his foundation.

Finally Gates is a model of a man who has succeeded both in his professional and private life: he gave birth to our technologic generation!

Isaure Jayet

Bill Gates, born in 1955 is an American inventor, philanthropist, and author. Gates was the CEO of Microsoft, the software company he founded with his childhood friend Paul Allen. He stood down in 2008 and today remains at Microsoft as non-executive chairman. He is also ranks among the world’s wealthiest people.

The key of his success: he was guided by the belief that the computer would be a very important tool on every office desktop and in every home.

Bill Gates was married in 1994 to Melinda French Gates. They have three children. Gates is an avid reader, and enjoys playing golf, tennis and bridge. Gates has also written some famous bestsellers.

He and his wife, Melinda, started a foundation in 2000 to help reduce inequalities in the United States and around the world. They gave large amounts of money to charitable organizations.

Finally, Bill Gates was a clever man who succeeded thanks to his ability to manipulate computers. In a nutshell he led a computer revolution.

Pierre Martinot

 

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

Steven Paul "Steve" Jobs was an American inventor and businessman widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer era. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple.

Jobs was co-founder and previously served as chief executive of Pixar and he became a member of the board of directors of Walt Disney in 2006, following the acquisition of Pixar by Disney.

After losing a power struggle with the board of directors in 1985, Jobs left Apple and founded NeXT. In 1986, he acquired Pixar. He was credited in Toy Story (1995) as an executive producer. Apple's 1996 buyout of NeXT brought Jobs back to the company he co-founded, and they invented the iPod, the iPhone, and, later, the iPad.

On October 5, 2011, Jobs died aged 56, six weeks after resigning as CEO of Apple.

Melanie Michou

 

 

Agenda

Autumn Term:
TOEIC crash course
Spring & Summer Terms: Malware, ICT in the Real World, ICT in Society

 

My Blackberry Is Not Working!

A little ICT comedy to make you laugh

 

 

Pupils' Websites 2011
Jean-Baptiste K
Pierre M
Clementine M
Sixtine Q
Isaure J
Justine L
Elsa F
Laura F
Lucie S
Kinan S
Thomas L
Augustin Pe.
Valentin C
Victor G
Melanie M
Melanie B
Astrid C
Alexis L
Georgy S
Augustin Po.
Jonathan L
Peurdy S
Thomas D
Alban C
Elisabeth A

 

 

Fake wi-fi 'steals data and numbers from smartphones'

Watch this video
(click Full Screen icon)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11817567

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some suggestions for oral presentation subjects:

I.C.T. - advantages and disadvantages in our society. Some ideas, in no particular order:

New technologies which make our lives easier and more comfortable or our work more efficient. The latest ICT gadgets - are they just gadgets?
Mobile devices: laptops, netbooks, tablets, eBook readers, smartphones etc.
Censorship. ePollution and malware (hacking, spam, viruses, fraud etc). Operating systems. The e-book. The Bill Gates and Paul Allen adventure. Internet. Media streaming. Google. Wikipedia. eBay. P2P. Open source software. Instant messaging. GPS. Internet & child safety tools. eCommerce.
The growth and influence of user-generated content on internet (YouTube, blogs, social networks etc) ...

Other ideas on English language newspaper websites (Technology tab), on How Stuff Works, Top 100 tools for learning 2009, or PopSci.com

Please don't forget to include a small image (with its source) when sending your summary.

 

 

Revision

Phishing scams in plain English

Copyright, Fair Use and Creative Commons: Slideshow by Mike Moore, Video "A Fair(y) Use Tale" a humorous, yet informative, review of copyright principles

Home Working: a good BBC article for revision

Read it! Spam rises 150% in 2 months.

Listen to it! Microsoft reward to catch malware creator

PC security Quiz: are you security savvy or simply a sucker?

Staying safe online

Useful malware vocabulary: easy definitions

Oral comprehension training (1)
Oral comprehension training (2)
with www.elllo.org

 

TOEIC Training

Now is the time to begin intensive training for your forthcoming TOEIC exam. Be prepared - and good luck to you all! Here are some links to help you: