31189a - Learning activity 04

Research web platforms

Choose five of the ten categories in the table above (delivery platform, operating system…etc.) and research one product, system or standard. For example, in the category of Browsers you might choose Firefox.

Use the layout below to record a brief description of each item, identifying its advantages and disadvantages.

Category Description and comparison

v     Delivery platform

v     Operating system

v     Delivery speed

v     Plug-in

v     Programming

v     Authoring software

v     Browser

v     Screens

v     Compression

v     Standards

Click on LINK 5 to view the ANTA Toolbox.

Answer

Category Description and comparison

Delivery platforms

v     These include CD-ROM, DVD, BlueRay, mobile device, digital television, internet (including WWW, FTP, document attachment/ download, instant messaging, social media).

For this, I chose digital TV (DTV).  Here in Australia, DTV was introduced as Digital Terrestrial TV, while analogue TV was phased out in 2013[1].  It first came to air in the early 2000’s.  Wikipedia defines Digital television (DTV) as:

… The transmission of audio and video by digitally processed and multiplexed signal, in contrast to the totally analogue and channel separated signals used by analogue television. Digital TV can support more than one program in the same channel bandwidth[2].

The advantages of digital over analogue TV include sharper DVD-quality widescreen pictures, CD-quality digital stereo sound and improved reception. Digital TV also enables broadcasters to offer more services or show multiple programs at the same time and a number of new TV channels to choose from. Other benefits include closed captioning, providing deaf and hearing impaired people with a text version of dialogue, electronic program guides which display on screen information on current and future programming and multi view, where different camera angles of a program, such as a sports program, can be viewed[3] (mind you, this is not on my own TV, but some top-of-the-range brands include this feature). J

You can receive digital TV on your current analogue television provided the television is able to be connected to a set top box. Alternatively, digital TV signals can be received on an integrated digital television where a digital receiver is built into the set.  All you needed was a TV and a good aerial when it was just analogue TV. J

Operating systems

v     These include Apple, Windows, Android, UNIX, Linux, Nintendo, and Sony.

I mostly use Windows, so I thought I would write about their main competitor, Apple (also called a Mac, an Apple Mac, or Apple Macintosh).  This is usually the term for desktop and laptop computers.  The iMac[4] is the desktop model; the Mac Book[5], Mac Book Pro[6] and Mac Book Air[7] are all laptop models.

One obvious advantage of the iMac is its onscreen image quality (or what they call Retina display).  Other advantages or benefits of owning an iMac include high storage capacity and performance; not to mention a slick design.  The same could also be said of the Mac Books – Apple also boasts of long battery lives (of 10-12 hours) for all its laptop models (which are what you want when you are on the go).  Additionally, the Mac Book Pro has a function bar on the top of a keyboard that replaces the function (F 1-12) keys and a touch ID (this is all new to me).  However, these are all the latest models that Apple has to offer. J

The name of the Operating System for Macs is the MacOs[8] - you can use it with your other Apple devices (iPhone or iPad); back up the files using iCloud and ask Siri to find files for you (Siri, being the app, where all you have to do is speak into a microphone and the app will find what you are after).  Windows 10 has a similar application called Cortana, which also performs the same function.

The main drawback of Apple Macs (in comparison to Windows or PC’s/personal computers) is the cost.

Delivery speeds

v     These range from Modems offering delivery from 14.4 kbps to cable and now the NBN Rollout.

Plug-ins

v     These include: Flash, QuickTime, Real player, Windows Media Player, Acrobat

Swf[9]: is an abbreviation for ‘small web format’ (and is known as Shock Wave file) - an Adobe Flash file format used for multimedia, vector graphics and Action Script.  SWF files can contain animations or applets of varying degrees of interactivity and function.  Swf’s uses include multimedia – online games, animations, videos and other motion graphics.  One can generate swf files using Adobe software packages like Flash, Flash Builder (an IDE), Adobe Animate (the replacement for Adobe Flash as of Feb. 2016), and After Effects.

QuickTime[10] is an extensible multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. First made in 1991, the latest Mac version, QuickTime X, is currently available on Mac OS X Snow Leopard and newer.  In other words, QuickTime plays videos for Mac and other Apple OS.  Advantages of QuickTime are that it is available free of charge for both MacOs and Windows operating systems. There are some other free player applications that rely on the QuickTime framework, providing features not available in the basic Quick-Time Player.  Disadvantages: QuickTime is bundled with MacOs. QuickTime for Microsoft Windows is downloadable as a standalone installation, and was bundled with Apple’s iTunes prior to iTunes 10.5, but is no longer supported and therefore security vulnerabilities will no longer be patched.

Windows Media Player[11]: this is the media player available for Windows and Windows Phone operating systems. However, Mac users can download Windows Media Components for QuickTime to play Windows Media files.

Acrobat:  Adobe Acrobat[12] is a family of application software and Web services developed by Adobe Systems to view, create, manipulate, print and manage files in Portable Document Format (PDF).  The Portable Document Format (PDF)[13] is a file format used to present documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems.  Each PDF file encapsulates a complete description of a fixed-layout flat document, including the text, fonts, graphics, and other information needed to display it. A PDF file captures document text, fonts, images, and even formatting of documents from a variety of applications. You can e-mail a PDF document to your friend and it will look the same way on his screen as it looks on yours, even if he has a Mac and you have a PC.  Hence, the advantages of Acrobat are that regardless of what hardware, operating system or software you or your recipient uses, you can still send or transfer documents to their computer, or view them on your own.  Moreover, you can create, print and manage these same files, as long as you have the software on your computer.  You can also download the software for free.  The main drawbacks of Acrobat are security issues e.g. OUTLOOK.PDFWorm or Peachy; and usage restrictions e.g. PDF files may also contain embedded DRM restrictions that provide further controls that limit copying, editing or printing. The restrictions on copying, editing, or printing depend on the reader software to obey them, so the security they provide is limited.

Programming

v     these programming languages include: PERL, SQL, CGI, HTML, ASP, jQuery, JavaScript

I am not fully familiar with many of these programming languages; however, the most common three languages used for web design include HTML, CSS and JavaScript[14] (This is not to be confused with Java (the programming language) or Java (the operating platform).  Moreover, like Java, one should *not* confuse it with the Javanese (Indonesian) language). J

Programming languages related to HTML and CSS include Bootstrap (for mobile sites); W3 CSS; Icons, and graphics.

Programming languages related to JavaScript include jQuery; jQuery Mobile; AppML; AngularJS; JSON and AJAX

Java:  Java[15] was originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems (which has since been acquired by Oracle Corporation) and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems’ Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++, but it has fewer low-level facilities than either of them.  Java was originally designed for interactive television, but it was too advanced for the digital cable television industry at the time.  One advantage of Java (as a programming language) is its adaptability – it can operate on any hardware and operating system with adequate run-time support.  However, Java is notorious for being slow and requires more memory than programs written in C++ and other object-oriented languages – particularly when it comes to web browsing.  Uses for Java include the ‘Hello World’ program, Java applets (in HTML pages), Java servlets (to answer online client enquiries), and Android operating systems.

JavaScript[16]:  Alongside HTML and CSS, JavaScript is one of the three core technologies of World Wide Web content production; the majority of websites employ it, and all modern Web browsers support it without the need for plug-ins.  Although there are strong outward, similarities between JavaScript and Java, including language name, syntax, and respective standard libraries, the two are distinct languages and differ greatly in their design. JavaScript was influenced by programming languages such as Self and Scheme. JavaScript is also used in environments that are not Web based, such as PDF documents, site-specific browsers, and desktop widgets. Newer and faster JavaScript virtual machines (VMs) and platforms built upon them have also increased the popularity of JavaScript for server-side Web applications.  Netscape originally developed JavaScript, collaborating with Sun Systems in the process.  Later on, it was adopted by Microsoft and is now a trademark of the Oracle Corporation.  Uses for JavaScript include: The most common use of JavaScript is to add client side behaviour to HTML pages, also known as Dynamic HTML (DHTML). Scripts are embedded in or included from HTML pages and interact with the Document Object Model (DOM) of the page. Some simple examples of this usage are:

v     Loading new page content or submitting data to the server via Ajax without reloading the page (for example, a social network might allow the user to post status updates without leaving the page).

v     Animation of page elements, fading them in and out, resizing them, moving them, etc.

v     Interactive content, for example games, and playing audio and video.

v     Validating input values of a Web form to make sure that they are acceptable before being submitted to the server.

v     Transmitting information about the user’s reading habits and browsing activities to various websites. Web pages frequently do this for Web analytics, ad tracking, personalization or other purposes.

JQuery[17]: a popular JavaScript library designed to simplify DOM-oriented client-side HTML scripting along with offering cross-browser compatibility because various browsers respond differently to certain vanilla JavaScript code.

Anyway, I chose these three languages, so one of these days; I will understand the meanings of these three terms.

Server side languages include: SQL (Database language); PHP (an alternative to HTML[18]), Unicode[19] and ASP (Active Server pages[20]).

Authoring software

v     These include Dreamweaver, InDesign, Flash, and Muse.

Some of these software applications include:

Adobe AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime): a programme by Adobe that allows designers to create applications and video games for phones and tablets using Adobe Flash content and Action Script 3.0 software to allow users to run them as a native application and outside of a web browser[21]. In other words, one can install and use them as a separate app on their desktop or laptop computer, or they can use them on their phone or tablet.  Examples of applications designed using this software include eBay Desktop, Pandora One desktop, Tweet Deck, the former Adobe Media Player, Angry Birds, and Machinarium, among other multimedia and task management applications[22].

Adobe Flash[23]: This software, formerly Macromedia Flash or Shockwave Flash, is a multimedia software platform for production of animations, browser games, rich Internet applications, desktop applications, mobile applications and games. It also displays text, vector and raster graphics to provide animations, video games and applications, allows streaming of audio and video, and can capture mouse, keyboard, microphone and camera input.

Browsers

v     These include Chrome, IE, Firefox and different versions.

Firefox[24] (also known as Mozilla Firefox) is an internet browser in direct competition with other browsers like Chrome and IE – previously, it was known as Netscape[25] or Netscape Navigator[26].  I have never used it so I do not know what it is like.  However, many users reported Firefox to be slower than other browsers like Google Chrome but faster than Internet Explorer.

I have, however, used Chrome, IE and Safari.  So far, on a desktop, I have found Chrome to be faster than Internet Explorer but about the same as Microsoft Edge when it cam to browser speed; and Chrome to be more usable when it came to accessing any links that needed to be accessed (some of which I couldn’t access on Microsoft Edge).

Screens

v     In terms of Sizes, resolution and colours.

Safe areas (screen sizes)[27]: Safe area is a term used in television production to describe the areas of the television picture that can be seen on television screens.

Older televisions can display less of the space outside of the safe area than ones made more recently. Flat panel screens, Plasma displays and liquid crystal display (LCD) screens generally can show most of the picture outside the safe areas.

The use of safe areas in television production ensures that the most important parts of the picture are seen by the majority of viewers.

The size of the title-safe area is typically specified in pixels or percent. The NTSC and PAL analogue television standards do not specify official over scan amounts, and producers of television programming use their own guidelines.

Resolution:[28]

1. The definitions of the safe areas are given in numbers of lines for the vertical direction and number of pixels for the horizontal direction, which are now more definitive than the percentages used previously. However, percentages are also included because they are the basis on which comparisons they make.

2. The line numbering of interlaced scanning rasters has been calculated on the basis that field 1 is paired with the field 2 line below it, and the line from field 1 which is just inside the percentage box is defined as the edge of the safe area concerned.

3. The pixel numbering has been calculated by using the same notation as in SMPTE 274M/296M and ITU-R BT.1120-7, in which the first sample of the active part of a digital line is counted as value “0”. For HD services, this is also the first sample of the active image.

4. The safe areas are defined by the first and last safe line in vertical direction and by the first and last safe pixel in the horizontal direction. In addition the total number of lines (vertical) and pixel (horizontal) which are within the safe areas are given.

5. The coordinates of the centre of an image are defined as - vertically, there will be an equal number of lines within the clean aperture above and below the centre point, and - horizontally, there will be an equal number equal number of pixels within the clean aperture to the left and the right of the centre point.

Colours:  RGB and CMYK – RGB (Red, green and blue) – for screens (unlike CMYK for print).

Compression

v     Compression Audio, video.

Digital compression for HD TV: these enable TV stations to transmit signals to digital, audio and video signals to one’s TV.  More on digital compression for TV can be seen here[29].

Audio: MP3 (MPEG-3), WAV (uncompressed sound), WMA (Windows) – amongst others

With compression – the greater the compression, the easier it is for a file to transmit; however, the drawback is that it declines in quality.

Standards

v     These include the W3C site, accessibility, usability, and SCORM.

W3C site[30] – this is used to test whether or not the links are valid, unbroken and take you to the pages that you need to see.

Accessibility – the Internet needs to be accessible to all, regardless of age[31], ability, gender, geographic location, ethnic or linguistic background and so forth.

Usability – everyone needs to be able to use the site, hence the navigation must be quick and easy, you must be able to buy and sell securely online, access information, the site must be frequently upgraded and be quick to load.

SCORM[32] - SCORM is a set of technical standards for e-learning software products.  SCORM tells programmers how to write their code so that it can “play well” with other e-learning software. It is the de facto industry standard for e-learning interoperability. Specifically, SCORM governs how online learning content and Learning Management Systems (LMSs) communicate with each other. SCORM does not speak to instructional design or any other pedagogical concern — it is purely a technical standard.

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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_terrestrial_television_in_Australia?oldid=753505491

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_television?oldid=752611422

[3]http://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Broadcast/Spectrum-for-broadcasting/Spectrum-digital-television/digital-television-frequently-asked-questions

[4] http://www.apple.com/au/imac/

[5] http://www.apple.com/au/macbook

[6] http://www.apple.com/au/macbook-pro/

[7] http://www.apple.com/au/macbook-air/

[8] http://www.apple.com/au/macbook-pro/macos/

[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWF?oldid=751715503

[10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QuickTime?oldid=749513813

[11] https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14209

[12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Acrobat?oldid=755248526

[13] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Document_Format?oldid=756427043

[14] http://www.w3schools.com/default.asp

[15] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_(programming language)?oldid=753640952

[16] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JavaScript?oldid=753351126

[17] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JavaScript?oldid=753351126

[18] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHP

[19] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode

[20] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Server_Pages; and https://www.tutorialspoint.com/asp.net/pdf/index.pdf

[21] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_AIR?oldid=753020098

[22] http://help.adobe.com/en_US/air/build/air_buildingapps.pdf

[23] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Flash?oldid=751325915

[24] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox?oldid=752616644

[25] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape

[26] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape

[27] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safe_area_(television)?oldid=698544425;

[28] see also https://tech.ebu.ch/docs/r/r095.pdf

[29] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television?oldid=753280917

[30] https://www.w3.org

[31] https://www.w3.org/WAI/older-users/ and https://www.w3.org/WAI/older-users/developing

[32] http://scorm.com/scorm-explained/