Tuesday, 18 June 2013

Unit 35: Task 1: M1


M1
Before you purchase the equipment described in P1 you need to consider their limitations.
Add a post describing the drawbacks of all the items named in P1.

Optical drive: There are very few drawbacks of the optical drive: They are reusable but even though this can be beneficial it also prevents you from being able to use that media again, this causes issues as if you re-write a disc the previous data will be completely erased and replaced. The writing time is also an issue as the process takes considerable processing unit resources and may increase the time needed to write and restore the data, the duration of time required to write and restore may cause failure in running other software or may result in the computer crashing as files may overload the hard-drive and could lead to the CPU chip burning out. A limitation for this would the price as if they are to be of high quality it costs quite a lot if you were to buy a wireless optical drive due to it being easily accessible which can make it easier for the business.

Printer: Printers always seem to be lucrative and innovative but they have there down falls. The cost causes hindrance to the user as the cost for high quality ink that is specific to that individual printer can create unprofitable income for businesses and other users as you have to continuously replace the ink in order to produce more honorable products that are valued by the recipient.  Environmental concerns also cause problems as the making of ink can be costly and also cause various pollutants entering the atmosphere. There will be an increase in deforestation so that they can produce printer paper in order to record the information through the printer. A printer can be highly expensive if you require quantity and quality so that it is worth your while but these leads to purchasing branded ink specific for the computer.

Graphics card: Glitches are a main issue caused by graphics cards as there may be an overload of information or they may cause the graphics card to over heat the circuit causing internal damage to the computer. Graphics cards tend to range from £18.00 to £3,000 depending on whether they are HDMI or specific to the brand of computer.

Laptop-Computer-Keyboard-mouse: The draw backs of a laptop are as follows: they tend to be less reliable and an easy target for hackers and for malfunctions. This is due to the fact that antivirus software may not be completely resistant to risks so they can either be wiped clean or brought back to factory settings removing all previous software and documents etc. Whereas a computer can also be easily hacked it has more worries that could be faced as if the fan over the circuit board over heats it can blow the whole circuit board which can lead to replacement but no way of retrieving any of the data previously on it .  The issues with a keyboard and mouse are the range they are limited with if they were wireless they can be used in any location but are required to be connected via USB in the hard drive.
Laptop - Price range between £240.00 to £2,000 depending on type or brand.
Computers- Price range between £200.00 to £1,400 depending on the type or their brand.
Keyboard- Price range between £3.00 to £150.00.
Mouse - Price range between £3.00 to £140.00.

Memory card: The limitations of a memory card is the usage and GB entry, this means that if you insert 6GB worth of memory you are limited to that depending on whether you introduce more or have an external drive for storage and memory. £3.00 to £260.00.

Monitor: Problems with the monitor are mainly due to connection issues meaning that they are connected incorrectly or they cut off whilst you are in the middle of working. This is usually due to cable being frayed or in some cases loose which can send an electrical surge through the monitor to prevent it from functioning correctly. £65.00 to $455.00.

RAM:  There are a few drawbacks connected with RAMS as they allow you to store easily accessible information but has the disadvantage of taking up vasts amounts of space and also the cost is a major disadvantage. The cost is a disadvantage as static RAMS tend to cost more than a computer with a dynamic RAM.  £5.00 to £100.00.

Camera/Webcam: The speed is an issue as digital cameras tend to have a slower shutter speed, in some cases the picture can be lost due to a breakage in the USB cable erasing the image in the process. Camera = £36.00 to £1,900. Webcam= £7.50 to £2,600.

Video/Sound card: Overclocking is a major issue faced with graphics cards is that they often push the stock cooling unit past its limits causing it to overheat, they have cooling issues. Overheating and increased power load can crash your system. £20.00 to £3,000.


CPU Unit:  A drawback to the CPU unit is that if it overheats or is over-run it will then either crash your computer resulting in it no longer working or it can just cause problems with rebooting and displaying saved data. £30.00 to £3,800.

Motherboard: The motherboard is like the CPU unit it is key for the computer to work without this and the CPU no components can be inserted. The drawbacks from this are that they have no flexibility meaning that when upgraded manually they may have empty upgrade slots which will not help upgrade and perform better.  Another problem is due to lots of voltage passing through the circuits it can lead to them burning out and will have to be replaced due to high melting  damage on the circuit. £32.00 to £430.00. 

The reason as to why I have mentioned the cost is to show that variation in quality as those that are cheaper are able to do their job but not to the same standard as those that cost more. 


Wednesday, 12 June 2013

Unit 35: Task 2: P2

 P2
Your first three customers have given you quite different tasks:
  • A local band would like a logo designed for their website this needs to be combined with their band photo.
  • A builder wants some eye catching text for the side of his van to improve business opportunities.
  • The nursery on your estate would like a flyer designed to promote the facility.
What type of graphic will you create for each customer and what file format should be used?  Explain your answers.

What type of graphic will you create for each customer and what file format should be used? Explain you answer. 



Vectors are mainly used for lines and curves.

Customer 1#

This graphic needs to be a vector graphic as they are scale-able meaning that when you re-size it, it does not lose quality.  I will be using a vector graphic as they are used for lines and curves but also images. This will be useful as if the image needs enlarging it will not lose focus or good parameter. For this local band I would use various different software for example Illustrator and Photoshop this is a vector file and will appear in the file format of P.N.G helps prevents loss of image data it also allows extra information can be stored within the image. P.N.G is mainly used worldwide on the WEB. I would also be using Photoshop to incorporate the image which uses JPEG which is a compressed image format. JPEG images are not limited of colour but can be compressed into a smaller size but becomes a bitmap graphic as it becomes pixelated. By using Photoshop I will be able to add, crop and alter the image of the band to suit their preferences and so that it is of high quality. Illustrator will be used so that we can then incorporate and play around with lettering so that we can display the band name and so that it works well with the image of the band, things like contrast and colour need to be considered. This format will be saved as an AL file as AL happens to be a file extension for vector graphics. Once this has been saved it can then be inserted into Photoshop to then combine the image and lettering together.
  
Customer 2# 
For this builder I would be using the software named Adobe Illustrator to make this eye-catching text for his vans appearance. Even though Illustrator is used for being vector graphics-based drawing program it creates great quality fonts and lettering which will help this builders vans appearance catch more eyes. The lettering can be played around with and placed in various arrangements that link with the subject or surrounding images. By being able to alter text colour, font  and proportion it will make the business more attractive to customers. This will be Bitmap although Illustrator happens to be a vector graphic as it needs to be of good quality but enlargeable due to it being text and will be saved not as an AL file, but if you create it at a specific size so if you make alterations before it needs to be finalized so that it doesn't contain loads of pixels and lack quality. This file format will be EPS as this can be saved as a PDF file and then be converted into a EPS which helps convert to image formats.

Customer 3#

This graphic needs to be a bitmap graphic as due to the computer storing information regarding every individual pixel withing an image the graphic will already be quite large, meaning it shouldn't be needing enlarging as then it will loose quality. I will use Illustrator to create these flyers for the nursery as even tough Illustrator allows you to save it in a vector format and be enlarge that is not required if it is saved as a vector file, by saving it as a bitmap file it will not be needing enlarged. By using Illustrator I will be capable of incorporating different images, text and whatever else they require for their flyer to be informative and eye-catching to those interested. Maps and various other necessities can be incorporated if need be as they can be inserted via images or through Illustrators drawing program. This will can be saved as a PDF file as it is a piece of text including images rather than pictures and lines/curves which is a vector graphic. Bitmap files are full of bits of pixels rather like on a map to make an image look larger but is incapable of making alterations to it.