1. Communication Systems Descriptions of methods of communication

2. E-Mail • E-mail is an abbreviation of electronic mail • E-mail is a store and forward method of composing, sending, storing, and receiving messages over electronic communication systems. Mainly the Internet. • E-mail can be used both on the Internet, on a system based on the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and to intranet systems allowing users within one organization to e-mail each other.

3. Role of E-mail • The role of e-mail in today's society is very important. It is widely available to everyone with even the simplest Internet connection. • Businesses use e-mails for thousands of various reasons. Such as receiving updates in the business market. • The general public use e-mail to keep in touch with friends and family that are on the other side of the world. • From the biggest billionaire company to the general public e-mail plays an integral part in today's society

4. Advantages of email • E-mail is countless times faster and more convenient than normal mail. • They can be sent privately to an individual. • On receiving an e-mail it can be stored in the electronic mailbox for as long as needed. And if needed, forwarded to someone else. • But a downfall to e-mail is that malicious codes and viruses can be sent to someone, by e-mail and if opened will affect their computer and possibly everyone else on their contact list.

5. Conferencing • Web Conferencing is a way of communicating with someone or a group of people through the internet in “Real-time” usually described as Synchronous conferencing. • One of the simplest forms would be something similar to the popular msn messenger system. This would be considered as “text-conferencing” where the participants can only read what the presenter types. • But this would not be used for business purposes much anymore. One of the more advanced methods of “Web Conferencing” such as Video Conferences, where the participants set up a web-cam or some kind of video input to the web and the rest of the individuals in the conference can see them, usually used along with a mike or sound capture device you can also hear the participants, almost as if talking to them face to face.

6. Role of Conferencing • Conferencing, especially video conferencing is used a lot by big businesses to make important business transactions from anywhere on the planet. Two businesses can hold a meeting from opposite ends of the world. • But conferencing happens on a far wider scale, on the household computers with the general public keeping in touch with one of the many available instant messengers. • And with technology rapidly progressing it is getting excessively easier for both parties to buy a web cam and conduct a video conference of their own

7. Other Sources Of Communication • Telephone is probably the most popular method of communication today either landline or mobile. Mobile telephone technology is expanding at a substantial rate and is proving increasingly popular. Mobile phones send a stream of information to a satellite in space which is then sent to the phone of the other user. Mobile phones can now also send photos and can now compose “video calls”. • Many people are so accustomed to using these Mobile phones they cant imagine how it was just about 10 years ago when mobile technology was just taking off on these shores.

8. Other Sources of Communication • There is a vast range of systems which present various methods of communication. Teletext is a simple way of putting information of screen for anyone with a TV to view by simply pressing a button on their TV remote. Things like daily news, lotto numbers, football results are easily a rapidly accessible through teletext. • Subtitles or closed captions are also sent through the teletext line. Used for the benefit of deaf people.

9. Other Sources of Communication • Fax machines are basically a scanner and printer, that converts the data from a physical document into a digital image, and sends the data to another fax machine at the other end which prints the document. Making a replica of the original document. These would be most commonly used in the offices of companies.