THE IT REVOLUTION BUSINESS VOCABULARY IN USE (ADVANCED)

 

BUSINESS VOCABULARY IN USE (ADVANCED) 28. THE IT REVOLUTION

 

A Broadband Internet One of the key issues in information technology (IT) is, of course, the future of the Internet. The Internet may not have ‘changed everything’ in the economy, as some predicted a few years ago, but it is still growing fast. On landlines – fixed telephone lines – high speed broadband access is making it faster and easier to use the Internet and to download files with text, pictures, video, etc. Faster connections also allow better use of some applicants such as video conferencing, where people in two or more locations can see and talk to each other. Note: Broadband is also known as DSL (direct subscriber link) in the USA. B Mobile Internet The next step is accessing the Internet via mobile devices such as mobile phones and PDAs (personal digital assistants, also referred to as handhelds). High speeds are promised for 3G or third generation systems offered by mobile phone companies, who paid very high prices for the licences to operate them. They were expecting high demand by mobile phone users for a wide range of information and entertainment services, for example replays of football highlights. Time will tell if these prices were justified. C Moore’s law EXERCISES 28.1 Complete the crossword with expressions from A, B and C opposite. Across: 3 see 12 down 8 Demand for these services is as yet uncertain. (5,10) 9 You can find these in some public places. (5,4,8) 11 Non-mobile phone lines. (9) Down: 1 This device is for individual users: it’s ________. (7) 2 When people in different place use the Internet to see and hear each other, they are video- ________. (12) 4 No cables attached. (8) 5 A computer’s basic component. (4) 28.2 Gordon Moore Use Moore’s Law in C opposite to do the following calculation: in 1974, the cost of a particular size of computer memory chip was $10,000. By 1997, the cost for the same unit had fallen to: a $1,000 b $100 c $1

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