SMS banking

This is the definition of SMS banking according to wikipedia:
"SMS banking is a technology-enabled service offering from banks to its customers, permitting them to operate selected banking services over their mobile phones using SMS messaging".

SMS banking services are operated using push and pull messages. Push messages messegas which the banks choose to send out to customers' mobile phones, without the customer requesting it. An example of a push message would be if the bank notified you by SMS that a large amount of money had been taken from your bank account.
Pull messages are those that are sent to the bank by the customer, using a mobile phone, to make transactions in your account or to obtain imformation about your account. An example of a pull message would be to get an updated balance enquiry from the bank.

Adavantages:
It is faster than visiting the bank to make these enquiries, to simply send a text message
It is an alternative way to contact the bank if you cannot get through by telephone, or if you are not able to access the internet, a telephone or actually vidit a bank.

Disadvantages:
customers may receive a lot of unwanted€ or irrelevant text messages from the bank
If you do not have good signal or a problem with your phone, messages may not be sen or received as desired

Online Banking

Advantages:
It is faster and more efficient that leaving your home to go to a bank, when you can do everything you need to at the computer
You can keep track of you account and other banking details online whenever you like, rather than waiting for invoices in the mail.

Disadvantages:
You have limited help, and may need someone to help you more if you do not understand something
Your bank details can be hacked into online, so it may not necessarily be safe.


What is the purpose of online banking?
The main purpose of online banking is to make the process of checking bank accounts and making transactions faster and easier than physically visiting a bank to do this.

What audience is online banking aimed at?
I believe the main audience for online banking are middle aged people. This is because I do not think many older people would use this, as the technology could possibly be quite difficult for them to grasp. Also younger generations may not use this as they may not yet have enough money for a bank account to be necessary or serious. Generally, middle aged people have an income, which would be transferred to an account on a schedule and then used for many of life’s necessities. So they would need to keep a track of how much money they have and how much is available for them to spend, usually for the benefit of their families.

Lloyds TSB
I visited Lloyds TSB’s online banking website. I found that it was quite good as you could easily sign into your account and it was clear to understand and navigate through. It is also possible for you to sign into an account for your actual business, to check up on the success of your business finances.

Improvements
In the future there are several ways in which online banking could be improved. Firstly I think there should be even more security measures than there are already, as many people do not use online banking due to the fact that their personal details can be hacked into and possibly stolen. Codes from the bank and personal banking key rings are currently being issued to prevent phishing scams, which is a start in improving the quality of online banking. I think there should be a more efficient way of getting help with your problems when using online banking, as at the moment it is not very instant.

An Introducion to Ebay

Ebay is an online shopping site, used to tade unwanted items and goods between members of the ebay society for profit. Users can bid against others for goods in auctions, can sell their own items or use the 'buy it now' option to instantly buy your desired goods. Ebay can be used all around the world.

Ebay is targeted at basically everyone, as there are items which would appeal to each and every person for sale. However you must be 18 to have an ebay account and therefore be able to use ebay, although it is known that many break these rules.

Positives:
People can purchase items quickly and easily with the click of a mouse.
You can find things which you may not have been able to find otherwise.
You can contact buyers or sellers to find out details about the items you desire or are selling.

Negatives:
You can buy stolen or bad goods from sellers without knowing, or get involved with 'dodgy' sellers and con artists.
You can be scammed out of your money and not receive the item that you fairly won
It can be difficult to get in contact with uncooperative sellers or buyers for refunds.

Monitoring The Weather

For the next five days i will be monitoring the weather to see if it actually matches the predictions made by the BBC weather website. After these five days i will then evaluate whether i would have gotten more accurate results if i had been prepared to pay for it, using for example the Met Office's weather service. The BBC website looks clear and simple to understand, and aesthetically pleasing with its bright colours and images. The information looks valid and relevant.

Tuesday: The prediction for today was that the minimum temperature would be 14c and that the maximum would be 17c. Today it was 15c, so i would say that the prediction was very accurate today. It also said that there would be clouds and mild sunshine, which was also correct.

Wednesday: The prediction for today was that the minimum temperature would be 15c and the maximum 17c, and also that again it would be cloudy with a hint of sunshine. It was a cloudy day and i did see some signs of sunshine so this was again accurate. Today the temperature was in fact 16c, so was again very accurate. If BBC weather is correct it will be a sunny day tomorrow-fingers crossed!

Thursday: The weather today is supposed to be sunny with a maximum of 16c and a minimum of 15c. The weather is in fact the maximum of 16c, however it is yet again another cloudy day, with just a pinch of sunshine, so BBC has let me down a little bit i must admit.

Friday: Today the temperature is 17c and it has een a very sunny day. The actual temperature therefore agreed with the prediction, and the actual weather, which was lvely and sunny exceeded the prediction weather of cloud with a little bit of sunshine! What a lovely day-Tomorrow should be even more sunny if BBC weather is correct!

Saturday: Today has been a very sunny day indeed! There have been temperatures between 15c and 16c so again BBC weather has been very reliable!

After 5 days evaluating the weather,i believe that i can honestly trust BBC weather to tell me a correct weather forecast. I feel as though even if i had used a weather forecast which i paid for, the results would have been pretty much the same, if not just a very tiny bit more precise.

Planning a Journey to Tottenham Court Road

Above: The cost of the train journey to Tottenham Court Road
Above: Travelling to Tottenham Court Road via Train.

Above: Travelling to Tottenham Court Road By Car

To work out my journey by car, I used the Google Maps site. I found that it was very helpful and told me all of the details which I needed to know about the journey, in a clear and simple way. To work out the journey I would have to make by train, I used National Rail Enquiries site. Again i found that this source was very successful at finding me real-time information on my desired journey, and was clear to understand.

Advantages and Disadvantages to using Google Groups

Using Google Groups

Above is a brief guide to using Google Groups. Hope this helps!