ALP 1 Term 1 2024 Week 8 Direct Data Entry

Direct Data Entry (DDE) Devices November 3, 2024 1  Learning Objectives Learners will be able to name and explain, state some advantages and disadvantages of the following devices November 3, 2024 2  Direct Data Entry (DDE...

Direct Data Entry (DDE) Devices November 3, 2024 1  Learning Objectives Learners will be able to name and explain, state some advantages and disadvantages of the following devices November 3, 2024 2  Direct Data Entry (DDE) Direct data entry (DDE) devices are used to input data into a computer without the need for very much, if any, human interaction. For example, barcode readers are DDE and the only human involvement is to point a reader at the barcode. The transfer of the data to the computer is done automatically November 3, 2024 3  DDED November 3, 2024 4  Card Readers MAGNETIC STRIPE READERS November 3, 2024 5  Card Readers MAGNETIC STRIPE READERS Uses of magnetic stripe readers » On credit/debit cards for use at ATMs or EFTPOS (electronic funds transfer at point of sale) terminals. » Security devices to allow entry to buildings, hotel rooms, etc. November 3, 2024 6  Card Readers Advantages of magnetic stripe readers November 3, 2024 7  Card Readers Advantages of magnetic stripe readers »Prevents access to restricted/secure areas. » Not affected by oil, water, moisture, etc. » No moving parts – so physically very robust. November 3, 2024 8 November 3, 2024 9  Card Readers Contactless debit card readers November 3, 2024 10  Card Readers Contactless debit card readers Advantages of using contactless cards »Faster transactions (typical transaction takes 10 seconds as opposed to 30 seconds using magnetic stripe reader). »The contactless card system uses 128- bit encryption systems to protect the data. »Customers do not have to worry about typing errors (such as incorrectly typing in a PIN). November 3, 2024 11  Card Readers Contactless debit card readers Advantages of using contactless cards »Retailers no longer have access to the customer’s credit/debit card information. »The chip in the contactless credit card responds to the payment terminal reader with a unique number used for that transaction only; it does not simply transmit the consumer’s account number; this number is also encrypted. November 3, 2024 12  Card Readers Contactless debit card readers Disadvantages of using contactless cards: » They are more expensive than normal credit/debit cards. »A thief with a suitable reader could monitor your contactless card transaction while standing at the counter with you, or just behind you (the third point above reduces this risk considerably however; because you do not have to type in a PIN, somebody standing behind you could not steal your PIN and use it). November 3, 2024 13  Radio Requency Identification (RFID) Readers Radio frequency identification (RFID) readers use radio waves to read and capture information stored on a tag. The RFID tag is made up of two components: » a microchip that stores and processes information »an antenna which is used to receive and transmit data/information. The tags can be passive or battery-powered. Passive tags use the reader’s radio wave energy to relay back the information; battery-powered tags use a small embedded battery to power the RFID. November 3, 2024 14 Radio Requency Identification (RFID) Readers November 3, 2024 15  Uses of (RFID) Readers » Livestock tracking (so that the whereabouts of each animal on a farm is known; it also identifies which farm owns the animal). » Retail (it is similar to barcodes, but does not require any scanning; details such as price can be stored on the tag and then automatically read at a checkout – a big advantage is that several tags can be read at the same time, thus speeding up the checkout process). November 3, 2024 16  Uses of (RFID) Readers » Admission passes (for example, in theme parks RFID cards eliminate the need to scan or swipe people before ‘rides’, reducing the waiting time; it also allows the tracking of people in the theme park and certain information, such as height or age, can be stored to prevent entry to certain rides on safety grounds). »Libraries (books can be tracked in and out automatically by readers at the library entrance; no need to scan barcodes or use magnetic stripe cards, making the process quicker and more accurate). November 3, 2024 17  Disadvantages of (RFID) Readers » Tag collision (this is when the signals from two or more tags overlap, interfering with each other). »Because RFID uses radio waves, they are relatively easy to jam or interrupt. » It is relatively easy to hack into the data/signal transmitted by the tag. »RFID is more expensive than a comparable barcode system. November 3, 2024 18  Optical mark recognition/reader (OMR) » Optical mark recognition/reader (OMR) Optical mark recognition (OMR) is a device which can read marks written in pen or pencil on a form. November 3, 2024 19  Optical mark recognition/reader (OMR) » Uses of OMR devices »Used to read questionnaires, multiple- choice examination papers, voting papers and many other types of form where responses are registered in the form of lines or shaded areas. November 3, 2024 20  Optical mark recognition/reader (OMR) » Advantages of OMR devices » Very fast way of inputting the results of a survey, etc. The documents are fed in automatically and there is no user input. » Because there is no typing, they are more accurate than keying in the data. » They are more accurate than OCR methods. November 3, 2024 21  Optical mark recognition/reader (OMR) » Disadvantages of OMR devices » The forms need to be carefully designed to make sure the marks/shading are correctly positioned to gather accurate information. » There can be problems if they have not been filled in correctly; sometimes they have to be manually checked before being read, which is both time consuming and expensive. November 3, 2024 22  Optical character recognition (OCR) »Optical character recognition (OCR) is the name given to a device that converts the text on hard copy documents into an electronic form. OCR software converts this electronic data into a form that can then be used in various application packages, such as word processors or presentation software. November 3, 2024 23 Optical character recognition/reader (OCR) November 3, 2024 24  Optical character recognition (OCR) » One of the most recent uses is the processing of passports and identity cards. » Converting hard copy documents into electronic form which can be stored on a computer. » Used in automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) systems in car parks. » Digitizing historic newspapers and rare books so they can be archived and used by researchers, preventing damage to the originals November 3, 2024 25 November 3, 2024 26  BARCODE READERS » Barcode readers are used to read information in the form of a bar code. The readers are usually in the form of a barcode scanner and are often built into POS terminals in supermarkets. Handheld scanners or wands are also very common for reading barcodes if portability is required (for example, if the barcodes are on large or fixed objects) November 3, 2024 27 BARCODE READERS November 3, 2024 28  BARCODE READERS » Uses of barcode systems Used in supermarkets and other shops where the goods are marked with a barcode; the barcodes are used to give information about the product which enables automatic stock control, itemized billing, etc. to take place. » Used in libraries to keep track of books on loan. » Used as a safety function in many companies to ensure that electrical equipment is checked on a regular basis November 3, 2024 29  BARCODE READERS » Advantages of barcode systems Much faster than keying in data manually and fewer mistakes will be made. » If used as a way of recording safety testing of components (for instance electrical components) they can help improve safety. » They allow automatic stock control. » They are a tried and trusted technology. November 3, 2024 30  BARCODE READERS » Disadvantages of barcode systems » Relatively expensive system to administer. » Not fool-proof (barcodes can be swapped around on items). » Can be more easily damaged than RFID tags or magnetic stripes November 3, 2024 31  Quick response (QR) code scanners (readers) » Another type of barcode is the quick response (QR) code. This is made up of a matrix of filled-in dark squares on a light background. November 3, 2024 32  Quick response (QR) code scanners (readers) » Uses of QR codes Used in advertising to contain data such as business addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and website addresses; scanning the QR code gives all the necessary data on the smartphone screen, or the user is sent automatically to the website embedded in the QR code. November 3, 2024 33  Quick response (QR) code scanners (readers) » Uses of QR codes If the QR code contained a boarding pass, this will be automatically sent to the phone/tablet. November 3, 2024 34  Quick response (QR) code scanners (readers) Advantages of QR codes » They can hold much more information than normal barcode. » There will be fewer errors than with barcodes; the higher data capacity of the QR code allows the use of built-in error-checking systems; normal barcodes  It is easy to transmit QR codes either as text messages or images November 3, 2024 35  Quick response (QR) code scanners (readers) Disadvantages of QR codes » More than one QR format is available. QR codes can be used to transmit malicious codes; known as attagging. Because there are a large number of free apps available to a user for generating QR codes, that means anyone can do this. It is relatively easy to write malicious code and embed this within the QR code. When the code is scanned, it is possible the creator of the malicious code could gain access to everything on the user’s smartphone/tablet (for example, photographs address book, stored passwords, etc.). The user could also be sent to a fake website, or it is even possible for a virus to be downloaded. November 3, 2024 36