| CACTUS : calculator and computer technology user service.
| Hyde, H. | 2007 |
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Title: CACTUS : calculator and computer technology user service. Author(s): Hyde, H. | Journal Details: Australian Mathematics Teacher v.63 n.2 p.25-27 Published: 2007 ISSN: 0045-0685 Abstract: We can connect a PDA to a computer by USB, infrared beam or radio and find that appropriate software on each machine has updated the calendars, address books and task lists and stands ready to transfer music and films from a file format suitable to our computer to the quite different file format required by the PDA. With equal ease we can translate and move Word and Excel files. The transfer of data from one part of a computer to another has always been a complex task in which speed is traded against accuracy and the time required for error correction. Much more complex therefore is the transfer of information from one machine to another of a different type. Difficulties arise when machines are updated, when file formats are changed or data needs to be exchanged between machines for which the manufacturer has not provided suitable software. Other problems arise from an increasing awareness of copyright and security issues, but most file transfer problems arise simply because of the passage of time. New operating systems often fail to recognise old peripheral devices and data from old software versions. The author discusses these problems by examining the topics of connectivity and file compatibility. She recommends that schools archive complete systems that are the best representatives of their eras. Another important task is housekeeping: throw out files that will never be read again because they continue to unnecessarily bloat your archiving efforts. [Author abstract, ed] URL (open access) : http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ769979.pdf URL (conditional access) : https://library.acer.edu.au/document/?document_id=168835 Record No: 168835 From EdResearch online
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