Ten Technical Attributes of Communication and Information Systems
MAS 201

Type of Content
•	Text
•	Audio
•	Graphics
•	Video
•	Animation (CGI)
•	Raw Data

•	Text includes:
o	Letters
o	Numbers
o	Other characters
o	ASCII Code
•	Graphics vs. Text
o	When is text not text?

•	Audio includes:
o	Vocal communication
o	Music
o	Sound effects
o	Noise

•	Video vs. Animation
o	Moving images of real-world events
o	Computer Generated Imagery (CGI)
•	Timed and Untimed
o	EX: Audio, Video/Animation
o	Electronic files of the above
•	Consider Temporality

•	Raw Data
o	Communications between network components
o	Generally some kind of signaling
o	Communications not intended for and not seen by users
o	The user is aware of it only when it doesn’t work

Directionality
•	One-way or Two-way
o	Traditionally, mass media are one-way
•	EX: Broadcast television, Broadcast radio
o	Interactive, interpersonal media are two-way
•	EX: Cell phones, E-mail
o	What does convergence do to tradition?

Simultaneous/Non-Simultaneous
•	Think only in the context of interactive communication
o	Does not apply to mass communication because it is not two-way communication
•	There are no degrees of simultaneity
o	Something is either simultaneous or it is not
•	Non-simultaneous: creation, presentation, and reception occur at different times

Type of Conduit
•	Wired
o	Phone systems use 2X (twisted pair) wire
o	Phone systems use coaxial cable
o	Cable systems use coaxial cable
o	Fiber optic cables are used in both

•	Wireless: Where and how much of the spectrum
o	For instance, FM radio uses frequencies between 88 MHz and 108 MHz
o	Each FM station is allotted 200 kHz of bandwidth (EX: 88.1 FM, 88.3 FM, etc.)
o	Long wave (LF), Medium wave (AM radio), Short wave (HF), VHF (TV and FM radio), UHF (TV and cell phones), Microwave (SHF and EHF)

Analog/Digital Representation
•	Analog vs. Digital Representation
o	Analog – continuous and continuously varying
o	Digital – only samples of the original
•	May be Differences at Each Stage of: 
o	Message Creation
o	Message Transmission
o	Message Presentation
o	Message Preservation

Number of Access Points
Think of Terminal Devices
•	What does terminal mean?
•	One to One
o	EX: Phone conversation with another individual
•	One to Many
o	EX: Broadcast radio
•	Many to Many
o	EX: Conference call

Type of Connection
•	Three Basic Types of Connections
o	Switched
•	Sender and receiver are directly connected
o	Networked
•	Content is sent across network connections
o	Broadcast
•	Signal is sent out over a specific geographic area
o	Or Some Combination

Bandwidth
•	Electromagnetic spectrum for wireless; every service is allocated a channel
•	Wired can be:
o	Narrowband
•	EX: Telephone service
o	Broadband
•	EX: Cable, Internet service
o	Baseband
•	Local Area Networks
Storage
•	Not a direct transmission attribute, but an extremely valuable feature of CIS
o	Content Preservability
•	Where is content stored? How is it stored?
o	Content Retrieveability
•	Can we access stored content?
o	Content Searchability
•	How do we access stored content?
o	Content Modifiability
•	Easier today due to digital representation
o	Not all content can be modified by users

User Interface
•	The critical link in the system
o	Type of Mediation (text, audio, video, etc.)
o	Input/Output (terminal) Devices
o	Some interfaces are output-only devices
o	System Navigation
o	How do you make it work?
o	Feature Richness (the number and type of features)
•	Do you always want a feature-rich interface?
o	Feature Use
•	Generally make devices easier to use, but that’s not always the case
•	How do you use the features?