UNIT 30 (P1)

Task 1

To create the materials needed, you will need to create graphic images.  You need to specify and describe the hardware and software needed to create the imagery digitally.  Consider the computer system, input devices, output devices and also file storage.

Choosing a computer you want to buy depends entirely on the consumer. You may be used to specific operating systems like Windows or Mac so changing your operating system may not be a good idea if you don’t want to try something new. But if you do want to change you need to make sure that you have fully research how the operating system works and whether it would be ideal for you. As well as that you need to decide what make and model you would like to have and also how you want your computer to run. And most importantly how much money are you willing to pay for it.
With the cost of your computer being the most important you also need to find the computer with the best specification to suit your budget. As technology is always being updated and developed it would probably be best to buy a computer that is fairly up to date, if not then your computer will go out of date pretty quickly.

I am recommending an Apple Mac computer because Macs are often used by designers and each Mac is best for different types of work. Most graphic designers work on a digital format and Mac offers a wide range of software support.
Graphic design is also a varied subject and the computer need to be able to use Photoshop, interactive design, animation and even 3D design. All of these need different computer skills and different computer setups.
Graphic Designers need a big canvas to work on , or in this case a big screen. Naturally Macs are better for this as well as the quality of the images on the screen are displayed. A MacBook Pro with a Retina Display or a 27-inch iMac are the ones that naturally lead us to this. Design work can use up a lot of the computers processor and memory especially when it comes to designing work in 3D, also the sizes of the files are very large and need a lot of room to save so for this kind of work you need to have a fast running system and a lot of hard drive room. Thankfully you can get additional hard drives so you have extra room to save files. 
However Mac's are not suited for every designer. Apple computers come with a 'glossy' display and these are best for video and digital graphic design work, but these displays do not offer the same quality of printing as 'matt' displays so print designers tend not to use Apple computers.
If you work in magazine, leaflet/flyer creation or product packaging development then you may prefer to use a high quality matt monitor.
Traditionally designers have chosen Mac Pro computers, and the new Mac Pro's are powerful - maybe a little more powerful than anyone need.

Specification
Apple Mac Pro is £2,499 and that's before you add a monitor. For a more cost-effective option is to choose a Mac mini and connect to a second screen.

3.7GHz

Quad-Core

Intel Xeon E5 with 10MB L3 cache and Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz

Configurable to 3.5GHz 6-core processor with 12MB L3 cache, 3.0GHz 8-core processor with 25MB L3 cache or 2.7GHz 12-core processor with 30MB L3 cach

12GB

DDR3 ECC memory

12GB (three 4GB) of 1866MHz DDR3 ECC memory

Configurable to 16GB (four 4GB), 32GB (four 8GB) or 64GB (four 16GB)



Dual AMD FirePro

D300

graphics processors

Dual AMD FirePro D300 graphics processors with 2GB of GDDR5 VRAM each

1,280 stream processors
256-bit-wide memory bus
160GB/s memory bandwidth
2 teraflops performance
Configurable to dual AMD FirePro D500, each with 3GB GDDR5 VRAM, 1,526 stream processors, 384-bit-wide memory bus, 240GB/s memory bandwidth and 2.2 teraflops performance; or dual AMD FirePro D700, each with 6GB of GDDR5 VRAM, 2,048 stream processors, 384-bit-wide memory bus, 264GB/s memory bandwidth and 3.5 teraflops performance


Mac Mini

Starting from £399.

1.4GHz
1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz) with 3MB on-chip shared L3 cache
500GB (5400-rpm) hard drive
Configurable to 1TB Fusion Drive.
4GB of 1600MHz LPDDR3 memory
Configurable to 8GB or 16GB
Intel HD Graphics 5000



Minimum Software Requirements:
Photoshop: 
Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support
Mac OS X v10.7, v10.8, v10.9, or v10.10
2 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended)
3.2 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices)
1024x768 display (1280x800 recommended) with 16-bit color and 512 MB of VRAM (1 GB recommended)
OpenGL 2.0–capable system
Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, membership validation, and access to online services.


LightRoom:
Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support
Mac OS X Server v10.7, v10.8, v10.9, or v10.10
2 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended)
2 GB of available hard-disk space; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices).
1024 x 768 display
Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, membership validation, and access to online service


Illustrator:
Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support
Mac OS X v10.7, v10.8, v10.9, or v10.10
2 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended)
2 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable fl ash storage devices)
1024 x 768 display (1280 x 800 recommended)
Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services
InDesign:
Multicore Intel processor
Mac OS X v10.7, v10.8, v10.9, or v10.10
2 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended)
2.6 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices)
1024 x 768 display (1280 x 800 recommended) with 32-bit video card; supports Retina display
Adobe® Flash® Player 10 software required to export SWF files.
Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services

UNIT 2 P4

Task 6a (P4)
Write a report in which you recommend a computer system for the marketing department to purchase.
You must consider ALL the hardware and software needed to complete the designs, think about the software minimum system requirements before deciding on components.
Explain why you have chosen the components and include the current cost of each component.

Choosing a computer you want to buy depends entirely on the consumer. You may be used to specific operating systems like Windows or Mac so changing your operating system may not be a good idea if you don’t want to try something new. But if you do want to change you need to make sure that you have fully research how the operating system works and whether it would be ideal for you. As well as that you need to decide what make and model you would like to have and also how you want your computer to run. And most importantly how much money are you willing to pay for it.
With the cost of your computer being the most important you also need to find the computer with the best specification to suit your budget. As technology is always being updated and developed it would probably be best to buy a computer that is fairly up to date, if not then your computer will go out of date pretty quickly.

I am recommending an Apple Mac computer because Macs are often used by designers and each Mac is best for different types of work. Most graphic designers work on a digital format and Mac offers a wide range of software support.
Graphic design is also a varied subject and the computer need to be able to use Photoshop, interactive design, animation and even 3D design. All of these need different computer skills and different computer setups.
Graphic Designers need a big canvas to work on , or in this case a big screen. Naturally Macs are better for this as well as the quality of the images on the screen are displayed. A MacBook Pro with a Retina Display or a 27-inch iMac are the ones that naturally lead us to this. Design work can use up a lot of the computers processor and memory especially when it comes to designing work in 3D, also the sizes of the files are very large and need a lot of room to save so for this kind of work you need to have a fast running system and a lot of hard drive room. Thankfully you can get additional hard drives so you have extra room to save files. 
However Mac's are not suited for every designer. Apple computers come with a 'glossy' display and these are best for video and digital graphic design work, but these displays do not offer the same quality of printing as 'matt' displays so print designers tend not to use Apple computers.
If you work in magazine, leaflet/flyer creation or product packaging development then you may prefer to use a high quality matt monitor.
Traditionally designers have chosen Mac Pro computers, and the new Mac Pro's are powerful - maybe a little more powerful than anyone need.

Specification
Apple Mac Pro is £2,499 and that's before you add a monitor. For a more cost-effective option is to choose a Mac mini and connect to a second screen.

3.7GHz

Quad-Core

Intel Xeon E5 with 10MB L3 cache and Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz

Configurable to 3.5GHz 6-core processor with 12MB L3 cache, 3.0GHz 8-core processor with 25MB L3 cache or 2.7GHz 12-core processor with 30MB L3 cach

12GB

DDR3 ECC memory

12GB (three 4GB) of 1866MHz DDR3 ECC memory

Configurable to 16GB (four 4GB), 32GB (four 8GB) or 64GB (four 16GB)

Dual AMD FirePro

D300

graphics processors

Dual AMD FirePro D300 graphics processors with 2GB of GDDR5 VRAM each

1,280 stream processors

256-bit-wide memory bus

160GB/s memory bandwidth

2 teraflops performance

Configurable to dual AMD FirePro D500, each with 3GB GDDR5 VRAM, 1,526 stream processors, 384-bit-wide memory bus, 240GB/s memory bandwidth and 2.2 teraflops performance; or dual AMD FirePro D700, each with 6GB of GDDR5 VRAM, 2,048 stream processors, 384-bit-wide memory bus, 264GB/s memory bandwidth and 3.5 teraflops performance

Mac Mini

Starting from £399.

1.4GHz
1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz) with 3MB on-chip shared L3 cache
500GB (5400-rpm) hard drive
Configurable to 1TB Fusion Drive.
4GB of 1600MHz LPDDR3 memory
Configurable to 8GB or 16GB
Intel HD Graphics 5000


















WACOM Intuos Pro Medium Special Edition PTH-651S-ENES Graphics Table

Ambidextrous design
Customisable key
 ExpressKeys
With stylus

Other features
Stylus with eraser

GENERAL
Colour: Silver and black
System requirements- Windows 8
- Windows 7
- Windows Vista SP3 or Windows XP
- Mac OS X 10.5.8 or higher
- Intel®-processor

Software included Driver


Box contents Wacom wireless kit











Minimum Software Requirements:
Photoshop: 

• Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support
• Mac OS X v10.7, v10.8, v10.9, or v10.10
• 2 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended)
• 3.2 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices)
• 1024x768 display (1280x800 recommended) with 16-bit color and 512 MB of VRAM (1 GB recommended)
• OpenGL 2.0–capable system
• Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, membership validation, and access to online services.

LightRoom:

• Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support
• Mac OS X Server v10.7, v10.8, v10.9, or v10.10
• 2 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended)
• 2 GB of available hard-disk space; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices).
• 1024 x 768 display
• Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, membership validation, and access to online service

Illustrator:

• Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support
• Mac OS X v10.7, v10.8, v10.9, or v10.10
• 2 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended)
• 2 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable fl ash storage devices)
• 1024 x 768 display (1280 x 800 recommended)
• Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services

InDesign:

• Multicore Intel processor
• Mac OS X v10.7, v10.8, v10.9, or v10.10
• 2 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended)
• 2.6 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices)
• 1024 x 768 display (1280 x 800 recommended) with 32-bit video card; supports Retina display
• Adobe® Flash® Player 10 software required to export SWF files.
• Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services

Nikon D3200 specification highlights: 

£318.23



•     24MP CMOS sensor
•     ISO 100-6400 (plus ISO 12,800-equivalent Hi1 setting)
•     Expeed 3 processing
•     3.0", 920k dot screen
•     Full HD 1080p30 video (with 25p and 24p options)
•     Microphone socket
•     Twin IR remote receivers
•     4 frame-per-second continuous shooting
•     Guide mode

Epson Perfection V370 Photo 4800 dpi scanner with ReadyScan LED technology

£89.99

• High resolution - 4,800 dpi for high-quality
• Transparency unit - scan slides, film and negatives
• Flexible - scan bulky books and 3D objects
• Convenient - scan-to E-mail or cloud storage
• No warm-up time

Epson WorkForce WF-3520DWF 4-in-1 Printer with Double-sided Printing - £79.99 

• Print, scan, copy and fax with ADF
• Print up to 15 pages per minute
• Wi-Fi and Ethernet
• Comes with 6.3 cm LCD screen
• Freedom to print and scan anywhere

UNIT 2 TASK 4 (M1)

Develop a table that can be included in your web pages that compares the features and functions of Windows XP and Mac OS in the following areas;

Functions	Windows XP	Mac OS
Machine and Peripheral Management	The operating system controls the whole system and all of the components. It also controls peripherals such as: keyboards, mouse, printers etc.  For example:  Windows controls the monitor by changing the resolution of the screen.	On Mac OS the controls of the computer components are similar to Windows XP but almost all of the devices needed are specifically for Mac. For example: Mac OS can control keyboard by changing the input language. For other devices like iPhone, Mac OS can control the screen and change  it to landscape mode.
Security	The operating system needs to make sure that everything functions properly and to make sure that unauthorised data doesn’t harm your computer. Windows has security functions such as: user accounts with password protection, firewall and other functions to keep your information and data safe.	The Mac OS operating system has security features like application sand boxing this protects the system by limiting the operations an application can perform, such as opening documents or accessing the network. Sand boxing makes it much more difficult for a security threat to take advantage of a specific application that can also affect the system. There is also authentication for file sharing, where the user has to input his/her Apple ID and password to log in to a Mac for file sharing. If others need to access a folder on a mac, the user is required to enter their Apple ID details to log onto the system.
File Management	Every Windows system provides easy access to a file or folder. When you open any file on your computer you can select a file or a folder and then click a task to either rename, copy, move or delete it. The My Documents, My Pictures and My Music folders can help you manage your documents, pictures and music files. In My Computer you can view and select your drives on your computer and the files that are stored on it.	On Mac is it very easy to access your files and folders. On all Mac user accounts there is a ‘Home Directory’ section. IF you click the option you will find Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Movies, Music, Pictures and also a Public folder where most of your files are stored.
Device Drivers	Device drivers are programs that tell the operating system how and what to do with a specific device. For example when you buy a new graphic card, to make it work properly with all of its power and efficiency you need to install drivers that are compatible with the card.	Just the same as Windows XP  the drivers are programs that control the devices. On Mac OS needed driver to run the computer is included in system. But when you want to install a new printer, you have to install a version of driver for Mac OS specifically.

Features	Windows XP	Mac OS
Ability to Customise	There are many ways you can customize Windows to make your computer more accessible and easier for the user, this is called accessibility. Accessibility features have been built in to Windows to help users who have difficulty typing, using a mouse, have bad eyesight/vision or are deaf or hard of hearing. The features can be installed during Setup, or you can add them later from Windows installation disks. You can use Control Panel and other built-in features to adjust the appearance and behaviour of Windows to suit your needs and preferred settings. These include adjusting colours and sizes, sound volume, and the behaviour of the mouse and keyboard. The Accessibility Wizard also helps you configure Windows. Dvorak keyboard layouts make the most frequently typed characters more accessible if you have difficulty using the standard keyboard layout.	Whilst using a Mac operating system it is relatively difficult to customize your computer because there are limited options. It requires additional software to customise most of the desktop and menu features. Without the additional software there is virtually nothing that a user can do to customise their features other than changing the background of the desktop. With the correct   software however, you can do plenty to customise your Mac. System preferences control the system-wide settings and are available from the apple at the upper left corner of the screen. System preferences allows you to adjust things such as: screen resolution, keyboard controls, mouse controls, sound, printer, settings, sharing settings and accounts which is basically the same as what Windows XP allows you to do.
Support for Connectivity of Portable Media	Windows XP supports almost every type of portable media. Windows XP supports all media including ones that can be connected via USB ports such as: phones and cameras and headphones as well as voice control, Ethernet cables for internet, CDs and DVDs and your typical computer peripherals such as: monitors and mice.	The Mac OS supports the typical computer peripherals such as: computer mouse, monitor and keyboards, they also support, headphones, CDs and DVDs, USB ports for cameras and phones, as well as Ethernet cables for internet just like Windows XP.
Stability and Reliability	It is mostly down to applications that are installed on the computer rather than the core of the operating system. Windows offers more of a wider range of them, so therefore has more potential stability problems.	Mac OS offers less of a wider range of applications than Windows does so therefore is potentially more stable and reliable than Windows.
Ease of Management	I would say that Windows XP is easier to use, but it does depends on the user themselves and whether they are more comfortable with either system. But because the Windows operating system seems to be most popular with the customers, I would say the Windows operating system in easier to use.	Mac OS and Windows are very similar as it mainly depends on the user. Mac OS is a newer type of operating system so users may find this system has a bit more difficulty than Windows that has been around much longer and for consumers that are used to the way the system runs.
Associated Utilities	Windows doesn’t have much range but it does have little things like the DirectX drivers, Bing toolbars, Windows Languages which lets you download different languages for your Windows System.	Mac OS has a wider range of choice compared to Windows when it comes to utilities. There are plenty of apps and drivers that can be installed for example for hardware you can download Drive Genius, Watts and SMART Utility and for Files you can download Blast and Berokoyo that helps to organise your files.

UNIT 2 TASK 4 (P8)

Task 4 (P8)

Witness statement
Learner name     Jodie Chana
Qualification		BTEC National 1st certificate in IT
Unit number and title		Unit 2.2 computer systems.
Assignment
Description of activity undertaken (please be as specific as possible)
Using the computer system provided, carry out the following routine maintenance: •       Create a file structure under user as follows: A folder labelled with your name and within this folder create 3 folders labelled Home, Work and Study •       Configure the operating system to perform the following: •       back-up procedures •       automatic scheduling and deletion of unwanted data •       archiving •       defragmentation •       deleting temporary files •       Cleaning keyboard, mouse, display screen of the computer provided •       replacing consumables printer paper in the printer provided ·         replacing the damaged mouse
Assessment and grading criteria
Task 4. Undertake routine maintenance tasks on a standalone computer system. P8
How the activity meets the requirements of the assessment and grading criteria, including how and where the activity took place She made a folder with her name and added 3 folders inside labelled Home, Work and Study. She was able to show me how to back up your system and also showed me how to schedule to delete unwanted data as well as archiving, defragmentation and deleting temporary files. Jodie also showed me how to clean the keyboard, mouse and monitor of the computer without damaging it. And showed me the consumables needed for a printer and replacing a damaged mouse.
Witness name			Job role
Witness signature			Date
Assessor name
Assessor signature			Date