Internet & Multimedia Grade 11
The evolution of the web, Big Data concepts, streaming vs downloading, multimedia formats and compression technologies.
Evolution of the Web
| Era | Name | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Web 1.0 | Read-only Web | Static HTML pages; users can only read, not interact. (1990s) |
| Web 2.0 | Read-Write Web | Interactive content; user-generated content; social media; blogs; wikis. (2000s–present) |
| Web 3.0 | Semantic / Intelligent Web | AI-driven; understands meaning; personalised; decentralised (blockchain). (Emerging) |
Big Data Concepts
Big Data refers to extremely large and complex datasets that traditional software cannot process effectively.
The 3 Vs of Big Data
| V | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Volume | Massive amounts of data generated every second |
| Velocity | Speed at which data is created and must be processed |
| Variety | Data comes in many forms: text, images, video, sensor data, etc. |
Uses of Big Data
- Healthcare: predict patient risk and personalise treatment
- Retail: recommend products based on browsing and purchase history
- Banking: detect fraud in real time
- Government: optimise traffic, predict crime
Multimedia on the Internet
Download vs Streaming
| Downloading | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Entire file transferred before playback | Plays in real time as data arrives |
| Storage | Saves a local copy | No local copy stored |
| Internet required | Only during download | Continuously during playback |
| Examples | Downloading a movie file | Netflix, YouTube, Spotify |
Live Broadcasts
Content streamed in real time as it happens — no pre-recording. Examples: live sport, news, gaming streams, webinars, online concerts.
VOD and IPTV
- VOD (Video on Demand): watch any content at any time — Netflix, Showmax, Disney+
- IPTV: TV over the internet; allows pausing live TV, time-shifting, catch-up TV
Compression Technology
Compression reduces file size to speed up transfer and save storage. The trade-off: higher compression = smaller file but lower quality.
| Format | Type | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| MP3 | Lossy audio | Music — removes sounds humans can barely hear |
| JPEG | Lossy image | Photos — removes fine detail to reduce size |
| PNG | Lossless image | Logos, screenshots — no quality loss |
| MPEG-4 (MP4) | Lossy video | Online streaming — high quality, smaller file |
| MPEG-2 | Lossy video | DVDs and early digital TV (older standard) |
| ZIP / RAR | Lossless general | Files and folders — full recovery on decompression |
Lossy vs Lossless
Lossy: permanently removes data to get smaller files. Cannot fully recover original.
Lossless: compresses without losing data. Decompressed file is identical to original.