You are working as an assistant at the weather bureau during the holidays - NSC Computer Application Technology - Question 10 - 2019 - Paper 2

A power surge can cause hardware damage, potentially affecting components such as the power supply, motherboard, and other internal parts.

Two environmentally friendly methods to dispose of a damaged computer include:

• Recycling the components through certified e-waste recycling programs that ensure safe processing.
• Re-use or donate working components such as RAM or hard drives to charities or schools.

The type of user that works with high-end hardware and software is a superuser or power user, who typically requires advanced computing resources for tasks such as software development or graphic design.

Two reasons for restricting physical access to the server room include:

• To prevent unauthorized access, thereby enhancing cybersecurity.
• To protect hardware from theft or vandalism, ensuring that the infrastructure remains secure.

The network administrator may disable unused USB ports to:

• Prevent unauthorized data transfer, thus reducing the risk of data theft.
• Minimize the risk of malware, as USB devices can be a common vector for viruses and malicious software.

Two benefits of grid computing for the weather bureau include:

• Enhanced processing power, as tasks can be distributed across multiple computers, speeding up analysis of large datasets.
• Increased reliability, since failure of one computer does not affect the overall system, thereby allowing continuous operation.

The term for the cause of the problem may be a bug. A suggested solution could be to reinstall the software or to roll back to a previous saved version where functionality was intact.

Two reasons include:

• Network bandwidth constraints, as automatic updates can consume significant bandwidth, affecting other operations.
• Disruption of ongoing tasks, since updates may require system restarts during active working hours.

Two reasons for making automatic backups include:

• Protection against data loss due to system failures or corruption, ensuring continuity.
• Time-saving convenience, as backups occur without manual intervention, reducing the burden on staff.

Two guidelines include:

• Ensure backups are stored at multiple locations to avoid single points of failure.
• Test backups regularly to confirm that restoration is possible and data integrity is maintained.

GPS (Global Positioning System) technology allows for obtaining accurate location data in photographs.

The term for the data embedded into a picture file that provides location information is metadata or geotagging.

The data type of the StationID field is Short Text and not Number because calculations will not be performed on it. Keeping it as Short Text allows for alphanumeric entries, preventing potential data format issues.

To show a list of the rainfall values in ascending order for each station, the steps include:

1. Group by StationName to categorize the data for each station.
2. Sort by Rainfall in ascending order to organize the rainfall data accordingly.