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- New Perspectives on
- Essential Computer Concepts, 5th Edition
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- The components of a computer system
- The different types of computers
- Microcomputer hardware and its functions
- Data representation and the ASCII code
- Peripheral devices
- Hardware and software used to establish a network connection
- Internet, e-mail, and World Wide Web
- System software
- Popular application software
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- A computer is a device that:
- Accepts input
- Processes data
- Stores data
- Produces output
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- A Computer System is made up of:
- Hardware—the physical components
- Software—the programs or lists of instructions
- Peripherals—the additional components
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- Architecture or configuration is the design of the computer.
- As in, what does the computer consist of?
- Specification is the technical detail about each component.
- As in, how big is the monitor?
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- The hardware, software, and you work together to complete tasks.
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- The data you type into the computer is called input.
- The result of the computer processing your input is called output.
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- The categories of computers are:
- Personal or microcomputers
- Desktop
- Notebook or Laptop
- Hand-help or PDAs
- Mainframes
- Supercomputers
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- Personal computers are used for general computing tasks and fit the
needs of most users
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- Hand-held computers fit in the palm of your hand and run on batteries.
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- Mainframes are used by companies to provide centralized storage,
processing, and management for large amounts of data.
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- Supercomputers are the largest and fastest of computers, and can process
an enormous volume of data.
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- Computer hardware includes:
- Input devices
- Output devices
- Processing hardware
- Storage devices and media
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- Some input devices are:
- Keyboard
- Mouse
- Wireless pointer
- Touch pad
- Track ball
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- Output devices are:
- Monitors and Printers are common output devices.
- CRT monitors and LCD (or flat panel display) monitors are two types of
monitors.
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- Factors that influence a monitor’s quality are:
- Screen Size
- Resolution
- Dot Pitch
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- Multimedia devices are peripheral devices that include text, graphics,
sound, animation, and video.
- Speakers and sound cards are common multimedia output devices
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- The most important computer function is data processing.
- Processing hardware is used to process data.
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- Computers interpret every signal as “on” or “off.”
- 1 (“on”) and 0 (“off”) are referred to as bits.
- Eight bits is a bite. Each byte
represents a unique character.
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- Storage and memory capacity is the amount of data the storage device can
handle.
- Kilobyte (KB) is about one thousand bytes
- Megabyte (MB) is about one million bytes
- Gigabyte (GB) is about one billion bytes
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- The two most important components of personal computers hardware are the
microprocessor and memory.
- These two factors directly affect the computer’s price and performance.
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- The microprocessor is an integrated circuit or chip on the main circuit
board inside the computer.
- Its speed is determined by:
- Clock speed
- Word size
- Cache size
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- Computer memory is a set of storage locations of the main circuit board.
- There are four types of memory:
- Random access memory (RAM)
- Virtual memory
- Read-only memory
- Complementary metal oxide semiconductor memory (CMOS)
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- RAM is temporary memory that is constantly changing while the computer
is on.
- Virtual memory is extra memory that simulates RAM if more is needed.
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- Read-only memory (ROM) is the permanent storage location for a set of
instructions the computer uses.
- CMOS memory is semi-permanent information about where essential software
is stored.
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- A storage device receives data from RAM and writes it on a storage
medium. Later, it can be read and
sent back to RAM.
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- Data is stored as files.
- Executable files tell computers how to perform specific tasks.
- Data files are created by the user, usually with software.
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- Files are kept on storage devices.
- There are:
- Magnetic storage devices and
- Optical storage devices.
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- Some common magnetic storage devices are:
- Floppy disks
- Hard disk drives
- Tape drives
- Zip drives
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- Some common optical storage devices are:
- CD-ROM drives
- DVD drives
- CD-R drives
- CD-RW drives
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- CD-ROMs are for “read-only” access.
- CD-R drives allow you to record data on a CD-R disk.
- CD-RW drives allow you to write data on a CD-RW disk and access and
modify data.
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- Data Communications is the transmission of text, numeric, voice, or
video data from one computer to another.
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- The four essential components of data communications are:
- Sender
- Channel
- Receiver
- Protocols
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- A sender is the computer that originates the message.
- The message is sent over a channel, such as a telephone.
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- The receiver is the computer at the message’s destination.
- Protocols are the rules that establish the transfer of data between
sender and receiver.
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- The data bus is the communication between microprocessor, RAM, and the
peripherals.
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- An external peripheral device has a port or cable that connects it to
the computer.
- Each port connects to a controller card, which plugs into expansion
slots.
- The transmission protocol is handled by a device driver.
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- Microcomputers have several types of ports:
- Parallel
- Serial
- Small computer system interface (SCSI)
- Musical instrument digital interface (MIDI)
- Universal serial bus (USB)
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- A parallel port transmits data eight bits at a time, and is often used
to connect a nearby printer.
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- A serial port transmits data one bit at a time, and often connects a
mouse, keyboard, or modem.
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- A SCSI connection can allow many devices to use the same port, and are
popular on Macs and notebooks.
- MIDI cards are used to record and play back musical data.
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- USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports replace numerous connectors with one
plug and port combination. The
device you install must have a USB connector.
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- A network connects one computer to other computers and peripherals.
- In a local area network (LAN), computers and peripherals are close to
each other.
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- A client/server network is a network with a file server. A file server
acts as the central storage location.
- A network without a file server is a peer-to-peer network. All of the computers are equal.
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- Each computer that is part of the network must have a network interface
card and network software.
- Then it becomes a workstation.
- Any device connected to the network is called a node.
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- Telecommunications is communicating over a telephone. In the telecommunications process, the
modem converts digital signals to analog signals at the sending site and
a second modem converts them back at the receiving site.
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- The Internet is the world’s largest network.
- E-mail and the World Wide Web are two benefits of the Internet.
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- A hyperlink is a place on a Web page allowing you to connect to a
particular file.
- http://www.course.com/newperspectives
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- A Web browser is
- the communications software that allows you to navigate the WWW.
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- Software is the instructions and data that direct the computer to
accomplish the task. It can refer to a single program or a package.
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- System software helps the computer carry out it s basic operating tasks.
- Application software helps the user carry out a variety of tasks.
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- The four types of system software are:
- Operating systems
- Utilities
- Device drivers
- Programming languages
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- The operating system controls the I/O or input/output, the flow of data
from microprocessor to memory to peripherals.
- The operating system makes multitasking possible.
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- Some types of system software include:
- Virus protection software
- Utilities
- Device drivers
- Computer programming languages
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- Application software enables you to perform specific tasks. Application software includes:
- Document production software
- Spreadsheet software
- Database management software
- Graphics and presentation software
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- Document production software includes word processing, desktop
publishing, and Web authoring software that assist you in writing and
formatting documents.
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- It often has grammar and spell-checking, thesaurus, search and replace,
and template features.
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- With spreadsheet software, you can create formulas that perform
calculations. Spreadsheet
software creates worksheets with columns and rows. The intersection of a column and row
is a cell.
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- Database management software creates structured databases to contain
information.
- Graphics and presentation software allow you to create illustrations,
diagrams, and charts to be presented or transmitted. Most allow you to
include graphics.
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- Multimedia authoring software allows you to record digital sound files,
video files, and animations that can be included in presentations and
other documents.
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- Object linking and embedding (OLE) is the ability to use data from
another file, called the source.
- This integration between applications has become an important skill in
business.
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