Transcript Introduction to Computers

Introduction to Computers
What is a computer?

An electronic device, operating under the
control of instructions stored in its own
memory unit, that can accept data,
manipulate the data according to specified
rules, produce information from the
processing, and store the results for future
use.
Devices that comprise a personal
computer.
Inside a computer
Information Processing Cycle—four
general operations
Input
 Processing
 Output
 Storage

What are the components of the
computer?
Input devices
 Central processing unit (CPU)
 Output devices
 Memory
 Storage devices

Input Devices
Keyboard
 Mouse
 Digital camera
 Scanner
 Microphone

Keyboards
Mouse Devices
Digital Cameras
Scanners
Microphones
Central Processing Unit
Made up of the control unit and
arithmetic/logic unit
 The brains of the CPU is the processor.
There are different brands and speeds

Pentium made by Intel
 Celeron made by Intel
 Athlon made by AMD


Memory

RAM—also called Random Access Memory
Processors & Memory
Data Representation
Byte—one character of data
 Kilobyte—one thousand bytes of data
 Megabyte—one million bytes
 Gigabyte—one billion bytes
 Terabyte—one trillion bytes
 Petabyte—one quadrillion bytes
 Exabyte—one quintillion bytes
 Zettabyte—one sextillion bytes
 Yottabyte—one septillion bytes
http://www.jimloy.com/math/billion.htm

Output Devices

Printers

Impact printers
 Dot

matrix printers
Nonimpact printers
 Ink
jet
 Laser



Color
B&W
Monitors
CRT’S
 LCD’S

STORAGE DEVICES

Floppy Disks

3.5-inch disks store 1.44M of data

Must be formatted



Hard Disks





Available as DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW
Can hold 4.7 GB of data
Zip Drives—high capacity floppy disk drive; has lost popularity


Available in a variety of formats—CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW
A typical CD holds about 650 MB of data
DVD’s


Spins at 5,400 – 7,200 rpm (revolutions per minute)
Can store anywhere between 10G – 250G+ of data
CD’s—Compact Discs


Tracks
sectors
Zip disks can hold from 100 MB – 250 MB of data
USB Flash Drive

Storage capacity between 32 MB – 4 GB
STORAGE DEVICES
Software—Can be categorized into
four types
System software
 Application software
 Educational software
 Entertainment software

System Software


Controls the operations of computer equipment
Operating System software tells the computer how
to:




OS is loaded into memory when the computer is
turned on


Load
Store
Execute
This process is called booting
Most OS’s use a Graphical User Interface (GUI)


Provides visual cues such as icons
Each icon represents an application
Application Software
Programs that tell a computer how to
produce information
 Commonly used applications

Word processing
 Spreadsheet
 Database
 Presentation
 Financial
 Email
 Taxing

Educational Software
Software that can be used for learning
purposes
 Examples include:

Jump Start Series
 Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing
 Reader Rabbit
 Encarta or World Book
 Math Blaster
 Rosetta Stone Spanish

Entertainment Software

Sports games










Madden NFL
MLB
The Sims
World of Warcraft
Rollercoaster Tycoon
Final Fantasy
Halo
Myst
Half Life
Barbie Fashion Show