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Computer engineers continually push the capability and applicability of computers in every industry and every facet of modern life. COMPUTER ENGINEERING VOCAB Embedded Microcontroller - a small computer on an integrated circuit containing a processor, RAM, and programmable input/output peripherals. Microcontrollers are designed for embedded applications and are used in automatic products, such as car engine control systems, implantable medical devices, remote controls, office machines, appliances, power tools, toys, and more. VLSI chips - Very-Large-Scale Integration (VLSI) is the process of creating an integrated circuit by combining thousands of transistors into a single chip. Peripheral - a "device that is used to put information into or get information out of the computer.“ It can be input (mouse, keyboard), output (monitor, printer), or storage (hard drive). Operating Systems - (OS) is software that manages computer hardware and software. The OS is an essential component of the computer system. Application programs usually require an OS to function. Examples: Windows 8, 9, X Snow Leopard, X Mavericks, etc. COMPUTER ENGINEERING Computer engineering is a discipline that integrates several fields of electrical engineering and computer science to develop computer hardware and software. Usual tasks involving computer engineering include writing software for embedded microcontrollers, designing VLSI chips, circuit boards, and operating systems. In many institutions, computer engineering students are allowed to choose areas of in-depth study in their junior and senior year, because the full breadth of knowledge used in the design of computers is beyond the scope of an undergraduate degree. Other institutions may require engineering students to complete one year of General Engineering before declaring computer engineering as their main focus. Computer Software Engineer Computer software engineers develop, design, and test software. Some software engineers design, construct, and maintain computer programs for companies. Some set up networks such as "intranets" for companies. Others make or install new software or upgrade computer systems. They can also work in application design. This involves designing or coding new programs and applications to meet the needs of a business or individual. Computer software engineers can also work as freelancers and sell their software products to an enterprise or individual. Computer Hardware Engineer Most computer hardware engineers develop, design, and test various computer equipment. This can range from circuit boards and microprocessors to routers. Some update existing computer equipment to be more efficient and work with newer software. Most computer hardware engineers work in research laboratories and high-tech manufacturing firms. Some also work for the federal government. According to BLS, 95% of computer hardware engineers work in metropolitan areas. They generally work full-time. Approximately 25% of their work requires more than 40 hours a week. The median salary for employed qualified computer hardware engineers (2012) was $100,920 per year or $48.52 per hour. Computer hardware engineers held 83,300 jobs in 2012. Boosting Capability & Usability Computer engineers embed computers in other machines and systems, build networks to transfer data, and develop ways to make computers, faster, smaller, and more capable. Computer engineers are improving the ability of computers to "see" and "think." They are making computers more mobile, and even incorporating computers into fabrics, clothes, and building materials. The Body and the Mind Computer engineers are concerned with analyzing and solving computer-oriented problems. CPEs understand both the hardware and the software of computers. This enables them to choose the solution that is best, not just the one they know. Sometimes the answer to making a program more efficient is a change in the computer itself. Sometimes it's cheaper and faster to change the software than the hardware. The knowledge of both the "body" and the "mind" of a computer helps computer engineers work at the microscopic level and on a large, system-wide scale. Careers Computer engineering graduates typically have some of the highest starting salaries in engineering. Computer engineers have the option of moving into hardware or software positions, or blending the two. A FIELD OF ITS OWN Computer engineers use many of the principles and techniques of electrical engineering and many of computer science. Computer engineering, however, is more than a blend of two other fields. The major technical areas of Computer Engineering are: • • • • • • • Cyber Security Networking Design Automation Machine Intelligence Computer Software Biomedical Embedded Systems A desktop computer is a computer that is designed to stay in a single location. It may be a tower or an all-in-one machine, such as an iMac. Unlike laptops and other portable devices, desktop computers cannot be powered from an internal battery and therefore must remain connected to a wall outlet. Desktop Computer Computer hardware refers to the physical parts of a computer and related devices. Internal hardware devices include motherboards, hard drives, and RAM. External hardware devices include monitors, keyboards, mice, printers, and scanners. The internal hardware parts of a computer are often referred to as components, while external hardware devices are usually called peripherals. Together, they all fall under the category of computer hardware. Software, on the other hand, consists of the programs and applications that run on computers. Hardware A disk drive is a device that reads and/or writes data to a disk. The most common type of disk drive is a hard drive, but several other types of disk drives exist as well. Some examples include, floppy drives, and optical drives, which read optical media, such as CDs and DVDs. While there are multiple types of disk drives, they all work in a similar fashion. Each drive operates by spinning a disk and reading data from it using a small component called a drive head. Hard drives and removable disk drives use a magnetic head, while optical drives use a laser. CD and DVD burners include a high-powered laser that can imprint data onto discs. Disk Drive Media, in the computer world, refers to various types of data storage. For example, hard drives, CDs, DVDs, and USB drives are all different types of media. Optical media refers to discs that are read by a laser. This includes CDROMs, DVD-ROMs, and all the variations of the two formats -- CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, Blu-ray, and many others. Optical Media An expansion card is a printed circuit board that can be installed in computer to add functionality to it. For example, a user may add a new graphics card to his computer to give it more 3D graphics processing power. An audio engineer may add a professional sound card to his machine to increase the computer's audio input and output connections. Users that need more Firewire or USB ports can add Firewire or USB expansion cards, which provide additional connections. Expansion Card FireWire is an Input/Output interface developed by Apple. Its technical name is IEEE 1394. FireWire is considered a high-speed interface, and therefore can be used for connecting peripheral devices that require fast data transfer speeds. Examples include external hard drives, video cameras, and audio interfaces. While FireWire has never been as popular as USB, it has remained a popular choice for audio and video professionals. Since FireWire supports speeds up to 800 Mbps, it is faster than USB 2.0, which maxes out at 480 Mbps. Firewire The hard drive is what stores all your data. It houses the hard disk, where all your files and folders are physically located. The data is stored on a stack of disks that are mounted inside a solid encasement. These disks spin extremely fast (typically at either 5400 or 7200 RPM) so that data can be accessed immediately from anywhere on the drive. The data is stored on the hard drive magnetically, so it stays on the drive even after the power is turned off. This is an important distinction between the hard disk and RAM, which is reset when the computer's power is turned off. When you save data on your hard disk, the hard drive has to write thousands, if not millions, of ones and zeros to the hard disk. Hard Drive/Hard Disk Nearly all personal computers come with an internal hard drive. This drive stores the computer's operating system, programs, and other files. For most users, the internal hard drive provides enough disk space to store all the programs and files. However, if the internal hard drive becomes full or if the user wants to back up the data on the internal hard drive, and external hard drive may be useful. External Hard Drive Flash drives have many names — jump drives, thumb drives, pen drives, and USB keychain drives. Regardless of what you call them, they all refer to the same thing, which is a small data storage device that uses flash memory and has a built-in USB connection. Flash Drive Stands for "High-Definition Multimedia Interface." HDMI is a digital interface for transmitting audio and video data in a single cable. It is supported by most HDTVs and related components, such as DVD and Blu-ray players, cable boxes, and video game systems. While other types of Audio/Video connections require separate cables for audio and video data, HDMI cables carry the audio and video streams together, greatly eliminating cable clutter. HDMI Stands for "Video Graphics Array." It is the standard monitor or display interface used in most PCs. Therefore, if a monitor is VGA-compatible, it should work with most new computers. It has a display resolution of 640x480 pixels. VGA Stands for "Digital Video Interface”. The digital interface is used to connect a video source, such as a display controller to a display device, such as a computer monitor. It was developed with the intention of creating an industry standard for the transfer of digital video content. DVI Stands for "Liquid Crystal Display." LCDs are super-thin displays that are used in laptop computer screens and flat panel monitors. Smaller LCDs are used in handheld TVs, PDAs, and portable video game devices. The image on an LCD screen is created by sandwiching an electrically reactive substance between two electrodes. The color of this substance can be changed by increasing or reducing the electrical current. Since LCD screens are based on the principle of blocking light (rather than emitting it), they use up much less power than standard CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube) monitors. LCD LCD vs CRT Stands for "Light-Emitting Diode." A LED is an electronic device that emits light when an electrical current is passed through it. LEDs are commonly used for indicator lights (such as power on/off lights) on electronic devices. They also have several other applications, including electronic signs, clock displays, and flashlights. The energy efficient nature of LEDs allows them to produce brighter light than other types of bulbs while using less energy. For this reason, traditional flat screen LCD displays have started to be replaced by LED displays, which use LEDs for the backlight. LED TVs and computer monitors are typically brighter and thinner than their LCD counterparts. LED The Northbridge is a chip inside a computer that connects the CPU to other primary components in the system. These components include RAM, the frontside bus (FSB), PCI cards, and the AGP card. The Northbridge also connects to the Southbridge, which controls the remaining components of the computer. While the CPU is the main processor inside the computer, the Northbridge is the primary controller. It acts like a traffic cop directing data to and from the CPU. Northbridge The Southbridge is a chip that connects the Northbridge to other components inside the computer, including hard drives, network connections, USB and Firewire devices, the system clock, and standard PCI cards. The Southbridge sends and receives data from the CPU through the Northbridge chip, which is connected directly to the computer's processor. Since the Southbridge is not connected directly to the CPU, it does not have to run as fast as the Northbridge chip. However, it processes data from more components, so it must be able to multitask well. Southbridge Stands for "Basic Input/Output System." Most people don't need to ever mess with the BIOS on a computer, but it can be helpful to know what it is. The BIOS is a program pre-installed on Windows-based computers (not on Macs) that the computer uses to start up. The CPU accesses the BIOS even before the operating system is loaded. The BIOS then checks all your hardware connections and locates all your devices. If everything is GOOD, the BIOS loads the operating system into the computer's memory and finishes the boot-up process. Since the BIOS manages the hard drives, it can't be in one, and since it is available before the computer boots up, it can't live in the RAM. So where can this BIOS be found? It is actually located in the ROM (Read-Only Memory) of the computer. More specifically, it resides in an non-erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) chip. So, as soon as you turn your computer on, the CPU accesses the EPROM and gives control to the BIOS. BIOS A power supply is a hardware component that supplies power to an electrical device. It receives power from an electrical outlet and converts the current from AC (alternating current) to DC (direct current), which is what the computer requires. It also regulates the voltage to an adequate amount, which allows the computer to run smoothly without overheating. The power supply is an important part of any computer and must function correctly for the rest of the components to work. Power Supply Let’s see how many internal parts of a desktop computer we can identify as a class!