COMPUTER CONCEPTS FOR BEGINNERS

How many uses of computers can you think of?  They proliferate our everyday lives and permeate almost all aspects of society in the United States.  They are used for work, entertainment, medicine, traffic enforcement, stock exchanges, education, navigation, sports, banking...ad infinitum.

What is a computer?  It is an electronic machine that follows instructions, gets data from an input device, directs processing of the data and directs information to an output device.  To do this successfully requires a variety of hardware and software.

Select a link at the left to learn about some basic hardware a computer might use.

What happens when input is received by a computer system?  What hardware might be involved and where does the input go?  Computer systems have a SYSTEM UNIT which includes one or more processing chips such as an Intel Pentium 4, an Intel Celeron, or an AMD Athlon among others.  It also includes drive bays or spaces for hard, floppy, and CD drives as well as slots or spaces for electronic cards such as video cards, sound cards, modem cards, etc.  In addition, the system unit houses a power supply and a fan which keeps the system from overheating. 

 The processor is a very fast calculator on a chip, which can do arithmetic operations and comparison operations.  While it does not seem possible that the graphics and windows we see when using a computer, word processing and game software we use,  are the result of only these two operations, it is indeed true.  The processor is referred to as the CPU or central processing unit. 

  Pentium® 4 

AMD Athlon™

 Celeron®

CHIPS

A CHIP?  A chip is VERY tiny piece of silicon containing transistors and buslines like those pictured above on the chips.  Bus lines are the electronic pathways along which data, instructions and information travel on the chip. Chips are mounted on or inserted into the motherboard which contains many bus lines as well.                                                                     

Motherboard

The system also includes MEMORY chips as well, known as RAM or random access memory.  This is the temporary storage area for data, instructions and information waiting to be used by the processor chip or other devices.

Another type of chip is the BIOS chip or the Basic Input and Output System chip.  This chip contain information about the type of input and output devices the computer can use such as the maximum size of  the hard drive that the system can accommodate.  It actually contains permanently stored software (instructions), which perform the power-on test when a computer is turned on and load the basics of the operating system which then takes over control of the computer.

from computer.howstuffworks.com

A good online tutorial on processors and chips can be found at computer.howstuffworks.com and at the Gateway Tutorial   Servic

An input device is a device which provides the computer with data, which it then uses to process and give out information.  Input can be auditory (microphone), visual (scanners, smart card readers), and tactile (pressure sensitive pens, touch pads, touch screens, keyboard, mouse, trackball).

  

mouse        keyboard & trackball             

scanner touchpad

Audio input is any data entered into the computer via sounds.  Sounds can be entered into a computer via a microphone or other devices such as electrical piano keyboards and digital music devices.  These devices connect to the

computer via the sound card or special MIDI card.  They allow you to change the speed of sounds, add sounds, and rearrange sounds as well.

USB Microphone Plug

One of today's common video input devices is the digital camera and digital VHS recorder.  Images instead of being stored on regular film are stored in the camera's PC card ( memory card ), floppy disk, flash card, memory stick, CD (a mini) or  microdrive.The more expensive the camera, the more storage.  Images can be seen and edited while still in the camera or downloaded to a computer for work in PhotoShop, for example.  Cameras can be attached to computers by means of USB or serial ports or even the parallel port which use special reading devices. 

                                 

Digital Camera

An output device is a device which the computer uses to "put out" or display information whether it be visual (a printer, monitor, or plotter), auditory (speakers), or even tactile (pagers or beepers which vibrate).  It is possible that taste and smells may come from computers in the future.    

    Monitor        Printer 

A monitor is a display device that consists of a screen housed in a plastic or metal case. The quality of the display depends on a monitor's resolution, dot pitch, and refresh rate. Resolution, or sharpness, is related to the number of pixels a monitor can display. Dot pitch, which is a measure of image clarity, is the distance between each pixel. Refresh rate is the speed with which a monitor redraws images on the screen. Refresh rate should be fast enough to maintain a constant, flicker-free image. A video card converts digital output into an analog video signal that is sent through a cable to the monitor. How the picture is produced is determined by the display device. Several standards define resolution, the number of colors, and other monitor properties. Today, most monitors and video cards support the super video graphics array (SVGA) standard.

Printers produce printed information, called hardcopy. Generally, printers are grouped into two categories: impact and non-impact. An impact printer forms characters and graphics by striking a mechanism against an inked ribbon that physically contacts the paper. A dot-matrix printer is an impact printer that prints images when tiny wire pins on a print head mechanism strike an inked ribbon. A line printer is a high-speed impact printer that prints an entire line at one time. A non-impact printer creates characters and graphics without actually striking the paper. An ink-jet printer is a high-speed, high-quality non-impact printer that sprays drops of ink onto a piece of paper. A laser printer is a non-impact printer that operates in a manner similar to a copy machine. A thermal printer generates images by pushing electrically heated pins against heat-sensitive paper. A printer capable of Internet printing receives print instructions from an Internet service, allowing it to print documents from desktop and wireless devices. Other types of printers include photo printers, label printers, portable printers, and plotters.

 

   Speakers 

Plotter

 Pager

 Two commonly used audio output devices are speakers and headsets. Most personal computers have an internal speaker that outputs low-quality sound. Many users add high-quality stereo speakers or purchase personal computers with larger speakers built into the sides of the monitor. A woofer can be added to boost low bass sounds. A headset plugged into a port on the sound card or a speaker allows only the user to hear sound from the computer.Another device, called a modem, also serves to both input and output data.  A modem is a communication device allowing data and information to travel along telephone lines, across special lines called DSL lines, across cable lines and even through the air (known as wireless) to other computers and devices.  Modems can be found inside the system unit or outside connected to a port on the system unit.  Wireless modems are not physically connected at all.

Examples of US Robotics Company Modems

Another hardware term to know is port.  Computer systems  have ports into which the input and output devices are plugged.  See examples below.  Ports must be compatible with plugs or adaptors must be used.

So what is all the fuss about an 80 Gigabyte ( 80 million characters) hard disk drive?  Not too long ago a hard disk drive could only store 300 million characters.  Now they store upwards of 80 million characters.  Hard disks, floppy disks, CD's (compact disks) of various sorts, zip disks, and DVD's (digital video disks) are all storage devices and serve to both input data to and output information from a computer system.  They may be found inside the system box or external, plugging into a port at the back or side of the unit.  Try not to confuse a storage device with the computer system memory (RAM or ROM)  This issue has become a bit clouded. Memory cards for digital devices such as digital cameras are actually storage devices.  However, the RAM

internal to a computer system is temporary while the storage devices keep data, instructions, and information permanently - until a user deletes them. 

**USB Port **PS2 Port **AT Port**Parallel Port

FireWire External Hard Drive Western Digital  

WD C

aviar® Internal Hard Drive

True/FalseIndicate whether the sentence or statement is true or false. 

1. 

A monitor, which looks like a television, produces text and graphics on a physical medium such as paper or transparency film. 

2. 

Two main components of the motherboard are the central processing unit and memory. 

3. 

Storage differs from memory in that it holds items only temporarily while the processor interprets and executes them. 

4. 

A hard disk provides much less storage capacity than a floppy disk. 

5. 

A variation of the standard CD-ROM is the rewriteable CD, or CD-RW. 

6. 

The operating system contains instructions that allow application software to be run. 

Multiple ChoiceIdentify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. 

7. 

Computer hardware includes all of the following except __________.a. input and output devices c. storage and communications

devicesb. a system unit d. application programs

 

8. 

All of the following are commonly used output devices except __________.a. a keyboard c. a monitorb. a printer d. speakers 

9. 

The circuitry in the system unit usually is part of or is connected to a circuit board called the __________.a. billboard c. motherboardb. soundboard d. snowboard 

10. 

A(n) __________ is an electronic device that contains many microscopic pathways that carry electrical current.a. icon c. kioskb. pointer d. chip 

11. 

__________ holds data, instructions, and information for future use.a. Storage c. Inputb. Memory d. Output 

12. 

A modem is a(n) __________.a. small, handheld input device that contains at least one buttonb. communications device that enables computers to communicate via

telephone linesc. storage device that stores data using microscopic pits created by laser

lightd. output device that looks like a television screen and displays text or

graphics 

13. 

On a personal computer, all of the processor’s functions typically reside on a single chip, often called a __________.a. megaprocessor c. maxiprocessorb. miniprocessor d. microprocessor 

CompletionComplete each sentence or statement. 

14. 

_________________________ is the electric, electronic, and mechanical equipment that makes up a computer. 

 

15. 

_________________________ is the series of instructions that tells the computer hardware how to perform tasks. 

 

16. 

_________________________ is any data or instructions entered into a computer. 

 

17. 

_________________________ is data that a computer has processed into information. 

  

 

18. 

A(n) _________________________, such as the scanner, keyboard, microphone, mouse, PC camera, and digital camera in the accompanying figure, is any hardware component that allows a user to enter data and instructions into a computer. 

 

19. 

In the accompanying figure, the _________________________ is a box-like case made from metal or plastic that protects the internal electronic components of the computer from damage. 

 

20. 

The _________________________ is the electronic device that interprets and carries out the basic instructions that operate a computer. 

 

21. 

_________________________ is a temporary holding place for data and instructions. 

 

22. 

A computer _________________________, or carries out, the instructions in a program by first placing, or loading, the instructions into the memory of the computer. 

 

23. 

Power users typically work with _________________________, in which they combine text, graphics, sound, video, and other media elements into one application.

True/FalseIndicate whether the sentence or statement is true or false. 

F

1. 

A monitor, which looks like a television, produces text and graphics on a physical medium such as paper or transparency film.

ANSWER: F 

T

2. 

Two main components of the motherboard are the central processing unit and memory.

ANSWER: T 

F

3. 

Storage differs from memory in that it holds items only temporarily while the processor interprets and executes them.

ANSWER: F 

F

4. 

A hard disk provides much less storage capacity than a floppy disk.

ANSWER: F 

T

5. 

A variation of the standard CD-ROM is the rewriteable CD, or CD-RW.

ANSWER: T 

T

6. 

The operating system contains instructions that allow application software to be run.

ANSWER: T 

Multiple ChoiceIdentify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. 

D

7. 

Computer hardware includes all of the following except __________.a. input and output devices c. storage and communications

devicesb. a system unit d. application programs

ANSWER: D 

A

8. 

All of the following are commonly used output devices except __________.a. a keyboard c. a monitorb. a printer d. speakers

ANSWER: A 

C

9. 

The circuitry in the system unit usually is part of or is connected to a circuit board called the __________.a. billboard c. motherboardb. soundboard d. snowboard

ANSWER: C 

D

10. 

A(n) __________ is an electronic device that contains many microscopic pathways that carry electrical current.a. icon c. kioskb. pointer d. chip

ANSWER: D 

A

11. 

__________ holds data, instructions, and information for future use.a. Storage c. Inputb. Memory d. Output

ANSWER: A 

B

12. 

A modem is a(n) __________.a. small, handheld input device that contains at least one buttonb. communications device that enables computers to communicate via

telephone linesc. storage device that stores data using microscopic pits created by laser

lightd. output device that looks like a television screen and displays text or

graphics

ANSWER: B 

D

13. 

On a personal computer, all of the processor’s functions typically reside on a single chip, often called a __________.a. megaprocessor c. maxiprocessorb. miniprocessor d. microprocessor

ANSWER: D

 

CompletionComplete each sentence or statement. 

14. 

_________________________ is the electric, electronic, and mechanical equipment that makes up a computer.

RESPONSE: HardwareANSWER:  Hardware 

15. 

_________________________ is the series of instructions that tells the computer hardware how to perform tasks.

RESPONSE: SoftwareANSWER:  Software 

16. 

_________________________ is any data or instructions entered into a computer.

RESPONSE: inputANSWER:  Input 

17. 

_________________________ is data that a computer has processed into information.

RESPONSE: outputANSWER:  Output 

 

18. 

A(n) _________________________, such as the scanner, keyboard, microphone, mouse, PC camera, and digital camera in the accompanying figure, is any hardware component that allows a user to enter data and instructions into a computer.

RESPONSE: Input DeviceANSWER:  input device 

19. 

In the accompanying figure, the _________________________ is a box-like case made from metal or plastic that protects the internal electronic components of the computer from damage.

RESPONSE: System Cabinet or System UnitANSWER:  system unit or

chassis 

20. 

The _________________________ is the electronic device that interprets and carries out the basic instructions that operate a computer.

RESPONSE: CPU OR Central Processing UnitANSWER:  central processing unit (CPU) or

central processing unit orCPU orprocessor

 

21. 

_________________________ is a temporary holding place for data and instructions.

RESPONSE: RAM ANSWER:  Memory 

22. 

A computer _________________________, or carries out, the instructions in a program by first placing, or loading, the instructions into the memory of the computer.

RESPONSE: ANSWER:  executes 

23. 

Power users typically work with _________________________, in which they combine text, graphics, sound, video, and other media elements into one application.

RESPONSE: MultimediaANSWER:  multimediaWhat is a Computer?

Computers are not very intelligent devices, but they handle instructions flawlessly and fast. They must follow explicit directions from both the user and computer programmer. Computers are really nothing more than a very powerful calculator with some great accessories. Applications like word processing and games are just a very complex math problem.

Software and Hardware

If you use a player piano as an analogy, the piano can be thought of as the hardware and the roll of music as the software.

The software a series of very simple computer instructions carefully organized to complete complex tasks. These instructions are written in programming languages (like BASIC,

PASCAL, C...) to help simplify the development of applications.

The hardware is what sits on your desk and executes the software instructions. The player piano is useless unless the roll of music has been written correctly.

Hardware Components

Input Devices -- "How to tell it what to do"

- A keyboard and mouse are the standard way to interact with the computer. Other devices include joysticks and game pads used primarly for games.

Output Devices -- "How it shows you what it is doing"

- The monitor (the screen) is how the computer sends information back to you, whether it be surfing the web or writing a memo. A printer is also an output device.

Storage Devices -- "How it saves data and programs"

- Hard disk drives are an internal, higher capacity drive which also stores the operating system which runs when you power on the computer.

- "Floppy" disk drives allow you to save work on small disks and take the data with you.

Memory -- "How the processor stores and uses immediate data"

- When you use a program, the computer loads a portion of the program from the hard drive to the much faster memory (RAM). When you "save" your work or quit the program, the data gets written back to the hard drive.

Microprocessors -- "The brain of the computer"

- PCs primarily use microprocessors (sometimes called the chip) manufactured by Intel. The older Intel versions include the 386, 486 and now the Pentium line.- Macintoshes use PowerPC processors by Motorola.- Megahertz (MHz) is the internal processor speed in which computer instructions are performed. The MHz speed does not always indicate the power of the microprocessor. Newer processors can execute more instructions at the same or slower MHz. For example, an Intel 486 @100MHz is less powerful than a Pentium @75 MHz (but the MHz is "faster").

Hardware Accessories

Modems

- Modems allow you to communicate with other computers using a phone line. Modem speeds are in bits per second (14.4, 28.8 and 56 thousand bits per second are standard).

CD-ROM Drives

- A CD-ROM drive is a high capacity storage device which lets you read data from the disk, but not write data back. The speed of the drive (how fast the CD platter spins) is measured in multiples from the first generation drives. New drives are up to 24X (or 24 times the first drives), but while the CD spins faster, it is not really 24 times faster in actual output.

Printers

- There are different types of printers (laser, ink jet, dot matrix) with differing quality of output. They are measured in dpi (dots per inch) and ppm (pages per minute), the higher the better.

Scanners

- Scanners "digitize" printed material (like photos and graphics) and save it to a graphic file format (like .GIF or .JPG) for display on the computer.

Operating System Software

Operating system software provides a "user interface" for users to manage files, start programs, customize computer settings, and other tasks. The operating system also provides the fundamental core computer functionality for programmers.

Intel based PCs use Microsoft Windows version 3.1 (older) or Windows 95 as the operating system. Macintoshes use the Macintosh operating system.

Software Applications

Application software uses the operating system software and provides the real functionality of a computer. Applications include:

- Word Processing (MS Word, WordPerfect, Ami...)- Spreadsheets (Lotus 123, MS Excel...)- Database (DBase, Fox Pro, Oracle...)- Presentation (MS PowerPoint, Persuasion.. .)- Internet Browsers (Netscape Navigator, MS Internet Explorer)- Games