Computer Basics

1. Input: any information that enters the computer.

a. for example: a mouse, scanner, keyboard, voice recognition system.

2. Processing: the act of manipulating the data that are currently inside the computer to carry out a certain task.

3. Output: anything that exits the computer

a. devices: monitors, speakers, printers, scanners, and modems

4. Storage: act of retaining data or applications

a. can be stored on disks, CDs, zip drives, flash drives.

Types of Computers

1. Laptops

2. Desktops

3. Notebooks

4. PDAs=personal digital assistant

Parts of the computer-the physical pieces that can be seen or touched are called hardware

1. Microprocessor

3 parts of a microprocessor

a. Bandwidth: the amount of information that can sent over a connection at one time or how many bits can be processed in a single instruction

  1. Bits: are the smallest pieces of information on the computer
  2. 8 bits make up 1 byte
  3. A kilobyte is approximately 1,024 bytes
  4. A megabyte is approximately 1 million bytes
  5. A gigabyte consists of approximately 1 billion bytes
  6. A terabyte provide a huge amount of storage, approximately a trillion bytes
  1. Clock speed
  2. Megahertz (Mhz)-how clock speed is measured-one Mhz equals million cycles per second
  3. Instruction set

d. A microprocessor contains memory consisting of electronic and magnetic cells, each which contain information

-Two access memory is ROM read only memory and RAM random access memory

  1. ROM (read only memory) is internal memory that contains a portion of the operating system and computer language-main memory, not erased when the power is shut off
  2. RAM (random access memory) is an internal scratch pad for the computer-program instructions and the data that is currently being processed-erased when the power is shut off.

2. Monitor

3. Keyboard

4. Mouse

5. Printer

Inside the Computer

1. Motherboard: is the main circuit board for the computer-other devices can be attached

a. Disk drives: where information can be stored or accessed-holds 10mb to several gb of info.

b. Floppy disks or diskettes are normally used in the computer’s A drive

c. C-D ROM: allow storage of data on a CD

d. Software

e. Modems: short for modulator demodulator

i. data is transmitted via telephone lines and other media.

ii. can internal or external

f. Speakers and Microphones

Peripheral Devices

  1. Scanners
  2. Digital cameras
  3. Flash Drives
  4. Zip Drives

File Formats

  1. Jpg: joint photographic experts group
  2. Gif: graphics interchange format
  3. Doc: word processor
  4. Txt: a text file
  5. Rtf: rich text format
  6. Bmp: bit-mapped graphics-graphic image set in rows or columns

Computer networking

  1. LAN: a local area network-a small area
  2. MAN: a metropolitan area network-spans an area that doesn’t exceed a metropolitan area
  3. WAN: a wide area network-consists of two or more LANs or MANs-the largest network
  4. HAN: A home network
  5. CAN: a campus area network

The Internet: a global network that connects millions of computers

1. E-commerce allows us to shop on the Internet.

2. Each computer connected to the internet is called a host

3. Internet service providers

i. AT&T, Qwest, Centurylink, Comcast

4. URL: uniform resource locator

5. Domain name: identifies an IP address

i. Microsoft.com, or ama-assn.org

6. HTML: hypertext markup language-most internet sites use this language

7. Browsers: software applications that allow the user to locate and display we pages

a. Two common browsers

i. Microsoft Internet Explorer

ii. Mozilla Firefox

b. Cache: allows quick retrieval of previously viewed sites, because the computer remembers and saves the info on a hard drive.

c. Cookies are stored info about individual users like screen names and passwords