IS102 Computers and Application Software
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This presentation is an introduction to technology and covers how computers provide access to the digital world around us as well as how to become digitally literate.
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Digital literacy involves having current knowledge of computers, mobile devices, and the Internet. You may ask, what is a computer? A computer is an electronic device that reads a set of instructions stored in its own memory. These instructions tell the computer what to do by performing four basic functions: Input, Process, Outputand Store information.
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The first item we will explore is the computer hardware which is the physical aspect of the computer and the part that you can actually see and touch. There are four types of computers: Supercomputers, Mainframe computers, Minicomputers and microcomputers.
A popular category of computers is the personal computer or PC which is intended to be used by one person at a time. Most personal computers communicate with other computers and devices. There are four types of microcomputers:
•Adesktop computer is a personal computer designed to in a stationary location. Desktop computers are small enough to fit on top or alongside a desk.
•Laptop and tablets are another type of personal computer,often called mobile computers, designed to be carried from place to place. A laptop computer is portable, lightweight and fit in most briefcases as they are design for mobile use. The tablet PC was designed to accept input from touch or stylus.
•The handheld computer is the smallest personal computer. These systems typically combine pen input, writing recognition, personal organizational tools, and communications capabilities. A personal digital assistant or PDA is an example of a handheld computer.
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Another category of computers are the mobile and game devices which are small enough to be held in your hand. The screen size of mobile devices is between 3 and 5 inches and are often Internet capable which means that the devices can be often connected to the internet. Examples of mobile devices are smartphones, digital camera, portable media players and e-book readers. Game consoles are also considered mobile devices but these are designed for video games and connected to a television screen.
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The last part of the information system is known as data. Data is raw, unprocessed facts that once processed creates information. This information can be store in files such as document, database or presentation files.
Computers process data into information and many of our daily activities involved the use of information from a computer such as a receipt from an ATM machine or a cash register. A computer process the data using multiple components such as Input Devices, Processor, Memory, Output devices, Storage Devices, and Communication Devices.
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An input device is any hardware component that allows you to enter data, programs, commands, and user responses into a computer. Examples of input devices are pointing devices, and a stylus. A keyboard is an example of an Input Device and consists of keys that you press to enter data into a computer. A desktop computer has a keyboard with a typing area larger than a laptop keyboard or a mobile device keyboard which is often an on-screen keyboard.
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A pointing device allows you to interact and communicate with your computer such as a mouse, trackball, touch pad, screen, pointing stick, digital pen, or even a joystick. The pointer, which appears as an arrow on the screen, indicates the position of the pointing device.
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An Output device makes the information resulting from processing available for use. A common output device is a printer which produces printed content referred to as a hard copy or printout. Most printers produce a variety of printed output such as text and graphics printed in color or in black and white on different types of paper. Some printers are internet capable and support wireless printing. This means that computer or mobile device connects to the printer wirelessly.
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A display device is an output device that visually conveys text, graphics, and video information. A computer monitor is an example of this type of output device. On a desktop or laptop, the display is the monitor screen which sometimes response to touch commands.
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The electronic components inside a computer stores the instructions needed for receive, process, display and store information. Just like the memory in our brain, the computer memory can store a lot of information permanently or on a temporary basis. The temporary memory can be erased when the computer is turned off which is the reason why you need to save information often as it will be erased when the computer is abruptly shut off such as a power failure.
A storage device is used to store information in the computer memory and often function as input/output source. Drives, readers and writers are types of storage devices that accepts specific storage media to save information. A hard disk is an example of a storage device consisting of one or more circular platters used to store information.
Examples of storage media includes DVDs, USB flash drives or memory cards.Storage media can be portable and optical discs fall in this category. An optical disc consists of a flat, round disc made of metal, plastic, and lacquer.
Solid-State drives and cloud storage have emerged in recent years; becoming very popular today. A solid-state driveis a storage device that does not have moving parts like the hard disk and is more durable than other types of storage device. Cloud storage is service that provide storage over the internet instead of a storage media. The provider of cloud storage services may store multiple type of content and offer backup services; an advantage over storage media in case the original information is lost, damaged or stolen.
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Thelast hardware component is a communication device which enablesthe communication between computer systems across the world. The modem is the most widely used communication device. Modems modify telephone communications into a form that can be processed by a computer and also modify computer output into a form that can be transmitted across standard telephone lines. Other examples of communication devices include wireless access points and routers.
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Computer communication can be wired or wireless. A wired communication involves some form of telephone wiring, cable or fiber-optic to send communication signals. A wireless communication is the opposite which sends signals through the air making it more convenient. Most popular examples of wireless communication technology includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. You may have used wireless communication technology when connecting to chat rooms, email, instant messaging, voice mail, video conferencing and the Internet.
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A collection of computers and devices connected together to share resources is known as a network. In a network, one or more computers act as a server to control access to the network shared resources and the other computers act as a client to request information from the server. Typically, a server has more power, storage space and communication capabilities. Users in a network are often required to sign in to or log on to the network via a user name and password to gain access to the network shared resources.
You may connect to a network wirelessly via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth known as hotspots. Wi-Fi hot spots are available in public locations such as airports, shopping malls, airplanes, restaurants and many others. Bluetooth hot spots provide location-based services and are available on Bluetooth enabled devices within the coverage range.
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The computers connected in your home, your school or your job are examples of a network. A home network is usually small, connected using a router and the setup is very easy. You probably have a network setup at home if you have all your computers and devices connected in your house. A school or business network vary in size connecting computers across a local community, various cities or even countries around the world to facilitate communication and share information. The world’s largest computer network is the Internet. Some types of Networks are LAN - Local Area Network, MAN - Metropolitan Area Network, and WAN- Wide Area Network.
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Home and businesses around the world access the Internet thought an Internet Service Provider or ISP. When subscribing to an ISP, you can connect to the Internet through a computer or mobile device to access the most widely used Internet service: the World Wide Web. The web consist of a collection of electronic documents and each electronic document is called a web page. On a web page, you can find text, graphics, audio and video. A link on the screen or hyperlink allows users to access a web page.
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A web browser, a software that enables users to access to a web page, is necessary to navigate from one web page to another commonly known as surfing the web. Examples of web browsers are Firefox, Safari, Chrome or Internet Explorer. A URL or uniform resource locator or web address, and the hypertext transfer protocol are entered on the web browser address bar to display a specific web page or website. A website is a collection of web pages on specific topic. The primary reason for people to use the web is to search for information on a topic of interest.
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To perform a basic search for information on the web, it is necessary to use a search engine like Google. A search engine helps users locate the information related to the topic. Then, the search engine finds websites, web pages, images, videos, maps, news, documents and other information related to a specific topic.
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Today, we rely on computers for information but it is important that users protect their computers and mobile devices from viruses and malware which deliberately alters the operation of the computer. Some malware are harmless; temporarily freezing your computer, playing sounds or display messages. Others destroy or corrupt data, instructions, and information stored on the infected computer. You can detect if your computer has been attacked if you notice any unusual changes in the performance of your computer.
We share photos, videos, music and personal information publicly using social networks like Facebook which also means thata lot of information about us is stored in a computer somewhere. If your personal or confidential records were not protected properly, the privacy of individuals is violated and identities stolen. Protect yourself and your dependents from these criminals by being cautious when searching or exchanging information over the Internet. Do not share information that allows others to identify you and never disclose identification numbers, user names and passwords or any personal information.
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A new trend in information technology is green computing which involves electricity consumption and environmental waste reduction when using a computer. Some examples supporting green computing include recycling,energy efficient hardware and energy saving features.
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We learned a lot about the computer hardware. Now, let’s discuss the next part of an information system,the computer software which tells the computer what and how to perform a task. Computer software is also called a program and there are two software categories: system software and application software.
The system softwareconsists of a set ofprograms to control the operation of the computer andcoordinates all the activities of the computer’s hardware.It provides a means for users to communicate with the computer. The system software is also known as operating system or background software because the system software also helps the computer manage its own resources. An example of popular operating systems include Microsoft’s Windows, Apple’s Mac OS or Google’s Android.
On the other hand, Applications software consists of programs design to make help userswith personal tasks. To use application software, your computer must berunning an operating system.
An application software is usually known as end-user software or as an application or app.There are two major categories of application software: basic or general purpose applications and specialized applications.Examples of application software includes web browsers which enables users to access the Internet as we discussed earlier, word processing and presentation software. The terms desktop apps, mobile apps and web apps are often used to describe application software stored on a computer, mobile device or the web respectively. Some application software are available as both a web app and a mobile app.In this course, you will learn about four application software developed by Microsoft.
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People are the most important part of the information system. People have direct and indirect contact with computers and utilize computers for business, entertainment, education, medicine, etc.
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We are surrounded by various technologies. We are dependent on the computer hardware and software to complete tasks at home, at work or at school. We are computer users and generally we are classified into one of five user categories. However, a single user may fall into more than one category. These categories includes:
•Home users: described as a person who spends time using technology at home such as a parent or children.
•Home Office or Small Office users: describes as a self-employed person who work from home or an employee of a company with fewer than 50 employees. Small offices include local law practices,accounting offices, travel agencies, and florists.
•Mobile users: describe as any person who works with computers or mobile devices while away from a main office, home, or school. Examples of mobile users are sales representatives, real estate agents, insurance agents, meter readers, package delivery people, journalists, consultants, andstudents.
•Power users: described as users who require the capabilities of a powerful computer. Examples include engineers, scientists, architects, desktop publishers, and graphic artists.
•And an enterprise is describe as hundreds or thousands of employees or customers who work in or do business with offices across a region, the country, or the world.
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In this presentation, you were introduced to basic computer concepts, learned about computers and mobile devices and touch on the various methods for input, output, memory, and storage. We also discussed the Internet, web browsing, digital securityalong with various types ofprograms, applications, communications, and networks as well as the types of users.