Introduction to Computing Lecture Notes

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts related to computers and technology as discussed in the Introduction to Computing lecture.

Ubiquitous Computing

Also known as pervasive computing, refers to the integration of computing into everyday objects and environments.

Convergence

The integration of multiple functions and devices, such as televisions and smartphones, into single devices that provide various capabilities.

Black-box computation

The ability to perform operations using complex algorithms that users do not need to understand.

Input-Processing-Output-Storage Cycle (IPOS Cycle)

The basic operations of a computer where data is inputted, processed, outputted, and stored.

Operating System (OS)

Software that manages hardware and software resources on a computer.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

A branch of computer science dealing with the simulation of intelligent behavior in computers.

Cloud Computing

The practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data.

Byte

A unit of digital information equivalent to 8 bits.

Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

Technology that recognizes printed or handwritten text characters and converts it into editable text.

Digital Data Representation

The process of presenting data in a digital form that a computer can understand.

Multi-core Processors

CPUs that have multiple processing units (cores) to perform simultaneous tasks more efficiently.

Machine Language

The lowest-level programming language that is directly executed by a computer's CPU.

Augmented Reality

Technology that superimposes computer-generated images on a user's view of the real world.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

A technology that uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects.

System Clock

An electronic device that generates a clock signal, ensuring that all computer operations are synchronized.

Pipelining

A process that allows multiple instructions to be processed simultaneously within a CPU.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

Volatile memory that temporarily stores data currently being used by the computer.

Non-volatile Memory

Memory that retains data even when the power is turned off.

3D Scanners

Devices that capture the dimensions and shape of physical objects, creating three-dimensional digital models.

Kilobyte (KB)

A unit of data approximately equal to 1024 bytes.

Teraflops

A measure of a computer's speed, representing one trillion floating-point operations per second.

ASCII

A character encoding standard for electronic communication, representing text in computers.