IT 111 - Module 4

Introduction to Computing: Module 4

Input

Process

Output

Storage

The four major functions that a computer performs as a data processing device.

Bit

In the binary system, each 0 or 1 is called what? It is short form “binary digit”.

Byte

Bits are combined to represent letters, numbers, or special characters. A group of 8 bits is called a what? It represents one character, digit, or other value.

Semiconductors

Transistors are electrical switches built out of layers of a special type of material called?

Integrated Circuits (or chips)

These are tiny regions of semiconductor material that support a huge number of transistors.

Portable & Stationary

The two basic designs of computers

1. cell phones

2. tablets

3. laptops

The three main categories of portable computers

Cell Phones

They have the same components as any computer: a processor, memory and input and output devices.

It also requires their own operating system (OS) software and have their own application software.

▸ Internet access

▸ Personal information management (PIM) features

▸ Voice recording features

▸ The ability to play and organize music files

▸ GPS services

▸ Digital image and video capture

▸ Computing power to run programs like word processors and video-editing software

▸ Control other devices in smart home

Features of Smartphones

▸ Similar features of smartphones and tablets:

▸ Similar operating systems: Common operating systems, such as IOS, Android or Windows, operate on smartphones and tablets.

▸ Similar processor: The processing power of smartphones and tablets is often the same.

▸ Touch-screen interfaces: Smartphones and tablets are both equipped with touch-screen interfaces.

▸ Long battery life: Most tablets and smartphones run at least 10 hours on a single charge.

▸ Similar software applications: Most apps available for one device are available in a compatible version for the other type of device.

▸ Similar Internet connectivity: Both can offer cellular and wireless access to the Internet.

▸ Bluetooth: Most smartphones and tablets on the market today are Bluetooth-enabled, meaning they include a small Bluetooth chip that allows them to transfer data wirelessly to any other Bluetooth-enabled device.

Features of Tablets

A laptop (or notebook) computer

It is a portable computer that has a keyboard, monitor, and other devices integrated into a single compact case.

This was the first type of portable computer

▸ Power

▸ Screen size and resolution

▸ Style of keyboard

▸ Battery life

▸ Weight

▸ Number of devices

Choosing a Portable Device: Laptop of Notebook Computer

• 2-in-1 PCs

• Ultrabooks

• Chromebooks

Variations of laptops

2-in-1 PC

▪ A laptop computer that can convert into a tablet-like device.

▪ In laptop mode, there is a physical keyboard

▪ In tablet mode, you use an on-screen keyboard

• More expensive than a tablet

• More powerful CPU so they can function as a laptop.

• Microsoft Surface devices, the touch screen is detachable from the keyboard.

• Lenovo Yoga, there is a hinge so that the keyboard can be folded behind the screen.

Ultrabooks

• category of full-featured computers that focus on offering a very thin, lightweight computing solution.

• Apple MacBook Air and the Asus ZenBook

• Do not offer optical drives, so they can facilitate a very thin profile.

• Some do not even offer traditional USB ports, instead using the more compact USB-C connector so they are only 13mm at the thickest point.

• Most ultrabooks offer SSD drives and so have very fast response times on startup and restoring from a low power state.

• Weigh in at less than 3 pounds even though they feature the same operating systems and CPUs as heavier, larger laptops.

• They also include full-size keyboards and 13- to 15-inch screens.

Chromebook

• A special type of laptop that uses the Google Chrome OS and is designed to be connected tot the Internet always.

• Documents and apps are stored primarily in the clouds as opposed to locally.

• Chrome OS places less demand on computing hardware than a conventional OS (Windows and OS), it can run the Chrome browser much more efficiently.

Battery life

Weight

Number of devices

Guidelines in choosing portable device:

▸ easier to upgrade

▸ large screens are beneficial in many working environments

▸ miniaturization of components is usually costly

Advantages of a Desktop Computer

▸ mainframe

▸ supercomputer

▸ embedded computer

Other Types of Computer

Keyboard, Mouse, Trackpads, Joystick, Controllers

Input Devices:

Output Devices

It lets you send processed data out of your computer in the form of text, pictures (graphics), sounds (audio), or video. Let’s look at some popular output devices.

Liquid Crystal Display

What is the meaning of LCD?

Light-Emitting Diode

WHat is the meaning of LED?

Organic Light-Emitting Diode

What is the meaning of OLED?

Printer

It is another common output device which creates hard copies (copies you can touch) of text and graphics.

Inkjet and Laser

What are the two primary categories of printers common in the home and office?

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

What are the two types of wireless printers

Motherboard or system board

It is the main circuit board in the system unit.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

It is used to temporarily hold (1) software instructions and (2) data before and after it is processed by the CPU. It is volatile - the contents are lost when the power goes off or is turned off.

Read-Only Memory (ROM)

It holds all the instructions the device needs to start up when it’s powered on. The instructions stored in this are permanent.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

It is sometimes referred to as the “brains” of the computer because it controls all the functions performed by the computer’s other components and processes all the commands issued to it by software instructions.

Hertz (HZ)

A measurement of machine cycles per second. Processor speed is measured in units of this.

Hard drive

Is s your desktop’s or laptop’s primary device for permanent storage of software and documents. It is a nonvolatile storage device.

1. Internal drive bay

2. External drive bay

What are the two types of drive bays?

Cloud Storage

It refers to using a service that keeps your files on the Internet (in the “cloud”) rather than storing your files solely on a device.

▸ Thunderbolt ports

▸ universal serial bus (USB) port

▸ Ethernet port

▸ HDMI ports

Enumerate the Computer Ports