BASICS OF COMPUTER

Marcelino S. Cerin III, Rhoel Anthony G. Torres, Johanna Mae Vasquez, Ellen Joy
Reyes, Christian Pena
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ........................................................................................................................i

GENERATIONS OF MODERN COMPUTER ..............................................................i

First Generation .............................................................................................. ii

Second Generation ......................................................................................... iii

Third Generation ............................................................................................ iii

Fourth Generation .......................................................................................... iv

Fifth Generation ............................................................................................. iv

DIGITAL REVOLUTION ............................................................................................ v

Phases of Digital Revolution .......................................................................... v

Data processing ............................................................................................ v

Network Computing ...................................................................................... vi

Cloud computing .......................................................................................... vi

Chapter 1 ALL ABOUT COMPUTER

What Is a Computer? ..................................................................................... 1

Data and Information .................................................................................... 1

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPUTER ................................................................ 1

Categories of Computers ............................................................................... 3

Personal Computers .............................................................................. 3

Desktop Computer ................................................................................ 4

 Mobile Computers and Mobile Devices................................................ 4

Notebook Computers............................................................................ 4

Tablet PC’s ............................................................................................ 5

Mobile Devices ...................................................................................... 5

Smart Phones and PDAs ....................................................................... 6

E-Book Readers .................................................................................... 7

Handheld Computers ........................................................................... 7

Portable Media Players ........................................................................ 8

Digital Cameras .................................................................................... 8

Game Consoles...................................................................................... 8

Mainframe Computers.......................................................................... 9

Supercomputers.................................................................................... 9

Embedded Computers .......................................................................... 10

The basic function of a computer .................................................................. 10

COMPONENTS OF A COMPUTER ................................................................... 11

. HARDWARE .......................................................................................... 12

CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT ........................................................... 12

COMPUTER PERIPHERALS .............................................................. 13

INPUT DEVICES .................................................................... 13

 OUTPUT DEVICES ................................................................ 20

STORAGE DEVICES ............................................................... 23

Internal Component........................................................................ 30

Chapter 2 Computer Software ........................................................................................... 41

Application Software ..................................................................................... 41

Types of Application Software .............................................................. 42

Spreadsheets ................................................................................... 42

Data Management .......................................................................... 42

Word Processing ............................................................................. 42

Desktop Publishing.......................................................................... 43

Computer-Aided Design (CAD) ....................................................... 43

Multimedia ...................................................................................... 43

INTERNET BROWSER ....................................................................... 44

SYSTEM SOFTWARE ....................................................................................... 47

System Software ............................................................................. 47

System Support Programs .................................................. 47

Utility Software .......................................................................... 48

System Development Programs ......................................... 51

Compiler and Interpreter ........................................ 52

 System Management Programs.......................................... 53

OPERATING SYSTEM ............................................... 53

Tasks performed by an operating system............... 54

Operating System categories and characteristics...54

Interfaces ................................................................ 55

Types of an Operating System ................................ 55

DISK OPERATING SYSTEM ........................... 56

UNIX ............................................................ 57

OS/2 ............................................................ 58

Windows ..................................................... 58

Linux ............................................................ 68

Android ....................................................... 69

IOS ............................................................... 69

People ware ...................................................................................................70

Home User ............................................................................................ 70

Small Office/Home ...............................................................................71

Mobile User ........................................................................................... 71

Power User............................................................................................ 72
Enterprise User .....................................................................................
 INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING (CC100)

INTRODUCTION

Computers are everywhere: at work, at school, and at home. People use all types
and sizes of computers for a variety of reasons and in a range of places. While some
computers sit on top of a desk or on the floor, mobile computers and mobile devices are
small enough to carry. Mobile devices, such as many cell phones, often are classified as
computers.

Computers are a primary means of local and global communication for billions of
people. Consumers use computers to correspond with businesses, employees with other
employees and customers, students with classmates and teachers, and family members
and military personnel with friends and other family members. In addition to sending
simple notes, people use computers to share photos, drawings, documents, calendars,
journals, music, and videos. Through computers, society has instant access to information
from around the globe. Local and national news, weather reports, sports scores, airline
schedules, telephone directories, maps and directions, job listings, credit reports, and
countless forms of educational material always are accessible. From the computer, you
can make a telephone call, meet new friends, share opinions or life stories, book flights,
shop, fill prescriptions, file taxes, take a course, receive alerts, and automate your home.
At home or while on the road, people use computers to manage
schedules and contacts, listen to voice mail messages, balance checkbooks, pay bills,
transfer funds, and buy or sell stocks. Banks place ATMs (automated teller machines) all
over the world, so that customers can deposit and withdraw funds anywhere at any time.
At the grocery store, a computer tracks purchases, calculates the amount of money due,
and often generates coupons customized to buying patterns.

Modern man can count or calculate small numbers with ease, but his requirement
for data processing is so enormous that he needs a machine that can instantly process
the data captured from source and provide real time response. The early devices such as
abacus and slide rule cannot keep pace with his needs. The progress of man from pebbles
to PCs is a great march in technological history of mankind. Every human activity is
becoming increasingly information intensive. There is a growing need to collect, process,
store, retrieve and exercise control over huge quantity of data. Computer is the tool that
performs these operations with great speed and efficiency. But computers took long years
to reach the present level of sophistication .

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The history of computers dates back to the age when man started using tools for
computations. The whole history of computing can be divided into two periods based on
the technology used in computing devices such as mechanical era and electronic era.

GENERATIONS OF MODERN COMPUTER

For simplifying and providing a framework for discussion of the growth of

computer industry, it is customary to break it into generations of growth. Originally, the
term 'generation’ was used to distinguish between varying hardware technologies. But
since 1968, both hardware and software advances are considered in the generations
classification. These generations represent major advances in computing technology.

There are totally five computer generations known till date. Each generation has
been discussed in detail along with their time period and characteristics. Here,
approximate dates against each generation have been mentioned which are normally
accepted.

The following are the main five generations of computers:

First Generation
The period of first generation was 1946-1959. The computers of first generation
used vacuum tubes as the basic components for memory and circuitry for CPU (Central
Processing Unit). These tubes, like electric bulbs, produced a lot of heat and were prone
to frequent fusing of the installations, therefore, were very expensive and could be
afforded only by very large organizations. In this generation, mainly, batch processing
operating system were used. Punched cards, paper tape, and magnetic tape were used
as input and output devices. Computers in this generation used machine code as
programming language.

Some computers of this generation were:

• ENIAC – Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer
• EDVAC -Electronic Discrete Variable Computer
• UNIVAC - Universal Automatic Computer
• IBM-701
• IBM-650

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Second Generation
The period of second generation was 1959-1965. In this generation, transistors
were used that were cheaper, consumed less power, more compact in size, more reliable
and faster than the first generation machines made of vacuum tubes. In this generation,
magnetic cores were used as primary memory and magnetic tape and magnetic disks as
secondary storage devices. In this generation, assembly language and high-level
programming languages like FORTRAN and COBOL were used. The computers used batch
processing and multiprogramming operating system.

Some computers of this generation were:

• IBM 1620
• IBM 7094
• CDC 1604
• CDC 3600
• UNIVAC 1108

Third Generation
The period of third generation was 1965-1971. The computers of third
generation used integrated circuits (IC's) in place of transistors. A single IC has many
transistors, resistors and capacitors along with the associated circuitry. The IC was
invented by Jack Kilby. This development made computers smaller in size, reliable and
efficient. In this generation, remote processing, time-sharing, multi-programming
operating system were used. High-level languages (FORTRAN-II TO IV, COBOL, PASCAL
PL/1, BASIC, ALGOL-68 etc.) were used during this generation.

Some computers of this generation were:

• IBM-360 series
• Honeywell-6000 series
• PDP(Personal Data Processor)
• IBM-370/168
• TDC-316

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Fourth Generation
The period of fourth generation was 1971-1980. The computers of fourth
generation used Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits. VLSI circuits having about
5000 transistors and other circuit elements and their associated circuits on a single chip
made it possible to have microcomputers of fourth generation. Fourth generation
computers became more powerful, compact, reliable, and affordable. As a result, it gave
rise to personal computer (PC) revolution. In this generation, time sharing, real time,
networks and distributed operating system were used. All the high-level languages like C,
C++, DBASE etc. were used in this generation.

Some computers of this generation were:

• DEC 10
• STAR 1000
• PDP 11
• CRAY-1 (Super Computer)
• CRAY-X-MP (Super Computer)

Fifth Generation
The period of fifth generation is 1980-till date. In the fifth generation, the VLSI technology
became ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration) technology, resulting in the production of
microprocessor chips having ten million electronic components. This generation is based
on parallel processing hardware and AI (Artificial Intelligence) software. AI is an emerging
branch in computer science, which interprets means and method of making computers
think like human beings. All the high-level languages like C and C++, Java, .Net etc. are
used in this generation.

AlI includes:
• Robotics
• Neural networks
• Game Playing
• Development of expert systems to make decisions in real life situations.
• Natural language understanding and generation.

Some computer types of this generation are:

• Desktop
• Laptop

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 • Notebook
• Ultra Book
• Chrome Book

DIGITAL REVOLUTION
The digital revolution is an ongoing process of social, political and economic
change brought about by digital technology, such as computer and internet. Technology
driving the digital revolution is based on digital electronics and the idea that electrical
signals can represents data, such as numbers, words, pictures and music. Without digital
electronics, computers would be huge machine. Digitization is the process of converting
text, numbers, sound, photos and video into data that can be processed by digital devices.
The digital revolution has evolved through four phases, beginning with big, expensive,
standalone computers a progressing to today’s digital world in which small, inexpensive
digital devices are everywhere.

Phases of Digital Revolution

➢ Data processing is the computing model for the first phase of the digital
revolution. The concept of large computers performing tasks based on the input-
processing-output cycle represents were used from the 1940’s through 1970’s.
Example: a batch of employee time cards is entered into a payroll computer
system; the payroll data is processed to calculate take-home pay, deductions, and
taxes; paychecks are output.

o EDP (Electronic Data Processing)

Is the processing of data by computer or any other machine and its

programs in an environment involving electronic communication. EDP
evolved from “DP” (data processing) a term that was created when most
computing input was physically put into the computer in the punched card
form or in ATM cards form and output as punched cards or paper reports.

➢ Personal Computing, the model for the second phase of the digital
revolution, is characterized by small, stand alone computers powered by
local software. Local software refers to any software that is installed on a
computer hard drive.

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During this phase of the digital revolution, personal computers were not
connected to networks, so they were essentially self-contained units that allowed
users to interact with installed software

➢ Network Computing, the third phase of the digital revolution materialized

as computers became networked and when the Internet was opened to
public used. A computer network is a group of computers linked together
to share data and resources.

As the third phase of the digital revolution unfolded, network technology became
consumer-friendly; allowing homeowners to connected multiple computers,
exchanges files, and most importantly, share an Internet connection. Internet is a
global computer originally developed as a military project, and was then handed
over to the National Science Foundation for Research and academic use.

When historians look back on the digital revolution, they are certain to identify
the Web as a major transformative influence. The Web (short for World Wide
Web) is a collection of linked documents, graphics, and sounds that can be
accessed over the Internet.

➢ Cloud computing provides access to information, applications,

communications and storage over the Internet. Before cloud computing,
your computer typically ran software based locally. E-mail, documents,
photos, and music all resided on your computer’s hard disk or flash drive.
With cloud computing, you can use your browser to access word
processing applications that run from the Internet, instead of software that
you have installed on your local hard disk.

The expansion of cloud computing is due in part to convergence, a process

by which several technologies with distinct functionalities evolve to form
a single product. Your computer plays movies. Your cell phone has a
camera. Your clock has a radio. Convergence worked its magic on cell
phones, computers, portables media player, digital cameras, GPSs,
watches, and e-book readers. It is important to the digital revolution
because it created sophisticated mobile devices whose owners demand
access to the same services available from full-size computer on their
desks.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology
Cabanatuan City

Name: ______________________________ Score: __________

Yr. & Sec. ________________ Date: ___________

Activity # 1
STRICTLY NO ERASURE.

I. Identification: Identify the following. Write your answer on the space

provided before each number. (10 pts.)

______________________1. It is an ongoing process of social, political and economic

change brought about by digital technology, such as computer and internet.

______________________2.The inventor of ICs.

______________________3. It is the basic component for memory and circuitry for CPU
in the first generation.

______________________4. It is a collection of linked documents, graphics, and sounds

that can be accessed over the Internet.

______________________5. It is a process by which several technologies with distinct

functionalities evolve to form a single product.

II. Enumerate the following: (10 pts.)

A. Phases of Digital Revolution

1.
2.
3.
4.

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B. Give at least 4 computers used in the first generation
5.
6.
7.
8.

C. Give at least 4 computers used in the third generation

9.
10
11.
12.

D. Give at least 3 computers used in the fourth generation

13.
14.
15.

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Chapter 1
ALL ABOUT COMPUTER
What Is a Computer?
Computer can be defined as an electronic device that performs rapid computations and
generates desired output for users based on input data and programs. Computer can
capture, store, retrieve and process data. The data may be numbers, characters, audio,
video, images etc. IT is an advanced electronic device that takes raw data as input from
the user and processes these data under the control of set of instructions (called program)
and gives the result (output) and saves output for the future use. It can process both
numerical and non-numerical (arithmetic and logical) calculations.
Computer allows users to store and process information quickly and automatically. It is a
programmable machine that allows user to store all sorts of information and then
‘process’ that information, or data, or carry out actions with the information, such as
calculating numbers or organizing words.

Data and Information

Computers process data into information. Data is a collection of unprocessed items,

which include text, numbers, images, audio, and video. Information conveys meaning and
is useful to people. Many daily activities either involve the use of or depend on
information from a computer. As shown in Figure 1-2, for example, computers process
several data items to print information in the form of a cash register receipt.

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPUTER

Computer is a versatile device. It can be designed to do any kind of activity provided all
data and instructions are made available to it in digital form. The important characteristics
of computer are:

1. Speed

Modern computers have incredible speed of processing. Computer speed is measured in

units of millisecond (one thousandth of a second), microsecond (one millionth of a
second), nanosecond (one billionth of a second), and picoseconds (one trillionth of a
second). Advanced computers, including recent microcomputers called super

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microcomputers, operate in nanoseconds and can carry out millions of instructions per
second (MIPS).

2. Accuracy

Computer can ensure consistently very high degree of accuracy in computations. It

processes data according to the sequence of instructions. Hence, if input data and
procedures are correct, the output will be consistently accurate.

3. Huge storage and fast retrieval

Computer has huge storage capability. For a personal computer, 128 MB RAM is almost a
standard today. The main memory can be upgraded further by inserting RAM chips that
are available in modules of 64 MB, 128 MB and so on. Cache memory is also available in
Pc. Cache memory is faster access memory device and hence it improves processor’s
performance.

Secondary or auxiliary storage devices are used for permanent storage. Modern
computers have enormous secondary storage capacity, e.g., a PC hard disk can store more
than 80 GB of data. Pen drives, DVDs, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, magnetic tapes etc. are other
secondary storage devices. A CD-ROM can store 650 MB and more of data on a single
disk. Huge storage and fast retrieval capability makes computer a very special tool for
data processing and communications.

4. Versatility

Though computers are basically designed to carry out only arithmetic operations, yet they
are capable of performing almost any task that has a series of finite logical steps

5. Fatigue-free

Computer is free from fatigue. It does not get tired of work and never loses concentration.
It can perform basic arithmetic operations with the same degree of speed and accuracy
for any extent of time continuously, with the same amount of efficiency as the first
transaction.

6. Programmable

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Computer can be programmed to function automatically and this differentiates it from
any other calculating device. It functions as programmed for any stretch of time until the
condition to terminate is satisfied.

7. Networking Capability

Computers can be interconnected into a network. Network in turn can be connected to

other networks. Networks extend the capability of computers. Networks provide the
basic infrastructure for electronic communications, electronic commerce, and online
trading and information services.

Categories of Computers

Industry experts typically classify computers in six categories: personal computers

(desktop), mobile computers and mobile devices, game consoles, mainframes,
supercomputers, and embedded computers. A computer’s size, speed, processing power,
and price determine the category it best fits. Due to rapidly changing technology,
however, the distinction among categories is not always clear-cut. This trend of
computers and devices with technologies that overlap, called convergence, leads to
computer manufacturers continually releasing newer models that include similar
functionality and features. For example, newer cell phones often include media player,
camera, and Web browsing capabilities. As devices converge, users need fewer devices
for the functionality that they require. When consumers replace outdated computers and
devices, they should dispose them properly.

• Personal Computers

A personal computer is a computer that can

perform all of its input, processing, output, and
storage activities by itself. A personal computer
contains a processor, memory, and one or more
input, output, and storage devices. Personal
computers also often contain a communications
device. The term, PC-compatible, refers to any
personal computer based on the original IBM
personal computer design. Companies such as
Dell, HP, and Toshiba sell PC-compatible computers. PC and PC-compatible computers
usually use a Windows operating system. Apple computers usually use a Macintosh

3
operating system (Mac OS). Two types of personal computers are desktop computers and
notebook computers.

Desktop Computer

A desktop computer is designed so that the

system unit, input devices, output devices,
and any other devices fit entirely on or under
a desk or table. In many models, the system
unit is a tall and narrow tower, which can sit
on the floor vertically — if desktop space is
limited. Some desktop computers function as
a server on a network. Others, such as a
gaming desktop computer and home theater
PC, target a specific audience. The gaming desktop computer offers high-quality audio,
video, and graphics with optimal performance for sophisticated single-user and
networked or Internet multiplayer games. A home theater PC (HTPC) combines the
features of a high-definition video/audio entertainment system with a desktop computer
that is designed to be connected to a television and includes a Blu-ray Disc, digital video
recorder, and digital cable television connectivity. These high-end computers cost more
than the basic desktop computer.

• Mobile Computers and Mobile Devices

A mobile computer is a personal computer you can carry from place to place. Similarly,
a mobile device is a computing device small enough to hold in your hand. The most
popular type of mobile computer is the notebook computer. The following sections
discuss the notebook computer and widely used mobile devices.

Notebook Computers

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 A notebook computer, also called a laptop
computer, is a portable, personal computer often
designed to fit on your lap. Notebook computers are
thin and lightweight, yet they can be as powerful as
the average desktop computer. A netbook, which is
a type of notebook computer, is smaller, lighter,
and often not as powerful as a traditional notebook
computer. Most netbooks cost less than traditional
notebook computers. An ultra-thin is another type
of notebook computer that is lightweight and
usually less than one-inch thick. Some notebook
computers have touch screens, allowing you to interact with the device by touching the
screen, usually with the tip of a finger.

On a typical notebook computer, the keyboard is on top of the system unit, and the
monitor attaches to the system unit with hinges. These computers weigh on average from
2.5 to more than 10 pounds (depending on configuration), which allows users to transport
the computers from place to place. Most notebook computers can operate on batteries
or a power supply or both.

Tablet PC’s

Resembling a letter-sized slate, the Tablet PC, or

tablet computer, is a special type of notebook
computer that you can interact with by touching
the screen with your finger or a digital pen. A
digital pen looks like a small ink pen but uses
pressure instead of ink. Users write or draw on a
Tablet PC by pressing a finger or digital pen on the
screen, and issue instructions by tapping on the
screen. One design of Tablet PC, called a
convertible tablet, has an attached keyboard.
Another design, which does not include a
keyboard, is called a slate tablet and provides
other means for typing. Some Tablet PCs also
support voice input so that users can speak into
the computer.

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Tablet PCs are useful especially for taking notes in lectures, at meetings, conferences, and
other forums where the standard notebook computer is not practical.

Mobile Devices

Mobile devices, which are small enough to carry in a pocket, usually do not have disk
drives. Instead, these devices store programs and data permanently on special memory
inside the system unit or on small storage media such as memory cards. You often can
connect a mobile device to a personal computer to exchange information between the
computer and the mobile device.

Some mobile devices are Internet-enabled, meaning, they can connect to the Internet
wirelessly. With an Internet-enabled device, users can chat; send e-mail and instant
messages, and access the Web. Because of their reduced size, the screens on mobile
devices are small, but usually are in color.
Popular types of mobile devices are smart phones and PDAs, e-book readers, handheld
computers, portable media players, and digital cameras.

Smart Phones and PDAs

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 Offering the convenience of one-handed
operation, a smart phone is an Internet-enabled
phone that usually also provides personal
information management functions such as a
calendar, an appointment book, an address book,
a calculator, and a notepad. In addition to basic
phone capabilities, a smart phone allows you to
send and receive e-mail messages and access the
Web — usually for an additional fee. Some smart
phones communicate wirelessly with other
devices or computers. Many also function as a
portable media player and include built-in digital
cameras so that you can share photos or videos
with others as soon as you capture the image.
Many smart phones also offer a variety of
application software such as word processing,
spreadsheet, and games, and the capability of
conducting live video conferences. Many smart
phones have keypads that contain both numbers
and letters so that you can use the same keypad to
dial phone numbers and enter messages.

A PDA (personal digital assistant), which often

looks like a smart phone, provides personal
information management functions such as a
calendar, an appointment book, an address book, a calculator, and a notepad. A PDA
differs from a smart phone in that it usually does not provide phone capabilities and may
not be Internet enabled, support voice input, have a built-in camera, or function as a
portable media player. As smart phones and PDAs continue a trend of convergence, it is
becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate between the two devices. This has led
some manufacturers to refer to PDAs and smart phones simply as handhelds.

7
E-Book Readers

An e-book reader (short for electronic book reader),

or e-reader, is a handheld device that is used
primarily for reading e-books. An e-book, or digital
book, is an electronic version of a printed book,
readable on computers and other digital devices. In
addition to books, users typically can purchase and
read other forms of digital media such as
newspapers and magazines. Most e-book readers
have a touch screen and are Internet-enabled.
These devices usually are smaller than tablet
computers but larger than smart phones.

Handheld Computers

A handheld computer, sometimes referred to as an

Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC), is a computer small enough to
fit in one hand. Many handheld computers
communicate wirelessly with other devices or
computers and also include a digital pen or stylus for
input. Some handheld computers have miniature or
specialized keyboards. Many handheld computers are
industry-specific and serve the needs of mobile
employees, such as meter readers and parcel delivery
people, whose jobs require them to move from place to
place.

Portable Media Players

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 A portable media player is a mobile device on which you can
store, organize, and play digital media. For example, you can
listen to music; watch videos, movies, and television shows; and
view photos on the device’s screen. With most, you download
the digital media from a computer to the portable media player
or to media that you insert in the device.

Some portable media players are Internet enabled so that you

can access Web sites and
send e-mail messages directly from the device. Many offer
personal information management functions such as a calendar
and address book, and include a variety of games and other application software.

Digital Cameras

A digital camera is a device that allows users to take

pictures and store the photographed images digitally,
instead of on traditional film. While many digital cameras
look like a traditional camera, some are built into smart
phones and other mobile devices. Although digital
cameras usually have some amount of internal storage to
hold images, most users store images on small storage
media such as memory cards.
Digital cameras typically allow users to review, and sometimes modify images while they
are in the camera. Some digital cameras connect to or communicate wirelessly with a
computer or printer, allowing users to print or view images directly from the printer.

• Game Consoles
A game console is a mobile computing device designed for
single-player or multiplayer video games. Standard game
consoles use a handheld controller(s) as an input device(s);
a television screen as an output device; and hard disks,
optical discs, and/or memory cards for storage. Weighing on
average between two and nine pounds, the compact size of
game consoles makes them easy to use at home, in the car,
in a hotel, or any location that has an electrical outlet. Three
popular models are Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Nintendo’s Wii
(pronounced as wee), and Sony’s PlayStation 3.

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A handheld game console is small enough to fit in one hand, making it more portable than
the standard game console. With the handheld game console, the controls screen, and
speakers are built into the device.

• Mainframe Computers
A mainframe is a large, expensive, powerful computer
that can handle hundreds or thousands of connected
users simultaneously. Mainframes store tremendous
amounts of data, instructions, and information. Most
major corporations use mainframes for business
activities. With mainframes, enterprises are able to
bill millions of customers, prepare payroll for
thousands of employees, and manage thousands of
items in inventory. One study reported that
mainframes process more than 83 percent of
transactions around the world.
Mainframes also can act as servers in a network
environment. Servers and other mainframes can access data and information from a
mainframe. People also can access programs on the mainframe using terminals or
personal computers.

• Supercomputers
A supercomputer is the fastest, most
powerful computer — and the most
expensive. The fastest supercomputers are
capable of processing more than one
quadrillion instructions in a single second.
With weights that exceed 100 tons, these
computers can store more than 20,000
times the data and information of an
average desktop computer. Applications
requiring complex, sophisticated
mathematical calculations use
supercomputers. Large-scale simulations and applications in medicine, aerospace,

10
automotive design, online banking, weather forecasting, nuclear energy research, and
petroleum exploration use supercomputer.

• Embedded Computers
An embedded computer is a special-purpose computer that functions as a component in
a larger product. Embedded computers are everywhere — at home, in your car, and at
work. The following list identifies a variety of everyday products that contain embedded
computers.

• Consumer Electronics: mobile and digital telephones, digital televisions, cameras,

video recorders, DVD players and recorders, answering machines.
• Home Automation Devices: thermostats, sprinkling systems, security monitoring
systems, appliances, lights.
• Automobiles: antilock brakes, engine control modules, airbag controller, cruise
control.
• Process Controllers and Robotics: remote monitoring systems, power monitors,
machine controllers, medical devices.
• Computer Devices and Office Machines: keyboards, printers, fax and copy
machines.

Because embedded computers are components in larger products, they usually are
small and have limited hardware. These computers perform various functions,
depending on the requirements of the product in which they reside. Embedded
computers in printers, for example, monitor the amount of paper in the tray; check
the ink or toner level, signal if a paper jam has occurred, and so on.

The basic function of a computer:

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

STORE

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 ✓ The computer accepts input. Computer input is whatever is entered or fed into a
computer system. Input can be supplied by a person (such as by using a keyboard)
or by another computer or device (such as a diskette or CD-ROM). Some examples
of input include the words and symbols in a document, numbers for a calculation,
and instructions for completing a process, pictures, and so on.

✓ The computer performs useful operations, manipulating the data in many ways.
This manipulation is called processing. Examples of processing include performing
calculations, sorting lists of words or numbers, modifying documents and pictures
according to user instructions, and drawing graphs. A computer processes data in
the CPU.
o Process: A systematic series of actions a computer uses to
manipulate data.

✓ The computer stores data. A computer must store data so that it is available for
processing. Most computers have more than one location for storing data (the
hard drive or C:\, and the floppy drive or A:\). The place where the computer
stores the data depends on how the data is being used. The computer put the data
in one place while it is waiting to be processed and another place when it is not
needed for immediate processing. The storage of data in the computer is called
‘online storage’ while the storage of data on computer tapes, diskettes or CD-
ROMs is called ‘offline storage’.

✓ The computer produces output. Computer output is information

that has been produced by a computer. Some examples of computer output
include reports, documents, music, graphs, and pictures. Output can be in several
different formats, such as paper, diskette, or on screen.

✓ A computer receives data as input, processes it, stores it and then

produces output.

COMPONENTS OF A COMPUTER

Computer System
All of the components of a computer system can be summarized with the simple
equations.

12
 COMPUTER SYSTEM = HARDWARE + SOFTWARE + USER

A computer system is made up of three major components:

Hardware, Software and Peopleware. The physical units of a computer system excluding
the third component), constitute its hardware. Hardware consists of mechanical,
electrical and electronic parts of the system. Sets of programmed instructions constitute
the software. Peopleware is the people element in the system.

COMPUTER SYSTEM
.

HARDWARE SOFTWARE PEOPLEWARE

Computer System

• HARDWARE

A computer, like human brain, receives data and instructions, stores them and
processes the data according to the instructions given to it. It receives data from
input devices, stores them in memory and displays them through an output
device. The physical devices that make up a computer are referred to as
hardware. Computer hardware can be broadly' classified into two: CPU and
peripherals. The CPU is perhaps the most important part of a computer. The other
hardware pieces like input devices, output devices, etc. are called peripherals.

1. Central Processing Unit (CPU)

CPU is the brain of a computer. It has an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) to perform
arithmetical and logical operations. It has a control unit to co-ordinate the
activities of the CPU and main memory for primary storage.

HARDWARE

13
 CPU PERIPHERALS

CU ALU MAIN STORAGE

INPUT DEVICE OUTPUT DEVICE SECONDARY

STORAGE

2. COMPUTER PERIPHERALS

The input/output and storage devices surround the central processing unit (CPU).
Hence, they are called the peripheral devices. They are usually the
electromechanical devices connected to the CPU that exchange data and
programs with the CPU. The users interact with the CPU through these devices.
Thus, they act as interface between users and the CPU. The interaction is difficult
because of the language barrier. The CPU uses machine language, which is difficult
for most users. The input- output (I/0) devices help in taking the translated version
of the input to the machine's memory and similarly, to render the processed
symbols into the language of the user. During the first two decades of commercial
use of computers, 110 operations were performed mostly by punching holes on
cards and paper tape with a special device. More direct and convenient I/0 devices
have been developed since then. The peripherals connected directly to the CPU
are called online devices and devices not directly connected are called offline
devices.

These peripherals can be further divided into input devices, output devices and
secondary storage devices.

▪ INPUT DEVICES

Input devices allow the user to input data and instructions to the computer. There
are a variety of input devices. Direct entry of data generally requires a keyboard.
Any resource required for the functioning of a process, in the course of which it
will be transformed into one or more outputs. It may also use other devices for
direct data entry like a touch sensitive screen, voice recognition system and
scanners.

o Keyboard

14
Keyboard is the most popular input device for direct entry of data and
instructions into computer. The standard QWERTY keyboard is used for
computer. The enhanced keyboard has 101 keys.

1875, Christopher Latham Sholes invented the first practical typewriter

and the QWERTY keyboard still in use today and he is also known as “The
Father of the typewriter”

The computer keyboard is very much like the electronic typewriter

keyboard. But it has additional keys. Computer keyboard has three types
of keys:

• Alphanumeric keys for typing character and numeric data

• Punctuation keys like comma, period, colon, semicolon, question mark
etc.
• Special keys like function keys, control keys, arrow keys, caps lock etc.

▪ Alt key – Short for Alternate, this key is like a second control key.

▪ Arrow Keys – Most keyboards have four arrow keys that enable
you to move the cursor (or insertion point) up, down, right, or left.
Used in conjunction with the Shift or Alt keys, the arrow keys can
move the cursor more than one position at a time, but this depends
on which program is running.

15
▪ Backspace key – Deletes the character just to the left of the cursor
(or insertion point) and moves the cursor to that position.

▪ Caps Lock Key – A toggle key that, when activated, causes all
alphabetic characters to be uppercase.

▪ Ctrl key – Short for Control, this key is used in conjunction with
other keys to produce control characters. The meaning of each
control character depends on which program is running.

▪ Delete Key – Sometimes labeled Del, deletes the character at the

current cursor position, or the selected object, but does not move
the cursor. For graphics-based applications, the Delete key deleted
the character to the right of the insertion point.

▪ Enter Key – Used to enter commands or to move the cursor to the

beginning of the next line. Sometimes labeled Return instead of
Enter.

▪ Esc Key – Short for Escape, this key is used to send special codes to
devices and to exit (or escape) from programs and tasks.

▪ Function Keys – Special keys labeled F1 to F12. These keys have

different meaning depending on which program is running.

16
o Mouse
A mouse is a small hand-held 'point and click'
device that is connected to the CPU through a
cable.
Douglas Engelbart invented mouse in 1963 at
Stanford Research Institute. Xerox Corporation's
Palo Alto Research Center enhanced its capabilities by adding analogue to
digital conversion. In the early 1970's. With the adoption of Graphical User
Interface technology, mouse became an essential input device for
computer later in the 1980's.

There are three types of mouse: mechanical, optomechanical and optical.

• Mechanical mouse has a trackball at its bottom. It can be rolled
across a flat and smooth surface to control the position of the
cursor on the screen. By pointing and clicking on icons and menu
options displayed on the screen, it is easy for the user to control

17
 the computer with a mouse. Mechanical sensors within the mouse
detect the direction the ball is rolling and move the screen pointer
accordingly.
• Optomechanical mouse is more or less the same as the mechanical
mouse, but it uses optical sensors to detect motion of the ball.
• Optical mouse uses a laser to detect the mouse movement. The
mouse requires to be moved along a special mat with a grid so that
the optical mechanism has a frame of reference. Optical mouse is
more expensive than the other two.

Common terms used with mouse directions/ actions:

• Point placing the cursor (arrow) on top of a screen object

by moving the mouse.

• Click pointing at an object and quickly clicking/pressing

the (left) mouse button; then letting go.

• Double Click pointing at an object and (left) clicking twice rapidly.

• Drag pointing at an object pressing and holding down the

mouse button; moving the mouse to “drag” the
object and releasing the button when the object is
in a new place.

• Select pulling down a menu by clicking on the menu name;

moving the pointer down to the command you want
and then release.

• Rollover Move the pointer over an object without clicking.

This allows “rollover text” if available, which
describes the function of the object or give
additional information, to appear.

18
 Most current models of the PC mouse have
left and right buttons. Different menus
become available if you “click” or “right-
click” on a file or pull-down menu. The user
has options to set which menu appears
with a left or right click, as well as the
appearance of the pointer on the screen,
the speed of scrolling, etc. The cursor
typically takes the shape of an arrow when
you use it to point and click, and an
hourglass to indicate a program is loading
or operating. The cursor returns to an
arrow when you can take the next step.
Again, the user has the option of resetting
the shape of the mouse pointer.

Mouse properties, including speed of action, type of movement and screen

appearance can be reset using:
▪ Start - Control Panel- Appearance and Personalization- Personalization and
selecting- Changing Mouse Pointer.

o Light Pen
Light pen consists of a stylus connected by a cable
to the computer terminal. When the stylus is
brought into contact with the screen, a dot appears
there on the screen. By moving the stylus on the
screen, lines and curves can be drawn on the screen
that can be stored and used as input.
o Trackball
Trackball was originally built into the keyboard. Running a
hand over the trackball made the cursor on the screen to
move. The cursor is used to make selection from a menu
displayed on the computer screen.

o Joystick

19
 Joystick is a small vertical stick attached to a trackball for
easier mechanical movements. It is used mainly in game
programs.

o Scanners
Scanners are direct-entry input devices. As the data entry is
automatic, the scanners ensure more accurate data entry.
These scanners include optical scanners and magnetic ink
character readers. The optical scanners use light for sensing
input and they include OCR, OMR and Barcode reader.

o Barcode Reader
Barcode is a set of small bars of varying thickness and
spacing printed on the packages of products, on the back
cover pages of books, tags etc. The barcode reader uses
an optical scanner to read product code and converts it
into electrical pulses. The device is connected to a
computer and the information read is passed to the
computer in digital form for automatic bill generation
and updating of files.

o Voice Recognition Systems

A special microphone is used to capture voice .input.

It converts the voice into electrical pulses and then
into digital signals for onward transmission to a
computer for processing. A voice recognition system
is provided with digital patterns of a limited
vocabulary of words and phrases.

o Digital Cameras

20
 Digital cameras are used to capture images and they can
record the images on reusable floppy disks. Images are
used with a digitizer for input to the computer. Once the
image input is stored in computer, the image can be
used in any application.

▪ OUTPUT DEVICES
Output device displays result of the computer processing for user. These are the
devices that allow information to be represented that is given out to the user, such
as a display screen or printer.

o Visual Display Unit or Monitor

Visual display units (VDUs) are television-like screens that provide the
user-interface in the form of display of text, numbers and images. The
VDUs may be monochrome or color. The support of monochrome or color
and clarity of display depend on the type of video monitor and the video
adapter installed in the microcomputer.

o Speaker and Audio Response Systems

Computer can produce verbal output where the output or response can be
standardized as replies to special requests for information. The unit
analyses the input and delivers the verbal reply by assembling the
responses from pre-recorded words and phrases.

o Printers

Printers are purely output devices. They produce hard copy output.
Computer printers vary widely in their technologies and capabilities. They
can be classified in a number of ways. First, they can be classified into three
broad groups: character printers, line printers and page printers. The
character printers print one character at a time. Dot matrix printer (DMP),
daisy wheel printer, thermal printer and inkjet printer are the various types
of character printers. Drum printer and chain printer are line printers.
Laser printer and magnetic printer are page printers.

21
They can also be classified into impact and non-impact printers based on
the basis of the printing mechanism. The impact printing technology uses
some mechanical pressure to produce images on paper. The impact
printers include dot matrix printer, daisy wheel printer and chain printer.
It is possible to take multiple copies of output with impact printers. Non-
impact printers do not use mechanical force to produce output on paper
and hence they can produce only single copy output.

• Dot Matrix Printer (DMP)

DMP prints one character at a time as

a set of dots produced by the pins on
the print head. It uses a nine or
twenty-four pin print head. The pins
or printing wires are aligned into the
shape of the character to be printed
before the print head strikes the
ribbon. The impact of the strike
produces character shapes on paper. The speed of DMP is
measured in character per second (CPS). A normal dot matrix
printer with nine or twenty-four pin print head can produce output
ranging from 50 to 600 characters per second. It produces lot of
noise when working.

• Inkjet Printer

Inkjet is a non-impact printer and is

quiet when working. It sprays ink
particles through its nozzle. On leaving
the nozzle, the tiny particles of ink get
electrically charged. Inkjet printers are
as cheap as dot matrix printers, but their
operating costs are far higher than those
of dot matrix printers. However, they
give much better quality than DMPs.
They are available in black and white
and color.

22
• Laser Printer

Laser printer is a high-end printer. It is more

expensive than inkjet printers and its operating
costs are also higher than inkjet printers. It uses
the same technology as that of Xerox copier
machines and it can produce both character
and graphic output. It gives the best quality
output.

• Drum Printer

It is a line printer. It has a drum that rotates at

high speed. A set of characters is embossed on
the drum. It prints one line of characters at a
time. The hammer for a particular character
position is activated when that character on
the drum passes under it to produce character
impression on paper.

• Magnetic Printer

In a magnetic printer, a drum coated with

magnetic material captures the image of the
page to be printed. These magnetic spots
attract dry ink particles, which are then
pressurized and transferred to paper to produce
output.

23
 • Graphic Plotters

Plotters are used for plotting graphs and designs

on paper. Architects and designers use plotters
to produce blueprints of their designs on paper.
It is a specialized output device for preparing
computer drawn charts and graphs. The most
popular type of plotter is the flat bed device. It
plots on paper (or other material) that is spread
on a flat bed.

▪ STORAGE DEVICES

1. Primary Memory (Main Memory)

Memory is used to store the information (programs and data) that the
computer is currently using. It is sometimes called main or primary memory.

Types of Memory:

o Random Access Memory (RAM) This means that any location in memory
may be accessed in the same amount of time as any other location.
Memory access means one of two things, either
the CPU is reading from a memory location or
the CPU is writing to a memory location. When
the CPU reads from a memory location, the
contents of the memory location are copied to
a CPU register. When the CPU writes to a
memory location, the CPU copies the contents
of a CPU register to the memory location,
overwriting the previous contents of the
location. The CPU cannot carry out any other
operations on memory locations.

It is a form of short term or volatile memory. Information stored in short

term storage is lost when the computer is switched off (or when power
fails e.g. if you pull out the power lead!). There is therefore a requirement
for permanent or long term storage which is also referred to as secondary
storage or auxiliary storage. This role is fulfilled by disk and tape storage.

24
It is also known as temporary holding area for data, application program
instructions, and the operating system. It is also known as a “Waiting
Room” for the computer’s processor. It holds raw data waiting to be
processed as well as the program instructions for processing that data.

RAM is of two types

• Static RAM (SRAM) The word static indicates that the memory retains its
contents as long as power is being supplied. However, data is lost when
the power gets down due to volatile nature. SRAM chips use a matrix of 6-
transistors and no capacitors. Transistors do not require power to prevent
leakage, so SRAM need not have to be refreshed on a regular basis .

Characteristic of the Static RAM

✓ It has long life
✓ There is no need to refresh
✓ Faster
✓ Used as cache memory
✓ Large size
✓ Expensive
✓ High power consumption

• Dynamic RAM (DRAM) DRAM, unlike SRAM, must be continually

refreshed in order to maintain the data. This is done by placing the
memory on a refresh circuit that rewrites the data several hundred times
per second. DRAM is used for most system memory because it is cheap
and small. All DRAMs are made up of memory cells which are composed of
one capacitor and one transistor.

Characteristics of the Dynamic RAM

✓ It has short data lifetime
✓ Need to be refreshed continuously
✓ Slower as compared to SRAM
✓ Used as RAM
✓ Lesser in size
✓ Less expensive
✓ Less power consumption

25
 • Read-Only-Memory (ROM) is used to store programs that are
essential for the proper operations of
computer system. ROM is non-volatile.
Many computers especially
microcomputers come equipped with ROM
chips that contain the operating system and
application programs. Programs stored in
ROM chips are often called firmware; that
is, software built into the hardware.

A Read-Only-Memory is one in which information is permanently stored.

This memory cannot be written into. It can only be read. When power is
switched off, the contents of ROM remain unchanged.

Note: RAM is empty and doesn’t contain any instruction for the microprocessor to execute. Now
ROM plays its parts. ROM contains a small set of instruction called the ROM BIOS (basic
input/output system). These instructions tell the computer how to access the hard disk, find the
operating system, and load it into RAM. After the operating system is loaded, the computer can
understand your input, display output, run software, and access your data .

2. Secondary Memory (Storage Devices)

Secondary storage is thus, supplementary to primary storage. It is, therefore, also

called auxiliary storage. It has larger storage capacity and is cheaper than primary
storage. But access to secondary storage is slower than that to primary storage.
The secondary storage devices may be serial access or direct access devices.

o Magnetic Disks
Magnetic disks are made of rigid metals or synthetic plastic material. The
disk platter is coated on both the surfaces with magnetic material and both
the surfaces can be used for storage. The magnetic disk provides direct
access and is popular for both small and large computer systems. The
magnetic disk comes in two forms: hard disks and floppy disks.

26
 • Hard drive: The storage area within the computer itself, where
megabytes of space are available to store bits of
information. Also known as a hard disk.

• Diskette. A small, removable, flexible mylar

plastic disk covered with a thin layer of a magnetic
substance, onto which digital data can be recorded
and stored. Also known as a floppy disk.

o Magnetic Tape
Magnetic tape is serial access storage medium. It can store large volume
of data at low costs. The conventional magnetic tape is in reels of up to
3600 feet made of mylar plastic tape. A continuous plastic strip covered
with magnetic oxide; the tape is divided into parallel tracks onto which
data may be recorded by selectively magnetizing parts of the surface, or
spots, in each of the tracks.

o Optical storage
Optical storage technology uses light as the medium for representing data.
It uses reflecting surfaces and laser technology to read and write data on
a disk. Also known as a laser disk. Commonly used optical storage devices
include CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW and DVD.

• Compact Disc-Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM). Is a type of optical

disk capable of storing large amounts of data -- up to 1GB,
although the most common size is 650MB (megabytes). A single
CD-ROM has the storage capacity of 700 floppy disks,
enough memory to store about 300,000 text pages.

• Compact Disk –Recordable (CD-R). It can be used to write data on

it once. The data on it can be retrieved as and when needed.

• Compact Disk Re-writable (CD-RW).Is an optical disk that can be

rewritten many times. The data stored on it can be read, erased
and re-written as frequently as needed.

• Digital Versatile Disk or Digital Video Disk (DVD). Is a large capacity

secondary storage device. It stores seven times CD capacity on a

27
 single side. Double-sided or dual layer DVDs are also available with
much larger storage capacity. DVD uses a 5-inch disc for storage.
Single layer, single-sided DVD has a storage capacity of 4.7 GB. With
double-layer, double sided disc, it can store 17 GB of data on a
single disk.

o Solid State Storage

Solid State Storage (sometimes called flash memory) is a technology that
stores data in erasable, rewriteable circuitry, rather than on spinning disks
or streaming tape. It contains a grid work of circuitry. Each cell in the grid
contains two transistors that act as gates.

• Flash Drive (Pen Drive)secondary storage device based on flash

memory, enabling easy transport of data from
one computer to another, Compact device of
the size of a pen, comes in various shapes and
stylish designs and may have different added
features; Plug-and-play that simply plugs into a
USB (Universal Serial Bus) port of a computer,
treated as removable drive.

• Memory Card (SD/MMC) is a flat, solid state storage medium

commonly used to transfer files from digital
cameras and media player to computers. Similar
to Flash Drive but in card shape Plug-and-play
device that simply plugs into a port of a
computer, treated as removable drive Useful in electronic devices
like camera and music player.

▪ Processing Unit (PU)

o CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the brain of a computer. It has an

arithmetic logic unit (ALU) to perform arithmetical and logical operations.
It has a control unit to co-ordinate the activities of the CPU and main
memory for primary storage. The chip or chips at the heart of a computer
that enable it to process data. It is also known as a processor.

28
 Chip: A small piece of semi-conducting material
(such as silicon) about 1 centimeter (¼ inch)
square on which an integrated circuit is
embedded. An integrated circuit is a number of
electronic components joined together to form
a path for electricity. Central processing unit
chips contain the circuits representing the CPU.

o GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is a single-chip processor primarily used to

manage and boost the performance of video and graphics. GPU features
include

• 2-D or 3-D graphics

• Digital output to flat panel display monitors
• Texture mapping
• Application support for high-intensity graphics software such as
AutoCAD
• Rendering polygons
• Support for YUV color space
• Hardware overlays
• MPEG decoding

These features are designed to lessen the work of the CPU and produce
faster video and graphics.

A GPU is not only used in a PC on a video card or motherboard; it is also

used in mobile phones, display adapters, workstations and game consoles.
The first GPU was developed by NVidia in 1999 and called the GeForce 256.
This GPU model could process 10 million polygons per second and had
more than 22 million transistors. The GeForce 256 was a single-chip
processor with integrated transform, drawing and BitBLT support, lighting
effects, triangle setup/clipping and rendering engines.

29
 Generally the GPU is connected to the CPU and is completely separate
from the motherboard. The random access memory (RAM) is connected
through the accelerated graphics port (AGP) or the peripheral component
interconnect express (PCI-Express) bus. Some GPUs are integrated into the
north bridge on the motherboard and use the main memory as a digital
storage area, but these GPUs are slower and have poorer performance.

Internal Component

o Motherboard

30
 It is the main circuit board of a microcomputer. The motherboard contains
the connectors for attaching additional boards. Typically, the
motherboard contains the CPU, BIOS, memory, storage
interfaces, serial and parallel ports, expansion slots, and all the
controllers required to control standard peripheral devices, such as
the display screen, keyboard, and disk drive. Collectively, all these chips
that reside on the motherboard are known as the motherboard's chipset.

o CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor)

CMOS is an on-board, battery powered

semiconductor chip inside the computer that
stores information. This information ranges
from the system time and date to system
hardware settings for your computer. The
picture shows an example of the most common
CMOS coin cell battery used to power the CMOS
memory

o Expansion Slots

An expansion slot is a socket on the motherboard

that is used to insert an expansion card (or circuit
board), which provides additional features to a
computer such as video, sound, advanced graphics,
Ethernet or memory.

The expansion card has an edge connector that fits precisely into the
expansion slot as well as a row of contacts that is designed to establish an
electrical connection between the motherboard and the electronics on the
card, which are mostly integrated circuits .

o AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port)

31
 An interface specification developed
by Intel Corporation. AGP is based
on PCI, but is designed especially for
the throughput demands of 3-D
graphics. Rather than using the PCI
bus for graphics data, AGP introduces
a dedicated point-to-point channel so
that the graphics controller can
directly access main memory. The AGP channel is 32 bits wide and runs at
66 MHz. This translates into a total bandwidth of 266 MBps, as opposed to
the PCI bandwidth of 133 MBps. AGP also supports two optional faster
modes, with throughputs of 533 MBps and 1.07 GBps. In addition, AGP
allows 3-D textures to be stored in main memory rather than video
memory.

o Network Card

Network interface card (NIC) is a computer circuit board

or card that is installed in a computer so that it can be
connected to a network.

o Graphic Card

The video card is an expansion card that allows the

computer to send graphical information to a video
display device such as a monitor, TV, or projector.

o Memory Slots

32
 A memory slot, memory socket, or RAM slot is what
allows computer memory (RAM) to be inserted into
the computer. Depending on the motherboard, there
may be 2 to 4 memory slots (sometimes more on
high-end motherboards) and are what determine the
type of RAM used with the computer.

The most common types of RAM are SDRAM and DDR for desktop
computers and SODIMM for laptop computers, each having various types
and speeds. The picture above is an example of what memory slots may
look like inside a desktop computer. In this picture, there are three open
available slots for three memory sticks.

o Cooling Fan

A computer fan is any fan inside, or attached to, a case

used for active cooling, and may refer to fans that draw
cooler air into the case from the outside, expel warm air
from inside, or move air across a heat sink to cool a
particular component.

o Power Supply

Power supply unit or PSU, is a component that

supplies power to a computer. Most personal
computers can be plugged into standard electrical
outlets. The power supply then pulls the required
amount of electricity and converts the AC current to
DC current. It also regulates the voltage to eliminate
spikes and surges common in most

33
electrical systems. Not all power supplies, however, do an adequate voltage-
regulation job, so a computer is always susceptible to large voltage
fluctuations.

o Ports

It is a physical docking point

using which an external
device can be connected to
the computer. It can also be
programmatic docking point
through which information
flows from a program to
computer or over the
internet.

34
 Republic of the Philippines
Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology
Cabanatuan City

Name: ______________________________ Score: __________

Yr. & Sec. ________________ Date: ___________

Activity # 1
STRICTLY NO ERASURE.

I. Identification: Identify the following. Write your answer on the space

provided before each number. (20 pts.)

______________________1. It is an electronic device that manipulates data.

______________________2. It can perform all of its input, processing, output, and

storage activities by itself.

______________________3. It is a collection of unprocessed items, which can

include text, numbers, images, audio, and video.

______________________4. It is a portable, personal computer often designed to fit

on your lap.

______________________5. A device that can connect to the Internet wirelessly.

______________________6. It is a device that allows users to take pictures and store

the photographed images digitally.

35
______________________7. It is a mobile computing device designed for single-
player or multiplayer video games.

______________________8. It is very large and expensive computer capable of

supporting hundreds, or even thousands of users simultaneously.

______________________9. It controls access to the hardware, software, and other

resources on a network.
______________________10. It is a special-purpose computer that functions as a
component in a larger product.

II. Enumerate the following: (20 pts.)

A. Characteristics of a Computer
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

B. Categories of Computer
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

C. Basic Functions of a Computer

14.
15.
16.

36
 17.

D. Examples of Mobile Phone or Mobile device

18.
19.
20.

Republic of the Philippines

Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology
Cabanatuan City

Name: ______________________________ Score: __________

Yr. & Sec. ________________ Date: ___________

Activity # 2

STRICTLY NO ERASURE.

I. Identification: Identify the following. Write your answer on the space

provided before each number. (20 pts.)

___________________1.These are the physical devices that make up a computer.

___________________2.A device that allows the user to input data and instructions to
the computer.
___________________3. Inventor of mouse.

___________________4.The other hardware pieces like input devices, output devices,

etc. are called?
___________________5.The enhanced keyboard has _____ keys.

37
___________________6. A device that displays the result of the computer processing for
user.
___________________7. It produces hard copy output

___________________8. A type of mouse that uses a laser to detect the mouse

movement.

___________________9. A television-like screen that provides user-interface in the form

of display of text, numbers and images.

___________________10. Known as direct-entry input device.

II. Matching Type: Match Column A to Column B (10 pts.)

38
 ________ 1. It is used for plotting graphs and designs A.
on paper.

________ 2. It produces verbal output where the

B.
output or response can be standardized as replies to
special requests for information. C.

________ 3. It is a small hand-held 'point D.

click' device that is connected to the CPU through a cable.

________ 4. A device used to capture images and

they can record the images on reusable floppy disks. E.

________ 5. It is a small vertical stick attached to a F.

trackball for easier mechanical movements.

________ 6. A special microphone used to capture

G.
voice.
H
________ 7. It prints one character at a time as a set
of dots produced by the pins on the print head.

________8. The most popular input device for direct I

entry of data and instructions into computer.
J
________ 9. It consists of a stylus connected by a
cable to the computer terminal.

________ 10. It has a drum that rotates at high speed. K.

A set of characters is embossed on the drum.

Republic of the Philippines

Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology
Cabanatuan City

39
Name: ______________________________ Score: __________
Yr. & Sec. ________________ Date: ___________

Activity # 3
STRICTLY NO ERASURE.

I. Identification: Identify the following. Write your answer on the space

provided before each number. (30 pts.)

___________________ 1. The secondary storage devices may be _________

___________________ 2. or _______ devices.

___________________3. It is a temporary holding area for data, application program

instructions, and the operation system.

___________________4. Secondary storage that provides direct access and it is popular

for both small and large computer system.

___________________5. A storage technology that uses light as medium for

representing data.

___________________6. It has an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) to perform arithmetical

and logical operations.

___________________7. It is the main circuit board of a microcomputer.

___________________8. Allows computer memory (RAM) to be inserted into the

computer.

40
 ___________________9. It is a storage technology that stores data in erasable,
rewriteable circuitry, rather than on spinning disks or streaming tape.

___________________10. An optical disk with double-layer, double sided disc, that can
store up to 17 GB of data on a single disk.

___________________11. Also known as auxiliary storage.

___________________12. Storage device that is plug- and-play by simply plugging into

a USB port of a computer, treated as removable drive.

___________________13. It is a computer circuit board or card that is installed in a

computer so that it can be connected to a network.

___________________14. It is a physical docking point in which an external device can

be connected to the computer.

___________________15. It is an expansion card that allows the computer to send

graphical information to a video display device such as a monitor, TV, or projector.

II. Acronyms: (20 pts.)

1. RAM - ________________________________________________________.

2. NIC - _________________________________________________________.

3. DVD - _________________________________________________________.

4. CMOS - ________________________________________________________.

5. AGP - ________________________________________________________.

41
6. CD-R - _________________________________________________________.

7. CPU - __________________________________________________________.

8. PSU - __________________________________________________________.

9. GPU - ______________________________________________________.

10. ROM - _________________________________________________________.

42
Chapter 2
Computer Software
Computer needs to be given instructions to perform any task. A set of instructions for a
specific task is termed a routine and a complete set of instructions to execute a related
set of tasks is a program.

Software, also called a program, consists of a series of related instructions, organized for
a common purpose, that tells the computer what tasks to perform and how to perform
them. You interact with a program through its user interface. The user interface controls
how you enter data and instructions and how information is displayed on the screen.
Software today often has a graphical user interface. With a graphical user interface (GUI)
(pronounced as gooey), you interact with the software using text, graphics, and visual
images such as icons. An icon is a miniature image that represents a program, an
instruction, or some other object. You can use the mouse to select icons that perform
operations such as starting a program. Computer programs or software can be divided
into two major categories: systems software and applications software.

Computer Software

SYSTEM SOFTWARE APPLICATION SOFTWARE

System management programs General-purpose programs

System support programs Application specific programs
System development programs

Application Software
Application software consists of programs designed to make users more productive and/
or assist them with personal tasks. A widely used type of application software related to
communications is a Web browser, which allows users with an Internet connection to
access and view Web pages or access programs. Other popular application software
includes word processing software, spreadsheet software, database software, and
presentation software. Many other types of application software exist that enable users

43
to perform a variety of tasks. These include personal information management, note
taking, project management, accounting, document management, computer aided design,
desktop publishing, paint/image editing, photo editing, audio and video editing,
multimedia authoring, Web page authoring, personal finance, legal, tax preparation, home
design/landscaping, travel and mapping, education, reference, and entertainment (e.g.,
games or simulations, etc.).

Types of Application Software:

✓ Spreadsheets

Computer spreadsheet software transforms a computer screen into a ledger

sheet, or grid, of coded rows and columns. Users can enter numeric or textual
data into each grid location, called a cell. In addition, a formula can be entered
into a cell to obtain a calculated answer displayed in that cell’s location. With
spreadsheets, users can also develop and use macros, which are sequences of
commands that can be executed with just one simple instruction.

✓ Data Management

Data management software supports the storage, retrieval, and manipulation

of related data. There are two basic types of data management software:
simple filing programs patterned after traditional, manual data-filing
techniques, and database management programs that take advantage of a
computer’s extremely fast and accurate ability to store and retrieve data in
primary and secondary storage. File based management software is typically
very simple to use and is often very fast, but it offers limited flexibility in how
the data can be searched. Database management software has the opposite
strengths and weaknesses.

✓ Word Processing

Word processing software allows the user to manipulate text rather than just
numbers. Modern word processors contain many productive writing and
editing features. A typical word processing software package consists of an
integrated set of programs including an editor program, a formatting
program, a print program, a dictionary, a thesaurus, a grammar checker, a
mailing list program, and integrated graphics, charting, and drawing

44
 programs. WYSIWYG (an acronym for What You See Is What You Get,
pronounced “wiz-e-wig”) word processors have the added advantage of
displaying the text material on the screen exactly—or almost exactly—as it
will look on the final printed page (based on the type of printer connected to
the computer). Word processing software enables users to be much more
productive because the software makes it possible to create and modify the
document electronically in memory.

✓ Desktop Publishing

Desktop publishing software represents a level of sophistication beyond

regular word processing. In the past, newsletters, announcements,
advertising copy, and other specialized documents had to be laid out by hand
and then type set. Desktop software allows microcomputers to perform these
tasks directly. Photographs, diagrams, and other images can be combined
with text, including several different fonts, to produce a finished, camera-
ready document.

✓ Computer-Aided Design (CAD)

It is software, used for designing items for manufacturing, allows designers to

design and “build” production prototypes in software, test them as a
computer object under given parameters (sometimes called computer-aided
engineering, or CAE), compile parts and quantity lists, outline production and
assembly procedures, and then transmit the final design directly to machines.

✓ Multimedia

Multimedia software combines at least two media for input or output of data.
These media include audio (sound), voice, animation, video text, graphics,
and images. Multimedia can also be thought of as the combination of spatial-
based media (text and images) with time-based media (sound and video).

✓ INTERNET BROWSER

45
A web browser is a software application which enables a user to display and interact with
text, images, videos, music, and other information that could be on a website. Text and
images on a web page can contain hyperlinks to other web pages at the same or different
website. Web browsers allow a user too quickly and easily access information provided on
many web pages at many websites by traversing these links. Web browsers format HTML
information for display so the appearances of a web page many differs between browsers.

Protocols and Standards

Web browsers communicated with web servers primarily using HTTP (hypertext transfer
protocol) to fetch web pages. HTTP allows web browsers to submit information to web
servers as well as fetch web pages from them. Pages are identified by means of a URL
(uniform resource locater), which is treated as an address, beginning with “http://” for HTTP
access.

The file format for a web page is usually HTML (hyper-text markup language) and is identified
in the HTTP protocol. Most web browsers also support a variety of additional formats, such
as JPEG, PNG, and GIF image formats, and can be extended to support more through the use
of plug ins. The combination of HTTP content type and URL protocol specification allows web
page designers to embed images, animations, video, sound, and streaming media into a web
page, or to make them accessible through the web page.

POPULAR BROWSERS
▪ Firefox

Firefox is a very popular web

browser. One of the great
things about Firefox is that it
is supported on all different
OSs. Firefox is also open
source which makes its
support group a very large
community of open source
developers. Firefox is also known for its vast range of plug ins/add-ons that
let the user customize in a variety of ways. Firefox is a product of the Mozilla
Foundation. The latest version of Firefox is Firefox 3.

46
 Some of Firefox’s most prominent features include: tabbed browsing, a spell
checker, incremental find, live bookmarking, a download manager, and an
integrated search system that uses the user’s favorite search engine. Like
mentioned before, one of the best things about Firefox is its vast amount of
plug ins/add-ons.

▪ Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer (IE - created by

Microsoft) is a very prominent
web browser for the Windows
OS. IE is the most popular web
browser. It comes pre-installed
on all Windows computers. The
latest version of IE is IE7 with IE8
in beta. IE was designed to view a
broad range of web pages and to
provide certain features within
the OS.

IE almost fully supports HTML 4.01, CSS Level 1, XML 1.0, and DOM Level 1.
It has introduced a number of proprietary extensions to many of the
standards. This has resulted in a number of web pages that can only be
viewed properly using IE. It has been subject to many security vulnerabilities
just like Windows has. Much of the spyware, adware, and viruses across the
Internet are made possible by exploitable bugs and flaws in the security
architecture of IE. These are drive-by downloads come into play
(see computer security lesson for more details on that).

▪ Safari

Safari (created by Apple) is a very popular web

browser among Apple computers. Safari is also
the native browser on the iPhone and iPod
touch. Safari is available for Windows, but has
not reached a very high level of Windows users
since. In May 2008 Safari controlled 6.25% of
marketshare among all web browsers.

▪ Opera

47
 Opera (created by the Opera
Software company) is another
fairly popular web browser. It
handles common Internet-
related tasks. Opera also
includes features such as tabbed
browsing, page zooming, mouse
gestures, and an integrated
download manager. Its security
features include phishing and
malware protection, strong encryption when browsing secure web sites, and
the ability to easily delete private data such as cookies and browsing history.
Opera runs on Windows, OS X, and Linux.

▪ How to change my browser's home page

There are many Internet browsers, all with a number of versions each.
Therefore, it is difficult to show steps for all of them. The following sections
contain information on how to change the homepage for those that are the
most popular. With a little intuition, you should be able to change your the
default home page; even if your version isn't listed. To proceed, select your
browser from the list below and follow the steps.

o Internet Explorer
1. Open the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser.

2. Click Tools in the upper right-hand corner.

3. Select Internet Options from the dropdown menu.
4. Under the general tab, type the URL of the web page you want to
set.
5. Click Apply.
6. Click Ok.

48
 o Mozilla Firefox
1. Open the Mozilla Firefox browser.

2. Click the Menu in the top right-hand corner of the screen

3. Select Options from the dropdown menu.
4. Under the General Tab in the Home Page field, type the URL of
the web page you want to set.
5. Click Ok.

o Chrome
1. Open the Chrome browser.

2. Click Menu in the top right-hand corner of the screen.

3. Select Settings from the dropdown menu.
4. Within Settings, check the box next to Show Home button.
5. Click Change next to the address shown below the Show Home
Button.

Tip: If you would like the page you have open set as your home page, click the Use Current button.

Tip: To see if your new home page has en set correctly, click Home icon.

SYSTEM SOFTWARE
System software is consists of programs that control or maintain the operations of the
computer and its devices. System software serves as the interface between the user, the
application software, and the computer’s hardware. It comprises programs designed to
coordinate the operations of the computer system. It manages the hardware, software
and data resources of the computer system. It includes three types of programs: system
management programs, system support programs and system development programs.

▪ System Support Programs

49
These are programs that support efficient operation of a computer. They provide a
variety of support services to users and management of computer system. These
support services include utility programs, security monitors and performance
monitors. Utility software consist of programs that are very frequently requested by
many application programs like programs for transferring data from one medium to
another, formatting disk, backing up and sorting of files.

❖ Utility Software
A utility program allows a user to perform maintenance-type tasks usually
related to managing a computer, its devices, or its programs. For example, you
can use a utility program to transfer digital photos to an optical disc. Most
operating systems include several utility programs for managing disk drives,
printers, and other devices and media. You can also buy utility programs that
allow you to perform additional computer management functions.

Examples of utility programs are antivirus software, backup software and disk
tools. Let's look at each of these in a bit more detail.
✓ Antivirus or anti-virus software (often abbreviated as AV),
sometimes known as antimalware software, is computer software
used to prevent, detect and remove malicious software. Antivirus
(or anti- virus)software is used to safeguard a computer from
malware, including viruses, computer worms, and Trojan horses.
Antivirus software may also remove or prevent spyware and
adware, along with other forms of malicious programs. Free
antivirus software generally only searches your computer using
signature-based detection which involves looking for patterns of
data that are known to be related to already-identified malware.
Paid antivirus software will usually also include heuristics to catch
new, or zero-day threats, by either using genetic signatures to
identify new variants of existing virus code or by running the file in
a virtual environment (also called a sandbox), and watching what it
does to see if it has malicious intent.
Definition of computer virus A computer virus is a program or piece
of code that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge
and runs against your wishes. Viruses can also replicate themselves.
All computer viruses are man-made. A simple virus that can make a

50
copy of itself over and over again is relatively easy to produce. Even
such a simple virus is dangerous because it will quickly use all
available memory and bring the system to a halt. An even more
dangerous type of virus is one capable of transmitting itself across
networks and bypassing security systems.
In computers, a virus is a program or programming code that
replicates by being copied or initiating its copying to another
program, computer boot sector or document. A computer virus is a
program designed to harm or cause harm on an infected computer.
Its spreads through e-mail attachments, portable devices, websites
containing malicious scripts and file downloads. A computer virus
attaches itself to the host files and always activate whenever you
open the infected files. The virus can replicate itself and then infect
the other files on your computer causing more damage.
Types of computer virus
o Resident Viruses This type of virus is a permanent
which dwells in the RAM memory. From there it can
overcome and interrupt all of the operations
executed by the system: corrupting files and
programs that are opened, closed, copied, renamed
etc.
o Multipartite Viruses Multipartite viruses are
distributed through infected media and usually hide
in the memory. Gradually, the virus moves to the
boot sector of the hard drive and infects executable
files on the hard drive and later across the computer
system.
o Direct Action Viruses The main purpose of this virus
is to replicate and take action when it is executed.
When a specific condition is met, the virus will go into
action and infect files in the directory or folder that it
is in and in directories that are specified in the
AUTOEXEC.BAT file PATH.
This batch file is always located in the root directory
of the hard disk and carries out certain operations
when the computer is booted.

51
o Overwrite Viruses Virus of this kind is characterized
by the fact that it deletes the information contained
in the files that it infects, rendering them partially or
totally useless once they have been infected.
The only way to clean a file infected by an overwrite
virus is to delete the file completely, thus losing the
original content.
o Boot Virus This type of virus affects the boot sector
of a floppy or hard disk. This is a crucial part of a 34
disk, in which information on the disk itself is stored
together with a program that makes it possible to
boot (start) the computer from the disk.
o Directory Virus Directory viruses change the paths
that indicate the location of a file. By executing a
program (file with the extension .EXE or .COM) which
has been infected by a virus, you are unknowingly
running the virus program, while the original file and
program have been previously moved by the virus.
Once infected it becomes impossible to locate the
original files.
o Encrypted Viruses This type of viruses consists of
encrypted malicious code, decrypted module. The
viruses use encrypted code technique which make
antivirus software hardly to detect them. The
antivirus program usually can detect this type of
viruses when they try spread by decrypted 35
themselves.
o Network Virus Network viruses rapidly spread
through a Local Network Area (LAN), and sometimes
throughout the internet. Generally, network viruses
multiply through shared resources, i.e., shared drives
and folders.
o Worms A worm is technically not a virus, but a
program very similar to a virus; it has the ability to
self-replicate, and can lead to negative effects on

52
 your system and most importantly they are detected
and eliminated by antiviruses.
o Trojans or Trojan Horses Another unsavory breed of
malicious code (not a virus as well) are Trojans or
Trojan horses, which unlike viruses do not reproduce
by infecting other files, nor do they self-replicate like
worms.

✓ Backup software helps in the creation of a backup of the files on

your computer. Most computer systems use a hard disk drive for
storage. While these are generally very robust, they can fail or crash,
resulting in costly data loss. Backup software helps you copy the
most important files to another storage device, such as an external
hard disk. You can also make an exact copy of your hard disk.
Increasingly, backup software uses cloud storage to create backups.
This typically means you pay a fee to use the storage space of a third
party and use their backup software to manage which files are going
to be backed up.
✓ Disk tools include a range of different tools to manage hard disk
drives and other storage devices. This includes utilities to scan the
hard disks for any potential problems, disk cleaners to remove any
unnecessary files, and disk defragmenters to re-organize file
fragments on a hard disk drive to increase performance. Disk tools
are important because a failure of a hard disk drive can have
disastrous consequences. Keeping disks running efficiently is an
important part of overall computer maintenance.

▪ System Development Programs

These programs help users and system developers in designing and building
systems. They help in developing programs and procedures and prepare programs for
computer processing. These include language translators, programming tools and
Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) packages. Language translator is a piece
of system software that translates application programs written in a high level
language such as C,C++ and FORTRAN into machine language. The language translators

53
may be assemblers, compilers or interpreters. It has made programming easier, more
enjoyable, and portable across computers.

❖ Compiler and Interpreter: High level languages are widely used. They have
been developed to enable the users to program the machines in a language
similar to the language of the users. For example BASIC, Pascal, C and Java use
scientific notations and subroutines in programming formats that are similar to
mathematical formulas and equations. On the other hand, COBAL contains
business jargons widely used in business.

✓ Compiler is a program that translates programs written in high level

language into machine language. A program written by a
programmer in a high level language is called a source program. The
source program when converted into machine language by a
compiler is referred to as an object program. Unlike the assembler,
the compiler generates several machine language instructions for
each source statement. A compiler can be made to interface with
several different computers. It is not written for any specific
computer. A user can write programs that can be adapted to several
computing systems. Thus, the user can formulate problems
efficiently without precise knowledge of computer architecture.
Compilers are complex programs compared to assembler and they
require more storage space than assemblers. An assembler or a
compiler produces the object program, which is loaded into the
computer memory before execution.

✓ Interpreter is a translator program that differs from the assembler

or the compiler on several significant points. The interpreter does
not prepare an object program. It translates and immediately
executes each instruction of the source program. Thus an
interpretive language is also an interactive language; it enables the
user to load one instruction into the computer at a time and have it
translated and executed. This process allows the programmer to
check the results immediately. The interpreter is also a debugging
tool and is useful during the program development stage. In the
interpretive mode, the execution time of the program is extended,
but the program developmental effort and the program
development time are decreased

54
 Comparisons of Compiler and Interpreter:

Compiler Interpreter
Compiler prepares an object program from Interpreter translates and immediately executes
source program each instruction of the source program
It is a debugging tool and is useful during program
Debugging is complex and time consuming
developing stage
Lower execution time Higher execution time

Requires higher program development Requires less program development effort and
effort and time time

▪ System Management Programs

These programs manage the hardware, software and data resources of the computer
system. It includes operating system, database management system (DBMS) and
telecommunication monitors. An operating system is a set of programs that
coordinates all the activities among computer hardware devices. It provides a means
for users to communicate with the computer and other software. DBMS is a set of
programs that controls creation, maintenance and use of database. It allows different
applications to share data and programs concurrently. It also secures data in the
database from misuses. DB2, Oracle, MS SQL Server etc. are some of the examples of
database management systems.

❖ OPERATING SYSTEM

An Operating system is basically an

intermediary agent between the user
and the computer hardware.

• Manages the computer’s resources

(hardware, abstract resources,
software)
• It’s a resource allocator.
• It is also used to control programs to
prevent errors and improper
computer use.
• It is interrupt driven.

55
 Tasks performed by an operating system:

o Process Management

A process is an executing program. It has its code, data, a certain set of

resources allowed to it, and one or more flows of execution through the
code. The OS manages the allocation of resources to these processes, and
also provides system calls to manage these processes.

o Memory Management

Memory must be shared between the OS and an application program. The

OS must manage the allocation of memory to processes and control the
memory management hardware that determines which memory locations
a process may access.

o File System Management

Computers process information that must be transmitted, processed, or stored.

File systems are an abstract organized collection of file system objects. The OS
provides primitives to manipulate these objects.

o Device Management

Information is sent through a computer’s input and output devices. Processes

access these devices using the system call interface. The OS tries to manage
said devices in a manner that makes them efficiently shared among all
processes requiring them. A system call is a programming interface to the
services provided by the OS, typically written in C/C++.

Operating System categories and characterized using the following term:

✓ Single-user OS expects to deal with one set of input devices those that can be
controlled by one user at a time

✓ Multiuser OS allows a single, centralized computer to deal with simultaneous

input, output and processing request from many users.

56
 ✓ Server OS provides tools for managing distributed networks, e-mails servers,
and Web hosting sites.

✓ Desktop OS is designed for a desktop or notebook personal computer.

✓ Handheld OS is designed for devices, such as smart phones and tablets

computer.
▪ Interfaces

It can be defined as the combination of hardware and software that helps people
and computer communicate with each other. A computer’s user interface includes a
display device, mouse, and keyboard that allow viewing and manipulating computing
environment. Originally, computers had a command-line interface that required users
to type memorized commands to run programs and accomplish tasks. Command-line
user interface can be accessed from most operating systems, including Windows and
Mac OS.

Most computer today feature a graphical user interface, abbreviated as GUI and
pronounced as “gooey” or “gee you eye”. A graphical user interface provides a way to
point and click a mouse to select menu options and manipulate graphical objects
displayed in the screen.

Types of an Operating System

▪ DISK OPERATING SYSTEM

DOS is a master’s program that co-ordinate

the flow of information between computer
and the disk, floppy or hard disk.MS-DOS is
the brand name of the disk operating
system manufactured by the Microsoft
Corporation. Microsoft has given license to
IBM to supply its DOS and when IBM
supplies it, the DOS is known as PC-DOS. MS-DOS is like a translator between
computers and users. It is basically a set of programs, which enables the user to

57
communicate with the CPU, the disk drives and the printer, and manage these
resources efficiently.

Lay out:
Directory

C:\ CICT

A
Root Directory
Sub-directories
B

Commands in DOS

▪ Dir This command lists the contents of a directory in the hard disk
or floppy disk.

Other options are:

✓ Dir/p The /p option is used to list the contents page wise, one
screen at a time.
✓ Dir/w This option lists contents width wise.
✓ Dir [drive] to list the contents of another directory.
Example dir a: This command lists all the files in drive A while
remaining in drive C.
✓ Dir *. <extension> This lists all files with the extension specified
Example dir *.exe lists all files with extension 'exe'.

▪ MD or MKDIR, This command is used to create a directory.

Syntax: MD <DIRECTORY NAME>

▪ CD This command is to change from one directory to another.

Syntax: CD <SUB DIRECTORY NAME>

58
 If you create a subdirectory in the directory EMPLOYEE such as salary by giving
the command: MD EMPLOYEE
and then typing
CD EMPLOYEE
MD SALARY
CD SALARY
Now, DOS will show the prompt as: C:\EMPLOYEE\SALARY>
If you want to go back one directory, the command is: CD..

▪ RD This command removes a subdirectory.

Syntax: RD <SUBDIRECTORY NAME>

But this command will work only if the subdirectory SALARY is empty and the
command is issued from outside the Salary subdirectory; that is, all files should
be deleted before removing the subdirectory by DEL command and move to its
parent directory.

▪ IPCONFIG This command will display the list of IP in your computer.

▪ UNIX

UNIX was developed by AT&T's Bell Labs in 1969 by Kenneth Thompson and Dennis
Ritchie, system engineers at AT&T's Bell Labs. It went through many revisions and
gained in popularity until 1977, when it was first made commercially available by
Interactive Systems Corporation. It is widely used in multi-user systems. It is a
powerful operating system with multitasking, 78 Computer Software
multiprogramming and interactive features.

59
▪ OS/2

IBM's OS/2 Warp (Operating System 2) is a 32-bit operating system. It supports

multitasking and can run programs written for OS/2 and other operating systems
like MS DOS and MS Windows. Introduced by IBM in late 1994. It can run all
applications written for DOS and MS Windows.

OS/2 Warp is bundled with a bonus pack that includes a number of applications like
a word processor, a spreadsheet, personal information manager and easy Internet
access and other online services.

▪ Windows

Microsoft works on the first version of a new operating system. Interface

Manager is the code name and is considered as the final name, but
Windows prevails because it best describes the boxes or computing “windows”
that are fundamental to the new system. Windows is announced in 1983, but it
takes a while to develop.

60
 Microsoft Windows uses DOS operating system. It employs graphic user
interface (GUI) technology. A GUI acts as a translator allowing the user and the
computer to communicate with each other in a way that is easy for both to
understand. The users can activate programs from windows by clicking on icons or
symbols appearing on the monitor. An icon is a picture appearing on the screen
that represents an action or application that the computer can implement. It
requires a mouse to run. Multiple windows open multiple applications that are
invoked. Windows is a highly integrated environment in which different
applications have the same 'look and feel', so users familiar with one application
can easily work in other applications. Example, the icons for printing and saving file
are the same in Excel, Word, Access and PowerPoint.

Windows Versions

• 1982 – 1985 Windows 1.0

On November 20, 1985, two
years after the initial
announcement, Microsoft
ships Windows 1.0. Now,
rather than typing MS-DOS
commands, you just move a
mouse to point and click your
way through screens, or
“windows.” Bill Gates says, “It is unique software designed for the
serious PC user.”

• 1987 – 1990 Windows 2.0 – 2.11

On December 9, 1987
Microsoft releases
Windows 2.0 with desktop
icons and expanded
memory. With improved
graphics support, you can
now overlap windows,
control the screen layout,
and use keyboard
shortcuts to speed up your work.

61
• 1990 – 1994 Windows 3.0 – Windows NT

On May 22, 1990, Microsoft announces Windows 3.0, followed

shortly by Windows 3.1 in 1992. Taken together, they sell 10 million
copies in their first two years,
making this the most widely
used Windows operating
system yet. The scale of this
success causes Microsoft to
revise earlier plans. Virtual
Memory improves visual
graphics. In 1990 Windows
starts to look like the versions to
come.

• 1995 – 1998 Windows 95

On August 24, 1995, Microsoft

releases Windows 95, selling a
record-setting 7 million copies
in the first five weeks. It’s the
most publicized launch
Microsoft has ever taken on.
Television commercials
feature the Rolling Stones
singing "Start Me Up" over
images of the new Start button. The press release simply begins:
“It’s here.”

This is the era of fax/modems, email, the new online world, and
dazzling multimedia games and educational software. Windows 95
has built-in Internet support, dial-up networking, and new Plug and
Play capabilities that make it easy to install hardware and software.
The 32-bit operating system also offers enhanced multimedia
capabilities, more powerful features for mobile computing, and
integrated networking.

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• 1998 – 2000 Windows 98 , Windows 2000, Windows ME

Released on June 25, 1998,

Windows 98 is the first
version of Windows
designed specifically for
consumers. PCs are
common at work and home,
and Internet cafes where
you can get online are
popping up. Windows 98 is
described as an operating system that “Works Better, Plays Better.”

With Windows 98, you can find information more easily on your PC
as well as the Internet. Other improvements include the ability to
open and close programs more quickly, and support for reading DVD
discs and universal serial bus (USB) devices. Another first
appearance is the Quick Launch bar, which lets you run programs
without having to browse the Start menu or look for them on the
desktop.

• 2001 – 2005 Windows XP

On October 25, 2001,

Windows XP is released with a
redesigned look and feel that's
centered on usability and a
unified Help and Support
services center. It’s available
in 25 languages.

For Microsoft, Windows XP

will become one of its best-
selling products in the coming years. It’s both fast and stable.
Navigating the Start menu, taskbar, and Control Panel are more
intuitive. Awareness of computer viruses and hackers increases, but
fears are to a certain extent calmed by the online delivery of security

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 updates. Consumers begin to understand warnings about suspicious
attachments and viruses. There’s more emphasis on Help and
Support.

• 2006 – 2008 Windows Vista

Windows Vista is released

in 2006 with the strongest
security system yet. User
Account Control helps
prevent potentially
harmful software from
making changes to your
computer. In
Windows Vista Ultimate,
BitLocker Drive Encryption provides better data protection for your
computer, as laptop sales and security needs increase.
Windows Vista also features enhancements to Windows Media
Player as more and more people come to see their PCs as central
locations for digital media. Here you can watch television, view and
send photographs, and edit videos.

• 2009 – 2011 Windows 7

Windows 7 is released for

the wireless world of the
late 2000s. Laptops are
outselling desktops, and it's
become common to
connect to public wireless
hotspots in coffee shops
and private networks in the
home.

Windows 7 includes new ways to work with windows—like Snap,

Peek, and Shake—that improves functionality and makes the
interface more fun to use. It also marks the debut of Windows
Touch, which lets touchscreen users browse the web, flip through
photos, and open files and folders.

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• 2012 – 2013 Windows 8

Windows 8 is a re-imagined
operating system, from the chipset
to the user experience, and
introduces a totally new interface
that works smoothly for both touch
and mouse and keyboard. It
functions as both a tablet for
entertainment and a full-featured PC
for getting things
done. Windows 8 also includes enhancements of the familiar
Windows desktop, with a new taskbar and streamlined file
management.

Windows 8 features a Start screen with tiles that connect to people,

files, apps, and websites. Apps are front and center, with access to
a new place to get apps—the Windows Store—built right in to the
Start screen.

• 2013 Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 advances the Windows 8 vision of providing a

powerful collection of apps and cloud connectivity on great devices;
it’s everything people loved about Windows 8, plus some
enhancements.

Windows 8.1 combines Microsoft's vision of innovation with

customer feedback on Windows 8 to provide many improvements
and new features: more Start screen personalization options that
sync across all devices, the option to boot directly to the desktop,

65
 Bing Smart Search so you can find what you're looking for across the
PC or the web, a Start button to navigate between the desktop and
Start Screen, and more flexible options for viewing multiple
applications at once on one or all screens. There are also several
new built-in apps such as Bing Food & Drink, Bing Health & Fitness,
and great utility apps like Reading List, Calculator, and Alarms. Many
of the great apps shipped in Windows 8 are back and even better,
making your experience more enjoyable right from the start.

Windows desktop

The windows desktop is the base of operations for using your computer. It
displays small pictures called icons that helps you access software,
documents and the components of your computer system.

• Desktop icons can represent

programs, documents, folders Desktop
or other electronic tools Icons

• Start Button displays the Start

menu, which lists programs
Start Menu
installed on your computer.
• Taskbar contain the Start
button and Notification area. Taskbar
Taskbar buttons help you keep icons

track of program s that are in

use.

Managing Files in Windows

Two key programs for file management are available with windows:

(1) My Computer
(2) The Windows Explorer.

Each of these programs gives a picture of the files – documents, data and
program files that are stored on the various computer disks. You have a choice of
“VIEWS” or ways of displaying the information, using large or small icons, with or
without details. Either program can be used to copy, move, delete and open

66
programs and documents. My Computer looks at a particular location on the
computer and displays all the folders and files.

Windows Explorer provides, in addition, a tree diagram structure to indicate

the storage relationships among files and folders. Windows HELP and Support can
be accessed from the Start Menu on the Task Bar. It provides a tutorial with
exercises for practice on use of Windows as well as help on specified tasks, such as
copying and moving files, and creating shortcuts to programs and files.

My Computer:
View button

In this example of My Computer, the disks and folders are displayed as large
icons. You can switch the

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type of display using the
“VIEWS” button on the
Menu bar.

By right-clicking on a drive
and selecting “Properties”
you get the following:

The Windows Explorer:

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The left-hand side of the explorer window The right-hand side of the explorer lists the files and
displays a tree-diagram of the disk drives, sub-folders in the selected drive\directory.
with folders displayed.
In this example, the VIEW has been set on“Details.” A
Clicking on the + beside a folder or disk drive small icon to represent the file application type is
will display all subfolders. followed by the full file name.The file size, type and
date/time saved are also listed.
An open folder on the left indicates the
folder whose contents are displayed on the By clicking a column heading bar (Name, Size, Type or
right-hand side of the screen. Modified) you can sort the file listing alphabetically
(Name), by Size, by type of file, or by date/time last
saved. A second click reverses the order. This feature
makes it easy to find files.

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▪ Linux

The Linux open source operating

system, or Linux OS, is a freely
distributable, cross-
platform operating system based
on Unix that can be installed on PCs,
laptops, net books, mobile and
tablet devices, video game
consoles, servers, supercomputers
and more.

The Linux OS is frequently packaged as a Linux distribution for both desktop and
server use, and includes the Linux kernel (the core of the operating system) as well as
supporting tools and libraries. Popular Linux OS distributions include Debian, Ubuntu,
Fedora, Red Hat and openSUSE.

▪ Android

Android is a Linux-based open source

software stack that comes along with
operating system, middleware, native
mobile applications, along with set of
API libraries for building third party
applications. It was designed primarily
for touchscreen mobile devices such as
smart phones, tablets and now its focus
has spread wider across other
embedded systems. Initially developed
by Android Inc.,(founded in 2003 and is based in Palo Alto, California) which operated
as subsidiary of Google and later purchased by Google in 2005.Android was publicly
announced in 2007 and first phone was sold on October 2008.

Android is free to use, improvable, and designed with multiple hardware

implementations, it is open source and the code was released under Apache license. It
is a software bunch comprising not only operating system but also middleware and key
applications. It is one of the most widely used OS. Android has a large community for
developing their own applications, written primarily on customized Java Programming
language. Anyone with basic knowledge in java can start developing

70
 Android applications. Android OS version varies from 1.0 to 4.2 Jellybean (July 2012).
Notice carefully you can see all the OS names are desserts, but still the naming reason
is not released by Google and the names are alphabetically ordered, starting from 1.5
Cupcake to 5.0 Lollipop (C-L).

▪ IOS

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 Originally known as the iPhone OS, the iOS is the
name of the operating system that runs on Apple
iPhone, iPad, and le iPad Touch devices given to
the devices by Steve Jobs during the 2010 WWDC.
The iOS is one of the most used platforms for
mobile devices, only slightly edged out
by Android from Google. The user interface of iOS
is based on the concept of direct manipulation,
using multi-touch gestures. Interface control
elements consist of sliders, switches, and buttons.
Interaction with the OS includes gestures such
as swipe, tap, pinch, and reverse pinch, all of
which have specific definitions within the context
of the iOS operating system and its multi-touch
interface. Internal accelerometers are used by
some applications to respond to shaking the
device (one common result is the undo command)
or rotating it in three dimensions (one common result is switching from portrait to
landscape mode).

Apple provides major updates to the iOS operating system approximately once a
year via iTunes and also, for devices that came with iOS version 5.0 or later, over the
air. The latest version is iOS 8, which is available for the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5,iPhone
5C, iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad 2, the third and fourth generation iPad,
the first and second generation iPad Air, the first, second and third generation iPad
Mini, and the fifth generation iPod Touch. The OS update was released on September
17, 2014.

People ware
Every day, people around the world rely on different types of computers for a variety
of applications. To illustrate the range of uses for computers, this section takes you on a
visual and narrative tour of five categories of users:

• Home user
• Small office/home office (SOHO) user

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• Mobile user
• Power user
• Enterprise user

❖ Home User
In an increasing number of homes, the
computer no longer is a convenience. Instead,
it is a basic necessity. Each family member, or
home user, spends time on the computer for
different reasons that include personal
financial management, Web access,
communications, and entertainment.

On the Internet, home users access a huge amount of information,

conduct research, take college classes, pay bills, manage investments, shop,
listen to the radio, watch movies, read books, file taxes, book airline
reservations, make telephone calls, and play games. They also
communicate with others around the world through e-mail, blogs, instant
messages, and chat rooms using personal computers, smart phones, and
other mobile devices.

❖ Small Office/Home Office User

Computers assist small business and home
office users in managing their resources
effectively. A small office/home office
(SOHO) includes any company with fewer
than 50 employees, as well as the self-
employed who work from home. Small offices
include local law practices, accounting firms,
travel agencies, and florists. SOHO users
typically have a desktop computer to perform some or all of their duties.
Many also have smart phones or other mobile devices to manage
appointments and contact information.

SOHO users access the Internet — often wirelessly — to look up

information such as addresses, directions, postal codes, flights (Figure 1-
31a), and package shipping rates or to send and receive e-mail messages or
make telephone calls. Many have entered the e-commerce arena and
conduct business on the Web. Their Web sites advertise products and

73
 services and may provide a means for taking orders. Small business Web
sites sometimes use a Web cam to show the world a live view of some
aspect of their business.

❖ Mobile User
Today, businesses and schools are
expanding to serve people across the
country and around the world. Thus,
increasingly more employees and
students are mobile users, who work
on a computer or mobile device
while away from a main office, home
office, or school. Examples of mobile
users are sales representatives, real
estate agents, insurance agents,
meter readers, package delivery
people, journalists, consultants, and
students.

Mobile users often have mobile computers and/or mobile devices.

With these computers and devices, the mobile user connects to other
computers on a network or the Internet, often wirelessly accessing services
such as e-mail and the Web. Mobile users can transfer information between
their mobile device and another computer, such as one at the main office
or school. For entertainment, the mobile user plays video games on a
handheld game console and listens to music or watches movies on a
portable media player.

❖ Power User
Another category of user, called a power user,
requires the capabilities of a workstation or
other type of powerful computer. Examples of
power users include engineers, scientists,
architects, desktop publishers, and graphic
artists. Power users often work with
multimedia, combining text, graphics, audio,
and video into one application. These users

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 need computers with extremely fast processors because of the nature of
their work.

The power user’s workstation often contains industry-specific

software. For example, engineers and architects use software to draft and
design floor plans, mechanical assemblies, or vehicles. A desktop publisher
uses software to prepare marketing literature. A graphic artist uses
software to create sophisticated drawings. This software usually is
expensive because of its specialized design.

❖ Enterprise User
An enterprise has hundreds or thousands of
employees or customers that work in or do
business with offices across a region, the
country, or the world. Each employee or
customer who uses a computer in the
enterprise is an enterprise user. Many large
companies use the words, enterprise
computing, to refer to the huge network of
computers that meets their diverse computing needs. The network
facilitates communications among employees at all locations.

Users access the network of servers or mainframes through desktop

computers, mobile computers, and mobile devices. Enterprises use
computers and the computer network to process high volumes of
transactions in a single day. Although they may differ in size and in the
products or services offered, all generally use computers for basic business
activities.

75
 Republic of the Philippines
Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology
Cabanatuan City

Name: ______________________________ Score: __________

Yr. & Sec. ________________ Date: ___________

Activity # 1
STRICTLY NO ERASURES

I. Identification: Identify the following. Write your answer on the space provided
before each number. (20 pts.)

__________________________1. It is known as computer program.

__________________________2.
2 types of Software
__________________________3.

__________________________4. It is a software that helps user carry out a task.

__________________________5. An application software that supports the storage, retrieval,

and manipulation of related data.

__________________________6. An application software that represents a level of

sophistication beyond regular word processing.

__________________________7. An application software that represents a level of

sophistication beyond regular word processing.

__________________________8. A software that manage and coordinates the operations of

the computer system.

__________________________9. System software that helps manage, maintain and control

computer resources.

76
__________________________10. A software that helps protect a computer system from
viruses.

II. Enumerate the following: (15 pts.)

A. Types of System Software

1.
2.
3.

B. Tasks performed by an Operating System

4.
5.
6.
7.

C. Types of Software
8.
9.

D. Examples of Application Software

10.
11.
12.

E. Examples of Utility Programs

13.
14.
15.

77
 Republic of the Philippines
Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology
Cabanatuan City

Name: ______________________________ Score: __________

Yr. & Sec. ________________ Date: ___________

Activity # 2
I. Identification: Identify the following.

__________________ 1. HTTP stands for?

__________________2. It is a software application which enables a user to display and interact

with text, images, videos, music, and other information that could be on a website.

__________________3. It is a very prominent web browser for the Windows OS.

__________________4. It is also the native browser on the iPhone and iPod touch.

__________________5. A file format for a web page.

__________________6. It allows web browsers to submit information to web servers as well as

fetch web pages from them.

__________________7. It is a product of the Mozilla Foundation.

__________________ 8. A malware that is self-replicating program designed to carry

out some unauthorized activity on a victim’s computer.

__________________ 9. A type of malware that secretly gathers personal information without

the victim’s knowledge, usually for advertising and other commercial purposes.

_________________10. URL stands for?

78
 Republic of the Philippines
Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology
Cabanatuan City

Name: ______________________________ Score: __________

Yr. & Sec. ________________ Date: ___________

Activity # 3
I. Identification: Identify the following. Write your answer on the space provided
before each number. (20 pts.)

________________1. An OS that was developed by AT&T’s Bell Labs in 1969.

________________2. A 32-bit operating system.

________________3. It acts as a translator allowing the user and the computer to

communicate with each other in a way that is easy to understand.

________________4. An open source operating system.

________________5. Part of a window that contains the start button and notification
area.
________________6. It provides a tree diagram structure to indicate the storage
relationships among files and folders.

________________7.
Two type of User interface
________________8.

________________9. Interface that provides a way to point and click a mouse to select
menu options and manipulate graphical objects displayed on the screen.

________________10. Dos command will display the list of IP in your computer.

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II. Enumerate the following

A. Example of OS

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

B. Different version of android

6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

C. Types of Malware

16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

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REFERENCE :

Introduction to Computers by Peter Norton’s

Sixth Edition

Computer Fundamentals Tutorial (Simply byInformal Learning by tutorialspoint.com)

@Copyright 2014 by Tutorials Point Pvt. Ltd.

Computer Fundamentals by Dr. P. Hamnon

Revised Edition2010

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