Introduction to Computers

(Concepts)
Objectives
We will be covering the basic concepts of a computer in this chapter. By the end of
this section, you should be able to answer the following questions:
What is a computer?
What does a computer do?
What parts make up a computer?

Why do I need to know this?

In order to operate a computer effectively, it is important to understand the basic
concepts of computing. Knowing the basic components of a computer will help you
to feel more confident when using a computer. This section also helps you to learn
some basic vocabulary to use when talking about a computer as well.

What is a computer?
A simple definition is that a computer is an electronic device that stores and
processes data. A computer gets its data through input, then after processing the
data, it gives back an output and may store the data for later use. This definition is
a bit general and a toaster, for example, could meet such a description.
In terms of this class, a computer is a collection of hardware and software
components that work together to perform operations and calculations on data.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-computer.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer

Computer Types
Most people have heard of desktops and laptops, but what many people do not
know is that desktops are not the first computer. In fact, computers started out
huge and over the years have gotten smaller. Currently, there are four types of
computers.

Mainframe Computers are used for applications that required a large amount
of data to be processed. Mainframe computers are typically used by large
organizations and stored in specially designed metal cases in air-conditioned
rooms.
Microcomputer refers to a computer that has a microprocessor as the main
processing unit. Microcomputers take up the least space and are the least
powerful of the types of computers. However, they are the most widely used
and the most commonly known type of computer.
o Three types of microcomputer:

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Desktops are microcomputers that are capable of sitting on top of

counters or desks but cannot easily be carried around.
Laptops are microcomputers that are capable of being carried around
and used on a persons lap.
Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are microcomputers that are capable
of being carried around and held in a persons hand.
Keep in mind that on average the smaller a computer gets, the less powerful
it becomes as compared to other computers in the same generation.
Minicomputers are medium sized computers that are in between
microcomputers and mainframe computers.
Supercomputers are the most powerful computers. Supercomputers are used
for applications that require fast processing, particularly fast calculation
times. Supercomputers are usually large, sometimes taking up whole rooms.

http://www.unm.edu/~tbeach/terms/types.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classes_of_computers

What does a computer do?

Four basic operations:
Input (uses input devices: keyboard, mouse, touch screen, microphone,
camera) a device that sends a signal to the computer. The computer will
then interpret these signals and will act on them, either displaying text when
you type on a keyboard, moving the mouse pointer, or recording pictures
from a camera.
Processing (Central Processing Unit (CPU)) software sends instructions to
the CPU, telling it what to do with the data it has, either storing it onto the
hard drive or doing basic math operations on numbers.
Output (uses output devices: monitor, printer, speakers) a device that lets
you interpret the result of what the processor did. This most common output
device is your computer monitor, displaying an image drawn by the CPU.
This can also be speakers playing music or a printer printing off a page.
Storage (uses storage devices: hard drive, CD-ROM, DVD, flash drive) when
the processor does work, either reading what was typed into the keyboard or
doing a complex set of math instructions, it puts the final result in a
temporary scratch space. To save the results permanently the computer
needs to save it to a storage device. This can be your hard drive, a USB
thumb drive, an audio CD, etc.
The distinction is not always clear: Is a modem an example of an input or
output device? The answer: Both! A modem takes input from other computers on
the Internet but also sends output to your computer. Some devices can serve more
than one function. Another example is an MP3 player. It can be used as a storage
device (to store songs) and output those songs played to the headphones.

Hardware Components
Hardware components are the physical pieces that make up a computer. Five
different components are needed to build a computer: Input Devices, Central
Processing Unit, Memory, Output Devices, and Storage Devices.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer_hardware

Input Devices
Input devices are tools used for inserting data into a computer or other electronic
device. These allow the user to interact with computers and the software installed
on them. Input devices typically fall into one of three categories: keyboards,
pointing devices, and source data- entry devices, which take in information with
little or no human input. Examples of input devices include:
Keyboards - devices that have alphanumeric keys that allow users to input data:
Traditional keyboards
Telephone keypads
Pointing Devices - devices that allow a user to navigate to different points on the
screen to select items:
Mouse
Touch Screen
Tablet
Light pens
Source Data-Entry Devices:
Microphones - a device that takes audio input from a user
Modem - a device that receives data from an internet service provider
Scanner - a device that creates a digital image from papers or photos

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The "brains" of the computer

Contains the electronic circuits that control the
computer
Also has the parts that allows the computer to do math
Housed inside the System Unit
Controls everything that goes on inside the computer and allows the software
and devices to work together

Without the CPU, your computer would be a useless box filled with expensive
electronic parts that cannot do anything. If you think about it, the central
processing unit is the computer, since it is the part of the computer that does all of
the computing. If you think of your computer as a small town, the CPU would be
City Hall. It sits at the center of everything, making sure that projects get the
resources they need to accomplish their goals, and that no one is trying to use the
same resource at the same time.
Everything a computer does, from playing a game to displaying a spreadsheet, is
basically a mathematical calculation. The CPU, using millions of microscopic
circuits, is the part of the computer that makes those calculations. Modern CPUs
can perform billions of calculations per second. Their operating speeds are
measured in gigahertz, or GHz. Typically, the higher the GHz, the more powerful a
processor is, though this is not necessarily always true.

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Memory

Random Access Memory (RAM)

o Stores information inside the computer temporarily.
o Volatile memory is lost when power is turned off.
Read Only Memory (ROM)
o Stores information permanently
o Non-volatile memory not lost when power is turned off.
o Can be inside a computer (BIOS) or outside (CD-ROM/DVD-ROM).
o Cannot be written to.
Used to speed up the computers performance.
o Storages devices are slow, often the slowest part of the computer!
o Fast memory can be used to hide the slowness

Random Access Memory, or RAM, is high-speed memory available for the CPU to use
while it is performing its billions of calculations per second. RAM is volatile memory,
but you should not be frightened of it. In this instance, the word volatile merely
means that the memory loses what it is storing if it does not have power. By
contrast, ROM, or Read Only Memory, is non-volatile, which means it very calmly
keeps its contents when the computers power is turned off. Unfortunately, as you
may have guessed by the name, ROM is read only, which means the CPU cannot
use it in the same way that it uses RAM.
If you imagine the CPU as a chef in a busy kitchen, frantically trying to make
appetizers, entrees and desserts for a restaurant full of hungry people, then RAM is
like the kitchen counter that the chef is using to prepare the dishes. The larger the
counter is, the more things the chef can work on at once, and conversely, the
smaller the counter is, the more time the chef has to spend clearing it off in order to
work on something else. Even if she is the best chef in the world, a small counter
will slow her down. It does not matter how quickly someone can chop onions, if
they have to spend part of their time clearing the counter, then that time cannot be
used to prepare delicious souffls, and people will go hungry. You can make your
CPU a much happier chef by giving it large, expansive counters to work with.
How much RAM memory does your computer have? To find the answer to this
question, right-click on the My Computer icon on your desktop or in the Start menu,
and select System Properties button towards the top of the window. Under the
System heading, it should list the speed of your processor and the amount of RAM
memory your computer has installed.

Output Devices
Output devices provide users with information in a form they can understand,
typically in an audio or visual form. Examples of output devices include:
Monitor a device that shows output visually
Speaker a device that outputs audio (sound)
Printer a device that prints out documents and images to paper
Modem a device that communicates (outputs signals) to an Internet Service
Provider

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Two monitors are better than one

Storage Devices

Floppy disks are an older storage method using a flexible magnetic

disk in a portable plastic case. They could hold up to 2.88 MB of info.
Hard disks are the common storage method consisting of multiple
magnetic spinning disks inside of a metal shell. These are internal drives and
not usually removed (unless in the case of failure or upgrade). They can
store up to two terabytes of data.
CD-ROMs differ from floppy disks in that they use light (laser) instead
of magnetic to store data. They are portable and some are rewritable. They
can store up to 700 MB of info.
DVD-ROMs are similar to CD-ROMs expect that they use a smaller laser. They
are also portable and can hold 4.7 to 17 gigabytes.
USB Thumb drives are made of flash memory. They are small, portable, and
rewritable. They have taken over the floppy disk role and can hold up to 128
gigabytes each. They work much like your internal hard disk except they are
smaller.
External Hard Drives are exactly like hard disks except they portable.
They are usually connected by USB or Firewire. These are bigger than the
USB Thumb Drive and usually require another power outlet to plug into. They
also can store up to two terabytes of data.

An important point to note is that as technology improves the capacity for

storage increases. Currently a thumb drive commonly holds 8 or more gigabytes,
but in a year 8 gigabytes may be the smallest commonly available. This is part of
why floppy discs are no longer popular; they are slow and have a very limited
storage capacity.
Storage Sizes- when we talk about storage, the size of the hard disk or the size
of memory, we often talk about size in terms of bytes. A byte is how much space is
needed to store one character (one letter in English). The computer only sees
information in terms of 1 and 0, on or off. This single 1 or 0 is called a bit. A byte,
the number of 1s and 0s that make up a single character, is 8 bits. So 1 byte = 8
bits. However, computers today can store many billions, or even trillions of bytes!
This would be unwieldy to say, so instead we use prefixes, much like metric
measurement units.

Byte = 8 Bits, one character, a single letter

1 Kilobyte (KB) = 1 thousand bytes
1 Megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes or 1 thousand kilobytes
1 Gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes or 1 thousand megabytes
1 Terabyte (TB) = 1 trillion bytes or 1 thousand gigabytes

When You Turn on a Computer

When you push the Power button, the computer whirs, lights light up, the monitor
comes on, and you are ready to go. Many things make this possible, and the
following is a short description of the processes that occur:

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1. When you first push the power button, electricity flows through the power
supply to the CPU (Central Processing Unit), which resets and then looks for
the BIOS (basic input/output system). The BIOS is an internal program
(firmware) that identifies, tests, and initializes system devices and is stored in
ROM (read only memory) which is memory that retains its data with or
without power, unlike RAM (random access memory). While the BIOS is
loading, you may briefly see the BIOS screen (text based) that provides
information about the BIOS, as well as give you the ability to access the
Setup Program. The Setup Program allows the low-level configuration of the
computer hardware.
2. When the BIOS is first loaded, a Power On Self Test (POST) is initiated. The
POST is responsible for checking the basic operation of all computer
hardware. Any bad hardware, or hardware not connected, will cause the
POST to fail.
3. The BIOS will then load the operating system, which is when the operating
system takes over. The operating system is the interface between the user
and the hardware.
4. The first program the operating system loads is the kernel. A kernel gets its
name from a popcorn kernel because, like a popcorn kernel, it is relatively
small and has a protective layer around it. The kernel is responsible for
handling communication between the user and the hardware. It
accomplishes this through drivers, which are special programs that the kernel
uses to interpret user requests into a language that special hardware can
understand. Once all the drivers are loaded, the operating system then loads
the registry, which is a centralized source of application settings and file
associations.
5. The last automated step of the startup procedure is the loading of system
utilities. System utilities include sound control, antivirus software, power
management, network configurations, and automatic update software.
6. User authentication is the last step of the startup procedure. It allows a user
to log in to the computer using their individual credentials.
Fix common PC problems

Summary

In this module, you learned what a computer is and how to distinguish between the
different types of computers. You also learned the basic functions a computer
performs (input, output, processing, and storage) and some of the devices that
perform those functions (keyboard, monitor, CPU, RAM, etc.). The module
concluded with a discussion of what happens when a computer is turned on.

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