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Professional Diploma in
Introduction to Technology

Hardware and
Software
Lesson 1: Summary Notes

PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTRODUCTION TO TECHNOLOGY

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Contents
3 Lesson outcomes

Technology Roadmap

5 Hardware and Software

7 Modern Technologies

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Lesson outcomes
In this lesson, we dive into hardware - for both computer and mobile, and
we also cover the fundamentals of software. We explore the importance of
system and application software to understand usage. Lastly, we identify
trending technologies as a result of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Technology Roadmap
Evolution of Technology

Ada Lovelace was the first computer

programmer whose work was based largely
on that of Charles Babbage in 1837, who
developed the first programmable computer
(Biography, 2014). However, hardware and
software back then is not as we know it today
and technology has come a long way since the
19th century. Even today, the most inexpensive
mobile devices are way more powerful and
much smaller than the most capable computing
The Case of Microsoft and Apple
devices back then and these are devices we
In the late 20th century, it was Apple and Microsoft who
carry around in our pockets. Add to this the
revolutionized computing with the first personal computers.
birth of the internet and we now have an
These systems were versatile and could perform both
interconnected network making our computing
personal and organizational tasks which only spurred
devices so much more intelligent and powerful.
the adoption of this technology (Domanska, 2019). These
companies soon became the tech giants as we know them
today through constant innovation.

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Industry Tech Giants

It wasn’t long before other tech giants joined the arena by leveraging modern hardware and software, along
with the internet to create value for society using digital platforms.

• Google (Leading search engine and internet browser)

• Facebook (World’s largest social networking platform)
• Uber (Most popular e-hailing service, yet doesn’t own any vehicles)

NOTES

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Hardware and Software

Peripherals

More commonly known as computer hardware consists of a variety of devices, these include input devices such
as keyboards/keypads, a mouse, microphones, cameras, etc. Whereas output devices consist of hardware such as
a monitor/smartphone screen, printers, speakers, etc. Sometimes these devices can be both an input and output
device (Chesney, Stair and Reynolds, 2017). A camera, for example, allows you to capture images (input) and send
images to a laptop (output). The best way to distinguish between the two is to ask yourself whether you - the user -
is inputting information to a system or retrieving it. This information exists in various formats, including text, audio
and sound.

System Software

System software is one kind of software that makes up the architecture of an entire system, whether it’s a laptop,
smart TV or smartphone. System software can be thought of as the underlying software that powers application and
productivity software (Chesney, Stair and Reynolds, 2017).

• Samsung/Asus Laptops – Microsoft Windows OS

• Apple Laptop - macOS
• Android Phones – Android OS

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Application Software

Application software is a lot more common than system software and is often developed by companies and
developers to achieve some sort of process (Technopedia, 2020).. For example, apps hosted on Google’s Play Store
and Apple’s App Store are considered application software, this includes apps such as Uber, Google Chrome, Google
Music Player and so on. Even games are considered application software.

Productivity Software

Productivity software is pretty much the same as

application software, if anything, productivity software
is merely a subset or a type of application software.
This type of software is generally used to improve
productivity and workflow of individuals within an
organisation or to automate manual tasks. A couple of
examples include:

• MS Word – A word processing tool to draft digital

documents
• Trello – Used to manage the deliverables of projects
• Adobe – Used to manipulate and edit images
• Code Editors – Used to develop software for various
platforms

NOTES

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Modern Technologies
Fourth Industrial Revolution

Now most of us have heard of the Second and Third Industrial Revolution in which electric power and information
technology were crucial building blocks in society. The Fourth Industrial Revolution, however, is an era in which
rapid advancements in technology through new innovations brings us closer to the digital world, automation and
smart systems – often called disruptive technology. It’s an era in which society has become even more invested in
the use of technology to drive various processes or to achieve specific tasks (Antoniuk et al., 2017).

Digital Society

The digital society is here and it’s time to adapt. We refer to the digital society or digital natives as individuals who
have adopted modern and advanced technologies as a daily part of their lives through technology diffusion. These
technologies have become integrated with society to the extent that we rely on them to perform simple daily tasks
such as maintaining our calendar or even some of the most complex tasks which include using it at an organisational
level to track sales and social media engagement. Digital natives are key to the adoption of disruptive technologies
and they often require the skills and know-how to make use of these technologies (Devaux et al., 2017).

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

One of the most promising technologies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution is the growing interest in Artificial
Intelligence. Artificial Intelligence allows us to perform predictive modelling, forecasting and automation of
mundane tasks. Much like human intelligence, artificial intelligence allows for machines to learn and identify trends
based on a given set of data which allows for the machine to take actions that maximise its probability to achieve a
specific goal (Frankenfield, 2020). Later in this module, we cover artificial intelligence with much more depth, so stay
tuned because it’s an exciting space to be in.

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Immersive Technologies

Another exhilarating topic we’ll cover in greater detail later in this module is Immersive Technologies. Immersive
technologies include those technologies that are able to simulate a real-world environment and increase our
suspension of disbelief, making us feel as if we are actually present in a virtual world (Boas, 2013). The technology
has gained massive traction in the Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality space – with major technology giants such
as Oculus, HTC Vive, Microsoft and Facebook backing its growth.

References
• Antoniuk, L. et al. (2017) ‘Barriers and opportunities for hi-tech innovative small and medium enterprises
development in the 4th industrial revolution era’, Problems and Perspectives in Management, 15(4), pp. 100–113. doi:
10.21511/ppm.15(4).2017.09.
• Biography (2014) Ada Lovelace - Life, Facts & Computer Program - Biography. Available at: https://www.biography.
com/scholar/ada-lovelace (Accessed: 13 July 2020).
• Boas, Y. (2013) ‘Overview of Virtual Reality Technologies’, Mms.Ecs.Soton.Ac.Uk. Available at: http://mms.ecs.soton.
ac.uk/2013/papers/yavb1g12_25879847_finalpaper.pdf.
• Chesney, T., Stair, R. M. and Reynolds, G. W. (2017) Principles of Business Information Systems. Cengage Learning.
Available at: https://books.google.co.za/books?id=gow8swEACAAJ.
• Devaux, A. et al. (2017) ‘Digital Learning’s Role in Enabling Inclusive Skills Development for a Connected World.’, in
EMOOCs-WIP, pp. 104–111.
• Domanska, A. (2019) Apple vs. Microsoft: The Real History | Industry Leaders. Available at: https://www.
industryleadersmagazine.com/apple-vs-microsoft-the-real-history/ (Accessed: 13 July 2020).
• Frankenfield, J. (2020) Artificial Intelligence (AI) Definition. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/
artificial-intelligence-ai.asp (Accessed: 13 July 2020).
• Technopedia (2020) What is Application Software? - Definition from Techopedia. Available at: https://www.
techopedia.com/definition/4224/application-software (Accessed: 13 July 2020).

NOTES

PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTRODUCTION TO TECHNOLOGY