Objectives - Chapter 1
After reading this chapter, you should be able to answer the
following questions:
1. What does it mean to be “computer literate”? (p. 3)
2. How does being computer literate make you a savvy
computer user and consumer? (pp. 4–5)
3. How can becoming computer literate help you in a career?
(pp. 5–21)
4. How can becoming computer literate help you understand
and take advantage of future technologies? (pp. 21–23)
5. What kinds of challenges do computers bring to a digital
society, and how does becoming computer literate help you
deal with these challenges? (pp. 23–24)
Chapter 2
Looking at Computers:
Understanding the Parts
4

Functions of a computer

Data versus information

Bits and bytes

Input devices

Output devices

System unit*

Ergonomics*
5

Computer
◦ Electronic device that performs 4 major functions,
input, process, output, and store data
◦ takes data and converts it into information
 Data: words, numbers, sounds, pictures, facts,
ideas
 Information: processed/organized data presented
in a meaningful way
2-50
Input
Storage
Process
Output
2-50


Data: Representation of a fact or idea
Information: Organized, meaningful data
8
If a telephone book is
not alphabetized is it
data or Information?
9
Computer Language is in 0s and 1s



Bit
◦ Is short for Binary digit
◦ Is either a 0 or 1
Byte
◦ Eight bits
Each letter, number, and character = a string of
eight 0s and 1s
Example:
01001011 = K
2-50
10
= 8 bits
2-51
11

Megabytes:

Gigabytes:

Terabytes:

◦ around 1 million characters
◦ around 1 billion characters
◦ around 1 trillion characters
Petabytes:
- around 1 quadrillion characters
Who uses terabytes??
2-51





Wal-Mart
E-Bay
Nielsen Media
U.S. Library of Congress
Ancestry.com
Not just bigger – we are going
faster……..

Wal-mart refreshes sales data hourly
Information Weekly
A book without words or
a CD without music?

Software: are programs that enable the
monitor, processor, printer… to perform
different tasks.
◦ Application software: specific task
◦ System software: enables hardware devices and
application software to work together
2-51
14
Operating System
Windows XP
Mac-OS
Windows Vista
2-52
15
16
 Devices
used to enter information
or instructions into the computer
◦ Keyboard
◦ Mouse/pointing device
◦ Microphone
◦ Scanner
◦ Digital camera
◦ Stylus
2-52
17
The QWERTY layout
◦ is standard on most PCs
◦ Designed for a typewriter - created to
SLOW down typists to prevent jams
◦ Inefficient slows down typists
2-53
18
Dvorak layout
 puts the most commonly used keys on
the middle row
 Reduces distance of finger stretches
2-53
19

Personal Digital Assistant

Tablet PCs

Wireless keyboard
◦ Stylus
◦ Built in keyboard
Stylus: pen
shaped device
◦ Stylus
◦ Touch sensitive screen
◦ Handwriting recognition
◦ Unattached – battery
◦ RF or Radio Frequency 6 to 30 feet away
(radio waves – no pointing)
Tablet PC
20

Numeric keypad
◦ enter numbers quickly

Control key (CTRL)
◦ Used in a combination with other keys

Function keys (F1, F2…)
◦ Perform specific tasks
◦ Each software application has its own tasks
◦ F1 is usually help but F2 is different in Word/Excel

Toggle keys
◦ Turns a function off or on
◦ Example: insert key – on/inserts – off/replaces
text
2-54
21

Touch pad

Optical mouse

Trackball

Wireless
◦ Interprets taps as mouse clicks
◦ On notebooks or laptops
◦
◦
◦
◦
Internal sensor or laser
Needs no mouse pad
Doesn’t need cleaning
Most common now
◦ Easier on wrists
◦ Stays stationary on desk
◦ Use radio or light waves
2-57
22


EPOS Digital Pen
Web Cam
EPOS
◦ Transmit live video over the
web

Physically Challenged
◦ Voice recognition
◦ Keyboards with larger keys
◦ trackballs
23

Microphones used for:
◦ Podcasts: a clip of audio or video
◦ Video-conferencing
◦ Internet phone calls
◦ Speech recognition
24


Send processed data out of the computer
◦ Monitors
◦ Printers
Output devices make:
◦ Soft copies -video, sounds, control signals
◦ Hard copies (print)
2-60
25

CRT
Cathode Ray Tube
◦ Less expensive

LCD
Liquid Crystal Display
◦ Most popular
◦ Use much more space
◦ Use far less space
◦ Use more energy
◦ More energy efficient
◦ Offer better viewing angles ◦ Less viewable angles
26

Screens are grids made up of millions of pixels.

Pixels are tiny dots colored RED BLUE GREEN.

Resolution is the image’s clearness or sharpness.
◦ Most important factor to consider with a LCD
◦ The higher the resolution, the sharper the image.
1,600 x 1,200
1,600 vertical columns with 1,200 pixels
2-62
27

Impact printers
◦ Dot-matrix

Nonimpact printers
◦ Inkjet: spray ink
◦ Laser : use laser beams

Wireless printers
 Uses blue tooth technology
 Notebooks, cameras

Specialty printers
◦ Multifunction
◦ Plotters: oversize images
◦ Thermal printers: wax transfer
2-64-66
28

Inkjet
◦ Less expensive device
◦ Print high-quality color
images cost effectively

Laser
◦ More expensive device
◦ Faster printing speed
◦ Less expensive per
page in Black & White
◦ Color lasers are
becoming less
expensive
29
Factors to Consider

Speed - ppm or pages per minute

Resolution - dpi or dots per inch

Color output – best individual cartridges

Memory

Use and cost

Cost of consumables – cost of cartridges
2-64
30

4 functions of a computer

Data versus information

Bits and bytes

Input devices

Output devices

System unit*

Ergonomics*
31




Power control
Drive bays
Memory card
reader
Productivity
ports
2-69
32
2-73
33



Permanent (nonvolatile) storage
Internal or external versions
Stores the largest capacity for a CD
34


Flash drives (jump
drives/removable drives)
◦ Newer storage alternative
◦ Plug into USB ports
◦ Portable
Flash memory cards
◦ Slide into slots in the
system
2-72
35
Larger
phone
jack Internet
Cable
Fastest
Mp3…
36
2-75
39
2-76
40




Referred to as the “brains” of the computer
Controls all functions of the computer
Processes all commands and instructions
Can perform billions of tasks per second
41
Random access memory (RAM)
 Stores instructions and data
 Temporary (volatile) storage
 Operates in nanoseconds
Read only memory (ROM)
◦ Holds all the instructions the computer
needs to start up.
◦ Non-volatile storage
42
◦ Monitor Position
 25 inches from your eyes
 At eye level
◦ Wrists should be flat
◦ Forearms parallel to floor
◦ Take Breaks
◦ Adequate Lighting
◦ Adjustable Seating
Ergonomics
Equipment that
maximizes productivity
and minimizes fatigue
2-77
Objectives - Chapter 2 (continued)
After reading this chapter, you should be able to
answer the following questions:
5. What’s on the front of your system unit? (p. 69)
6. What’s on the back of your system unit? (p. 72)
7. What’s inside your system unit? (p. 75)
8. How do you set up your computer to avoid strain
and injury? (p. 77)

Listen to SoundByte
◦ Port Tour: How Do I Hook Up? with your Head phones
◦ Answer Handout – Multiple Choice
 Answer as you go along
 Green screens are important – pause and re-read
 #5 is c: modem port can be internal and external

Go to www.prenhall.com/techinaction




Chapter 2
5E edition/Companion Web Site
On-line Study Guide
E-mail results to me at cmcdougall@dccc.edu and to
yourself to study
46
1.
2.
System Software
Operating System: provides the instructions
that the computer needs to run
Application Software
consists of programs that tell a computer
how to produce information or accomplish a
task
4-208/212/2

What’s on the front of your system unit?
49

What’s on the back of your system unit?
50

What’s inside your system unit?
51

How do you set up your computer to avoid
strain and injury?
52
Objectives - Chapter 2
After reading this chapter, you should be able to
answer the following questions:
1. What exactly is a computer, and what are its
four main functions? (p. 50)
2. What is the difference between data and
information? (p. 50)
3. What are bits and bytes, and how are they
measured? (p. 50)
4. What devices do you use to get data into the
computer? (p. 52)