A COMPUTER
PLEASE
COMMENT ON THE FOLLOWING
Nothing represents modern life better
than computers: they have entered its
every aspect and can even be considered
the symbolic representation of the
modern world.
START
UP
Do you consider yourself to be “computer literate“?
If ‘yes’, in which areas?
If ‘no’, why?
Does having a computer help make your life easier?
Or does it make your life more complicated?
Please explain.
How have computers changed the way you work or study?
What are the differences between first computers and
modern ICT devices?
Are there any disadvantages of using computers in our
everyday lives?
What do you think computers will be used for in the future?
PLEASE
READ THE FOLLOWING TEXT:
I remember a time before cellphones, computers, and video
games. These memories remain ever clear in my mind.
As a kid and even a teenager I never imagined the way
technology would not only change my life, but also, the
world.
The computer has replaced so many things I used as a child,
that I'm not even sure where to begin. My Grandma, (God
rest her soul) was like the big sister I never had when I was
a teenager. I could tell her anything, and she always gave
me good advice and never judged me. In order to
communicate with her I wrote her letters and she wrote me
back. I am so happy that I still have those
memories of her.
Now everyone sends e-mail, yes, even myself.
It's so much quicker and more effective,
because you get a response so much sooner.
When I was a kid, dinner was always at the
kitchen table at the exact time every day! We
would all be finished and had everything
cleaned up, so we could all sit around the TV
for the evening news with Dan Rather. That's
how we got our news.
Because of my busy lifestyle, I now get my
news every time I log on, by looking at the
news links on my Yahoo! page. If I see news I
want to read more about, I click on the link.
In grade school and high school when I needed to
write a report I would go to the set of
encyclopedias we had to do my research. Then
write my paper. If the paper I was writing was
about something current, I used the evening news
or went to the library to look through
newspapers.
Now it's all about Google. Between my
daughter and myself, we use Google many
times a day.
While writing my papers as a kid if I didn't
know how to spell a word, I used a
dictionary.
Now I either look up the word in an on line
dictionary or use spell check.
How about you?
Can you think about of life before computers,
cellphones, and video games!
Any memories?
The first computers were people. "Computer"
was originally a job title: it was used to describe
those people whose job it was to perform
repetitive arithmetic calculations.
In the 1930s, with the first electric powered
computers, the word started referring to a
machine.
The earliest electronic computers were not
personal in any way: they were enormous,
hugely expensive, and required a team of
engineers and other specialists to keep them
running.
The capacity of the early generation of
computers was determined by their physical
size: the greater the size, the bigger the
volume. Besides, many of early computer
technology innovations were developed for
military purposes and kept secret from the
public for decades.
In time, new technologies made it possible to
build computers that were smaller in size. One
of the most significant inventions in the
history of computers was certainly the
microprocessor.
Before it was invented, computers needed a
separate integrated-circuit chip for each one
of their functions, but now whole processors
could fit into a single chip that can run the
computer’s programs, store information and
manage data all by itself.
This innovation made it cheaper and easier to
manufacture computers and led to the
introduction of the first personal computers in
the 1970s. BASIC programming language,
adapted by Bill Gates and Paul G. Allen (Harvard
students at the time), made the first PCs
easier to use.
The two programmers soon founded a company
of their own - Microsoft. Soon afterwards,
Steve Jobs and Peter Wozniak made a
homemade computer Apple I that would
likewise change the world. The PC revolution
was ready to begin.
During the next few decades, personal
computers gradually become irreplaceable, both
in offices and at homes. New inventions, such as
Graphic User Interface and computer mouse,
made PCs even more convenient and userfriendly.
Hundreds of companies sell personal computers,
accessories, sophisticated software and games,
and PCs are used for a wide range of functions
from basic word processing to editing photos to
managing budgets. Today, laptops, smart phones
and tablet computers allow us to have a PC with
us wherever we go and to do almost anything.
I Answer the following questions:
1. What did the word computer
originally mean?
2. What was one of the most
important inventions regarding
computers according to the text
above? Explain why.
3. Explain the importance of Steve
Jobs and Bill Gates for computer
history.
4. Find several adjectives that
describe modern computers in the
text above.
INTERNET
WHAT
IS
INTERNET?
The Internet is a global system
of interconnected computer
networks that use the
standard Internet Protocol
Suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions
of users worldwide.
o
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It is a network of networks that
consists of millions of private,
public, academic, business, and
government networks.
20
HISTORY
The origins of the
Internet reach
back to the 1960s
when the United
States funded
research projects
of its military
agencies.
21
Development of
new networking
technologies
commercialized an
international
network in the mid
1990s.
22
As of 2009, a
quarter of Earth's
population uses the
services of the
Internet.
23
INTERNET
TODAY
During
the
1990s,
it
was
estimated that the Internet grew
by 100 percent per year, with a
brief period of explosive growth
in 1996 and 1997.
The estimated population of
Internet users is over two billion.
24
INTERNET
TODAY
The Internet can now be accessed almost anywhere by
numerous means, especially through mobile Internet
devices, from anywhere there is a wireless network
supporting that device's technology.
25
JAPAN
is the country which has the
world’s fastest broadband
connection.
They offer great Internet
speed for the lowest price in
the world.
26
SECURITY
This is a big problem of Internet
users from all over the world, today.
When a computer connects to a
network and begins communicating
with other computers, it is
essentially taking a risk.
27
Basic security measures involve
protection by well
selected passwords, change of file
permissions and back up of
computer's data.
Security will probably always be high
on the IT agenda simply because
cyber criminals know that a
successful attack can be very
profitable.
SECURITY
Antivirus programs and Internet
security programs are useful in
protecting
a
computer
or
programmable device/system from
malware such as viruses, Trojans,
spyware, worms or bots.
29
ACCESSIBILITY
The prevalent language for communication on
the Internet is English.
Common methods of Internet access in homes
include dial-up, landline broadband, Wi-Fi,
satellite and 3G technology cell phones.
Public places to use the Internet include
libraries and Internet cafes.
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SOCIAL



IMPACT
Entirely new forms of social interaction,
activities, and organizing.
Social networking websites have created a
new form of socialization and interaction.
Also many political groups use the Internet to
achieve a new method of organizing in order
to carry out their mission, having given rise to
Internet activism.
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SOCIAL

IMPACT
Some governments, such as those of
Iran, North Korea, the People's
Republic of China, and Saudi Arabia,
restrict what people in their
countries can access on the
Internet, especially political and
religious content.
32
SOCIAL IMPACT
In the first decade of the 21st
century the first generation is
raised with widespread availability
of Internet connectivity, bringing
consequences and concerns in areas
such as personal privacy and
identity,
and
distribution
of
copyrighted materials.
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INTERNET HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
Find some
about Internet and its use of today.