Computers:
Tools for an Information Age
An Overview
CIS 105: Mesa Community College
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Topics
Computer Literacy
Information Literacy
Definition of a Computer
The information processing cycle:
Input, Processing, Output, and Storage
Categories of computers
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CIS 105: Mesa Community College
Computer Literacy
Computers are used everywhere in society –
home, school, work.
To take full advantage of computers and to be an
informed consumer, individuals should become
computer literate.
Computer Literacy involves having knowledge
and understanding of computers and their uses.
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Includes being aware of the various components in a
computer system and understanding how they work
together (hardware).
Need to learn to use various applications (software).
Need to know some of the related jargon (RAM, Bytes,
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SATA, etc).
CIS 105: Mesa Community College
Information Technology
Information Technology or IT
IT is the set of techniques used in
information handling and retrieval of
information automatically.
IT includes computers,
telecommunications (networks), and
software.
Throughout the course we’ll be looking at
the various components in detail.
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CIS 105: Mesa Community College
Information Literacy
Information Literacy is knowing how to find,
analyze, evaluate, and use information.
A lot of information is published or readily available
on the Internet, including public records. Users
need to validate the information before using it.
Individuals and businesses collect and store a lot of
information on their computers.
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It needs to be accurate, organized and retrievable in
order for it to be useful.
This means having a good initial design and maintaining
the data.
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CIS 105: Mesa Community College
Definition of a Computer
A computer is an electronic device,
operating under the control of instructions
stored in its own memory that accepts
data (input) and processes it to produce
useful information (output) that can also be
stored for future use.
A computer system includes all of the
hardware (including peripheral devices)
and software installed in a computer.
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Personal Computer System
Peripheral Devices
are the
External Devices
System Unit is the case that
contains the internal devices.
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Computer System Components
Hardware refers to the electronic and
mechanical components – usually tangible
Software refers to the applications or programs
that contain instructions that tell the hardware
what to do.
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Two categories: Operating System and Applications
People
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Computer Engineers design hardware
Computer programmers write software
Users purchase and use the hardware and software
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CIS 105: Mesa Community College
Information Processing Cycle
A computer system’s hardware
and software support the
Information Processing Cycle –
the process of converting raw data
to information and/or storing.
Input
Raw Data
Process
(Application)
Output
Information
Storage
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CIS 105: Mesa Community College
Raw Data vs. Information
Raw Data may
include a collection of
unorganized facts
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Words
Numbers
Images
Sounds
Information is data
that is organized,
meaningful, and useful
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Reports
Newsletters
Receipt or Invoice
Picture
Checks
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CIS 105: Mesa Community College
Why is a Computer Powerful?
Speed of light... Can calculate, sort, edit text,
graphics, sound and video very fast.
Reliability – electronic components last a long time.
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Power surges or overheating can damage them.
Most failures are in mechanical devices (hard drives).
Software conflicts cause hardware problems.
Accuracy – given the same input and processes, a
computer will produce the same output each time.
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Garbage in, Garbage out means that the accuracy of a computer’s
output depends on the accuracy of the input.
Storage – access to hard drives and other media is
relatively fast and efficient.
Computers can be networked to share peripheral
devices and to facilitate communication.
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Where are Computers Used?
Everywhere.
See textbook
for additional
examples of how
computers are
used in various
careers.
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CIS 105: Mesa Community College
Computer Categories
Personal Computers (PC)
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Micros and Workstations
Notebook
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Portable, laptop, Tablets
Mobile Devices
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Portable Digital Assistant (PDA ),
Handhelds, Smart Phones
Servers
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Web, Print, Network Servers
Mainframe and
Supercomputers (Cray)
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Support many users
Cluster of computers
Host applications
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CIS 105: Mesa Community College
Commercial Computing Timeline
1946 – The Vacuum Tube
1958 – Transistors incorporated, but were
invented in 1947.
1964 – The Integrated Circuit – a complete
electronic circuit on a small chip of silicon.
1971 – Microprocessor – a separate
general-purpose processor on a chip
Next slide – Apple and IBM…
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CIS 105: Mesa Community College
Commercial Computing Timeline
1976 – Apple II Computer
(Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak)
1981 – IBM PC’s
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IBM shared “blue prints”
so IBM-compatibles
became available.
MS-DOS –
Microsoft Disk Operating
System (Bill Gates)
Bill Gates and Paul Allen
founded Microsoft in 1975
See Textbook for other
significant and
more recent events
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Sources
Capron; Computers: Tools for An
Information Age, 8th Ed. 2003
Pfaffenberger; Computers in Your Future 2003
Shelly: Discovering Computers 2008
Microsoft Clipart
Webopedia
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