Comprehensive Guide
 Early
times
 From Mainframe to the personal computer
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Bill Gates & Steve Jobs
 Evolution
of Hardware and software
A computer is a machine that manipulates data according to a
list of instructions called a program.
Software/
Programs
 Hardware
 Software
 Hardware
is the tangible (touchable) parts of
a computer.
 There are 3 categories of hardware:
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CPU (case/box)
Input devices (mouse, keyboard)
Output devices (monitor, speakers)
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Additional Information Link: Hardware
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 Examples
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of the CPU Case (box):
Supercomputer
Mainframe
Server
Cloud Computing
Workstation
Personal Computer (PC)
Laptop
Smartphone
Tablet
Notebook
Gaming systems
 The
Central Processing Unit is also referred to
as a Case or Tower
 CPU has 4 major parts:
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The Motherboard (circuit board)
The Processor (connected to the motherboard)
RAM (connected to the motherboard)
Hard Drive (connected to the motherboard)
*Computers today consist of: towers, desktops, laptops,
tablets, notebooks and smart phones.
**There are other things in the CPU like: Power supply,
cooling fan, PCI slots, DVD drives, card readers and more.
 The
motherboard is the main circuit board in
the case. Everything in your computer
plugs into the motherboard.
 The processor is the “brain” of the computer.
 Both the motherboard and processor are
measured by how fast they are (speed) which
is measured as “Hertz.”
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Computer ‘speed’ table:
 1000 Hertz = 1 Kilohertz (KHz)
 1000 KHz = 1 Megahertz (MHz)
 1000 MHz = 1 Gigahertz (GHz)
More Information Links: Motherboard
Processor
 The
processor speeds of personal computers
are now clocked at between 3 – 4 GHz, with
up to 5 GHz being fastest.
 The motherboard main circuit board allows
data to travel at different speeds. 1800 MHz
is considered to be very fast.
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Each motherboard has a ‘socket’ that you plug
the processor into. Only certain models of
processors can fit into certain sockets.
Processors are made by companies like Intel,
AMD, Cyrix and Motorola.
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What are the 2 parts to any computer system?
What are the 3 categories of hardware?
What are the 4 most important things in your
cpu?
How many megahertz are in a gigahertz?
1.33 ghz is how many megahertz?
3200 MHz is how many Gigahertz?
What would be a fast speed for a processor?
What would be a fast speed for a
motherboard?
1.
What are the 2 parts to any computer system?
Hardware & Software
2.
What are the 3 categories of hardware?
CPU, Input &
Output
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4.
What are the 4 most important things in your
CPU? Motherboard, Processor, RAM, & Hard Drive
How many megahertz are in a Gigahertz? 1000
(actully, 1024 to be exact)
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1.33 ghz is how many Megahertz? 1330 mhz
3200 MHz is how many Gigahertz? 3.2 Ghz
What would be a fast speed for a processor
today? 3 to 4 ghz
What would be a fast speed for a motherboard?
1800 MHz
RAM stands for Random Access Memory, and is
temporary.
 When you load a program, it loads into the RAM.
 This is measured in Bytes. See next page for a
chart on these measurements.
 Some programs need more RAM than others to
run:
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Video creation & Gaming have high use of RAM
 Typing, listening to music & using the internet are
light RAM uses
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For more information: RAM
RAM cards are inserted into the DIMM
Slots on a Motherboard
Check out this RAM
Video: RAM Video
 This
is a permanent place to store your programs
and files; Is where your files are saved. Acts like a
file cabinet.
 Measured, like RAM, in bytes:
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1000 bytes = 1 kilobyte (Kb)
1000 KB = 1 megabyte (mb)
1000 mb = 1 gigabyte (gb)
1000 gb = 1 terabyte (tb)
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Typical song file = 5 mb
Typical movie file = from 500mb for today’s compressed HD
files, to over 14gb for one hour of AVI files.
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For more information: Data Sizes
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Hard Drive
The Hard Drive is connected to
the motherboard using ribbontype cables.
 An
input device sends a signal to the
processor to be processed.
 Keyboard,
 mouse,
 modem,
 router,
 flash
drive,
 CD/DVD ROM or RW,
 Camera,
 camcorder,
 smartphone,
 mp3 player,
 microphone,
 scanner,
 touch screen monitor….
 An
output device sends a signal from the
processor to be used by the user.
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Monitor, printer, speakers/headphones, flash
drives, projectors, camera, camcorder, modem,
routers, CD/DVD RW and more.
Dedicated VIDEO CARDS – needed to run today’s
video games, to edit images, video and 3D
graphics & animations.
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Intel dedicated graphics
ATI graphics cards ($$$)
NVidia graphics cards ($$$)
 Is
generally divided into 2 categories:
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Operating software
Application software
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Information Link: Software
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 Operates
the computer: start (boot), make
folders, printing, installing software
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Operating System: It is your INTERFACE!
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Windows (Servers, Workstations, PC’s & Windows smartphones)
Macintosh (Servers, Apple & IPhone)
Linux (Open Source operating system)
Android (Google-based operating system; mainly for smartphones and
tablets)
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Unix –
(Large supercomputers & mainframes)
Drivers
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Programs installed with hard drives, input and output
devices to help the operating system communicate
with these devices.
Link for more info: Operating systems
 See Drivers, operating systems & user interface
 Programs
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that help you do a task:
Play a game, type a letter, make a video, go on the internet, listen to music, etc .
Top Categories (with examples):
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Word-processing (Microsoft Word, Open Office, Google Docs, WordPad & Notepad)
Spreadsheets (Microsoft Excel, Open Office Calc, Google Spreadsheet)
Presentation (Microsoft PowerPoint, Open Office Impress, Google’s Presentation, Prezi)
Database (Access, Base (Google Docs doesn’t have this tool))
Games (solitaire, Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, Candy Crush, Angry Birds)
Browsers (Explorer, Chrome, Firefox)
Educational (Mavis Beacon, Carmen Sandiego)
Desktop publishing (Microsoft Publisher, Adobe PageMaker)
Image Editing (Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, Pixlr)
Video editing (Adobe Premiere, Apple Final Cut, IMovie, Windows Moviemaker)
Audio Playback (Windows Media player, Real player, QuickTime, Win Amp)
Audio Editing (Adobe Audition, Pro Tools, Audacity, FileLab)
Animation (Adobe After Effects, Windows Wax, I Motion, Fusion)
3D Graphics (Blender, 3D Max, Maya, Cinema 4D)
Malware – bad for your computer!
 General
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Installed programs – can be either Proprietary
(closed source code with cost/sometimes free) or
Open Source (open code and free/sometimes
cost)
Web Applications – also know as online tools
and/or cloud applications.
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Categories
These usually ‘run’ inside of your web browser
Widgets – small programs with a specific task
like:
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Screen clocks, stock market tickers, weather, etc.
Link for more info: Application Software
 See Applications Software, Web applications,
Widgets.
 System
Requirements
When software was sold from boxes in stores, the box had a list of system requirements that had to be met in order for the
software to work properly. The sales clerk would generally point out unusual requirements. Today, we buy much of our software
online, but it still won't work if we fail to meet the system requirements. Always check for these.
Common system requirements are:
•Platform: Some combination of operating system and hardware, for example:
Windows Vista or Windows 7 with Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon dual-core processor, 3.0 GHz or
higher
•A minimum amount of RAM
•A minimum amount of free hard disk space
•Minimal display quality, for example:
1,024 x 768 display resolution
•Supporting software, for example:
Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 or later
DirectX 9.0 or later
•Graphics card, (output device) for example
ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT, or better recommended
•Sound card (output device) with speakers or headphones, for example
100% DirectX compatible sound card and drivers
•Optical (DVD input & outputs device) drive, with some minimum speed (32x)
•Internet Access for online/multiplayer game
Some systems will require more unique system hardware, for example the Nunchuk controller, zapper, shotgun, and
yoga mat are only a few of the specialized UI devices available for a Wii. One would expect a yoga "game" to
require the yoga mat.
 Malicious
software that disrupts or denies
operations of your computer and leads to a loss
of privacy and poor computer performance.
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Viruses & Worms –
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Trojans – Seemingly friendly program with unknown unfriendly
unfriendly program that starts in one
program and spreads to others
programs running ‘behind’ it
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Spyware – gathers info on user without their knowledge
Loggers – unfriendly programs that track a users keystrokes,
usually to steal passwords
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Adware – unfriendly program that displays as a pop-up when
online and often comes with spyware attached. Don’t click on
them!
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Link for more info: Malware