Computer Basics
You don't have to know everything to be comfortable with computers. But there is a lot of information that will help you understand why things are the way they are... and how disaster can strike!
"Knowledge is power!" So it's to your advantage to gather all the knowledge that you can. Besides which, computers are lots of fun - when they aren't driving you insane!!!
What's in these lessons?
The lessons in this Computer Basics section of Jan's Illustrated Computer Literacy 101 explain a lot of the techno-babble that you hear about computers. The goal is to learn enough that you can follow along as computer technology becomes more and more important in our world.
Consider this set of lessons "Beginning Driver's Ed" for the computer. What might be covered in a Driver's Education course in high school? How the engine works. Parts of the car. How to turn it on. How to shift gears. Rules of the road. Laws. Proper signaling. Lane changing. Basic maintenance. Changing a flat. Filling up with gas. Some clues on when "You'd better stop the car now!"
The topics covered here will introduce you to a similar set of topics about computers. When you finish, you'll be just as prepared to "drive" a computer, as you were to drive a car when you finished Driver's Ed. Scary thought, isn't it? That clearly means you will need lots of practice with a skilled "driver" in the passenger's seat before you can be considered "safe on the road!" But we can get you started! But, really, you'll understand the basic ideas behind computers, some of the ills that affect computers, and some of the basic safety measures to take to keep your computer healthy. You'll gain some knowledge of how we got to today's computers and what lies ahead. It'll be great!
Computer Basics does not require you to touch a computer, except to read the lessons. Other lesson units guide you in actually using a computer, starting with Working with Windows.
If you are using this site as part of a class, your instructor may have you do only certain sections or do them in a different order.
Are you ready? Begin the first lesson by clicking on the little computer.
1 - Computer Types: Intro
Computers are showing up everywhere you look, and even in places you can't see. Computers check out your groceries, pump your gas, dispense money at the ATM, turn the heat on and off, control the way your car runs. They're everywhere! They're everywhere!
In fact, the computer is rapidly becoming, if it hasn't already gotten there, as tightly woven into the fabric of our lives as the automobile. The analogy runs quite deep.
When automobiles were new, many people said "Those smelly, loud, complicated things will never replace the horse!" And "Those things break down in just a few miles, while my faithful horse goes on and on and repairs itself!" Nowadays it's hard to imagine the world without all the variety of four-wheeled, internal combustion vehicles. How many can you name? Sedans, pickup trucks, fire engines, front-end loaders, 4-wheelers, golf carts, bulldozers, cranes, vans, dump trucks... We have an "automobile" for every purpose under heaven - and in different models and colors, too.
So it is with computers. There are different kinds of computers for different purposes. They are just as varied in size, expense, and ability as our more familiar 4-wheeled vehicles are.
What is a computer?
A computer is an electronic device that executes the instructions in a program.
A computer has four functions:
a. accepts data
Input
The Information Processing Cycle
b. processes data
Processing
c. produces output
Output
d. stores results
Storage
In the lessons that follow we will study the parts of the computer and each of the four parts of the Information Processing Cycle.
Some Beginning Terms
Hardware
the physical parts of the computer.
Software
the programs (instructions) that tell the computer what to do
Data
individual facts like first name, price, quantity ordered
Information
data which has been massaged into a useful form, like a complete mailing address
Default
the original settings; what will happen if you don't change anything.
What makes a computer powerful?
Speed
A computer can do billions of actions per second.
Reliability
Failures are usually due to human error, one way or another. (Blush for us all!)
Storage
A computer can keep huge amounts of data.
There is a computer for every use under heaven, or so it seems. Let's look at the kinds of computers that there are, based on general performance levels.
Personal or micro
Computers for personal use come in all shapes and sizes, from tiny PDAs (personal digital assistant) to hefty PC (personal computer) towers. More specialized models are announced each week - trip planners, expense account pads, language translators...
Hand-held (HPC)
PDA
Tablet PC
Laptop/Notebook
Desktop
Tower
Workstation
Descriptions of Personal Computers
When talking about PC computers, most people probably think of the desktop type, which are designed to sit on your desk. (Bet you figured that one out!) The tower and the smaller mini-tower style cases have become popular as people started needing more room for extra drives inside. Repairmen certainly appreciate the roominess inside for all the cables and circuit boards ... and their knuckles.
A workstation is part of a computer network and generally would be expected to have more than a regular desktop PC of most everything, like memory, storage space, and speed.
The market for the smallest PCs is expanding rapidly. Software is becoming available for the small types of PC like the palmtop (PPC) and handheld (HPC). This new software is based on new operating systems like Windows CE (for Consumer Electronics). You may find simplified versions of the major applications you use. One big advantage for the newer programs is the ability to link the small computers to your home or work computer and coordinate the data. So you can carry a tiny computer like a PalmPilot around to enter new phone numbers and appointments and those great ideas you just had. Then later you can move this information to your main computer.
With a Tablet PC you use an electronic stylus to write on the screen, just like with a pen and paper, only your words are in digital ink. The Tablet PC saves your work just like you wrote it (as a picture), or you can let the Hand Recognition (HR) software turn your chicken-scratches into regular text.
Main Frame
The main frame is the workhorse of the business world. A main frame is the heart of a network of computers or terminals which allows hundreds of people to work at the same time on the same data. It requires a special environment - cold and dry.
Supercomputers
The supercomputer is the top of the heap in power and expense. These are used for jobs that take massive amounts of calculating, like weather forecasting, engineering design and testing, serious decryption, economic forecasting, etc. A list of the top 500 supercomputers -who made them, where they are installed and what they are used for.
The first Cray supercomputer was introduced in 1976
Distributed or Grid Computing
The power needed for some calculations is more than even a single supercomputer can manage. In distributed computing, using a PC grid, many computers of all sizes can work on parts of the problem and their results are pooled. A number of current projects rely on volunteers with computers connected to the Internet. The computers do the work when they are not busy otherwise.
The projects that need distributed computing are highly technical. For example, the http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ project looks for signs of intelligent communication in radio signals coming from space. (SETI stands for Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence.)
If you volunteer your computer for this project, you might be asked to load a small screen-saver program onto your own computer. When the computer is not busy, the screen saver comes on. The program downloads some signal data, starts to analyze it, and later reports the results back to SETI@Home. Once the program is installed, you do not have to do anything else but watch the progress in the screen saver.
Another method does not use a screen saver, but uses any idle time on your computer to work on the project. Results are sent to the project's home over the Internet.
A listing of current distributed computing efforts can be found at DistributedComputing.Info , such as:
Entropia: FightingAIDS@Home
modeling evolution of resistance to drugs and designing better AIDS treatments
http://folding.stanford.edu/
working on how proteins fold, which is important to understanding how they work and reproduce
Distributed.Net
cryptography and mathematical problems
http://demo.cs.brandeis.edu/golem/
Completed: evolving robots (Genetically Organized Lifelike Electro Mechanics)
PiHex
Completed: calculating the value of Pi to certain large places
Other Important Terms
Server
The term server actually refers to a computer's function rather than to a specific kind of computer. A server runs a network of computers. It handles the sharing of equipment like printers and the communication between computers on the network. For such tasks a computer would need to be somewhat more capable than a desktop computer. It would need:
more power
larger memory
larger storage capacity
high speed communications
Minicomputer
The minicomputer has become less important since the PC has gotten so powerful on its own. In fact, the ordinary new PC is much more powerful than minicomputers used to be. Originally this size was developed to handle specific tasks, like engineering and CAD calculations, that tended to tie up the main frame.
For more on the history of computing: The Computer Museum History Center The center traces the development of the computer. The site includes a timeline that is sorted by year or by topic. You can also search for information on people, companies, and products in the computer industry.
"Knowledge is power!" So it's to your advantage to gather all the knowledge that you can. Besides which, computers are lots of fun - when they aren't driving you insane!!!
What's in these lessons?
The lessons in this Computer Basics section of Jan's Illustrated Computer Literacy 101 explain a lot of the techno-babble that you hear about computers. The goal is to learn enough that you can follow along as computer technology becomes more and more important in our world.
Consider this set of lessons "Beginning Driver's Ed" for the computer. What might be covered in a Driver's Education course in high school? How the engine works. Parts of the car. How to turn it on. How to shift gears. Rules of the road. Laws. Proper signaling. Lane changing. Basic maintenance. Changing a flat. Filling up with gas. Some clues on when "You'd better stop the car now!"
The topics covered here will introduce you to a similar set of topics about computers. When you finish, you'll be just as prepared to "drive" a computer, as you were to drive a car when you finished Driver's Ed. Scary thought, isn't it? That clearly means you will need lots of practice with a skilled "driver" in the passenger's seat before you can be considered "safe on the road!" But we can get you started! But, really, you'll understand the basic ideas behind computers, some of the ills that affect computers, and some of the basic safety measures to take to keep your computer healthy. You'll gain some knowledge of how we got to today's computers and what lies ahead. It'll be great!
Computer Basics does not require you to touch a computer, except to read the lessons. Other lesson units guide you in actually using a computer, starting with Working with Windows.
If you are using this site as part of a class, your instructor may have you do only certain sections or do them in a different order.
Are you ready? Begin the first lesson by clicking on the little computer.
1 - Computer Types: Intro
Computers are showing up everywhere you look, and even in places you can't see. Computers check out your groceries, pump your gas, dispense money at the ATM, turn the heat on and off, control the way your car runs. They're everywhere! They're everywhere!
In fact, the computer is rapidly becoming, if it hasn't already gotten there, as tightly woven into the fabric of our lives as the automobile. The analogy runs quite deep.
When automobiles were new, many people said "Those smelly, loud, complicated things will never replace the horse!" And "Those things break down in just a few miles, while my faithful horse goes on and on and repairs itself!" Nowadays it's hard to imagine the world without all the variety of four-wheeled, internal combustion vehicles. How many can you name? Sedans, pickup trucks, fire engines, front-end loaders, 4-wheelers, golf carts, bulldozers, cranes, vans, dump trucks... We have an "automobile" for every purpose under heaven - and in different models and colors, too.
So it is with computers. There are different kinds of computers for different purposes. They are just as varied in size, expense, and ability as our more familiar 4-wheeled vehicles are.
What is a computer?
A computer is an electronic device that executes the instructions in a program.
A computer has four functions:
a. accepts data
Input
The Information Processing Cycle
b. processes data
Processing
c. produces output
Output
d. stores results
Storage
In the lessons that follow we will study the parts of the computer and each of the four parts of the Information Processing Cycle.
Some Beginning Terms
Hardware
the physical parts of the computer.
Software
the programs (instructions) that tell the computer what to do
Data
individual facts like first name, price, quantity ordered
Information
data which has been massaged into a useful form, like a complete mailing address
Default
the original settings; what will happen if you don't change anything.
What makes a computer powerful?
Speed
A computer can do billions of actions per second.
Reliability
Failures are usually due to human error, one way or another. (Blush for us all!)
Storage
A computer can keep huge amounts of data.
There is a computer for every use under heaven, or so it seems. Let's look at the kinds of computers that there are, based on general performance levels.
Personal or micro
Computers for personal use come in all shapes and sizes, from tiny PDAs (personal digital assistant) to hefty PC (personal computer) towers. More specialized models are announced each week - trip planners, expense account pads, language translators...
Hand-held (HPC)
PDA
Tablet PC
Laptop/Notebook
Desktop
Tower
Workstation
Descriptions of Personal Computers
When talking about PC computers, most people probably think of the desktop type, which are designed to sit on your desk. (Bet you figured that one out!) The tower and the smaller mini-tower style cases have become popular as people started needing more room for extra drives inside. Repairmen certainly appreciate the roominess inside for all the cables and circuit boards ... and their knuckles.
A workstation is part of a computer network and generally would be expected to have more than a regular desktop PC of most everything, like memory, storage space, and speed.
The market for the smallest PCs is expanding rapidly. Software is becoming available for the small types of PC like the palmtop (PPC) and handheld (HPC). This new software is based on new operating systems like Windows CE (for Consumer Electronics). You may find simplified versions of the major applications you use. One big advantage for the newer programs is the ability to link the small computers to your home or work computer and coordinate the data. So you can carry a tiny computer like a PalmPilot around to enter new phone numbers and appointments and those great ideas you just had. Then later you can move this information to your main computer.
With a Tablet PC you use an electronic stylus to write on the screen, just like with a pen and paper, only your words are in digital ink. The Tablet PC saves your work just like you wrote it (as a picture), or you can let the Hand Recognition (HR) software turn your chicken-scratches into regular text.
Main Frame
The main frame is the workhorse of the business world. A main frame is the heart of a network of computers or terminals which allows hundreds of people to work at the same time on the same data. It requires a special environment - cold and dry.
Supercomputers
The supercomputer is the top of the heap in power and expense. These are used for jobs that take massive amounts of calculating, like weather forecasting, engineering design and testing, serious decryption, economic forecasting, etc. A list of the top 500 supercomputers -who made them, where they are installed and what they are used for.
The first Cray supercomputer was introduced in 1976
Distributed or Grid Computing
The power needed for some calculations is more than even a single supercomputer can manage. In distributed computing, using a PC grid, many computers of all sizes can work on parts of the problem and their results are pooled. A number of current projects rely on volunteers with computers connected to the Internet. The computers do the work when they are not busy otherwise.
The projects that need distributed computing are highly technical. For example, the http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ project looks for signs of intelligent communication in radio signals coming from space. (SETI stands for Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence.)
If you volunteer your computer for this project, you might be asked to load a small screen-saver program onto your own computer. When the computer is not busy, the screen saver comes on. The program downloads some signal data, starts to analyze it, and later reports the results back to SETI@Home. Once the program is installed, you do not have to do anything else but watch the progress in the screen saver.
Another method does not use a screen saver, but uses any idle time on your computer to work on the project. Results are sent to the project's home over the Internet.
A listing of current distributed computing efforts can be found at DistributedComputing.Info , such as:
Entropia: FightingAIDS@Home
modeling evolution of resistance to drugs and designing better AIDS treatments
http://folding.stanford.edu/
working on how proteins fold, which is important to understanding how they work and reproduce
Distributed.Net
cryptography and mathematical problems
http://demo.cs.brandeis.edu/golem/
Completed: evolving robots (Genetically Organized Lifelike Electro Mechanics)
PiHex
Completed: calculating the value of Pi to certain large places
Other Important Terms
Server
The term server actually refers to a computer's function rather than to a specific kind of computer. A server runs a network of computers. It handles the sharing of equipment like printers and the communication between computers on the network. For such tasks a computer would need to be somewhat more capable than a desktop computer. It would need:
more power
larger memory
larger storage capacity
high speed communications
Minicomputer
The minicomputer has become less important since the PC has gotten so powerful on its own. In fact, the ordinary new PC is much more powerful than minicomputers used to be. Originally this size was developed to handle specific tasks, like engineering and CAD calculations, that tended to tie up the main frame.
For more on the history of computing: The Computer Museum History Center The center traces the development of the computer. The site includes a timeline that is sorted by year or by topic. You can also search for information on people, companies, and products in the computer industry.
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