Introduction to Computers Section 1A

home Definition of a Computer A computer is an electronic device used to process data, converting the data into information that is useful to people

home Computers Consist of Four Parts Hardware Software Users Data Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge

home Hardware Mechanical devices that make up the computer

home Examples of Hardware Processor Memory Input and output devices Storage Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge

home Processing The procedure that transforms raw data into useful information is called processing The processor and memory perform this transformation

home Processor The computer’s brain, which organizes and carries out instructions from either the user or the software

home Motherboard Rigid rectangular card containing the circuitry that connects the processor to the other hardware

home Circuit board Motherboard is an example of a circuit board Attached to the motherboard are many smaller circuit boards that house many internal devices

home Central Processing Unit (CPU) Refers to a computer’s processor

home Memory When you launch a program, it is loaded into and run from memory

home Random Access Memory (RAM) Determines a computer’s speed and power

home Memory Measurements Kilobyte (KB) Megabyte (MB) Gigabyte (GB) Terabyte (TB)

home Input Devices Accept data and instructions from the user or from another computer system

home Most Common Input Devices Keyboard Mouse

home Output Devices Return processed data to the user or to another computer system

home Most Common Output Devices Monitor Printer

home Storage Holds data permanently

home Storage Terms Magnetic disk Read/write heads Disk drive Hard disk or hard drive Diskette drive Diskettes or floppy disks

home Storage Terms Continued CD-ROM drive Compact disks (CDs) Compact Disk-Read-Only Memory (CD- ROM) CD-Recordable (CD-R) CD-ReWritable (CD-RW) Digital Video Disk (DVD)

home Software A set of electronic instructions consisting of complex codes, or programs, that make the computer perform tasks

home Examples of Software System software Application software

home Five Computer Categories Supercomputers Mainframe computers Minicomputers Workstations Microcomputers, or personal computers

home The Internet Started Out As ARPANET In 1969, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense created the Internet when it connected the computers at universities and defense contractors. This system was called ARPANET.

home The Internet Today The Internet today is a cooperative community of over 100 million computer users connected worldwide.

home World Wide Web Accessed through the Internet, the World Wide Web lets users view specially formatted documents

home Web Browsers A Web browser is computer software that lets you navigate the Web First you connect to the Internet, then you launch the browser, then you view Web pages

home URL’s Every Web page has a unique address, called a uniform resource locator, or URL (pronounced as spelled: U-R-L)

home Hyperlinks A hyperlink is a part of the Web page that is linked to a URL

home Web Search Tools Directories Search Engines Metasearch engines Site-specific search tools

Section 1A Introduction to Computer Systems

home Review Questions What are the four parts of the computer? What is a circuit board? What are two examples of software? What is a URL?

The Four Parts of a Computer

Hardware