Keyboarding Fall 2011

 Hardware is the parts of the computer that you can actually see and touch, such as…… Monitors Mouse Keyboard Ear phones Scanner CPU Tower Trackball Tablet

Software are computer instructions or data that can be stored electronically. Software includes all of the programs that are stored on your computer, such as your operating system (Windows). Some of examples of software are:

While there are thousands of software programs for computers, there are only two main types or categories of software programs: OPERATING SYSTEM SOFTWARE is a group of programs that lay down the rules for how a computer will work with other pieces of hardware. The operating system keeps the computer and its parts running smoothly. The two most popular are Windows and Macintosh. APPLICATION SOFTWARE allow people to do various things on a computer. With these programs computers can do math calculations, draw pictures, sort files, write letters. Some popular application software is Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop.

INPUT OUTPUT PROCESS STORAGE

The act of entering data into the computer.

The manipulation of data by a microprocessor according to instructions given to it by a program or embedded on a chip.

RAM- Random Access Memory- Think of RAM like a journal- you can erase and change your data. RAM remembers what you tell it and can even change to remember new information, but when the computer is turned off, it forgets everything you’ve told it!! ROM- Read Only Memory- is good at remembering, but cannot change its mind! This type of storage or memory is where your software is saved. Think of ROM like reading a library book- lots of information, but you can’t change anything.

A bit is the smallest unit of measurement within a computer. A bit can only hold one value, either 0 or 1. Because bits are so small, you usually group them together in groups of 8. These groups are referred to as bytes. A BYTE contains enough space to hold 1 ASCII character which means one letter or the alphabet.

Click on the link above. Then click on the Click and Lean Novice option. A drawing of the inside of a computer should appear. Click on each number to learn more about each part of component and what it does in the processing function.

Computer generated information that is displayed to the user in some understandable form, such as screen display, printed page or sound.

Holding information in a more permanent way is called saving or storing information.

Primary storage-stored on chips, located on the motherboard. This type of storage or memory holds all the essential information that tells your computer how to be a computer. Secondary storage- memory that is stored on the hard drive of your computer.

1 Kilobyte = 1, 024 bytes This would be enough space to hold one short joke. 2 Kilobytes would hold a typed page. 1 Megabyte = 1,048,576 bytes This would be enough space to hold a small novel. 2 Megabytes would hold a high resolution picture. 1 Gigabyte = 1,073,741,824 bytes 1 Gigabyte could hold the same amount of paper as a full size truck bed.

1 Terabyte = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes 50,000 trees made into paper and printed. 1 Petabyte =,125,899,906,842,624 bytes All academic libraries in the United States 1 Exabyte = 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 bytes Enough space to house all words ever spoken by human beings.