1. GCSE OCR 2 A451 Computing Computer systems in the modern world
2-1-1 Fundamentals of computer systems 2

2. Objectives Learn about the role of computers in today’s society
Consider the influence of computers on your life
Understand how computer technology affects everyone in modern society

3. The growth of computer technology
In the 1980s, a few people began using a PC on their desk

4. The 1990s
When people began surfing the web, they were using three or four computers at once
one to look at the web page,
one to retrieve the web page
and a couple more to pass information over the Internet

5. And today…
Today, you probably routinely use 20 or more computers simultaneously without even being aware of most of them!
What computers are you using when you are
At home
At school
In town
In a car

6. Our world is built on computers!

7. Worksheet 2
Identify three different computer systems within one industry sector

8. The importance of computer systems
Fifty years ago, very few organisations relied on computers for anything other than the payroll system
Computers did not impact on the way people communicated, shopped, banked, travelled, learned, etc.
Would it be possible to put the clock back?

9. Relying on computer systems - for food…

10. … for food
As society changes over time, old skills become obsolete as new, more convenient ways of doing things become the norm
We don’t have to hunt, fish and dig up wild roots to feed ourselves any more. If the whole food distribution system broke down, could we feed ourselves?

11. … for travel

12. … for travel
Just 100 years ago, people mostly used to walk or cycle to work
How do people get to work now?
Are computers involved?

13. … for finding our way around

14. … for finding our way around
Can you read a map?
Many car drivers are totally dependent on their Sat Nav systems
The captains of ships no longer navigate by the sun and the stars

15. … in hospitals

16. … in hospitals
What would happen if all the computer systems in a hospital ceased to function?
Would the same be true of a hospital in a remote corner of the third world?

17. …for monitoring the environment

18. …for monitoring the environment
In many parts of the world computers are constantly monitoring for signs of earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters
What sort of environmental monitoring takes place in the UK?
Why is this monitoring important?

19. …for distribution of goods and raw materials around the world

20. …for distribution
Almost anything can be sent to different parts of the world
Name some of the things that we import into the UK
How are computers involved?
What would happen if the computer systems were unreliable?

21. Reliability of computer systems
When thinking about the importance of reliability in computer systems, think about what a breakdown would mean:
Is it life threatening?
How many people are affected?
Are they merely inconvenienced, or does it threaten their livelihood in some way?
Anything else?

22. Worksheet 3
Complete Tasks 1 and 2

23. Reliability measures Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF)
System availability or downtime

24. Disaster recovery Backups Disk mirroring (RAID)
Hardware sourcing/plans

25. Worksheet 3, Task 3
Give another example where failure of a computer system might be catastrophic, and briefly explain why