New Perspectives on

Essential Computer
Concepts

Fundamentals of Computer Applications

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 Course Objectives
At the end of the course, you will
understand:
• The components of • Hardware and
a computer software used to
system establish a
• The different network
types of connection
computers • Internet, e-mail,
• Microcomputer and World Wide
hardware and its Web
functions • System software
• Data • Popular
representation application
and the ASCII code software 2

•
 What is a
Computer?

A computer is a
device that:
• Accepts input
• Processes data
• Stores data
• Produces output

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 What is a
Computer?
A Computer System is
made up of:
• Hardware - the physical
components
• Software - the programs
or lists of instructions
• Peripherals - the
additional components
• Peopleware - the person
who uses the computers

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Computer?

Architecture or
configuration is
the design of the
computer.
As in, what does
the computer
consist of?

Specification is the
technical detail
about each
component.
As in, how big is
the monitor? 5
Works

The hardware,
software, and
you work
together to
complete
assigned
tasks.
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Works

The data you type

into the
computer is
called input.

The result of the

computer
processing your
input is called
output.
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 Types of Computers
The categories of
computers are:
• Personal or
microcomputers
– Desktop
– Notebook or Laptop
• Hand-help or PDAs
• Mainframes
• Supercomputers

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Computers

Personal computers are used

for general computing tasks and
fit the needs of most users
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Computers

Hand-held computers fit in the

palm of your hand and run on
batteries.

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Computers

Mainframes are
used by
companies to
provide
centralized
storage,
processing, and
management for
large amounts of
data.
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Computers

Supercomputers are the largest

and fastest of computers, and
can process an enormous volume
of data.
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 Computer
Hardware
Computer hardware
includes:
• Input devices
• Output devices
• Processing hardware
• Storage devices and
media
• Network Devices

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 Computer
Hardware
Some input devices A

are: w
i
• Keyboard r
e
• Mouse l
e
• Wireless pointer s
s
• Touch pad
m
• Track ball o
u
s
e
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 Computer
Hardware
Output devices
are:
Monitors and Printers
are common output
devices.

CRT monitors and LCD

(or flat panel display)
monitors are two
types of monitors.
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 Computer
Hardware
Factors that
influence a
monitor’s
quality are:
• Screen Size

• Resolution

• Dot Pitch

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Types of Printers
include:
Laser
A printer that produces very high-quality
print. One of the chief characteristics of laser
printers is their resolution –(how many dots
per inch - dpi) they lay down. The available
resolutions range from 300 dpi at the low end
to 1,200 dpi at the high end.

Ink Jet
A type of printer that works by
spraying ionized ink at a sheet of
paper. Magnetized plates in the ink's
path direct the ink onto the paper in
the desired shapes.
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Types of Printers
include:
Dot Matrix
A type of printer that produces characters
and illustrations by striking pins against
an ink ribbon to print closely spaced dots
in the appropriate shape. Dot-matrix
printers are relatively expensive and do
not produce high-quality output

Multifunction-
All in One
A multifunction printer that
prints, faxes, copies and scans.
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 Computer
Hardware
• Multimedia devices
are peripheral
devices that include
text, graphics,
sound, animation,
and video.

• Speakers and
sound cards are
common multimedia
output devices
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 Computer
Hardware
• The most important
computer function
is data processing.

• Processing
hardware is used to
process data.

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 Processing
Hardware
• Computers interpret
every signal as “on”
or “off.”

• 1 (“on”) and 0
(“off”) are referred
to as bits.

• Eight bits is a byte.

Each byte represents
a unique character.
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 Data
Representation
Storage and
memory capacity
is the amount of
data the storage
device can handle.

• Kilobyte (KB) is about

one thousand bytes
• Megabyte (MB) is
about one million
bytes
• Gigabyte (GB) is
about one billion
bytes
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 Processing
Hardware
• The two most
important
components of
personal computers
hardware are the
microprocessor and
memory.
• These two factors
directly affect the
computer’s price
and performance.
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 The
Microprocessor
• The microprocessor is an
integrated circuit or chip
on the main circuit board
inside the computer.

• Its speed is
determined by:
– Clock speed
– Word size
– Cache size

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 Memory
Computer memory is a
set of storage
locations of the main
circuit board.
There are four types of
memory:
• Random access memory
(RAM)
• Virtual memory
• Read-only memory
• Complementary metal
oxide semiconductor
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memory (CMOS)
 Memory
RAM is temporary
memory that is
constantly changing
while the computer is
on.

Virtual memory is extra

memory that
simulates RAM if more
is needed.

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 Memory
Read-only memory
(ROM) is the
permanent storage
location for a set of
instructions the
computer uses.

CMOS memory is semi-

permanent
information about
where essential
software is stored.
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 Memory

A storage device receives data

from RAM and writes it on a
storage medium. Later, it can be
read and sent back to RAM.
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 Storage Devices
Data is stored as
files.

Executable files tell

computers how to
perform specific
tasks.

Data files are

created by the
user, usually with
software. 29
 Storage Devices
Files are kept on storage
devices.
These are:
• Magnetic storage devices - referring to the
storage of data on a magnetized medium.
Magnetic storage uses different patterns of
magnetization in a magnetizable material to
store data and is a form of non-volatile
memory. The information is accessed using
one or more read/write heads.
• Optical storage devices - referring to the
storage of data on an optically readable
medium. Data is recorded by making marks
in a pattern that can be read back with the
aid of light. A common modern technique 30
used by computers involves a tiny beam of
 Storage Devices
Some common
A floppy disk
magnetic
storage devices
are:
• Floppy disks
• Hard disk drives
• Tape drives
• Zip drives

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 Storage Devices
Some common
optical
storage
devices are:
• CD-ROM drives
• DVD drives
• CD-R drives
• CD-RW drives

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 Storage Devices
CD-ROMs are for “read-only”
access.

CD-R drives allow you to record

data on a CD-R disk.

CD-RW drives allow you to write

data on a CD-RW disk and
access and modify data.

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 Data
Communications

Data
Communication
s is the
transmission of text,
numeric, voice, or
video data from one
computer to
another.
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 Data
Communications
The four essential
components of
data communi-
cations are:
– Sender
– Channel
– Receiver
– Protocols

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 Data
Communications
A sender is the
computer that
originates the
message.

The message is
sent over a
channel, such
as a telephone.

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 Data
Communications
The receiver is the
computer at the
message’s
destination.
Protocols are the
rules that
establish the
transfer of data
between sender
and receiver.
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 Data Bus
The data bus is
the
communication
between
microprocessor,
RAM, and the
peripherals.

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 Data Bus
An external peripheral
device has a port or cable
that connects it to the
computer.

Each port connects to a

controller card, which
plugs into expansion slots.

The transmission protocol is

handled by a device
driver.

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 Data Bus
Microcomputers have
several types of ports:
• Parallel
• Serial
• Small computer system
interface (SCSI)
• Musical instrument digital
interface (MIDI)
• Universal serial bus (USB)

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 Data Bus
A parallel port transmits data
eight bits at a time, and is often
used to connect a nearby
printer.

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 Data Bus
A serial port
transmits data
one bit at a
time, and often
connects a
mouse,
keyboard, or
modem.

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 Data Bus
A SCSI connection can allow
many devices to use the
same port, and are popular
on Macs and notebooks.

MIDI cards are used to

record and play back musical
data.

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Data Bus

Computer
expansio
n ports

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 Data Bus
USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports
replace numerous connectors
with one plug and port
combination. The device you
install must have a USB
connector.

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