Computers and Digital Devices

What is a Computer?
multipurpose device
that accepts input,
processes data,
stores data, and
produces output, all
according to a series
of stored instructions
Input
devices

data

Processor
(CPU, ALU)
instructio
ns,
data,
informatio
n

Memor
y

informatio
n

Output
devices

instructio
ns,
data,
informatio
n

Storage
devices
2

Input
Input means to feed information into a computer
Input can be typed, submitted or transmitted to
a computer system
Words and symbols in a document
Numbers for a calculation
Pictures

An input device gathers input and transforms it

into a series of electronic signals for the
computer to store and manipulate
Keyboard
Mouse
3

Processing
Data refers to the symbols that represent facts,
ideas and objects
Processing is the way that a computer
manipulates data
performing calculations
sorting lists and numbers
drawing graphs

A computer program is software that sets up a

computer to do a specific task
A computer processes data in a device called
the central processing unit (CPU)
4

Storage
A computer stores data so that it will
be available for processing
Memory is an area of a computer that
temporarily holds data that is waiting
to be processed
Storage is the area where data can be
left on a permanent basis
Storage devices include hard drives,
CD-ROMs, floppy disks, etc.
5

Output
Computer output is the results produced by
the computer
Reports
Documents
Music
Graphs
Pictures

An output device displays, prints or transmits

the results of processing
Printer
Monitor
6

Programs
A series of instructions for completing a task, for
example:
Calculating interest payments on a loan
Word processing

These instructions can be easily replaced by a

different set of instructions when its time for a
different task to be completed
For example, you can finish editing a report, then move
onto sending an e-mail

This is the single most important characteristic that

distinguishes a computer from other simpler
devices, such as calculators
7

Categories of Computers
Before, three main categories from
least powerful to most powerful
microcomputers
minicomputers
mainframe computers

Today, based on technology,

function, size, performance and cost

Old Computer Categories

Mainframe computers very large and
were usually housed in a closet-sized metal
frame
sold to big corporations and government agencies

Minicomputers smaller, less expensive

and less powerful than mainframe
used by small business

Microcomputers newer type of computers

whose CPU had a single chip called
microprocessor
9

Old Computer Categories

Today, just about any computer, no
matter how large or small, uses one
or more microprocessors as its CPU
so these terms are no longer valid

10

New Computer Categories

Personal computers
Workstations
Servers
Mainframes
Supercomputers
Videogame Consoles
Handheld computers
11

Personal Computer
Microprocessor-based computing
device designed to meet the
computing needs of an individual
Desktop computers
Notebook (or laptop) computers

12

Desktop Computers
Computers that fit n desks and runs
on power from an electrical wall
outlet
Main component is the system unit
Keyboard, mouse and display screen
are typically separate components
connected to the system unit by
cables or wireless technology
13

Desktop Computers

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Portable Computers
Small, lightweight personal computer
with screen, keyboard, storage and
processing components integrated
into a single unit
Runs on electrical outlet or battery
Classified as notebooks or
netbooks

15

Portable Computers
Notebooks or Laptops
small, lightweight portable computer
that opens like a clamshell to reveal a
screen and keyboard
cost a bit more than desktop computers
with similar computing power and
storage capacity

Netbook
small version of notebooks (usually 10
screen)
usually does not have space for optical 16

Portable Computers

17

Workstation
Two meanings
ordinary PC connected to a network
powerful desktop computers used for
high performance tasks

18

Servers
Main purpose is to serve other computers
on a network (LAN, internet) by supplying
them with data
Client
any software or digital device that requests
data from server

Any computer can be a server or a client

High performance servers are needed
when there is a need for lots of users and
rapid response
19

Servers

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Mainframe Computer
Large and expensive computer
capable of simultaneous processing
data for hundreds or thousands of
users
used by businesses or governments to
provide centralized storage, processing,
and management for large amounts of
data

Remain a choice in situations where

reliability, data security and
centralized control are necessary

21

Supercomputer
One of the fastest computers at the time of
construction
Tackle complex tasks and computer
intensive problems
massive amounts of data
complex mathematical equations

Examples:
breaking codes
modeling world-wide weather systems
simulation of nuclear explosions
22

Supercomputer
Titan of Oak Ridge National
Laboratory
Memory: 710 TB (598 TB CPU and 112
TB GPU)
Storage: 10 PB (240 GB/s IO)
For scientific research

23

Video Game Consoles

Nintendos Wii, Sonys PlayStation,
Microsofts Xbox
Not generally considered as personal
computers
dedicated game devices

Contain microprocessors and graphics

Keyboards, DVD players, internet
access enable them to function like
personal computers
24

Wii, PlayStation and Xbox

They contain circuitry similar to personal

computers but input devices are
optimized for gaming.
25

Handheld Devices
Incorporate computer characteristics
iPhone, Blackberry Torch, Samsung Galaxy Tab,
Amazon Kindle, iPod, ASUS Eee Pad Transformer

Vary in programmability and their

versatility
Most devices are classified as computers
but are customarily referred to by function
mobile phone
portable media player
electronic book readers
26

Personal Digital Assistant

PDA
First handheld devices
Pocket-sized digital appointment
book with small keyboard or touch
sensitive screens
Synchronize data with desktop
computer
The term is falling into disuse
because mobile phones offer these
features

27

Enhanced Media Players

Designed for playing music and
videos, offers camera, access to the
internet and a variety of apps
Does not typically include mobile
phone capabilities
Best example is the
iPod Touch of Apple

28

Mobile phones
Originally designed for voice communications
Have evolved into devices that offer
sophisticated features
touch screen, full QWERTY keypad,
text messaging
email, web access
removable storage
camera
FM radio, digital music player
GPS navigation and maps
wide selection of applications
29

Smartphones
Enhanced mobile phone that also
functions as an enhanced media
player and has capability to access
the internet
Allow you to install apps and are
sometimes classified as handheld
computers

30

Mobile phones

31

Tablets
Handheld computer that is
essentially a large version of
enhanced media player
Smaller than notebooks and weigh
less
Can generally access the internet
using Wi-Fi or cellular data service
First popularized by the Apple iPad
32

Tablets

33

Digital Data Representation

Computers and other digital devices
work with all sorts of stuff
text, numbers, music, images, speech,
video, etc.

Digital technology distills all these

different elements down to simple
pulses of electricity and stores them
as binary values
binary values 1 and 0 only
34

Data
Symbols that represent people,
events, things, and ideas
name
number
color
notes
etc.

35

Data vs. Information

Used interchangeably by people but has
distinction
Data
raw and unorganized facts that need to be
processed

Information
data processed, organized, structured or
presented in a given context so as to make it
useful

Data: computers; information: humans

36

Data Representation
Form in which data is stored,
processed and transmitted
Digital devices such as mobile phones
store numbers, text, images and
videos in formats that can be handled
by the electronic circuitry
Represented into two methods
digital
analog
37

Data Representation
Digital data
two discrete digits such as 0s or 1s, on
or off, true or false, yes or no

Analog data
scale of values

Example: standard light switch and

dimmer switch

38

Data Representation
Digital data is represented using bits
Bit binary digit (1 or 0)
only values understood by computers

Uses sequences of bits

39

Representing Numeric Data

Use of Binary Number System
base 2
Deci
mal

Binar
y

Decim
al

Binary

1000

1001

10

10

1010

11

11

1011

100

12

1100

101

100

1100100

110

1000

111

111110100
0

1500

101110111

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Representing Character
Data
Character data
letters, symbols and numerals

Represented using different codes

ASCII 128 characters
EBCDIC used by older IBM mainframe
computers
UNICODE uses 16 bits to represent 65,000
characters

Each character has a code

J = 01001010
u = 01110101
n = 01101110

41

Representing Images
Series of dots
each dot is assigned a binary number
according to its color

42

Quantifying Bits and Bytes

Term

Value

1 byte or B

8 bits

1 kilobyte or kB

1024 or 210 bytes

1 megabyte or MB

1,480,576 or 220 bytes

1 gigabyte or GB

230 bytes

1 terabyte or TB

240

bytes

Transmission speeds are typically

expressed in bits
Storage space are expressed in bytes
43

Computer Organization
Six Logical Units
Input unit
Output unit
Memory unit
Arithmetic and logic unit (ALU)
Central processing unit (CPU)
Secondary storage unit

44

Basic Components of
Computers
Hardware
tangible parts
electronic and mechanical parts

Software
intangible parts
data and computer programs

45

Hardware
Personal computer system
refers to the personal computer,
software, and peripheral devices that
can be connected for the use of a single
individual

46

Hardware
monitor
system
unit

speaker
s

mouse
keyboar
d

47

Hardware
System unit
case that holds the circuit
boards, microprocessor,
memory, power supply
and storage devices

48

Hardware
Power supply
converts outlet power,
which is alternating
current (AC), to direct
current (DC)
provides appropriate
voltages and currents
for the various internal
components

49

Hardware
Motherboard
electronic centerpiece of the computer

50

Hardware
Processor
"brain" of the computer

51

Hardware
Random Access Memory
short-term memory, main memory
used by the CPU to store program
instructions and data upon which it is
currently operating
data is volatile

52

Hardware
Video or graphics card
processes relating to video output

53

Hardware
Keyboard
primary input device that contains
alpha-numeric keys

Mouse
input device used to manipulate onscreen graphical objects and controls

54

Hardware
Hard disk drive
main storage device
can store billions of
data
small external light
indicates when the
drive is reading or
writing data

55

Hardware
Optical drive
works with CDs, DVDs or Blu-ray discs

56

Hardware
Other storage
portable hard disk drives, USB flash
drives, memory cards

57

Hardware
Sound system
output of digital music, recorded speech
and sound effects

58

Hardware
Display system
used to present visual output

59

Hardware
Printer
produces output on paper

60

Hardware
Network and internet access
most computers contain built-in circuitry
for wired or wireless connections to
computer networks

61

Software
Program that a computer uses in
order to function
Kept on some hardware device like a
hard disk, but it itself is intangible
Programs act like instructions for the
processor

62

Software
Application Programs
programs that people use to get their
work done
perform specific task

63

Software
Compilers
Translates computer programs to
machine language
Machine language
Language that your computer understands

64

Software
Systems Programs
Programs that are needed to keep all
the hardware and software systems
running together smoothly
Examples are operating systems

Linux Ubuntu
Windows 7
Unix
Mac OS X

65

Programming Languages
A standardized communication technique
for expressing instructions to a computer
Each language has its own syntax and
grammar
These instructions are translated into
machine language that can be
understood by computers
Example:
C, C++, Java, PHP, Visual Basic 2010, Python
66

Software Licenses
Proprietary
purchased
source code is not available
cannot make copies for others

Freeware
free but source code is not available

Open source
free and source code is available
67

Popular Applications
Document production software
Word processors like MS Word,
OpenOffice Writer, Apple Pages, Polaris,
Kingsoft Writer, Documents To Go
Desktop Publishing software like
Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress
Web authoring software like Adobe
Dreamweaver, HTML-Kit, Amaya, iWeb

68

Popular Applications
Spreadsheet software
MS Excel
iWork Numbers
OpenOffice Calc

Database software
MS Access

69

Popular Applications
Graphics software
Image editing software like MS Paint, Corel
Painter and Paint.NET
Photo editing software like Adobe
Photoshop, GIMP
Drawing software like Adobe Illustrator,
CorelDRAW
Computer-aided design software like
AutoCAD and TurboCAD
Presentation software like MS PowerPoint,
iWork Keynote and OpenOffice Impress
70

Popular Applications
Video editing software
Adobe After Effects
Sony Vegas Pro

DVD authoring software

Nero
ULead DVD MovieFactory
ConvertXtoDVD

71

Popular Applications
Multimedia software
CyberLink PowerDVD
Windows Media Player
KMPlayer
Nero ShowTime
Winamp Media Player
iTunes
MediaMonkey

72

Popular Applications
Business software
Vertical market software designed for
specific market or business
Horizontal market software is generic
software
Accounting software like Adempiere,
GnuCash, OpenERP, MS Money, MS
Office Accounting
Project management software like
MS Project, OpenProj
73

Operating Systems
Most important software that runs on a
computer
Manages the computer's memory,
processes, and all of its software and
hardware
Allows you to communicate with the
computer without knowing how to
speak the computer's language
Without an OS, the computer is useless
74

Operating Systems - Personal

Computers
Microsoft Windows - 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8
Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Lion,
Mountain Lion
Linux distributions - Red-Hat, Ubuntu,
Knoppix, SuSE, Fedora, Debian
Various BSD's - FreeBSD, OpenBSD,
NetBSD
Others like UNIX, Google Chrome OS,
Chromium OS, OpenSolaris, MS-DOS
75

Evolution of Windows OS
19821985: Windows 1.0
19871992: Windows 2.02.11More
windows, more speed
19901994: Windows 3.0Windows NT
Getting the graphics
19952001: Windows 95the PC comes
of age
19982000: Windows 98, Windows
2000, Windows Me
76

Evolution of Windows OS
20012005: Windows XPStable,
usable, and fast
20062008: Windows VistaSmart
on security
2009: Windows 7
2012: Windows 8

77

Windows 2.0

78

Windows NT (1990-1994)

79

Windows 98, Windows 2000,

Windows Me (1998-2000)

80

Windows XP (2001-2005)

81

Windows Vista (2006-2008)

82

Windows 7 (2009)

83

Windows 8 (2012)

84

Operating Systems Mobile Devices

webOS
developed for PDAs
and smartphones of
Palm
later acquired by HP,
then LG Electronics

85

Operating Systems Mobile Devices

Symbian
used by Nokia and Ericson
smartphones
became open source in 2010

Home screen of
Nokia Belle

86

Operating Systems Mobile Devices

Windows Phone
replaced Windows Mobile OS in 2010
features a series of tiles that
represent apps, contacts, media
latest stable release is version
8.0.10211.204 (Portico)

HTC 8X
Nokia Lumia 820

87

Operating Systems Mobile Devices

BlackBerry OS
proprietary OS produced by RIM
key feature is ability to work with
corporate email systems produced by
Microsoft and IBM

88

Operating Systems Mobile Devices

Android OS
open source OS developed by
Google
designed for smartphones and
tablets
based on Linux kernel
runs on Samsung, Sony, HTC, LG,
Motorola phones
Latest release is version 4.2.x (Jelly
Bean)

89

Operating Systems Mobile Devices

iOS
developed by Apple, Inc.
designed for iPads, iPhones and
devices by Apple
first handheld OS to offer routines
that manage gesture inputs

iOS6 on iPhone 5

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