Classes of Computers

Analog Computer, Digital Computer, Hybrid Computer

Analog Computer
Operates on continuous physical or electrical magnitudes, measuring ongoing continuous analog quantities such as voltage, current, temperatures and pressure

e.g. heart monitors and fetal monitors

Digital Computer
operates on discrete discontinuous numerical digits using the binary numbering system Data are represented by numbers, letter, and symbols

Hybrid Computer
Contains both features of analog computer and digital computer Used for specific applications Found in monitoring equipments that converts analog signals to digital ones for data processing.

Types of Computers
Supercomputers, Mainframes, Microcomputers, Handheld Computers

Supercomputers
Specially designed for scientific applications requiring gigantic amount of calculations World class number cruncher Designed primarily for analysis of scientific and engineering problems and for tasks requiring millions or billions of computational operations and calculations Found primarily in areas such as defense and weaponry, weather forecasting, and scientific research

Mainframes
Fastest and most expensive type of computer

Large multiuser central computer that meets the competing needs - especially large amounts of repetitive calculations of bills, payrolls and the like - of a large organization Can serve a large number of users at the same time
Large memory capacity and fast operating and processing time, and it can process a large number of functions (multiprocessing) at one time

Microcomputers
Also known as Personal Computers or PCs Used for independent applications as well as serving as a desktop link to the programs of the mainframe Serve as stand-alone workstations and can be linked to a network system to increase their capabilities Also available as portable, laptop, notebook, handheld computers

Handheld Computers
Smaller in size than the standard desktop microcomputer Some claim to have almost the same functionality and processing capabilities as the standard desktop microcomputer Limited in expansion possibilities, ability to serve as full participants in office network, and peripherals they can support.

Common Hardware Peripherals

Keyboard, Monitor, Mouse and Trackball, Floppy Disk/ Diskettes and CD-ROMs, Touch Pad and Mouse Button, Light Pen/Touch Screen, Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Magnetic-Ink Character Recognition (MICR), Voice Synthesizer, Imaging, Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), Printers, Modems

Keyboard
Most common input device Six (6) section of keys: 1. typewriter keys (QWERTY) 2. function keys (F1-F12) 3. numeric keys (0-9)

4. cursor keys
5. toggle keys (Num Lock, Caps Lock, Scroll Lock and Insert/Typeover 6. special operation keys (Home, Tab, End, Del, Print Screen, etc.)

Monitor
Similar to a television screen
Allows user to see images, programs, commands the user sends to the computer, and results of the computers work or the output.

Mouse and Trackball

Mouse hand-controlled mechanical device that electronically instructs the cursor to move across the video display screen or monitor Trackball developed for people who prefer stationary device; has ball on top, and movement of the cursor is controlled by the fingers rolling the ball in place

Floppy Disk/Diskettes and CD-ROMs

Both serve as input and output data Floppy disk flexible Mylar plastic oxidecoated disk thinly covered with magnetic spots

CD-ROM can store around 640 MB of data therefore much more useful medium for the larger data text, and graphics files that many users wish to store and move from computer to computer

Touch Pad and Mouse Button

Touch pad developed by makers of laptop computers for use in place of mouse; flat, rectangular depression on the keyboard that senses pressure and movement of the users finger

Light Pen/Touch Screen

Light pen photosensitive device that responds to light images when placed against a monitor screen Touch screen involves the use of a special filter on a monitor screen that allows screen to sense the pressure of the users finger on a particular position of the screen

Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

Specialized computer input media that allows data to be read directly from a form of document OCR devices convert the optical marks, characters, and bar codes into electrical signals that become computer input e.g. electronic optical scanning device, wand reader, bar code reader

Magnetic-Ink Character Recognition (MICR)

Characters are made of magnetized particles printed on paper Most common example is the magnetized characters imprinted on checks, which most banks use.

Voice Synthesizer
Allows user to input data into the computer by speaking into a connected microphone Also known as speech synthesizer, it digitizes the sound for processing by the CPU

Imaging
Examples are computerized axial tomography (CAT Scans) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Several different types of image input devices are available that primarily transform images from various types of graphics into digital form, which the computer can accept represent on the screen, and process.

Digital Versatile Disk (DVD)

Looks and feels like CD-ROM but holds much more information and contains many more multimedia features

Printers
Converts information produced by the computer system into printed form, rendering data in binary system into readable English. Major types of printed output include (1) printed hard copy (paper), microfilm (microfiche), photographs, and graphic copy

Laser printers use fonts or typefaces as their printing elements, making documents look like they were typeset; also used for printing graphic images and illustrations
Inkjet and bubble-jet printers fire small bursts of ink on the paper Bubble-jet printers use special heating elements to prepare the ink whereas inkjet printers use piezoelectric crystals to ionize the ink

Modems
Communication device used to connect a terminal with a mainframe or another computer Modem (modulating and demodulating) translates digital data into waves (analog) for transmission over the communication lines to the computer system and converts the waves back to their original digital form for input into the computer