INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 1

Lecture 1
Introduction to Computer Concepts

Computer
 an electronic device that takes data, process the data according to a series of instruction
 called program and produces information.
 an electronic device capable of performing mathematical and logical operations.
 an electronic system designed to manipulate data.

Program
- series of instruction that a computer must follow in order to process data into information.

Capabilities of Computers
1. It has the ability to perform mathematical and logical operation.
2. It has the ability to store or remember a great amount and variety of information and retrieve or recall the information
needed almost instantly.
3. It has the ability to handle large volume of repetitive tasks accurately over long period of time.
4. It can communicate with its operators and other machines.
5. It has the ability to control error and check itself.

Limitations of Computers
1. The computer functions only when input and the necessary instructions to process the information have been provided
by a human being.
2. It can detect but generally cannot correct inaccurate entry by itself.
3. It is subject to occasional breakdown or computer malfunction because of power failures, computer failure, humidity,
temperature and maintenance time.

Computer can be use in:

1. BUSINESS
 Track inventories using barcodes and scanner
 Check the credit status of customer, for example by using verifones.
 Transfer funds electronically.

2. HOME
 Indoor temperature
 Tell the time
 Operate home security system
 Remote control for TV or DVD

3. ENTERTAINMENT
 Digitized sound
 Computer animated features

4. SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
 Use to unscramble messages (a password) or data encryption
 Solve mathematical problems

5. MILITARY

Characteristics of a Computer
 It is a machine.
 It is inanimate object.
 It needs outside intervention for it to run.
 It can only do things for which it was designed.
 It is electronic.
 It is made up of electronic circuits.
 It runs on electrical energy.
 It is automatic.
 Once it is started it container to runs without outside intervention.

 It can manipulate data.

 It can perform arithmetic functional such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

 It has memory.
 It has the capacity to remember what it has done.
 It can store instructions in its memory and follow hthese through unaided.

 It has logic functions.

INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 2
 It can be given a set of instructions, which tell what it must do and how it must do them.
 It can produce results upon completion of these instructions.

Benefits of Computer

Computer has gained popularity for a number of reasons. Most important they can do tasks that computers do better than
human beings these include:
1. Storing or memorizing large amount of information.
2. Quickly recalling a single piece of information.
3. Rapidly performing a series of sequential tasks.
4. Carrying out a specific action based on sensor reading or other quantifiable information.

Types of Computers
There are several families of computers, depending on their format:
1. Mainframes. These are computers that have a great deal of
computing power, enormous input-output capabilities and high level of
reliability. Mainframes are used by large companies to carry out heavy
computing operations are large volumes of data processing.
Mainframes are normally used in centralized architectures, in which they are
the heart.

2. Personal computers. It includes:

 Desktop computers, made up of a case which houses a
motherboard and allows users to connect multiple peripheral
devices such as the screen.
 Laptop computers, made of a case with a fold-out screen, a
keyboard, and many onboard devices.

3. Tablet PCs. These are made of a case which integrates a touch-

screen and a certain number of onboard devices.

4. Media centres, which represent a hardware platform, intended

to be used in living rooms for running hifi elements (such as a hifi sound
system, television set, DVD player, etc.)

5. Personal digital assistants (called PDAs,

or handhelds), sometimes known as organisers or electronic datebooks, are pocket
computers with features for personal organisation.

HISTORY OF COMPUTERS
1. Earliest Computing Devices
(a) Abacus
- considered as the 1st manual data processing device
- developed in China in 12th century A.D.
- performs arithmetic calculations
(b) Napier’s Bones
- developed by a Scottish mathematician John Napier
- obtain products & quotients of large numbers
(c) Ougthred’s Slide Rule
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 3
- invented by William Oughtred in 17th century
- arithmetic operations could be done by simply sliding the rulers
(d) Pascal’s Calculator
- developed by a French mathematician Blaise Pascal in 1645
- could add & subtract numbers up to 8 digits
(e) Leibniz Calculator
- invented by Gottfried Leibniz in 1694
- it utilized the same techniques for addition & subtraction as Pascal’s device but could also perform
multiplication, division & square root
(f) Babbage Analytical Engine
- designed to use 2 types of cards: operation cards & variable cards
- developed by Charles Babbage, the Father of Modern Computer. It is not because of the machine he build
but rather his ideas became the basis for modern computation devices
- * Lady Ada Byron, worked w/ Babbage & considered as the First Programmer

(g) Hollerith’s Punched – Card Machine

- developed by a statistician named Herman Hollerith in 1880
- considered as the 1st commercially successful data processing machine.
- * Hollerith made a census machine used by the US Bureau of Census in 1890

The history of computing began with an analog machine:

 1623 - German scientist Wilhelm Schikard invented a machine that used 11 complete and 6 incomplete sprocketed
wheels that could add, and with the aid of logarithm tables, multiply and divide.
 1642 French philosopher, mathematician, and physicist Blaise Pascal invented a machine that added and subtracted,
automatically carrying and borrowing digits from column to column.
- Pascal built 50 copies of his machine, but most served as curiosities in parlors of the wealthy.
 th
17 century - German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz designed a special gearing system to enable multiplication on
Pascal’s machine.
 Computer Card Key Punch The IBM 010 punch was one of the first devices designed to perforate cards. A hole or the
lack of a hole in a card represented information that could be read by early computers. Modern optical storage devices,
such as CD-ROMs, use microscopic pits instead of punched paper holes to store information.
 early 19th century
- French inventor Joseph-Marie Jacquard devised a specialized type of computer: a silk loom.
- Jacquard’s loom used punched cards to program patterns that helped the loom create woven fabrics.
- Although Jacquard was rewarded and admired by French emperor Napoleon I for his work, he fled for his
life from the city of Lyon pursued by weavers who feared their jobs were in jeopardy due to Jacquard’s
invention. The loom prevailed, however: When Jacquard died, more than 30,000 of his looms existed in Lyon.
The looms are still used today, especially in the manufacture of fine furniture fabrics.
 late 1930s and early 1940s
- American physicist John Atanasoff built the first rudimentary electronic computer, although for several
decades afterward credit for the first electronic computer went to the scientists who assembled the
Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) for the United States military in 1945. Danish
physicist Allan Mackintosh recounts in a Scientific American article how Atanasoff first conceived of the
design principles that are still used in present-day computers.
 early 1820s - Another early mechanical computer was the Difference Engine was designed by British mathematician and
scientist Charles Babbage. Although never completed by Babbage, the Difference Engine was intended to be a machine
with a 20-decimal capacity that could solve mathematical problems. Babbage also made plans for another machine, the
Analytical Engine, considered the mechanical precursor of the modern computer. The Analytical Engine was designed to
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 4
perform all arithmetic operations efficiently; however, Babbage’s lack of political skills kept him from obtaining the
approval and funds to build it.
 Augusta Ada Byron
- countess of Lovelace, was a personal friend and student of Babbage. She was the daughter of the famous
poet Lord Byron and one of only a few woman mathematicians of her time. She prepared extensive notes
concerning Babbage’s ideas and the Analytical Engine.
- Lovelace’s conceptual programs for the machine led to the naming of a programming language (Ada) in her
honor.
- Although the Analytical Engine was never built, its key concepts, such as the capacity to store instructions,
the use of punched cards as a primitive memory, and the ability to print, can be found in many modern
computers.

COMPUTER CLASSIFICATIONS
1. According to age and component generations – each generation is marked with the use of a different component and
changes in size, reliability, storage capacity, cost, processing speed, power requirements, software development and
hardware developments.
2. According to size – maybe classified into three categories: mainframe, minicomputer, microcomputer mentioned in
decreasing size.
3. According to Operation – classified according to the operations it can perform such as digital operations, analog
operations or combination of both.
4. According to Application – it is categorized as scientific or business depending on the sophistication of mathematical
manipulation it can handle.
5. According to Design – the ability to perform variety or specific operations.

According to Age and Component Generations

What generation of computer that has a Memory capacity was approximately 200 to 3000 characters.

Five Generations of Computers

First Generation Computers (1951 – 1958)

Component Employed vacuum tubes in the electronic circuitry to control internal operations.
Size The sizes were very large and requiring a lot of space.
Poor reliability due to the components employed which is frequently overheated and
Reliability
burned out.
Memory capacity was approximately 200 to 3000 characters, which is quite small
Storage Capacity
compared with preset day computers.
Cost Relatively high cost for given capacity.
Processing Speed Operating speed was in milliseconds (one thousandth of a second)
Required considerable power to run including special air conditioning to get rid of
Power Requirements
tube-generated heat.
Computer instructions were performed in internal codes of machines, requiring
Software Development
extensive knowledge of the machine. Low level/Symbolic language programming.
Hardware Development The introduction of UNIVAC I marked the beginning of the first generation Computer.
Others Magnetic drum as primary internal storage medium. Punched card oriented. Dr. Grace
Hopper saw the original bug. A moth caused the operation of a computer to stop and
from then on, any computer problem or programming mistake was called a bug.
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 5

Second Generation Computers (1959 – 1964)

Component Introduction of transistors as a machine component replacing vacuum tubes.
Size The sizes were reduced compared to the first generation.
More reliable than predecessor which greatly reduced heat generated during
Reliability
operations.
Storage Capacity Memory capacity was approximately 30, 000 characters.
Cost Components used reduced overall cost of maintaining one binary digit of storage.
Processing Speed Operating speed was in microseconds (one millionth of a second)
Power Requirements Power requirement was further reduced.
Programs made use of symbolic languages requiring the use of translators.
Introduction and wide acceptance of high-level languages such as FORTRAN and
Software Development
COBOL. Which were machine-dependent; negate the requirements of comprehensive
knowledge of computers.
The mainframes introduced were IBM 1400 series and IBM 7000 series, Honeywell 2
Hardware Development
200, CDC 1604, Control Data 3600 and General Electric 635.
Magnetic core as primary internal storage medium. Magnetic tape oriented. Batch
Others
oriented applications. Introduction of real time processing.

Third Generation Computers (1965 – 1970)

Integrated circuits (ICs) replaced the transistors of the second generation although
Component
microscopic in size contained the equivalent or many transistors.
Smaller in size led to the emergence of minicomputers which had smaller word size,
Size
16 compared to 32 bits.
Reliability Improved reliability and low voltage requirement.
Storage Capacity Storage capacity further increased to 500, 000 characters of min storage.
Cost Cost of storage further decreased per binary digit.
Processing Speed Operating speed was in nanoseconds (one billionth of a second)
Power Requirements Power required for operation was also further reduced.
Availability of operating systems programs to control I/O and do many tasks
Software Development previously handled by human operators. Extensive use of high level programming
languages.
Introduction of minicomputers; computers of this era were much smaller than their
Hardware Development predecessors but only slightly less capable. (Ex. are IBM S/360, NCR395, and
Burroughs B6500)
Magnetic core as solid-state main storage. Magnetic disk oriented. Remote processing
Others
and time-sharing. Beginning of Data Communications Technology.

Fourth Generation Computers (1970 – 1980’s)

Made use of Medium Scale Integration (MSI) and Large Scale Integrated circuits
(LSI). Hundreds of circuits were placed in a chip size of a pinhead. Circuitry density in
Component
IC’s is referred to by level of integration. Complete circuits were reduced to virtually
microscopic sizes.
Size Smaller in size led to the emergence of minicomputers which had smaller word size,
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 6
16 compared to 32 bits.
Reliability Further improvement in reliability.
Storage Capacity Further increase in storage capacity.
Further reduction in cost, internal storage costs decreasing per binary digit. Reduction
Cost in extensive site preparation cost and space requirements needed for computer
systems.
Since computer was reduced in size, the distance for the power to travel were reduced
Processing Speed
a hundred times shorter.
Power Requirements Decrease in power utilization.
Availability of sophisticated programs for special applications like the Computer Aided
Software Development
Instructions (CAI) and the mathematical modeling and simulation.
Introduction of microprocessors, microcomputers (APPLE) and home computers. Due
Hardware Development to utilization of microscopic sized elements, computers of this generation were of
desk to top size. Ex. IBM 3033, HP 3000.
Greater versatility of I/O devices. Modular design and compatibility between hardware
Others equipment provided by different manufacturers (customers are no longer tied to one
vendor)

Fifth Generation Computers (Present and Beyond): Artificial Intelligence

This generation is still in development, though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used
today.
Artificial Intelligence is the branch of computer science concerned with making computers behave like humans. The term
was coined in 1956 by John McCarthy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
AI includes:
 Games Playing: programming computers to play games such as chess and checkers
 Expert Systems: programming computers to make decisions in real-life situations (for example, some expert systems help
doctors diagnose diseases based on symptoms)
 Natural Language: programming computers to understand natural human languages
 Neural Networks: Systems that simulate intelligence by attempting to reproduce the types of physical connections that
occur in animal brains
 Robotics: programming computers to see and hear and react to other sensory stimuli.

According to Size
Mainframe
- used to describe large computers. It can process large amount of data at very high speed, hold up to millions
of characters in its storage and support many input, output, and auxiliary storage devices. Ex. IBM 4000, FACOM
M760, Honeywell 53, UNIVAC 94/80
Minicomputers
 relatively smaller and slower computers compared to mainframe. Ex. IBM s/30, Hewlett Packard 3000, FACOM
A50
Microcomputers
- typically fits a desktop. Inside of it is microprocessor, which has control capability for memory and I/O access, and
which contains an arithmetic logic unit all on a single, chip less than one quarter of an inch square.

According to Operation
Digital Computers
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 7
- operates essentially on the basis of distinct (discrete) “on” and “off” states which can be represented by 1’s and
0’s referred to as binary digits.
Analog Computers
- operate by measuring continuous physical or electrical magnitudes such as pressure, current, voltage, length or
shaft rotations.
Hybrid Computers
 combination of the desirable qualities of the analog and digital computers.

According to Applications
Scientific Computers
- computers that can manipulate numbers according to sophisticated formulas and keep track of the results to
several decimal places.
Business Computers
 computers that usually handle large volumes of data for input, perform simple calculations like addition and
subtraction and print vast number of reports.
According to Design
General Purpose Computers
- designed to perform a variety of operations by simply changing instructions.
Special Purpose Computers
- built for specific operation and usually satisfies the needs for a particular type of problem.
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 8
Lecture 2
Components of Information Processing System

At the end of the topic, the student should be able to:

1. Discus the Components of a computer
2. Distinguish the difference between system software and application software
3. Enumerate the categories of computers
4. Enumerate the types of computer users

Data – is a collection or independent raw facts and figures.

Ex. Numbers, letters, symbols or combination of these

Information – is data that is made meaningful to someone.

Desirable Qualities of Information

1. Relevance – all of the information supplied must be important to the person receiving it.
2. Completeness – no vital information should be missed out.
3. Timeliness – information must be available when in time of need arises.
4. Accuracy – Correctness or validity of information is necessary because no sound decision is made of poor information.
5. Presentable – understandability of information is a function of presentation.

Data Processing – composed of a series of activities responsible for transforming data into information.

Data Processing Concepts

1. The INPUT – PROCESS – OUTPUT (I-P-O) Model

 refers to a conceptual framework wherein input in the form of data or information is processed which result in
the generation of an output basically in the form of information

Data Processing Methods

a. Manual Data Processing – implies the extend use of manual labor in the processing of
data. Such method is slow and relatively inaccurate and could not support the rapidly
expanding information requirements.
b. Mechanical Data Processing – involves the use of machines or devices that alter, transmit and direct applied
forces. The advantages are greater computational speed.

c. Electromechanical Data Processing – involves the use of mechanical devices with

electric motors allowing them to carry out any operation. Ex. Printers which give a
permanent record.
d. Electronic Data Processing – it has superior capacity to perform
computations and other functions at incredible speeds.

2. Data Processing Cycle

- the flow of data from the moment it is recorded until the time it becomes a usable piece of information is traced taking
into consideration what is actually done on the data in the process of transforming it into information.

Origi
natio
n
Input

Process Storag
e

Output
Major Phases of Data Processing Cycle

Origination Phase – involves basic capturing and recording of data. Filling in the form is an act of data capture.
Data are recorded on forms referrer to as source documents.
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 9
Ex. Of source documents:
 Sales order, cheque, materials requisition slip, birth certificate

Input Preparation Phase – it is concern with the accuracy and completeness of data to ensure data integrity.

Three Important Manual Steps or Procedures To Minimize Data Error

 Editing – process of selecting significant data and eliminating that, which does not need to be
recorded for processing.
 Coding – process that reduces the amount of data to be processed through the use of a code. A code
is a symbolic representation of a thing or a fact and is comprised of numeric or alphabetic characters.
 Verifying – checking the accuracy of data gathered.

Processing Phase – conversion of data into useful and meaningful information.

Kinds of Processes
 Classifying – systematically grouping data into classes. Data normally have common characteristics or
attributes.
 Sorting – process of physically separating classified data and rearranging these into a predetermined
sequence. It can be numerically or alphabetically, ascending or descending order.
 Calculating – involves arithmetical processes.
 Summarizing – process of decreasing the level of details of data. It involves listing or tabulating data and
totaling each list.

Output Preparation Phase – result or information is generated.

Several Ways How Information is provided to the User

 Reproduction
 Communication – could be transmitted in printed or oral form
System

It is a group of organized interdependent components that interact with

and complement one another to achieve one or more predetermined goals.

Characteristics of a System

A system is characterized by the following:

a. Unitary Whole – a system is the sum of its parts glued into one distinct
entity.
b. Composed of Parts – a system is made up of functionally oriented
c. Bounded – boundaries separate the system from its environment
d. System Parts Interact With Each Other – the parts are related and have definite interactions and
interdependencies.
e. Hierarchical – Each system is likely to be part of another larger system. Just as it is likely to be divided into
subsystems.
f. Goal-Oriented – The components all work toward a particular purpose of function.

Basic Components of a System

A system can be analyzed in terms of the four(4) basic components, namely:

1. Inputs – elements that enter the system and take the form of energy, materials or information.
2. Processes – actions on the inputs that converts it to outputs.
3. Outputs – the finished product, which resulted from processing the inputs.
4. Environment – the set of all outside elements or focuses that influence the system.

Types of System

A system can be classified into two namely:

1. Information System – a group of related activities (manual or computerized)

designed to collect, process, generate and exchange information for the exclusive support
of a major functional area to fulfill the problem-solving and decision making
information needs of business workers of the organization.
Ex. Personnel Management Information System, Financial Management Information
System

2. Application System – a group of related activities designed to support a very

specific function.
Ex. Payroll System, Accounting System
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 10
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 11
Computer System Components

1. Hardware – supported by auxiliary or peripheral.

 simply refers to computer equipment
 refers to the physical components that are used in data preparation, data input,
data storage, data computation and logic comparisons, control functions and
outputting information
 It includes the central processing unit (CPU) and the storage, input, output and communication devices

2. Software – non-physical components such as the machine coded

instructions used by the different hardware facilities.
 refers to all computer programs which direct and control the
computer hardware in data processing

Two types of Software:

a. Systems Software - is a collection of programs that facilitates the
programming and operation of the computer. It is called systems software because it is an integral part of the
computer system itself
- specifically, it supervises the operations of the CPU, controls the input/output
functions of the computer system, translates programming languages, and provides other support services
- some system softwares are Disk Operating System (DOS), DataBase
Management System (DBMS), interpreters and compiles, and data communication software

b. Applications software - not an integral part of the computer system. These programs are written to
solve a specific problem.
- application programs maybe written by programmers or maybe
purchase or leased from computer vendors, software companies or other computer users.

3. Peopleware – refers to the personnel who manage, designs the

application, writes and encodes the program.
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 12
Lecture 3
Operating System and Utility Programs

At the end of the topic, the student should be able to:

1. Define what is an operating system
2. Introduce several utility programs commonly found in operating systems
3. Describe several stand-alone operating system

Operating System
 (commonly abbreviated OS and O/S) is the software component of a computer system that is responsible for the
management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of the computer. The operating
system acts as a host for applications that are run on the machine.

Functions of Operating System

start the computer provide a user interface manage programs

administer
security

manage
memory

control a
network

provide file monitor establish an schedule jobs and

management and performanc Internet configure devices
other utilities e connection

Operating Systems Utility Programs

1. Utility
 System software that performs maintenance-type tasks
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 13
2. File Manager
o Performs functions such as copying, renaming,
deleting, and moving files

3. Personal Firewall
o Detects and protects a personal computer from unauthorized intrusions
o The latest update to Windows XP automatically enables the built-in personal firewall upon installation
4. Uninstaller
o Removes a program and all associated files
o In Windows XP, uninstaller is in Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel
5. Disk Scanner
o Detects and corrects problems on hard disk or floppy disk
o Searches for and removes unnecessary files
6. Disk Defragmenter
o Reorganizes files and unused space on hard disk so programs run faster
7. Diagnostic Utility
o Compiles technical information about hardware and some software
o Prepares report outlining problems
8. Backup Utility
o Copies selected files or entire hard disk onto another disk or tape
o Most compress files during backup to require less storage space
9. Screen saver
o Causes monitor’s screen to display moving image or blank screen if there is no activity for a specified time
o To secure computer, user configures screen saver to require password to
deactivate

Stand-Alone Operating Systems

1. DOS (Disk Operating System)
o Developed in early 1980s for personal computers
o Used command-line interface when first developed, later included menus
o Hardly used today because it does not offer GUI
2. Windows XP
o Microsoft’s fastest, most reliable Windows operating system
o Available in five editions: Home Edition, Professional Edition, Tablet PC Edition, Media Center Edition, and 64-bit
Edition
3. Mac OS X
o Available only for computers manufactured by Apple
o Macintosh operating system has been model for most GUIs
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 14

4. UNIX
o Used by power users because of its flexibility and power
o Most versions offer GUI both a stand-alone and a network operating system
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 15
Lecture 4
Computer Organization and Architecture

At the end of the topic, the student should be able to:

1. Enumerate the hardware devices.
2. Discuss different uses and functions of each device.
3. Enumerate different output devices and their uses.
4. Differentiate the kinds of input and output devices
5. Determine the uses and function of each devices

Motherboard
 it allows all the parts of your computer to receive power and communicate with one another. Anything of major
importance is plugged straight into the board. Some things on a motherboard are meant to be changed and altered
to suit your own specifications; other things are strictly to be left alone unless fully qualified.

Role of Motherboard in the Computer System:

Organization of devices - Everything is eventually connected to the motherboard. The way that the motherboard is designed
and laid out dictates how the entire computer is going to be organized.

Control of the devices - Built-in to the motherboard is the chipset and BIOS program, which between them control the majority
of data flow throughout the different computer systems.

System Communication - Almost all communication between the PC and its peripherals, other PCs, and you, the user, goes
through the motherboard.

Processor Support - The motherboard socket depicts which choice of processor you can use in your system.

Peripheral Support - The motherboards components determine what type of peripherals you can use in your PC. For example,
you can not use AGP cards if you only have PCI slots.

System Performance - The motherboard is a major factor in your system's performance; it dictates which type of processors,
memory, system buses, and hard disk interface speed your system can have via its connectors or BIOS settings. Often if you are
upgrading after a number of years you will need to replace the board, CPU, and memory.

Upgradeability - As motherboards are developed newer processors may not be compatible with your hardware as limitations of
the circuitry built-in to the board itself will not allow them to run. As a result you can look for any upgrades via your maker's
website but may need to consider upgrading.

Internal connectors & Ports

INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 16
1. PCI Slot 7. Molex Power connector
2. AGP slot 8. IDE Ports
3. North Bridge 9. S-ATA Ports
4. CPU Socket 10. South Bridge
5. DIMM Slot 11. USB 2.0 Header
6. Battery 12. Firewire Header

1 - PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slot 

o The PCI slot is a local system bus standard that was introduced by the Intel Corporation, however, it is not exclusive
to any form of processors and PCI slots are found in both Windows PCs and Macs. PCI slots allow numerous
different types of expansion cards to be connected inside a computer to extend the computers functionality.
Examples of PCI expansion cards are network cards, graphics cards and sound cards.

2 - AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port)

o As the name suggests AGP ports are dedicated to graphics. AGP ports are unique, in that they are the only
expansion slot found inside a computer that works for only one purpose. The AGP channel is 32 bits wide and runs
at 66Mhz for a total available bandwidth of 133 MBps (Megabytes per second). AGP ports give the graphics card
direct access to system memory to speed performance and allows the video card to store data directly in system
memory.

3 - Chipset - North Bridge (with heatsink)

o The portion of a computer chipset that connects between the CPU and the major interfaces on the
computer including memory, AGP port and PCI bus. It is also connected to the south bridge.

4 - CPU (Central Processing Unit) socket

o All the CPU "sockets look very similar, however they are different in the way they have different amount of pins and
in different layouts. Because of this getting, the right one is essential. A socket 7 CPU and a socket A CPU as well as a
socket 370 CPU all look the same from above but will not fit in each others sockets.

5 - DIMM (Double Inline Memory Module) slots

o These are by far the most common memory slots now; the others are SIMMs (Single Inline Memory Module) and
RIMM's (Rambus Inline Memory Module). DIMM's are used on virtually every board except for those on early P4
boards which predominantly use RIMM's. The standards for DIMM's are PC100 and PC133 and DDR266/33/400. DDR
is Double Data Rate memory which effectively doubles the speed of the memory giving greater speeds i.e.
266/33/400 Mhz

6 - Motherboard Battery
o The battery gives the board a small amount of power in order to store some vital data on your machine when the
power is off. Data stored is that like the time and date so you don't have to reset them every time you boot the
machine up. Motherboard batteries are usually long lasting Lithium batteries. Removing this can reset all the data on
your machine including the BIOS settings, however not replacing this correctly can lead to irreparable damage to the
motherboard. Only remove the battery if it is dead or if you can't have access any other way to resetting the data on
your machine by use of the clear CMOS jumper or something similar.

7 - ATX Power connector

o The standard ATX power connector, the cable for this will be coming from the PSU, a clip is normally provided to
make sure you get them in the correct order. As a tip, don't try to push too hard if its stuck, check to see that it is in
the correct way
8 - IDE connector 
o The connectors to which you will insert an IDE cable (supplied with motherboard) IDE cables connect devices such as
hard disks, CD Drives and DVD Drives. All IDE cables will come with a red line down one side, this red line is to show
which way it should be plugged in. The red line should always connect to pin one of the IDE port.
o In the case of ATA 66/100 there is a certain order that you plug devices in, the cable is color coded to help you get
them in the correct order.
 The Blue connector should be connected to the system board
 The Black connector should be connected to the master device
 The Grey Connector should be connected to the slave device    
9 - Serial ATA Connector
o Serial ATA or more commonly seen as S-ATA is a new way of connecting your Hard Drives to your PC.

10 - Chipset - South Bridge

o It handles things like the PCI bus, onboard Network and sound chips as well as the IDE and S-ATA buses.

11 - USB 2.0 header

o As well as having USB ports on the rear of the motherboard, motherboard manufacturers often add a couple of USB
headers so you can connect optional cables for extra USB ports. These cables are often supplied and you only need to
add them on if you need the extra connectivity. USB 2.0 replaced USB 1.1 as a much faster solution. It is backwards
compatible meaning all USB 1.1 devices will work in these new USB 2.0 ports.

12 - Firewire header
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 17
o Firewire is also known as IEEE 1394. It is a high performance serial bus for digital and audio equipment to exchange
data. The technology preceded USB but yet is faster than any current USB port. Often used for transferring digital video
to the PC straight from a digital camera. The FireWire header onboard means you can install a FireWire port on your
machine. Again these cables are often supplied as an optional extra which you will need to check with the retailer to
see if they are supplied with your board.

External Ports

1 - PS/2 Connectors 
o A PS2 connector is the port that is still commonly used to connect keyboards and mice to your computer. The PS2 port
is round, has 6 pins and they are commonly color coded to make it easy to distinguish the port for the mouse and the
keyboard. The keyboard PS2 port is purple and the mouse PS2 port is green. Newer mice and keyboards also
commonly use the USB port rather than the PS2 port.

2 - USB (Universal Serial Bus) Ports 

o USB ports are a way for external devices to communicate with your computer. Devices such as digital cameras, PDAs,
printers and more use USB connections. There is also a wireless USB protocol.

3 - Parallel Port
o One of the computer connector standards that was used typically for communicating with printers. Most printers have
replaced this form of interface with USB.

4 - Game Port
o The Game port is really just a serial port normally found on a sound card. As the picture above has onboard sound in
order to show you everything an ATX motherboard can have on it, the game port is above the sound connectors.
Game pads and joysticks plug into the game port. The game port is a female connector and larger than that of the
standard COM port.

5 - Sound card Connectors

o The Sound card that is built into the board has three connectors, these are Speaker out, this is your main output for
your computer speakers, depending on your sound chip you may or may not need powered speakers. Then you will
have the Line in, Line in is for external sources of audio that you want to hear through your computer or possibly
record, i.e. from your Hi-Fi. The last of the 3 is the Mic in port. This is for the Microphone. The Microphone can again be
used to add sound to recording or just to play through your speakers as a karaoke system.   

6 - Display Connector
o This motherboard also has onboard graphics, if this is the case with your motherboard then you will have this
connector on your motherboard. The Display connector is also female (meaning the pins will be on the end of the
monitor cable.) If you have a standard graphics card then this connector will be on the back of your graphics card.

7 - COM (communications) Port

o The COM port is used for peripherals such as mice and modems, becoming less popular now though as USB and PS/2
have taken over. Motherboards seem to only have the 1 COM port now in favor of more USB ports. 
OUTPUT DEVICES
OUTPUT DEVICES – translate information in a way that humans can understand.
Several Types of Output Devices

 Display screens
 Printers and plotters
 Audio-output devices
 Video-output devices
 Virtual reality devices
 Robots
 INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 18
I. DISPLAY SCREEN
      Display screens are either CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) or flat panel display.
CRT’s use a vacuum tube like that of a TV set. Flat panel displays are
thinner, weigh less, and consume less power but are not as clear as CRT’s
Flat panel displays are:

Display screens also variously called monitors, CRT’s or simply screen.

These are devices that show programming instructions and data as they are
being input and information after it is processed. Pixel is the smallest
unit on the screen that can be turned on and of or made different shades. These are the individual
dots or picture elements that represent on the screen to form images.
Monochrome VS color screens:
      Display screens can be either:
 Monochrome – display only two colors, usually black and white, amber and black, or green and black.
 Color display screen – can display between 16 and 16.7 million colors, depending on their type.
TEXT VS GRAPHICS / CHARACTER-MAPPED VS BITMAPPED DISPLAY:
      Another distinction in display screen relates to their capacity to display graphics.
 Character-Mapped display screens – display only text, letters, numbers and special characters. They cannot display
graphics unless a video adapter card installed.
 Bitmapped display screens – can display graphics. Today most screens can display text and graphics. (Icons, charts,
graphs and drawings)

II. PAPER OUTPUT

      Printer is an output device that prints characters, symbols and perhaps graphics on paper. Printer categories such as:
DESKTOP OR PORTABLE

Desktop – printer is not mobile and portable. It is located at the top of your regular desk for
printing documents.

Portable – this is a mobile printer and can be carried anywhere.

IMPACT OR NON-IMPACT

Impact – form character or images by striking a mechanism such as print hammer or wheel
against an inked ribbon leaving an image on the paper. Most common impact printers are:
 Daisywheel printer
 Dot-matrix printer
 Line printers

Non-impact – form characters and images without making direct physical contact between
printing mechanism and paper.
 Laser Printers
 Ink-jet Printers
 Bubble-jet Printers

 Plotters are specialized output device designed to produce high- quality graphics
in a variety of colors. These are useful for creating maps and architectural designs,
although they may also produce less complicated charts and graphs.
Three Principal Kinds of Plotters
 Pen plotter
 Electrostatic plotter
 Thermal plotter

III. AUDIO-OUTPUT DEVICES

      Include those devices that output voice-like sounds and those that output music and other sounds.
Two Types of Sound-Audio Devices for Music Only
FM Synthesis – it can say as the monotone
o Virtual Acoustics – a device tour a software modern of an actual instrument.
o it can say the Polytone.

IV. VIDEO-OUTPUT DEVICES

o Video conferencing and Video editing, is a method whereby people in different geographical locations can have a
meeting, and see hear one another using computers and communications.

Virtual Reality Devices

o Is a kind of computer-generated artificial intelligence that projects a person into a sensation of

three-dimensional space. To achieve the 3-D effect the following interactive sensory equipment
are needed.
Headgear – is one type of eye-phone, it has two small video display screens. One for each eye that create
the sense of tree-dimensionality.
 INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 19

Glove – (such as the Data Glove) has sensors that collect data about your hand movements.

Software – gives the wearer of this special headgear and gloves the interactive
sensory experiences that feel like an alternative to the realities of the real physical world.

Application of Virtual Reality Devices:

o To arcade type games
o In an architectural design

Robots
o Is an automatic device that performs functions ordinarily ascribed to human beings or that operate with what appears
to be almost human intelligence.

      Artificial intelligence – family or technologies that attempts to develop computer systems that can mimic or stimulate human
thought processes and actions.
Robots as output devices:
o A robot resembling a miniature tank was able to explore the inside of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.
o A robot called ScrubMate can clean bathrooms.
o Robodoc used in surgery

Input Devices

Touch Screen

Is an intuitive computer device that works by simply touching the display screen, either by finger, or with a stylus, faster
than typing on a keyboard or pointing with a device.

Touch Screen a computer screen designed or modified to recognize the location of a touch on its surface. By touching
the screen, the user can make a selection or move a cursor. The simplest type of touch screen is made up of a grid of sensing
lines, which determine the location of a touch by matching vertical and horizontal contacts. Another, more accurate, type uses an
electrically charged surface and sensors around the outer edges of the screen to detect the amount of electrical disruption and
pinpoint exactly where contact has been made. A third type embeds infrared light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and sensors around
the outer edges of the screen. These LEDs and sensors create an invisible infrared grid, which the user's finger interrupts, in front
of the screen. Infrared touch screens are often used in “dirty” environments where contaminants could interfere with the
operation of other types of touch screens.

The touch screen's popularity with personal-computer users has been limited because users must hold their hands in midair to
point at the screen, which is prohibitively tiring over extended periods. Also, touch screens do not offer high resolution—the user
is not able to touch only a specific point on the screen. Touch screens are, however, immensely popular in applications such as
information kiosks and automatic teller machines because they offer pointing control without requiring any movable hardware
and because touching the screen is intuitive. (by Microsoft Encarta)

BASIC COMPONENTS:

1. Touch screen sensor panel- that sits above the display and which generates appropriate voltages according to where,
precisely it is touched.
2. Touch screen controller- that process the signal received from the sensor and translates these into touch event data,
which is passed to the PC’s processor, usually via a serial or USB interface.
3. Software driver- provide an interface to the PC’s operating system and which translates the touch event data into mouse
events, essentially enabling the sensor panel to “emulate” a mouse.

“TOUCH SCREEN TECHNOLOGY”

RESISTIVE INFRARED SURFACE CAPACITIVE

ACOUSTIC WAVE
UCH High High Average High
SOLUTION
ARITY Average Good Good Good
ERATION Finger or stylus Finger or stylus Finger or soft Finger only
tipped stylus
URABILITY Can be damaged by Highly durable Susceptible to dirt Highly durable
sharp objects & moisture
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 20
1. Resistive touch screen respond to the pressure of a finger, a fingernail or a stylus. They typically comprise a glass or a
acrylic base that is coated with electrically conducive and resistive layers.
2. Infrared- touch screen are base on light –beam interruption technology. Instead of placing a layer on the display surface,
a frame surrounds its.
3. Surface Acoustics Waves- technology is the one most advanced touch screen types.
4. Capacitive- touch screen relating to an electrical capacitance.

Light Pen
Light Pen, a pointing device in which the user holds a wand, which is attached to
the computer, up to the screen and selects items or chooses commands on the screen (the
equivalent of a mouse click) either by pressing a clip on the side of the light pen or by
pressing the light pen against the surface of the screen. The wand contains light sensors
and sends a signal to the computer whenever it records a light, as during close contact with
the screen when the non-black pixels beneath the wand's tip are refreshed by the display's
electron beam. The computer's screen is not all lit at once—the electron beam that lights
pixels on the screen traces across the screen row by row, all in the space of 1/60 of a
second. By noting exactly when the light pen detected the electron beam passing its
tip, the computer can determine the light pen's location on the screen. The light pen
doesn't require a special screen or screen coating, as does a touch screen, but its
disadvantage is that holding the pen up for an extended length of time is tiring to the user.
GRAPHICS TABLET (DIGITIZER)
Also called a digitizing tablet. A flat plastic rectangle with subsurface electronics, used in
conjunction with a pointing device in many engineering and design
applications as well as in illustration work. When the pointing device is
moved on the surface of the tablet, the location of the device is
translated to a specific on-screen cursor position. The pointing device
used with a graphics tablet is usually a pen (also called a stylus) or a
puck.

These input devices use the same sensing technology used by pen-based computers, but they
are designed primarily for drawing. They let you make sketches and highly detailed drawings, just as you would on a
piece of paper. Indeed, they have a flat drawing surface similar to that of a pad, or tablet, of paper. Generally, you use a
special pen to draw on the tablet’s pressure-sensitive surface. The tablets electronics enable it to pinpoint the location of
each point in your drawing. It translates its data into binary digits for the computer., which then presents an accurate
image of your drawing on the display screen.
Graphics Tablets are particularly useful for architects, graphic designers, engineers, and other people whose work
involves some type of illustrations.
KEYBOARD
o Keyboard a keypad device with buttons or keys that a user presses to enter data characters and commands into a
computer. Keyboards emerged from the combination of typewriter and computer-terminal technology. They are one of
the fundamental pieces of personal computer (PC) hardware, along with the central processing unit (CPU), the monitor
or screen, and the mouse or other cursor device.

o The most common English-language key pattern for typewriters and keyboards is called QWERTY, after the layout of
the first six letters in the top row of its keys (from left to right). In the late 1860s, American inventor and printer
Christopher Sholes invented the modern form of the typewriter. Sholes created the QWERTY keyboard layout by
separating commonly used letters so that typists would type slower and not jam their mechanical typewriters.
Subsequent generations of typists have learned to type using QWERTY keyboards, prompting manufacturers to
maintain this key orientation on typewriters.

o Computer keyboards copied the QWERTY key layout and have followed the precedent set by typewriter manufacturers
of keeping this convention. Modern keyboards connect with the computer CPU by cable or by infrared transmitter.
When a key on the keyboard is pressed, a numeric code is sent to the keyboard’s driver software and to the computer’s
operating system software. The driver translates this data into a specialized command that the computer’s CPU and
application programs understand. In this way, users may enter text, commands, numbers, or other data. The term
character is generally reserved for letters, numbers, and punctuation, but may also include control codes, graphical
symbols, mathematical symbols, and graphic images.

o Almost all standard English-language keyboards have keys for each character of the American Standard Code for
Information Interchange (ASCII) character set, as well as various function keys. Most computers and applications today
use seven or eight data bits for each character. Other character sets include ISO Latin 1, Kanji, and Unicode. Each
character is represented by a unique number understood by the computer. For example, ASCII code 65 is equal to the
letter A. The function keys generate short, fixed sequences of character codes that instruct application programs
running on the computer to perform certain actions. Often, keyboards also have directional buttons for moving the
screen cursor, separate numeric pads for entering numeric and arithmetic data, and a switch for turning the computer
on and off. Some keyboards, including most for laptop computers, also incorporate a trackball, mouse pad, or other
cursor-directing device. No standard exists for positioning the function, numeric, and other buttons on a keyboard
relative to the QWERTY and other typewriting keys. Thus layouts vary on keyboards.
o An alternative keyboard design not yet widely used but broadly acknowledged for its speed advantages is the Dvorak
keyboard. In the 1930s, American educators August Dvorak and William Dealy designed this key set so that the letters
that make up most words in the English language are in the middle row of keys and are easily reachable by a typist’s
fingers. Common letter combinations are also positioned so that they can be typed quickly. Most keyboards are
arranged in rectangles, left to right around the QWERTY layout. Newer, innovative keyboard designs are more
ergonomic in shape. These keyboards have separated banks of keys and are less likely to cause carpal tunnel
syndrome, a disorder often caused by excessive typing on less ergonomic keyboards.
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 21
Wireless Keyboard
o no chord hassles
o have Bluetooth
MUSICAL KEYBOARDS
A musical or electronic keyboard is an instrument that looks somewhat like a shortened piano keyboard, with
buttons that enable it to mimic a host instruments. Musical keyboards can be used on their own. Or, using technology called
Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI), they can communicate with computers, thereby expanding their versatility. For
example, with the appropriate software, you can use a musical keyboard to learn how to play piano, or to compose, edit, and
print songs.
Joystick
Joystick a popular pointing device used mostly for playing computer games but used for other tasks as well. A joystick
usually has a square or rectangular plastic base to which is attached a vertical stem. Control buttons are located on the base and
sometimes on top of the stem. The stem can be moved omni directionally to control the movement of an object on the screen.
The buttons activate various software features, generally producing on-screen events. A joystick is usually a relative pointing
device, moving an object on the screen when the stem is moved from the center and stopping the movement when the stem is
released. In industrial control applications, the joystick can also be an absolute pointing device, with each position of the stem
mapped to a specific on-screen location.

Digital Camera
A digital camera owner displays the back of a digital camera with its liquid crystal screen showing his own image being
captured. Once the shutter is snapped, images are stored on memory devices, such as floppy disks or memory cards, so that
users can review the photographs they have taken and determine immediately if the image they captured is what they want.

Scanner
Scanner, device for examining an object in detail in order to produce an electronic image of it, using visible light or
another form of electromagnetic radiation such as a laser.

Optical Scanner
Optical Scanner, a computer input device (see Input/Output Device) that uses light-sensing equipment to scan paper or
another medium, translating the pattern of light and dark (or color) into a digital signal that can be manipulated by either optical
character recognition software or graphics software. A frequently encountered type of scanner is “flatbed,” meaning that the
scanning device moves across or reads across a stationary document. On a flatbed scanner such as the common office copier,
such objects are placed face down on a flat piece of glass and scanned by a mechanism that passes under them. Another type of
flatbed scanner uses a scanning element placed in a stationary housing above the document.

Other scanners work by pulling in sheets of paper, which are scanned as they pass over a stationary scanning mechanism, as
in the common office fax machine. Some specialized scanners work with a standard video camera, translating the video signal
into a digital signal for processing by computer software.

A very popular type of scanner is the hand-held scanner, so called because the user holds the scanner in his or her hand
and moves it over the document to be scanned. Hand-held scanners have the advantage of relatively low cost; however, they are
somewhat limited by their inability to scan areas more than a few inches wide.

READING-EDGE SCANNER
Modern technology has expanded library services for people with impaired vision and hearing. For example, some
libraries have introduced computers with the Versa Braille system, which translates what is appearing on a computer screen
into Braille characters. Some libraries also feature a device called an Optacon, which converts print or computer output into a
tactile form. To read, the user moves the Optacon camera across a line of print while interpreting the movements of the tactile
forms with the index finger of the other hand. The Kurzweil Reading Machine is another computer device that libraries provide
for visually impaired users. It scans a book, magazine, or other printed material and then reads it aloud using a synthesized voice.
The Reading Edge Scanner can also convert printed text into speech. Some libraries are equipped with Braille printers, which
allow blind and visually impaired patrons to make Braille copies of computer-generated material. For people with limited vision,
some libraries provide computers with large keyboards, oversized keys, and monitors that automatically enlarge the letters that
appear on the screen.

Voice Output Scanner

Computers equipped with synthetic speech systems—a sound board and microphone for inputting spoken words and a program
to translate those words into a form the computer can use—are also becoming available. These systems are usually combined
with a voice output system to enable the user to verify that the computer has correctly interpreted the input. These systems are
faster than Braille and audiotapes for accessing information. Another innovation is the voice output print scanner. These systems
scan a book into a computer and then convert the text into voice output—that is, the computer reads the material out loud in
one of a choice of voices. These devices are useful not only in the classroom, but also in the workplace, permitting blind adults to
be productive in any job.

Mouse (computer)

A common pointing device, popularized by its inclusion as standard equipment with the Apple Macintosh. With the rise in
popularity of graphical user interfaces (Graphical User Interface) in MS-DOS; UNIX, and OS/2, use of mice is growing throughout
the personal computer and workstation worlds. The basic features of a mouse are a casing with a flat bottom, designed to be
gripped by one hand; one or more buttons on the top; a multidirectional detection device (usually a ball) on the bottom; and a
cable connecting the mouse to the computer. See the illustration. By moving the mouse on a surface (such as a desk), the user
typically controls an on-screen cursor. A mouse is a relative pointing device because there are no defined limits to the mouse's
movement and because its placement on a surface does not map directly to a specific screen location. To select items or choose
commands on the screen, the user presses one of the mouse's buttons, producing a “mouse click.”
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 22
Mechanical Mouse

A type of mouse in which the motion of a ball on the bottom of the mouse is translated into directional signals. As the user
moves the mouse, the ball typically spins a pair of wheels inside the mouse. These conductive wheels might, in turn, rotate
additional wheels via axles or gears. At least one pair of wheels have conductive markings on their surface. Because the markings
permit an electric current to flow, a set of conductive brushes that ride on the surface of the conductive wheels can detect the
conductive markings. The electronics in the mouse translate these electrical-movement signals into mouse-movement
information that can be used by the computer.

Optical Mouse

A type of mouse that uses a pair of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and a special reflective grid pad to detect motion. The two lights
are of different colors, and the special mouse pad has a grid of lines in the same colors, one color for vertical lines and another
for horizontal lines. Light detectors paired with the LEDs sense when a colored light passes over a line of the same color,
indicating the direction of the movement.

Optomechanical Mouse

A type of mouse in which motion is translated into directional signals through a combination of optical and mechanical means.
The optical portion includes pairs of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and matching sensors; the mechanical portion consists of
rotating wheels with cutout slits. When the mouse is moved, the wheels turn and the light from the LEDs either passes through
the slits and strikes a light sensor or is blocked by the solid portions of the wheels. These changes in light contact are detected
by the pairs of sensors and interpreted as indications of movement. Because the sensors are slightly out of phase with one
another, the direction of movement is determined by which sensor is the first to regain light contact. Because it uses optical
equipment instead of mechanical parts, an optomechanical mouse eliminates the need for many of the wear-related repairs and
maintenance necessary with purely mechanical mice, but it does not require the special operating surfaces associated with
optical mice.

Trackball

Trackball is a popular pointing device that can be roughly described as a mouse on its back. A trackball consists of a ball resting
on two rollers at right angles to each other, which translate the ball's motion into vertical and horizontal movement on the
screen. A trackball also typically has one or more buttons to initiate other actions. The only functional difference between a
mechanical mouse and a trackball is in how the ball is moved: With a mouse, the ball is rolled by moving the entire unit over a
desktop or other surface; with a trackball, the housing is stationary, and the ball is rolled with the hand. A trackball is useful for
fine work because the user can exert fingertip control; a mouse is better for bold moves, such as those used in navigating within
a graphical user interface. Another major advantage of a trackball is that it takes little desktop surface. See also Mechanical
Mouse.

Track Pad

A pad, which can see on the laptop. That uses our hand as a cursor to this pad.

Video Digitizers

These devices enable you to change video images, such as those taken with a camcorder, into computer readable form.
These images can be incorporated into newsletter and other computer-generated materials. They can also be sent via modem to
other computers. For example, a police department may use a video digitizer to enter scenes of a bank robbery or film of known
criminals into the computer, then transmit this data to a computer in a distant police department.

Speech Recognition Devices

These devices enable computers to hear and record spoken words, and to respond to spoken
commands. These spoken words are changed into binary code, then either matched with words stored in
the computer’s memory or broken down into phonemes (the sound building blocks of words). Speech
recognition is extremely difficult because of the enormous differences in pitch and
pronunciation among various speakers. However, they already have some applications and they certainly
have great potential.
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 23
Lecture 5
Number System

At the end of the topic, the student should be able to:

o Compute using the different rules for conversion.
o Compute for the sum and difference of binary numbers

FUNCTIONS IN CONVERTING:

A  10 Binary  0 & 1
B  11 Decimal  0 - 9
C  12 Octal  0 - 7
D  13 Hexadecimal  0 -9 & A - F
E  14
F  15

CONVERTING BINARY TO DECIMAL

10110112 → _____10

1011011 Then,
1 + 2 + 0 + 8 + 16 + 0 +32
20 x 1 =1
= 59
21 x 1 =2
22 x 0 =0
23 x 1 =8
24 x 1
25 x 0 =0
26 x 1
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 24
Converting Decimal to Binary

5610 → ______2
56 ¿
0 REMAINDER
THE QUOTIENT WILL BE
DIVIDED AGAIN BY 2
28 2 0

14 2 0
TAKE THE
REMAINDERS
7 2 1 IN REVERSE
ORDER.
3 2 1
ANSWER:
1110002
1 ¿ 1

CONVERTING HEXADECIMAL TO BINARY

2C8516 0010110010000101
2

2 C 8 5

84 21 8 4 2 1 8 4 2 1 8 4 2 1
00 10 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1

CONVERTING BINARY TO HEXADECIMAL

1 6 E E 161
0001 0110 1110 01112____________

0001 0110 1110 1110 0001

1 6 E E 1

CONVERTING HEXADECIMAL TO DECIMAL

A616 → ______10

A616 Then,
6 + 160
160 x 6 = 6

161 x 10 = 160 Answer = 16610

CONVERTING DECIMAL TO HEXADECIMAL

5810__________16
REMAINDER
58 ÷ 16 10
Quotient ANSWER = 3A16

3 ÷ 16 3
(0) -
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 25

Converting Decimal to Octal

22 1810______8
D Q R

18 ÷ 8 2 2
ANSWER: = 22

2÷8 0 2

Converting Octal to Decimal

258___________10

2110 258 = 2 x 81 5 x 80
= 16 + 5
= 2110

Converting Octal to Binary

111 011
7358____________ 2 101

7 3 5

4 2 1 4 2 1 4 2 1
1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1

ANSWER = 111 011 101

CONVERTING BINARY TO OCTAL

2755
0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 18__________ 2

010 111 101 101

2 7 5 5
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 26
Lecture 6
Internet Operation

At the end of the topic, the student should be able to:

o Discuss the use of surfing the net through searching or chatting.
o Create, receive, send, forwards e-mail.

Internet Basics

In the beginning, only government “think tanks” and a few universities were linked. Basically the Internet was an emergency
military communications system operated by the Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA). The whole
operation was referred to as ARPANET.

ARPANET
The ARPANET was the first wide area packet switching (A method of data transmission in which small blocks of data are
transmitted rapidly over a channel dedicated to the connection only for the duration of the packet's transmission.) network.
It was developed by the Information Processing Techniques Office ( IPTO) under the sponsorship of Defense/Advance Research
Project Agency (DARPA), and conceived and planned by Lick Licklider, Lawrence Roberts, and others as described earlier in this
section.

In time, ARPANET computers were installed at every university in the United States that had defense related funding. Gradually,
the Internet had gone from a military pipeline to a communications tool for scientists. As more scholars came online, the
administration of the system transferred from ARPA to the National Science Foundation. Years later, businesses began using the
Internet and the administrative responsibilities were once again transferred. At this time no one party “operates” the Internet,
there are several entities that “oversee” the system and the protocols that are involved.
The speed of the Internet has changed the way people receive information. It combines the immediacy of broadcast with the in-
depth coverage of newspapers…making it a perfect source for news and weather information.

About Email

The most frequently used application of the Internet. Many people who have access to the Internet at school, home, and work,
use the Internet for no other purpose than to send and receive email.

How Email works?

You create the message, log onto the Internet, and send it. The message first goes to your Internet Service
Provider’s mail server, which in turn sends it to the recipient’s mail server. On the way your message may go
through several servers, each reading the domain name in order to route it to the appropriate server. The
message then remains in the recipient’s mail server until he requests it by “checking his mail.”Each email
address you send is made up of certain components that help route it to the proper recipient:

The benefits of email are obvious…mostly it’s quick. Also, many people feel that the rules for regular mail don’t apply to email*,
making it less formal, which in turn makes email easier to compose and send.

What @ is it for?
It separates the user name from its host, as in tom_is(user name)@om.org(host).
The host name signifies the machine at which the user can be found, at least virtually. It is more specific than the domain name.
The domain comprises an entire company, for example, with a huge number of computers. The computers are the individual
hosts connected via an internal network.
Technically, a domain name is nothing else than an IP address (something like "192.168.0.15") in a more legible form. Domain
name and host name can be the same and with email addresses typically are.
The user name typically is the name you use the log in.

Why @?
'@' is short for "at". This is why it was chosen for the purpose of identifying a person "at" a computer.

Email Etiquette

1. Be concise and to the point. Do not make an e-mail longer than it needs to be. Remember that
reading an e-mail is harder than reading printed communications and a long e-mail can be very
discouraging to read.
2. Answer all questions, and pre-empt further questions.
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 27
An email reply must answer all questions, and pre-empt further questions – If you do not answer all the questions in the original
email, you will receive further e-mails regarding the unanswered questions, which will not only waste your time and your
customer’s time but also cause considerable frustration. Moreover, if you are able to pre-empt relevant questions, your customer
will be grateful and impressed with your efficient and thoughtful customer service. Imagine for instance that a customer sends
you an email asking which credit cards you accept. Instead of just listing the credit card types, you can guess that their next
question will be about how they can order, so you also include some order information and a URL to your order page. Customers
will definitely appreciate this.
3. Use proper spelling, grammar & punctuation.
This is not only important because improper spelling, grammar and punctuation give a bad impression of your company, it is
also important for conveying the message properly. E-mails with no full stops or commas are difficult to read and can sometimes
even change the meaning of the text. And, if your program has a spell checking option, why not use it?
4. Make it personal.
Not only should the e-mail be personally addressed, it should also include personal i.e. customized content. For this reason auto
replies are usually not very effective. However, templates can be used effectively in this way, see next tip.
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 28
5. Use templates for frequently used responses.
Some questions you get over and over again, such as directions to your office or how to subscribe to your newsletter. Save these
texts as response templates and paste these into your message when you need them. You can save your templates in a Word
document, or use pre-formatted emails. Even better is a tool such as ReplyMate for Outlook (allows you to use 10 templates for
free).
6. Answer swiftly.
Customers send an e-mail because they wish to receive a quick response. If they did not want a quick response they would send
a letter or a fax. Therefore, each e-mail should be replied to within at least 24 hours, and preferably within the same working day.
If the email is complicated, just send an email back saying that you have received it and that you will get back to them. This will
put the customer's mind at rest and usually customers will then be very patient!
7. Do not attach unnecessary files.
By sending large attachments you can annoy customers and even bring down their e-mail system. Wherever possible try to
compress attachments and only send attachments when they are productive. Moreover, you need to have a good virus scanner
in place since your customers will not be very happy if you send them documents full of viruses!
8. Use proper structure & layout.
Since reading from a screen is more difficult than reading from paper, the structure and lay out is very important for e-mail
messages. Use short paragraphs and blank lines between each paragraph. When making points, number them or mark each
point as separate to keep the overview.
9. Do not write in CAPITALS.
IF YOU WRITE IN CAPITALS IT SEEMS AS IF YOU ARE SHOUTING. This can be highly annoying and might trigger an unwanted
response in the form of a flame mail. Therefore, try not to send any email text in capitals.
10. Don't leave out the message thread.
When you reply to an email, you must include the original mail in your reply, in other words click 'Reply', instead of 'New Mail'.
Some people say that you must remove the previous message since this has already been sent and is therefore unnecessary.
However, I could not agree less. If you receive many emails you obviously cannot remember each individual email. This means
that a 'threadless email' will not provide enough information and you will have to spend a frustratingly long time to find out the
context of the email in order to deal with it. Leaving the thread might take a fraction longer in download time, but it will save the
recipient much more time and frustration in looking for the related emails in their inbox!
11. Add disclaimers to your emails.
It is important to add disclaimers to your internal and external mails, since this can help protect your company from liability.
Consider the following scenario: an employee accidentally forwards a virus to a customer by email. The customer decides to sue
your company for damages. If you add a disclaimer at the bottom of every external mail, saying that the recipient must check
each email for viruses and that it cannot be held liable for any transmitted viruses, this will surely be of help to you in court.
Another example: an employee sues the company for allowing a racist email to circulate the office. If your company has an email
policy in place and adds an email disclaimer to every mail that states that employees are expressly required not to make
defamatory statements, you have a good case of proving that the company did everything it could to prevent offensive emails.
12. Read the email before you send it.
A lot of people don't bother to read an email before they send it out, as can be seen from the many spelling and grammar
mistakes contained in emails. Apart from this, reading your email through the eyes of the recipient will help you send a more
effective message and avoid misunderstandings and inappropriate comments.
14. Do not overuse Reply to All.
Only use Reply to All if you really need your message to be seen by each person who received the original message.
15. Mailings > use the Bcc: field or do a mail merge.
When sending an email mailing, some people place all the email addresses in the To: field. There are two drawbacks to this
practice: (1) the recipient knows that you have sent the same message to a large number of recipients, and (2) you are
publicizing someone else's email address without their permission. One way to get round this is to place all addresses in the Bcc:
field. However, the recipient will only see the address from the To: field in their email, so if this was empty, the To: field will be
blank and this might look like spamming. You could include the mailing list email address in the To: field, or even better, if you
have Microsoft Outlook and Word you can do a mail merge and create one message for each recipient. A mail merge also allows
you to use fields in the message so that you can for instance address each recipient personally. For more information on how to
do a Word mail merge, consult the Help in Word.
16. Take care with abbreviations and emoticons.
In business emails, try not to use abbreviations such as BTW (by the way) and LOL (laugh out loud). The recipient might not be
aware of the meanings of the abbreviations and in business emails these are generally not appropriate. The same goes for
emoticons, such as the smiley :-). If you are not sure whether your recipient knows what it means, it is better not to use it.
17. Be careful with formatting.
Remember that when you use formatting in your emails, the sender might not be able to view formatting, or might see different
fonts than you had intended. When using colors, use a color that is easy to read on the background.
19. Do not forward chain letters.
Do not forward chain letters. We can safely say that all of them are hoaxes. Just delete the letters as soon as you receive them.
22. Do not copy a message or attachment without permission.
Do not copy a message or attachment belonging to another user without permission of the originator. If you do not ask
permission first, you might be infringing on copyright laws.
23. Do not use email to discuss confidential information.
Sending an email is like sending a postcard. If you don't want your email to be displayed on a bulletin board, don't send it.
Moreover, never make any libelous, sexist or racially discriminating comments in emails, even if they are meant to be a joke.
24. Use a meaningful subject.
Try to use a subject that is meaningful to the recipient as well as yourself. For instance, when you send an email to a company
requesting information about a product, it is better to mention the actual name of the product, e.g. 'Product A information' than
to just say 'product information' or the company's name in the subject.
25. Use active instead of passive.
Try to use the active voice of a verb wherever possible. For instance, 'We will process your order today', sounds better than 'Your
order will be processed today'. The first sounds more personal, whereas the latter, especially when used frequently, sounds
unnecessarily formal.
26. Avoid using URGENT and IMPORTANT.
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 29
Even more so than the high-priority option, you must at all times try to avoid these types of words in an email or subject line.
Only use this if it is a really, really urgent or important message.
27. Avoid long sentences.
Try to keep your sentences to a maximum of 15-20 words. Email is meant to be a quick medium and requires a different kind of
writing than letters. Also take care not to send emails that are too long. If a person receives an email that looks like a
dissertation, chances are that they will not even attempt to read it!
28. Don't send or forward emails containing libelous, defamatory, offensive, racist or obscene remarks.
By sending or even just forwarding one libelous, or offensive remark in an email, you and your company can face court cases
resulting in multi-million dollar penalties.
29. Don't forward virus hoaxes and chain letters.
If you receive an email message warning you of a new unstoppable virus that will immediately delete everything from your
computer, this is most probably a hoax. By forwarding hoaxes you use valuable bandwidth and sometimes virus hoaxes contain
viruses themselves, by attaching a so-called file that will stop the dangerous virus. The same goes for chain letters that promise
incredible riches or ask your help for a charitable cause. Even if the content seems to be bona fide, the senders are usually not.
Since it is impossible to find out whether a chain letter is real or not, the best place for it is the recycle bin.
30. Keep your language gender neutral.
In this day and age, avoid using sexist language such as: 'The user should add a signature by configuring his email program'.
Apart from using he/she, you can also use the neutral gender: ''The user should add a signature by configuring the email
program'.
31. Don't reply to spam.
By replying to spam or by unsubscribing, you are confirming that your email address is 'live'. Confirming this will only generate
even more spam. Therefore, just hit the delete button or use email software to remove spam automatically.
32. Use cc: field sparingly.
Try not to use the cc: field unless the recipient in the cc: field knows why they are receiving a copy of the message. Using the cc:
field can be confusing since the recipients might not know who is supposed to act on the message. Also, when responding to a
cc: message, should you include the other recipient in the cc: field as well? This will depend on the situation. In general, do not
include the person in the cc: field unless you have a particular reason for wanting this person to see your response. Again, make
sure that this person will know why they are receiving a copy.

About Newsgroups

Newsgroups are basically an electronic bulletin board. Depending upon your online-service or
Internet Service Provider (ISP), you should have access to about 12,000 newsgroups (currently there are
nearly 26,000). With this many newsgroups there is probably at least one out there for everyone.

USENET, the international newsgroup network, is much like the Internet itself…no single agency is in
charge. The system connects computers from around the world.

It consists of a set of “newsgroups” with names that are classified hierarchically by subject. “Articles” or
“messages” are “posted” to these newsgroups by people on computers with the appropriate software
— these articles are then broadcast to other interconnected computer systems via a wide variety of
networks. Some newsgroups are “moderated”; in these newsgroups, the articles are first sent to a
moderator for approval before appearing in the newsgroup. Usenet is available on a wide variety of computer systems and
networks, but the bulk of modern Usenet traffic is transported over either the Internet or UUCP.
Microsoft’s Outlook and Outlook express also provide newsreaders.

Newsgroups are arranged in subgroups which makes them easier to list. A newsgroup name starts with a subgroup header
followed by one or more descriptive words, separated by “.”

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) are an important part of USENET culture. These list and answer the kinds of questions that
beginner’s ask, and provide a good introduction to each group. They are often an excellent source of information on the subject
matter of the group.

Searching

Looking for something, or someone? The Internet can be the quickest and least expensive way to find information…as long as
you know how to use the search engines efficiently.

Few tips for successful searching

(a) Read the “hints” and “help” for each search engine. This will explain exactly how the search tool operates. (b) Experiment
with different search engines. Even though they are all similar, they all have important differences. A search engine that is quick,
but returns 40,000 pages may not be as effective as one that may be slower but returns only 30 pages. Find the search engine
that is best suited for your needs.

Here are some basic tips that will help you get the most out of your search:

Spelling is important for a successful search. If you aren’t getting the results you want, double-check the spelling.
The words you enter in the search box will have the most direct impact on the results you receive. For that reason, we
suggest that you use the most direct words you can. If you are searching for information about Florida type “Florida”.
If you want to find information about vacationing in Florida type “Florida vacation.”
Enter words that you think will appear on the Web page you want.

Finding Web Addresses

Here’s a list of the most popular search engines and links to special pages that will offer search engine specific advice:
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 30
Yahoo!
Provides an interface for finding information, news, images, products, and local services.

Ask
Provides to what you’re searching for faster! Just point your mouse on the Binoculars icon and a preview of the site will appear,
saving you time and the hassle of clicking through search results to get what you want.

Google
Doing a search on Google is easy. Simply type one or more search terms (the words or phrase that best describe the information
you want to find) into the search box and hit the ‘Enter’ key or click on the Google Search button.

AltaVista
Featuring web and newsgroup search engine as well as paid submission services.

Finding Street Addresses

Online search engine leader Google Inc. has unveiled a new feature that will enable its users to zoom in on homes
and businesses using satellite images, an advance that may raise privacy concerns as well as intensify the
competitive pressures on its rivals.

Google believes most people will like the convenience of generating a satellite image with a few clicks of a
computer mouse. The company envisions people using the service as a way to scout a hotel’s proximity to the
beach for a possible vacation or size up the neighborhood where an apartment is for rent. Google’s free satellite maps initially
will be limited to North America, with images covering roughly half the United States.

Example Websites:

Yahoo! People Search

Offers white pages with email and phone number search options to help users find friends, colleagues, classmates, and more.

Lycos People Search

Find addresses and numbers by name and location.

AnyWho Directory Services

Featuring residential, business, and government white and yellow pages listings. From AT&T.

WhitePages
Directory email addresses, phone numbers, and area and zip codes.

PhoneSpell
Enter a 6 to 10 digit phone number and they’ll show you what words and phrases your phone number spells.

Viruses
A computer virus is a program which reproduces itself. It may attach to other programs, it may create copies of itself (as in
companion viruses). It may damage or corrupt data, change data, or degrade the performance of your
system by utilizing resources such as memory or disk space.
Types of Computer Viruses
Macro Viruses
A macro virus, often scripted into common application programs such as Word or Excel, is spread by
infecting documents. Macro viruses are known to be platform-independent since the virus itself are written
in language of the application and not the operating system. When the application is running, this allows
the macro virus to spread amongst the operating systems. There are thousands of macro viruses that exist,
and each is considered major threats. Examples of these viruses are: Melissa A. and Bablas.
Network Viruses
Network viruses rapidly spread through a Local Network Area (LAN), and sometimes throughout the internet. Generally, network
viruses multiply through shared resources, i.e., shared drives and folders. When the virus infects a computer, it searches through
the network to attack its new potential prey. When the virus finishes infecting that computer, it moves on to the next and the
cycle repeats itself. The most dangerous network viruses are Nimda and SQLSlammer.
Logic Bombs
The logic bomb virus is a piece of code that is inputted into a software system. When a certain and specific condition is met, such
as clicking on an internet browser or opening a particular file, the logic bomb virus is set off. Many programmers set the
malicious virus off during days such as April Fools Day or Friday the 13th. When the virus is activated, then various activities will
take place. For example, files are permanently deleted.
Companion Viruses
Companion viruses take advantage of MS-DOS. This virus creates a new file with typically the .COM extensions, but sometimes
the .EXD extension as well. When a user manually types in a program they desire without adding .EXE or any other specific
extension, DOS will make the assumption that the user wants the file with the extension that comes first in alphabetical order,
and thus running the virus. The companion virus is rare among Windows XP computers as this particular operating system does
not use the MS-DOS.
Boot Sector Viruses
Boot sector viruses generally hide in the boot sector, either in the bootable disk or the hard drive. Unlike most viruses, this virus
does not harm the files in the hard disk, but harm the hard disk itself. Boot sector viruses are uncommon at this day and age
because these viruses are spread rapidly by floppy disks and not on CD-ROMs.
Multipartite Viruses
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 31
Multipartite viruses are spread through infected media and usually hidden in the memory. Gradually, the virus moves to the boot
sector of the hard drive and infects executable files on the hard drive and later across the computer system.

Difference between Virus, Worm and Trojan..

A computer virus attaches itself to a program or file so it can spread from one computer to another, leaving infections as it
travels. Much like human viruses, computer viruses can range in severity: Some viruses cause only mildly annoying effects while
others can damage your hardware, software or files. Almost all viruses are attached to an executable file, which means the virus
may exist on your computer but it cannot infect your computer unless you run or open the malicious program . It is important to
note that a virus cannot be spread without a human action, (such as running an infected program) to keep it going.  People
continue the spread of a computer virus, mostly unknowingly, by sharing infecting files or sending e-mails with viruses as
attachments in the e-mail.
A worm is similar to a virus by its design, and is considered to be a sub-class of a virus. Worms spread from computer to
computer, but unlike a virus, it has the capability to travel without any help from a person. A worm takes advantage of file or
information transport features on your system, which allows it to travel unaided. The biggest danger with a worm is its capability
to replicate itself on your system, so rather than your computer sending out a single worm, it could send out hundreds or
thousands of copies of itself, creating a huge devastating effect. Due to the copying nature of a worm and its capability to travel
across networks the end result in most cases is that the worm consumes too much system memory (or network bandwidth),
causing Web servers, network servers and individual computers to stop responding. In more recent worm attacks such as the
much-talked-about .Blaster Worm, the worm has been designed to tunnel into your system and allow malicious users to control
your computer remotely.

A Trojan Horse is full of as much trickery as the mythological Trojan Horse it was named after. The Trojan Horse, at first glance
will appear to be useful software but will actually do damage once installed or run on your computer .  Those on the receiving
end of a Trojan Horse are usually tricked into opening them because they appear to be receiving legitimate software or files
from a legitimate source.  When a Trojan is activated on your computer, the results can vary. Some Trojans are designed to be
more annoying than malicious (like changing your desktop, adding silly active desktop icons) or they can cause serious damage
by deleting files and destroying information on your system. Trojans are also known to create a backdoor on your computer that
gives malicious users access to your system, possibly allowing confidential or personal information to be compromised. Unlike
viruses and worms, Trojans do not reproduce by infecting other files nor do they self-replicate .

Blended threats combine the characteristics of viruses, worms, Trojan Horses, and malicious code with server and Internet
vulnerabilities to initiate, transmit, and spread an attack. By using multiple methods and techniques, blended threats can rapidly
spread and cause widespread damage. Characteristics of blended threats include: causes harm, propagates by multiple methods,
attacks from multiple points, and exploits vulnerabilities

Spyware

Spyware is a general term used for software that performs certain behaviors such as advertising, collecting personal information,
or changing the configuration of your computer, generally without appropriately obtaining your consent.

You might have spyware or other unwanted software on your computer if:
You see pop-up advertisements even when you’re not on the Web.
The page your web browser first opens to (your home page) or your browser search settings have
changed without your knowledge.
You notice a new toolbar in your browser that you didn’t want, and find it difficult to get rid of.
Your computer takes longer than usual to complete certain tasks.
You experience a sudden rise in computer crashes.

Spyware is often associated with software that displays advertisements (called adware) or software
that tracks personal or sensitive information. Some applications that include Spyware, are: Xupiter,
Gator, SaveNow, NewDotNet, BDE Projector, HotBar, Bonzai Buddy, Comet Cursor, Morpheus, WebHancer, WinMX, Kazaa and
Wild Tangent.

To remove spyware:
Download a free spyware removal tool.
Run the tool to scan your computer for spyware and other unwanted software.
Review the files discovered by the tool for spyware and other unwanted software.
Select suspicious files for removal by following the tool’s instructions.
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 32
Data Communication Devices
CABLE – transmission medium of copper wire or optical fiber wrapped around in a protective cover.
1. COAXIAL CABLE – cable consisting of a hallow outer cylindrical conductor that surrounds single inner wire conductor.

2, OPTICAL FIBER – physical medium cable of conducting modulated light transmission.

3. Twisted pair - is a type of wiring in which two conductors (the forward and return conductors of a single circuit) are twisted
together for the purposes of canceling out electromagnetic interference (EMI) from external sources; for instance,
electromagnetic radiation from unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cables, and crosstalk between neighboring pairs.

Unshielded twisted pair (UTP)

Shielded twisted pair (STP)

Communication Modes
1. SIMPLEX

S R
 One-way transmission

2. HALF-DUPLEX
S R
 Transmission of data in both directions but one t a time.
INTRO TO COMPUTER CONCEPTS & OPERATIONS 33
3. FULL DUPLEX

 Transmission of data in both directions simultaneously.