CONCEPTS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

What is a computer? It is an electronic device that accepts data as input processes it

and produces information as output and saved for future use.
Data: Refers to raw facts and figures that are meaningless to the user and cannot be
used to make decisions.
Information: This is the result of data processing that is accurate and can be used for
decision making, planning and control.
Processing: It is the act of changing data into information. E.g. arithmetic processing
(adding, subtraction,)

Uses of a computer:
It is used for communication
It stores information
Used for Advertisements
Used for entertainment
Used for training and conducting Research
Used for E-Learning and E-Commerce
Used for creating and Editing movies
Used for mathematical calculations
Used for industrial robots control.
Advantages of computers
Speedy processing of data
It is consistent
It is accurate
Reduces human workload
Disadvantages of a Computer
It encourages laziness
It’s a health hazard
It is expensive to buy and maintain
Reduces employment opportunities
Requires skills to operate
They are fragile
Requires Electricity to operate.
Encourages immoral behavior
AREAS WHERE COMPUTERS ARE USED
1. Education
2. In police force and military
3. Scientific research
4. Health care
5. Government departments

1
 6. Banks
7. In business
8. In space exploration
9. In weather forecast
HISTORY OF COMPUTERS
The computer as we see it today is a result of extensive research and development
through the decades.
The word 'computer' comes from the word compute which means 'to calculate'.
Computers were developed from calculators as the need arose for more complex and
scientific calculations. Charles Babbage is known as the father of computers because
of his immense contribution to the world of programming. His idea was soon
developed into a programmable computer that could calculate and print logarithmic
tables with huge precision. But there were many practical problems and the progress
was slow.
During the World War, the U.S military had a demand for fast computers that could
perform extremely complex calculations and weather predictions in minutes. This
was when the ENIAC (Electrical Numerical Integrator And
Calculator) was built as partnership between University of Pennsylvannia and the
U.S government. Computers developed after ENIAC have been categorized into the
following generations.
1st Generation 1949-1956
Computers in this generation used vacuum tubes which made the computers to be
large in size consumed a lot of power, produced enormous heat hence needed large
air conditioners, had less storage capacity and slow processing speed.
2nd Generation 1956-1965
In this generation vacuum tubes were replaced with germanium and silicon
transistors.
There was a challenge of soldering the
transistors and they generated a lot of heat.
Never the less the computers were smaller in size, less expensive, more reliable,
powerful and consumed less power.
3rd Generation 1966-1975
In the third generation many transistors
were combined together to come up with
IC’s (Integrated Circuits) .This revolutionized computing since all
the electronic components were on a single semiconductor chip made
of silicon, drastically reducing the size of the computer. Also, new operating
systems were developed, which allowed the running of many
applications simultaneously.
4th Generation 1976-1985

2
There was introduction of a microprocessor (CPU). Thousands of integrated circuits
were fit into a single miniscule chip using VLSI technology. This made the computers
smaller, more portable and much faster than before. These small computers were
very powerful and permitted linking of several machines that eventually led to
networking and the internet.
5th Generation 1985 onwards
In this generation there was development of AI (Artificial Intelligence) introduced by
the Japanese. The computers had intelligent Processors that would interact
with human beings in a natural language such as English. Examples are Robotics.
Another example of applications is in 'Voice recognition' which is a software
that is used to recognize the user's voice and respond to it.
CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS
The classification of computers is based on a combination of the following factors:
Processing speed, memory222 capacity, Cost, physical size, storage capacity and the
purpose of the computer.
1. Super computers
These computers are big General/special purpose, capable of executing more than
billions of instructions per second.
They include machines used in large scientific
and engineering disciplines.
2. Mainframe computers
They are relatively big but smaller than
super computers.
They support a large number of terminals
for use by a variety of users simultaneously
e.g. internet servers
3. Mini computers
They are smaller computers with large
storage capacity and processing speed.
They provide services to other computers
such as printing services.
4. Micro computers
They are the smallest general purpose processing systems. They have a lower Storage
capacity, cheap and easy to use. They are also known as PC’s (personal computers)
5. Portable Computers
These are computers that can be carried from one place to another and have limited
peripherals connected to them. E.g. laptops, palmtops, ipads, tablets etc
B FUNCTIONALITY
1. Analogue

3
 Performs arithmetic operations and logical comparisons by measuring changes
in physical magnitudes eg temperatures and pressure changes. Examples
thermometers and speedometers.
2. Digital computers
These are commonly used computers in the world today. Their operations is
based on 0’s and 1’s . They process both numerical and alphabetical data. They
are mainly used in the industries, offices and scientific applications.
3. Hybrid computers
These are computers build with characteristics of both analogue and digital
computers. These computers accept data in analogue form and processes and
displays the output digitally.

C : PURPOSES
1. General purpose
They are designed for day to day work in the offices. The applications they can
handle depends on volume of data to be processed and the processing power.
2. Special purpose computers
They are meant to carry out special processing tasks in one or more
application areas for example in networking situations.
3. Dedicated computers
They are general purpose computers that are committed to some processing
tasks for example dedicated towards processing tasks only.
ELEMENTS OF A COMPUTER
There are three major elements of a computer
Hardware
Software
Liveware
Hardware
This refers to the physical/tangible Components of a computer which include
Mechanical and electronic parts of the system Some of these
components include:
1. Mouse /Keyboard – Types USB, PS/2 and
wireless
2. UPS- Uninterrupted power supply. Protects the computer from power surge.
3. Monitor/VDU(visual display unit) – It displays a softcopy of your information.
There are two types of monitors LCD (liquid crystal display) and CRT (Cathode Ray
tubes).
4. Motherboard – It is an important part of the Computer since all other components
are connected to it.

4
5.Hard disk – This is the internal storage where Data or information is stored in the
computer.
Its capacity is measured in terms of kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB), Gigabytes (GB)
and Terabyte(TB)
6.IDE (Integrated Data Electronics)/SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment)
cables
– They carry data and are used to connect the
harddisk and the DVD writer to the motherboard.
7. Memory – This has two major functions: It temporally holds information and
speeds up processing. It is divided into two:
RAM (Random Access Memory) is temporary and anything stored in it is lost once the
computer is switched off.
ROM (Read Only Memory) – this is a permanent Memory normally used by the
computer programs.
8-CPU – (Central Processing Unit). This is the Brain of the computer. It is used to carry
out Instructions and supervise the execution of programs. CPU is divided into two:
-CU (Control Unit) – which controls and coordinates all the hardware parts of the
computer.
-ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit) – which performs all the arithmetic calculations and data
manipulation.
9. Power supply : Supplies the other components with power. There are two types
ATX(20pins) and AT(24pins).
10. Scanner: Transfers documents, images and
Pictures into the computer.
11. Speakers and earphones
12. CMOS battery: Keeps the system clock running.
13. USB Ports: (Universal serial Bus) its where all USB devices are connected on the
motherboard.
14.Parallel/serial Ports-used to connect printers,
Scanners and joy sticks.
15. VGA card: (Video Graphics Array) it’s where the screen is connected on the
motherboard
16. Expansion slots: PCI (Peripheral component interconnector) and AGP (Accelerated
Graphic Port)
used to connect additional cards like TV card to
the motherboard.
17. Printers – A printer is an output device.
Anything that is printed on paper is referred to as a hardcopy. Whatever is saved in
the computer is
a softcopy.

5
There are 3 categories of printers:
1. Dot Matrix – These printers use a ribbon and pins that are pressed against paper to
print.
Dot Matrix are less expensive and are usually used for printing copies in bulk e.g pay
slips.
They make a lot of noise while they print and are slow.
2. Ink Jet – These printers basically spray ink onto paper they are quieter. They use
cartridges
(4 of them-cyan, magenta, yellow and black) the cartridges have tiny nozzles that
release the ink.
3. Laser Jet Printers – These printers are the fastest
and most popular in the market.
They use ink toners with a magnetic drum.
CLASSIFICATION OF HARDWARE
Input devices
Processing Devices
Storage Devices
Output Devices
DATA FLOW DIAGRAM

B.SOFTWARE
These are set of detailed step-by step instructions called programs that enable a
computer to carry out various tasks.
There are two types of software
Operating system software/system software
Application software
OPERATING SYSTEM SOFTWARE
It is also known as system software. It is a program that controls and coordinates the
flow of information or the overall functioning of a computer. It is classified into two
Disk operating system (MS DOS)
Ms Dos is a command line operating system that required the user to cram a lot of
commands. It is not user friendly does not allow multitasking and it only uses
keyboard
Windows operating system.
These are programs that have a graphical user interface. They are user friendly, allow
multitasking and uses both keyboard and mouse. Examples include: Windows 95, 98,
NT, Millennium, XP, Vista, Windows 7 and 8.
APPLICATION SOFTWARE
These are programs written for a specific use and function depending on the users
needs. They are categorized into:

6
Word processing. These are programs used for creating, editing and saving
documents. Examples include Notepad, WordPad and MS Word.
Spreadsheet. These are programs used for calculations e.g. MS Lotus and MS Excel.
Presentation. These are programs used to design and create presentations inform of
slides e.g. MS PowerPoint.
Publication. Used for creating publications e.g. MS Publisher.
Database Management. Used for creating and managing databases e.g. MS Access.
Computer Aided Design. Used by architectures and engineers e.g. Archicad and
Autocad.
Accounting. Used to carry out financial and accounting tasks e.g. Quick books and
sage.
Communication. Used for sending and receiving messages e.g. MS Outlook.
LIVE WARE:
These are the users of the computer system eg. Programmers, typists, database
administrators, computer engineers system Administrators, computer analysts etc

COMPUTER VIRUS (Vital Information Under Siege)

These are harmful programs that can damage or affect the normal functioning of a
computer.
Classification of computer viruses
1. File virus. These are viruses that damage the files and documents saved in the
computer.
2. Boot sector virus. These are viruses that affect or damage the operating system
software of the computer.
Booting process: This is a process or set of operations that loads and hence starts the
operating system, starting from the point when the user switches on the power
button.
Booting sequence:
Turn on the power button
CPU pins are reset and registers are set to specific value.
CPU jumps to address of BIOS
BIOS runs the POST (power on self test) and other necessary checks. POST is the
foremost routine which checks and tests the basic hardware. If it fails it displays an
error.
BIOS jumps to MBR( Master Boot Record)
Primary boot loader runs from MBR and jumps to secondary boot loader which now
loads the operating system.
Types of Booting
Cold Boot: The process of switching on a computer that has been off completely by
pressing the power button

7
Warm Boot: This happens when the computer is forced to restart by pressing the
restart/power button on the system unit.
Causes of computer virus
1. Sharing of removable disks
2. Downloading programs from the internet with a computer that is not protected.
3. Switching on your computer with removable disks attached to it.
Symptoms of computer virus
1. The computer becomes slow all of a sudden
2. The storage media becomes full due to duplication of files and programs.
3. Some programs and files disappear mysteriously
4. Unwanted programs keep popping up.
5. Your mouse and keyboard refuses to function.
Prevention of Viruses
1.Avoid sharing removable disk
2.Avoid downloading programs from untrusted sites on the internet.
3.Install an Antivirus program in your computer and ensure that it is always up to
date.
4.Remove all removable disks from your computer before switching it on.
Examples of viruses
Trojan Horse
Computer worms
Tazeban
Mabizat
win32 etc
Types of Anti-viruses
1.Avira
2.Kerspersky
3.Norton
4.Eset Nod 32
5.Microsoft security Essentials
6.Macfee
7.AVG
8.Avast etc

QUESTIONS
Who is know as the father of computers and why
ENIAC stands for
Mention what was invented in each of the Computer generations
Mention five factors that can be used to classify computers.

8
Mention five devices that can be connected on a USB port
Mention four cables used in the computer field
Differentiate between hardware and software
With examples mention the four classifications of hardware
Differentiate between windows O/S and Disk O/S
Give four factors to consider before buying a printer
Define an application software and give two examples
Differentiate between a boot sector virus and a file virus
Mention how you would prevent a boot sector virus
Mention two major causes of computer virus
17.Explain the following terms as used in disk management
Formatting disk
Scanning disk
Partitioning disk
Backup