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Daniel A. O’Leary
Professor
City College of San Francisco
Timothy J. O’Leary
Professor Emeritus
Arizona State University
Linda I. O’Leary
Final PDF to printer
COMPUTING ESSENTIALS
Published by McGraw Hill LLC, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019. Copyright ©2023 by
McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication
may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system,
without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC, including, but not limited to, in any network or
other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning.
Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside
the United States.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 LWI 27 26 25 24 23 22
ISBN 978-1-265-26321-8
MHID 1-265-26321-3
All credits appearing on page or at the end of the book are considered to be an extension of the copyright page.
The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a website
does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw Hill LLC, and McGraw Hill LLC does not
guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites.
mheducation.com/highered
3 Application Software 56
4 System Software 84
11 Databases 268
Glossary 362
Index 383
vii
Contents
Communication 35
1 Social Networking 35
Blogs, Microblogs, Podcasts, and Wikis 36
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, Messaging 37
THE INTERNET, AND YOU 2 E-mail 38
Search Tools 40
Introduction 4 Search Engines 40
Information Systems 4 Content Evaluation 40
People 6 Electronic Commerce 41
Software 7 Security 42
System Software 7 Cloud Computing 43
Application Software 8 The Internet of Things 45
Making IT work for you: Careers in IT 45
A Look to the Future:
Free Antivirus Program 9
Home Smart Home 46
Hardware 10
Types of Computers 10
Visual Summary 47
Cell Phones 11
Key Terms 51
Personal Computer Hardware 11
Multiple Choice 52
Data 13 Matching 53
Connectivity and the Mobile Internet 14 Open-Ended 54
Careers in IT 15 Discussion 54
A Look to the Future: Using and Understanding
Information Technology 16
Visual Summary 17
Key Terms 20
3
Multiple Choice 21 APPLICATION SOFTWARE 56
Matching 22
Open-Ended 22 Introduction 58
Discussion 23 Application Software 58
App Stores 58
User Interface 58
Common Features 61
2 Mobile Apps 61
Apps 61
THE INTERNET, THE WEB, AND
General-Purpose Applications 62
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE 24 Word Processors 62
Introduction 26 Presentation Software 65
The Internet and the Web 26 Spreadsheets 66
Database Management Systems 68
Making IT work for you: Specialized Applications 69
Graphics Programs 69
Online Entertainment 28 Video Game Design Software 70
Internet Access 31 Web Authoring Programs 71
Providers 31 Other Specialized Applications 72
Browsers 31 Software Suites 72
Web Utilities 33 Office Suites 72
Filters 33 Cloud Computing 72
File Transfer Utilities 33 Specialized and Utility Suites 72
Internet Security Suites 34 Careers in IT 73
viii
Making IT work for you: Making IT work for you:
Cloud Office Suites 74 Gaming 112
A Look to the Future: The New Workplace Wearable Computers 114
Realities 76 Components 114
System Board 115
Visual Summary 77 Microprocessor 116
Key Terms 80 Microprocessor Chips 116
Multiple Choice 81 Specialty Processors 117
Matching 82 Memory 118
Open-Ended 82 RAM 118
Discussion 83 ROM 118
Flash Memory 118
Expansion Cards and Slots 119
4 Bus Lines 120
Expansion Buses 120
SYSTEM SOFTWARE 84 Ports 121
Introduction 86 Standard Ports 121
Specialized Ports 121
System Software 86
Cables 122
Operating Systems 87
Power Supply 122
Functions 87
Features 88 Electronic Data and Instructions 123
Categories 89 Numeric Representation 123
Character Encoding 124
Mobile Operating Systems 90
Careers in IT 125
Desktop Operating Systems 91
Windows 91 A Look to the Future: Brain–Computer
macOS 91 Interfaces 126
UNIX and Linux 92
Virtualization 92 Visual Summary 127
Utilities 93 Key Terms 130
Multiple Choice 131
Making IT work for you: Matching 132
Open-Ended 132
Virtual Assistant 94 Discussion 133
Operating System Utilities 96
Utility Suites 99
Careers in IT 99
A Look to the Future: Making Better Computers 6
by Making Them More Human 100
INPUT AND OUTPUT 134
CONTENTS ix
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Audio-Input Devices 142
Making IT work for you:
Voice Recognition Systems 142
What Is Output? 143 Cloud Storage 174
Monitors 143
Mass Storage Devices 176
Features 143
Enterprise Storage System 176
Flat-Panel Monitors 144
Storage Area Network 177
E-book Readers 144
Other Monitors 145
Careers in IT 177
Printers 146 A Look to the Future:
Features 146 Next-Generation Storage 178
Inkjet Printers 147
Laser Printers 147 Visual Summary 179
3D Printers 147 Key Terms 182
Other Printers 147 Multiple Choice 182
Audio-Output Devices 148 Matching 183
Combination Input and Output Open-Ended 184
Devices 148 Discussion 184
Headsets 148
Multifunctional Devices 149
Virtual Reality Head-Mounted Displays
and Controllers 149
Drones 149 8
Making IT work for you: COMMUNICATIONS
Headphones 150
AND NETWORKS 186
Robots 152 Introduction 188
Ergonomics 152 Communications 188
Portable Computers 154 Connectivity 188
The Wireless Revolution 189
Careers in IT 154
Communication Systems 189
A Look to the Future: The Internet of Communication Channels 190
Things 155 Wireless Connections 190
Physical Connections 191
Visual Summary 156 Connection Devices 192
Key Terms 160 Modems 192
Multiple Choice 161 Connection Service 193
Matching 162
Open-Ended 162 Making IT work for you:
Discussion 163
The Mobile Office 194
Data Transmission 196
Bandwidth 196
7 Protocols 196
Networks 197
SECONDARY STORAGE 164 Terms 197
Network Types 199
Introduction 166 Local Area Networks 199
Storage 166 Home Networks 199
Solid-State Storage 167 Wireless LAN 200
Solid-State Drives 167 Personal Area Networks 200
Flash Memory Cards 168 Metropolitan Area Networks 200
USB Flash Drives 168 Wide Area Networks 201
Hard Disks 169 Network Architecture 201
Internal Hard Disks 169 Topologies 202
External Hard Disks 169 Strategies 203
Network Drives 169 Organizational Networks 203
Performance Enhancements 170 Internet Technologies 203
Optical Discs 171 Network Security 204
Cloud Storage 172 Careers in IT 205
x CONTENTS
A Look to the Future: Telepresence Lets You Be Management Levels 250
There without Actually Being There 206 Information Flow 251
Computer-Based Information
Systems 252
Visual Summary 207
Key Terms 210 Transaction Processing Systems 253
Multiple Choice 211 Management Information Systems 255
Matching 212 Decision Support Systems 256
Open-Ended 212 Executive Support Systems 257
Discussion 213 Other Information Systems 259
Expert Systems 260
Careers in IT 260
CONTENTS xi
Input Data 320
12 Processing Requirements 321
Program Specifications Document 321
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS Step 2: Program Design 322
AND DESIGN 292 Top-Down Program Design 322
Pseudocode 323
Introduction 294 Flowcharts 323
Systems Analysis and Design 294 Logic Structures 325
Phase 1: Preliminary Investigation 296 Step 3: Program Code 326
Defining the Problem 296 The Good Program 326
Suggesting Alternative Systems 297 Coding 326
Preparing a Short Report 297 Step 4: Program Test 328
Phase 2: Systems Analysis 298 Syntax Errors 328
Gathering Data 298 Logic Errors 328
Analyzing the Data 298 Testing Process 328
Documenting Systems Analysis 300 Step 5: Program Documentation 330
Phase 3: Systems Design 300 Step 6: Program Maintenance 331
Designing Alternative Systems 300 Operations 331
Selecting the Best System 301 Changing Needs 331
Writing the Systems Design Report 301 CASE and OOP 332
Phase 4: Systems Development 302 CASE Tools 332
Acquiring Software 302 Object-Oriented Software
Acquiring Hardware 302 Development 333
Testing the New System 303 Generations of Programming
Phase 5: Systems Implementation 303 Languages 334
Types of Conversion 303 Machine Languages: The First
Training 304 Generation 334
Phase 6: Systems Maintenance 304 Assembly Languages: The Second
Prototyping and Rapid Applications Generation 334
Development 305 High-Level Procedural Languages:
Prototyping 305 The Third Generation 334
Rapid Applications Development 305 Task-Oriented Languages: The Fourth
Careers in IT 306 Generation 335
A Look to the Future: The Challenge of Problem and Constraint Languages:
Keeping Pace 307 The Fifth Generation 336
Careers in IT 337
A Look to the Future:
Visual Summary 308
Your Own Programmable Robot 338
Key Terms 312
Multiple Choice 313
Matching 314 Visual Summary 339
Open-Ended 314 Key Terms 343
Discussion 315 Multiple Choice 344
Matching 345
Open-Ended 345
Discussion 346
13
PROGRAMMING
The Evolution of the Computer
AND LANGUAGES 316
Age 347
Introduction 318
Programs and Programming 318 The Computer Buyer’s Guide 358
What Is a Program? 318
What Is Programming? 318
Step 1: Program Specification 320 Glossary 362
Program Objectives 320
Desired Output 320 Index 383
xii CONTENTS
New to Computing Essentials 2023
To increase student motivation and engagement, a focus on smartphones has been added by increasing content and
providing marginal tips offering practical advice for efficient smartphone use. While the coverage of other topics has not
been reduced, this change offers a gateway to demonstrate the relevance of all types of computers to their lives.
Additionally, every chapter’s Making IT Work for You, Privacy, Ethics, and Community features have been carefully
revaluated, enhanced, and/or replaced. Also, every chapter’s Look to the Future has been revised to show that the
expected breakthroughs of tomorrow are rooted in today’s advances. More specific new coverage includes the following:
Chapter 2: Added coverage of Web 5.0
Expanded coverage of Web 4.0
Reorganized coverage of Web 1.0 to 3.0 to emphasize relationships between web generations
Expanded coverage of netiquette
Expanded coverage of social networks, including TikTok and Instagram
Expanded coverage of podcasts
Added coverage of cryptocurrencies and blockchain
Chapter 3: Added coverage of features, including grammar checkers
Expanded coverage of app stores
Expanded coverage of mobile apps
Reorganized topics to emphasize growing significance of mobile platforms
Expanded coverage of specialized apps to emphasize mobile apps
Added coverage of shopping sites and fake reviews
Added gaming coverage to include free-to-play
Chapter 4: Expanded coverage of virtual assistants
Added coverage of operating system accessibility features
Added coverage of Windows 11
Added coverage of macOS 12 Monterey
Chapter 5: Added coverage of mobile microprocessors
Added coverage of Thunderbolt 3
Expanded coverage of USB
Added coverage of UTF-8 and UTF-16
Chapter 6: Added coverage of assistive devices for people with disabilities
Expanded coverage of virtual keyboards
Expanded coverage of voice recognition systems
Chapter 7: Expanded coverage of SSDs (solid-state drives)
Expanded coverage of USB flash drives
Expanded coverage of cloud drives
Chapter 8: Expanded coverage of satellite communications
Expanded coverage of 5G networks
Chapter 9: Added coverage of social media and role of advertising
Added coverage of limitation of privacy mode browsing
Expanded coverage of ransomeware
Expanded coverage of data backups
Added coverage of data leaks
Expanded coverage of two-factor authentication
xiii
Preface
T
he 20th century brought us the dawn of the digital information
age and unprecedented changes in information technology. In
fact, the rate of change is clearly increasing. As we begin the
21st century, computer literacy is undoubtedly becoming a prerequisite
in whatever career you choose.
The goal of Computing Essentials is to provide you with the basis for
understanding the concepts necessary for success. Computing Essentials
also endeavors to instill an appreciation for the effect of information
technology on people, privacy, ethics, and our environment and to give
you a basis for building the necessary skill set to succeed in the
21st century.
At the beginning of each chapter, we carefully lay out why and how the
chapter’s content is relevant to your life today and critical to your future.
Within each chapter, we present practical tips related to key concepts
through the demonstration of interesting applications that are relevant
to your lives. Topics presented focus first on outputs rather than pro-
cesses. Then, we discuss the concepts and processes.
Motivation and relevance are the keys. This text has several features
specifically designed to engage and demonstrate the relevance of tech-
nology in your lives. These elements are combined with a thorough
coverage of the concepts and sound pedagogical devices.
xiv
Visual Learning
VISUAL CHAPTER OPENERS
First Pages First Pages
the chapter.
Elnur/Shutterstock
25
VISUAL SUMMARIES
First Pages First Pages
To efficiently and effectively use computers, you need to be aware of the most commonly used input and output devices.
These devices are translators for information into and out of the system unit. Input devices translate words, sounds, and
Visual summaries appear at the end VISUAL SUMMARY actions into symbols the system unit can process. Output devices translate symbols from the system unit into words,
Input and Output images, and sounds that people can understand.
use graphics to reinforce key Input is any data or instructions that are used by a com-
puter. Input devices translate words, numbers, sounds,
Pointing devices provide an intuitive interface with the
system unit by accepting physical movements or gestures
Optical Scanners
An optical scanner (scanner) converts documents into
machine-readable form. The four basic types are flatbed,
digital cameras
Digital cameras record images digitally and store them on
a memory card or in the camera’s memory. Most digital
images, and gestures that people understand into a form and converting them into machine-readable input.
meaningful way.
device that uses pressure to draw images on a screen.
signals are sent to, and processed by, the system unit. Handwriting recognition software translates handwritten reader that reads information from a thin magnetic strip Webcams are specialized digital video cameras that cap-
notes into a form that the system unit can process. on the back of a card. Chip cards contain microchips to ture images and send them to a computer for broadcast
Keyboards Multitouch screens accept multiple-finger commands. encrypt data and improve security. over the Internet. Webcams are built into many cell
There are three basic categories of keyboards: virtual, lap- phones and tablets, while others are attached to the com-
top, and traditional. Bar code readers puter monitor.
Mouse
• Virtual keyboard, primarily used with cell phones and Bar code readers or scanners (either handheld wand read-
A mouse controls a pointer that is displayed on the moni-
tablets. Does not have a physical keyboard. Keys dis- ers or platform scanners) read bar codes on products.
tor. The mouse pointer usually appears in the shape of an
There are a variety of different codes, including the UPC
played on screen and selected by touching a key’s arrow. Some mice have a wheel button that rotates to
and MaxiCode.
AUDIO-INPUT DEVICES
image. scroll through information on the monitor. A cordless or
• Laptop keyboards, used on laptop computers. Smaller wireless mouse uses radio waves or infrared light waves. Audio-input devices convert sounds into a form that can
rFId readers be processed by the system unit. By far the most widely
than traditional keyboard with fewer keys. Includes all A touch pad operates by touching or tapping a surface. It
RFID readers read RFID (radio-frequency identification) used audio-input device is the microphone.
the keys found on virtual keyboard plus extra keys, is widely used instead of a mouse with laptops and some
tags. These tags are widely used for tracking lost pets, pro-
such as function and navigation keys. types of mobile devices.
duction, and inventory and for recording prices and prod- Voice recognition Systems
• Traditional keyboards, used on desktop and larger uct descriptions.
computers. Standard keyboard has 101 keys. Toggle Game controllers Voice recognition systems use a microphone, a sound
keys turn features on and off. Combination keys Game controllers provide input to computer games. card, and special software. Siri, Cortana, and Google
character and Mark recognition devices
perform actions when combinations of keys are held Widely used controllers include gaming mice, joysticks, Assistant are digital assistants that use voice recognition.
Character and mark recognition devices are scanners that
down. gamepads, and motion-sensing devices. Specialized portable voice recorders are widely used by
are able to recognize special characters and marks. Three
doctors, lawyers, and others to record dictation. Some sys-
types are magnetic-ink character recognition (MICR),
tems are able to translate dictation from one language to
optical-character recognition (OCR), and optical-mark
another, such as from English to Japanese.
recognition (OMR).
xv
Unique Content
MAKING IT WORK FOR YOU
First Pages
Making IT work for you Special-interest topics are presented in the Making
IT Work for You section found within nearly
CLOUD STORAGE
Do you find that you take a lot of photos and videos on your phone, and your storage space is running low?
every chapter. These topics include Online Enter-
Are you working on a group project and finding it difficult to keep everyone updated with the most recent
version of documents and files? Are you looking for a safe, secure location to store backups and important
files? If so, cloud storage may be the solution you are looking for. Here are some things to consider when
tainment, Gaming, Virtual Assistants, and the
choosing a cloud storage option.
174
Nearly every chapter has a Privacy box located in accept used devices and
privacy
components for recycling, even
if they are broken. Alternatively,
Generally, the
performance
Although
system board found on a desktop is larger than that found on a
enhancements
laptop, and much larger than one found on a tablet, cell phone, or wearable computer.
Four ways these
to improve
systemthe performance
boards vary in size, of hard disks
speed, are disk
power, andcaching,
versatility,hybrid
theydrives,
never-
redundant arrays oftheinexpensive disks,of and file compression/decompression.
the margin adjacent to the coverage of related tech- visit the website of your local
Diminishing
government secondary
prices
to find the storage
have recycling
electronics an unexpected
center
theless all perform
theDisk caching
personal computer.
same function communicating
forms a function similar to cache memory discussed in Chapter 5. While cache mem-
between the components of
improves hard-disk performance by anticipating data needs. It per-
impact
neareston privacy. The ory improves processing by acting as a temporary high-speed holding area between
nologies. Topics include protecting personal infor-
you.
availability of cheap digital memory and the CPU, disk caching improves processing by acting as a temporary
storage has resulted in a concept check
high-speed holding area between a secondary storage device and memory. Disk cach-
permanent digital record of our
ing requires a combination of hardware and software. During idle processing time,
mation when using a free Wi-Fi network or when lives available for all to see on
the Internet. Once an image,
frequentlyWhat is the system board, and what does it do?
disk cache.
Define
used data is automatically identified and read from the hard disk into the
When needed,sockets,
and describe the data is then
slots, accessed
and bus lines. directly from memory. The trans-
video, or message is released
disposing of an outdated computer. on the Internet, it is very fer rate from memory is much faster than from the hard disk. As a result, overall sys-
What are chips? How are chips attached to the system board?
difficult to remove. Some argue tem performance is often increased by as much as 30 percent.
that we all have a “right to be Hybrid drives are storage drives that contain both solid-state storage and hard disks
forgotten” and that major in an attempt to gain the speed and power benefits of SSDs while still having First
thePages
low
Internet companies like
Instagram and Google should
Microprocessor
cost and large capacity of hard drives. Typically, these systems use SSD to store the
operating system and applications and hard disks to store videos, music, and
help people permanently documents.
remove records of In most personal computer systems, the central processing unit (CPU) or processor is
Redundant arrays of inexpensive disks (RAID) improve performance by expanding
embarrassing or unpleasant contained on a single chip called the microprocessor. The microprocessor is the
external storage, improving access speed, and providing reliable storage. Several inex-
moments. Others say that the
•“brains”
pensive
of the computer
Data hard-disk
transmission drives
system. It has
specifications.
are connected
two basic
These
to one
components:
areanother.
rules and the control
procedures
These that unit
connections
and the
coordinate
can be by a
ethics
Internet is a record of our past arithmetic-logic
the sending
network or within
unit.
and receiving devices
specialized RAID by precisely
devices. (See defining
Figure how7-8.) the
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Nearly every chapter has an Ethics box located in
and we can’t choose to only
hold on to the positive things. • sent
diskControlacross
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or grouped channel.
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or cable, these
or itreasons,
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the margin adjacent to the coverage of related tech- concern that law enforcement
and government agencies will
RAIDandisthe
wireless. arithmetic-logic
often
and compression
File
used by Internet
input and output and file
unit.servers
devices.
It also and directs these
large control signals between the CPU
organizations.
decompression increase storage capacity by reducing the
monitor everyone’s Internet For example, if you wanted to send an e-mail to a friend, you could create and send
amount of space required
• Arithmetic-logic unit:cellto store data and programs.
arithmetic-logic File compression is not performs
limited to
The the sendingunit, usually
Your called theisALU,
nologies. Topics include altering images to promote and cell phone activity. In the
private sector, companies are
the message using your
hard-disk
two types
located
drives
systems.
insideofyour
It is
operations:
as well. File
cell phone.
compression
phone,
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arithmetic used
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also
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device.
compress
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modem
files on operations
Arithmetic DVDs, CDs,
on a microchip
device, that would
speed up transmission of and
areand
the flash
modify
files division.
from one
increasingly using network andfundamental math
format the message operations: addition,
so that it could travelsubtraction, multiplication,
efficiently across communication channels,
computer
Logical system to another.
operations consist Sending
of and receiving
comparisons such ascompressed
whether onefiles
itemacross
is the to
equal Inter-
a particular message and how the technology we
tools and software to monitor such as cell phone towers. The specifics describing how the message is modified, refor-
net(=),
is a common activity.
the activity of their employees.
matted,less andthan
sent(<),
would or greater than (>)
be described the data
in the other.transmission specifications. After your
Many websites also track File compression programs scan files for ways to reduce the amount of required
message traveled across the channel, a connection device, such as a modem connected
your activity, and government storage. One way chipsis to search for repeating patterns. The repeating patterns are
use affects labor practices around the world. officials have often requested
these records during the
microprocessor
to a desktop computer,
the receiving
Microprocessors are an
would reformat it so that it could be displayed on your friend’s
replaced with a token, leaving enough tokens so that the original can be rebuilt or
computer, device.
important (Note:part This
of
decompressed. These programs often shrink files to a quarter
example
any presents
computing the and
device basic communication
of theirare tailored
original to the
size.
course of an investigation. system
needs ofelements
the and involved
device it serves. in sending
There aree-mail.
two It does
major not and isofnot
categories intended to demon-
microprocessors devel-
Windows Mac operating systems provide compression and decompression util-
strate
oped Forall themobile
today: specificandsteps and equipment
desktop. Mobile involved in
processors an e-mail delivery system.)
Some believe that it is unethical ities. more advanced compression schemes, youarecanused
use in cell phones
specialized and tablets
utilities such
for government and businesses
as WinZip. For a summary of performance enhancement techniques, see Figure 7-9.
to engage in such monitoring
and tracking. Do you agree?
116 chApTer 5 concept check
Define computer communications and connectivity.
xvi
technique description
What is the wireless revolution?
Disk caching Uses cache and anticipates data needs
Describe the four elements of every communication system.
ole36781_ch05_108-133.indd 116 Hybrid drives Uses both SSD and hard disks
11/15/21 04:38 PM
1. Compare primary storage and secondary storage, and discuss the most important
integrated with the chapter’s Making IT Work for You top- characteristics of secondary storage.
2. Discuss solid-state storage, including solid-state drives, flash memory, and USB drives.
3. Discuss hard disks, including density, platters, tracks, sectors, cylinders, internal,
ics. The questions facilitate in-class discussion or written external, and performance enhancements.
4. Discuss optical discs, including pits, lands, CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray, and hi-def.
PRIVACY
Have you ever found yourself e-mailing files back and forth between two of your computers or with others
as a way to transport them? Review the Making IT Work for You: Cloud Storage on pages 174 and 175. Then
respond to the following: (a) Have you ever used Dropbox or a similar service? If so, what service have you
used, and what do you typically use it for? If you have not used Dropbox or a similar service, describe how
and why you might use one. (b) If you do not have a Dropbox account, set up a free one and create a Drop-
box folder. Use Dropbox to either (1) access a file from another computer or (2) share a file with one of your
classmates. Describe your experience. (c) Try a few of Dropbox’s features, and describe your experience
with these features. (d) Do you see yourself using Dropbox on an everyday basis? Why or why not?
in-class discussion or written assignments focusing on video of you on the Internet that you would prefer not be publicly available? Have you said or done things
that, if recorded and posted on social media, could have a negative impact on a job interview? (b) Do you
have the right to decide what photos of you are posted on the Internet by others? Why or why not? (c) Does
critical privacy issues. They are designed to develop a someone else have the right to tell you what to do with the photos you take, even if they are in the photo?
Why or why not? (d) Should Facebook remove photos, videos, or messages if someone is embarrassed by
them? Should Facebook have the right to remove your photos, videos, or messages if someone is embar-
effectively.
184 chApter 7
First Pages
ETHICS
ole36781_ch07_164-185.indd 184 11/15/21 03:30 PM
DISCUSSION
Respond to each of the following questions.
Ethics discussion questions are carefully integrated with
1 Making IT Work for You the chapter’s marginal Ethics boxes. The questions facili-
Making it a habit of keeping current with technology applications can be a key to your success. Numerous
full-page spreads identified as Making IT Work for You are presented in the following chapters. These
sections address some of today’s most interesting and useful applications. They include online entertain- tate in-class discussion or written assignments focusing on
ment in Chapter 2, online office suites in Chapter 3, and cloud storage in Chapter 7. Select one that you
find the most interesting and then respond to the following: (a) Why did you select this application? (b)
Have you used this application? If so, when and how? If not, do you plan to in the near future? (c) Go to the ethical issues relating to technology. They are designed to
chapter containing your selected application, and locate the application’s Making IT Work for You cover-
age. Review and briefly describe its contents. (d) Did you find the coverage useful? Why or why not?
develop a student’s ability to think critically and communi-
2 Privacy
Privacy is one of the most critical issues facing society today. Numerous Privacy boxes appear in the margins cate effectively.
of the upcoming chapters presenting a variety of privacy issues. These issues include apps that constantly
track your movements without your knowledge or consent in Chapter 3; public Wi-Fi connections that record
all of your personal communications in Chapter 8; and protection of personal privacy while using social
media in Chapter 9. Select one that you find the most interesting, and then respond to the following: (a) Why
did you select this issue? (b) Do you have knowledge of or experience with the issue? If so, describe your
knowledge or experience. If not, do you consider the issue to be important for protecting your privacy? (c)
Go to the chapter containing your selected issue, locate the Privacy box, read it, and describe its contents.
(d) Did you find the coverage thought-provoking? Why or why not?
3 Ethics
Computer ethics are guidelines for the morally acceptable use of computers in our society. Numerous Ethics
COMMUNITY
boxes appear in the margins of the upcoming chapters presenting a variety of ethical issues. These issues
include image editing in Chapter 3, unauthorized use of webcams in Chapter 6, and unauthorized monitoring
or eavesdropping of Internet activity in Chapter 8. Select one issue that you find the most interesting and
then respond to the following: (a) Why did you select this issue? (b) Do you have knowledge of or experience
xvii
Reinforcing Key Concepts
First Pages
CONCEPT CHECKS
People
Following the Visual Summary, the chapter review includes figure 1-3 making IT Work for You applications
b. ISP c. TikTok
7. Transmission of electronic messages over the Internet.
6 the
includes a key terms list that reiterates terms
chApTer 1 presented in
8. Two popular instant messaging services are WhatsApp and Facebook __________.
a. Social c. Messenger
b. Meet d. ISP
the chapter, multiple-choice questions to help test your 9. A business-oriented social networking site.
a. TikTok c. LinkedIn
understanding of information presented in the chapter, 10.
b. Instagram d. Facebook
Electronic commerce involving individuals selling to individuals.
52 ChApTEr 2
xviii
oLe36781_ch02_024-055.indd 52 10/28/21 08:06 PM
The Future of Information Technology
CAREERS IN IT
First Pages
devices like tablets, cell phones, and wearable devices have led many experts
to predict that wireless applications are just the beginning of the wireless
revolution, a revolution that will dramatically affect the way we communicate
and use computer technology.
• The Internet of Things (IoT) is the continuing development of the Internet that
allows everyday objects embedded with electronic devices to send and receive data
over the Internet. It promises to connect all types of devices, from computers to
cell phones, to watches, to any number of everyday devices.
Wireless communication, cloud computing, and IoT are driving the mobile Inter-
net. They promise to continue to dramatically affect the entire computer industry and
how you and I will interact with computers and other devices. Each will be discussed
in detail in the following chapters. For just a few of these mobile devices, see
Figure 1-17.
Some of the fastest-growing career opportunities are in
concept check
information technology. Each chapter highlights one of the
Define data. List four common types of files.
career
Web developer
description
Each chapter concludes with a brief discussion of a essential skill. These issues
are presented in Chapter 2,
The Internet, the Web, and
Electronic Commerce.
well as extensively covered
in Chapter 9.
Organizations
chapter material, reinforcing the importance of stay- sive amounts of data, create dynamic multimedia web pages,
and much more. Today’s employers are expecting the people
they hire to be able to effectively and efficiently use a variety
of different types of software. General-purpose, specialized,
and maintain these systems, you need to understand the basic
concepts of information systems and know how to safely, effi-
ciently, and effectively use computers. These concepts are
covered throughout this book.
ing informed.
and mobile applications are presented in Chapter 3. System
software is presented in Chapter 4. changing Times
Are the times changing any faster now than they ever have?
powerful hardware Almost everyone thinks so. Whatever the answer, it is clear
Personal computers are now much more powerful than they we live in a fast-paced age. The Evolution of the Computer
used to be. Cell phones, tablets, and communication tech- Age section presented at the end of this book tracks the
nologies such as wireless networks are dramatically chang- major developments since computers were first introduced.
ing the ways to connect to other computers, networks, and After reading this book, you will be in a very favorable posi-
the Internet. However, despite the rapid change of specific tion compared with many other people in industry today. You
equipment, their essential features remain unchanged. To will learn not only the basics of hardware, software, connectiv-
become an efficient and effective end user, you should focus ity, the Internet, and the web, but also the most current tech-
on these features. Chapters 5 through 8 explain what you nology. You will be able to use these tools to your advantage.
16
xix
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Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
great epoch of cheapness of the last quarter of a century, without
more particularly noticing the revival, for so it may be called, of the
art of woodcutting. In the 'Penny Magazine' of 1836, the editor says
that no expense or labour has been spared to attain every
improvement of which the art of woodcutting is susceptible—that the
engravings of 305 numbers have cost 12,000l. (about 40l. a number)
—that many difficulties have been overcome in adapting the
character of the engravings to the rapid movements of the printing-
machine—and that the art, in connexion with the cheapest form of
printing, has been carried further than at one time was thought to
be possible. This was written in 1836. Let any one look at a common
book with woodcuts, printed thirty years ago, and he will understand
what difficulties had to be overcome before 'The Penny Magazine'
could present successful copies of works of art. This 'Penny
Magazine,' which some even now affect to sneer at, produced a
revolution in popular art throughout the world. It created similar
works, to which it supplied stereotype casts, in Germany, France,
Holland, Livonia (in Russian and German), Bohemia (in Sclavonic),
Italy, Ionian Islands (in Modern Greek), Sweden, Norway, Spanish
America, the Brazils, the United States. It raised up imitators on
every side, and directed the union of art and letters into new
channels. It was the forerunner of 'Punch,' and of 'The Illustrated
London News.' A great art-critic of 1836 proclaimed, with oracular
solemnity, "As there is no royal road to mathematics, so we say,
once for all, there is no Penny Magazine road to the Fine Arts—the
cultivation of the Fine Arts must be carried on by a comparatively
small and gifted few, under the patronage of men of wealth and
leisure." Many eminent designers—amongst whom are the honoured
names of Harvey, Cruikshank, Doyle, Leech, Tenniel, Anelay, Gilbert
—have gone the "Penny Magazine road," and found it quite as sure a
highway to distinction, and far more pleasant, than the old by-way of
patronage, so weary to the gifted few. It is wonderful how long and
how tenaciously, both in literature and art, men clung to that idol
Patronage. They are gone—the Chesterfields who kept Johnson
seven years waiting in outward rooms,—and the Mansfields who
grudged Wilkie thirty guineas for 'The Village Politicians:'—
"Peor and Baälim
Forsake their temples dim."
CHAPTER V.
London Catalogue, 1816-1851—Annual Catalogues, 1828-1853—Classes of Books,
1816-1861—Periodicals, 1831, 1853—Aggregate amount of Book-trade—
Collections and Libraries—International Copyright—Readers in the United States
—Irish National School-books.
'The London Catalogue of Books published in Great Britain, 1816 to
1851,' furnishes, in its alphabetical list, with "sizes, prices, and
publishers' names," that insight into the character and extent of the
literature of a generation which we cannot derive from any other
source. We have already given some of the calculations of past
periods. Let us endeavour to trace what the commerce of books has
been in our own time.
Every book in this 'London Catalogue' occupies a single line. There
are 72 lines in a page; there are 626 pages. It follows that the
Catalogue contains the titles of 45,072 books. In these 36 years,
then, there was an average annual publication of 1252 books. This
number is more than double the average of the period from 1800 to
1827. There is also published, by the proprietor of 'The London
Catalogue,' an Annual Catalogue of New Books. From two of these
catalogues we derive the following comparative results for the
beginning and the end of a quarter of a century:—
1828. New publications 842
1853. " 2530
1828. Total number of volumes 1105
1853. " 2934
Total cost of one set of the
1828. £668 10 0
new publications
1853. " £1058 17 9
Average price of each new
1828. 0 16 0
work
1853. " 0 8 4½
Average price per volume
1828. 0 12 1
of the new publications
1853. " 0 7 2½
CHAPTER VI.
Cheap Fiction—Penny Periodicals.
The Railway Libraries—by which generic term we mean single
volumes, printed in small type on indifferent paper, and sold mostly
at a shilling—are almost wholly devoted to novels, English or
American. Whatever be the quality of the fiction so published, we
may ask, without any general depreciation of such works, if the
popularity of this class of reading has not a tendency to indispose for
other reading, however attractive be the mode in which information,
historical, critical, or scientific, be presented; and is it not a
necessary consequence that books of another character than novels
should be compelled to address themselves to a smaller class of
readers, and must, therefore, of necessity be dearer? If this be true
of the railway books, it is equally true of the weekly sheets. The
demand for fiction amongst the largest class of readers has forced
upon every weekly periodical the necessity for introducing fiction in
some form or other. The writers of eminence cannot put forth their
powers in this direction without charging a higher price for their
numbers than those in which inferior writers are employed at low
salaries. The higher price necessarily induces a smaller sale. The
dealers in cheap periodicals say, "you have no chance for a sale
unless you give as much paper as the others give for a penny!" In
this respect, some of the more extensively circulated of these sheets
would appear to defy all reasonable competition. They are sold for
50s. per thousand; their paper and machine-work cost, at the very
least, 45s. Out of this 5s. per thousand they have to pay their
publishing expenses, their writers, their woodcuts, their composition,
their stereotype casts. It is a neck-and-neck race for a very doubtful
"plate;" and what may appear a slight addition to the weight of the
"riders," in the shape of another halfpenny a pound upon their
paper, would "distance" the greater number of them. When the
popular estimate of a publication is that of the square inches which
it contains of print, it requires no critical judgment to be assured that
the amount of genius or knowledge engaged in its production is not
very great. Hence, for the most part, a deluge of stories, that, to
mention the least evil of them, abound with false representations of
manners, drivelling sentimentalities, and impossible incidents. And
yet they are devoured with an earnestness that is almost
incomprehensible. The moralist may say—
How is the weaning to be set about for this babyhood of the popular
intellect?
The insuperable obstacle to a successful competition with the
existing class of penny periodicals is their pre-eminence in external
cheapness. They were all founded upon the principle of attraction by
low price alone. They employed the meanest "slaves of the lamp" in
their production. Sheets came out double the size of any other
penny sheet, badly printed on the thinnest paper, but nevertheless
they were the largest sheets; their roots were thus planted in the
popular earth. Some who bought them turned away from their filth
and their folly; others welcomed these qualities. Gradually the sense
of the better class of artisans operated, whilst they continued their
offences, to reduce their number of customers. They changed their
style; they became decent, but they remained stupid. The weeds
were kept down, though not rooted out, in that garden: a few gaudy
flowers were planted; fruit there was little. They have maintained
their hold, by their external cheapness, against any attempt to
produce a higher literature, with better paper and print. They have
beaten almost every competitor who has sought to address the
same class of buyers with something higher, intrinsically as cheap,
but not so cheap to the eye. The unequal war is still being waged.
In June, 1846, the last number of 'The Penny Magazine' was
published. Mr. Knight, who had been its editor from the
commencement, in 1832, thus writes in his concluding 'Address to
the Reader,' after stating that there then were published 14 three-
halfpenny and penny miscellanies, and 37 weekly sheets, forming
separate books:—"It is from this competition that the 'Penny
Magazine' now withdraws itself. Its editor most earnestly wishes
success to those who are keeping on their course with honesty and
ability.... He rejoices that there are many in the field, and some who
have come at the eleventh hour, who deserve the wages of zealous
and faithful labourers. But there are others who are carrying out the
principle of cheap weekly sheets to the disgrace of the system, and
who appear to have got some considerable hold upon the less
informed of the working people, and especially upon the young.
There are manufactories in London whence hundreds of reams of
vile paper and printing issue weekly; where large bodies of children
are employed to arrange types, at the wages of shirt-makers, from
copy furnished by the most ignorant, at the wages of scavengers. In
truth, such writers, if they deserve the name of writers, are
scavengers. All the garbage that belongs to the history of crime and
misery is raked together, to diffuse a moral miasma through the
land, in the shape of the most vulgar and brutal fiction." This is a
curious and instructive record. 'The Penny Magazine,' popular as it
once was, to the extent of a sale of 200,000, could not contend with
a cheapness that was wholly regardless of quality; and it could not
hold its place amidst this dangerous excitement. The editor had his
hands fettered by the necessity of keeping up the purely instructive
character of that journal. Without a large supply of fiction it
necessarily ceased to be popular. A French writer, who laments over
the "immondices" of the literature of Paris in 1840, calls for
romances "appropriés par une imagination souple et brillante au
goût des classes laborieuses;" and he suggests the principle upon
which such works should be founded, viz. "L'étude des mœurs
populaires, entreprise par un esprit pénétrant, et dirigée vers un but
philosophique."[34] The "immondices" have for the most part
vanished from our English penny literature. The host of penny
Newgate novels, whether known as 'The Convict,' 'The Feast of
Blood,' 'The Murder at the Old Jewry,' 'Claude Duval,' 'The
Hangman's Daughter,' and so forth, may continue to be sold; but, as
far as we can trace, there are no novelties in this once popular
literature of the gallows. Abominations, called 'Mysteries' and
'Castles,' still lurk in dark corners; but the bulk of single Penny
Novels, and the novels which "drag their slow length along" in penny
journals, are marvellously changed. The most prudish regard to
decency presides over every sentence and syllable. William the
Conqueror has lost the brief ignoble title by which the old Saxons
designated their oppressor, through a special interdict of the
proprietor of one of these papers; and a lady of doubtful character
must be mentioned by no more rugged name than that of a belle
amie, which may be understood or not. But the "études des mœurs
populaires," and the "but philosophique," have not yet entered into
the minds of the conductors of these elaborate works. Their scenes
are invariably laid in the lord's palace or the right honourable's
mansion; marriages are made at St. George's, Hanover Square, and
the diamonds are bought at Storr and Mortimer's. If a young lady,
who has the slight misfortune to be connected by the filial tie with a
convicted felon, has a quarrel with her juvenile lover, she
immediately rushes to the arms of an ancient baronet, who conducts
her the next morning to the altar of his parish church. Boileau said
of Mademoiselle Scudery, that she would never let her heroine get
out of a house till she had taken an inventory of all the furniture. So,
for the bewilderment of those who read these weekly novels by the
one glimmering candle upon the deal table, their sick ladies recline
in easy chairs, "astral" lamps diffuse their rich glow upon crimson
curtains, and aromatic perfumes fill the air from pastiles burning in
miniature castles of gilded porcelain. The style of these productions
is magnificent: with golden zones on the summits of the mountains,
and roseate tints edging the canopy of heaven; plants drooping with
voluptuous languor, and shining insects skimming the air, as if borne
on the wings of ardent passion. In all this we are speaking au pied
de la lettre. Johnson described three sorts of unnatural style—the
bombastic, the affected, and the weak. Most of these performances
unite the three qualities, and are equally satisfactory to the "love of
imbecility," which Johnson thought was to be found in many. We
have only seen one penny journal which places its incidents, and
somewhat adapts its language, in consonance with the habits of the
classes which these works seek to interest. In 'The Leisure Hour,'
issued by the Religious Tract Society, we have an Australian story,
with 'Sydney by Gaslight.' We are now amongst convicts, and hear
drunken shouts come out from miserable huts. The success of this
publication is considerable. Perhaps those who really understand
such matters may say of the writer of these laudable attempts to
imitate the homely style, something akin to what the great Pierce
Egan said of a fashionable novelist twenty years ago—"Ah! he's very
clever, but uncommon superficial in slang." Nevertheless, it is
satisfactory to find that a mean has been sought, in the quarter
where we might least have expected it, between the representations
of humble and even of low life which are corrupting, and those
pretended pictures of society which exhibit no life at all. In the
number of 'The Leisure Hour' for February 16, 1854, there is a clever
woodcut of a night auction at Sydney, which is as suggestive of a
congregation of real vulgar sellers and bidders, with the necessary
accompaniments of gin and tobacco, as might be connected with
any of the exciting scenes of 'Life in London' at any period. The
pictures of the penny sheets which the masses now greedily buy are
quite genteel. This is something to reflect upon. Some of the
members of the Tract Society may think that "Chaos is come again."
We do not. This sort of subject will be attractive to the better portion
of male readers amongst the artisans, and especially amongst the
very large number who belong to "temperance societies;" but for the
girls, who devour the novels of the other penny journals, certainly
not. Those who have been watching the workings of the penny
literature are unanimous in their conviction that very few men read
these mawkish and unnatural fictions. The readers for the most part
belong, in point of cultivation, to the same class of females, who,
half a century ago, gave up their whole leisure—if they did not
neglect every domestic duty—for the ghosts and the elopements of
'The Minerva Press.' The intelligence of the readers is the same,
however widened the attraction.
But, with all their bad taste, there is partial merit and manifest
utility in some portions of the best of these penny journals. 'The
Family Herald' has constantly a serious article of great good sense
and shrewdness. This paper, and one or two others, have pages of
"Answers to Correspondents," which, for the most part, contain
useful information and judicious advice. Real young ladies often pour
their doubts into the ear of this "Family" oracle, about love, and
courtship, and marriage; and, as far as we can judge, receive very
safe counsel. In the whole range of these things we can detect
nothing that bears a parallel with what used to be called "the
blasphemous and seditious press." Neither, although these papers do
not wholly abstain from comment upon what is passing in the world,
can they be called newspapers. We see, however, that the new
trump of war is calling up again one or two of the old class of
unstamped violators of the law. In quiet times they cannot flourish.
They may be difficult to suppress,
'Now all the youth of England are on fire.'
[34] Frégier, 'Les Classes Dangereuses.'
CHAPTER VII.
Degrees of Readers—General Improvement—Newspaper Press—Newspaper Press
National—Agricultural Readers—General desire for Amusement—Supply of real
Knowledge.
Our readers can scarcely have failed to make for themselves the
deduction which naturally arises out of this survey of the progress of
popular literature—that there always have been, still are, and always
will be, various classes of readers and purchasers; and that the
invariable progress of knowledge and intelligence—from the learned
to the rich, from the rich to the middle classes, from the middle
classes to the multitude—has produced as invariably a corresponding
change in the number of books published, their quality, and their
price. As the rich began to gather knowledge, books ceased to be
wholly adapted to the learned or professional student; as the
burgesses began to employ their leisure in reading, books ceased to
be dependent upon courtly influence; as the multitude acquired the
rudiments of instruction, books became less conventional, and
began to adapt themselves to all classes. But it cannot, without a
judicial blindness, be assumed that we are arrived at that state in
which there are no degrees of intellectual advancement. It is said, to
use the language of the most popular journal of our day, that the
masses "do not yet feel the assurance that, if they go in thousands
to the counters of the great publishing houses, as they congregate
around the more plebeian shops, they will get the exact article they
want, or what they consider value for their money." Here is the
point. The masses, who are yet more imperfectly educated than
some of their own class, and most of the class above them, would
not consider, as they have never yet considered, solid and instructive
reading "value for their money." Unquestionably "books to please the
million must not only be good but attractive." The chief popular
labour of the last quarter of a century has been to convert the
ponderous ores of learning into the fine gold of knowledge. The
multitude have been reached in many directions; and the influences
of "good but attractive" books have penetrated where the books
themselves have not yet had a direct influence. But the multitude
stand precisely in the same relation to works of instruction, even the
most attractive, as they do to Mechanics' Institutes and Athenæums.
In Manchester and its dependencies, in 1851, there were 3447
members of these Institutions, and 1793 pupils in classes.[35] But the
great mass of the youth of both sexes in Manchester were
frequenting the Casinos. Here they neither drank, nor danced, nor
gambled: they listened to recitations and comic songs at a penny an
hour. They wanted mere amusement, and they found it. It is the
same with the great bulk of the readers of cheap books. "It is most
worthy of note," says the writer just mentioned, whose anxiety for
cheap literature we honour and appreciate, "that, when there has
been no doubt of the substantial value of the commodity issued from
the Row or Albemarle Street, the sale of the books has been by no
means equivocal." Certainly not. Macaulay and Layard have found
large numbers of purchasers, and will find them, in their cheap form.
But are these purchasers what are called, in the same breath, "the
multitude"—"the needy"? Not at all. Even the most successful of the
periodical works above a penny—'Chambers' Journal,' 'Household
Words,'—reach only the advanced guard of this class. Mr. Dickens
collected around him at Birmingham such an audience as never
before waited upon an author. He read his beautiful, humanizing
'Christmas Carol' to two thousand working-men. They felt every
point—they laughed, or they grew serious, with understanding. But
are we to suppose that the whole mass of the mechanical classes—
men, women, and children—throughout the kingdom, would rush by
millions to buy 'The Christmas Carol' at a penny or two—at a price
that would compensate in fame what was wanting in profit? Its
sterling merit—its nature, its simplicity, its purity, its quiet humour—
require a far higher amount of taste and cultivation to appreciate
than the immaturity of mind to which the coarseness and imbecility
of the penny journals are acceptable. An author of less popular
acceptation published a poem at a farthing, but we never heard that
he employed a steam-press in its production. The multitude have
their own weekly literature, and we have seen what it is. Are the
novels of the author of 'Pelham' to be speedily found in every
cottage of the farm-labourer, and in every garret of the Lancashire
cotton-spinner? The time may come, but it is not as yet. If a
despotic government, in the desire to disseminate knowledge, were
to follow the example which our free Government has set with
regard to the 'School-books published by authority of the
Commissioners of National Education in Ireland,' they might produce
sound popular literature as cheap again as the most adventurous of
publishers. But if they left competition free to what they considered
unsound knowledge—if they permitted the lowest-priced Fiction,
however bad or indifferent, to circulate without their unequal
competition—we believe the free-traders would beat the monopolists
in point of numbers; and it would be found an easier task, even with
every commercial disadvantage of price, to "tickle and excite the
palate" than "strengthen the constitution."
Do such considerations as these make us hopeless of the steady
progress of a sound as well as cheap popular literature? Decidedly
no. There is improvement all around us. The halfpenny ballad of
Seven Dials is not yet extinct; but let the collectors look sharply
about them, for that relic of the chap-books, with the woodcuts that
have served every generation, will soon be gone. In its place has
come the decent penny book of a hundred songs. The shades of
Scott, and Moore, and Campbell will not quarrel with this new
popularity. There are "flash" songs; but they are not for the penny
buyers. Thackeray has described the dens in which these
abominations are current. The whole aspect of the humbler press
has changed within these few years. Unquestionably the people
have changed. Visit, if you can, the interior of that marvellous
human machine, the General Post-Office, on a Friday evening, from
half-past five to six o'clock. Look with awe upon the tons of
newspapers that are crowding in to be distributed through the
habitable globe. Think silently how potent a power is this for good or
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