Basic Computer Course COMPUTER BASICS Articles

• An electronic device that stores, retrieves,
• and processes data, and can be
• programmed with instructions. A
• computer is composed of hardware and
• software, and can exist in a variety of
• sizes and configurations.)

Hardware & Software 

• The term hardware refers to the physical   
  
• components of your computer such as the
• system unit, mouse, keyboard, monitor etc.
• The software is the instructions that makes
• the computer work. Software is held either
• on your computers hard disk, CD-ROM,
• DVD or on a diskette (floppy disk) and is
• loaded (i.e. copied) from the disk into the
• computers RAM (Random Access Memory),
• as and when required.}

Types of Computers

• Mini and Mainframe Computers
• Very powerful, used by large
• organisations such an banks to control
• the entire business operation. Very
• expensive! 
                             
• Personal Computers
• Cheap and easy to use. Often used as
• stand-alone computers or in a network.
• May be connected to large mainframe
• computers within big companies.}

Hardware Components

• Input Devices How to tell it what to do
• A keyboard and mouse are the standard way to
• interact with the computer. Other devices include
• joysticks and game pads used primarily for games.
• Output Devices How it shows you what it is doing"
• The monitor (the screen) is how the computer
• sends information back to you. A printer is also an
• output device.}

Hardware Components

• INPUT DEVICES
• The Mouse
• Used to ‘drive’ Microsoft Windows  
• The Keyboard
• The keyboard is still the commonest
• way of entering information into a
• computer
• Tracker Balls
• an alternative to the traditional mouse
• and often used by graphic designers}

Hardware Components

• INPUT DEVICES
• Scanners
• A scanner allows you to scan printed material 
  
• and convert it into a file format that may be
• used within the PC
• Touch Pads
• A device that lays on the desktop and responds
• to pressure
• Light Pens
• Used to allow users to point to areas on a
• screen
• Joysticks
• Many games require a joystick for the proper
• playing of the game}

Hardware Components

• OUTPUT DEVICES
• VDU
• The computer screen is used for outputting
• information in an understandable format
• Printers
• There are many different types of printers.
• In large organizations laser printers are
• most commonly used due to the fact that
• they can print very fast and give a very
• high quality output.}

Hardware Components

• OUTPUT DEVICES
• Plotters
• A plotter is an output device similar to a
• printer, but normally allows you to print
• larger images.
   Speakers
• Enhances the value of educational and
• presentation products.
• Speech synthesisers
• Gives you the ability to not only to display
• text on a monitor but also to read the text
• to you}

Hardware Components

• Storage Devices How it saves data and          
  
• programs“
• Hard disk drives are an internal,
• higher capacity drive which also stores the
• operating system which runs when you power
• on the computer.
• Floppy" disk drives allow you to save
• work on}

Hardware Components

• Hard Disks
• Speed:
• Very fast!
• The speed of a hard disk is often quoted as "average
• access time" speed, measured in milliseconds. The
• smaller this number the faster the disk.
• Capacity:
• Enormous! Often 40/80 Gigabytes. A Gigabyte is 
• equivalent to 1024 Megabytes.
• Cost:
• Hard disks costs are falling rapidly and normally
• represent the cheapest way of storing data.}

Diskettes (Floppy Disks)
Speed:
Very slow!
Capacity:
Normally 1.44 Mbytes.
Cost:

Very cheap.}
CD-ROM Disks
Speed:
Much slower than hard disks. The original
CD-ROM speciation is given a value of 1x
speed, and later, faster CD-ROMs are
quoted as a multiple of this value.
Capacity:

Around 650 Mbytes and more}
DVD Drives
Speed:
Much faster than CD-ROM drives but
not as fast as hard disks.
Capacity:
Up to 17 Gbytes.
Cost:

Slightly higher than CD-ROM drives}

Main Parts of Computer

• Memory -- "How the processor stores and uses
• immediate data“
• RAM - Random Access Memory
• The main 'working' memory used by the computer.
• When the operating system loads from disk when you
• first switch on the computer, it is copied into RAM.
• As a rough rule, a Microsoft Windows based computer will
• operate faster if you install more RAM. Data and
• programs stored in RAM are volatile (i.e. the information
• is lost when you switch off the computer).

Memory

ROM – Read Only Memory

Read Only Memory (ROM) as the name suggests is a special

type of memory chip that holds software that can be read

but not written to.

A good example is the ROM-BIOS chip, which contains readonly

software.

Often network cards and video cards also contain ROM

chips.}

How Computer Memory Is Measured

• Bit
• All computers work on a binary numbering system, i.e. they
• process data in one's or zero's. This 1 or 0 level of storage is
• called a bit.
• Byte
• A byte consists of eight bits.
• Kilobyte
• A kilobyte (KB) consists of 1024 bytes.
• Megabyte
• A megabyte (MB) consists of 1024 kilobytes.
• Gigabyte
• A gigabyte (GB) consists of 1024 megabytes.}

Microprocessors The brain of the computer

• PCs primarily use microprocessors (sometimes called the chip).
• The older Intel versions include the 386, 486 and now the Pentium
• line.
• The CPU (Central Processing Unit) is normally an Intel
• Pentium (or equivalent) and it is one of the most important
• components within your computer.
• It determines how fast your computer will run and is
• measured by its MHz speed.
• Thus a 600 MHz Pentium is much faster than say a 400
• MHz Pentium CPU.
• It is the CPU

• Some of the Factors
• That Impact on a Computer's Performance
• CPU speed
• RAM size
• Hard disk speed and capacity}

Operating systems software

• The operating system is a special type of program that loads
• automatically when you start your computer.
• The operating system allows you to use the advanced features of
• a modern computer without having to learn all the details of how
• the hardware works
• The link between the hardware and you, the user
• Makes the computer easy to use without having to understand bits
• and bytes!}

Applications software

• An application program is the type of program that
• you use once the operating system has been loaded.
• Examples include word-processing programs,
• spreadsheets and databases
• Application Software
• Word processing applications
• Microsoft Word
• Lotus Word Pro
• WordPerfect
• Spreadsheets
• Microsoft Excel
• Lotus 123
• Database
• Microsoft Access
• Lotus Approach
• Application Software
• Payroll
• Sage software
• Presentation tools
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Lotus Freelance
• Desktop publishing
• Abode Photoshop
• Multimedia applications
• Microsoft's Encarta CD-ROM based
• encyclopaedias} 

Information Network

• LAN
• A LAN (Local Area Network) is a system whereby
• individual PCs are connected together within a
• company or organization
• WAN
• A WAN (Wide Area Network) as the name implies
• allows you to connect to other computers over a
• wider area (i.e. the whole world).
• Uses of Network
• If ten people are working together within an office it
• makes sense for them all to be connected.
• • In this way the office can have a single printer
• and all ten people can print to it.
• • In a similar way other devices such as modems or
• scanners can be shared.
• • Even more useful is the ability to share
• information when connected to a network.}

Computer Accessories

• Modem
• Short for “MODulate/DEModulate”. The modem
• sends information from your computer across the
• telephone system.
• The modem at the other end of the phone line,
• converts the signal back into a format that can be
• used by the receiving computer.}

Uses of Computer

• PC at Home
• Common uses for the computer within the home
• Computer games
• Working from Home
• Banking from Home
• Connecting to the Web
• Computers in Education
• CBT (Computer Based Training)
• Computer Based Training (CBT) offers a low cost
• solution to training needs where you need to train
• a large amount of people on a single subject.
• These programs are normally supplied on CD-ROM
• and combine text, graphics and sound.
• Packages range from general encyclopaedias right
• through to learning a foreign language.}  

Office Applications

• Automated Production Systems
• Many car factories are almost completely automated and the
• cars are assembled by computer-controlled robots.
• This automation is becoming increasingly common
• throughout industry.
• Design Systems
• Many products are designed using CAD (Computer Aided
• Design) programs to produce exact specifications and
• detailed drawings on the computer before producing models
• of new products.
• Office Applications
• Stock Control
• Stock control is ideal for automation and in many companies
• it is now completely computerized.
• The stock control system keeps track of the number of items
• in stock and can automatically order replacement items
• when required.
• Accounts / Payroll
• In most large organizations the accounts are maintained by
• a computerized system.
• Due to the repetitive nature of accounts a computer system
• is ideally suited to this task and accuracy is guaranteed.}

Computers in Daily Life

• Accounts
• Games
• Educational On-line banking Smart ID cards
• Supermarkets
• Working from home (Tele-working)
• Internet

Create a Good Working Environment

• Frequent breaks away from the computer
• Appropriate positioning of screens, chairs and
• keyboards
• Provision of adequate lighting and ventilation.

Health & Safety Precautions

• Make sure that cables are safely secured
• Make sure that power points are not overloaded
• Also be aware of:
• Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
• Glare from screens
• Bad posture

Value of Backup

• The most important thing that you store
• on your computer is information.
• Often the contents of a hard disk can
• represent years of work.
• If the hard disk stops working one day you
• could lose all those years of work.
• For this reason it is VITAL that you take
• regular backups of the information that is
• stored on the computer.
• Organize your computer for more efficient
• backups
• Complete vs. incremental backups
• Use 'off-site' storage
• Use passwords Understand the Importance of shutting
• down your computer properly
• Use a UPS (Un-interruptible Power Supply) 
• 
  
• Likes & Dislikes of Computer
• 
  
• Things computer like:
• Good ventilation
• Clean environment
• Stable, vibration free surface
• Things computer don’t like:
• Dust
• Drinking and eating over the keyboard
•  Heat, Cold or Moisture
• Don’t place objects on top of monitors.
• Don’t place floppy disks near monitors.}
• 
  
• Computer Virus
• What are computer viruses?
• Viruses are small programs
• that hide themselves on your
• disks (both diskettes and
• your hard disk).
•  Unless you use virus
• detection software the first
• time that you know that you
• have a virus is when it
• activates.
• Different viruses are
• activated in different ways.
• How do viruses infect PCs?
• Viruses hide on a disk and when you
• access the disk (either a diskette or
• another hard disk over a network) the
• virus program will start and infect
• your computer.
• The worst thing about a computer
• virus is that they can spread from one
• computer to another, either via use of
• infected floppy disk, or over a
• computer network,
• How to prevent virus damage
• There are a number of third party antivirus
• products available.
• Most of these are better than the rather
• rudimentary products available within
• DOS and Windows, but of course you do
• have to pay for them!
• The main thing about your virus checker
• is that it should be kept up to date.
• Many companies supply updated disks on
• a regular basis or allow you to receive
• updates through
• 
  
• Software Copyright
• Be aware on software copyright issues
•  Freeware
•  Shareware
• What about software that you find on
• the Internet?
• Software site licenses
• 
  
• If your computer system holds
• information about individuals then you
• have a moral and legal duty to treat
• that information with respect.
• In a free society you have a right to
• ensure that information held about
• you is not abused.
• In many countries this right is
• enshrined under data protection laws

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