Lec 3

• Computers - come in various sizes; they also function as clients and/or servers
• MICROPROCESSORS - tiny “computers on chips”
• All Computers, Great & Small: 5 Basic computer sizes

  1.Supercomputers - used in very special situation

  price range $1M to more than $350M high-capacity machines with thousands of processors that can perform more than several trillion calculations per second
• Nanotechnology - in which molecule-size nanostructures are used to

  create tiny machines for holding data or performing tasks - the ultra

  small that has the potential to make enormous change to our world
• All Computers, Great & Small: 5 Basic computer

  sizes

  2.Mainframe Computers - used in many large organizations such as

  banks, airlines, companies, universities, etc.

  price range: $5,000 - $5M vary in size - small, medium, large
• Workstations - used for graphics, special effects, and certain

  professional applications

  introduced in early 1980s

  expensive, powerful personal computers usually used for complex,

  scientific, mathematical & engineering calculations for

  computer-aided design & manufacturing
• All Computers, Great & Small: 5 Basic computer

  sizes

  3. Microcomputers - used by businesses, individuals, can be connected to

  networks of larger computers.

  either stand-alone or connected to a computer network

  local area network (LAN) connects PC, cable, other devices like

  printers in an office or building
• Types of microcomputers: Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) -

  smaller than notebook & netbook but larger & more powerful

  than PDAs
• All Computers, Great & Small: 5 Basic computer

  sizes

  Microcontrollers - also called embedded computers are the tiny,

  specialized microprocessors installed in “smart” appliances and

  automobiles

  ex. cameras, MP3 players, wearable technologies, refrigerators,

  cars, etc
• Servers - are computers and special software dedicated to providing services to other computers
• Understanding your Computer :

  How Computers Work: 3 Key Concepts

  1. Turning Data into Information - main purpose
• Understanding your Computer

  How Computers Work: 3 Key Concepts

  2. Difference between hardware & software
• Understanding your Computer

  How Computers Work: 3 Key Concepts

  3. The Basic Operations of a computer - regardless of size, all

  computers use the same four basic operations:

  -Input operation

  -Processing operation

  -Storage operation

  -Output operation

  -Communications operation
• Where is Information Technology Headed?

  Computers are becoming smaller, faster and cheaper
• Interactivity - two-way communication; the user can respond to

  information receives and modify what a computer is doing
• Multimedia - refers to technology that presents information in more

  than one medium - text, pictures, video, sound and animation
• When Computers & Communications Combine:

  IT systems are moving away from standard personal hardware to

  more extensive networks and smaller devices

  -Convergence

  -Portability

  -Personalization

  -Collaboration

  -Cloud computing: the global computer
• Communications - IT systems are becoming more connected &interactive, and they support more and more kinds of multimedia
• Connectivity - the connection of computers to one another by acommunications line in order to provide online information accessor sharing devices capability
• Software - programs that tell the computer how to perform a task -comes from the developer acceptable by the computer
• Network servers - a central computer that holds collections of data(databases) and programs for connecting or supplying services to PCs,workstations, and other devices - which are called clients.servers can store files, provide printing stations, transmit email
• Smartphones - nanotechnology application - combining power andspeed
• Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) - schedule planner, addressbooks, to-do lists, ereader, email capability
• Miniaturization - everything has become smaller
• Speed - miniaturization allows designers to integrate more hardwarecomponents providing faster processing speeds and storage capacity
• Affordability - processor costs today are only a fraction of what theywere 15 years ago
• Nano - means “one-billionth"

  -found on smartphones, devices and appliances
• Hardware - the physical component of a computer system - keyboard,monitor, CPU, etc.
• Data - consists of raw facts & figures that are processed into information
• Information - data that has been summarized or manipulated for use in decision making
• Software - programs that tell the computer how to perform a task - comes from the developer acceptable by the computer