Chapter 1

OverviewThe Foundation for Your

Future

© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000

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Overview

• Users and professionals

• Computer literate and computer competent

• Information systems

• Hardware

• Software

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Overview (continued)

• Computer systems

• Computer development

• Connectivity

• Interactivity

• Digital convergence

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Users

• Be ready for the job market

• Use computers for work and personal tasks

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Differentiation• Computer Professionals

– expertise and/or a minimum of a two-year technical degree

– industry uses many names• programmer, engineer, systems analyst

• network and database administrators

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Computer Literate vs. Competent

• Computer literacy– understanding what a computer is and what

it can do

• Computer competency– using skills to meet information needs and

improve productivity

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Competency

• Skill mastery covered:– terms– functions– uses

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Computer Information Systems

• Hardware• Software• Data and information• People• Procedures• Communications

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Information and Knowledge

• Information– data organized into useful information

• Knowledge– application of reasoned analysis of information

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People

• Most important component of computer system

• Follow procedures– using documentation, reference guides, and

user guides– guides are primarily available as electronic help

files and Internet help desks

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Digital and Analog Systems

• Digital based on electronic circuitry– 1s and 0s, or on and off– each 1 or 0 is called a bit; or binary digit– Computers use digital data representation

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Analog Systems

• Analog– continuously variable values, along a range, such

as temperature and pressure values– traditional analog recording devices are humidity

recorders, mercury thermometers, and pressure gauges

– standard telephone lines transmit analog signals

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Connectivity • Analog modems

– most home systems

• Digital modems – cable and digital subscriber service technology

use digital modems for much faster communications, but this technology is not universally available

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Computer Hardware

• 5 categories– input

– processing and memory

– output

– storage

– communications

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Input

• Keyboard• Mouse• Scanner• Microphone

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Processing and Memory

• Motherboard• CPU• Memory

– many types of RAM

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Output Hardware

• Hardcopy output– graphics– letters

• Softcopy output– monitor– audio

• music from MP3 for example

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Secondary Storage Hardware

• Permanent or nonvolatile– magnetic disks: disk cartridges,

hard drives, floppy disks– optical storage (optical disks)– tape

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Communications Hardware

• Facilitate networks– modems– hubs and other components of a network

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Computer Software

• System software– communication with

hardware– resource management– facilitates communication

among application programs

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Computer Software

• Applications software– benefits or assists the user

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Types of Computers

• Supercomputers

• Mainframe computers

• Workstations

• Microcomputers

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Types of Computers (continued)• Microcontrollers

– embedded or dedicated computers: from calculators to automobiles

• Server– network– Web

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Computer Generations

• First (1944 to1958)– ENIAC and UNIVAC

• Second (1959 to1963)– IBM 1401 with 1402 card read/punch

• Third generation (1964 to 1970)– DEC PDP-8– Data General NOVA– IBM 360

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Computer Generations (continued)

• Fourth generation (1971 to now)– dominated by the LSI (large-scale integrated

circuits) and the VLSI (very-large-scale integrated circuits)

– word processing, spreadsheets, database, and graphic programs became readily available

– Cray-1 supercomputer– DEC VAX 11/780

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Information Explosion

• Increased processing power

• More information more quickly

• More paper in the computer era than before it!

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Data Overload?

• Information does not produce knowledge– knowledge implies synthesis of that

information– therefore, knowledge must be useful: complete,

accurate, relevant, and timely (CART)

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Connectivity

• Connecting devices for communication• voice, data, multimedia

– foundation for information age

• E-mail– send and receive messages over a local area

network or a large network, including the Internet

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Connectivity (continued)

• Databases– for research and job prospects

• Telecommuting– Working at home or on the road– Communicating with the office through phone,

fax, and/or computer• On-line shopping and E-commerce

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Databases

• Electronically stored data

• Reference and other libraries of information databases are extensive through connectivity, both specialized and generalized on the Internet

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Online Services

• America Online (AOL)

• Microsoft Network (MSN)• CompuServe interactive services

(CompuServe)

• Prodigy Internet (Prodigy)

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Portals and the World Wide Web

• Online service providers– Often customize setup disks or CDs to show

their home page as the first page– Hence, the term portal, the entry way to the

Internet

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Browsers

• Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator– two dominant Web browsers– also serve as portals through their home page

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Interactivity

• Ability to respond immediately and modify processes

• Includes multimedia– text, graphics, animation, video,

music, voice

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Interactive Devices

• Multimedia computers

• Internet appliances– TV set-top control boxes,

also called smart boxes

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Digital Convergence

• Merger of devices, media, and services– computers– communications– consumer electronics– entertainment– mass media

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Technological Convergence

• Communications– same information gained in potentially multiple

ways• satellite

• films

• recordings

• radio

• telephones

• television