Fall semester 2011

Professor: Giuseppe Sindoni (gsindoni@johncabot.edu)CS110-3

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Microcomputer applications

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Giuseppe Sindoni in a slide

Laurea degree in Electronic Engineering at La Sapienza

- While also teaching IT in the private sector

PhD in Medical Information Technology

(Senior) technologist at Istat

Adjunct professor at:- Roma Tre (Economics, Humanities)- Perugia (Engineering)- Camerino (Engineering)

National Expert at Eurostat

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Course aims

Develop essential skills in and knowledge of personal

productivity software (office automation, internet tools) and the

use of new Web 2.0 tools as a resource for professional business

practice.

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Course content

- Principles of information and communication technology. Operating systems. File systems and file/folder management.

- Working in different environments: local PC, intranet servers, internet services, cloud computing, social networks.

- Personal productivity software: Office (Microsoft, OpenOffice, Google net suite). Simple integrated document management.

- Office automation: word processing, spreadsheets and presentation software: basic and advanced features.

- Technical and business perspective of the Web: servers and browsers; Web 2.0 resources.

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Grading policy

15% Active attendance (see attendance requirements)- 15 points, 0.5 deducted for each absence

30% Tests- Three tests,10 points each

25% Midterm- 25 points

30% Final- 30 points

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Assessment guidelines

A: 93 – 100% B: 84 – 92.5% C: 75 – 83.5% D: 66 – 74.5% F: 0 – 65.5%

From the syllabus

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Tests and exams

Quizzes: single/multiple response 10-line explanations or comments Practical exercises

- Managing documents- Word processing- Using spreadsheets to solve problems- Building a hypermedia document- Simple surveys

Homework- No marked individual assignments- Example tests and exams

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Course schedule

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Principles of Information and Communication Technology

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What is Information & Communication Technology

(ICT)? Processes and technologies to create, gather, process, store, disseminate and share information.

Definitions:- Communication: the activity of conveying meaningful information.

- Information: an ordered sequence of symbols that records or transmits a message.

- Technology: application of science, especially in industry and business.

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What is a Computer? An electronic device designed to receive and process data

and display the results

Computer = Electronic Digital Processer- Processer: a machine able to store and process data following a

sequence of instructions (program). - Electronic: a computer uses electronic components.- Digital: a computer processes and stores digital signals made of

binary digits (0 and 1). Combinations of bits represent words, sounds, videos, etc.

Decisive factors in the development and spread of computers:

- Miniaturization and reduction in price of electronic components- Easier user interfaces- Increasing popularity of Internet and the Web

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Hardware and Software

Hardware: the tangible part of a computer: all the magnetic, optical, mechanical and electronic parts enabling it to work.

Software: the programs (instructions) enabling the hardware to perform its tasks.

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Types of computers - Mainframe

The first computers were very large, specialized, fast, and could control a lot of peripherals

Mainframes are similar to today’s Servers

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Types of computer Personal Computer

Self-sufficient, single-user computer

General Purpose: not for specific tasks, but mainly for personal productivity

Basic/average performance

Case: desktop and tower

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Other types of computer

Portable Computers - Notebook, Laptop Netbook, Tablet PC Palmtop, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) Smartphone, multimedia player

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Main components of a PC

In the case:- Motherboard: printed circuit board containing:

Central Processing Unit (CPU): the key component, which interprets and executes program instructions.

Main memory: the memory used during processing (RAM) Support chips (ROM BIOS, Clock)

- Mass storage (permanent memory): hard disks- Ports for connection to external devices

Out of the case:- Input devices providing instructions and data to be

processed - Output devices transferring results from computer to

user. They allow users to see, listen to, and print the results

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Central Processing Unit Central Processing Unit (CPU): microprocessor, the

computer’s “brain” Executes instructions from programs loaded in the main

memory (RAM) Two main manufacturers: Intel and AMD Processor speed:

- Embedded clocks measure the computer “heartbeats": a heartbeat corresponds to a cycle, approximately one processing step

- Measured in Hertz (cycles per second). 1 MegaHertz = 1 million cycles per second

Today’s CPUs: thousands of Mhz (GigaHertz) Today’s PCs: 800 Mhz to 4 Ghz Comparability: CPU speed can only be compared among

computers of the same type

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Execution of instructions

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Other main internal components

RAM (Random Access Memory). The fastest memory, used for data processing. Contains data and instructions for the CPU.

Expansion boards: Enable communication between external devices (e.g. video card or audio card) and the CPU.

Ports: input to expansion boards. Connect case with input/output devices. Main types:

- USB (universal serial bus): most used, multipurpose;

- Other ports: Firewire, network, video. Disk Units: Hard Disk, CD/DVD. Power supply: to all components. One or more cooling fans

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Input devices

Keyboard: - Alphanumeric, symbol and function keys.- Number pad, direction keys.- Special keys: Enter, Backspace, Del, Ins, Alt, Ctrl,

Shift, Tab.

Mouse: - Types: normal or optical, wireless or wired. - Use: Left button: click, double click. Right button:

context menu. Scroll wheel.- Other pointing devices: trackball, trackpoint,

touchpad Other input peripherals: scanner, webcam,

microphone, joystick, camera, barcode reader

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Output devices Monitor: main user interface.

- Size measured as the length in inches of the diagonal dimension. The most common size is currently 17”.

- Resolution: number of pixel (points). The most common resolution is currently 1024x768 pixels.

- The video card connects the computer to the screen. Its performance is very important.

- Monitor types: CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube), LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). Projectors.

Printer: prints text and images in black & white or colour. - Resolution: measured in DPI (dots per inch).- Print speed: measured in pages per minute (ppm).- Most popular types: inkjet, laser. For most usual tasks. - Other types: impact (dot matrix, needle), thermal transfer,

sublimation. Other output devices: plotter, earphones, loudspeakers.

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Data storage - 1

An 8-bit group is a Byte, the conventional unit of measurement for data quantity. Byte multiples:

1 Kilobyte (Kbyte or Kb) = 210 Byte = 1,024 Bytes1 Megabyte (Mbyte or Mb) = 210 Kbyte = 1,048,576 Bytes1 Gigabyte (Gbyte or Gb) = 210 Mbyte = 1,073,741,824

Bytes1 Terabyte (Tbyte or Tb) = 210 Gbyte = 1,099,511,627,776

Bytes

Computers use digital signals: data are represented by the digits “0” and “1”

Unit of information is the BIT (Binary digIT), which can have 2 states: 0 or 1 (on/off)

OFF ON

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Data storage - 2

ASCII (American Standard Code Information Interchange) coding: a byte represents a number or a letter.

Needed to represent characters (letters, numbers and symbols) using the binary system.

Now being replaced by UNICODE, which uses at least 16 bits (2 bytes)

ASCII ASCII

Character

code Character code

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Main memory

RAM (Random Access Memory): the memory used for data processing.

- Data and programs loaded into the RAM as they are used by the processor.

- Random access to memory cells, the most efficient way.

- RAM is temporary. When the computer is switched off, RAM is erased: very important to save current work.

- Current sizes: from 1 to 4 Gigabytes for PCs, but this can be expanded.

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Mass storage Permanent devices where data are stored. The main storage device is the Hard Disk (HD):

- Sizes currently from Gigabytes to Terabytes. - Contains the operating system, application programs, documents and

personal data. - Magnetic devices: organization. Formatting. - Internal and external HDs.

Other units (backup): tape units for server backups. Optical devices: Compact Disc (CD) and Digital Versatile Disc (DVD)

- CD (up to 800 Mbyte), DVD (up to 17 times more). - CD and DVD: ROM (read only memory), R (recordable) and RW

(rewritable). - CD/DVD drive needed to read contents.- Burner needed to save (write) to CD/DVD.

Rewritable memories (Flash): compact flash, USB drive, SD (Secure Digital), MMC (MultiMedia Card).

Network disks (NAS: Network Attached Storage)

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Comparison of storage devicesDevice Technolog

yRewritabl

eRemovab

leCapacit

ySpeed Cost

Hard Disk Magnetic Yes No Up to 2 TByte

High Medium

CD-ROM Optical No Yes 800 MByte

Medium

Low

CD-RW Optical Yes Yes 800 MByte

Medium

Low

DVD Optical No Yes 17 GByte

Medium

Low

DVD-RW Optical Yes Yes 17 GByte

Medium

Low

Blu-ray Optical Yes Yes 50 GByte

Medium

Low

CF/SD/MMC

Flash Yes Yes 64 GByte

Medium

High

USB drive Flash Yes Yes 64 GByte

Medium

High

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Computer performance

Depends on many factors:- Clock frequency (MegaHertz, GigaHertz). Comparable only between “families” of similar processors.

- Internal architecture: speed of motherboard and other parameters.

- Available RAM.

- Disk access speed and capacity.

- Video card speed.

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Questions and (maybe) answers