Role of Computer System In Different Environment Explain the role of computer systems in different Environments such as home, business,

networking, communication, etc. Home Business Computer gaming Networking Real-time Communication Computer components are all the parts that make up a computer. Components include software and hardware: The software tells the hardware what to do and the hardware executes the commands. Working together, these components make up a system that can relay commands to a central processing unit, identify the actions needed to carry out the commands, and send the instructions to the component that carries out the command. Computer components work in close conjunction with each other and when one component fails, many others are affected and sometime the entire system can crash. 1. Software Software is the principal component because it contains the information needed by the hardware to perform its tasks; without the software, a computer would simply be a box full of parts. The main software component needed to run a computer is the operating system, and program applications are necessary for specific tasks.

Hardware Hardware consists of the components that do the actual work, everything from turning the system on to performing specific tasks. There are two types of hardware components: internal and peripheral. Internal components are the computer parts located inside the PC tower, and peripherals are located on the outside of the computer. Peripherals Peripherals are the computer input and output components. These are the components that the user physically handles. Input devices can be used in a variety of ways to enter information and instructions into a computer. Output devices are the end result of the instructions and can be physical, visual or audio. Input devices can include mouse, keyboard, tablets, game controllers, cameras, scanners and microphones. Output devices include monitors, printers and speakers. Process All computer components, internal or peripheral, take commands from the motherboard. The motherboard issues the commands based on information that has been installed in it through software. The user inputs data using a peripheral component such as a keyboard or a CD-ROM. The data is sent to the motherboard, a circuit board that contains, among other things, the CPU. The CPU is considered the actual brain of the computer; it receives the message, processes the information and converts the data into a binary code. The motherboard sends the code to the internal component that is charge of that specific action. The component performs that action and carries out the user's request

System Unit The system unit, also known as a "tower" or "chassis," is the main part of a desktop computer. It includes the motherboard, CPU, RAM, and other components. The system unit also includes the case that houses the internal components of the computer.

Motherboard The motherboard is the main circuit board of your computer and is also known as the main board or logic board. If you ever open your computer, the biggest piece of silicon you see is the motherboard. Attached to the motherboard, you'll find the CPU, ROM, memory RAM expansion slots, PCI slots, and USB ports. It also includes controllers for devices like the hard drive, DVD drive, keyboard, and mouse. Basically, the motherboard is what makes everything in your computer work together. Each motherboard has a collection of chips and controllers known as the chipset. When new motherboards are developed, they often use new chipsets. The good news is that these boards are typically more efficient and faster than their predecessors. The bad news is that older components often do not work with new chipsets. Of course, if you are planning on upgrading multiple components, it may be more cost-effective to just buy a new computer.

CPU Stands for "Central Processing Unit." This is the pretty much the brain of your computer. It processes everything from basic instructions to complex functions. Any time something needs to be computed, it gets sent to the CPU. Every day, it's compute this, compute that -- you'd think the CPU would need a break after awhile. But no -- it just keeps on processing. The CPU can also be referred to simply as the "processor."

RAM Stands for "Random Access Memory," and is pronounced like the male sheep. RAM is made up of small memory chips that form a memory module. These modules are installed in the RAM slots on the motherboard of your computer. Every time you open a program, it gets loaded from the hard drive into the RAM. This is because reading data from the RAM is much faster than reading data from the hard drive. Running programs from the RAM of the computer allows them to function without any lag time. The more RAM your computer has, the more data can be loaded from the hard drive into the RAM, which can effectively speed up your computer. In fact, adding RAM can be more beneficial to your computer's performance than upgrading the CPU. To check how much RAM a Windows computer has, open the "System" Control Panel. This can be done by right-clicking "My Computer" and selecting "Properties..." To view how much RAM is installed in a Macintosh computer, select "About This Mac" from the Apple Menu. 1.D A typical set of external components (peripherals) for a computer would include the following; the first three are essential devices for any system, the rest are optional depending on what purpose the computer is being used for. Monitor: The display screen, color monitors can display anywhere from 16 to over 1 million different colors. Often known as RGB monitors, because they accept three separate signals - red, green, blue. Monitors like television screens are measured in diagonally in inches, the distance from one corner to the opposite corner. The resolution of a monitor indicates how densely packed the pixels are. In general, the more pixels

(often expressed in dots per inch), the sharper the image. Most modern monitors can display 1024 by 768 pixels, the SVGA standard. Sometimes it is known as a Visual Display Unit (VDU). Keyboard: The set of typewriter-like keys that enables you to enter data into a computer. Computer keyboards are similar to electric-typewriter keyboards but contain additional keys. Computer keyboards contain the following types of keys: Alphanumeric keys -- letters and numbers Punctuation keys -- comma, period, semicolon, and so on. Special keys -- function keys, control keys, arrow keys, Caps Lock key, etc. Mouse: A device that controls the movement of the cursor or pointer on a display screen. A mouse is a small object you can roll along a hard, flat surface. Its name is derived from its shape. As you move the mouse, the pointer on the display screen moves in the same direction. Windows use a Graphical User Interface (GUI) which allows a mouse to point at an icon that represents what you want to do. Mice contain (normally) two buttons, and a scroll wheel which is useful for long documents. The left button is used for selecting and the right button is used for shortcut menus. Some mice are cordless and communicate by optical sensors. Printer: A device that prints text or illustrations on paper. Printers are classified by their quality; the speed of printing and the resolution; the faster and higher the better. (Resolution is the amount of dots printed per square inch). There are many different types of printer used for different purposes: Daisy wheel: a hammer presses the shape of each character against an ink ribbon, it cannot print images, Dot matrix: similar to the daisy wheel, but pins are used so that characters and images can be printed, Ink-jet: sprays ink at a sheet of paper, can produce high-quality text and graphics photo quality, Laser: produce very high quality text and graphics, they use heated powder, the same as photocopiers. A Plotter is a specialist printer for architects and engineers etc, it produces very large detailed drawings.

Scanner: A device that can read text or illustrations printed on paper and translate the information into a form the computer can use. A scanner works by digitizing an image, the resulting matrix of bits, called a bit map, can then be stored in a file, displayed on a screen, and manipulated by programs. The denser the bit map, the higher the resolution, meaning a larger or sharper image. Typically, scanners support resolutions of from 72 to 600 dots per inch (dpi). The scanner normally used in a system is known as a flatbed scanner, like a photocopy machine. It has a glass surface on which you lay paper, magazines, or other documents that you want to scan. The scanner does half the work of a photocopies. Some scanners are part of the same box as a printer and can be used as a photocopier. Digital Camera: A camera that stores images digitally rather than recording them on film. Once a picture has been taken, it can be downloaded to a computer system, and then manipulated with a graphics program and printed. Unlike film photos, which have an almost infinite resolution, digital photos are limited by the amount of memory in the camera. Digital cameras are measured in quality by the amount of Pixels, from web cam quality of 0.3million to the latest high quality 5.0million pixels. Sound:Loud Speakers: Are essential for listening to the output from films, games, music and other programs that produce audio sound. Microphones: are used for recording external sound onto the computer. Some internal devices may not be present in a system or can be added on upgrading. Although normally found inside a computer the following are peripheral devices

Definition: Backing storage devices are hardware that is used to store the programs and data that the computer can access. Unlike RAM (or working) memory the contents of backing storage will not be lost when power to the computer system is turned off. Backing Storage Devices There are three types of backing storage hardware we need to know about: 1. Magnetic based drives, for example:1. Hard disk 2. Floppy Disk 3. Magnetic tape 2. Optical based drives, for example:1. CD drive (ROM and RW) 2. DVD drive (RPM and RW) 3. Flash or solid state chip based drives, for example:1. USB drive 2. SD cards. Storage Media Storage Media is a term used to describe the different categories of backing storage devices on which software and data is saved. The following sections dealing with hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic tape, CD's, DVD's and flash drives are all examples of different types of backing storage media.

Magnetic Drives 1. Hard Disk

Hard drives consist of stacks of non-removable platters coated with magnetic materials each with its own read/write head as shown in the photo.

Hard disk drives are built into desktops and laptops. The capacity of a hard disk is measured in gigabytes. It holds much more data than a CD-ROM. The capacity of a CD-ROM is measured in megabytes. To find the capacity of the latest hard drive you should look in the latest computer magazines or search the internet.

Advantages of Hard disks

Large storage capacity. 1. They read and write data very quickly. 2. They can hold large quantities of data. Hard disk drives use random/direct access to locate data stored on the disk.

Movie: 15. Hard Disks and Floppy Disks

18 in Kickin Technology Series: Hard and Floppy Disks. Hard Disks the most common backing storage device - not to be confused with memory! 5. Display Screens. From Gaming to Design 2. Floppy Disk 4. Digital Still Cameras. So common they are included in phones. Floppy disks are disks of plastic coated in magnetic material and enclosed in a hard plastic case. The read/write area is covered by a sliding metal flap. Although, they used to be very common, as they were a convenient way of transporting files from one computer to another, they not much used anymore. Floppy disks are written to and read from, through the use of separate floppy disk drives. Floppy disks are less popular than they have been because :

They are easily damaged. Have a limited storage capacity in that they can only hold 1.44MB. Photos, text documents etc have become too large.

3. Zip Drive or Superdisks Are very similar to floppy disks. Again they are plastic discs coated with magnetic material. The difference between them is that zip disks can store much more. The one shown stores 100MB and you can get them up to 250MB.

12. Printers. Comparing Laser with Inkjet Printers Like Floppy disks, zip disks need a specialized zip drive to read and write to the disk. 4. Magnetic Tape Made of a long plastic strip coated with magnetic material, tape is mostly used for making backups. It can store lots of data, but this data is slower to access, because of having to wind through to the information you need slows down he access time. This makes it impractical for use as main storage One great advantage of magnetic tape is its cheapness.

Magnetic tape uses sequential or serial access to locate data stored on the tape.

What is an Operating System?

The operating system is the most important program that runs on a computer. Every general-purpose computer must have an operating system to run other programs. Operating systems perform basic tasks, such as recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen, keeping track of files and directories on the disk, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers. For large systems, the operating system has even greater responsibilities and powers. It is like a traffic cop -- it makes sure that different programs and users running at the same time do not interfere with each other. The operating system is also responsible for security, ensuring that unauthorized users do not access the system.

Operating systems can be classified as follows: multi-user : Allows two or more users to run programs at the same time. Some operating systems permit hundreds or even thousands of concurrent users. multiprocessing : Supports running a program on more than one CPU. multitasking : Allows more than one program to run concurrently. multithreading : Allows different parts of a single program to run concurrently. real time: Responds to input instantly. General-purpose operating systems, such as DOS and UNIX, are not real-time. Operating systems provide a software platform on top of which other programs, called application programs, can run. The application programs must be written to run on top of a particular operating system. Your choice of operating system, therefore, determines to a great extent the applications you can run. For PCs, the most popular operating systems are DOS, OS/2, and Windows, but others are available, such as Linux.

As a user, you normally interact with the operating system through a set of commands. For example, the DOS operating system contains commands such as COPY and RENAME for copying files and changing the names of files, respectively. The commands are accepted and executed by a part of the operating system called the command processor or command line interpreter. Graphical user interfaces allow you to enter commands by pointing and clicking at objects that appear on the screen.

Different Software Utilities

Disk Compression Utilities Disk compression tools do the job of compressing or decompressing data on the drive, so that there is more space available for additional data to be stored. Few of the most popular independent disk compression tools include DoubleDisk Gold, XtraDrive, Stacker, DiskDoubler, and SuperStor Pro.

Disk Checkers and Cleaners These helpful utilities check the hard drive for any damaged or unnecessary files, and delete them for efficient hard disk functioning. These tools are good for increasing the speed of a slow computer. Few of the most commonly used utilities are CHKDSK, Disk Checker, ADRC Hard Disk Checker, and similar ones.

System Profilers System profiles are responsible for providing the user with clear information about the applications installed and hardware devices connected to the system. Few of such good applications are CPU Speed Pro, SekChek Local, Sisoft SANDRA, Lavalys EVEREST Ultimate Edition, Belarc, HwiNFO32, etc.

Antivirus Software There are many antivirus software available for purchase in the market, and even some free versions for downloads. Some good virus removal software are Symantec Norton AntiVirus, Ad-Aware Pro, ESET NOD32, McAfee VirusScan, and Windows Live OneCare, just to name a few.

Backup Utilities As the name suggests, these data backup tools are used to copy all information and provide it when required, such as in case of disk failure or corruption. Good examples of software options are Windows Home Server Computer Backup, Norton Ghost, Backup Exec, NetBackup, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager, and EMC Legato NetWorker.

Disk Partitioning Tools These applications help the user to divide the hard drive into partitions, which can lead to effective data management. The main advantage of disk partitioning is that it prevents anyone from accidental or purposeful modification of system files. Good computer software examples can be Microsoft fdisk, Logical Disk Manager, Partition Master, and Maxblast.

Network Utilities These are minor system tools which allow the user to determine several aspects of a connected network. These simple utilities are initiated to check if the network is connected, router is working, and similar other technical details. Some simple commands to start network utilities are ping, ipconfig, traceroute, nslookup, spray, route, and so on.

These are some of the basic computer software utilities used in computing. Remember that software

utilities will only enhance the performance of a computer, and will not help you to play around with media and entertainment resources like video, PC games, songs, etc. Also note that some good and useful utilities are already available with the operating system itself.

CONTROL UNIT The

control

unit

maintains

order

within

the

computer system and directs the flow of traffic (operations) and data. The flow of control is indicated by the dotted arrows on figure 1-1. The control unit selects one program statement at a time from the program storage area, interprets the statement, and sends the appropriate electronic impulses to the arithmetic-logic unit and storage section to cause them to carry out the instruction. The control unit does not perform the actual processing operations on the data. Specifically, the control unit manages the operations of the CPU, be it a single-chip microprocessor or a fill-size mainframe. Like a traffic director, it decides when to start and stop (control and timing), what to do (program instructions), where to keep information (memory), and with what devices to communicate (I/O). It controls the flow of all data entering and leaving the computer. It accomplishes this by communicating or interfacing with the arithmetic-logic unit, memory, and I/O areas. It provides the computer with the ability to function under program control. Depending on the design of the computer, the CPU can also have the capability to function under manual control through man/machine interfacing. The control unit consists of several basic logically defined areas. These logically defined areas work closely with each other. Timing in a computer regulates the flow of signals that control the operation of the computer. The instruction and control portion makes up the decision-making and memory-type functions.

Addressing is the process of locating the operand (specific information) for a given operation. An interrupt is a break in the normal flow of operation of a computer (e.g., CTRL + ALT + DEL). Control memory is a random-access memory (RAM) consisting of addressable storage registers. Cache memory is a small, highspeed RAM buffer located between the CPU and main memory; it can increase the speed of the PC. Read-only memory (ROM) are chips with a set of software instructions supplied by the manufacturer built into them that enables the computer to perform its I/O operations. The control unit is also capable of shutting down the computer when the power supply detects abnormal conditions.

An arithmetic-logic unit (ALU) is

ARITHMETIC-LOGIC UNIT The arithmetic-logic unit (ALU) performs all arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) and logic operations. Logic operations test various conditions encountered during processing and allow for different actions to be taken based on the results. The data required to perform the arithmetic and logical functions are inputs from the designated CPU registers and operands. The ALU relies on basic items to perform its operations. These include number systems, data routing circuits (adders/subtracters), timing, instructions, operands, and registers. Figure 1-2 shows a representative block diagram of an ALU of a microcomputer. PRIMARY STORAGE (MAIN MEMORY) The primary storage section (also called internal storage, main storage, main memory, or just memory) serves four purposes: . To hold data transferred from an I/O device to the input storage area, where it remains until the computer is ready to process it. This is indicated by the solid arrow on figure 1-1. . To hold both the data being processed and the intermediate results of the arithmetic-logic operations. This is a working storage area within the storage section. It is sometimes referred to as a scratch pad memory.

. To hold the processing results in an output storage area for transfer to an I/O device. Figure 1-2. Representative block diagram of an ALU

Modem The word modem is actually short for Modulator/Demodulator. (There's something you can really impress your friends with). A modem is a communications device that can be either internal or external to your computer. It allows one computer to connect another computer and transfer data over telephone lines. The original dial-up modems are becoming obsolete because of their slow speeds and are being replaced by the much faster cable and DSL modems.