Lecturer: Mohamud

Lecturer: Mohamud Adan Hassan

Course: Computer Application
Date: 15/11/2013

Lecturer: Mohamud

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION ABOUT
BASIC COMPUTER
CONCEPTS

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Chapter Outlines
Introduction
Definition of a computer
What does a computer do?
Physical parts of a computer
Areas where computers are used
Communications Devices
Computer Software
Networks

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Introduction
Information and communication plays an important
role in our day to days activities. It has become a
common practice to find information based
systems in banks, government agencies, and
entertainment industry and media houses. To adapt
to the ever changing technological world, one
needs to be knowledgeable and competent user of
computer based technologies. What is a Computer?

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Definition of a computer

An electronic device, operating under the control of

instructions stored in its own memory unit, that can
accept data (input), manipulate the data according
to specified rules (process), produce information
(output) from the processing, and store the results
for future use.
A computer can be defined as an electronic device
that processes a users input usually referred to as
data to a desired output, also known as information.
This is made possible by a set of instructions called
computer programs stored in a computer.
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What does a computer do?

Input
Process
Output
Storage

Processor
Control Unit/Arithmetic Logic Unit

Input
Devices

Memory

Output
Devices

Storage Devices

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Input Devices
Any hardware component that allows you to
enter data, programs, commands, and user
responses into a computer
Input Device
Examples
Keyboard
Mouse

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Output Devices
Output devices make the information resulting
from processing available for use
Output Device Examples
Printers
Impact
Nonimpact
Photo

Display

Devices

CRT
LCD
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Storage Devices
Removable
Floppy disk, or diskette
Compact Disc CD-R, CDRW, CD-ROM
DVDs DVD-ROM, DVDR, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM
Flash disk/USB drive
Non-Removable
Hard disk

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Physical parts of a computer

A desktop computer is made up of a collection
of different components that are interconnected
in order to function as a single entity. A typical
desktop computer is basically made up of a
system unit and other devices connected to the
system unit called peripheral devices. Examples
of peripheral devices include: monitor also
known as screen, keyboard and the mouse.

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Physical parts of a computer

1. System unit

This is the part that houses the brain of the

computer called the Central Processing Unit
(CPU). The system unit also houses other
devices called drives. Drives are used to store,
record and read data. They are two common
types of system units namely: Tower and
Desktop.
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Physical parts of a computer

2. Keyboard
A keyboard is the most common
peripheral device that enables a user to
enter data and instructions in a computer.
More information about keyboard is
discussed later.

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Physical parts of a computer

3. Peripheral devices
Peripheral devices are connected to the
system unit using special cables called
Interface cables that transmit data and
information to and from the devices. The
cables are attached to the system unit
through connectors called ports.

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Physical parts of a computer

4. Mouse
A mouse is a pointing device that enables the user to
execute commands. It is used to control an arrow displayed
on the screen. More about mouse is discussed later.
5. Monitor
A monitor or simply the screen is a television-like device
used for displaying information. It is called monitor
because it enables the user to monitor or see what is going
on in the computer.

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Areas where computers are used

In our day to day activities, we use computers
in almost every aspect of our lives. This is
because they are more efficient and accurate.
The following are some of the areas where
computers are used.
Supermarkets
Offices
Transport
Banks
Hospitals
Law enforcement agencies
Communication
Education
Others
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Communications Devices
A communications device is a hardware
component that enables a computer to send
(transmit) and receive data, instructions, and
information to and from one or more computers
Communications occur over transmission
media, such as telephone lines, cables, cellular
radio networks, and satellites

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COMPUTER SOFTWARE

System software consists of programs to control

the operations of computer equipment, Instructions
in the operating system tell the computer how to
perform the functions of loading, storing, and
executing an application program and how to
transfer data
When a computer is turned on, the operating
system is loaded into the computers memory from
auxiliary storage, a process called booting
Most computers use an operating system that has a
graphical user interface (GUI).
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Application Software
Word Processing
Spreadsheet
Presentation Graphics
Database
Contact Management
Utility Software anti-virus,
data backup, and file
compression

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NETWORKS
A network is a collection of computers and
devices connected together so users can share
data and resources
A local area network (LAN) connects computers
in a limited geographic area
A wide area network (WAN) covers a large
geographical area.
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Networks and the Internet

The worlds largest
network is the Internet
Most users connect to
the Internet in one of
two ways:
Internet service
provider
Online service
provider
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The World Wide Web

One of the more popular segments of the Internet
is the World Wide Web, also called the Web.
A Web page is a document that contains text,
graphics, sound, and/or video and has built-in
connections, or hyperlinks to other Web
documents.
A Web site is a related collection of Web pages
You access and view Web pages using a software
program called a Web browser.
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The World Wide Web

A Web page has a unique address, called a
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
A hyperlink is a virtual connection to another
place on the Web

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Web Browsers
Internet Explorer built into Windows
Netscape the oldest browser; an all-round
communications package for the Internet; free
at http://www.netscape.com
Opera free version available at
http://www.opera.com

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Uniform Resource Locator

(URL)

http://www.yahoo.com

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