Learnings of the Week (betinol)

The things that I have learned are listed below:

Computer, is a an electronic device (digital device) which is capable of doing many task such as computing and graphing equations (specially those hard ones), researching informations, e-mails sending messages and many more. It is seen everywhere in malls (counter), banks (counter), etc. because of its great usage and at the same time its handy.

The 3 fundamental elements of computer are:
1) System unit. It is the known as the core of the computer because it is the very important part, it consist of the important parts like the motherboard etc., it controls all the function of the of the computer.The system unit is a case that contains electronic components of the computer used to process data. On desktop personal computer, most storage devices also are part of the system unit. On notebook computer, the keyboard and pointing device often occupy the area on top of the system unit, and the display attaches to the system unit by hinges. on mobile computers, the display often is built into the system unit.

The sizes
;Desktop case- it is designed horizontally, it is wider than it's long.
;Tower case- designed to sit vertically, it is higher than it's wide.
kinds
-full tower case used for pc servers
-midi tower case used for high end pc users.
-mini tower case usually used in home and offices.

ITS parts
Cover - the case has a cover which is removed by either undoing the screws at the back, or pressing together clips that release it.
Front Panel - Provides access to the floppy and CD, a power on/off switch, a reset switch, and LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) to indicate drive operation. The front cover can be removed but may require the case cover to be removed first in order to access the screws or clips that secure it.
Rear Panel - has slots through which the interface card connectors appears. These slots should either be removed by an interface card or a metal strip known as the blanking plate.

What's inside it??
The Motherboard
It is the most important component of a computer. All of the other computer components were connected to the motherboard. The motherboard is the largest board of the computer. The motherboard contains the CPU, BIOS, memory, mass storage interfaces, serial and parallel ports, expansion slots and all the controllers required to control standard peripheral devices such as the display screen, keyboard and disk drive. All the chips that reside on the motherboard are known as the motherboard's chipset.
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
The CPU is the "brain" of a computer. It is a device that interprets and executes the instructions. Today's single - chip central processing units that are called the microprocessor, make the personal computers and workstations possible. The CPU has the ability to fetch, decode, and execute instructions and transfer information to and from other resources over computer's main data-transfer path called the bus.
Clock
The system clock synchronizes the operation of all parts of the PC, and provides the basic timing signal for the CPU. The clock consists of a click generator that sets up a timing signal, and the clock multipliers that take the timing signal produced by the generator and apply a miultiplication factor to produce different timing signals for various components.
Memory
The memory in a computer system is of two fundamental types: the Main Memory and the Secondary Memory.
The Main Memory is very closely connected to the processor, its contents are quickly and easily changed, it holds the programs and data that the processor is actively working with and it interacts with the processor millions of times per second. Main memory is where programs and data kept when the processor is actively using them. When programs and data are active, they are copied from the secondary memory into main memory where the processor can interact with them. A copy remain in secondary memory. Main memory is intimately connected to the processor, so moving instructions from the program and data into and out the processor is very fast. Main memory is sometimes called RAM(Random Access Memory) means that the memory cells can be accessed in any order. One megabyte of a memory is enough to hold approximately one million characters of a word processing document. Nothing permanent is kept in main memory.
The Secondary Memory is connected to the main memory through the bus and a controller, its contents are easily changed but this is very slow comparec to the main memory, it is used for long-term storge of data and programs and the processor omly occasionally interacts with the secondary memory. Secondary memory is where programs and data are kept on a long-term basis. The common secondary storage devices are the floppy disk (diskette) and hard disks and the compact disks or CD.
Expansion Slots
These are located on the back of the computer. They provide access to the AGP, PCI and ISA expansion slots. Cards plug into these slots to add more devices for your computer.
Internal Modem
A modem that resides on an expansion board. In order to connect to the Internet you need some form of Modem (Modulator/ Demodulator). Omputers are digital machines in that the information is represented by codes of small currents. Standard telephone lines however, are analogue devices in that the information is directly represented by analogue waves. That's why we need Modems to convert (modulate) the digital code into analogue waves and convert them back into digital (demodulate) at the other end.
Power Supply
It supplies the fuel (power), for the computer. It supplies power to the motherboard, the drives, and also, normally, contains a fan that helps assist in task of cooling the computer. Power supplies come in variety of voltages. 200 watt and 250 watt, are probably the most commonly used power supplies.
2.) Output Devices
Output Devices
Output devices are things we use to get information OUT of a computer.
Here are some examples of output devices.
Monitor - A monitor is the screen on which words, numbers, and graphics can be seem. The monitor is the most common output device.
Compact Disk - Some compact disks can be used to put information on. This is called burning information to a CD. NOTE: A CD can also be an input device.
Printer - A printer prints whatever is on the monitor onto paper. Printers can print words, numbers, or pictures.
Speaker - A speaker gives you sound output from your computer. Some speakers are built into the computer and some are separate.
Disk Drives - A disk drive is used to record information from the computer onto a floppy disk or CD.
Floppy Disk - A floppy disk is used to record information on. The information is stored on the floppy disk and can be used later or used on another computer.
Headphones - Headphones give sound output from the computer. They are similar to speakers, except they are worn on the ears so only one person can hear the output at a time.
3.) Input Devices
It is any peripheral appliances that gererates input for the computer and allows users to enter information into the computer to be processed. Input devices allows users to provide a computer with commans, software, instructions and informations. Input devices are the pathways through which information enters a computer's system unit. Some examples of input devices are: Keyboard that the set of typewriter like keys that enables you to enter data into your computer, the mouse - , the mouse is a device that controls the movement of the cursor or pointer on the display screen , a microphone that allows the computer to receive and record sound, a scanner that takes in an optical image and digitalizes it into an electronic image represented by a binary data, a digital camera that takes pictures without film and stores your snapshots as digital files in its memory or on a diskette, a graphic tablet that creates drawings on a tablet and stored as mathematical line segment and the joy stick that a device consisting of a hand held stick that pivots about one end and transmits its angle in two dimensions to a computer that often used to control games, .
FIVE ELEMENTS OF COMPUTING PROCESS
1.) Hardware
2.) Software - also known as program that is the instruction that tell the hardware what to do
3.) Data - is the raw facts the computer can change into useful information
4.) People - most of the computer need people to operate and it is also called as the end users
5.) Procedures - are the steps or directions that the end user needs to follow in order to complete a certain task