Computer Basics Business Technology Applications Mrs. Fillmore.

Computer Basics

Business Technology ApplicationsMrs. Fillmore

Computer Basics Outline Hardware Software Microsoft Windows Desktop Window Elements

Hardware Hardware – The group of parts that

make up the computer system. Hardware can be seen and touched.

Computer – An electronic device that performs complex tasks at high speed and with great accuracy. There are two main parts of a computer – the processor and the memory.

(CPU = Central Processing

Unit) – The part of the computer that processes the instructions in the memory.

RAM (RAM = Random Access Memory) – The area of the computer that holds the instructions (programs ) and information you give it. When you turn the computer off, everything in RAM disappears.

RAM (Random Access Memory) The computers in our lab have 256

Mega Bytes (MB) of RAM.

ROM (Read Only Memory) – A chip

that holds information that cannot be changed.

Keyboard – A device used to enter data and issue commands to the computer.

Mouse – A small, hand-held device used to control the pointer on the screen.

Monitors

A screen that displays the information in the computer.

Standard VGA (15”, 17”, 19”, 21”) – looks and works much like a television.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) – Liquid behind a flexible panel. Very high resolution.

Printers

Laser Printer – Works much like a copy machine. Uses dry toner powder and a metal drum that is heated to “stick” the toner on the page. High resolution and very efficient. Color is still very expensive!

A device that makes a hard copy of data in the computer.

Printers

Ink Jet – Uses liquid ink. Cheap color. Slow and not as efficient.

Printers All-in-One – Printer, Copier, FAX,

Scanner

Desktop Computers The computers in our lab are

Desktop Computers.

Other Types of Computers(Portable) Notebooks Tablet

Other Types of Computers(Portable) PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)

Other Types of Computers (Portable) Smart Phone

Palm® Treo™ 680 smartphone. It's your

phone along with email, messaging, and web

access3. Not to mention your contacts,

calendar, photos, and songs.

Other Common Hardware(Peripherals) Modem – Used to connect to the

Internet via a phone line. Network Interface Card (NIC) –

Used to connect to a network of other computers to share resources.

Other Common Hardware(Peripherals) Digital Camera Digital Camcorder USB Drive (Flash Drive) Webcam

Other Common Hardware(Peripherals) CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only

Memory) CD-RW (Compact Disk –

Rewriteable) DVD-ROM (Digital Video Disk-Read

Only Memory DVD-RW (Digital Video Disk-

Rewriteable)

Compact Disk CD holds 700 MB (Mega Bytes) CD/RW DVD

Hard Drive A large capacity storage area that offers

fast access to store and retrieve information.

The computers in our lab have a 20 Giga Byte to 70 Giga Byte hard drive.(or somewhere inBetween)

Software Software – Instructions that tell

your computer how to perform a task. Software is stored on disks in program files. Software cannot be seen or touched.

Software Application Software – Programs System Software - Windows

Application Software Software that does a specific task,

such as word processing. Examples that we will use in class: Microsoft Word Microsoft Excel Microsoft PowerPoint Internet Explorer

Microsoft Excel.lnk

Microsoft Word.lnk

Microsoft PowerPoint.lnk

Shortcut to Internet Explorer.lnk

System Software Software that runs the system. Example:

Microsoft Windows XP

What is Windows? Microsoft Windows XP is an

operating system that uses a graphics environment to connect you to the computer system’s hardware and software in an easy-to-understand, intuitive way. Microsoft Windows also offers many useful programs

Graphical User Interface (GUI)

A phrase that is commonly used to describe Microsoft Windows and other similar programs that use pictures to help you communicate with the computer.

The Windows XP operating system is called a graphical user interface (GUI) because it has pictures that you use to communicate with the computer.

What Does Windows Do? Multimedia – The combination of

many various communication methods, including text, graphics, sound, animation and video.

Networking – Two or more computers that are linked together to share programs, the Internet, data, and certain hardware components, such as a printer.

What Does Windows Do?

Multitasking – The ability of an operating system to run more than one program at one time.

Desktop

Simple opening screen in Windows XP that contains a few objects, the Start button, and a taskbar.

The Windows Desktop Start button – The button located

at the left end of the taskbar that is labeled Start. You click the Start button to open the Start menu from which you can open other menus and launch programs.

Taskbar – The bar on the desktop that lets you quickly start programs and easily switch between tasks.

The Windows Desktop Shortcut – An icon containing a

direct route to a specific object and displaying a small jump-arrow in the lower-left corner. Double-click a shortcut to quickly open the file or program it represents. You can customize your desktop by creating shortcuts for the programs you use most often.

Outlook Express.lnkMicrosoft Word.lnk

Window Elements Window – The rectangular work

area for a task, folder, program, or document.

Minimize button – A button located at the right side of the title bar that you can click to reduce a window to a task button on the taskbar.

Windows Elements Maximize button – The button in

the middle of the three buttons located at the right end of the title bar; it enlarges a window to its greatest possible size. When you maximize a window, the Maximize button is replaced by the Restore button.

Window Elements Restore button – The button in the

middle of the three buttons located at the right end of the title bar on a maximized window; it returns a maximized window to its previous size. When you restore a maximized window, the Restore button is replaced by the Maximize button.

Window Elements Close button – A button located

at the right end of the title bar that you click to close a window.

Window Elements Title bar – The horizontal bar at the top

of a window that holds the window’s name. (White letters on a blue background)

Menu bar – The bar located under the title bar that lists the available menus.

Workspace – The inner part of the window where the work in a program or document is carried out. (white space)

Binary Code

Language of (0 and1) that all machines use.

Byte

Basic unit of information in computer storage and processing. A byte consists of 8 adjacent binary digits (bits), each of which consists of a 0 or 1. The string of bits making up a byte is processed as a unit by a computer; bytes are the smallest operable units of storage in computer technology.

Byte (cont.)

A byte can represent the equivalent of a single character, such as the letter B, a comma, or a percent sign; or it can represent a number from 0 to 255.

Bits & Bytes 0 or 1—One bit 01010101—One byte (smallest

unit of storage) 1,000 bytes—One kilobyte 1,000,000 bytes—One megabyte 1 billion bytes—One gigabyte 1 trillion bytes—One terabyte

Bits & Bytes Floppy—1.44 megabytes CD—700 megabytes (486 floppy

disks) Flash Drive—2 gigabytes (2.9 CD’s) DVD—4.7 gigabytes (2.35 flash

drives) Hard Drive—80 gigabytes (17

DVD’s)