Introduction_To_Computers[1] Essay

?

Introduction To Computers

And ProgrammingProgramming

Module: INFS 111

Lecturer: Mr Chukwuere

Due Date: 08 May 2019

Group Members: Mokoena S.M(31227546)

Paole D(29418119)

Moholo S.N(27464504) D.P

Naane O.R(29603382)

Mpiti K.I(29226198)

Nonkonyane L.H(30088593)

Olesitse M (29123143)

Nyana M(30123283)

Badala.W(32351909)

Question 1

What is the difference between information systems and information technology? (2)

Information systems have to do with the study of complementary networks of hardware and software used to collect, filter, process and describe data. (O’Leary J.2017)

Information technology, on the other hand, has to do with the study of information holistically and not only the technology involved but the people and procedures as well.

(O’Leary J.2017)

Name 5 different types of computers? (5)

Supercomputers

Mainframe computers

Midrange computers

Personal computers

Microcomputers

(O’Leary J. 2017)

What is the common type of computer? (1)

Personal computers

List 4 common categories of computer hardware? (4)

Input devices

Output devices

Storage devices

Processing devices

(O’Leary J.2017)

Define five types of specialized software? (10)

Graphics programs, widely used in graphic arts.

(O’Leary J.2017)

Web authoring programs, it is used for the creation of a website and that can be done using text editors or word processors. ( O’Leary J.2017)

Artificial intelligence attempts to develop computer systems that can mimic the human sense through process and actions. (O’Leary J.2017)

Multimedia, Integrates all sorts of media including audios, videos, graphics, animations and text into presentations. (O’Leary J.2017)

Audio and video editing, recent advancement in video and audio technology allow individuals to make professional quality audio and video footage. (O’Leary J.2017)

Define utilities (1)

According to O’Leary utilities specialized programmes designed to make computing easier.

List the five most utilities (5) (O’Leary J.2017)

Troubleshooting or diagnostic programs

Anti-virus programs

Backup programs

File compression programs

Uninstall programs

What is a utility suit? (2)

According to O’Leary utility suit contains a number of tools that repair, optimize and maintain your computer for you. It is designed to be the routine maintenance for your computer to keep it running at its peak.

Define basic software application? (2)

According to O’Leary software application is a program that makes the computer perform certain/specific tasks such as creating documents, storing data in a database, browsing the web, sending and receiving emails, etc.

List and discuss the five types of information systems? (10)(O’Leary J.2017)

People are the end users and the most important part of any information system.

Procedures are rules and guidelines for people to follow when using the software, hardware, and data. These procedures are typically documented in a manual written by computer specialists.

Software is another name for the program. Programs entail the instructions that tell computers how to process data. The purpose of the software is to convert data into information.

Hardware is the equipment that processes data to create information.

Data is the raw, unprocessed facts including texts, numbers, texts, images, and sounds.

Question 2

Explain the 2 common use of the internet? (4)(O’LearyJ.2017)

Communicating, it used to keep in touch with friends and family, meet new people.

Shopping, the cyber mall has been one of the fastest growing business for purchasing almost everything, from clothes to gadgets.

What is the difference between internet and web?(4)

According to O’Leary (2017:28), the internet is a huge physical network which consists of wires, cables, satellites, and rules for exchanging information between computers connected to the network. The web is the more visual side of the internet because it is a multimedia interface to resources on the internet e.g. graphics, sound, video and animation, these resources are identified uniform resource locators (URLs).

Explain what ISP is? (2)

It is the most common way to connect to the internet and create a pathway for individuals to be able to access or surf the internet as well. (O’Leary J.2017)

Name 2 technologies that can be used to connect to ISP(2)(O’Leary J.2017)

Wireless modems

Telephone lines

Name 4 elements of an email (4)(O’Leary J.2017)

Header

Message

Signature

Briefly discuss all components of the following

System Unit (20)

According to O’Leary J 2017 system unit contains the system’s electronic components and selected secondary storage. The main function of the computer system unite is to hold and protect all the sensitive components from the outside elements. Most computer system units on the front side contain the power button, optical disk, disk driver, audio outlet for a pair of headphones and a number of USB ports, the back accommodates all the connections for power, monitor, keyboard, mouse, Ethernet port and other outer devices

Ports, it is a socket for external devices to connect to the system unit, some parts connect directly to the board and some connect to the slots on the system board. (O’Leary J.2017)

Power supply, computers except for laptops and mobile cell phones use direct current (DC) to power their electronic components to represent data and instructions. It is mainly used to supply electrical power to every computer part. (O’Leary J.2017)

System board, this is the system core, the heart of the computer where everything is connected to it. The whole system is managed and controlled by the system board and it contains special chips where some integrated circuits are etched or inserted. (O’Leary J.2017)

Microprocessor, now this is the computer engine/the brain which is known as the central processing unit (CPU) which manages the operations of the computer. Processors contain a control unit and a logic unit. (O’Leary J.2017)

Memory, the holding area for data and information contained on the memory chip connected to the system board. There are three types of memory chips, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM) and flash memory. (O’Leary J.2017)

Bus lines, it is known for connecting the parts of the CPU to each other. A bus is a pathway for presenting data and instructions. (O’Leary J.2017)

Expansion slots, personal computers are easier to expand since the system comes with expansion slots on their system boards, ports on the card allow cables to be connected from the expansion card to devices outside the system unit. The well-known two types of cards are the graphics card and network interface card. (O’Leary J.2017)

Motherboard (20)

The motherboard also known as the system board controls all communication for the entire computer system that is according to O’Leary (2017:119). All components and devices connect to the system board. Data path and traffic monitor allow various components to communicate efficiently with one another. The motherboard contains a number of different electronic components and sockets to connect chips.

Chips, tiny circuit boards etched onto squares of silicon, also called silicon chip, semiconductor or integrated circuit. It is mounted on chip carriers.

Slots, they provide a connection point for specialized cards on the circuit board. These cards provide expansion capability for a computer system, for example, a wireless networking card plugged into a slot on the system board to provide a connection to a local area network.

Bus, a circuit that connects different parts of the motherboard to one another. The more data a bus can handle at one time, the faster it allows information to travel, this is according to Wilson (2005).

Port, it is defined as a socket for external devices to connect to the system unit. Some parts connect directly to the system board, while others connect to cards that are inserted into slots on the system board, according to O’Leary J (2017:125). Ports consist of standard ports (USB ports, HDMI ports, Thunderbolt ports & Ethernet ports) and specialized ports (eSATA ports, MIDI ports, MiniDP/MDP ports, VGA & DVI ports and FireWire ports).

A microprocessor is the computer engine/the brain which is known as the central processing unit (CPU) which manages the operations of the computer. Processors contain a control unit and arithmetic-logic-unit. The control unit basically tells the rest of the computer system how to carry out a program’s instruction, whilst the arithmetic-logic-unit performs the logical and arithmetic operations.

Memory, there are 3 types of memory chips, namely Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM) and the Flash Memory. RAM chips hold the program and data that the CPU is presently processing. RAM has volatile & temporary storage because everything is lost as soon as the computer is turned off. ROM chips have information stored by the manufacturer. ROM chips are not volatile and cannot be changed by the user. Flash memory is a combination of both RAM and ROM. O’Leary (2017:122).

Reference List

O’Leary, J.T, O’Leary, I.L and O’Leary, A.D. 2017.Computer essentials. new york: mcgrew hill education.

Date accessed: 03 May 2019.

  Date accessed: 03 May 2019.

Date accessed: 04 May 2019.

  Date accessed: 04 May 2019.

Date accessed: 04 May 2019.