This document defines basic computer terminology including hardware, software, operating systems, and peripherals. It explains that a computer is a programmable machine that receives input, stores and manipulates data, and provides useful output. It also defines internal and external hardware devices, different types of software including system software, programming software, and application software, and describes what a website is.

1. www.techsailor.com
Engaging Your Customers Online
by Fisher Yu
Basic IT Knowledge
5 Feb 2010
Basic IT Knowledge

2. • essentially a multi-functional
calculator
• a programmable machine that
receives input
• stores and manipulates data
• provides output in a useful format
• history:
– the first electronic computers were
developed in the mid-20th century (1940–
1945). These were the size of a large room
– http://inventors.about.com/library/blcoinde
x.htm
A Computer…

3. Software:
•MS office
•IE7
•Firefox
•SQL
•IIS
•Photoshop
•etc…
OS:
•Windows XP
•Windows Vista
•Windows 7
•Mac OS
•Linux
•Unix
•Chrome OS
•etc…
Physical Devices:
Mother board, Hard disk, Ram, Processor, Speaker, Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, CD-ROM,
Power Supplier Unit & etc…
Do you know…

4. External Devices Internal Devices
Hardware

5. PC Peripherals
 Monitor
 Speaker
 Keyboard
 Mouse
 Joystick
 Printer
 Photocopier
 Scanner
 …
Network Device
 Router
 Switch
 Hub
 Modem
 Wireless adapter
 Blue-tooth
adapter
 …
Storage Device
 External HDD (Hard
Disk)
 Thumb drive ; flash
disk; SD/Mini-SD card,
Memory Stick, etc…
 External Floppy Disk
 …
* A lot of different kind of slots/ports are available on motherboard to connect those external devices
External Devices

6. Devices that bulit-on or directly plug onto motherboard, and include motherboard
 Motherboard
(also called Main board/System board)
 Power supplier unit (usually with fans)
 Processor (usually with fans)
 Ram
 Hard Disk (HDD)
 Floppy Disk
* A lot of different kind of slots are available on motherboard for the rest of the optional devices
 Modem
 CD/DVD-Rom /RW
 Graphic Card
 Network Card
 Sound Card
 …
Internal Devices

7. Peek into the PC’s motherboard
Source: http://www.obsessable.com/glossary/motherboard/

8. • An interface between
hardware and user
• A platform to install/host
applications/software
Windows XP Mac
Windows Vista Windows CE
Mac OS X Suse Linux
Windows 2000 BlackBerry
Windows Server 2003 Windows
Ubuntu Linux FreeBSD
Windows NT 4 Sun Solaris
Linux Playstation 3
Windows 98 Symbian
Windows ME Adobe AIR
Debian Linux Nintendo Wii
iPhone iPod
Windows 95 SGI Irix
OpenBSD …
Operating Systems

9. • Computer software is a general term primarily used for digitally stored data such as
computer programs and other kinds of information read and written by computers.
• Today, this includes data that has not traditionally been associated with computers, such as
film, tapes and records.
• in contrast to hardware, software is intangible, meaning it "cannot be touched
• Software is also sometimes used in a more narrow sense, meaning application software only.
Examples:
 Application software, such as word processors which perform productive tasks for users.
 Firmware, which is software programmed resident to electrically programmable memory devices on board
mainboards or other types of integrated hardware carriers.
 Middleware, which controls and co-ordinates distributed systems.
 System software such as operating systems, which govern computing resources and provide convenience for users.
 Software testing is a domain dependent of development and programming. Software testing consists of various
methods to test and declare a software product fit before it can be launched for use by either an individual or a group.
 Testware, which is an umbrella term or container term for all utilities and application software that serve in
combination for testing a software package but not necessarily may optionally contribute to operational purposes. As
such, testware is not a standing configuration but merely a working environment for application software or subsets
thereof.
 Video games (except the hardware part)
 Websites
Software
Source: http://www.wikipedia.com

10. • System software helps run the computer hardware and
computer system. It includes a combination of the following:
 device drivers
 operating systems
 servers
 utilities
 windowing systems
System Software

11. • Programming software usually provides tools to assist a
programmer in writing computer programs, and software
using different programming languages in a more convenient
way. The tools include:
 compilers
 debuggers
 interpreters
 linkers
 text editors
Programming Software

12. • Application software allows end users to accomplish one or
more specific (not directly computer development related)
tasks. Typical applications include:
 industrial automation
 business software
 video games
 quantum chemistry and solid state physics software
 telecommunications (i.e., the Internet and everything that flows on it)
 databases
 educational software
 medical software
 military software
 molecular modeling software
 image editing
 spreadsheet
 simulation software
 Word processing
 Decision making software
Application Software

13. • A collection of related web pages, images, videos or other
digital assets.
• Addressed relative to a common Uniform Resource
Locator (URL).
• Webpage
– formatting instructions of Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML, XHTML)
– accessed and transported with the Hypertext Transfer
Protocol (HTTP / HTTPS)
Website

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