CS 1010, Computer Essentials 1 Course Learning Outcomes for Unit I Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to: 1. Explain the relationship between digital basics and computer hardware. 1.1 Discuss the significance of digitization and its impact on the digital revolution in reference to data representation, processing, and security. 1.2 Describe the difference between system software, an operating system, application software, and a computer program. 1.3 Describe personal computer basics, microprocessors and memory, storage devices, input and output devices, and hardware security. Reading Assignment Chapter 1: Computer and Digital Basics Chapter 2: Computer Hardware Unit Lesson Today we live in a highly digitized society, which affects our economy, privacy, freedom and democracy, and intellectual property. The digital revolution consists of four phases, which are identified as data processing, personal computing, network computing, and cloud computing. Technology has changed as the revolution has progressed. As users, we expect information to be available 24/7, and most of the time it is just a click away. Parsons and Ajo (2014) stated that “the digital revolution is an ongoing process of social, political, and economic change brought about by digital technology, such as computers and the Internet” (p. 4). It has been said that the digital revolution actually started during World War II. The Internet was developed as a military project that society relies heavily on today. Without the Internet, where would we be today? Commercial concerns, academic entities, and research facilities rely heavily on the Internet. e-Commerce is a product of the digital revolution; some of the popular websites associated with e-commerce are Amazon and eBay. What a great way to shop by using e-commerce in the comfort of one’s own home. You do not have to go out and fight the Christmas crowds on Black Friday; you can shop Black Monday instead online. Computerized medical health records are another product of the digital revolution. Many doctors use electronic records and patients can get accounts to view their own information. Social media is another facet of the digital revolution (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Myspace). Cell phones are a product of this revolution, also. Cell phones were originally huge devices, unlike how they look today. Today cell phones have the capability of little computers. The data processing phase of the digital revolution consisted of big corporate and government computers, custom applications, Citizens Band Radio (CB) radios, Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), and arcade games. Phase two of the revolution consisted of personal computers, including small standalone computers powered by local software. Other characteristics of personal computing include desktop computers, standalone applications, dial-up Internet access, Ameri ...

1. CS 1010, Computer Essentials 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit I
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. Explain the relationship between digital basics and computer
hardware.
1.1 Discuss the significance of digitization and its impact on the
digital revolution in reference to
data representation, processing, and security.
1.2 Describe the difference between system software, an
operating system, application software,
and a computer program.
1.3 Describe personal computer basics, microprocessors and
memory, storage devices, input and
output devices, and hardware security.
Reading Assignment
Chapter 1:
Computer and Digital Basics
Chapter 2:

2. Computer Hardware
Unit Lesson
Today we live in a highly digitized society, which affects our
economy, privacy, freedom and democracy, and
intellectual property. The digital revolution consists of four
phases, which are identified as data processing,
personal computing, network computing, and cloud computing.
Technology has changed as the revolution
has progressed. As users, we expect information to be available
24/7, and most of the time it is just a click
away. Parsons and Ajo (2014) stated that “the digital revolution
is an ongoing process of social, political, and
economic change brought about by digital technology, such as
computers and the Internet” (p. 4). It has been
said that the digital revolution actually started during World
War II. The Internet was developed as a military
project that society relies heavily on today. Without the
Internet, where would we be today? Commercial
concerns, academic entities, and research facilities rely heavily
on the Internet.
e-Commerce is a product of the digital revolution; some of the
popular websites associated with e-commerce
are Amazon and eBay. What a great way to shop by using e-
commerce in the comfort of one’s own home.
You do not have to go out and fight the Christmas crowds on
Black Friday; you can shop Black Monday
instead online.
Computerized medical health records are another product of the
digital revolution. Many doctors use
electronic records and patients can get accounts to view their

3. own information. Social media is another facet
of the digital revolution (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and
Myspace). Cell phones are a product of this
revolution, also. Cell phones were originally huge devices,
unlike how they look today. Today cell phones
have the capability of little computers.
The data processing phase of the digital revolution consisted of
big corporate and government computers,
custom applications, Citizens Band Radio (CB) radios,
Advanced Research Projects Agency Network
(ARPANET), and arcade games.
Phase two of the revolution consisted of personal computers,
including small standalone computers powered
by local software. Other characteristics of personal computing
include desktop computers, standalone
applications, dial-up Internet access, America Online (AOL)
and CompuServe, and two-dimensional (2-D)
action games.
UNIT I STUDY GUIDE
Computer Basics
CS 1010, Computer Essentials 2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title

4. Phase three consisted of network computing, which is nothing
more than a group of computers networked
together sharing data and resources. Additional characteristics
of network computing included laptop
computers, monolithic software suites, cable and satellite
Internet access, the Web and virtual worlds, and
three-dimensional (3-D) multiplayer. Phase three is when the
Internet became available for public use.
Phase four is what is known as cloud computing. This last phase
includes smartphones and tablets, handheld
applications and cloud-based applications, fourth generation
(4G) and Wi-Fi (local area wireless technology)
Internet access, social media, and touchscreen microgames.
Digital devices consist of computer basics, computer types and
uses, and lastly, microcontrollers. Digital data
is represented by numbers, texts, images and sound, quantifying
bits and bytes, and circuits and chips. Digital
processing is made possible by programs and instruction sets
and processor logic (Parsons & Ajo, 2014).
Password security plays a major role in our digital society.
Authentication protocols should be utilized for a
safe computing environment and secure passwords are a key. If
a hacker cannot guess a password, there
are other means such as phishing and using keylogger software
that can be used.
Passwords should be unique and not identifiable with a user. A
common rule of thumb when creating
passwords is not to use anything that is familiar to yourself like
birthdates, addresses, phone numbers, and
things of that nature. Using the combination of letter, numbers,
and special characters is good rule of thumb

5. for the creation of passwords. The length of the password is
another consideration. The longer the password,
the more secure it is. Password theft is a serious problem and
leads to identity theft. Consider the report of
Russian hackers stealing 1.2 billion passwords in August 2014.
At the time it was reported, Hold Security
stated that this was considered the largest incident of password
theft in digital history (Money.CNN, 2014).
Personal computers and desktop computers consist of many
parts. Some of the components may include a
printer, system unit, mouse, keyboard, sound system, display
system, network and Internet access, and
storage.
There are many options to consider before purchasing a
computer of any type. Some of the considerations
include cost, type of computer, memory, processing speed, and
the list goes on. Two resources that may be
valuable, before purchasing a computer, are PCWorld and
MacWorld magazines, just to name a few. Finally,
it is important to protect your computer once you have bought
it. Anti-theft devices can be used to lock your
computer whether it is a laptop or desktop device. Protecting
your computer from power surges is another
consideration, since power surges can render a device useless. A
power strip or an uninterruptible power
source (UPS) should be used to protect your device from power
surges.
Many people have heard of, or experienced the “blue screen of
death” on their computer when their digital
display shows a blue screen with white writing indicating that
the operating system cannot recover from an
error. The blue screen of death renders a computer system non-
functional. Troubleshooting and diagnostic

6. tools can help to find what the problem is to. Repair
professionals should be used as your last resort. This
course should give you the skills you need to do some trouble-
shooting yourself.
You should perform regular maintenance on your computer,
which includes: scanning your computer for
viruses at least weekly, keeping your spyware definitions
updated, and running utilities that ensure peak
performance for your hard drive.
References
O’Toole, J., & Pagliera, J. (2014, Aug.). Russian criminals steal
1.2 billion passwords. Money.CNN. Retrieved
from
http://www.money.cnn.com/2014/08/05/technology/security/russ
ian-hackers-theft/
Parsons, J., & Oja, D. (2014). New perspectives on computer
concepts 2014, comprehensive (17th ed.).
Boston, MA: Cengage.
http://www.money.cnn.com/2014/08/05/technology/security/russ
ian-hackers-theft/

7. CS 1010, Computer Essentials 3
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Suggested Reading
Review Orientation pages (0-2 through 0-43) in your textbook.
This orientation is useful for understanding the
basic functions of your computer.
Learning Activities (Non-Graded)
Microsoft offers several featured tutorials for the Office suite
including 2007/2010/2013 Excel, Outlook,
PowerPoint, Access, and Word.
Complete at least one tutorial for any of the Microsoft Office
products located at http://office.microsoft.com/en-
us/training/. Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel are used
extensively in this course and in many
professions. Completing the tutorials for these products may be
beneficial.
Non-graded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in
their course of study. You do not have to
submit them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for
further guidance and information.

8. http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/training/
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/training/