2. What is a Computer? A computer is an electronic device that helps people perform different tasks. Computers range in size, type, shape and ability.
3. Where can we find computers? Cash registers Gas pumps Cameras Cars Stereos Toys Etc.
4. Four types of Computers There are many different types of computers to meet our different needs. They are of different sizes, with different capabilities, for different purposes. Some are portable for ease of travel, while others are large enough to handle great amount of data and information. 1. Microcomputer 2. Mini Computers 3. Mainframe Computers 4. Supercomputers
5. MICROCOMPUTERS First appeared in late 1970s. Designed for individual use Used for word processing, accounting, desktop publishing, running spreadsheets and database management applications Entertainment Apple II introduced in 1977 by Apple Computer was one of the first and most popular PC. In 1981, IBM PC introduced by IBM became the most popular computer choice of consumers.
7. 2 Classifications of Microcomputers 1. Personal Computer or PC Popular because it is powerful, affordable and easy to use. Different sizes and design - Mini tower - Desktop - iMac 2. Portable Computer Laptops, notebooks, sub-notebooks, tablet and personal digital assistants (PDA) Small and can operate in batteries
11. Portable Computers - Uses a flat-panel display technology to produce lightweight and non-bulky display screen Laptop/Notebook Small and portable computer Sub-notebook Slightly lighter and smaller than a notebook Smaller keyboard and screen Equivalent in capacity
13. Portable Computers PDA or Personal Digital Assistant Handheld device that combines computing, telephone/fax and networking features Typical PDA can function as a cellphone, fax sender and personal organizer Most PDAs began as pen-based, using a stylus rather than a keyboard for input Used handwriting and voice recognition features Modern PDAs used stylus or keyboard version
15. Portable Computers Tablet PC Provides full power and functionality of today’s notebook PCs Lightweight and long life battery Use digital ink which allows the user to write a note on the screen in freehand Alan Kay of Xerox contributes the idea of tablet in 1971 Newton of Apple Computer was the first widely-sold tablet computer
17. MINICOMPUTERS Midsized computer Lies between workstation and mainframe in terms of size and power Capable of multi-processing, supporting from 4 to 200 users simultaneously Ex. IBM’s AS/400e
19. MAINFRAME COMPUTER Very large and expensive computer Capable of supporting hundreds or even thousands of users simultaneously In some ways, mainframes are more powerful than supercomputers because it can support more simultaneous programs but supercomputers can execute faster than a mainframe Ex. IBM 3090, Amdahl 5890
21. SUPERCOMPUTERS Fastest type of computer Very expensive and are used for specialized applications that require immense amounts of mathematical calculations (weather forecasting, animated graphics, fluid dynamic calculations, nuclear energy research and petroleum exploration)
22. Top 5: Cray XT4 Jaguar Speed: 205 teraflops/sec (trillion) Runs on LINUX, AMD x86_64 Opteron Dual Core 2600 MHz processor The unit is stored at DOEs Oak Ridge National Laboratory and is the primary system in the National Leadership Computing Facilitation.
23. Top 4: Sun SunBlade x6420 Ranger Cr Speed: 326 teraflops/sec (trillion) Runs on Linux and has a AMDx86_64 Opteron Quad Core 2000Mhz of processing power house at the Texas Advanced Computing Center at the University of Texas Austin Used in science research
24. Top 3: IBM BlueGene/P Speed: 450.3 teraflops/sec (trillion) stored at the DOEs Argonne National Laboratory operating system is CNK/SLES helpful for the science based research
36. 3 Fundamental Elements of a Computer Work like a team to complete tasks 1. System Unit 2. Output Devices 3. Input Devices
37. System Unit The core of a computer responsible for processing and storing data and controls all computer functions It is where data are processed into information It works with peripheral devices
38. System Unit System Case – a plastic and metal box that houses components such as the motherboard, disk drives, power supply and etc. System Case Types 1. Desktop – designed to sit horizontally 2. Tower – designed to sit vertically a. Full-tower case - used for PC servers - requires extra space for additional hard disks, interface cards and redundant power supply b. Midi-tower case - usually used for high-end user PCs -require extra devices and interface cards but not as many as a server c. Mini-tower case - used for office or home PCs - where additional internal devices and interface cards are limited
40. Storage Devices (Memory) : 2 types of memory - Main / Primary - Secondary Main / Primary / RAM Closely connected to the processor Quickly and easily change, volatile Holds the programs and data that the processor is actively working with Interacts with the processor millions of times per second Types of RAM 1. Dynamic RAM (DRAM) – constantly refreshed by the CPU or it will lose its contents 2. Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) – synchronous by the system clock and is much faster than DRAM 3. Static RAM (SRAM) – faster than any DRAM and will retain its contents w/o having to be refreshed by the CPU 4. Rambus DRAM – faster and more expensive than SDRAM and is the type of memory used with Intel’s P4 chip
43. Ex. Floppy disk ZIP Disk SuperDisks HiFD Disk Flash Disk Memory Card Hard disk Optical disk Magnetic tape Secondary Slow compared to main memory Used for long-term storage of programs and data, non-volatile
44. Secondary Storage 1. Floppy Disk (1.44 MB) –also called as diskette or disk, is a removable flat piece of mylar plastic package in a 3.5-inch plastic case. 8“ floppy disk (large floppy) 5 ¼“ floppy disk (minifloppy) 31/2” floppy disk (micro floppy) 2. ZIP Disk (100 to 250 MB) – special disks that uses their own ZIP disk drive. 3. SuperDisks (120 MB) – uses a SuperDisk Drive and can also read standard 1.44 MB floppy disk, which a ZIP drive cannot do. 4. HiFD Disk (200 MB) – uses a HiFD drive and can also read standard 1.44 MB floppy disk. 5. Flash Disk (128 MB to 16GB) – uses the USB 6. Memory Card (16 MB – 2GB) – used in cameras, cellphones
48. Hard Disk are made up of thin but rigid metal platters covered with a substance that allows data to be held in the form of magnetized spots. Nonremovable hard disk – also known as fixed disk, is housed in a microcomputer system unit and is used to store nearly all programs and most data files. Removable hard disk – or hard disk cartridges, consist of one or two platters enclosed along with read/write heads in a hard plastic case, which is inserted into a microcomputer’s cartridge drive
50. Optical Disk A removable disk, usually 4.75” in diameter and less than 1/20 of an inch thick, on which data is written and read through the use of laser beams. Compact Disk Read Only Memory (CD-ROM) –can hold up to 650 MB of 300,000 pages of text Compact Disk-recordable (CD-R) – can be written to only once but can be read many times Compact Disk-rewritable (CD-RW) – also known as erasable optical disk Digital Versatile disk or digital video disk, with read only memory (DVD-ROM) – a CD-style disk with extremely high capacity, able to store 4.7 – 17 GB Universal Media Disk (UMD) – The disc is only two and a half inches wide and weighs only .35 ounces but it still has plenty of space for material with its 1.8 gigabyte capacity.
52. Magnetic Tape A thin plastic tape made up of mylar film coated with iron oxide that can be magnetized.
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54. Other Memories used in the computer Read Only Memory Basic Input Output System (ROM BIOS) A chip that provides the industry's standard program code that operates the fundamental components of the PC The routines that allow the setup configuration of a PC The Power-on Self Test (POST) diagnostic tests for the PC Complimentary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor Random Access memory Stores the configuration of the PC (password, disk types, amount of memory installed, current time and date). This prevents the need for reconfiguration when powering on a PC
