Introduction to personal computers heathkit pdf

In navigation and locating of positions by the use of GPS fire control system. Computer is used in the medical centre for: a. Patient diagnosis: This is achieved by the help of medical expert systems b. For analysing the result of test such as ECG scanning in the medical laboratory.

For keeping patients database: for record retrieving purposes. As operation aids. In drug monitoring and inventory keeping. Computer is used in the industries for the following: a. In control rooms: For monitoring of production machineries and their control. Computer integrated manufacturing: Data-driven automation that affects all system within a manufacturing environment design and development, production, marketing and sales, and support and service.

Basic manufacturing functions as well as materials: Handling and inventory control can also be simulated by computer CIM before the system is built in an attempt to eliminate wastage. In production forecasting: By the use of linear programming production can be forecast and optimise. Robots are use in situations that are dangerous to human beings. These components include input devices, output devices, a system unit, storage devices, and communications devices.

And also the invisible parts that control the workability of the computer system. They are interconnected with cables of various shapes and sizes to facilitate data flow. An example of a piece of hardware is the system unit i. Five widely used input devices are the keyboard, mouse, microphone, scanner, and Web cam. A computer keyboard contains keys you press to enter data into the computer. For security purposes, some keyboards include a fingerprint reader, which allows you to work with the computer only if your fingerprint is recognized.

With the mouse, you control movement of a small symbol on the screen, called the pointer, and you make selections from the screen. A microphone allows you to speak into the computer. A scanner converts printed material such as text and pictures into a form the computer can use.

A Web cam is a digital video camera that allows you to create movies or take pictures and store them on the computer instead of on tape or film. Three commonly used output devices are a printer, a monitor, and speakers. A printer produces text and graphics on a physical medium such as paper. A monitor displays text, graphics, and videos on a screen. Speakers allow you to hear music, voice, and other audio sounds.

The circuitry of the system unit usually is part of or is connected to a circuit board called the motherboard. Two main components on the motherboard are the processor and memory.

The processor also called a CPU central processing unit is the electronic component that interprets and carries out the basic instructions that operate the computer. Memory consists of electronic components that store instructions waiting to be executed and data needed by those instructions. Although some forms of memory are permanent, most memory keeps data and instructions temporarily, which mean its contents, are erased when the computer is shut off.

For example, computers can store hundreds of millions of customer names and addresses. Storage holds these items permanently. A computer keeps data, instructions, and information on storage media. Examples of storage media are USB flash drives, hard disks, optical discs, and memory cards. Storage devices often function as a source of input because they transfer items from storage to memory. A USB flash drive is a portable storage device that is small and lightweight enough to be transported on a keychain or in a pocket.

The average USB flash drive can hold about 4 billion characters. You plug a USB flash drive in a special, easily accessible opening on the computer.

A hard disk provides much greater storage capacity than a USB flash drive. The average hard disk can hold more than billion characters. Hard disks are enclosed in an airtight, sealed case. Although some are portable, most are housed inside the system unit. An external hard disk is a separate, freestanding unit, whereas you insert and remove a removable hard disk from the computer or a device connected to the computer.

An optical disc is a flat, round, portable metal disc with a plastic coating. A CD can hold from million to 1 billion characters. Some DVDs can store two full-length movies or 17 billion characters. Blu-ray Discs can store about 46 hours of standard video, or billion characters.

Some mobile devices, such as digital cameras, use memory cards as the storage media. Widely used communications devices modem and NIC. Communications occur over cables, telephone lines, cellular radio networks, satellites, and other transmission media. Some transmission media, such as satellites and cellular radio networks, are wireless, which means they have no physical lines or wires. Due to rapidly changing technology, however, the distinction among categories is not always clear-cut. This trend of computers and devices with technologies that overlap, called convergence, leads to computer manufacturers continually releasing newer models that include similar functionality and features.

For example, newer cell phones often include media player, camera, and Web browsing capabilities. As devices converge, users need fewer devices for the functionality that they require. When consumers replace out dated computers and devices, they should dispose of them properly.

A personal computer contains a processor, memory, and one or more input, output, and storage devices. Personal computers also often contain a communications device. Two popular architectures of personal computers are the Desktop Computers and the Mobile Computers. In many models, the system unit is a tall and narrow tower, which can sit on the floor vertically — if desktop space is limited. Some desktop computers function as a server on a network.

Others, such as a gaming desktop computer and home theatre PC, target a specific audience. The gaming desktop computer offers high-quality audio, video, and graphics with optimal performance for sophisticated single-user and networked or Internet multiplayer games.

These high-end computers cost more than the basic desktop computer. Another expensive, powerful desktop computer is the workstation, which is geared for work that requires intense calculations and graphics capabilities.

An architect uses a workstation to design buildings and homes. A graphic artist uses a workstation to create computer-animated special effects for full-length motion pictures and video games.

Similarly, a mobile device is a computing device small enough to hold in your hand. The most popular type of mobile computer is the Notebook computer. The following sections discuss the notebook computer and widely used mobile devices.

Notebook Computers Laptop A notebook computer, also called a laptop computer, is a portable, personal computer often designed to fit on your lap.

Notebook computers are thin and lightweight, yet they can be as powerful as the average desktop computer. A netbook, which is a type of notebook computer, is smaller, lighter than and often not as powerful as a traditional notebook computer. Most netbooks cost less than traditional notebook computers, usually only a few hundred dollars. An ultra-thin is another type of notebook computer that is lightweight and usually less than one-inch thick. Some notebook computers have touch screens, allowing you to interact with the device by touching the screen, usually with the tip of a finger.

On a typical notebook computer, the keyboard is on top of the system unit, and the monitor attaches to the system unit with hinges. These computers weigh on average from 2. Most notebook computers can operate on batteries or a power supply or both. A digital pen looks like a small ink pen but uses pressure instead of ink. Users write or draw on a Tablet PC by pressing a finger or digital pen on the screen, and issue instructions by tapping on the screen.

One design of Tablet PC, called a convertible tablet, has an attached keyboard. Another design, which does not include a keyboard, is called a slate tablet and provides other means for typing. Some Tablet PCs also support voice input so that users can speak into the computer. Tablet PCs are useful especially for taking notes in lectures, at meetings, conferences, and other forums where the standard notebook computer is not practical.

Instead, these devices store programs and data permanently on special memory inside the system unit or on small storage media such as memory cards. You often can connect a mobile device to a personal computer to exchange information between the computer and the mobile device. Some mobile devices are Internet-enabled, meaning they can connect to the Internet wirelessly.

With an Internet-enabled device, users can chat, send e- mail and instant messages, and access the Web. Because of their reduced size, the screens on mobile devices are small, but usually are in colour.

Popular types of mobile devices are smartphones and PDAs, e-book readers, handheld computers, portable media players, and digital cameras. Smart Phones and PDAs Offering the convenience of one-handed operation, a smart phone is an Internet enabled phone that usually also provides personal information management functions such as a calendar, an appointment book, an address book, a calculator, and a notepad.

In addition to basic phone capabilities, a smart phone allows you to send and receive e-mail messages and access the Web usually for an additional fee. Some smart phones communicate wirelessly with other devices or computers. Many also function as a portable media player and include built-in digital cameras so that you can share photos or videos with others as soon as you capture the image.

Many smart phones also offer a variety of application software such as word processing, spreadsheet, and games, and the capability of conducting live video conferences. Others have a built-in mini keyboard on the front of the phone or a keyboard that slides in and out from behind the phone.

Some have touch screens, where you press objects on the screen to make selections and enter text through an on-screen keyboard. Others include a stylus, which is similar to a digital pen but smaller and has less functionality.

Types of messages users send with smart phones include text messages, instant messages, picture messages, and video messages. A phone that can send picture messages often is called a camera phone. A phone that can send video messages often is called a video phone. A PDA personal digital assistant , which often looks like a smart phone, provides personal information management functions such as a calendar, an appointment book, an address book, a calculator, and a notepad.

A PDA differs from a smart phone in that it usually does not provide phone capabilities and may not be Internet-enabled, support voice input, have a built-in camera, or function as a portable media player. As smart phones and PDAs continue a trend of convergence, it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate between the two devices.

This has led some manufacturers to refer to PDAs and smart phones simply as handhelds. E-Book Readers An e-book reader short for electronic book reader , or e-reader, is a handheld device that is used primarily for reading e-books. In addition to books, users typically can purchase and read other forms of digital media such as newspapers and magazines. Most e-book readers have a touch screen and are Internet-enabled.

These devices usually are smaller than tablet computers but larger than smart phones. Many handheld computers communicate wirelessly with other devices or computers and also include a digital pen or stylus for input.

Some handheld computers have miniature or specialized keyboards. Many handheld computers are industry-specific and serve the needs of mobile employees, such as meter readers and parcel delivery people, whose jobs require them to move from place to place. Game Consoles A game console is a mobile computing device designed for single-player or multi-player video games.

Weighing on average between two and nine pounds, the compact size of game consoles makes them easy to use at home, in the car, in a hotel, or any location that has an electrical outlet. A handheld game console is small enough to fit in one hand, making it more portable than the standard game console. With the handheld game console, the controls screen, and speakers are built into the device.

Because of their reduced size, the screens are small — three to four inches. Some models use cartridges to store games; others use a memory card or a miniature optical disc.

Many handheld game consoles can communicate wirelessly with other similar consoles for multiplayer gaming. Servers can support from two to several thousand connected computers at the same time. In many cases, one server accesses data, information, and programs on another server. In other cases, people use personal computers or terminals to access data, information, and programs on a server.

A terminal is a device with a monitor, keyboard, and memory. Mainframes store tremendous amounts of data, instructions, and information. Most major corporations use mainframes for business activities.

With mainframes, enterprises are able to bill millions of customers, prepare payroll for thousands of employees, and manage thousands of items in inventory.

One study reported that mainframes process more than 83 percent of transactions around the world. Mainframes also can act as servers in a network environment. Servers and other mainframes can access data and information from a mainframe. People also can access programs on the mainframe using terminals or personal computers.

The fastest supercomputers are capable of processing more than one quadrillion instructions in a single second. With weights that exceed tons, these computers can store more than 20, times the data and information of an average desktop computer. Applications requiring complex, sophisticated mathematical calculations use supercomputers. Large-scale simulations and applications in medicine, aerospace, automotive design, online banking, weather forecasting, nuclear energy research, and petroleum exploration use a supercomputer.

Embedded computers are everywhere — at home, in your car, and at work. The following list identifies a variety of everyday products that contain embedded computers. Because embedded computers are components in larger products, they usually are small and have limited hardware. These computers perform various functions, depending on the requirements of the product in which they reside. Embedded computers in printers, for example, monitor the amount of paper in the tray; check the ink or toner level, signal if a paper jam has occurred, and so on.

Any part that we can see or touch is the hard ware. Display Unit, printer etc. So, what else is required? It requires a set of instructions that tells the computer what is to be done with the input data. In computer terminology, this set of instructions is called a program and one or more programs are termed as software. Software used for computers may be of different types.

Peterson MD. Krompier Esq. PDF Dr. O Rourke. Financepro Read online - by Brad Klontz. PDF Handmade for Profit! Anita Feldman. PDF Service America! PDF Smile! New EPUB - by. The computer storage devices are divided into two; Primary storage and Secondary storage.

The main primary storage device used in a computer is the RAM or what is commonly known as memory. Primary storage stores data temporarily. The secondary storage is used to store data permanently.

It can either be internal or external. These are some examples of secondary storage devices. The hard disk holds information permanently ready to produce it when needed, after one day, one year or for any period of time. The information could be filing names and addresses in a database, pictures, music, videos, digital books, software, among others.

There is no point of processing or storing information unless it can be accessed again, and that is where storage devices come in handy.

This is a portable storage device that comes in a small and compact size. It connects to a computer via the USB ports. Flash disk drives are an easy way to store and transfer data between computers and they range in different sizes. Output devices give us an output of what has been processed and as we say, information in, information out.

This could be the printing of a list of names from the database or displaying the picture on a web page. They include: —. Most computer systems will come with internal speakers which are not that powerful. If you want a great sound, surround sound, fuller bass, or just a better quality of audio, you better buy external computer speakers. Also known as earphones, they allow you to listen to audio in private without other people snooping into what you are listening to.

You will also not disrupt other people in the vicinity. They connect via the computer line out, or to the speakers. A projector is an output device which projects computer images onto a wall or screen.

Projectors are typically used for presentations, watching movies, or as a teaching aid, as their output area is wider for entire roomful of people to see images generated by a single computer with much ease.