Computer Knowledge – Basic General Computer

Awareness
June 5, 2020 By Vignesh

Read the article on Basic Computer Knowledge given below. Make points on

Computer general knowledge while reading which will help for a better score in exams.
We provide you with the details of computer knowledge that they are asking in all
competitive exams. We provided with the details about the Computer generations,
Memory details, Software Details and Input and Output Details in Detailed Method to
understand more on computer knowledge.

Computer Knowledge:

What is a Computer?

Computer: A Computer is a General-purpose machine, commonly consisting of digital

circuitry, that accepts (inputs), stores, manipulates, and generates (outputs) data as
numbers, text, graphics, voice, video files, or electrical signals, in accordance with
instructions called a program.
 Father of the computer – Charles Babbage.
 Father of the modern computer – Alan Turing.
 Basic Architecture of Computer: John Von Neumann (1947-49).
 First Programmer: Lady Ada Lovelace (1880).
 First Electronic Computer: ENIAC (1946) – J.P. Eckert & J.W. Mauchly.
 The first computer for the home user introduced – IBM in 1981.

Full form of Computer:

 C – Commonly
 O – Operated
 M – Machine
 P – Particularly
 U – Used for
 T – Technical
 E-Education
 R – Research

Characteristics of Computer

 Speed
 Accuracy
 Storage
 Diligence
 Versatility
 Automation

Computer – An Introduction

 A computer is a device that can receive process and store data.

 However, all computers have several parts in common:
 Input devices allow data and commands to the computer (Mouse, Keyboard etc.)
 Memory for storing commands and data.
 Central Processing Unit which controls the processing.
 Monitor Process the information in the form of output.

Types of computers
Computers range in size and capability. There are supercomputers, very large computers
with thousands of microprocessors that perform extremely complex calculations.

There are tiny computers embedded in cars, TVs, stereo systems, calculators, and
appliances. These computers are built to perform a few number of tasks.

Desktop computers

1. Desktop computers design is made for use at a desk or table.

2. They are typically larger and more powerful than other types of personal
computers.
3. The main component, called the system unit, is usually a rectangular case that sits
on or underneath a desk.
4. Other components, such as the monitor, mouse, and keyboard, connect to the
system unit.

Laptops

1. The Laptops are lightweight mobile PCs with a thin screen.

2. Laptops can operate on batteries, so you can take them anywhere.
3. Unlike desktops, laptops combine the CPU, screen, and keyboard in a single case.
4. The screen folds down onto the keyboard when not in use.

Handheld computers (PDA)

1. Handheld computers, also known as personal digital assistants (PDAs), are

battery-power computers small enough to carry almost anywhere.
2. These are useful for scheduling appointments, storing addresses and phone
numbers, and playing games.
3. Some have advanced capabilities, such as making telephone calls or accessing the
Internet.
4. Instead of keyboards, handheld computers have touch screens that you use with
your finger.

Peripheral Devices

1. The peripheral device connects to a computer system to add functionality.

Examples are a mouse, keyboard, monitor, printer and scanner.
2. A computer peripheral is a device that connects to a computer but is not part of
the core computer architecture.
3. The core elements of a computer are the central processing unit, power supply,
motherboard and the computer case that contains those three components.

Types of Peripheral Devices

 There are many peripheral devices, but they fall into three general categories:
 Input devices, such as a mouse and a keyboard
 Output devices, such as a monitor and a printer
 Storage devices, such as a hard drive or flash drive

Computer Knowledge – Main Parts of Computer

Hardware

 Computer hardware is what you can physically touch includes the computer case,
monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
 It also includes all the parts inside the computer case, such as the hard disk drive,
motherboard, video card, and many others.

Input Devices

 In computing, an input device is a peripheral (piece of computer hardware

equipment) used to provide data and control signals to an information processing
system.
 It will control devices such as a computer or information appliance.

Examples: keyboards, mice, scanners, digital cameras and joysticks.

Keyboard

 A Keyboard is the most fundamental input device for any computer system.
 It helps to enter data on the computer.

Mouse

 A mouse is used to input data by sending a signal to the computer, based on

hovering the cursor and selecting with the left mouse button.
 The left mouse acts as an ‘enter’ button. The right mouse button can be selected
and will often pop up a window of choices.
 The scrolling wheel is used to move the view of the screen up or down.
 By moving your mouse to a location in a document, on a digital photo or over a
choice of music, you can click the left mouse button to place the cursor.

Trackballs

 A trackball is an input device used to enter motion data into computers or other
electronic devices.
 It serves the same purpose as a mouse but is designed with a moveable ball on the
top, which can be rolled in any direction.
 Instead of moving the whole device, you simply roll the moveable ball on top of
the trackball unit with your hand to generate motion input.

Basic Knowledge of Computer – Main Parts of Computer

Barcode reader 

 A barcode reader (or barcode scanner) is an electronic device that can read and
output printed barcodes to a computer.
 Like a flatbed scanner, it consists of a light source, a lens and a light sensor
translating optical impulses into electrical ones.

Digital camera 

 A camera which produces digital images that can be stored in a computer and
displayed on the screen.

Gamepad 

 The gamepad is a handheld controller for video games.

Joystick

 The joystick is a lever that can be moved in several directions to control the
movement of an image on a computer or similar display screen. It mainly used in
playing games.

Microphone

 Micro Phone is an instrument for converting sound waves into electrical energy
variations which may then be amplified, transmitted, or recorded.

Scanner

 The scanner is a device that scans documents and converts them into digital data.

Webcam

 A webcam is a video camera connected to a computer, allowing its images to be

seen by Internet users.

Optical character recognition (OCR)

 Optical character recognition is the mechanical or electronic conversion of images

of typed, handwritten or printed text into machine-encoded text.

Digitizer

 It converts analogue information into digital form.

Optical Mark Reading (OMR)

 Optical Mark Readers reads pencil or pen marks made in pre-defined positions
on paper forms as responses to questions or tick list prompts.

Structure of CPU – Computer Knowledge Basics

 Input and Output devices
Input Devices – Computer Knowledge
An input device feeds data to the computer system for processing.

We are going to discuss the most commonly used input devices in this article.

Keyboard

 The computer keyboard is to enter text information into the computer.

 The main use of the keyboard is to type commands directing the computer to
perform certain actions.

Mouse

 A device that controls the movement of the cursor or pointer on a display screen.
 A mouse is a small object you can roll along a hard, flat surface.
 The invention of the mouse is made by Douglas Engelbart of Stanford Research
Center in 1963.

Joystick

 Joysticks and similar game controllers can also be connected to a computer as

pointing devices

Scanner

 A scanner is a device that images a printed page or graphics by digitizing it,

producing an image made of tiny pixels of different brightness and colour values
which are represented numerically and sent to the computer.
 Scanners not only scan graphics, but they can also scan pages of text.

MIDI Devices

 MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a system design to transmit

information between electronic musical instruments.
Trackball

 The trackball is sort of like an upside-down mouse, with the ball located on top.
 You use your fingers to roll the trackball, and internal rollers (similar to what’s
inside a mouse) sense the motion which is transmitted to the computer.
 Trackballs have the advantage over mice in that the body of the trackball remains
stationary on your desk.

Graphics Tablet

 A graphics tablet consists of an electronic writing area and a special “pen” that
works with it.
 A graphics tablet allows creating graphical images with motions and actions.

Computer Knowledge – Output Devices

Monitor

1. Monitors, commonly called as Visual Display Unit (VDU), are the main output
device of a computer.
2. It forms images from tiny dots, known as pixels that make an arrangement in a
form of a rectangular form.
3. The sharpness of the image depends upon the number of pixels.

Printers

The printer is an output device, which is to print information on paper.

There are two types of printers:

1. Impact Printers
2. Non-Impact Printers

Plotters

1. A plotter is a printer that interprets commands from a computer to make line

drawings on paper with one or more automated pens.
2. Unlike a regular printer, the plotter can draw continuous point-to-point lines
directly from vector graphics files or commands.

Projector

 A projector or image projector is an optical device, which projects an image (or

moving images) onto a surface, commonly a projection screen.

Speakers

1. Speakers are one of the most common output devices with computer systems.
2. Some speakers are designed for work specifically with computers, while others
can be hooked up to any type of sound system.

Memory 
Memory is the storage space in the computer where data get the process and instructions
required for processing get store. The memory is split into a large number of small parts
known as cells. Each location or cell has a unique address which varies from zero to
memory size minus one.

Memory is of three types

 Cache Memory
 Primary Memory
 Secondary Memory

Cache Memory

Cache memory is a very high-speed semiconductor memory which can speed up CPU. It
acts as a buffer between the CPU and main memory.

Primary Memory (Main Memory)

1. Primary memory holds only those data and instructions on which computer is
currently working.
2. It has limited capacity and data is lost when power is switched off.
3. It is generally made up of the semiconductor device.
4. The data and instruction require being processed reside in main memory.

There are two sub-categories ROM and RAM in Primary memory.

RAM :

The RAM (random access memory) is the place in a computer where the operating
system, application programs, and data in current use are kept.

RAM is much faster to read from and write to than the other kinds of storage in a
computer, the hard disk, floppy disk, and CD-ROM.

It has two parts:

A. SRAM: Static Random Access Memory

B. DRAM: Dynamic Random Access Memory.