Name: Jules Gojan Cacho Date: August 22 ,2021

Course: BSECE-1A. A111L

Assignment 1

Computer Fundamentals and Programming

1. History of Computer - A computer is a machine that can be programmed to

carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations automatically. Modern
computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These
programs enable computers to perform a wide range of tasks. A computer system
is a "complete" computer that includes the hardware, operating system (main
software), and peripheral equipment needed and used for "full" operation. This
term may also refer to a group of computers that are linked and function together,
such as a computer network or computer cluster.
A. Roman Empire

The ancient Romans developed an Abacus, the first "machine" for calculating.
While it predates the Chinese abacus we do not know if it was the ancestor of
that Abacus. Counters in the lower groove are 1 x 10n, those in the upper groove
are 5 x 10n

B. 1642 - Blaise Pascal(1623-1662)

Blaise Pascal, a French mathematical genius, at the age of 19 invented a machine,

which he called the Pascaline that could do addition and subtraction to help his
father, who was also a mathematician. Pascal’s machine consisted of a series of
gears with 10 teeth each, representing the numbers 0 to 9. As each gear made
one turn it would trip the next gear up to make 1/10 of a revolution. This principle
remained the foundation of all mechanical adding machines for centuries after his
death. The Pascal programming language was named in his honor.

C. 1673 - Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716)

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz invented differential and integral calculus

independently of Sir Isaac Newton, who is usually given sole credit. He invented a
calculating machine known as Leibniz’s Wheel or the Step Reckoner. It could add
and subtract, like Pascal’s machine, but it could also multiply and divide. It did this
by repeated additions or subtractions, the way mechanical adding machines of
the mid to late 20th century did. Leibniz also invented something essential to
modern computers — binary arithmetic.

D. 1822 – Charles Babbage (1791-1871) and Ada Augusta, The Countess of

Lovelace

Charles Babbage is known as the Father of the modern computer (even though
none of his computers worked or were even constructed in their entirety). He first
designed plans to build, what he called the Automatic Difference Engine. It was
designed to help in the construction of mathematical tables for navigation.
Unfortunately, engineering limitations of his time made it impossible for the
computer to be built. His next project was much more ambitious.

E. Late 1970s to early 1980s – The Microcomputer Explosion

During this period many companies appeared and disappeared, manufacturing a

variety of microcomputers (they were called micro to distinguish them from the
mainframes which some people referred to as real computers). There was Radio
Shack’s TRS-80, the Commodore 64, the Atari.

F. 1977 - The Apple II

The most successful of the early microcomputers was the Apple II, designed and
built by Steve Wozniak. With fellow computer whiz and business savvy friend,
Steve Jobs, they started Apple Computer in 1977 in Woz’s garage. Less than three
years later the company earned over $100 million. Not bad for a couple of college
dropout computer geeks.

G. Early 2000s

Compared to ENIAC, microcomputers of the early 2000s:

Are 180,000 times faster (2.5+ Gigahertz is the average speed)

Have a memory capacity 25,000 times larger (average 1+ Gigabytes of RAM)

Are 1/30,000 the size

Cost 1/60,000 as much in comparable dollars (A PC can cost from $700 to

$1500)

Data Storage
Data storage has also grown in capacity and shrunk in size as dramatically as have
computers. Today a single data DVD will hold around 4.8 gigabytes. It would take
90,000,000 punch cards to hold the same amount of data. And, there is talk of a
new high density video disk (HVD) that will be able to hold fifty times that much
data. That's more than 240 gigabytes.

Just how much data is that

8 bits = 1 byte

1024 bytes = 1 kilobyte

1024 K = 1 Megabyte = 1,048,576 bytes

1024 Mb = 1 Gigabyte = 10,73,741,824 bytes

1024 Gb = 1 Terabyte = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes

1024 Tb = 1 Petabyte = 1,125,899,906,842,624 bytes

1024 Pb = 1 Exabyte = 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 bytes

1024 Eb = 1 Zettabyte = 1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424 bytes

1024 Zb = 1 Yottabyte = 1,208,925,819,614,629,174,706,176 bytes

Hardware

Physical structure that houses a computer's processor, memory, storage,

communication ports and peripheral devices. Each of these components (called
devices) have a different purpose, which may be either accepting inputs, storing
data or sending outputs.
For example, a mouse and a microphone are input devices used to record user
activities and transform them into data that is transmitted to the system unit. A
hard disk is a storage unit where data is stored and accessed by other devices.

A monitor or a speaker are output devices that transform processed data

into(respectively) video and audio signals.

Usually, the core components that represent the bare minimum that allow a
computer to function are:

Processor (CPU)
The component that processes and executes inputs received from hardware and
software.

Motherboard
A mainboard that provides basic connection between all the other hardware
components
and devices (internal and external).

Memory (RAM)

A temporary data storage space that stores the information the CPU is actively
using.

Storage device
A storage device where data is stored on a permanent basis. It’s slower but less
volatile than the RAM.
Power supply unit
That’s pretty self-explanatory: without power, no electronic device can work!
Troubleshooting Tips:

Do you know what to do if your screen goes blank? What if you can't seem to
close an application, or can't hear any sound from your speakers? Whenever you
have a problem with your computer, don't panic! There are many basic
troubleshooting techniques you can use to fix issues like this. In this lesson, we'll
show you some simple things to try when troubleshooting, as well as how to solve
common problems you may encounter.

There are many different things that could cause a problem with your computer.
No matter what's causing the issue, troubleshooting will always be a process of
trial and error—in some cases, you may need to use several different approaches
before you can find a solution; other problems may be easy to fix.

Software

All parts of a computer that are not strictly physical, such as data, programs,
applications, protocols, etc., are broadly defined as “software.” Although software
has no material form, it is no less critical to receive information, encode, store
and process it.

Computer software includes all executable and non-executable data, such as

documents, digital media, libraries, and online information. A computer’s
operating system (OS) and all its applications are software as well.

A computer works with software programs that are sent to its underlying
hardware architecture for reading, interpretation and execution.Computers are
classified according to computing power, capacity, size, mobility and other factors,
as personal computers (PC), desktop computers, laptop computers,
minicomputers, handheld computers and devices, mainframes or supercomputers.
Keyboard Shortcuts:

Ctrl+Z: Undo.

Ctrl+W: Close.

Ctrl+A: Select all.

Alt+Tab: Switch apps.

Alt+F4: Close apps.

Win+D: Show or hide the desktop.

Win+left arrow or Win+right arrow: Snap windows.

Win+Tab: Open the Task view.