Chapter 1

Computer, Internet, Web, and E-Mail Basics

Computer Concepts 8th Edition

Parsons/Oja
Chapter 1 Preview
After this chapter, you should be able to:
– Define the term computer and identify the
components of a personal computer system
– Compare the computing capabilities of the
computer categories
– Describe operating systems
– Evaluate the various ways you can connect a
computer to the Internet and select an ISP

Chapter 1: Computer, Internet, Web, and E-Mail Basics 2

Chapter 1 Preview
After this chapter, you should be able to:
– Describe how Web servers, browsers, URLs,
HTML, and HTTP contribute to the Internet
resource known as the Web
– Describe Internet communications and basic
features
– Demonstrate that you can use a search engine to
locate information on the Web
– Explain how an e-mail system works

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Chapter 1 Outline
• Section A
– Computer Basics
• Section B
– Internet Basics
• Section C
– Web Basics
• Section D
– E-Mail Basics

Chapter 1: Computer, Internet, Web, and E-Mail Basics 4

 Chapter 1
Computer, Internet, Web, and E-Mail Basics

Section A: Computer Basics

Computer Concepts 8th Edition

Parsons/Oja
What is a computer?
• A computer system includes a computer,
peripheral devices, and software
• Accepts input, processes data, stores data,
and produces output
– Input refers to whatever is sent to a computer
system

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 Computer Basics

What is a computer?
• Data refers to the symbols that
represent facts, objects, and ideas
• Processing is the way that a computer
manipulates data
• A computer processes data in a device
called the central processing unit
(CPU)

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What is a computer?
• A computer stores data so that it will be
available for processing
• Memory is an area of a computer that
holds data that is waiting to be
processed, stored, or output
• Storage is the area where data can be
left on a permanent basis

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 Computer Basics

What is a computer?
• Computer output is the result
produced by the computer
• An output device displays, prints or
transmits the results of processing

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What is a computer?

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Computer Categories
• Before:
– Categorized into three main categories:
• microcomputers
• minicomputers
• mainframe computers
• Today:
– Categorized based on its technology,
function, size, performance, and cost

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Computer Categories
• Today’s Computer Categories
– Personal computers
– Handheld computers
– Workstations
– Videogame Consoles
– Mainframes
– Supercomputers
– Servers
What makes each of these system unique?

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What is a Personal
Computer?
• Microcomputer designed to meet the
computing needs of an individual
– Desktop computers
– Notebook computers (laptop)
– Cost starts at $500, but most spend
$1000 to $1200

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What is a tablet
computer?
• Portable computing device featuring a touch-
sensitive screen
• Prices range from $1,200 to over $2,000

“slate” tablet configuration lack of a keyboard

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What is a handheld?

• Designed to be used while you are holding it

• Also called a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)
– Send and receive e-mail
– Use maps and global positioning
– Maintain expense account, contacts, to-do
lists, memos, etc.
– Make voice calls using cellular service

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What is a handheld?

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What types of computers can be
classified as workstations?
• The term “workstation” has two
meanings
– Powerful desktop models
– Ordinary personal computers
– A computer network is two or more
computers or other devices that are
connected

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Is a PlayStation a computer?

• Yes, but typically it has not been

considered a computer category
• Today’s videogame systems
contain microprocessors

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What’s so special about a
mainframe computer?
• Large and expensive computer
• Capable of passing data simultaneously for
hundreds of thousands of users
• Used by governments and large corporations

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How powerful is a
supercomputer?
• One of the fastest computers in the
world
– Breaking codes
– Modeling weather systems
– Simulating nuclear explosions

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What makes a computer a
server?
• A server serves the computers on a
network by supplying them with data
• A client requests data from a server
• Any computer can be a server or a
client

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Personal Computer Systems

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What’s a personal computer
system?
• A personal computer system
consists of the following:
– System unit
– Display device
– Keyboard
– Mouse
– Hard disk drive
– CD and DVD drives

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What’s a personal computer
system?
– Floppy disk drive
– Sound card and speakers
– Modem and network cards
– Printer

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What is a personal computer
system?

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What is a peripheral device?

• Equipment that might be added to a

computer system to enhance its
functionality
– Printer
– Digital camera
– Scanner
– Joystick
– Graphics tablet

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Data, Information, and Files

• Data - symbols that represent people,

events, things and ideas
• Information - data that is presented in
a format people can understand and
use
• Computers store data in digital format
as a series of 1s and 0s.
– Each 1 or 0 is called a bit
– Eight bits is called a byte

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What is a file?

• A named collection of data that exists on a

storage medium
• A data file contains data such as the text for a
document
• An executable file contains the programs or
instructions that tell a computer how to perform
a specific task
• A filename extension indicates a file’s contents
– EXE
– GIF

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What is application software?

• A set of computer programs that helps

a person carry out a task
– Create, edit, and print documents
– Manage money accounts
– Create and edit home movies

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What are the most popular
operating systems?
• Microsoft Windows
– Windows XP
– Windows Mobile
• Palm OS
• Mac OS
• Linux
• Unix

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How does an operating
system affect compatibility?
• Two of the factors that influence
compatibility and define a computer’s
platform are the microprocessor and the
operating system
– PCs are based on the design of the IBM
PC
– Macs are based on a proprietary design
for a personal computer called the
Macintosh

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 Chapter 1
Computer, Internet, Web, and E-Mail Basics

Section B: Internet Basics

Computer Concepts 8th Edition

Parsons/Oja
How does the Internet work?
• The Internet is a collection of networks
that are linked together to exchange
data and distribute processing tasks
• The main routes are referred to as the
Internet backbone
• Communication between all of the
different devices on the Internet is
made possible by TCP/IP

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What kind of resources are
available on the Internet?
• Web Sites – various locations in cyberspace
that correspond to a corporation, a store, a
magazine, and more
• Search engines – help catalog a huge
portion of the data stored on Web sites
• Downloads and uploads
• P2P – peer-to-peer
– Popular music and file exchange Web sites

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What kind of resources are
available on the Internet?
• E-mail – electronic messages
– Mailing list server
• Bulletin boards – discussion groups
– Usenet
– Newsgroups
• Blogs – refers to a personal journal
posted on the Web

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What kind of resources are
available on the Internet?
• Chat groups and instant messaging
– interaction between users in real time
• Internet telephony – telephone-style
conversations to travel over the
Internet
• E-commerce – online activities such
as banking and shopping

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What kind of resources are
available on the Internet?
• Broadcasting – multicasting
technology
• Remote access and control –link
two computers together and allow
one to control the other
– Telnet
– SSH

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What are my options for
Internet connections?
• Existing telephone line
• Cable television line
• Personal satellite link
• Wireless or cell phone service
• High-speed telephone services
– ISDN, DSL

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What are my options for
Internet connections?

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What’s the easiest, cheapest
way to access the Internet?
• Dial-up connection – relatively simple
and inexpensive
• Voiceband modem – converts digital
signals into wave format to go over
telephone lines and then at destination
waves are converted back into digital
• Dial-up top speed is 56 Kbps

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Does a cable modem provide
a faster Internet connection?
• Requires 2 pieces of equipment
– Network card – connects a personal
computer to a local area network
– Cable modem –changes computer’s
signals into a form that can travel over
cable TV links

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Does a cable modem provide
a faster Internet connection?
• Referred to as an always-on
connection
• Top speed is around 1.5 Mbps (25
times faster than dial-up)
• Suitable for most Internet activities,
including real-time video and
teleconferencing

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What about access provided by a
school or business network?
• Typically schools and business
connect to a local area network that is
connected to the Internet
• These connections are frequently
always-on connections

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What other high-speed Internet
access options are available?
• ISDN (Integrated Services Digital
Network) – 64Kbps or 128 Kbps
• DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) –
anywhere from twice as fast to approx.
125 times faster than 56 Kbps
– Comes from phone company, requires
proximity to a switching station
• DSS (Digital Satellite Service) – 500
Kbps
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Internet Service Providers
What’s an ISP?
• A company that provides Internet
access to businesses, organizations,
and individuals
– An ISP that offers dial-up connections, for
example, maintains a bank of modems
– AOL, Earthlink

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How do I choose an ISP?
• Geographical coverage
• Type of service
• Quality of service
• Cost of monthly service
• Cost of equipment and installation
• Extra services
• Customer service

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Is access to Internet
restricted in any way?
• An ISP limits Internet access to its
subscribers
• Military computers limits are off limits to
the general public
• Many parts of the Internet encourage
memberships and off additional service
if you sign up.

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User ID’s and Passwords
• A user ID becomes a person’s unique
identifier
• A password is a different series of
characters that verifies your identity
• Some computers are case-sensitive;
they differentiate between upper and
lower case letters

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How do I choose a secure
password?

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 Chapter 1
Computer, Internet, Web, and E-Mail Basics

Section C: Web Basics

Computer Concepts 8th Edition

Parsons/Oja
The World Wide Web
• The Web is a collection of files that can be
linked and accessed using HTTP
• HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) - the
protocol that allows Web browsers to
communicate with Web servers
• Many of these files produce documents called
Web pages
• Web site - location on a computer
somewhere on the Internet that stores a
collection of Web pages
– http://www.yahoo.com

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What is the Web?

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What is the Web?

• Web server - computer with special

software for transmitting Web pages over the
Internet
• Home page - identifies the site and contains
links to other pages at the site
• Web sites are composed of a series of Web
pages

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What is the Web?
• URL (Uniform Resource Locator) - an
Internet address of a document on a
computer
– Begins with http://

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What is a browser?
• Web browsers are software programs
that run on your computer and help you
access Web pages
– Internet Explorer
– Netscape

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Exactly what does a browser
do?
• Fetches and displays Web pages
• The server sends your computer data
that’s stored
• The data consists of information that
you want to see and HTML tags,
codes that tell your browser how to
display it

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Exactly what does
a browser do?

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Can I copy and save
information from a Web page?

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What is a search engine?
• Web site that provides a variety of tools
to help you find information
– Helps you locate web pages on certain
topics
– Enter keywords or descriptions
– AltaVista, Google, Yahoo, etc.

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Search Engines

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Exactly what is a query?
• Describes information you want to find
• You can enter more than one keyword
• A search operator describes a relationship
between keywords
– AND, OR, and NOT
– Quotation marks
– NEAR
– Wildcards
– Field Searches

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How do I use a topic
directory?
• A topic directory is a list of topics and
subtopics

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 Chapter 1
Computer, Internet, Web, and E-Mail Basics

Section D: E-Mail Basics

Computer Concepts 8th Edition

Parsons/Oja
Who can use e-mail?
• Any person with an e-mail account
• An e-mail account provides the rights
to a storage area or “mailbox”
• Each mailbox has a unique address
– [email protected]

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Exactly what is an e-mail
message?
• A document that is composed on a
computer and remains in digital form
so that it can be transmitted to another
computer
• Every message includes:
– A message header
– The body of the message

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What can I do with
basic e-mail?

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How does forwarding work?

• After you receive a message, you can

pass it on to other people
• The original message is copied and
then you can enter the address of the
person to receive the message, and
even add a note about why you are
passing it along

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What’s an e-mail attachment?

• File that travels with a message to the

recipient
• MIME provides a way of disguising the
file as plain ASCII text that can travel
over the Internet

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Is e-mail different than other
types of communication?
• Netiquette is online jargon for “Internet etiquette
• Series of customs or guidelines for maintaining
civilized and effective communications on-line

Put a meaningful title on the subject Use uppercase and lowercase letters
line
Check spelling Be careful what you send
Be polite Be concise
Be cautious with sarcasm and humor Use smileys cautiously : - )
Use the Bcc function for group Don’t send replies to “all recipients”
mailings
Don’t send huge attachments Explain all attachments
Stay alert for viruses Notify recipients of viruses

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What is all this junk in my
mailbox?
• Spam is unwanted electronic junk mail
that arrives in your online mailbox
• Globally, spam accounts for about 75%
of all e-mail messages

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E-mail Technology: What is
an e-mail system?
• The equipment and software that carries and
manipulates e-mail messages
• E-mail servers sort, store, and route email
• Store-and-forward technology – a
communications method in which data that
cannot be sent directly to its destination will be
temporarily stored until transmission is possible
– POP
– IMAP
– Web-based e-mail

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How do I use
Web-based e-mail?

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How do POP and IMAP work?

• Your ISP will offer POP or IMAP

• POP server – a computer that stores
your incoming messages until they can
be transferred to your hard disk
• Using POP requires e-mail client
software
• Outgoing mail is routed by an SMTP
server

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How do POP and SMTP work?

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Is POP mail better than Web-
based e-mail?
• Requires e-mail client software
• Transfers e-mail to your computer
• Consider the following when deciding:
– Control
– Security
– Travel

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Conclusion
• You should now be able to:
– Define the term computer and identify the
components of a personal computer
system
– Compare the computing capabilities of the
computer categories
– Describe operating systems
– Describe Internet communications and
basic features
– Explain how an e-mail system works

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