ICT Fundamentals and

advance ms-office skills

Lecture 01
What’s a Computer?

 A computer is an electronic machine

 that takes input from the user,
 processes the given input and
 generates output in the form of useful information.
 Parts of the Computer System

 Computer systems have four parts

 Hardware
 Software
 Data
 User

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 Parts of the Computer System

 Data
 Pieces of information
 Computer organize and present data
 Users
 People operating the computer
 Most important part
 Tell the computer what to do

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 Parts of the Computer System

 Hardware
 Mechanical devices in the computer
 Anything that can be touched
 Software
 Tell the computer what to do
 Also called a program
 Thousands of programs exist

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Essential Computer Hardware

 Computers use the same basic hardware

 Hardware categorized into four types
Essential Computer Hardware

 Processing devices
 Brains of the computer
 Carries out instructions from the program
 Manipulate the data
 Most computers have several processors
 Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Essential Computer Hardware

 Memory devices
 Stores data or programs
 Random Access Memory (RAM)
 Volatile
 Stores current data and programs
 More RAM results in a faster system

 Read Only Memory (ROM)

 Permanent storage of programs
 Holds the computer boot directions
Essential Computer Hardware

 Input and output devices

 Allows the user to interact
 Input devices accept data
 Keyboard, mouse

 Output devices deliver data

 Monitor, printer, speaker

 Some devices are input and output

 Touch screens
Essential Computer Hardware

 Storage devices
 Hold data and programs permanently
 Different from RAM
 Magnetic storage
 Floppy and hard drive
 Uses a magnet to access data

 Optical storage
 CD and DVD drives
 Uses a laser to access data
 How Computers Represent Data

 Bits and Bytes

 Binary numbers are made of bits
 Bit represents a switch
 A byte is 8 bits
 Byte represents one character

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 How Computers Process Data

 The CPU
 Central Processing Unit
 Brain of the computer
 Control unit
 Controls resources in computer
 Instruction set

 Arithmetic logic unit

 Simple math operations
 Registers

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Central Processing Unit

 The main operations of the CPU include four

phases:
(1) Fetching instructions from the memory
(2) Decoding the instructions to decide what
operations to be performed
(3) Executing the instructions
(4) Storing the results back in the memory
Central Processing Unit

 Registers
 Arithmetic Unit
 Logic Unit
 Control Unit
Arithmetic Unit

 Arithmetic Unit is a part of the CPU that performs arithmetic operations

on the data.
 The arithmetic operations can be addition, subtraction, multiplication or
division.
Logic Unit

 Logic Unit is a part of the CPU that performs logical operations on the
data.
Control Unit

 Control Unit is an important component of CPU that controls the flow of

data and information.
 It maintains the sequence of operations being performed by the CPU.
Registers

 CPU contains a few special purpose, temporary storage units known as

registers.
 They are high-speed memory locations used for holding instructions,
data and intermediate results that are currently being processed.
Internal Communications

 The internal communication of a processor in the computer system can

be divided into two major categories:
(1) Processor to memory communication
(2) Processor to I/O devices communication
 How Computers Process Data

 Machine Cycle
 The cycle during which a machine language instruction is executed by
the processor of the computer system is known as machine cycle.
 How Computers Process Data

 Instruction Cycle
 Fetching:

 The CPU retrieves the instruction from

the main memory of the computer
system.
 Decoding:

 Breaking down the instruction into

different parts, so that it can be easily
understood before being processed by
the CPU.
How Computers Process Data

 Execution Cycle
 Executing:

 The decoded instruction is executed

by the ALU of the CPU.
 Storing:

 The result computed in the

execution phase is either sent to the
memory or to an output device.
Components affecting Speed

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Memory and Storage Systems

 Primary Memory:
 Storing the data that are being currently handled by the CPU;
 generally known as “memory”;
 Secondary Memory:
 Storing the results and the data for future use;
 generally known as “storage”;
 Cache memory

 small, fast and expensive memory

 stores the copies of data that needs to be accessed frequently from the main
memory.
 Speeds up computer processing
 Most computers have several caches
 L1 holds recently used data
 L2 holds upcoming data
 L3 holds possible upcoming data

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 Random Access Memory

 Random Access Memory (RAM) is a volatile

memory and loses all its data when the
power is switched off.
 It is the main memory of the computer
system that stores the data temporarily and
allows the data to be accessed in any order.
 RAM can be categorized into two main types,
namely, Static RAM and Dynamic RAM.
 Read Only Memory

 ROM is the memory that stores the data

permanently.
 The data can be easily read from this type of
memory but cannot be changed.
 ROM is most commonly used in devices such
as calculators, laser printers, etc.
Read Only Memory
 Programmable ROM:
 a memory chip on which the write operation of data can be performed only
once.
 PROM is reliable and stores the data permanently without making any change
in it.
 It is mostly used in video games and electronic dictionaries.
 Erasable PROM:
 a type of ROM in which data can be erased or destroyed using Ultraviolet Light.
 Electrically Erasable PROM:
 a type of ROM in which data can be erased or destroyed by exposing it to an
electric charge.
 Flash ROM:
 a type of EEPROM that stores the information using floating-gate transistors,
which can store electric charge for a longer period of time as compared to the
normal transistors.
 This memory is mainly used in the memory cards of mobile phones, digital
cameras and iPods for storing data.
 Flash ROM has faster speed of reading data, as compared to any other type of
ROM.
 Storage systems are the devices
used for data storage.

The main objective of the storage

system is to permanently store
Storage data.
Systems
The storage (1) Magnetic
systems can be (2) Optical
classified as (3) Solid state
(4) Magneto Optical
follows:
Magnetic Storage
Systems
 Magnetic storage systems can be
defined as the storage systems that
store the data on a magnetized
medium, with the help of magnetized
particles.
 Magnetic tapes, magnetic disks, hard
disks, floppy disks are examples of
magnetic storage systems.
 Can store any type of data, such as
text, audio, video, image
Advantages of Magnetic Storage
Devices
• Inexpensive storage
• Very fast access to data
• Direct access on any part of the drive
• Very large amounts of storage space
Disadvantages of Magnetic storage
devices
• Data can be altered by magnetic fields, dust,
mechanical problems
• Hard disks eventually fail which stops the computer
from working
• The surface of the disk, can lose data within
sectors with regular crashes
• Cannot transfer the disk to another computer easily
Optical Storage
Systems
 The optical storage systems use the
laser light as the optical medium to
retrieve as well as record data.
 The optical storage devices are either
read-only or writable.
 Optical storage devices are : CD-
ROM,CD-R,CD-RW, DVD etc.
 Advantages of Optical Storage Devices
 Optical discs are portable and can be read on many
different devices
 Very inexpensive
 Memory is retained even when the power is turned off
 Durable and last a long time
 Can random access data no matter where or when it was
stored

 Disadvantages of Optical Storage Devices

 Require special drives to read/write.
 Compared to other storage devices they have little storage
 Can be expensive per GB/TB
 There are compatibility issues with different drives
Solid-State Storage Devices

 Solid-state Storage Devices were

developed in 1978 by Storage Tek
Company.
 Do not use magnetic and optical
medium to store data. Instead, use the
semiconductor devices.
 Contains all the properties of hard disk
drives to store the data and use solid-
state memory, which has no moving
parts.
 The examples of SSD are flash
memory cards and Universal Serial
Bus (USB) devices.
 Advantages of Solid State Storage Devices
 Solid State Storage Devices are durable, reliable,
have a long service life and they can rewrite and
erase data very often.
 They last longer and some are waterproof
 All data stored can be scanned quickly for security
purposes

 Disadvantages of Solid State Storage

Devices
 Solid State Storage devices are expensive
 Vulnerable to abrupt power loss, magnetic fields, and
electrical and static charges
Storage Evaluation Criteria
 Access Mode:
 random access mode, sequential access mode, direct
access mode
 Access Time:
 the time taken by the processor in completing the
requests made by the user for performing the read and
write operations.
 Storage Capacity:
 the size of the memory available for storing the data,
and measured in terms of bytes.
 Storage Type:
 Temporary and permanent memory.
 Cost:
 the cost of the storage device used in the computer
system for holding the data.
Input Devices

 Input devices are electromechanical devices

that are used to provide data to a computer
for storing and further processing, if
necessary.
 We can provide the input to a computer in two
ways:
 (1) Manually through devices such as keyboard and mouse;
 (2) Directly from documents using devices such as scanners.
Input Devices

Depending upon the type or method of input, the

input device may belong to one of the following
categories:
(1) Keyboard
(2) Pointing devices
(3) Scanning devices
(4) Optical recognition devices
(5) Digital camera
(6) Voice recognition devices
(7) Media input devices
Pointing Devices

Pointing devices are the input devices that are generally used
for moving the cursor to a particular location to point an object
on the screen. With the help of pointing devices, we can easily
select the icons, menus, windows, etc on the Graphical User
Interface. Some of the commonly used pointing devices are:
(1) Mouse
(2) Trackball
(3) Light pen
(4) Joystick
(5) Touchscreen
Scanning Devices

 Scanning devices are the input devices that

can electronically capture text and images,
and convert them into computer readable
form.
 The basic task of a scanning devices is to
convert an image or the textual data into
digital data, i.e., in the form of boxes, where
each box represents either zero or one. The
resultant matrix is known as bit map and is
displayed on the screen.
 Scanning Devices

• Hand-held scanners:
• are suitable for scanning
small images rather than
the whole page of text or
pictures
• are generally used for
identifying the bar-code
label of the products.
 Scanning Devices

• Flat-bed scanners:
• consist of a flat
surface composing of
glass pane on which
the documents are
kept for scanning.
• Under this glass
pane, there is xenon
light and a CCD
(Charge-Coupled
Device), which
consists of an array
of red, green and
blue filters.
 Scanning Devices

 Drum scanners:
 consist of a large drum,
which is used for
scanning the
documents.
 These scanners make
use of the PMT
(Photomultiplier Tube)
technology, instead of
the CCD technology.
 The resolution image of
these scanners is very
high, ranges form 8000
dpi to 11000 dpi.
 Scanning Devices

 Slide scanners:
 are used for scanning
slides as well as film
negatives.
 These scanners are
also known as film
scanners as they can
easily scan the original
image of the film.
 The dark areas appear
light and the light
areas appear dark.
Optical Recognition Devices

 Optical recognition devices are used for

recognizing the characters optically.
 The optical recognition devices basically
make use of optical scanner for inputting
data.
 Unlike keyboards, the optical recognition
devices do not enter the data by
pressing the keys.
 They help the users in saving a lot of
time.

Commonly used optical recognition devices

are:
 Optical Character Recognition
(OCR) devices

 scan a
particular
document by
recognizing its
individual
characters and
converting it
into the editable
form.
 Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) devices

• help in obtaining the data

from the marked fields.
• These devices prove to be
of great use in recognizing
characters in question
sheets, enrolment forms,
registration forms,
employee payroll, etc.
• Most popularly, the OMR
devices are used for
scanning the documents
having multiple choices as
in the question papers used
in schools, colleges, etc.
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) devices:

• special devices used for

recognizing the characters
written with magnetic ink
consisting of iron oxide
particles.
• These devices were
specially developed for the
banking operations.
• The details on the bank
cheques, such as cheque
number, bank and branch
code are written with the
magnetic.
Digital Camera

 A digital camera is a handheld electronic device that is used to

capture the image of an object electronically. The digital
camera consists of a built-in computer, which helps in
recording the images electronically. The following are the main
features of the digital camera:

• Capturing and storing thousands of images on a single

memory chip
• Editing as well as deleting the images
• Recording the video clip with sound
• Showing the just recorded video clip on the camera screen
Digital Camera

 The image captured by a digital camera is in the

digital format and can be easily downloaded on a
computer system.
 The quality of the pictures captured by a digital
camera depends on the resolution factor. The more
the resolution of a digital camera, the better is the
image quality.
Voice Recognition System
 The voice recognition devices
generally record the voice of a
person and transform it into
electrical signals. The electrical
signals are then converted into
the machine readable code.
 The voice recognition system
only recognizes the voice of the
speaking person rather than what
he speaks.
 The voice recognition devices are
used for various purposes such
as dictation, training air-traffic
controllers, etc.
 These systems allow users to
communicate with computers
directly without using a keyboard
or mouse.
 Data Acquisition Sensors

 Sensors are the devices that are used for detecting and measuring
the physical quantities, such as heat, temperature, and converting
them into electrical signals.
 The sensors are most commonly used in data acquisition systems.
 The data acquisition system collects the electrical signals from
various devices and converts them into the digital signals for
further assessment.
Media Input Devices
 The input devices, which are generally used
in media for communicating with the mass
audiences, are known as media input
devices. The following are the most
popularly used media input devices:

• Microphone
• Webcam
• Graphics tablet
 Output Devices
 Output devices receive the processed data (information)
from the CPU and present it to the user in a desired form.
 They act as an interface between the computer and the
user.
 The main task of an output device is to convert the
machine readable information into human-readable from
which may be in the form of text, graphics, audio or video.
 Depending upon the form of output required, the output
device may belong to one of the following categories:
• Display monitors
• Printers
• Plotters
• Voice output systems
• Projectors
Display Monitors

 Earlier the display monitors were capable of

displaying the characters only in a single font and in a
single color. These characters were arranged in a
rectangular grid on the screen.
 The display screens, which are available today,
support many fonts and colors.
 Different types of display monitors use different
technology for displaying the data.
Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Monitor

 contain an empty glass tube with a

phosphor coated fluorescent screen and
a source of electrons known as electron
gun.
 A CRT monitor has many advantages,
such as a high contrast ratio and color
depth.
 But it is very bulky and consumes a lot
of power and produces a large amount
heat.
 Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Monitor

 Use liquid crystals technology to display

the images.
 An LCD monitor is small in size and light
in weight
 Also, the power consumption by an LCD
monitor is very less.
 However, it has a weak color quality as
compared to a CRT monitor.
Printers
Impact Printers:
• there exists a mechanical contact between print
head and paper.
• Print head is the part of the printer that resembles
a hammer and is responsible for transferring the
ink to the paper
• they were extremely slow, with some printing just
10 characters per second.
• Examples include: dot-matrix printers, daisy wheel
printers, line printers
Printers
Non-Impact Printers:
• there exists no mechanical contact between the
print head and paper.
• These printers spray ink on the paper with the
help of a nozzle.
• They have much higher resolutions since, instead
of using metal pins, they can use drops of ink
measured in picoliters or toner particles measured
in micrometers.
• The most popular ones are ink-jet printers and
laser printers.
Impact printer / Dot-matrix Non impact Printer / Laser
Printer Printer

1. It prints characters or 1. It prints characters and

images by striking print images without striking the
hammer or wheel against an papers.
inked ribbon.
2. Its speed is slower. 2. Its speed is faster.

3. Its printing quality is lower. 3. Its printing quality is higher.

4. It normally uses continuous 4. Its normally uses individual

paper sheet. paper sheet.
5. It generates noise during 5. It does not generate noise
printing. during printing.
6. It uses inked ribbon for 6. It uses toner or cartridge for
printing. painting.
7. It is less expensive. 7. It is more expensive.

8. Dot matrix is an impact 8. Laser printer is a non-impact

printer. printer.
 Commonly Used Printers
 Ink-jet printers
 Non-impact printer
 Inexpensive home printer
 Color output common using CMYK
 Cyan, magenta, yellow, black

 Sprays ink onto paper

 Commonly Used Printers
 Laser printer
 Non-impact printer
 Produces high quality documents
 Color or black and white
 Print process
 Laser draws text on page
 Toner sticks to text
 Toner melted to page
High-Quality Printers
 A plotter is an output device
that is used to produce high
quality graphics in a variety of
colors.
 Operational costs are low
 The plotters were used as a
substitute to the colored
printers when the printers were
very expensive and were also
not capable of drawing bigger
images such as graphs.
 Plotters are used to create maps,
architectural drawings, graphs
and charts.
 Output is very slow
Voice Output Systems

 Voice output systems record the simple messages in

human speech form and then combine all these simple
messages to form a single message.
 The voice response system is of two types:
 (1) a reproduction of human voice and other sounds;
 (2) speech synthesis.
 The basic application of a voice output system is in
Interactive Voice Response systems, which are used by the
customer care or customer support departments of an
organization, such as telecommunication companies, etc.
Projectors

 A projector is a device that is connected to a

computer or a video device for projecting an image
from the computer or video device onto the big white
screen.
 A projector consists of an optic system, a light source
and displays, which contain the original images.
 Projects were initially used for showing films but now
they are used on a large scale for displaying
presentations in various situations.
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