PCFUNDAMENTALS
| What
is a Pc ?
A PC is your Personal Computer. You can look at your computer
in two basic ways: from a physical viewpoint and from a functional
viewpoint. The physical viewpoint uses terms for parts that
you can point to for example to a power supply , an adapter
board and a cable. The functional viewpoint uses terms such
as CPU, interleaved memory, and serial and parallel devices,
which relate to how the computer operates. These terms are
fairly complex and focus more on the bits, bytes and electronic
of the computer systems.
What
is a software ?
Software is a collection of command that help users to communicate
with the computer or help the computer perform specific tasks
for them. Without any type of software the computer would
be of no use.
What
is a hardware ?
Hardware is best described as a device that is physically
connected to your computer or something that can be physically
touched. A CD-ROM, Monitor, Printer, and video card are all
examples of computer hardware. Without any hardware your computer
would not exist and software would have nothing to run on.
The image to the right is of a web cam, an example of an external
hardware peripheral that allows users to make basic videos,
transmit videos of themselves over the Internet, and take
pictures.
Main
Components of a typical desktop computer:
Central
Processing Unit(CPU): The "microprocessor” brain
of the computer system is called the central processing unit.
Everything that a computer does is overseen by the CPU.
Memory:
This is very fast storage used to hold data. It has to be
fast because it connects directly to the microprocessor. There
are several specific types of memory in a computer.
RAM(Random
Access Memory):It is used to temporarily store information
that the computer is currently working with.
ROM(Read
Only Memory): A permanent type of memory storage
used by the computer for important data that does not change. |
|
BIOS(Basic
input/output system): A type of ROM that is used by the
computer to establish basic communications when the computer is
first turned on caching-The storing of frequently used data in extremely
fast RAM that connects directly to the CPU.
Virtual
Memory: space on harddisk used to temporarily store data
and swap it in and out of RAM as needed.
Mother Board: This is the main circuit board that
all of the other internal components connect to. The CPU and memory
are usually on the motherboard.
Hard
Disk: This is large-capacity permanent storage used to
hold information such as programs and documents.
AGP(Accelerated
Graphics Port):It is a very high speed connection used
by the graphic card to interface with the computer.
Sound
Card: This is used by the computer to record and play audio
by converting analog sound in to digital information and back again.
Graphics
Card: This translates image data from the computer in to
a format that can be displayed by the monitor.
Common
Input–Out Put Devices :
Keyboard:
Generally used to type or select an option on the screen. It is
an input device.
Mouse:
It is an input device which is used to point and select some option
on VDU.
Vdu(Visual
Display Unit): It is an output device where the output
of any command is displayed ie. The screen.
Printer:
Is the output device .Different types of printer.
1. Dot matrix printer
2. Inkjet Printer
3. Laser Printer etc.
Floppy
Disk Drives: It is a common form of removable storage,
floppy disk are extremely inexpensive and easy to save information.
Scanner: It is an input device. A scanner scans
an image and transform the image to ASCII Graphics . These codes
can be edited, manipulated & than printed.
Cd-Rom
Drive: It is an input device. To read a Cd-Rom disk a Cd-Rom
drive is required . One can only read from it and cannot write on
it.
Dvd-Rom:
DVD-Rom is similar to Cd-Rom but is capable of holding much more
information.
Cd-Writer:
It is input device. To write from other CD to your CD , writer is
used.
Display
Adaptor: The electronic work behind information of images
on the screen is handled by the vision controller. The video controller
along with the memory that holds the display data are together referred
to as the PC which can represent data on the screen in two modes.
One is the text mode on which only text or individual characters
can be displayed . The other is graphic mode, Where graphic can
be shown by building up a drawing made of dots.
Different
Connections : Ports
Parallel:
This port is commonly used to connect a printer.
Serial:
This port is typically used to connect an external modem, mouse
etc.
USB(Universal
Serial Bus): This port is becoming most popular external
connection, USB ports offer power and versatility and are incredibly
easy to use.
Connections
Internet/ Network:
Modem:
This is the standard method of connecting to the Internet.
LAN(Local
Area Network) card: This is used by many computers, particularly
those in an Ethernet office network to connected to each other.
Cable
modem: Some people now use the cable –television system
in their home to connect to the internet.
DSL(Digital
Subscriber Line) modem: This is a high speed connection
that works over a standard telephone line.
VDSL
(Very high bit- rate DSL) modem: A newer variation of DSL
, VDSL requires that your phone line have fiber optic cables.
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