Computer Basics – Things Your Should Know About Computers Dr. Alex Pan

Computer Features Plug and play Drag and drop Communication anywhere (P2P) Wireless Multimedia Entertainment Intelligent

Components Take a quick look at your computer, what components/parts do you see? Can you use a computer without a mouse, a keyboard, a monitor? –Mouse, yes –Keyboard & Monitor, yes but with difficult

Components Central Processing Unit (CPU) – A chip with instructions (in mother board) Memory (RAM/ROM) –Random access memory / read only memory Input –keyboard, scanner, mic Output –monitor, printer, speakers Storage –floppy, CD

CPU: Most Important Component Why a PC is different from a Mac? Can a Mac run a PC application? Central Processing Unit (CPU) contains information about how computers should run. –PCs and MACs are organized differently Brain/ heart Design: past: 8 or 16-bits, now: 32 or 64-bits

Calculations Binary system: –(0-lights off 1-lights on) A bit is equal to a “0” or a “1”. A key press (e.g., A, B, C, Space, …) is a byte, which contains 8 bits. 1 KB (kilobyte) has 1024 bytes 1 MB (Megabyte) = 1024 KB 1GB (Gigabyte) = 1024 MB 1TB (Terabyte) = 1024 GB

How Fast is Your Computer? Factors to decide the operation speed: Central Processing Unit (CPU) speed Memory (RAM/ROM) size Programs preloaded in memory Other process running or involved

CPU Speed 1 MegaHertz = 1 million cycles per second 1 GigaHertz = 1 billion cycles per second What is the fastest computer available now? 3.5GHz If you have one billion dollars, and you are spending $1,000 per day. How long will your money last? –Over 2739 years How much money is Bill Gates worth? –$ 50 Billion

Memory: Second Most Important Component Memory is essential for your work on computers. The First generation Apple computers had 4 kb memory. –4096 characters To increase the memory size, insert more memory chips. Print sense: don’t print unneeded work more than once.

Hard Disk v. Memory - 1 Hard disk is storage, like a bookshelf and Memory is resources to use, like a working table. Your computer will refuse to work on a task that takes size larger than your working table. Turning a portion of the hard disk space as working memory is referred to as virtual memory. Most software applications don’t work well with the virtual (fake, not real) memory.

Hard Disk v. Memory - 2 RAM operations are much MUCH faster than the Hard disk operations. Turning a portion of the RAM into storage space is called the RAM disk. When you turn off the computer, the work in the RAM will be gone.

Conflicts Territory War. When an application is launched, it is spread across the memory board to claim a random spot for territory. When you quit the application, some of the left-over traces are still clinging to the territory. To resolve the conflicts problem, restart your computer.

How Does a Computer Operate? Turning on CPU  Checking memory  Checking settings and peripherals  Ready Launch software  Loading data  Working on memory Saving data to the hard disk  Quitting applications Turning off  Recording settings  Log off

What Could Impact a Computer Operation? Operating Systems information/ System Registry Order of software loading Repeated information piling, such as saving too many times in Word, Access. Allocated memory (Especially in Mac) Concurrently opened windows Viruses, Spyware, Adware

Questions How many pages of double-spaced pure text document (without formatting info) hold in a 1.4 MB Floppy disk? –700 to 1000 How many pages of double-spaced pure text document hold in a 700 MB CD-ROM disc?

Questions What is the capacity of your computer? What is the processor speed? –1.8 GHz What system are you running? –Microsoft Windows 2000 How much memory do you have? –261,136 KB about 256MB How big is your hard disk? –74.5 GB

Questions Cinderella’s computer tells her that there is insufficient memory to run the PhotoShop application, Cinderella decides to delete more data files and programs from her computer to save room. Will this solve her problem running PhotoShop? Why or why not? –No because memory is different than storage, and she is only clearing up storage.

Questions How can I stop a frozen operation? On a windows system, press Ctrl-Alt-Del to get the menu to turn off the process of the frozen operation. On a Mac system, press option- Command-Esc to force quit the application.

Questions How can I check into my Window XP system to resolve problems? Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove programs > remove unwanted programs. Start > Run > msconfig > disable some problematic applications or processes. Use Registry Editing program. (It’s dangerous. Do only if you know.)

Suggestions Make backups. Store important info securely (avoid being hacked into). Scan for viruses frequently. Don’t share your hard disk. (You may download [MP3s] but don’t upload unless necessary.)