Lecture 01 Information Technology and You Topics Basics IT in our lives - The past, present, and future Computers and computer networks Categories of computers © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 1

Basics Information Technology (IT): Integration of computer technology and information processing Knowledge Worker: Provide computer-based information service trough manipulation and dissemination of information © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 2

Basics IT Competency Knowing the language of computers Being able to use a computer Being able to surf the Internet Knowing the impact computers have and have had on society Being an intelligent consumer of computers and computer-related products © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 2

IT in Our Lives - The Past, Present, and Future Information Technology - Yesterday 50 years of computer history Computers became smaller Computers became less expensive Computers are now everywhere © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 4

IT in Our Lives - The Past, Present, and Future Information Technology - Today Computers are used at home Homework/portfolio/communication/.. Special-function computers, e.g., automobile.. Computers are used for play Gaming/Instant Messaging/Multimedia/. Computers are used at work Office/factory/medicine/mobile worker/.. Computers are used at school Computer-based course/ e-learning © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 5

IT in Our Lives - The Past, Present, and Future Information Technology - Tomorrow Digital Convergence Everything is going digital Speech Recognition Software Video-on-demand Cashless Society Electronic Money (e-money) Electronic Wallet (e-wallet) © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 6

IT in Our Lives - The Past, Present, and Future Information Technology – Tomorrow (cont.) Shopping – anywhere, anytime Telemedicine Education Virtual university/ e-book/ e-paper Telecommuting High-Tech Voting National Database © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 7

Computers and Computer Networks Computer’s capabilities Information processing Data – raw material for information/ input to the computer Information – meaningful form of data/ output from the computer Information storage Information distribution © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 19

Computers and Computer Networks Computer’s strengths Speed Accuracy Consistency Reliability © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 20

Computers and Computer Networks Comparing with Humans Human output is slower than computer output, but Humans recognize patterns quicker than computers Computers are 100% accurate in recalling stored information Humans think, computers don’t (???) © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 21

Computers and Computer Networks Computer Network LAN (Local Area Network)/ WAN (Wide Area Network) Internet (the Net) Virtual frontier Information superhighway Protocols World Wide Web (the Web) Upload – send a file to another computer Download – receive a file from another computer © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 8

Categories of Computers Platform A pattern for which software is developed Personal Computers (PC) Wintel platform: Windows OS/ Intel CPU Mac platform: Mac OS/Motorola PowerPC © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 9

Categories of Computers Desktop PC Stationary System unit Notebook PC Laptop PC Portable Port replicator © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 11

Categories of Computers Configuring a PC System unit Keyboard Mouse or appropriate substitute Monitor © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 12

Categories of Computers Configuring a PC (cont.) Printer Hard disk CD-RW and/or DVD+RW Microphone Speakers © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 13

Categories of Computers Wearable Computers Worn by the user Customized for different professions Ubiquitous computing © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 14

Categories of Computers Handheld Computers Portable/ Pen-based computing/ Text-to- speech software Personal Information Management (PIM) Gaming Palmtop PC/ PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)/ smart phone/ personal communicator/ e-organizer/.. © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 15

Categories of Computers Workstations Speed Large-screen color monitors Specialized point-and-draw devices Add-on keyboard Professional use Special effects for videos/movies © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 16

Categories of Computers Server Computers Link and support client computers on a network Enterprise systems Computer-based systems that service departments, plants, warehouses/ … Web server/ FTP server/ server/ Computing server/ Database server/… © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 17

Categories of Computers Supercomputers Handle applications that require little I/O but lots of computing speed (processor- bound) Simulations Weather forecasting Study of how proteins are formed Advanced graphics used in movies Analysis of large amounts of data Simulation of child birth © 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.Slide 18