1 Software for Personal Computing A course overview

2 Goal To provide you with the knowledge and skills needed to use computers effectively. –Learn about Windows XP –Learn to navigate in a Unix environment –Use electronic mail –Work with a word processor –Work with a web browser –Work with spreadsheets –Connect to remote computers –Transfer files between computers –Compress and uncompress files –Search and retrieve files –Read and compose messages

3 Computers and their uses Personal Computer (PC) –Windows XP –Unix –Mac OS In this class: Windows XPUnix Word ProcessingBasic usage Spreadsheets Database Slide Presentations Telnet and ftp Drawing Tools File Compression Web browser and creating web pages

4 The Main Components of your PC Hard Drive RAM CPU (Central Processing Unit) –Processor, sort of Mouse Keyboard Monitor Software Anything else???

5 The Motherboard A motherboard is the central or primary circuit board making up a modern computer. It is also known as a mainboard, baseboard, system board, or, on Apple computers, a logic board. Is to provide the electrical and logical connections by which the other components of the system communicate.

6 The Hard Drive This is where every program and file on your computer is stored. When you start a program or open a file, that program/file is copied into memory from the hard drive. Because all of your files/programs are located on your hard drive, you need to have more storage space than memory. Current hard drive sizes are in excess of 200 GB and are growing fast.

7 Random Access Memory (RAM) Any data to be processed must be stored in memory rather than on the hard drive. This makes access much faster since the RAM can be accessed quicker than the hard drive. When you start a program, the program and the data it needs are loaded from the hard drive into memory. When a computer does not have enough memory, information must be swapped from RAM to the hard drive, which slows down the computer a great deal. You can add additional RAM chips to gain more memory for your PC. A currently acceptable amount of RAM is 1~2 GB.

8 Central Processing Unit (CPU) The “brains” of your computer. If you have a 2.8 GHz CPU, then your processor can handle 2.8 billion commands a second. One Hertz (Hz) means the frequency of is 1/second.

9 Read Only Optical Storage Media ROM means Read only Memory. Discs labeled as ROM can only be read. CD-ROMs can hold about 700 MB, or the equivalent of 486 floppies. DVDs (Digital Video Disk) have multiple capacities, ranging from ~5-10 GB. BlueRay is gaining popularity, and can store over 50 GB.

10 CDs CD players’ read speed is measured with an X, or the number of times greater than 150 Kilobytes per second the speed of the first CD reader. So a 48X reader can read at 150 KB * 48 per second. CD-R discs can be written to once. Files deleted from a CD-R before the disc is finalized are NOT deleted. They are simply no longer accessible.

11 DVDs High capacity optical or laser disc. One layer can hold 4.7 GB of data. Most commercial DVDs are dual layer. Each layer can be written to. As a result, dual layer dvds can hold up to 8.5 GB of data, twice as much as a regular DVD. DVD-R can be written to just once. There are many dual layer burners on the market. They require blank dual layer DVD R discs. There are two competing technologies: DVD+R and DVD-R. Some drives can only read or write one format, although most drives work with both formats.

12 Software Software is another name for programs  Instructions that tell the computer how to process data Two kinds of software  System software – what the computer uses  Operating Systems  Application software – what you use

13 Personal Operating Systems Mac OS and Linux Mac OS is the operating system for today’s Apple Computers. Its GUI is similar to Windows, but the differences are large enough that people tend to pick one or the other. Linux is an open source operating system. It’s used mostly with high end workstations and network servers.

14 History of Operating Systems By Microsoft Microsoft has been making OS software utilizing graphical user interfaces since around –Windows 3.1 –Windows 95 –Windows 98 –Windows ME –Windows XP –Windows NT and Windows XP Professional both are personal operating systems when used as stand alone machines but can be considered network operating systems when connected to a network.

15 Windows Graphical User Interface (GUI) –perform tasks by clicking or dragging a mouse –access programs and documents with the Start button –related files are grouped in a window –each program is represented by an icon –menus and toolbars provided additional functionality –buttons and scroll bars are used to manipulate a window Mouse usage is essential for using Windows!

16 Required Mouse Skills Pointing Clicking Right Clicking Double Clicking Dragging Right Dragging

17 Close button Close button Maximize/Restore button Minimize button Minimize button Taskbar Start menu Desktop icon Windows XP 21 Menu

18 Disk Drives Removable Drives

19 Word Processing Microsoft Word –create and edit text –format text (bold, italics, underline, font, font size) –orient text on a page (center, left-justified, right-justified) –bullets, borders and shading –word wrap –spell checker –insert graphical image in document –tables –Word Art

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21 Spreadsheets Microsoft Excel –insert text, numbers, formulas or functions into a cell –format a range of cells –place a border around a range of cells –change text or background color –copy a formula to a range of cells –develop a chart from the data –macros (automate a sequence of keypresses)

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23 Web Browsers Examples –Internet Explorer –Mozilla Firefox –Opera? Uses –view multimedia from the World Wide Web (WWW) –search and retrieve information –download software –download multimedia

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26 Connect to remote computers (using Telnet) Telnet to UNIX (i.e., unixs.cis.pitt.edu) Telnet to VMS (i.e., vms,cis.pitt.edu) Telnet to remote computer (i.e., archie.rutgers.edu)

27 Connect to UNIX

28 UNIX OS UNIX environment –type a command to perform a task or start a program –at login, you are sitting in your root directory –you can move to a different directory –you can copy or move a file –you can rename or delete a file –you can create or remove a directory –you can create or edit a text file –you can send

29 enter a unix command

30 Transfer files between computers (using FTP) WS_FTP or Rapid Filer –transfer a text file –transfer a binary file –change directory –delete a file –rename a file Smart FTP

31 Transferring Files

32 Electronic Mail Client programs (installed on computer) –MS Outlook –Mozilla Thunderbird Web-based: –Pitt mail –Gmail (Google ) Uses Compose and send a message Receive and read a message Send or receive attachments Create your own personal signature Save a message Insert files into messages Create an address book Delete messages

33 Reading

34 Key Terms application software browser chassis compact disc (CD) computer competency computer network connectivity data database file database management systems desktop computer digital versatile (or video) disc (DVD)

35 Key Terms cont. document file end user floppy disk handheld computer hard disk hardware information information system information technology input device internet keyboard Hertz

36 Key Terms cont. mainframe computer memory microcomputer microprocessor midrange computer minicomputer monitor mouse notebook computer operating system optical disk output device palmtop computer people

37 Key Terms cont. personal digital assistant (PDA) presentation file presentation graphics primary storage printer procedures program random access memory (RAM) secondary storage devices software spreadsheet supercomputer

38 Key Terms cont. system cabinet system software system unit video display screen Web wireless revolution word processors worksheet file World Wide Web (WWW)