Upload
paul-barr
View
121
Download
8
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
COMPUTER HARDWARE & PERIPHERAL UNITS
JOAN BARR7/12/10
LESSON SUMMARY:
• DEFINITION OF COMPUTERS, TYPES OF COMPUTERS
• HARDWARE & SOFTWARE• INPUT/OUTPUT DEVICES &
PERIPHERALS• HOW IT ALL WORKS
TOGETHER
WHAT IS A COMPUTER?
A COMPUTER IS A DEVICE THAT:
ACCEPTS INPUT, PROCESSES DATA, STORES DATA AND PRODUCES OUTPUT ALL ACCORDING TO A SERIES OF INSTRUCTIONS
TYPES OF COMPUTERS
MICROCOMPUTERSMINICOMPUTERSMAINFRAME
COMPUTERSSUPERCOMPUTERSERVERSWORKSTATIONS
MICROCOMPUTER
• More commonly called Personal Computers (PC’s)• Designed to meet the needs of an individual user whether at
work, school or on the desk at home• Provides access to wide range of applications as needed by
the user e.g. word processing, internet & email, photo-editing etc.
• The following are all microcomputers:– Desktop computers– Laptops– Notebooks– Handhelds & palmtops– Handheld game consoles– Programmable Calculators– Tablet PC (e.g. I-pad)
MINICOMPUTERS• MIDRANGE COMPUTERS• A CLASS OF MULTI-USER COMPUTER THAT LIES IN BETWEEM
THE SMALLEST MAINFRAME (MULTI-USER) SYSTEMS AND THE LARGEST MICROCOMPUTER (SINGLE-USER SYSTEMS)
• INDUSTRY EXAMPLES ARE HEWLETT PACKARD, SUN MICROSYSTEMS & IBM SERVERS
A SUN SPARC ENTERPRISE
M4000 SERVER
MAINFRAME COMPUTERS• Large, expensive computers
capable of simultaneously processing for hundreds or thousands of users (e.g. large banks, stock exchange)
• Used to store, manage and process large amounts of data that need to be reliable, secure and centralized.
• Usually housed in separate rooms with controlled access
SUPERCOMPUTERS• The largest category of
computer• Costs millions• Can tackle tasks not
practical for other computers
• Examples of use: weather forecasting, code breakers, astrophysics, nuclear simulations, very complex scientific calculations
• Dynamic – today’s supercomputer can very quickly become tomorrow’s ordinary computer.
SUPERCOMPUTERS AT WORK,
NASA, COLUMBIA
• HARDWARE
• SOFTWARE
• PERIPHERALS
WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW THEY WORK TOGETHER
HARDWARE QUITE SIMPLY THE PHYSICAL COMPONENTS
THAT MAKE UP THE COMPUTER(IT REFERS TO THE
PERIPHERALS ALSO)SOFTWARE
A COMPUTER PROGRAMMETHAT TELLS THE
COMPUTER WHAT TO DO AND HOW
PERIPHERAL DEVICES ARE SEPARTE BUT CONNECTED
TO THE COMPUTERTO EXPAND ITS INPUT,OUTPUT & STORAGE
CAPABILITIES
YOU CAN’T HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER!
Hardware/software relationship between well known Apple technologies
COMPONENTS THAT MAKE UP THE COMPUTER HARDWARE
• SYSTEM UNIT • CPU• RAM • STORAGE & DISK DRIVES
• PERIPHERALS:
– STORAGE DEVICES – DISK DRIVES– INPUT DEVICES– OUTPUT DEVICES
STORAGE DEVICESA DEVICE CAPABLE OF STORING INFORMATION
• PRIMARY STORAGE– COMPUTER RAM
• SECONDARY STORAGE– ALSO KNOWN AS EXTERNAL OR AUXILIARY STORAGE– HOLDS INFORMATION UNTIL IT IS DELETED OR OVERWRITTEN REGARDLESS
OF WHETHER OR NOT THE COMPUTER HAS POWER– Examples@:
• CD’S & DVD’S• FLASH PENS• FLOPPY DISKS• EXTERNAL HARD DRIVES• ZIP DRIVES
INPUT & OUT PUT DEVICES
INPUT DEVICES bring information INTO the
computer
OUTPUT DEVICES bring information OUT of the
computer
TYPES OF INPUT DEVICES• Text:
– keyboard• Pointing:
– Mouse– Touchscreens– Touch pads– Trackerballs– Wii remote
• Gaming:– Joystick– Game controller– Game pad
• Image, Video input devices– Scanner– Webcam– Digital cameras– Barcode readers– Medical image sensors
• Audio:– Microphone– soundcard
TYPES OF OUTPUT DEVICES• MONITOR
– an electronic visual display screen– Monitors have improved greatly in quality since the first
Cathode Ray Tube display screen– The LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) is now the most common
form of monitor used.
• PRINTER– an output device that produces text of graphical images
from the computer onto paper– Various types and styles of printers from basic home
printers to large laser printers capable of printing up to 12,000 copies per hour
• SPEAKERS– Output devices that receive commands from the
computer’s sound card to produce music, narration or sound effects
OTHER OUTPUT DEVICES
• HEADPHONES• PROJECTION
SYSTEMS• INTERACTIVE
WHITEBOARDS• TV’S• PLOTTERS