Microcomputer Basics Flashcards
Motherboard
Central Processing Unit - on motherboard
Arithmetic and logical calculations
Controls all internal and external devices
Motherboard - Memory
On motherboard
RAM-volatile
Cache stores
Near CPU-instructions and data
ROM
Non-volatile
Start up instructions
Motherboard - Expansion Cards
Sound and video cards
Laptops use integrated components
Provides extra functionality
Fits into slots on motherboard and most have ports on back of computer
Video Card
Translates binary data into images
Includes HDMI ports
Usually have their own video RAM and processors
Sound Card
Cable connects to DVD/Blue Ray
Ports for audio, line, mice and joystick inputs
Motherboard - Network Interface Card (NIC)
Enables computer to connect to other computers and the internet.
Attaches to or is integrated into the motherboard.
Access to ethernet for wired networking or wireless network cards.
Major Component - Power Supply
Provides power for all components and peripherals
Major Component - Hard Drive
Largest storage component of computer system.
In sealed case.
SSD or Platters
Connects to Motherboard
Major Component - DVD/Blue Ray Drive
Not normally available on laptop
Computer Literacy
Understanding the capability and limitations of computers, and knowing how to use them safely and efficiently.
Elements of Computer Literacy
- Avoiding hackers and viruses.
- Protecting your privacy.
- Understanding the real risks.
- Using the web wisely.
- Avoiding online annoyances
- Being able to maintain, upgrade, and troubleshoot your computer.
- Knowing which technologies are on horizon and how to integrate them into your life.
LCD Monitors
Flat panel monitors are popular on new computers and as replacements or upgrades.
Most common
Light and energy efficient.
Fixed grid of pixels.
Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFL) to provide the backlight.
Pixel
Each is comprised of three sub pixels of red, blue, and green.
Blocking or passing of light causes images to form.
LED Monitors
Newer, and use light emitting diode technology.
More energy efficient, better color accuracy, and thinner panels than LCD.
OLED Monitors
Organic light emitting diode display.
Uses organic compounds that produce light when exposed to an electric current.
Do not require a backlight to function, so draw less power and have thinner displays than LCD.
Choosing a Monitor
Two of the most important factors are:
Aspect ratio
Resolution
Consider size, resolution, and brightness.
Aspect Ratio
One of most important factor.
The width to height proportion of a monitor.
Older were 4:3, newer are 16:9 (HD format)
Resolution (monitor)
Dictated by the screen size and aspect ratio.
Clearness/sharpness of the image, reflects the number of pixels on the screen.
Max resolution of 1600x1200=1,600 vertical columns, with 1,200 pixels in each column.
Contrast Ratio
Difference in light intensity between brightest white and darkest black a monitor can produce.
Ratios between 400:1 and 1,000:1 are good
Too low ratios results in fading colors when brightness is adjusted.
Viewing Angle
Measured in degrees; 150 degrees or more preferable.
Too low means you need to sit directly in front to get a good image.
Distance in degrees from which you can move to the side/above/below before the image degrades.
Brightness
300 cd/m2 or greater (candelas per sq meter/nits)
Greatest amount of light showing when the monitor is displaying pure white.
Image hard to see in a bright room.
Response Time
Lowest if viewing live action sports.
High results in jerky images.
Time in milliseconds it takes for a pixel to change color.
Monitors: Bigger always better?
No.
You can display more with a bigger screen, but using two smaller monitors may work.
Monitors - Size Does Matter
HD-DVD-Blu Ray > 1920 x 1080 resolution
Larger monitors can create the effect of 2 separate monitors.
LCD Monitor Sizes
Wide Screen-work with multiple windows or watch a lot of movies.
4:3=H is 3/4 of width (4units w x 3 units h)
Ink Jet Printers
Spray tiny drops of ink onto paper.
Advantages: high-quality color printouts; good quality printers are affordable; images on the right paper look professional.
Laser Printers
Static electricy signals where to print ink.
Faster than inkjet and higher quality printouts.
Price competitive, but more economical than inkjet long term when factoring in ink/toner.
Use toner.
Choosing a Printer
Speed
Resolution
Color
Cost of consumables
Printer Speed
Measured in pages per minute
Black/white faster, esp. laser
Printer Resolution
A printer's image clarity measured in dpi Recommended dpi: 300 Black and white text 1,200 General purpose images 4,800 Photos
Printer Color v. B and W
Best have separate cartridges for each color.
Inkjet and laser generally have 4:
black, cyan, magenta, yellow - standard
add light cyan and light magenta to high quality
Printer Costs of Consumables
Printer cartridges and paper.
Research in consumer magazines.
Some printer cartridges can exceed the cost of some printers.
How a LCD Monitor Works
A fluorescent panel at the back of the monitor generates light waves. When electric current passes through the solution the crystals mov around, blocking light waves generated or letting them shine through.
Binary Numbers
Based on 0 and 1, off or on.
Each binary digit is called a bit.
Everything storable is encoded into binary.
Computer reads and outputs alpha-numeric characters, graphics.
Base Systems
Place value gives meaning to the digits in a number.
- Decimal - Base 10
- Hexadecimal - Base 16
Decimal System
A 3-digit decimal number has a:
- 100’s place (10 2)
- 10’s place (10 1)
- 1’s place (10 0)
Hexadecimal System
A 3 digit hexadecimal number has a:
- 256’s place (16 2)
- 16’s place (16 1)
- 1’s place (16 0)
Base Conversion
Humans use decimal (base 10) numbers.
Computers use binary (base 2).
Hexadecimal (base 16) is compromise.
-Represents larger numbers with fewer digits.
Comparison of Decimal/Hexadecimal/Binary
Decimal - 256
Hexadecimal - 100
Binary - 000100000000
RGB Systems
Represent color on monitor.
Each of 3 colors has value between 0-255.
The number scale represents how bright the light for that color shines.
Color Values
White:
Red-255 / FF
Green-255 / FF
Blue-255 / FF
Smartphones are Computers
Hardware (CPU and storage) Input/Output devices Ports Software Sensors
Smartphone Input/Output Devices
Touch sensitive screen
Microphone
Keypad
Camera
Smartphone Storage
ROM - OS
RAM - Data and application programs
Size dictates use of special processors and OS’s
Smartphone Display
OLED displays
Resolution up to 1920 x 1080
Up to 6 inches
Smartphone Sensors
Accelerometers GPS Chips Light sensors Proximity sensors Barometers Digital Compases Biometric security (fingerprint/iris) Magnetometer
Accelerometers
Detect shaking or rotation
GPS Sensor
Location aware software.
System of satellites built by US Department of Defense.
Antenna to pick up signal from satellites and translate to latitude and longitude to within 10 feet.
Airplanes/Cars/Boats
Geotriggers
Smartphone Connectivity
Internet - wireless and cellular
Bluetooth
NFC - car or bill paying.
Smartphone Memory and Storage
Up to 256 GB internal memory
Internal or external micro SD cards-memory expansion
iPhone doesn’t allow addition of any memory
Mobile Operating Systems
iPhone iOS
Google Android - most popular
Windows Based - less than 1% of mobile market
Cloud Storage
Backup - easy and safe
Photos - instant and synced
(Google photos available for iOS and Android for free, and is unlimited.)
Main Artificial Intelligence Assistants
iOS - Siri
Android - Google Assistant
AI Assistants
Support voice commands.
Gather information you need based on your location or task lists.
Works in background w/no specific requests.
Google Assistant
What package being delivered by FedEx today
Learns from e-mail and web searches.
Remind you to leave for the airport based upon time.
Locate your frequent flyer number.
Google Assistant
What package being delivered by FedEx today
Learns from e-mail and web searches.
Remind you to leave for the airport based upon time.
Locate your frequent flyer number.
Phone Gadgets
Flir - window leaks Kardia - EKG BacTrac - breathalyzer Ravensburger Smartscope Skulpt Scanner - muscle scanner/analyzer Automatic Pro - car's ODB-II port Hidrate Spark - smart water bottle Photomath - scan and get help solving math problems Wilson X - basketball coach iBobber - Fish finder
Each ___ can represent one letter, number, or symbol?
Byte
What is a laptop that can convert into a tablet-like device?
A 2-in-1 PC
Touch-screen devices usually feature _____ keyboards.
Virtual
The fastest computer port is the:
Thunderbolt.
10 gigabits per second
Which computer component drains the battery the fastest?
Display screen
Ergonomics
Important consideration for all computing devices.
The most common output device for soft output is:
The display screen.
Display Monitor
Can be both an input and output device.
Optical Storage Media
CD-ROM
DVD-ROM
DVD-RAM
Blu-Ray
Types of Ports
Thunderbolt
HDMI
USB
A power control option that performs a warm boot:
Restart
Byte
8 bits of data
Can hold a number between 0-255
Bits
Short for binary digit
Kilobyte
KB
1,024 bytes
Bytes
Kilobyte - one thousand (1,024) Megabyte - one million (1,048,576) Gigabyte - one billion (1,073,741,824) (786,432 pages of text) Terabyte - one trillion Petabyte - one quadrillion (1k terabytes)
Hertz
Machine Cycles per second
Terabyte
More than 1 trillion bytes
System Unit
Hard drive unit Optical drive unit Motherboard Fan Expansion Slots Connectors Power supply and fan
Expansion Hub
An expansion hub is a powered hub that is 2.0 and USB. It simply allows you to connect to devices that you were not able to connect to with a regular hub.
Flash Memory
Can store 256 GB of data
Often used in smartphones
PCMCIA Type I and Type II memory cards (used as solid-state disks in laptops)
Can be plugged directly into a USB port
Ethernet Port
Connects a computer to a cable modem or a network.
USB Port
Commonly used for connecting input and output devices
DVI Port
Not generally for audio
Same capability as HDMI
Used to connect projectors to a computer system
HDMI Port
Used for home theater systems
VGA Port
Used to connect CRT monitors
Fastest Data Transfer Rate
USB 3.0
What kind of numbering system is ordinarily used by people?
Decimal
Hexadecimal represents numbers by using which base?
Sixteen
In the RGB system, when all three component colors are set to zero, the result is?
Black
How many colors are used by the RGB system?
Three
A single hexadecimal number is represented by how many digits in the binary numbering system?
Four
What numbering system uses base 2?
Binary
When storing information in a computer, the binary system uses what to represent an on switch?
1
When storing information in a computer, the binary system uses what to represent an off switch?
0
For each numbering base system, the far right always has a place value of what?
1
For each numbering base system, as you move to the left, the value of each digit becomes how much greater?
Exponentially
What numbering system is used in place of binary numbers because binary numbers are difficult to read?
Hexadecimal
In the RGB system, each color can have a value from what to what?
0-255
In the hexadecimal numbering system, each place value digit is how many times greater than the digit to its right?
16
In the binary numbering system, each digit can have how many possible values?
2
In what numbering system does each place value digit have ten times greater than the digit to its right?
Decimal
Computers store information in which numbering system, which is difficult, if not impossible for humans to read?
Binary, base two
The Internet
A network of networks connecting billions of computers globally.
Evolved from a U.S. Government funded project called the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET). Needed a computer network that wouldn’t be disrupted in case of attack.
Established a secure form of communications.
Created a means of communication for all computers.
Client/Server Network
Client asks for data.
Server receives request and returns data.
Internet Protocol (IP) Address
How computers identify each other.
Websites have unique IP addresses.
Text versions of IP addresses because IP addresses too hard to remember.
IP Address
Set of four groups of numbers separated by periods.
Dotted quad or dotted decimal.
Identifies a website.
Identifies a computer connecting to the internet.
Web 2.0
Social Web.
Collaboration tools.
Social Media.
Includes social networking, wikis, blogs, podcasts, and webcasts.
Social Networking
Facebook
Twitter
Many precautions for using social networking sites.
Project Collaboration and File Sharing Tools
Wikis
Project management tools
Blogs
Blogs
Blog - weblog
Video log - vlog
A personal log or journal posted on the web.
Wikipedia
A wiki, a web application that allows users to add, remove, or edit its content.
Google Drive
Has wiki-like features to promote online collaboration.
Specific wiki software, such as Wikispaces and MediaWiki
Wikipedia Foundation
Hosts other collaborative projects such as Wikibooks, Wikiversity, and Wikisource.
Project Management Tools
Incorporate tasks and calendars so the individual components and project can stay on schedule.
Microblog
Blogs with limits on how much text can be used.
Problems with Blogs
Spam blogs - splogs
Podcast
A form of digital media composed of a series of audio or video files that are distributed over the internet.
Delivered via RSS
RSS
Really Simple Syndication
Delivers podcast automatically to an aggregator.
Aggregator
Receives RSS podcast feeds.
Locates all the RSS series to which you’ve subscribed and automatically downloads the new content.
Webcast
Broadcast of audio or video over the internet.
Media Sharing Platforms
YouTube, Flickr, Instagram, Sound Cloud
Communicating over the Web
E-mail
Instant Messaging
Texting
VOIP
Primary means of communication over the internet.
Fast and convenient means of exchanging and collaborating on documents via attachments.
Two types are web based and using e-mail client
Asynchronous
More private than social media
Asynchronous
Users don’t need to be communicating at the same time.
Instant Messaging
Real time
AIM, Google Chat, Windows Messenger are proprietary IM services
Synchronous
Proprietary IM Services
Chat with only those who share the same IM service and are on buddy list.
Universal Chat Services
Allow you to chat with users of all popular IMs
Texting
Sending of messages between devices.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP)
Uses the internet to make phone calls.
e-Commerce Business Models
Business to Consumer (B2C)
Business to Business (B2B)
Consumer to Consumer (C2C)
Business to Consumer (B2C)
Business sells to consumers
Amazon.com
Business to Business (B2B)
Business sells to other businesses
Paper company that distributes paper to other companies.
Omahapaper.com
Consumer to Consumer (C2C)
Consumers sell to other consumers
ebay.com, craigslist.com
Electric Commerce (e-commerce) Safeguards
Use secure websites - secure sockets layer protocol.
Well-known, reputable sites
Pay by Credit, not Debit card.
Copy order, confirmation number and return policy
Avoid shopping on public computers.Bro
Secure Website
SSL protocol
URL is “https://”
Browser
Software that lets you locate, view, and navigate the web. Most are graphical. Google Chrome Microsoft Edge Firefox Safari
Graphical Browsers
Can display pictures in addition to text, sound, and video.
Google Chrome
Most popular browser
Can run on any device and with any OS
Sync between devices open tabs, bookmarks recent search results.
Microsoft Edge
Available only on Windows 10
Requires Microsoft Account
Firefox
Open source
Mozilla
Lets you keep only the features you want.
Safari
Developed by Apple for Mac
Has a Windows version for PCs
Universal Resource Locator (URL)
Use to access a website.
Identify the web document it stands for.
Protocol
Set of rules used to retrieve a document.
- Hypertext Transfer Protocol
- File Transfer Protocol
- BitTorrent
Domain Name
Main domain name is a site’s home page.
http://newyorktimes.com
URL
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/technology Protocol: http: Domain: www.nytimes Top Level: .com Path/sub-directory: pages/technology
Hyperlinks
Specially coded elements that let you jump from one web page to another within the same website or to another website.
Breadcrumb Trail
Help navigate more quickly through a website.
A navigation aid that shows users the path they have taken to get to a web page.
History
List that shows all the websites and pages you’ve visited over a certain period of time.
Organized by day, up to 3 weeks.
Bookmarks
Allows you to return to a specific web page without having to remember the address.
Live Bookmark
A feature in Firefox that adds the technology of RSS feeds to bookmarking.
Tagging/Social Bookmarking
Saves your favorite website to a social bookmarking site so you can share it with others.
Delicious.com
Search Engine
A set of programs that searches for keywords and returns a list of websites on which those keywords are found.
Search only sites that are relevant.
Metasearch searches other search engines.
Metasearch Engine
Searches other search engines rather than individual websites.
Spider
Search
Obtaining Better Search Results
Boolean Operators
Search for a phrase
Search within a website
Search with a wild card
Evaluating Websites
Authority Bias Relevance Audience Links
Digital Activism
Raise awareness about specific issues. #IceBucketChallenge #BringBackOurGirls Question if effective or fosters a false sense of involvement.
Geolocation
GPS chip that can calculate exact position Targets consumers by their location Used by 3rd party advertising networks Can be a violation of privacy rights No specific laws yet
Using the Web Effectively
Accessing and moving around the web
Searching the web effectively
Using the web ethically
Tools used to Navigate the Web
Hyperlinks Breadcrumb trail Bookmarks History Tagging
Visual Indications of Secure Website
https://
Closed padlock and green-colored address bar
Consider the validity of the site.
TRUSTe and Better Business Bureau
Safe on-line Shopping
Investigate unknown sites with bbb.org or bizrate.com
Check return policy, save copy of order, make sure you receive a confirmation number.
Make sure company has phone number and address.
Pay with credit, rather than debit card.
Use common sense.
Credit Cards
U.S. federal consumer credit card protection laws protect credit card purchases, not debit card purchases.
Click and Brick business
Business with both a traditional and on-line store.
Barnes and Nobles
Social Commerce
A subset of e-commerce that uses social networks to assist in marketing and purchasing products.
“Liking” a company.
Ordering a latte and paying w/Starbucks app.
Avoid Shopping on Public Computers
May have spyware installed that can track and log keystrokes.
Also avoid wireless transactions in public hotspots.
HTTP
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol
Start most URLs
Enables files to be transferred from a web server so you can see them on your browser.
FTP
File Transfer Protocol
Used to upload and download files from one computer to another.
TLD
Top Level Domain
Indicates the kind of organization the host is.
The three-letter suffix
.com - originally commercial, but now all
.biz - Businesses
.edu - Degree granting institutions
.gov - Local, state, and federal
.info - Information service providers
.mil - U.S. military
.net - originally for networking, but now all
.org - organizations such as not-for-profits
Blogs
One of the most popular ways of sharing content on web.
Web log
A journal posted on the web.
Usually written by a single author, arranged as a list, and are public, and can be created by anyone.
Setting up a Blog
Blogger.com
Sign up and create a blog name.
Accessible with a google account.
New blog, create a name, pick a design template, create URL.
Posting Content to a Blog
Click on new post icon next to heading.
Type title for entry in post title box, then content.
Click Link to create a URL for your post.
Insert Image to add a photo.
Click preview to preview blog.
Reader Comments on Blogs
Feedback helps shape future entries and direct you to other blogs you may find interesting.
Mobile Blogging
Install blogger app on smart phone.
Add, edit content, send links or location.
Set up a Blogger Profile
Don’t provide personal information and let others know your personal interests.
Click the icon near your name and click blogger profile link, add photo, link to home page, save profile button.
Searching for Blogs
Many directories
Blogs.botw.org
blogsearchengine.com
blogcatalog.com
Differentiate between Keyword and Metasearch Engines
Google vs. dogpile/info.com
Keyword Search Engines
Google or Bing
Not sorted, returns a list of websites.
Metasearch Engines
Dogpile or info.com
Search engine that searches other search engines.
Combine and compare results from multiple search engines to make search the web more efficient.
Eliminates duplicates and searches for relevancy for more complete listing in less time.
Different Search Engines
ChaCha - Human search engine Technorati - Blog search engine Monster - Job search engine Blinkx - multimedia metasearch engine TheSearchEngineList - Comprehensive list of search engines.
Alternative Search Engines
ChaCha - Human search engine
Technorati - Blog search engine
Monster - Job search engine
Blinkx - multimedia metasearch engine (YouTube)
TheSearchEngineList - Comprehensive list of search engines.
Effective Searches
Ensure terms are not too broad.
Use a minus sign to exclude some results.
Find synonyms ~
Specific file types: Info:, Define:, Numrange “..”
Quotes for exact search terms
Google has modifiers under search box (video, Images)
Google, click settings, Advanced Search for search form
LearnTheNet.com
Networking Sites
Media Sharing Business Networking and Collaboration Information Sharing e-Commerce and Payment Social Travel Health and Fitness Wiki
Media Sharing Sites
Instagram YouTube Pinterest Flickr Periscope Vine Bandcamp Spotify
Business Networking and Collaboration
LinkedIn
Slack
Kickstarter
StartupNation
Information Sharing
Delicious SlideShare StumbleUpon Reddit Digg
ASCII Code
Developed as the standard for computers from different manufacturers to exchange data.
Character to binary.
1963
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA)
1958 Established for the US Department of Defense.
Created ARPANET, the beginnings of the internet.
First Internet Message
1969 by UCLA sent first internet message to Stanford University. Beginning of network communication.
Ray Tomlinson
1972 wrote program to send e-mail over ARPANET
Develops “User@host” e-mail convention.
1978 there were 111 Internet domains on ARPANET.
Vincent Cerf and Robert Kahn
1973 developed a set of communication rules - the TCP/IP protocol that allows different types of computers to communicate.
Tim Berners-Lee
Developed and made public HTTP protocol and WWW.
Developed the first web browser.
WWW
1991 A subset of the Internet that is connected via hypertext (text containing hyperlinks to other documents and media.
1997 1million internet domains on ARPANET
Client Server Network
- User enters www.amazon.com in browser (client.)
- Request sent to servicer via data pathways.
- Data flows along backbone and on to smaller pathways until it reaches server for Amazon.
- Server returns requested data using fastest pathway (which may be different than arrival path.)
- Web browser interprets the data and displays it on your monitor.
IP Address
Identifies your computer.
A set of 4 numbers separated by periods.
e-Commerce and Payment
Venmo
Paypal
SquareCash
Groupon
Social Travel
Uber
Airbnb
TripAdvisor
Wase
Health and Fitness
MapMyFitness
Fitocracy
MyFitnessPal
Happier
Wiki
Project collaboration and file sharing.
Screen sharing, project management
Social Media Sharing
Blogs Podcasts Webcasts (realtime) e-mail (most common) Instant Messaging Texting VoIP
Podcast Directories and Aggregators
iTunes (itunes.com)
Podfeed (podfeed.net)
Stitcher (stitcher.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
Web Based email vs. e-mail Client
Accessible from any computer with internet.
Software installed on your computer.
Instant Messaging
Real time exchange.
Used by multiple persons simultaneously,
Video/audio chats available.
Text Messaging
Uses short messaging service (SMS) to send asynchronous messages between multiple mobile devices.
Can include images or video.
VoIP
Voice communication via Internet
Free or low cost calls
Some reliability issues.
OnLine Shopping Precautions
Use a firewall and antivirus Don't shop on public wifi (spyware) Check for visual indicators (https, padlock, green) Third party verification (BBB) Use credit, not debit card. Create a strong password. Deals too good to be true usually are. Read the fine print.
Common Browser Features
Privacy browsing
Tabbed browsing
Address bar/search box
Pin tabs of favorite sites
Google Specialized Search
Custom Search Finance Trends Shopping Scholar
Boolean Operators in Searchers
Use AND, NOT, OR between keywords in a search
Cloud Storage
OneDrive
Dropbox and GoogleDrive alternatives
No more flash drives needed
Share File or Folder
Letter K
01001011