Basic Computer Skills: Understanding Hardware and Software, Lecture notes of Computer Science

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New Mexico Broadband Program

Basic Computer Skills

Module 1

Types of Personal Computers

Computer Hardware and Software

New Mexico Broadband Program in partnership with Fast Forward New Mexico

Basic Computer Skills

Learning Objectives Acquire introductory familiarity with basic computer parts, terms, and functions

New Mexico Broadband Program in partnership with Fast Forward New Mexico

Types of Computers

From largest to smallest, the main types of

standard computers are:

• (^) Desktop computer
• (^) Laptop computer/notebook
• (^) Tablet computers (iPad)
• (^) Smartphones (iPhone, Blackberry)

New Mexico Broadband Program in partnership with Fast Forward New Mexico Desktop s Laptops Smart phones Tablets

Types of Computers

New Mexico Broadband Program in partnership with Fast Forward New Mexico

Laptop Computers

• (^) Designed to sit on your lap
• (^) Portable
• (^) Monitor & keyboard built in
• (^) Mouse built in as “touchpad”
• (^) Smaller models referred to as “notebooks” or “netbooks”

New Mexico Broadband Program in partnership with Fast Forward New Mexico

Tablet Computers

• (^) Lighter than laptops
• (^) Very portable
• (^) Keyboard built in on screen
• (^) Mouse built in on screen
• (^) Multiple uses
• (^) Merging functions

New Mexico Broadband Program in partnership with Fast Forward New Mexico Now, let’s consider the basic components of a computer.

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The physical parts of computers are called

hardware and include elements both inside

and outside of the computer.

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Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The central processing unit (CPU) is the “brains” of a computer. It is often called a microprocessor or microprocessing chip. The CPU is a computation engine that:

• (^) Allows the computer to perform operations
• (^) Enables the computer to run software
• (^) Determines how fast the computer can make calculations

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Despite this ability, the CPU is a very

small.

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Hard Drive

The Hard drive is the physical location on which your computer’s information and data are stored. The hard drive:

• (^) Looks like an aluminum box
• (^) Contains electronic disks on which information is stored in electronic form
• (^) Can be read and written to with arms that function like a very precise record player arm

New Mexico Broadband Program in partnership with Fast Forward New Mexico Electronics and motor The hard drive contains wiring that allows it to be programmed and connects it to other parts of the computer.

New Mexico Broadband Program in partnership with Fast Forward New Mexico Although called memory, RAM is best thought of as available work space. The more RAM your computer has, the more “work,” or programs, you can open and work on simultaneously. A computer’s temporary memory is called RAM, short for “Random Access Memory” Computer RAM

Computer Memory

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RAM

• (^) The amount of RAM is an important factor in a computer’s performance.
• (^) The more RAM a computer has, the greater it’s ability to “multi-task.”
• (^) A large amount of RAM is like having a very large desk – it holds more! 20

Computer Parts and their Function