Unit 1 Fundamentals of IT

1.1 Computer Hardware

Output Devices-An Output device is a piece of hardware that is used to display or output data which has been processed or stored on the computer. Examples of output devices consist of Monitors, TV screens, Printers, Laser Printer , Inkjet Printer ,Plotter, Touch screen ,Digital Projector

Communication Devices-A communication device is a hardware device capable of transmitting an analog or digital signal over the telephone, other communication wire, or wirelessly Bluetooth devices
Infrared devices
Modem (over phone line)
Network card (using Ethernet)
Smartphone
Wi-Fi devices (using a Wi-Fi router);

Input Devices- An input device is a piece of hardware that is used to enter data into a computer. There are multiple kinds of input devices they are split into 2 categories Manual input devices and Automatic input devices. A list of input devices are Keyboard, Mouse ,Touchpad, Joystick, Touchscreen , Scanner , Microphone , Webcam

1.2 Computer Components

The CPU is the Central Processing Unit is the main chip in a computer and is responsible for carrying out all of the tasks that a computer may have to do it is also responsible for telling the all the other microproccesors and computer components what to do

The motherboard is the main printed circuit board in the computer it has many sockets into which the CPU, memory ROM and RAM , graphiics ,sound and Network interface card

The modern CPU usually contains a number of microprocessors (multi-core). It is often described as the 'brain of the computer'.

Storage

Primary Storage-rimary storage is the first point of call when the CPU is fetching or storing data. Primary storage is usually volatile for example Random Access Memory (RAM).

Primary storage is very fast compared to secondary storage. For example RAM (primary storage) is much faster than a hard disk (secondary storage)
However primary storage loses all data when the device is turned off due to it being Volatile source of memory

Secondary Storage - Data and programs that are not running on a CPU are stored in secondary storage. Hard disks, DVD and magnetic tape are examples of secondary storage.

Secondary storage is normally non-volatile, meaning the data is retained even when the power is switched off.

Data can be stored either in the 'internal memory' or on a 'storage device'.
The amount of data and instructions that can be stored is measured in 'bytes'.
One byte contains 8 bits . This is the smallest unit of data that can be stored. Each 'bit' is represented as a binary number, either 1 or 0.

Computer ports
A port identifi es the location where a communication channel enters or
leaves the computer system, for example on your computer you may see the
USB, fi re wire, mouse and keyboard ports. It is the point at which a device
is plugged into the computer and normally has an interface which converts
data into the correct format. Each port has a number that allows the
computer to identify and select a particular peripheral easily. The different
types of port can be identifi ed by their external shape.

COMPUTER SYSTEMS

Desktop systems/servers
The computer can be either made up of:
individual components, such as screen, keyboard and mouse, with a case
which contains the motherboard, CPU, power supply, hard drives, optical
drives and connectors and expansion cards

Tablet/hybrid
Types of computer system
A laptop or tablet can be used in a variety of locations. The components
found in an all-in-one PC are found in a laptop or tablet, but in the case
of the laptop the mouse function is replaced by a touch pad and keyboard
combined.

Quantum computers are still experimental. They work with quantum bits
(qubits) which are not limited to two states as mainframes and PCs are.
Qubits represent atomic particles, such as electrons or photons, which can
be in several different states at the same time. A fully working quantum
computer will be able to carry out data manipulations many million times
more quickly than current computers.

1.4 Connectivity

This refers to the ability of a software application or piece of equipment to connect to another application or piece of equipment (e.g. computers).

'Poor connectivity' means it is difficult for that machine or software to share data, usually because it is using a proprietary data protocol that few other systems use.

On the other hand good connectivity is likely to mean that the network, equipment or software is using a common protocol.

For example, systems using TCP/IP as the networking protocol is likely to have excellent connectivity with other internet-enabled systems as the internet is based on the TCP/IP protocol.

Copper wire connections- Twisted pair (TP) is a common cable, often used in telephone systems. A pair
of insulated wires are twisted together. Several twisted pairs can be brought
together to form a twisted cable. There are two types: unshielded twisted
pairs (UTP) and shielded twisted pairs (STP).

Fibre cables
Optical fi bres provide the fastest data delivery by cable. Each fi bre is no thicker
than a human hair: the thinner the fi bre, the better the signal. The signal is
sent down a glass rod, or core, as a beam of light, in the same way as you
see in an optical fi bre lamp. Optical fi bre transmission is uni-directional (can
only go in one direction), so at least two fi bres are placed in a cable to allow
bidirectional (going in two directions) transmission.

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