Computers in Your Life
• Why Learn About Computers?
– Fifty years ago, computers used mostly by researchers and
scientists
– Today, few aspects of daily life remain untouched by
computers
NAME SOME EVERYDAY ITEMS
THAT HAVE COMPUTERS
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Computers in Your Life
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Car Engines
Cash Registers
DVR’s
Security
Systems
Printers
Cell Phones
GPS Systems
Stoves
Traffic Lights
Game Consoles
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Cameras
Dashboards
Car Starters
Nook/Digital
Readers
CAT Scanners
Grocery Scanners
MRI’s
Alarm Clocks/Clocks
MP3 Players
ATM’s
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Thermostats
Radios
Calculators
Weapon/Guidance
Systems
• TV’s
• Monitors
• Headphones (even
the cheap ones
have more
processing power
than Apollo 13 did)
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Computers in Your Life
• Before 1980
– Computers were large, expensive
– Very few people had access to them
– Computers were mostly used for big jobs
• Issuing bills
• Keeping track of product inventory
• In the early 80’s, Microcomputers (personal computers) were
invented
– Inexpensive
• Computer use increased dramatically
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Computers in Your Life
• Today
– More than 80% of U. S. households have a computer
• Most people use computers at work
• No longer an isolated productivity tool
– You can Check e-mail on living room television
– View internet content on mobile phones, tablets,
and even watches
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Computers in the Home
• Today
– Computers can be used in nearly any location
– Content can be sent wirelessly from one device to another
• iPad or iPhone to Air Printer
– Household tasks, like watering the lawn or starting the
oven, are monitored and controlled by a main computer in
the house, or by a mobile phone
• Expected to be the norm in less then a decade
• Will conserve energy
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Computers in Education
• Today
– Schools integrate e-books into the curriculum
– Colleges have hotspots to connect laptops to a college
network
– Hybrid or online courses are offered
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Computers on the Job
• Today
– Used in the insurance industry; medical profession; auto
mechanics field
– Used for access control and other security measures
• Access ID cards; fingerprint scanners
– Used extensively by the military
– Navigational purposes; to identify terrorists
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Computers on the Go
• Today
– Consumer kiosks (Redbox; airport check-ins)
– POS (point-of-sale) systems at retail stores
• To calculate inventory; create stocking orders
– Self-checkout systems
• Supermarkets
• Wal-mart
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Computers Then and Now
• Pre-Computers and Early Computers (before 1946)
– Abacus, slide rule, mechanical calculator
– Punch Card Tabulating Machine and Sorter
Census completed in 2 ½ years, rather
than the usual 10 years; eventually
became IBM (International Business
Machines)
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Computers Then and Now
• First-Generation Computers (1946-1957)
– Enormous; powered by vacuum tubes
• Large, cylindrical light-bulb appearance
– Used a great deal of electricity; generated a lot of heat
– Could solve only one problem at a time, then had to be
rewired, which took several days
• ENIAC (Electronic Numeral Integrator and Computer) Used by U. S. Military to compute artillery-firing tables
• UNIVAC – Used by U. S. Census Bureau to analyze votes
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Computers Then and Now
• Second-Generation Computers (1958-1963)
– Used transistors
– Computers now smaller, more powerful, cheaper, energyefficient, and reliable
– Punch cards and magnetic tape were used to input and
store data
– Output was on punch cards and paper printouts
– Hard drives and programming languages were developed
(FORTRAN AND COBOL)
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Computers Then and Now
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Computers Then and Now
• Third-Generation Computers (1964-1970)
– Used integrated circuits
– Incorporated many transistors and electronic circuits on a
single tiny silicon chip
– Computers much smaller and more reliable
– Keyboards and monitors introduced for input and output
– Hard drives introduced for storage
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Computers Then and Now
• Fourth-Generation Computers (1971-present)
– IBM PC and Apple Macintosh were born
– Use microprocessors
– Touch screens for input; printers for output developed
– Use flash memory and optical discs for storage
– Computer networks, wireless technologies, and the
Internet were introduced
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Computers Then and Now
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Computers Then and Now
• Fifth-Generation (now and the future)
– In infancy stage
– May be based on artificial intelligence allowing them to
think, reason, and learn
– Will likely use only voice and touch input
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Hardware
• Input Devices
– Used to input data (text, audio, video, graphics) into the
computer
• Keyboard, mouse, scanner, camera, microphone,
joystick touch pad, touch screen, stylus, fingerprint
reader
• Processing Devices
– Perform calculations and control computer’s operation
– Central processing unit (CPU) and memory
– “Brain” of the computer
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Hardware
• Output Devices
– Present results to the user
• Monitor, printer, speaker, headphone, projector
• Storage Devices
• Hard drives, CD/DVD discs and drives, USB flash drives
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Hardware
• Communications Devices
– Modems
• Connect a computer to the Internet
– Network adapters
• Connect a computer to a computer network
– Routers
• Connect a small network of computers so a variety of
devices can share an Internet connection and data
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Software
• System Software
– Operating system starts up the computer and controls its
operation
• Windows, Mac OS, Linux, etc.
– Boots the computer and launches programs at the user’s
direction
• Security software
– Norton, AVG, Kaspersky
– Most use a GUI (graphical user interface) to interact with
the user
• Via windows, icons, menus, buttons, etc.
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Application Software
• Application Software
• Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access)
• Photo editing (Paint Shop)
• Browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge)
• E-mail programs (Outlook, G-Mail, Apple Mail)
• Recording/playing CD’s and DVD’s
• Games
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Mobile Devices
• Mobile Device
– Small device with some type of built-in computing or
Internet capability
• Smartphones – iPhone, Samsung Galaxy
• Handheld gaming devices – Nintendo 3DS
• Portable digital media players – iPod Touch
• Tablets – iPad, Kindle Fire
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Computer Networks and the
Internet
• Computer Network
– Collection of hardware and other devices connected
together
– Users share hardware, software, and data, and
communicate with each other
• Network Servers
– Manage the resources on a network
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Computer Networks and the
Internet
• Typical Computer Networks
– Home networks
• Share printers and Internet connection
– School networks
• Share resources and Internet connection
– Business networks
• Share company records, printers, etc.
– Public wireless networks
• Libraries, restaurants, etc.
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What are the Internet and the
World Wide Web?
• What is the Internet?
– Largest computer network in the world
– Individuals connect to the Internet using an Internet
service provider (ISP), which is a “gateway to the Internet”
– Verizon, Charter, AT&T, etc.
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What are the Internet and the
World Wide Web?
• What is the World Wide Web?
– A resource (collection of Web pages, or documents)
available through the Internet
– A Web site is a group of Web pages stored on Web servers
and belonging to an individual or company
• YouTube, Facebook, Twitter
– Web pages are viewed using a Web browser
• Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, etc.
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Accessing a Network or the
Internet
• To connect to the Internet you need:
– A modem
• Telephone line
• Cable connection
• Wireless signal
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Accessing a Network or the
Internet
• You also need:
– an IP, or "internet protocol address"
• A unique identifying number given to every single
computer on the Internet
– 194.66.82.11
» Like a car license plate, an IP address is a special
serial number used for identification
• The IP address is then invisibly translated into a natural
English "domain name" for ease of use
– Microsoft.com
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IP Addresses and Domain Names
• Top-Level Domain Names
– Correspond to IP addresses
– identify the type of organization
– Have very specific meanings
» .com for commercial
» .edu for educational
• Custom TLD’s may soon be
allowed
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IP Addresses and Domain Names
– Uniform Resource Locators (URL’s)
• Identify specific Web pages
(http://twitter.com/jobs/index.html)
• Use Web page protocols
– Hypertext Transfer Protocol (http://) is typically
used to display Web pages
– https:// is used to display secure Web pages
• Identify Web server hosting the page
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Surfing the Web
• Web browser
– Used to display Web pages
• Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Edge
• Browser home page
– The first page displayed when the browser is opened
• To navigate to a Web page, you can:
– Type a URL in the Address bar
– Click a hyperlink–graphics or text linked to other Web
pages
– Select a Favorite/Bookmark or page from the History list
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Searching the Web
• Search Site
– Web page that helps you find
Web pages containing
information you are seeking
– Typically search using keywords
• Reference Sites
– Look up addresses,
telephone numbers, ZIP codes,
maps, etc.
• Wikipedia, eHow, About
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E-Mail
• Electronic Mail (e-mail)
– Electronic messages exchanged between computers on a
network
– One of the most widely used Internet applications
– Can be conventional, Web-based, or mobile-based
• Conventional – Microsoft Outlook; Web-based - G-mail
– Can contain photos, attached files, etc.
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E-Mail
– E-mail addresses
• Identify people for e-mail exchange
– [email protected]
– E-mail addresses consist of:
• Username (must be unique)
• The @ symbol
• Domain name for the computer that will be handling
the person’s e-mail (mail server)
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Computers and Society
• Benefits of a Computer-Oriented Society
– Ability to design buildings, cars, airplanes, etc., before
construction, leads to safer products
– Earlier medical diagnoses and more effective treatment
– Allows physically and/or visually challenged individuals to
perform job tasks
• Speech recognition software; braille input and output
devices
– Can download information, music, programs, movies, and
more—ON DEMAND
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Computers and Society
• Computer-Oriented Society Also Has Risks
– Stress and health concerns
– Spam
– Computer viruses and malware
– Identity theft and phishing
– Privacy issues
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Computers and Society
• Differences in Traditional and Online Communication
– Less formal than traditional
– The new “etiquette”--netiquette
• Be polite and considerate of others
• Refrain from offensive remarks
– Use of abbreviations
• Acronyms
– BTW (by the way)
• Emoticons
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Computers and Society
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