Bali Trip!

erm...

I would like to take this oppoturnity before my mother nags at me to wish my family who gave me support in completing this blog, my friends who showed me stuff to put on my blog and a very big thank you my ICT teacher Mr. Noraizam for teaching me about creating a blog and Mr.Nasir who taught me about the format of ICT test papers.........:)......I enjoyed every single moment creating this blog and learning new things and I will always treasure this moment forever.......

Once again......THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!...:D

I'M FINISHED!!!!!!!

Haha...I finally completed my blog......Owh gawd...this is like such a reief!.........haha......If I had to go on and on and on..................I'll be like this.............hahahahaha!....WOOOHOOO! Great...now...wat...?????.....O_o...Owh yeah...add stuff...XD

Care and Feeding of Your Computers

1. To keep your computer running smoothly and to ensure that it has a long and productive life, follow these tips.

2. Keep the computer away from heat sources (like radiators and heat registers). Heat is a computer's enemy.

3. There is a fan built into the back of the CPU case. Keep this unobstructed and clean. A vacuum cleaner nozzle with a brush attachment is a useful fan cleaning tool

4. Don't spill liquids on any part of the computer. Liquids spilled on the keyboard or mouse might cause all kinds of electrical problems.

5. Clean the keyboard with a vacuum cleaner nozzle equipped with a brush tool.

6. Periodically clean the air vents on the side and back of the monitor with the vacuum brush.

7. Keep the monitor screen clean with a soft cloth. Use no detergents, chemicals or soaps. It works best if you clean the monitor when it is off. Otherwise, static electricity can compete with your cloth for the dust and grime.

8. Wipe off the keyboard keys with a soft cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol or other mild cleanser. Washing your hands before using the keyboard will keep it cleaner. Eating greasy finger foods while using the computer is not recommended.

9. About once a year, unhook the CPU case, take it outside (on a nice clear warm day), remove the case cover and take a look inside. If it has accumulated a lot of dust, cobwebs, and grit, you might want to invest in a can of compressed air and give it a good blast to clean it. Unless you know what's what, you shouldn't probe around with your fingers. Discharges can zap sensitive electronic components.

THANKS FOR READING!...I HOPED YOU ENJOYED IT!..:)

Application Software

General-Purpose Application Programs

General-purpose applications packages are programs that perform common information processing hobs for end users. For example, word processing programs, electronic spreadsheet programs, database management programs, graphics programs, communications programs, and integrated packages are popular with microcomputer users for home, education, business, scientific, and many other general purposes.They are also known as productivity packages, because they significantly increase the productivity of end users. This packaged software is also called off-the-shelf software packages, because these products are packaged and available for sale. Many features are common to most packaged programs.

Application-Specific Software

Many application programs are available to support specific applications of end users. Business Application Programs: Programs that accomplish the information processing tasks of important business functions or industry requirements.Scientific Application Programs: Programs that perform information processing tasks for the natural, physical, social, and behavioral sciences, engineering and all other areas involved in scientific research, experimentation, and development. There are so many other application areas such as education, music, art, medicine, etc.

Application Software Trends

The trend in computer application software is toward multipurpose, expert-assisted packages with natural language and graphical user interfaces. There are two major trends:
Off-The-Shelf Software Packages
There is a trend away from custom-designed one-of- a-kind programs developed by the professional programmers or end users of an organization.Instead, the trend is toward the use of the "off-the-self" software package acquired by end users from software vendors. This trend accelerated with the development of inexpensive and easy-to-use productivity software packages for microcomputers, and it continues to grow.
Nonprocedural, Natural Languages
There is a major trend away from technical, machine-specific programming languages using binary-based or symbolic codes and from procedural languages, which use English-like statements and mathematical expressions to specify the sequence of instructions a computer must perform.Instead, the trend is toward nonprocedural, natural languages that are closer to human conversation. This trend has accelerated with the creation of easy-to-use, nonprocedural fourth- generation languages (4GL). It continues to grow as developments in graphics and artificial intelligence produce natural language and graphical interfaces that make software packages easier to use.

Operating System

In computing, an operating system (OS) is an interface between hardware and user, which is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of a computer, that acts as a host for computing applications run on the machine. One of the purposes of an operating system is to handle the resource allocation and access protection of the hardware. This relieves the application programmers from having to manage these details.

Operating systems offer a number of services to application programs and users. Applications access these services through application programming interfaces (APIs) or system calls. By invoking these interfaces, the application can request a service from the operating system, pass parameters, and receive the results of the operation. Users may also interact with the operating system with some kind of software user interface like typing commands by using command line interface (CLI) or using a graphical user interface. For hand-held and desktop computers, the user interface is generally considered part of the operating system. On large systems such as Unix-like systems, the user interface is generally implemented as an application program that runs outside the operating system.

While servers generally run Unix or some Unix-like operating system, embedded system markets are split amongst several operating systems,[1][2] although the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems has almost 90% of the client PC market.

Computer Software

As mentioned before, software is the information that the computer uses to get the job done. It is also a general term primarily used for digitally stored data such as computer programs and other kinds of information read and written by computers.

Practical computer systems divide software systems into three major classes:

(i)System softwareSystem software helps run the computer hardware and computer system. It includes a combination of the following:

* device drivers

* operating systems

* servers

* utilities

* windowing systems

The purpose of systems software is to unburden the applications programmer from the often complex details of the particular computer being used, including such accessories as communications devices, printers, device readers, displays and keyboards, and also to partition the computer's resources such as memory and processor time in a safe and stable manner. Examples are- Windows XP, Linux, and Mac OS X.

(ii)Programming softwareProgramming software usually provides tools to assist a programmer in writing computer programs, and software using different programming languages in a more convenient way. The tools include:

* compilers

* debuggers

* interpreters

* linkers

* text editors

An Integrated development environment (IDE) is a single application that attempts to manage all these functions.

(iii)Application software

Application software allows end users to accomplish one or more specific (not directly computer development related) tasks. Typical applications include:

* industrial automation

*business software

* video games

* quantum chemistry and solid state physics software

* telecommunications (i.e., the Internet and everything that flows on it)

* databases

* educational software

* medical software

* military software

* molecular modeling software

* image editing

* spreadsheet

* simulation software

* Word processing

* Decision making softwareApplication software exists for and has impacted a wide variety of

topics.

There are also 3 basic types of software:

(i)Commercial software:Commercial software comes prepackaged and is available from software stores and through the Internet.

(ii)Shareware:Shareware is software developed by individual and small companies that cannot afford to market their software world wide or by a company that wants to release a demonstration version of their commercial product. You will have an evaluation period in which you can decide whether to purchase the product or not. Shareware software often is disabled in some way and has a notice attached to explain the legal requirements for using the product.

(iii)Open Source software:Open Source software is created by generous programmers and released into the public domain for public use. There is usually a copyright notice that must remain with the software product. Open Source software is not public domain in that the company or individual that develops the software retains ownership of the program but the software can be used freely. Many popular Open Source applications are being developed and upgraded regularly by individuals and companies that believe in the Open Source concept.

Computer Parts and Components

1. Monitor

The monitor shows information on the screen when you type.This is called outputting information. When the computer needs more information it will display a message on the screen, usually through a dialog box. Monitors come in many types and sizes. The resolution of the monitor determines the sharpness of the screen. The resolution can be adjusted to control the screen's display.

A computer monitor image is made up of pixels(dots). In general, the higher the resolution, the better the image. The smaller the dots pitch (typically from 0.25mm to 0.31 mm), the better the image.

Most desktop computers use a monitor with a cathode tube or liquid crystal display. Most notebooks use a liquid crystal display monitor.

To get the full benefit of today's software with full colour graphics and animation, computers need a color monitor with a display or graphics card.

2. Keyboard

The keyboard is the main input device for text and commands. There are many different keyboard layouts and sizes with the most common for Latin based languages being the QWERTY layout (named for the first 6 keys). The standard keyboard has 101 keys. Notebooks have embedded keys accessible by special keys or by pressing key combinations (CTRL or Command and P for example). Ergonomically designed keyboards are designed to make typing easier. Hand held devices have various and different keyboard configurations and touch screens.


3. Speakers

Speakers giveout information in the form of sound. They range widely in quality and price. They are typically packed with computer systems in small plastic boxes with mediocre sound quality. The internal amplifiers requires an external power source, known as 'wall-wart'.


4. Mouse

Most modern computers today are run using a mouse controlled pointer. Generally if the mouse has two buttons the left one is used to select objects and text and the right one is used to access menus. If the mouse has one button (Mac for instance) it controls all the activity and a mouse with a third button can be used by specific software programs. One type of mouse has a round ball under the bottom of the mouse that rolls and turns two wheels which control the direction of the pointer on the screen. Another type of mouse uses an optical system to track the movement of the mouse.

5. System Unit

A system unit, also known as a base unit, is the main body of a desktop computer, typically consisting of a plastic enclosure containing the motherboard, power supply, cooling fans, internal disk drives, and the memory modules and expansion cards that are plugged into the motherboard, such as video and network cards.

6. Printers

The printer takes the information on your screen and transfers it to paper or a hard copy. There are many different types of printers with various levels of quality. The three basic types of printer are:

(i)Dot matrix printers:Dot matrix printers work like a typewriter transferring ink from a ribbon
to paper with a series or 'matrix' of tiny pins.


(ii)Ink jet printers:Ink jet printers work like dot matrix printers but fires a stream of ink from a cartridge directly onto the paper.This type of printer is the most economical for colour output.


(iii)Laser printers:Laser printers use the same technology as a photocopier using heat to transfer toner onto paper. The speed of a laser printer is typically abouut 8 ppm (page per minute).


7.Computer Case

Where all of the components are stored.

8.CPU

It is basically the brain of your computer. The CPU is a used to process everything from basic to complex functions in a computer.

9.RAM

RAM is memory that attaches to the motherboard. RAM is hardware used to temporarily store and access data.

10.Motherboard

A Motherboard is the most important component in a computer system. All of the other hardware in a computer system connect to the motherboard.

11.Hard Drive

A Hard Drive is used for permanently storing files and programs.

12.Disk Drives

Disk Drives can be a floppy drive, CD drive, DVD drive or other possible file storage devices that are used in a computer.

13.Video Card

A Video Card is the part of a computer system that converts binary code from the CPU so you can view it on a monitor.

Introduction to Computers

There are 2 basic parts of a computer.

(1) Hardware:The hardware are the parts of computer itself including the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and related microchips and micro-circuitry, keyboards, monitors, case and drives (hard, CD, DVD, floppy, optical, tape, etc...). Other extra parts called peripheral components or devices include mouse, printers, modems, scanners, digital cameras and cards (sound, colour, video) etc... Together they are often referred to as a personal computer.

(2) Software:The software is the information that the computer uses to get the job done.There are also 2 types of computers ( based on their operational principle)

(i)Analog Computers:The analog computer is almost an extinct type of computer these days. It is different from a digital computer in respect that it can perform numerous mathematical operations simultaneously. It is also unique in terms of operation as it utilizes continuous variables for the purpose of mathematical computation. It utilizes mechanical, hydraulic, or electrical energy or operation.

(ii)Hybrid computers:These types of computers are, as the name suggests, a combination of both Analog and Digital computers. The Digital computers which work on the principle of binary digit system of “0” and “1” can give very precise results. But the problem is that they are too slow and incapable of large scale mathematical operation. In the hybrid types of computers the Digital counterparts convert the analog signals to perform Robotics and Process control.Apart from that, computers are also categorized on the basis of physical structures and the purpose of their use.

Apart from that, computers are also categorized on the basis of physical structures and the purpose of their use.

(i)The Mainframe Computer:These are computers used by large organizations like meteorological surveys and statistical institutes for performing bulk mathematical computations. They are core computers which are used for desktop functions of over one hundred people simultaneously.

(ii)The Microcomputer:These are the most frequently used computers better known by the name of “Personal computers”. This is the type of computer meant for public use.

(iii)The Mini computer:Mini computers like the mainframe computers are used by business organization. The difference being that it can support the simultaneous working of up to 100 users and is usually maintained in business organizations for the maintenance of accounts and finances.

History Of Computers

First Generation

1940-1956: Vacuum TubesThe first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. A magnetic drum,also referred to as drum, is a metal cylinder coated with magnetic iron-oxide material on which data and programs can be stored. Magnetic drums were once use das a primary storage device but have since been implemented as auxiliary storage devices.

The tracks on a magnetic drum are assigned to channels located around the circumference of the drum, forming adjacent circular bands that wind around the drum. A single drum can have up to 200 tracks. As the drum rotates at a speed of up to 3,000 rpm, the device's read/write heads deposit magnetized spots on the drum during the write operation and sense these spots during a read operation. This action is similar to that of a magnetic tape or disk drive.

They were very expensive to operate and in addition to using a great deal of electricity, generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions. First generation computers relied on machine language to perform operations, and they could only solve one problem at a time. Machine languages are the only languages understood by computers. While easily understood by computers, machine languages are almost impossible for humans to use because they consist entirely of numbers. Computer Programmers, therefore, use either high level programming languages or an assembly language programming. An assembly language contains the same instructions as a machine language, but the instructions and variables have names instead of being just numbers.

Programs written in high level programming languages retranslated into assembly language or machine language by a compiler. Assembly language program retranslated into machine language by a program called an assembler (assembly language compiler).

Every CPU has its own unique machine language. Programs must be rewritten or recompiled, therefore, to run on different types of computers. Input was based onpunch card and paper tapes, and output was displayed on printouts.The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples of first-generation computing devices.

The UNIVAC was the first commercial computer delivered to a business client, the U.S. Census Bureau in 1951.

Acronym for Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer, the world's first operational electronic digital computer, developed by Army Ordnance to compute World War II ballistic firing tables. The ENIAC, weighing 30 tons, using 200 kilowatts of electric power and consisting of 18,000 vacuum tubes,1,500 relays, and hundreds of thousands of resistors,capacitors, and inductors, was completed in 1945. In addition to ballistics, the ENIAC's field of application included weather prediction, atomic-energy calculations, cosmic-ray studies, thermal ignition,random-number studies, wind-tunnel design, and other scientific uses. The ENIAC soon became obsolete as the need arose for faster computing speeds.

Second Generation

1956-1963: Transistors

Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation computer. Transistor is a device composed of semiconductor material that amplifies a signal or opens or closes a circuit. Invented in 1947 at Bell Labs, transistors have become the key ingredient of all digital circuits, including computers. Today's latest microprocessor contains tens of millions of microscopic transistors.

Prior to the invention of transistors, digital circuits were composed of vacuum tubes, which had many disadvantages. They were much larger, required more energy, dissipated more heat, and were more prone to failures. It's safe to say that without the invention of transistors, computing as we know it today would not be possible.

The transistor was invented in 1947 but did not see widespread use in computers until the late 50s. The transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube,allowing computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper,more energy-efficient and more reliable than their first-generation predecessors. Though the transistor still generated a great deal of heat that subjected the computer to damage, it was a vast improvement over the vacuum tube.

Second-generation computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output.Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic, or assembly, languages,which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words. High-level programming languages were also being developed at this time, such as early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN. These were also the first computers that stored their instructions in their memory, which moved from a magnetic drum to magnetic core technology.The first computers of this generation were developed for the atomic energy industry.

Third Generation

1964-1971: Integrated Circuits

The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third generation of computers. Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called semiconductors, which drastically increased the speed and efficiency of computers.

A nonmetallic chemical element in the carbon family of elements. Silicon - atomic symbol "Si" - is the second most abundant element in the earth's crust, surpassed only by oxygen. Silicon does not occur uncombined in nature. Sand and almost all rocks contain silicon combined with oxygen, forming silica. When silicon combines with other elements, such as iron, aluminum or potassium, a silicate is formed. Compounds of silicon also occur in the atmosphere, natural waters,many plants and in the bodies of some animals.

Silicon is the basic material used to make computer chips, transistors, silicon diodes and other electronic circuits and switching devices because its atomic structure makes the element an ideal semiconductor. Silicon is commonly doped, or mixed,with other elements, such as boron, phosphorous and arsenic, to alter its conductive properties.

A chip is a small piece of semi conducting material(usually silicon) on which an integrated circuit is embedded. A typical chip is less than ¼-square inches and can contain millions of electronic components(transistors). Computers consist of many chips placed on electronic boards called printed circuit boards. There are different types of chips. For example, CPU chips (also called microprocessors) contain an entire processing unit, whereas memory chips contain blank memory.

Semiconductor is a material that is neither a good conductor of electricity (like copper) nor a good insulator (like rubber). The most common semiconductor materials are silicon and germanium. These materials are then doped to create an excess or lack of electrons.

Computer chips, both for CPU and memory, are composed of semiconductor materials. Semiconductors make it possible to miniaturize electronic components, such as transistors. Not only does miniaturization mean that the components take up less space, it also means that they are faster and require less energy.

Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers through keyboards and monitors and interfaced with an operating system, which allowed the device to run many different applications at one time with a central program that monitored the memory. Computers for the first time became accessible to a mass audience because they were smaller and cheaper than their predecessors.

Fourth Generation

1971-Present: Microprocessors

The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of integrated circuits we rebuilt onto a single silicon chip. A silicon chip that contains a CPU. In the world of personal computers,the terms microprocessor and CPU are used interchangeably. At the heart of all personal computers and most workstations sits a microprocessor. Microprocessors also control the logic of almost all digital devices, from clock radios to fuel-injection systems for automobiles.

Three basic characteristics differentiate microprocessors:

Instruction Set: The set of instructions that the microprocessor can execute.

Bandwidth: The number of bits processed in a single instruction.

Clock Speed: Given in megahertz (MHz), the clock speed determines how many instructions per second the processor can execute.In both cases, the higher the value, the more powerful the CPU. For example, a 32-bit microprocessor that runs at 50MHz is more powerful than a 16-bitmicroprocessor that runs at 25MHz.

What in the first generation filled an entire room could now fit in the palm of the hand. The Intel 4004chip, developed in 1971, located all the components of the computer - from the central processing unit and memory to input/output controls - on a single chip.

Abbreviation of central processing unit, and pronounced as separate letters. The CPU is the brains of the computer. Sometimes referred to simply as the processor or central processor, the CPU is where most calculations take place. In terms of computing power,the CPU is the most important element of a computer system.

On large machines, CPUs require one or more printed circuit boards. On personal computers and small workstations, the CPU is housed in a single chip called a microprocessor.

Two typical components of a CPU are:

The arithmetic logic unit (ALU), which performs arithmetic and logical operations.

The control unit, which extracts instructions from memory and decodes and executes them, calling on the ALU when necessary.In 1981 IBM introduced its first computer for the home user, and in 1984 Apple introduced the Macintosh. Microprocessors also moved out of the realm of desktop computers and into many areas of life as more and more everyday products began to use microprocessors.

As these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form networks, which eventually led to the development of the Internet. Fourth generation computers also saw the development of GUI's, the mouse and handheld devices.

Fifth Generation

Present and Beyond: Artificial Intelligence

Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development,though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today.

Artificial Intelligence is the branch of computer science concerned with making computers behave like humans. The term was coined in 1956 by John McCarthy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Artificial intelligence includes:

Games Playing: programming computers to play games such as chess and checkers

Expert Systems: programming computers to make decisions in real-life situations (for example, some expert systems help doctors diagnose diseases based on symptoms)

Natural Language: programming computers to understand natural human languages.

Neural Networks: Systems that simulate intelligence by attempting to reproduce the types of physical connections that occur in animal brains

Robotics: programming computers to see and hear and react to other sensory stimuliCurrently, no computers exhibit full artificial intelligence (that is, are able to simulate human behavior). The greatest advances have occurred in the field of games playing. The best computer chess programs are now capable of beating humans. In May,1997, an IBM super-computer called Deep Blue defeated world chess champion Gary Kasparov in a chess match.

In the area of robotics, computers are now widely used in assembly plants, but they are capable only of very limited tasks. Robots have great difficulty identifying objects based on appearance or feel, and they still move and handle objects clumsily.

Natural-language processing offers the greatest potential rewards because it would allow people to interact with computers without needing any specialized knowledge. You could simply walk up to a computer and talk to it. Unfortunately, programming computers to understand natural languages has proved to be more difficult than originally thought. Some rudimentary translation systems that translate from one human language to another are in existence, but they are not nearly as good as human translators.

There are also voice recognition systems that can convert spoken sounds into written words, but they do not understand what they are writing; they simply take dictation. Even these systems are quite limited -- you must speak slowly and distinctly.

In the early 1980s, expert systems were believed to represent the future of artificial intelligence and of computers in general. To date, however, they have not lived up to expectations. Many expert systems help human experts in such fields as medicine and engineering, but they are very expensive to produce and are helpful only in special situations.

Today, the hottest area of artificial intelligence is neural networks, which are proving successful in an umber of disciplines such as voice recognition and natural-language processing.There are several programming languages that are known as AI languages because they are used almost exclusively for AI applications. The two most common are LISP and Prolog.