Introduction to ICT and Programming

Lecture # 2 : Introduction to Information Technology

Book Reference:

Using Information Technology

Introduction to Information Technology

Mind Tools for Your Future
1.1 Infotech Becomes Commonplace: Cellphones, EMail, the Internet, & the E-World 1.2 The All-Purpose Machine: The Varieties of Computers 1.3 Understanding Your Computer: What If You Custom-Ordered Your Own PC? 1.4 Where is Information Technology Headed?

InfoTech Becomes Commonplace

Cell phones, E-Mail, the Internet, & the E-World
InfoTech: InfoTech is the fusion of computer technology and communication technology. InfoTech is the merging of computers with high-speed communications links carrying data, sound, and video. IT: is a general term that describes any technology that helps to produce, manipulate, store, communicate, and/or disseminate information With huge information available all the time everywhere: what will this do to us as human beings? Information overload: Less use of our brains for memorizing: Multitasking activity: Smart mobile devices could produce smart mobs:
Emerge when communication and computing technologies amplify Human talents for cooperation

Computer Technology
Programmable, multiuse machine that accepts data raw facts and figures -- and processes, or manipulates, it into usable information.

TOP FIVE USES: Email Internet Typing Letters/ Correspondence Research Games
Source: The New York Times, September 30, 2002, p.C1

90% 87% 80% 79% 76%

Communication Technology
Consists of electromagnetic devices and systems for communicating over long distances. What is the meaning of the following term? go online ? pervasive computing ?

Online: Availability for communication

Using a computer or other information device, connected through a voice or data network, to access information and services from another computer or information device.

Pervasive computing
Anytime anywhere accessing the information
The world has moved on beyond boxy computers that sit on desks. Today handheld computers and cell phones let us access information anytime anywhere
Not just the general information but personal information --- electronic correspondence, documents, appointments, photos, songs, money matters, and other data important to us.

E-mail: (Electronic mail)

Messages transmitted over a computer network A great overview on how E-mail works can be found at the following web site: http://www.howstuffworks.com/email.htm

Example: yourname@niit.edu.pk
User ID Domain/Server

Network
Communication system connecting two or more computers with each other so that they can share resources.
LAN: Local Area Network MAN: Metropolitan Area Network WAN: Wide Area Network

Network
LAN: Local Area Network connects, usually by cable, a group of desktop PCs and other devices, such as printers, in an office or a building. MAN: Metropolitan Area Network A data network intended to serve an area the size of a large city. Such networks are being implemented by innovative techniques, such as running optical fiber through subway tunnels. WAN: Wide Area Network A communications network that uses such devices as telephone lines, satellite dishes, or radio waves to span a larger geographic area than can be covered by a LAN.

Network
LAN is maintained inside a building or small campus MANs connect LANs together within a city WANs connects LANs together across the country.

Cyberspace
Includes not only the online world and the Internet in particular, but also the whole wired and wireless world of communications in general. Two most important aspects of cyberspace include Internet World Wide Web

Internet
Worldwide network that connects up to 400,000 smaller networks in more than 200 countries.

World Wide Web

Interconnected system of computers all over the world that store information in Multimedia form A network of servers linked together by a common protocol, allowing access to millions of hypertext resources

Multimedia
Technology that presents information in more than one medium, such as text, still images, moving images, and sound.

The All-Purpose Machine: The Varieties of Computers

All Computers, Great & Small: The Categories of Machines

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Supercomputers Mainframes Workstations Microcomputers Microcontrollers

Supercomputers
High-capacity machines with hundreds of thousands of processors that can perform over 1 trillion calculations per second. Price range $500,000 to more than $350 millions

Applications: Processing of Enormous data, Forecasting Weather, designing Aircrafts, modeling Molecules, breaking Encryption codes, Simulating explosion Of nuclear bombs, Film animation, IBM ASCI White

Mainframes
Water- or air-cooled computers that vary in size from small, to medium, to large, depending on their use. Price ranges from $5,000 to $5 million

VP2400 mainframe

Workstations
Expensive, powerful computers usually used for complex scientific, mathematical, and engineering calculations and for computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing.

Sun Microsystems workstation

Microcomputers
A Desk Top Personal Computer: price ranges between $500 to $ 5,000

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Microcomputers
A Tower Case Personal Computer

Sony tower PC

Microcomputers
A Lap Top Personal Computer Lightweight portable computers with built-in monitor, keyboard, harddisk drive, battery and AC adapter.

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Microcomputers
A Personal Digital Assistant or Palmtops Personal organization toolsschedule planners, address books, to-do lists, send email and faxes.

Microcontrollers
Embedded computers are the tiny, specialized microprocessors installed in "smart" appliances and automobiles.

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Client Server Architecture

A network architecture in which each computer or processor on the network is either a Client or a Server.
Client/Server network = Server + Clients linked together

Server
A server, central computer, holds collections of data and programs for connecting PCs, workstations, and other devices, which are called clients.

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Clients
Clients = PCs, workstations, & other devices

Clients are PCs or Workstations on which users run applications. Clients rely on servers for resources, such as files, devices, and even processing power.

Understanding Your Computer

How Computers Work - Concept #1
The purpose of a computer is to process data into information.
Data The raw facts and figures that are processed into information Information Data that has been summarized or otherwise manipulated for use in decision making

55%

20% 25%

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Understanding Your Computer

How Computers Work - Concept #2
Computers consist of hardware and software.

Hardware All the machinery and equipment in a computer system or all the tangible components in a computer e.g. CPU, I/O devices etc.

Software Consists of programs where programs contains instructions written in some programming language that tell the computer how to perform a task e.g. Operating System, BIOS etc.

Understanding Your Computer

How Computers Work - Concept #2
Computers consist of firmware and liveware.
Firmware Instructions or programs that reside inside Integrated Circuits (ICs) Liveware All the living things aiding computer to work. Data entry operators, programmers etc

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Understanding Your Computer

How Computers Work - Concept #3
All computers follow five basic operations

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Input Processing Storage Keyboard Output Communications Mouse

Understanding Your Computer

How Computers Work - Concept #3
All computers follow five basic operations

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Input Processing Storage Output Communications

Case or system cabinet

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Understanding Your Computer

How Computers Work - Concept #3
All computers follow five basic operations
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Input Processing Storage Output Communications Processor chip

Processor Chip - A tiny piece of silicon that contains millions of miniature electronic circuits.
Also called the CPU (Central Processing Unit).

Understanding Your Computer

How Computers Work - Concept #3
All computers follow five basic operations
Input Processing Storage Output Communications Motherboard Motherboard - the main circuit board in the computer.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

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Understanding Your Computer

How Computers Work - Concept #3
All computers follow five basic operations
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Input Processing Storage Output Communications

Primary storage (memory) Computer circuitry that temporarily holds data waiting to be processed Secondary storage (storage) The area in the computer where data or information is held permanently

Understanding Your Computer

How Computers Work - Concept #3
All computers follow five basic operations
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Input Processing Storage Output Communications Memory chips

Memory chips:
Also known as RAM (Random Access Memory). Represent primary storage or temporary storage. Hold data before processing and information after processing.

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Understanding Your Computer

How Computers Work - Concept #3
All computers follow five basic operations
Nibble 4 bits of data
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Input Processing Storage Output Communications Megabyte 220 bytes of data = 1048576 Gigabyte 230 bytes of data = 1073741824 Byte 8 bits of data Kilobyte 210 bytes of data = 1024 bytes

Understanding Your Computer

How Computers Work - Concept #3
All computers follow five basic operations
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Input Processing Storage Output Communications Zip disk Floppy disk

Floppy-disk drive - a storage device that stores data on removable 3.5-inch-diameter diskettes. Zip-disk drive - a storage device that stores data on floppy-disk cartridges with 70-170 times the capacity of the standard floppy.

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Understanding Your Computer

How Computers Work - Concept #3
All computers follow five basic operations

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Input Processing Storage Output Communications Hard-disk drive

Hard-disk drive - a storage device that stores billions of characters of data on a Non-removable disk platter.

Understanding Your Computer

How Computers Work - Concept #3
All computers follow five basic operations
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Input Processing Storage Output Communications

CD (Compact Disk) drive or DVD (Digital Video Disk) drive - a storage device
that uses laser technology to read data from optical disks.

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Understanding Your Computer

How Computers Work - Concept #3
All computers follow five basic operations
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Input Processing Storage Output Communications Sound card

Sound card - enhances the computers sound-generating capabilities by allowing sound to be output through speakers.

Understanding Your Computer

How Computers Work - Concept #3
All computers follow five basic operations
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Input Processing Storage Output Communications

Speakers Speakers - the devices that play sounds transmitted as electrical signals from the sound card.

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Understanding Your Computer

How Computers Work - Concept #3
All computers follow five basic operations
Video card
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Input Processing Storage Output Communications

Video card - converts the processors output information into a video signal that
can be sent through a cable to the monitor.

Understanding Your Computer

How Computers Work - Concept #3
All computers follow five basic operations
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Input Processing Storage Output Communications Monitor

Monitor - the display device that takes the electrical signals from the video card and forms an
image using points of colored light on the screen.

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Understanding Your Computer

How Computers Work - Concept #3
All computers follow five basic operations
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Printer

Input Processing Storage Output Communications

Printer - an output device that produces text and graphics on paper.

Understanding Your Computer

How Computers Work - Concept #3
All computers follow five basic operations
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Input Processing Storage Output Communications

Modem

Modem - a device that sends and receives data over telephone lines to and from computers.

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Put all the hardware together and

You still need the software!

System software
Helps the computer perform essential operating tasks and enables the application software to run

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System Software
System Software
Operating Systems DOS Window 9X Windows XP Windows Me Windows Pro Unix Linux Sun Solaris Mac OS OS/2 Device Drivers Modem Sound Card VGA Ethernet TV Tuner BIOS Embedded S/Ws Compilers/ Interpreters Assembly COBOL FORTRAN BASIC C/C++ PASCAL VB VC++ JAVA System Utilities fdisk format sys doskey Defragmentation scandisk

Microwave Oven Home Appliances Embedded OS (Symbian)

The BIOS configuration determines how your hardware is accessed.

You still need the software!

Application software Enables you to perform specific tasks--solve problems, perform work, or entertain yourself

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Application Software
Application Software
Productivity S/W Business S/W Graphics S/W Educational S/W Reference S/W Utility S/W Copy middleware

Others:

Word Processor Spread Sheets DBMS Vertical Market S/W Horizontal Market S/W

Artificial Intelligence Neural Networks Software Agents Machine Translation HCI Natural Lang. Translation Management Info. Sys. Autonomic Comp. Adaptive Computing Mobile Computing Ubiquitous Computing Pervasive Computing Distributed Computing Grid Computing

Where Is Information Technology Headed?

Three Directions of Computer Development

Miniaturization Speed Affordability

Then (1946)

Now 1946 ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator) vs. todays handheld PDA

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Three Directions of Communications Development

Connectivity - the ability to connect computers to one another by communications line, so as to provide online information access. Interactivity - two-way communication in which a user can respond to information he or she receives and modify the process. Multimedia - technology that presents information in more than one medium--such as text, pictures, video, sound, and animation--in a single integrated communication.

When Computers & Communications Combine

Convergence, Portability, & Personalization
Convergence - the combining of several industries through various devices that exchange data in the format used by computers. The industries are computers, communications, consumer electronics, entertainment, and mass media. Portability- wearable computer on model in picture. Personalization - the creation of information tailored to your preferences, such as stock portfolio information kept on Yahoo.coms Web site.

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Thank you
Thank you

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