Computer Skills (CCS 321/22/M10)

Lecture 1

1.1 INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTERS.

 define a computer and draw the basic structure of a computer systems
 explain the functions of a computer in terms of the following:
- Receiving (and storing) data
- Processing data
- Outputting data

Definition:
A computer is an electronic device, operating under the control of instructions stored in its own
memory that can accept data (input), process the data according to specified rules, produce
information (output), and store the information for future use.

Basic structure of a computer system:

There are 4 major components of the basic structure of a computer generally referred to: The
Central Processing Unit (CPU), input unit, output unit and secondary storage( secondary memory).
The CPU consists of the Control Unit (CU), Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) and the Memory unit
(primary memory). The hardware components of a computer system are the electronic and
mechanical parts.
 list and describe input, output and storage devices of a computer

INPUT DEVICES
An input device is any hardware component that allows you to enter data, programs,
commands, and user responses into a computer.

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Input device translate data from the form that humans understand to one that the computer
can work with. Most common are keyboard and mouse.

Keyboard
A keyboard is an input device that contains keys you press to enter data into the computer.
The keyboard was first peripheral device to be used with computers. It helps to input text
and numbers into computer. It consists of 104 keys and 12 functional keys.

Mouse
A mouse is a pointing device that fits comfortably under the palm of your hand. It is a
pointing device which is used to control the movement of a mouse pointer on the screen to
make selections from the screen. It also helps to select, highlight content and drag-drop
controls. A mouse has one to three buttons. The bottom of the mouse is flat and contains a
mechanism that detects movement of the mouse. Basically there are three common types:

1. Mechanical Mouse
It has a system of a ball and several rollers to track its movement. It is a corded type of
mouse. A mechanical mouse can be used for high performance. The drawback is that they
tend to get dust into the mechanics and thus require regular cleaning

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 2. Optical Mouse

An optical mouse uses optical electronics to track its movement. It is more reliable than a
mechanical mouse and also requires less maintenance. However, its performance is
affected by the surface on which it is operated. Plain non-glossy mouse mat should be used
for best results. The rough surface may cause problems for the optical recognition system,
and the glossy surface may reflect the light wrongly and thus may cause tracking issues.

3. Cordless or Wireless Mouse

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As the name suggests, this type of mouse lacks cable and uses wireless technology such
as IR (infrared) or radio (Bluetooth or Wi-Fi) to control the movement of the cursor. It is
used to improve the experience of using a mouse. It uses batteries for its power supply.

Touchpad

It is usually found in laptops as a substitute for the mouse. It allows you to move or control
the cursor on the screen using your finger. Just like a mouse, it also has two buttons for
right and left click. Using the touchpad, you can perform all the tasks that you do with a
mouse, such as selecting an object on the screen, copy, paste, delete, open a file or folder,
and more.

Touch screen

It is the display screen of a device such as a smartphone, tablet, etc., that allows users to
interact or provide inputs to the device by using their finger. Today, most of the electronic
devices come with touchscreen as an alternative to a mouse for navigating a graphical user
interface. For example, by touching, you can unlock your phone, open emails, open files,
play videos, etc. Besides this, it is used in lots of devices such as Camera, Car GPS,
Fitness machine, etc.

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Microphone

The microphone is a computer input device that is used to input the sound. It receives the
sound vibrations and converts them into audio signals or sends to a recording medium. The
audio signals are converted into digital data and stored in the computer.

Webcam

Any camera which is connected to a computer is called a webcam. The in-built camera
provided on a computer can also be considered a webcam. It is an input device as it can
take pictures, and can be used to record videos if required. The pictures and videos are
stored in the computer memory and can be displayed on the screen if required.

Light Pen

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A light pen is a computer input device that looks like a pen. The tip of the light pen contains
a light-sensitive detector that enables the user to point to or select objects on the display
screen. Its light sensitive tip detects the object location and sends the corresponding
signals to the CPU. It is not compatible with LCD screens, so it is not in use today. It also
helps you draw on the screen if needed.

Digitizer

Digitizer is a computer input device that has a flat surface and usually comes with a stylus.
It enables the user to draw images and graphics using the stylus as we draw on paper with
a pencil. The images or graphics drawn on the digitizer appear on the computer monitor or
display screen. The software converts the touch inputs into lines and can also convert
handwritten text to typewritten words. It can be used to capture handwritten signatures and
data or images from taped papers. Furthermore, it is also used to receive information in the
form of drawings and send output to a CAD (Computer-aided design) application and
software like AutoCAD. Thus, it allows you to convert hand-drawn images into a format
suitable for computer processing.

Digital Pens

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A digital pen is another input device which is mostly used with tablets, PDAs, etc. A digital
pen is also called as a Stylus which helps to write or draw data over pad.

Scanner
The scanner uses the pictures and pages of text as input. It scans the picture or a
document. The scanned picture or document then converted into a digital format or file and
is displayed on the screen as an output. It uses optical character recognition techniques to
convert images into digital ones. Some of the common types of scanners are as follows:
1. Flatbed Scanner

It is a small manual scanning device which is held by hand and is rolled over a flat image
that is to be scanned. The drawback in using this device is that the hand should be steady
while scanning; otherwise, it may distort the image. One of the commonly used handheld
scanners is the barcode scanner which you would have seen in shopping stores.
2. Handheld Scanner

It is a small manual scanning device which is held by hand and is rolled over a flat image
that is to be scanned. The drawback in using this device is that the hand should be steady
while scanning; otherwise, it may distort the image. One of the commonly used handheld
scanners is the barcode scanner which you would have seen in shopping stores.

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 3. Photo Scanner

It is designed to scan photographs. It has high resolution and colour depth, which are
required for scanning photographs. Some photo scanners come with in-built software for
cleaning and restoring old photographs.

Joystick

A joystick is also a pointing input device like a mouse. It is made up of a stick with a
spherical base. The base is fitted in a socket that allows free movement of the stick. The
movement of stick controls the cursor or pointer on the screen.

Trackballs

A trackball is also a pointing device which will work like a mouse. It is mainly used for
gaming and entertainment purpose.

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Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)

MICR computer input device is designed to read the text printed with magnetic ink. MICR is
a character recognition technology that makes use of special magnetized ink which is
sensitive to magnetic fields. It is widely used in banks to process the cheques and other
organizations where security is a major concern. The device reads the details and sends to
a computer for processing. A document printed in magnetic ink is required to pass through
a machine which magnetizes the ink, and the magnetic information is then translated into
characters.

Optical Character Reader (OCR)

OCR computer input device is designed to convert the scanned images of handwritten,
typed or printed text into digital text. It is widely used in offices and libraries to convert
documents and books into electronic files. It processes and copies the physical form of a
document using a scanner. After copying the documents, the OCR software converts the
documents into a two-colour (black and white), version called bitmap. Then it is analysed
for light and dark areas, where the dark areas are selected as characters, and the light area
is identified as background. It is widely used to convert hard copy legal or historic

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documents into PDFs. The converted documents can be edited if required like we edit
documents created in MS Word.

Voice Recognition System

Voice recognition system interprets or receives dictation or spoken commands to authorize

user.

 List other input devices you know and their function

Examples of Image input devices

 Scanners
 Cameras
 Webcams
Examples of automatic input devices:

 Optical character recognition (OCR)

 Optical mark reading (OMR)
 Magnetic ink character recognition (MICR)
 Barcode reader
 Radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader
 Magnetic stripe reader
 Smart card reader
Examples of input devices for sound and music

 Microphones
 MIDI keyboards and other MIDI instruments

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OUTPUT DEVICES
An output device is any piece of computer hardware equipment used to communicate the
results of data processing carried out by an information processing system (such as a
computer) which converts the electronically generated information into human readable
form. The different types of devices are:

1. Monitor, e.g. a CRT or LCD screen

2. Multimedia projector
3. Printer or plotter, e.g. laser, inkjet and dot matrix
4. Loud speakers and headphones
5. Actuators make physical changes; they include:
 Light bulb or LED
 Heater
 Solenoid
 Relay or contactor
 Motor
 Buzzer and similar actuators such as bell, beeper or siren.

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OUTPUT DEVICE CHARACTERISTIC IMAGE
Monitor A monitor is most common type of output
device.
It is also called as “Visual Display Unit”.
The inputs given by keyboard or any other
input devices will get displayed on
monitor.
Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) and Flat panel
display monitors are commonly used
monitors.
Printers Printers are most common type of output
devices which are used to take a hard
copy of any digital document.
The two types of printers are impact and
non-impact printers.
Non-impact printers such as laser and
inkjet printers are less noisy, more reliable
and faster and also offer high quality
compared to impact printers.
Sound Systems Sound systems are output devices which
are used to get multimedia content such
as voice, music, etc., as output. Some of
examples of sound systems are speakers,
headphones, and microphones.

Homework 1
 List the functions of a computer
 Differentiate between a storage device and storage media
 List storage devices
 Describe and differentiate Random Access Memory and Read Only Memory

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