Chapter 1 Our Digital Planet

CREATING COMMUNITIES ON THE LIVING WEB
-Myspace creates an online community experience for young planet
-Flicker creates a commuinity for ppl to share their pics

 

LIVING IN A NON-DIGITAL WORLD
- comps are commodities now a days
-comps and their applications are involoved in our daily life

 

COMPUTERS IN PERSPECTIVE
- every comp follows the basic plan of Charles Babbage and Lady Lovelace
-Comps are tools
     - can compute your taxes or deploy a missile
-all comps take info called input and give out info called output
- comps versatility is bulit upon its:
     1. hardeware (physical parts)
      2. software the instructionsthat tells hardware how to transform the input data into the neccassary output

 

- the 1st comp was creaed by Konrad Zuse in 1939
- at about the same time the British gov't was assembling a top-secret team of mathematicians and engineers to crack Nazi military codes.
*-  1943: the team led by Alan Turnig and other completed Colossus considered by many to be the 1at electronic digital comp
- 1939: in Iowa State U John Atansoff (proffessor) developed what could have been the 1st electronic digital comp the Atansoff - Berry comp (ABC)
- 1944: thanx to a $1 million frant from IBM. harvard proffessor Howard Aiken developed the Mark 1.
- John Mauchly and J Presper Eckert helped the US effort in the WW2 by constructing a machine to calc trajectory tables for a new gund
         - ENIAC ( electronic Numerical Integrator and Comp)
- After the war Mauchly and Eckeryt started a private company called Sperry and created UNIVACI the 1st general-purpose commercial comp.

 

Vacuum tubes: were used in early comps
Transistors: replaced vacuum tubes in 1956
- mid 1960s: transistors were replaced by integrated circuits

 

Integrated circuits brought:

• increased rehability
• smaller size
• higher speed
• higher efficiency
• lower cost

-1971: the 1st microprocessor was invented by Intel engineers
personal comp revolution: began in 1970

• Apple
• Commodore
• Tandy

A BRIEF TAXIMONY:
- desktop comps havent completely replaced big comps which have also evolvoed
- embedded comps
- special purpose comp: dedicated comps that perform specific tasks

• controlling the temp and humidity
• monitoring your heart rate
• monitoring your house security system

- firmware: the program is etched on silicon so it cannot be altered.
PERSONAL COMPS
- PCs serve a single user at a time
      -Common applications include:

• word processing
• gaming
• media
• etc.

workstations: high- end desktop comps w/ massive computing power used for high-end interactive applications.
portable comps: machines that are not tied to desktops

• notebooks
• handheld comps (PDAs)

Servers: comps designed to provide softwares and other resources to other comp over a network

 

MAINFRAMES AND SUPER COMPS
Mainframes:

• used by large organizations such as banks and airlines, for big computing jobs
• communicate w/ mainframe through terminals
• multiple communications at 1 time through process of timesharing

Supercomps:

• For power users who need access to fastest and most powerful comps made

THE INTERNET REVOLUTION
THE EMERGENCE OF NETWORKS

• connected devices together
• 1960s: internet developed w/ backing of the U.S gov't

- the internet explosion has over a billion ppl w/ internet access by the end of 2005
Electronic mail: e-mail software
World Wide Web: led the internet;s transformation from a text-only into multimedia w/ pics, animation, sounds, video...
Web Browsers: programs that serve as navigable windows into the web when in effect
Hypertext Links: tie togehter millions of Web pgs created by diverse authors
-the internet supports varied activites
       -ebay
       - real-time: multiplayer games
- in the history of our society we have had:
     - an agricultural age
     - an industrial age

we need to know how to write a code for
you need a link that will send you to a web  pg or a link source
<xxx>
I - italic
U - underline
B - bold

<I> <U> <B> to make sure code is right make a link between them

Explanation Clarifying Technology
-comp literacy is already improving our day-to-day lives & careers

Applications: Comps in action
- apps enable you to use a comp for specific purposes

Implications: Social and Ethical Issues

• the threat to personal privacy posed by large databases and comp networkd
• the hazards of high-tech crime & the difficult of keeping data secure
• the difficutly of defing & protecting intellectual property in an all-digital age.

if u look at the address bar you can tell if something is secure

• -The threat of automation & the dehumanization of work
• -The abuse of info. as a tool of political & economic power
• -The emergence of bio-digital tech.
• -The dangers of dependance on complex tech.

biodigital: using tech for science
Examples:

1.  organizing data
2. someone lost a limb- they repair it with tech
3. microchipping animals
4. robots are taking human jobs and helping humans

Summary:
comps have evovled at an incredible pace since Charless Babbage's plan for an Analytical Engine.
Comps today come in all shapes & sizes w/ specific types being well-suited for particular jobs.
connecting to a network enhances the value & power of a comp

• Internet
• WWW
• E-mail

                               

Notes from Book for chapter 2

What Computers Do:
- There are 4 basic functions of a computer

1. Recieve Input: comps accept info from outside world
2. Process Info: Comps form arithmetic and logical operations on info.
3. Produce output: comps comm. info. to the outside world
4. Store info: Comps move and store info. in memory

FOUR FUNCTIONS

Input devices: accept input from outside world
Examples are: keyboards and pointing devices (mouse)

Output devices: send info to outside world.
Examples: video monitor or printer

Microprocessor: the "brain" of the comp

Memory and Storage Devices: both store info. but they serve diff purposes

BIT BASICS:

Digital is made up of digits

Bit (binary digits): the smallest unit of info. a comp. can process

BUILDING WITH BITS:
~ Bits as Numbers

binary number system: a system that denotes all #s w/ combinations of 2 digits.

~ Bits as Codes:

ASCII ( American Standard Code for Information Interchange): represents each character as a unique 8-bit code.

Unicode: a coding scheme that supports 65,000 unique characters.

BITS, BYTES, AND BUZZWORKS:

Byte: a group of 8 bits. ( one character of ASCII)

Kilobyte (KB or K): 1,000 bytes of info.

Megabyte or meg (MB): app. 1,000KB  or 1 millionbytes

Gigabyte (GB or gig): app. 1,000MB or 1 billion bytes

Terabyte (TB): app. 1 million MB or 1 trillion bytes.

Petabyte (PB): is equivalent to 1,204 terabytes or 1 quadrillian bytes.

file:  is an organized collection of info.

megabits (Mb): used to measure data to transfer speed or memory size.

THE CPU: THE REAL COMP.

microprocessor: (CPU) an extraordinarily complex collection of electronic circuits.

motherboard: the circuit board that contains a comp's CPU.

COMPATIBILITY:

Compatible: software written for one processor will usually not work with another.

Backward Compatible:

PERFORMANCE:

clock: the timing device that produces electrical pulses to synchronize the comps operations.

gigahertz (GHz): billions of clock cycles per second.

architecture: the design that determines how individual components of the CPU are put together on the chip.

Cluster: the name of the processing resources of multiple serveers all grouped together.

-multicore processors
-Parallel processors
-symmetric multiprocessing
-multiprocessing

THE COMPUTER'S MEMORY:

nonvolatile memory: the comp can read from it, but it can never write any new ifo. on it

read-only memory (ROM): wat the nonvolatile memory is called sometimes.

1. Complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS): is a special low- energy kind of RAM that can store small amounts of data for a long period of time on battery power.

- CMOS RAM store date, time, and calender, in a PC

     2.  Flash Memory: are chips, like RAM chips, that can be written and erased rapidly and repeatedly. But unlike RAM, a flash memory is nonvolatile., it can keep its contents without flow of electricity

-Examples are: digital cameras, cell phones, pagers, PDA's, handheld comps, portable comps, etc.

access time: measured in nanoseconds (ns) billionths of a second

millisecond (ms): thousandths of a second.

- Memory speed (access time) is another factor that affects the comp's overall speed

BUSES, PORTS, AND PERIPHERALS:

system buses (buses):groups of wires in the motherboard

bays: type of storage devices

Ports: sockets on the outside of the comp chassis.

PC cards: cards that contain memory, mini peripherals, & additional ports.

Chapter 4: Software Basics: The Ghost in the Machine

-open source: open for the public
-what makes it reliable: updates
-who creates the open source ideas:
2 kinds of software and systems
    1. reliable on open source idea
    2. doesn't have open source idea

• Lins Torvalds: created the linux,
• linux is the operating system is the best known ex. of open source software
• film and animation workstations, scientific comps, and some handhelds

3 major categories:

1. Translator programs such as compilers: enable programs to create other software
2. software applications: help comp users solve probs
3. system software: coordinate hardware operations and does behind the scences work the comp use hardly sees

-Examples of compilers: C and C++ intel etc
-Examples of application compilers: photoshop, word, paint, etc.

OS vs Application Software

-Food of Thought: the hardware in a comp system is equipped to produce whatever output a user requests
A Fast, Stupid Machine

• prgrammers start with an algorithm (step by step instructions in a natural language ...english)
• the steps are error prone
• the steps are translated into vocab of programming language: this has too many steps, complicated, EXACT instructions

TOOLS FOR USERS
-Many Software companies have replaced their printed documentation with:

1. Tutorials
2. Reference materials
3. Help files
4. on-line help

-Upgrading: Users can upgrade a program to the new version by paying an upgrade fee to the software manufacturer
-Newer releases often have additional features and fewer bugs
Bugs are things that make the computer slower or an error

COMPATIBILITY
-It allows software to function properly with the hardware, operating system, and peripherals
-Programs written for one type of computer system may not work on another
- a hardware needs a compatibile software

DISCLAIMERS
-Software manufacturers limit their liability for software by selling the software "as is."
-manufacturers don't sell their website to a person for their needs

LICENSING: Commercial software is copyrighted so it can't be legally duplicated for distribution to others

• software license
• volume license

DISTRIBUTION: Software is distributed via:

• direct sale
• retail stores
• Mail-order catalogs
• web-sites
• not all software is copyrighted: ( public domain software, Shareware)

-you need a license to work on a software
-can't use one software on all others, like some "cracked" softwares

WEB APPLICATIONS
-fall into several categories

• Some simple Web applications perform simple data-processing tasks that could also be performed by traditional programs running on stand alone PCs
• Most web applications take advantage of the Wed's connectivity
• Many Web applications leverage the Web's strength as a huge repository of info.
• Some Web applications support online business transactions (CNN)
• News-oriented Web applications provide up-to-the-min. repotrts on a myriad of subjects
• Other Web applications support a more traditional form of info. broascasting

-the keyboard is called a web application
-most web applications take advantage of the web connectivity to be published
             - web applications: will stay in your comp and not go onto the internet unless its saved on "e"
             -  add index pg to domain range
-IP address: 1921 or xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
-you can call it yourname.com (the domain name)

SOFTWARE BUNDLES
-vertical-market and custom software
-Tends to cost far more than mass- market apps
-job specific software

• medical billings
• library cataloguing
• legal references software
• restaurant management
• single-chent software needs

SYSTEM SOFTWARE
-A class of software that includes the operating system and utility programs, handlies these details, and hundreds of other tasks behind the scences.
- operating system: 

OPERATING SYSTEM FUNCTIONS:

• supports multitasking
• manages virtual memory
• maintains file system
• responsible for authentication and authorization

HW: What is the diff b/t authentications and authorization? Responsibilities? Examples.
What does the operating system do?
What is the diff b/t utillity programs and device drivers?
UTILITY PROGRAMS
-Serve as tools for doing system maintenance and repairs that aren't automatically handled by the operating system.

MAKE IT EASIER FOR USERS TO:

• copy files b/t storage devices
• repair damaged data files
• translate files so that diff. programs can read them
• guard against viruses and potentially harmful prog. (ch. on comp. securities and risks)
• compres files so they tak up less disk space
• perform other imp. if unexciting tasks

HARDWARE-SOFTWARE CONNECTIONS
- Symantec Norton Utilities is a popular utility package that includes software tools for recovering damaged files, repairing damaged disks, and improving disk performance.
        -viruses, trogens, maulware-softwares that are attacking our comps.

DEVICE DRIVERS
-Small programs kthat enable I/0 devices - keyboard, mouse, printer, and others- to comm w./ the comp
- included w/ the operating system or bundled ww/ peripherals

WHERE THE OPERATING SYSTEM LIVES
-Some comps. store their operating system in ROM
-others include only prt of it in ROM

• The remainder of the operating systems is loaded into memory in a process called booting which occurs when you turn on the comp.

-Most of the time the operating works behind the scences
-interacting with the operating system is like interacting with an app can be intuitve or challenging and it depends on something called user interface.

USER INTERFACE
-the interface defines the look and feel of the comp. experience from a human point of view
-desktop operating system
     -MS - DOS is a disk opeating system in which the user interacts using characters

• letters
• numbers
• symbols

HUMAN-MACHINE CONNECTION
-features include

• command-line interface (commands are typed)
• menu-driven interface (commands are chosen from on-screen lists)

-command line interface is called that because you are commanding to have certain info.

GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE
-Mac OS developed by Macintosh in 1984 using GUI.
-Microsoft Windows is now the most popular operating system

MULTIPLE USER OPERATING SYSTEM:UNIX AND LINUX
-UNIX: developed by Bell Labs before personal coms were availabe'
-LINUX: created by Linus Torvalds and cont. to be a work in progress
-UNIX allows a timesharing comp to comm with several other comps or terminals at once

-linux is free for anyone to use or improve
-UNIX remains the dominant operating system for internet servers
-some form of UNIX is available for personal comps, workstations, servers, mainframes, and supercomps.
-EX: of UNIX are solarists

Hardware                                                                    Software
 - window vista
-winsows Server 2003
-windows XP
-windows ME
microsoft Windows CE

-cross platforms app such as micro office and ADOBE PHOTOSHOP
are programs that are available in similar versions for multiple platforms
-mac users can buy software emulation programs that:

• create a stimulated windows machine in the Mac
• translate

Future users interfaces will be bulit around emerging development technologies such as:

• applications (end)
• natural language interfaces
• agents
• virtual realities

FILE MANAGEMENT:
- Files can be scattered all over the system which often makes data manadement difficult
       solution: organize data files logically
-Both windows and Mac support the notion of common system folders with self-explanatory names:

• My docs (dos)
• my pics (pics)
• my music (music)

FILE MANAGEMENT UTILITIES:

• view rename copy move and delete files & folders
• Hierachies (arrangmeant of items) help w/ organization
• help w/ locating a file
• get size, file type, & last modification date

EX of Hierachy: is a folder with subfolders in it
-if u have a lot of the same folder that has the same name and u did one today with new modifications u go to details (under my docs and view) and u look at the dates.

MANAGEMENT FILES FROM APPLICATIONS:

• Operations: Open, Save As, Save, and Close

DEFRAGMENTATION: (pg 126)
- eliminates fragmented files by changing the assignment of clusters and files.
- can significantly improve the performanceof a disk drive
-recommended to do once a month
- ppl do this to eliminate empty spaces

SOFTWARE PIRACY:
- illegal duplication of copyrighted software

• the software industry is $50 billion industry
• 1/3 of softeware is illegally copied