Technology revision PDF

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Detailed notes around year 1 of information technology unit 1a. Mobile world, information tech and your life...

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Technology revision Unit 1A: Mobile world, information technology and your life Information technology refers to any technology that helps produce, manipulate, store and communicate and disseminate information. 2 parts of information technology: - Computer technology: a computer is a programmable, multiuse machine that accepts data – raw facts and figures – and processes, or manipulates it into information that we can use - Communications technology: also called telecommunications technology, consists of electromagnetic devices and systems for communicating over any distance Health: High-tech for wellness - Telemedicine: medical care via telecommunications lets doctors treat patients from far away - 3D computer models allow accurate tumour location inside a skull; X rays, MRIs, CT scans can be done remotely - ROBOTS – automatic devices that perform functions - Health websites provide medical information Virtual means something that is created, simulated or carried on by means of a computer or a computer network. Smartphones are used for ‘showrooming’ and shopping. Technology can also be used to telecommute and to start businesses and earn money The internet is a worldwide computer network that connects hundreds of thousands of smaller networks. The World Wide Web is an interconnected system of internet computers that support specially formatted documents in multimedia form. 5 basic computer sizes: - Supercomputers: high capacity machines with thousands of processors that can perform more than several quadrillion calculations per second. Faster and largest computer available. - Mainframes: process billions of instructions per second, size is dependent on use, used by banks, airlines, colleges - Workstations: used for scientific, mathematical, engineering, computer aided design, computer-aided manufacturing applications - Microcomputers: used by individuals as well as businesses, and they can be connected to networks of larger computers. Types include: desktop, tower, notebooks, tablets - Servers is central computer that holds collections of data and programs for connecting or supplying services to PCs. Purpose of a computer is to turn data into information. Hardware is machinery and equipment in a computer system

Software is the electronic instructions that tell the computer how to perform a task. Computers have 4 basic operations + communications: - Input: what goes into the system - Processing: the manipulation a computer does to transform data into information - Storage: primary is temporary, secondary is permanent (hard disk, dvds, cds) - Output: result of processing - Communications: sending and receiving data Processor chip – CPU Memory chip – random access memory (RAM) Motherboard – system board, the main circuit board 1 byte – 1 character of data 1 kilobyte – 1024 characters 1 megabyte – 1,048,576 characters 1 gigabyte – over 1 billion 1 terabyte – 1 trillion System software – enables the computer to perform essential operating tasks and make it possible for application software to run Application software – enables you to perform specific tasks – solve problems, perform work or entertain yourself. Operating systems – a principal component of system software Device drivers – help the computer control peripheral devices Utility programs – generally used to support, enhance or expand existing programs in a computer system CPU – remains in memory while the computer runs, directs other programs not in memory to perform tasks that support application programs Memory management – keeps track of memory locations to prevent programs and data from overlapping each other CPU management: - Queue – first in, first out sequence of data that wait in line to be processed - Buffer – the place where data or programs sit while they are waiting - To spool – act of placing a print job into a buffer File management: A file is either a data file (a names collection of data), or program file (program that exists in a computer’s secondary storage) Device drivers – specialised software programs that allow input and output devices to communicate with the rest of the computer Utilities – service programs that perform tasks related to the control and allocation of the computer resources...