week 1 hard

Computer Basics

• A computer is an electronic device that receives, stores, processes, and outputs data based on a set of instructions (programs).

Information Processing Cycle

• The core operations of a computer can be broken down into four basic actions:
  • Input: data and instructions are given to the computer through devices such as keyboards, mice, scanners, and microphones.
  • Processing: the computer's central processing unit (CPU) performs operations on the data based on the instructions provided.
  • Storage: data is saved in the computer's memory, which can be primary (temporary, like RAM) or secondary (long-term, like hard drives or external storage devices).
  • Output: data is displayed or outputted in various forms, such as visual display on a monitor, printed on paper, or transmitted to another computer or device.

Data Storage

• Data storage units:
  • 1 GB = 1,024 MB
  • Beyond GB, there are further units like Terabyte (TB), Petabyte (PB), Exabyte (EB), and so on, each representing an additional factor of 1,024 from the previous.

Decimal System

• Computers operate using the binary (base-2) system, but often need to work with the decimal (base-10) system, which is used in daily life.
• Example: data transfer and storage, where manufacturers often market storage devices using decimal prefixes (e.g., a "500GB" hard drive provides 500 billion bytes of storage, not 536,870,912,000 bytes).

Hexadecimal System

• The hexadecimal (base-16) system is widely used in computing due to its concise representation of binary data and ease of conversion to and from binary.
• Numbers can be represented using the digits 0-9 and the letters A-F (or a-f), with 'A' representing 10, 'B' representing 11, and so on up to 'F' representing 15.
• Example: color representation in web design, where colors are often represented using hexadecimal notation, especially in the context of the RGB color model.

Encoding Tables

• Computers use encoding tables like ASCII and Unicode to represent and manipulate textual information in a format they can understand (binary).

Data vs Information

• Data refers to raw facts and figures without any context.
• Information is data that has been processed in such a way that it is meaningful.
• Example: "19930315" is a sequence of numbers (data), but when interpreted as a date, "March 15, 1993", it becomes information.

Transistor

• Transistors in computers are used as electronic switches to represent binary values.
• A transistor can be in one of two states, which correspond to the binary values of 0 and 1.

Computer Types

• Servers: serve data to other computers (clients) on a network.
• Microcomputers (Personal Computers):
  • Desktop Computers: general-purpose computers for individual users.
  • Laptop Computers: portable version of desktops.
  • Netbooks: smaller laptops primarily for internet use.
  • Tablets: touchscreen-based, like Apple's iPad or Samsung's Galaxy Tab.
• Workstations: more powerful than personal computers, used for tasks needing better graphics or computational power, such as video editing, CAD design, and 3D design tasks.

Test your knowledge on computer basics such as the definition of a computer and the information processing cycle. Understand the core operations of a computer and how it processes data based on instructions.