Computer and Digital Basics PDF

# CHAPTER TWO ## COMPUTER AND DIGITAL BASICS, DIGITAL MEDIA, HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION AND DIGITAL OWNERSHIP ### 2.0 Introduction Information in digital form can be stored, processed, and transmitted via digital technologies. They are used in many different applications, such as consumer goods, com...

# CHAPTER TWO ## COMPUTER AND DIGITAL BASICS, DIGITAL MEDIA, HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION AND DIGITAL OWNERSHIP ### 2.0 Introduction Information in digital form can be stored, processed, and transmitted via digital technologies. They are used in many different applications, such as consumer goods, communication systems, digital instrumentation, and process control. A typical digital system is the digital computer, also referred to as the computer. A computer manipulates binary, or more specifically digital, information. There are only two discrete values for a binary number: zero or one. The OFF and ON states of a transistor, an electrical switch, reflect each of these discrete values. Therefore, only binary numerals are understood by all computers. A binary number can be used to represent any decimal number (base 10, with ten digits ranging from 0 to 9). (base 2, with digits 0 and 1). The central processing unit (CPU), memory, and input/output (I/O) are the building blocks of a computer. In many ways, the CPU of a computer is similar to the human brain. Human memory and computer memory are conceptually comparable. A query posed to a person is comparable to inputting a program into a computer using an input device like the keyboard, and the response provided by the person is conceptually similar to sending the program's desired outcome to a computer output device like the printer. The primary distinction is that humans have the capacity for independent thought whereas computers can only respond to questions for which they have been programmed. ### 2.1 Digital devices Digital devices include, but are not limited to, desktops, laptops, tablets, peripherals, servers, mobile phones, smartphones, and any comparable storage devices that are currently available or could become available as technology advances. Digital devices are defined as electronic devices that can create, generate, send, share, communicate, receive, store, display, or process information. #### Examples of digital devices - **LED TV:** Digital devices include things like LED televisions, monitors, and displays. They all use digital signals to operate. They serve the primary purpose of visual information or data display. - **Electronic cameras:** Compared to conventional cameras, these gadgets are significantly more adaptable, especially when combined with other digital technology. It is simpler to keep, arrange, edit, send and print digital photos. The majority of digital cameras can also record video. - **Smartphones:** Mobile phones have completely changed how people communicate, both verbally and through text. Nowadays, we have smartphones that have a wide range of other digital technologies, like cameras, calculators, and mapping. Consumer options are being further expanded via mobile apps. - **Alarm clocks:** Digital clocks have a number of advantages over traditional analog clocks: They don't make a ticking sound; they are easy to read, even in the dark; and the alarms go off at the precise time that you set them. They can also be combined with radios, so that you wake up to your favorite show. - **Printers:** Printers are another digital device that are so commonplace nowadays that we pretty much take them for granted. Although in recent years, information increasingly tends to be stored rather than printed, life without these devices would still be difficult to imagine. We also shouldn't forget 3D printers, which are increasingly presenting both opportunities and challenges. ### 2.1.1 Advantages of digital devices One of the most exciting benefits of digital devices is their user-friendly design combined with cutting-edge engineering. Let's have a look at some advantages of digital technology. 1. **Compactness:** Devices can now be smaller, quicker, lighter, and more adaptable thanks to digital technology. Large volumes of data and information can be kept or retrieved instantaneously, virtually, and both locally and remotely. 2. **Connectivity:** Social connectedness has been greatly improved by digital technologies. Being present anywhere in the world makes it so much easier to stay in touch and connected with friends, family, and your place of employment. You can converse verbally via text, visually via video or video chat, and audibly via calls and messages. 3. **Keeping you informed:** No one in the digital world is isolated thanks to digital platforms like websites and applications. Users are continuously kept informed about what is happening locally and throughout the world by news and local events. 4. **Automation:** As machines get smarter thanks to digital technology, production rates increase and the demand and supply curve's expectations are met. Most of the time, contemporary machines do not require human interaction to operate, which has increased worker multitasking by allowing them to focus on other productive tasks. 5. **Quick technology:** With the adoption of a digital transformation strategy, improvements in internet speed and quality have increased dramatically. Faster broadband connections make it possible to stream videos and audio files more quickly and nearly in real time by enabling the transport of massive volumes of data and information through the World Wide Web almost instantly. Nowadays, it takes only a few seconds to send massive data files or access information from almost anywhere in the world. For instance, apps and integrations like WhatsApp and Google Assistant have significantly streamlined and improved our lives. ### 2.1.2 Disadvantages of digital devices The effects and evolution of the new, cutting-edge technologies are difficult to understand, and they still represent a work in progress. You must completely understand the issues and determine whether using this equipment is beneficial or tiresome because any substance or material used excessively is dangerous. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity." - Albert Einstein. - **Complexity:** Every second, technology updates itself. Years after the system's release, numerous faults and flaws are found along with the updates. Customers who aren't tech-savvy will have a hard time utilizing the interface because of things like simple phone bugs, advanced phone bugs, and devices utilized in cars and household appliances. A buyer will undoubtedly be dissatisfied with their purchase if they experience any of these issues. One of the key drawbacks of digital technology is the program's complexity. - **Overload of work:** As we are all aware, digital technology has sped up the process of finishing work. While employees work for longer hours each day to enhance productivity, Employee alienation and distress result from the increased work, focus, and dedication required for extensive data analysis. - **Security of information:** Using digital technology, data may be stored. However, another crucial element is to start worrying about the security of the data that have been acquired. These statistics are a compilation of both publicly available and personally identifiable information on people or organizations. While it is simple to store, there is a low but significant danger of a breach, which has an impact on the entire business. - **Addiction:** Addiction to messaging apps, video games, social media, and dating services can be dangerous. Numerous health problems that claim the lives of its users have been reported repeatedly. User interaction is a key component of online platforms for gaming and websites that sell advertising. In the long run, addiction causes the person to lose money and experience depression. - **Manipulation of digital media:** Media manipulation is one of digital technology's other drawbacks. The advancement of technology made it simpler to edit online images, videos, and sounds. To get people's attention, a lot of media use editing tools to change and edit the information obtained on the current issue. The public's ears and eyes are regarded as being in the media. ### 2.2 DIGITAL PROCESSING #### 2.2.1. Data The symbols that represent people, events, things, and ideas are referred to as data. A name, number, the colours in a photograph, or the notes in a musical composition are all examples of data. Typically, the physical world is analog. Data and instructions cannot be input and processed directly into computers using human language. Any type of data, whether characters, special symbols, numbers, sound, or graphics, must first be transformed into machine-readable binary form. As a result, it is critical to understand how a computer and its peripheral devices manage data in electrical circuits, magnetic media, and optical devices. Digital data is information represented as a string of discrete symbols, each of which may take one of only a finite number of values from some alphabet, such as letters or digits, in information theory and information systems. A text document, for example, is made up of a string of alphanumeric characters. Binary data is the most prevalent type of digital data in most information systems. It is represented by a string of binary digits (bits), each of which can take one of two values, 0 or 1. In contrast to digital data, analog data is represented by a value from a continuous range of real values. Analog data is conveyed via an analog signal, which is a continuous real-valued function of time that not only takes on continuous values but also varies continuously with time. Because fingers are frequently used for counting, the word digital derives from the same source as the words digit and digitus (the Latin word for finger). In 1942, Bell Telephone Laboratories mathematician George Stibitz coined the term "digital" to describe the fast electric pulses emitted in a device designed to calculate the location of anti-aircraft guns. The term is most commonly used when converting analog signals, particularly where real-world information is converted to binary numeric form, as in digital audio and digital photography. #### 2.2.1.1 Data Processing Data processing is distinct from word processing, which involves the manipulation of language rather than data. Data processing is a type of information processing that involves the alteration (processing) of information through that allows for the ability to detect by an observer (French, 1996). Before the technological practices were employed, the phrase "data processing" became popular in the 1950s, data processing operations have been accomplished manually for millennia. Bookkeeping, for example, entails activities such as recording transactions and creating reports such as the balance sheet and cash flow statement. Mechanical or electronic calculators were used to supplement completely manual procedures. "computer" was someone whose duty it was to conduct calculations manually or with a calculator. The 1890 United States Census was the first to collect data on individuals rather than households. Several questions on the form might be addressed by checking the corresponding box. From 1850 to 1880, the Census Bureau used 'a technique of tallying that became increasingly sophisticated as the number of categorization combinations necessary increased.' Because only a limited number of combinations could be recorded in a single count, the schedule had to be handled 5 or 6 times for as many separate tallies. Using laborious processing procedures, it took nearly 7 years to publish the findings of the 1880 census. ### 2.3 DIGITAL DATA REPRESENTATION Data is the symbolic representation of people, events, objects, and ideas. A name, a number, colours in an image, or the notes in a musical composition can all be considered data. The method of transforming information, such as text, numbers, photographs, or music, into digital data, which data is stored, processed, and communicated is referred to as data representation. The process of transforming information, such as text, numbers, photographs, or music, into digital data, which employs a physical quantity, such as charge, fluctuating over a continuous range is known as digitization. In contrast to analog encoding, encoding stores data in discrete units - basically integers. Symbols (such as alphanumeric letters) are not continuous; expressing them digitally is more demanding than converting continuous or analog information to digital. Polling and encoding are sometimes performed instead of sampling and quantization as in analog-to-digital conversion. A symbol input is often made up of a series of switches that are queried at regular intervals to determine whether they are flipped. Data will be lost if two switches are pressed during a single polling interval. When a new symbol switch is pressed, released, then pressed again. To avoid overloading the main CPU, this operation might be performed by a dedicated processor in the device. When a new symbol switch is pressed, released, then pressed again, the device normally sends an interrupt in a particular format to the CPU so that it may be processed. With devices with only a few switches (such as the buttons on a joystick), the state of each switch is represented as a single word of bits (often 0 for released and 1 for pushed). This is because keyboard combinations are relevant if it is determined to use a converter, the sequence of modifiers is relevant (such as shift and control). It does not, however, matter when a device with a lot of switches is used, the number of bits in a single byte needs to be included (like a computer keyboard, whose matrix, with the indices (like a computer keyboard x and y lines) is used to create the appropriate switch, is the appropriate x and y lines. Polling (identifying the switch, it is the appropriate x and y lines. When the keyboard processor detects a key change, it sends a signal to the CPU specifying the key's scan code and new state. Based on the condition of the modifiers and the selected character, a bespoke encoding may be utilized for a given application. However, the convention has to be that the encoding is not in the standard, employing a conventional encoding such as ASCII is troublesome. It is estimated that less than 1% of the world's technical ability to store information was digital in 1986, while it was already 94% in 2007. The year 2002 is said to be the year when humans became able to store more information in digital format rather than analog format. Data representation refers to the form in which data is stored, processed, and transmitted. - Digital data is text, numbers, graphics, sound, and video that has been converted into discrete digits such as 0s and 1s. - Analog data is represented using an infinite scale of values. - Numeric data consists of numbers that might be used in arithmetic operations e.g. annual income or age. Numeric data is represented using binary number system called base 2 (i.e. 0s and 1s). - Character data is composed of letters, symbols, and numerals that are not used in arithmetic operations e.g. name, address etc. - ASCII, EBCDIC and Unicode are several types of codes that digital devices employ to represent character data. Computers interpret every signal as "on" or "off". 1 ("on") and 0 ("off") referred to as bits or binary digits. - Bit (binary digit) is the smallest unit of digit. - 8bits = 1 byte, each byte represents a unique characters. - Kilobyte (KB) = one thousand bytes - Megabyte (MB) = one million bytes - Gigabyte (GB) = one billion bytes - Terabyte (TB) = one trillion bytes ### 2.4 DIGITAL MEDIA Media can also be referred to as communication media, an institution or an organization that involves the concept of media. In different ways, it can be in the form of print and electronic media shifted from analog (print and electronic) to digital media, encompassing the convergence and divergence of media. However, the transfer of electronic media to digital media has been embedded into the centrality of media, especially with the use of new technology in the media industry. ### 2.4.1. INTRODUCTION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO MEDIA The introduction of the Internet in the 1990s brought about a drastic change in the domain of media, the change ranges from the production level to the processes level to the point of distribution of information and the representation of the media are received and absorbed by the users (audience). However, digital meda emerged as a concept in the 1980s with the shift from analog to digital. Thereby transforming the rival of digital media has also changed spheres of life. ### 2.4.2 DIGITAL MEDIA IN SOCIETY The changing effect IN SOCIETY media created a dual identity of the logic of media, prior to a singular entity has disintegrated printing and audio cultural, economic, and political processes, to pave the way for digital media. Therefore, the fulcrum of traditional media and new media is loosely edged on the aspects of production, consumption, and outlet patterns. ### 2.4.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF DIGITAL MEDIA 1. **Digital:** In a digital media process, all data are converted into numbers. Numerical representation makes digital information programmable, alterable, and subject to algorithmic manipulation. It can be compressed and decompressed using algorithms, allowing for large amounts of data to be stored and distributed efficiently. 2. **Interactive:** Interactivity is a measure of the media's potential and ability to let the user exert an influence on the context and/or form of the mediated communication. In this context, interactivity can be interpreted as a value-added characteristic of digital media. 3. **Hypertext:** Hypertext is a form of text that is composed of nodes or blocks of text which form the content, the links between these blocks of content, and the buttons or tags that enact the link from one node to another. Thus, in a digital media process, hypertext combines traditional text with interactive branching to create a non-linear text. 4. **Dispersion:** Dispersion, here, refers to the diffusion of digital media, in comparison to mass media, at the level of consumption and production with the multiplication of technologies. The notion of virtuality emerges from the convergence of digital technologies both with older kinds of analog media and with computer-mediated telecommunications networks. The 'virtual' aspect of digital media focuses on the Internet and the World Wide Web; immersive, 3D, and spectacular image technologies; screen-based multimedia, and animation. 5. **Virtual:** The notion of virtuality emerges from the convergence of digital in technologies both with older kinds of analog media and with computer-mediated telecommunications networks. The 'virtual' aspect of digital media focuses on the Internet and the World Wide Web; immersive, 3D, and spectacular image technologies; screen-based multimedia, and animation. 6. **Telepresence:** Digital media has the potential to alter our feeling of presence. With digital media, we gain the ability to simultaneously exist in two different environments at the same time: the physical environment in which our body is located and the constructed one where we are present with the use of the medium. ### 2.5 EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL MEDIA The emergence of digital coding can be attributed to Charles Babbage, who in the early 1800s, conceptualized codes and information to be calculated by machines, followed by Ada Lovelace in 1822 and 1823, who wrote the first instructions for calculating numbers on Babbage's machines. However, the timeline of digital media commenced in 1941 with the invention of Z3, an electromechanical 'Z' machine by Konrad Zuse. It was the first working machine featuring binary arithmetic and a measure of programmability and is considered one of the first large-scale electromechanical computer, followed by the invention of Harvard mark 1, a large-scale electromechanical computer, in 1944. Digital devices such as the Xerox machine, communication satellite, microchip, virtual reality, and augmented reality HMD system were developed after World War II, that is, 1947, and it went on till 1968. In 1969, ARPANET was developed by the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency of the US Department of Defence. It was the world's first operational packet switching network. The year 1970, Sony introduced the first videocassette followed by the invention of the computer floppy disks and microprocessors in 1971. The first video game console, Magnavox Odyssey, was launched in 1972, while Hewlett-Packard pioneered the Desktop computer in 1973. Interestingly, in 1974, Nam June Paik, a 20th century South Korean-born US video artist, claimed to have coined the term 'the information superhighway', that is, a route or network for high-speed transfer of information. The year 1975 was a path-breaking because Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates, the first major ISP (Internet service provider) and the first handheld mobile phone arrived. In 1979, the first cellular phone communication network started in Japan. The early years of the 1980s witnessed an upsurge in technological inventions and development such as compact disc players, Apple computers, CD Walkman, silicon microchip, CD-ROM, etc. to name a few. In 1990, the possibility of the World Wide Web was described by Tim Berners-Lee, which further saw an upsurge in the extent of development in the media sphere. The following decade boomed with technological inventions across the globe with the first online website, digicam, short message service (SMS) to a mobile phone, DVD, digital still image camera, the first digital television service (DirectTV), etc. being developed. In 1994, the US government released control of the Internet, and the World Wide Web (WWW) was brought in for public use which changed the media landscape considerably. E-commerce platforms (Amazon.com, Alibaba Group), online search engines (Google), email (Hotmail), social networking websites (MySpace) emerged in the latter half of the decade. In 2004, the term 'Web 2.0' gained currency following the first O'Reilly Media Web 2.0 conference. Moreover, 2004 also witnessed the launch of the social networking website, Facebook followed by YouTube in 2005, Twitter in 2006, WhatsApp in 2009, LinkedIn and Instagram in 2010, Snapchat in 2011, and lastly, Tik Tok in 2012. The digital media landscape is not just restricted to the devices or the networking websites as mentioned above. Many more such digital meda platforms emerged with a sudden boom, which transformed the narrative of how we live and sustain in society. ### 2.5.3. EFFECTS OF DIGITAL MEDIA The effects of digital media impact society at the micro as well as the macrolevels. Issues about cybercrime, security, privacy, surveillance, online hate, disinformation, misinformation, and dangerous addiction are inherent when we discuss the effects of digital media. ### 2.6 Cybercrime and Security Although the advent of digital media has revolutionized the media playfield along with altering our personal and professional lives considerably, it has also let loose a set of crimes related to the personal security of individuals as well as the national security of various nations. While online scams, identity theft, and cyber theft pose a significant threat to individuals while digital forums, such as cyber-attacks, identity theft, cyber theft, online scam, etc., affecting trading identities on social media sites and e-commerce platforms, cyber warfare and national-level cyber-attacks have affected governance at a greater level. Perber intrusions and attacks have increased dramatically over the last decade, exposing sensitive information, disrupting critical operations, and imposing high costs on the economy. India became the second most affected country by cyber-attacks and identity theft have been prominent in India as well in the form of email scams, phishing and attacks. On the backdrop of the Union Bank of India Heist in July 2016, Wannacry Ransomware in May 2017, Petya Ransomware. ### 2.6.1 Privacy and Surveillance According to the 2019 Forrester Global Map of Privacy Rights and Regulations: "Regulations that allow governments to access personal data of citizens are still undermining the overall privacy protections that certain countries offer their citizens." India has been named as a country with minimal restrictions in terms of data privacy and protection where government surveillance is a matter of caution alongside countries with high-level government surveillance, such as China. According to industry experts, the lack of constitutional provisions that enable monitoring of government activity could be one of the primary reasons for the high level of government surveillance. ### 2.6.2 Online Hate Online hate can be viewed and referred to as cyberbullying which involves hate speech, and online sexual harassment, which is highly dominant amongst adolescents and teenagers across the world. People, most especially the young ones who integrate themselves in many forms of social media into their intimate, social, and political lives, produce, are exposed to, and combat hate speech online. Further, they do so in a context where what constitutes hate speech, and where it is recognized as racism, are critical dimensions of Digital Media and Society's online engagement and discursive interaction. Cyber bullying can be defined as a kind of harassment that uses electronic forms of contact. Bullying can include posting rumors about a person, threats, sexual comments, disclosing the victim's personal information, or hate speech. Victims of cyber bullying show lower levels of self-esteem, increased suicidal tendencies, retaliation, and emotional breakdowns, and are more prone to being frustrated, angry, or depressed. Many studies have shown that cyber bullying can be as harmful as traditional forms of bullying.