CAT Study Guide 2023 PDF

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS TECHNOLOGY Gr 10 to 12 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY __________________________________________7 1.1. HARDWARE ________________________________________________________________________________9 1.2. SOFTWARE _________________________________...

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS TECHNOLOGY Gr 10 to 12 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY __________________________________________7 1.1. HARDWARE ________________________________________________________________________________9 1.2. SOFTWARE ________________________________________________________________________________15 1.3. TYPES OF COMPUTER USERS __________________________________________________________________18 1.4. SOLID-STATE DRIVE (SSD) ____________________________________________________________________19 1.5. MEMORY CARD READER _____________________________________________________________________20 1.6. MULTI-TOUCH SCREEN ______________________________________________________________________20 1.7. HDMI (HIGH- DEFINITION MULTIMEDIA INTERFACE) ______________________________________________21 1.8. 3D PRINTING/PRINTERS _____________________________________________________________________22 1.9. CATEGORIES OF USERS: PERSONAL COMPUTER USER OR END-USER _________________________________23 1.10. CATEGORIES OF USERS:SMALL OFFICE HOME OFFICE – SOHO ________________________________________24 1.11. CATEGORIES OF USERS:SUPER USER/POWER USER ________________________________________________24 1.12. CATEGORIES OF USERS:SUPER USER/POWER USER ________________________________________________25 1.13. CATEGORIES OF USERS:MOBILE USER ___________________________________________________________25 1.14. ENTRY-LEVEL COMPUTER_____________________________________________________________________26 1.15. STORAGE __________________________________________________________________________________30 1.16. BIOMETRIC INPUT __________________________________________________________________________32 1.17. INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARDS _________________________________________________________________33 1.18. CONVERGENCE _____________________________________________________________________________34 1.19. MEMORY CARDS ___________________________________________________________________________35 1.20. POS – POINT OF SALE ________________________________________________________________________36 1.21. RESOLUTION AND IMAGE QUALITY ____________________________________________________________37 1.22. TOUCH SCREENS ____________________________________________________________________________38 1.23. USB , PLUG AND PLAY ________________________________________________________________________39 1.24. DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE ________________________________________________________41 1.25. E-MAIL SOFTWARE __________________________________________________________________________42 1.26. FREEWARE ________________________________________________________________________________44 1.27. KEY LOGGING ______________________________________________________________________________45 1.28. KEY LOGGING SOFTWARE ____________________________________________________________________46 1.29. LICENSING AND LICENSING AGREEMENTS INCLUDING END USER, SITE LICENSEAGREEMENTS AND CREATIVE COMMONS ________________________________________________________________________________________47 1|Page  1.30. SOFTWARE LICENSING ______________________________________________________________________48 1.31. SOFTWARE PROBLEMS/ISSUES _______________________________________________________________49 1.32. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ____________________________________________________________________49 1.33. OCR ______________________________________________________________________________________50 1.34. ONLINE/WEB APPLICATIONS _________________________________________________________________51 1.35. OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE (OSS) _______________________________________________________________52 1.36. PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE ____________________________________________________________________53 1.37. REFERENCE/EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE _________________________________________________________54 1.38. RISK OF USING FLAWED SOFTWARE ____________________________________________________________55 1.39. SHAREWARE_______________________________________________________________________________56 1.40. VERSIONS (UPDATING SOFTWARE), PATCHES AND SERVICE PACKS ___________________________________57 1.41. VOICE RECOGNITION ALSO KNOWN AS SPEECH RECOGNITION ______________________________________58 1.42. WEB BROWSERS ____________________________________________________________________________59 1.43. WEB-BASED APPLICATIONS VERSUS INSTALLED APPLICATIONS _____________________________________62 1.44. BACKUP___________________________________________________________________________________64 1.45. CACHING __________________________________________________________________________________64 1.46. COMPATIBILITY ISSUES ______________________________________________________________________65 1.47. DEFRAGMENTATION, SCAN DISK/CHECK DISK, DISK CLEAN-UP ______________________________________66 1.48. DRIVERS __________________________________________________________________________________67 1.49. MULTITASKING _____________________________________________________________________________68 1.50. SCHEDULING _______________________________________________________________________________69 1.51. SECURITY FEATURES SUCH AS ACCESS CONTROL, CONTROL OF SPYWARE, ADWARE AND FIREWALL _______70 1.52. SPOOLING _________________________________________________________________________________71 1.53. UTILITY PROGRAMS _________________________________________________________________________72 1.54. ACCESSIBILITY FOR THE DISABLED ______________________________________________________________73 1.55. SOFTWARE FOR PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED PEOPLE _______________________________________________74 2. NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES _______________________________________75 2.1. NETWORKS ________________________________________________________________________________76 2.2. INTERNET _________________________________________________________________________________78 2.3. WIRELESS ACCESS POINT COVERAGE ___________________________________________________________84 2.4. BROADBAND AND BANDWIDTH ______________________________________________________________86 2.5. COMMUNICATION DEVICES:SMART PHONES AND OTHER PERSONAL MOBILE DEVICES ________________87 2|Page  2.6. DATA TRANSMISSIONSPEED _________________________________________________________________88 2.7. DIGITAL COMMUNICATION ___________________________________________________________________89 2.8. GRID COMPUTING __________________________________________________________________________90 2.9. INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER (ISP), INTERNET SERVICES ____________________________________________91 2.10. TYPES OF NETWORKS________________________________________________________________________92 2.11. PERSONAL AREA NETWORK (PAN) _____________________________________________________________92 2.12. HOME AREA NETWORK (HAN) ________________________________________________________________93 2.13. LOCAL AREA NETWORK (LAN) _________________________________________________________________93 2.14. WIRELESS LAN (WLAN) ______________________________________________________________________94 2.15. WIDE AREA NETWORK (WAN) ________________________________________________________________94 2.16. NETWORK DEVICE:MODEM, ROUTER AND SWITCH ________________________________________________95 2.17. REAL-TIME MESSAGING –INSTANT MESSAGING (IM)AND CHAT ____________________________________96 2.18. TYPES OF CONNECTIONS, E.G. ADSL, WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES ______________________________________97 2.19. WIRELESS VS CABLES ______________________________________________________________________ 102 2.20. NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION (NFC) ________________________________________________________ 103 3. INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES _______________________________________104 3.1. VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS _________________________________________________________________ 105 3.2. URL SHORTENER _________________________________________________________________________ 105 3.3. INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) _________________________________________________________________ 106 3.4. AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES __________________________________________________________________ 106 3.5. DRONE TECHNOLOGY _____________________________________________________________________ 107 3.6. WEARABLE DEVICES AND WEARABLE TECHNOLOGIES___________________________________________ 108 3.7. SHAPING (NETWORK TUNING) ______________________________________________________________ 109 3.8. THROTTLING (POLICING) ___________________________________________________________________ 109 3.9. BLOCKING WEBSITES ______________________________________________________________________ 110 3.10. BLOGS/VLOGS ___________________________________________________________________________ 111 3.11. BLUETOOTH _____________________________________________________________________________ 112 3.12. BOOKMARK _____________________________________________________________________________ 113 3.13. BROWSER PLUG-INS _______________________________________________________________________ 114 3.14. CAP, BUNDLE _____________________________________________________________________________ 114 3.15. CHATROOMS ____________________________________________________________________________ 115 3.16. CLOUD COMPUTING _______________________________________________________________________ 116 3|Page  3.17. DOWNLOADING/UPLOADING _______________________________________________________________ 117 3.18. FILE SHARING ____________________________________________________________________________ 118 3.19. FTP (FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL) ______________________________________________________________ 119 3.20. GOVERNMENT INTERNET SERVICES AND INFORMATION SUCH AS TAX RETURN, TV LICENSE PAYMENT AND ELECTION INFORMATION __________________________________________________________________________ 120 3.21. GPS(GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM) _________________________________________________________ 121 3.22. HISTORY AND FAVOURITES _________________________________________________________________ 122 3.23. HOME PAGE SETTINGS _____________________________________________________________________ 123 3.24. PODCAST/VODCAST ______________________________________________________________________ 124 3.25. POP-UP BLOCKER _________________________________________________________________________ 125 3.26. RSS FEEDS _______________________________________________________________________________ 125 3.27. SEARCH ENGINES _________________________________________________________________________ 126 3.28. SOCIAL NETWORKS _______________________________________________________________________ 127 3.29. VIDEO CONFERENCING ____________________________________________________________________ 128 3.30. VOIP (VOICE OVER INTERNET PROTOCOL) ______________________________________________________ 129 3.31. WI-FI HOTSPOTS __________________________________________________________________________ 130 3.32. WIKIS __________________________________________________________________________________ 131 3.33. WI-MAX ________________________________________________________________________________ 132 3.34. 802.11 A/B/G/N STANDARDS FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION __________________________________ 133 3.35. LTE (LONG TERM EVOLUTION) ______________________________________________________________ 133 3.36. APPROPRIATE COMMUNICATION ETIQUETTE __________________________________________________ 134 4. SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS ___________________________________________135 4.1. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) ________________________________________________________________ 136 4.2. DATA PROTECTION ________________________________________________________________________ 138 4.3. DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING POWER __________________________________________________________ 139 4.4. IMPACT AND USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES AND TECHNOLOGIES ______________________________ 140 4.5. INFORMATION OVERLOAD(IO) ______________________________________________________________ 142 4.6. SOFTWARE BUGS _________________________________________________________________________ 142 4.7. TELECOMMUTING/TELEWORKING ___________________________________________________________ 143 4.8. ADWARE ________________________________________________________________________________ 144 4.9. AVOID SECURITY THREATS _________________________________________________________________ 145 4.10. CYBER ATTACKS ___________________________________________________________________________ 145 4|Page 4.11. COMPUTER CRIMES IN RELATION TO HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, INFORMATION, IDENTITY,BANDWIDTH THEFT, THEFT OF TIME AND SERVICES _______________________________________________________________________ 146 4.12. CYBER/COMPUTER FRAUD _________________________________________________________________ 147 4.13. DDOS ATTACK (DISTRIBUTED DENIAL-OF-SERVICE ATTACK) _______________________________________ 148 4.14. E-MAIL SPOOFING ________________________________________________________________________ 148 4.15. FAKE NEWS ______________________________________________________________________________ 149 4.16. FIREWALL _______________________________________________________________________________ 151 4.17. HOAXES ________________________________________________________________________________ 152 4.18. INTERNET ATTACKS (CYBER ATTACKS) _________________________________________________________ 152 4.19. INTERNET-RELATED SCAMS_________________________________________________________________ 153 4.20. MALWARE ______________________________________________________________________________ 154 4.21. MISUSE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION _______________________________________________________ 155 4.22. PHARMING ______________________________________________________________________________ 157 4.23. PHISHING _______________________________________________________________________________ 158 4.24. POP-UPS ________________________________________________________________________________ 159 4.25. RIGHT TO ACCESS _________________________________________________________________________ 160 4.26. RIGHT TO PRIVACY ________________________________________________________________________ 161 4.27. SAFEGUARDS AGAINST CRIMINALS, VIRUSES AND THREATS ______________________________________ 162 4.28. SOCIAL ENGINEERING TRICKS _______________________________________________________________ 165 4.29. SPAM ___________________________________________________________________________________ 166 4.30. SPYWARE _______________________________________________________________________________ 166 4.31. TAKING OVER PC'S, E.G.BOTNETS, BOTS, ZOMBIES _______________________________________________ 167 4.32. TROJANS ________________________________________________________________________________ 168 4.33. VIRUSES ________________________________________________________________________________ 169 4.34. WORMS_________________________________________________________________________________ 170 4.35. ERGONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS _____________________________________________________________ 170 4.36. USER-CENTRED DESIGN (UCD) ______________________________________________________________ 171 4.37. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES __________________________________________________________________ 171 4.38. GEOTAGGING ____________________________________________________________________________ 172 4.39. CLICK-JACKING ___________________________________________________________________________ 172 4.40. SCREEN LOCK PATTERN ____________________________________________________________________ 173 4.41. RANSOMWARE ___________________________________________________________________________ 173 5|Page  4.42. AUTHENTICATION ________________________________________________________________________ 174 4.43. CROWD FUNDING ________________________________________________________________________ 175 4.44. BYOD: (BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE) __________________________________________________________ 176 4.45. BIG DATA _______________________________________________________________________________ 177 4.46. CRYPTOCURRENCIES ______________________________________________________________________ 178 4.47. E-LEARNING AND M-LEARNING _____________________________________________________________ 179 4.48. VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) _____________________________________________________________________ 181 4.49. AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) _________________________________________________________________ 182 4.50. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) ______________________________________________________________ 183 4.51. 4TH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (4IR) __________________________________________________________ 184 4.52. 5TH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (5IR) __________________________________________________________ 185 4.53. BLOCKCHAIN _____________________________________________________________________________ 187 5. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT _____________________________________189 6. SUMMARY OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT ________________________192 7. SEARCHING TECHNIQUES ________________________________________192 8. DATA/INFORMATION EVALUATION _________________________________192 6|Page 1. SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY 7|Page Peripheral devices: Hardware: all hardware components that are Physical components of the attached to a computer and are computer you can touch controlled by the computer system, but they are not the core Software: components of the computer is a set of instructions, data or programs used to operate computers and execute specific tasks Input give input to the computer. Without it, the computer does not know what to do Processing Communication the interal process where the computer many times you share processes data so that the output you saved what you requisted can with other people happen (e.g. sorting, through e-mail etc. Information searching for something on the computer) Processing Cycle Output Storage what the computer to store the output gives back to you after permanently, you store the processing. it on a hard drive or a Normally 'soft' output flash disk on the screen or 'hard' output on printout ICT: Information and Communication Technology ICT refers to technologies that provide access to information through telecommunications (such as the Internet, wireless networks, mobile phones and other communication media) 8|Page 1.1. HARDWARE Physical keyboard (Peripheral) Keyboard (wired & Touch screen's pop-up keyboard wireless/ bluetooth) For blind people - braille keyboards, microphone Disabilities: For visually impaired/motor skills - keyboard with big buttons Wireless advantages: Cables are not in the way, can work far from computer Mouse (wired & wireless) disadvantages: theft risk, needs batteries, more expensive to buy, interference of signals, weaker response time Touch pad Pointing stick Stylus Pointing device Can recognise more than one 'touch' and react - like Touch screen / multi touch screen pinch/zoom (also applicable to Input devices touch pad) For motor disabilities - trackball / footpeadal / suction-blowing device Joystick, Steering wheel, Gaming devices Controller (Xbox/Playstation) Barcodes Used in POS system (point of (uses light light rays/ optics) sale) - know advantages and flow (RMIOT) For securiry - much better than Card readers (bank card) - OTM password, cannot forget it Biometric - Face recognition, Linked to one person's unique Scanners Fingerprint, Iris/Retina scanner biometric features (resolution measured in dpi) Disadvantage - you have to be RFID - wireless there in person, can endanger (uses radio waves) you Office Flatbed & Feeder scanners Character recognition OCR - scans to editable text Webcam, Digital video camera Video & sound Microphone (voice recognition, record music) 9|Page  Circuit board that connects all components HARDWARE and parts of the computer with each other Motherboard Contains a couple of slots for additional cards like sound and graphics cards Speed measured in = GHz *CPU - does the Quad core = 4 "cores" processing/thinking Well-known make e.g. Intel / AMD Function: loads current programs & Processing components documents when it is processed by the CPU so more RAM = can run more programs simultaneously Characteristic: unstable/volatile: in other words: loses content withouth power (temporary) *RAM (Primary Memory) E.g. DIMMS, DDR3/DDR4 Measured in GB Cheapest way to upgrade computer & improve performance Small chip built-in on the motherboard Helps computer 'boot' - startup process (e.g. ROM tests if all components needed is there) (Read only memory) Software on RAM that contains basic instructions: BIOS - Basic Input Output System Onboard = built-in on computer, Dedicated = separate card (better graphics) * Biggest Graphics card Has its own RAM and GPU (Graphics influence on processing unit) thus better performance performance/ since the system CPU & RAM is not used by PSU - Power supply unit speed of graphics computer 10 | P a g e  HARDWARE (Peripheral) Size measured in inch" diagonally over screen Resolution measured in pixels e.g. 1920 x 1080 (also 720p, 1080p, 2K, 4K) Aspect ratio e.g. 4:3, 16:9 relationship of length versus width Response time e.g. 2ms (milliseconds) Screen (soft copy - thus how quickly a pixel can change from one shade to another Specifications electronic on screen) Contrast ratio e.g. 1:1000000, number of variations between light and dark (lower ration - faded image) Projector Measures brightness in lumens Colour depth e.g. 8-bit, 32-bit Number of colours that a screen can display Interactive whiteboard e.g. 24-bit=16.7 million colours (RMIOT) Use VGA (old) or HDMI (new) HDMI for high resolution and Important for people that cabels can also transfer sound Speakers & headphones are blind Output devices speed (ppm - pages per minute), resolution (dpi), workload (how many pages it can print in a month/lifetime), number of ink colours Default printer - print to it automatically Specifications Printing queue - where the print jobs wait in line Spooling - the process of sending print jobs to the queue & the printer Printer itself is expensive Laser Toner is expensive but cost per page works out cheaper Quick printing speed Printer (hard copy - printed Multifunction (print, scan, Advantage: saves cost & space because all the devices are in one. page) Disadvantage: if 1 breaks and is sent in for repairs, all the other copy, fax, email) functions are not available Fax Printer itself is cheap Inkjet Ink is relatively cheap but cost per page is expensive For deaf people - devices that vibrate Slow printing speed 3D printer Prints 3 dimensional items by putting layers on top of each other Braille printer (for blind people) 11 | P a g e  HARDWARE Memory cards Micro SD, Mini SD, SD (needs card reader) Advantages: cheap storage media (ideal for archiving), read-only Optical media CD, DVD, Blu-Ray Disadvantages: Damages easily, slow read/write USB Hub for additional speed, cannot store a lot of USB ports data Ideal for vir portable storage - larger capacity Flash disks (electronical - than CD/DVD, fast flash memory) read/write speed, does not damage easily, physical size Storage devices is small SSD (Solid state drive) (Flash memory) Types HDD (Hard disk drive) 2.5" Portable (USB powered) Kinds 3.5"External Hard drives (need regular power ) (secondary memory) (usually connects with SATA Internal cabels) Function: Permanent storage of programs & data Characteristic: Stable/non- Features volatile: keeps contents without power 1KB = 1024 bytes Slower read/write speed than RAM 1MB = 1024KB Measurements of storage devices 1GB = 1024MB 1TB = 1024GB 12 | P a g e  Usually contains SSD HARDWARE Very high screen resolution Ultrabook No optical (DVD) drive Laptop/Notebook Thin & light = expensive! Types of Multi-purpose Devices Laptop and tablet in one Tablet-PC (screen can be taken off) Keep computers safe: Lock room/office Small screen (