QNO 1 :

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is a broader term

for Information Technology (IT), which refers to all communication
technologies, including the internet, wireless networks, cell phones,
computers, software, middleware, video-conferencing, social
networking, and other media applications and services enabling users to
access, retrieve, store, transmit, and manipulate information in a digital
form.

ICTs are also used to refer to the convergence of media technology such

as audio-visual and telephone networks with computer networks, by
means of a unified system of cabling (including signal distribution and
management) or link system. However, there is no universally accepted
definition of ICTs considering that the concepts, methods and tools
involved in ICTs are steadily evolving on an almost daily basis.

By using ICTs, there have already “been diverse types of innovations

taking place in the agriculture sector, which include commodity and stock
market price information and analysis, meteorological data collection,
advisory services to farmers for agricultural extension, early warning
systems for disaster prevention and control, financial services, traceability
of agricultural products, agricultural statistical data gathering, etc."
Q NO 2 :

FIRST GENERATION: VACUUM TUBES (1940-1956)

The first computer systems used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic
drums for memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms.
These computers were very expensive to operate and in addition to using
a great deal of electricity, the first computers generated a lot of heat,
which was often the cause of malfunctions.

First generation computers relied on machine language, the lowest-level

programming language understood by computers, to perform operations,
and they could only solve one problem at a time. It would take operators
days or even weeks to set-up a new problem. Input was based on punched
cards and paper tape, and output was displayed on printouts.

The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples of first-generation

computing devices. 
SECOND GENERATION: TRANSISTORS (1956-1963)

The world would see transistors replace vacuum tubes in the second

generation of computers. The transistor was invented at Bell Labs in 1947
but did not see widespread use in computers until the late 1950s.

The transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube, allowing computers to
become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient, and more reliable
than their first-generation predecessors. Though the transistor still
generated a great deal of heat that subjected the computer to damage, it
was a vast improvement over the vacuum tube. Second-generation
computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output.

THIRD GENERATION: INTEGRATED CIRCUITS  (1964-

1971)

The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third

generation of computers. Transistors were miniaturized and placed
on silicon chips, called semiconductors, which drastically increased the
speed and efficiency of computers.

Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third

generation computers
through keyboards and monitors and interfaced with an operating system,
which allowed the device to run many different applications at one time
with a central program that monitored the memory. Computers for the
first time became accessible to a mass audience because they were
smaller and cheaper than their predecessors.

FOURTH GENERATION: MICROPROCESSORS (1971-

PRESENT)

The microprocessor ushered in the fourth generation of computers, as

thousands of integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip.
What in the first generation filled an entire room could now fit in the
palm of the hand. The Intel 4004 chip, developed in 1971, located all the
components of the computer from the central processing unit and memory
to input/output controls on a single chip.

QNO 4 :
Memory is the electronic holding place for the instructions and data a
computer needs to reach quickly. It's where information is stored for
immediate use. Memory is one of the basic functions of a computer,
because without it, a computer would not be able to function properly.
Memory is also used by a computer's operating system, hardware and
software.

RAM :

Volatile storage is a memory that loses its contents if the device or

computer loses its power. RAM is volatile high-speed memory.

When applications for software, records, and files are opened, they are
copied from secondary storage into RAM. They remain in RAM until we
close the files or applications.

ROM :

ROM stands for Read-Only memory.  It is a permanent memory, where

programs are stored while a computer is being created.

Unable to modify and erase stored programs in this memory, they can
only be read. Therefore, this memory is called read-only memory.

QNO 3

Hexadecimal Numbers

Hexadecimal numbers make use of 16 symbols 0 to 9 and additional

symbols (A, B, C, D, E, F). Hexadecimal numbers were introduced with
the purpose to represent binary numbers in a more human readable form.

The radix or base for hexadecimal number is 16 and each symbol in a

hexadecimal number is expressed as power of 16.

It is easy and more human readable to represent number in hexadecimal

system.

Binary Numbers
Binary numbers make use of only 2 symbols (0, 1) to represent any
number and it becomes a tedious job to express large numbers.

The radix for binary numbers is 2 and also termed as base 2 numbers.

Large numbers represented in binary system are not in a human readable

form.