Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Notes
 Hardware: Physical parts of a computer or a part that we can physically touch. It can be
internal and external. Each has their specific tasks to perform.
 Internal Hardware:
o CPU: It does all the functions of a computer system. It handles logic gates as well.
The entire processing unit is dependent on amount of operations that it can handle
in a second. More operations can be carried out in lesser time.
o Motherboard: It is the circuit board that distributes power to the CPU, RAM and
other hardware devices to work. It is a printed circuit board that takes care of the
other hardware components. The connecting devices are always connected to the
motherboard as it forms a bridge between the computer and the device.
o Memory: RAM are volatile and ROM is permanent. Data that is needs to be
permanently saved must be stored in ROM.
o Graphic Cards: It is attached to the motherboard and is responsible for the display
on screen.
o Sound Cards: It is attached to the motherboard and is responsible for the sound in
a computer. It manages plugged in musical instruments and their sounds. Apps are
also available because the sounds of the instruments can be mimicked because of
the sound card
o Hard Disk: It stores info.
o Network Card: It is used to connect to the internet and also to set up a network.
o Optical Disk Drive: It allows us to view the contents of a disk and change it
(burning data onto the disk)
o Power Supply: Supplies power to the hardware devices.
 External Hardware:
o Input: Which enters data onto a computer.
o Output: Which takes out data from a computer.
o External Storage Device: Stores data but needs to be plugged in.
 Wednesday, September 8, 2021
Notes
 Software: A collection of instruments that can ‘run’ on a computer. These instructions tell
the computer what to do. Software is not a physical thing.
o Application Software: Allow the user to do specific tasks (Task Specific)
 Write a letter/ Present information
 Browse internet
 Make spreadsheets
 Manipulate graphics, sound and video
o System Software: They run the computer.
 Provide a user interface
 Device drivers: Allow hardware components to work in a computer
 Utility software maintains computer performance: Disk defragmenters,
System Profilers, Network Managers, Application Launchers, Antivirus
software, Backup software, Disk repair, Disk Cleaners, Registry Cleaners,
Disk Space analyzer, file manager, File Compression, Data Security
 Application Software:
o Word Processing: Used to prepare reports, school essays
 Create new or edit documents
 Formatting tools
 Create Font styles
 Importing tables/ images
 Spell Check
 Copy/ Paste
 Find/ Replace
 Page Layout
o Spreadsheet: Use to create, to organize and manipulate numeric data.
 Use of various formulas to carry out set tasks:
 Sum, max, min, average
 Count, CountA
 Countif and SumIF
 Look ups
o Database
o Photo Editing: Used to edit digital images to either touch up or to apply various
formatting techniques.
 Contrast/Brightness
 Use of layers
 Filter Tools
 Lighting effects
 Liquifying (change features of a face)
 Brush tools
  Clone/Stamp tool
o Graphics Manipulation: Used to create and edit bitmap and vector graphics.
 Pixels in bitmap images can be changed to produce a different image.
 Vector images:
 Line Curves
o Video Editing: Used to edit and format videos
o Apps: Software which runs on mobile phones. They usually come with the phone
or can be downloaded and updated.
o Measuring and Control Software: Measuring and control software which are
responsible for changing physical conditions in an environment.
 System Software
o Operating System: Manages computer functions including hardware devices
o Device Drivers: Allows hardware devices to run on the computer including
printers, sound graphics and network cards
o Utilities: Help manage and maintain computer resources and performance by
running specific tasks.
o Linkers: Combines object files produced by a compiler into a single program
o Compilers: Translates a program written in a specific language which can be
understood by the computer.