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GK Book General Knowledge GK in English

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May 12, 2021

Contents

Chapter 14 Computer

Introduction
The word computer has been derived from the Latin word ‘COMPUTARE’, which means
to compute or to calculate. A computer can be defined as an electronic device used to
calculate and manipulate the data (i.e. input) and generates an output in the form of
useful information by following a set of procedural instructions. British scientist Charles
Babbage is considered as the Father of Computer. He invented the first mechanical
computer in early 19th century and further in 1833, he conceived a automatic analytical
engine for performing arithmetic functions. AlanMathison Turing is widely regarded as the
Father of Modern Computers or Father of theortical computer science and Artificial
Intelligence (AI).

Characteristics of Computer

▸ Speed ▸ Accuracy

▸ Diligence ▸ Versatility

Applications of Computer

▸ Education

▸ Hospitals

▸ Business

▸ Weather forecasting

▸ Entertainment

▸ Organisations

Generations of Computer

The history of computers is discussed in terms of different generations of computer.

Generation Technology Features Used Processing Examples Languages


Speed

First (1940- Vacuum Magnetic drum for Measured in Mark-I, Machine


1956) Tubes or primary storage miliseconds UNIVAC, language
Valves Punch card used ENIAC
as secondary
storage
Second Transistor Magnet core Measured in IBM-700, Assembly
(1956-1963) memory used as microseconds IBM 1401 language
internal storage and HLL
Magnet tapes used (FORTRAN,
as secondary COBOL)
storage

Third (1964- IC Semiconductor Measured in IBM360 HLL


1971) (Integrated memory used as nanoseconds series, (SNOBOL,
Circuit) primary storage ICL1901 BASIC)
Magneticdiskswere
usedassecondary
storage

Fourth VLSI or Massive use of Measured in IBM PC, HLL


(1971Present) Microprocess magnetic and picoseconds Pentium (ORACLE,
optical storage and beyond. PC, EDA)
devices APPLE,
Macintosh.

Fifth (Present Bio-chips & Artificial Very high Robotics Natural


& Beyond) ULSI intelligence will speed Language
make computer
intelligent and
knowledge based

Types of Computer
Computer can be classified on three basis

On the Basis of Functions

▸ Analog Computers This is a type of computer that reads data using measurement and
some program scale. It calculates by measuring continuous changes in the physical
quantities. e.g. Mechanical integrators, nomogram, speedometer etc.

▸ Digital Computers This is a computer that performs calculations and logical operations
with quantities represented as binary digits. e.g. Desktop, mainframe etc.

▸ Hybrid Computers These computers are the combination of both analog and digital
computers. It works by measuring quantity and calculating logical operations. e.g. ECG
monitors, HRS-100 etc.

On the Basis of Purposes

▸ General Purpose Computers This type of computers are designed in order to work in
all environments. They are versatile computers but are not efficient and also consume a
large amount of time in generating the results. e.g. ENIAC, desktops etc.

▸ Special Purpose Computers They are designed to perform only a specified task. They
are not versatile and their speed and size depends on the task. They are efficient and
consume less time in generating results. e.g. ATM, aircraft controllers etc.

On the Basis of Size and Capability

▸ Micro Computers It is a digital computer used by individuals and is also considered as


an acronym for Personal Computers (PCs). They are small in size. They are usually used
at homes, in schools and offices etc. e.g. Laptop, Palmtop, Notebook, Desktop etc.

▸ Mini Computers This type of computers are more powerful than micro computers, but
less powerful than mainframe computers. They are also termed as mid-range computers.

▸ It is a multiprocessing system capable of supporting 4 to about 200 users


simultaneously. e.g. IBM mid range computers, K-202, SDS-92 etc.

▸ Mainframe Computers It is a very large computer and is used for handling major
applications in large business organisations. They can also be used as centralised
computers with several terminal users connected to it. They can contain large databases
and are also known as super servers.

▸ They can handle huge amount of input/output (I/O) operations at the same time. They
are very expensive. e.g. Fujitsu’s ICL VME, Hitachi’s Z800 etc.

▸ Super Computers It can be defined as the most powerful computer in terms of


performance and storage capacity. They are highly expensive and are employed for
specialised applications such as for weather forecasting, several scientific researches
etc.

▸ NASA (National Aeronautics for Space Administration) uses super computers for
launching space shuttles, controlling them and for space exploration purpose.

▸ PARAM is the first super computer in India. It is a series of gigaflops developed by the
Centre of Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune.

Super Computers Developed in India

Pratyush 2017 IITM, Pune

PARAM Kanchenjunga 2016 C-DAC and NIT Sikkim

PARAM ISHAN 2016 C-DAC and IIT Guwahati

Aaditya 2013 Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology

PARAM YUVA II 2013 C-DAC, PUNE

SAGA-220 2011 ISRO

ANUPAM-Adhya 2010-11 BARC

PARAM YUVA 2008 C-DAC, PUNE

EKA 2007 Computational Research Laboratories, PUNE

PARAM SARITA 2007 C-DAC, PUNE

Components of Computer
The computer system comprises of the following four main components

1. Input Unit

It consists of those devices through which user can enter the data into a computer. It links
a computer to the external environment. It translates the data into computers
understandable form. Some input devices are

▸ Keyboard is used to enter data or information, which may be in numeric form or


alphabetical form, in a computer system.

▸ Mouse is a pointing device which provides a means to input data and commands in
graphic form by selecting through moving an arrow called pointer.

▸ Trackball is another pointing device which is an alternative to a mouse.

▸ Joystick is an input device that moves in all directions and controls the movement of
the cursor.

▸ Scanner is an optical input device and uses light as an input source to convert an
image into an electronic form that can be stored on the computer.

▸ Touch Screen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location
of a touch within the display area.

2. Output Unit

This unit contains those devices that provide the desired output (results) in the human
acceptable format. Some output devices are

▸ Monitor is also known as Visual Display Unit (VDU). The monitor is provided along with
the computer to view the display result. The popular types of monitor are

▸ LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a special type of liquid is sandwiched between two
plates. It is a thin, flat and light weight screen made up of any number of colour or
monochrome pixels arranged in front of a light source.

▸ LED (Liquid/Light Emitted Diode) is an electronic device that emits light when electrical
current is passed through it.

▸ TFT (Thin Film Transistor) is a LCD with active-matrix displays, each pixel is controlled
by one to four transistors that can make the screen faster, brighter, more colorful than
passive-matrix and capable of being viewed at different angles.

▸ 3-D Monitors describe an image that provides the perception of length. When 3-D
images are made interactive then user feel involved with the scene, and this experience
is called virtual reality.

Top 10 Super Computers of World

Name Manufactured Country Operating Memory Speed


Company System

IBM Summit — America IBM — —

Sunway Taihu National Super China Linux 1.31 PB 105 Peta


Light (2016) computing center flops

Tianhe-2 Sun Yat-Sen China Kylin 1,375 TB 33.86


(2013) University Linux Petaflops
Titan (2012) Oak Ridge National America Linux 693.5 TB 17.59
Laboratory (Cray) Petaflops

Sequoia IBM America Linux 1,572,864 12


(2011) GB Petaflops

K-computer Fujiter Japan Linux 1,410,048GB 10.5


(2011) Petaflops

Mira (2010) IBM America Linux — 8.16


Petaflops

Piz Diant Cray INC Switzerland Linux — 6.2


(2009) Petaflops

Stampede Dell America Linux 192,192 GB 5.2


(2008) Petaflops

JU Queen IBM Germany Linux 458,752 GB 5


(2007) Petaflops

▸ Printer prints information and data from the computer onto a paper. It can print
documents in colour as well as in black and white.

▸ Plotter is a special kind of output channel, like a printer, that produces images on
paper. They are mainly used to produce large drawings or images.

▸ Speaker is an output device that receives sound in the form of electric current. It needs
a sound card connected to a CPU, that generates sound.

3. CPU (Central Processing Unit)

CPU is considered as the ‘Brain of Computer’. It is responsible for all the manipulations
and processing of the data provided to the computer. It is further categorised basically
into two main components

▸ Arithmetic Logical Unit (ALU) This unit performs both arithmetical and logical
operations. Arithmetic operations involves addition, subtraction, multiplication, division etc
and the logical operations involves AND, OR, NOT, NOR, NAND etc.

▸ Control Unit (CU) It is an important part that instructs, maintains and controls the flow
of information but does not store the data. It tells the memory, ALU and I/O devices that
how they have to respond to the program’s instructions.

4.Memory Unit

This unit stores the data and instructions, intermediate results or the processed data and
thus, provides the relevant information whenever required by the other units of computer.
It consists of two types

▸ Primary Memory It is considered to be the main memory of computer that stores the
data which is currently in use by the computer.

▸ Types of Primary Memory:

▸ RAM (Random Access Memory) is a volatile memory, which losses the data when the
power gets switched OFF. There are basically two types of RAM: Static RAM and
Dynamic RAM.

▸ ROM (Read Only Memory) is a nonvolatile memory, which retains the data even when
the power gets switched OFF.

▸ Program and data that cannot be altered are stored in ROM. There are basically three
types of ROM: Programmable ROM(PROM), Erasable PROM(EPROM) and Electrically
EPROM(EEPROM).

▸ Secondary Memory The computer system uses secondary memory to store data,
program instruction and information. It stores the data permanently. User can access or
retrieve the data whenever required. Types of Secondary Memory:

▸ Magnetic Tape (sequential access)

▸ Magnetic Disk (Floppy Disk, Hard Disk)

▸ Optical Disc (CD, DVD, Blu-ray Disc)

▸ Solid State drive (Flash drive, SD cards)

Cache Memory

It is a type of memory used to hold the frequently used data. It acts as a buffer between
the CPU and the main memory. It consumes less access time as compared to main
memory and thus, is used to match up the speed of fast running processor.

Registers

These are defined as the special memory units used by the CPU to speed up the rate of
accessing information. There are some special type of registers used for specific work.
e.g. Program Counter (PC) is used to hold the address of the next instruction for
execution. Some other examples are Accumulator, Memory Buffer Register (MBR),
Instruction Register (IR) etc.

Hardware

It can be defined as the physical components of a computer i.e. the parts that can be
seen and touched. The four main categories of hardware are

▸ Input devices e.g. keyboard, mouse etc.

▸ Outputdevices e.g.printer,monitor etc.

▸ Storage devices e.g. hard disk, floppy disk etc.

▸ Processing devices e.g. CPU etc.

Software

The term software can be defined as the set of programs and procedures that enable a
computer to perform a specific task or to process the information. Software can be
classified into three types :

SystemSoftware

It is a set of one or more programs designed to control the operations of a computer


system including hardware components and implementations of application software.
Types of System Software are

▸ Operating System It is a system software, consisting of an integrated set of programs


that controls computer resources (CPU, memory, I/O devices, etc) and provides common
services for efficient execution of various application software.

▸ Language Translator It helps in converting programming languages to machine


language. There are three kinds of language translator

▸ Assembler It converts program written in assembly language into machine language.

▸ Interpreter It converts a high level language into machine language by converting it line
by line.

▸ Complier It also converts high level language program into machine language at one
go.

Utility Software

It is a type of system software, which is used to support, secure and enhance the existing
programs and data in the computer system. It is also used to debug the software errors.
e.g. antivirus software, backup software etc.

Programming Language
It is a set of keywords, symbols and a system of rules for constructing statements, by
which human can communicate, to be executed by a computer. Programming languages
are mainly categorised into two parts:

Low Level Languages These languages are designed to operate and handle the entire
hardware and instruction set architecture of a computer system directly. It is divided into
two parts:

▸ Machine language, referred to as machine code or object code, is a collection of


binary digits or bits that the computer reads and interprets.

▸ Assembly language uses structured commands as substitutions for numbers,


allowing humans to read the code easier.

High Level Languages These languages are not limited by the computer, designed for a
specific task and are easier to read, write and understand. e.g. BASIC, C, FORTRAN,
JAVA etc.

Application Software

It is a set of one or more programs designed to carry out operations for a specific
application. It cannot run on itself, but it is dependent on system software to get executed.
It is written in high level language.

Word Processor Virtually all personal computers are Microsoft


equipped with a word-processing program, Word,
which has the same function as a type-writer WordPerfect
for writing letters, reports or other
documents and printings.

Spreadsheet A table containing text and figures, which is Microsoft


used to perform calculations. Spreadsheets are Excel, Lotus
usually used for budgets, statistics and so on. 1-2-3

Database Used for storing information, e.g. the names and Microsoft SQL
Management addresses of the clients. Server, Oracle
System
Accounting They generate extensive financial reports, Tally (all
Program produce invoices and statements to customers, versions)
handle accounts payable and receivable, print
payroll checks and payroll reports and track
inventories.

Presentation Tool To create presentations by allowing one to Microsoft


produce slides or handouts. PowerPoint

Desktop Publishing For creating magazines, newsletters, books and QuarkXPress,


so on. Adobe
Pagemaker

Multimedia Used for creating multimedia presentations. e.g. Dreamweaver,


Application Websites, animations and videos. Flash,
Premier

Telecommunication A program that helps a user to connect and Dial-up


Software transfer information and files to and from the Networking,
Internet. It is often a part of operating system or Open
system software. Transport

Networking
Computer networking relates to the communication between a group of two or more
computers linked together. When we communicate on a network, we share information or
data through a communication medium. E-mailing, instant messaging and web pages all
are dependent on communication that take place across an underlying computer network.

Benefits of Networking

▸ Data and Fill sharing

▸ Software sharing

▸ Hardware sharing

▸ Reliability

Network Devices

These are required to amplyfy the signal to restore the original strength of signal and to
provide an interface to connect multiple computers in a network. Many types of Network
Devices

▸ Repeater is a device that amplifies the signals when they are transported over a long
distance so that the signal can be as strong as the original signal.

▸ Hub is like a repeater with multiple ports used to connect the network channels.

▸ Gateway is an interconnecting device, which joins two different network protocols


together.

▸ Switch forwards a data packet to a specific route by establishing a temporary


connection between the source and the destination.

▸ Bridge reduces the amount of traffic on a LAN by dividing it into two segments.

▸ Modem is a device that converts digital signal to analog signal and vice-versa.

Types of Computer Network

▸ Local Area Network (LAN) In this, computers can be connected with a geographical
area spread over 1 km to 10 km or we can say within a same building. All the terminals
are connected to a main computer called server.

▸ Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) It is a data network designed for a town or city. Its
main purpose is to share hardware and software resources among the various users.

▸ Wide Area Network (WAN) In this, the computers are farther apart and are connected
by radiowaves. Such a network may spread over countries.

Communication Media

Communication media of a network refer to the transmission media or the connecting


media used in the network. Transmission media can be divided into two broad categories;
guided and unguided media.

▸ Guided Media or Wired Technologies It consists of a cable composed of metals like


copper, tin or silver. Basically, these are divided into three categories

▸ Ethernet Cable or Twisted Pair A type of cable that consists of two independently
insulated wires twisted around one another. The use of two wires twisted together helps
to reduce crosstalk and electromagnetic induction.

▸ Coaxial Cable A type of wire that consists of a center wire surrounded by insulation
and then a grounded shield of braided wire. The shield minimizes electrical and radio
frequency interference.

Application Software What Does It Do? ExamplesDesktop Publishing For creating


magazines, newsletters, books and so on. QuarkXPress, Adobe Pagemaker Multimedia
Application Used for creating multimedia presentations. e.g. Websites, animations and
videos. Dreamweaver, Flash, Premier Telecommunication Software A program that helps
a user to connect and transfer information and files to and from the Internet. It is often a
part of operating system or system software. Dial-up Networking, Open Transport

▸ Fiber-Optic Cable A type of wire that containing one or more optical fibers that are
used to carry light. The optical fiber elements are typically individually coated with plastic
layers and contained in a protective tube suitable for the environment.

▸ Unguided Media or Wireless Technologies When the computers in a network are


interconnected and data is transmitted through waves, then they are said to be connected
through unguided media. Some commonly used unguided media of transmission are

▸ Radio Wave Transmission There are two principal ways in which electromagnetic
(radio) energy travels from a transmitting antenna to a receiving antenna. One way is by
GROUND WAVES that are radio waves that travel near the surface of the Earth (surface
and space waves) and the other is by SKYWAVES that are radio waves that are reflected
back to Earth from the ionosphere.

▸ Microwave Transmission It is the transmission of information or energy by


electromagnetic waves whose wavelengths are conveniently measured in small numbers
of centimeter; these are called microwaves.

▸ Satellite Communication It provides communication links between various points on


Earth. It covers a vast range of area. It is very useful in television transmission.

▸ Infrared Wave Transmission It refers to energy in the region of the electromagnetic


radiation spectrum at wavelengths longer than those of visible light, but shorter than
those of radio.

▸ Bluetooth It is a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances
from fixed and mobile devices and to create a Personal Area Networks (PANs).

Network Related Terms

Topology

It is defined as the way in which several nodes of the network are linked together. It
represents the physical path between the connected nodes. e.g. Bus, Ring, Star, Tree,
Mesh etc.

Network Interface Card (NIC)

It is a hardware component that connects a computer to a computer network as it


contains the physical address of a computer. It is also known as network adaptor.

Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)

It is the world’s collection of inter connected voice oriented public telephone networks. It
provides landline phone service to residence and many other establishments. Thats why
is also referred as Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS).

Value Added Network (VAN)

It provides Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) facility. It acts as a regional post office that
examines the from and to information. It subscribes services like invoices sale purchase
order etc.

Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN)

It is a set of communication standards for digital transmission of voice, videos and other
data services. It combines both circuit switching and packet switching for the purpose of
transmitting data.

Firewall

It is a combination of both software and hardware based devices to permit or deny


network transmission based on a set of rules. It is frequently used to protect network from
unauthorised access while permitting legitimate communication to pass.

Internet
Internet is defined as network of networks that consists of millions of private and public
computer networks linked together and sharing information using client server
relationship. Data is shared by packet switching through standardised Internet Protocol
Suite (TCP/IP).

Important Protocols Used over Internet


HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

It is a set of rules for transmitting files such as text, images, sound, videos etc, on the
WorldWideWeb (WWW). As soon as a web user opens the web browser, the user is
indirectly making use of HTTP. Its primary function is to establish a connection with the
server.

Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)


It is a combination of two separate protocols TCP and IP, which are used together. TCP
ensures the reliability of data transmission across the Internet connected networks while
IP ensures how packets of information are sent out over networks.

Point to Point Protocol (PPP)

It is dial account which puts the computer directly on the Internet. Using this protocol
each computer on the server has its own name and IP address.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)


It is a type of transfer protocol that enables the user to transfer their files from one
computer to another in a network environment and develop a communication. e.g. E-
mails etc.

Telnet

It is a network protocol that allows a user on one computer to log into another computer
that is part of the same network. It is an underlying TCP/IP protocol for accessing remote
computers.

Terminology Related to Internet

WorldWideWeb (WWW)

It is a collection of connected documents by hypertext links, enabling the user to search


for information by moving from one document to another; usually accessed by web
browsers via Internet.

Web Server

It is a program that serves the files to the web user with the use of client server model
approach and WWW’s http. It contains the web pages corresponding to the website
available on the Internet.

Client Server

It is a network architecture which separates the client from the server. Each instance of
the client software can send request to server.

Webpage

It is a resource onWWW, usually written in HTML/XHTML with hypertext links that enable
navigation from one page to another.

Website

It is a collection of web pages, grouped under a same domain name on the WWW or
Internet.

Web Browser

It is an application software that runs over the client computer connect it with the server
or to access the Internet and the WWW. e.g. Opera, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox etc.

UniformResource Locator (URL)

Web address is a synonym for URL. It is basically a string of characters or an addressing


scheme used by WWW browsers to locate sites on the Internet. e.g.
http://www.google.com/services/index.htm

Domain Name

It is a way to identify and locate computers connected to the Internet. It always have two
or more parts, separated by dots(.). e.g. google.com, yahoo.com etc.

Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)

WAP is a technical standard for accessing information over a mobile wireless network. A
WAP browser is a web browser used by the mobile devices that are based on this
protocol.

IP Address

Along with the physical address stored in NICs, Internet requires and additional
addressing that identifies the connection of a host to its network which is known as the IP
address. No two hosts on the Internet can have the same IP address. Each IP address
consists of 4 bytes i.e. 32 bits defining 3 fields: Class, Network ID and Host ID.

Internet Service Provider (ISP)

It is an organisation that provides the Internet connection services to the people, who
want to used Internet.

Communication through Internet


E-mail (ElectronicMail)

It is a service provided by the Internet that allows the exchange of digital messages
through a network. It provides a communication medium through which people can
communicate with each other.
InstantMessaging

There are several applications (apps) provided for instant messaging such as Viber,
WeChat, Line, WhatsApp etc. Among all, WhatsApp is considered to be the most globally
popular messaging app. It was bought by facebook in 2014. The messengers are only
available for Android, Black berry, iOS and Windows phone mobile operating system.

Social Networking Sites (SNS)

It is a platform to build social networks or social relations among people who share
interests, activities, events etc., within their individual networks. e.g. Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn, Instagram etc.

▸ Facebook It is a very popular social networking site among the users. It allows the
users to share their ideas, activities, images, videos, events etc., within their individual
network.

▸ LinkedIn It is available in multilingual languages. It is mainly for students or


professionals. It enables users to connect with colleagues, looking for a job or business
relationships and get answers to industry questions.

Wireless Communication
The origin of wireless communication goes back to 1896, when Marconi invented the
wireless telegraphy. Wireless communication is the transfer of information over a distance
without the use of electrical conductors or wires. The distance involed may be short or
long. e.g. GPS units, wireless computer mice, keyboards and headsets, satellite
television etc.

Generations of Wireless Communication

1G (The First Generation)

It is a wireless telephone technology and mobile telecommunication introduced in 1980s.


1G networks use analog signals as opposed to digital signals used by all the successive
generations. In this, voice calls were generally modulated to a higher frequency typically
150 MHz and up.

2G (The Second Generation)

It was commercially launched for the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication)
standard in 1991 by Radiolinja in Finland. It was allowed for enhanced data services and
also introduced the Short Messaging Services (SMSs).

3G (The Third Generation)

It was introduced by NTT DoCoMo in Japan in 2001. Its data transfer rates are 384 K
bit/sec to 2M bits/sec. So, it allows for never before services like video calls, video
conferencing, mobile, TV etc.

4G (The Fourth Generation)

TeliaSonera was the first operator in the world to commercially launch 4G in late 2009 in
the City Centre of Stockholm and Oslo and a year later it was launched in Finland. Bharti
Airtel had launched 4G on mobiles in Bangalore, thus becoming the first in India to offer
such a service on 14th February 2014.

5G (The Fifth Generation)

It will be a successor for 4G. It is a term used in some research papers and projects to
denote the next major phase. Alliance feels that 5G should be rolled out by 2020 to meet
business and consumer demands.

Security Threats

Phishing

It is characterised by the attempts to fraudulently acquire sensitive information such as


passwords, credit card details etc. by masquerading as a trustworthy person.

Intruders

The attacker who would constantly find their way for breaking and entering into a secured
system to access confidential or users information are called intruders.

Virus

It is defined as a program or a piece of code that gets loaded onto the computer without
users knowledge and replicates itself. Various kinds of virus are Boot sector virus, Macro
virus, Resident virus, Polymorphic virus, Direct action virus etc. e.g. Creeper, Stuxnet,
Melissa, Conficker, Code red, SQL Slammer, Nimda (derived from the word ‘Admin’) etc.

▸ Creeper is generally accepted to be the first computer virus written by Bob Thomas at
BBN (Bolt Beranak and Newman) in 1971.

Worm

It is a self replicating computer program, similar to a virus. It is a self contained program


and does not need to be a part of another program to propagate itself.

Spam

It is an unsolicited message sent over the Internet in the form of E-mails, to a large
number of users for the purpose of spreading malware, advertising phishing etc.

Spyware

It is a type of malicious software installed on computers and collects information about


users without their knowledge and may send such information to another entity. It can
assets control over the computer without the consumer’s knowledge.

Malware

A software which is specifically designed to disrupt or damage a computer system. It is a


superset of computer viruses, worms, spyware, trojan horses and other malicious or
unwanted software.

Botnet

It is a number of Internet computers that have been set-up to forward transmissions


including spam and viruses to the other computers on the Internet without the knowledge
of their owners. It is also known as Zombie Army.

Antivirus

It is a software consisting of computer programs that attempt to identify, detect and


prevent the malware from the computer. It typically uses two different techniques to
accomplish this

▸ Examining files to look for known viruses by means of a virus dictionary.

▸ Identifying suspicious behaviour from any computer program which might indicate
infection.

▸ e.g. Kaspersky, Norton, AVG, Avast, McAfee etc.

Some Famous Personalities

Bill Gates

Bill Gates is an American Business magnate, computer programmer, Philanthrophist,


inventor and co-founder of Microsoft (the software company) with Paul Allen. He acquired
the posts like CEO, Chairman and Chief Executive Architect. He stepped down in
Febrauary, 2014 and now is one of the Board of Members of Microsoft.

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs was an American businessman, inventor and industrial designer and the co-
founder of Apple Inc with Stephen Wozniak. He was the Chairman and CEO of Apple Inc.

Mark Elliot Zuckerberg

Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is an American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur


best known as one of the co-founders of the famous social networking site ‘Facebook’.
He is considered as one of the youngest billionaires as on April, 2013. He is the
Chairman and Chief-Executive of Facebook. Recently facebook boughtWhatsapp (an
instant messenger) by paying $ 19 billion.

TimCook

Tim Cook is the CEO of Apple Inc. He has filled the seat of Steve Jobs. He is the decision
maker in a company that has revolutionized the way humans see and use technology.

TimBerners Lee

TimBerners Lee also known as TimBL is a British computer scientist and the inventor of
the World Wide Web (WWW). He implemented the first successful communication
between a Hypertext Transfer Protocol client and server via the Internet.

Jan Koum

Jan Koum founded a proprietary, cross-platform instant messaging service for


Smartphones with Brian Acton, which is called WhatsApp in 2009. It is one of the most
popular mobile messaging application. Jan Koum is the CEO and co-founder of
WhatsApp Incorporation.

Smart Facts Related to CS & IT

iOS (iphone OS) It is the Apple’s, mobile operating system developed originally for the
iphone and later deployed on the iPod Touch and iPad as well.

Apple It is a prominent hardware and software company best known for its series of PCs,
iPods, iPads, iphones etc. It was founded by Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak. Recently,
Apple has launched large screen iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which has advanced features
including health control apps, 4.7 and 5.5 inches display, better image quality and good
battery backup.

Android It is designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones


and tablet computers. It is the most widely used mobile OS and, as of 2013, the highest
selling OS overall.

CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans
Apart) It is a type of challenge response test used in computing as an attempt to ensure
that the response is generated by a human being. The process usually involves a
computer asking a user to complete simple test which the computer is able to grade the
user.

Rail Radar It is an online application that was launched by the CRIS (Centre for Railway
Information Systems) on 10th October 2012 to find out the location of a large no of trains.

E-mail Triage It is a structured technique for processing E-mail. It is helpful for the user in
order to make rapid, effective decisions about the mails stored in the Inbox of the user. At
the end of the process, user is left with only the bits that require attention.

Deep Blue It was a chess playing super computer developed by IBM. This computer is
able to do the work equivalent to the work of 32 computers and can think 20 crore steps
of chess in one second. This was the computer which had defeated world chess
champion Garry Kasparov in 1997. HP, Google, Microsoft and Apple have one thing in
common that all of them were started in garages.

Wanna Cry Ransomware It was a worldwide cyber-attack by the Wanna Cry


Ransomware Cryptoworm in 2017 which targeted computers running the Microsoft
Windows operating system.

Robot Sophia It is a social humanoid robot developed by Hong-Kong company Hanson


Robotics.

Glossary

▸ Algorithm It is a finite set of step-by-step, well defined instructions for accomplishing


desired actions or results.

▸ Animation It is the optical illusion ofmotion created by the consecutive display of


images of static elements.

▸ Artificial Intelligence It is a branch of science that deals with helping machines find
solutions to complex problems in a more human like fashion.
▸ Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) It is also known as ROM BIOS. It is a consistent
way for application programs and operating system to interact with input/ouput devices.

▸ Biometric Device A device used for user authentication that verifies some physical
characteristics of a user such as the person’s appearance, finger print etc.

▸ Blu-ray Disc It can be defined as a digital optical disc data storage medium, storing
high definition video resolution. It contains 25 GB per layer and 50 GB dual layer. It is a
plastic disc with 120 mm diameter and 1.2 mm thickness, the same size as of DVDs and
CDs.

▸ Camcorder It is a video camera recorder. It is a portable electronic device capable of


recording live motion video and audio, for later playback.

▸ Cloud Computing It is a general term for the delivery of hosted services over the
Internet whereby shared resources, softwares and information are provided to computers
and devices as a utility over the network.

▸ Cookies These are often used to store information on the computer system to track
the browsing pattern on a particular site.

▸ Cryptography It is a method of storing and transmitting data in a particular coded form


so that only those can read and process it, for whom it is intended. It includes encoding
and decoding of data.

▸ Firmware It is defined as the program that has been written on to ROM.It cannot be
changed or deleted by an end user. They are in the non-volatile memory. Firmware is the
combination of both software and hardware.

▸ Flow Chart It is the graphical representation formed with specified symbols (fig) and
shows the flow of data, operations performed and the sequence of their execution.

▸ Microprocessor It is the controlling element in a computer system and is sometimes


referred to as the chip. e.g. Intel, Dual core, Pentium-IV etc. Intel 4004 was the first
microprocessor.

▸ Motherboard The biggest piece of silicon housed in the system unit of a computer is
motherboard. All the other electronic devices and circuits of computer system are
attached to this board like, processor, ROM, RAM, expansion slots and USB ports. It also
includes controllers for devices like the hard drive, keyboard and mouse.

▸ Multimedia It refers to the use of several medias such as text, audio, graphics, video
etc, to convey information. It simply means, being able to communicate in more than one
way.

▸ Robot It is a system that contains sensors, control systems, manipulators, power


supplies and software all working together to perform a task.

▸ Robotics It is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction,
operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots and computer
systems for their control, sensury feedback and information processing.

Abbreviations

ANSI American National Standard Institute

ALGOL Algorithmic Language

ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange

ARPANET Advanced Research Projects Agency Network

BASIC Beginner’s All Purposes Symbolic Instruction Code

BIOS Basic Input Output System

BPS Bits Per Second

CAD Computer Aided Design

CGI Common Gateway Interface

COBOL Common Business Oriented Language

DSL Digital Subscriber Lines/Domain-Specific Language

ENIAC Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer

EDI Electronic Data Interchange

FAX Far Away Xerox

FORTRAN Formula Translation

GPS Global Positioning System

GIF Graphic Interchange Format

IBM International Business Machine

ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network

LIPS List Processing

MICR Magnetic Ink Character Recognition

MMS Multimedia Messaging Service

MODEM MODulator DEModulator


MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface

NICNET National Information Centre Network

OMR Optical Mark Reader

OOP Object Oriented Programming

RISC Reduced Instruction Set Computer

SNOBOL String Oriented Symbolic Language

SMTP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

SQL Structured Query Language

TDMA Time Division Multiple Access

TRAI Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

UPS Uninterruptible Power Supply

USB Universal Serial Bus

WiMAX World Wide Interoperability for Microwave Access

Wi-Fi Wireless Fidelity

WLAN Wireless Local Area Network

XHTML Extensible HyperText Markup Language

ZIP Zone Information Protocol

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