Diagnostic evaluation

1. What does ICT mean? (1 mark)

2. Name any four parts of the computer and their uses. (8 marks)
3. List any 3 traditional ICT tools. (3 marks)
4. List any 3 modern ICT tools. (3 marks)
5. Name any 3 keys found on the keyboard. (3 marks)
6. List any 2 examples of social media. (2 marks)

TOTAL = 20 marks

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Chapter 1
The History of Computers
Introduction
The computer as we have it today is as a result of various inventions to help man
carry out various activities well.

In chapter, we will learn of the different generations of computers and their

innovations. First of all, we will study some useful definitions of some the
common terms.

a. Computer

A computer is an electronic device that receives, stores, and processes data to

send out information.

b. Data

Data id the raw facts we feed into the computer to be processed into a form
that can be understood and used. For example, population statistics.

c. Information

Information is meaningful and useful material that is gotten from the

processing of computer data. For example, the results of a population census
showing the population distribution in terms of male and female, children
and adults, etc.

d. Computer data processing

This is when a computer follows the instructions of the programs installed in

it to summarize and classify the inputed data in order to get meaningful
output.

e. Computing

This is the act of developing and using computer hardware and software to
perform an activity.

f. Computer Science

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It is the study of computers and their architecture, languages, and
applications.

Evolution of machines and data processing

The computer was not invented by just one person. There are many
inventions whose gradual improvements have led to the different types of
computers as we know them today.

The following are some machines which were invented over the years
leading to the development of the computer:

Machine Uses

The abacus Addition and subtraction

Schikard’s machine (1623) Addition, subtraction,

multiplication, and division

Pascaline calculator (1642) Handling numbers up to

999,999.999

Leibnixz Wheel (1671) Performing multiplication, division,

and extraction of square roots.

The Difference Engine (1820) Computes multiplication tables

Scheutz Calculating Maxchine Computes multiplication tables

(1855)

The Differential Analyzer (1931) Handles sixth order differential

equations

The Z3 computer (1938 – 1941) Converts decimal numbers to binary

and binary numbers to decimal

The ABC computer (1940) Addition, subtraction,

multiplication, and division

“The Bombe” code breaking Used to break German coded

machine (1943) messages

The IBM series (1944) For businesses

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ENIAC (1946) Integrating ballistic equations

Whirlwind computer (1949) To stabilize aircraft

The SWAC (1950) For academic research

The UNWAC (1951) General purpose computing

The EDVAC (1952) For scientific research

The DEC PDP-12 (1969) For chemistry and industrial testing

Evolution of Computers
The evolution of computers refers to the different generations of computers.
A computer generation is a period of time that is marked by significant
development in computer architecture. There are five computer generations.

1. The first generation – the vacuum tube generation (1944 – 1958)

The computers of this generation used punched cards and magnetic tapes
for their input and output media respectively. They also had hundreds of
vacuum tubes for their main memory. These computers were very big,
very slow, and produced a lot of heat that burned up some of the parts.
The ENIAC and UNIVAC I were examples of first generation computers.

2. The second generation – the transistor generation (1959 – 1963)

This generation of computers replaced vacuum tubes with transistors and
other devices for the computer’s electrical system. The computers of this
generation were more reliable, faster, and smaller than those of the first
generation.
3. The third generation – the integrated circuit generation (1964 – 1970)
With many transistors being used in the circuits, this generation had the
circuits bundled up and built on a single piece of silicon called the
integrated circuit. This generation started supporting multiprogramming
and time sharing. In this generation, the computer became smaller, faster,
and more reliable.
4. The fourth generation – the electronic or microprocessor generation
(1971 – present)

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 This generation uses large scale integration circuits called
microprocessors for their processing device. The computer’s processing
speed increased greatly in this generation.
5. The fifth generation – the virtual intelligence generation (present –
future)
In this generation, we would like to see changes that would lead to the
following:
 A further reduction in the size of the computer.
 A computer with virtually unlimited memory.
 A more efficient and reliable computer.
 A computer that would use les power and produce less heat.
 A real-time computer
 An artificial intelligence computer.

Types of computers
There are five types of computers: supercomputers, mainframe computers,
minicomputers, microcomputers, and embedded computers.

a. Supercomputers

They are owned by very big organizations and government agencies and can
handle very large amounts of scientific data. They are used for weather
forecasting, designing automobiles, etc. A supercomputer can occupy a
whole room, has the highest storage capacity and speed, but can only do one
thing at a time.

b. Mainframe computers

They are large, powerful computers that can perform many tasks at the same
time and communicate with many connected terminals. They are used by
large organizations and government agencies.

c. Minicomputers

They are similar to, but less powerful than, mainframe computers.

d. Microcomputers

Also called personal computers (PCs), they vary in size from laptops to
desktops. They are mostly used in homes, schools, and offices.

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e. Embedded computers

An embedded computer is a special-purpose computer system designed to

perform one of a few dedicated functions. It is usually embedded as part of a
complete device. We can find embedded computers in mobile phones, mp3
players, digital cameras, wrist watches, etc.