Swe 112

SWE112
Digital literacy
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Institut Supérieur Sapientiæ de Bafoussam - ISSAB
2 credits
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Edited By
BRICE SIMO
Msc. Networks and distributed services
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simobrice6@gmail.com
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VERSION 2021
Brice simo
SWE112 : Digital literacy ISSAB - 2021/2022
Contents
1 Introduction 1
2 Computer fundamentals 1
2.1 Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2.1.1 Input devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1.2 Output devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1.3 Storage Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.1.4 Internal Components of a computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
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2.2 Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2.1 System Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.2.2 Utility program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2.3 Device Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.3 Application Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
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2.3.1 General purpose software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.3.2 Specific purpose software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.3.3 Bespoke software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3 Key applications
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4 Living online 13
4.1 Some terminologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.2 History of the internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.3 Requirements Needed to connect to the
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internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.4 Internet Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
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CONTENTS i
Objectives
The Course provides learners with the course objectives and prerequisite learner skills and knowledge.
Upon completing this course, the learner will be able to meet these overall objectives:
• Describe the principal functioning of the computer.
• Identify and describe the different internal and external components of the computer system.
• Understand the fundamentals of hardware and software
• Discuss the origins if the internet and web.
• Describe how to access the web using browsers.
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• Describe search tools and search information on the web.
• Enumerate the services available on the web.
1 Introduction
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Computer Hardware is the physical part of a computer, as distinguished from the computer software
that executes or runs on the hardware. The hardware of a computer is infrequently changed, while
software and data are modified frequently. The term soft refers to readily created, modified, or erased.
These are unlike the physical components within the computer which are hard.
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2 Computer fundamentals
2.1 Hardware
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Figure 1: Computer block diagram.
Summarily, the computer comprises six main components:

• Input devices,
2 COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS 1
• The processor (Control Unit and Arithmetic/Logic Unit),

• Memory ,
• Output devices,
• Storage devices and ,
• Communication devices.
2.1.1 Input devices
An input device is any a peripheral device that allows you to enter data, programs, and commands,
from the user and translates the information into a form, which the computer can interpret.
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Examples of input devices include: Keying, Pointing and Scanning devices, Digitizers, Digital Cam-
era, Voice input etc.
1. KEYING DEVICES
These are devices that convert typed numbers, letters and special characters into machine readable
form examples: keyboard and keypad
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(a) THE KEYBOARD: This is the most commonly used keying method with desktop and
laptop computers. There are different types of keyboard layouts such as QWERTY (English),
QWERTZ (German) and AZERTY (French).
(b) KEYPAD: This is a small keyboard used with hand held devices i.e. cell phones, calculators,
notebooks etc.
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2. POINTING DEVICES
These are devices used to control the pointer/cursor on the screen. Examples: mouse, joystick,
trackball, light pen etc.
(a) MOUSE: It is a small handheld device which is moved across a flat surface to move the
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cursor on a computer screen. Usually, a mouse contains two or three buttons, which can
be used to input commands or the data. The mouse may be classified as a mechanical
mouse or an optical mouse, based on the technology it uses. A mechanical mouse uses a
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rubber ball at the bottom surface, which rotates as the mouse is moved along a flat surface
to move the cursor. It is the most common and least expensive pointing device. An optical
mouse uses a light beam instead of a rotating ball to detect the movement across a specially
patterned mouse pad.
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(b) JOY STICK: Looks like a car gear. When the lever like part is moved, the pointer moves
on the screen. It is mostly used to play games.
(c) LIGHT PEN AND STYLUS: It allows the user to point to displayed objects or draw on
the screen in a similar way to a touch screen but with greater positional accuracy.
(d) TRACKPAD: Also referred to as touchpad is a stationary pointing device that works by
sensing the movement of fingers across a small sensitive surface. It is generally used in
laptops.
3. SCANNING DEVICES They are defined as devices that use a magnetic or photo-electric
source to scan and convert images into electric signals that can be processed by an electronic
apparatus, such as a computer. Scanning devices are commonly used to:
Scanners are classified according to technology used to capture data namely: optical and magnetic
scanners.
(a) Optical scanners: These scanners capture data using optical or light technology. Examples
of optical scanners.
Scanner Technology Uses

Optical Mark Recognition They capture inked marks on Making multiple choice ques-
(OMR) paper by passing infrared light tions
over them
Optical Bar Recognition (OBR) Used to capture barcodes Supermarkets for transactions
Optical Character Recognition Convert handwritten, typewrit- Schools, library, banks to scan
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(OCR) ten and printed text and images photos and documents
into machine readable form.
E.g. flatbed scanner
(b) Magnetic scanners: These scanners use magnetic technology to capture handwritten and
magnetic strip data. Some examples of optical scanners are:
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• Magnetic Ink Character Reader (MICR) : which recognizes characters that are
printed with ink containing a substance that can be magnetized;
• Magnetic Card reader (MCR):that can read the magnetic stripes on the back of
bank cards or common stored value tickets.
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• Digital camera: Is a camera that takes video or still photographs by recording images
on an electronic image sensor.
• Webcam (short form of web camera) is a portable video camera, which captures live
video or images that may be viewed in real time over the network or the Internet. It is
either in-built in your computer (in most laptops) or can be connected through a USB
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port.
Other input devices include: touch screen, voice input, game pad, Interactive White Board
(IWB) etc.
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2.1.2 Output devices
Computer output refers to the information that is being given out by the computer. Based on the form
in which the information is given out, computer output can be grouped as soft copy and hard copy:
Soft copy refers to the type of output that can be seen but not touched, for example, information
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on a monitor screen.
Hard copy refers to the type of output that can be seen and touched, for example, printed docu-
ments from the computer printer. Some examples of output devices include:
1. Monitors: These are the most commonly used devices for presenting the results of computer
operations. Information is conveyed to the monitor screen by means of an adapter known as
graphic card that connects the CPU to the monitor. This information can either be presented
in a single colour (using monochrome monitors) or many colours (using colour monitors). The
quality (sharpness, brightness and clarity) of the image on the monitor screen depends on the
image resolution and image repetition frequency. Higher frequencies and higher resolutions yield
better images. There are many types of monitors – the Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), the Liquid
Crystal Display (LCD), and the Flat-panel monitor. The three parameters that characterize
computer monitors are the screen size (measured in inches), the image resolution (measured in
pixels), and the graphics and colour display.
2. Printers: A printer is an output unit of the computer, with which texts and graphics can be
presented on paper. Based on functional mechanism, printers exist in two main classes: impact
printers and non-impact printers. Impact printers are printers whose ribbon ink is conveyed
to a paper by means of needle strokes. These printers are inexpensive but relatively slow, noisy,
yield low quality output. Non-impact printers on the other hand are contactless machines i.e. they
do not use needle strokes to convey ink onto paper. Non-impact printers produce high quality
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and high-speed output, and are almost noiseless, but they are expensive. Based on quality and
capability, printers can also be grouped into the following four categories:
(a) DOT MATRIX PRINTERS: These are the cheapest types of Impact printers. They
are called dot-matrix printers because they can only print with the use of dots. Here, each
character is represented as a pattern of dots from a rectangular matrix of dots called dot-
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matrix. The dots are produced by striking through an inked ribbon.
Advantages: Low cost and easy maintenance.
Disadvantages: Poor image quality and low speed.
(b) DAISY WHEEL PRINTERS: A daisywheel printer is an impact printer that produces
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output using a wheel, which has stamped images of each letter and symbol. The disadvan-
tages of daisywheel printers are: slow speed and inability to do graphics.
Advantage: They can print on continuous paper as well as on single sheets or labels.
(c) INKJET PRINTER: It is a non-impact printer, which works with an ink cartridge instead
of an ink-ribbon. Inkjet printers are like dot-matrix printers in that characters are developed
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one dot at a time. However, instead of producing a dot by striking through an inked ribbon,
the inkjet printer creates each dot by projecting tiny droplet of ink on the paper.
Advantages: high print quality; high speed; relatively quiet printing.
Disadvantages: High cost prices and the high running costs.
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(d) LASER PRINTER: It is a highly expensive non-impact printer. The functional principle
of the laser is similar to that of a photocopying machine. Here, the printer receives and
processes data from the computer, writes the electrical mirror image on a drum, and then
transmits the image from the drum onto the paper.
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Advantages: The extremely high print quality; they are very quiet; they can be very fast.
3. Computer speakers: A speaker is a transducer that converts electrical impulses into sound
waves of sufficient volume to be heard easily by a user situated at some distance from the device.
Modern computers using the appropriate software allow music, speech and other sounds to be
created and played back.
2.1.3 Storage Devices
A storage device is any computing hardware that is used for storing, porting and extracting data files
and objects. It can hold and store information both temporarily and permanently, and can be internal
or external to a computer, server or any similar computing device. There are three different types of
storage devices:
1. PRIMARY STORAGE: This is a storage unit that is designed for holding computer data
for short periods of time. An important property of primary (or internal) storage is volatility
examples are RAM, ROM, registers and cache memory.
2. SECONDARY STORAGE: These usually have large storage capacity, and they store data
permanently. E.g. Memory cards, USB flash drives, hard disks, floppy disks, optical discs, and
magnetic disks.
3. TERTIARY STORAGE: Tertiary storage stores huge amounts of data (into terabytes), but
the time to access the data is on the order of minutes to hours examples include tape libraries
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and optical jukeboxes.
Fundamental Storage Technologies
• Semiconductor storage: A semiconductor memory chip may contain millions of tiny tran-
sistors or capacitors. Both volatile and non-volatile forms of semiconductor memory exist.
E.g. RAM and ROM.
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• Magnetic storage: Magnetic storage uses different patterns of magnetization on a mag-
netically coated surface to store information. Magnetic storage is non-volatile. E.g. Tape,
Drum, Hard disk, and Floppy disk.
• Optical storage: A typical optical disc, stores information in deformities on the surface
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of a circular disc and reads this information by illuminating the surface with a laser diode
and observing the reflection. Optical disc storage is non-volatile. The deformities may be
permanent (read only media), formed once (write once media) or reversible (recordable or
read/write media). Optical storage media include: Compact Disc, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD,
DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD+R.
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2.1.4 Internal Components of a computer
The system unit is a container that houses most of the electronic components that make up a computer
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system. When it is opened, we can identify three main sectors: The power supply unit, the disk drives
case and the motherboard.
1. The motherboard
The motherboard controls communications for the entire computer system. The motherboard
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contains sockets enabled to connect other components of the computer such as: processor, main
memories, buses, expansion cards . . .
2. The central processing unut (CPU)
The CPU also known as the processor is mounted on the system board (mother board) inside
the system unit. It’s regarded as the brain of the computer because it does all the processing
activities in the computer.
There are different parts of the CPU which are:
• Control unit which coordinates all the processing activities in the CPU as well as input,
storage and output operations.
• Arithmetic and logic unit: This is a unit in the CPU where all the logical operations (such
as less than, equal to, greater than) and arithmetic operations (such as addition, subtraction).
The microprocessor’s pace is controlled by the System Clock. The System Clock is an electronic
circuit that generates pulses. The number of pulses generated by the clock per unit of
time is its Clock speed, faster is the CPU. The speed of the CPU is measured in MEGAHERTZ
(MHZ), which corresponds to a million of cycles per second (1 MHz = 1 million of cycle per second
= number of instructions per second).
Microprocessors can also be classified according to their ability of some CPUs to work on mul-
tiple instructions at the same time. Also, some CPUs are CISC (Complex Instruction Set
Computing), while others are RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing). RISC chips
have a smaller set of simpler instructions; they need multiple instructions to perform an action
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that a CISC chip does with one instruction, but the RISC chip is faster overall at completing the
operation.
Examples of cpu includes: Pentium, Pentium II, Pentium III, Pentium IV, Dual core, core i3, i5,
i7 etc
3. The main memory
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The main memory is also called primary storage. It stores data that is directly accessible by the
CPU.
(a) Random Access Memory (RAM) is the place in a computer where the operating system,
application programs, and data in current use are kept so that they can be quickly reached
by the computer’s processor.
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(b) Read Only Memory (ROM) As the name suggests, a ROM is a type of memory that can
perform read operations only. The contents of ROM are written by the manufacturer and
come along with the computer. There exist several types of ROM.
• Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM): This type of ROM can be pro-
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grammed even after its manufacture using a PROM programmer circuit. But once a
PROM is programmed, it becomes just like ROM i.e. it cannot be changed.
• Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM): In this type of ROM,
the contents can be erased through an exposure to ultraviolet light and the memory can
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be reprogrammed.
• Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM): The
contents of this type of ROM can be erased and then reprogrammed using electric signals.
4. Expansion cards
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Expansion cards are also called expansion boards, controller cards, plug-in boards, adapter cards,
or interface cards. Expansion boards are printed circuit boards used to provide additional func-
tionalities to a computer. They are plugged into expansion slots. There exist many types of
expansion card:
• Video Card: A video card (also known as graphics card) is an expansion card whose function
is to generate and output images to a display.
• Sound Card: A sound card is an expansion card that facilitates the input and output of
audio signals to/from a computer
• Network Card: A Network Interface Card (NIC), also called Ethernet card, is an expansion
card that allows computers to communicate over a computer network.
• TV Card: A TV tuner card is a kind of television tuner that allows television signals to be
received by a computer
5. Other Internal Components
(a) Hard Disk Drive (HDD): The Hard Disk drive is a type of permanent computer data
storage. CD-ROM Drive: It reads compact discs only, but now expands to DVDs as well.
(b) Power Supply: It maintains all of the power coming in and out of the computer.
(c) Fan: It sucks cool air into the PC case and blows hot air out of the case and stops any key
components overheating.
(d) Computer ports: In computer hardware, a port serves as an interface between the computer
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and other computers or peripheral devices. Following are few important types of ports:
• Serial Port: Used for external modems and older computer mouse.
• Parallel Port: Used for scanners and printers
• PS/2 Port: Used for old computer keyboard and mouse
• Universal Serial Bus (or USB) Port: Can connect all kinds of external USB devices
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such as external hard disk, printer, scanner, mouse, keyboard, etc.
• VGA Port: Connects monitor to a computer’s video card.
• Power Connector: Connects to the computer’s power cable that plugs into a wall
socket.
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• Ethernet Port or RJ45 port: Connects to a network and high speed Internet.
• Game Port: Connects a PC to a joystick, now replaced by USB.
• Digital Video Interface, DVI port: Connects a Flat panel LCD monitor to the
computer’s high-end video graphic cards.
• Sockets: Connect microphone, speakers to sound card of the computer.
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2.2 Software
Software, as we mentioned, is another name for programs. Programs are the instructions that tell
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the computer how to process data into the form you want. Software does nothing more than tell the
computer how to accept some type of input, manipulate that input, and produce output that humans
find useful. There are two major kinds of software: system software and application software
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Figure 2: Computer Software.
2.2.1 System Software

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It is a type of computer software that controls all the operations of the computer and provides facilities
that extend the general capabilities of the machine. It enables application software to interact with the
computer hardware. System software is not a single program. Rather it is a collection of programs,
including the following:
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1. An operating system
It is a group of computer programs that coordinates all the activities among computer hardware
devices. This is the most important type of system software in a computer since it provides an
interface between users and the computer, and run applications. Some examples of operating
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systems are Windows 7, Mac OS.

An operating system executes many functions to operate computer system efficiently. Among
them, four essential functions are the followings.
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Figure 3: Functions of and operating system.
• Resource Management: An operating system manages a collection of computer hardware

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resources by using a variety of programs. It manages computer system resources, including its
CPU, primary memory, virtual memory, secondary storage devices, input/output peripherals,
and other devices. For example, most operating systems now are plug and play which means
a device such as a printer will automatically be detected and configured without any user
intervention.
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• Task Management: this is a function that manages all the running processes of the com-
puter. It manages one program or many programs within a computer system simultaneously.
• File management: This is a function that manages data files. An operating system contains
file management programs that provide the ability to create, delete, enter, change, and access
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of files of data. The operating system keeps track of where files are located on the hard drive
through the type of file system. The type two main types of file system most used are File
Allocation table (FAT) or New Technology File system (NTFS).
• User Interface: It is a function of an operating system that allows users to interact with a
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computer. The two main types of user interfaces are: command line Interface (CLI) and a
graphical user interface (GUI). With a command line interface, the user interacts with the
operating system by typing commands to perform specific tasks. E.g DOS (disk operating
system). With a graphical user interface, the user interacts with the operating system by
using a mouse to access windows, icons, and menus. E.g Windows Vista or Windows 7.
Examples of popular modern operating systems include Android, BSD, iOS, Linux (ubuntu,
Knoppix, Dreamlinux, . . . ) OS X, QNX, Microsoft Windows(Windows 95, 2000, Vista, 7, 8,10,
11, . . . ), Windows Phone, and IBM z/OS.
Classification of Operating Systems
OS may be classified into different categories depending on their features:
• Multiprogramming system: it is a system where many application programs can reside in the
main memory at the same time. The concept of multiprogramming is that the operating system
keeps several jobs in memory simultaneously.
• Multi-tasking system: it is a system that allows several programs to be executed at the same
time. It is also known as timesharing. It makes it possible to print a document while editing
another or while downloading a file from the Internet. E.g. Microsoft’s Windows and Apple’s
Mac OS.
One of the main differences between multiprogramming and multitasking is, in multiprogramming, a
user cannot interact (everything is decided by OS, like picking the next program and sharing on time
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basis, etc...) where as in multitasking, a user can interact with the system (you can type a letter, while
the other task of printing is going on).
• Multi-user system: Operating system that allows many different users to use the computer’s
resources simultaneously. This system makes sure that the requirements of the various users are
balanced, and that each of the programs they are using has sufficient and separate resources
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so that a problem with one user doesn’t affect the entire community of users. E.g. UNIX and
mainframe OS such as VMS (Virtual Memory system).
• Multi-processing system: Operating system that is capable of supporting and utilizing more
than one CPU. It is possible for the OS to share operation tasks according to the CPUs. One
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CPU may be dedicated to handle terminal users and another scheduled to control batch entering
jobs. It is possible for one CPU to be used if the other fails. Examples are Linux, UNIX and MS
Windows 2000.
• Multi-threading systems: Allow different parts of an application to be run simultaneously.
In this case, an application can be opened in two windows. For example, a web browser may
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have a communications thread which deals with receiving files from the server, and a separate
rendering thread which draws the web page on the screen. It may also have a printing thread etc.
In addition, if you have multiple pages open, they may be dealt with by separate threads.
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Types Of Operating Systems

1. Batch Processing Systems A batch operating system is an operating system which analyzes
input and groups them into batches. Data or programs are collected grouped and processed at a
later date. Batch processing operating systems are ideal in situations where:
• There are large amounts of data to be processed
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• Similar data needs to be processed

• Similar processing is involved when executing the data
In a batch processing operating system interaction between the user and processor is limited or
there is no interaction at all during the execution of work.
Examples of use are payroll, stock control and billing systems.
2. Real Time Operating Systems An RTOS is designed to run applications with very precise
timing and a high degree of reliability. This can be especially important in measurement and
automation systems where a program delay could cause a safety hazard. The main task of an
RTOS is to manage the resources of the computer such that a particular operation executes in
precisely the same amount of time every time it occurs. For example, flight reservation systems
and banking systems.

3. Network Operating Systems(NOS) is an operating system that is designed primarily to
support workstation, personal computer, and, in some instances, older terminal that are connected
on a local area network (LAN). A NOS provides printer sharing, common file system and database
sharing, application sharing, and the ability to manage a network name directory, security, and
other housekeeping aspects of a network. Examples include: Windows NT, Novell’s NetWare, and
Microsoft’s LAN Manager.
4. Embedded Operating Systems It is an OS for embedded computer systems. An embedded
computer system is designed for specific control functions within a larger system. It is embedded
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as part of a complete device often including hardware and mechanical parts. Embedded systems
range from digital watches to MP3 players.
2.2.2 Utility program
This is system software designed to help analyse, configure, optimise or maintain a computer. A single
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piece will be called a utility or tool. Some Well-known utility software include:
• Antivirus programs: They are used to detect and eliminate computer viruses and related
malicious software. Some examples are: avast, AVG, Avira, BitDefender, Norton.
• Backup programs: They help to make copies of all information valuable to a computer or
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information system and store it safe. The information can be restored in the event of disk failure
or other accidents that will lead to data loss.
• Data Recovery: As the name implies, data recovery programs are used to recover data. Since
disk drives or other hardware may fail, these utilities are essential to recover data in such a
scenario.
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• Data Compression programs: They make the data more compact, reducing the space occupied
by the data.
• Disk cleaner scan find files that are unnecessary to computer operation, or take up considerable
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amounts of space. Disk cleaner helps the user to decide what to delete when their hard disk is
full.
• Disk defragmenters can detect computer files whose contents are broken across several locations
on the hard disk, and move the fragments to one location to increase efficiency.
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2.2.3 Device Drivers
Device drivers are specialized programs designed to allow particular input or output devices to commu-
nicate with the rest of the computer system e.g sound, video deivers.
2.3 Application Software

Applications software is the name given to the software that is designed for performing specific tasks for
the end-user. Some of the most popular types of applications software are: word processing software,
desktop publishing software, graphics software, spreadsheet programs, database programs, presentation
programs, and games programs.
2.3.1 General purpose software
A general purpose application, sometimes known as ‘off-the-shelf’ is the sort of software that you use
at home and school for different types of tasks:
There are several good reasons for using general purpose software:
• It is relatively cheap.
• It is easily available from most computer shops.
• It will have been thoroughly tested so there won’t be any serious problems or bugs.
• There will be lots of user support i.e. books, user guides, online help and discussion forums on
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the Internet
Examples of General Purpose Application Software:
• Word Processing Software: Word processing is the act of using a computer to produce text-
based documents. It involves the fast and flexible creation, editing, formatting, printing, and
storage of documents such as letters, essays, and reports. The most popular examples of this type
of software are MS-Word, WordPad and Word Perfect, Libreoffice writter.
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• Desktop Publishing Software - Often used to create graphics for point of sale displays, promo-
tional items, trade show exhibits, retail package designs and outdoor signs. In very simple words,
it could be said that it is a page maker application.
• Spreadsheet Software - A spreadsheet is an interactive computer application program for orga-
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nization and analysis of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets developed as computerized simulations
of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data represented as cells of an array,
organized in rows and columns. Microsoft Excel, Lotus 1-2-3 Apple Numbers and VisiCalc are
some examples of spreadsheet.
• Database software: Database is a structured collection of data. A computer database relies
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on database software to organize data and enable database users to perform database operations.
Database software allows users to store and retrieve data from databases. Examples are Oracle,
MSAccess, EasyPhp, etc.
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• Graphic package Allow you to create pictures and edit photographs. Example software: Corel-
Draw. Paint Shop Pro, Adobe suite
• Presentation Software: The software that is used to display information in the form of a slide
show is known as presentation software. This type of software includes three functions, namely,
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editing that allows insertion and formatting of text, methods to include graphics in the text and
a functionality of executing slide shows. Microsoft PowerPoint and Micromedia director are the
best example of presentation softwareWeb design application
2.3.2 Specific purpose software
They are highly specialized software that are designed to handle specific tasks. They’re more limited
in what they can do. They usually do only one thing, but they usually perform much better than a
general purpose program in a specific task. Some examples of specific software are
• Communications software: Used to send messages and emails Example software: MS Outlook
Express. MS Messenger.
• Desktop publishing programs: Used to combine and control graphics and text in a single
document. Example software: Adobe PageMaker. MS Publisher.
• Web browser: Computer program that enables internet users to access, navigate, and search
World Wide Web sites. It is also called browser. Ex: Mozilla Firefox, Internet explorer, Opera,
Google chrome
• Enterprise Software: It deals with the needs of organization processes and data flow. Customer
relationship management or the financial processes in an organization are carried out with the
help of enterprise software. Ex: Sage Saari
• Multimedia Software: They allow users to create and play audio and video files. They are
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capable of playing media files. Audio converters, audio players, burners, video encoders and
decoders are some forms of multimedia software. Examples of this type of software include Real
Player and Windows Media Player.
2.3.3 Bespoke software
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Although most organisations use general purpose software, some organisations will find that it just
doesn’t do exactly what they want. In this case, they might decide to have the software system they
need designed and developed specifically for them. This is called ‘tailor-made’ or ‘bespoke’ software
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3 Key applications
• Apps and applications
• Using Microsoft word
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• Using Microsoft Excel

• Database concepts
• Using Microsoft power point
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4 Living online
Want to communicate with a friend across town, in another region, or even in another country? Looking
for a long-lost friend? Looking for travel or entertainment information? Where do you start? For these
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and other information-related activities, most people use the Internet and the Web. The Internet is
like a highway that connects you to millions of other people and organizations for the exchange of ideas
and information. It has become an everyday tool for all of us to use we need to know how to access
these resources, effectively communicate electronically, efficiently locate information, and to use Web
utilities.
4.1 Some terminologies

• Internet: The term Internet is the short form of the expression “Inter-connecting Network”. It
can be defined as the worldwide connection of computers and associated devices connected to
each other by communication facilities with the aim of sharing resources.
4 LIVING ONLINE 13
• Browser: It is a computer application which gives us access to web pages. This software allows
you to explore (surf) the web by easily moving from one page to another. Ex Mozilla Firefox,
internet explorer, Google chrome, Opera, UC browser etc.
• URL (Uniform Resource Locator): it is the address of a web page on the internet. E.g
http://www.google.cm .
• WWW (World Wide Web): The multimedia interface and services available on the internet.
• ISP (Internet Service Provider): It is a company or organization that provides Internet access
to user in return for money. Some examples of ISP are: Camtel, Africom, MTN, Orange, Ringo,
YoMee, Nextel, Creolink, Vodafone etc
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4.2 History of the internet
The Internet was launched in 1969 when the United States funded a project that developed a national
computer network called Advanced Research Project Agency Network (ARPANET) which
operated on mainframe computers, and in 1980, the TCP/IP protocol was introduced. The ARPANET
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grew beyond powers and in 1983, ARPANET split into 2 groups; MILNET (handled the military
network) and ARPANET (handled the government, universities and other large organizations. The
Web was introduced in 1991 at the Center for European Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland.
Prior to the Web, the Internet was all text, but had no graphics, animations, sound, or video. The Web
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made it possible to include these elements.
4.3 Requirements Needed to connect to the internet

The basic requirements are a modem, a phone line, and a contract with an Internet Service Provider
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(ISP) in addition to your computer:

• Computer: Generally any computer purchased should have no problems in supporting internet
connectivity.
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• A phone line (or dial-up): As a phone line, you can use your ordinary telephone line at home
if you already own one.
• A modem (modulator/demodulator): A modem is a hardware, which converts digital signals
into analog signals (i.e. modulation) that can be sent over an analog telephone line and convert
the analog signal back into digital data (i.e. demodulation).
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• An Internet account. It is an account that can be opened with an Internet service Provider.
The process of going to an ISP and getting an access account is referred to as subscription.
4.4 Internet Services

Apart from just sending and receiving e-mails, there are many other things that can be done on the
Internet. The World Wide Web, the e-mail, live messenger and search tools are popular Internet
services.
1. The WWW: The WWW or the Web is the user-friendly graphical interface to Internet resources.
It is made of several interconnected electronic documents (called Web documents) stored on
4 LIVING ONLINE 14
Internet computers. These web documents are all interconnected by means of pathways called
hyperlinks or links. A document that contains links to other text documents is called hypertext.
2. E-mail: E-mail or electronic mail is the transmission of electronic messages over the Internet.
All you need to send and receive e-mail is an e-mail account, access to the Internet, and an e-mail
program. Two of the most widely used e-mail programs are Microsoft’s Outlook Express and
Mozilla Thunderbird. Example of email address: user@domain.com . user is the user name and
domain.com is the domain name (location address). The e-mail has numerous advantages:
• Low cost: The cost of sending an e-mail is very low
• High-speed: An e-mail takes only a few seconds to reach a destination
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• World-wide access: You can access or open your e-mail account from any computer in the
world that is connected to the Internet.
• Attachment: In addition to pure messages, an e-mail can also graphics, music, speech and
video.
• Multiple destinations: A single e-mail message can be sent to several people at the same
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time.
3. Instant Messaging: Instant messaging (IM) allows two or more people to contact each other via
direct, live communication. Popular IM applications include MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger
and AOL Messenger.
4.
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Online Social Networking: Online Social Networking has become very popular during the past
few years. It is the use of a dedicated Web site to communicate informally with other members
of the site. These websites are known as social sites. Some examples of online social networking
website are: Facebook, Google+, instagram, twitter, linked-in etc.
5. Other services include;
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• VoIP (Voice over IP): This is a technology that allows voice conversations to be trans-
mitted over the Internet. The most known example of VoIP is Skype
• Online learning or E-learning: This is a form of education r training that occurs on
computer network such as the Internet.
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• E-commerce: This is the buying or selling goods and services on the Internet.
• E-Banking: This is doing bank transactions over the internet.
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Figure 1: Computer block diagram.

Summarily, the computer comprises six main components:

• The processor (Control Unit and Arithmetic/Logic Unit),

2.1.1 Input devices

Scanner Technology Uses

2.1.2 Output devices

2.1.3 Storage Devices

2.1.4 Internal Components of a computer

2.2.1 System Software

systems are Windows 7, Mac OS.

• Resource Management: An operating system manages a collection of computer hardware

Types Of Operating Systems

• Similar data needs to be processed

and banking systems.

2.2.2 Utility program

2.2.3 Device Drivers

2.3 Application Software

2.3.1 General purpose software

2.3.2 Specific purpose software

2.3.3 Bespoke software

• Using Microsoft Excel

4.1 Some terminologies

4.3 Requirements Needed to connect to the internet

(ISP) in addition to your computer:

4.4 Internet Services

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