Chapter 1

Digital Literacy
The Computer
Brief History of Computer Generations
Capabilities of Computers
Limitations of Computers
Essential Uses of the computer
Hardware and Software
The Computer
A computer is an electronic device
that manipulates information, or
data. It has the ability to store,
retrieve, and process data. You
may already know that you can use
a computer to type documents,
send email, play games, and
browse the Web.
The Four periods in the
development of computers:
Pre-mechanical
Mechanical
Electro-Mechanical
Electronic
Pre Mechanical
• Writing and alphabets are used for communication and one of material used was
petroglyphs (signs and simple figures).
• By 3100 B.C. which was introduced by Sumerians in Mesopotamia, cuneiform was devised
to be the 1st true written language and the 1st real information system.
Pre Mechanical
• Around 2000 B.C. Phoenicians created symbols that expressed single
syllables and consonants; this became the 1st true alphabets
• The early input technologies made by the Sumerians was a stylus that
could scratch marks in wet clay. While the books and libraries were made
as early output technologies by the religious leaders in Mesopotamia.
• The first recording adding machine invented in Babylonia in 500 B.C.
popularize in China was the Abacus. It is an ancient computing device
constructed of sliding beads on small wooden rods, stung on wooden
frame. This is one of the very first information processor and this is
considered as the first calculator.
The Computer was born not for
entertainment or email but out of a
need to solve a serious number-
crunching crisis. By 1880, the U.S.
population had grown so large that it
took more than seven years to tabulate
the U.S. Census results. The
government sought a faster way to get
the job done, giving rise to punch-card
based computers that took up entire
rooms.
1801: In France, Joseph Marie Jacquard invents
a loom that uses punched wooden cards to
automatically weave fabric designs. Early
computers would use similar punch cards.

1822: English mathematician Charles Babbage

conceives of a steam-driven calculating machine
that would be able to compute tables of numbers.
The project, funded by the English government, is
a failure. More than a century later, however, the
world's first computer was actually built.
1876: Alexander Graham Bell was a Scottish-
born inventor, scientist, and engineer who is
credited with inventing and patenting the first
practical telephone. He also co-founded the
American Telephone and Telegraph
1852: George Boole developed binary algebra
known as Boolean Algebra.

1890: Herman Hollerith invented a punch card

specifically for census taking. He was also called
as the father of Information Processing. He
founded the Tabulating Machine Company.
Hollerith retired in 1921 but his company went on
to become the International Business Machine.
1842: Ada Augusta Lovelace Byron, wrote
program for Babbage's Difference engine and
she was accredited as the first Computer
Programmer and the programming language
called Ada as named for her honor.
1943-1944: Two University of
Pennsylvania professors, John
Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, build
the Electronic Numerical Integrator
and Calculator (ENIAC). Considered
the grandfather of digital computers,
it fills a 20-foot by 40-foot room and
has 18,000 vacuum tubes.
Vacuum Tube
The vacuum tubes were used as its internal
component. It had vacuum tubes, resistors,
and welded metal joints. They were large,
slow, expensive and produced a lot of heat.

An electronic device that controls the flow of

electrons in a vacuum. It is used as a switch,
amplifier or display screen (CRT). Used as
on/off switches, vacuum tubes allowed the
first computers to perform digital
computations.
1947: William Shockley, John Bardeen
and Walter Brattain of Bell Laboratories
invent the transistor. They discovered
how to make an electric switch with solid
materials and no need for a vacuum.

A transistor is a device that regulates

current or voltage flow and acts as a
switch or gate for electronic signals.
Transistors consist of three layers of a
semiconductor material, each capable of
carrying a current.
Transistor is a small solid state
component designed to monitor the flow
of electric current. These were smaller,
faster, cheaper, required less power and
less heat than vacuum tubes.

Transistors gave way to the concepts of

parallel processors and
multiprogramming.
1953: Grace Hopper develops the first
computer language, which eventually
becomes known as COBOL. Thomas
Johnson Watson Jr., son of IBM CEO
Thomas Johnson Watson Sr., conceives
the IBM 701 EDPM to help the United
Nations keep tabs on Korea during the
war.
Among the team who found the first-
reported computer bug was
computer-language pioneer Grace
Hopper. She is often given credit for
reporting the bug, but that is not true.
She was, however, the person who
likely made the incident famous.
1958: Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce unveil the
integrated circuit, known as the computer chip.
Kilby was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics
in 2000 for his work.

An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated

circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a
microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one
small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor
material that is normally silicon.
1969: A group of developers at Bell Labs
produce UNIX, an operating system that
addressed compatibility issues. Written in the
C programming language, UNIX was portable
across multiple platforms and became the
operating system of choice among mainframes
at large companies and government entities.
Due to the slow nature of the system, it never
quite gained traction among home PC users.
1971: Alan Shugart leads a team of IBM
engineers who invent the "floppy disk,"
allowing data to be shared among computers.

1973: Robert Metcalfe, a member of the

research staff for Xerox, develops Ethernet for
connecting multiple computers and other
hardware.
1975: The January issue of Popular
Electronics magazine features the Altair
8080, described as the "world's first
minicomputer kit to rival commercial models."
Two "computer geeks," Paul Allen and Bill
Gates, offer to write software for the Altair,
using the new BASIC language. On April 4,
after the success of this first endeavor, the
two childhood friends form their own software
company, Microsoft.
1976: Steve Jobs and
Steve Wozniak start Apple
Computers on April Fool's
Day and roll out the Apple
I, the first computer with a
single-circuit board,
according to Stanford
University.
1978: Accountants rejoice
at the introduction of
VisiCalc, the first
computerized spreadsheet
program.
1979: Word processing becomes a
reality as MicroPro International
releases WordStar. "The defining
change was to add margins and
word wrap," said creator Rob
Barnaby in email to Mike Petrie in
2000. "Additional changes included
getting rid of command mode and
adding a print function. I was the
technical brains — I figured out how
to do it, and did it, and documented
it. "
1981: The first IBM personal
computer, code-named "Acorn," is
introduced. It uses Microsoft's MS-
DOS operating system. It has an
Intel chip, two floppy disks and an
optional color monitor. Sears &
Roebuck and Computerland sell the
machines, marking the first time a
computer is available through
outside distributors. It also
popularizes the term PC.
1990: Tim Berners-Lee, a researcher at CERN, the high-energy physics
laboratory in Geneva, develops Hypertext Markup Language (HTML),
giving rise to the World Wide Web.
1981: The first IBM personal
computer, code-named "Acorn," is
introduced. It uses Microsoft's MS-
DOS operating system. It has an
Intel chip, two floppy disks and an
optional color monitor. Sears &
Roebuck and Computerland sell the
machines, marking the first time a
computer is available through
outside distributors. It also
popularizes the term PC.
• Perform prescribed mathematical
and logical operations at high
speed, and display the result of
these operations
• Respond to a specific set of
instructions in a well-defined
manner and execute prerecorded
instructions
• Store and work with large
amounts of information
With their increasing power and
versatility, computers simplify da-to-
day life. The have edged their way
into our lifestyle because of the
reduction in size, increase in power
or capability and reduction in cost.
Having discovered the powerful
capabilities of computers, people
started to search for practical uses
for them.
• Computer cannot imitate human emotions
• It is subject to breakdown
• It can do only what is designed or programmed
to do
• It cannot think and cannot derive meanings
from objects
• It can only process jobs expressed in a number
of steps leading to a precisely defined goal
• It cannot completely avoid making errors due to
power fluctuations, system malfunctions and
human disorders
• Computer can increase productivity because of
their speed to process volume of data in flash,
more output with lesser manpower it takes.
• Can do repetitive and routine work, they are tools
tirelessly perform some operations over and over
again without errors and complains, unlike
human.
• Are reliable and accurate, along with their high
speed of computer performance is their accuracy
and reliability.
• Improved communication and information.
Computer hardware is the physical component of
the computer.
Refers to the tangible component of a computer
system

Hardware Component is further divided into three

groups.
• Input Devices
• Output Devices
• System Unit
INPUT DEVICE
An input device lets you communicate with a
computer. You can use input devices to enter
information and issue commands.

OUTPUT DEVICE
An output device displays information on a
screen, creates printed copies or generates sound.

SYSTEM UNIT
The system unit is the part of the computer
which is responsible for accepting and processing
the data brought in by the input
devices
Software
Computer Instructions or data,
anything that can be stored electronically is
Software.
Examples:-Ms word, excel,power
point, spread sheets, library management
system etc.
Types of Software
• System Software
• Application Software
System Software
• The System Software consist of the
Operating System and all the utilities that
enable the computer to function.
• System software actually controls the
hardware so that application software
can perform any action or task.
Types of System Software
• Operating system
• Utilities
• Device Drivers
• Language Translators
Application Software
• Application Software includes programs that do
real work for user.
• Application software consists of programs that are
designed to make users more comfortable or
productive to assist personal tasks
• The application software is present on computer
hard disk
• Application software can also be stored on CDs,
DVDs, and flash or keychain storage devices