32 or 64 bit

(a)  

•  a collection of hardware & software that is designed to receive, process and manage the instructions/data given by the user and return output in the form of readable information.

1080p or 1024*768px

(a)  

 tangible parts of computer system, categorised into CPU, input devices, output devices, memory, and storage devices. They include devices inside the CPU and peripheral devices.

(a)  

•  intangible parts of computer system.  They tell the computer hardware what to do

two types of software

(a)  

This is the set of software programs that run the computer and coordinate instructions between application software and hardware devices. It consists of the operating systems (OS) and utility programs. The OS provides an interface and basically controls how the computer functions. Utility programs perform general housekeeping tasks like system maintenance and file compression.

The responsibilities of the system software are booting, utilities, hardware control and software control.

(a)  

computers can process billions of instructions per second. This allows them to do things that would otherwise take unreasonable levels of effort, like producing utility bills for all customers each month

(a)  

modern computers have a low failure rate and are quite consistent. Unlike pesky human workers who want “salaries” and “good working conditions”, computers do not have unions or go on strikes

(a)  

• if the data is entered correctly, the computer produces error free results.

• Enable one to adjust the display

• Add or remove programs

• Compress files

• this requires no user intervention. They are designed for systems with specific purposes and response times (like robotic machinery)

common os

(a)  

HCL

(a)  

• - not specific to any organisation and can be used for many tasks. E.g. word processor, database manager, spreadsheet program, presentation software

•  made solely for a specific task. E.g. camera app, autoCAD

•  a package containing a combination of popular general purpose software. E.g. MS Office, LibreOffice, Adobe Creative Suite.

• written for a specific organisation to perform very specific stuff needed in that particular organisation (e.g. Jonathan Monkeywarts hires someone to make a budgeting software for him)

•  - a general purpose software that is modified to be more specific to a task/company. (e.g. Jonathan Monkeywarts hires someone to make his word processor software do mail merge more easily because of the amount of letters he sends)

is a function of the operating system that provides a junction which allows the user to interact with the computer program. It is a set of commands/menus/icons through which a user can communicate with a computer program.

(a)  

UIS

(a)  

allows the user to interact with the computer by typing very specific commands onto a screen. An example of this is Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS) which is still a mystery to me.

(a)  

If the user knows the commands, ‘tis speedy

Needs much less RAM and CPU power

You can use a cheap, lower quality  monitor

(a)  

It is very confusing for your average beginner

If you make a mistake you have to start all over which depending on what you are doing could waste hours of your time

You need to learn many many many commands

(a)  

This lets you interact with a device by working through a series of menus, which can be pop-up or drop-down. An example of this is an ATM. 

(a)  

No commands to learn, in fact there are literal step by step instructions right there

You can easily guess your way around

They don’t have to be visual which is good for phone calls or the visually impaired

(a)  

It can be slow if poorly designed

It can be irritating if there are too many menus

Even if you know exactly where you want to go, you have to work through all the menu screens first to get to it 

(a)  

This is the most common and user-friendly interface. It uses pictures and graphical icons (hence the name) making it very easy to use. It is also called a WIMP interface  because it uses Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers.

(a)  

Very easy to use for beginners

No commands to learn

There are usually good help facilities

(a)  

• Be pretty

• Be easy to use

• Be consistent

• Have clear options shown

• Have clear warning messages when someone makes a mistake

• Have online help/support

Requires more hard disk space

Needs more RAM and processing power

(a)  

a computer stores large amounts of data in a small place for later use. In case of accidents, backups can also be made.

(a)  

• devices such as modems allow multiple computers to share stored data and information, and connect to the internet of course

•  is given to the fastest computer systems that are in use at a certain time. They give humans the ability to understand things that can’t be measured by humans or by an ordinary computer, such as testing mathematical models for complex designs or cryptology (the art of writing & solving codes.)

• An example of a supercomputer is the --------------------, which is made to tackle the world’s biggest challenges.

high-performance computer with a lot of memory and processors. They can process billions of calculations at once. Although they are smaller and less powerful than supercomputers, they have more processing power than other types. They are usually used by large organisations for processing large amounts of data, such as in censuses, or consumer statistics

(a)  

• An example of a mainframe computer is the

is a machine that can fit on or under a desk. They use peripheral devices such as a keyboard, monitor, and mouse for interaction with the user. The computer itself is known as the system unit, and this can be horizontal or vertical. The system unit contains the CPU, motherboard, RAM, power supply, drives, fan, and other components. are generally made to stay in one place

(a)  

What is an embedded device?

(a)  

• a battery-operated electronic device small enough to be held in the hand. It usually has a touchscreen interface, but some have physical keyboards and controllers, such as some cellular phones. Many can connect to the internet and other devices with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. They also usually have cameras, ability to make and receive calls, game play, and GPS. They run special operating systems called mobile operating systems. Some examples are tablets (e.g., the iPad Pro), cell phones (e.g., Blackberry), and personal digital assistants. 

Give examples of hardware devices

(a)  

some output devices can be found outside the system unit while others can be found inside.What are these devices called and give an example

(a)  

The basic functions of every computer system are


(a)  

• fetches the instructions from the RAM.

decodes the binary so Alu can understand it

(a)  

•  executes the instruction. The information needed to execute the instruction is stored in the registers.

• sends the output to the RAM to be stored for future use.

hardware devices

(a)  

two types of input devices

(a)  

list 3 manual input devices

(a)  

• allows you to transfer pictures, graphics and text from hard copy to soft copy, which can then be used in a program, or sent as an email attachment.

• the computer responds to the user’s voice and carries out its instructions. They are also called voice-activated or voice-response systems.

• converts drawings and images to soft copy for later printing or editing, or transmission over  a network. E.g. webcam, drawing tablet

•  is a flat rectangular surface which senses the movement of fingers on its surface, and they are usually found on laptops.

•  small pen-like device with a plastic or felt tip. It is used to draw on drawing tablets or type on touchscreens.

•  these send data through signals each time a button is pressed on the device. These signals are received by another device that processes the instruction. They are used in TV remotes, gate remotes, and managing slide presentations.

• these use a part of someone’s body to uniquely identify them. E.g. retina scanners, fingerprint recognition, face ID

These can transfer information automatically from a document into the computer, without manual entry. They are used to quickly enter large volumes of data.

(a)  

•  They are a group of vertical bars of varying widths. They are read into the computer using a wand, a fixed scanner, or a camera-based reader.

there are various ways of inputting characters into a computer system. E.g. When buying a lottery ticket, you fill in the slip by putting lines through numbers on a grid. This slip is then fed into a machine that reads the marks

•  E.g. bubble sheets for multiple choice

 the scanned text is turned into a file that can be edited, reformatted and/or reprinted by a word processor. But the accuracy is variable, depending on the quality of the original text.

(a)  

• used together in a turnaround document.

 used to get processed information out of a computer

(a)  

two types of output

(a)  

example of soft copy

(a)  

two examples of display devices

(a)  

 contains a matrix of bright red, green and blue dots which are blended to display millions of colours.

(a)  

size, resolution, and number of colours displayed.

(a)  

outputs hard copy of work

(a)  

two types of printer

(a)  

trike through a carbon or inked ribbon, like a typewriter. They are noisy, obsolete, and their graphics quality is bad. However, they are useful for printing multiple copies with carbon paper, and continuous periodically perforated paper. A dot matrix printer uses pins to print a pattern of dots onto a paper.

(a)  

use ink spray or toner powder, then the characters are fixed on the paper by e.g. heating. The printers are inexpensive, fast and quiet. Some examples are inkjet printers, laser printers (much faster than inkjets and very high quality), thermal printers (use heat on chemically treated paper), 3D printers (create 3d models layer by layer from the bottom up with melted plastic), and plotters (uses coloured pens or toner to draw an image on a p

(a)  

 small headphones that fit inside the ear,

(a)  

 is a set of headphones with a microphone attached.

(a)  

allows both the recording and playback of sound.

(a)  

Loudspeakers can be used for playback but ---------------------------are more popular since they do not disturb others. E

(a)  

much circuitry and components and is connected to the motherboard . It processes the information at a speed measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).

(a)  

Factors that affect the speed of the computer are

(a)  

• it determines the speed of information transfer, and dictates how many applications can be open before the computer crashes (like a clown)

•  determines the number of binary units that can be transferred at once

 determines how much data can be transferred in a given time

(a)  

•  more easily accessible than RAM so the more of it is the more data that can be quickly accessed.

two types of storage

(a)  

Two types pf primary storage

(a)  

secondary storage is divided into

(a)  

ROM

RAM

SRAM

DRAM

PROM

EPROM

EEPROM

(a)  

 is also called main memory. It is located directly on the circuit board for fast access. It holds the temporary operating instructions for the computer, programs and data. This is where the CPU receives its instructions and data. It is volatile, meaning it is lost when power is lost.

(a)  

is non-volatile, and cannot be edited. It is available every time the computer is turned on. It stores the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS)

(a)  

has features of both RAM and ROM. They can be read and written as desired (like RAM) but are non-volatile, like ROM

(a)  

This refers to the media and methods used to keep programs, data and information available for later use. It is nonvolatile and long term.  They usually have a large storage capacity and they store data permanently. They can be inside or outside the computer.

(a)  

• - the material storing the data

•  what manages the media

• uses a magnet

use lasers

(a)  

 involves users having storage devices or media with data in their possession or in a known location.

(a)  

examples of local storage include

(a)  

 unlimited and powerful remote network of interconnected, specialised computers. This storage involves users’ data being stored in the cloud, and the exact location is unknown to the user.

(a)  

examples of cloud storage

(a)  

state 3 advantages of cloud storage and 3 disadvanatges

(a)  

3 advantages of local storage

(a)  

3 disadvantages

(a)  

•  either on or off, 1 or 0, e.g. switch or transistor. It can store one (1) bit.

• smallest chunk of data a computer can manage, either 1 or 0.

 8 bits

(a)  

 1024 bytes

(a)  

•  1,024 kb

•  1,024 mb

• 1,024 gb

 1 character

(a)