One Google search generates 7g of CO2

One Google search generates around seven grams of carbon dioxide, equal to boiling half a kettle of water, reports US information research specialist Gartner.

The company suggested carbon dioxide emissions generated by the global IT industry account for 2% of the world's total emissions, according to China Economic Weekly, a weekly magazine published under the People's Daily.

Shang Erbin, president of Eaton Cooperation's China Division, told the magazine that data centers account for 40% of total energy consumption for global IT industry emissions. In 2011, data centers in China accounted for 5% of the total national energy consumption of the country, which is three times of that of the US, while the biggest energy-consuming units include infrastructures such as uninterruptible power supply, power distribution systems and cooling systems.

Guo Xiuming, director of China's Ministry of Information Industry Policy and Regulation Department, calculated that the energy consumption of the country's electronic appliances, especially computers, is roughly equivalent to the total generating capacity of the Three Gorges hydroelectric dam.

Guo said the government's 12th five-year plan (2011-2015) has designated green development of the information network and the improvement of standards for information services as goals for the communication industry. This will include initiatives such as promoting mobile offices and video conferencing to reduce the energy consumption of the country as a whole.

Apple may trounce rivals with smaller iPad

This file photo shows a customer using his iPad outside an Apple store in Shanghai, on June 28.

Apple, which is expected to launch a mini version of its market-leading iPad tablet, could quickly overpower its rivals in the segment with the addition of the new product, analysts say.

The launch expected later this year however would probably prompt Apple co-founder Steve Jobs to roll over in his grave, given that the late technology pioneer ridiculed the small-screen tablets offered by his competitors.

Jobs once said the seven-inch (17.8-cm) screens for mini tablets should "include sandpaper so users can sand down their fingers" to be able to use onscreen keys.

But analysts say the market has changed since Jobs died last October.

Amazon's Kindle Fire proved popular last year, and the small-format Google Nexus 7 joined the Samsung Galaxy in the hot tablet market, dominated by the iPad, which has a screen of nearly 10 inches (24.6 centimeters).

Rumors about the smaller iPad have been swirling for months, but the Wall Street Journal reported this week that Apple's component makers in China are gearing up for mass production of the device.

"Despite what Steve Jobs claimed, the seven-inch form factor is popular and very useful if you want true portability," said analyst Jack Gold at J. Gold Associates.

"Also, seven-inch is less expensive and so they can compete for the lower end of the tablet market."

Analyst Tom Mainelli at research firm IDC said Apple has discovered that larger tablets are not universally popular, noting that users in Japan "with a more mobile culture" may prefer a smaller format, which also may be better for education in primary schools.

If Apple sells the new device at less than $300, as widely expected, Mainelli said, "they put a hurt on all Androids."

Mainelli said that a mini iPad "ultimately grows the market," and that Apple does not appear to be perturbed by others in the field, since it makes a profit on the devices, unlike some other manufacturers.

Andy Hargreaves, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, said in a note last week that he expects Apple will sell 35 million iPad mini units in the coming year at $299, "with 25 percent cannibalization of the larger iPad."

"Apple is a approaching a tremendous period of product cycle strength, with anticipated launches of a new iPhone, a 7.85-inch iPad and a refreshed 9.7-inch iPad that are likely to drive strong profit growth and corresponding stock appreciation," Hargreaves said.

Among the many reports circulating was one on the Apple tracker blog iMore, which said a new 7.85-inch iPad would come with "aggressive" pricing at $200 to $250.

This would "do to the tablet market what Apple did to the MP3 market in 2004 with the expansion of the iPod product line -- leave absolutely no space for competitors," a blog post by Rene Ritchie said.

Apple shares rose 1.76 percent to $609.94 on Thursday, and Hargreaves upped his price target on the company to $690 per share. Another analyst, Brian White at Topeka Capital markets, raised his target price for Apple to $1,111.

Apple held 65 percent of the market in the first quarter with 11.8 million iPad shipments, according to ABI Research.

The market leader, however, faces tougher competition as Samsung, Amazon, Microsoft and Google roll out competing devices.

Analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group said that now that the new, smaller format has proven popular, "I don't think Apple has any choice but to go into this segment."

He said the new Apple device "will both cannibalize 10-inch (iPad) sales and broaden the market but it will also give Apple a line of offerings in what, prior to Apple, was not a one-size-fits-all world."

Enderle said Apple is in a fierce battle with Korean rival Samsung across several product lines including tablets and smartphones, and this is forcing the Cupertino-based giant to adapt.

Apple executives are also likely to introduce a larger screen for its popular iPhone to compete with those using the Google Android operating system, according to Enderle.

"Their tardiness in moving to four- and five-inch phones has dropped them well off the smartphone leadership position they once owned and has been handing that market to Google, they shouldn't repeat that mistake here."

Samsung's Galaxy

Samsung's Galaxy powers record $5.9 billion profit

Soaraway sales of the Galaxy smartphone drove record quarterly profit of $5.9 billion at Samsung Electronics, though the South Korean tech giant is sweating over how Europe's debt crisis is denting demand in its biggest market for televisions and home appliances.

The flagship Galaxy smartphones are likely to have stretched their lead over rivals Apple and Nokia - despite a parts shortage that meant it struggled to keep up with stronger-than-expected demand for its latest S III model.

While strong handset sales grab the headlines, more than doubling profit growth, other businesses such as chips and consumer electronics are battling weak prices and demand and a limping euro, which eats away at repatriated profits.

In a sign that the euro zone crisis is exercising minds in boardrooms around the globe, Samsung executives said this week the group was operating to a contingency plan.

"Europe is our biggest consumer electronics market and we may have to initiate cost cuts and product price increases should the euro fall further from the current level," said one executive who didn't want to be named as the plan is internal.

"Our smartphones are flying off the shelves, with some outlets reporting 40-60 percent sales growth, but that's distorting the overall trading outlook which is more challenging due to the weak global economy and a weak euro."

The euro has fallen around 5 percent against the Korean won since April, and about 8 percent in the past year, to 2-year lows.

In its April-June earnings guidance on Friday, Samsung, valued at $170 billion and the world's leading maker of TVs, smartphones and DRAM memory chips, estimated operating profit jumped 79 percent to 6.7 trillion won from a year ago - in line with an average forecast in a Reuters survey of 23 analysts.

That would be 14.5 percent higher than the previous record quarterly profit in January-March. Samsung estimated its second-quarter revenue at 47 trillion won ($41.4 billion), just below a 50 trillion won forecast.

"Revenue is below our forecast, which suggests price pressure was more severe than had been expected in products such as televisions and home appliances," said Nho Geun-chang, analyst at HMC Investment Securities in Seoul.

"Earnings will be stronger in the current quarter as sales of the high-end Galaxy S III will increase dramatically and drive the telecom division's earnings to above 5 trillion won," he said, predicting shipments of the S III would hit 19 million this quarter.

Samsung is due to release its full second-quarter results - the first since former components chief Kwon Oh-hyun took over as CEO - towards the end of this month.

Samsung and local rival LG Electronics are among the few global TV makers making money and gaining market share from stumbling Japanese rivals Sony, Panasonic and Sharp.

But, spooked particularly by a weak chip market, Samsung shares have dropped 15 percent in the past two months, while the broader Korean market has fallen just over 5 percent, and Apple has gained almost 3 percent.

On Friday, Samsung shares dipped 1 percent to 1.173 million won ($1,000), while the broader market was off 0.4 percent.

MOBILE DRIVER

Profit from the mobile division is likely to have more than doubled to around 4.4 trillion won from a year ago, with sales of around 50 million smartphones - at a rate of 380 every minute.

Current quarter mobile profits are expected to forge further ahead as the latest Galaxy model enjoys a boom before the next iPhone launch. Samsung's overall third-quarter operating profit is likely to be between 7.3 trillion won and 8.5 trillion won, an increase of as much as 27 percent from the second quarter, according to a Reuters survey of 13 analysts. The mobile business brings in more than 70 percent of Samsung's earnings.

While the next iPhone, expected later this year, will likely slow Samsung's handset earnings growth, it will boost the Korean firm's semiconductor earnings as Samsung is the sole producer of processing chips used to power the iPhone and iPad, and also supplies Apple with mobile memory chips, NAND flash and display screens.

"Earnings will grow further as the semiconductor division will also stage a solid recovery on the back of improving DRAM and NAND demand," said Jeff Kang, an analyst at Daishin Securities, adding the division could increase earnings by 1 trillion won this quarter.

Mozilla Firefox shortcut keys

Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Mozilla Firefox. See the computer shortcut page if you are looking for other shortcut keys used in other programs.

Shortcut Keys	Description
Alt + Home	Go to home page.
Alt + Left Arrow	Back a page.
Backspace	Back a page.
Alt + Right Arrow	Forward a page.
F5	Refresh current page, frame, or tab.
F11	Display the current website in full screen mode. Pressing F11 again will exit this mode.
Esc	Stop page or download from loading.
Ctrl + (- or +)	Increase or decrease the font size, pressing '-' will decrease and '+' will increase.
Ctrl + Enter	Quickly complete an address. For example, type computerhope in the address bar and press CTRL + ENTER to get http://www.computerhope.com.
Shift + Enter	Complete a .net instead of a .com address.
Ctrl + Shift + Enter	Complete a .org address.
Ctrl + Shift + Del	Open the Clear Data window to quickly clear private data.
Ctrl + D	Add a bookmark for the page currently opened.
Ctrl + I	Display available bookmarks.
Ctrl + J	Display the download window.
Ctrl + N	Open New browser window.
Ctrl + P	Print current page or frame.
Ctrl + T	Opens a new tab.
Ctrl + F4 or Ctrl + W	Closes the currently selected tab.
Ctrl + Shift + T	Undo the close of a window.
Ctrl + Tab	Moves through each of the open tabs.
Spacebar	Moves down a page at a time.
Shift + Spacebar	Moves up a page at a time.
Alt + Down arrow	Display all previous text entered in a text box and available options on drop down menu.

Microsoft Word shortcut keys

Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Microsoft Word. See the computer shortcut page if you are looking for other shortcut keys used in other programs.

Shortcut Keys	Description
Ctrl + 0	Adds or removes 6pts of spacing before a paragraph.
Ctrl + A	Select all contents of the page.
Ctrl + B	Bold highlighted selection.
Ctrl + C	Copy selected text.
Ctrl + E	Aligns the line or selected text to the center of the screen.
Ctrl + F	Open find box.
Ctrl + I	Italic highlighted selection.
Ctrl + J	Aligns the selected text or line to justify the screen.
Ctrl + K	Insert link.
Ctrl + L	Aligns the line or selected text to the left of the screen.
Ctrl + M	Indent the paragraph.
Ctrl + P	Open the print window.
Ctrl + R	Aligns the line or selected text to the right of the screen.
Ctrl + T	Create a hanging indent.
Ctrl + U	Underline highlighted selection.
Ctrl + V	Paste.
Ctrl + X	Cut selected text.
Ctrl + Y	Redo the last action performed.
Ctrl + Z	Undo last action.
Ctrl + Shift + L	Quickly create a bullet point.
Ctrl + Shift + F	Change the font.
Ctrl + Shift + >	Increase selected font +1pts up to 12pt and then increases font +2pts.
Ctrl + ]	Increase selected font +1pts.
Ctrl + Shift + <	Decrease selected font -1pts if 12pt or lower, if above 12 decreases font by +2pt.
Ctrl + [	Decrease selected font -1pts.
Ctrl + / + c	Insert a cent sign (¢).
Ctrl + ' + <char>	Insert a character with an accent (grave) mark, where <char> is the character you want. For example, if you wanted an accented è you would use Ctrl + ' + e as your shortcut key. To reverse the accent mark use the opposite accent mark, often on the tilde key.
Ctrl + Shift + *	View or hide non printing characters.
Ctrl + <left arrow>	Moves one word to the left.
Ctrl + <right arrow>	Moves one word to the right.
Ctrl + <up arrow>	Moves to the beginning of the line or paragraph.
Ctrl + <down arrow>	Moves to the end of the paragraph.
Ctrl + Del	Deletes word to right of cursor.
Ctrl + Backspace	Deletes word to left of cursor.
Ctrl + End	Moves the cursor to the end of the document.
Ctrl + Home	Moves the cursor to the beginning of the document.
Ctrl + Spacebar	Reset highlighted text to the default font.
Ctrl + 1	Single-space lines.
Ctrl + 2	Double-space lines.
Ctrl + 5	1.5-line spacing.
Ctrl + Alt + 1	Changes text to heading 1.
Ctrl + Alt + 2	Changes text to heading 2.
Ctrl + Alt + 3	Changes text to heading 3.
Alt + Ctrl + F2	Open new document.
Ctrl + F1	Open the Task Pane.
Ctrl + F2	Display the print preview.
Ctrl + Shift + >	Increases the highlighted text size by one.
Ctrl + Shift + <	Decreases the highlighted text size by one.
Ctrl + Shift + F6	Opens to another open Microsoft Word document.
Ctrl + Shift + F12	Prints the document.
F1	Open Help.
F4	Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+)
F5	Open the find, replace, and go to window in Microsoft Word.
F7	Spellcheck and grammar check selected text or document.
F12	Save as.
Shift + F3	Change the text in Microsoft Word from uppercase to lowercase or a capital letter at the beginning of every word.
Shift + F7	Runs a Thesaurus check on the word highlighted.
Shift + F12	Save.
Shift + Enter	Create a soft break instead of a new paragraph.
Shift + Insert	Paste.
Shift + Alt + D	Insert the current date.
Shift + Alt + T	Insert the current time.

In addition to the above shortcut keys users can also use their mouse as a method of quickly do something commonly performed. Below some are examples of mouse shortcuts.

Mouse shortcuts	Description
Click, hold, and drag	Selects text from where you click and hold to the point you drag and let go.
Double-click	If double-click a word, selects the complete word.
Double-click	Double-clicking on the left, center, or right of a blank line will make the alignment of the text left, center, or right aligned.
Double-click	Double-clicking anywhere after text on a line will set a tab stop.
Triple-click	Selects the line or paragraph of the text the mouse triple-clicked.
Ctrl + Mouse wheel	Zooms in and out of document.

Microsoft Excel shortcut keys

Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Microsoft Excel. See the computer shortcut page if you are looking for other shortcut keys used in other programs.

Shortcut Keys	Description
F2	Edit the selected cell.
F5	Go to a specific cell. For example, C6.
F7	Spell check selected text or document.
F11	Create chart.
Ctrl + Shift + ;	Enter the current time.
Ctrl + ;	Enter the current date.
Alt + Shift + F1	Insert New Worksheet.
Shift + F3	Open the Excel formula window.
Shift + F5	Bring up search box.
Ctrl + A	Select all contents of the worksheet.
Ctrl + B	Bold highlighted selection.
Ctrl + I	Italic highlighted selection.
Ctrl + K	Insert link.
Ctrl + U	Underline highlighted selection.
Ctrl + 5	Strikethrough highlighted selection.
Ctrl + P	Bring up the print dialog box to begin printing.
Ctrl + Z	Undo last action.
Ctrl + F9	Minimize current window.
Ctrl + F10	Maximize currently selected window.
Ctrl + F6	Switch between open workbooks or windows.
Ctrl + Page up	Move between Excel work sheets in the same Excel document.
Ctrl + Page down	Move between Excel work sheets in the same Excel document.
Ctrl + Tab	Move between Two or more open Excel files.
Alt + =	Create a formula to sum all of the above cells
Ctrl + '	Insert the value of the above cell into cell currently selected.
Ctrl + Shift + !	Format number in comma format.
Ctrl + Shift + $	Format number in currency format.
Ctrl + Shift + #	Format number in date format.
Ctrl + Shift + %	Format number in percentage format.
Ctrl + Shift + ^	Format number in scientific format.
Ctrl + Shift + @	Format number in time format.
Ctrl + Arrow key	Move to next section of text.
Ctrl + Space	Select entire column.
Shift + Space	Select entire row.

Microsoft Windows shortcut keys

Below is a listing of all the major Windows shortcut keys and the versions of Microsoft Windows they are supported in. See the computer shortcut page if you are looking for other shortcut keys or the how to navigate Windows using a keyboard page for steps on using the keyboard to navigate Windows.

Shortcut Keys	3.x	9x	ME	NT	2K	XP	Vista	7	Description
Alt + Tab	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Switch between open applications.
Alt + Shift + Tab	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Switch backwards between open applications.
Alt + double-click		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Display the properties of the object you double-clickon. For example, doing this on a file would display its properties.
Ctrl + Tab	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Switches between program groups or document windows in applications that support this feature.
Ctrl + Shift + Tab	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Same as above but backwards.
Alt + Print Screen	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Create a screen shot only for the program you are currently in.
Ctrl + Print Screen					X	X	X	X	Creates a screen shot of the entire screen
Ctrl + Alt + Del	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Reboot the computer and brings up the Windows task manager.
Ctrl + Shift + Esc					X	X	X	X	Immediately bring up the Windows task manager.
Ctrl + Esc	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Bring up the Windows Start menu. In Windows 3.x this would bring up the Task Manager.
Alt + Esc		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Switch Between open applications on taskbar.
F1	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Activates help for current open application.
F2	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Renames selected Icon.
F3		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Starts find from desktop.
F4		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Opens the drive selection when browsing.
F5		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Refresh Contents to where you were on the page.
Ctrl + F5							X	X	Refreshes page to the beginning of the page.
F10	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Activates menu bar.
Shift + F10		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Simulates right-click on selected item.
F4		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Select a different location to browse in the Windows Explorer toolbar.
Alt + F4	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Closes Current open program.
Ctrl + F4	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Closes Window in Program.
F6		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Move cursor to different Windows Explorer pane.
Alt + Space bar	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Drops down the window control menu.
Ctrl + (the '+' key on the keypad)			X	X	X	X	X	X	Automatically adjust the widths of all the columns in Windows explorer
Alt + Enter		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Opens properties window of selected icon or program.
Alt + Space bar		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Open the control menu for the current window open.
Shift + Del		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Delete programs/files without throwing them into therecycle bin.
Holding Shift	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Boot Safe Mode or by pass system files as the computer is booting.
Holding Shift		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	When putting in an audio CD, will prevent CD Player from playing.
Enter	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Activates the highlighted program.
Alt + Down arrow		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Display all available options on drop down menu.
* (on the keypad)		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Expands all folders on the currently selected folder or drive in Windows Explorer.
+ (on the keypad)		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Expands only the currently selected folder in Windows Explorer.
- (on the keypad)		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	Collapses the currently selected folder in Windows Explorer.

Windows key keyboard shortcuts

Below is a listing of Windows keys that can be used on computers running a Microsoft Windows operating system and using a keyboard with a Windows key. In the below list of shortcuts, the Windows key is represented by "WINKEY".

Shortcut Keys	Description
WINKEY	Pressing the Windows key alone will open Start.
WINKEY + F1	Opens the Microsoft Windows help and support center.
WINKEY + F3	Opens the Advanced find window in Microsoft Outlook.
WINKEY + D	Brings the desktop to the top of all other windows.
WINKEY + M	Minimizes all windows.
WINKEY + SHIFT + M	Undo the minimize done by WINKEY + M and WINKEY + D.
WINKEY + E	Open Microsoft Explorer.
WINKEY + Tab	Cycle through open programs through the taskbar.
WINKEY + F	Display the Windows Search or Find feature.
WINKEY + CTRL+ F	Display the search for computers window.
WINKEY + R	Open the run window.
WINKEY + Pause / Break key	Open the System Properties window.
WINKEY + U	Open Utility Manager.
WINKEY + L	Lock the computer and switch users if needed (Windows XP and above only).
WINKEY + P	Quickly change between monitor display types. (Windows 7 only)
WINKEY + LEFT ARROW	Shrinks the window to 1/2 screen on the left side for side by side viewing. (Windows 7 only)
WINKEY + RIGHT ARROW	Shrinks the window to 1/2 screen on the right side for side by side viewing. (Windows 7 only)
WINKEY + UP ARROW	When in the side by side viewing mode, this shortcut takes the screen back to full size. (Windows 7 only)
WINKEY + DOWN ARROW	Minimizes the screen.  Also, when in the side by side viewing mode, this shortcut takes the screen back to a minimized size. (Windows 7 only)

Top 10 keyboard shortcuts everyone should know

Using keyboard shortcuts can greatly increase your productivity, reduce repetitive strain, and help keep you focused. For example, highlighting text with the keyboard and pressing Ctrl + C is much faster than taking your hand from the keyboard, highlighting the text using the mouse, clicking copy from the file menu, and then putting your hand back in place on the keyboard. Below are our top 10 keyboard shortcuts we recommend everyone memorize and use.

Ctrl + C or Ctrl + Insert

Copy the highlighted text or selected item.

Ctrl + V or Shift + Insert

Paste the text or object that's in the clipboard.

Ctrl + Z and Ctrl + Y

Undo any change. For example, if you cut text, pressing this will undo it. This can also often be pressed multiple times to undo multiple changes. Pressing Ctrl + Y would redo the undo.

Ctrl + F

Open the Find in any program. This includes your Internet browser to find text on the current page.

Alt + Tab or Alt + Esc

Quickly switch between open programs moving forward.

Tip: Press Ctrl + Tab to switch between tabs in a program.

Tip: Adding the Shift key to Alt + Tab or Ctrl + Tab will move backwards. For example, if you are pressing Alt + Tab and pass the program you want to switch to, press Alt + Shift + Tab to move backwards to that program.

Tip: Windows Vista and 7 users can also press the Windows Key + Tab to switch through open programs in a full screenshot of the Window.

Ctrl + Back space and Ctrl + Left or Right arrow

Pressing Ctrl + Backspace will delete a full word at a time instead of a single character.

Holding down the Ctrl key while pressing the left or right arrow will move the cursor one word at a time instead of one character at a time. If you wanted to highlight one word at a time you can hold down Ctrl + Shift and then press the left or right arrow key to move one word at a time in that direction while highlighting each word.

Ctrl + S

While working on a document or other file in almost every program pressing Ctrl + S will save that file. This shortcut key should be used frequently anytime you're working on anything important.

Ctrl + Home or Ctrl + End

Move the cursor to the beginning or end of a document.

Ctrl + P

Print the page being viewed. For example, the document in Microsoft Word or the web page in your Internet browser.

Page Up, Space bar, and Page Down

Pressing either the page up or page down key will move that page one page at a time in that direction. When browsing the Internet pressing the space bar will also move the page down one page at a time. If you press Shift and the Space bar the page will go up a page at a time.

Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Keys	Description
Alt + F	File menu options in current program.
Alt + E	Edit options in current program
F1	Universal Help in almost every Windows program.
Ctrl + A	Select all text.
Ctrl + X	Cut selected item.
Shift + Del	Cut selected item.
Ctrl + C	Copy selected item.
Ctrl + Ins	Copy selected item
Ctrl + V	Paste
Shift + Ins	Paste
Home	Goes to beginning of current line.
Ctrl + Home	Goes to beginning of document.
End	Goes to end of current line.
Ctrl + End	Goes to end of document.
Shift + Home	Highlights from current position to beginning of line.
Shift + End	Highlights from current position to end of line.
Ctrl + Left arrow	Moves one word to the left at a time.
Ctrl + Right arrow	Moves one word to the right at a time.

What is a Computer?

What is a Computer?

Computers are not very intelligent devices, but they handle instructions flawlessly and fast. They must follow explicit directions from both the user and computer programmer. Computers are really nothing more than a very powerful calculator with some great accessories. Applications like word processing and games are just a very complex math problem.

Software and Hardware

If you use a player piano as an analogy, the piano can be thought of as the hardware and the roll of music as the software.

The software a series of very simple computer instructions carefully organized to complete complex tasks. These instructions are written in programming languages (like BASIC, PASCAL, C...) to help simplify the development of applications.

The hardware is what sits on your desk and executes the software instructions. The player piano is useless unless the roll of music has been written correctly.

 

Hardware Components

Input Devices -- "How to tell it what to do"

- A keyboard and mouse are the standard way to interact with the computer. Other devices include joysticks and game pads used primarly for games.

Output Devices -- "How it shows you what it is doing"

- The monitor (the screen) is how the computer sends information back to you, whether it be surfing the web or writing a memo. A printer is also an output device.

Storage Devices -- "How it saves data and programs"

- Hard disk drives are an internal, higher capacity drive which also stores the operating system which runs when you power on the computer.

- "Floppy" disk drives allow you to save work on small disks and take the data with you.

 

Memory -- "How the processor stores and uses immediate data"

- When you use a program, the computer loads a portion of the program from the hard drive to the much faster memory (RAM). When you "save" your work or quit the program, the data gets written back to the hard drive.

Microprocessors -- "The brain of the computer"

- PCs primarily use microprocessors (sometimes called the chip) manufactured by Intel. The older Intel versions include the 386, 486 and now the Pentium line.
- Macintoshes use PowerPC processors by Motorola.
- Megahertz (MHz) is the internal processor speed in which computer instructions are performed. The MHz speed does not always indicate the power of the microprocessor. Newer processors can execute more instructions at the same or slower MHz. For example, an Intel 486 @100MHz is less powerful than a Pentium @75 MHz (but the MHz is "faster").

Hardware Accessories

Modems

- Modems allow you to communicate with other computers using a phone line. Modem speeds are in bits per second (14.4, 28.8 and 56 thousand bits per second are standard).

CD-ROM Drives

- A CD-ROM drive is a high capacity storage device which lets you read data from the disk, but not write data back. The speed of the drive (how fast the CD platter spins) is measured in multiples from the first generation drives. New drives are up to 24X (or 24 times the first drives), but while the CD spins faster, it is not really 24 times faster in actual output.

Printers

- There are different types of printers (laser, ink jet, dot matrix) with differing quality of output. They are measured in dpi (dots per inch) and ppm (pages per minute), the higher the better.

Scanners

- Scanners "digitize" printed material (like photos and graphics) and save it to a graphic file format (like .GIF or .JPG) for display on the computer.

 

Operating System Software

Operating system software provides a "user interface" for users to manage files, start programs, customize computer settings, and other tasks. The operating system also provides the fundamental core computer functionality for programmers.

Intel based PCs use Microsoft Windows version 3.1 (older) or Windows 95 as the operating system. Macintoshes use the Macintosh operating system.

Software Applications

Application software uses the operating system software and provides the real functionality of a computer. Applications include:

- Word Processing (MS Word, WordPerfect, Ami...)
- Spreadsheets (Lotus 123, MS Excel...)
- Database (DBase, Fox Pro, Oracle...)
- Presentation (MS PowerPoint, Persuasion...)
- Internet Browsers (Netscape Navigator, MS Internet Explorer)
- Games