IT Applications and Agriculture Bioinformatics IPTMA 512 OVERVIEW O !

OMP"TER #AR$WARE

OVERVIEW OF COMPUTER HARDWARE

G.R.Ramakrishna Murthy Senior scientist, NAARM
The trend in information technology is fast changing, thanks to an equally swift change sweeping across the hardware and peripherals required to launch the T re!olution. t is necessary to understand the nuances of what makes a "# $efore we plunge into T applications. There are many deciding factors to choose a right computer and peripherals to suit our needs. An o!er!iew of some of the "# essentials are gi!en $elow.

1. MOTHERBOARD AND PROCESSOR

An e%perience with "# depends on a com$ination of the processor, the memory, the mother$oard, the graphics and sound components and the hard disk that the "# has. The first two things to consider when $uying a "# are the mother$oard and the processor, which are interdependent. A particular processor only goes on a particular kind of mother$oard. &or each kind of mother$oard, there might $e different $rands a!aila$le, with different features. t is $etter to choose processor and then decide $rand of mother$oard, $ased on its features.

A. MOTHERBOARD
The mother$oard is the $ase of a "#'all the components fit on it. t also has a master $rain called the chipset which decides what will work and how. The mother$oard is chosen $ased on i.Processor : The processor sits on a main $oard called the mother$oard, in a particular slot or socket. This slot determines which processor will go on the mother$oard. ii. Graphics: (n$oard graphics Mother$oards can also $e chosen $ased on whether they ha!e integrated graphics on them or not. The earlier graphics cards used to $e "# cards )fitting on the "# slot on the mother$oard*. +ater something called the Accelerated Graphics "ort, or AG" was de!eloped especially for graphics cards and made graphics faster. There are mother$oards that had graphics capa$ilities $uilt into them. ,owe!er, the graphics from these are only good enough for $rowsing, -ord, .%cel, etc, not for hea!y /0 games or graphics. The ntel 123 chipset come with on$oard graphics, and are a real money sa!er. &or serious gaming and graphics, we need the AG" slot to $e there on the mother$oard, and add a graphics card to it. The ntel 124 chipset $ased mother$oards come with on$oard graphics, $ut also ha!e an AG" slot on them, so we can go with on$oard graphics initially and get a good graphics card later. The new "5s go on the ntel 143 chipset $ased mother$oards, which ha!e a slot for R0RAM memory modules, and an AG" slot. +ook for the num$er of slots for add6on cards. Apart from the AG" slot, look for the num$er of "# slots on the $oard for6 internal modem, T7 tuner8!ideo capture cards and other accessories. +ook for the num$er of RAM slots and how much RAM it can take. Some new mother$oards ha!e slots to take e!en 9 G: of RAM.

B. PROCESSOR
The processor, which is the $rain of a "#, is often chosen with price as the main criteria, $ut changing the processor often means changing the mother$oard.

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IT Applications and Agriculture Bioinformatics IPTMA 512 OVERVIEW O !OMP"TER #AR$WARE The other e%treme, when the $udget is unlimited, is to scram$le for the latest, fastest processor. There will always $e a faster one ;ust around the corner $ut it should not $e e%ceedingly $eyond our requirements, say if our applications are simply writing documents in -ord, $rowsing the Net and sending and recei!ing e6mail. #hoose the processor keeping in mind our acti!ities on the "#, $ut don<t $e stingy either. :oth the processor as well as mother$oard should $e chosen keeping in mind the fact that they<re $oth !ery tough to upgrade'$ecause they<re e%pensi!e and when we change them, we ha!e to change a lot of things along with them, almost like o!erhauling the "#. Types of processors "entium and AM0 processor are some of the processor options. AM0 processors ha!e $een around for a long time. The processors that made an impact in recent times are the 0uron and the Athlon. ntel has the !alue option, #eleron and the high6performance processor, "5 , while AM0 has 0uron for !alue proposition and Athlon for high6end one. Nowadays , processors are coming in as dual core which is a #"= with two separate cores on the same die, each with its own cache. t>s the equi!alent of getting two microprocessors in one. A dual-core processor uses slightly less power than two coupled single6core processors, principally $ecause of the increased power required to dri!e signals e%ternal to the chip and $ecause the smaller silicon process geometry allows the cores to operate at lower !oltages? such reduction reduces latency. Most of the processors are in 3 -!i". This is the num$er of $its that can $e processed in parallel. (r the num$er of $its used to represent a single element in a data format. &uture software are going to $e a!aila$le in @5 $it format increasingly. Reali"ies of !i"s i# Processors A /9 $it #"= can process /9 $its of data at a time. f data has more than /9 $its, processor takes up A/9< $its of data first and processes it and then ne%t group of A/9< $its of data is taken up for processing ,ence a @56$it #"= performs $etter than a /9 $it processor @5 $it is !ery useful for /d animators, game de!elopers, #A08#AM engineers, automo$ile manufacturers A /9 $it #"= can access only 5 G: )9/9 * of main memory while a @5 $it #"= can address up to 2B $illion G: which is more than enough for any present and near future application A @5 $it #"= needs @5 $it (S and @5 $it applications to deli!er optimum results. Some @5 $it #"=s allows to run /9 $it applications and (S $ut it is a point of under utiliCation. A @5 $it processor dou$les the $andwidth with the processor core while dual core gi!es 9 processor cores inside a single processor. A @5 $it is like fitting a car with a more powerful engine while a dual core is fitting the same with 9 engines which may or may not $e as powerful as the replaced one. The entry le!el is D24 chipset while others include D94,D54 and D44 chipsets. D54 and D44 $ased chipsets support dual core processors )called "entium 0*. Need of up$rade It is time for upgrade

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IT Applications and Agriculture Bioinformatics IPTMA 512 OVERVIEW O !OMP"TER #AR$WARE -hen we are mo!ing to a newer operating system)(S*. Roughly the memory requirement and the hard disk space requirement dou$les as we mo!e to a new !ersion of -indows, for an optimal e%perience. ntel recommends a "5 for -indows E". -hen we go for a new set of applications like working with !ideos, pictures etc.,

Precau"io#s i# selec"io# of %o"&er!oard a#d processor Take a mother$oard that has support for 00R S0RAM, as the prices of 00R are !ery competiti!e. f we want a $asic machine for functions like MS (ffice, 90 games, etc, look for a mother$oard that supports on$oard graphics, and which has an AG" slot that will help if we need to add an AG" card at a later date. Also, look for the 7 A FM69@@8533 #hipset or the n7idia chipset. Mi% and match are not possi$le with processor $rands. 0ont put an AM0 processors on an ntel processor<s mother$oard, or !ice !ersa. They are two different entities and need their own mother$oards. 0on<t go for mother$oard for a " / which take on a "5. -e won<t get the "5 performance, since the mother$oard doesn<t support it. -e<ll also get into software compati$ility issues. -hen we get a new processor, a new mother$oard, we need to check if the e%isting power supply is enough. -e<ll pro$a$ly ha!e to go for a new SM"S too.

. 'RAPH(CS CARD
A graphics or display card $rings to the monitor what<s happening inside the "#. The !ideo card can handle all the !isual tasks of the "# without processor<s inter!ention. t now has its own processor chip and RAM and capa$le of comple% calculations to gi!e faster and $etter displays on monitor. i. Need of up$rade -hen we mo!e to more graphics6intensi!e games, graphics applications like image editors, design software, -e$ design programs, desktop pu$lishing software, multimedia content creation software, etc, graphics card should $e a$le to li!e up to it. :ut $efore we get new software that<ll need a graphics card upgrade, check whether the mother$oard can take a graphics card upgrade. f not, go for a mother$oard, and possi$ly e!en a processor. ii. Bud$e" of up$rade f we ;ust want to work on -ord, .%cel, "ower"oint, surf the Net, etc, we don<t e!en need a graphics card'a mother$oard with $uilt6in graphics is sufficient. There are some ine%pensi!e low6end cards also a!aila$le that let us step up our graphics a $it. There would $e some that fit onto the "# slot on mother$oard. There are also some low6end cards that fit onto AG" slots. &or e%ample, the SiS series'SiS @924, @/9@, etc, which comes for under Rs 2,433. #heck the 7RAM, or the !ideo RAM'the graphics card<s own RAM. -hile the low6end cards will offer 5 or 1 M:, the high6end ones can go up to @5 M:. &or serious gaming, we cant in!est in a decent graphics card in the price range of Rs 4,3336 23,333. This includes the Ri!a TNT and Ge&orce9 ranges. -hile these cards are good enough for most /0 games. The latest games ha!e graphics renderings $eyond the capa$ilities of these cards. :ut they are good enough to gi!e high resolutions, color depths and refresh rates. Make sure to ha!e an AG" slot on the mother$oard.

3. SO)ND CARD

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IT Applications and Agriculture Bioinformatics IPTMA 512 OVERVIEW O !OMP"TER #AR$WARE The start6up music on a "#, audio alerts on messenger, M"/ music or !oice6chat o!er the Net, sounds from mo!ies and games'it<s the sound card that lets all this reach us. -ith a sound card in a "#, we can also record music or our own !oice to "#. :eginning from sound on a mother$oard to cards that pro!ide home theater quality, there<s a wide range out there to choose from. Most mother$oards ha!e $egun coming with integrated or on$oard audio. This means that "#s $ased on such mother$oards don<t ha!e a separate card sitting inside. This sound is good enough for $asic purposes like !oice chat, telephone calls o!er the Net, listening to M"/s, and so on. i. Need of )p$rade nstead of on$oard sound, if we ha!e a "# sound card, that is also great for the same purposes. :ut if the need for sound is $eyond that, we need to look for upgrade possi$ilities. &or a multimedia or audio professional, or if we want to watch mo!ies on "# with complete !isual and sound effects, we need $etter sound.. f we ha!e an old mother$oard that houses the sound card in an SA slot, we could upgrade to the current standard'sound cards that go into the "# slot. The other ad!antage is that "# cards are plug6and6play, and we don<t need any complicated configuration. "rices of sound cards range from Rs @3362B,333, while those of speakers could !ary in the range of Rs 4336Rs 91,333. The difference lies in the depth in which sound is recorded, the !ariety of channels, and sound standards supported. Some sound cards today also use the =S: port of a "#, like #reati!e<s Sound :laster .%tigy, which is an e%ternal de!ice which is connected from the outside. -e ha!e to pay attention to the speakers that play its output too. t<s no good getting an e%pensi!e, high6end sound card and using our regular speakers or !ice !ersa. ii. Selec"io# of sou#d card Duplex type: Go for a full6duple% sound card, as this lets our "# recei!e and send sound at the same time, like we do on the telephone. =seful for Net telephony. A half6duple% sound card, in contrast will $e a$le to do only one at a time. Most sound cards today are full6 duple%, $ut do check this out. Recording depth: This is measured in $its. A higher figure gi!es us $etter fidelity. 2@6$it is the standard in sound cards, and 956$it is the higher end. @5 $it are also now popular. Recording and playback rate: This should at least $e 55.2 k,C stereo, the rate at which #0 audio is recorded. Anything more than this is e!en $etter. Signal to noise ratio: This determines the clarity of the sound. The larger this ratio, the $etter it is. DirectSound 3D support: A lot of games today use this for 0irectSound /0 to $uild in sound. So most sound cards today support this. Connectors: The $o% $elow ) nside a sound card* tells us a$out some of the connectors a sound card has. #heck sound card<s manual to see how many connectors it has for !arious de!ices, including de!ices with &irewire ports.

*. RAM
Random access memory )RAM*, is an important component of "#. :etween the hard disk and the processor, it plays the part of a temporary storage area. -hile working on a "#, the programs opened refer to the RAM for their functions. t<s temporary storage $ecause it<s !olatile'once we switch off "#, it goes. RAM affects the speed of "# $ecause it stops the processor from going $ack and forth to the hard disk'instead, it accesses the hard disk and lines up data to $e processed $y the processor.

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IT Applications and Agriculture Bioinformatics IPTMA 512 OVERVIEW O !OMP"TER #AR$WARE i. Need of RAM+ RAM is measured in M:s. &or those who are not into gaming or high6end graphics, @5 or 291 M: RAM is quite sufficient. The new operating systems need a $it of memory too. The minimum RAM requirement for -indows E" is @5 M:, and Microsoft recommends 291 M:. Though 429 M: memory is standard for desktops at present, it may $ecome 5 G: soon to cater to the needs of memory intensi!e applications ii. )p$rada!ili"y There are limited slots for memory. 0on<t waste any memory modules to a!oid running out of empty slots. &or instance, if we ha!e four slots for memory, and three are currently occupied $y /9M:. f we $uy two @5M:, we<ll ha!e to toss one of the /9M:. iii. Prese#" "re#ds Prese#" RAMS are a,aila!le as DDR . Dou!le-da"a-ra"e "-o sy#c&ro#ous dy#a%ic ra#do% access %e%ory )DDR SDRAM* is a random access memory technology used for high speed storage of the working data of a computer or other digital electronic de!ice. t has the a$ility to run its $us at twice the speed of the memory cells it contains.

.. HARD D(S/

-hen dealing with storage space required for the programs and files, space and speed matter. 53 G: hard disks are common and adequate. As the capacity increases, the cost per unit memory reduces. f we need to frequently transport lots of data to office and $ack, =S: hard disk is $etter. These are mo$ile hard disks and ha!e a flash RAM that can $e connected to the =S: port to store data in capacities of 2@, /9, @5, 291 M: and @ G:, 93 G:. The price range starts from Rs /,333. A 53 G: 4533 rpm disk costs Rs 5,433. Some $rands a!aila$le in the market are Samsung, Seagate, Ma%tor, and -estern 0igital.

A. Selec"io# fea"ures of a &ard dis0

i. T&e i#"erface speedG All recent model mother$oards and hard disks support the 0.8ATA interface. &or those who need to work with huge files at $laCing speeds, a S#S hard disk is the $est option. :ut this will require a S#S host adapter. The 0.8ATA interface a!aila$le now is rated at 233 M$ps. :ut a faster interface alone won<t ha!e a great $earing on the performance. The controller too has to support it. That<s where your mother$oard specs come in.

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IT Applications and Agriculture Bioinformatics IPTMA 512 OVERVIEW O !OMP"TER #AR$WARE ii. Spi#dle speed+ The faster the speed, $etter the performance, ranging from 4533 rpm to B933 rpm for ordinary purposes. &or !ideo rendering sort of work , go for higher speeds or opt for S#S dri!es that offer e!en 23333 to 24333 rpm speeds. iii. See0 "i%e+ This is measured in milliseconds. ,ow quickly can the disk store or retrie!e data influences the disk performance. The lesser the seek time, the faster the disk performance. Nowadays hard disks are coming with faster spindle speeds, larger caches, $etter relia$ility, and increased data transmission speeds. 0. is the commonly used hard disk. New standard known as Serial ATA )Serial Advanced Technology Attachment*. is around now and is destined to $ecome Hthe standardI

B. Tips for !e""er dis0 %a#a$e%e#"

"artition, defragment, remo!e temporary files )files with e%tension .tmp*, check for $ad sectors , remo!e unused programs regularly, regularly scan for !iruses, protect the data and $e organiCed.

1. MON(TOR

Mo#i"or is the face of "#. The right monitor can make working on the "# a much more pleasant e%perience for our eyes. There are more and $etter choices a!aila$le. The regular monitor is $ased on cathode ray tu$e )#RT*, suita$le to produce certain kinds of images, like motion !ideo. #olor cali$ration )setting the monitors colors to match the print colors for images'useful for graphic designers* is much easier on such monitors. ,owe!er #RTs take a lot of room on our desk and are usually hea!y and $ulky. #RTs aren<t too comforta$le to work on for long hours. +iquid crystal displays contain a thin layer of liquid crystals that $end light

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IT Applications and Agriculture Bioinformatics IPTMA 512 OVERVIEW O !OMP"TER #AR$WARE when an electric current is applied to them. +#0 monitors are much easier on eyes, and consume far less desktop space compared to #RTs.

A. 2EAT)RES O2 A MON(TOR
i. Si3e a#d resolu"io#+ "&e !i$$er4 "&e !e""er
.!ery

monitor screen has a fi%ed num$er of dots or pi%els that get illuminated to form the images we see. The num$er of dots that get illuminated in a row and column is the monitor resolution. Typical resolutions are @53 % 513, 133 % @33, and 2395 % B@1. A higher resolution gi!es more desktop area to play around with. Feep our screen resolution set to at least 133 % @33 pi%els since many programs and utilities are designed to work with at least this resolution for the $iggest monitor a!aila$le with the highest resolution supported. 2BJ monitors are quite afforda$le at Rs B333 nowadays, and can greatly enhance the !iewa$le area compared to 24J monitors. 25J monitors are all $ut o$solete. A designer who may need a 2DJ or 92J monitor which are e%pensi!e )2DJ costs Rs 21,333 while 92J costs Rs 49,333.* siCe and the resolution are interrelated. Generally, the $igger the monitor, the higher we can keep our resolution. ,igher resolution mean that we<ll $e a$le to keep more windows open at the same time and will ha!e more space on the screen to display. (n a 2BJ monitor, we can work comforta$ly at 2395 % B@1 resolution. get an +#0 monitor that dou$les as a T7 with an in$uilt T7 tuner, and some $asic speakers. +#0 T7s use a florescent $acklight to send light through its liquid crystal molecules and a polariCing su$strate. +#0 T7s work passi!ely, with red, green and $lue pi%els. :y applying !oltage to the pi%els using a matri% of wires, the pi%els can $e darkened to pre!ent the $acklight from showing through. Many +#0 displays dou$le as computer displays $y allowing standard analogue 7GA input, a great option if you need your display to pull dou$le duty as a "# monitor to sa!e money and space. Nearly all +#0 T7s offer fle%i$le mounting options including walls or under ca$inets. are a!aila$le in more siCe options. #ontrast ratios are also a$o!e 2333G2 ) t represents how finely close shades of colour can $e separately distinguished.* multimedia panels suita$le for malls and corporate places. "lasma screens are a network of red, green and $lue phosphors )each triad makes up a single pi%el* mounted $etween two thin layers of glass. "lasma screens use a small electric pulse for each pi%el to e%cite the rare natural gases argon, neon and %enon used to produce the color information and light. As electrons e%cite the phosphors, o%ygen atoms dissipate and create plasma, emitting =7 light. These rare gases actually ha!e a life and fade o!er time.

Go

Monitor

-e

+#0s

"lasma

ii. Refres& ra"e+ arou#d 5. H3

Refresh

rate is measured in hertC, and all !ideo cards and monitors ha!e a ma%imum refresh rate at a particular resolution. The refresh rate determines how many times the screen is refreshed in a second. ,igh refresh rate is desira$le for continuous image effect $ut also puts a lot of strain on the !iewer<s eyes. &or a monitor, aim for a refresh rate of around B96B4,C. ,igher refreshes for $igger monitors is prefera$le though it can spoil the image quality as well. set refresh rate, go to the #ontrol "anel and dou$le6click on 0isplay. #lick the Settings ta$, and then the Ad!anced $utton. -e find the refresh rate setting under the AAdapter<

To

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IT Applications and Agriculture Bioinformatics IPTMA 512 OVERVIEW O !OMP"TER #AR$WARE ta$. Set monitor to a resolution that will allow a refresh rate of a" leas" 56 H3. Anything lower causes flicker.

iii. Color+ "&e ri$&" color dep"& The color depth determines the num$er of unique colors monitor can display, and is determined $y the !ideo card. Go to ASettings< ta$ under display properties for ncreasing the color depth to 2@6$it color to impro!e image quality on the screen. A good !ideo card will e!en support 956$it and /96$it colors. t<s $etter to keep the setting to 2@6$it since higher color depths mean slowing down the "#. iii. Do" pi"c&+ less "&a# 6.3%% This refers to the horiContal distance $etween pi%els on our screen. A smaller dot pitch leads to sharper images, so always opt for monitors with a low dot pitch. A horiContal dot pitch of 3.9@ or less is ;ust fine for a 24J monitor. &or a 2BJ monitor, around 3./ should $e okay.
K f the dot pitch has $een measured diagonally, multiply the !alue with 3.1@@ to find out the horiContal dot pitch.

i,. Co#"rols+ di$i"al4 #o" a#alo$ (lder 25J and 24J monitors normally came with analog controls for $rightness, contrast, horiContal and !ertical siCe ad;ustments. :ut newer monitors come with digital controls. These ha!e enhanced controls for color temperature, trapeCoid ad;ustment, and de6gauss. (!er a period of regular use, the monitor might show discoloration. This is known as Agaussing<. A degauss control, if present, takes care of this pro$lem.

B. STEPS TO ENHANCE A MON(TOR7S PER2ORMANCE

C&oose "&e ri$&" place t<s important to keep monitor in the right position to reduce eyestrain. Feep its screen away from any kind of direct light source, such as a fluorescent tu$e, or light $ul$. 0on<t keep monitor facing towards or directly $ehind a door or window, if they<re close $y? &or an ergonomically correct position, keep the monitor right in front of key$oard

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IT Applications and Agriculture Bioinformatics IPTMA 512 OVERVIEW O !OMP"TER #AR$WARE /eep a-ay fro% o"&er applia#ces Feep the monitor away from items like speakers, ="S, etc. These create strong magnetic fields that can mess up the colors we see on the screen, and e!en cause color patches. C&a#$e "&e se""i#$s Ad;ust the display settings properly like refresh rate, resolution, and color depth.

To change these settings go to the Co#"rol Pa#el and dou$le6click on the Display icon
and click on the Se""i#$s ta$. These settings are determined not only $y the monitor, $ut also the display card hidden inside a computer.

C. CHEC/ 8(ST
#heck the refresh rate'we should get a refresh rate of 13 ,C for our chosen resolution 0ot6pitch siCe'3.9@ mm or less for a 246inch monitor and 3./ or less for a 2B6inch 0igital controls for de6gauss, color temperature, trapeCoid ad;ustment and pincushion ad;ustment. Stay away from astigmatic monitors'switch the monitor on and check out if the lines appear $ent or $roken. A!oid monitors with color patches.

NOTE+ All prices %e#"io#ed are o#ly i#dica"i,e a" "&e "i%e of prepari#$ "&is %a"erial. T&ere -ill !e price ,aria"io#s.

5. /E9BOARD

A key$oard is in input de!ice for gi!ing instructions to the "#. Fey$oards range from Rs 5B4 to Rs 5,433. There are key$oards with 232 to 223 keys, -in D4 key$oards, and multimedia ones. -ireless key$oards are slowly gaining popularity.

:. MO)SE

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IT Applications and Agriculture Bioinformatics IPTMA 512 OVERVIEW O !OMP"TER #AR$WARE

The mouse which connects the user to gi!e instructions to the "# now comes with the =S: port connecti!ity making it e%tremely easy to install. Radio frequency )R&* mice and key$oards ha!e $een around for the past year or so. The $est ones in this category are optical cordless mice that ha!e sensors to detect motion. They send info wirelessly to a recei!er connected to a "#'which means that we<re not tied to the desk. -e can $e as far away as si% feet and we don<t e!en need to $e in line6of6sight. :ut wireless technology has $een slow to take off.

;. PR(NTERS
Go for a mono laser if cost per page is the prime concern, and good quality te%t prints at high speeds are needed or a dot matri% printer if per page costs are crucial, and high speeds or quality are not so important, then dot matri% printer is good enough or An ink;et for all other purposes A. <o!-specific pri#"i#$ &or home printing needs like taking prints of a school pro;ect, greeting cards, letters and resumes and family photos, we can go for a color ink;et that costs a$out Rs @,333 or less. Remem$er that this is not for hea!y6duty printing. They aren<t fast, $ut gi!e good quality te%t and color prints. &or taking prints of high quality digital pictures, or the sales report that shows the region6 wise $reakup, or for graphics design which needs to $e shown to clients frequently, a color ink;et $etween Rs 1,333 and Rs 23,333 can do the ;o$. Some of these are sold as photo6 quality printers'$ut we need to use photo paper to take full ad!antage of the prints. A lot of them also print well on plain paper. B. Selec"io# cri"eria of des0=e" pri#"er i. Dpi #eeds+ 933 dpi is good for te%t prints. &or most color prints for the home, @33 dpi is good enough. Most printers $elow Rs @,333 offer this resolution. Graphics designers need resolution of B93 dpi and a$o!e. &or photo6quality, go for 2,933 dpi and a$o!e. ii+ A,aila!ili"y of co%po#e#"s+ #heck the cost of other components that need replacing and maintenance and their a!aila$ility. iii. (#0-sa,i#$ %e"&odsGMost ink;ets come with techniques that let us gauge how much of ink is left in the cartridges'so we can $uy a replacement in time. Some come with translucent co!ers to let us ;udge how much ink is left. (thers let us find it out from the printer software that we<ll load on our "# to run the printer. i,. Pri#"er dri,ers a#d ca!les+ -e need to check that a printer has dri!ers for the en!ironment that we<re working on, like Mac or -indows 9333. Also ensure that it comes

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IT Applications and Agriculture Bioinformatics IPTMA 512 OVERVIEW O !OMP"TER #AR$WARE with a ca$le and with =S: support. Most printers today ha!e this, making them e%tremely easy to setup. ,. Refills+ #artridges cost a lot. "rices ha!e come down nowadays with all the ma;or printer firms trying to fight the refills and gray market cartridges. Refills may not $e prefera$le as some pro$lems are e%perienced and all printer manufacturers warn of nullifying the warranty in the e!ent of use of any refill. ,i. Speed a#d pri#" >uali"y+ The two most important things to look for in a printer are how fast it can print and how good it can print. The speed tests are done at the lowest supported resolution of the printer, whereas the quality tests are done at its ma%imum resolution. ,ii. Price per pa$e The price of the printer isn<t the sole guiding factor for $uying a printer. Running cost is also !ery important. #heck price per e!ery page. &ind out the price of the ink cartridges and the num$er of pages each cartridge can print. &or e%ample, if a color cartridge costs Rs 9333 and it can print 933 pages then the price per page would $e Rs 23, which means each printout is Rs 23. 0o remem$er to check the co!erage taken $y the printer manufacturer for this. A cartridge would $e rated to gi!e 433 pages with a co!erage of 4L of the paper area. Now if we print more than that, the num$er of pages we<ll get using that cartridge would $e much less. The num$er of pages we get also depends on the mode we print in'for instance printing in the Super economy mode would gi!e more pages, while :est mode won<t gi!e as many. Also the print speeds for color are lower than printing $lack te%t. ,iii. <a% free fea"ure+ -hile no printer guarantees total ;am6free printing, they make dealing with ;ams a little easier. Feep the paper aligned accurately and see that papers aren<t stuck to each other in a stack. t<s when the paper going in doesn<t go in the direction it should, or when the printer picks up more than one paper at a time that there<s a possi$ility of a ;am. &inally, make sure the printer has the right warranty, the right ca$les and the right software to go with it.

16. SCANNERS

A scanner con!erts analog data into digital. t copies an electronic image of the document or o$;ect we scan on to the "#. -e can then work on that image. Most scanners today are $ased on ##0 technology, used for years in de!ices such as fa%es. A desktop scanner has thousands of ##0 elements that con!ert light into an electrical charge. t con!erts the reflectance into analog !oltage and then to digital !alues. Another technology #ontact mage Sensor )# S* was de!eloped during the late 2DD3s. The # S scanners are thinner, lighter, more efficient in terms of use of energy and cheap to manufacture. :ut when it

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IT Applications and Agriculture Bioinformatics IPTMA 512 OVERVIEW O !OMP"TER #AR$WARE comes to decent scan results, # S scanners ha!e not $een a$le to produce good quality scans. Scanners used to $e $ulky, e%pensi!e de!ices with a!erage image quality. &or high6res, we had to pay $ig money. Not anymore. Technology has gi!en them a facelift and today we find sleek scanners that don<t cost a $om$ and are efficient when it comes to details. A resolution of @33 % 2933 dpi, 516$it color depth and =S: 9.3 connecti!ity are ;ust some of the features that ha!e $ecome standard in a $udget scanner, costing around Rs 564F.

A. Selec"io# 2ea"ures of a sca##er

i. Resolu"io# of "&e sca##er Resolution refers to the clarity and sharpness of an image. ,igher the resolution, sharper would $e the picture. ?&ile selec"i#$ a sca##er pay a""e#"io# "o "&e Op"ical resolu"io# of a sca##er a#d #o" "&e (#"erpola"ed resolu"io#. (ptical resolution is the actual resolution at which the scanner will capture the image we<re scanning. nterpolated resolution is what the scanner uses to make the scanned image sharper. nterpolation is a process of enhancing a scanned image $y filling more dots into it. The software goes through the scanned image and figures out the siCe and color of the dot. :ased on that, it inserts more. This makes the image softer. -hile it<s a useful feature, we don<t choose one scanner o!er another purely on this. Till the late 2DD3s a typical scanner would ha!e a resolution of /33 % /33 dpi, which has now shot up to @33 % 2933 dpi. This is quite decent for home use. ,igher resolutions such as 2933 % 9533 dpi are $etter suited for design professionals. ii. Color dep"& This is the num$er of colors a scanner can recogniCe and scan. &or home or office use, a 956 $it scanner will gi!e !ery good results while scanning photographs etc. f we work e%tensi!ely with graphics for pu$lishing, consider a scanner with a higher color depth. Most of the scanners on the market now are 516$it, which gi!es saturated color image with 912 trillion colors. iii. 2ree sof"-are The scanner totally depends on the software to $ring out its true colors. Apart from image editing and !iewing software, one of the most important programs to ha!e around is the (#R software. iii. Easy co##ec"i,i"y "o PC+ As against the $ygone era of parallel connecti!ity, the trend now is towards =S: connecti!ity and we<ll find that most scanners these days ha!e =S: 9.3 connecti!ity. This means they<ll work faster. i,. O#e-!u""o# sca#+ Most scanners now come with one6$utton scanning (ne6touch functionality has $ecome a default with scanners that let us scan, copy, mail to -e$ or e6 mail with ;ust a push of a $utton.

B. )ses of a fla" !ed sca##er

-e can #reate a digital scrap$ook of our choice

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IT Applications and Agriculture Bioinformatics IPTMA 512 OVERVIEW O !OMP"TER #AR$WARE Scan pictures to send o!er mail to friends and family .%plore computer art'scan anything and make collages and original works of art Make an e%clusi!e e6$ook collection ,a!e fun with pictures'morph, animate them Spruce up -e$site ali!e with scanned pictures and designs #onser!e old pictures'turn them digital and store them on #0s Gi!e the right impact with presentation'sprinkle it with rele!ant scanned pictures Sa!e time typing when copying from $ooks'scan the te%t and use (#R to turn it into an edita$le form Scan images for use in newsletters, design catalogues, product $rochures, etc Get a second opinion'scan past prescriptions and reports, and consult a scientist from another city, state or country o!er e6mail Scan images for use in pro;ects

11. )PS
An ="S encompasses $attery and some electronics inside that connects "# to the mains power outlet. -hen the power fails, the ="S continues to power "# from the $attery to a!oid interruption. -hene!er the $attery of a ="S starts running out, it $egins to $eep, indicating "# to shut down. Ad!anced ="Ss connect to the computer<s serial port, and use software to force the computer to JgracefullyJ shut down $efore powering off. A #onstant 7oltage Transformer )#7T* can only regulate the !oltage fed to "# and at $est offer protection against spikes and surges. f the power fails, a #7T will turn off, taking away with it any unsa!ed work on a "#. And if the power keeps going off and coming $ack repeatedly, hard disk could get damaged. So it<s $etter to in!est a little e%tra in a ="S than to go for a #7T.

A. )PS @s C@T

B. 2ea"ures of a desira!le )PS+

All ="Ss are identified with two parameters' 7olt Amps )7A* rating and the technology followed. The 7A rating is the amount of load that a ="S can handle. The load could $e anything that is connected to ="S'a "#, printer, etc. i. @ol"a$e re$ula"io#+ An ="S should ha!e good !oltage regulation and not act up if the frequency of the supply !aries from the required 43 cycles per second. ="S should $e a$le to isolate itself from the mains power if the incoming !oltage is more than 9@3 or less than 2D3. (therwise, such !ery high or low !oltages will reach computer and do it no good. t has special circuitry to eliminate electrical fluctuations and isn<t damaged $y ordinary fluctuations. Most ="Ss can withstand !oltages as high as 9B3 !olts. :ut in some ="Ss, a fuse will $low or circuit6$reaker will trip. The line !oltages )ma%imum and minimum* at which a ="S can supply power to a "# without switching to $attery, is !ery important for long $attery life. A good ="S should not switch to $attery e!en when the line !oltage !aries $y 93L of 9937. ii. Po-er ra"i#$+ To calculate the capacity )or 7A rating* of ="S, first calculate the operating power of computer and its de!ices. &or instance, at the $ack of monitor we may find that it<s rated at 223 7olts and 2.4 amps'that makes its operating power 2@4 7A )7 %

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IT Applications and Agriculture Bioinformatics IPTMA 512 OVERVIEW O !OMP"TER #AR$WARE A*. n this manner, check the rating of each de!ice'the computer, printer, fa% machine, etc, and add up the total power. =sually, 433 7A rating is the most common for home use. deally this rating should $e a$le to handle a load equi!alent of three "entium machines with 24J color monitors. A lot of ="Ss a!aila$le in the market are o!errated. So a 433 7A ="S may not actually $e of this rating, $ut much less. iii. Tec&#olo$y "o pic0+ Any ="S should ha!e A7R )automatic !oltage regulator* function $uilt in to regulate the supply !oltage. An offline ="S is the cheapest and among the most common ones for home use. t lets "# run on mains, keeping itself offline. -hen mains power fails, it switches to $attery through a relay'taking around 4 milliseconds)ms*, small enough for the "# to o!erlook. An online ="S is $igger and more e%pensi!e. t always stays online ie., it supplies always power to "# from $attery, and another circuit keeps the $attery charged. -hen the mains fails, the $attery keeps on supplying power. So there<s no switcho!er in!ol!ed, $ecause it<s always online. +ine6interacti!e has the $est of $oth $ut is e%pensi!e and pro!ides $etter power protection. i,. S-i"c&o,er+ Switcho!er time is the time )M23ms ideally* taken $y a ="S to switch to $attery when the mains power fails. Another factor is the switcho!er !oltage range. This is the minimum and ma%imum input !oltage that a ="S can take without switching o!er to $attery. deally this range is 2B@69@5 7. ,. Bac0 up+ ="S should gi!e enough $ackup time so that we can sa!e the work and safely shut down. The $ackup time gi!en on a ="S is for full load which means the complete load with all connected systems like monitor, printer, scanner, modem etc. Since this is rarely the case, the actual $ackup time is much more. The $ackup time in ="S systems is determined $y its $atteries. Most ="S ha!e $uilt6in maintenance6free $atteries. Their rating and quantity determine $ackup time. Most of them ha!e a $ackup time of 24693 minutes at full capacity. ="S6generator com$ination is needed for longer $ackup time.

1 . D('(TA8 CAMERA
0igital camera comes with accessories like a battery pack, 0igital cameras consume more power than the film6$ased cameras do, plus they ha!e the added power consumption of the +#0 pre!iew screen. So it<s !ery important that they ha!e enough power to last a good num$er of shots. t<s !ery important that the $attery $e rechargea$le a memory card, The 1 M:, 2@ M: memory cards that come with camera are ;ust not good enough. :uy an e%tra /9 or @5 M: card. &loppy6$ased cameras are also a!aila$le. an AC po er adapter and

something to connect camera to the !C.

A. Selec"io# cri"eria for di$i"al ca%era

1. Resolu"io#+ This is usually gi!en in mega pi%els. n market, cameras of 5,4, B M" are a!aila$le. Also make sure that the stated resolution is not an interpolated figure. An interpolated resolution is one that has $een enhanced after the image has $een taken, $y adding to the recorded pi%els. This enhancement can $e easily done on any image manipulation software, so there is no need to pay more for this feature. . The memory

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IT Applications and Agriculture Bioinformatics IPTMA 512 OVERVIEW O !OMP"TER #AR$WARE Normally cameras ship with either some on $oard memory or a complimentary memory card, neither of which will generally e%ceed /9 M:. Mostly, if you ha!e 4 M" camera you should $e fine with a 94@ M: stick. 3. Size of Sensor +ook for the siCe of the ##0 )#harge6coupled de!ice*. ##0 is akin to the film of non6digital cameras. As a thum$ rule, larger the ##0 $etter the image quality irrespecti!e of the M" count. t>s something like the difference $etween a B3mm and /4mm film. 4. PictBridge PictBridge is t,e standard for printing p,otos directl- from -our digicam. All t,e printer manufacturers including #P/ !anon and 0oda1 ,a2e pict3ridge compati3le printers a2aila3le. 4ote t,at t,is feature is important onl- if -ou ,a2e a PictBridge ena3led printer or plan to 3u- one. 5. Startup time T,e startup time is t,e time it ta1es t,e camera to 3e read- to s,oot a frame once -ou press t,e 5on5 3utton. T,is again 2aries 6uite a 3it from camera to camera and can 3e as lo7 as 1 second. 6. Zoom The Coom is di!ided into two partsG optical and digital. The optical Coom is the amount the lens Cooms in, while the digital Coom is when we actually Coom into an already taken picture. Again, this latter effect is possi$le in any image manipulation software. =nlike optical Coom, digital Coom is software enhanced and will gi!e you pictures lacking sharpness and clarity and should $e a!oided where!er possi$le. The more the optical Coom you ha!e, the $etter )and more e%pensi!e* the digicam. Most cameras today come with a /% optical Coom coupled with some amount of digital Coom. Since you can use the two in con;unction with each other, camera makers would gi!e you figures like D% smart Coom or something to trick you into thinking that the camera offers a higher Coom than it actually does. 7. Auto focus Sometimes you ;ust want to click a picture quickly without ha!ing time to ad;ust. At such times the auto focus mode works really well. To test this, ;ust put the camera on auto and click photographs in a !ariety of settings, say inside the shop, in a dark corner, with the Coom on, and of course in $right sunlight to test if its automatic e%posure settings work properly. . !anua" settings .!en though most digital cameras come with fairly good Auto modes, a lot of manufacturers are increasingly $undling in more and more manual configura$ility options !ia either the manual mode or the "rogram Mode )mostly denoted $y "*. .nsure that your camera allows you to manually set at least the following featuresG -hite :alance, Aperture siCe, Shutter Speed, S( )##0 sensiti!ity* settings and choose the correct metering mode which is the way a camera detects the correct e%posure setting, usually #enter, Matri% and Spot. #. Burst !ode :urst mode is when the camera takes multiple shots in e%tremely quick successions. A camera can take around 24 shots at a stretch $efore it needs to write it to the main memory. Note that the speed at which the camera can take the shots as well as the num$er of shots it can take !ary from camera to camera. Also note that the speed at which the camera can write the information to the memory media depends on the media itself. &or e%ample, a camera can write fairly slowly on a memory stick $ut will write faster on a memory stick pro media while the fastest write speeds are achie!ed on a S0 card. $%. &"ash and recharge

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IT Applications and Agriculture Bioinformatics IPTMA 512 OVERVIEW O !OMP"TER #AR$WARE 0epending on the lighting condition as well as the su$;ect $eing shot, you can choose from the !arious flash modes a!aila$le. These are typically Auto, Slow8Synch and Red .ye Reduction. A lot of cameras today support manual flash attachments which let you add an e%ternal flash to them. (nce you ha!e used the flash you will need to gi!e the camera sometime to recharge the flash $efore you can re6use it. This is known as &lash Recharge Time and !aries from camera to camera and can $e from 2 second to @6B seconds. $$.'mage sa(ing format f you camera allows you to and you do choose to sa!e the pictures in RA- or T && format, the image siCe will $e larger than N".G and you might not find e!en a 94@ M: stick adequate. )omparison of Ana"og *ith +igita" Recording 8ig,t Ana"og Blac19and97,ite film is coated 7it, 7,at is called an emulsion la-er/ 7,ic, 7,en e:posed ;i.e./ t,e s,utter opens and lets lig,t ,it t,e film< c,anges t,e ,alide cr-stals c,emicall-. T,e de2eloping and printing processes translates t,is into an image. !olour film ,as three emu"sion "ayers/ eac, one reacting to a primar- colour of red/ green or 3lue lig,t. !oupler d-es mi: to appro:imate t,e actual colour of t,e lig,t t,at first ,it t,e film. +igita" T,e image sensor in t,e digital camera is made up of t,ousands of p,otosites 7,ic, turn "ight energy into digita" information. B- com3ining information a3out ,ue and intensit-/ t,e camera assigns a specific colour to eac, pi:el. !reating an Image Ana"og In t,e de2elopment process/ film is 3at,ed in c,emicals to form pure sil2er. T,e parts 7it, t,e least e:posure are t,e most transparent/ and t,e parts t,at 7ere most e:posed to lig,t are 3lac1 or opa6ue. T,is same process is true for colour film/ e:cept t,at t,e d-e couplers are also included in t,e process. T,e film is =fi:ed= to pre2ent furt,er c,emical reactions/ creating a negati2e. To print/ a 2er- 3rig,t lig,t is s,ined t,roug, t,e film onto t,e p,otograp,ic paper/ 7,ic, is co2ered 7it, an emulsion la-er 2er- similar to t,at of film. T,e negati2e image no7 3ecomes a positi2e creating t,e p,otograp,. +igita" A digital camera records lig,t electricall-. T,is =information= t,en 3ecomes an image. A microc,ip inside t,e camera con2erts t,e digital reading from eac, indi2idual sensor and com3ines it 7it, information from t,e surrounding p,otosites. A colour is assigned to a particular pi:el. T,ousands or millions of pi:els are com3ined into a single computer file 7,ic, can t,en 3e do7nloaded.

13. ?EB CAMERA

-e$cams are used to take snapshots or record short !ideo clips which you can then send $y e6mail to friends and relati!es around the world. Another cool place where -e$cams can $e put to use is !ideo chat which lets us actually see the person we are chatting with.

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IT Applications and Agriculture Bioinformatics IPTMA 512 OVERVIEW O !OMP"TER #AR$WARE

A. Selec"io# cri"eria for -e! ca%era

i. Nu%!er of resolu"io#s suppor"ed+ -e$cams support many different resolutions so you can use the pictures for different purposes. &or e%ample while !ideo chatting you will use a lower resolution to sa!e $andwidth. And while recording a !ideo, you<d like a higher resolution. That<s why this is important. ii. Co%pressio# for%a"s suppor"ed Ausi#$ !u#dled sof"-areB+ After a snapshot or a !ideo clip is captured sa!e it using some format'N"G, or A7 . The more the num$er of supported formats, the easier it<s. iii. Opera"i#$ sys"e%s suppor"ed+ t is $etter it it can $e launched or a !ariety of (perating systems like windows, macintosh. i,. Bu#dled sof"-are+ The software accompanying some of the -e$ cams let us !ideo chat, edit our !ideo clips and still images. Some also come with security software'this lets us use -e$cam as a security camera. ,. A,era$e fra%e ra"e duri#$ play!ac0+ &rame rate refers to the total num$er of frames played per second. A full motion !ideo has a frame rate of a$out /3 fps. ,igher frame rate is desira$le. ,i. Play!ac0 >uali"y+ t should $e free from flickering, color mismatches, e%cessi!e $lurring during play$ack, etc. Some of the -e$cams a!aila$le are 7cam .ye for "# :M "# #amera +ogitech Ouick#am ,ome Net7iew "# #amera Fensington 7ideo#AM #reati!e -e$#am Go "lus Fensington 7ideo#AM Super 7GA +ogitech Ouick#am "ro

1*. MODEM
A modem is like a telephone for a computer to communicate with other computers o!er telephone lines. :roadly, a modem<s performance depends on the characteristics of the modem and those of the telephone line it is working with. The condition of telephone lines !aries widely across the country. So how your modem works will depend to a large e%tent on the telephone line. There<re se!eral different types of noise that can happen either indi!idually or in com$ination in a telephone line. 0ifferent modems react differently to these. And there<s no way you can identify which of these conditions affect your line. So no$ody can correctly predict which modem will work the $est on your line. Tes" i" o# your p&o#e li#e

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IT Applications and Agriculture Bioinformatics IPTMA 512 OVERVIEW O !OMP"TER #AR$WARE There<s no other way out. Pou<ll ha!e to con!ince your !endor to test the modem at your place, and to take it $ack if it does not work properly. (#"er#al or eC"er#alD f you<re $uying a modem separately, go for an e%ternal fa%6modem. .%ternal ones are easier to install. They cost Rs 9,333 upward. :uy the cheapest one that works okay with your line, gi!ing you a steady high6speed connect for at least an hour. f you get an internal modem card pre6installed when you $uy a new "#, that<s okay, if it<s a 4@ k$ps fa%6modem. An internal card does ha!e one ad!antageG it reduces clutter. Again, it helps to check that it<s working okay on your line, else you may need to change it O"&er %ode% fea"ures True plu$-a#d-play -i"& )SB f you<re looking for swift installs and con!enience, go for a =S: modem. They cost a$out Rs 5,333. T&e a#s-eri#$ %ac&i#e %ode% f you<re looking for a modem that<s also a digital answering machine and a fa% machine, go for a message modem. Message modems can store !oice messages and fa%es e!en while the "# is switched off. (nce the computer is switched on, these messages are transferred to it and can then $e heard or !iewed. Some also let you retrie!e the messages from a remote location'all you ha!e to do is call up your message modem.

1.. (PODS

iPod is a $rand of porta$le media players designed and marketed $y Apple #omputer. t stores media on a $uilt6in hard dri!e, while the smaller i"od use flash memory )ie., with additional memory*. t functions as a mass storage de!ice for storage of user files and can transfer files from and to computer using its memory. -ith an ipod, there is no need of carrying $ulky floppies8 #0s for carrying data and presentations outside. t works on Mac and -indows )present models* platforms. Q-e can keep track of meetings, schedules, deadlines to meet targets, organiCe our acti!ities using an ipod.

-ith time, ipods are e!ol!ed considering the features of Q lighter weight QSmaller siCe Qcolor displays Q7ideo playing Q.%tenda$le memory

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IT Applications and Agriculture Bioinformatics IPTMA 512 OVERVIEW O !OMP"TER #AR$WARE Q"latform compati$ility The present models a!aila$le are ipod )to play audio*, ipod nano )to play audio and !iew images* and ipod !ideo )to play audio, !ideo and images*.
,-T./ The technica" specifications of a"" the parts mentioned here *i"" (ary 0ecause of faster ad(ances in 'T hard*are. 1ou may update on each topic at the time of referring this artic"e.

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