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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) CONCEPTS

Information Technology (IT) is a broad subject related to computers and how computers
are used for the management and processing of information, especially within large
organizations. Many large companies have departments full of IT equipments and
computer techniques called IT departments to facilitate their work.

A Computer System is an electronic device that can be programmed to accept data as

input, process it and give an output as information. Computers perform a variety of
functions such as:-

 Writing letters
 Browsing the Internet
 Sending e-mail messages
 Playing games
 Helping to balance your budget (accounting)

Data is the raw material that is given to the computer to process whiles Information is the
end results of processed data.

There are two basic things that make up the computer systems. These are the hardware
and software. All the physical components of the computer that can be seen or touch is
called hardware. Software is the set of instructions or programs that tells the computer
how to work.

Types of Computers

Mainframe

A mainframe is a big, powerful, expensive computer that can support many users at the
same time. Large businesses and organizations use mainframes. It has enormous
capacity than the capacity of several thousands of PCs and its speed is very fast, much
faster than a PC and very expensive. It can usually only be afforded by large
organizations.

Mini Computers

This type of computer performs the same task as the mainframe but on a smaller scale.
The can support about hundreds of users at a time. It is used by small organizations.

Micro Computers or Personal Computers (PC)

A PC is a personal computer designed by IBM way back as in the 1980s. Many different
companies such as Compaq, HP, Dell etc make PCs, but most of them are IBM-
compatible. As the name implies, the PC is used by one person at a time. There are
different types of PCs. These are:-

Desktop PCs: – this type of PCs normally install with the systems unit lying flat
on the desk with the monitor on top of it.

Tower PCs: - Tower PCs have their system unit installed upright like a tower.

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Network PCs: - These are PCs connected together to share a common

resource such as printers, data or Information, internet etc.

Portable PCs: - these computers that are handy and mobile. Examples are
Laptops and notebooks

Computer systems do vary, in size, cost and capacity, depending upon the task that they
are required to perform. In this course, we are primarily concerned about Personal
Computer (PC) systems, suitable for small business or home use. The diagram below
shows a typical personal computer system.

Fig 1: Basic Computer System

A computer system is made up of a number of different sub-component systems which

together allow the system to perform its function. These sub-component systems have
been divided into three (3) units. These are Input Unit, System Unit (processing and
storage) and Output Units.

Input Unit

The following section discusses the functioning of a number of input devices. Input
devices allow the user to input information (data) into the computer for analysis or
storage, as well as give commands to the computer. Examples of input devices are
keyboards, scanners, mice, bar-wands, and touch screens.

Keyboards
The keyboard is the most widely used means of entering information into a computer.
Pressing a key on the keyboard generates a code that represents the character
associated with the key.

The two main codes associated with computers are ASCII and EBCDIC. ASCII is a seven
bit code, so characters generated by the keyboard are made available as a seven bit
code (a total of 128 different combinations). ASCII stands for American Standard Code for
Information Interchange. EBCDIC stands for Extended Binary Coded Decimal
Interchange Code, and is used primarily by IBM.

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An example of a command might be to run a chequebook

program or dial up a remote computer. You can learn more
about keyboards

Keyboard Usage in Data Application Systems

Common keys, and their usage in data applications, are

 SHIFT used to generate other key combinations

 SHIFT LOCK lock other key combinations
 ESCAPE cancel/undo/clear previous/current entry
 CAPS LOCK enable upper-case characters
 TAB move from entry field to another
 CONTROL used in combination with function keys
 RETURN accept current entry
 BACKSPACE delete the character to the left of the cursor
 DELETE delete the current character
 FUNCTION KEYS specific actions, F1=save, F2=load, F3=menu
 ARROW KEYS move from entry field to another
 BREAK/RESET abort entry, return to menu
 NUMERIC KEYPAD for numeric input data

Mouse
A mouse is an inverted trackball device that has a number of selection buttons associated with it.
The hand moves it across a flat surface, and its position is displayed on the screen. As the mouse is
moved across the surface, its position displayed on the screen is updated to reflect its movement.
The buttons are used to select items and make choices on the screen.

The mouse can significantly reduce user input by moving away from
typing commands at the keyboard to clicking on buttons or other items
displayed on the screen.

Selecting items with the Mouse

Single Click
A single mouse click refers to moving the mouse pointer over the desired item and quickly
pressing the left mouse button once.

Double Click
A double mouse click refers to moving the mouse pointer over the desired item and
quickly pressing the left mouse button twice in rapid succession.

Drag
A drag or move operation is performed by moving the mouse pointer over the desired
item and holding the left mouse button down. The mouse is then used to move to drag the
object or window to the new position, then the left mouse button is released.

Trackballs
This is essentially an inverted mouse with the ball being moved by the users hand or
palm. Unlike a mouse, it stays stationary on the desktop. It was a common device used in

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earlier stand alone arcade games, now is making a comeback with children’s games for
the PC.

Game Pads
Game pads are hand held devices which are used to send position information and button
presses to the computer. The position information is derived from a joystick device, and
usually controls some component in a game, like a plane or car. Buttons allow selection
and in games are used to fire weapons, open doors and perform other tasks.

Scanners
Scanners are devices which scan documents containing text or graphics and convert
them into a bitmap (picture image). The image may be in black and white, gray scale, or
color depending upon the features of the scanner.

System Unit

The system unit holds the computers motherboard, on which the computers memory
storage area (commonly referred to as RAM) and CPU (Central Processing Unit) are
located. RAM holds both programs and data, the larger the RAM size, the more complicated the
programs that can be run, and the more data that can be processed. RAM is measured in Megabytes
(one MB = 1 million characters). A typical size for today’s personal computer systems is 16MB.

The floppy drive and hard drive are storage devices that are
used to keep permanent copies of programs or data. The
floppy drive supports a removable media disk, which the
user can take away and use on another computer system.
The hard drive is considered a non-removable media disk
because it is permanently fixed inside the base unit. Floppy
drives support up to about 1.44MB of data, while fixed disks
support 1.2GB upwards (1200MB or 1200 Million
characters).

 The CPU is the device that actually runs all the programs and processes the data.
Its like the motor of the car, it does all the work and makes things happen. The
PSU (Power Supply Unit) is also located in the base unit, and provides power to
the memory, CPU and other devices.

The Central Processor

The central processor (CPU) is the chip which acts as a control centre for all operations. It
executes instructions (a program) which are contained in the memory section.

Basic operations involve

 the transfer of data between itself and the memory section

 manipulation of data in the memory section or stored internally
 the transfer of data between itself and input/output devices

The CPU is said to be the brains of any computer system. It provides all the timing and
control signals necessary to transfer data from one point to another in the system.

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Types of Computer Memory

System memory consists of two main types.

 ROM (Read Only Memory)

This form of memory contains programs which do not change. Examples of these
are routines which initialise the computer system hardware when power is turned
on. ROM is non-volatile. This means the contents do not disappear when the
power to the system is turned off.

 RAM (Random Access Memory)

This form of memory is used to store data and application programs. The memory
is read-write, and volatile. This means the contents disappear when the power to
the system is turned off.

Storage Devices

Floppy Diskettes

Floppy disks are flexible removable storage media for computers. Floppy
diskettes are made from plastic. A circular disk is enclosed inside a square
protective case. The disk is coated with magnetic particles. The magnetic
particles act as a storage medium for data.

Diskettes are inserted into a floppy drive. The drive spins the diskettes at a speed of
360RPM, and use a read/write head that touches the surface of the diskette. They come
in a range of sizes and storage capacities. The following table shows some common
floppy disk sizes and storage capacities.

Handling Precautions
The following is a summary of correct handling precautions for diskettes.

 Do not touch the exposed surface of the diskette

 Avoid placing the diskette near possible heat sources (on top of the monitor)
 Keep the diskette away from magnetic fields (power supplies, fans, magnets,
monitor displays)
 Do not write on the diskette except for a soft felt pen
 Do not remove or insert the diskette into the drive if the drive light is on
 Don't bend the disk, or leave the diskette lying on the desktop area. Use a proper
storage jacket (for 5¼" diskettes), or store the diskettes in a storage container.

Hard Disk
Hard disk drives are normally referred to as drive C:, drive D:. These drives are fixed (non-
removable) and have a large storage capacity. Hard disks are generally supplied from the
manufacturer as blank, though many new computers now have the operating system pre-installed
on the hard disk drive.

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The disks are low-level formatted first using a special program, which
writes timing and other information to the disk, as well as performing a
surface analysis. The disks are made of thin ceramic or metal, and
coated with magnetic particles. The disks rotate at speeds of 3600RPM
or higher. They are normally air sealed to prevent dust particles and
other debris damaging the surface of the disk.

Optical Disks
Optical disks use laser technology and special crystalline ceramics (amorphous crystal) to
implement data storage. They are similar to an audio compact disk (CD).

Optical disks for PC's store 660MB per disk. They have an access time of about 300ms
(little slower than floppy).

Output Unit

 Monitor
Monitors are devices that allow the computer to display information back to the user. This
might be in either a text or graphical display. Monitors come in various sizes, 14", 15", 17"
and so on. The larger the monitor, the more expensive it is, and the larger the image
displayed on the screen is.

Monitors have a number of important features, screen resolution

refers to the number of dots in the X and Y co-ordinates (640 by
480, or 800 x 600), and refresh rate, which specifies the number of
times per second that the image is drawn on the screen (60Hz
means 60 times per second)..
 Higher screen resolutions like 1024x768 require a large monitor size like 21"
(otherwise it looks so small when viewed on a 14" monitor), and also require a
higher refresh rate like 72Hz, in order to prevent the image on the screen flickering.

 Printer
A printer allows the user to print out on paper a copy of the screen or the data that
is being processed by the computer.

There are two main classifications of printers.

 Impact
In impact printers, the print head mechanism strikes an inked ribbon located
between the print head and the paper. The general features of impact printers are
o uses force by applying hammer pins to strike the paper
o slow speed in characters per second
o prints on most paper types
o transparencies not supported
o multiple copies may be printed at once

The two main types of impact printers are Dot-Matrix and Daisy-Wheel.

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 Non-Impact
With non-impact printers, the print head does not make contact with the paper, and
no inked ribbon is necessary. The general features of non-impact printers are
o print head does not make contact with the paper
o higher speed in characters per second is possible
o prints on most paper types but better quality obtained with better paper
o transparencies usually supported

The two main types of non-impact printers are laser jet and ink-jet

Dot-Matrix Printers
Dot matrix printers are suitable for draft copies and home use, where quality of the
finished type is not critical. Dot matrix printers have tended to become cheap, but now are
being quickly overtaken by cheap laser jet and inkjet printers, which offer higher printing
speeds and superior quality, as well as good color.

 impact printing using an inked ribbon

 characters are formed from a matrix of dots
 the character is built up one column of the matrix at a time
 the print head consists of a number of wires formed vertically, creating one column
of the dot matrix for every strike
 the number of pins in the print head varies
 the more print head pins the better the printed quality
 the print head wires are made of tungsten and are connected to an electronic
solenoid
 a large number of different characters or graphics can be created using a dot
matrix pattern
 speeds up to 250 characters per second (cps) are possible

High speeds causes smudging of the characters, as the print head must stop, fire the
pins, wait for the pins to retract, then move the print head to the next column before firing
again. The less time there is involved between firing the pins means it reaches a stage
where the pins have not fully retracted from the previous firing, which causes smudging
as the print head is moved to the next column position. The character printing speed
restriction is thus based on the physical mechanism being used to print the characters.

Fig 6.48: Panasonic KXP-1150 Dot Matrix Printer © Panasonic

Daisy-Wheel Printers
Daisy wheel printers use a spoked wheel with characters placed at the end of each
spoke. A print hammer is used to strike the desired character onto the ink ribbon and then
the paper.

The spoked wheel of characters is rotated around until the desired character is under the
print hammer, then the print hammer is fired which strikes the character, pushing it
against the ink ribbon, and onto the paper, creating the character. Different fonts are
available by changing the print wheels. Daisy wheel printers were commonly found in

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typewriters. Below is an image of the Brother electronic typewriter which uses a Dasiy
Wheel print mechanism.

Fig 6.50: Brother WP-1700MDS Daisy Wheel printer © Brother

Laser-Jet Printers
LaserJet printers are very common today. Most laser jet printers have been based on the
Canon Print Engine, which originally ran at 4ppm (pages per minute), with a resolution of
300dpi (dots per inch).

A refinement to the print engine has increased the speed of printing and resolution of the
print quality.

How the LaserJet works

 the print information is sent from the computer to the printer

 the printer converts the print information into a series of off and on commands to
the laser, creating corresponding pulses of light
 a spinning mirror deflects the laser beam creating a horizontal line across the
surface of a light sensitive drum
 after creating one horizontal line, the drum rotates (normally about 1/300 of an
inch) and the next horizontal line is drawn by the laser
 paper is drawn into the printer and electrically charged. In the canon based engine
this is a positive charge.
 the drums surface was electrically charged negatively. Each point where the laser
strikes the surface of the drum, it creates a dot of positive charge. Each positive
charge on the surface of the drum represents a black dot which will be printed onto
the paper
 the drum rotates past a container bin which contains a black powder called toner.
The toner is negatively charged, and thus is attracted to the positive areas on the
drums surface which was struck by the laser beam
 the drum is rotated a bit more and the paper is fed onto the drums surface via a
pressure roller, which transfers the black toner onto the paper
 the drum rotates a little further round, the paper is fed past a heating element
which fuses the toner onto the paper and then the paper is fed out of the printer

the drum surface is then returned to a single charge using a corona wire, which removes
all positive

The following diagram below shows a Hewlett Packard Series 5 LaserJet printer.

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Fig 6.53: HP LaserJet 5 Printer

Ink-Jet Printers
Ink-Jet printers have become the standard for home computers and low cost printing.
They offer good quality at an affordable price.

 conductive ink is forced through a small nozzle producing a small droplet of ink,
which is propelled towards the screen surface
 the size and spacing of the ink drops is kept constant by vibrating the nozzle at a
high frequency (100KHz)
 each drop of ink, after leaving the nozzle, is charged as it passes an electrode
 the drops are deflected using another electrode
 characters are formed from a dot-matrix, typically there are 10^3 drops per
character
 print quality is high, speed is slow, typically about 100cps
 good results may require special non-absorbing paper, overhead transparencies
require special material

Fig 6.54: HP DeskJet 680c Printer

SOFTWARE

Computer software is the programs that reside on the hardware. Programs are the set of
instructions that the computer execute to perform its task. A computer without software is
just like a car without fuel. There are basically two (2) types of software. They are,
Operating Systems Software and Application Software or packages.

1. Operating Systems Software

Is the piece of resident software that controls the entire operation of the computer system
both hardware and software and also provides an interface for the user to interact with the
system. There are two types of user interface they are Command Line or Console
interface and Graphical User Interface. (GUI) Example of the console interface is DOS

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operating system and an example of the GUI is the WINDOWS operating system. Note
that, the operating systems acts as intermediate software between the hardware
component and the user application software.

2. Application Software or Package.

These are software’s that helps you perform a specific task such as word processing,
spreadsheets, presentation, database management, graphics, browsing the internet etc.

Example of user application software:

1. Word Processing packages e.g. MS – WORD

2. Spreadsheet packages e.g. MS – EXCEL
3. Presentation packages e.g. MS-POWERPOINT
4. Database packages. e.g. MS-ACCESS
5. Graphic packages. e.g. CorelDRAW
6. Browser. e.g. Internet Explorer

WHAT IS A NETWORK?

A network is defined as two or more computers linked together for the purpose of
communicating and sharing information and other resources such as printers, modems,
fax machines, file etc.

Why Use a Computer Network?

With the availability and power of today's personal computers, you might ask why
networks are needed. From the earliest networks to today's high-powered personal
computers, the answer has remained the same: networks increase efficiency and reduce
costs. Computer networks achieve these goals in three primary ways:

 Sharing information (or data)

 Sharing hardware and software
 Centralizing administration and support

TYPES OF NETWORKS

Local Area Networks (LAN)

A LAN (local area network) is a network that covers a limited distance (usually a single
site or building) and allows sharing of information and resources. A LAN can be as simple
as two connected computers, or as complicated as a large site. This type of network is
very popular because it allows individual computers to provide processing power and
utilize their own memory, while programs and data can be stored on any computer in the
network. Some of the older LANs also include configurations that rely totally on the power
of a mini or mainframe computer (a server) to do all the work. In this case, the
workstations are no more than "dumb" terminals (a keyboard and a monitor). With the
increased power of today's personal computer, these types of networks are rare.

Wide Area Networks (WAN)

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A wide area network (WAN) spans relatively large geographical areas. Connections for
these sites require the use of ordinary telephone lines, ISDN (Integrated Services Digital
Network) lines, radio waves, or satellite links. WANs can be accessed through dial-up
connections, using a modem, or leased line direct connection. The leased-line method is
more expensive but can be cost-effective for transmission of large volumes of data. A
WAN is made up of a number of interconnected LANs. Perhaps the ultimate WAN is the
Internet.

NETWORK MEDIA

Network Cabling

All networks need cables. The three main types are unshielded twisted-pair cable (UTP),
coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable (FDDI—Fiber Distributed Data Interface).

Wireless Network
Wireless networks are attracting attention because wireless components can:
 Provide temporary connections to an existing, cabled network.
 Help provide backup to an existing network.
 Provide some degree of portability.
 Extend networks beyond the limits of physical connectivity.

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