QUIZ 3

1. Describe the four categories of output.
2. The characteristics of LCD monitors, LCD screens, plasma monitors, and HDTVs.
3. What are the components inside the systems units.
4. The components of a processor and how they complete a machine cycle.
5. Define a bit and describe how a series of bits represents data.
6. Identify the categories of application software.
7. Identify the key features of widely used business programs.
8. What are the advantages of using application software on the Web.
9. History of the Internet.
10. What are different storage devices.

ANSWERS:

1.  The Four types of output are text, graphics, audio, and video.

• Text : consists of characters (letters, numbers, punctuation marks, or any other symbol requiring one byte of computer storage space) that are used to create words, sentences, and paragraphs.
• Graphics : are digital representations of nontext information such as drawings, charts, photographs, and animation (a series of still images in rapid sequence that gives the illusion of motion).
• Audio :  is music, speech, or any other sound.
•  Video : consists of images played back at speeds to provide the appearance of full motion. 

2.  Characteristics of LCD monitors, LCD screens, plasma monitors, and HDTVs

•  LCD monitors
  • Uses liquid crystal display  
  • Have a small footprint 
  • Mobile devices that contain LCD displays include:  Notebook computer, Tablet PC, PDA, and Smart Phone 
   
• LCD screens
  ·         Produces very bright images due to high peak intensity. Very suitable for environments that are brightly lit.
  ·         Produce considerably lower electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields than CRTs.
  ·         No geometric distortion at the native resolution. Minor distortion can occur for other resolutions.
  ·         Energy efficient. Consume less than 1/3 the power of a comparable CRT. Consume less electricity than a CRT and produce little heat.
  ·         Take up about 40% less desk space. LCDs are thin and compact.
  ·         Completely flat screen.
  ·         At the native resolution, the image is perfectly sharp. Adjustments are required at all other resolutions which can result in measurable degradation to the image.
  
  3. What are the components inside the systems units.
  

   

  System unit components include the processor, memory module, cards, ports, and connectors. Many of the system unit’s components reside on a circuit board called the motherboard. The motherboard contains many different types of chips, or small pieces of semiconducting material, on which one or more integrated circuits (IC) are etched. An integrated circuit is a microscopic pathway capable of carrying electronic current. Each IC can contain millions of transistors, which act as switches for electronic signals.
  Processor
  

  ·          Memory module

  ·          Expansion cards

  o       Sound card

  o       Modem card

  o       Video card

  o       Network interface card

  ·          Ports and Connectors

  
  4. The components of a processor and how they complete a machine cycle.

  
  Machine Cycle
  ·          Four operations of the CPU comprise a machine cycle

  ·          Also called instruction cycle

  • Instruction time (i-time) - time taken to fetch and decode
  • Execution time (e-time) - time taken to execute and store

  
  5. Define a bit and describe how a series of bits represents data.

  
  A bit (a contraction of binary digit) is the basic unit of information in computing and telecommunications; it is the amount of information stored by a digital device or other physical system that exists in one of two possible distinct states.

  
  

  6. Identify the categories of application software.

  Different Types of Application Software
  
  
  Word Processing Software: This software enables the users to create and edit documents. The most popular examples of this type of software are MS-Word, WordPad, Notepad and some other text editors.
  
  
  Database Software: Database is a structured collection of data. A computer database relies on database software to organize the data and enable the database users to achieve database operations. Database software allows the users to store and retrieve data from databases. Examples are Oracle, MSAccess, etc.
  
  
  Spreadsheet Software: Excel, Lotus 1-2-3 and Apple Numbers are some examples of spreadsheet software. Spreadsheet software allows users to perform calculations. They simulate paper worksheets by displaying multiple cells that make up a grid.
  
  
  Multimedia Software: They allow the users to create and play audio and video media. They are capable of playing media files. Audio converters, players, burners, video encoders and decoders are some forms of multimedia software. Examples of this type of software include Real Player and Media Player.
  
  
  Presentation Software: The software that is used to display information in the form of a slide show is known as presentation software. This type of software includes three functions, namely, editing that allows insertion and formatting of text, methods to include graphics in the text and a functionality of executing the slide shows. Microsoft PowerPoint is the best example of presentation software.
  
  
  7. Identify the key features of widely used business programs. 

   

  Word processing software allows users to create and manipulate documents that contain text and graphics. With word processing software, you can insert clip art into a document; change margins; find and replace text; use a spelling checker to check spelling; place a header and footer at the top and the bottom of a page; and vary font (character design), font size (character scale), and font style (character appearance).

  With spreadsheet software, data is organized in rows and columns, which collectively are called a worksheet. The intersection of a row and column, called a cell, can contain a label (text), a value (number), or a formula or function that performs calculations on the data and displays the result.

  Database software allows you to create and manage a database. A database is a collection of data organized to allow access, retrieval, and use of that data. A query is used to retrieve data according to specified criteria, which are restrictions the data must meet.

  Presentation graphics software is used to create presentations that communicate ideas, messages, and other information to a group through a slide show. You can use a clip gallery to enhance your presentation with clip art images, pictures, video clips, and audio clips.

  A personal information manager (PIM) is software that includes an appointment calendar to schedule activities, an address book to maintain names and addresses, and a notepad to record ideas, reminders, and important information. A software suite is a collection of individual applications sold as a single package.

  Project management software allows you to plan, schedule, track, and analyze the progress of a project. Accounting software helps companies record and report their financial transactions.

  Power users often use software that allows them to work with graphics and multimedia. Computer-aided design (CAD) software assists in creating engineering, architectural, and scientific designs. Desktop publishing (DTP) software is used to design and produce sophisticated documents. DTP is developed specifically to support page layout, which is the process of arranging text and graphics in a document. Paint software is used to draw graphical images with various on-screen tools. Image editing software provides the capability to modify existing images. Video editing software and audio editing software can be used to modify video and audio segments.

  Multimedia authoring software is used to create electronic interactive presentations that can include text, images, video, audio, and animation. Web page authoring software is designed to create Web pages and to organize, manage, and maintain Web sites.

  Many software applications are designed specifically for use at home or for personal or educational use. Integrated software combines several productivity software applications that share a similar interface and common features into a single package. Personal finance software is an accounting program that helps pay bills, balance a checkbook, track income and expenses, follow investments, and evaluate financial plans. Legal software assists in the creation of legal documents and provides legal advice. Tax preparation software guides users through the process of filing federal taxes. Personal DTP software helps develop conventional documents by asking questions, presenting predefined layouts, and supplying standard text.

  Photo-editing software is used to edit digital photographs. A clip art/image gallery is a collection of clip art and photographs that can be used in all types of documents. Home design/landscaping software assists with planning or remodeling. Educational software teaches a particular skill and exists for about any subject. Reference software provides valuable and thorough information for all individuals. Entertainment software includes interactive games, videos, and other programs designed to support a hobby or provide amusement. 

   

  One of the main reasons people use computers is to communicate and share information. E-mail software is used to create, send, receive, forward, store, print, and delete e-mail (electronic mail). A Web browser is a software application used to access and view Web pages. A chat client is software that allows you to connect to a chat room, which permits users to chat via the computer. A newsreader is a software program used to participate in a newsgroup, which is an online area on the Web where users conduct written discussion about a particular subject. An instant messenger is a software program installed to use instant messaging (IM), a real-time communications service that notifies you when one or more people are online and then allows you to exchange messages or files. Groupware is a software application that helps groups of people on a network work together and share information. A videoconference is a meeting between two or more geographically separated people who use a network or the Internet to transmit audio and video data. 

   

  8. What are the advantages of using application software on the Web.
  

  Advantages of Web Applications

  ·         No special configurations of changes are need on user’s PCs.

  ·         Lower costs

  ·         Centralized data is secure and easy to backup.

  ·         Updates can be made quickly and easily.

  ·         Information is accessible to a wide audience anywhere in the world.

  ·         Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

  ·         Everybody has a browser – familiar interface encourages use.

  ·         Online training can be completed at user’s own time and pace.

  ·         Always up-to-date.

  
  

  
  

  9. History of the Internet.

  The History of the Internet We can trace the internet back to the early days of computer networking in the late 1960s.  In July 1968, the US Department of Defense, Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) issued a proposal requesting the development of protocols to link four sites: Stanford Research Institute, University of California at Los Angeles, University of California at Santa Barbara and University of Utah.
  
  They were connected in the autumn of 1969, and the network was called the ARPAnet.  Limited facilities were available, but users could perform remote login, that is a user of the University of Los Angeles could log into the computer at the University of Utah, and could transfer files between the systems.
  
  By 1981, 200 sites were connected together via the ARPAnet which was composed of many incompatible networks using different types of technology.  The problems of enabling the communication between users of different types of technology were partially overcome by the specification of the communications protocols, TCP and IP.
  
  By the mid 1980s all US and many worldwide inter-university networks were all using TCP/IP protocols to communicate.  As the use of the internet grew, some businesses began to realize that it was a highly exploitable resource.  Never before, there had been a medium with the capacity to reach so many people across such a wide geographical area in such a short space of time.
  
  This has been increased by the influence of the World Wide Web, a mechanism for publishing information and offering electronic services for anyone with access to the internet.  The World Wide Web was first implemented during 1992 when there were 50 web servers.  By the end of 1993 there were 700 servers on the web and at the turn of the millennium the numbers involved are so enormous, that no-one is prepared to estimate exactly how many web servers exist, or at what rate they are increasing. 

   

  10. What are different storage devices.

  
  A floppy disk is a portable, inexpensive storage medium that consists of a thin, circular, flexible plastic disk with a magnetic coating enclosed in a square-shaped plastic shell. 
  
  A hard disk, or hard disk drive, consists of several inflexible, circular platters that store items electronically.
  
  A compact disc (CD) is a flat, round, portable metal storage medium that usually is 4.75 inches in diameter and less than one-twentieth of an inch thick. 
  
  Tape, one of the first storage media used with mainframe computers, is a magnetically-coated ribbon of plastic capable of storing large amounts of data and information at low cost. 
  
  A PC Card is a thin, credit card-sized device that fits into a PC Card slot on a notebook or personal computer. PC Cards are used to add storage, memory, communications, and sound capabilities. 
  
  

  Microfilm and microfiche store microscopic images of documents on roll or sheet film. Microfilm uses a 100- to 215-foot roll of film. Microfiche uses a small sheet of film, usually about four inches by six inches. Libraries and large organizations use microfilm and microfiche to archive relatively inactive documents and files.