week 1 part 3 Number Systems

We humans, use the alphabet to create words to create sentences that make sense when we speak. And if by any chance, someone uses numbers to speak instead of words, that will sound insane. In case of computers, it’s the other way around. Words don’t make sense to computers. They understand a strange language created through these number systems listed below.

• Decimal number systems: Ten numerals are included in this number system which are as follows. 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. These numbers have a base (also known as radix) of 10 Written as X₁₀.

• Binary number systems: Only two numerals are included in this system. They are, 0 & 1.These two numbers are also known as BITS. Binary numbers have a base/radix of 2, written as X₂. This is the number system used by computers. All the information in the digital computer is represented as bit patterns.

• Octal number systems: Eight numerals are used to form a string of numbers. They are, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Octal numbers have a base or radix of eight, written as, X

• Hexadecimal Number systems: Sixteen symbols (numerals + letters) are used to form a string of numbers in this number system. They are, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E and F. Also known as Hex. Binary numbers have a base of sixteen, written as X. This number system is used to represent digital data.

These number systems are quite confusing. Specially when it comes to conversion of number systems. The one who invented these for sure must be a genius.

week 1 part 2 Computer Components

If you take a human being, there are two parts of him/her. The inside and the outside. For the human being to work perfect, both the inside and the outside should be in good condition. Just like that, even the computer is divided into two components. The inside and the outside. In other words, or in more used terms, it’s the computer hardware and software. So these two components of the computer are quite similar to the inside and outside of human beings. This fact makes me wonder that perhaps Charles Babbage, the one who invented the computer had and idea of creating an electronic version of the human being. And if this was his intention, I should say that I’m impressed at he was quite close. Not very.

• Computer Hardware : The computer hardware includes the electrical, electronic or mechanical parts of the computer. Anything in the computer that can be touched comes under computer hardware. The hardware parts of the human body includes hands, legs, eyes, ears, nose and each and every part of body. The hardware components of the computer include keyboard, mouse, monitor, CPU etc. The computer hardware can be classified into 5 parts.

- Input devices: Keyboard, webcam, microphone, scanner etc.

 

- Output devices: monitor, printer, scanner etc.

 

- System Unit: This includes the ALU and CU .

 

- Storage devices: Hard disks, optical disks and USB drives.

 

 - Communication devices: Routers, hub, switches and brides.

 

• Computer software : Computer software is the inside part of the computer. It’s also known as a program – a series of related instructions, organized for a common purpose. This is somewhat similar to the human mind. Every action we do through our physical parts are a result of what’s going on in our minds. So we do the perfect actions if our minds are free of bad thoughts and are developed to think positive. The software of the computer /the computer mind is divided into two categories as;

 - System software: designed to operate the computer hardware and to provide a platform for running application software.         Ex: The windows operating syetem.

- Application software: designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Example; Windows media player & Microsoft office etc.



If the computer is just like a human being, and if it has exactly what a human being has (like the hardware and software), what is it that differentiate the two? I guess it’s the feelings. Computers don’t have feelings like us. And if any computer scientist invents a software with which the computer can feel exactly like us, then there will be no difference among computers and human beings at all!

 

Week 1-session 2 Computer Operations

In this week, we learnt the very basics of the computer. We learnt about the operations of the computer, the computer hardware and software,

Computer Operations

The computer is simply a programmable devise which carries out certain tasks it has been instructed to do. I believe that it’s somewhat like the human brain. Much faster. I’m not sure as to which has the best performance. Still, many people prefer to do most of their tasks using a computer than using their brain. Of course, the computer can do certain things the brain cannot. For example, which human would be able to do the calculations a computer does in excel? On the other hand, there are many things that a computer cannot do when compared to the human brain.


The four basic Computer operations are

1. Input : The computer can take in any data. It uses the keyboard, microphone, webcam and other devises like disks and usb drives to take in data. Just like the brain uses our eyes, ears and mouth to take in input.
2. Processing : The computer is capable of processing the data from input to useful information. Data is what comes in as input (unprocessed) and information is what goes out as output after the data is being processed. Every time I hear the word processor, I see the picture of a food processor where you add different kinds of food into the processor. Once you switch on the button, everything is neatly mixed up. The separate food that was entered into the processor were the data and the mixture after it’s being processed is the useful information that can finally be eaten! The processor of the computer is the CPU and it’s much much smaller than a food processor.
3. Output : The monitor of the computer is one way of displaying output in a computer. The computer gives out information (the data from input which are processed) as output. This output can sometimes make the user frustrated if the computer is not giving the expected results.
4. Storage : The computer can store a huge chunk of data which can bee retrieved at anytime unless the computer breaks down. Just imagine, if computers were invented without any storage capacity, the companies today will have to spend millions on building storage houses for all the office files. They will have to hire more workers to keep the files safe and they will also have to spend on bug sprays to keep the files away from monster bugs!
5. Communication : The computer makes it possible for the users to transfer data from one computer to another through a network. This operation of the computer saves much of our time so that we can spend some hours relaxing only if not for assignments and other daunting tasks.

These are the basic operations of the computers for now. But in future, I believe there will be more. The world is growing fast with technology and in no time, the operations of the computers will exceed the operations of the human body!