Week 8-Microsoft PowerPoint 2010

Microsoft PowerPoint is the perfect application software to create eye-catching slides. Exciting new audio and visual capabilities help you tell a crisp, cinematic story that’s as easy to create as it is powerful to watch. Exciting new audio and visual capabilities help you tell a crisp, cinematic story that’s as easy to create as it is powerful to watch.

Here are the new features of Microsoft PowerPoint 2010.

• Embed and edit video from within PowerPoint. Now you can add fades, formatting effects, bookmark scenes, and trim videos to give your presentations a professional multimedia experience.

• Use new and improved picture editing tools—including versatile artistic effects and advanced correction, color, and cropping tools.
• Add dynamic 3-D slide transitions and more realistic animation effects to grab your audience’s attention.
• Compress video and audio in your presentation to reduce file size for easy sharing and improved playback performance.

• Use new co-authoring capabilities to edit the same presentation, at the same time, with people in different locations. You can even communicate as you work, directly from PowerPoint.

Week 7-Microsoft Excel 2010

Microsoft excel 2010 is designed to get the most productive results when carrying out spreadsheets and important calculations in this busy world. There are some special features in excel 2010 that makes it stand out from the rest of the versions.

• Improved ribbon: First introduced in Excel 2007, the ribbon makes it easy for you to find commands and features that were previously buried in complex menus and toolbars.

• Microsoft office backstage view: Click the File tab to open Backstage view, where you create new files, open existing files, save, send, protect, preview, and print files, set options for Excel, and more.

• Microsoft Excel web app: Excel Web App extends your Excel experience to the web browser, where you can work with workbooks directly on the site where the workbook is stored.

• Spark lines: Excel Web App extends your Excel experience to the web browser, where you can work with workbooks directly on the site where the workbook is stored.

• Slicers: Slicers are visual controls that let you quickly filter data in a PivotTable in an interactive, intuitive way. If you insert a slicer, you can use buttons to quickly segment and filter the data to display just what you need.

• Improved conditional formatting: Conditional formatting makes it easy to highlight interesting cells or ranges of cells, emphasize unusual values, and visualize data by using data bars, color scales, and icon sets.

• Improved filter capabilities: In addition to slicers, which are described earlier in this article, Excel 2010 comes with new features that make it easier to sort and filter data.

• More themes: In Excel 2010, there are more themes and styles than ever before. These elements can help you apply professional designs consistently across your workbooks and other Microsoft Office documents.

Week 6-Microsoft Word 2010

Eventhough there are many word processing softwares out there in the market, most of the people prefer to use Microsoft office word. The latest version Microsoft word 2010 is the most popular word processor now. People prefer it because of all the new features and benefits that have arrived with this version.

Here’s why many people prefer to use Microsoft word 2010.

To create visually appealing documents much easier than ever.

Microsoft word is now built with much advanced tools that make your important contents stand out by allowing you to,

• Add impressive formatting effects such as gradient fills and reflections.

• Use new and improved picture editing tools—including versatile artistic effects and advanced correction, color, and cropping tools

• Choose from more customizable Office themes to coordinate colors, fonts, and graphic formatting effects throughout your documents.

• Make a statement with a wide selection of Smart Art graphics— including many new layouts for organization charts and picture diagrams—to create impressive graphics as easily as typing a bulleted list.

To save time and simplify your work

In word 2010, you don’t have to spend a lot of time running your cursor around the window looking for tools. Everything is easily accessible and nothing is out of sight. Here are the ways how Microsoft word 2010 can save your time and simplify your work.

• Look for Improved Navigation Pane and Find tools. These new enhancements make it easier than ever to browse, search, and even reorganize document content right from a single, easy-to-use pane.

• Recover draft versions of files that you closed without saving. The version recovery feature is just one of many new features available from the new Microsoft Office Backstage™ view.

To make it easier to work with others

If you work with others on documents and projects, Word 2010 has the tools you need.

• Using new co-authoring capabilities, you can now edit the same document, at the same time, as other team members in other locations. You can even communicate instantly as you work, directly from Word.

Week 5-Anatomy of Windows7

Windows7 is the latest operating system released by Microsoft. It was released in 2009. Most of the PC users around the globe use Windows7 for its effectiveness and ease of access. Windows 7 uses up less memory and power. It is also much faster when recognizing USB drives. There are five main unique elements of windows 7.

• Aero view: Aero is an interface that makes your visual interactions with the desktop fun and easy. Through Aero peek, you can make your current windows transparent so that you can view your desktop. Aero snap is a quick way to resize your windows. Aero flip allows you to preview all your open windows from a central window in 3D view. Aero shake allows you to take your mouse and shake only the open window you want to focus on and the rest will disappear.

• Taskbar: The taskbar of windows7 is more convenient to use with larger views and easier access. Jump Lists allow you to right click on an icon in the taskbar and immediately access what you use on a regular basis. Pin allows you to place programs on the taskbar and rearrange the order of the icon as you wish. Action center allows you to control the alerts and pop-ups you receive regarding maintenance and security.

• Search: As soon as you start typing in the search bar of the start menu, you will instantly see a list of relevant options grouped by categories with highlighted keywords and text.

• Libraries: Allow you to organize your files in one place so they are easy to search and access

• Gadgets: You can select or download gadgets such as a slideshow, calendar or weather update to add to your desktop.

Windows7 remains to be popular since its time of release. No user has been able to find a fault with this operating system and I personally prefer windows7 more than any other operating system because of its ease of use. We can soon find what windows7 is not capable of doing once windows8 is released!

Week 4-Types of Network

Network is a group of computers that are connected to each other to share information or resources. The basic purpose of a network is to enable effective communication, share resources and facilitate centralized management of data. Networks are of different types and serve different purposes according to the users’ geographical boundaries. Here are the types of network that you can find these days……

LAN – Local Area network

LAN is a network that connects computers in the same physical area such as a room, a building or a campus. In this network, software applications and other resources are stored on a file server. The computers are connected to each other using Ethernet.



There are two types of LAN network;

• Intranet; A private LAN set up in an organization which normally consists of an internet e-mail system, a message board and one or more website portals that contain company news, forms and personal information about the organization.
  
• Extranet; A network that connects people within your company with people who are outside your company – all within a secure password protected network that can be accessed from anywhere. This is the network which helps you work from home without having to travel to the office.

WAN – Wide Area Network

This is the kind of network that’s used in a wide geographical area like across a country or even globally.



There four types of network that come under WAN.

• MAN – Metropolitan area network
• PAN – Public area network
• VAN – Value added network
• VPN – Virtual private network

Peer to Peer network

In peer to peer network, each computer is considered separate and equal in importance. They are formed just to share information or resources between each computer. This network is very inexpensive and is easy to set up. They are popular as home networks and as networks used in small companies. The maximum number of peers in this network is ten. The network won’t work well if the computers connected are more than ten.



Server Based Network

A server based network is set up where there is much concern about the security of data. Servers in this network require faster CPUs, more memory, larger disk drives, and extra peripherals such as tape drives. There is a centralized control over how the network is being used and why. This network is more expensive than the peer to peer network and require expert staff to handle complex server software.



Client/Server Network

In this network, the server’s only function is to respond to the requests of clients. The server contains file, print, application,security, and other services in a central computer that is continuously available to respond to client requests.



Networks simplify our lives in many ways. It saves our money by letting us share resources between many computers and it saves our time by not having to transfer files from one computer to another externally. It also allows us to work from home and not travel for hours to the workplace.

Week 3-session 2-Programming Languages

Programming language is a language for a programmer to communicate with the computer. A computer doesn’t understand the instructions given in English or any other language. So there is a separate set of words, abbreviations and symbols that enables a programmer to communicate instructions to a computer. You can create programs using programming language.



Lower-Level Language

This language is very tedious and time-consuming. Each instruction represents a single machine instruction. This language can only run in particular types of PCs. Here are the two types of lower-level language.

• Machine Language: Uses a series of binary digits or a combination of numbers and letters that represent binary digits.
• Assembly Language: Program is written using symbolic instruction codes called mnemonic. Assembly language must be converted into machine language before the computer can execute the program.

Higher-Level Language

This language is more user-friendly and is a machine-independent language. Each instruction usually represents a multiple machine instructions. This language is very understandable for the programmer.

Week 3-Session 1-Software Layers : Operating System, Drivers, System Software, Application programs

Categories of Software

Software is the intangible part of the computer. Something like the mind. Something you can feel exists but cannot touch or see. Software gives instructions to the computer as to what to do and how to do it. Software also drive the hardware.

Software can be of three types as listed below,

• System software: controls and maintains the operations of the computer and its devices. Example; Windows operating system. There are two types of software under system software. First is the operating system which is a set of programs that coordinates all the activities among computer hardware resources. The second is utility programs which allow the user to perform maintenance-type tasks concerning the computer, its devices and its programs.

• Application software: makes users more productive and assist them with their personal or official tasks like creating slides for a presentation, designing leaflets, doing calculations and recording data to be retrieved much easily later on. Example; Microsoft office package.

•  Programming language: enable people (programmers) to communicate instructions to a computer.

These are the basic types of software that are needed to run a computer. A computer with all the physical parts are not worth at all if there are no software installed into the machine.

Software Layers

These are the layers of software that stand in between the computer user and computer hardware. This is the process of how computers get things done once we give the command.



Here are the layers of software explained in detail…….

1. Application Program: This is the topmost software layer where the normal interaction between the computer and user occurs.These software are designed to be powerful but easy to use. Example; word processing, email, internet, and so on…
2. Operating system: this software receives orders from the user through application program. It has programs and routines that have control over and access to all hardware.
3. Device drivers: Device drivers are very low level instructions to a device like the printer or the hard drive. It can provide interface or communication directly with hardware devices. It also allows the operating system to directly access hardware recourses.
4. System software: It provides a small library for basic input/output functions used to operate and control the peripheral devices.

These are the layers of software and any of the software should come under any of these layers.
Whatever layer they belong to, they are equally important for a computer to run.

Week 2-Session 3-Storage Devices, I/O Devices & Other Peripheral Devices

We use our eyes, ears and the sense of touch to input data into our system. And the computers have their own devices of input and output. So here they are…..

Input devices

• The Keyboard: Keyboards come in all sizes and designs. But the symbols in them are all the same and are in the same format. There are keyboards called ergonomic keyboards which are designed to reduce the wrist and hand injuries.
• Pointing Devices: This is an input device that allows a user to control a pointer on the screen. A pointer is a small symbol on the screen whose location and shape changes as a user moves a pointing device.The most popular pointing device in the world is the mouse. But there are also other pointing devices like the trackball, pointing stick, touchpad, touch screen and pen input.
• Game controllers: Video games and computer games use game controllers as input devices to control the movements in the game playing on screen.These are the names of some types of game controllers; Gamepads, Joysticks and wheels, Light guns, Dance pads, Motion-sensing controllers etc.
• Digital Cameras: You can take pictures and keep it stored digitally through a digital camera. he pictures and videos stored in a digital camera can be transferred to the computer using a USB data cable. The types of digital cameras include; studio cameras, field cameras and point-and-shoot cameras.
• Voice Input: You can input voice to a computer using a microphone and the computer is capable of recognizing the spoken words, It can also be recorded using a recorder.
• Video Input: A web cam is used to input video into the computer. These videos can also be recorded. A web cam is also capable of capturing images.
• Scanners and Reading devices: Data is captured directly from invoices, paychecks and photos etc. through a scanner. Popular types of scanners are; Flatbed, Pen or hand-held, Sheet-fed and Drum. Many scanners include a software called OCR (optical character recognition).

Output Devices

• Display devices: A display device visually conveys text, graphics and video information. The most obvious example of display device is the monitor.
• Printers: A printer gives out hard copies of text and graphics on paper,There are two basic types of printers. It could be either Impact or non-impact.
• Audio output devices: It’s a computer component that produces music, speech and other sounds. Speakers and headsets are very common examples.
• Data Projector: This device projects a normal monitor’s display into a larger screen display.

So these are the basic input and output devices of the computer. And all these devices are equally important for a computer to function properly.

 

Storage Devices

 

If data are not stored electronically, it takes up much space. Just think If you don’t have a USB drive, you will have trouble with carrying large chunks of papers in bulky files wherever you go! Storage devices gives us much free space while providing a cleaner and a less messed up way of saving data.

Here are the storage devices that make our lives easier and free of space….

• Hard disks: A hard disk contains one or more inflexible, circular platters that use magnetic particles to store data, instructions and information. It’s always safe to keep a backup of our hard disks just in case a head crash occurs. An external hard disk is a separate free-standing hard disk that connects to your computer with a cable or wirelessly. A removable hard disk is a hard disk that you insert and remove from a drive. There are also miniature hard disks available.
• Flash memory storage: Flash memory chips are a type of solid state media and contains no moving parts. SSDs (solid state drives) have several advantages when compared to magnetic hard disks like, faster access time and transfer rates, last longer and generates less heat and consumes less power.
• Cloud Storage: Cloud storage is an internet service that allows users to store data. Any amount of data can be stored in the air and there’s also privacy to your data. And there’s no chance of data getting lost as you might experience when the disks go dead.
• Optical disks: An optical disk consists of a flat, round, portable disk made of metal, plastic and lacquer that is written and read by a laser. Optical discs can store software, data, digital photos, movies and music. There are three types of optical disks. The first is CD-ROM (can be read from but not written to). The second is CD-R ( this is a disc where you can write, but not erase). The third is CD-RW (an erasable multisession disk)

Storage devices play an important part in our lives even if we don’t realize it. The population of the world keeps expanding and we don’t have extra space to store huge files and files of information. That’s when the storage devices come into our rescue.

Week 2-Session 2-Motherboard,CPU & Main Memory

The System Unit

The system unit is the carrier case of the electronic components. This is the black box of the computer which include processor, memory, expansion cards and most storage devices. It’s just like our head which carries our brain which is protected by a skull.

What’s inside the system unit?

• Processor
• Memory module
• Expansion cards

-Sound Card

-Modem Card

-Video Card

-Network interface card

• Ports and connectors

Motherboard

Motherboard is let’s say something like the kidneys of the computer.It is the main circuit board of the system unit. It contains chips, integrated circuits and transistors. A motherboard can also be known as the system board of the computer.

Processor

The processor is the most important part of the computer. Just like our brain. It processes the data and controls the computer. It’s normal to have one processor in each PC. But powerful computers used as servers have more than one processor. The data transfer between the processor and memory is done through the system bus. Each part of the memory has its own memory address and the processor determines where processed data is stored by sending an address signal along an address bus and data along a data bus.

Central Processing Unit

CPU is the processor + memory. Sometimes, the processor is called the CPU. It takes all major decisions, makes all sorts of calculations and directs all parts of the computer functions by activating and controlling the operations. Megahertz (MHz) is a measure of a CPU’s processing speed or clock cycle in millions per second.

The main functions of the CPU includes;

• Converting data into information
• Acting as the control center for the computer
• Executing stored program instructions

The central processing unit is divided into two as;

• Control unit (CU): This part of the CPU communicates with other parts of the hardware. It directs the computer system to execute stored program instructions.
• Arithmetic & Logic unit (ALU): Performs arithmetic operations and performs logical and relational/comparison operations.

Main memory

There are two types of memory. RAM (random access memory) and ROM (read only memory)

• RAM: It holds the program instructions and the data that is being used by the processor. RAM is volatile which means it looses its contents when power is turned off.
• ROM: This holds the program instructions and settings required to set up the computer. ROM is non-volatile which means that it does not loose its contents when power is turned off.

So these are the basic ingredients for a computer to perform its basic tasks. No other hardware component can take the place of any of these three components because the functions performed by these three components are unimaginable. And if you purchase a computer that weighs around 1000 kilos, you pay half of the price for the little CPU which weighs only around 50 grams.

Week 2-session 1-Computer History,.Architecture & Catergories of Computers

Computer History

 

 

 

The computer was not fully equipped with all the fantastic capabilities since it started. Just like us, it grew step by step to the luxurious models we see now. And just like us human beings, computers have their own history and their own generations. Here’s a glimpse at the history of computers.

 

 

• Pre-computers and early computers (before 1940): Our ancient civilizations had the ability to count and compute. And the basic things they used to do these were the Abacus (earliest recorded calculating device), slide ruler, mechanical calculator, punch card, tabulating machine and sorter. 

• First Generation (1940-1950) : Vacuum Tube; This was designed by Mauchly & Echert, built by US army to calculate trajectories for ballistic shells during world war ll

• Second Generation (1950-1964): Transistors; Vacuum tubes were replaced by transistors by William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain. Transistors used the first operating systems which handled one program at a time. It also included on-off switches which were controlled electronically.

• Third Generation (1964-1974) : Integrated Circuits (IC); These computers had microprocessor chips that combined thousands of transistors and an entire circuit on one computer chip. Also, there were more than one computer models with different performance characteristics.

• Fourth Generation (1974-Present) : VLSI / ULSI ; VLSI stands for Very Large-scale integration and ULSI stands for Ultra large-scale integration. Computers in this generation have millions of transistors combined. They are also equipped with single-chip processors. It was in this generation that Personal Computers (PCs) were invented.

• Fifth Generation (now and the future): Computers in this generation are based on artificial intelligence. Computers are made to think, reason and learn! The primary means of input in these computers are voice and touch. The computers in this generation could be the ones that utilize nanotechnology or they can come as entire general-purpose computers.

If you compare the first generation computers to the computers these days, there will be a huge difference. This is an example as to how human beings learn by doing. Someone started it and the rest of them remodeled it and came up with much better and compact designs with more capabilities. If they had just stopped there, without thinking of remodeling and improving it, we won’t have the easy PCs today to complete huge chunks of office work!

 

Computer Architecture

All our human bodies are created according to an architecture. So are computers. These architectures have never changed since 1946 which means that the components of this architecture are essentials for each and every computer.

 

 

• Processor: the centre for manipulation and control
• Memory: storage for instruction and data for currently executing programs
• I/O System: Controller which communicates with “external” devices: secondary memory, display devices, networks.
• Data-path & control: Collection of parallel wires, transmits data, instructions , or control signal.

Since 1946, all computers have had these components. Just like we have all had brains, hearts and nervous systems.

Catergories of Computers

These computers are categorized based on size, capability and price.

• Embedded computer

Embedded computers are miniature computers that are embedded into a specific product to perform a specific function.

•  Mobile Computers

The best examples are our mobile phones which easily fit on our lap/hand and which contains built-in computing or internet capabilities.

•  Personal computers

These can be portable computers like laptops and notebooks or desktop computers. Personal computers are fully functioning and are designed for a single user at a time.

• Midrange Servers

These look like small cabinets, hosting data and programs available to a small group of users.

• Mainframe computers

These are powerful computers consuming large space which are used to host a large amount of data and programs available to a wide range of users.

• Super computers

These are extremely powerful computers used for complex computation and processing.