COMPUTER SCIENCE

code 30424 a.y. 2024-2025

Lesson 1
Understanding the ICT
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Objectives of the lesson

• Understand what the term ICT refers to
• Understand the evolution of ICT
• Understand the development prospects of ICT tools
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Defining ICT
ICT = Information and Communication Technology
It is the set of all technologies that allows to store, process and analyze data
to produce and communicate information through digital tools

IT ICT TLC
Information Telecommunication
Technology Systems

It is the integration between information technology (IT)

and telecommunication systems (TLC)
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The evolution of
telecommunication systems
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Telecommunications: from wired to wireless

• Telegraph (1837):
Samuel Morse's invention introduced long-distance
wired communication using Morse code
• Telephone (1876):
Alexander Graham Bell’s innovation enabled
real-time voice communication
• Radio Transmission (1900s):
Guglielmo Marconi introduced the first wireless communication system
in 1896. Further developments led to the evolution from point-to-point
communications to broadcasting
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Telecommunications: from local to global

• Satellite Communications (1960s):
Enabled global communication through space-based relays
• ARPANET (1969):
Developed for research and defense networks, it forms the foundation of
the modern Internet
• TCP/IP Protocol (1983):
Standardized communication protocols, which have made the Internet
globally interoperable
• World Wide Web (1991):
Tim Berners-Lee introduced the Web,
revolutionizing access to information
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Telecommunications: from stationary to mobile

• 1G (First Generation - 1980s)
‒ Analog voice communication
‒ Basic voice calls, low quality and poor security

• 2G (Second Generation - 1991)

‒ Digital communication (GSM, CDMA)
‒ Introduced SMS, voice encryption and better call quality

• 3G (Third Generation - 2001)

‒ Mobile broadband (UMTS, HSPA)
‒ Internet access, video streaming and speeds up to 2 Mbps
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Telecommunications: from stationary to mobile

• 4G (Fourth Generation - 2009)
‒ LTE technology
‒ High-speed internet (up to 1 Gbps), HD streaming, and VoIP

• 5G (Fifth Generation - 2019)

‒ Ultra-fast speeds (up to 10 Gbps) and low latency (1 ms)
‒ Real-time applications (AR/VR, IoT, autonomous vehicles)

• 6G (Sixth Generation - ~2030)

‒ Expected speeds of 1 Tbps and sub-millisecond latency
‒ Integration of AI and brain-computer interfaces
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The evolution of
information technologies
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Information technologies from 1600 to 1800

• Blaise Pascal (1642)
‒ Invented the Pascaline, a mechanical calculator
capable of performing addition and subtraction
‒ Early example of mechanized computation

• Charles Babbage (1830s)

‒ Designed (but not physically assembled) the Analytical Engine,
considered the first concept of a programmable mechanical computer
‒ Introduced key principles of computation, like control flow and memory

• Ada Lovelace (1840s)

‒ Worked with Babbage and wrote the first algorithm designed for the Analytical Engine
‒ Recognized as the first computer programmer
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Information technologies from 1600 to 1800

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Information technologies in first half of 1900

• Alan Turing (1930s-1940s)
‒ Developed the concept of the Turing Machine, a theoretical model that demonstrated
how any computation could be performed using a series of instructions (algorithm)
‒ Considered one of the fathers of artificial intelligence and modern computing

• John von Neumann (1945)

‒ Proposed the Von Neumann Architecture, the basis of most modern computers
‒ Introduced the idea of a stored-program computer, where both data and instructions
are stored in the same memory

• Early Computers (1940s-1950s)

‒ ENIAC (1945): The first general-purpose electronic computer using vacuum tubes
‒ UNIVAC (1951): First commercial computer designed for business and government use
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Early Computers
The ENIAC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGk9W65vXNA

The first programmers

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/eniac6/155075248
(Interviews dates back to 1997)
Marlyn Wescoff [left] and Ruth Lichterman: two of the programmers of ENIAC
(PHOTO: CORBIS/GETTY IMAGES)
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Von Neumann Computer Architecture

Input
&
Output CPU Memory
devices

BUS
All these components rely on bistable devices that can handle just two possible status:
▪ The voltage level of an electrical conductor: high or low
▪ The state of magnetic polarization of a surface: positive or negative
▪ The state of the light in an optical fiber: on or off
Data and instructions are all coded by elements in Binary Notation,
conventionally represented with strings of "0" and "1"
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Information technologies in second half of 1900

• Development of Programming Languages (1950s-1960s)
‒ Creation of early programming languages like FORTRAN (1957 - for scientific
computing), COBOL (1959 - for business applications), and Assembly Language
‒ Rise of software development started to make computers more accessible

• Personal Computers and Microprocessors (1970s-1980s)

‒ Invention of the microprocessor (Intel 4004 in 1971) to replace vacuum tubes
‒ Rise of personal computers started with the Apple II (1977) and IBM PC (1981)

• Internet and World Wide Web (1980s-1990s)

‒ Adoption of TCP/IP protocols (1983) and introduction of URLs, HTTP and HTML
‒ The World Wide Web (1991) revolutionized information access and sharing
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Information technologies in the new century

• Mobile and Social Revolution (2000s-Present)
‒ Emergence of smartphones, mobile apps, and cloud computing
‒ Social Media platforms redefined global interaction

• IoT and Cloud services (2010s-Present)

‒ Integration of computing into everyday devices through the ‘Internet of Things’
‒ Cloud-native applications and platforms became standard for businesses

• AI, VR and Quantum Computing (2020s-Present)

‒ Rapid advances in AI, machine learning, and quantum computing
‒ Development of immersive digital experiences trough augmented reality (AR) and
virtual reality (VR) applications
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What about today?

The world fastest
supercomputers

For more videos:

El Capitan [1]
El Capitan [2]
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…And what about tomorrow?

Quantum computers
For more videos:
QC [1]
QC [2]

Artificial Intelligence
For more videos:
AI [1]
AI [2]
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To know more about our history…

Evolution of Technologies
in the last decades
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What should we know about ICT?

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ICT tools
Three macro categories:

▪ Hardware
▪ Software
▪ Networks
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Hardware: basic concepts

In order to work effectively using ICT tools it is important:
▪ to know the architecture of a computer
▪ to learn what they are and what they do: Motherboard, CPU, RAM, ROM, …
▪ to learn the different storage devices and their characteristics
▪ to learn the input and output devices and the different types of connection to the PC
▪ to learn which factors influence the performance of a PC
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Hardware: main trends

• Increased processing power
• Increased memory capacity
• Reduced size
• Extended functionality
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Hardware: Increased processing power

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Hardware: Increased memory capacity

1 MB = $ 339.8 1 MB = $ 0.000028 1 MB = $ 0.000021

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Software: basic concepts

In order to work effectively using ICT tools it is important:
▪ to know what is an operating system
▪ to learn using correctly at least one operating system
▪ to know what is an application program
▪ to know what application programs we need
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Software: main trends

• Ease of use
• Ubiquitous use (MobileApp)
• New access modalities (WebApp, SaaS)
• Evolution of programming languages
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Programming languages
A programming language is a formal language that enables to provide a
computer with the instructions needed to solve a problem
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Application software
Application software consists of programs used directly by users to process
data and produce the information they need
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Examples of application software

Application Use Examples
Managing spreadsheets based on cell tables where formulas can be
Worksheets MS Excel, OpenOffice.org Calc
inserted, graphic processing of data
Word processing Word processing for creating documents and formatting texts MS Word, OpenOffice.org Writer
Creating multimedia presentations with slides which can be viewed MS PowerPoint, OpenOffice.org
Presentation tools
in sequence Impress
Data Base Management Systems Filing, structuring and querying data bases MS Access, OpenOffice.org Base
Controlling and analysing large quantities of data, econometric
Software for statistical processing SPSS, SAS, Stata, R, EViews
analysis
Software for mathematical processing Studies of functions, graphic representations, … Matlab, Mathcad

Graphic applications Photo editing, CAD, … Adobe Photoshop, AutoCAD

Utilities Antivirus, PDF management, … McAfee VirusScan, Adobe Reader

Individual productivity software which can be used directly via Web Google Docs, webmail, search
Web applications
through the browser engines, …
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Networks: basic concepts

In order to work effectively using ICT tools it is important:
▪ to understand the benefits of a network infrastructure
▪ to know the taxonomy of networks based on their type (wired/wireless), extension
(LAN/WAN/WLAN) and architecture (Client/Server, Peer to peer)
▪ to know what the Internet is and what the World Wide Web is
▪ to know what TCP/IP and HTTPS protocols are
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Networks: main trends

• Ultra-broadband, optical fiber and 5G connectivity
• Cloud computing
• Internet of Things
• From Web 2.0 to Web 3
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Networks: Cloud computing

• It is an increasingly widespread way of using resources available on the
Internet
• It consists of a set of technologies that allow to use remote, virtualized and
distributed resources through the Internet:

‒ Hardware (CPU, storage) -> IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)

‒ Software (OS, applications) -> SaaS (Software as a Service)
‒ Development platforms -> PaaS (Platform as a Service)
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Networks: Ultra-broadband
• The spread of broadband is considered a key factor in the economic growth
of a country
• The connection speed is an essential technical requirement for most part of
Cloud services but also for personal and business productivity
• There are other parameters than the connection speed
that are crucial for an efficient connection
• Several services allow to measure the most relevant
parameters of a connection (e.g. www.speedtest.net)
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The Digital Divide

• The term Digital Divide refers to the gap between those who can access
new technologies and those who do not have access to them
• The causes of the Digital Divide are mainly of two types:
‒ Limited access to adequate ICT infrastructures
‒ Computer illiteracy of users
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The Internet of Things

• The Internet of Things (IOT) is the part of the Internet that concerns the
interconnections between objects (smart devices)
• The fields of application are many:
‒ Home automation
‒ Automotive
‒ Smart cities
‒ Industrial automation
‒ Electronic payments
‒ ...
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Knowledge to acquire with today’s lecture

• Definition of ICT
• Evolution of telecommunication systems
• Evolution of information technologies
• Von Neumann computer architecture
• Components of the three ICT categories
• Main features and trends of ICT tools
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Study materials
This set of slide has to be considered the study material for contents of
Lesson 1
Any links to external resources have to be considered as supplementary
material for further exploration of the topics covered