Computing Essentials

Chapter 1
Information Technology, the Internet,
and You
Prof. Dr. Malik Sikander Hayat Khiyal
Faculty of Computer Science,
Preston University, Islamabad Campus,
85, Street 3, Sector H-8/1,
Islamabad, PAKISTAN.
drsikandarhayat@preston.edu.pk

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 Computing Essentials Contents
Chapter 1. Information Technology, the Internet, and You
Chapter 2. The Internet, the Web, and Electronic Commerce
Chapter 3. Application Software
Chapter 4. System Software
Chapter 5. The System Unit
Chapter 6. Input and Output
Chapter 7. Secondary Storage
Chapter 8. Communications and Networks
Chapter 9. Privacy, Security, and Ethics
Chapter 10. Information Systems
Chapter 11. Databases
Chapter 12. System Analysis and Design
Chapter 13. Programming and Languages

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 Competencies (Page 1 of 2)
1. Explain the parts of an information system:
people, procedures, software, hardware,
data, and the Internet.
2. Distinguish between system software and
applications software.
3. Differentiate between the three kinds of
system software programs.
4. Define and compare general-purpose,
specialized, and mobile applications.
5. Identify the four types of computers and the
five types of personal computers.
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 Competencies (Page 2 of 2)
6. Describe the different types of computer
hardware, including the system unit, input,
output, storage, and communication devices.
7. Define data and describe document,
worksheet, database, and presentation files.
8. Explain computer connectivity, the wireless
revolution, the Internet, cloud computing,
and IoT.

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Why should I read this chapter?
The future of computers and digital technology
promises exciting challenges and opportunities.
Powerful software and hardware systems are
changing the way people and organizations
interact in their daily life and on the Internet.
This chapter includes:
• Information systems – how the critical parts of
technology interact.
• Efficiency and effectiveness – how to maximize
the use of technology.
• Privacy, ethics, and environment – how to
integrate technology with people.
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Why should I read this chapter?
• Software, hardware, and data – understand the
technology used in information systems.
• Connectivity and cloud computing – how the
Internet, the web, and the wireless revolution are
changing how we communicate and interact.

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 Introduction
Katie and Alan work in information technology.
They are discussing some of the most exciting new
developments in computer technology, including
Smartphone, tablets, and cloud computing.

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 Introduction
The purpose of this book is to help you become a
highly efficient and effective computer user. This
includes how to use (1) apps and applications
software; (2) all types of computer hardware,
including mobile devices like Smartphone, tablets,
and laptops; and (3) the Internet.
To effectively and efficiently use computers, you
need to know the parts of information systems:
people, procedures, software, hardware, data, and
the Internet. You also need to understand the
wireless revolution, the mobile Internet, and the
web and to recognize the role of information
technology and professional life.
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 Information Systems
The way to think about a personal computer is to
realize that it is one part of an information system. An
information system has several parts: people,
procedures, software, hardware, data, and the
Internet. (See Figure 1.)
• People are an essential part of the system. The
purpose of information systems is to make people, or
end users like you, more productive.
• Procedures are rules or guidelines to follow when
using software, hardware, and data. These procedures
are typically documented in manuals written by
computer professionals provided in either printed or
electronic form.
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 Information Systems

Figure 1 Parts of
an information
system
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 Information Systems
• Software (programs) provides step-by-step instructions
to control the computer to convert data (unprocessed
facts) into information (processed facts).
• Hardware consists of the physical equipment. It is
controlled by software and processes data to create
information. It includes smartphones, tablets, keyboards,
mice, displays, system units and other devices.
• Data consists of unprocessed facts, including text,
numbers, images, and sound. Information is data that has
been processed by the computer.
• The Internet allows computers to connect and share
information. This connectivity greatly expands the
capability and usefulness of information systems.
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 Information Systems
• The Internet allows computers to connect and
share information. This connectivity greatly
expands the capability and usefulness of
information systems.

To efficiently and effectively use the computer,

you need to understand information technology
(IT), including software, hardware, data, and
connectivity.

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 People
People are the most important part of an information system.
Many times the contact is direct and obvious, such as when
we create documents using a word processing program or
when we connect to the Internet. (See Figure 2.) This book
contains several features to demonstrate how people just like
you use computers. These features include the following:

Figure 2 people and computers

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 People
• Making IT Work for You presents several interesting
and practical applications. Topics include using online
office suites and cloud storage. For just a few of the
Making IT Work for You topics, see Figure 3.
Applications Description
Free Antivirus Protect your computer by installing and using a free
Program antivirus program. Chapter 1
Cloud Office Suites Create and collaborate with others online to make better
documents and presentations. Chapter 3
Gaming Delve into the world of video games and find the best
video game hardware for you. Chapter 5
Cloud Storage Move your files online to synch files between devices or
free up space on your digital devices. Chapter 7
The Mobile Office Get work done on the road: whether a business trip or your
daily commute, these tools will help you make the most of
your time. Chapter 8
Figure 3 Making IT Work for You applications
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 People
• Tips offer a variety of suggestion on such
practical matters as how to improve slow
computer performance and how to protect your
privacy while on the web. For a partial list of the
tips presented in the following chapters, see
Figure 4.

Are you getting the most out of your cell phone?

Here are just a few of the tips to make your
computing safer, more efficient, and more
effective.

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 People
1 Low battery. Do you find that your cell phone’s battery keeps its
charge for less time than it used to? Here are some ways to make your
battery last longer. See chapter 5.
2 Cell phone cameras. Capturing life’s moments in a photo is easier
and faster with a cell phone. But a few simple tips can make the
process easier and your photos better. See chapter 3.

3 Disaster planning. Having a cell phone lost or stolen can be

devastating. Follow these suggestions to make it easier to get your
phone back, or recover its data quickly. See chapter 9.

4 Data usage. Is your cell phone data plan costing you money? Are
your cell phone apps using up your data plan without you knowing it?
Take control of your data usage with the tips in chapter 7.

5 Protecting your identity. Identity theft is a growing problem and can

be financially devastating if you are a victim. Some steps to protect
your identity are in chapter 9
Figure 4 Selected tips
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 People
• Privacy. Discuss threats to your personal privacy
and suggest ways to protect yourself.
• Environment. Discuss important and relevant
environmental issues. The impact of computers and
other technologies is more critical today than ever
before.
• Ethics. Most people agree that we should behave
ethically. Boxes pose a variety of different
ethical/unethical situations for your consideration.
• Careers in IT presents job descriptions,
employment demands, educational requirements,
salary ranges, and advancement opportunities.
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 People
To efficiently and effectively use
computers, you need to understand the
basic parts of an information system:
people, procedures, software, hardware,
data, and connectivity. You also need to
understand the Internet and the web and to
recognize the role of technology in your
professional and personal life.

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 Software
Software or programs are the instructions
that tell the computer how to process data
into the form you want. There are two
major kinds of software: system software
and application software. You can think
of application software as the kind of you
use. Think of system software as the kind
the computer uses.

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 Systems Software
The user interacts with application software.
System software enables application software to
interact with computer hardware.
• Operating systems coordinate resources,
provide an interface, and run applications. There
are three types. Smartphones, tablets, and many
other mobile devices use embedded operating
systems (real-time operating systems, RTOS).
Desktop computers use stand-alone operating
systems like Windows 10 or macOS. (See
Figure 5 and 6.) Networks use network
operating systems (NOS).
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 Software

Figure 5 Windows 10
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 Software

Figure 6 macOS

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 Software
• Utilities perform specific tasks to manage
computer resources. One of the most
essential utility programs that every
computer system should have is an
antivirus program. These programs protect
your computer system from viruses or
malicious program.

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 Application Software
Application software might be described as end-user
software. Application software includes general-
purpose, specialized, and apps.
• General purpose –widely used in nearly all career
areas; programs include browsers, word processors,
spreadsheets, database management systems, and
presentation software. (See Figure 7.)
Type Description
Word processors Prepare written documents
Spreadsheets Analyze and summarize numerical data
Database management Organize and manage data and information
systems
Presentation software Communicate a message or persuade other
people
Figure 7 General-purpose applications
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 Application Software
• Specialized – focus more on specific disciplines
and occupations; programs include graphics and
web authoring.
• Apps (mobile apps, mobile applications) –
designed for mobile devices; most popular are for
text messaging, Internet browsing, connecting to
social networks, playing games and downloading
music and videos.

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 Making IT work for you
Free Antivirus Program
Getting started. First, make sure your computer
does not have an antivirus or security suite
running. If it does, be sure to completely uninstall
that program, even if the subscription is expired.
Now, follow these steps to install AVG, a
popular, free antivirus program:
1. Visit http://free.avg.com and click the Download button.
You will be asked to click “save” to save the installation
file to your computer.
2. Run the installation file and follow the prompts.
3. Select Install basic to install the antivirus software. Once
the program is installed, it will open automatically.
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 Making IT work for you

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 Making IT work for you
Using AVG. Generally speaking, your antivirus program
watches your system for malware and updates itself
automatically. However, you can always download
updates manually, set a schedule for full-system scans,
and change basic setting for various components of the
software.
1. Click scan now to run a full scan on your computer.
2. Just to the right of that, click the button with the white cog to
see the scan options, where you can set a schedule for
automated scans.
3. Click the back arrow to reach the main screen, where you can
click various elements of the program to configure them. For
example, clicking web will allow you to turn on a feature that
detects cookies that may be used to track your online activity.
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 Hardware
Hardware consists of electronic devices
that can follow instructions to accept
input, process the input and produce
information.

Types of Computers
Supercomputer, mainframe, midrange (server),
and personal computers (PCs) are four types of
computers. Personal computers can be desktop,
laptop (notebook computer), tablet, smartphone,
and wearable.
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 Hardware
• Supercomputers are the most powerful type of computer.
These machines are special, high-capacity computers used
by very large organizations. Supercomputers are used to
process massive amounts of data. IBM’s Blue Gene
supercomputer is one the fastest computers in the world.
(See Figure 8.)

Figure 8 Supercomputer

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 Hardware
• Mainframe computers occupy specially wired, air-
conditioned rooms. Mainframe computers are
capable of great processing speeds and data storage.
Normally insurance companies use it.
• Midrange computers (servers) are computers with
processing capabilities less powerful than a
mainframe computer yet more powerful than a
personal computer. Originally used by medium-size
companies, today used to support or serve end users
as retrieving data from a database or supplying
access to application software.

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 Hardware
• Personal computers (PCs) mostly used computers.
There are five types: desktop, laptops, tablets,
smartphones, and wearables.
 Desktop computer are small enough to fit on
top of or alongside a desk. (See Figure 9.)

Figure 9 Desktop
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 Hardware
 Laptop computers (notebook computers) are
portable and lightweight and fit into briefcase. (Se
Figure 10.)

Figure 10 Laptop
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 Hardware
 Tablets are smaller, lighter, and generally less
powerful than laptop. (See figure 11.) Tablets
have a flat screen and use a virtual keyboard that
appears on the screen and is touch-sensitive. (See
Figure 11.)

Figure 11 Tablet
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 Hardware
 Smartphones are cell phones with wireless
connections to the Internet and processing
capabilities. (See figure 12.)

Figure 12 Smartphone
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 Hardware
 Wearable devices are mobile computers like
Apple’s Watch. (See Figure 13.)

Figure 13 Wearable

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 Hardware
Cell Phones
Almost all cell phones are smartphones;
cell phone and smartphone are becoming
interchangeable terms.

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 Personal Computer Hardware
Personal computer system consists of variety of
different devices. There are four basic categories
of hardware devices:
• System unit contains electronic circuitry,
including microprocessors and memory. (See
Figure 14.) The microprocessor controls and
manipulates data to produce information. Memory
is a holding area for data, instructions, and
information. Random-access memory (RAM)
hold the program and data currently being
processed. RAM sometimes referred as temporary
storage.
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 Personal Computer Hardware

Figure 14 System unit

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 Personal Computer Hardware
• Input/output devices are translators between
humans and computers. Input devices include
the keyboard and mouse. The most common
output device is the computer display (monitor).
• Communication devices allow personal
computers to communicate with other computer
systems. Modems modify audio, video, and
other types of data for transmission across the
Internet.

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 Personal Computer Hardware
• Secondary storage holds data and programs.
Typical media include hard disks, solid-state
storage, and optical discs (CD, DVD, and Blu-
ray).
 Hard disks used to store programs and very large
data files. Using rigid metallic platters and read/write
heads that move across the platters, data and
information are stored using magnetic charges on the
disk’s surface.
 Optical discs user laser technology to store data and
programs. Three types are compact discs (CDs),
digital versatile (or video) discs (DVD), and Blu-ray
discs (BD).
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 Personal Computer Hardware
 Solid-state storage saves data and information
electronically similar to RAM but not volatile.
(See Figure 15.)

Figure 15 Solid-state storage

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 Data
Data is the raw unprocessed facts about something.
When stored electronically in files, data can be
used directly as input for the system unit. Four
common types of files (see Figure 16) are

Figure 16 Four types of files: document,

worksheet, database, and presentation
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 Data
• Document files created by word processors to save
documents such as memos, term papers, and
letters.

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 Data
• Worksheet files created by spreadsheet
programs to analyze things like budgets and to
predict sales.

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 Data
• Database files created by database management
programs to contain highly structured and
organized data.

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 Data
• Presentation files created by presentation
software programs.

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Connectivity and the Mobile Internet
Connectivity describes the ability of end
users to use resources well beyond their
desktops. Central to the concept of
connectivity is the network or
communication system connecting two or
more computers. The Internet is the
world’s largest computer network. The web
provides a multimedia interface to
resources available on the Internet. Along
with the Internet, three other things are
driving the impact of technology:
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Connectivity and the Mobile Internet
• Cloud computing uses the Internet and the web to shift
many computer activities from a user’s computer to
computers on the internet. Rather than relying solely on
their computer, users can now use the Internet to
connect to the cloud and access more powerful
computers, software, and storage.
• Wireless revolution (communication) has changed
the way we communicate and use computer
technology. Wireless devices include tablets, cell
phones, and watches.
• The Internet of Things (IoT) is the continuing
development of the Internet that allows everyday
objects embedded with electronic devices to send and
receive data over the Internet.
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Connectivity and the Mobile Internet
Cloud computing, wireless communication, and
IoT are driving the mobile Internet. A few of the
mobile devices see Figure 17.

Figure 17 Wireless communication devices

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 CAREERS in IT
Each of the following chapters highlights a specific carrer in
information technology. Each provides specific job
descriptions, salary ranges, advancement opportunities, and
more. For a partial list of these careers, see Figure 18.
Webmaster Develops and maintains websites and web
resources. See chapter 2.
Software engineer Analyzes user’s needs and creates applications
software. See chapter 3.
Computer support Provides technical support to customers and other
specialist users. See chapter 4.
Computer technician Repairs and installs computer components and
systems. See chapter 5.
Technical writer Prepares instruction manuals, technical reports, and
other scientific or technical documents. See chapter
6.
Network administrator Creates and maintain computer networks. See
chapter 8.
Figure 18 Careers in information technology
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 A Look to the Future
In next chapters we will discuss
• The Internet and the Web
• Powerful Software
• Powerful Hardware
• Security and Privacy
• Organizations
• Changing Times

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 A Look to the Future

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