Computers. For intermediate learners Практикум

a computer system:
Software
People
Hardware
Procedures
Data/Information

Text B. The Evolution of Computers
Generations of Computers

an electronic stylus are used instead of the keyboard

User Interface

using a keyboard
Terminals:
A dumb terminal
E.g. A financial transaction terminal
A smart

terminal
E.g. A point-of-sale terminal
An intelligent terminal
E.g.An integrated workstation
A portable terminal, a handheld terminal

terminal
A smart terminal
An intelligent terminal

or integrated workstations
Portable terminals
Microcomputers used as terminals

computer (a volatile form of storage , i.e. the data

and instructions are lost when the computer is turned off.)
Secondary (Auxiliary) Storage (a file cabinet) (a nonvolatile form of storage, i.e. the data and instructions remain intact whien the computer is turned off.)

buffer between the CPU and the rest of the computer

system components

The amount of RAM in a minicomputer directly affects the level of sophistication of the software used.

or a binary code

Two most commonly used codes:
ASCII

(the American Standard Code for Information Interchange)
EBCDIC (Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code) – the most popular code used for IBM and IBM-compatible mainframe computers

Unit which houses:
the power supply
the system board
the storage devices
additional components

master control program which controls the functions of the computer

system as a whole and the running of application programs.
All computers do not use the same operating systems. Some software is only designed to run under the control of specific operating systems. Some operating systems are adopted as ‘industry standards”.
Mainframe computers usually process several application programs concurrently, this is known as multiprogramming (multi-tasking in the context of microcomputers). It requires a powerful operating system incorporating work scheduling facilities to control the switching between programs. This entails reading in data for one program while the processor is performing computations on another and printing out results on yet another.
In multi-user environments an operating system is required to control terminal operations on a shared access basis as only one user can access the system at any moment of time. The operating system allocates control to each terminal in turn.
Some environments operate in concurrent batch and real-time mode.
An operating system is stored on disk and has to be booted into the internal memory (RAM)

protocols.

usually in one building or a group of buildings close

together, but now it is possible to connect LANs remotely over telephone links so that they look as though they are a single LAN)
WAN – Wide Area Network (a network connected over long distance by telephone lines)

directly to the central computer
Switched – the central switch is

used to connect different devices on the network directly
Ring – each device is attached to a network shaped as a continuous loop
Bus/Ethernet – consists of one piece of cable terminated at each end to which all devices are connected. Each device is able to broadcast a message when it has detected silence for a fixed period of time.

B. How to Plug to the Internet

entered your system without you knowing about it. Generally consists

of two parts: the infector and the detonator. Computer virus like a disease can spread (via floppies transported from computer to computer, or networks) to other computers.
Generally, the work of the virus is either damaging data on your disks, altering what you see on your computer display, or doing something else that interferes with the normal use of your computer.

our television: full-motion video, still images, graphics, sound, and animation
School

media: the instructor's words, text, audiotapes, graphics, and a variety of visuals and video

and achievements

and video
multimedia computer a computer suitable for running multimedia

programs. It usually has a sound card and a CD-ROM drive.
Computer-to-Video Conversion. How they work.

and comparison of modern

portable personal computers

Text B. Wired Room
Computer facilities in modern foreign hotels

Case for Reporting
Debunking the Myths and Explaining the Basics
Desktop replacements

- CNET reviews

are used in the texts

Examples:
systems program a program that is

part of a computer operating system and controls a basic function of a computer
systems programming the writing of systems programs

are used in manuals and in captions supplied with the

drawings

Useful for technicians, users and operators of PCs