Module 1: Introducing Today's Technologies: Computers, Devices, the Web

A laptop, also called a notebook computer,
is a thin, lightweight mobile computer with
a screen in its lid and a keyboard in its base

Most laptops can operate on batteries or a
power supply or both.

A tablet is a thin, lighter-weight
mobile computer that has a touch screen

Tablets run on batteries or a power supply or both, however, batteries in a tablet typically last longer than
those in laptops

A desktop, or desktop computer, is a personal computer designed to be in a stationary location, where all of its components fit on or under a desk or table.

Another type of desktop called an all-in-one does not contain a tower and instead uses the same case to house the display and the processing circuitry.

Some desktops and all-in-ones have displays that
support touch.

A server is a computer dedicated to providing one or more services to other computers or devices on a network.

A network is a collection of computers and devices connected together, often wirelessly.

Services provided by servers include storing content and controlling access to hardware, software, and other resources on a network.

A server can support from two to several thousand connected computers and devices at the same time. Servers are available in a variety of sizes and types for both small and large business application.

Larger corporate, government, and web applications use powerful, expensive servers to support their daily operations.

A smartphone is an Internet-capable phone that usually also includes a calendar, an address, book, a calculator, a notepad, games, and several other apps.

Smartphones typically communicate wirelessly with other devices or computers. With most smartphone models, you also can listen to music, take photos, and record videos.

Instead of or in addition to a touch screen, some
smartphones have a keyboard that slides in and out from behind the phone.

Instead of calling someone’s phone to talk, you can send messages to others by pressing images on an on-screen keyboard on the phone, keys on the phone’s mini keyboard, or buttons on the phone’s keypad.

Four popular types of messages that you can send with smartphones include voice messages, text messages, picture messages, and video messages.

A digital camera is a device that allows you to take photos and store the photographed
images digitally

A smart digital camera also can communicate wirelessly with other devices and include apps similar to those on
a smartphone. Many mobile computers and devices, such as tablets and smartphones, include at least one integrated digital camera.

Can transfer images from a digital camera to a computer or device, so that you can review, modify, share, organize,or print the images.

Digital cameras often can connect to or communicate wirelessly with a computer, a Smart TV, a printer, or the Internet, enabling to access the photos on the camera without using a cable.

Many digital cameras also have built-in GPS, giving them the capability to record the exact location where a photo was taken and store these details with the photo.

A portable media player is a mobile device on which can store, organize, and play or view digital media.

Portable media players enable to listen to music, view photos, and watch videos, movies, and television shows. With most, can transfer the digital media from a computer or the web, if the device is Internet capable, to the portable media player.

Some portable media player models have a touch screen, while others have a pad that can operate with a thumb or finger, so that can navigate through digital media, adjust volume, and customize settings.

Portable media players are a mobile type of digital media player. A digital media player or streaming media player is a device, typically used in a home, that streams digital media from a computer or network to a television, projector, or some other entertainment device.

An e-book, or digital book, is an electronic version of a printed book, readable on computers and other digital devices.

Most e-book reader models have a touch screen, and some are Internet capable. These devices usually are smaller than tablets but larger than smartphones.

A wearable device or wearable is a small, mobile computing consumer device designed to be worn. These devices often communicate with a mobile device or computer.

Wearable devices include activity trackers, smartwatches, and smart glasses. Activity trackers monitor heart rate, measure pulse, count steps, and track sleep patterns.

A smartwatch can communicate with a smart phone to make and answer phone calls, read and send messages, access the web, play music, work with apps, such as fitness trackers and GPS, and more.

With smart glasses, a user looks into an eyeglass-type device to view information or take photos and videos that are projected to a miniature screen in the user’s field of vision.

A game console is a mobile computing device designed for single-player or multiplayer
video games.

Gamers often connect the game console to a television so that can view the gameplay on the television’s screen.

Many game console models are Internet capable and also allow to listen to music and watch movies or view photos.

A handheld game device is small enough to fit in one hand, making it more portable than the game console.

Some handheld game device models are Internet capable and also can communicate wirelessly with other similar devices for multiplayer gaming.

the social aspect of gathering
families and friends to play together as a group or
online with each other and those around the world.

Obtaining Games: For tablets and smart phones, they can download games from an app store to a mobile computer or device. For game consoles, they can purchase or rent discs or other media that contain games download or transfer them from online stores or sign up for cloud services that stream or transfer games on demand.

An input device is any hardware component that allows you to enter data and instructions into a computer or mobile device.

Input methods is keyboards, voice and video input and scanners.

An output
device is any hardware component that conveys information from
a computer or mobile device to one or more people.

Output methods such as printers, displays, speakers, earbuds, and headphones, memory and storage, hard disk, solid-state drives, USB flash drives, memory cards, optical discs, and cloud storage.

Memory consists of electronic components that store instructions waiting to be executed and the data needed by those instructions. Although some forms of memory are permanent, most memory keeps data and instructions temporarily, which means its contents are erased when the computer is shut off.

For example, computers can store hundreds or millions of student names and addresses permanently. A computer keeps data, instructions, and information on storage media.

Examples of local storage media includes hard disks, solid-state drives, USB (universal serial bus) flash drives, memory cards, and optical discs. Some storage media are portable, meaning that can remove the medium from one computer and carry it to another computer.

Storage devices often also function as a source of input and output because they transfer items from storage to memory and vice versa.

software that enables users with an Internet connection to access and view webpages on a computer or mobile device.

Some widely used browsers include Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Google Chrome.

to search for specific information, including text,
photos, music, and videos.

A search engine is software that finds websites, webpages, images, videos, news, maps, and other information related to a specific topic.

An online social network, also called a social networking site, is a website that encourages members in its online community to share their interests, ideas, stories, photos, music, and videos with other registered users

Popular online social networks include Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn

for example, is a specific type of online social network that allows users to create an online photo album and store and share their digital photos.

the web is only one of the services on the Internet. Other services on the Internet facilitate communications among users

A home user is any person who spends time using technology at home.

A small office user includes employees of companies with fewer than 50 employees, as well as the self-employed who work from home.

A mobile user includes any person who works with computers or mobile devices while away from a main office, home, or school.

A power user is a user who requires the capabilities of a powerful computer.

Each employee or customer who uses computers, mobile devices, and other technology in the enterprise is an enterprise user.

Educators and teaching institutions use technology to assist with education.

Many required students to have a mobile computer or mobile device to access the school’s network or Internet wireless to access digital-only content provided by a textbook publisher.

Through the course management system, students access course materials, grades, assessments, and a variety of collaboration tools.

Digital technology offers flexibility and a revised classroom setting such as mobile devices and tablets, virtual field trips, games and simulations, interactive whiteboard and share project.

Most government offices have websites to provide citizens with up-to-date information.

People in the United States access government websites to view census data, file taxes, apply for permits and licenses, pay parking tickets, buy stamps, report crimes, apply for
financial aid, and renew vehicle registrations and driver’s licenses

Employees of government agencies use computers as part of their daily routine.

Many people and companies use online banking or finance software to pay bills, track personal income and expenses, manage investments, and
evaluate financial plans.

The advantage is you can access your
financial records from anywhere in the world.

With online investing, the transaction fee for each trade usually is much less than when
trading through a broker

To purchase from an online retailer, a customer visits the business’s storefront, which contains product descriptions, images, and a shopping cart.

Many mobile apps make your shopping experience more convenient. Some enable you to
manage rewards, use coupons, locate stores, or pay for goods and services directly from your
phone or other mobile device

Other mobile apps will check a product’s price and availability at
stores in your local area or online.

You can use computers and mobile devices to listen to audio clips, watch television shows, or live performances and read a book, magazine, or newspaper and also play a games individually or with others.

You also can create videos, take photos, or record audio and upload
(transfer) your media content to the web to share with others, such as on an online social network

In some cases, you download the media from the web
to a computer or mobile device so that you can watch, listen to, view, or play later.

Hospitals and doctors use computers and mobile devices to maintain and access patient
records

Computers and computerized devices assist doctors, nurses, and technicians with medical tests

Doctors use email, text messaging, and other
communications services to correspond with patients

Patients use computers and mobile devices to refill prescriptions, and pharmacists use computers to file insurance claims and provide customers with vital information about their medications

Medical staff create labels for medicine, hospital ID bracelets, and more, enabling staff to verify dosage and access patient records by scanning the label.

use computers to assist them with collecting, analyzing, and modeling data.

The capability of a personal computer to recognize spoken words is a direct result of scientific experimentation with neural networks.

As you make the journey, you may interact with a navigation system or GPS, which uses satellite signals to determine a geographic location

Many mobile devices, such as smart phones, also have built-in navigation systems.

Many websites offer these services to the public where you can search for and compare flights and prices, order airline tickets, or reserve a
rental car. You also can print driving directions and maps from the web.

Organizations and individuals publish their thoughts and ideas using a blog, podcast, or wiki.

A blog is an informal website consisting of time-stamped articles (posts) in a diary or journal
format, usually listed in reverse chronological order.

A podcast is recorded media that users can download or stream to a computer or portable media player.

A wiki is a collaborative website that allows users to create, add to, modify, or delete the
content via their browser

The difference between a wiki and a blog is that users cannot modify original posts made by a
blogger.

Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) refers to the use of computers to assist with manufacturing processes, such as fabrication and assembly.

CAM is used by a variety of industries, including oil drilling, power generation, food production, and automobile manufacturing.

A communications device is hardware capable of
transferring items from computers and devices to transmission media and vice versa.

Examples of communications devices are modems, wireless
access points, and routers.

Wired communications often use some form of telephone wiring, coaxial cable, or fiber-optic cables to send communications signals.

Because it is more convenient than installing
wires and cables, many users opt for wireless
communications, which sends signals through
the air or space

Examples of wireless communications technologies include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth,
and cellular radio

A network is a collection of computers and devices connected together, often wirelessly, via
communications devices and transmission media.

Networks allow computers to share resources,
such as hardware, software, data, and information.

The server controls access to the
resources on a network.

Most allow users to connect their computers wirelessly to the network. Users often are required to sign in to, or log on, a network, which means they enter a user name and password to access the network and its resources.

When you synchronize, or sync, computers
and mobile devices, you match the files in two or more locations with each other, as shown in the figure below

Syncing can be a one-way or a two-way process.

With a one-way sync, also called mirroring, you add, change, or delete files in a destination location, called the target, without altering the same files in the original location, called the source.

In two-way sync, any change made in one location
also is made in any other sync location.

You can use wired or wireless methods to sync. In a wired setup, cables connect one device to another, which allows for reliable data transfer.

Strategies for keeping your files in sync include use a cable and software, use cloud storage and use web apps.

An operating system is a set of programs that coordinates all the activities among computer or mobile device hardware.

It provides a means for users
to communicate with the computer
or mobile device and other software.

To use an application, your computer
or mobile device must be running an
operating system.

An application consists of programs designed to make users more productive and assist
them with personal tasks.

an example of an application that enables
users with an Internet connection to
access and view webpages

Some applications are available as both a web app and a mobile app. In this case, typically
can sync the data and activity between the web app and the mobile app

Installing a program is the process of setting up the program to work with a computer or
mobile device, printer, and other hardware.

Installed operating systems often include applications such as a browser, media player, and calculator.

Mobile apps typically install automatically after you transfer the app’s files to your mobile device from its website.

When you instruct a computer or mobile device to run a program, the computer or mobile device loads it, which means the program’s instructions are copied from storage to memory

The user interface controls how you enter data and instructions and how information is displayed on the screen

A software developer, sometimes called a developer or programmer, is someone who develops programs and apps or writes the instructions that direct the computer or mobile device to process data into information.

Software developers use a programming language or application development tool to create programs and apps.

Malware, short for malicious software, is software that acts without a user’s knowledge and deliberately alters the computer’s or mobile device’s operations.

Each of these types of malware attacks your computer or mobile device differently. Some are harmless pranks that temporarily freeze, play sounds, or display messages on your computer or mobile device.

any unusual changes in the performance of your computer or mobile device, it may be infected with malware.

In many instances, where personal and confidential records were not protected properly, individuals have found their privacy violated and identities stolen.

Some techniques you can use to protect yourself from identity theft include shredding financial
documents before discarding them, never tapping or clicking links in unsolicited email messages, and enrolling in a credit monitoring service.

Some of these unsuspecting, innocent computer users have fallen victim to crimes committed by dangerous strangers.

Computer and mobile device users can protect
themselves from these health risks through proper workplace design, good posture while at the computer, and appropriately spaced work breaks

Two behavioral health risks are technology addiction and technology overload. Technology
addiction occurs when someone becomes obsessed with using technology. Individuals suffering from technology overload feel distressed when deprived of computers and mobile devices.

Manufacturing processes for computers and mobile devices along with e-waste, or discarded
computers and mobile devices, are depleting natural resources and polluting the environment.

Green computing involves reducing the electricity consumed and environmental waste generated when using a computer.