JOURNEY INTO THE
WORLD OF
COMPUTER
TECHNOLOGY
SESSION
OBJECTIVES
At
the end of this session the student will be to
Ø
Explain What a
computer is
Ø
List the
application of computers
Ø
Explain the data
processing cycle
Ø
Describe the
concept of information
Ø
List and describe
categories of software
Ø
Identify a PC
Ø
Identify
peripherals of a PC
1.1 Introduction to computers
Man is truly an amazing being. He is master of inventors. He
is master of inventors. He is restless by nature; either his need to make things
easier and sophisticated or his game loving nature drives his imagination to
keep inventing.
Be it the wheel, the television or the vehicles we see on
the roads, are some of the inventions that we cannot imagine our lives without
today. One amongst this list is the
computer which made its
first appearance somewhere in the late 19
th century but started
getting popular only in the 20
th century. Today it has become a part
and parcel of almost everybody’s life. The reason for it’s popularity is that
it’s users are varied, it can be modified to do anything that human imagination
can make it do and hence its reach is expanding day by day.
These inventions have been in the direction of bringing
about mechanization in various fields of human activities. Therefore all such
inventions are generally termed as machines, which require either mechanical or
electrical power to drive them.
A glance through this section will make the fact very clear
that computers have made their presence felt in almost every speck of life
today. Some of the areas where computers have become a common sight are:
ÿ
Commercial Applications:
* Electricity bill generation.
* Railway and Airway ticket
booking.
* Generation
of telephone bills.
* 24 Hours
customer telephone complaints registrations.
* Wake up
alarm call.
* Banking
sector.
* Paperless
money through credit cards.
*