|
|
FUNDAMENTALS |
| OS |
Operating
System (e.g. DOS, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Novell NetWare,
OS/2, SCO Unix, Banyan Vines, ..) |
| ROM |
Read-Only Memory |
| BIOS |
Basic Input Output
System |
| CPU |
The microchip or Central Processing
Unit |
Byte and bits
Just as a word is made up of letters, a byte is made up of bits. While words have
a variable number of letters, all bytes have eight bits. A bit represents a positive or
negative electric charge. The computer interprets these electric states as either the
digits 0 (negative charge) or 1 (positive charge). These are the only two digits the
computer can understand. Because of this, computers work on a binary number system,
instead of the decimal system we are used to. The word bit stands for binary digit.
The computer interprets the negative and positive electric charges as binary digits
(bits), and groups eight bits together. The sequence of the eight 1s and 0s identifies one
byte from another. There are 256 different possible 0-1 combinations the eight bits can
make (2 to the power of 8 = 256), and so a computer can identify 256 different characters.
This is a sufficient number to represent all of the uppercase and lowercase letters of the
alphabet, the digits 0-9, all the punctuation marks, a symbol used by the computer for a
space, special characters such a * and I, other symbols used specifically by the computer,
and still leave plenty of possible symbols for future uses. |
| 8 bits = 1 byte |
| 1,024 bytes = 1 kilobyte (K) |
| 1,024 kilobytes - 1 megabyte (MB) |
| 1,024 megabytes = 1 gigabyte (GB) |
| 1,024 gigabytes = 1 terabyte (TB) |
kilo-
k 1000^1 1024^1 = 2^10 = 1,024
mega- M 1000^2 1024^2 = 2^20 = 1,048,576
giga- G 1000^3 1024^3 = 2^30 = 1,073,741,824
tera- T 1000^4 1024^4 = 2^40 = 1,099,511,627,776
peta- 1000^5 1024^5 = 2^50 =
1,125,899,906,842,624
exa- 1000^6 1024^6 = 2^60 = 1,152,921,504,606,846,976
zetta- 1000^7 1024^7 = 2^70 = 1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424
yotta- 1000^8 1024^8 = 2^80 = 1,208,925,819,614,629,174,706,176 |
|
Name |
Abbr. |
Size |
|
Kilo |
K |
2^10 = 1,024 |
|
Mega |
M |
2^20 = 1,048,576 |
|
Giga |
G |
2^30 = 1,073,741,824 |
|
Tera |
T |
2^40 = 1,099,511,627,776 |
|
Peta |
P |
2^50 = 1,125,899,906,842,624 |
|
Exa |
E |
2^60 = 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 |
|
Zetta |
Z |
2^70 = 1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424 |
|
Yotta |
Y |
2^80 = 1,208,925,819,614,629,174,706,176
|
|
Object
Linking and Embedding (OLE)
If the object is embedded, then the illustration remains under
control of the original application.
If the object is linked, changes you make through your application are
made directly to the source file. |
|
Every file format in the world |
Search for file extensions |
Computer Unit Converter |
|
Peripherals are attach to your PC via ports:
|
| Serial
Port
- 115 Kbps |
USB
- 12 Mbps
= 12 million bits
per second |
FireWire
- IEEE 1394
- 400 Mbps |
USB
2.0- 480 Mbps |
Peripheral Component
Interconnect (PCI)
(PCI) A standard for connecting
peripherals to a personal computer, designed by Intel and released
around Autumn 1993. PCI is supported by most major manufacturers
including Apple Computer. It is technically far superior to VESA's
local bus. It runs at 20 - 33 MHz and carries 32 bits at a time over a
124-pin connector or 64 bits over a 188-pin connector. An address is
sent in one cycle followed by one word of data (or several in burst
mode).
|
| Accelerated
Graphics Port (AGP) |
A bus specification by Intel which gives low-cost 3D graphics cards
faster access to main memory on personal computers than the usual
PCI bus.
AGP dynamically allocates the PC's normal RAM to store the screen
image and to support texture mapping, z-buffering and alpha blending.
Intel has built AGP into a chipset for its Pentium II microprocessor
AGP cards are slightly longer than a PCI card.
AGP operates at 66 MHz, doubled to 133 MHz, compared with PCI's 33
Mhz. AGP allows for efficient use of frame buffer memory, thereby
helping 2D graphics performance as well.
AGP provides a coherent memory management design which allows scattered
data in system memory to be read in rapid bursts. |
PCI Express Architecture
PCI Express is the latest I/O interconnect technology that will
replace the existing PCI. With a bus bandwidth 4 times higher than
that of AGP 8X interface, PCI Express x16 bus performs much better
than AGP 8X in applications such as 3D gaming. PCI Express x1 also
outperforms PCI interface with its exceptional high bandwidth up to
500MB/s. The high speed PCI Express interface creates new usages on
desktop PCs e.g., Gigabit LAN, 1394b, and high-speed RAID systems. |
|
T
E X T |
B
I N A R Y |
Text
Typically, the term text refers to text stored as ASCII codes (that is, without
any formatting). Objects that are not text include graphics, numbers (if they're not
stored as ASCII characters), and program code. |
Binary 1. <mathematics> A number representation consisting of 0's and
1's used by practically all computers because of its ease of implementation using digital
electronics and Boolean algebra.
2. <file format> Any file format for digital data encoded as a
sequence of bits but not consisting of a sequence of printable characters (text). The term
is often used for executable machine code. Of course all digital data, including
characters, is actually binary data (unless it uses some (rare) system with more than two
discrete levels) but the distinction between binary and text is well established. |
| ASCII - American
Standard Code for Information Interchange. This is the world-wide standard for the code
numbers used by computers to represent all the upper and lower-case Latin letters,
numbers, punctuation, etc. There are 128 standard ASCII codes each of which can be
represented by a 7 digit binary number: 0000000 through 1111111. |
| EBCDIC - Extended
Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code Pronounced eb-see-dik, EBCDIC is an IBM code for
representing characters as numbers. Although it is widely used on large IBM computers,
most other computers, including PCs and Macintoshes, use ASCII codes. [/eb's*-dik/,
/eb'see"dik/, or /eb"k*-dik/ ] |
|
COMPUTER
 TERMINOLOGY |
| State-of-the-art |
Any computer you can't
afford |
| Obsolete |
Any computer you own |
| Microsecond |
The time it takes for your
state-of-the-art computer to become obsolete |
| Keyboard |
The standard way to
generate computer errors |
| Mouse |
An advanced input device
to make computer errors easier to generate |
| Floppy |
The state of your wallet
after purchasing a computer |
| Portable
Computer |
A device invented to force
businessmen to work at home, on vacation, and on business trips |
| Disk
Crash |
A typical computer
response to any critical deadline |
| Power
User |
Anyone who can format a
disk from DOS |
| System
Update |
A quick method of trashing
ALL of your software |
|
COMPUTER
FUNDAMENTALS