Chapter 1.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

Information and communication technology is the processing of data using computers,
and the movement of data between computers.

What is a computer?

A computer is an electronic device that can follow instructions to accept input, process
that input and produce information.

Different Types of Computers

1. Supercomputers – A supercomputer is the fastest, most powerful computer – and the

most expensive. The fastest supercomputers are capable of processing more than 100
trillion (100 x 1012) instructions per second.

These machines are special, high capacity

computers used by very large organizations.
Applications requiring complex, sophisticated
mathematical calculations use
supercomputers. Large-scale simulations and
applications in medicine, aerospace (NASA
uses supercomputers to track and control
space explorations), automotive design, online
banking, weather forecasting, nuclear energy
research, and petroleum exploration use a
supercomputer.

2. Mainframe – Although not as powerful as supercomputers, mainframe computers

are capable of great processing speeds and they can
store tremendous amounts of data, instructions, and
information. Most major corporations use mainframes
for business activities e.g. large businesses are able to
bill millions of customers, prepare payroll for
thousands of employees and manage thousands of
items in inventory. These computers can handle
hundreds of users simultaneously.

3. Minicomputers (Midrange computers) –

minicomputers are desk-sized machines. Medium-
sized companies or departments of large companies
typically use them for specific purposes. For
example, production departments use
minicomputers to monitor certain manufacturing
processes and assembly line operations.

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4. Personal (Microcomputers) – a personal computer is a computer that can perform all
of its input, processing, output and storage activities by itself. A personal computer
contains a processor, memory, and one or more input, output, and storage devices.

Two popular styles of personal computers are the PC (based on IBM personal computer
design) and Apple ( based on Apple design). These two types of computers also use
different operating systems. PC and PC-compatible computers usually use a Windows
operating system. Apple computers use a Macintosh operating system (Mac OS).

Two types of personal computers are desktop computers and notebook computers.

a) Desktop Computers

A desktop computer is designed so the system unit,

input devices, output devices and any other devices fit
entirely on or under a desk. The desktop computer shown
on the left has the system unit inside the monitor
(branded an “all in one PC”). Desktop computers come in
a variety of types ranging from large vertical tower cases
to small form factor models that can be tucked behind an
LCD monitor.

b) Laptop (Notebook) computers

A laptop computer, is a portable, personal computer

designed to fit on your lap. Laptop computers are thin
and light weight, yet they can be as powerful as the
average desktop computer. Laptop computers are
more expensive than desktop computers with equal
capabilities.

On a typical laptop computer, the keyboard is on top

of the system unit, and the monitor attaches to the
system unit with hinges. Most laptop computers can
operate on batteries or a power supply. Note the
circled keypad that we will talk about shortly under
input devices.

c) Handheld Devices

i) Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) – a PDA provides personal

organizer functions such as a calendar, an appointment book, an
address book, a calculator and a notepad. Most PDAs also offer a
variety of other application software such as word processing,
spreadsheet, personal finance, and games.

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The primary input device of a PDA is a stylus ( a pen like object). Some PDAs do have
built –in miniature keyboard. If you prefer to type on a PDA that does not have a
keyboard, you can insert the PDA in a special separate keyboard. Some PDAs also
support voice input and have built-in cameras.

Many PDAs are Internet-enabled so users can check e-mail and access the Web. Some
also provide telephone capabilities. Because of all the added features, increasingly more
people are replacing their pocket-sized appointment books with PDAs.

ii) Smart Phone – offering the convenience of one-handed operation, a smartphone is an

Internet –enabled telephone that usually also provides PDA capabilities. In addition to
basic telephone capabilities, a smartphone allows you to send and receive e-mail
messages and access the Web. Higher-priced models have colour screens, play music,
and include built in cameras so you can share photographs or videos with others as soon
as you capture the image.

As smart phones and PDAs continue a trend of offering similar functions, it is becoming
increasingly difficult to differentiate between the two devices. This trend, known as
convergence, has led manufactures to refer to PDAs and smart phones simply as
handhelds.

Hardware:

Refers to the physical parts of a computer system e.g. keyboard, mouse, speakers,
monitor and the system unit.

Software:

These are the series of instructions (programs) that tell the computer what to do and how
to do it. The purpose of software is to convert data (raw unprocessed facts) into
information (processed facts).

The Main Components of a General Purpose Computer

System Unit: is the case that contains the electronic components of a computer (such as,
the CPU, memory etc) that are used to process data.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The CPU sometimes referred to as the microprocessor controls and

manipulates data to produce information. It is considered as “the
brain” of a computer system.
Memory:

There are two types of memory we will look at:

1. Random Access Memory (RAM)

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Is the type of memory that can be read from (you can retrieve
information from RAM) and written to (you can also store
information into RAM) by the processor and other devices.
RAM stores the user’s work, that is, it holds the programs
that the CPU is currently processing. RAM is temporary or
volatile storage. RAM is called temporary (volatile) because
as soon as the computer is turned off (or when there is a
power cut) everything in RAM is lost. End-users (people who use computers) should
therefore save their work (into storage media) every few minutes when working on a
document.

2. Read Only Memory (ROM)

ROM has programs built into it at the factory (called

firmware). Unlike RAM chips, ROM chips are not volatile and
cannot be changed by the user. “Read Only” means that, the
CPU can only read, or retrieve, the programs written on the
ROM chip. However, the computer cannot write–encode or
change the information or instructions in ROM. The diagram
on the far left shows a ROM chip with the top wafer removed.

Input Devices

An input device is any hardware component that allows you to enter data and
instructions (programs, commands and user responses) into a computer. Let’s look at the
input devices.

Keyboard

A keyboard is an input device that contains keys users press to enter data and
instructions into a computer. To enter text into the computer, you would use the
keyboard. Moreover, you can enter commands into
the computer by pressing certain keys or a certain
combination of keys. A numeric keypad (see the red
circle on the right) is also found on the keyboard and
also on ATM machines. It is used in applications
where only numeric data is to be entered. To enter
your personal identification number (PIN) for Chip
and PIN credit/debit cards, or when using an ATM machine to withdraw money or check
a balance you would use a numeric keypad.

Pointing devices

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Pointing devices used in applications which require selection from a graphical user
interface (GUI), pronounced gooey. For example: the selection of data from a set list or
menu. We will look at following pointing devices:

1. Mouse- It is found in most personal computers (PCs). It controls a pointer that is

displayed on the monitor. The pointer usually appears in the shape of an arrow. The
standard mouse has a ball at the bottom and is attached with a cord to the system unit.

Operating an opto-mechanical mouse.

1: moving the mouse turns the ball.
2: X and Y rollers grip the ball and transfer movement.
3: Optical encoding disks include light holes.
4: Infrared LEDs shine through the disks.
5: Sensors gather light pulses to convert to X and Y vectors.

2. Touchpad
A touchpad (also trackpad) is a pointing device consisting of specialized
surface that can translate the motion and position of a user's fingers to a
relative position on screen. They are a common feature of laptop computers
and also used as a substitute for a computer mouse where desk space
is scarce.

3. Trackerball (or trackball)

A trackerball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a

socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two
axes—like an upside-down mouse with an exposed protruding ball.
The user rolls the ball with the thumb, fingers, or the palm of
the hand to move a cursor. A trackerball is usually used by
people with limited motor skills e.g. young children or
disabled people.

Remote Control
A remote control is a component of an electronics device, most
commonly a television set, used for operating the device
wirelessly from a short line-of-sight distance.The term remote
control can be contracted to remote or controller. Other than operating
TVs, it is used to operate video players/recorders, DVD
players/recorders, satellite receivers, High Fidelity (Hi-Fi) music
systems, data or multimedia projectors.

Commonly, remote controls are Consumer IR devices used to issue commands from a
distance to televisions or other consumer electronics such as stereo systems, DVD players
and dimmers. Remote controls for these devices are usually small wireless handheld

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objects with an array of buttons for adjusting various settings such as television channel,
track number, and volume

Joystick

A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a

base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is
controlling. Joysticks are often used to control video games, and
usually have one or more push-buttons whose state can also be
read by the computer. A popular variation of the joystick used on
modern video game consoles is the analog stick.

The joystick has been the principal flight control in the cockpit of
many aircraft (and flight simulators), particularly military fast
jets, where center stick or side-stick location may be employed

Joysticks are also used for controlling machines such as cranes, trucks, underwater
unmanned vehicles, wheelchairs, surveillance cameras and zero turning radius lawn
mowers. Miniature finger-operated joysticks have been adopted as input devices for
smaller electronic equipment such as mobile phones.

Touch Screen

A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the

presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term
generally refers to touch or contact to the display of the device by a
finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects,
such as a pen. However, if the object sensed is active, as with a light
pen, the term touchscreen is generally not applicable.

Touch screens are used for selecting from a limited list of options
e.g. certain POS uses such as cafes, tourist information kiosks,
public transport enquiries. It may also be used for handwriting recognition in a PDA or
Tablet PC.

Magnetic Stripe Readers

Magnetic stripe readers read input from a magnetic stripe (labeled on the diagram as
number 1 ) at point of sale terminals (POS), ATMs and in security applications.
A magnetic stripe is a type of card capable of storing data
by modifying the magnetism of tiny iron-based magnetic
particles on a band of magnetic material on the card. The
magnetic stripe, sometimes called a magstripe, is read by
physical contact and swiping past a reading head. Magnetic
stripe cards are commonly used in credit cards, identity
cards, and transportation tickets. They may also contain
an RFID tag, a transponder device and/or a microchip mostly used for business
premises access control or electronic payment.
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Chip Reader and Pin Pads

Just like magnetic readers, chip readers read data inputs from a chip
embedded on a card. Pin pads on the other hand have numeric keypads
where you can enter your PIN before the pin is validated. Chip readers
and PIN pads are used in payment cards, ID cards, door control
systems and public transport tickets. Note, the numeric keypad on the
reader.

Scanner

In computing, a scanner is a device that optically scans hard copy

images, printed text, handwriting, or an object, into a computer and
converts it to a digital image. Common examples found in offices are
variations of the desktop (or flatbed) scanner where the document is
placed on a glass window for scanning.

Digital Camera

A digital camera (also digicam or camera for short) is a camera

that takes video or still photographs, or both (for input to
computers or photo printers), digitally by recording images via
an electronic image sensor. The diagram on the far right shows
the front and back of a Canon PowerShot A95.

Microphones

A microphone (colloquially called a mic or

mike (both pronounced /ˈmaɪk/)) is an acoustic-to-electric transducer
or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones
are used in computers for recording of voices for presentation
software, speech recognition and VoIP.

Temperature Sensor ( scientifically known as thermistor)

A thermistor is a type of resistor whose resistance varies with

temperature. The word is a portmanteau of thermal and resistor.
Thermistors are widely used as inrush current limiters, temperature
sensors, self-resetting overcurrent protectors, and self-regulating
heating elements. Temperature sensors are used in automatic
washing machines, automatic cookers, central heating controllers,
computer-controlled greenhouses, scientific experiments and
environmental monitoring.
Pressure Sensor

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 A pressure sensor measures pressure, typically of gases or
liquids. Pressure is an expression of the force required to stop a
fluid from expanding, and is usually stated in terms of force
per unit area. A pressure sensor usually acts as a transducer; it
generates a signal as a function of the pressure imposed. For
the purposes of this article, such a signal is electrical.

Pressure sensors are used for control and monitoring in

thousands of everyday applications ( such as in burglar alarms,
automatic washing machines, robotics, production line control,
scientific experiments and environmental monitoring).

Light Sensor (Light Dependent Resistor)

A photoresistor or light dependent resistor or cadmium sulfide (CdS) cell is a resistor

whose resistance decreases with increasing incident light intensity. It can
also be referenced as a photoconductor.

A photoresistor is made of a high resistance semiconductor. If light

falling on the device is of high enough frequency, photons absorbed by
the semiconductor give bound electrons enough energy to jump into the
conduction band. The resulting free electron (and its hole partner)
conduct electricity, thereby lowering resistance.

A light sensor is used in computer controlled greenhouses, burglar alarm

systems, robotics, production line control, scientific experiments and environmental
monitoring.

Graphics Tablet

A graphics tablet (or digitizing tablet, graphics pad, drawing tablet[1]) is a computer
input device that allows one to input free-hand drawings and graphics, similar to the way
one draws images with a pencil and paper. These tablets may
also be used to capture data or handwritten signatures.

A graphics tablet (also called pen pad or digitizer) consists of

a flat surface upon which the user may "draw" an image
using an attached stylus, a pen-like drawing apparatus. The
image generally does not appear on the tablet itself but,
rather, is displayed on the computer monitor. Some tablets
however, come as a functioning secondary computer screen that you can interact with
directly using the stylus.

Optical Mark Reader (OMR)

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An OMR is a device used to read optical marks (shaded in pencil) from an optical mark
reading sheet shown on the left. These pencil marks are found on a form such as a
school register, candidate exam answers or any application involving input of a choice of
options.

Optical Character Reader

Is a device used to input text (usually captured by a scanner) to a computer ready for
processing by another software package, such as, word processors, spreadsheets,
databases etc. This text can successively edited using the software packages.

Bar Code Reader

A barcode reader (or barcode scanner) is an electronic device for

reading printed barcodes. Like a flatbed scanner, it consists of a light
source, a lens and a light sensor translating optical impulses into
electrical ones. Additionally, nearly all barcode readers
contain decoder circuitry analyzing the barcode's image
data provided by the sensor and sending the barcode's
content to the scanner's output port. It can be used to
input information about products at a POS terminal,
library books and membership numbers.

Video Camera

A video camera is an input device for inputting

moving pictures, often pre-recorded into a computer.

Web cam

A web cam is a device used to

input moving pictures from a fixed position into a computer.

Light Pen

A light pen is a computer input device in the form of a

light-sensitive wand used in conjunction with a computer's CRT TV set or
monitor. It allows the user to point to displayed objects, or draw on the screen,
in a similar way to a touch screen but with greater positional accuracy. A light
pen can work with any CRT-based display, but not with LCD screens. Is an
input device that is usually used where desktop space is limited, it is used
instead of a mouse or for drawing applications where a graphics tablet might
be too big.

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