SESSION 1: computation.

It was invented by Chinese in

3000 B.C.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
refers to several technologies used in the creation,  Napier’s bones
storage, processing, retrieval, and dissemination of
John Napier, a Scottish mathematician, built a
information.
mechanical device use for multiplication and
• Computer, software, mobile phone, division of large numbers in 1617. The device
television, and satellite are some of the was called as “rabdologia” but it was popularly
other examples of ICT. known as Napier’s bones or Napier’s rods.
What is Computer?  Slide Rule
A computer is a machine that allows the user to William Oughtred, an Angelican minister
process, store, and transform data into information invented the slide rule in 1622. This device can
based on given instructions. perform multiplication, division, square roots,
exponentials, logarithms, and trigonometric
Characteristics of a Computer
functions.
 Speed
 Wilhelm Schickard’s Calculating Clock
 Reliability
Wilhelm Schickard, a German polymath built the
 Accuracy first automatic calculator called “calculating
clock” in 1623. This machine can add or subtract
 Storage
six-digit numbers.
 Productivity
 Blaise Pascal’s Pascaline
Limitations of a Computer
Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician and
1. It is subject to wear and tear and philosopher conceived “Pascaline” in 1642.
obsolescence. Pascaline was built in 1643. It can perform
addition and subtraction of up to eight-digit
2. It cannot make decisions or think for itself.
numbers.
Computer operation and judgment are
highly dependent on and tied to the program  Gottfried Wilhelm Von Leibniz Stepped
and the data given by the user. Reckoner

3. Although it is capable of detecting errors in a Gottfried Wilhelm Von Leibniz, a German

program, it is not capable of correcting it. It mathematician and philosopher who introduced
still needs humans to correct the program. the machine called “Stepped Reckoner” in 1671.
This machine can perform addition, subtraction,
4. It cannot distinguish if the data given by the
multiplication, division, and can extract square
user is correct. Therefore, do not blame the
roots
computer if it yields wrong results if your
data is also wrong.  Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine
History of Computers - Calculating devices Charles Babbage, an English mathematician
proposes a steam driven special-purpose digital
 Abacus
calculator in 1822. This room-sized machine can
The Abacus is an ancient computing device
compute tables of numbers such as logarithm
used as an aid for mathematical
tables.
 Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine  Universal Automatic Computer I (UNIVAC)
This mechanical general purpose machine has a UNIVAC I was the world’s first commercially
resemblance to the modern computer. It is available computer. The first UNIVAC I computer
programmable; it has two main parts – the was installed in the United State Census Bureau
“Mill” which is similar to the central processing on March 31, 1951.
unit (CPU) in modern computers, and the
These computers used a device called
“Store” which is similar to the memory in
transistors, which replaced the vacuum
modern computers. This machine can also store
tubes used in the first generation of
data using the punch card.
computers
 MARK I
Second Generation Computers
The IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled
Some of the second generation computers were:
Calculator (ASCC) popularly known as MARK I
was built on August 7, 1944 by Howard H. Aiken • IBM 1620
at IBM for Harvard University. This was the first
• IBM 1401
automatic programmable digital computer in
the USA. • IBM 704

The invention of MARK I started the era of • CDC 3600

modern computers.
Third Generation Computers
 Electronic Numerical Integrator and
The computer that was built during this period
Calculator (ENIAC)
used Integrated Circuits (ICs) also known as
It was built in 1946 and considered as the first “chips”.
electronic digital computer. It was built by John
Some of the third generation computers were:
Eckert and John Mauchly.
• IBM-360
 Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic
Computer (EDVAC) • PDP-8

Was proposed by the same inventor of ENIAC in • ICL-1900

1944. John von Neumann joined the project and
• IBM-370
introduced the concept of stored program in the
EDVAC design. This allowed much faster • VAX-750
operation because the computer had rapid
Fourth Generation Computers
access to both data and instructions.
The computers that were developed from 1971
 Electronic Delay Storage Automatic up to present are the fourth generation
Computer (EDSAC)
computers. These computers use integrated
It was developed by M.V. Wilkes at Cambridge circuits and microprocessors (considered as the
University in England. This computer also brain of the computer).
applied the stored program concept introduced
Fifth Generation Computers
by John von Neumann. It used mercury delay
lines for temporary memory and vacuum tubes The computers of the 1990s and beyond are said
for logic. to be Fifth Generation computers. Besides
extremely high speed processing, the fifth
generation computer can take instructions via SESSION 2: Computer Systems
audio and video.
What is a Computer System?
The fifth generation computers uses the concept
• A computer system is primarily a
of:
combination of hardware and software.
 Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Hardware is everything that you can see and
 Parallel Processing touch on the computer.

Types of Computers • Software is a collection of computer

programs that enables the computer to do
 Hand-held Computer – also know as
specific tasks.
Palmtop, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or
pocket computer is the smallest, cheapest, Input Devices
and the least
Input devices are computer hardware parts that
 Microcomputers - This computer is also accept input or instructions from the user.
known as Personal Computers or Laptops.
e.g. mouse, keyboard, mic
 Midrange Computer -. It is commonly used
Output Devices
by small to medium –size businesses as
servers for their Local Area Network (LAN). Output devices enable the user to see the results of
computer processing or to receive feedback from
 Mainframe – It is used for large computer
the computer.
networks.
e.g. monitor, printer, speaker
 Supercomputer - It has several
microprocessors, which makes it capable of The Processor
processing trillions of instructions per
The Central Processing Unit (CPU) also known as the
second.
processor is the brain of the computer. It is the
Current and Future Trends in ICT computer hardware component that processes the
various inputs and data received by the computer
The following are some current trends and
and produces the desired output.
advancements in ICT.
The CPU has the following components:
• Speech Recognition
• Control Unit (CU)
• Third Generation Mobile Phones (3G)
• Arithmetic Logic Unit
• Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) • Registers
• Interface
• Wearable Computer
The Memory
• Virtual Reality
The computer has two kinds of memory:
• Blu-ray Disc
• Primary Memory
• Secondary Memory
The Primary Memory System Software
The primary memory, also called as main memory is The system software controls and manages the
a type of memory that is embedded within the computer resources and the execution of
computer motherboard that is directly being application software.
accessed by the processor.
• Operating System
• Random Access Memory • Utilities
• Read- Only Memory
Application Software
The Secondary Memory
Application software comprises programs designed
Secondary storage devices also known as secondary to help the end-user to accomplish a task.
memory provides a means to store large volumes of
Examples of Application Software are:
data and software even if the power supplies are
switched off. • Word Processors
• Spreadsheet Applications
Parts of the Computer
• Presentation Software
The most common hardware that compose a • Database Management System
desktop computer: • Graphic Software
• Communication Software
• Monitor
• Computer Games
• Modem
• System unit Classification of Software by Licensing
• Mouse
• Proprietary Software
• Speaker
• Open- Source Software
• Printer
• Keyboard Computer Virus and Spyware
Software  Computer virus is a computer program that
automatically copies itself to the computer
Software or programs are nothing but a sequence of
without the knowledge or permission of the
logically arranged set of instructions that a
user. Once it copies itself to the computer, it
computer follows and executes to perform a
infects other files. This program has harmful
particular task. A software can be something as
effects on the computer and its files.
simple as a calculator program.

The two types of software are:  Spyware is a software that installs itself on
the computer without the knowledge and
• System Software
permission of the user and monitors user
• Application Software
activity on the Internet.

Application Software

System Software
Operating System Utilities

Computer Hardware