LA283 Section 2
                            Computer Fundamentals I
                                January 11, 1996

Computer

- An electronic device that accepts, stores, processes, and outputs data; 
  operations are carried out with the use of electronic circuits contained
  on small silicon chips.
- A term used to describe a collection of devices that function together as a system.

Four components of a computer:

- Input
- Processing
     CPU and main memory (RAM)
     RAM is TEMPORARY (volatile) storage
- Output
- Storage
     Auxiliary storage
     Permanent and non-volatile
     

Bits and Bytes

Bit:           smallest unit of information (1 or 0; on/off; true/false)

Byte:          8 bits; each byte approximately represents one character 
	       of data (information)

Kilobyte:      Precise: 1,024 bytes

Megabyte:      Precise: 1,048,576 bytes (1,024 bytes*1,024 bytes);
	       i.e., (kilobyte*kilobyte)
               Rounded: 1,000,000 bytes

Gigabyte:      Precise: 1,073,741,824 bytes; (1,024 bytes*1,024 bytes*1,024 bytes)
               Rounded: 1,000 Mb 

Terabyte:      Precise: 1,099,511,627,776 bytes
	       (1,024 bytes*1,024 bytes*1,024 bytes*1,024 bytes)
               

Computer Software

A set of instructions for the computer to follow.

System software:         Operating systems
                         Operating environments

Application software:    Word processing
                         Electronic spreadsheets
                         Data base software
                         Presentation graphics
                         Communication software
			 Anti-virus software