COMPUTER APPRECIATION BRIEF HISTORY OF COMPUTER The concept of numbering, counting and calculating dates as far back as the

time of the early man who used the fingers of his hands and toes to represent numbers. With the increase in the number of activities taking place around him there was the need for tools or devices to help count quickly and accurately. The representation of numbers by stones arranged in heaps of tens was the first step in getting at a tool; this led to the earlier device called the abacus which was a manual aid to calculating that consists of disks that can be moved up and down on a series of stick within a usually wooden frame. The abacus itself does not calculate; its simply a device for helping a human being to calculate by remembering what has been counted. This device was said to be used as early as 1200BC. In 1550 John Napier, a Scottish Mathematician and scientist invented the Napier bone. This device used the principles of logarithm to perform multiplication and it looks more as a multiplication times table. Each square on it gives 2x, 3x and so on but the tens and units are divided by a slanting line. Not long after Napier invention a French mathematician and physicist, Blas Pascal in 1642 constructed the first mechanical calculating machine called PASCALINE also known by some people as ARITHMETIC MACHINE. The period (1760-1953) that followed saw the industrial revolution which produced several inventions that had a profound impact on the computing field. The period also witnessed a transition from mechanical calculators to electronic designs which also acknowledge the efforts of Charles Babbage who is often called the father of computing for his detailed plans for mechanical calculating engines, both the table-making difference engines and the far more ambitions analytical engines which were flexible and powerful.

EVOLUTION OF ELECTRONIC COMPUTER SYSTEM The Second World War brought about the development of a complete electronic machine. During this war, the US government sought to support numerous projects that might assist in solving its war
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problems. At this time the first electronic digital computer was designed which they called it an Electronic Numerical Integrator and calculator (ENIAC) the machine used 18000 electronic tubes (valves). These machines were used by the American Army until 1955. After the war John N. Von suggested two general requirements of a computer which have formed the basis of all subsequent electronic computers that: binary numbering system be used in building a computer and both instructions or data should be stored together internally and manipulated; what is known as the stored program concept. The first of these general-purpose computers with stored program capacity and working with binary is the EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Computer) built in Cambridge by A.D.V Wikes. All these while computers were not sold commercially until in 1951 when LEO (Lyon Electronic Office) the first commercial computer started the sell of computers. The trend during 1970s was to some extent move away from very powerful and single purpose computer and toward a larger range of application for cheaper computer system. Most continuous-process manufacturing, such as petroleum refining and electronic-power distribution systems, now used computers of smaller capability for controlling and regulating their jobs. In the 1950s it was realized that scaling down the size of electronic digital computer circuits and parts would increase speed and efficiency and by that, improve performance, if they could only find a way to do this. About 1960 photo printing of conductive circuit boards to eliminate wiring became more circuitry by the same process.

DEFINITION OF MODERN COMPUTER We can therefore define the computer as an electronic device that operates under the control of programs or instructions, accepting data from an input device and processes or manipulates the data or information to produce the desired results through output devices. GENERATIONS OF COMPUTER The development of computer technology is divided into five generations:

These generations are the periods of changes or improvement in computer technology just as discussed in the history of computer; these improvements have been grouped into generations. These generations are determined by the device technology, the way the system is designed (system architecture), processing mode (the way it works) and languages used. These generations are as follows: 1. FIRST GENERATIION COMPUTER The first generation computers include computers that were built between 1938-1942; vacuum tubes were the building block of the first generation computers, these computers were very big and could generate a lot of heat, and you can not rely on them because the could fail any time. They were also very slow. An example of a first generation computer is the mainframe computer. 2. SECOND GENERATION COMPUTER The second generation computer started between 1942-1963; transistors were the building block of the second generation computers and were used in place of vacuum tubes, the transistors were used to solve the weak points of vacuum tubes, like reducing the size, heat cost, increasing its reliability and its power. The transistors and diodes were the building block of computer as of then.

3. THIRD GENERATIOIN COMPUTER The third generation computer started from the year 1962-1975. In this generation, the computer electric circuit was burn into an IC; this means that a lot of transistors were brought together into one device called integrated circuit, which works with what is called logic gates. Integrated circuits made high-speed and low-cost digital computer a widespread commodity. 4. FOURTH GENERATION COMPUTER From around 1972-1985, the fourth generation computer emerged. This was the period when microprocessors were developed on what is called chip. The cost most people could afford made computer to be very fast, able to store information and retrieve it.
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5. FUTURE GENERATION COMPUTER The future generation computers are concerned with todays advancement in computer technology which is growing almost every day. The future generation computer engineers are advancing to creating or building a computer that will be behaving as a human being that can reason, learn, improve it self and even make decisions. TYPES OF COMPUTER The computer is divided into three types. These computer types are the different ways a computer works. They are; ANALOG COMPUTER Analog computer is an electronic or hydraulic device (equipment) that is design to handle input intense of voltage level or hydraulic pressure rather than numerical. The more there is pressure or force on the analog computer, it indicates a response; engineers and scientist uses the analog computer. The analog computers we see around are car speedometers, thermo meter and voltage meters.

DIGITAL COMPUTER The computer works with numbers in form of separate discrete digits. More precisely, digital computes operate on information that is digital or character form including alphabetic and other symbols as well as numbers. Letters and special symbols are represented in the computer in digital form. The data is stored and processed in the digital form and the output converted into the original form. The digit used in representing data in a digital computer is called binary digits. They are best suited for handling numerical problems, statistical data and discrete Radom processes. Examples are digital watches, calculators etc. HYBRID COMPUTER The hybrid computer is a digital computer incorporating analog processing element (device) i.e. they combine the characteristics of both analog and digital computer together, and the disadvantage of hybrid computer is that, the user must posses the skills in both form of computing.
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CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER The computer is classified according to its physical view and its abilities; this means that in classifying a computer we have two things in mind; how it works and its physical appearance. Going by these the computer is classified according to: SIZE The computer is classified into three sizes. They are the mainframe computer, the minicomputer and the microcomputer. MAINFRAME COMPPUTER These are the largest computer in size and are made up of several parts, because of size they have special or higher power and environmental control requirements and the environmental requirement includes power consumption, temperature and humidity. Mainframes are more expensive and require greater management. They employ more than one user at a time by connecting individual terminals examples of mainframe computer include IBM\3670.

MINI-COMPUTER The minicomputer is also big but not as big as the mainframe computer, they are less expensive and slower than the mainframes. They can perform many tasks that mainframe can, but only at a reduced scale. User terminals can also be connected to minis. Larger organizations use the minicomputer as part of network system. MICROCOMPUTER These are computer that are built on a microprocessor. A microprocessor is a chip that is capable of manipulating data under control of installed programs a microcomputer makes use of a microprocessor as the central processing unit (CPU) of the computer. It also has capacitors, resistors as its components and they are all very small not like the vacuum tubes used in mainframe computer. They can also be regarded as personal computers (PC). Examples are, desktop computer, laptop computer. CLASSIFICATION BY PURPOSE
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The computer is also classified according to its purpose, this means that the functions it can perform (what it can do). Here, the computer is classified into two purposes and they are; SPECIAL PURPOSE COMPUTER These types of computer are designed to perform or carry out specific (particular) jobs. The special-purpose computer uses special programs that can not be changed and the programs works for that particular task. Examples of special purpose computer can be found in cameras, automobiles (cars and machines), and calculators.

GENERAL PURPOSE COMPUTER The general purpose computers are designed to handle different kinds of jobs. The type of job done on them depends on the software installed. Software is substituted for another depending on the work the user wants the computer to perform. THE GENERAL- PURPOSE MICRO-COMPUTER The general-purpose micro-computer is one of the latest computer technologies, these computers are in different designs but they still perform the same function. The microcomputer is named according to its characteristics; these characteristic are the size of the computer and speed of the computer. SIZE The general purpose microcomputer is categorized to its size. This means the physical structure. The microcomputer is then divided into some different physical parts; they are the system unit, monitor, keyboard, speaker and mouse. More so, the computer size includes desktop computer, full tower and laptop computer. DESKTOP COMPUTER The desktop computer is one that has its monitor on top of the system unit. MINITOWER COMPUTER

The minitower computer is general-purpose computer(s) that has system unit beside the monitor and are the same height. FULL TOWER SYSTEM A full tower system is a microcomputer that has its system unit besides the monitor but the system unit seems to be taller that the monitor. LAPTOP COMPUTER The laptop computer is smaller than the entire above mentioned computer sizes. It is portable and can be easily moved. It uses a rechargeable battery that can last for some period of time; its power usage is low unlike others. The screen is quit different from all above named computer sizes, it uses LCD (liquid crystal display) type of screen while some computers uses cathode ray tube. SPEED The microcomputer is also characterized by its speed, which is its ability to handle a task (work) within a given period of time. When the computer was first invented, it was not as fast as it has been. It could not handle flexible jobs but the development of modern computer technology brought about multi-tasking and high speed computing. The computer speed is measured in megahez (MHZ) and its speed is determined by its processor (CPU) the memory (RAM) capacity, the motherboard configuration and Hard Disk Drive. COMPONENTS OF A COMPUTER SYSTEM INTRODUCTION: The computer technology uses a complex design which is gotten from different field of study. Different components were put together to make this machine called computer to be effective. The computer is made up of two different parts, which works together and both are dependent on each other. This components that make up a computer system are; hardware and software. HARDWARE Computer hardware is the physical part that we can touch. Computer hardware is responsible for performing four basic functions; input, processing, output and storage. Logically we can classify computer hardware as follows.
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INPUT DEVICE Input device send data and instructions into the computer system. Without the input units or devices it will be impossible to send information into the computer. Examples of input device are; Keyboard Mouse Scanner CD Rom drive Floppy disk drive etc

OUTPUT DEVICE Output device are devices through which information is received from the computer which is as a result of the information sent into the computer system. Examples of output devices are; Monitor Speaker Printer etc SOFTWARE Computer software is written programs or instructions that causes the computer to carry out task or work. The software can not be necessary seen just like the hardware but they are written words that are sent or burnt into the computer hardware. It is very important to note that without the software, the computer can not work. Therefore, computer software is the life of the system. Software is classified into two categories; they are application and system software.

APPLICATION SOFTWARE Application software allows users to perform a particular task or solve a specific problem. Examples of these problem solved by application software are typing, designing etc. Examples of application software are word processing packages like Microsoft word, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel etc.

SYSTEM SOFTWARE System software is the set of programs that lays between application software and the hardware device. These programs are designed to make the computer easy and interactive to the user. Examples of system software are operating system, utility program and language software.

OPERATING SYSTEM An operating system is an organized collection of procedures and techniques for operating a computer system to such an extent that there is no human intervention once in operation. They are some times called the executive and they are responsible for controlling the allocation and usage of the hardware resources; such as memory, CPU time and peripheral devices. UTILITY SOFTWARE Utility software is special programs or software that is used to optimize a computer operation by finding and fixing disk errors. Examples of utility software include: anti-virus programs, disk cleaners etc. LANGUAGE SOFTWARE Language software is another special program that is used in translating high level languages to machine language. This software translates source program (high level language) into machine code. Examples are compilers, interpreters and assemblers. The introduction of this program was because the early programmers faced the difficulty of writing programs in the computer language (language of the computer) thereby having problems with error corrections and fluency. With the
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difficulties in mind the advance in technology became necessary to device language similar to our own called HIGH LEVEL LANGUAGE.

COMPUTER VIRUS Virus means poison in the Latin word. In a lay means word virus is an organism that is surrounded by a protective coat that destroys its host or any thing it stays in. In computer, we are used to hearing the word virus. The question you may ask is what is a computer virus? Is it the same with the normal virus in biology? They are not the same but they do the same thing. Therefore a computer virus is a written program that infects and destroys computer files.

SOURCES OF COMPUTER VIRUS The computer virus is mainly gotten from the internet when a file is copied from the internet using floppy diskette, CD or flash drive on a computer that does not have an up to date antivirus program installed etc. these virus known as destructive program are being written by computer hackers. COMPUTER HACKER A computer hacker is a computer programmer who takes interest in cracking or breaking into computer security codes. They break into computer security codes and do what ever they want. PREVENTION OF COMPUTER VIRUS To prevent computer virus you have to install an up to date antivirus on your computer system and must scan every memory device you are using in copping a file before saving the file in your computer memory or opening the file. THE MICRO-COMPUTER SYSTEM HARDWARE

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The general purpose micro-computer hardware includes those machine parts that we can see and touch. These parts are divided into two; they are the system unit and computer peripherals.

THE COMPUTER PERIPHERALS The computer peripherals are not the processing unit of the computer but they help for the easy usage of the computer by the user. The activities of the peripherals are being controlled by the main unit. The computer peripherals are the monitor, key board, mouse, scanner, speaker and printer. There are many other computer peripherals but we can not mention them here because its the choice of the operator. THE MONITOR The monitor is like a television, it is known as the visual display unit (VDU). It is used in displaying information for the user to see, the monitor is categorized into two types. The Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitor and the liquid crustal display (LCD) monitor. The LCD is used in laptop computer, palmtop and other desktop computer etc. the monitor can be a colour or monochrome monitor. It is an out put device. THE KEYBOARD The keyboard is an input device, which look like a typewriter but the difference of keyboard is that the typewriters do not have the INSERT, HOME, DELETE, ESCAPE and ENTER keys. Also the keyboard does not need more pressure pressing the keys like the typewriter, with the keyboard you can also perform other functions in the computer using the keyboard. The keyboards are available in two main types but mostly use one is the new type. These types are known as the older keyboard and enhance keyboard. The older keyboard has 84 keys while the enhanced keyboard has 105 keys. The keys on the keyboard are divided into Numeric keys, the cursor keys, The function keys, The special purpose keys. The special purpose are the enter, page-up, page-down, caps-lock, Alt, Ctrl, Tab, Insert, Home, Delete, End, Pause; these keys are used for special purposes while the functional keys are F1 to F12. The cursor control keys are the four keys that have arrows on them and the arrows show the direction of the related keys while the alphabetic keys are those that are lettered A-Z.
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THE MOUSE The mouse is a computer pointer; it is used instead of some functional and special purpose keys on the keyboard. The mouse is an input device: it controls the cursor direction. The cursor has an arrow sign and the mouse has two main buttons which are called the command button and dialog button. The left button is used to issue a command by pressing it and releasing your finger while the right button is the dialog button because by clicking it (pressing and releasing your finger) a dialog box appears where you will select from the options. The mouse is divided into different categories but we shall be brief with the standard and the wireless mouse. STANDARD MOUSE The standard mouse is mostly common around us. It used wire which restricts its movement from going far and place on a surface called mouse pad. WIRELESS MOUSE This mouse has no wire, it work with a signal and can be used to control the computer from far unlike the standard mouse that its distance is being restricted by the wire. It is also placed on surface called mouse pad. SPEAKER The speaker is an output system. It is used for hearing sound; like music sound. The speaker has nub for volume, power on/off and a cable that is connected to the computer system. Some computer system have in-built speaker but an operator can as well attach external speakers. SCANNER The scanning machine is an input device; it is used in sending information into the computer system. It works like the photocopier machine; scanner picks information and sends it to the computer.

THE PRINTER
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The printer is an output device; it is used in sending information (work) out of a computer on a paper. The printer uses ink toner or cartridge. There are different types of printers, among them are laser jet printer, desk jet printer, dot-matrix printer etc. the printer is divided into impact and non-impact printers. THE SYSTEM UNIT The system unit is where the major computer activities and processing are done in the computer system. The system unit is a combination of systems or devices that are connected together to work as a unit and they are independent of each other. If any part is removed, others will not work well. The system unit is made up of the casein, motherboard, processor, hard disk drive, floppy drive, CD ROM drive, RAM, adapter cards etc. THE CASEIN The casein is the outer coverage of the system unit. The case contains the frame or skeleton where other devices can be fixed in, it also contains the power pack which controls the voltage flow into system unit. There are two major types of caseins, there are the AT case and the ATX case, with their different grades. The AT case can not off on its own when you shut down your computer while the ATX do. THE MOTHERBOARD There are lots of electronic boards in the system unit but the main electronic board is the motherboard. Other boards pick from it and it is known as the heart of the computer and it is the biggest device in the system unit, the motherboard is made of slots for RAM, and cables etc.

THE PROCESSOR This component coordinates the activities of the computer and is often regarded as the brain of the computer. The processor is measured in megahez (MHZ) and GHZ (gigahez) it is graded according to its speed.
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RAM RAM means random access memory; it is a semiconductor chip based memory. The microprocessor can read from the RAN. This means that information can be read and written to the RAN. Its a temporal storage device that loses data immediately when there is a power cut off. The RAM is measured in megabyte (MB) and gigabyte (GB) THE HARD DISK DRIVE (HDD) The hard disk is a magnetic storage that is used to recording (saving) data (information). The HDD retains its information for long period of time, if save into the memory. The HDD have more space than the RAM chip and all the application software are stored in the HDD. Some HDD spaces are 450MB, 1GB, 20GB, and 40GB etc. FLOPPY DISK DRIVE Floppy disk drive is used to store data in a floppy diskette and reading from a diskette too. it has two ways work reading; that is reading; that is reading from a diskette and writing to a diskette. It is a magnetic drive. CD ROM AND CD-WRITER DRIVE The full meaning of CD-ROM is compact disk read-only-memory. It is a drive used in reading stored information or data in a CD. The CD-ROM can be used to read from CDs only and can not write to CDs. This means the CD-ROM can not write information on a CD but can only read information from it while the CD Writer is used to read and writer information to a CD. The CD-W and CD-ROM look alike but their functions are different. EXPANSION CARDS ADOPTER The expansion cards are smaller electronic boards attached to the motherboard for more function; that is if you want to install a sound card, networking cards etc. you will buy the expansion card of the type you want and then attach it properly to the motherboard. MICRO-COMPUTER MEMORY The micro-computer memory is used to retain information stored in the computer system for future use. This information can be retrieved at any time; computer memory can be divided into two,
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Primary and Secondary memory PRIMARY MEMORY The primary memory can also be called immediate access main store because the primary memory is faster than the secondary memory and the CPU have direct access to it. The two type of primary memory are RAM and ROM. RAM (Random Access Memory) the computer uses the RAM to hold data and instructions that are currently for execution by the processor. The processor is directly concerned with the RAM. It is called the random access memory because the memory is divided into cell; a cell is the smallest segment of a memory where it stores data or information. The time taken for the processor to read information from the memory is called access time. SECONDARY MEMORY The secondary memory is made up of magnetic surface and optical recording device. It has a large space for storing information. Examples of secondary memory are hard disk drive, floppy diskette, CD plate, and flash memory.

CONNECTING A COMPUTER We are going to study how we can connect a computer before using it. To study this you have to make sure all the needed parts of the computer system are available. The needed part are; Monitor System unit Mouse Keyboard Power cables Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS)
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