Chapter 1 - Basic Introduction of Computers 

( Part 2 ) 

    This morning when I woke up, through my window I couldn't help but to notice the darkness outside. The sky was darker as the cloud gets thicker. I must say, this isn't a morning I'd normally find myself waking up to. Despite the fact that I couldn't resist to not get out of bed, but I really didn't want to skip my second day of class. The drive to college was terrifying, as the rain gets heavier the traffic as well have gotten worse. In the end I've made it to college in time anyways, and I was grateful for that. 

    Today in class Ms.Wan resumed the topic we were discussing yesterday, Chapter 1 - Basic Introduction to Computers. I find this course pretty interesting as I have not ever studied nor have I ever paid much attention to technologies around me much before. Although I am unfamiliar with technologies and systems, and despite the fact that many of my friends understands this better than me, the motivation in me have not died out yet. 

    In today's lesson Ms.Wan taught us about computers software. A software, of in other words a program, instructs the computer to perform certain tasks as well as how to perform them. A software is normally installed in order to work with the computer, printer, and other hardware.

    Besides that, I have also learnt and have been able to differentiate the categories of computers. Such as below:

    A personal computer can perform all of it's input, processing, output, and storage activities by itself. Two popular architectures are the PC and the Apple.

    A mobile computers and mobile devices. A mobile computer is a personal computer that you can carry around from place to place. For example, a notebook, laptops, ultra-thins, and tablet PC's. A mobile device on the other hand, is a small computing device small enough to be hold in your hand. Examples are smartphones, PDA's, media players, and digital cameras. 

    Game consoles are a mobile computing device designed for single-player or even multiplayer video games. 

    The servers are the one that controls access to the hardware, software, and other resource on a network. It basically provides a centralized storage area for programs, data, and information. 

    Mainframes, are large, expensive, powerful computers that can simultaneously handle hundreds or even thousands of users as long as it's connected together. 

    I was quite interested in supercomputers though, i had never studied about this before and it sounded cool to me. I found that during class that supercomputers are the fastest and most powerful computer in the world. It is said that the fastest supercomputers are capable of processing more than one quadrillion instructions in a single second. How amazing and unbelievable is that. 

    Lastly we have embedded computers. An embedded computer is a special-purpose computer that is only programmed to carry out certain main tasks, nothing more. Embedded computers functions as a component in a larger product basically. 

    We even went through an interesting sub-topic regarding the elements of an information system. These include the hardware, software, data, people, and procedures. Ms.Wan suggested us these 5 elements and tested us to form a sentence that includes the elements of an information system. It was a good brainstorming session I would say, as it isn't as easy I'd thought it would be. This is an example of how the elements of an information system in an Enterprise might Interact. 

     The class then went on with the Example of Computer Usage. Ms.Wan made it clear to us about the different types of users around the world who are working with their laptops and computers. Today we have learnt 5 different types of user, each and every one of them different. 

    Firstly, there are home user. Home users are for more towards personal financial management, web access, communications, and even for entertainment. 

    Then there are small office or maybe home office user. These users mainly make telephone calls as well as send and receive email messages. They don't really need a big work space and work equipment such as a printer therefore they could proceed with their job anywhere regardless inside a home or  an office. 

    Next, there are mobile users. These users mainly rely on the convenience of the device. In other words, they treasure mobility. Users as such are normally more towards the entertainment side of the job. They listen to music, watch movies, and plays video games. They too connect to other computers on a network or the internet as well as transferring information between devices. 

    And then there are power user.  These users work with multimedia. They also uses embedded computers as it has to be industry-specific software. 

    For the final example we have the enterprise user. Users as such communicates among their employees more often as well as processing high volumes of transactions. These users normally work as a group, or a team. 

    The class today then ended of with the knowledge of computer applications in society. What are the computer applications that contributed to the society? You would be surprised how much the human nature now relies on technology. Computers are everywhere, from education to health care. Technologies are the future and the future is now. Take a look around us, our government system, finance such as banking, our manufacturing, all done only with the help of the technologies we have today. 

   This is a very enlightening chapter for me, since that never have I ever really studied thoroughly into the basic introductions of computer. I have learned many things in this particular topic, with the help of a great lecturer, Ms.Wan Irma, to help and guide me through this topic and understand more about technologies and computer.