The importance of computer literacy

Is there a field where computers are not used?

Is technology further separating the educated from the rest?

Knowledge of specific applications and software is not sufficient, because it is always changing. What is important is (1) knowing enough about applications to get your job done and (2) understanding the principles of the technology so you can keep track of what is changing.

What is your level of knowledge?

• Can recognize a computer?
• Have done something on a computer?
• Has used Windows or DOS?
• Has used at least part of Microsoft Office?
• Has programming in some language?
• Has surfed the Internet?
• Has written WWW pages?

Computers in the News

Which of you have heard of the following recent news stories?

• The Intel division bug?
• The Dimaxion-Megaglompus merger?
• The Microsoft-Netscape wars?
• The Michelangelo virus?

An important goal of this course is to enable you to understand the computer and information-related issues in the New York Times.

Why are computers so powerful?

Speed

Always getting faster but never fast enough.

Light travels 11.8 inches in one billionth of a second (one nanosecond), which is the cycle time of some computers!

Reliability

Most "computer errors" are really human errors. What errors have you experienced?

Reliability has increased markedly in my working lifetime (eg. temperature sensitivity), and amazingly from the first vacuum tube machines of the 1940's.

Cray's philosophy for supercomputers: if it doesn't break often you can run it faster.

Storage

Always more but never enough.

Multimedia data and networks increase storage demands.

Capacity increases from floppy drives to CD-ROMs to hard disks to tapes.

Communications

Always faster but never enough.

Networks can exchange data at fantastic rates.

Is the Internet bogging down under its enormous growth?

How does a computer know what to do?

Programs or software tell computers what to do.

Software is the part of a computer system which doesn't break when you drop it.

Software is now a bigger business than hardware.

The key distinction is between programs and data. Programs tell what is to be done. Data is what the programs run on.

What are the components of a computer system?

Input devices - keyboard and mouse.

System unit - the "box", contains CPU and main memory, plus power supply and other electronics.

Secondary storage device - floppy and hard disks. The data remains after the power is gone.

Output devices - monitor and printer.

• About this document ...