РефератыИностранный языкUnUntitled Essay Research Paper Computers are capable

Untitled Essay Research Paper Computers are capable

Untitled Essay, Research Paper


Computers are capable of doing more things every year. There are many advantages toknowing how to use a computer, and it is important that everyone know how to use themproperly. Using the information I have gathered, and my own knowledge from my 12 years ofcomputer experience, I will explain the many advantages of owning a computer and knowing


howto use a PC and I will attempt to explain why you should purchase a computer and learn how


touse one properly.


Webster’s New World Compact Dictionary defines a computer as "an electronic machine


thatperforms rapid, complex calculations or compiles and correlates data"


("Computer."). While thisdefinition gives one a very narrow view of what a computer is capable of doing, it does


describethe basic ideas of what I will expand upon. We have been living through an age of


computers for ashort while now and there are already many people world wide that are computer literate.According to Using Computers: A Gateway to Information World Wide Web Edition, over 250million Personal Computers (PC’s) were in use by 1995, and one out of every three homes


had aPC (Shelly, Cashman,& Waggoner, 138).


Computers are easy to use when you know how they work and what the parts are. Allcomputers perform the four basic operations of the information processing cycle: input,


process,output, and storage. Data, any kind of raw facts, is required for the processing cycle to


occur.Data is processed into useful information by the computer hardware. Most computer systemsconsist of a monitor, a system unit which contains the Central Processing Unit (CPU), afloppy-disk drive, a CD-ROM drive, speakers, a keyboard, a mouse, and a printer. Eachcomponent takes a part in one of the four operations.


The keyboard and mouse are input devices that a person uses to enter data into the


computer.From there the data goes to the system unit where it is processed into useful information


thecomputer can understand and work with. Next the processed data can be sent to storage


devicesor to output devices. Normally output is sent to the monitor and stored on the hard-disk


or to afloppy-disk located internal of the system unit. Output can also be printed out through


the printer,or can be played through the speakers as sound depending on the form it takes after it isprocessed.


Once you have grasped a basic understanding of the basic parts and operations of a


computer,you can soon discover what you can do with computers to make life easier and more


enjoyable.Being computer literate allows you to use many powerful software applications and


utilities to dowork for school, business, or pleasure. Microsoft is the current leading producer of many


of theseapplications and utilities.


Microsoft produces software called operating systems that manage and regulate theinformation processing cycle. The oldest of these is MS-DOS, a single user system that


uses typedcommands to initiate tasks. Currently Microsoft has available operating systems that use


visualcues such as icons to help enter data and run programs. These operating systems are ran


underan environment called a Graphical User Interface (GUI’s). Such operating systems includeWindows 3.xx, Windows 95, and Windows NT Workstation. Windows 95 is geared more for usein the home for productivity and game playing whereas Windows NT is more business


orientated.The article entitled "Mine, All Mine" in the June 5, 1995 issue of Time stated


that 8 out of 10PC’s worldwide would not be able to start or run if it were not for Microsoft’s operating


systemslike MS-DOS, Windows 95, and Windows NT (Elmer-Dewitt, 1995, p. 50).


By no means has Microsoft limited itself to operating systems alone. Microsoft has alsoproduced a software package called Microsoft Office that is very useful in creating


reports, databases, spreadsheets, presentations, and other documents for school and work. Microsoft


Office:Introductory Concepts and Techniques provides a detailed, step-by-step approach to the


fourprograms included in Microsoft Office.


Included in this package are Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, andMicrosoft PowerPoint. Microsoft Word is a word processing program that makes creatingprofessional looking documents such as announcements, resumes, letters, address books, andreports easy to do. Microsoft Excel, a spreadsheet program, has features for data


organization,calculations, decision making, and graphing. It is very useful in mak

ing professional


lookingreports. Microsoft Access, a powerful database management system, is useful in creating


andprocessing data in a database. Microsoft PowerPoint is ". . a complete presentation


graphicsprogram that allows you to produce professional looking presentations" (Shelly,


Cashman, &Vermaat, 2). PowerPoint is flexible enough so that you can create electronic


presentations,overhead transparencies, or even 35mm slides.


Microsoft also produces entertainment and reference programs. "Microsoft’s Flight


Simulatoris one of the best selling PC games of all time" (Elmer-Dewitt, 50). Microsoft’s


Encarta is anelectronic CD-ROM encyclopedia that makes for a fantastic alternative to 20 plus volume


bookencyclopedias. In fact, it is so popular, it outsells the Encyclopedia Britannica. These


powerfulbusiness, productivity, and entertainment applications are just the beginning of what you


can dowith a PC.


Knowing how to use the Internet will allow you access to a vast resource of facts,


knowledge,information, and entertainment that can help you do work and have fun. According to


NetscapeNavigator 2 running under Windows 3.1, "the Internet is a collection of networks,


each of whichis composed of a collection of smaller networks" (Shelly, Cashman, & Jordan, N2).


Informationcan be sent over the Internet through communication lines in the form of graphics, sound,


video,animation, and text. These forms of computer media are known as hypermedia. Hypermedia isaccessed through hypertext links, which are pointers to the computer where the hypermedia


isstored. The World Wide Web (WWW) is the collection of these hypertext links throughout theInternet. Each computer that contains hypermedia on the WWW is known as a Web site and hasWeb pages set up for users to access the hypermedia. Browsers such as Netscape allow


people to"surf the net" and search for the hypermedia of their choice.


There are millions of examples of hypermedia on the Internet. You can find art, photos,information on business, the government, and colleges, television schedules, movie


reviews, musiclyrics, online news and magazines, sport sights of all kinds, games, books, and thousands


of otherhypermedia on the WWW. You can send electronic mail (E-Mail), chat with other users aroundthe world, buy airline, sports, and music tickets, and shop for a house or a car. All of


this, andmore, provides one with a limitless supply of information for research, business,


entertainment, orother personal use. Online services such as America Online, Prodigy, or CompuServe make it


even easier to access the power of the Internet. The Internet alone is almost reason


enough tobecome computer literate, but there is still much more that computers can do.


Knowing how to use a computer allows you to do a variety of things in several different


ways.One of the most popular use for computers today is for playing video games. With a PC you


canplay card games, simulation games, sport games, strategy games, fighting games, and


adventuregames. Today’s technology provides the ultimate experiences in color, graphics, sound,


music,full motion video, animation, and 3D effects. Computers have also become increasingly


useful inthe music, film, and television industry. Computers can be used to compose music, create


soundeffects, create special effects, create 3D life-like animation, and add previous existing


movie andTV footage into new programs, as seen in the movie Forrest Gump. All this and more can bedone with computers.


There is truly no time like the present to become computer literate. Computers will be


doingeven more things in the future and will become unavoidable. Purchasing and learning about


a newPC now will help put PC’s into the other two-thirds of the homes worldwide and make thetransition into a computer age easier.


Works Cited"Computer." Webster’s New World Compact School and Office Dictionary. 1995.Elmer-Dewitt, P. "Mine, All Mine." Time Jun. 1995: 46-54.Shelly, G., T. Cashman, and K. Jordan. Netscape Navigator 2 Running Under Windows 3.1.Danvers: Boyd & Fraser Publishing Co., 1996.Shelly, G., T. Cashman, and M. Vermaat. Microsoft Office Introductory Concepts andTechniques. Danvers: Boyd & Fraser Publishing Co., 1995.Shelly, G., T. Cashman, G. Waggoner, and W. Waggoner. Using Computers: A Gateway toInformation World Wide Web Edition. Danvers: Boyd & Fraser Publishing Co., 1996.

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