Imagine
a computer. What do you think of? A box sitting on a desk and connected
to a screen, a keyboard, and a printer? Do you know how the computer works?
Most people think of a computer as a microcomputer on a desk. But there are computers large enough to fill a room and small enough to fit in a briefcase.
Most people don't really understand the process of transforming raw
data into usable
information. Most don't understand what goes on inside the computer. Many
people are confused by the need for storage and the different types of
storage. Even more fail to understand that all computers, large and small,
work in much the same way. When you finish this chapter, you will know
how computers process and store data, and you will understand the similarities
and differences among the sizes of computer systems.
Lesson 2A explains how the computer can process data and describes the different kinds of memory.
Lesson 2B discusses data, information, and ways to organize data so that it can be processed into information. Whether you are doing a statistical analysis of experiment results, running a trial balance of a ledger, or writing a new best-seller, you are having the computer process data.
Lesson 2C discusses computer input and output devices, such as keyboards, monitors, and printers.
Lesson 2D describes the different sizes of computers and explains some of their similarities and differences.