This essay is going to be about the computer system, mainly on the four layer model: hardware, software, network and people.
Hardware:
The hardware is the physical part of the computer like the case and the hard drive. The computer can work without some of the hardware such as the case but will not be as effective because if you turn on the computer, without the fan it could overheat. It is the same with the hard drive, if you don't have one then the computer won't function at all. The main hardware in the computer are the motherboard, the CPU, the RAM, the hard drive, the optical disc drive, the power supply and the case.
The motherboard is where all the wires from all the components are connected. It looks very complicated with all the small dots and lines as shown on the bottom. The motherboard can't actually tell what it wants all the hardware to do so it would need some other component to tell everything else what to do. That component is the CPU
The CPU is a small computer chip that is put into the motherboard. The CPU is basically like the “brain” of all the hardware inside the case, without the CPU the the computer won’t function at all because there would be nothing to tell everything what to do. Even though the CPU is the brain of it all, it can't store any memory. Where does all this memory go? It goes to the RAM and the hard drive.
The RAM is very good at saving memory on your computer and also allows your computer to work faster. The RAM makes your computer to work faster because each program in the computer requires a specific amount of the RAM for it to work, therefore the more RAM there is, the more smoothly it will run. Even though it is good at saving memory, it is only temporary so if your RAM wasn't able to save it yet and your computer turns off then none of the memory would save. Now the question is: How does your computer store memory for a longer period of time? The answer is the hard drive.
The hard drive has a lot more memory than the RAM but it is a lot slower. When turning off the computer, the RAM would be in the process of transferring its data into the hard drive. Without the RAM then the computer would be slow but without the hard drive the computer can't save things permanently. There are also portable hard drives where you connect them with a USB cable (it basically acts like a thumb drive but can store up a lot more memory). There are also discs to store memory in but the disc would have to go somewhere. That somewhere is the optical disc drive (ODD).
The CPU is a small computer chip that is put into the motherboard. The CPU is basically like the “brain” of all the hardware inside the case, without the CPU the the computer won’t function at all because there would be nothing to tell everything what to do. Even though the CPU is the brain of it all, it can't store any memory. Where does all this memory go? It goes to the RAM and the hard drive.
The RAM is very good at saving memory on your computer and also allows your computer to work faster. The RAM makes your computer to work faster because each program in the computer requires a specific amount of the RAM for it to work, therefore the more RAM there is, the more smoothly it will run. Even though it is good at saving memory, it is only temporary so if your RAM wasn't able to save it yet and your computer turns off then none of the memory would save. Now the question is: How does your computer store memory for a longer period of time? The answer is the hard drive.
The hard drive has a lot more memory than the RAM but it is a lot slower. When turning off the computer, the RAM would be in the process of transferring its data into the hard drive. Without the RAM then the computer would be slow but without the hard drive the computer can't save things permanently. There are also portable hard drives where you connect them with a USB cable (it basically acts like a thumb drive but can store up a lot more memory). There are also discs to store memory in but the disc would have to go somewhere. That somewhere is the optical disc drive (ODD).
Normal Hard Drive
Portable Hard Drive
The Optical Disc Drive is where you put the CD’s, DVD’s and other disks in. The information from the disk is transferred into the computer. All of the hardware would need a power source for it all to function, the hardware gets all its power from the power supply.
The Power supply is to make sure the computer has power to operate. It has a wire that you need to attach to the power supply and a socket. With laptops, there is a charger to recharge the battery of the laptop.
That just leaves us with one final question, where does all these components go? The answer is the case.
The case is just simply the part that covers all the electrical parts inside, the case includes the fan. The fan is used to make sure the computer on the inside does not overheat.
The Power supply is to make sure the computer has power to operate. It has a wire that you need to attach to the power supply and a socket. With laptops, there is a charger to recharge the battery of the laptop.
That just leaves us with one final question, where does all these components go? The answer is the case.
The case is just simply the part that covers all the electrical parts inside, the case includes the fan. The fan is used to make sure the computer on the inside does not overheat.
Software:
The software is the part of the computer in the operating system (OS) such as Windows, Mac and Linux.
Applications on the computer like games and Microsoft word are included with the operating system. Without the software's then you wouldn’t be able to do anything with the computer. Some examples of software are Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc…), games and Internet browsers (Firefox, Rockmelt, etc…).
Network:
When we go onto different websites, we use domain names to go to that website (e.g. Google.com). But computers don't recognize websites by its domain name, it recognize websites by IP addresses
(e.g.
(e.g.
The terminal is a application where you can type in codes and others to make it do certain actions such as looking for the IP address of a website/your computer and allowing you to change a few bits and pieces on your computer. To look for the IP address of google as an example, just type:
ping google.com
After you done that, this IP address should show up:
64 bytes from 74.125.71.99: icmp_seq=0 ttl=55 time=17.036 ms
The computer will go to the website and "ask" for the IP address and google would respond and upload the IP address to the computer. You can see a picture below as an example.
People
People that use technology use it in a good and bad way. Some people just use computers to play games, do work and talk to people over the Internet. However, there are people you use it in a bad way like hacking into other peoples computers, taking their information and using that information in a bad way like pretending to be another person. Using computers in a bad way doesn't only mean things like hacking and stealing information though, it is sometimes about pollution. People make a lot of waste when using ICT like this. When they are done using ICT, they simply throw it out and the battery in Ipods and laptops are toxic. Fortunately there are companies such as Apple that have recycling programs for the computers and other technologies where they use the old computers and other technology as spare parts.
There are cases where you would be using it in a bad way and a good way simultaneously. One of them is if you use the computer to do work such as teaching or business, you would still be destroying the environment because it drains electricity.
There are cases where you would be using it in a bad way and a good way simultaneously. One of them is if you use the computer to do work such as teaching or business, you would still be destroying the environment because it drains electricity.
Online communities on the Internet affect people in various ways. Some people develop addictions to the computer and starts using it a lot, taking away their social skills. Those people with addictions won’t be able to live through life because they don’t have the social skills to talk with the people properly. For example, the Youtube videos “Greatest Freakout ever” is based off the cameraman’s brother who is addicted to videogames was enraged when his mom stopped his World of Warcraft account and because of this he has problems when he goes outside because people would make fun of him.
Jonathan, good work on your essay so far. Do you think you can make the text on your blog bigger? As it is small, and on a black background, I find it very hard to read. The following might help you to improve your work:
ReplyDeleteI think your introduction needs to be a little longer. If you can show the Four Layer model and explain that this is a simplifcation, but it can help to understand how computers function, that might get your audience warmed up.
In your explanation of hardware, you make some very good points, and in places you give lots of detail. However, some areas have too little information. I think a good way to structure it is to start with the motherboard, as this connects everything else. Maybe then explain the CPU as the main processor of instructions and data. This can be followed by RAM and HDD as storage, and then by the power supply and case. Of course this is only one way to organise things, but it is a logical one.
Under software, what do you mean by "cyber"? This is a very vague word. Can you explain what the operating system (e.g. Linux, Mac, Windows) is, and how it is different to application software (e.g. Word, Pages, COD)? It is useful to know what the operation system does: for example it manages all of the hardware, making it useable to one or more users. What else?
Under People you say that people use technology in a good or bad way. This is a very black or white way, but I think it is much more complex. For example, I use computers to teach you (which is good), but in doing so I create pollution (which is bad). So my use is simultaneously good and bad. What is the balance?
You need to show that you understand that computers/ICT are a part of technology, but is not all of it. Anything man-made (paper, clothes, cars) are all technology as well, but they are not ICT.
Very Good Job Johnathan,
ReplyDeleteI like that you changed the color background, so it's easier to read. Try to keep the font the same as almost at the end it changes. Some other things that popped in my mind when I first looked through this is that there are some big gaps between the pictures and underneath that the text.
Other, another name for the Motherboard is the circuit board, Mr. Parker mentioned on my essay that it would be good to mention that.
Also when you say:
"without the CPU the the computer won’t function properly "
You say the the which is yeah... you know what to do.
When you say it won't function properly, without the CPU is won't function AT ALL, so maybe you can make that more clear.
You say that the case is not very important because you say:
"The computer can work without some of the hardware such as the case but will not be as effective because if you press the button to turn it on without the case,"
But that is what i said in my essay and this is what mr. Parker said:
"With the case, remember that one of its main jobs is cooling the computer down. Without it, the computer may overheat and stop functioning properly."
So the computer won't last long without a case, so it is very important and you can't make a computer work to the best of it's abilities.
I like how you move onto the Hard Drive smoothly by saying" how can we save it permanently... the Hard drive" Or something like that. I also like when you explain about portable once.
Ooh, now you talk about the Case again. Well you did got the point of cooling down, so that's good but you till said (kinda) that a computer can function without the case - well like I and Mr. Parker pointed out, it can't.
Also when you talk about the Power supply, I did the same and this is what mr. Parker said to me:
"The power supply is not in fact the cable, but rather the part inside the computer that connects to the cable. It takes the mains voltage (110-200V) and steps it down to a much lower voltage that the computer can use. It then makes it available to other components. You are right though, that in a laptop the power supply is external (it is the box on the power cable). Why is this the case?"
So that probably explains my point.
You used the Disk Drive, which is good but it's not one of the 6 components (you have seven), maybe make sure people know that. Not a single computer could survive without one of the six components, that's why we mention them, because they are very important, well. Guess what, a computer can survive without a Disk Drive... obvious. So you can keep it in, but it would be better if you mentioned that it's not that important.
ReplyDeleteYou said "The software is the part of the computer in the operating system (OS) such as Windows, Mac and Linux." and then after the picture:
"That includes the applications on the computer like games and Microsoft word" Well a OS is a totally different thing than Software like Word etc. As in the OS runs the computer, the Applications are just applications.
When you say the things are called "Packets" is that the real exual name, or just the term Mr. Parker uses to explain it better. I don't know to be fair. But if it is just Mr. Parker maybe explain that that isn't the exual name and don't use quotation marks. If that is the exual name... it is perfect.
Maybe you can talk a bit more about Terminal, why we use this, what it does, how to use it, etc.
Like Mr. Parker said in his comment,
"Under People you say that people use technology in a good or bad way. This is a very black or white way, but I think it is much more complex. For example, I use computers to teach you (which is good), but in doing so I create pollution (which is bad). So my use is simultaneously good and bad. What is the balance?"
You still didn't really change that (maybe the different font part, but anyway, what Mr. Parker said is pretty much the same I would say, so just read the quote.
Yeah that's pretty much all :D
Good Job