CHAPTER 1: Information of Technology, The Internet and You...

INTRODUCTION
Information Technology is developing at a rapid pace, opening up new possibilities for automating tasks and enriching the lives of people worldwide . From computer hardware to software applications, information technology is part of our world - converting, storing, protecting, processing, transmitting and securely retrieving information.

Five Parts of an Information System :

•      People
•      Procedures
•      Software
•      Hardware
•      Data

1) People 

• People, both as individuals and organisations, change. The functionalist viewpoint, which attempts to freeze and inhibit such change, has failed systems developers on numerous occasions. Responding to, and building on, change in the social environment is still a significant research issue for information systems specialists who need to be able to create living information systems. 
• There are some books that related about people and information system:-
• http://www.springerlink.com/content/ymhl5p5pafkn80wp/

2) Procedures 

• Specific rules or guidelines for computer operations.
• For Instances;to access the AIMS web sytems,must have ID and password.
• Madam Sharin said  in last class that "there is no software, there is no hardware".

3) Software

• is a another name for programs

 Divided into two categories which is:-

a) System software          

   

•     Enables application software to interact with computer hardware.It consists of a variety of programs .        
•     " Background software" that helps the computer manage its own resources

         

b) Application software

   

• Is an End-user software
• Includes Basic and Specialized application

  Examples of software icons pack

mobile application software

4) Hardware


A computer contains many electric, electronic, and mechanical components known as hardware. These components include inputs device, output devices, a system unit, storage device, and communications devices.


Input Devices is any hardware component that allow you to enter data and instructions into a computer. Five widely used input devices are the keyboard, mouse, microphone, scanner and Web cam.  

Input Devices

 Output Devices is any hardware component that conveys information to one or more              people. Three commonly used output devices are a printer, a monitor, and a speaker. 

Output Device

System Unit is a case that contains electronic components of the computer that are used to process data.

System Unit (Processor, memory and storage devices)

Storage Device records (writes) and/or retrieves (reads) items to and from storage media.Storage devices often function as a source of input because they transfer items from storage to memory. 

Most popular storage devices

Communications Devices is a hardware component that enables a computer to send and receive data, instructions, and information to and from one or more computers or mobile devices.

Communications Device

5) Data ::  is raw, unprocessed facts, including text, numbers, images and sounds. The data were processed and becomes information.  Data can be used directly as input for the system ::

Here have a link about the data from   Scott Titsworth and Charles Soukup 
http://www.unl.edu/speech/comm109/Toulmin/data/sld004.htm  

                      Four types of file:

1)      Document files : created by word processors to save documents

Ex: memos, term papers, letters

2)      Worksheet files : created by electronic spreadsheets to analyze things

Ex: budget and predict sales

3)      Database files: created by database management programs to contain highly structured and organized      data.

4)      Presentation files: created by presentation graphics programs to save presentation materials.

Ex: file might contain audience handouts, speaker notes, electronic slides.

Connectivity, the Wireless Revolution, and the Internet

• Connectivity: concepts describing the ability of end users to tap into resources well beyond their desktop.

• Wireless revolution: the widespread and the increasing use of mobile (wireless) communication devices.

• Internet: the world’s largest computer network. Web provides a multimedia interface to resources available on the Internet.

  :: These days, the information technology industry is rapidly growing and changing. Along with the growth and change in information technology are the people who almost instantly adapt to change. Computer technology has made our lives much easier and convenient ::