Английский для пользователей компьютеров. Ч.1. Белобородова М.Л - 4 стр.

                                     UNIT 1

                       Power Tool for an Information Age

Computers are the backbone of modern business. That is why computer literacy,
that is the need to know how to input, process, store, and output data and
information, has become increasingly relevant to anyone who plans to enter the
business environment. Your survival in the business world of today and tomorrow
depends more and more on how well you understand what a computer is, how it
works, and what it can be used for. A computer system has five components:
hardware, software, people, procedures, and data/information. Data comprises the
unevaluated facts, concepts, or instructions processed by the computer to output
information, the useful product of processing. Information is used to make
decisions.
People have always been extremely important to the functioning of a computer
system. In the past, when computers weren't so commonplace in business, many
people were able to ignore them. Today, however, it is much more difficult to
avoid becoming part of a computer system.
Hardware is the actual computer equipment; it has no capabilities of its own. The
equipment must be used with software, the instructions that tell the computer what
to do. Software is written by people. Systems software comprises the general
instructions that tell the computer how to operate; applications software comprises
the specific business-task-related instructions that help a user get his or her job
done. Procedures are represented by documentation such as users' manuals, which
tell users how to proceed.
Connectivity—how separate computer systems are connected—can become a
sixth component of a computer system.
Computers are generally classified into one of four categories, based on seven
factors:
1. Type of CPU
2. Amount of main memory the CPU can use
3. Storage capacity
4. Speed of output devices
5. Processing speed
6. Number of users that can access the computer at one time
7. Cost
The smallest, slowest, and least expensive computer is the microcomputer,
followed by the minicomputer, the mainframe computer, and the supercomputer.