IT Fundamentals/Devices

This lesson introduces computing devices and common units of measure for data.

Personal computer

Objectives and Skills

Objectives and skills for the devices portion of IT Fundamentals certification include:

• Compare and contrast common computing devices and their purposes.
  • Mobile phones
  • Tablets
  • Laptops
  • Workstations
  • Servers
  • Gaming consoles
  • IoT
    • Home appliances
    • Home automation devices
      • Thermostats
      • Security systems
    • Modern cars
    • IP cameras
    • Streaming media devices
    • Medical devices
• Compare and contrast common units of measure.
  • Storage unit
    • Bit
    • Byte
    • KB
    • MB
    • GB
    • TB
    • PB
  • Throughput unit
    • bps
    • Kbps
    • Mbps
    • Gbps
    • Tbps
  • Processing speed
    • MHz
    • GHz

Readings

1. Wikipedia: Computer
2. Wikipedia: Mobile device
3. Wikipedia: Internet of things
4. Wikipedia: Units of information

Multimedia

1. YouTube: Common Computing Devices & Their Purposes
2. YouTube: Units of Measure
3. YouTube: Chapter 4 - IT Fundamentals+ (FC0-U61) Data Storage and Sharing

Activities

1. Together with classmates or friends, gather as many different types of computing devices as you have access to. If you are working alone, consider visiting your favorite electronics store to "comparison shop", but don't buy anything! Compare and contrast different computing devices. What do you like and dislike about each one? Is your opinion based on physical characteristics of the device (size, shape, appearance, etc.), performance characteristics, ergonomics (usability, operating system, software design, etc.), or vendor reputation?
2. Compare and contrast workstations, servers, and gaming computers. Which companies are the top three vendors in each category? What is the price range for a typical device in each category and what usage differentiates when someone would purchase each one? How are storage and processing speed measured for these devices (KB, MB, GB, TB, PB, MHz, GHz)?
3. Compare and contrast mobile phones, tablets, and laptops. Which companies are the top three vendors in each category? What is the price range for a typical device in each category and what usage differentiates when someone would purchase each one? How are storage and processing speed measured for these devices (KB, MB, GB, TB, PB, MHz, GHz)?
4. Review How-To Geek: How to Pair a Bluetooth Device to Your Computer, Tablet, or Phone. Practice pairing a Bluetooth device to your computer or mobile device.
5. Review CNet: Everything you need to know about NFC and mobile payments. Consider configuring your mobile device for NFC payments.
6. Consider the impact of Internet-of-Things (IoT) on your daily life. What Internet-enabled devices are currently in use in your home, school, and/or work environments? What benefits do these devices provide? What risks come with using these devices? Include devices such as home appliances, home automation, thermostats, security systems, cars, IP cameras, streaming media, and medical devices.

Lesson Summary

Smartphone

Tablet

Laptop

Workstation

All-in-one

Servers

Game controller

Common Computing Devices

Common computing devices include mobile phones, tablets, laptops, workstations, servers, and gaming consoles.

• A mobile phone is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while the user is moving within a telephone service area. Modern mobile telephone services use a cellular network architecture. In addition to telephony, current mobile phones support a variety of other services, such as text messaging, MMS, email, Internet access, short-range wireless communications (infrared, Bluetooth), business applications, video games, and digital photography.
• A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being computers, do what other personal computers do, but lack some input/output (I/O) abilities that others have. Modern tablets largely resemble modern smartphones, the only differences being that tablets are relatively larger than smartphones, with screens 7 inches (18 cm) or larger, measured diagonally, and may not support access to a cellular network.
• A laptop is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a "clamshell" form factor, typically having a thin LCD or LED computer screen mounted on the inside of the upper lid of the clamshell and an alphanumeric keyboard on the inside of the lower lid.
• A workstation is a stationary personal computer, typically with a separate case holding the system components. Workstations have an external monitor with a display screen and an external keyboard, which are plugged into USB ports on the back of the computer case. Traditionally, the term workstation referred to systems used in high-end technical applications, and desktop computer referred to systems used in more common applications.
• An all-in-one desktop computer or workstation integrates the system's internal components into the same case as the display, thus occupying a smaller footprint (with fewer cables) than desktops that incorporate a tower.
• A server is a computer that provides functionality for other programs or devices, called "clients". This architecture is called the client–server model, and a single overall computation is distributed across multiple processes or devices. Servers can provide various functionalities, often called "services", such as sharing data or resources among multiple clients, or performing computation for a client. Typical servers are database servers, file servers, mail servers, print servers, web servers, game servers, and application servers. Hardware requirement for servers vary widely, depending on the server's purpose and its software. Servers are typically more powerful and expensive than the clients that connect to them.
• A video game console is a computer device that outputs a video signal or visual image to display a video game that one or more people can play.

Internet of Things (IoT)

Internet of things

The Internet of things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. Common IoT devices include:

• Home appliances
• Home automation devices
  • Thermostats
  • Security systems
• Modern cars
• IP cameras
• Streaming media devices
• Medical devices

Common Units of Measure

Flash memory cards size comparison

• A bit is the smallest unit of information. The name bit is a portmanteau of binary digit. Bits have only one of two possible values, most commonly represented as either 0 or 1.
• A byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. There are 256 possible values for a byte (2⁸), and the range of values for an unsigned byte is 0 - 255.
• Units of information are typically measured in multiples of either bits or bytes. Bits are abbreviated with a lower-case b. Bytes are abbreviated with an upper-case B.
• Traditionally, bits and bytes were measured in multiples of 2, so a kilobit was 1,024 bits (2¹⁰). A lower-case prefix is used to indicate multiples of 10. An upper-case prefix is used to indicate multiples of 2.

Storage

Prefix	Common	Bits	Bytes	Base 10	Base 2
kilo	thousand	kb, Kb	kB, KB	103	210 (1024)
mega	million	mb, Mb	mB, MB	106	220 (10242)
giga	billion	gb, Gb	gB, GB	109	230 (10243)
tera	trillion	tb, Tb	tB, TB	1012	240 (10244)
peta	thousand trillion	pb, Pb	pB, PB	1015	250 (10245)

• Data transfer rates, sometimes referred to as throughput, are typically measured in multiples of bits per second (bps), such as:

Data Transfer (Throughput)

Prefix	Common	Bits	Base 10	Base 2
kilo	thousand	kbps, Kbps	103	210 (1024)
mega	million	mbps, Mbps	106	220 (10242)
giga	billion	gbps, Gbps	109	230 (10243)
tera	trillion	tbps, Tbps	1012	240 (10244)

• Processing speed is measured in Hertz, or cycles per second.

Processing Speed

Prefix	Common	Hertz
mega	million	MHz
giga	billion	GHz

Key Terms

AC (Alternating Current)

An electric current which periodically reverses direction, and the form of electrical energy that consumers typically use when they plug devices into a wall socket.

airplane mode

A setting available on smartphones and other portable devices that, when activated, suspends the device's radio-frequency (RF) signal transmission technologies (i.e., Bluetooth, telephony and Wi-Fi), effectively disabling all voice, text and phone services.

AIO (All In One)

A desktop computer that integrates the system's internal components into the same case as the display, thus occupying a smaller footprint (with fewer cables) than desktops that incorporate a tower.

DC (Direct Current)

The unidirectional flow of an electric charge, and the form of electrical energy that consumers typically use when they run devices from a battery.

Gb (Gigabit)

A unit of digital storage in bits equivalent to 10⁹ (1 billion) for gb or 2³⁰ (1,024³) for Gb.

GB (Gigabyte)

A unit of digital storage in bytes equivalent to 10⁹ (1 billion) for gB or 2³⁰ (1,024³) for GB.

Gbps (Gigabit per second)

A unit of data transfer in bits per second equivalent to 10⁹ (1 billion) for gbps or 2³⁰ (1,024³) for Gbps.

GHz (Gigahertz)

A unit of processing speed equivalent to 10⁹ (1 billion) cycles per second.

IoT (Internet of Things)

A system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.

Kb (Kilobit)

A unit of digital storage in bits equivalent to 10³ (1 thousand) for kb or 2¹⁰ (1,024) for Kb.

KB (Kilobyte or Knowledge Base)

A unit of digital storage in bytes equivalent to 10³ (1 thousand) for kB or 2¹⁰ (1,024) for KB.

Kbps (Kilobit per second)

A unit of data transfer in bits per second equivalent to 10³ (1 thousand) for kbps or 2¹⁰ (1,024) for Kbps.

Mb (Megabit)

A unit of digital storage in bits equivalent to 10⁶ (1 million) for mb or 2²⁰ (1,024²) for Mb.

MB (Megabyte)

A unit of digital storage in bytes equivalent to 10⁶ (1 million) for mB or 2²⁰ (1,024²) for MB.

Mbps (Megabit per second)

A unit of data transfer in bits per second equivalent to 10⁶ (1 million) for mbps or 2²⁰ (1,024²) for Mbps.

MHz (Megahertz)

A unit of processing speed equivalent to 10⁶ (1 million) cycles per second.

PB (Petabyte)

A unit of digital storage in bytes equivalent to 10¹⁵ (1,000 trillion) for pB or 2⁵⁰ (1,024⁵) for PB.

PC (Personal Computer)

A multi-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use.

Tb (Terabit)

A unit of digital storage in bits equivalent to 10¹² (1 trillion) for tb or 2⁴⁰ (1,024⁴) for Tb.

TB (Terabyte)

A unit of digital storage in bytes equivalent to 10¹² (1 trillion) for tB or 2⁴⁰ (1,024⁴) for TB.

Tbps (Terabits per second)

A unit of data transfer in bits per second equivalent to 10¹² (1 trillion) for tbps or 2⁴⁰ (1,024⁴) for Tbps.

Assessments

• Flashcards: Quizlet: IT Fundamentals - Devices
• Quiz: Quizlet: IT Fundamentals - Devices

See Also

• Computer Hardware

References

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