priyanshu sirsaj

Basics of Computers - Utility Software Application software that assist OS in carrying out certain specialized tasks are called utility software. Let us look some of the most popular utility software. Antivirus A virus can be defined as a malicious program that attaches itself to a host program and makes multiple copies of itself, slowing down, corrupting or destroying the system. A software that assists the OS in providing virus free environment to the users is called antivirus . An anti-virus scans the system for any virus and if detected, gets rid of it by deleting or isolating it. It can detect many types of virus like boot virus, Trojan, worm, spyware , etc. When any external storage device like USB drive is attached to the system, anti-virus software scans it and gives an alert if a virus is detected. You can set up your system for periodic scans or scan whenever you feel the need. A combination of both the techniques is advisable to keep your system virus free. File management t...

Microprocessor Concepts Microprocessor is the brain of computer, which does all the work. It is a computer processor that incorporates all the functions of CPU (Central Processing Unit) on a single IC (Integrated Circuit) or at the most a few ICs. Microprocessors were first introduced in early 1970s. 4004 was the first general purpose microprocessor used by Intel in building personal computers. Arrival of low cost general purpose microprocessors has been instrumental in development of modern society the way it has. We will study the characteristics and components of a microprocessor in detail. Microprocessors Characteristics Microprocessors are multipurpose devices that can be designed for generic or specialized functions. The microprocessors of laptops and smartphones are general purpose whereas ones designed for graphical processing or machine vision are specialized ones. There are some characteristics that are common to all microprocessors. These are the most important defining cha...

Evaluation of Microprocessor The first microprocessor introduced in 1971 was a 4-bit microprocessor with 4m5KB memory and had a set of 45 instructions. In the past 5 decades microprocessor speed has doubled every two years, as predicted by Gordon Moore, Intel co-founder. Current microprocessors can access 64 GB memory. Depending on width of data microprocessors can process, they are of these categories- • 8-bit • 16-bit • 32-bit • 64-bit Size of instruction set is another important consideration while categorizing microprocessors. Initially, microprocessors had very small instructions sets because complex hardware was expensive as well as difficult to build. As technology developed to overcome these issues, more and more complex instructions were added to increase functionality of the microprocessor. However, soon it was realized that having large instruction sets was counterproductive as many instructions that were rarely used sat idle on precious memory space. So the old school of th...

Basics of Computers - system S/W As you know, system software acts as an interface for the underlying hardware system. Here we will discuss some important system software in detail. Operating System Operating system (OS) is the lifeline of computer. You connect all the basic devices like CPU, monitor, keyboard and mouse; plug in the power supply and switch it on thinking you have everything in place. But the computer will not start or come to life unless it has an operating system installed in it because OS - • Keeps all hardware parts in a state of readiness to follow user instructions • Co-ordinates between different devices • Schedules multiple tasks as per priority • Allocates resource to each task • Enables computer to access network • Enables users to access and use application software Besides initial booting, these are some of the functions of an operating system - • Managing computer resources like hardware, software, shared resources, etc. • Allocating resources • Prevent e...

Basics of Computer Functions of OS As you know, operating system is responsible for functioning of the computer system. To do that it carries out these three broad categories of activities - • Essential functions - Ensures optimum and effective utilization of resources • Monitoring functions - Monitors and collects information related to system performance • Service functions - Provides services to users Let us look at some of the most important functions associated with these activities. Processor management Managing a computer's CPU to ensure its optimum utilization is called processor management . Managing processor basically involves allocating processor time to the tasks that need to be completed. This is called job scheduling . Jobs must be scheduled in such a way that - • There is maximum utilization of CPU • Turnaround time, i.e. time required to    complete each job, is minimum • Waiting time is minimum • Each job gets the fastest possible response time • Maximum...

Basics of computer - Software Concept  As you know, the hardware devices need user instructions to function. A set of instructions that achieve a single outcome are called program or procedure. Many programs functioning together to do a task make a software. For example, a word-processing software enables the user to create, edit and save documents. A web browser enables the user to view and share web pages and multimedia files. There are two categories of software - • System Software • Application Software •  Utility Software Let us discuss them in detail. System Software Software required to run the hardware parts of the computer and other application software are called system software. System software acts as interface between hardware and user applications. An interface is needed because hardware devices or machines and humans speak in different languages. Machines understand only binary language i.e. O (absence of electric signal) and 1 (presence of electric signal) whil...