Lesson 6

Classifying and Evaluating Computers

Computer Literacy
BASICS: A
Comprehensive Guide
to IC3, 5th Edition

1 Morrison / Wells / Ruffolo

 Objectives

 Identify types of personal computers.

 Describe desktop computers.
 Compare laptops and tablets.
 Evaluate smartphones.
Lesson 6

 Describe embedded computers.

 Describe servers and other large computers.

2 Morrison / Wells / Ruffolo CLB: A Comp Guide to IC3 5E

 Words to Know

 all-in-one desktop  file server

 convertible tablet  handheld game
 desktop computer device
 e-book reader  laptop computer
 electronic paper  mainframe computer
Lesson 6

display  netbook computer

 embedded computer  network adapter
 enterprise server  notebook

3 Morrison / Wells / Ruffolo CLB: A Comp Guide to IC3 5E

 Words to Know (continued)

 personal computer (PC)

 portable media player
 scalability
 supercomputer
Lesson 6

 tower
 ultrabook
 Web server

4 Morrison / Wells / Ruffolo CLB: A Comp Guide to IC3 5E

 Preparing to Purchase a Computer

 Computers can be organized into three categories:

personal computers, embedded computers (such as
ATMs), and large computers (such as servers).
 A personal computer (PC) is a computing device
than can perform input, processing, output, and
Lesson 6

storage activities on its own and is designed to be

used by one person at a time.
 The personal computer you decide to buy depends
on how you plan to use it, your budget, and its value.

5 Morrison / Wells / Ruffolo CLB: A Comp Guide to IC3 5E

 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 Computer usage typically falls into the following

ranges:
– Basic—Occasional use for visiting Web sites,
exchanging e-mail, and creating word-processing
documents
– Intermediate—Frequent use for a variety of tasks
Lesson 6

including playing games, watching videos, shopping

online, and using productivity software
– Advanced—Performing tasks that require the
maximum amounts available in processing speed,
memory usage, or storage capacity

6 Morrison / Wells / Ruffolo CLB: A Comp Guide to IC3 5E

 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 The quality of a
computer is
determined
primarily by the
performance of
Lesson 6

its system
components.

7 Morrison / Wells / Ruffolo CLB: A Comp Guide to IC3 5E

 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 Desktop Computers
 A desktop computer
is a computer that fits
on or next to a desk.
 The system unit
Lesson 6

containing the
processing
components is called
a tower.

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 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 Desktop Computers
(continued)
 An all-in-one desktop
houses the
processing
Lesson 6

components in the
same case that holds
the monitor; there is
no tower.

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 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 Laptop Computers
 A laptop computer
(sometimes called a
notebook) is a
lightweight mobile
computer about the size
of a paper notebook
Lesson 6

that includes the system

components, keyboard,
pointing device, and
display screen in a
single unit.

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 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 Laptop Computers (continued)

 Netbook computers (also called ultrabooks) look
like laptops but are smaller and lighter.
 Netbook computers have less power and storage
capacity, lack a CD/DVD drive, and provide a smaller
keyboard and display screen than laptops, but they
Lesson 6

include batteries that hold a charge longer.

 Netbooks are suitable for mobile users who access
the Internet frequently or for long periods of time and
don’t need to store a lot of data or software on a hard
drive.

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 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 Tablet Computers
 A tablet computer is a one-piece handheld computer that
typically includes a touchscreen.
 True tablets use a slate design; they are rigid and do not
fold.
 Convertible tablets use a hybrid design that includes a
Lesson 6

swivel screen or removable keyboard.

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 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 Comparing Tablets and Laptops

 For many people considering a new
computer, the choice is between a tablet and
a laptop.
Lesson 6

 To compare tablets and laptops, consider

their input devices, battery life, storage
capacity, performance, physical factors, and
price as well as your computer usage.
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 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 Comparing Tablets
and Laptops
(continued)
– Input devices—A laptop
provides a physical
keyboard and pointing
Lesson 6

device, whereas a tablet

using a slate design has
a virtual keyboard and
touchscreen.

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 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 Comparing Tablets and Laptops

(continued)
– Battery life—Because tablet hardware requires
less power than laptops, tablets can run on
battery power much longer than laptops.
Lesson 6

– Storage capacity—Overall, although tablet

storage devices can access data quickly and
require less power than laptops, they offer limited
storage capacities.

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 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 Comparing Tablets and Laptops

(continued)
– Performance—Most tablets use low-power dual-
core processors, so their performance lags
behind that of a laptop.
Lesson 6

– Physical factors—Tablets are smaller than

laptops, ranging from about 7 to 10 inches
diagonally. They also weigh less, around 1 pound
on average, while laptops range from 2 to 5
pounds.

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 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 Comparing Tablets and Laptops

(continued)
– Price—Entry-level tablet computers are more
expensive (about $500) than entry-level laptops.
A laptop is the best value because it provides
Lesson 6

better components at a lower price.

– Computer usage—Laptops are well-suited to
productivity tasks; tablets are ideal for
consumption tasks.

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 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 Smartphones
 A smartphone is a cell phone that includes many
features of a computer.
 Smartphones connect wirelessly to the Internet;
include built-in cameras, music players, and global
positioning systems (GPSs); and let you send and
Lesson 6

receive phone calls, e-mail, messages, and text

messages.

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 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 Evaluating Smartphones
 To evaluate smartphones, use the same set of
criteria used to compare laptops and tablets—
input devices, battery life, storage capacity,
performance, physical factors, price, and
Lesson 6

computer usage.
– Input devices—The physical keyboards provided with
some smartphones are small, and were designed for
typing short phrases used in Internet search text and
electronic messages. Touchscreens are more common
and easier to use.
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 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 Evaluating Smartphones (continued)

– Battery life—Battery usage on smartphones varies
significantly depending on your activities. Accessing
the Internet uses more battery power than having a
phone conversation.
Lesson 6

– Storage capacity—Similar to tablets, smartphones use

solid-state drives to store data, with capacities of 16 to
64 GB. In addition, smartphones from some
manufacturers include slots for microSD cards that
can hold up to 64 GB of data.

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 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 Evaluating Smartphones (continued)

– Performance—Smartphones pack a lot of
processing power into a small space, with most
models boasting multicore processors and 2 GB
of RAM.
Lesson 6

– Physical factors—Smartphones are lightweight,

about 4 to 6 oz. To compensate for small screens,
smartphones increase the screen resolution.

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 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 Evaluating Smartphones (continued)

– Price—Prices for smartphones have been falling
recently, with an average price of around $300
expected in 2017.
– Computer usage—If you use a computer only to
Lesson 6

access the Internet and communicate with others,

a smartphone might be the only computer device
you need. If you need to use more productive or
full-featured software, purchase a smartphone as
a supplement to another personal computer.

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 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 Other Mobile Devices

 Mobile devices besides laptops, tablets, and
smartphones include electronic book (e-book)
readers, portable media players, and handheld
game devices.
Lesson 6

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 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 Other Mobile Devices (continued)

 Each of these devices is dedicated to a
particular purpose, and only lets you perform
tasks related to that purpose.
– E-book readers—You use an e-book reader (also
Lesson 6

called an e-reader) to download and read electronic

versions of printed books, magazines, and
newspapers. E-book readers use electronic paper
displays, which consume less power and provide
higher contrast in bright lighting than LCDs.

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 Preparing to Purchase a Computer
(continued)

 Other Mobile Devices (continued)

– Portable media players—A portable media player is
a mobile device that can store digital media such as
songs, videos, and photos, typically on a small hard
drive. Portable media players are also called MP3
players, a term that refers to the MP3 file format used
Lesson 6

for many digital audio files.

– Handheld game device—A handheld game device is
a mobile device for a single video game player to use
one at a time.

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 Understanding Embedded
Computers

 An embedded computer is a processor built

into a household appliance or other device
such as an ATM, navigation system,
refrigerator, television, or other consumer
electronics.
Lesson 6

 The appeal and strength of an embedded

computer are that it adds computing power to
a device without needing intervention from a
user.

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 Understanding Embedded
Computers (continued)

 Features such as your car sensing when it

moves out of its lane or when a person or an
object is blocking your path as you back up
are controlled by embedded computers.
Lesson 6

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 Understanding Servers and Other
Large Computers

 Servers, mainframes, and supercomputers

are large computers because they are
designed for use by more than one person,
up to tens of thousands of people in many
cases.
Lesson 6

 Large computers need much more

processing, power, and storage than
personal computers.

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 Understanding Servers and Other
Large Computers (continued)

 Servers
 Servers are dedicated
to handling data with
minimal user
interaction.
 They do not include
Lesson 6

optical storage devices,

speakers, high-end
graphic displays, or
other peripherals.

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 Understanding Servers and Other
Large Computers (continued)

 Servers (continued)
 A server is usually dedicated to a single type of
task.
 A Web server handles the exchange of
information across the Internet.
 Large corporations use enterprise servers to
Lesson 6

provide employees access to special software

used to run the company’s business.
 Smaller businesses use file servers to share
files and programs among employees.

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 Understanding Servers and Other
Large Computers (continued)

 Servers (continued)
 A basic server can have processing, memory, and
storage capabilities similar to a powerful desktop
computer.
 As the number of server users increases, servers
must be able to increase their processing capacity to
Lesson 6

handle the additional data, a feature called

scalability.
 All servers need a reliable network adapter, which
is a card installed on the motherboard that connects
the server to a larger network or the Internet.

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 Understanding Servers and Other
Large Computers (continued)

 Mainframes
 A mainframe
computer is a
powerful computer
designed for
Lesson 6

processing huge
amounts of data for
hundreds or
thousands of users at
the same time.
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 Understanding Servers and Other
Large Computers (continued)

 Mainframes (continued)
 Mainframes are larger and more expensive than
servers, and are typically located in climate-
controlled, secure data centers to keep the
processing components cool and the data safe.
 Mainframes are designed to handle extremely
Lesson 6

large volumes of data on their own, while

servers transfer data around a network,
responding to requests from client computers to
retrieve, send, and store data.

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 Understanding Servers and Other
Large Computers (continued)

 Mainframes (continued)
 Large organizations rely on mainframes to process
and store records of data that are too large for other
computers.
 Data storage is one reason mainframes are more
expensive than servers, starting at around $75,000
Lesson 6

for a mainframe computer compared to $500 for a

server.
 Most mainframe computers can run without
interruption for decades, which is why they are worth
the investment to large organizations.

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 Understanding Servers and Other
Large Computers (continued)
 Supercomputers
 A supercomputer is a very
powerful computer
distinguished by its
processing capacity,
especially its speed of
calculation.
 Supercomputers have
Lesson 6

processors with a million or

more cores, and are used
primarily for scientific
applications that need to
perform complex calculations
very rapidly.

35 Morrison / Wells / Ruffolo CLB: A Comp Guide to IC3 5E

 Summary

In this lesson, you learned:

A personal computer is a computing device that can
perform input, processing, output, and storage
activities on its own and is designed to be used by one
person at a time.
The personal computer you decide to buy depends
Lesson 6

on how you plan to use it, your budget, and its value,
which is the quality of the computer’s features,
construction, and components compared to the price.

36 Morrison / Wells / Ruffolo CLB: A Comp Guide to IC3 5E

 Summary (continued)

 Computer use can be basic, intermediate, or

advanced. Basic usage involves occasionally
visiting Web pages and creating word-
processing documents. Intermediate usage
involves more frequent work on the computer to
access the Internet and productivity software.
Lesson 6

Advanced usage involves tasks that require the

maximum or near the maximum amounts
available in processing speed, memory usage,
or storage capacity.

37 Morrison / Wells / Ruffolo CLB: A Comp Guide to IC3 5E

 Summary (continued)

 The quality of a computer is determined primarily

by the performance of its system components,
including the capacities and speeds of the
processor, RAM, and storage devices.
 When considering a personal computer to
Lesson 6

purchase, you can select from four major types:

desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and
smartphones.

38 Morrison / Wells / Ruffolo CLB: A Comp Guide to IC3 5E

 Summary (continued)

 A desktop computer fits on or next to a desk, is

designed to be stationary, and runs on power
from a wall outlet. With a traditional desktop
computer, the system unit, monitor, keyboard,
and pointing devices are separate pieces of
Lesson 6

equipment. The computer case containing the

processing components is called a tower.

39 Morrison / Wells / Ruffolo CLB: A Comp Guide to IC3 5E

 Summary (continued)

 A recently developed type of desktop computer is

called an all-in-one desktop, which houses the
processing components in the same case that holds
the screen, not in a tower.
 Traditional desktop computers are preferred by
computer enthusiasts who plan to upgrade their
systems. People who want a desktop computer but
Lesson 6

lack enough physical space can consider an all-in-

one desktop, which is more compact than a
traditional desktop computer, can be moved more
easily, often includes a touchscreen, and has a
sleek, attractive style.

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 Summary (continued)

 A laptop computer (sometimes called a

notebook) is a lightweight mobile computer
about the size of a paper notebook that includes
the system components, keyboard, pointing
device, and display monitor in a single unit.
Lesson 6

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 Summary (continued)

 Today’s laptops have as much computing power

and perform as well as most desktop computers
because laptops can include top-notch
processors and large amounts of RAM and hard
disk storage capacity. However, because it costs
Lesson 6

more to produce components that fit a laptop’s

compact design, laptops are slightly more
expensive than desktop computers with the
same power, speed, and storage capacity.

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 Summary (continued)

 Netbook computers (also called ultrabooks) look

like laptops but are smaller and lighter, have less
power and storage capacity, lack a CD/DVD
drive, and provide a smaller keyboard and
display screen, but include batteries that hold a
Lesson 6

charge longer.

43 Morrison / Wells / Ruffolo CLB: A Comp Guide to IC3 5E

 Summary (continued)

 Like laptops, tablets run on battery power and

can be plugged into a wall outlet as necessary.
True tablets use a slate design; they are rigid
and do not fold. Convertible tablets use a hybrid
design that includes a swivel screen or
Lesson 6

removable keyboard so you can use the

computer as a laptop or tablet.

44 Morrison / Wells / Ruffolo CLB: A Comp Guide to IC3 5E

 Summary (continued)

 To compare tablets and laptops in general,

consider their input devices, battery life, storage
capacity, physical factors, and price as well as
your computer usage.
 Smartphones connect wirelessly to the Internet;
Lesson 6

include built-in cameras, music players, and

global positioning systems; and let you send and
receive phone calls, e-mail messages, and text
messages.

45 Morrison / Wells / Ruffolo CLB: A Comp Guide to IC3 5E

 Summary (continued)

 To evaluate smartphones, you can use the same

set of criteria for comparing laptops and tablets:
input devices, battery life, storage capacity,
performance, physical factors, price, and
computer usage.
Lesson 6

 Mobile devices besides laptops, tablets, and

smartphones include electronic book (e-book)
readers, portable media players, and handheld
game devices.

46 Morrison / Wells / Ruffolo CLB: A Comp Guide to IC3 5E

 Summary (continued)

 An embedded computer is a processor built into a

household appliance or other device. Its appeal and
strength are that it adds computing power to a
device without needing intervention from a user.
 Servers, mainframes, and supercomputers are large
computers because they are designed for use by up
Lesson 6

to tens of thousands of people in many cases. To

support that many users, large computers need
much more processing power, memory, and storage
capacity than personal computers.

47 Morrison / Wells / Ruffolo CLB: A Comp Guide to IC3 5E

 Summary (continued)

 Servers are dedicated to handling data with minimal

user interaction. Most include system components
only—no monitor, keyboard, or other peripherals.
Types of servers include Web servers, enterprise
servers, and file servers.
 A basic server can have processing, memory, and
storage capabilities similar to a powerful desktop
Lesson 6

computer. As the number of server users increases,

servers must be able to increase their processing
capacity to handle the additional data, a feature
called scalability.

48 Morrison / Wells / Ruffolo CLB: A Comp Guide to IC3 5E

 Summary (continued)

 A mainframe computer is a powerful computer

that is larger and more expensive than a server
and is designed for processing huge amounts of
data with stability, reliability, and accuracy.
 To be classified as a supercomputer, a computer
Lesson 6

must be one of the fastest computers in the

world. Supercomputers are used primarily for
scientific applications that need to perform
complex calculations very rapidly.

49 Morrison / Wells / Ruffolo CLB: A Comp Guide to IC3 5E