Tiếng Anh - Oxford English for infomation technology

Nội dung text: Tiếng Anh - Oxford English for infomation technology

1. OXFORD Information Technology Eric H.Glendinning | John McEwan
2. Contents Language Work Reading Listening Speaking Writing Revision: Past simple Noting specific Exchanging Writing a brief Computer Users and Present perfect information information description 2 Describing how Locating specific Exchanging Sequencing Computer an item functions information technical instructions Architecture Prepositions of place information 3 Present passive Reading Describing a Describing a Computer diagrams process process Applications Ignoring irrelevant info 4 Revision: Listening for Describing Peripherals 'Comparison and detail function contrast Comparing and contrasting 5 Revision: Past simple Listening for Describing Interview: questions detail function Former Word Study: Student up- and -up verbs 6 -ing form: as noun Matching text Exchanging Operating and after and diagram technical Systems prepositions Prediction information 7 V + obj + infin Reading Providing Graphical V + obj + fo-infin diagrams explanations User allow, enable, help, Interfaces let, permit 8 Instructions and Note-taking Exchanging Making Applications complex information recommenda Programs instructions tions 9 -ing clauses: Locating Providing Describing a Multimedia cause and effect information in explanations process diagram and text 10 //-sentences, Matching Giving Interview: types 1 and 2 diagrams and instructions Computing Word Study: noun spoken output Support + noun compounds 11 Relative clauses Matching text Providing Describing Networks with a participle and diagram explanations advantages and disadvantages 12 Warnings Computer Writing a The Internet mediated newsgroup communication contribution 13 Time clauses Information Describing a The World transfer, process Wide Web listening and note-taking 14 Giving advice Understanding Exchanging Evaluating Websites the writer's information purpose
3. Language Work Listening Speaking would Listening for Exchanging Advising Word Study: specific information Webpage definitions and information Creator collocations 16 Predictions: Reading for Listening for Exchanging Describing a Communications certainty specific predictions information to system Systems expressions information and certainty complete a diagram 17 Diagnosing a fault Information Giving advice Reporting a Computing and giving advice transfer from on technical problem Support telephone call problems to form 18 Cause and effect Scanning Exchanging Explaining a Data cause to/make; information computer Security 1 causative verbs; crime en- and -en verbs 19 Cause and effect Reading a table Exchanging Describing how Data using allow and explanations a system Security 2 prevent links operates 20 Phrasal verbs Listening for Role play Writing a short Interview: Word Study: specific news item The ex-hacker semantic groups information 21 Revision: If X, then Y. Listening for Exchanging Describing Software Do until, do while specific information advantages Engineering information and options and disadvantages 22 Requirements: Reading and Asking targeted Writing a c.v. People in need to, have to, note-taking questions Computing must, be + essentiaI/critical 23 Ability: can, could, Reading and Comparing Making a Writing a report Recent be able to note-taking different presentation Developments versions of a in IT text 24 Predictions: Reading and Listening for Persuading Writing a The Future Future perfect and note-taking points of view others to your summary of IT It in subject position point of view 25 Emphasising: Listening for Planning group Interview: cleft sentences points of view presentation Electronic Word Study: Defending a Publishing prefixes; -ise verbs decision Pairwork Student A Pairwork Student B Listening Script Glossary of computing terms and abbreviations
4. UNIT 1 Computer Users STARTER Work in groups. Share information on how you use computers in your free time. Compare answers with other groups and make a list of uses for your class. LISTENING You are going to hear four people talk about how they use computers. Before you listen, try to predict the uses they describe. User Possible use primary school teacher Open University student girl (Louise), aged 6 artist
5. Now listen to the recordings and note the actual uses described. User Actual use primary school teacher Open University student girl (Louise), aged 6 artist Now listen to the recordings again to find the answers to these questions: 1 How does the story-telling program encourage children to work together? 2 In what way is the children's reaction to this program different from other uses they make of computers? 3 What is the OU student studying? 4 What opportunity has she to meet other students? 5 What can you do with Pets 3? 6 What does Louise do with clipart? 7 How did the artist display work to dealers in the past? 8 What is the difficulty in selling through a website? LANGUAGE WORK Study these examples of the Present perfect We use the Present perfect to describe past from the recording of the artist. actions with present relevance. The artist 1 I've scanned in about a third of these uses the Present perfect because he is photographs. describing a CD he has just made and what 2 I've organised the paintings into themes. he is going to do with it in the near future. 3 I've added a sound track. We use the Past simple to describe Why doesn't the speaker use the Past completed actions in the past. It is often simple? used with time expressions such as last year, before PCs were introduced, in 1998. Note 4 / scanned in about a third of these these examples from the recording: photographs. 5 / organised the paintings into themes. 7 I made one for Mary's birthday last week. 6 / added a sound track. 8 We tried it out last term.
6. 6 UNIT 1 Computer Users The artist is being interviewed. Make questions to match his answers. Use the correct form of the Past simple or Present perfect, whichever is correct. For example: Question: What did you do yesterday? Answer: Worked on the computer. 1 Q What A Worked on a CD of my paintings. 2 Q How many A About a third. 3 Q What A I destroyed them. 4 Q How A I scanned them in. 5 Q How A I've organised them into themes. 6 Q Have A Yes, I've added a sound track. 7 Q How long A It's taken me about a week. 8 Q When A I started about ten years ago. 9 Q What A Before I had a computer, I had to use slides. 10 Q Have A Yes, I've sold a few. Put the tenses in this dialogue in the correct form: Past simple or Present perfect. 1 A What (do) today? 2 B I (work) on my project. I (search) the Web for sites on digital cameras. 3 A (find) any good ones? 4 B I (find) several company sites - Sony, Canon, but I (want) one which (compare) all the models. 5 A Which search engine (use)? 6 B Dogpile mostly. (ever use) it?
7. UNIT 1 Computer Users 7 7 A Yes, I (try) it but I (have) more luck with Ask Jeeves. Why don't you try it? 8 B I (have) enough for one night. I (spend) hours on that project. 9 A I (not start) on mine yet. 10 B Yeh? I bet you (do) it all. PROBLEM-SOLVING How do you think these professions might use computers? Compare answers with others in your group. architects interior designers farmers landscape gardeners musicians rally drivers sales people SPEAKING Work in pairs. Find out this information from your partner. Make sure you use the correct tense in your questions. For example: download music from the Internet [what site] A Have you ever downloaded music from the Internet? B What site did you use ? 1 send a video email attachment [who to, when] 2 fit an expansion card [which type] 3 replace a hard disk [what model] 4 fix a printer fault [what kind] 5 make your own website [how] 6 have a virus [which virus] 7 watched TV on the Internet [which station] 8 write a program [which language] WRITING Describe how you use computers in your study and in your free time.
8. 8 UNIT 1 Computer Users Computers Find the answers to these questions in the following text. Make the World 1 Name some types of devices that use 'computers on a chip'. Smaller and Smarter 2 What uses of handheld computers are The ability of tiny computing devices to mentioned in the text? control complex operations has transformed 3 What are the benefits of using computers the way many tasks are performed, ranging with the following items? from scientific research to producing a Security systems consumer products. Tiny 'computers on a b Cars chip' are used in medical equipment, home c Phones appliances, cars and toys. Workers use 4 What smart devices are mentioned in the handheld computing devices to collect data at text? a customer site, to generate forms, to control 5 What are smart cards used for? inventory, and to serve as desktop organisers. 6 What are the advantages of multimedia? Not only is computing equipment getting 7 What can medical expert systems do? smaller, it is getting more sophisticated. 8 How can computers help the disabled? Computers are part of many machines and 9 What types of computing systems are made devices that once required continual human available to people in remote locations supervision and control. Today, computers in using electronic classrooms or boardrooms? security systems result in safer environments, 10 What aspects of computing can people computers in cars improve energy efficiency, power determine? and computers in phones provide features such as call forwarding, call monitoring, and call answering. These smart machines are designed to take over some of the basic tasks previously performed by people; by so doing, they make life a little easier and a little more pleasant. Smart cards store vital information such as health records, drivers' licenses, bank balances, and so on. Smart phones, cars, and appliances with built in computers can be programmed to better meet individual needs. A smart house has a built-in monitoring system that can turn lights on and off, open and close windows, operate the oven, and more. With small computing devices available for performing smart tasks like cooking dinner, programming the VCR, and controlling the flow of information in an organization, people are able to spend more time doing what they often do best - being creative. Computers can help people work more creatively. Multimedia systems are known for their educational and entertainment value, which we call 'edutainment'. Multimedia combines
9. UNIT 1 Computer Users 9 text with sound, video, animation, and graphics, which greatly enhances the interaction between user and machine and Re-read the text to find the answers to can make information more interesting and 0 these questions: appealing to people. Expert systems software 1 Match the terms in Table A with the enables computers to 'think' like experts. statements in Table B. Medical diagnosis expert systems, for example, can help doctors pinpoint a Table A patient's illness, suggest further tests, and prescribe appropriate drugs. a Edutainment Connectivity enables computers and software b Multimedia that might otherwise be incompatible to c Expert system communicate and to share resources. Now that computers are proliferating in many d Telecommute areas and networks are available for people e Information superhighway to access data and communicate with others, personal computers are becoming Table B interpersonal PCs. They have the potential to significantly improve the way we relate to i Software that enables computers to each other. Many people today telecommute - 'think' like experts that is, use their computers to stay in touch ii Use computers to stay in touch with the with the office while they are working at office while working at home home. With the proper tools, hospital staff iii Internet system designed to provide free, can get a diagnosis from a medical expert interactive access to vast resources for hundreds or thousands of miles away. Similarly, the disabled can communicate more people all over the world effectively with others using computers. iv Multimedia materials with a combination of educational and entertainment content Distance learning and videoconferencing are concepts made possible with the use of an v A combination of text with sound, video, electronic classroom or boardroom accessible animation, and graphics to people in remote locations. Vast databases of information are currently available to users of the Internet, all of whom can send mail 2 Mark the following statements as True or messages to each other. The information False: superhighway is designed to significantly a Desktop organisers are programs that expand this interactive connectivity so that require desktop computers. people all over the world will have free b Computers are sometimes used to monitor access to all these resources. systems that previously needed human People power is critical to ensuring that supervision. hardware, software, and connectivity are c Networking is a way of allowing otherwise effectively integrated in a socially responsible incompatible systems to communicate and way. People - computer users and computer share resources. professionals - are the ones who will decide d The use of computers prevents people from which hardware, software, and networks being creative. endure and how great an impact they will e Computer users do not have much influence have on our lives. Ultimately people power over the way that computing develops. must be exercised to ensure that computers are used not only efficiently but in a socially responsible way. [Adapted from 'Computing in the Information Age', 2nd edition, Nancy Stern & Robert A. Stern, (Wiley), pages 19-22]
10. UNIT2 Computer Architecture STARTER Name these different types of computers. Then match the possible users below to each type. Justify your choice. Fig 1 1 Marketing research person collecting data from the general public 2 large company processing payroll data 3 travelling salesperson giving marketing presentations 4 large scientific organisation processing work on nuclear research 5 businessperson keeping track of appointments while travelling 6 graphic designer 7 secretary doing general office work What do these abbreviations mean? Use the Glossary if necessary. 1 CD-ROM 5 AGP 2 RDRAM 6 SDRAM 3 MB 7 SVGA 4 GHz
11. READING Now study the text below to find this information: 1 What is the memory size of this PC? 2 Which input devices are supplied? 3 What size is the monitor? 4 How fast is the processor? 5 What is the capacity of the hard drive? 6 Which operating system does it use? 7 What multimedia features does the computer have? HOW TO READ A COMPUTER AD. Intel Pentium IV 1.7GHz Processor Fig 2 Mini Tower Chassis Dell computer 256MB Rambus RDRAM 60GB Hard Drive Embedded Intel 3D Direct AGP video with 64MB SDRAM 64-voice wavetable sound 48 X CD-ROM Drive 19" (1 7.9" VIS) Colour SVGA monitor Microsoft Windows XP 1.44MB 3.5" Floppy Drive Microsoft Intellimouse 105-key keyboard The main processing chip that A video controller for A CD-ROM storage device operates at a clock speed of controlling the monitor screen that operates at 48 times the 1.7 thousand million cycles that is built on to the speed of the original CD-ROM per second. computer motherboard. It can devices. process 3D images using the A small size of tall and narrow A colour monitor for AGP type of video bus style of case containing the displaying output on a screen interface. It also contains computer system. at resolutions determined by approx. 64 million bytes of the SVGA standard. The 256 megabytes of Rambus synchronous dynamic random diagonal measurement of the dynamic type of main access memory that is used as whole screen is 19 inches but memory chips that constitute video memory. the diagonal measurement of the computer RAM. A soundcard that has 64 the actual viewable area of the A hard drive internal storage voices and generates sounds screen is only 1 7.9 inches. device with a capacity of using the wavetable system. The operating system that is approx. 60 thousand million used to control the system. bytes.
12. 12 UNIT 2 Computer Architecture LANGUAGE WORK We can describe the function of an item in a 3 ROM is used for holding instructions which number of ways. Study these examples. are needed to start up the computer. Using the Present simple Emphasising the function 1 ROM holds instructions which are needed to 4 The function of ROM is to hold instructions start up the computer. which are needed to start up the computer. Used to-infinitive. Used for + -ing form 2 ROM is used to hold instructions which are needed to start up the computer. Match each item in Column A with its function in Column B. Then describe its function in two ways. A Item B Function RAM controls the cursor processor inputs data through keys like a typewriter mouse displays the output from a computer on a clock screen 3.5" floppy drive reads DVD-ROMs monitor reads and writes to removable magnetic disks keyboard holds instructions which are needed to DVD-ROM drive start up the computer cache holds data read or written to it by the ROM processor provides extremely fast access for sections of a program and its data controls the timing of signals in the computer controls all the operations in a computer
13. UNIT 2 Computer Architecture 13 With the help of the Glossary if necessary, describe the functions of these items. 1 scanner 6 supercomputer 2 printer 7 mainframe computer 3 ATM 8 barcodes 4 PDA 9 swipe cards 5 hard disk drive 10 memory LANGUAGE WORK Prepositions of place Study these examples of prepositions of place. 1 Data moves between the CPU and Bus RAM. interface unit 2 Data flows from ROM to the CPU. Disks 3 A program is read from disk into ROM RAM I/O ALU Video, etc. memory. 4 Data is transferred along the data Timing bus. & Control 5 The address number is put onto the address bus. Fig 3 Computer buses 6 The hard disk drive is inside a sealed case. Fig 4 7 Heads move across the disk. Hard disk 8 Tracks are divided into sectors. Complete each sentence using the correct preposition. 1 The CPU is a large chip the computer. 2 Data always flows the CPU the address bus. 3 The CPU can be divided three parts. 4 Data flows the CPU and memory. 5 Peripherals are devices the computer but linked it. 6 The signal moves the VDU screen one side the other. 7 The CPU puts the address the address bus. 8 The CPU can fetch data memory the data bus.
14. 14 UNIT 2 Computer Architecture PROBLEM-SOLVING Study these 'System upgrades and options' for the computer described in Task 3. Which upgrades and/or options would improve these aspects of this computer? 1 capacity 2 speed 3 protection from damage due to power failure 4 network connections Upgrades and options 3Com 10/100 Ethernet controller CD-RW Drive Extra memory module APC 1400 Smart-UPS 3 Year Next-Business-Day On-site Service SPEAKING Work in pairs, A and B. Find out as much as you can about your partner's computer and complete this table. Student A your computer details are on page 184. Student B your computer details are on page 190. Feature A B processor type processor speed bus speed memory (RAM) memory type hard disk capacity hard disk type monitor size monitor resolution CD-ROM drive speed
15. UNIT 2 Computer Architecture 15 WRITING Put these instructions for opening a computer in the correct sequence. a Release the two catches underneath and lift up to remove panel. b Shut down your computer by choosing Shut Down from the Apple menu or the Special menu. c If there are security screws on the vertical plate on the back of the computer, remove them with a Philips screwdriver. d Unplug all the cables except the power cord from your computer. e Pulling gently, slide the tray out. Match these figures to the instructions. Fig 5 Opening a computer ii iii iv Add these sequence words to your instructions: first, then, next, after that, finally.
16. 16 UNIT 2 Computer Architecture 1 What is one of the main causes of a PC not 5 When does a write-back cache write its running at its highest potential speed? contents back to main memory? 2 What word in the text is used instead of 6 When is data marked as 'dirty' in a write- 'buffer'? back cache? 3 What device looks after cache coherency? 7 What determines what data is replaced in a 4 What is the main alternative to 'write- disk cache? through cache'? CACHE MEMORY Most PCs are held back not by the speed of their 25 being for the processor to write directly to both main processor, but by the time it takes to move the cache and main memory at the same time. data in and out of memory. One of the most This is known as a 'write-through' cache and is the important techniques for getting around this safest solution, but also the slowest. 5 bottleneck is the memory cache. The main alternative is the 'write-back' cache The idea is to use a small number of very fast 30 which allows the processor to write changes only memory chips as a buffer or cache between main to the cache and not to main memory. Cache memory and the processor. Whenever the entries that have changed are flagged as 'dirty', processor needs to read data it looks in this cache telling the cache controller to write their contents 10 area first. If it finds the data in the cache then this back to main memory before using the space to counts as a 'cache hit' and the processor need not 35 cache new data. A write-back cache speeds up the go through the more laborious process of reading write process, but does require a more intelligent data from the main memory. Only if the data is cache controller. not in the cache does it need to access main Most cache controllers move a 'line' of data rather 15 memory, but in the process it copies whatever it than just a single item each time they need to finds into the cache so that it is there ready for 40 transfer data between main memory and the the next time it is needed. The whole process is cache. This tends to improve the chance of a controlled by a group of logic circuits called the cache hit as most programs spend their time cache controller. stepping through instructions stored sequentially 20 One of the cache controller's main jobs is to look in memory, rather than jumping about from one after 'cache coherency' which means ensuring that 45 area to another. The amount of data transferred any changes written to main memory are reflected each time is known as the 'line size'. within the cache and vice versa. There are several techniques for achieving this, the most obvious Processor Processor Processor Processor Cache Cache Controller Cache Controller Cache Controller Cache Controller Main Main Main Main Memory Memory Memory Memory If there is a cache hit then the processor only needs to access both to main memory and to the cache. With a write-back the cache. If there is a miss then it needs to both fetch data cache the processor needs only write to the cache, leaving the from main memory and update the cache, which takes longer. cache controller to write data back to main memory later on. With a standard write-through cache, data has to be written [Adapted from Cache Memory, PC Plus, February 1994, Future Publishing Ltd.]
17. UNIT 2 Computer Architecture 17 How a Disk Cache Works Disk caching works in essentially the same way Re-read the texts to find the answers to whether you have a cache on your disk these questions. controller or you are using a software-based B solution. The CPU requests specific data from 1 Match the terms in Table A with the 5 the cache. In some cases, the information will statements in Table B. already be there and the request can be met without accessing the hard disk. Table A If the requested information isn't in the cache, Cache hit the data is read from the disk along with a large 10 chunk of adjacent information. The cache then Cache controller makes room for the new data by replacing old. Cache coherency Depending on the algorithm that is being d Write-through cache applied, this may be the information that has been in the cache the longest, or the e Write-back cache 15 information that is the least recently used. The f Line size CPU's request can then be met, and the cache already has the adjacent data loaded in Table B anticipation of that information being requested next. The process of writing changes only to the cache and not to main memory unless the 5 space is used to cache new data Cache supplies CPU with ii The amount of data transferred to the requested data cache at any one time 1 CPU requests iii The process of writing directly to both the new data cache and main memory at the same time 4 Cache replaces iv The processor is successful in finding the Cache Cache old data with data in the cache (before) (after) new data v Ensuring that any changes written to main memory are reflected within the cache and vice versa vi The logic circuits used to control the cache process 2 Data is not 3 found in cache Cache reads data 2 Mark the following as True or False: Cache request: from multiple data from sectors on disk, a Cache memory is faster than RAM. hard disk including data b The processor looks for data in the main adjacent to that requested memory first. c Write-through cache is faster than write-back cache. d Write-back cache requires a more intelligent cache controller. e Most programs use instructions that are stored in sequence in memory. f Most cache controllers transfer one item of data at a time. g Hardware and software disk caches work in much the same way. [Adapted from 'How a Disk Cache Works', PC Magazine, September 1990]
18. UNIT3 Computer Applications STARTER Work in groups. List as many uses as you can for computers in one of these areas. 1 supermarkets 2 hospitals 3 airports 4 police headquarters READING Study this diagram. Using only the diagram, try to list each stage in the operation of this computerised speed trap to make an explanation of how it operates. For example: 1 Camera 1 records the time each vehicle passes. Details of speeding cars sent to Police HQ computer Digital camera + processor 2 Digital camera + processor 1 data link Time and number plate Time and number plate recorded. recorded using OCR Speed recorded Fig l New speed camera sys measured distance Part 1 of the text describes the system which predates the one shown in Fig 1. Does it contain any information that may help complete your explanation? Read it quickly to find out. Ignore any information which is not helpful to you. In the last ten years, police have installed speed within the unit measures the difference in trap units on many busy roads. These contain a wavelength between outgoing and returning radar set, a microprocessor and a camera equipped signals and calculates the speed of each vehicle. If with a flash. The radar sends out a beam of radio it is above the speed pre-set by the police, the waves at a frequency of 24 gigahertz. This is camera takes a picture of the vehicle. The equivalent to a wavelength of 1.25 cms. If a car is information is stored on a smart card for transfer moving towards the radar, the reflected signal will to the police computer. The owner of the vehicle bounce back with a slightly smaller wavelength. If can then be traced using the Driver and Vehicle away from the radar, the waves will reflect with a Licensing Centre database. slightly longer wavelength. The microprocessor
19. Part 2 describes the new system. Read it to complete the stages in your explanation. Some drivers have now got used to these traps. using optical character recognition software. This They slow down when they approach one to information is relayed to the second unit which ensure that the camera is not triggered. They repeats the exercise. The microprocessor within speed up again as soon as they have passed. This is the second unit then calculates the time taken by known as 'surfing'. One way of outwitting such each vehicle to travel between the units. The motorists is a new computerised system. This registration numbers of those vehicles exceeding consists of two units equipped with digital the speed limit are relayed to police headquarters cameras positioned at a measured distance apart. where a computer matches each vehicle with the The first unit records the time each vehicle passes DVLC database. Using mailmerge a standard letter it and identifies each vehicle by its number plates is then printed off addressed to the vehicle owner. LANGUAGE WORK Present passive Study these sentences. we know what it is - the microprocessor. The 1 The radar sends out a beam of radio waves. passive is often used to describe the steps in 2 The information is stored on a smart card. a process where the action is more important than the agent and where the In 1 the verb is active and in 2 it is passive, agent is already known to the reader. If we the Present passive. Why is this so? What need to add the agent, we can do so like this: difference does it make? In 1 the agent 3 The information is stored on a smart card responsible for the action is included - the by the microprocessor. radar. In 2 the agent is not included although Describe the operation of the new speed trap by converting each of these statements to the Present passive. Add information on the agent where you think it is necessary. 1 The first unit records the time each vehicle passes. 2 It identifies each vehicle by its number plates using OCR software. 3 It relays the information to the second unit. 4 The second unit also records the time each vehicle passes. 5 The microprocessor calculates the time taken to travel between the units. 6 It relays the registration numbers of speeding vehicles to police headquarters. 7 A computer matches each vehicle with the DVLC database. 8 It prints off a letter to the vehicle owners using mailmerge.
20. 20 UNIT 3 Computer Applications With the help of this diagram, sequence these steps in the operation of an EPOS till. Then write a description of its operation in the Present passive. a The scanner converts the barcode into electrical pulses. b The branch computer sends the price and description of the product to the EPOS till. c The scanner reads the barcode. d The branch computer records the sale of the product. e The till shows the item and price. f The checkout operator scans the item. g The scanner sends the pulses to the branch computer. h The till prints the item and price on the paper receipt. i The branch computer searches the stock file for a product matching the barcode EAN. Bar code to branch computer. Item and price shown on digital display and printed on receipt. Item Price and description to EPOS till. Branch computer records that one of these products has been sold. Branch computer searches stock file for product. Fig 2 Operation of EPOS till
21. UNIT 3 Computer Applications 21 PROBLEM-SOLVING Assuming cost is not a problem, what computer applications would make today's cars safer, more comfortable, more secure and more efficient? List your ideas; then compare ideas with others in your group. SPEAKING Work in pairs, A and B. Be prepared to describe the process shown in your diagram to your partner. Take notes on the process described to you. Ask your partner to repeat or explain further if you do not understand any of the steps in his/her description. If you prefer, you may describe another computing process you are familiar with. Student A Your process is on page 184. Student B Your process is on page 190. WRITING Write a description of the process you described in Task 8.
22. 22 UNIT 3 Computer Applications DATA MINING Find the answers to these questions in the Q following text. Data mining is simply filtering through large amounts of raw data for useful information that 1 What tool is often used in data mining? gives businesses a competitive edge. This 2 What Al method is used for the following information is made up of meaningful patterns processes? and trends that are already in the data but were a Separate data into subsets and then previously unseen. analyse the subsets to divide them into The most popular tool used when mining is further subsets for a number of levels. artificial intelligence (AI). AI technologies try to b Continually analyse and compare data work the way the human brain works, by making until patterns emerge. intelligent guesses, learning by example, and c Divide data into groups based on similar using deductive reasoning. Some of the more features or limited data ranges. popular AI methods used in data mining include 3 What term is used for the patterns found by neural networks, clustering, and decision trees. neural networks? Neural networks look at the rules of using data, 4 When are clusters used in data mining? which are based on the connections found or on 5 What types of data storage can be used in a sample set of data. As a result, the software data mining? continually analyses value and compares it to the 6 What can an analyst do to improve the data other factors, and it compares these factors mining results? repeatedly until it finds patterns emerging. These 7 Name some of the ways in which data mining patterns are known as rules. The software then is currently used. looks for other patterns based on these rules or sends out an alarm when a trigger value is hit. Clustering divides data into groups based on similar features or limited data ranges. Clusters are used when data isn't labelled in a way that is favourable to mining. For instance, an insurance company that wants to find instances of fraud wouldn't have its records labelled as fraudulent or not fraudulent. But after analysing patterns within clusters, the mining software can start to figure out the rules that point to which claims are likely to be false. Decision trees, like clusters, separate the data into subsets and then analyse the subsets to divide them into further subsets, and so on (for a few more levels). The final subsets are then small enough that the mining process can find interesting patterns and relationships within the data. Once the data to be mined is identified, it should be cleansed. Cleansing data frees it from duplicate information and erroneous data. Next, the data should be stored in a uniform format within relevant categories or fields. Mining tools can work with all types of data storage, from large data warehouses to smaller desktop databases to flat files. Data warehouses and data
23. UNIT 3 Computer Applications 23 B Re- read the text to find the You must first have data to mine. Data 1 Match the terms in Table A with the stores include one statements in Table B. or several databases or data warehouses. Table A a Data mining c Cleansed data Data must be stored in a b Al d Data warehouse consistent format and free from errors Table B and redundancies. i Storage method of archiving large Actual mining amounts of data to make it easy to access occurs when data is ii Data free from duplicate and erroneous combed for patterns and trends. information Rules for patterns iii A process of filtering through large are noted. amounts of raw data for useful information iv A computing tool that tries to operate in a Someone must analyse mining way similar to the human brain results for validity and relevance. 2 Mark the following as True or False: The mining results a Data mining is a process of analysing known can then be reviewed and patterns in data. interpreted, and a b Artificial intelligence is commonly used in plan of action determined. data mining. c In data mining, patterns found while analysing data are used for further analysing the data. marts are storage methods that involve archiving d Data mining is used to detect false insurance large amounts of data in a way that makes it easy claims. to access when necessary. e Data mining is only useful for a limited range When the process is complete, the mining of problems. software generates a report. An analyst goes over the report to see if further work needs to be 3 Complete the following description of the done, such as refining parameters, using other data mining process using words from the text: data analysis tools to examine the data, or even Large amounts of data stored in data scrapping the data if it's unusable. If no further are often used for data . The data is work is required, the report proceeds to the first to remove information decision makers for appropriate action. and errors. The is then analysed using The power of data mining is being used for a tool such as An many purposes, such as analysing Supreme analysis report is then analysed by an Court decisions, discovering patterns in health who decides if the need to be refined, care, pulling stories about competitors from other data tools need to be used, or if newswires, resolving bottlenecks in production the results need to be discarded because they processes, and analysing sequences in the human are The analyst passes the final genetic makeup. There really is no limit to the results to the makers who decide on type of business or area of study where data the action. mining can be beneficial. [Adapted from 'Data Mining for Golden Opportunities', Smart Computing Guide Series Volume 8 Issue 1, January 2000]
24. Peripherals STARTER Identify the peripherals in this computer application. Divide them into input and output devices. Fig 1 EPOS till Link the inputs on the left and the outputs on the right with the appropriate peripherals in the centre. Input Peripherals Output Fig 2 Input and output devices
25. LISTENING Study this description and answer these questions. 1 How do digital cameras differ from conventional cameras? 2 How do they work? 3 What are their advantages and disadvantages compared to conventional cameras? HOW a digital camera works Digital cameras store images on memory cards so pictures can be transferred easily to a computer. A lens focuses the image on to a CCD unit or Charge-Coupled Device where the film would normally be. So you can aim the camera accurately, there is an optical viewfinder. So you can play back the images and decide which to keep and which to re-shoot, the image is passed to a small LCD screen on the Fig 3 back of the camera. Canon PowerShot, G1 Listen to Part 1 of this discussion between A and B and complete this table of similarities and differences between conventional and digital cameras. Tick or cross the boxes. Feature Digital Conventional lens viewfinder requires chemical processing film transfer images directly to PC can delete unsatisfactory images Listen to Part 2 of the dialogue to list the disadvantages of digital cameras.
26. 26 UNIT 4 Peripherals Now listen to both parts again to find the answers to these questions: 1 What does a CCD contain? 2 What is a pixel? 3 How can you view pictures before they are downloaded to a PC? 4 When you have downloaded the images, what can you do with them? 5 Is special software required? 6 Why is the resolution important? 7 What does the capacity of a digital camera depend on? 8 Why is it worth getting a rechargeable battery? LANGUAGE WORK Revision: Comparison and contrast Study this comparison of digital and Comparing features which are similar: conventional cameras. 1 Both cameras have lenses. 2 Like the conventional camera, the digital FEATURE DIGITAL CONVENTIONAL camera has a viewfinder. lens Contrasting features which are different: viewfinder 3 The conventional camera requires chemical requires chemical processing whereas the digital camera processing does not. film 4 The conventional camera uses film unlike transfer images the digital camera. directly to PC 5 With a digital camera you can transfer images directly to a PC but with a can delete unsatisfactory conventional camera you need to use a images scanner. 6 With digital cameras you can delete unsatisfactory images; however with Note how we can compare and contrast conventional cameras you cannot. these types of cameras.
27. UNIT 4 Peripherals 27 Study this data about storage devices. Then complete the blanks in the following sentences comparing and contrasting the different types. Device Read/Write Speed Media Media Cost Capacity Removable Floppy disk Read and write Slow Very low Yes Low Fixed hard disk Read and write Fast Very high No Medium Removable hard disk Read and write Medium to fast High Yes Medium CD-ROM Read only Medium High Yes Low CD-R Recordable Slow High Yes Medium CD-RW Read and write Medium High Yes Medium CD-MO Read and write Medium High Yes High DVD-ROM Read only Medium High Yes Medium DVD-RAM Read and write Medium Very high Yes High Magnetic Tape Read and write Very slow High Yes Medium 1 You can write to hard disks optical disks. 2 Floppy disks have a capacity other devices. 3 CD-ROMs and floppy disks are low priced. 4 DVD-RAM has a capacity other optical disks. 5 CD-ROMs cannot be re-recorded some other optical disks can be. 6 hard disks, you can read from and write to CD-MO drives. 7 CD-ROMs, CD-Rs are recordable. 8 Magnetic tape is much other devices. 9 DVD-RAM and fixed hard disks have very high media capacity. 10 Floppy disks are cheap DVD-RAM is expensive.
28. 28 UNIT 4 Peripherals Write your own comparison of printer types. Type Speed Text Graphics Colour Quality Cost Quality Capability Dot-matrix Slow to Fair to Limited Fair if you add a Low medium good colour option Ink-Jet Medium to Good to Good to Good to Low to fast excellent excellent Very Good high Laser Medium to Excellent Good to Good in colour Medium to very fast excellent laser printers high Thermal Transfer Medium to Excellent Good to Good to Medium to fast excellent superior high Solid Ink Medium to Excellent Good to Good Medium to fast excellent high Electro-static Slow to Fair to Fair to Fair to good Low to fast good good high Study this list of needs. Which type of peripheral would you advise in each case? 1 inputting printed graphics 2 building cars 3 controlling the screen cursor in a fast action game 4 making choices on a screen in a public information terminal 5 recording moving images 6 recording a book loan in a library 7 printing very high quality text and graphics 8 creating drawings 9 printing building plan drawings 10 recording sound 11 listening to music without disturbing others 12 storing programs and data 13 inputting a lot of text 14 backing up large quantities of data
29. UNIT 4 Peripherals 29 WRITING Describe the EPOS till shown in Fig 1. Explain the function of each peripheral using the structures studied in Unit 2. Check these websites for the latest digital cameras. Compare the newest cameras with the one described in Fig 3. You will find its specifications on www. canon. com. FUJIFILM MINOLTA www. minolta. com www. fujifilm. com PENTAX OLYMPUS OPtio330 www. pentax. com www. olympus. com It Image Communication www. samsungcamera. com www. ricohcamera. com Canon Imaging across networks www. sony. com www. canon. com
30. 30 UNIT 4 Peripherals Find the answers to these questions in the D following text. l What is Currie Munce's main aim? 2 How quickly did the possible areal density of hard disks increase in the 1990s? 3 How long does Munce think magnetic recording technology will continue to make. rapid advances in capacity? 4 What problem does he predict for magnetic storage? 5 What is the predicted limit for discrete bit magnetic storage capacity? Thinking about writing your memoirs - putting 6 What storage technologies might replace your life story down on paper for all eternity? current magnetic systems? Why not skip the repetitive strain injury and just 7 What is the advantage of holographic capture your whole life on full-motion video, storage being three-dimensional? putting it all in a device the size of a sugar cube? 8 What improvements are predicted due to It might not be as far off as you think. the fast access rates and transfer times of Currie Munce, director of IBM's Advanced HDD holographic storage? Technology Storage Systems Division, has one 9 What is predicted to be the most important avowed goal: Build bigger storage. Recently high capacity removable storage media in Munce and his fellow Ph. Ds restored Big Blue's the next 10 years? lead in the disk space race with a new world 10 What method of software distribution is record for areal (bit) density: 35. 3 gigabits per square inch - roughly three times as dense as likely to replace optical disks? any drive shipping at press time. During the 1990s, areal density doubled every 18 months, keeping pace with the transistor density gains predicted by Moore's Law. But increasingly daunting technical challenges face those who would push the storage envelope further. 'I think magnetic recording technology has another good 5 to 10 years, ' says Munce. 'After that, we'll see substantial difficulties with further advances at the pace people are accustomed to. ' From here on, a phenomenon called superparamagnetism threatens to make densely- packed bits unstable. Provided that new developments continue to thwart superparamagnetic corruption, scientists speculate that the theoretical limit for discrete bit recording is 10 terabits per square inch (1 terabit = 1, 000 gigabits). Approaching this limit will require new technologies. Two possible contenders are atomic force microscopy (AFM) and holographic storage.
31. UNIT 4 Peripherals 31 Re-read the text to find the answers to AFM would use a spinning plastic disk, perhaps these questions. inside a wristwatch, and a tiny, 10-micron 0 cantilever with a 40-angstrom tip (an angstrom 1 Match the terms in Table A with the represents the approximate radius of an atom) to statements in Table B. write data. In theory, AFM will allow densities of 300 to 400 gigabits per square inch. Table A While AFM is still in the lab, holographic storage a Big Blue is closer to reality. According to Rusty Rosenberger, optical program manager for b Areal density 1 Imation, 'We are targeting a 5 /4 -inch disk with c Moore's Law 125GB of storage and a 40MB-per-second transfer rate. ' Future iterations of holographic systems d Superparamagnetism should improve substantially. e Terabit The three-dimensional nature of holography f AFM makes it an appealing storage medium because g Angstrom 'pages' of data can be superimposed on a single volume - imagine transferring a whole page of Table B text at once as opposed to reading each letter in sequence. Hans Coufal, manager of IBM's New i Atomic force microscopy Directions in Science and Technology Research ii The approximate radius of an atom division, predicts that the fast access rates and transfer times of holographic storage will lead to iii IBM improved network searches, video on demand, iv The data capacity of a storage device high-end servers, enterprise computing, and measured in bits per square inch supercomputing. v Prediction that the number of transistors Meanwhile, also-ran technologies are thriving. that can be incorporated into a processor Tape, first used for data storage in 1951 with the chip will double every 18 months Univac I, has been revitalized by the corporate hunger for affordable archiving solutions. In the vi A phenomenon that threatens to make consumer arena, says Dataquest analyst Mary densely packed bits unstable in magnetic Craig, recordable CD-ROMs and DVDs will storage devices remain the dominant high-capacity removable vii One thousand gigabits storage media for the next decade. Despite their failure to match the areal density gains of hard disks, optical disks are cheap to produce, making 2 Mark the following statements as True or them ideal for software distribution (until a False: mature digital rights management system facilitates online delivery). Finally, solid state a The development of AFM is more advanced options such as flash cards can't yet match the than holographic storage. pricing of hard disks at high capacities. b The predicted maximum storage density of AFM is 400 gigabits per square inch. Further out, scientists salivate over the prospect of data manipulation and storage on an atomic c Holography works in 3D. level. Because consumer demand for capacity is d Univac I was the first computer to use tape lagging behind what technology can deliver, storage devices. bringing new storage options to the masses will e Users want higher capacity storage devices depend on seeing the need for more space. than technology can provide. [Adapted from 'Ready for the Bazillion-Byte Drive?' by Thomas Claburn, PC Magazine, March 2000]
32. Paul is 24. He has a Higher National Certificate in Computing and a Higher National Diploma in Computing Support which he completed two years ago. He has been working for a company providing support services for the last eighteen months. STARTER Study this list of some of the subjects included in his Diploma course. In which of these subject areas would he study the topics which follow? 1 Computer Architecture 2 HW Installation & Maintenance 3 Info Tech Applications (1) 4 Info Tech Applications (2) 5 Multi-user Operating System 6 Network Technology 7 Software Development Life Cycle 8 Standalone Computer System Support 9 Software Development Procedural Lang. 10 Data Communications 11 Information Systems & Services 12 Systems Development 13 Communication 14 Project Management 15 Mathematics for Computing a LAN Topologies b PC Bus Architectures c Modems d How to connect printers e Unix Operating System f Pascal g Writing a program h Creating a database i Maintenance of desktops j Wordprocessing and other office applications k Binary system I Making presentations
33. LISTENING Listen to Part 1 of the recording to find the answers to these questions: 1 Which of the subject areas listed in Task 1 does Paul mention? 2 Which additional subjects does he mention? 3 Why did he choose to do his Diploma in support? 4 What practical work was included in the course? 5 Which subject did he particularly enjoy? Listen to Part 2 of the recording and answer these questions: 1 What suggestions does Paul have for improving the course? Note a) his suggestions for improvement and b) the reasons he gives. 2 Which of the subjects he studied has he found useful in his work? Note a) the subjects and b) examples in the work situation. Listen to Part 3 of the recording to answer these questions: 1 In which situations does Paul have to learn fast? 2 What sources does he use for help? 3 What advice did the college provide on sources of information? 4 What was the problem with the set book? 5 How does he feel about going back to college? LANGUAGE WORK Revision: Past simple questions Study these examples of questions about the Asking about people: past. Who taught you Maths? Whose classes did you most enjoy? Asking about quantity: How many days a week did you study? Asking about things: How much programming did you do? What made you choose computing support? What did you like most? Asking about time: When did you study Communication? Asking about actions: What did you do on Fridays? What happened on Monday mornings?
34. 34 UNIT 5 Former Student Study this description of a student's first term. What questions might the interviewer have asked to obtain the information in italics? In her first term Pauline studied 6 subjects. She had classes on four days' each week. On Monday morning she had IT and Information Systems. Tuesday was a free day for home study. On Wednesday she had Systems Analysis in Room 324. She studied Computer Architecture on Thursdays. Programming happened on Friday mornings. Communication took place once a week on Friday afternoons. She liked Mr Blunt's classes most. She had a 15-minute coffee break each day and a lunch break from 12. 00 to 1. 00. up- and -up verbs Complete each gap in these sentences with the appropriate form of the correct verb from this list: back up keep up update build up set up upgrade catch up start up upload free up 1 To avoid losing data, you should your files regularly. 2 You can your PC by adding a new motherboard. 3 Delete some files to space on your hard disk. 4 Data is from regional PCs to the company's mainframe each night. 5 The operating system boots when you your computer. 6 She's taking a course to her knowledge of computing. 7 The computer checks the memory when it 8 He a website to advertise his travel company. 9 You can with developments by reading PC magazines. 10 If you miss a class, you can study the hand-outs to 11 The image in a digital camera is from a red, green and blue image.
35. UNIT 5 Former Student 35 SPEAKING Role Play Work in pairs. Using the tapescript for Part 1 of the interview, on page 196, play the parts of the Interviewer and Paul. WRITING Study this description of a computer course. Then write a description of your own computing course, or one of its components, in the same way. Computer Use and Applications RIMS: DESCRIPTION: STAFF: To introduce complete The course is in four parts. Dr Peter Jones beginners to computer Part 1 Introduction to systems. college computer science METHOD AND To give a basic facilities, including how to FREQUENCY OF CLASS: foundation in computer access the computers, the Two lectures per week with technology and to introduce Unix filestore, using email, practical exercises once every appropriate terminology. the editor and simple two weeks. network commands. To give a description of the major components Part 2 The basic ASSESSMENT: (hardware and software) structure of computer which make up a computer hardware and systems Three formal coursework system. software. Topics include assignments. compilers vs interpreters and To show how computer memory management. systems are used in commerce and industry. Part 3 Introduces some more advanced software To give practical tools, documentation tools experience in using various and language processors. systems. Part 4 Discusses various uses of computers including spreadsheets, databases, communications and impacts on society.
36. UNIT 6 Operating Systems STARTER Study this screen display and answer these questions. 1 How do you enter Unix commands? 2 Which Unix commands does it show? 3 What is the output of each command? 4 What will happen when the last command is entered? 5 Which other Unix commands do you know? Fig 1 Unix screen display READING Match the labels to the four layers of this diagram with the help of the diagram caption. 1 applications programs 2 user 3 hardware 4 operating system A CONCEPTUAL DIAGRAM OF AN OPERATING SYSTEM a b c d Closest to the user are applications programs - software that helps a user compute a payroll or play a game or calculate the trajectory of a rocket. The operating system is the set of programs between the applications programs Fig 2 and the hardware. Conceptual diagram of an operating system
37. Study this text title. What do you think it means? Operating Systems: Hidden Software Now read this text to check your answer and to find the answers to these questions: 1 What difference is there between applications software and operating systems? 2 Why is the supervisor program the most important operating system program? 3 What is the difference between resident and non-resident programs? 4 What are the main functions of an operating system? When a brand new computer entire operating system and comes off the factory loads into memory other assembly line, it can do operating system programs nothing. The hardware needs (called nonresident) from disk software to make it work. Are storage only as needed. we talking about applications An operating system has three software such as main functions: manage wordprocessing or spreadsheet the computer's resources, such software? Partly. But an as the central processing unit, applications software package memory, disk drives, and does not communicate directly printers, establish a user with the hardware. Between interface, and execute and the applications software and provide services for the hardware is a software applications software. Keep in interface - an operating mind, however, that much of system. An operating system is the work of an operating a set of programs that lies system is hidden from the between applications software user. In particular, the first and the computer hardware. listed function, managing the The most important program computer's resources, is taken in the operating system, the care of without the user being program that manages the aware of the details. operating system, is the Furthermore, all input and supervisor program, most of output operations, although which remains in memory and invoked by an applications is thus referred to as resident. program, are actually carried The supervisor controls the out by the operating system.
38. 38 UNIT 6 Operating Systems Complete the gaps in this summary of the text on operating systems using these linking words and phrases: although in addition because such as but therefore The user is aware of the effects of different applications programs operating systems are invisible to most users. They lie between applications programs, wordprocessing, and the hardware. The supervisor program is the most important. It remains in memory, it is referred to as resident. Others are called non-resident they are loaded into memory only when needed. Operating systems manage the computer's resources, the central processing unit. , they establish a user interface, and execute and provide services for applications software. input and output operations are invoked by applications programs, they are carried out by the operating system. LANGUAGE WORK -ing form (1) as a noun; after prepositions We can use the -ing form of the verb as a The -ing form is also used after prepositions. noun. It can be the subject, object, or This includes to when it is a preposition and complement of a sentence. For example: not part of the infinitive. For example: 1 Managing the computer's resources is an 4 Without the user being aware of the details, important function of the operating the operating system manages the system. computer's resources. 2 The operating system starts running the 5 We begin by focusing on the interaction user interface as soon as the PC is switched between a user and a PC operating system. on. 6 We look forward to having cheaper and 3 Another function of the operating system faster computers. is executing and providing services for applications software.
39. UNIT 6 Operating Systems 39 Rewrite each of these sentences like this: An important function of the operating system is to manage the computer's resources. Managing the computer's resources is an important function of the operating system. 1 One task of the supervisor program is to load into memory non- resident programs as required. 2 The role of the operating system is to communicate directly with the hardware. 3 One of the key functions of the operating system is to establish a user interface. 4 An additional role is to provide services for applications software. 5 Part of the work of mainframe operating systems is to support multiple programs and users. 6 The task in most cases is to facilitate interaction between a single user and a PC. 7 One of the most important functions of a computer is to process large amounts of data quickly. 8 The main reason for installing more memory is to allow the computer to process data faster. Complete these sentences with the correct form of the verb: infinitive or -ing form. 1 Don't switch off without (close down) your PC. 2 I want to (upgrade) my computer. 3 He can't get used to (log on) with a password. 4 You can find information on the Internet by (use) a search engine. 5 He objected to (pay) expensive telephone calls for Internet access. 6 He tried to (hack into) the system without (know) the password. 7 You needn't learn how to (program) in HTML before (design) webpages. 8 I look forward to (input) data by voice instead of (use) a keyboard.
40. 40 UNIT 6 Operating Systems PROBLEM-SOLVING Try to find the commands from the lists below which will have these actions. VMS Unix help write directory cp search Ipr copy Is rename mkdir print date show users rm show time man create/directory grep phone rwho delete mv Action VMS command Unix command List all the files in a directory Delete a file Rename a file Copy a file Send a file to a printer Obtain help Create a directory Show date and time Show users on system Talk to other users on system Search for a string in a file SPEAKING Work in pairs, A and B. Each of you has information about some popular operating systems. Find out from the information you have and by asking each other, the answers to these questions: Student A Your information is on page 184. Student B Your information is on page 190. 1 Which operating system is used on Apple Macintosh microcomputers? 2 What is Penpoint designed for?
41. UNIT 6 Operating Systems 41 3 Name one system used on IBM mainframes. 4 Which operating system is Linux related to? 5 Name an IBM operating system similar to MS-DOS. 6 Which operating system replaced MS-DOS? 7 Which systems are in fact graphically orientated shells for MS- DOS? 8 How many versions of Windows 9X were developed? 9 Which operating systems are designed for networks? 10 Which operating system is used by DEC VAX minicomputers? WRITING This description of the Mac OS X is drawn from the table below. Write a similar description of Linux. Mac OS X is a Unix-based operating system designed for use on Apple Mac computers. It includes memory-protection, pre-emptive multitasking and symmetric multiprocessing support. Graphics are provided by a graphics engine known as Quartz. It has advanced-PDF standards support, OpenGL and Quicktime integrated into the OS. The operating system features are accessed through a graphical user interface called Aqua. Mac OS X Linux type Unix-based Unix-based computer Apple Mac wide variety features memory-protection, variety of pre-emptive multi- distribution kits tasking, symmetric available multiprocessing support graphics engine Quartz XFree86 standard support advanced-PDF, OpenGL, Quicktime user interface type GUI command line, GUI user interface Aqua KDE, Gnome source code not available freely available availability
42. 42 UNIT 6 Operating Systems SPECIALIST READING Find the answers to these questions in the B following text. 1 What did Linus Torvalds use to write the Linux kernel? 2 How was the Linux kernel first made available to the general public? 3 What is a programmer likely to do with source code? 4 Why will most software companies not sell you their source code? 5 What type of utilities and applications are Linux has its roots in a student project. In provided in a Linux distribution? 1992, an undergraduate called Linus Torvalds 6 What is X ? was studying computer science in Helsinki, 7 What graphical user interfaces are Finland. Like most computer science courses, a mentioned in the text? big component of it was taught on (and about) Unix. Unix was the wonder operating system of the 1970s and 1980s: both a textbook example of the principles of operating system design, and sufficiently robust to be the standard OS in engineering and scientific computing. But Unix was a commercial product (licensed by ATEtT to a number of resellers), and cost more than a student could pay. Annoyed by the shortcomings of Minix (a compact Unix clone written as a teaching aid by Professor Andy Tannenbaum) Linus set out to write his own 'kernel' — the core of an operating system that handles memory allocation, talks to hardware devices, and makes sure everything keeps running. He used the GNU programming tools developed by Richard Stallman's Free Software Foundation, an organisation of volunteers dedicated to fulfilling Stallman's ideal of making good software that anyone could use without paying. When he'd written a basic kernel, he released the source code to the Linux kernel on the Internet. Source code is important. It's the original from which compiled programs are generated. If you don't have the source code to a program, you can't modify it to fix bugs or add new features. Most software companies won't sell you their source code, or will only do so for an eye- watering price, because they believe that if they
43. UNIT 6 Operating Systems 43 make it available it will destroy their revenue stream. Re-read the text to find the answers to What happened next was astounding, from the 0 these questions. conventional, commercial software industry 1 Match the terms in Table A with the point of view — and utterly predictable to statements in Table B. anyone who knew about the Free Software Foundation. Programmers (mostly academics Table A and students) began using Linux. They found a Kernel that it didn't do things they wanted it to do - so they fixed it. And where they improved it, b Free Software Foundation they sent the improvements to Linus, who rolled c Source code them into the kernel. And Linux began to grow. d Open Source There's a term for this model of software e A distribution development; it's called Open Source (see f X www. opensource. org/ for more information). Anyone can have the source code - it's free (in Table B the sense of free speech, not free beer). Anyone i A type of software development where can contribute to it. If you use it heavily you any programmer can develop or fix bugs may want to extend or develop or fix bugs in it in the software — and it is so easy to give your fixes back to the community that most people do so. ii The original systems program from which compiled programs are generated An operating system kernel on its own isn't a iii A complete operating system kit with the lot of use; but Linux was purposefully designed utilities and applications you need to as a near-clone of Unix, and there is a lot of make it do useful things software out there that is free and was designed iv A standard distributed windowing system to compile on Linux. By about 1992, the first on which people implement graphical 'distributions' appeared. interfaces A distribution is the Linux-user term for a v An organisation of volunteers dedicated complete operating system kit, complete with to making good software that anyone the utilities and applications you need to make could use without paying it do useful things — command interpreters, vi The core of an operating system that programming tools, text editors, typesetting handles memory allocation, talks to tools, and graphical user interfaces based on the hardware devices, and makes sure X windowing system. X is a standard in everything keeps running academic and scientific computing, but not hitherto common on PCs; it's a complex 2 Mark the following statements as True or distributed windowing system on which people False: implement graphical interfaces like KDE and Gnome. a Linux was created in the 1980s. b Minix was created by a university student. As more and more people got to know about c Linux is based on Unix. Linux, some of them began to port the Linux d Minix is based on Unix. kernel to run on non-standard computers. e Linux runs on more types of computer than Because it's free, Linux is now the most widely- any other operating system. ported operating system there is. [Adapted from 'Smooth Operator' by Charles Stross, Computer Shopper magazine, November 1998]
44. UNIT7 Graphical User Interfaces STARTER Study this diagram of a graphical user interface (GUI). Identify these features: 1 window 5 taskbar 2 icon 6 submenu 3 menu 7 desktop 4 system tray 8 button Fig 1 Windows screen display
45. Study this second example of a GUI. Folder This is a folder icon, and these all tend to look the 1 How does it differ from Fig 1? same - like a kind of 3D Menu bar 2 In what ways is it the same? view of a suspension file. Just about all programs Sometimes they're adorned display a menu bar across with other graphics, but the top of the screen, Document Application they're usually pretty easy including the 'Finder'.The This is a text file which tells us something This is an application, or program icon. to spot. Double-clicking on menu bar will change, about the contents of this CD-ROM. You can Double-clicking on it will start the program. a folder icon displays that depending on the program read it by simply double-clicking on it - your It's not always obvious whether an icon is for folder's contents in another you're running at the time. iMac will then automatically find the a document or a program, but you soon get window, which is what program needed to open it. to be able to spot these things. we've done here. Hard Disk icon Folders, files, documents and other items are displayed as little icons like this.This one, in fact, represents your iMac's internal hard disk. CD-ROM icon Your hard disk icon (and Wastebasket icon) may be the only ones you see on your desktop. If you insert a CD-ROM, though, it will appear as an icon on your desktop too. We've double- clicked on it to display its contents.To eject a CD, by the way, you have to drag its icon onto the Wastebasket - you can't just press the CD- ROM drive button. If you do, you'll be waiting an awful long time. Folder window When you double-click on a folder or a disk drive, its contents are displayed in a window like this one.These contents can be documents, programs or other folders. Wastebasket icon The Wastebasket is where you throw things you no Fig 2 Menu/menu option Control Strip Scrollbar longer need. It doesn't Mac GUI To open a menu, click on The Control Strip offers You'll see these gadgets empty straight away, its name in the menu bar. quick access to many of whenever the contents of a (though as you can see, ours This displays a drop-down your iMac's settings like the folder won't fit in the is so full the lid's fallen off), List view list like the one you see speaker volume, sound window. You click on either so you can change your This is another folder here.To choose one of the input and CD player the horizontal or vertical mind if you have to. When window, but this time we're menu options, just click on controls. Until you've found scroll arrows to display more. you want to eject a disk, be looking at the contents in it (the options are out what these gadgets do, of the contents - either that, it a CD-ROM or a floppy disk list' view. Otherwise, it's the highlighted as the mouse you can 'hide' it by clicking or drag on the little blue (if you've got a floppy disk same as the window next to pointer moves over them to on the small ribbed area to 'scroll box'. drive attached), you drag its it - a 'window' on a folder, help you get the right one). the far right.This reduces it icon on to the Wastebasket and the iMac will spit it out basically.You can nest Don't forget to always shut to a little handle in the Desktop pattern automatically. folders many layers deep, in down your iMac via this bottom left-hand corner of This background image can case you're wondering, and menu, NOT by simply the screen. Click this handle be swapped for many more you're likely to get confused switching the power off. if you want to display the via the Appearance control long before your iMac does Control Strip again. panel. You can use a - try to keep your filing repeating 'pattern' like this, or system as simple as a single image - a scanned possible. photograph for example.
46. 46 UNIT 7 Graphical User Interfaces READING Study this diagram of the Windows Desktop and answer these questions about its features. 1 What does Outlook Express let you do? 2 Which feature shows you current programs? 3 How do you read the date? 4 What is My Briefcase for? 5 Which background colour is most common? 6 Which feature shows other computers networked with yours? 7 Which feature lets you see which files are stored on your PC? 8 What is the program that helps you get on the Internet? 9 How do you delete files permanently? My computer The Internet Background This lets you browse the files stored on your The Internet Connection Wizard is a special This background of the Desktop can be a solid PC. Move the mouse pointer over this icon program that helps you get on the Internet. colour, a pattern or even a picture. Most new and double-click the left mouse button: a new You may also have an icon for the Microsoft PCs have a solid green-blue background, while window shows your hard disk, floppy disk and Network - an Internet service you can some may show the logo of your PC maker. CD-ROM drive, as well as special Printer and subscribe to. Control Panel folders. My Network Places For office PCs, this lets users see other computers connected to the PC. Most home PC users will not need to use this icon. Outlook Express This starts Microsoft Outlook Express, which lets you send electronic mail if you have Internet access. Recycle Bin When you delete files they go here, so you can easily retrieve them if you make a mistake. To delete the files permanently, you can empty the Recycle Bin. Start This button is the main starting point for most of your actions. Click once and you'll see a list of programs and your most recently used documents. Fig 3 Windows desktop Taskbar Status/Time box The Taskbar shows you the This box normally displays the current time, but it can also My Briefcase programs that you are display other information. Pause the mouse pointer over the If you often take files and currently running and the time for a moment and a pop-up box tells you the date.The documents to and from a windows you have open. To box is also used very often by programs to show the status PC at work, My Briefcase switch between different of tools such as the printer, modem or - on a notebook (a helps you to keep them windows, click on their portable computer) - it might display the amount of battery organised and up to date. buttons on the Taskbar. power you have left.
47. UNIT 7 Graphical User Interfaces 47 LANGUAGE WORK Verbs + object + infinitive; Verbs + object + to-infinitive New developments in computing are often 3 The X Window System enables Unix-based designed to make something easier.These computers to have a graphical look and feel. verbs are often used to describe such 4 Voice recognition software helps disabled developments: users (to) access computers. allow let Allow, enable and permit are used with this enable permit structure: help verb + object + to-infinitive Study these examples: Let is used with this structure: 1 A GUI lets you point to icons and click a mouse button to execute a task. verb + object + infinitive 2 A GUI allows you to use a computer without Help can be used with either structure. knowing any operating system commands. Complete the gap in each sentence with the correct form of the verb in brackets. 1 The Help facility enables users (get) advice on most problems. 2 Adding more memory lets your computer (work) faster. 3 Windows allows you (display) two different folders at the same time. 4 The Shift key allows you (type) in upper case. 5 The MouseKeys feature enables you (use) the numeric keypad to move the mouse pointer. 6 ALT + TAB allows you (switch) between programs. 7 The StickyKeys feature helps disabled people (operate) two keys simultaneously. 8 ALT + PRINT SCREEN lets you (copy) an image of an active window to the Clipboard.
48. 48 UNIT 7 Graphical User Interfaces Describe the function of these features using 'enabling' verbs. 1 In a window, the vertical scroll bar 2 The Find command 3 The Undo command 4 Cut and paste 5 Print Screen 6 Menus 7 Recycle bin 8 Tooltips PROBLEM-SOLVING Study this version of a GUI. Which part of the screen would you touch if you want to: 1 make a phone call 2 send an email 3 access a keyboard 4 record an appointment 5 get help 6 write new mail What do you think happens if you touch these areas of the screen? g, h, i, j, k, I Fig 4 Magic Cap GUI
49. UNIT 7 Graphical User Interfaces 49 SPEAKING Work in groups. Complete this questionnaire for yourself. Then take turns in your group to explain how to perform each of these actions. You may need these verbs: choose right/left/double-click on hover drag and drop select 1 create a folder? 2 start a program? 3 shut down the system? 4 adjust the speaker volume? 5 arrange the icons? 6 display the date? 7 in Windows, show Tooltips? WRITING Study these instructions for moving a file from one folder to another using Windows Explorer. Then write your own instructions for one of the actions in Task 7. Compare your instructions with those given in the Help facility on your computer. TO MOVE A FILE 1 If you want to move a file that was saved in a different folder, locate and open the folder. 2 Right-click the file you want to move; then click Cut on the shortcut menu. 3 Locate and open the folder where you want to put the file. 4 Right-click the folder; then click Paste on the shortcut menu.
50. 50 UNIT 7 Graphical User Interfaces Find the answers to these questions in the USER INTERFACES following text. What developments are driving the Cheaper and more powerful personal development of completely new interfaces? computers are making it possible to What has inspired a whole cottage industry perform processor-intensive tasks on the desktop. Break-throughs in technology, to develop to improve today's graphical user such as speech recognition, are enabling interface? new ways of interacting with computers. In what way have XML-based formats And the convergence of personal changed the user interface? computers and consumer electronics What type of computers are certain to devices is broadening the base of computer benefit from speech technology? users and placing a new emphasis on ease Name a process where a mouse is of use. Together, these developments will drive the industry in the next few years to particularly useful and a process where it is build the first completely new interfaces not so useful. since SRI International and Xerox's Palo Alto What facilities are multimodal interfaces Research Center did their pioneering likely to offer in the future? research into graphical user interfaces What type of input device will be used to (GUIs) in the 1970s. give vision to the user interface? What development has led to an interest in True, it's unlikely that you'll be ready to intelligent agents? toss out the keyboard and mouse any time List ways in which intelligent agents can be soon. Indeed, a whole cottage industry - used. inspired by the hyperlinked design of the World Wide Web - has sprung up to improve today's graphical user interface. Companies are developing products that organize information graphically in more intuitive ways. XML-based formats enable users to view content, including local and network files, within a single browser interface. But it is the more dramatic innovations such as speech recognition that are poised to shake up interface design. Speech will become a major component of user interfaces, and applications will be completely redesigned to incorporate speech input. Palm-size and handheld PCs, with their cramped keyboards and basic handwriting recognition, will benefit from speech technology. Though speech recognition may never be a complete replacement for other input devices, future interfaces will offer a combination of input types, a concept known as multimodal input. A mouse is a very efficient device for desktop navigation, for example, but not for
51. UNIT 7 Graphical User Interfaces 51 changing the style of a paragraph. By using both a mouse and speech input, a user can Re-read the text to find the answers to first point to the appropriate paragraph these questions. and then say to the computer, 'Make that B bold.' Of course, multimodal interfaces will 1 Match the terms in Table A with the involve more than just traditional input statements in Table B. devices and speech recognition. Eventually, most PCs will also have handwriting Table A recognition, text to speech (TTS), the ability to recognize faces or gestures, and even a GUI the ability to observe their surroundings. b Multimodal interface At The Intelligent Room, a project of c Intelligent agent Massachusetts Institute of Technology's d TTS Artificial Intelligence Lab, researchers have e The Intelligent Room given sight to PCs running Microsoft Windows through the use of video cameras. 'Up to now, the PC hasn't cared about the Table B world around it,' said Rodney A. Brooks, the Director of MIT's Artificial Intelligence i Software assistant that performs tasks Lab. 'When you combine computer vision such as retrieving and delivering with speech understanding, it liberates the information and automating repetitive user from having to sit in front of a tasks keyboard and screen.' ii Text to speech It's no secret that the amount of iii Graphical user interface information - both on the Internet and iv A project of the Massachusetts Institute within intranets - at the fingertips of of Technology's Artificial Intelligence Lab computer users has been expanding v A system that allows a user to interact rapidly. This information onslaught has led to an interest in intelligent agents, software with a computer using a combination of assistants that perform tasks such as inputs such as speech recognition, hand- retrieving and delivering information and writing recognition, text to speech, etc. automating repetitive tasks. Agents will make computing significantly easier. They can be used as Web browsers, help-desks, 2 Mark the following statements as True or and shopping assistants. Combined with False: the ability to look and listen, intelligent a Fewer people are using computers because agents will bring personal computers one computer functions are becoming integrated step closer to behaving more like humans. This is not an accident. Researchers have into other electronic devices. long noted that users have a tendency to b Keyboards and mice will soon not be treat their personal computers as though required for using personal computers. they were human. By making computers c There have been no improvements in more 'social,' they hope to also make them interface design since the development of easier to use. the GUI. d Speech recognition is likely to completely As these technologies enter mainstream replace other input devices. applications, they will have a marked e Computer speech and vision will free the impact on the way we work with personal user from having to sit in front of a keyboard computers. Soon, the question will be not 'what does software look like' but 'how and screen. does it behave?' f Intelligent agents will make computers seem more like humans. [Adapted from 'User-Interfaces' by John Morris, PC Magazine, June 9,1998]
52. UNIT 8 Applications Programs STARTER Identify these applications programs. Fig 1 Screen displays
53. Conduct a survey to find out who in your class: 1 can name a spreadsheet program 2 has used a spreadsheet 3 can name a database program 4 has used a database 5 knows how to insert graphics into a document 6 can name a wordprocessing program 7 can centre a line of text 8 can disable the autocorrect Study this diagram of a medical centre. Which applications programs will be used by the following? 1 Reception 2 Practice Manager 3 Doctors Waiting Room Consulting Patients' records, room drug information, Doctor B appointments. Consulting Reception room Laser Server Doctor A printer Dot-matrix printer Consulting Email connections to Practice hospitals, other practices, room manager and the local health board. Doctor C PC PC (Finance) Medical Centre Local Area Network Fig 2 Medical centre LAN
54. 54 UNIT 8 Applications Programs READING Work in groups. Read paragraph A and additional paragraphs selected by your teacher. Complete this note-taking frame for each text you read. B D Users Use Program types Data input Output The system consists of 5 networked PCs, suitability for different categories of patients. This A one in each of the consulting rooms, one is updated every month. Another database is a in the Practice Manager s office and the other in conditions dictionary which provides information Reception alongside the file server. (Each PC has on a wide range of problems. its own laser printer.) There is also a dot-matrix printer in Reception for prescriptions as these are Reception staff use specially tailored printed on special paper. All users have access to C software developed from a database to enter Microsoft Office. all appointment dates and times for each doctor. The program generates daily lists of appointments Doctors use the system to access a number and can be accessed by the doctors. Reception use B of databases. The most important holds the the patient database to identify children and old records of all the patients in the practice. These people who are due to have vaccinations. They files contain personal details and the medical then use mailmerging to create letters asking for history of the patient. The doctor can call up the appointments to be made. appointments book prior to the consultation. By clicking on the patient's name, they have The Practice Manager uses a payroll immediate access to that patient's records. At the D package based on a spreadsheet to calculate end of each consultation, the doctor enters brief salaries for each employee of the health centre. case notes including the diagnosis and treatment. She enters all income and expenditure to produce This database can also be used to produce statistics practice accounts. She uses a database to produce a for research and reports. monthly rota of which doctors are on call in Doctors can also access a drugs database on evenings and at weekends. This rota is available CD-ROM which provides prescribing over the network to all users. information on thousands of drugs including their Exchange information with others in your group to complete notes for all the texts. Ask and answer questions like these: 1 How do Reception use the system? 2 What type of program do they use? 3 What kind of data do they enter? 4 What is the output from the program?
55. UNIT 8 Applications Programs 55 LANGUAGE WORK Instructions/complex instructions Study this extract from an instruction manual for software for doctors in a health centre. PATIENT BROWSER Maximise, minimise, Patient Browser allows you to find specific patients and open their and close buttons records. It also allows you to identify different categories of patients. Click here to display or Title Bar Menu Bar Tool Bar remove search criteria 1 To find patients, first click on the appropriate tab (Personal, Address or Registration). 2 Enter the search criteria. A combination of tabs may be used (e.g. enter a surname under the Personal tab and select a doctor in the Registration tab). 3 Select the Defaults button if you wish to clear the criteria boxes of any existing entries, or to search for all patients, but the list may be a long one. 4 Start the search by clicking on the Find button. Fig 3 GPASS We make simple instructions using the We can put the instructions in order using infinitive: sequence words: Click on the appropriate tab. First click on the appropriate tab. Enter the search criteria. Then enter the selection criteria. Finally click on the Find button. We can add an explanation using the to-infinitive or by + -ing: We can link two instructions and emphasise To find patients, click on the appropriate tab. their order like this: Click on the Find button to start the search. Having entered the selection criteria, click on Start the search by clicking on the Find button. the Find button. Once the selection criteria have been entered, click on the Find button. Write simple instructions for identifying all male patients called Smith in the 16 to 50 age group registered with Doctors Warner and Roberts.
56. 56 UNIT 8 Applications Programs Complete the gaps in these instructions for finding the records of all members of the Green family living in postcode WX14 3PH and registered with any doctor in the practice. First enter the search criteria by To , enter Green in the Surname box. Ensure both male and female members of the family are found by select the Address tab. Having , enter the postcode. choose the Registration tab. Once select All doctors. , click on Find to PROBLEM-SOLVING Study these versions of OfficeSuite and decide which version provides the best value for the following users. The versions are listed from cheapest to most expensive. OfficeSuite OfficeSuite OfficeSuite Standard Small Business Edition Professional wordprocessor word processor wordprocessor spreadsheet spreadsheet spreadsheet presentation program DTP database email email DTP PIM PIM presentation program small business tools email small business tools OfficeSuite OfficeSuite Premium Developer wordprocessor wordprocessor spreadsheet spreadsheet database database DTP DTP presentation program presentation program email email PIM PIM small business tools small business tools website editor website editor image editor image editor developer tools
57. UNIT 8 Applications Programs 57 A salesperson who wants to make presentations at conferences. An administrative assistant who needs to write office correspondence and send and receive emails. A programmer who wants to develop applications tailored to a company's needs. A company wanting to produce its own in-house newsletter. A company wishing to develop its own website. A company which wants to analyse all its sales records. A promotions person who wants to be able to edit complex graphics and incorporate them in brochures. A company which wants to share documents on a local area network. SPEAKING Work in pairs, A and B. Each of you has a review of a computer game. Find out from each other this information: The name of the game. The company who produce it. The platform on which it's played. The bad points. The good points. The star rating. Student A your game details are on page 185. Student B your game details are on page 191. WRITING Work in groups. Decide which applications programs would be used and for what purpose, by the following: a museum publishers of a subscription-only magazine police headquarters Write your recommendations for one of the users in Task 10. Give reasons for each applications program you recommend.
58. 58 UNIT 8 Applications Programs Find the answers to these questions in the text below. How do you pay for the applications provided by an ASP? a no charge b charged according to use c single payment If your hard disk is packed to bursting point, the What two main services does an ASP IT department is far too busy to fix your email provide? problems, and your business can't afford to buy How does an ASP ensure that they have the tools that you'd like to develop the company enough storage space for the changing website, then it's time to think about using an needs of customers? application service provider (ASP). Rather than What types of applications are available installing software on each machine or server from ASPs? within your organisation, you rent applications Why is it useful for a small business to be from the ASP, which provides remote access to able to rent specialist tools from an ASP? the software and manages the hardware What is one of the best established areas of required to run the applications. ASP use? There are a lot of advantages to this approach. The havoc caused by viruses makes the idea of outsourcing your email and office suite services an attractive option. It also gives you more flexibility - you pay for applications as and when you need them, rather than investing in a lot of costly software which you're then tied to for years. Not having to worry about upgrading to the latest version of your office suite or about battling with the complexities of managing an email system, leaves businesses with more time. Time to focus on what they do best. However, there are some potential pitfalls. To use applications remotely requires a lot of bandwidth, which is only really available from a broadband connection or a leased line to the ASP itself. It is also important to ensure that the ASP will be able to provide a secure, reliable service which will be available whenever you need it. Providing applications and storage space for vast numbers of users requires some powerful technology on the part of the ASP. This includes security controls and data storage as well as providing the physical links to customers. For
59. UNIT 8 Applications Programs 59 Re-read the text to find the answers to the most part, ASPs don't own the data centres B these questions. that store the information. Instead, they lease 1 Note the advantages and disadvantages of space from data storage specialists. In this way, using an ASP. they can be confident of meeting customers' increasing storage requirements by buying more 2 Match the items in Table A with the space as it's needed. statements in Table B. There's a wide variety of applications available Table A for use via ASPs. Office suite applications and email services are two of the most generic a Website applications available through ASPs. Large, b ASP complex business applications such as c Virus enterprise resource planning tools like SAP are another popular candidate for delivery through d Office suite an ASP. Other business services, such as payroll e Bandwidth and accounting systems are also available. This f Broadband is particularly beneficial to small businesses g Data centre which are likely to grow quickly and don't want h SAP to deal with the problems caused by outgrowing their existing system and having to Table B move to a high-end package. ASPs also offer a means of using specialist tools that would i Set of standard programs used in an otherwise prove prohibitively expensive. Small office businesses have the opportunity to use such ii Facility for storing large amounts of tools for short periods of time as and when they information need them, rather than having to buy the iii Capacity of a network connection software as a permanent investment. iv High capacity Internet connection One of the major barriers for small businesses v Self-replicating program which want to make a start in e-commerce is ensuring that they have sufficient resources to vi Common enterprise resource planning cope with sudden large increases in customers. tool This means not only having adequate storage vii Application service provider for all your customers' details, but ensuring that viii Collection of related webpages you have the technology in place to handle stock levels, efficient delivery and large volumes of traffic. It's very rare for an e-commerce 3 Using information from the text, mark the business to handle all of these elements by following as True or False: itself, making this one of the best-established a Software from an ASP must be installed areas of ASP use. Being able to respond locally on a user's computer. rapidly to changes in the size of your customer b You need a high bandwidth connection to base and the type of product that they want to use an ASP service. order from your business, demands more c ASPs usually use their own storage space for flexibility than traditional software can provide. customers. d Using an ASP gives you more flexibility. e An e-commerce business usually provides all of the required technology itself. [Adapted from 'ASP and you shall receive' by Maggie Williams, PC Direct Magazine, November 2000]
60. UNIT9 Multimedia STARTER Match the multimedia terms in Column A to the activities in Column B. More than one match is possible. Column A Column B MIDI watching movies MP3 composing music on a PC DVD downloading music from the Internet MPEG using reference works like encyclopaedias Study this diagram which explains MP3. Answer these questions: 1 How does MP3 reduce the size of music files? 2 What can you obtain from www. mp3. com? 3 How can you listen to MP3 files? Original File Rfter MP3 Fig 1 How MP3 will transform music
61. Match these captions to the pictures in Fig 1. Consider again your answers to Task 2. a Once you've paid by credit card (unless it's one of the millions of free files), music is downloaded to your PC. b The original music file is stripped of anything that is inaudible to the human ear. After MP3 has done its work, the file is reduced to roughly one twelfth that of the original recording. c MP3 files can be listened to on your PC, a dedicated MP3 player, or your hi-fi. d MP3 files are put on a website, where browsers can listen to samples and buy a single track or album or even create their own compilation. READING Read this text to find the answers to these questions. 1 What does MP3 stand for? 2 What is the difference between MP3 and WAV files? 3 What kind of sound does MP3 strip out? 4 What kind of information is included in the tag? Understanding MP3 The name comes from MPEG compression? CDs and audio it eliminates quiet sounds (pronounced EM-peg), which files don't reproduce every masked by noise at the same stands for the Motion Picture sound of a performance. frequency. The result is a file Experts Group. MPEG Instead, they sample the that sounds very similar to a develops standards for audio performance and store a CD, but which is much and video compression. MP3 discrete code for each smaller. An MP3 file can is actually MPEG Audio sampled note. A CD or WAV contain spoken word Layer 3. file may sample a song 44, 000 performances, such as radio times a second, creating a shows or audio books, as well MP3 competes with another huge mass of information. as music. It can provide audio file format called WAV. information about itself in a The key difference is that By stripping out sounds most coded block called a tag. The MP3 files are much smaller people can't hear, MP3 tag may include the than WAV files. An MP3 file significantly reduces the performer's name, a graphic can store a minute of sound information stored. For such as an album cover, the per megabyte, while a WAV instance, most people can't song's lyrics, the musical file needs 11 or 12 megabytes hear notes above a frequency genre, and a URL for more to hold the same amount. of 16kHz, so it eliminates details. How does MP3 achieve this them from the mix. Similarly,
62. 62 UNIT 9 Multimedia Read the rest of this text to find the answers to these questions: 1 How do you play MP3 files? 2 What does the Windows Media Player file do with an MP3 file? 3 What is a standalone player? 4 What special features can players offer? 5 What information can you obtain by clicking on the track info button? 6 What does a skin enable you to do? 7 How do you play music from a CD-ROM on an MP3 player? 8 What hardware and software do you need to make your own audio CDs? Other MP3 features include: the most popular players. They're akin to the wallpaper Players. that alters the look of the Most standalone players have Windows desktop. With a many features beyond skin, a player can become a Windows' default Media jukebox, a car dashboard, or a Player. To control what music Star Trek tricorder. Think of you play, players let you them as easily group songs into playlists and interchangeable faceplates. randomize the selections. To control how the music Rippers and encoders. sounds, they offer spectrum A ripper is a program that analyzers, graphic equalizers, rips songs from a CD in your and frequency displays. CD-ROM drive and turns them into WAV files. An Track info. encoder converts WAV files A track info button gives you into MP3 files or vice versa. the information on the MP3 Many MP3 players file's tag. Other buttons may incorporate rippers and take you to a music library encoders and can do both where you can organize your steps in one. MP3 files by performer or genre. Recorders. With a writeable CD-ROM Skins or themes. drive, a recorder program lets These programs are designed you create your own audio to change the appearance of CDs.