My Science School

An optical mouse is technologically much more advanced than a mechanical mouse. Unlike the latter, an optical mouse is completely electronic and therefore has no moving parts. It consists of an LED (that generates the signature red light), a light-detector chip, a switch mechanism and a few other simple components. Some mice have another LED that lights up a plastic strip installed at the back of the mouse as an indication of the mouse’s operation.

The LED installed at the bottom of the mouse emits a bright light in the downward direction. Since a mouse is usually used on plain surfaces, the light bounces back from the surface and enters a photocell that’s also mounted on the bottom, almost next to the LED. This photocell has a frontal lens that magnifies any light reaching it. As you move the mouse around, the pattern of the reflected beam changes; this is then used by the light-detector chip to figure out how and in which direction you’re moving the mouse.

Some optical mice have two LEDs. The first one shines light down onto the desk. The light from that is picked up by the photocell. The second LED lights up a red plastic strip along the back of the mouse so you can see it's working. Most optical mice also have a wheel at the front so you can scroll pages on-screen much faster. You can click the wheel too, so it functions like the third (center) button on a conventional ball mouse.

Optical mice are much lighter and faster than mechanical ones, and have therefore gained enormous popularity all over the world. With improvements in technology, newer and even more advanced mice – that address issues like ergonomics and the health of the user – are taking center stage. The choice of the right variant rests with the user, but one thing remains universally true – computers and mice shall always remain inseparable.

A Mouse is a device for giving the computer information (an input device). When the mouse is pushed around on a mat, a pointer on the computer’s screen is moved, indicating how data needs to be changed, moved or processed. Tiny beams of light inside the mouse shine through slotted wheels. The ball of the mouse moves as it is pushed across the mat, and the beams of light are interrupted in a way that tells the computer the direction that the mouse is moving.

A mouse is something you push along your desktop to make a cursor (pointing device) move on your screen. So what a mouse has to do is figure out how much you're moving your hand and in which direction. There are two main kinds of mice and they do this job in two different ways, either using a rolling rubber ball (in a ball-type mouse) or by bouncing a light off your desk (in an optical mouse).

How does a mouse like this actually work? As you move it across your desk, the ball rolls under its own weight and pushes against two plastic rollers linked to thin wheels. One of the wheels detects movements in an up-and-down direction (like the y-axis on graph/chart paper); the other detects side-to-side movements (like the x-axis on graph paper).

How do the wheels measure your hand movements? As you move the mouse, the ball moves the rollers that turn one or both of the wheels. If you move the mouse straight up, only the y-axis wheel turns; if you move to the right, only the x-axis wheel turns. And if you move the mouse at an angle, the ball turns both wheels at once. Now here's the clever bit. Each wheel is made up of plastic spokes and, as it turns, the spokes repeatedly break a light beam. The more the wheel turns, the more times the beam is broken. So counting the number of times the beam is broken is a way of precisely measuring how far the wheel has turned and how far you've pushed the mouse. The counting and measuring is done by the microchip inside the mouse, which sends details down the cable to your computer. Software in your computer moves the cursor on your screen by a corresponding amount.

There are various problems with mice like this. They don't work on all surfaces. Ideally, you need a special mouse mat but, even if you have one, the rubber ball and its rollers gradually pick up dirt, so the x- and y-axis wheels turn erratically and make the pointer stutter across your screen. One solution is to keep taking your mouse to pieces and cleaning it; another option is to get yourself an optical mouse.

Traditional mice have a rubber ball inside them. Open one up and you can see the heavy ball clearly and the spring that keeps it in position.

(1) Switch detects clicks of left mouse button. (2) Switch for middle button. (3) Switch for right button. (4) Old-style connection to PS/2 socket on computer. (5) Chip turns back-and-forth (analog) mouse movements into numeric (digital) signals computer can understand. (6) X-axis wheel turns when you move mouse left and right. (7) Y-axis wheel turns when you move mouse up and down. (8) Heavy rubber wheel. (9) Spring presses rubber ball firmly against X- and Y-axis wheels so they register movements properly. (10) Electrolytic capacitor (11) Resistors. (See picture):

Inside a computer is a “hard disk”, which is able to store information (data) even when the machine is turned off. There are also two other kinds of storage in a computer. ROM (read-only memory) stores the instructions that tell the computer how to start working when it is first switched on. RAM (random-access memory) stores data that is in use. To make sure that data is permanently stored, it must be “saved” on the hard disk before the computer is switched off.

At the core of the computer is the central processing unit or CPU, the source of control that runs all programs and instructions. In order to function, computers use two types of memory: primary and secondary. The main storage is the primary memory, and data and programs are stored in secondary memory.

Data is stored as lots of binary numbers, by magnetism, electronics or optics. ... The computer's operating system, for example, contains instructions for organizing data into files and folders, managing temporary data storage, and sending data to application programs and devices such as printers.

Magnetic storage is commonly used on the hard disc drives found on most computers. Information is stored using positive and negative magnetic charges to correspond with the 1s and 0s noted above. Optical discs like CDs and DVDs store information as binary code that can be read by an optical sensor in a disc drive.

The hardware of a computer consists of all the parts you can hold in your hand: the machine itself and any other machinery that is attached to it. But a computer by itself is simply a collection of components. In order to do anything at all, it must be programmed (given a set of instructions). Programs are what are known as software. They are written in a code that a computer can “understand” and act upon. The codes in which programs are written are sometimes called languages.

Computer hardware is any physical device used in or with your machine, whereas software is a collection of programming code installed on your computer's hard drive. In other words, hardware is something you can hold in your hand, whereas software cannot be held in your hand. You can touch hardware, but you cannot touch software. Hardware is physical, and software is virtual.

For example, the computer monitor you are using to read this text, and the mouse you are using to navigate this web page are computer hardware. The Internet browser allowing you to view this page, and the operating system that the browser is running on are considered software. A video card is hardware, and a computer game is software. You can touch and feel the video card, and the computer uses it to play a computer game, but you cannot touch or feel the programming code that makes up the computer game.

All software utilizes at least one hardware device to operate. For example, a video game, which is software, uses the computer processor (CPU), memory (RAM), hard drive, and video card to run. Word processing software uses the computer processor, memory, and hard drive to create and save documents.

Hardware is what makes a computer work. A CPU processes information and that information can be stored in RAM or on a hard drive. A sound card provides sound to speakers, and a video card provides an image to a monitor. Each of these are examples of hardware components.

The central processing unit (CPU) is the “brain” of a computer, where its calculations take place. It is contained within a larger processing unit. In order to give instructions to the computer, input devices, such as a keyboard, stylus, mouse, or joystick, are needed. The monitor enables the user to see data on a screen. Many other machines, called peripherals, can also be connected to the computer. They include printers, scanners and modems.

The Central Processing Unit

The central processing unit, or CPU, can be thought of as the "brain" of a computer. Using a combination of arithmetic functions, logic processes and input/output commands, the CPU receives instructions from various computer programs in use and executes them as needed. The modern CPU exists in the form of a microprocessor, which features a single integrated circuit design. This is a dramatic departure from the earliest CPU units, which featured a transistor-based construction. Compared to the CPUs used in the second half of the 20th century, modern hardware is highly efficient, portable and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

The Motherboard

A CPU can’t achieve its intended purpose without the assistance of the motherboard. The motherboard is a printed circuit board, or PCB, found inside a computer which not only hosts the CPU but also acts as a connected gateway to various other computer peripherals, including sound cards, hard drives, video cards and so on. The motherboard hosts a number of sockets into which microprocessors, such as the CPU, can be plugged. The motherboard is also connected to the computer's power supply and distributes electrical voltage to the attached components. Simply put, a motherboard provides a critical platform on which the rest of a CPU's hardware can operate. Without the motherboard in place, a computer couldn't function.

Hard Drives and RAM

The hard drive often shortened to HD, stores data which can then be accessed by various other programs at any given time. Hard drives provide users with various levels of storage capacity, with more expensive units often providing greater space for data storage and faster rates of data transmission.

It's somewhat easy to confuse the function of the hard drive with that of random access memory, or RAM. Unlike a hard drive, RAM is composed of a series of chips which allow for temporary data storage only. Whereas a hard drive will continue to store data even after a computer has been powered off, RAM will be cleared. RAM is often used to act as a holding zone for open files or critical data that a program may need to access intermittently during use. RAM should not be thought of as storage, per say, but instead as a "place holder" for valuable information. Nevertheless, it remains one of the 4 main parts of a computer that is still in use today.

Monitor

The monitor works with a video card, located inside the computer case, to display images and text on the screen. Most monitors have control buttons that allow you to change your monitor's display settings, and some monitors also have built-in speakers.

Keyboard

The keyboard is one of the main ways to communicate with a computer. There are many different types of keyboards, but most are very similar and allow you to accomplish the same basic tasks.

Mouse

The mouse is another important tool for communicating with computers. Commonly known as a pointing device, it lets you point to objects on the screen, click on them, and move them. There are two main mouse types: optical and mechanical. The optical mouse uses an electronic eye to detect movement and is easier to clean. The mechanical mouse uses a rolling ball to detect movement and requires regular cleaning to work properly.

In the early 1830s, an English inventor called Charles Babbage (1792-1871) designed the first programmable computer and began to build it. In fact, he never finished, as the machine was extremely complicated! This computer was entirely mechanical. Over a hundred years had to pass before the electronic components that are used today were invented.

We could argue that the first computer was the abacus or its descendant, the slide rule, invented by William Oughtred in 1622. But the first computer resembling today's modern machines was the Analytical Engine, a device conceived and designed by British mathematician Charles Babbage between 1833 and 1871. Before Babbage came along, a "computer" was a person, someone who literally sat around all day, adding and subtracting numbers and entering the results into tables. The tables then appeared in books, so other people could use them to complete tasks, such as launching artillery shells accurately or calculating taxes.

It was, in fact, a mammoth number-crunching project that inspired Babbage in the first place [source: Campbell-Kelly]. Napoleon Bonaparte initiated the project in 1790, when he ordered a switch from the old imperial system of measurements to the new metric system. For 10 years, scores of human computers made the necessary conversions and completed the tables. Bonaparte was never able to publish the tables, however, and they sat collecting dust in the Academia des sciences in Paris.

In 1819, Babbage visited the City of Light and viewed the unpublished manuscript with page after page of tables. If only, he wondered, there was a way to produce such tables faster, with less manpower and fewer mistakes. He thought of the many marvels generated by the Industrial Revolution. If creative and hardworking inventors could develop the cotton gin and the steam locomotive, then why not a machine to make calculations [source: Campbell-Kelly]?

Babbage returned to England and decided to build just such a machine. His first vision was something he dubbed the Difference Engine, which worked on the principle of finite differences, or making complex mathematical calculations by repeated addition without using multiplication or division. He secured government funding in 1824 and spent eight years perfecting his idea. In 1832, he produced a functioning prototype of his table-making machine, only to find his funding had run out.

Sticky Notes

Most computers, be it with a Windows OS or a Mac OS, have gadgets or apps for sticky notes. You can list down to-dos and small notes on these sticky notes and pin them to your desktop. Every time you turn on your computer and visit the sticky notes app, you will know exactly what you need to do. Time to start planning!

Word Processors

From Microsoft Word to Notepad and WordPad, there are several word processors available for download notes and research points and neatly arranges them for easy reference. You can also organize the notes and take printouts or share them with your friends over e-mail.

Presentations

Many a time students are expected to make presentations in class on various topics. To aid you in your presentation, there are software such as Microsoft presentations and display them to the class. They are also a quick way to revise topics as most presentations contain important points related to a topic.

For the artist in you

To channel your inner artist and to help you with poster-making and other design works, the computer offers you software such as Microsoft Paint and Adobe Photoshop. There are also open source versions such as Gimp that can be downloaded for free.

So, what are you waiting for? Create that amazing poster and leave everyone in awe.

Shoo away Math fear

Oh yes, the computer can help you ace in Math too. From tools such as calculator to spreadsheets that can calculate simple and complex math problems, the computer has them all for you to help you get over your aversion to the subject.

Towards unlimited knowledge

Over and above everything, the computer offers you access to the Internet which is home to the World Wide Web of information. The Web has answers to almost all your queries and is your best friend when it comes to research and some extra reading.

We will elaborate more on how Internet can help you in academics in the next edition of Open Source.

 

Picture Credit : Google

The internet is a global network of millions of computers that can communicate with one another. Information can he sent and received across the network in the form of text, pictures, video and sound. Home computers often connect to the Internet using a normal phone line and a modem — a device that connects the computer to an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Businesses and other large organizations may have their own network, known as a Local Area Network (LAN), which connects to an ISP with a high-speed link.

Everyone’s talking about the internet and whether, or how, it should be regulated. But not enough people know how the internet actually works—or what exactly the internet is.

You probably have your own “local area network” at home, and it’s made up of all the devices connected to your router, which connects to the internet. The word “internet” refers to a worldwide system of “interconnected computer networks”.

That’s all the internet really is—a large number of computer networks all over the world, connected together. Of course, there’s a lot of physical hardware—from the cables under your city streets to the massive cables on the ocean floors to satellites in orbit around the planet—that makes this communication possible. There’s also a lot of software at work in the background, allowing you to type in a website address like “google.com” and have your computer to send information to the physical location where that website is located in the fastest way possible.

Even when you’re just connecting to a single website, there’s a lot more going on under the hood. Your computer can’t directly send a piece of information, or “packet” of data, to the computer hosting the website. Instead, it passes a packet to your home router with information about where it’s going and where the web server should reply. Your router then sends it to the routers at your internet service provider (Comcast, Time Warner, or whoever else you use), where it’s sent to another router at another internet service provider, and so on, until it reaches its destination. Any packets sent back to your system from the remote server make the reverse journey.

To use an imperfect analogy, it’s a bit like sending a letter in the mail. Your local postal employee can’t just grab the letter and take it directly across the country or continent to its destination address. Instead, the letter goes to your local post office, where it’s sent to another post office, and then another one, and so on, until it gets to its destination. It takes longer for a letter to get to the other side of the world than the other side of the country because it has to make more stops, and that’s generally true for the internet as well. It will take a bit longer for packets to go longer distances with more transfers, or “hops”, as they’re called.

Unlike with physical mail, sending data packets is still very fast, though, and it happens many times a second. Each packet is very small, and large numbers of packets are sent back and forth when computers communicate—even if one is just loading a website from another one. A packet’s travel time is measured in milliseconds.

The use of computers by some stock market investors has created a procedure called stop loss selling which could threaten the stability of national and even world markets.

The owners of securities instruct brokers to program their computers with a price for each security. If the securities fall below that price, they are sold to cut the owners losses.

Even on the most automated exchanges, the process is not yet entirely automatic; the broker still has to speak to the market maker to carry out a major trades. But as computer to computer systems emerge, the financial world could face a computer led crash. A slight downturn in the stock market would trigger off a few stop loss sales, causing a further downturn, which would then set off others, and so on.

The domino effect is no different from what has happened in all stock market crashes, as people sell to preserve some of their money. But computers could make it happen faster- almost literally - overnight making it more difficult to control and sending the crash to greater depths.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Because we have eight fingers and two thumbs, it seems natural for human beings to count in tens. It is just as natural for a computer to count in twos, for it has to decide between ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for every step in a process.

In everyday numbers, the digits from 0 to 9 are read from left to right and are based on the power of ten. For example, 110 is one hundred, ne ten, and no units.

The binary system uses only two digits: 0 and 1. Numbers are read from right to left and are based on the power of two. Moving from the right, each digit doubles in value, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and so on. 

Words fed into a computer are stored as binary numbers. If text such as LOAD”FILE in BASIC, computer language is keyed in, the word LOAD could be processed.

 

Picture Credit : Google

There’s always a need for some form of extra storage to transfer or send large files to our friends. While there are several external storage devices available in the market, one might not get an opportunity to meet a friend to hand these over in person. But, worry not. There are ways to send large files almost instantly using the Internet. We list four of them here:

VPN

Short for Virtual Private Network, VPN is an encrypted connection on the Internet from a device to a network. It helps ensure that data is transmitted safely and securely. It is also prevents unauthorized people from prying into your data.

Some Internet Service Providers use broadband traffic management to monitor users’ upload bandwidth. Using a VPN will block them from knowing how large your files are, enabling you to send them over the Internet.

File compression

This is a well-known method to send large files, either over the Internet or using external storage devices.

Use file compression software available online to compress the files into one big file. 7-Zip is popular file compression software available online that lets you compress different files into one.

Most files compression software will compress files into .zip format. Most operating systems have the capability to open .zip files. However, there are different types of software online that also let you open .zip files.

Free nine services

Over the years, several free online services have been launched that allow you to send large files securely over the Internet.

You can register with them and start sending files. However, most will allow you to send only a certain size of file in a month for free. You would mostly have to pay extra if you regularly send files over the free-size restriction.

Jumpshare, Dropbox, Securely Send and WeTransfer are some of the popular online services that are available. Some of these can also be downloaded to the computer and used when connected to Internet.

Cloud storage

One of the easiest and most popular methods to store and send large files is using cloud storage. Most of the popular email service providers such as Gmail and Outlook after cloud services.

You can upload all the files you want in a folder in Google Drive or OneDrive and share the link to the folder with your friend.

Alternatively, you can also send this folder as an attachment in your email. The folder and the files will remain in your drive until you delete them. And as long as your friend has the link, he too can see it and download the files.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Many times while using the computer, you can see a pop-up asking you to update particular software. While some of us choose to ignore it, a software update is necessary for the computer.

The need for a software update

A software update, also known as a software patch, is a set of changes to a computer program or its supporting codes, designed to fix, improve or update it.

An update is usually a free download for an application, operating system, and a software suite.

Usually, a software update offers fixes for features that are not working properly (bugs) or to ass minor enhancements and compatibility to the software. Sometimes they are released to address security issues, to improve the operation of hardware, and support new models of equipment.

A software update is not just limited to the computer. Any technology that uses software, such as a smart speaker or a smartwatch, requires a software update from time to time to keep it functioning in optional condition.

How is it beneficial?

They might be free, but software updates are important for the health of your system. Some of the benefits of a software update are:

It enhances existing features of the software, ensuring a seamless user experience at all times.

It protects the software and the system from any kind of security risk.

It fixes bugs in the software that can affect the user experience.

It extends the life of the equipment by allowing for its maximum productivity, while ensuring improved performance.

The difference between an update and an upgrade

We often use the words “update” and “upgrade” interchangeably. However, the two have many differences.

To start with, a software update adds new features to the existing product or fixes a problem.

However, a software upgrade is a new version of the software. This means there’s a significant change or improvement from the previous version of the software.

While software updates are free, a software upgrade can be priced. For example, if you are using Windows 7 as your operating system and you need to upgrade to Windows 10, you will have to buy the Windows 10 software. However, if you are lucky, Microsoft might allow for auto-upgradation of Windows 7 users to Windows 10.

Examples for a software update

Imagine you are using Adobe Reader to open the PDF documents on the system. As you use the software, you can encounter a minor issue of text getting jumbled up. You wonder what is wrong, and when you check online, you realize that there are others facing similar issues.

Soon, Adobe will get to know about the problem and release an update to fix it. This will come to you as a pop-up on your computer, or when you open the software. All you need to do is to install the update and voila! Your issue has been fixed.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Not develop for Microsoft

We might know PowerPoint as software from Microsoft. But unlike Word and Excel, PowerPoint was not developed for Microsoft. The presentation program was created by Robert Gaskins and Dennis Austin at a software company named Forethought, Inc.

Not just for presentations

While PowerPoint is primarily presentation software, one can also use it to make infographics, GIFs, quizzes, photo albums and more!

Designed for MAC

WHEN Gaskins was working on PowerPoint, he designed it for the Macintosh OS (macOS). PowerPoint was released for MAC on April 20, 1987. Just three months after its release, the product was acquired by Microsoft from Forethought, Inc for $14 million.

It’s Karaoke time!

Yes, PowerPoint Karaoke is the current fad, though it does not involve music or singing. It is an improvisational activity, where a participant makes a presentation based on a set of slides he or she has never seen before! Imagine how comical this could turn out to be. PowerPoint Karaoke originated in January 2006 in Berlin as a creation of a collective of writers and artists.

Presenter to PowerPoint

The first version of PowerPoint, which was designed for MAC, was called ‘Presenter’. However, due to Trademark issues, the name had to be scrapped. It was later changed to PowerPoint.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Not always called Word

MS Word was released on October 25, 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word. However, the marketing department of the company thought the name was too long, so they shortened it to its current name, Word.

Check that spelling?

Word helps thousands today by prompting spelling and grammatical errors. However, the AutoCorrect feature and the red squiggly line you see under misspelt words were introduced with Word 95 in the year 1933.

Before that users had to check their spelling and grammar on their own.

Say ‘Hello’ to Clippy!

With the version of Word 97, Microsoft introduced Clippy, an animated interactive paperclip. Clippy was a word assistant which would assist users with formatting word documents. However, Clippy is said to be despised by many users, as it would distract them. Microsoft finally pulled Clippy out of service with the release of Word 2007.

Not the first word processor

Word is popular around the world, but it wasn’t the first word processor to have been developed. That credit goes to Bravo. In 1981, Microsoft hired Charles Simonyi, the primary developer of Bravo. It was Simpnyi who developed MS Word along with others.

Games for features

While Clippy made its exit with Word 2007, Microsoft introduced the ‘Ribbon’ feature in this version. It was a change in the user-interface for most users. However, to ease the process, Microsoft developed Ribbon Hero, a video game to educate users about the features of MS Word.

 

Picture Credit : Google

               A computer is a device for processing information very rapidly and accurately. It processes words, pictures, sounds and numbers, and some computers can make billions of calculations per second. Most computers are digital, which means that they convert all the data, or information, entering the computer into the digits 0 or 1.

               The heart of a computer is a microprocessor, which contains millions of tiny electronic devices on a silicon chip. Other chips form the computer’s memory, where information is stored until needed. Computers vary from small hand-held devices to desktop computers. Large computers used in industry and for military purposes are called mainframe computers.