THE COMPUTER- II

The Computer II

Using these facilities and gadgets should receive due importance in all curricula.   

All leading schools in the country have launched computer study as a part of education. It looks logical, to train small children in the basic aspects of using the computer so that, later in life they do not stand at the mercy of someone else for such items as making entries of data and retrieving them at times of need. I believe it should be an advantage for everyone to be equipped of such skills. Empowerment in any form is welcome and institutions must catch-up with contemporary trends to stay abreast. Sans these skills one may have to seek atonement from higher ups and help from those of the lower cadres; both these acts of mercy can not ‘carry us’ for long.

The success of computers:

Technology has really come to our rescue in the form of computers. But, for a technology to take firm roots at user levels, two things are essential. These are cost and user-friendliness. It is common knowledge that computers have systematically plummeted in cost – both basic and add-on facilities together spoken of as multimedia gadgetry. Besides, with the advent of Windows as the major option for users, there is very little of any cumbersome step to be adopted. Any “unknown” step can be sought to be learnt from the computer itself by “clicking” on to the right icons provided in an unobtrusive lay-out. The cursor placed at an icon, activates the system to tell us as to what effect can be commanded from that icon. Literally it is a self –explanatory function, provided the user chooses to muster essential information on the utility of each operation. I am myself a case in point in the sense that my basic education in Biology and a “non-mathematical” orientation in all aspects of my life as a teacher have not hampered my efforts to use a computer. Had it been that I have had some training in computer using, I would have stood greater benefits and earlier too. At least at this retired phase of my life, I am able to use the computer with greater felicity thanks to the user-friendly design in structure and function.  The lone caution that any user has to keep in mind is not to “quit” the system abruptly, but to come out after “closing” every window leaving no scope for error through any unclosed window. To escape from the prospect of “sudden shut downs” from power failure, every data entered needs being “saved” by a specific touch of buttons. These are the essential requirements for any one to enter and exit the system. A little training in the basics would place us in good stead to make the appropriate use of the facility.

The design:

What astonishes the mind is that computers have been designed to handle varied requirements of jobs, each with precision and dependability. Does it mean that all computers can take care of every kind of job? It is not really so. All have the basic facilities for storing, editing, locking up messages and retrieving them at our will. But, when it comes to specific jobs like booking of tickets, and connecting the various wings of an office, “networking” has to be provided for. This means that different computer systems are to work independently and yet ‘receive’ messages from other terminals. To conceive the magnitude of the task, recall the reservation of train tickets on an all-India basis. Specifying the “job profile” of a computer is the preparatory domain of a task force called Soft ware solution providers. The range of tasks for which a computer can be employed is determined by its ‘brain’ designed by the hard ware engineers. Some of these aspects are expressed as memory, storage capacity, Random access and the processor efficiency. If we consider the jobs to be ‘done’, the whole system has to receive and respond in proper sequence, executing the commands issued from time to time. Stated in simple terms, a computer has to be ‘ready’ to perform a task with the necessary software installed. So to say, depending on the volume and the complexity of operations at the user-end, the hardware requirements are determined and accordingly the cost of designing varies. This is what goes in the broad name of “features” of a computer. Truly it is the ‘ability’ of the CPU [Central Processing Unit] or the tower which takes care of the entire range of processes and processing entrusted to a system. How quickly a process is carried out depends on the processor efficiency. Any optimum range processor is quite capable of handling a variety of jobs. In fact, on a daily basis, only a fraction of this is put to use except by commercial professionals. Even among them, greater volume of specific “routine” is carried out and only on occasions additional features are availed of. Like the human brain, what is put to use in a computer is just a fraction. 

To con tinue          PROF. K.Raman