Nearly all computer systems from the simplest of smart TVs or a smartwatch to a fully featured PC make heavy use of graphics or images to display information. We take for granted the fact that a computer can create photo…
In the 1980’s “home computers” first became widely available and affordable from popular brands such as Sinclair, Commodore, Acorn and Atari. This isn’t too different to today, if you want a computer you can buy one from Dell, Asus, Lenovo,…
This section of the specification has the potential to be very large as it covers four distinct topics. I’ve split it up into those four sections, so this is 1.2.4 – Data Storage Part 1 – Numbers. That’s nice and…
A large amount of the content for this section has been covered in 1.2.2 – Secondary storage. This is because it is essential you understand what data actually is before you learn about how it can be stored in large…
It is possible to have a computer which does not have secondary storage. This comes with one huge disadvantage: when you turn the power off you lose everything and have to start from scratch. This may sound like complete madness,…
A computer will store lots of information, this includes your photographs, messages, contacts or even the programs and apps we use on a daily basis. All of this data is in the form of binary bits – ones and zeroes.…
An embedded system is simply “something with a computer inside it” but is not a general purpose computer such as a desktop PC. The OCR definition of an embedded system is “a computer system which is built in to another…
A quick browse of any retailer that sells computer components will illustrate that there are hundreds of different CPU’s available. A CPU is not just a standard component with a fixed set of features – each will be tailored to…
In this section we cover the very low level fundamentals of a computer. By the end you should understand what a computer is, what it is and is not capable of doing and why the CPU is central to all…