What is DOS?
DOS stands for Disk Operating System. DOS controls the computer’s hardware and provides an environment for programs to run. This system program must always be present when working with your computer.
Why You Need DOS
There are a variety of reasons why you need DOS. A few of them are listed below to satisfy your curiosity.
1. DOS controls the flow of information between you and the computer (translator).
2. DOS allows you to store information on your computer.
3. DOS allows you to retrieve information stored on your computer.
4. DOS interprets and translates the software you have on your computer.
5. DOS gives you access to all its function (i.e. saving, copying, and printing files).
Some of the most common DOS Commands are as follows (corresponding commands on Unix-like operating systems are shown in parenthesis):
CD - changes the current directory (cd)
COPY - copies a file (cp)
DEL - deletes a file (rm)
DIR - lists directory contents (ls)
EDIT - starts an editor to create or edit plain text files (vi, vim, ed, joe)
FORMAT - formats a disk to accept DOS files (mformat)
HELP - displays information about a command (man, info)
MKDIR - creates a new directory (mkdir)
RD - removes a directory (rmdir)
REN - renames a file (mv)
TYPE - displays contents of a file on the screen (more, cat)
With the release of Windows 95 up to Windows ME MS-DOS has only a minory roll. It is installed for compatibility reasons for MS-DOS programs and makes Windows 95 up to ME start able. DOS programs being executed in the DOS box or directly in MS DOS before Windows start. Today it finds application for boot disks or similar purposes.
Small reference of internal DOS commands
del, erase - delete files
rd, rmdir - delete directories
dir - show content of directories
cd, chdir - change current directory
cls - clear the screen
md, mkdir - create a directory
copy - copy of one or several files
ren, rename - rename of files or directories
type - shows the content of text files
set - shows the DOS environment variables or defines a new one
ver - shows the DOS version number
vol - shows the name of the storage drive
Small reference of external DOS commands
attrib - shows the attributes of files or set one of those
fdisk - partitioning or modify of the hard disk
move - move of files
mem - shows the occupancy of working memory
tree - shows the directory structure
format - format of storage drives
Field of Application
- booting system for storage media
- File management
- For single user systems only
- Network client (NetBEUI, IPX/SPX, TCP/IP)
- batch processing
- 16-bit operating system, (formerly 8-bit)
- Single tasking
- command interpreter for internal and external commands
- external driver software imbedding for periphery devices possible
- minimum: 512 kbytes RAM, 5 mbyte harddisk storage (depends on version for full installation)
- FAT file system
- executable with every x86 compatible CPU
- low RAM and fixed storage disk needs
Views in PowerPoint
The Views in PowerPoint that you can use to edit, print, and deliver your presentation are as follows:
Slide Sorter view
Notes Page view
Slide Show view (which includes Presenter view)
Master views: Slide, Handout, and Notes
You can switch between PowerPoint views in two places:
Switch views in PowerPoint
Callout 1 Use the View menu to switch between any of the views
Callout 2 Access the three main views (Normal, Slide Sorter, or Slide Show) on the bottom bar of the PowerPoint window
Views for creating or editing your presentation
Several views in PowerPoint can help you create a professional presentation.
Normal view: Normal view is the main editing view, where you write and design your presentations. Normal view has four working areas:
Working areas in Outline and Slides view
Callout 1 Outline tab
Callout 2 Slides tab
Callout 3 Slides pane
Callout 4 Notes pane
Slide Sorter view: Slide Sorter view gives you a view of your slides in thumbnail form. This view makes it easy for you to sort and organize the sequence of your slides as you create your presentation, and then also as you prepare your presentation for printing. You can add sections in Slide Sorter view as well, and sort slides into different categories or sections.
Notes Page view: The Notes pane is located under the Slide pane. You can type notes that apply to the current slide. Later, you can print your notes and refer to them when you give your presentation. You can also print notes to give to your audience or include the notes in a presentation that you send to the audience or post on a Web page.
Master views: The master views include, Slide, Handout, and Notes view. They are the main slides that store information about the presentation, including background, color, fonts, effects, placeholder sizes, and positions. The key benefit to working in a master view is that on the slide master, notes master, or handout master, you can make universal style changes to every slide, notes page, or handout associated with your presentation. For more information about working with masters, see Modify a slide master.
Views for delivering your presentation
Slide Show view: Use Slide Show view to deliver your presentation to your audience. In this view, your slides occupy the full computer screen.
Presenter view : Presenter View helps you manage your slides while you present by tracking how much time has elapsed, which slide is next, and displaying notes that only you can see (while also allowing you to take meeting notes as you present). For more information about using presenter view, see Use presenter view.
Views for preparing and printing your presentation
To help you save paper and ink, you'll want to prepare your print job before you print. PowerPoint provides views and settings to help you specify what you want to print (slides, handouts, or notes pages) and how you want those jobs to print (in color, grayscale, black and white, with frames, and more).
Slide Sorter view: Slide Sorter view gives you a view of your slides in thumbnail form. This view makes it easy for you to sort and organize the sequence of your slides as you prepare to print your slides.
Print Preview: Print Preview lets you specify settings for what you want to print — handouts, notes pages, and outline, or slides.
What is Secondary storage
Secondary storage is defined as a storage medium that is separate from the processor and holds data even with no power passed to it. An example is a hard drive or an optical drive.
BenQ Data Projector
A USB flash drive is a type of flash memory storage device integrated with a universal serial bus interface. Usually portable and rewritable, some can hold up to 300 GB.
Floppy disks are a storage medium made of a thin magnetic disk. They were widely used from the 1970s to the 1990s. Storage capabilities ranged from 1.5 Mb to 200 MB on some versions.
A CD-R (compact disc recordable) is an optical secondary storage device invented by Sony and Philips. It is also known as a WORM (write once read many) medium.
DVD-R (DVD recordable) has a storage capacity of usually 4.1 GB. There is also an 8.54-GB dual-layer version, called DVD-R DL.
Magnetic tape has been in use for more than 50 years. It is (in recent years) packaged in cartridges/cassettes. The average amount of storage is 5 MB to 140 MB for every standard-length reel (2,400 feet).
Generation of Computers
First Generation (1940-1956) Vacuum Tubes
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The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. They were very expensive to operate and in addition to using a great deal of electricity, generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions.
First generation computers relied on machine language, the lowest-level programming language understood by computers, to perform operations, and they could only solve one problem at a time. Input was based on punched cards and paper tape, and output was displayed on printouts.
The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples of first-generation computing devices. The UNIVAC was the first commercial computer delivered to a business client, the U.S. Census Bureau in 1951.
Second Generation (1956-1963) Transistors
Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of computers. The transistor was invented in 1947 but did not see widespread use in computers until the late 1950s. The transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube, allowing computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable than their first-generation predecessors. Though the transistor still generated a great deal of heat that subjected the computer to damage, it was a vast improvement over the vacuum tube. Second-generation computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output.
Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic, or assembly, languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words. High-level programming languages were also being developed at this time, such as early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN. These were also the first computers that stored their instructions in their memory, which moved from a magnetic drum to magnetic core technology.
The first computers of this generation were developed for the atomic energy industry.
Third Generation (1964-1971) Integrated Circuits
The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third generation of computers. Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called semiconductors, which drastically increased the speed and efficiency of computers.
Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers through keyboards and monitors and interfaced with an operating system, which allowed the device to run many different applications at one time with a central program that monitored the memory. Computers for the first time became accessible to a mass audience because they were smaller and cheaper than their predecessors.
Fourth Generation (1971-Present) Microprocessors
The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip. What in the first generation filled an entire room could now fit in the palm of the hand. The Intel 4004 chip, developed in 1971, located all the components of the computer—from the central processing unit and memory to input/output controls—on a single chip.
In 1981 IBM introduced its first computer for the home user, and in 1984 Apple introduced the Macintosh. Microprocessors also moved out of the realm of desktop computers and into many areas of life as more and more everyday products began to use microprocessors.
As these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form networks, which eventually led to the development of the Internet. Fourth generation computers also saw the development of GUIs, the mouse and handheld devices.
Fifth Generation (Present and Beyond) Artificial Intelligence
Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development, though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. The use of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality. Quantum computation and molecular and nanotechnology will radically change the face of computers in years to come. The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices that respond to natural language input and are capable of learning and self-organization.
Microsoft Word Commands
Bold: CTRL + B
Center a paragraph: CTRL + E
Copy: CTRL + C
Create a hanging indent: CTRL + T
Decrease the font size by 1 point: CTRL + [
Double-space lines: CTRL + 2
Hanging Indent: CTRL + T
Increase the font size by 1 point: CTRL + ]
Indent a paragraph from the left: CTRL + M
Indent: CTRL + M
Insert a footnote: ALT + CTRL + F
Insert an endnote: ALT + CTRL + D
Italic: CTRL + I
Justify a paragraph: CTRL + J
Left-align a paragraph: CTRL + L
Mark a table of contents entry: ALT + SHIFT + O
Mark an index entry: ALT + SHIFT + X
Page Break: CTRL + ENTER
Print: CTRL + P
Remove a paragraph indent from the left: CTRL + SHIFT + M
Remove paragraph formatting: CTRL + Q
Right-align a paragraph: CTRL + R
Save: CTRL + S
Select All: CTRL + A
Shrink Font One Point: CTRL + [
Single-space lines: CTRL + 1
To type a Subscript: CTRL + =
To type a Superscript: CTRL + SHIFT + =
Thesaurus: SHIFT + F7
Remove Hanging Indent: CTRL + SHIFT + T
Remove Indent: CTRL + SHIFT + M
Underline: CTRL + U
Undo: CTRL + Z
What is plotter?
A device that draws pictures on paper based on commands from a computer. Plotters differ from printers in that they draw lines using a pen. As a result, they can produce continuous lines, whereas printers can only simulate lines by printing a closely spaced series of dots. Multicolor plotters use different-colored pens to draw different colors.
In general, plotters are considerably more expensive than printers. They are used in engineering applications where precision is mandatory.