FOURTH GENERATION OF COMPUTER

These computers used the VLSI technology or the Very Large-Scale

Integrated circuit technology. Therefore, they were also known as the
microprocessors, (VLSI circuit having about 5000 transistors and other circuit
elements with their associate circuits on a single chip).
Fourth generation computers became more powerful, compact, reliable,
and affordable. As a result, it gave rise to Personal Computer (PC)
revolution.
The main features of fourth generation computers
VLSI technology used
Very cheap
Portable and reliable
Gave rise to PCs
Very small size
No AC required
Concept of internet was introduced
Great developments in the fields of networks
This generation of computers had the first “supercomputers” that could
perform many calculations accurately.
Examples of fourth generation of computers
 DEC
 STAR 1000
 PDP 11
 CRAY-1 (Super computer)
 CRAY-X-MP (Super computer)
MICROCHIPS
A microchip also called a chip, computer chip or integrated circuit (IC) is a
unity of integrated circuitry that is manufactured at a microscopic scale using
a semiconductor material, such as silicon.
Components of Microchip
▪ Transistor ▪ Capacitors
▪ Resistors ▪ Diodes
Types of Microchips
Microchips generally fall into one of the following two categories
1. This type of microchip does all the heavy lifting, processing the
instructions and data that are fed to the device and subsequently to the
chip in the device. The most common and widely used type of logic
microchip is the central processing unit (CPU).
2. Memory, The type of microchip stores data. Data storage is either volatile
or non-volatile. Volatile memory chips require a constant source of power
to retain their data. DRAM is a common example of a volatile memory
chip.
Architecture of the Processor
A processor is the electronic circuitry within a computer that carries out
the instructions of a computer program by performing the basic
arithmetic, logical, control and input/output (I/O) operations specified by
the instructions. It is also known as the Central Processing (C.P.U). There
are two primary processor architectures used in today’s environment 32-
bit (x86) and 64-bit (x86-64, IA64, AMD64). These architectures differ in
data path with integer size, and memory address width that the processor
is able to work with.
Major parts of a Processor
Below we see a simplified diagram describing the overall architecture of
a CPU. You must be able to outline the architecture of the central
processing unit (CPU) and the functions of the arithmetic logic unit (ALU)
and the control unit (CU) and the registers within the CPU.

Central Processing unit

Control unit

Input Arithmetic unit Output

Device Device

Memory unit
Memory holds both data and instructions.
• The arithmetic/logic gate unit is capable of performing arithmetic and
logic operations on data.
• A processor register is a quickly accessible location available to a
digital processor’s central processing unit (CPU).
• Registers usually consist of a small amount of fast storage, although
some registers have specific hardware functions, and may be read-
only or write-only.
• The control unit controls the flow of data within the CPU – (which is the
Fetch Execute cycle).
• Input arrives into a CPU via a bus.
• Output exit the CPU via a bus.
Functions of the parts of a processor
1. ALU – The arithmetic logic unit executes all calculations within the CPU.
2. CU – control unit, coordinates how data moves around, decodes
instructions.
3. Registers – a memory location within the actual processor that work at
very fast speeds. It stores instructions which await to be decoded or
executed.
o PC – program counter – stores address of the next instruction in RAM
o MAR – memory address register – stores the address of the current
instruction being executed.
o MDR – memory data register – stores the data that is to be sent to or
fetched from memory.
o CIR – current instruction register – stores actual instruction that is being
decoded and executed.
o ACC – accumulator – stores results of calculations.
4. Buses
• Address bus – carries the ADDRESS of the instruction or data.
• Data bus – carries data between processor and the memory.
• Control bus – sends control signals such as: memory read; memory
write.
INPUT DEVICES
An input device is any hardware device that sends data into the computer,
allowing you to interact with and control it.
Types of Input Devices
The following are examples of input devices
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• Scanner
• Barcode reader
• Audio conversion device
• Touch screen
• Light pen
• Game pad etc.
KEYBOARD

Keyboard is one of the primary input devices used with a computer for
typing. Similar to an electric typewriter, a keyboard is composed of buttons
used to create letters, numbers, and symbols, and perform additional
functions.
They include standard wired keyboards, wireless keyboard, among others.
Keyboard layouts also include QWERTY and DaVinci Concept, each of
which suits different environments.
Wireless keyboard uses two primary technologies to connect to devices,
Bluetooth or 2.4GHz radio-frequency (RF) connections. The latter connects
via USB dongle (Bluetooth model assumes your computer supports Bluetooth
or you will have own Bluetooth dongle).
Keyboard Layout
A keyboard layout is any specific physical, visual or functional arrangement
of the keys legends, or key-meaning associations (respectively) of a
computer keyboard, mobile phone, or other computer-controlled
typographic keyboard.
Physical layout is the actual positioning of keys on a keyboard. Visual layout
is the arrangement of the legends (labels, markings, engravings) that
appear on those keys.
Functional layout is the arrangement of the key-meaning association or
keyboard mapping, determined in software, of all the keys of a keyboard; it
is this (rather than the legends) that determines the actual response to a key
press.
QWERTY Keyboard Layout
The QWERTY layout is, by far, the most widespread layout in use, and the
only one that is not confined to a particular geographical area. Below is a
close-up image of QWERTY computer keyboard with each of the keys.

DaVinci Keyboard Layout

This keyboard layout is commonly used for keyboard shortcuts and

preferences Guide. Widely helpful in video editing to edit faster.
There is an in-built wrist rest and adjustable feet aiding better ergonomics. It
connects via USB-C. It has in-built hub with two USB-A ports
MOUSE
A computer mouse is a handheld hardware input device that controls cursor
for pointing, moving and selecting text, icons, files, and folders on your
computer.
The mouse comes in different varieties including as mechanical, optical,
opto-mechanical and wireless (Similar to the keyboard wireless (uses
Bluetooth and 2.4GHz radio-frequency (RF) connections and can support
removable batteries).
Types of Computer Mouse
• Mechanical
A mechanical mouse is a computer hardware input device comprised of a
metal or rubber ball in its underside. Moving the mouse causes the ball to
roll, and sensors inside the mouse detect the movement of the ball and
consequently send signals to the cursor on the screen. The mechanical
mouse has largely been replaced by the optical mouse.

• Optical
An optical mouse is an advanced computer pointing device that uses a light-
emitting diode (LED), an optical sensor, and digital signal processing (DSP)
in place of the traditional mouse ball and electromechanical transducer.
Movement is detected by sensing changes in reflected light, rather than by
interpreting the motion of a rolling sphere.
• Opto-mechanical
Alternatively, called the mouse ball, the optical-mechanical or opto-
mechanical consists of a ball that rolls one of two wheels inside the
mouse. Each wheel contains a circle of holes or notches, allowing LED to
shine through and be detected by a sensor. As the wheel spins this light
represent x-axis and y-axis for the mouse pointer on your screen. This
mouse is more accurate than the mechanical mouse that uses only
wheels and rollers, however is not as good as an optical mouse.
USES OF A MOUSE
1. Move the mouse cursor – The primary function is to move the mouse
pointer on the screen.
2. Point-Once the mouse is moved, you can point something out for
another users or point a digital object. For example, in a game you
can use you can use the mouse to point a gun in the direction to
shoot.
3. Open or execute a program – Once you’ve moved the pointer to an
icon, folder, or another object clicking or double-clicking that object
opens the document or executes, the program. Some programs even
support triple-clicking.
4. Select - A mouse also lets you select text or a file or highlight and
multiple files once.
5. Drag-and-drop – Once something is selected, it can also be moved
using the drag-and-drop method.
6. Hover – Moving the mouse cursor over objects with hover information
helps discover each object’s function. For example, hover the mouse
over the “hover” link to see an example.
7. Scroll – When working with a long document or viewing a long web
page, you may need to scroll up or down. To scroll, rotate the mouse
wheel, or click-and-drag the scrollbar. The mouse wheel can also be
used as a button. See the IntelliMouse page for further information
and functions of the mouse wheel.
Touch Screens
A Touch screen is a display device that allows users to interact with a
computer using their fingers or stylus. They are useful alternative to a
mouse or keyboard for navigating a GUI (Graphical User Interface).
Touch screens are used on various devices, such as computers and
laptop display, smartphones, tablets, cash registers, and information
kiosks. Some touch screens use a grid of infrared beams to sense the
presence of a finger instead of utilizing touch-sensitive input.
Light Pen
A light pen is a light-sensitive pointing input device commonly used to
select or otherwise modify text or data on a screen.
Scanner
The scanner scans or take a picture or the document, digitize the
information and present it on the computer screen. It can capture the
images that can be saved as a file or sent an image editing application
or printer or printer to get or print a hard copy. They are able to scan
Text, Pictures, Photos, and Etc.
How To Use the Scanner
1. Connect the scanner to your PC
2. Place the material to be scanned into the scanner, just as though you
were using a photocopier. Turn the scanner on, if necessary.
3. Press the scan button on the scanner, which is the button to acquire a
digital image.
4. Preview the scan
5. Select the scan area in the scanner software.
6. Set other options. Scan the image.
Advantages of Scanners
1. Save time and increase efficiency at home or office.
2. Able to fulfill your maximum needs, scanning, copying, editing,
sending and etc.
3. There are inbuilt scanning mechanisms present in some printers.
4. This device can handle your all-digital files like documents, photos,
graphic designs, etc.
5. You can also say that scanner is an environment-friendly device
because it creates digital copy of the physical documents that use
paper.
6. Using a scanner is very simple and doesn’t require any advanced
setup that can cause problems for you.
7. It has the flexibility to save your documents in different formats such as
PDF, word.
Disadvantages of Scanners
1. Using this device reduces the image and graphic quality doesn’t
matter the resolution after reprinting on paper, you can easily saw
the different between old and new.
2. Scanned documents take a lot of hard disk space.
3. The maintenance cost of this device is a little expensive for home
users.
4. It takes some time if you want to scan many documents.
BARCODE READER
A barcode reader, also called a price scanner or point-of-scale (POS)
scanner, is a hand-held or stationary input device used to capture and
read information contained in a barcode. A bar code is a set of lines
of different thickness that represent a number. There are five main
types of barcode readers. These are pen wands, slot scanners, charge-
Couple Device (CCD) scanners, image scanners, and laser scanners.

Advantages of barcode reader

1. Much smaller and lighter than RFID (Radio-frequency identification)
tags and therefore easier to use.
2. Less expensive than RFID (Radio-frequency identification) tags; as
barcodes are directly printed onto plastic or paper materials and
therefore the only cost involved is the ink; a tiny overall cost.
3. Barcodes work with the same accuracy on various materials in
which they are placed.
4. Barcodes are a universal technology in that they are the norm for
retail products; stores that own a barcode reader can process
barcodes from anywhere in the world.
5. In many cases, barcode accuracy has been said to be the same or
even better than RFID tags.
6. Today barcodes are found on almost every item and there are no
privacy issues involved with its use.
Disadvantages
1. Barcode scanners/readers need a direct line of sight to the barcode
to be able to read.
2. In order to read the barcode, the barcode scanner needs to be
quite close; around no more than 15ft.
3. Barcodes have no read/write capabilities; they do not contain any
added information such as expiry date etc. They only contain the
manufacturer and product.
4. They are very labour intensive; as they must be scanned
individually.
5. Barcodes have less security than RFID; as they can be more easily
reproduced or forged.
6. Barcodes are easily damaged; as the line of sight is needed to
scan, the printed bar code has to be exposed on the outside of the
product.
7. If a barcode is ripped or damaged there is no way to scan the
product.
MANUAL AND AUTOMATIC INPUT DEVICES
A manual input device is something you operate yourself, so you could
make a mistake manually, Manual input devices include: keyboard –
including concept keyboard, an input/output device can receive data
from users, or another device (input), and send data to another device
(output). The automatic controller varies its output automatically in
response to a direct or indirect input of measured process. Sometimes
called direct data entry, or dde for short whereas Automatic input
devices are worked by a computer accurately, a barcode reader is an
automatic input device which is used to scan or ‘read’ the barcode by
using a visible red light, used when very large amounts of data need
to be quickly and accurately.
OUTPUT DEVICES
An output device is a piece of computer hardware that receive data
from a computer and then translates that data into another form. That
form may be audio, visual, textual, or hard copy such as document.
The key distinction between and input device and an output device
and input devices send data to a computer, whereas an output device
receives data from the computer.
There are four different categories of output
• Visual
• Data
• Print
• Sound
Examples of Output Devices
1. Monitor 4. Computer 7. Sound card
2. Printer speakers 8. Video card
3. Headphones 5. Projector 9. Braille reader
6. GPS 10. Plotter
Multimedia Projectors
A multimedia projector is a compact, high resolution, full-color projector
capable of projecting text, images, video and audio content. Typically, the
projector will feature input for a computer, DVD player and storage
device.
Multimedia projectors are also referred to as Pico projectors and
data/video projectors. These names can apply to both portable and
ceiling-mounting unit provided that they can project computer output.
Data Projectors
A device that projects a computer output onto a white or silver fabric
screen that is wall, ceiling or tripod mounted. It is widely used I classrooms
and auditoriums for instruction and slide presentations.
Pico Projector
Pico projectors are small, portable, battery-operated projectors that are
designed to project content from your phone project or laptop even play
video files from USB or SD storage. They also called handheld or mini
projector due their small size.
Plotter
A plotter is a computer hardware device much like a printer that is used
for printing vector graphics, instead of toner, plotters use a pen, pencil,
marker or another writing tool to draw multiple, continuous lines on paper
rather than multiple dots, like a traditional printer.
Advantage of plotter
1. They can work on very large sheets of paper whiles maintaining
resolution
2. They print on a wide range of flat materials including plywood,
aluminum sheets, steel, cardboard, plastic etc.
3. Plotter allow the same pattern to be drawn thousands of times without
any image degradation.
Disadvantages of plotter
1. Plotter are quite large compared to traditional printers
2. Plotters are also much more expensive than a traditional printer.
MAGNETIC STORAGE DEVICES
Magnetic storage devices are storage medium commonly used for large
volumes of data (video, image or remote sensing data) e.g. hard disk
drives (HDD).
Magnetic storage media and devices store data in the form of tiny
magnetized dots. These dots are created, read and erased using magnetic
fields created by very tiny electromagnets.
In the case of magnetic tape, the dots are arranged along the length of a
long plastic strip which has been coated with a magnetizable layer (audio
and video tapes use a similar technology).
In the case of magnetic discs (e.g. floppy disc or hard-drive), the dots are
arranged in circles on the surface of a plastic, metal or glass disc that has
a magnetizable coating.
Hard Disk Drives
Hard-drives have a very large storage capacity (up to 1TB). They can be
used to store vast amounts of data. Hard-drives are random access
devices and be used to store all types of films, including huge files such as
movies. Data is stored inside a hard-drive on rotating metal or glass discs
(called platters).
Fixed Hard Disk Drive
A hard-drive built into the case of a computer is known as ‘fixed’. Almost
every computer has a fixed hard-drive. Fixed hard-drives act as main
backing storage device for almost all computers since they provide almost
instant access to files (random access and high access speeds). These
have read/write heads which allow data to be written to (saved) or read
(used) from the disc. The disc surface (platter) is coated in a magnetic film
which is where the data is stored. The read/write heads (along with direct
data access) allow for very fast data access speeds.
Uses of Fixed Hard Disk Drives
1. It is used to store the operating system and applications software
(Windows, Word, Excel etc.).
2. It is used for storing files and documents (music and homework for
example)
3. Real-time systems (robots, chemical plant control systems) and online
systems (booking airline tickets etc.) use hard disc drives to store data.
4. It is used in file-servers on computer networks to store files.
Advantages of Fixed Hard Disk Drives
1. Fast read/write times (saves data to disk and reads back from it
quickly)
2. Huge capacities (can store thousands of movies and music files).
3. Very easy to update/delete files
Disadvantages of Fixed Hard Disk Drives
Can be damaged easily when computer is not shutdown properly (Disc
crash!). Not portable as they are designed to be ‘fixed’ into computer and
not removed.
PORTABLE HARD DISK DRIVE
Portable hard-drive is one that is placed into a small case along with
some electronics that allow the hard-drive to be accessed using a USB or
similar connection. They come with USB cable to allow for easy
attachment to other computers which allows for easy backup/sharing of
files.
Portable hard-drives allow very large amounts of data to be transported
from computer to computer. Many portable music players (such as the
iPod classic) contain tiny hard-drives. Typical storage spaces are 50
gigabytes up to 3 terabytes (3,072 gigabytes).
Uses of Portable Hard Disk Drives
1. Like fixed hard drives, they are used to store large files (such as video)
2. It can be used as portable back-up systems to avoid loss of data.
3. It is used to transfer data, files and software between computers via
USB connectivity.
Advantages of Portable Hard Disk Drives
1. Fast read/write times.
2. Huge capacities.
3. Small and light with protective casing.
4. Designed to plug into almost any computer via USB ports.
Disadvantages of Portable Hard Disk Drives
1. Small size makes them easy to misplace or have stolen.
2. More expensive than other forms of storage.
DISK CACHE
Disk cache is a cache memory that is used to speed up the process of
storing and accessing data from the host hard disk. It enables faster
processing of reading/writing, commands and other input and output
processes between the hard disk, the memory and computing
components.
FLOPPY DISK
A removable, portable, cheap, low-capacity (1.44MB) storage medium.
Floppy disc are random access devices used for transfer small amounts of
data between computers, or to back-up small files, etc. Access times are
slow. Old method of portable data storage where information is held on a
thin plastic disc.
Uses of Floppy Disks
1. Can still be used where very small files need to be transferred/stored.
2. Write protect facility is useful to prevent accidental overwriting of data.
Advantages of Floppy Disk
1. Cost very little to buy.
2. Very small, light and easy to carry (portable)
3. Can be write protected easily which protects against accidentally
copying over files.
Disadvantages of Floppy Disk
1. Very low storage capacity when compared to other media (1.44mb)
2. Very few modern computers have floppy disc drives.
3. Floppy discs are very delicate and easy to damage
4. Slow data transfer rate (takes a long time to save/read from the disk).

INTRODUCTION TO THE DESKTOP

Taskbar
Taskbar is the horizontal bar that runs across the bottom of the desktop.
The windows 10 taskbar features are quite different from the taskbar of
the previous Microsoft Windows. It can be customized in many ways like
hiding/unhiding it, moving it around or even changing its colour to match
your desktop background nicely.

Features of Windows 10 Taskbar

1. The start button; it is located on the far left of the taskbar. In fact, it
is the first icon on the taskbar from the left. It is used to access the
start menu by clicking on it. Right clicking on it also gives you
options like Programs and features, Mobility center, Power options,
Event viewer, System, Device manager, Network connections, Disk
management etc.
2. Search box; Next to the windows button is the search box. In the
search box there is a sentence which says “Search the web and
windows” and that is what it does as its function. It helps to search
stuff on the web. But to be able to search the web, unless you are
connected to the internet.
3. Task view button; it is the next icon right after the search box on the
taskbar. It is used to create multiple virtual desktops on which you
could perform different tasks and also helps you to switch between
them.
4. Pinned application; these are applications that remain on the
taskbar whether running currently or not. Some applications are
pinned by default which you can unpin by right clicking on it and
clicking on “Unpin this program from taskbar”. Pinned applications
 helps the computer user to open apps that have no icons on the
desktop quickly.
5. Task tray; this is the free space on the taskbar after the pinned apps.
It’s function is to display or show currently opened apps.
6. System tray or Notification area; this is the area on the far right of
the taskbar which has up-pointing arrow which when clicked on
shows icons apps working in the background. It also shows the
laptop’s battery level. It displays network connections icon, volume
icon, notifications icons, time and date.
WINDOWS 10 START MENU
The Microsoft Windows Start menu is the primary location in Windows
to locate your installed programs and find any files or folders. By
default, the Start menu is accessed by clicking Start in the bottom-left
corner of the Windows desktop screen or pressing Windows logo key
on your keyboard.

The Windows 10 Start menu made some drastic changes to the Start
menu available in previous versions of Windows, as is immediately
apparent in the next page.
One of the most noticeable changes is the integration of tiles (from the
Windows 8 start screen) into the Start menu.
WINDOWS TILES
While the old and familiar desktop shortcuts continue to be reliable, the
windows 10 start menu includes a different way of launching and
organizing things, using a concept called windows tiles.
A tile is a type of shortcut you can only find in grid, on the right side of
your Windows 10 Start Menu.
Colorful, sometimes animated, and larger than the regular sized icons
used for desktop shortcut. Windows tiles come in four different sizes.
You can resize tiles in Windows 10 and manage group of tiles,
organizing the Start Menu according to your needs and preference.
Depending on their size, windows tiles can display plenty information
from the apps they represent or they can be as small as simple medium
sized icon. In the screenshot below, you see all the sizes that tiles can
have in windows 10: large, wide, medium and small (by right-clicking
on the icon and choose resize).
Thumbnail
A thumbnail is a small image representation of a larger image, usually
intended to make it easier and faster to look at or manage a group of
larger images. This is also referred to as a preview image and is a
smaller version of the original image.
If someone is looking through a lot of images, thumbnails can help
them find an image they want faster since they don’t have to open
each file individually.
Different Applications for Thumbnails
Video thumbnail; A thumbnail for a video is a single frame or a short
sequence of frames from the video. It can be used as a still image to
represent the video on websites and social media.
YouTube thumbnail: A thumbnail on YouTube is a reduced-size version
of the YouTube video’s preview image. The thumbnail image
represents the video content on the YouTube channel and in search
result.
Blog thumbnail: A thumbnail image used in blog post or articles is
typically much smaller than the original image. The thumbnail image
helps readers identify the topic of the article.
Taskbar Thumbnail Previews
Taskbar Thumbnail Previews is a peeking feature that is a kind of visual
effect on Windows. This visual effect can be turned on or off from the
system’s settings. By default, the taskbar thumbnail preview on
Windows 10 is enabled and it has a predefined hover time-basically set
to half a second. When the user hovers on the thumbnail that pops up,
he/she can sneak-peek of what is running on the task window without
going on the running program.
Enable Windows 10 Desktop Peek on the Taskbar to Preview Windows
1. Right-click the taskbar and select ‘Settings’.
2. Then select Taskbar from the list on the left
3. Then, on the right toggle the peek option to the on position.

FILE MANAGEMENT
File management is the process of arranging and organizing files kept
on the computer system by the operating system. File management is
defined as the process of manipulating files in computer system, it
management includes the process of creating, modifying and deleting
the files.
Effective File Management Practices
Organizing your digital files into folders and subfolders helps you so
that you can find what you need when you need it.
Files are programs or documents store on a disk. A folder is a
container that holds one or more files and folders and a folder stored
inside another folder is called subfolder. If you work in an office,
chances are you would deal with a lot of digital files on your computer,
email, cloud storage, or external devices. Keeping them organized and
easy to access can save you time, frustration, and potential errors.
Choose a logical naming system
One of the first steps to organize your digital files is to choose a
consistent and logical naming system for your folders and subfolders.
This will help you avoid confusion, duplication, or loss of important
documents. For example, you can have a folder named “Marketing”
and subfolders named “Campaigns”, “Reports”, “Budgets”, etc. or you
can have a folder named “2021” and subfolders named “January”,
“February”, “March”, etc. Whatever system you choose, make sure it is
clear, relevant, and easy to remember.
Use descriptive and specific file names
Another key to organizing your digital files is to use descriptive and
specific file names that tell you what the file contains and when it was
created or modified. This will help you locate and identify your files
quickly, without having to open them or rely on the file type or size.
You can use keywords, abbreviations, dates, or version numbers to
name your files. For example, you can name a file
“Invoice_Johnson_2021_03_15_v2.pdf” or
“Newsletter_March_2021_draft.docx”. Avoid using vague or generic
names, such as “Document1” or “New Folder”.
Create a folder hierarchy and structure
A folder hierarchy and structure are a way of organizing your folders
and subfolders into levels and categories, so you can navigate and
access your files easily. A good folder hierarchy and structure should
be simple, logical, and scalable. You can start with a few main folders
that represent the broad areas of your work, such as “Fortress Junior
High School”, “Human Resources”, “Operations”, etc. Then, you can
create subfolders within each main folder that represent the specific
aspects or tasks of your work, such as “Teachers”, “Examination”,
“Admissions”, etc. You can also create sub-subfolders within each
subfolder, if needed, to further refine your organization. For example,
you can have a sub-subfolder named “March_2021” within the
subfolder “Admissions” within the main folder “Fortress Junior High
School”.
File Naming Convention
A File Naming Convention (FNC) is a framework for naming your files
in a way that describes what they contain and how they relate to other
files.
An advantage to using unique and standardized filenames is the ability
to follow path names and link to other systems that require unique
filenames.
File-naming Conventions When Saving Files
• Case sensitivity – upper and lower case are different (true in Linux
and Unix variations, not in Windows)
• Maximum length (Windows 260 characters)
• Spaces allowed
• Digits allowed
• \|:*?”< >|not allowed
• File names not allowed (con, nul, prn)
File Extensions
File extension or filename suffix is usually three, four or more
characters at the end of computer file names divided by a dot. E.g
Invoice_Gilbert_2021_03_15_15_v2.pdf
File extensions are useful to computer programs and operating
systems like Windows or macOs (Os X), and basically telling them,
what kind of data and file type they are working with and with and
what associated program opens the file.
In order words, File extensions provide clues to the file contents. OS
uses extensions to determine which application created the file and
the internal format of the file.
Extension Type of Document Application
.doc or .docx Word processing Microsoft Word
document
.xls [Link] Workbook Microsoft Excel
.ppt or .pptx PowerPoint presentation MS PowerPoint
.accdb Database Microsoft Access
.gif, .jpg, .png Images Windows Image Viewer
.mp4, .mp3 Videos, audio Windows Media
.zip Compressed file Winzip
.pdf Portable Document Adobe Acrobat
Format
.htm [Link] Web page Hypertext Markup
language

TYPES OF USER ACCOUNT IN COMPUTER NETWORK

To access the operating system or any service running on the
operating system, a user needs a user account. A user account
allows the operating system or the service to track and monitor the
usage. During the installation, typically, it creates four types of user
accounts. These accounts are system account, superuser account,
regular user account, and guest user account.
System Accounts
These accounts are used by different services running on the
operating system to access the system resources. The operating
system uses these accounts to check whether a particular service that
is requesting system resources is allowed to access those resources
or not. Unless you are a system or network administrator, you never
need to know about these accounts.
Superuser Account
This user account has the highest privilege on the operating system.
In Windows, this user account is known as the Administrator
account. In Linux, it is known as the root account. The operating
system allows this user account to perform all privileged tasks such
as changing system files, installing new software, removing existing
software, starting services, stopping services, creating new user
accounts, and deleting existing user accounts.
Regular User Account
This user account has moderate privilege. This user account is not
allowed to make any changes in system files and properties. The
operating system allows this user account to form only the tasks that
it is authorized to do such as creating files and folders, running
applications, customizing environmental variables, etc.
Guest User Account
This user account has the lowest privilege. It can’t change system
files or properties. Usually, this account is used to access the system
for temporary tasks such as suffering internet, watching movies,
playing games, etc. In Windows, this account is automatically
created during the installation. In Linux, if require, we have to create
this account manually after the installation.
WINDOWS FILE AND FOLDER LEVEL PERMISSIONS
In many cases, you will need to change the permissions that a
certain group or individual user has to a file or folder. By default,
the new folder has the same permissions as the parent folder, which
would not allow users (students) to submit their work, and may not
allow users (students) to even access the folder. When you set
permissions, you are specifying what level of access users (students)
have to the folder and its files and what students can do within that
folder such as, save, delete or read files.
Standard Permission Types
Full Control
Read & Execute
Read
Write
Modify
List Folder Content
Each level represents a different set of actions users can perform
Permission Description
Full Control Permits the user(s) to:
• View file name and
subfolders
• Navigate to subfolders.
• View data in the folder’s files.
• Add files and subfolders to
the folder.
• Change the folder’s files.
• Delete the folder and its files
• Change permissions
• Take ownership of the folder
and its files
Modify Permits the user(s) to:
• View the file names and
subfolders.
• Navigate to subfolders.
• View data in the folder’s files
• Add files and subfolders to
the folder.
• Change the folder’s files
• Delete the folder’s files
 • Open and change files

Read & Execute Permits the user(s) to:

• View file names and
subfolder names.
• Navigate to subfolders.
• View data in the folder’s files.
• Run applications
List Folder Content Permits the user(s) to:
• View the file names and
subfolder names
• Navigate to subfolders.
• View folders.
• Does not permit access to the
folder’s files.
Read Permits the user(s) to:
• View the file names and
subfolder names
• Navigate to subfolders
• Open files
• Copy and view data in the
folder’s files
Write The Read permissions, plus
permits the user(s) to:
• Create folders.
• Add new files
• Delete files