BSA Computer MB

04/10/2023 Computers Merit BadgeJohn HamiltonJon Davis

Get your Pancake tickets TONIGHT!!!!

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Computers Merit Badge •Online Safety•What is a computer and what does it “do”?•History of the computer•Computer Programs•Networking and the Internet•Copyrighted material•Careers

The Jacquard loom


Online Safety

• Never give personal information in Chat rooms– Name, Address, Phone Number, Age

• NEVER give your password(s) to anyone– Except your parents in case of emergency

• Look for HTTPS:// on sites (SSL security)• Watch out for fake websites that look REAL• http://www.opendns.com/phishing-quiz/

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http://www.opendns.com/phishing-quiz/


• A computer is a programmable machine designed to automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations.[1]

• Integrated circuit– Microprocessor• Intel 8080 (1974, 8-bit)• Motorola 6800 (1974, 8-bit)

• CISC – Complex Instruction Set Computing• RISC – Reduced Instruction Set Computing

What is a computer?

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[1] Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_program

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer


• Computer case– Power supply– Motherboard• CPU• Memory• Expansion slots

– Hard drive, CD/DVD drive

– Ports

• Keyboard, Monitor• Optional Components– Mouse– Printer– Scanner– Speakers– External drive(s)

What makes a computer a computer?

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Where are computers used?

• Home (Personal Computer)• Cell phones• Cars• Appliances• Traffic control signals• Cash registers• Others???

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What can a computer do?

• Spreadsheet– Family budget– Household assets

• Word processor– Letters– School papers

• Email• Powerpoint

• Games• Music / Movies

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History of the Computer• ENIAC– Univ. of PA (Moore School)– Vacuum tubes– 1800 sq. ft.

• Commodore 64– Integrated circuit– 64 kB RAM– $135 production cost

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History of the Computer

• Apple / IBM– Apple II IBM PC XT

– Macintosh / x86 based PCs• Microprocessor capability gains

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History of the Computer

• Apple / Windows– Macintosh (Apple) x86 based PCs (Windows)

• Microprocessor capability gains– Moore’s law

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Computer Programs

• Program: A computer program (also software, or just a program) is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer.[1]

• Programs are written in programming “languages” (e.g. COBOL, FORTRAN, C++, Java)

[1] Wikipedia

COBOL – Common mainframe programming language for business applicationsFORTRAN – Common scientific programming langaugeC++ – An early UNIX programming language, has been adapted to other O/S’sJava – A hardware independent programming language used in many arenas

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_software

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequence

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instruction_(computer_science)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer


Computer Programs

• Commonly used software programs• Email– Outlook, Outlook Express, Thunderbird, Eudora

• Integrated Office Suites– Microsoft Office, WordPerfect Suite, OpenOffice,

NeroOffice (MAC), Google Docs• Word Processor• Spreadsheet• Presentations• Drawing• Database

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Review• Name of an early

computer– UNIVAC– ENIAC– ShopVac

• Which is older– Commodore 64– Macintosh

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• What program is not in an Office Suite– Word processor– Web browser– Database– Speadsheet

• Which is optional– Monitor– Mouse– CD Drive


Computer Programs - Security

• Anti-virus– Kaspersky– Symantec– Trend– McAfee– AVG

• Anti-malware– MalwareBytes– Adaware

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Computer Programs - Security

• Passwords– Weak, Moderate, Strong– http://www.passwordmeter.com/

• Firewalls– Windows built-in– Many A/V vendors offer firewalls also

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http://www.passwordmeter.com/


The Internet (World Wide Web)

• We owe it all to Al Gore!• Computers all over the world connected by

communications hardware and software• ISO OSI framework– Messages travel between computers in things

called packets. Packets consist of a long string of 1’s and 0’s arranged in a standardized fashion

– An email can be sent from Pennsylvania and arrive in California within seconds

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Components of a home “network”

• Cable modem (may have a router built-in)• Router (possibly wireless)• Ethernet cable or 802.11 wireless adapter– 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n

• IP address (4.2.2.2)• MAC address (54-CE-61-0B-D1-0F)• DHCP and DNS

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Software “piracy”

• Making or installing illegal copies of software– OK to make backups copies of CDs / DVDs– Usually OK to install on multiple machines, as long

as only one is in use at any given time

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Software Licensing

• Proprietary software– Microsoft Office, Norton anti-virus, many games

• Shareware– Available to download and try– Author expects compensation for continued use

• Freeware– Open to distribute freely (possibly source code)– GNU GPL

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Music and Video copyrights

• Most music and video is copyrighted• It is not legal to download music and store it

on your personal computer for later playback without having paid a pre-determined price– iTunes … most songs cost $0.99– Bearshare, Limewire, etc. are “illegal”

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Career Opportunities

• Systems administrator• Network administrator / Network security• Telecommunications engineer (convergence)• Business Analyst• Programmer / Web developer• Database administrator (DBA)• Technician (Helpdesk)

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Questions

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BSA Computer MB

Documents

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