Preface to the Student

Welcome to the computer and information technology revolution. You've taken the first step toward information technology (IT) competency, the bridge to an amazing realm of adventure and discovery. Once you have read and understood the material in this text and have acquired some hands-on experience with computers, you will be poised to play an active role in this revolution.

• You'll be an intelligent consumer of PCs and related products.
• You'll be better prepared to travel the Internet and take advantage of its wealth of resources and services.
• You'll become a participant when conversations at work and school turn to computers and technology.
• You'll be better able to relate your computing and information processing needs to those who can help you.
• You'll know about a wide variety of software and services that can improve your productivity at work and at home, give you much needed information, expand your intellectual and cultural horizons, amaze you, your family, and your friends, and give you endless hours of enjoyment.

Achieving IT competency is the first step in a lifelong journey toward greater knowledge and interaction with more and better applications of IT. IT competency is your ticket to ride. Where you go, how fast you get there, and what you do when you arrive is up to you.

LEARNING AIDS

Computers is supported by a comprehensive learning assistance package that includes these helpful learning aids.

The Long and Long INTERNET BRIDGE

The Long and Long INTERNET BRIDGE at www.prenhall.com/long is a site on the Internetthat is accessible from any PC with Internet access. The site, which is designed to help you make the transition between textbook learning and real-world understanding, has a variety of learning aids, including these three main components.

• Internet Exercises. The INTERNET BRIDGE invites you to go online and explore the wonders of the Internet through a comprehensive set of Internet exercises. These entertaining exercises invite you to learn more about the topics in this book and to do some serendipitous (just-for-fun) surfing.
• Interactive Study Guide (ISG). The INTERNET BRIDGE's comprehensive Interactive Study Guide gives you an opportunity to sharpen your problem-solving skills and to gauge your understanding of the material in the chapter. For each chapter, the ISG has multiple-choice, true or false, matching, and essay quizzes. The built-in grading feature gives you immediate feedback in the form of a report. The report also includes a question-by-question summary with an explanation or hint, your response, and the correct response with section reference (if needed).
• Monthly Technology Update. The printed book alone is no longer sufficient to keep you abreast of a rapidly advancing technology. The INTERNET BRIDGE's Monthly Technology Update section helps you bridge this technology gap. Each month the authors post a chapter-by-chapter update to the INTERNET BRIDGE. The monthly update includes summaries of important technological events that occurred during the previous month.

The WEB icons in the margins throughout the book relate material in the book to applicable INTERNET BRIDGE exercises, Interactive Study Guide chapters, and technology updates.

Online Distance Learning with Computers

Online distance learning in conjunction with Computers, 8th ed., is available on two popular Internet-based platforms, Blackboard and WebCT. This and other Prentice Hall online courses can be found at cms.prenhall.com/blackboard and cms.prenhall.com/webct. These sites let you take computer competency courses via distance learning or allow you to enhance your classroom experience with online learning. That is, you log on to the Blackboard or WebCT Computers, 8^th ed., page on the Internet to interact with instructors and classmates, go over chapter summaries, evaluate your understanding of course material, participate in online discussion groups, take quizzes and tests, gain access to class information (schedule, homework, and so on), make inquiries about your grades, and much more.

YOU, COMPUTERS, AND THE FUTURE

Whether you are pursuing a career as an economist, a social worker, a politician, an attorney, a dancer, an accountant, a computer specialist, a sales manager, or virtually any other career, the knowledge you gain from this course ultimately will prove beneficial. Keep your course notes and your book; they will prove to be valuable references in other courses and in your career.

Even though computers are all around us, we are seeing only the tip of the information technology iceberg. You are entering the IT era in its infancy. Each class you attend and each page you turn will present a learning experience to help you advance one step closer to an understanding of how computers and IT are making the world a better place in which to live and work.

Preface to the Instructor

THE PARADIGM SHIFT

The rules are changing. The criteria by which we make decisions, the way we do things, and even what we do is changing, dramatically. Affordable PCs with tremendous power can reach around the world via the Internet, a rapidly expanding worldwide network of computers. Each increment in PC power and Internet resources adds fuel to the personal computing phenomena, accelerating the pace of change. We are now members of an interconnected society where we can shop at online Wal-Mart Supercenters, research our family tree, take virtual tours of thousands of sites from the White House to the pyramids, take courses for college credit, work at home, and much, much more, all from a linked PC.

This paradigm shift is causing radical changes in all facets of society, including the way we teach and learn. We are entering a new era of education in which technology plays an increasingly significant role. This is especially true of introductory information technology courses where the integration of the technology is a natural extension of the learning process. After all, the best place to learn about computers is at the computer.

THE INTRO COURSE

The introductory IT course poses tremendous teaching challenges. To be effective, we must continually change our lecture style and even the vehicle by which we convey content and interact with students. Throughout the term we are continually changing hats. Sometimes we are historians. Much of the time we are scientists presenting technical material. On occasion we are sociologists commenting on social issues. In the same course we now toggle between lecture, lab, and, for some, distance learning via the Internet. If that's not enough, we teach an ever-increasing amount of material to students with a wide range of career objectives and technical abilities. We and Prentice Hall, have done everything we can to help you meet this challenge.

Opportunity, challenge, and competition are forcing all of us to become IT competent and to prepare ourselves for a more interconnected world. Computers, 8^th ed., its mixed-media components, and its ancillary materials provide a launch pad toward these objectives. The target course for this text and its teaching/learning system:

• Provides overview coverage of computing/IT concepts and applications for introductory courses. Computers, 8^th ed., comes in two versions so that you can get the best fit for your course's educational objectives.
• Accommodates students from a broad spectrum of disciplines and interests.
• May or may not include a laboratory component. Prentice Hall offers an extensive array of optional learning resources for hands-on laboratories.

COMPUTERS, EIGHT EDITION: A FAST-PACED
INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD OF COMPUTING

About six Internet years pass in one real-time year—the elapsed time between the seventh and eighth editions. This new edition is a technology update intended to bring Computers abreast with a rampaging technology. For the past 18 years, your peers have told us that we consistently publish the most up-to-date IT concepts textbook. We take great pride in your confidence in us and are committed to presenting a current and forward-looking picture of IT innovations and issues.

We have listened to your feedback and feel that this new edition strikes a good balance between efficiency of presentation and content that holds the student's interest and invites learning.

• Efficient presentation. To achieve our efficiency-of-presentation goal, we cover only that material which is critical to general IT competency. We avoid dated concepts; we don't cover basic concepts from every angle; and, we're careful not to present topics at depths inconsistent with introductory learning. We feel that students at this stage of their IT competency journey need a breadth of understanding that is applicable today and in the future. Also, we present only that information that will have an impact on the student's ability to cope with the IT revolution, avoiding superfluous information that might dampen a student's interest in learning more about technology.
• Interesting and inviting content. The text and all supplements are written in a style that remains pedagogically sound while communicating the energy and excitement of IT to the student. We used every writing tool and pedagogical technique in our arsenal to entice the student to turn the page and learn more. Throughout the book we make learning about IT a very personal experience by relating terms or concepts to their personal and professional lives. Students make the effort to learn when they can see why it's important to them.

The eighth edition presents that body of knowledge that students need to become active participants in this exciting new era of technological innovation and application. The book's content runs the gamut from motherboard technologies, such as USB, to ethical issues, such as spam. Our guiding objective during the writing of the eighth edition was to impart this crucial and substantial body of information in a manner that can be absorbed, retained, and enjoyed.

POPULAR FEATURES IN THE EIGHTH EDITION

One reason that Computers has remained the choice of thousands of your colleagues through seven editions is because we try very hard to embed the features you need to teach successful courses. Here are a few of those features.

• Conversational writing style. The book "talks" to the student in a manner that is more consistent with their everyday conversation.
• Engaging design. The eighth edition has a "reader-friendly" face that is more engaging to today's students.
• Applications-oriented. The continuing theme throughout the text is applications. Hundreds of applications are presented from online universities to telemedicine to robotics.
• Readability. All elements (photos, figures, sidebars, and so on) are integrated with the textual material to complement and reinforce learning.
• Currency-plus. The eighth edition actually anticipates emerging technology. If it's current and it's within the IT-competency body of knowledge, it's in this book. It has the latest on the Internet: online publishing, portals, videophones, flaming, firewalls, extranets, seam, and more. The software is right out of the box: Office 2000, Windows 2000, and many more innovative applications. The latest hardware is here, too: infrared ports, CD-RW, SuperDisk, Apple iBook, Intel Itanium processor, Compaq's color PDA, and more. And, of course, it's current with the acronyms: USB, MP3, AGP, SDRAM, OLE, RAD, OOP, PNG, DVD, and all the rest. The numbers for modems, disks, RAM, processors, printers, the Internet, and so on are extrapolated from trends to reflect 2001-2002.
• Flexibility. The text and its mixed-media teaching/learning system are organized to permit maximum flexibility in course design and in the selection, assignment, and presentation of material.
• Analogies. Analogies are used throughout the book to relate information technology concepts they are learning to concepts they already understand, such as airplanes (computer systems), audio CDs (random processing), and cars/parking lots (files/disks).
• Colorful Focus on ITs. Focus on ITs combine dynamic photos with in-depth discussions of topics that are of interest to students, such as how chips are made, the history of computers, and how to buy a PC.
• Walkthrough illustrations. Every attempt has been made to minimize conceptual navigation between the running text and figures. This was done by including relevant information within the figures in easy-to-follow numbered walkthroughs.
• Mixed-media margin icons. The WEB and PHitLab (Computers Interactive Labs) icons in the margin point students to interactive multimedia learning resources on the Internet and the PHitLab CD-ROM. The WEB icons invite students to check out the Monthly Technology Update, do applicable Internet exercises, and use the Interactive Study Guide to assess their grasp of the material. The PHitLab icons identify applicable laboratory exercises that let students interactively explore IT concepts.
• Up-to-date software and Internet captures. All of the software and Internet screen capture images are as current as print publishing will allow, reflecting the latest releases and innovations in software and the latest Web page designs.
• Many colorful photo images. Almost 200 photo images give the student a better feel for state-of-the-art hardware and the role of IT in our information society.
• Chapter pedagogy. Chapter organization and pedagogy are consistent throughout the text. Each chapter is prefaced by Learning Objectives and Why This Chapter Is Important to You. The Learning Objectives are framed within the context of what "you will have learned." The "Why This Chapter Is Important to You" section personalizes the student's learning experience. In the body of the chapter, all major headings are numbered (1.1, 1.2, and so on) to facilitate selective assignment and to provide an easy cross-reference to all related material in the supplements. Important terms and phrases are highlighted in boldface type. Words and phrases to be emphasized appear in italics. Informative boxed features (Emerging IT and IT Ethics), photos, and Memory Bits (outlines of key points) are positioned strategically to complement the running text. Each chapter concludes with a Summary and Key Terms and Discussion and Problem Solving. A Section Self-Check gives students an opportunity to assess their understanding at the end of each section (Self-Check answers follow Chapter 13). Margin icons direct students to applicable INTERNET BRIDGE exercises and activities and the PHitLabs CDROM-based lab activities.
• Transition friendly. Computers, eighth edition, was written to enable a smooth, seamless transition for those colleges moving from any previous edition of Computers.

A MIXED MEDIA LEARNING TOOL

This textbook is one component of a mixed-media learning tool. Although it can be used as a standalone resource, its effectiveness is enhanced when used in conjunction with the Long and Long INTERNET BRIDGE (companion Internet site), the distance learning components—Blackboard and WebCT, the Computers, 8^th ed., PHitLABs (CD-ROM-based courseware), Image Library (multimedia lecture aid), the Prentice-Hall Test Manager, and other media-based ancillaries. The mixed-media orientation of Computers, gives students a power boost up the learning curve and instructors an innovative vehicle for delivery of course content. The margin icons throughout the book direct students to applicable mixed media learning tools.

We've designed the Computers, 8^th ed., mixed-media resources to give you maximum flexibility in course design and instruction. Use these resources to offer IT competency education in whatever formats meet your student and curriculum needs. We are proud that Computers has been and remains the standard of excellence for traditional classroom/lab instruction through seven editions. Now it has emerged as the standard for courses offered completely online via distance learning.

Throughout all aspects of this mixed-media approach to learning, we play to the student's sense of exhilaration by projecting the excitement of the age of information. We have attempted to include something on every printed page, every Internet page, and every CD-ROM-based laboratory that will tickle their senses and inspire them to learn more. Eventually anxieties and fears fade away as students recognize the dawning of a new era in their life, an era bursting with opportunity.

A COMPUTERS EDITION FOR EVERY COURSE

Computers is organized into three modules.

• Information Technology Concepts module. These eight core chapters introduce students to the world of computing; concepts relating to interaction with computers; fundamental hardware, software, and communications concepts; going online (the Internet, online information services); and the Windows environment. This module includes three Focus on IT segments: the making of integrated circuits, computer history, and a PC buyer's guide.
• Living in an Information Society module. These three chapters are intended to give students greater insight into personal computing and our information society. Chapter 9 introduces students to a variety of PC software that can enrich their personal computing experience. The other two issue-oriented chapters discuss computing in context with society, addressing the many issues raised by the coming of the Information Age. Also, in these chapters students travel the information superhighway making frequent stops to discuss current and future applications. This module has one Focus on IT: Robots and Robotics.
• Business Information Systems module. This two-chapter module introduces students to the various types of information systems (MIS, DSS, expert systems, intelligent agents, and so on) and includes an overview of the latest approaches to system development.

The Right PHit program offers a complete solution for introductory computer courses, from concepts to applications. Components of the Prentice Hall Application Series can be bound with the eighth edition of Computers via Prentice Hall's Right PHit program. Office 97 and Office 2000 titles are available in this custom binding program and comprise part of the most extensive array of hands-on laboratory materials offered by any textbook publisher. These hands-on manuals can be bound together with Computers, 8^th ed., or, if you prefer, bound separately and shrink-wrapped as a package so students can carry them to the lab one at a time. Your Prentice Hall representative will be happy to work with you to identify that combination of student support materials and packaging that best meets the needs of your lab environment.

THE COMPUTERS TEACHING/LEARNING SYSTEM

Computers, 8^th ed., continues the Long and Long tradition of having the most comprehensive, innovative, and effective support package on the market. The teaching/learning system includes the following components.

Long and Long INTERNET BRIDGE

The Long and Long INTERNET BRIDGE at ...