How Computers Work / Edition 10 available in Paperback
- ISBN-10:
- 078974984X
- ISBN-13:
- 9780789749840
- Pub. Date:
- 12/08/2014
- Publisher:
- Pearson Education
- ISBN-10:
- 078974984X
- ISBN-13:
- 9780789749840
- Pub. Date:
- 12/08/2014
- Publisher:
- Pearson Education
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Overview
Having sold more than 2 million copies over its lifetime, How Computers Work is the definitive illustrated guide to the world of PCs and technology. In this new edition, you’ll find detailed information not just about PCs, but about how changes in technology have evolved the giant, expensive computer dinosaurs of last century into the smaller but more powerful smartphones, tablets, and wearable computing of today. Whether your interest is in business, gaming, digital photography, entertainment, communications, or security, you’ll learn how computing is evolving the way you live.
A full-color, illustrated adventure into the wonders of TECHNOLOOGY
This full-color, fully illustrated guide to the world of technology assumes nothing and explains everything. Only the accomplished and award-winning team of writer Ron White and artist Tim Downs has the unique ability to meld descriptive text with one-of-a-kind visuals to fully explain how the electronic gear we depend on every day is made possible. In addition to all the content you’ve come to expect from prior editions, this newly revised edition includes all-new coverage of topics such as:
• How smartphones and tablet PCs put the power of a desktop computer in your hands–literally
• How computing technology is linking our homes, work place, entertainment, and daily communications
• How advances such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, eBay, and smartphones are expanding our universe of friends, knowledge, and opportunity
• How increased miniaturization leads to new products, such as smartphone, smartwatches, and Google Glass
• How computing technology takes advantages of quantum physics and innovations no one even imagined a few years ago
For two decades, How Computers Work has helped newbies understand new technology, while hackers and IT pros have treasured it for the depth of knowledge it contains. This is the perfect book about computing to capture your imagination, delight your eyes, and expand your mind, no matter what your technical level!
Beautifully detailed illustrations and jargon-free explanations walk you through the technology that is shaping our lives. See the hidden workings inside computers, smartphones, tablets, Google Glass, and the latest tech inventions.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780789749840 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Pearson Education |
| Publication date: | 12/08/2014 |
| Series: | How It Works Series |
| Pages: | 384 |
| Sales rank: | 330,618 |
| Product dimensions: | 7.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.80(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Introduction
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
—Arthur C. Clarke
SORCERERS have their magic wands—powerful, potentially dangerous tools with lives of their own. Witches have their familiars—creatures disguised as household beasts that could, if they choose, wreak the witches' havoc. Mystics have their golems—beings built of wood and tin brought to life to do their masters' bidding.
We have our personal computers.
PCs, too, are powerful creations that often seem to have a life of their own. Usually, they respond to a wave of a mouse or a spoken incantation by performing tasks we couldn't imagine doing ourselves without some sort of preternatural help. But even as computers successfully carry out our commands, it's often difficult to quell the feeling that there's some wizardry at work here.
And then there are the times when our PCs, like malevolent spirits, rebel and open the gates of chaos onto our neatly ordered columns of numbers, our carefully wrought sentences, and our beautifully crafted graphics. When that happens, we're often convinced that we are, indeed, playing with power not entirely under our control. We become sorcerers' apprentices, whose every attempt to right things leads to deeper trouble.
Whether our personal computers are faithful servants or imps, most of us soon realize there's much more going on inside those silent boxes than we really understand. PCs are secretive. Open their tightly sealed cases and you're confronted with poker-faced components. Few give any clues as to what they're about. Most of them consist of sphinx-like microchips that offer no more information about themselves than some obscure code printed on their impenetrable surfaces. The maze of circuit tracings etched on the boards is fascinating, but meaningless, hieroglyphics. Some crucial parts, such as the hard drive and power supply, are sealed with printed omens about the dangers of peeking inside—omens that put to shame the warnings on a pharaoh's tomb.
This book is based on two ideas. One is that the magic we understand is safer and more powerful than the magic we don't. This is not a hands-on how-to book. Don't look for any instructions for taking a screwdriver to this part or the other. But perhaps your knowing more about what's going on inside all those stoic components makes them a little less formidable when something does go awry. The second idea behind this book is that knowledge, in itself, is a worthwhile and enjoyable goal. This book is written to respond to your random musings about the goings-on inside that box you sit in front of several hours a day. If this book puts your questions to rest—or raises new ones—it will have done its job.
At the same time, however, I'm trusting that knowing the secrets behind the magician's legerdemain won't spoil the show. This is a real danger. Mystery is often as compelling as knowledge. I'd hate to think that anything you read in this book takes away that sense of wonder you have when you manage to make your PC do some grand, new trick. I hope that, instead, this book makes you a more confident sorcerer.
© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
Table of ContentsIntroduction ...............................................................................................................xvii
Part 1: What Makes a Computer a Computer 2
Chapter 1: The Ghostly LEGOs of Computing .................................................................6
How Waves Take the Universe on a Joy Ride .........................................................8
How Information Rides the Waves ......................................................................10
How Electromagnetism Is the Ghost in the Machine .............................................12
How We Control Electricity ................................................................................14
How Computers Create Our World Using Numbers .............................................16
Chapter 2: How Computers Remember ........................................................................18
How a Little Transistor Does Big Jobs ..................................................................20
Writing Data to RAM ........................................................................................22
Reading Data from RAM ...................................................................................24
How Flash Memory Remembers When the Switch is Off ......................................26
Chapter 3: How a Little Microprocessor Does Big Things ...............................................28
How a Processor Tracks Numbers .......................................................................32
How a Processor Does Math ..............................................................................34
How a Processor Moves Data ............................................................................36
How Multi-Core Processors Work .......................................................................38
How Desktop CPUs Keep It Complex ..................................................................40
How Mobile CPUs Keep It Simple .......................................................................41
Chapter 4: How Motherboards Conduct a Symphony of Data .........................................42
How a Motherboard Brings It All Together ..........................................................46
How the Chipset Directs Traffic ...........................................................................48
How PCI-Express Breaks the Bus Barrier ..............................................................50
Part 2: Software—The Computer’s Own Poetry 52
Chapter 5: How Words Are Stitched into Programs .......................................................64
How a Program Is a Roadmap ...........................................................................68
How Software Interpreters Generate Action.........................................................70
How a Compiler Churns Out Software ................................................................72
Chapter 6: How Applications Work So You Can Play ....................................................74
How Text SHOUTS and Whispers ......................................................................76
How Databases Track Everything .......................................................................78
How Databases Pack it In ..................................................................................80
How Databases Make Connections ....................................................................82
How Spreadsheets Solve Formulas .....................................................................84
How Numbers Become Pictures ..........................................................................86
How Art Is Compressed to Save Space ...............................................................88
How Imaging Software Paints by Numbers .........................................................90
How Photo Editors Revive Old Memories ............................................................92
How Apps Fuel Mobile Devices ..........................................................................94
Chapter 7: How Games Create New Worlds ................................................................96
How Computers Plot a 3D World .......................................................................98
How 3D Gets Dressed .....................................................................................100
How Shaders Control the World .......................................................................102
How Games Populate New Worlds ..................................................................104
Chapter 8: How Security Software Fights Off Invaders ................................................106
How Computer Hackers Break In ......................................................................108
How Spyware Reports Everything You Do .........................................................110
How Viruses Invade Your Computer ..................................................................112
How Viruses Hitch Rides in Your Email ..............................................................114
How Antivirus Software Fights Back ..................................................................116
How Firewalls Keep Hackers Out .....................................................................118
How Spammers Find You .................................................................................120
How Antispam Software Sniffs Out Phony Email ................................................122
How Prime Numbers Protect Prime Secrets ........................................................124
Part 3: How Computers Evolve 126
Chapter 9: The Origins of Computer DNA .................................................................130
Fossils of the Premobilian Era ...........................................................................132
Persistent Relics: The Mouse .............................................................................134
Persistent Relics: The Keyboard ........................................................................136
How the Workaday Floppy Drive Ruled ............................................................138
How the CRT Was the Grande Dame of Displays ...............................................140
How the Impact Printer Was Right on the Spot ...................................................142
The Unlikely Progenitor to the Internet: The Dialup Modem .................................144
How Cabling Was Worse: Serial ......................................................................146
How Cabling Was Worse: Parallel ...................................................................148
How the Power Supply Hasn’t Changed ............................................................150
How the iPhone Made It Slick ...........................................................................152
Chapter 10: How Small Mutations Pay Off Big ............................................................154
How USB Really Is Universal ............................................................................156
How Little Bits Add Up to Big Changes ..............................................................158
How File Compression Makes Files Smaller .......................................................160
How Solid State Drives Command the Instant ....................................................162
How Solid State Drives Take Out the Trash ........................................................163
How PCs Use Light to Remember ......................................................................164
How Optical Disc Drives Write with Light ..........................................................166
Chapter 11: Honey, I’ve Shrunk the PC... ....................................................................168
How Computers Get Smaller... and Better .........................................................170
How iPods Dish Out Media ..............................................................................172
How eInk Puts Words on Your eReader .............................................................174
How All Those Smarts Got Packed into a Smartphone ........................................176
How Google Glass Makes Us Cyborgs .............................................................178
Chapter 12: Evolution of the Super Computer .............................................................180
How Video Cards Break the Game Barrier ........................................................182
How Overclocking Multiplies Time ....................................................................184
How a PC Keeps Its Cool .................................................................................186
How Advanced Cooling Refrigerates Your PC ....................................................188
How Jailbreaking Frees Your Devices ................................................................190
Chapter 13: How Cameras Capture Memories ............................................................192
How Digital Cameras Capture the Moment .......................................................194
How Autofocus Clears the Picture .....................................................................196
How Cameras Choose an Exposure ..................................................................198
Part 4: How Computers Expand Our Senses 200
Chapter 14: How We Stay in Touch ............................................................................204
How Your Smartphone Knows Where You Are ..................................................206
How Devices Recognize Our Touch ..................................................................208
How Glass Becomes Strong and Supple ............................................................209
How Game Controllers Let You Play ..................................................................210
How Game Controllers Let You Feel the Force ....................................................212
How Smartphones Get Good Vibrations ...........................................................214
How Devices Capture Light ..............................................................................216
How a Flatbed Simplifies Scanning ..................................................................218
How Codes Keep Track of Everything (Everything!) ............................................220
How Optical Character Recognition Works .......................................................222
Chapter 15: How a Computer Creates Visions ............................................................224
How an LCD Creates Glowing Colors ...............................................................226
How Plamsa Displays Glow .............................................................................228
How DLP Spins Colors .....................................................................................230
How OLED Lights Up a New Generation of Displays ..........................................232
How 3D Makes You Duck ................................................................................234
Chapter 16: How Computers Tickle Your Ears .............................................................238
How Your Device Listens ..................................................................................240
How Speakers Sound Off ................................................................................242
How Digital Sound Tricks Your Ear ...................................................................244
How 3D Audio Surrounds You .........................................................................246
Part 5: The Little Net That Grew 248
Chapter 17: How Networks Tie Computers Together ....................................................254
How Computers Connect to Each Other ............................................................256
How Data Travels Between Computers ..............................................................258
How Wi-Fi Makes the Internet Portable .............................................................260
How Bluetooth Keeps Devices Connected ..........................................................262
How NFC Lets Smart Devices Make Close Calls .................................................264
Chapter 18: How the Internet Brings Us the World .......................................................266
How Broadband Crams in the Data ..................................................................268
How DSL Turbocharges a Phone Line ................................................................270
How Cable Brings the Internet to Your Neighborhood ........................................272
How Fiber Optics Lights Up the Future ..............................................................274
How Computers Make Phone Calls ...................................................................276
How Cellular Evolved ......................................................................................277
How Networks Talk with Each Other .................................................................278
How Information Travels the Internet .................................................................280
How Online Services Serenade You ..................................................................282
How Movies Flow into Your Home ....................................................................284
Chapter 19: How the Web Puts It All at Your Fingertips ...............................................286
How a Browser Opens Pages ...........................................................................288
How a Browser Displays Web Pages ................................................................290
How Cookies Trade Crumbs of Data .................................................................292
How Google Knows Everything ........................................................................294
How eBay Sells Everything ...............................................................................296
Chapter 20: How We Keep in Touch the Internet Way ..................................................298
How Email Outraces Snail Mail........................................................................300
How Facebook Lets Your Cat Go Viral ..............................................................302
How Twitter Changes Communication ...............................................................304
How Internet File Sharing Works ......................................................................306
How BitTorrents Spread the Wealth ..................................................................308
How Clouds Encompass Us All .........................................................................310
Part 6: How Printers Put Data in Our Hands 312
Chapter 21: How Black and White Printing Works ......................................................316
How Printers Make Cookie Cutter Text ..............................................................318
How Outline Fonts Set the Imagination Free ......................................................320
How a Printer Writes with Light ........................................................................322
Chapter 22: Printing Gutenberg Never Imagined ........................................................324
How Printers Create Color ...............................................................................326
Ho an Ink-jet Sprays Images ............................................................................328
How a Printer Spits Out Photographs ................................................................330
How a Laser Printer Creates in Color ................................................................332
How a Solid Ink Color Printer Works ................................................................334
How Printers Create in 3D ...............................................................................336
Part 7: So, What’s Next? 338
9780789749840, 10/31/2014, MF
Introduction
We have our personal computers.
PCs, too, are powerful creations that often seem to have a life of their own. Usually, they respond to a wave of a mouse or a spoken incantation by performing tasks we couldn't imagine doing ourselves without some sort of preternatural help. But even as computers successfully carry out our commands, it's often difficult to quell the feeling that there's some wizardry at work here.
And then there are the times when our PCs, like malevolent spirits, rebel and open the gates of chaos onto our neatly ordered columns of numbers, our carefully wrought sentences, and our beautifully crafted graphics. When that happens, we're often convinced that we are, indeed, playing with power not entirely under our control. We become sorcerers' apprentices, whose every attempt to right things leads to deeper trouble.
Whether our personal computers are faithful servants or imps, most of us soon realize there's much more going on inside those silent boxes than we really understand. PCs are secretive. Open their tightly sealed cases and you're confronted with poker,faced components. Few give any clues as to what they're about. Most of them consist of sphinx-like microchips that offer no more information about themselves than some obscure code printed on their impenetrable surfaces. The maze of circuit tracings etched on the boards is fascinating, but meaningless, hieroglyphics. Some crucial parts, such as the hard drive and power supply, are sealed with printed omens about the dangers of peeking inside; omens that put to shame the warnings on a pharaoh's tomb.
This book is based on two ideas. One is that the magic we understand is safer and more powerful than the magic we don't. This is not a hands,on how-to book. Don't look for any instructions for taking a screwdriver to this part or the other. But perhaps your knowing more about what's going on inside all those stoic components makes them all a little less formidable when something does go awry. The second idea behind this book is that knowledge, in itself, is a worthwhile and enjoyable goal. This book is written to respond to your random musings about the goings-on inside that box that you sit in front of several hours a day. If this book puts your questions to rest-or raises new ones-it will have done its job.
At the same time, however, I'm trusting that knowing the secrets behind the magician's legerdemain won't spoil the show. This is a real danger. Mystery often is as compelling as knowledge. I'd hate to think that anything you read in this book takes away that sense of wonder you have when you manage to make your PC do some grand, new trick. I hope that, instead, this book makes you a more confident sorcerer.
Before You Begin
This book has been written with a certain type of personal computer in mind-the "Wintel," a PC most often built around an Intel processor and running Microsoft Windows. Many of the specifics in these explanations apply only to that class of computer and those components. For Mac users, I suggest John Rizzo's How the Mac Works, and that you do some serious thinking about switching.
In more general terms, the explanations also may apply to Macintosh computers, UNIX workstations, and even minicomputers and mainframes. But I've made no attempt to devise universal explanations of how computers work. To do so would, of necessity, detract from the understanding that comes from inspecting specific components.
Even so, there is so much variety even within the Intel/Microsoft world of PCs that, at times, I've had to limit my explanations to particular instances or stretch the boundaries of a particular situation to make an explanation as generic as possible. If you spot anything that doesn't seem quite right in this book, I hope that my liberties with the particulars is the only cause.
Ron White
San Francisco, California
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