Computer Continuum 1st Ed.

Description: For courses in Computer Concepts, Introduction to Computers, Computer Literacy, Introduction to Computer Science, Computers and Society/Computer Science. This text introduces students to the fundamental concepts in the fields of information systems and computer science by examining how technology works. It first establishes a theoretical foundation, then introduces applications that put the theory into practice. It includes topics such as binary numbers, modeling and distributive systems to take students into the theory behind how and why technology works.


Contents: PRELIMINARIES: WHERE WE'RE GOING. 1. Computers: A First Look. I. BUILDING BLOCKS: HOW COMPUTERS WORK. 2. Metamorphosis of Information. 3. Computer Hardware Components: CPU, Memory, and I/O. 4. Computer Languages, Algorithms, and Program Development. 5. Hardware and Software: Putting It Together. 6. Operating Systems: The Genie in the Computer. 7. Network Concepts and Communications. II. FOUNDATIONS: APPLYING THE CONCEPTS. 8. The Internet and the Web: Worldwide Transformation. 9. Multimedia. 10. Databases: Controlling the Information Deluge. 11. Simulation: Modeling the Physical World. III. EMPOWERMENT: EXTENDING OUR LIMITS. 12. Artificial Intelligence and Modeling the Human State. 13. Pushing the Envelope of Human Potential. 14. Ethics, Electronic Spies, and Privacy.