Unit 2 Task 4 M1

	Windows 7	Mac OS X
Machine and Peripheral management	With Windows 7 the operating system controls the whole computer and all the components. It also controls peripherals like keyboards, mouse and printers.	OS X controls the components of your computer in a similar way to Windows 7. But almost all devices need to be bought especially for a mac
Security	Windows 7 uses security functions like user accounts with password protection, firewalls and other functions.	OS X uses security features like an App called time machine. This works with your mac and external devices. Time machine automatically backs up your entire mac. What makes time machine different to other back up systems is that it remembers how your mac looked on any given day. This means you can visit you mac on in a way it was previously. Macs also use authentication for file sharing by having to use your apple ID.
File management	Windows uses file management so you can edit files create new ones and delete old ones. Windows 7 uses a system called File explorer.	For file management on a Mac it uses an app called finder. It works in a similar way to file explorer but has an appropriate icon for each file. Macs also use cover flow. This works alongside Finder. It allows you to flip through snapshots of documents, websites, photographs and album artwork. It also uses tree navigation.
Device drivers	Device drivers are used to tell the OS what to do with a particular device. For example when you buy a new graphics card you need to download a new driver to get it to work at full capability.	Device drivers for Mac have the same purpose as for windows. With Mac you can’t really upgrade anything. Every driver needed to run the computer is included in the system.
Ability to customise	There are many ways to customise windows to make your computer more accessible. Accessibility features have been built into windows. These are useful features for people who have difficulty seeing or hearing. These features can be installed during set up or later from a windows instillation disk. You can use the control panel and other in-built features to adjust the appearance and behaviour of your computer to suit the needs of your personal settings. These settings include changing the colour, the desktop background and the sound.	Macs are relatively difficult to customise because there are such limited things you can do without having to download new software. Without the download of new software all you can really do is change the background or add apps you regularly us to the dock. However when you download the software there is plenty you can do to customise your mac. For example Mirage. This allows you to customise the dock. CandyBar allows you to change the icons. Think allows you to block all but one app so you can concentrate on your work and not get distracted.

Windows 

Machine and peripheral management

Security

File management

Device Drivers

Ability to customise

Mac OS X

Machine and peripheral management

Security

File management

Device Drivers

Ability to customise

Unit 2 Task 3 P3

A firewall is a piece of software or hardware that is designed to help keep out hackers, viruses and worms that try to reach your computer via the internet. When you are using a computer it is important that the firewall is turned on to stop these things happening. This will mean that your computer will be able to run at its best and it stops the memory from corrupting. Firewalls build a protective barrier around computers connected to the internet so that only authorized programs can access data on a specific work station.

Certain programs that are being run on your computer leave small programs that are there to keep track of your internet viewing habits. The company can sell the data collected from these cookies to anyone who wants it. A cookie cleaner removes these. Cookies are used by the internet to keep a record of the users information e.g not having to re-enter a password for a website you have already been on. Removing cookies means that if someone was to hack into your computer or you were using a public computer your data won't still be saved from that website.

In order for storage media to be recognized by your computer so it can be used to store files it has to be formatted. There are two stages that have to be carried out. One is physical formatting which tests the surface and setting aside the sectors that can no longer be used. The other is logical formatting which sets up a file system that then defines how files and folders will be stored.

Unit 2 Task 2 P2

An operating system (OS) is software that manages the hardware resources and provides common services for computer programs. The OS is an essential part of the system software in a computer system because application programs usually require an OS to function.

Peripheral management controls peripheral devices by sending commands. The software routine that knows how to deal with each device is known as a driver. The OS needs drivers for peripherals connected to the computer. When a new peripheral is added the device's driver is installed into the OS. The OS communicates with with the computers peripherals via the software drivers for the devices. The OS controls the whole machine and it also controls peripherals like keyboards, mouses and printers.

Security is key to protecting you computer from unwanted users. This is normally done by setting a password that needs to be used before you can gain access to the device. If you share a computer with other people e.g a family desktop and you don't want other members of your family to access your documents you can create multiple profiles with different passwords. However not all unwanted access con be stopped by a password as there is also a threat from computer viruses. A computer virus is a program or piece of computer code that gets loaded onto your computer without your knowledge and runs against your wishes. Viruses can replicate themselves gradually taking up all the computers memory bringing the system to a halt. Thankfully there are many antivirus programs that can be downloaded to protect your computer from viruses.

A file management system or file system is used by the operating or a program to keep track of files. It allows the user to create new files and folders, edit existing ones and even close files without saving it. A file management system displays all your files and folders in one window. Each file will have a different icon depending on the program it was created in. When you open a folder it will display all the files in the folder.

A device driver is a piece of software that allows the OS to have easier access to peripheral devices. Each time a new peripheral device is added a new device driver is installed. Drivers for any device will change the OS. This means that video card companies can't make a driver for a specific OS.

Unit 2 Task 1 P1

A processor is a small chip that resides in computers and other electronic devices. Its job is to receive input and provide the appropriate output. The central processor of a computer is also known as a CPU or Central Processing Unit. This handles all the basic system instructions like mouse and keyboard input and running applications.

A motherboard is the main circuit board of the computer. It is also known as the main board or logic board. If you ever need to open your computer the motherboard is the biggest piece of silicon you will be able to see. You'll find CPU, ROM, memory RAM expansions slots, PCI slots and USB ports. it will also have controllers for devices like the hard drive, disc drive, keyboard and mouse. Basically the motherboard is what makes everything in your computer work.

BIOS stands for Basic Input/Output System. This is a pre-installed program on Windows based computers (not on Macs) that the computer uses to start up. The CPU accesses the BIOS before the operating system has loaded. The BIOS then checks all hardware connections and locates all your devices. If everything is OK the BIOS then loads the operating system into the computer's memory and then finishes the boot-up process.

A power supply is a hardware component that supplies power to an electrical device . It receivespower from an electrical outlet and changes the current from AC to DC. It also regulates the voltage to an adequate amount. This allows the computer to run smoothly without overheating.

A heat sink is used to control the heat that comes from a CPU. A CPU can perform millions of calculations per second. This will start to produce heat. If this heat isn't controlled it will overheat and destroy itself. The heat sink is part of the CPU. This dissipates the heat from processor so that it doesn't overheat. A fan is often used to cool the area around the heat sink so that the heat sink doesn't over heat either.

SATA which stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment is an interface used to connect ATA hard drives to a computers motherboard. It is likely to replace Parallel ATA (PATA) for many reasons one of which is the speed that it runs at.

USB which stands for Universal Serial Bus is the most common type of computer port used in modern computers. It can be used to connect a wide range of devices like keyboards, game controllers, printers, cameras and phones.USB is quicker than older ports like parallel and serial. The latest and quickest form of USB port is USB 3.1.

RAM which stands for Random Access Memory is made up of small memory chips that forms the memory modules. These are installed in the RAM slots on the motherboard of your computer. Every time you open a program it is loaded from the hard drive to the RAM. This happens because it is easier to reading data from the RAM is quicker than reading it from the hard drive.

ROM which stands for Read Only Memory contains hardwired instructions that the computer uses when your computer boots up before the system software loads. In PCs the instructions are read from a small program in the ROM called the BIOS.

A network card is a card that makes the connection between the computer and network cable. These are

normally use an Ethernet connection. The cards come in ISA and PCI versions.

The graphics card is used to process the graphics portion of the processing load. This gives the CPU a break and means it can run more efficiently. They can speed up both 2D and 3D graphics rendering. The difference in performance is noticeable in image editing and 3D games.

A printer is an output device that prints paper documents. the most common types of printers are inkjet and laser printers. The printed document produced by a printer is often called a hard copy. This is a physical version of an electronic document. Most modern printers connect to your computer through USB.

A scanner is an input device that scans a document like a photo or a piece of text and converts it into an electronic copy. Most scanners are flatbed devices this means that they have a flat scanning surface. Most flatbed scanners have a cover that lifts up for more bulky objects like books.

A pen drive is a small data storage device that uses flash memory and connects to your computer through a USB connection. because of their size they are highly portable. Early pen drives only had a few megabytes of storage but modern ones can store several gigabytes of data.

A hard drive is what stores all the data on your computer. It houses the hard disc which is where all your folders and files are stored. A typical hard drive is about the size of your hand but can hold over 100GB of data. This data is stored on a stack of disks that are mounted in a solid encasement.