Input Device- a peripheral unit that can accept data, presented in the appropriate machine-readable form.

Output Device- is a peripheral unit that translates signals from the computer into a human-readable form. Software- is actual programs or data that the computer system uses. Systems Software- set of programs that organises, utilises and control hardware Applications Software- designed to make use of the system for specific purposes Feasibility Study- technology, economically possible, social effects, efficient number of skilled people to run the system and the effect it will have on the customer. Generic Applications Software- this is software with a relatively large number of uses. Off the Shelf- software that is available for immediate use. Custom Written- software that is specifically written to solve a particular problem Distributed- centrally located data, which is downloaded, or process distributed to local machines to be worked on Format Check- checks for a certain format. Character Check- checks the type of character that must be entered. Presence Check- This will insist that data is entered. Optical Mark Recognition- this is the use of shading in of boxes or specific areas of a form to represent data. In this case it is not the shading in that conveys the data but the positioning of the shading. Optical Character Reading- this is the reading of the shapes of each individual character by the computer and these shapers are compared to standard shapes of characters stored in the computers memory. Magnetic Ink Character Recognition- this is when the characters are printed on documents in magnetisable ink to prepare them for reading in to the computer in the future. The ink can be magnetised, which means that the characters are more likely to be read accurately by the computer. Functions of an OS- this is to provide and manage hardware resources, provide Human Computer Interface between computer and user, provide interface between applications and the machine itself, provide security for the data on the machine and provide utility software for maintenance. Buffers- the purpose of most buffers is to act as a holding area, enabling the CPU to manipulate the data before transferring it to a device.

Spooling- this is the process of transferring data by placing it in to temporary folder. Global Backup- Here all the data files are copied to a second storage. This method is quick to restore data, however backing up can be slow therefore can be a problem if backups are regular. Incremental Backups- this is where only copied files that have been changed since the last backing up therefore this only backs up the altered files making it much quicker. Restoring can take a long time, as data needs to be rebuilt from separate backups. Mirrored Hard Drives- here a second hard disk keeps an exact mirrored copy of the main hard disk. If the main hard disk fails, a mirror is immediately available and fully up-to-date. This is considered to be an expensive process. Control Unit- this manages the executions of instructions: it fetches the instructions, decodes it and sychronises its execution. It then sends control signals out to the rest of the processor using pathways called busses. There are different types of busses depending on the type of data. The CU uses a control bus. Random Access Memory- data held there is wiped clear when the power to the computer is switched off. Read Only Memory- data held there cannot be altered, the data is not erased when the power is switched off, making it ideal to store instructions that a computer to boot up this is called the boot program. Primary Memory- is the only storage directly accessible to the CPU. Interrupt- these are messages that are sent from other places to he processor. Actuators- they are output devices that control physical movement Stepper Motors- this is where the signal moves the motor in a series of tiny but accurate steps. Servo Motors- this is where the signal enables the motor to move continuously at high speed. Pneumatic actuators- they are like hydraulic actuators but power by air pressure. Program Counter- keeps a check on the location for the next instruction in the memory after one instruction has been carried out the pc will always be able to tell the processor where the next instruction is. Memory Address Register- this is where the address that was read from the pc was sent Memory Data Register- the memory is searched to find the address being held in the MAR and whatever is in that address must be the instruction a copy of it is placed in the MDR

Current Instruction Register- the instruction that is now in the MDR is now copied to the CIR, and then held whilst being read and executed. Local Area Network- A collections of computer and peripherals connected in one building/sit where are connected by cable or wireless. Handshake Signals- this is the exchange between devices to establish their readiness to send or receive data. Serial Data Transmission- this is done by sending bytes one bit at a time through a single wire. Echoing Back- data is sent back to the sending device to check the original data, if no match is found then the data is resent again. This is a method used to maintain integrity of data within a network. Check Sum- data is added together and the answer is sent along with binary digits, the receiving device adds the data together and verifies the answer. Check Digit- a technique used to add a digit to the end of the number, which can be calculated from the rest of the numbers. Packet Switching- this groups the data irrespective of content, type or structure into suitably sized blocks called packet. The packets can be sent any route and are rebuilt by the user. Circuit Switching- this uses a dedicated route to send the whole message. Protocol- this is a set of rules relating to communication between devices. Logical Protocol- applying to data, this means that the type of communication between the machines. Physical Protocol- this is the hardware element, the physical connection for machine to communicate. Implications of Computer Use- 5 Main Social issues are: information are rich and poor, the Internet is changing how people interact, overreliance on technology impact on literacy faster pace of life. 3 Main ethical issues are: unrestricted Internet access, ease of copying computer files and increased government surveillance. Environmental Issues are: working from home saves petrol; teleconferencing saves international travel, shop online so companies do not need to have real shops and insistence on always upgrading mobile phones.