FACTORS THAT DETERMINE THE TYPE OF COMPUTER TO CHOOSE1) Type of processor (Central processing unit – CPU)
Microcomputers use microprocessors, which are manufactured on a single chip, as their CPU.
In larger computers such as supercomputers, mainframe & minicomputers, the processing is carried out by a number of separate, high-speed components instead of a single processor. 2) Processing speed.3) Amount of Main memory (RAM).
All computers have some amount of RAM (Random Access memory), which is used to hold the instructions required to perform a task.
Larger computers have more RAM and therefore can handle large volumes of data & also support many and sophisticated programs which might require large memory sizes. 4) Storage capacity of the Hard disk.
The storage capacity is the amount of space that is available for storing the instructions required to manipulate data.
Larger computers have higher storage capacities than microcomputers. 5) Cost of the computer.
The cost of computers is directly related to the size. Microcomputers are less costly compared to minicomputers, mainframes or Supercomputers.
6) Speed of Output devices.
The speed of an output device is determined by the amount of information that can be printed in a specified amount of time.
The speed of microcomputer output device is less than that of the larger computers in that: For a microcomputer, the speed of its output device is measured by the number of characters printed per second (cps). For larger computers, their output devices are faster and their speeds are measured depending on the number of lines or pages printed per minute (lpm / ppm). 7) Number of users who can access the computer at the same time.
Most microcomputers can support only 1, 2 or 3 users at the same time. However, they can be networked to share resources.
Larger computers can support hundreds of users at the same time. ADVANTAGES OF COMPUTERS
Computers have many advantages over other types of office and business equipment that are used for data processing functions. Some of the advantages are:
1) Computers process data faster:
The processing speed of a computer when measured against other devices like typewriters & calculators is far much higher.
2) Computers are more accurate & reliable:
Computers produce more accurate results as long as the correct instructions & data are entered. They also have the ability to handle numbers with many decimal places.
3) Computers are more efficient:
A computer requires less effort to process data as compared to human beings or other machines.
4) Computers can quickly and effectively store & retrieve large amounts of data.
computers have the capacity to hold, retrieve and process large volumes of data when compared to other devices and humans. their memory is also expandable and faster to retrieve.
5) They are very economical when saving information, for it can conserve a lot of space.
computers makes it cheaper to save information per area required to save same information as compared to manual systems such as file cabinets. A small chip can save lots and lots of information thus saving on the cost to acquire more space.
6) Computers occupy very little office space.
computers are not bulky. they can fit in a small office, a desk, lap or palm. This attribute makes it easier and convenient while working with them
7) Computers help to reduce paper work significantly.
computers don't require paper work to manipulate and display information.
8) Computers are flexible:
A computer can perform a variety of jobs as long as there is a well-defined procedure.
9) Computers are cheap:
They can be used to perform a number of organizational functions/ activities, which are meant for individual persons, hence reducing the number of employees & the costs.
10) Computers enhance security & confidentiality:
Data stored in a computer can be protected from unauthorized individuals.
11) Have made communication easier.
calls, e-mailing, e-conferencing, chats and others are as a result of computers. These resources have made communication easier and faster.
12) Computers produce better information:
Computer output is usually tidy and error-free (accurate).
13) Computers reduce the problems of data or information duplication:
data duplication are now things of the past. Computers have special software packages such as DBMS- Database Management Systems that ensures the integrity, validity and correctness of data.
14) Computers can operate in risky environments,
e.g. volcanic sites, dangerous chemical plants, where human life is threatened:
DISADVANTAGES OF USING COMPUTERS.1) Computers are very costly in terms of purchase & maintenance.
computers are expensive to acquire and maintain when compared to other processing devices
2) Computers can only be used areas where there is source of power.
This is because microcomputers such as laptops and palmtops have inbuilt batteries that power them in the absence of power. These batteries automatically charge when power is connected to the computer and act as a backup in its absence.
3) Requires skilled manpower to operate, i.e., one has to have some knowledge so as to operate a computer.
This is very true. An illiterate person may not be able to operate a computer this is because computers require special skill in order to use them and these skills can be acquired in computer schools and other areas where computers are taught.
4) The records are usually kept in a form that is not visible or human-readable.
Computer process, store and transmit information in a language that humans cannot be able understand. Thanks to binary and assembly languages. The use of machine language to program computers makes programming complicated and expensive. Data in these forms are difficult to understand and manipulate.
5) A computer, like any other machine can break down.
Just like other tools and machines, Computers can breakdown, wear and tear. They can also be destroyed easily by dust, liquids, power surge and magnetic fields.
6) Information stored in computers can easily get lost due to power interruptions or machine breakdown.
The information stored in computers can easily be lost if there are no measures to protect it such as creation of backups, installing anti-malware programs and ensuring that only regulated power enters into the computer.
7) A computer doesn’t have its own intelligence, i.e., it cannot do any useful job on its own, but can only work as per the set of instructions issued.
Computer's intelligence is limited to the instructions its is issued with. It cannot create its own intelligence to work with; however modern computers with the help of artificial intelligence can be able to learn human -like features with lots of data at place and be able to adjust and create its own intelligence systems.
8) Installation of computers causes retraining or retrenchment of staff/ employees.
Computer cause job loses, job displacement and replacement at work places this is because to do some jobs that humans can do or can't do, and they do better than humans and can't complain, they don't require salaries neither do they pay taxes. Employers prefer computers to humans in order to maximize profits.
9) The computer technology is changing very fast such that the already bought computers could be made obsolete/ out dated in the next few years.
The technology used to manufacture and run computers, hardware and software resources respectively change with times and change very fast. This calls for replacement of machines in order to enhance efficiency.
These changes leads to extra costs, training and adaptability that leads to temporary instability in work places. In addition, this rapid change in the computer technology makes computers & related facilities to become outdated very fast, hence posing a risk of capital loss. 10) Computers have led to increase in insecurity such as computer crimes especially in Banks, terrorism, social sites etc.
The computer criminals steal large amounts of funds belonging to various companies by transferring them out of their company accounts illegally. In addition, they destroy vital data used in running the companies or siphon information from firms for sale.
Use of computers to share and source information can also be a disaster especially for people who can use that information to destroy the world. Information such as 'how to acquire guns', 'how to make bombs' 'how to kill or commit suicide are not worthwhile sharing. But this information is now readily available in computers. Understanding RISC AS A TYPE OF PROCESSOR
RISC is a type of processor which simply means
R - Reduced I - instruction S - Set C – Computer
When computers process, they require a microprocessor for the task, this microprocessor also requires instructions in order to operate.
The instructions are written in a language that only the computer can understand, basically in the form of binary and assembly languages coded in schemes such as ASCII – American Standard Code for Information Interchange and EBCDIC – Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code. 
Processor Architecture
The idea was to make microprocessor changes that were more independent of coding schemes since instructions require more equipment.
The more the instructions the slow the processing speed simply because more instructions require additional circuitry and transistors which makes the whole process complicated, difficult to setup, additional power consumption, rising of heat during processing and additional circuitry means more path links (buses).
In 1974 John Cocke of IBM Research in Yorktown, New York, originated the RISC concept by proving that about 20% of the instructions in a computer did 80% of the work. The term itself (RISC) is credited to David Patterson, a teacher at the University of California in Berkeley. The concept was used in Sun Microsystems' SPARC microprocessors and led to the founding of what is now MIPS Technologies (MIPS - millions of instructions per second), part of Silicon Graphics. A number of current microchips now use the RISC concept.
The first computer to benefit from this discovery was IBM's PC/XT in 1980. Later, IBM's RISC System/6000, made use of the idea.
Discovery of RISC led to a more thoughtful architecture of microprocessors such as how well an instruction can be mapped to the clock speed of the microprocessor this led to the improvement of microprocessor manufacture and design. Advantages of RISC
CategoriesJoin our Whatsapp Notifications and Newsletterstouch here COURTESY OF ATIKA SCHOOL All OUTPUT DEVICES
Output devices are those devices that play the following roles:
EXAMPLES OF OUTPUT DEVICES
CategoriesJoin our Whatsapp Notifications and Newsletterstouch here COURTESY OF ATIKA SCHOOL All EXAMPLES OF COMPUTER INPUT DEVICESINTRODUCTION
Computer input devices are those devices that perform the following functions with a computer:
EXAMPLES OF INPUT DEVICES
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CategoriesJoin our Whatsapp Notifications and Newsletterstouch here COURTESY OF ATIKA SCHOOL All DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MICRO-COMPUTERS AND MAINFRAME COMPUTERS
CategoriesJoin our Whatsapp Notifications and Newsletterstouch here COURTESY OF ATIKA SCHOOL All THE TYPES AND FUNCTIONS OF MEMORY DATA REGISTERS (MDR)INSTRUCTION REGISTER
Instruction Register Instructions register (IR) is used to store the instruction currently being executed or decoded.
ACCUMULATOR
Accumulator or An accumulator is a register for short -term . intermediate storage of arithmetic and logic data in a computer’s CPU (central processing unit).
STORAGE REGISTER
Storage Register Holds a piece of data that is on its way to and from the CPU and the main memory.
ADDRESS REGISTER
The Memory Address Register (MAR) is a CPU register that either stores the memory address from which data will be fetched to the CPU or the address to which data will be sent and stored.
CategoriesJoin our Whatsapp Notifications and Newsletterstouch here COURTESY OF ATIKA SCHOOL All DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HARD COPY AND SOFT COPY OUTPUT DEVICESOutput from the computer can normally be in several forms. Give the difference between the following methods.(2Marks)
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#
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SOFTCOPY
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HARDCOPY
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1
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it is intangible
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it is tangible
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2
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it is flexible in editing
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cannot be easily edited
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3
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does not require stationery
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requires stationery
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4
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they are cheap to produce
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they are expensive to produce
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5
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easily transmissible
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difficult to distribute
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6
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requires electrical signals to use
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after printing does not require electrical signals
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7
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has no mass
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has mass
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All
1998
1998 KCSE
1999
APPLICATIONS AREAS OF ICT
Career Opportunities In ICT
COMPUTER SYSTEMS
DATABASE
DATA PROCESSING
DATA SECURITY AND CONTROLS
ELEMENTARY PROGRAMMING PRINCIPLES
FIELD
FILE
FORM 1
FORM 2
FORM 3
FORM 4
IMPACT OF I.C.T ON SOCIETY
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTERS
INTRODUCTION TO NETWORKING AND DATA COMMUNICATION
KCSE 2018
KCSE QUESTIONS 1998
KCSE QUESTIONS 2007
MIND BLOWING Q & A
MOCKS
Operating System
OPERATING SYSTEMS
OUTPUT DEVICES
PROGRAM DESIGN
RECORD
REVISION KITS
SPREADSHEET
SPREADSHEETS
STORAGE DEVICES
SYSTEM DESIGN
THE COMPUTER LABORATORY
WORD PROCESSORS
FREE KCSE PAST PAPERS 2018: COMPUTER STUDIES FORM 1 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
State two reasons for the increased use of laptop computers in government offices. (2 marks)
- They are small and fit in a small storage space.
- They are light weight hence can be carried to areas where their services are required.
- The monitor, system unit, keyboard units are attached together hence making its use to be convenient.
- Rechargeable / backup battery.
- Any of these or correct answer had 1 mark each.
- Any of the two correct answers regardless of the arrangement scored 2 marks.
Computer network technicians prefer to use command-line based operating system when configuring networks. State three reasons for the preference. (3 marks)
- They do not take up a lot of memory hence boot faster than the GUI OS.
- They have direct access or most hardware devices.
- They are cheaper to acquire as some can be downloaded free of charge.
- They can run on lower —bit hardware systems such as 32-bit computers.
- Any of these or correct answer had 1 mark each.
- Any of the three correct answers regardless of the arrangement scored 3 marks.
State three measures that should be put in place in a computer laboratory to safeguard users’ health. (3 marks)
- All power cables must be insulated and hidden from users.
- The furniture used must be of standard computer furniture.
- The room should be lit with adequate lighting.
- The room must be ventilated.
- Computer monitor should be fitted with antiglare to filter excess light rays emanating from the monitor.
- Avoid slippery floors/cemented floors.
- Controlling dust.
- Any of these or correct answer had 1 mark each.
- Any of the three correct answers regardless of the arrangement scored 3 marks.
State three ways in which barcode readers may be used in schools. (3 marks)
- To take inventory of items in the school.
- To keep track of employee login log out.
- Used to transact business in the library.
- Used to keep track of movement of goods.
- Any of these or correct answer had 1 mark each.
- Any of the three correct answers regardless of the arrangement scored 3 marks.
State three advantage of flat panel monitors over cathode ray tube monitors as used in computers. (3 marks)
- They are compact and light weight;
- They consume less power;
- They do not suffer from geometrical distortions;
- They do not cause eye fatigue.
- They support many advanced technologies;
- They can be made in almost any size and shape;
- They support higher resolution.
- Low heat radiation.
- Any of these or correct answer had 1 mark each.
- Any of the three correct answers regardless of the arrangement scored 3 marks.
State three possible reasons for the extinction of daisy wheel printers in the market. (3 marks)
- They supported one font size and font face;
- They were monochrome printers;
- They produced noise while printing;
- They were very slow;
- Did not print graphics.
- Had poor print quality.
- Any of these or correct answer had 1 mark each.
- Any of the three correct answers regardless of the arrangement scored 3 marks.
State three ways in which an operating system secures a computer system. (3 mark)
- Access controls: Authentication of users in order to access files;
- Performing regular patches of updates;
- Creating secure accounts with required privileges;
- Scrutinizing all incoming and outgoing packets of data through a firewall;
- Encryption of data, during the transmission stage;
- Password / biometric analysis;
- Log files to detect any breach.
- Any of these or correct answer had 1 mark each.
- Any of the three correct answers regardless of the arrangement scored 3 marks.
A law firm prefers to use hard copy output over soft copy output when handling documents for legal matters. State two reasons for this preference. (2 marks)
- They are acceptable as exhibit in cases of litigation.
- Can be used without a computer.
- They are difficult to change without leaving any trace.
- They can be used without power.
- They can be used without the experience of computer usage.
- Any of these or correct answer had 1 mark each.
- Any of the two correct answers regardless of the arrangement scored 2 marks.
Distinguish between real-time operating system and distributed operating system. (3 marks)
- Real-time OS reads information from input devices and must respond within a short duration of time to ensure correct performance.
- Distributed OS distributes computation among several physical processors which do not share memory or clock.
- Three marks for clear differences between real-time and distributed OS
Analysis of form 1 questions in kcse 2018 computer studies paper 1
Weight of form 1 marks vs total marks in KCSE 2018 computer studies paper 1
- 25 marks were carried from form 1 representing 25% of all paper 1 marks
How marks were distributed across all form 1 topics
- Introduction to Computers - 5 marks
- The Computer System - 11 marks
- The Operating System - 9 marks
Advice to Users
Categories
All
1998
1998 KCSE
1999
APPLICATIONS AREAS OF ICT
Career Opportunities In ICT
CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS
COMPUTER SYSTEMS
DATABASE
DATA PROCESSING
DATA SECURITY AND CONTROLS
ELEMENTARY PROGRAMMING PRINCIPLES
FIELD
FILE
FORM 1
FORM 2
FORM 3
FORM 4
IMPACT OF I.C.T ON SOCIETY
INPUT DEVICES
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTERS
INTRODUCTION TO NETWORKING AND DATA COMMUNICATION
KCSE 2018
KCSE QUESTIONS 1998
KCSE QUESTIONS 2007
MIND BLOWING Q & A
MOCKS
Operating System
OPERATING SYSTEMS
OUTPUT DEVICES
PROCESSING DEVICES
PROCESSORS
PROGRAM DESIGN
RECORD
REGISTERS
REVISION KITS
SPREADSHEET
SPREADSHEETS
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SYSTEM DESIGN
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WORD PROCESSORS
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