Computers and the Environment

According to a United Nations study, producing a computer is more materials-intensive than manufacturing an automobile. Extending the lifespan of your computer might be environmentally friendly, but keeping up with technology probably means replacing your computer every few years. When it is time to replace your computer, is there a way to do it in an environmentally safe way? In this world of rapidly changing technology, disposal of computers and other electronic equipment has created a new and growing waste stream. In the United States alone, almost eight printer cartridges are discarded every second. Landfills hold millions of tons toxic substances such as lead, cadmium and mercury.

Is it worth recycling obsolete computers? Then the question arises: Who pays? Should it be the taxpayer, the individual consumer, the retailer, or the computer manufacturer? Consumers buying computers in California, have to pay a recycling fee at the time of purchase. Maryland requires computer manufacturers to ante up an annual fee for electronic waste disposal. Some manufacturers provide their customers with a postage-paid shipping box so they can return the product for recycling. In Europe, legislation proposes to make manufacturers accept returns of their old equipment free of charge and take appropriate steps to recycle it.

Having no or vague laws, consumers are often confused about how to dispose of their unwanted computers, monitors, CDs, and ink cartridges.

What do you think?

1. Have you ever thrown away an old computer or other electronic device?

2. Are you aware of any option for recycling electronic equipment in your area?

3. Would it be fair for consumers to pay a recycling tax on any electronic

equipment that they purchase?

Final Test. Do the tasks in the following test.

1. ___ is permanent, non-volatile, typically used to store a computer’s startup routine.

a) RAM b) ROM c) CMOS d) SDRAM

2. ___ storage devices store data in a non-volatile, erasable, low-power chip.

a) optical b) magnetic c) solid state d) none of the above

3. RAM is considered to be volatile memory because ___.

a) it sporadically loses information b) it requires electrical power to hold data

c) data stored in it can randomly duplicate itself d) it’s measured in GB

4. Data stored in a special high-speed memory, called ___, can be accessed more rapidly than data from memory located elsewhere on the system board.

a) clock speed b) word size c) cache d) instruction set

5. All of the following are examples of storage medium except ___.

a) a CD b) paper c) a keyboard d) a DVD

6. Storage device that stores data as pits and lands is referred to as ___.

a) tape b) floppy disk c) CD-ROM d) hard drive

7. 1s and 0s are referred to as ___ digits.

8. An expansion ___ is any connector that passes data in and out of a computer or peripheral device.

9. Many of today’s microprocessors use ___ processing, which allows them to execute multiple instructions at the same time.

10. A ___ circuit is also known as a computer chip or microchip. It is a very thin slice of semi-conducting material packed with microscopic circuit elements.

11. Prior to processing data is copied from a storage device into ___.

12. Every action that is performed by a microprocessor is measured in ___, the smallest unit of measurement used by microprocessors.

13. ___ in RAM are microscopic electronic parts that hold the bits that represent data.

14. The word “bit” and the lowercase letter “b” are abbreviations for “binary___”.

15. The ROM ___ is a set of instructions which tells the computer how to access the hard disk, find the operating system, and load the operating system into RAM.

16. The ___ for a machine code instruction specify the data for the operation.

17. Data travels from one component to another over circuits called a data ___.

18. The process of retrieving data from a storage medium is referred to as “___ data” or “opening a file”.

19. Data which is composed of letters, symbols, and numerals that is not used in arithmetic operations is called ___ data.

20. The two main components of a storage system are a storage device and a ___.

Projects. Choose and perform one of the projects given.

1. Write a two- to five-page paper about recycling computers. To begin this project, consult the text from Critical Thinking. Then determine the specific aspect of the issue you will present in your paper. You might, for example, decide to focus on toxic materials that end up in landfills or barriers that discourage shipping old computers across national borders. Whatever aspect of the issue you present, make sure you can back up your discussion with facts and references to authoritative articles and Web pages.

2. Work in groups of three or four. Select a digital device (e.g. a printer, scanner, digital camera, digital music player, etc.), and create promotional materials for a tradeshow booth featuring your “product”. You might include a product photo, list of specifications, a short instruction manual. Present your sales pitch or demonstration to the rest of the class.

Unit 3. COMPUTER SOFTWARE

Text A

Reading. Read the text and try to guess the meaning of the words in bold. Check your variants in the dictionary.

SOFTWARE BASICS

Software: the inside story

Computer software determinesthe types of tasks a computer can help you accomplish. Some software helps you create documents; while other software helps you edit home videos, prepare your tax return or design the floor plan for a new house.

The instructions that tell a computer how to carry out a task are referred to as a computer program. These programs form the software that prepares a computer to do a specific task, such as document production, video editing, graphic design or Web browsing. In popular usage the term “software” refers to one or more computer programs and any additional files that are providedto carry out a specific type of task. Whether it’s on a CD or downloaded from the Web, today’s software is typically composed ofmany files. You might be surprised by the number of files that are necessary to make software work. At least one of the files included in a software package contains an executable program designed to be launched, or started, by users. On PCs, these programs are storedin files that typically have .exe file extensions and are referred to as “executable files”. Other files supplied with a software package contain programs that are not designed to be run by users. These “support programs” contain instructions for the computer to use in conjunction with the main user-executable file. A support program can be activated by the main program as needed. Support programs often have file extensions such as .dll and .ocx.

In addition to program files, many software packages also include data files. As you might expect, these files contain any data that is necessary for a task, but not supplied by the user, such as Help documentation. The data files supplied with a software package sport files extensions such as .txt, .bmp, and .hlp. (see fig. 2):

The use of a main user-executable file plus several support programs and data files offers a great flexibility and efficiency for software developers. Support programs and data files from existing programs can usually be modified by developers for other programs without changing the main executable file. This modular approachcan reducethe time required to create and test the main executable file, which usually contains a long and fairly complex program. This modular approach also allows software developers to reuse their support programs in multiple software products and adapt preprogrammed support modules for use in their own software. Modular programming techniques are of interest mainly to people who create computer programs; however these techniques affect the process of installing and uninstalling software. It is important, therefore, to remember that computer software consists of many files that contain user-executable programs, support programs, and data.

Programmers and programming languages

Computer programmers write computer programs that become the components of a computer software product. The finished software product is then distributed by the programmers or by software publishers– companies that specialize in marketing and selling software. Today most businesses and organizations purchase commercial software to avoid the time and expense of writing their own.

Most software provides a task-related environment, which includes a screen display, a means of collecting commands and data from the user, the specifications for processing data, and a method for displaying or outputting data. To create a software environment, a programmer must define propertiesfor each element in the environment, such as where the objects appear, its shape, color and behavior.

A programming language provides the tools a programmer uses to create software and produce a lengthy list of instructions, called source code, which defines the software environment in every detail – what it looks like, how the user enters commands, and how it manipulates data. Most programmers today prefer to use a high-level language, such as C++, Java, Ada, COBOL, or Visual Basic. These languages have some similarities to human languages and produce programs that are fairly easy to test and modify.

A computer’s microprocessor understands only machine language– the instruction set that is “hard wired” within the microprocessor’s circuits. Therefore, instructions written in a high-level language must be translated into machine language before a computer can use them. The process of translating instructions can be accomplished by two special types of programs: compilers and interpreters. A compilertranslates all the instructions in a program as a single batch, and the resulting machine language instructions, called object code, are placed in a new file. Most of the program files on a distribution CD for commercial software are compiled so that they contain machine language instructions that are ready for the processor to execute. As an alternative to a compiler, an interpreter converts one instruction at a time while the program is running. An interpreter reads the first instruction, converts it into machine language, and then sends it to the microprocessor. After the instruction is executed, the interpreter converts the next instruction, and so on.

Software is categorized as application software or system software. The primary purposeof application software is to help people carry out tasks using a computer. In contrast, the primary purpose of system software – your computer’s operating system, device drivers, programming languages, and utilities – is to help the computer to carry out its basic operating functions.

Software can be classified into categories (see fig. 3):

Fig. 3: Software categories

Comprehension check. Mark the following statements as True or False.

1. Computer software typically consists of many files that contain user-executable programs, support programs and data files.

2. The main executable file provides the primary set of instructions for the computer to execute and calls various support programs and data files as needed.

3. Support programs often have file extensions such as .txt, .bmp, and .hlp.

4. Individuals often write software for their personal computers.

5. High-level languages are fairly easy to test and modify.

6. A compiler converts high-level instructions into a new file containing machine language instructions.

Vocabulary practice

1. In the text find the synonyms to the given words.

start a program objective define method decrease provide perform

2. Fill in the blanks choosing from the variants given.

1. The instructions that tell a computer how to … a task are referred to as a computer program.

a) require b) create c) carry out d) define

2. A programming language … tools for creating a lengthy list of instructions called source code.

a) prefer b) refer to c) avoid d) provide

3. As a program is running an interpreter converts one instruction… into machine language.

a) at a time b) at the same time c) all the time

4. eVidpro.exe is a compiled program, so its instructions are immediately … by the processor.

a) provided b) modified c) executed d) adapted

5. Software includes menus, buttons, and other control objects that are … by a programmer, who designates their properties.

a) converted b) defined c) reduced d) purchased

6. The software that provides the computer with … for each use is called application software.

a) approaches b) efficiency c) utilities d) instructions

3. Make two-word expressions by combining words from two lists: A and B. Then fill in the gaps in the following sentences.

A: a) executable B: language

b) application code

c) machine file

d) source extensions

e) file software

f) high-level instructions

1. When using a Windows PC, you can start an … by clicking its icon, selecting it from a Start menu, or entering its name in the Run dialog box.

2. Computer software can be divided into two major categories: … software and system software.

3. The data files supplied with a software package sport … such as .txt, .bmp, .hlp.

4. A programming language provides tools for creating a lengthy list of instructions called … .

5. A simple instruction to add two numbers becomes a long series of 0s and 1s in a… .

6. A compiler converts … into a file containing machine language instructions.

4. Fill in the gaps in the text.

Software consists of computer _1_ (programs/utilities) and data files that work together to provide a computer with the _2_ (instructions/approaches) and _3_ (data/tools) necessary for carrying out a specific type of task, such as document production, video editing, graphic design, or Web browsing.

To create a software _4_ (efficiency/environment), a programmer must define the _5_ (approaches/properties) for each element in the environment, such as where an object appears, its shape, its color, and its behavior. Most programmers today prefer to use _6_ (high-level/machine) languages. A computer’s microprocessor understands only _7_ (machine/high-level) language, however, so a program that is written in a high-level language must be _8_ (avoided/compiled) or interpreted before it can be _9_ (processed/modified).

Speaking. Discuss the following questions.

1. What is software?

2. What kinds of files are included in a typical software product?

3. Why does software require so many files?

4. How does a programmer “write” software?

5. How does a computer process a program?

6. How is software categorized?

Text B

Reading. Read the text and try to guess the meaning of the words in bold. Check your variants in the dictionary.