Computer Studies 11 Laboratory Activity #1

      1. How do computers use the binary system?

 -- Computers use the binary system to store information. This system is composed of the digits 1 and 0 which reflect the on and off states of the many transistors that make up the computer's processor. These streams of numbers are kind of like the instructions that tell the computer what to do or execute.

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2. The digital divide puts those that have access to technology on one side and those that do not on the other. Do you feel that it is the right of everyone to have access to technology? Why?

 -- Yes, it is the right of everyone to have access to technology. In the modern world, technology can already be considered a need rather than a want. Having no access to technology can put other people at a disadvantage, hence everyone must be granted the right to benefit from technology. 

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      3.  Recently, you purchased a USB flash drive that you plan to store school-related files. When you attempt to store a file on the USB flash drive, the computer displays an error message indicating that the file will not fit. How could a brand new USB flash drive not have enough room to store the first file you attempted to store on it?

-- This can only mean one thing and that is the flash drive does not have enough storage space to accommodate your file. Your file may have a larger file size compared to the specified storage space your flash drive was designed to handle.

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      4. You downloaded an image from the internet and then printed it. The image looked great on your computer screen, but when you printed it, it’s either printed at the size of a postage stamp or at a decent size but looked blurry or blocky. What could be causing the problem? What can you do to make sure that the photos you download off the internet are just as high quality when printed as photos you took yourself with your digital camera?

      -- There are two types of image files—bitmap and vector.

      Bitmap images are composed of colored grids or squares (pixels) each with their own binary value while a vector uses coordinates in mathematical formula to define the image.

      When bitmap images are stretched, no new information is added.  Only that the individual pixel it contains becomes enlarged creating a blurry or blocky image.

      Vector image files, on the other hand, are scalable without risking their quality because they, as stated above, use mathematical formulas to define the image which is far more flexible.

 It could be that the picture you downloaded was a bitmap file. When seen on a computer screen the image may look fine but when printed on the actual size of the paper the image is stretched therefore losing its visual quality.

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5. You recently bought the Villains album of Queens Of The Stone Age at 7digital.com. The songs in the album are 24-bit/96kHz FLAC files. You tried playing the songs on Windows Media Player. However, WMP can’t play your FLAC files.  What is your next step? 

-- Audio files can be encoded in different formats.The different formats provide their own way of compressing audio files which is done to save storage space.

Your next step would be finding a different audio player which supports the type of format that your audio is encoded with or convert your audio files into a format that Windows Media Player supports.

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sources used:
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/topics/zd2xsbk
  http://www.ne14design.co.uk/articles/bitmaps_vectors.htm