Benjamin/Cummings Pub. Co. - Menlo Park, CA
0-8053-0662-5 * Paperback * 466 pages * © 1996

PREFACE

An important theme is connectivity. We offer two new features about connecting computers and people. The first feature is a box in each chapter titled Making the Right Connections. These boxes describe people using computers to connect to the larger world in some way. The second feature, found at the end of each chapter, is called Planet Internet. This feature presents information about the Internet and its contents. Particular focus is on the World Wide Web. Chapter 5, "Communications," includes a broad discussion of the Internet.

The fourth edition retains all of the elements that have made this book a best-seller since the first edition. We have updated material and added new features. This book and its related learning materials offer students everything they need to make computers a part of their own everyday living.

New and Updated in the Fourth Edition

For those of you who used the third edition of this book, you can note these changes. There are substantive discussions of networking operating systems, Windows 95, and object-oriented programming. The personal computer is usually emphasized first followed, when appropriate, by information about large computers. The Buyer's Guide has been updated to indicate current offerings and buying trends. The Macintosh boxes have been rewritten. Personal Computers in Action boxes have been replaced with the more significant Making the Right Connections boxes. Also, One Jump Ahead boxes, a look to the future, have taken the place of the Perspectives boxes.

We also reordered the chapters to suit more of your needs in the SELECT program. The three applications chapters on word processing, spreadsheets, and database management have been moved to the last three chapters so the text can be used with or without them, depending on your own class needs. They were Chapters 9, 10, and 11 and are now Chapters 13, 14, and 15, respectively. Chapters 13, 14, and 15 have been rewritten to present the core ideas on these topics generically; the chapters may be used independently with the text or in conjunction with matching SELECT modules. And, finally, the text now incorporates a study guide for the student with answers at the end of each chapter.

Organization of the Text

• The opening Photo Essay gives students a feeling for the exciting world of computers and shows how people can use them.
• Part 1, "Hardware Tools," explores computer hardware, including coverage of the central processing unit, input/output, storage, and communications.
• Part 2, "Software Tools," looks at software, including programming and languages, operating systems, and systems analysis and design.
• Part 3, "Workplace Tools," examines how computers are used in the work environment; management of information systems; security, privacy, and ethics; and expert systems, robotics, and virtual reality.
• Part 4, "Hands-On Tools," includes three chapters on applications: word processing and desktop publishing, spreadsheets and business graphics, and database management systems. These applications are presented in a generic manner to introduce students to the concepts of these applications without teaching commands specific to software packages.
• Appendixes are offered on programming, the history of computing, and number systems.

Key Themes

• Connectivity. We place a strong emphasis on showing how people and computers connect to other people and computers through wide area networks, local area networks, information utilities, and the Internet. We show this in varied waysÑthrough discussions, photos, and the features of Making the Right Connections and Planet Internet.
• Focus on computers in business settings. We provide several features that focus on the uses of computers in the business environment. Each chapter begins with a story, in which it is shown how individuals from a variety of business situations use computers on the job. Many of the photos are specifically chosen for what they convey about computers in business environments. Part 3, "Workplace Tools," is devoted to issues of current interest in business computing. Topics include large and small computers as well as networked ones; the role of the information systems manager; security, privacy, and ethics as issues in the workplace; and modern trends in the workplace such as expert systems, robotics, and virtual reality.

Special Features

• Appealing style. When students enjoy what they read, they remember it. The text's friendly style encourages students to read and increases their comprehension. For example, each chapter begins with an engaging story that leads the student into the material. The real-world applications included throughout the text pique student interest as well as illustrate key points from the chapter.
• Multimedia gallery.This color photo essay provides an in-depth look at multimedia and what it has to offer.
• Planet Internet. This end-of-chapter feature offers students Internet access through a web site especially developed by the publisher for this text. They will be given some background for each web site they connect to and instruction for how to access it. For those students who do not have access to the Internet, the information is complete enough in each box to learn something about it without going online.
• Buyer's Guide. Students and their families are making important economic decisions about the purchase of a computer for their educational, personal, and business needs. This concise eight-page guide offers students information to aid hardware and software purchases.
• Computer Graphics gallery. This color photo layout vividly shows the sophistication of computer graphics.
• Making Microchips gallery and Computers at Work gallery. These color photo layouts vividly show how microprocessors are made and how computers are commonly and not-so-commonly used in the workplace.
• Making the Right Connections. Each chapter includes a feature article on linking computers to people or to information. The articles range from reaching the Nature Conservancy online to children in Wisconsin using the Internet to talk with pen pals in all 50 states in the United States.
• One Jump Ahead. To give students a glimpse of the new directions computer technology is taking, each chapter provides a brief essay that focuses on issues and trends in the world of computing. Examples include using the computer to research and buy consumer goods and how robots may do our vacuuming and yard work in the near future.
• Chapter Review and Student Study Guide. To encourage students to review concepts and to confirm their comprehension of the material (as well as not having to buy another book), each chapter now concludes with a study guide. The Chapter Review provides an end-of-chapter summary of core concepts and key terms, followed by Discussion Questions, and a Student Study Guide that includes multiple-choice, true/false, and completion questions. The answers to all questions are provided at the end of the study guide.
• Margin notes. To further engage the student, margin notes are carefully placed throughout the text. The margin notes extend the text material by providing additional information and highlighting interesting applications of computers.
• The Macintosh computer is highlighted in six chapters through brief discussions of Macintosh applications and procedures. Topics covered include the wise use of disk space, America Online, GUI interface, desktop publishing software, graphics, and HyperCard.

In-Text Learning Aids

• At the beginning of each chapter, learning objectives provide key concepts for students.
• Key terms are boldfaced throughout the text.
• A Chapter Review offers a summary of core concepts and boldfaced key terms.
• Discussion Questions encourage students to take what has been presented in the chapter and discuss it more thoroughly.
• The Student Study Guide gives students three types of questions (multiple choice, true/false, and completion) that they can answer to check their comprehension of essential concepts. All answers are provided for the student at the end of the chapter.
• An extensive Glossary and comprehensive Index are included.