1.9. Three speakers are describing the equipment they each need. Choose words from the list to complete their descriptions:

e.g. 1=high resolution

3 ½”/High resolution/compatible/high-level/dot matrix/upgradable/non-glare/laser/single/compact

Michael Riccioli, architect

“I want to buy a high-speed computer, so that I can get my reports finished quickly. I need _____(1) colour graphics to make my plans clear to the client. I have to use sophisticated programs so the computer must work with ____(2) software. I need something with an _____(3) memory to make it easy to expand the system.”

Hilary Davies, sales representative

“I need a lightweight computer which I can travel with, which is ____(4) and can be easily carried on the shoulder. It must be ____(5) with my office computer, and must work with a _____(6) printer as we need very high quality printouts.”

Ruben Greenberg, Harvard business student

“I don’t want anything too complicated, a word processor with a _____(7) disk drive will do, for _______(8) disks. I must have a _____(9) screen so that my eyes don’t get tired. I will also need a simple, cheap, ______(10) printer.”

One of the speakers chose this personal computer. By reading the technical specifications, try to work out who it was.

80386 processor

20 MHz

1 Mb RAM

1.44 Mb 3.5” disk drives 65 Mb hard disk

4×16 bit plus 1×8-bit expansion slots

High resolution 14” VGA colour monitor

Latest graphics and word processing packages included

1.10. Using Ex.1.5, 1.7 tell the class about the characteristics of the computer you use or the one you’d like to buy; how do you protect your computer from viruses?

1.11. Read and divide the text into some parts. Give a title to each part: Computer Revolution

Nowadays, we cannot imagine our life without computers and the fact is that they have become so important that nothing can replace them. Since 1948 when the first computer was invented our life has changed so much that we can call it the period of digital revolution.

First computers differed from today's ones. They were so huge that some occupied 1-2 rooms or a building. But they were relatively slow. To better understand the very fast development of computer technology let's look back at some of the first stages of a progress. Computing devices were constructed in the 1930s and 1940s by Claude Shannon They had flexible programmability. Nowadays computers may also be as huge as the old ones but they are millions times faster. They are used mainly for complex operations to solve multipurpose tasks. Thanks to them people have access to enormous amount of information.

The next important stage in developing computer technology is the year of 1980. In this year a special team of IBM Company developed the first PC (Personal Computer). The operating system for this PCs was developed by very young talented programmers Bill Gates and Paul Allen, founders of Microsoft. The first PCs were very expensive and had a memory of 16k, ran with a processor speed 4.77 Mhz. Within the period of 10 years the Company has successfully upgraded the most important characteristics of PCs. Moreover the cost of buying a PC considerably decreased contributing greatly to its popularity. A PC became a commodity item and it has become the machine people can't deal with both at work and at home.

Computer technology changes fast, but a desktop PC (personal computer) usually has a tower, a separate monitor, a keyboard and a mouse. The CPU, modem, CD-ROM and floppy disk drives are usually inside the tower. A notebook is a portable computer with all these components inside one small unit. Notebooks have a screen, not a monitor, and are usually more expensive than desktops with similar specifications. It is also has a built-in speakers, keyboard, a web-camera, a microphone and some other devices.