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Almost every medium-sized or large company will use computers to help run the office. You will probably have to work with a computer in your day-to-day duties, so you will need to know something about computers and the way they are used. A computer really does make office life easier because it can do all sorts of different jobs.
The same computer could be used, for example, as a word processor, for filing, printing invoices, working out statistics for the accounts department, and communicating with other offices.
When a company decides to install a computer (of any size), it usually gets a systems analyst to study the ways in which the machine might best be used. The system analyst will recommend what kinds of program and computer equipment are required. Programming is for experts. Computer programs are written in languages with names that are usually abbreviations or acronyms: Cobol (Common Business Oriented Language), RPG (Report Program Generator), Fortran (FORmula TRANslator), BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code).
Many companies buy ready-written programs' «off the shelf», or buy programs that can be tailored to specific needs but are mostly standard. This reduces the cost of the system, for programming is very expensive and time-consuming. Once it is installed and running, a well- designed computer system can take over much of the routine (and boring) work and at the same time provide accurate information about the business quickly and efficiently.
In practice, the office computer system may appear to be more complicated. A typical business microcomputer system consists of the computer, fitted with two disk drives, a monitor, and a printer. Microcomputers generally use 5 ¼— or 3 ½-inch disks, which are protected by a square plastic sleeve or pack. In some cases, the computer may require two programs. The list of these is called the operating system. Operating systems have names like CP/M, Unix and MS-DOS. The operating system is really just a program that tells the computer how to control the disk drive, printer, and whatever else is attached. After the operating system is loaded, the main program, which may be on a separate disk, can go in.
Once the program starts up, the screen will tell you what to do. Some programs are more obscure than others. One may say «Put data disk on drive 2», another may say «I/O D2?» which may require the look at the instruction manual for translation. Programs are getting better— more «user-friendly» in this respect. Word processing programs are generally easy to use. It is impossible to harm the computer by pressing the wrong keys. Sometimes microcomputers are linked together in what is called a network.
Notes:
Exercise 1. Read through the text carefully, then answer the following questions.
1. How does a computer make office life easier?
2. Who decides what sort of equipment to install?
3. Do you need to know which language a computer uses?
4. What is the advantage of using ready-written programs?
5. What are the basic components of a microcomputer system?
6. What's an operating system?
7. What information can be found in the instruction manual?
8. What do you think «user-friendly» means?
9. What is a network?
Exercise 2. Match each English term in the left-hand column with the Russian equivalent from the right-hand column and learn these computer terms.
| 1) | microcomputer | a) | устройство ввода |
| 2) | output device | b) | терминалы |
| 3) | peripheral devices | c) | файл |
| 4) | secondary storage | d) | экран дисплея |
| 5) | software | e) | память |
| 6) | data processing | f) | программное обеспечение |
| 7) | keyboard | g) | дискеты |
| 8) | disk driver | h) | микрокомпьютер |
| 9) | hardware | i) | устройство вывода |
| 10) | programming language | j) | дисководы |
| 11) | network | k) | компьютерная сеть |
| 12) | monitor | 1) | клавиатура |
| 13) | file | m) | язык программирования |
| 14) | printer | n) | вторичная память |
| 15) | display screen | o) | обработка данных |
| 16) | memory | P) | монитор |
| 17) | terminals | q) | принтер |
| 18) | input device | r) | периферийные устройства |
| 19) | diskettes | s) | аппаратная часть |
Exercise 3. Study the following computer terms.
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