MICROCOMPUTERS – AN INTRODUCTION

[Music] [Applause] [Music] remember Jennifer your cousin Jeff is coming on the three o'clock bus please tell him we're sorry we couldn't be here but the Kelley's are desperate for help with their new cold Gus will be here and you know how to reach us now don't forget to be out there to meet Jeff Jennifer did you hear me I won't forget bye now bye bye hon bye mom [Music] I guess I'll mostly miss all my friends and it's kind of boring on the farm I'm sure you're going [Music] ask Jeff if his chess game has improved since last September no we can play on the micro hi hello Jennifer what's new mom and dad bought you microcomputers to microcomputers yeah to help run things around the farm to help how do micro computers help around a farm well first of all a micro or small computer is just another machine a special type of electronic machine that works with information like numbers they should have saved their money and bought a cheap adding machine oh it's better than an adding machine it can do Matt really remember words and numbers show pictures and move them around multiply and divide and it can combine change and compare information we call information data I don't need a dumb machine to do those things well I can add and subtract multiply and divide 2 and read words and compare information data well maybe but a computer is a lot faster than any human if you remember figures a long time and we call them just about instantly and it doesn't have to be told what to do every second it could do more arithmetic in an hour than I could do with the pencil and paper in a whole lifetime with no mistake ok ok but how does it help around the farm and what do you need 2 of them right folks use one for business records billing their customers figuring taxes paying the bills ordering supplies keeping inventory it's small and saves us enough money that we can afford another one to run pumps fans lights fire alarms and switches out in the barn it also checks the locks and keeps track of all the electricity we use all day and all night I even get to use the first one for homework writing letters and playing neat games with my parents and Friends that's why these micro computers are also called personal computers ma a personal helper and they don't cost a fortune some are very inexpensive and they make smaller versions all the time no that's interesting do you think you could teach me to use one tell me about computers please don't leave out anything I've got to know would you like to be a pallet but time with me to show how to get the thing to handle even one command or multiplying numbers I just have to understand I'll teach you what I've learned at home and at school and I can show you some of the things that we use our computers for in the house and the barn will I get to use one we interrupt this with a news bulletin Ruth Leigh Middletown Bank has been robbed robbed yes robbed by a masked gunman with broad shoulders wearing a powder blue jumpsuit last seen driving a sporty red car with license plate starting with the letters me are we now return to the musical portion hmm the police could use a computer to help catch that robber it can even catch crooks if we figure out how that's been how long the crooks been driving they could get an idea how far away the computer is gonna figure out where the crook is just from that now the computer will give some useful data very quickly right that instant recall you mentioned so the police can use the computer's data along with the human catchment people do the thinking huh yep I'll have to train cars with someone so the police won't spot maybe one of these farms [Music] this is it how does that little box do all those things there are several parts of the computer that work together to do everything input devices to let you put in data central processing unit the brain memories for storage communication lines known as buses and finally output to let you see the computers results here the keyboard is brand put see when you type the computer changes what you type into coded signals and sends the coach to the central processing unit that's the part that makes decisions mm-hmm inside the computer there are a lot of very special parts called chips a processing chip can work with data do things like o compare two pieces of data or add or subtract other chips are made to be memory chips these keep track of all the information that computer uses each piece of the information is stored in its own place in the computer's memory chips well how does the information get around among communication lines special circuits that let all the parts and signals back and forth ah that's why they're called buses you got it on this one the screen shows the output right hmm and it can also send it over here to the printer if you want the data recorded on paper it's like a tiny railroad switching yard the boxcars carry data around but the tracks can send the cars different places where they can unload pick up new data and then go somewhere else nothing like that you said this computer actually works a lot of things out in the barn yeah Ede wanted to have a computer control the lights and the fire extinguishers and fans and pumps some locks and alarms but the computers here in the house connected to the barn through the telephone line oh yeah it's a lot easier for us to have the computer here inside the house maybe if I could see the things of the barn would make a lot more sense okay the computer reads a dial out here then sends a signal through the phone wires if some change is needed right let's say guts closes a door in the barn the computer lets us know if it's locked court of account that's loose and knocks open a stall the computer can flash a signal or something inside the house you mean that computer is running all the time yeah it never gets tired as long as we have electricity you electricity yeah see the signals travel between the computer and the switches in the barn at the speed of light yeah electricity and inside the computer too and even though it takes a long set of instructions a program each step is very simple and takes only a few millionths of a second I see the computer just takes a little tiny split-second to check the whole program are there things here that the computer controls are those part of the sprinkler system yeah the pipes of the little round thing and that flashing smoke detector is connected to the computer to in a fire the nozzles with spray foam the stalls open up to let the cows out and the computer sends an alarm to the fire station huh how's that well it's hooked into the telephone lines remember yeah you can use it to call other places uh-huh we can trade information with other people have their computers connected into the telephone system that sounds like a good way to get a lot more out of your computer uh-huh yeah I need a break no way couldn't we try some of those computer games you were talking about okay [Music] wow that was fun you really expect me to believe all that information is stored inside the computer in a very simple code the computer uses electricity remember yes it uses high and low electrical charges for the code to represent ones and zeros that's all ones and zeroes how do you get all the different symbols just using ones and zeros just like we put letters together to make words the computer puts together strings of ones and zeros to make larger codes each zero or one is a smallest piece of information that computer uses it's called a bit put the bits together in a string a microcomputer makes and uses groups of eight bits each one is called a byte that would be like always spelling every word in English with eight letters yeah computer words bytes each have exactly eight bits the computer uses a different bite for each letter each number each punctuation mark or special symbol like a dollar sign or % say I don't have to keep track of all those codes do I write the computer does all that we can talk to in in a language that looks a lot like English also each computer has a set of built-in commands that save time you can learn all about that from this book a user's manual huh one comes with each computer telling you how to use the commands I get it different computers sometimes need very different kinds of instructions mm-hmm the police could use a system like this have a bunch of license numbers car descriptions yeah and you just ask the computer to go through all those and come up with a name ah but only if you give it the right instructions I think I could catch on to those instructions if we could work with that barn program a little okay ah this could be the place I'll see if I can sweet-talk these folks into loaning me a car one won't be looking for you said this thing was smart I typed the instructions like the manual said the command run is supposed to make it one lady's and running you typed are you in it should be are you in but M is close enough for me to understand it can only follow exact instructions okay I'm typing are you in ah it's working you really do have to hit the right keys yeah can I help you wow that's some car yeah look at that do you know her yeah can you make out the license be rx2 79 didn't the radio see the getaway car from that Bank chav had a licence starting with yes dear he's and I know you're much too smart to go yelling out the window to warn your parents about a little old bank robber who just needs to borrow their car for a while just keep on playing with your little toy here and nothing bad will happen anybody okay okay we can't let her do that we gotta get help from someone somehow that's it what we'll use the computer you go to the window tell me what you see okay little toy huh great you're doing that with the computer can you make the light signal SOS I'm trying hey who's out in the barn you upstairs who's out there Jennifer get away from the computer all right you'd better tell me who's out messing with the lights in the barn um it must be uh the electrician he comes around once a month to check things back well he's going to get himself checked out now you were great look can we lock her out of the house or something we've got a trapper in the barn so she can't hurt anyone okay the computer will tell us when the doors or locks are closed that tells us where she is there that show she's opening the big door it's closed she's inside okay come on out I'm unlocking the pump room door and turning on the pump I said come out or else see that means she's opening the pump room door that puts her right by the main fire extinguisher unit [Music] if he's turned on the light she has to be inside the putt room and now she's and here comes the fire department what is going on here looks like your kids just caught our bank robber huh with a lot of help from the computer Jeff I think this one's gonna be tough to explain yep you handle it [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music]