Course Outline:

1. The Computer Revolution
2. A Brief History of Computing
3. Components of the Computer
   • CPU - Central Processing Unit
   • Chip
   • Clock Speed
   • Bus Width (word size)
   • Address Space
4. Comparing Components of Different Models
   • Apple - 6502
   • 8088
   • 80286
   • 80386
   • 80486
   • 80586 (Pentium)
5. Operating Systems
   • Transient vs. Resident
   • Architecture
   • Interupts
   • Processing Modes
   • How the CPU handles requests
   • RISC vs. CISC
   • ALU
   • DOS, Windows 3.1, Windows 95
   • The LAN Operating System
6. Memory
   • RAM (SRAM, DRAM)
   • ROM - BIOS
   • Conventional Memory
   • Extended Memory vs Expanded Memory
   • High Memory vs Low Memory
   • Cache Memory
   • Real vs Protected Mode
7. Bus Characteristics
   • Speed
   • Intelligence
8. Video Devices
   • Orientation
   • Text
   • Monitors
     • CGA
     • EGA
     • VGA
     • Super VGA
9. Graphics
   • Text Mode
   • Graphics Mode
   • Pixel
   • Resolution
10. Graphics Applications
    • Pixel Oriented Graphics Program
    • Vector or Object Oriented Graphics Program
    • Presentation Oriented Graphics Program
    • Compression - Lossy and Lossless
11. Communication
    • LAN - Local Area Network
    • WAN - Wide Area Network
    • Micro to Micro Communication
    • BBS - Bulletin Board Systems
    • Infomation Providers
12. Servers & Database
    • File Server
    • Database Server
    • Distributed Database
    • Knowbot
13. Network Topology
    • Bus Topology
    • Ring Topology
    • Star Topology
14. Wiring
    • Twisted Pair
    • Co-ax
    • Fiberoptics
15. Protocal for Communication
    • CSMA
    • CSMA/CD
16. Networks
    • WAN - Wide Area Networks
    • UUCP
    • Fidonet, Arcnet, Ethernet, Token Ring
    • Arpenetwork
    • Darpenet
    • Bitnet
    • NYSENET
    • The Internet
17. Applications
    • Client/Server
    • Peer to Peer
    • TCP/IP
    • Communication Protocols
      • Application Layer
      • Presentation Layer
      • Session Layer
      • Network Layer
      • Data-link Layer
      • Physical Layer
      • Network Basic Input/Output System
18. The Internet
    • History
    • Moral/Ethical Issues
    • Connecting to the Internet
      • Dedicated Line
      • Dial Up Access (Terminal Account)
      • Dial Up Access (Using a Permanent PPP connection)
      • Dial Up Access (Using a Temporary PPP connection)
    • Protocols
      • TCP (Transmition Control Protocol)
      • IP (Internet Protocol)
    • Searching The Internet
      • Archie
      • Gopher
      • Veronica
      • Yahoo
      • Infoseek
    • Cookies
    • Java vs ActiveX
    • Video Conferencing
    • News Groups
19. Applications on the Internet
    • Telnet
    • FTP - File Transfer Protocal
    • USENET
20. Modem
    • Common Speeds of the Internet
      • 300 baud - 56k bps
    • New Techniques to Increase Speed
      • ISDN
      • Cable
      • ATM
    • Error Checking - File Transfer Protocols
      • X-modem
      • Y-modem
      • Z-modem
    • Compression Techniques
      • Run Length Encoding
      • Huffman Encoding
21. Development of Aritificial Intelligence

For a glossary of many computer terms, check out PC Magazine's Guide to Computer Acronyms Part 1 and Part 2

And don't forget to continue reading PC Magazine every two weeks!

And for a great overview of the history of computing, check out PBS's Triumph of the Nerds