Learning About Software
A computer system needs software before it can carry out any useful task. Without
software, your computer is just a collection of electrical components. In order to use
computer hardware for tasks like writing memos or balancing a checking account,
software is necessary.
Software is a series of instructions that direct the computer to perform specific tasks.
Generally, these instructions are loaded from a floppy diskette or your hard disk into main
memory where they remain until you exit the software program or turn off the computer.
Your computer needs three levels of software to functionan input/output system, an
operating system, and an application program.
q
The BIOS (basic input/output system) is stored in ROM on the system
board. The BIOS controls the input/output functions of the hardware
itself, according to information received from the operating system or
software program, also known as BIOS calls.
q
The operating system is a software program that manages the computer's
resources, such as disk drives and printers. By performing these general
routines, the operating system is the base on which application programs
run. The operating system for this computer is MS-DOS, version 5.0.
q
An application program is software that helps you perform business and
personal tasks such as word processing, spreadsheet analyses, and
graphics presentations. Almost all application programs written to run
under MS-DOS on IBM and compatible personal computers can be used
with the TravelMate 3000 WinSX Notebook Computer.
1-10 Taking A First Look
Summary of Contents for TravelMate 3000 WinSX
Page 1: ...Texas Instruments TravelMate 3000 WinSX Notebook Computer User s Manual ...
Page 138: ...Character Sets Code Page 437 United States B 2 Character Sets ...
Page 139: ...Character Sets Code Page 850 MultLingual Character Sets B 3 ...
Page 140: ...Character Sets Code Page 863 Canadian French B 4 Character Sets ...
Page 141: ...Character Sets Code Page 865 Nordic Character Sets B 5 ...
Page 143: ...Keyboard Layouts C 2 Keyboard Layouts ...
Page 144: ...Keyboard Layouts Keyboard Layouts C 3 ...
Page 145: ...Keyboard Layouts C 4 Keyboard Layouts ...
Page 146: ...Keyboard Layouts Keyboard Layouts C 5 ...
Page 205: ...2 Index ...
Page 208: ......
Page 213: ......
Page 217: ...TravelMate 3000 WinSX Notebook Computer Major Components ...
Page 219: ...Manual Part No 2608455 0001 Printed in U S A Texas Instruments ...