The 20th century brought us the dawn of the digital information age and unprecedented changes in information technology. There is no indication that this rapid rate of change will be slowing—it may even be increasing. As we begin the 21st century, computer literacy is undoubtedly becoming a prerequisite in whatever career you choose.

The goal of Computing Essentials is to provide you with the basis for understanding the concepts necessary for success. Computing Essentials also endeavors to instill an appreciation for the effect of information technology on people and our environment and to give you a basis for building the necessary skill set to succeed in this the 21st century.

Times are changing, technology is changing, and this text is changing too. As students of today, you are different from those of yesterday. You put much effort toward the things that interest you and the things that are relevant to you. Your efforts directed at learning application programs and exploring the Web seem, at times, limitless. On the other hand, it is sometimes difficult to engage in other equally important topics such as personal privacy and technological advances.

In this text, we present practical tips related to key concepts through the demonstration of interesting applications that are relevant to your lives and by focusing on outputs rather than processes. Then, we discuss the concepts and processes.

Motivation and relevance are the keys. This text has several features specifically designed to engage and demonstrate the relevance of technology in your lives. These elements are combined with a thorough coverage of the concepts and sound pedagogical devices.

We have specifically designed the end-of-chapter materials to this text to meet the different needs of students and instructors. In addition to the traditional end-of-chapter review materials, you will find three unique categories: (1) Applying Technology is designed to help students gain a better understanding of how the technology covered in a particular chapter is used today, (2) Expanding Your Knowledge offers a deeper understanding to topics covered in that particular chapter, and (3) Writing About Technology provides the opportunity to hone essential writing skills while learning about technology issues relating to privacy, security, and ethics.

This table offers a glimpse of the unique coverage you can find at the end of each chapter.

END-OF-CHAPTER COVERAGE

Before beginning this new edition, an extensive review process was completed. Many of the reviewers were current users of Computing Essentials and many were users of other textbooks. A clear message was sent: More is not better . . . better is better. One reviewer succinctly stated: “Determine what is most important and focus on that.”

As an educator myself, I knew exactly what the reviewer meant. Today, so many textbooks on information technology have way too much detail and too many technical terms. The density of the information can become overwhelming. To help ease this, many textbooks add relief by inserting numerous photographs that, while attractive to the eye, have little or no informational content.

The result is that our students have difficulty determining what is most important. Too many details tend to hide what is most important. As authors add more and more detail to textbooks, students have greater and greater challenges discerning what is really important—what are the key concepts. More is not better . . .better is better.

Fresh from reading the reviewer comments, I carefully reread Computing Essentials 2007. From this new perspective, it was clear what needed to be done. So, the focus of Computing Essentials 2008 is not to just cover the newest material but to refocus on what are the most important concepts. I have carefully reviewed every figure, photograph, and table. If it lacked informational content, the figure, photograph, or table was dropped. I reexamined every key term. If the term was outdated or not essential, I dropped it. My objective was to return to the roots of Computing Essentials —focusing on the most important and essential concepts of information technology.