In: Root » Computers and technology » Hardware
Computer is a programmable machine. This means it can execute a programmed list of instructions and respond to new instructions that it is given. Today, however, the term is the majority often used to refer to the desktop and laptop computers that most people use. When referring to a desktop model, the term "computer" technically only refers to the computer itself -- not the monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Still, it is acceptable to pass on to everything together as the computer. If you want to be alive really technical, the box that holds the computer is called the "system unit." Some of the major parts of a personal computer (or PC) include the motherboard, CPU, memory (or RAM), hard drive, and video card. While personal computers are by far the most common type of computers today, there are several other types of computers. For example, a "minicomputer" is a powerful computer that be capable of support many users at once. A "mainframe" is a large, high-powered computer that can perform billions of calculations from multiple sources at one time. Finally, a "supercomputer" is a machine that can process billions of instructions a second and is used to calculate extremely complex calculations. Computer Basics Computers are showing up everywhere you look, and even in places you can't see. Computers check out your groceries, pump your gas, dispense money at the ATM, turn the heat on and off, be in charge of the way your vehicle runs. They're everywhere! They're everywhere! In fact, the computer is rapidly attractive, if it hasn't already gotten present, as tightly woven into the fabric of our lives as the automobile. The analogy runs quite deep. When automobiles were new, many people said "Those smelly, loud, complicated belongings will never replace the stallion!" And "Those things break down in just a few miles, while my faithful horse goes on and on and repairs itself!" Nowadays it's hard to imagine the world without all the variety of four-wheeled, internal combustion vehicle. How many can you name? Sedans, pickup trucks, fire engines, front-end loaders, 4-wheelers, golf carts, bulldozers, cranes, vans, dump trucks... We have an "automobile" for every purpose under heaven - and in different models and colors, too. Computer Types 1. Microcomputer 2. Personal computers 3. Desktop computers 4. Laptop 5. Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) 6. Palmtop or handheld PC 7. Workstation 8. Mainframe 9. Supercomputers Microcomputer : is a computer that has a microprocessor chip as its CPU. They are over and over again called personal computers because they are designed to be used by one person at a time. Personal computers are typically used at home, at school, or at a business. Popular uses for microcomputers embrace word processing, surfing the web, sending and receiving e-mail, spreadsheet calculations, database management, editing photographs, creating graphics, and playing music or games. Personal computers come in two main varieties, desktop computers and laptop computers Desktop computers : are larger and not meant to be portable. They usually be seated in one place on a desk or table and are plugged into a wall outlet for power. The case of computer holds the motherboard, drives, power supply, and expansion cards. This case could lay flat on the desk, or it may be a tower that stands vertically (on the desk or under it). The computer more often than not has a separate monitor (either a CRT or LCD) although a quantity of designs have a display built into the case. A separate keyboard and mouse allow the user to input data and commands. Laptop : Laptop or notebook computers are small and lightweight enough to be approved around with the user. They run on battery power, but can also be plugged keen on a wall outlet. They typically have a built-in LCD display that folds down to look after the display when the computer is carried around. They also feature a built-in keyboard and some kind of built-in pointing device (such as a touch pad). While some laptops are less powerful than typical desktop machines, this is not true in all cases. Laptops, however, cost more than desktop units of equivalent processing power because the smaller components needed to put up laptops are more expensive. Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) : is a handheld microcomputer that trades off power for small dimension and greater portability. They typically use a touch-sensitive LCD display for both output and input (the user draws characters and presses icons on the screen with a stylus). PDAs communicate with desktop computers and by way of each other either by cable connection, infrared (IR) beam, or radio waves. PDAs are normally used to keep track of appointment calendars, to-do lists, address books, and for enchanting notes. Palmtop or handheld PC : A palmtop or handheld PC is a very small microcomputer that also sacrifices power for small size and portability. These devices typically seem more like a tiny laptop than a PDA, with a flip-up screen and small keyboard. They may use Windows CE or similar operating system for handheld devices.Some PDAs and palmtops contain wireless networking or cell phone campaign so with the intention of users can check e-mail or surf web on the move. Workstation : is a commanding, high-end microcomputer. They contain one or more microprocessor CPUs. They may be second-hand by a single-user for applications require more power than a typical PC (rendering compound graphics, or performing intensive scientific calculations). Alternately, workstation-class microcomputers possibly will be used as server computers with the intention of supply files to client computers over a network. This class of powerful microcomputers can also be used to handle the processing for a lot of users simultaneously who be connected via terminals; in this respect, high-end workstations have essentially supplanted the responsibility of minicomputers (see below). Mainframe : A mainframe computer is a large, powerful computer that handles the processing for many users simultaneously (up to several hundred users). The name mainframe originated subsequent to minicomputers appeared in the 1960's to distinguish the larger systems from the smaller minicomputers. Users connect to the mainframe using terminals and submit their tasks for processing by the mainframe. A terminal is a device that has a display and keyboard for input in addition to output, but it does not accomplish its own processing (they are also called dumb terminals since they can't process data on their own). The processing power of the mainframe is time-shared between all of the users. (Note that a personal computer may be worn to "emulate" a dumb terminal on the way to connect to a mainframe or minicomputer; you run a program on the PC that pretend to be a dumb terminal). Supercomputers : A supercomputer is mainframe computer that has been optimized for speed and processing power. The most famous series of supercomputers were planned by the company founded and named subsequent to Seymour Cray. The Cray-1 was built in the 1976 and installed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Supercomputers are used for extremely calculation-intensive tasks such simulating nuclear bomb detonations, aerodynamic flows, and global weather conditions patterns. A supercomputer characteristically costs several million dollars.Recently, some supercomputers have been constructed by connecting together large numbers of individual processing units (in some cases, these processing units are average microcomputer hardware) John Gordef
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