What is Computer?

Computer is the term that was originally given to person who performed numerical
calculations using mechanical calculators such as the slide rule and abacus. Nowadays
a computer is considered to be an electronic device that allows inputting data and
having it stored, processed, or otherwise manipulated quickly and efficiently.

Computers help make jobs that used to be complicated much simpler. For example, a
user can easily write letters in a word processor and edit any portion of the letter
anytime, spell check the letter, and move text from another document into the letter,
etc. This is just one of the hundreds of different things a computer is capable of doing.

The first computer was called the ENIAC, which was built during World War II.
Computers first utilized vacuum tubes and were very large (sometimes room size) and
only found in businesses, Universities, or governments. Later, computers began
utilizing transistors as well as smaller and cheaper parts that allowed the common
person to own their own computer.
 Basic Computer Concepts

i) Computer Architecture
It is the overall design and setup of the computer. This includes where each of the
connections and parts of the computer are to be placed, how each of components
operate with each other, dimensions, etc.
Today, most computers are often comprised with some or all of the below
components.
• Bay
• Case or Chassis
• CD-ROM, CD-R, and/or CD-RW
• CPU
• DVD
• Floppy disk drive
• Hard disk drive
• Keyboard
• Memory
• Microphone
• Monitor, LCD, or other display
device
• Motherboard
• Mouse
• Printer
• Sound card
• Speakers
• Video card

Input devices
An input device is a hardware device that sends information into the CPU. Without
any input devices a computer would simply be a display device and not allow users to
interact with it, much like a TV. Some of the computer input devices are as follows

Digital camera
Digital camera is a type of camera that
records and stores pictures or videos. The
main feature of digital camera is the
ability to take dozens, sometimes
hundreds of different pictures.

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 Basic Computer Concepts

Joystick
Joystick is an input which allows an
individual to easily navigate an object in
a game such as navigating a plane in a
flight simulator.

Keyboard
One of the main input devices used on a
computer, a PC's keyboard looks very
similar to the keyboards of electric
typewriters, with some additional keys.

Microphone
It is the hardware device that allows
computer users to input audio into their
computers.

Mouse
It is an input device that allows an
individual to have the ability to perform
various functions on computer such as
opening a program or file.

Scanner
It is a hardware input device that allows a
user to take an image and/or text and
convert it into a digital file, allowing the
computer to read and/or display the
scanned object.

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Web cam
It is a camera which is connected to a
computer to allow a person to view other
people, places, and even events.

CPU and Storage Devices

CPU; also known as a processor or microprocessor; is short for Central Processing
Unit. It is responsible for handling all instructions and calculation it receives from
other hardware components in the computer and software programs running on the
computer.

The first CPU was manufactured by

INTEL in 1974. The adjacent picture is
on of the latest processors.

Motherboard
It is a circuit that is the foundation of a
computer and allows the CPU, RAM, and
all other computer hardware components
to function with each other.

Modem
It is a device that enables a computer to
transmit and receive information over
telephone lines.

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 Basic Computer Concepts

A storage device is a hardware device designed to store information. There are two
types of storage devices used in computers; a 'primary storage' device and a
'secondary storage' device. A primary storage device is the storage location that holds
memory for short periods of times. For example, computer RAM, etc. A secondary
storage device is the medium that holds information until it is deleted or overwritten.
For example, hard disks drive, etc. Here are few examples of storage devices:

RAM
It is short for Random Access Memory
which is the main memory of the system
within a computer. RAM requires power;
if power is lost, all data is also lost.
Diskette
It can record data as magnetized spots on
tracks on its surface. Diskettes became
popular along with the personal computer
mainly to transport data.
Hard Drive
It is a rigid circular disk located inside a
computer. The term hard disk is often
used as an abbreviation to hard disk
drive.
Removable hard drive
It is a hard drive that can be placed within
a plastic or metal cartridge that enables it
to be removed easily and placed into
other computers with similar bays.
Zip drive
It is a data storage device similar to the
Standard 1.44" floppy drive having
capability to hold upto 100 MB or 250
MB of data. Because they were cheap,
they became very popular in late 1990s.

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 Basic Computer Concepts

CD-R, CD-RW
CD-R is short for CD-Recordable and is
a type of writable disc capable of having
information written on it only once
CD-R/W is a drive and/or media that is
capable of being written many times.

Output Devices
These devices display and generate information that has been held or generated within
a computer. Some examples are shown below.

Monitor
It is a video display screen and the hard
shell that holds it. It is used to visually
interface with the computer and are
similar in appearance to a television.

Printer
It is an external hardware device
responsible for generating a hard copy of
data. It is commonly used to print text,
images, photos, etc.

Speaker
It is a hardware device connected to a
computer's sound card that outputs
sounds generated by the card.

Projector
It is a device that enables an image, such
as a computer screen, to be projected onto
a flat surface. These devices are
commonly used for presentations.

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Plotter
It is a device that draws pictures on paper
based on commands from a computer
using a pen. Multicolor plotters use
different-colored pens to draw different
colors.

ii) Introduction to Computer Software and Hardware

Software
Softwares are the computer programs containing instructions that cause the computer
to do work. Software consists of a set of instructions a computer uses to manipulate
data, such as a word-processing program or a video game. Software also governs how
the hardware is utilized; for example, how information is retrieved from a storage
device.
Software as a whole can be divided into a number of categories based on the types of
work done by programs. The two primary software categories are as follows:
I. Operating systems (system software) control the working of the computer.
These softwares handle essential, but often invisible, chores as maintaining
disk files and managing the screen, etc.
II. Application software addresses the multitude of tasks for which people use
computers. Application software performs tasks like word processing,
database management, and the like.
Two additional categories that are neither system nor application software, although
they contain elements of both, are as follows;
III. Network softwares enable groups of computers to communicate, etc
IV. Language softwares provide programmers with the tools they need to write
programs.
In addition to the above task-based categories, several types of software are described
based on their method of distribution. These include the Following
V. Packaged software; developed and sold primarily through retail outlets
VI. Freeware and public-domain software; made available without cost by its
developer
VII. Shareware; usually carries a small fee for those who like the program
Hardware:

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 Basic Computer Concepts

Hardware consists of the components that can be physically handled. The functions of
these components can be typically divided into three main categories: input, output,
and storage. Components in these categories connect to microprocessors, specifically,
the computer’s central processing unit (CPU), the electronic circuitry that provides the
computational ability and control of the computer, via wires or circuitry called a bus.
Three kinds of hardware are explained as follows:
I. Input Hardware consists of external devices; components outside of the
computer’s CPU providing information and instructions to the computer.
These include light pen, mouse joystick, keyboard, Touch-screen displays,
optical scanner, microphone, modem, network interface card, etc.
II. Output Hardware consists of internal and external devices that transfer
information from the computer’s CPU to the computer user. These include
Display units likes a video screen with a cathode-ray tube (CRT) or a video
screen with a liquid crystal display (LCD), Printers, speakers or headphones,
projectors, etc.
Storage Hardware provides permanent storage of information and programs for
retrieval by the computer. The two main types of storage devices are disk drives and
memory. There are several types of disk drives: hard, floppy, magneto-optical,
magnetic tape, Compact disc drives (CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVDs, DVD-R, and
DVD-RW), etc.
Types of Computer
Computers are mainly categorized into the following types:
Digital Computer Analog computer Hybrid Computer

Digital Computer:
It is the type of computer that stores data in terms of digits (numbers) and proceeds in
discrete steps from one state to the next. In digital computers, letters, words and
whole texts are represented digitally. It performs calculations and logical operations
with quantities represented as digits, usually in the binary number system. Digital
computers can be built to take the solution of equations to almost unlimited precision,

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but quite slowly compared to analog computers. For many real-time operations, the
speed of such digital calculations is too slow to be of much use.
Analog Computer:
It is the type of computer that represents data in terms of physical measures or
quantities and proceeds along a continuum constituted by its components. Analog
computers are especially suited for the solution of complex non-linear equations and
for the simulation of multi-dimensional, parallel and continuous processes. There is
no restriction on the physical processes analog computers may utilize. In general,
analog computers are extraordinarily fast, since they can solve most complex
equations at the rate at which a signal traverses the circuit, which is generally an
appreciable fraction of the speed of light. On the other hand, the precision of analog
computers is not good; they are limited to three, or at most, four digits of precision.
Compared with digital computers, the programming of analog computers is time
consuming and limited in scope.
Hybrid Computer:
Hybrid computers are computers that comprise features of analog computers and
digital computers. The digital component normally serves as the controller and
provides logical operations, while the analog component normally serves as a solver
of differential equations. Hybrid computers can be used to obtain a very good but
relatively imprecise value, using an analog computer front-end, which is then fed into
a digital computer process to achieve the final desired degree of precision.

Source:
http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/i/inputdev.htm
http://homepage.cs.uri.edu/faculty/wolfe/book/Readings/Reading05.htm
http://encarta.msn.com

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