About the Basics of Computers Learn hardware-to-software concepts through an interactive and simplified approach! ►A computer is an electronic machine that accepts data, stores and processes data into information. The computer is able to work because there are instructions in its memory directing it. ✦
Hardware refers to the components of a computer that you can see and touch, such as the keyboard, monitor, and mouse. The instructions that direct the computer are called software or computer program. ✦
►Data which is raw facts that you the user enter into the computer is called input. Words, numbers, sounds, and images are all included in this. The computer processes the data that is entered into it to produce output, which is information. For instance, if you input the numbers 2+2 into the computer as data, it will process them and produce the number 4, which is information. ✦
✴Computers are usually categories into three general categories:✴
➻ 1. Supercomputer – The fastest, largest, most powerful and most expensive computer. ✫
➻ 2. Mainframe Computer: This computer is smaller and less powerful than the supercomputer, but it costs the same as the supercomputer. ✫
➻ 3. Personal Computer (PC)- This is the computer that most people use in their daily lives. This computer is much smaller, less powerful and less expensive than the supercomputer and the mainframe computer. There are two main types of personal computers. Macintosh (Macs) and the PC compatibles (PC). The operating systems and the processors they run on are the main distinctions between the two. This category of computer has two additional types of computers. These are mobile computer and handheld computer. The most popular type of mobile computer is the notebook or laptop computer, and the handheld computer is a very small PC that you can hold in your hand. ✫
