PUBLICATIONS
COMPUTING
CORE PC COMPONENTS
The following components are in the order they are assembled:
The Case-- For desktop PCs, the case is typically some type of box with lights, vents, and places for attaching cables. The size of the case can vary from small tabletop units to tall towers. A larger case doesn't always imply a more powerful computer; it's what's inside that counts. PC builders design or select a case based on the type of motherboard that should fit inside.
Motherboard --this is the primary circuit. All components, inside and out, connect through the motherboard in some way. The other components listed on this page are removable and, thus, replaceable without replacing the motherboard. Several important components, though, are attached directly to the motherboard. These include the complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS), which stores some information, such as the system clock, when the computer is powered down. Motherboards come in different sizes and standards, the most common as of this writing being ATX and MicroATX. From there, motherboards vary by the type of removable components they're designed to handle internally and what ports are available for attaching external devices.
Power supply -- Other than its CMOS, which is powered by a replaceable CMOS battery on the motherboard, every component in your PC relies on its power supply. The power supply connects to some type of power source, whether that's a battery in the case of mobile computers, or a power outlet in the case of desktop PCs. In a desktop PC, you can see the power supply mounted inside the case with a power cable connection on the outside and a handful of attached cables inside. Some of these cables connect directly to the motherboard while others connect to other components like drives and fans.
Central processing unit (CPU) -- The CPU, often just called the processor, is the component that contains the microprocessor. That microprocessor is the heart of all the PC's operations, and the performance of both hardware and software rely on the processor's performance. Intel and AMD are the largest CPU manufacturers for PCs, though you'll find others on the market, too. The two common CPU architectures are 32-bit and 64-bit, and you'll find that certain software relies on this architecture distinction.
Random-access memory (RAM) -- Even the fastest processor needs a buffer to store information while it's being processed. The RAM is to the CPU as a countertop is to a cook: It serves as the place where the ingredients and tools you're working with wait until you need to pick up and use them. Both a fast CPU and an ample amount of RAM are necessary for a speedy PC. Each PC has a maximum amount of RAM it can handle, and slots on the motherboard indicate the type of RAM the PC requires.
Drives -- A drive is a device intended to store data when it's not in use. A hard drive or solid state drive stores a PC's operating system and software, which we'll look at more closely later. This category also includes optical drives such as those used for reading and writing CD, DVD and Blu-ray media. A drive connects to the motherboard based on the type of drive controller technology it uses, including the older IDE standard and the newer SATA standard.
Cooling devices -- The more your computer processes, the more heat it generates. The CPU and other components can handle a certain amount of heat. However, if a PC isn't cooled properly, it can overheat, causing costly damage to its components and circuitry. Fans are the most common device used to cool a PC. In addition, the CPU is covered by a metallic block called a heat sink, which draws heat away from the CPU. Some serious computer users, such as gamers, sometimes have more expensive heat management solutions, like a water-cooled system, designed to deal with more intense cooling demands.
Cables -- All the components we've mentioned so far are connected by some combination of cables. These cables are designed to carry data, power or both. PCs should be constructed so that the cables fold neatly within the case and do not block air flow throughout it.
A PC is typically much more than these core components. Next, we'll look at the ports and peripherals that let you interact with the computer and how you can add even more components using expansion slots.
CPU (CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT)
J. Presper Eckert and John William Mauchly, invented the EDVAC, perhaps the first computing machine with the "stored-program" architecture typical of modern CPUs.
That architecture is called the "von Neumann architecture" after John von Neumann, who write a widely distributed paper about the EDVAC.
Some people incorrectly believe that Intel, as a company invented the first CPU.
While it is true that the people at Intel built the first microprocessor (a CPU on a single chip), the 4004, in 1971, which was a great achievement at the time,
there were a variety of other, previous CPUs built out of a few dozen integrated circuits, a few thousand individual transistors, or a few thousand vacuum tubes.
The first commercially available computer was the 1951 Ferranti Mark 1, designed by Freddie Williams and Tom Kilburn at the University of Manchester.
IBM sold about 20,000 of the refrigerator-sized IBM 1401 CPUs first introduced in 1959.
john macain.
The CPU (Central Processing Unit) was invented in 1971 on the month of November.
MOTHERBOARDS
TOUCH-SCREENS
electronic visual display
of aninformation processing system
. A user can give input or control theinformation processing system
through simple ormulti-touch gestures
by touching the screen with a specialstylus
and/or one or more fingers.zooming
to increase the text size.The touchscreen enables the user to interact directly with what is displayed, rather than using a
,touchpad
, or any other intermediate device (other than a stylus, which is optional for most modern touchscreens).Touchscreens are common in devices such as
,personal computers
,tablet computers
,electronic voting machines
, andsmartphones
. They can also be attached to computers or, as terminals, to networks. They also play a prominent role in the design of digital appliances such aspersonal digital assistants (PDAs)es
and some books (E-books
).The popularity of smartphones, tablets, and many types of
is driving the demand and acceptance of common touchscreens for portable and functional electronics. Touchscreens are found in the medical field and inheavy industry
, as well as forautomated teller machines
(ATMs), and kiosks such as museum displays orroom automation
, wherekeyboard
andmouse
systems do not allow a suitably intuitive, rapid, or accurate interaction by the user with the display's content.Historically, the touchscreen sensor and its accompanying controller-based
have been made available by a wide array of after-marketsystem integrators
, and not by display, chip, ormotherboard
manufacturers. Display manufacturers and chip manufacturers worldwide have acknowledged the trend toward acceptance of touchscreens as a highly desirableuser interface
component and have begun to integrate touchscreens into the fundamental design of their products.information processing system
through simple ormulti-touch gestures
by touching the screen with a specialstylus
and/or one or more fingers.zooming
to increase the text size.The touchscreen enables the user to interact directly with what is displayed, rather than using a
,touchpad
, or any other intermediate device (other than a stylus, which is optional for most modern touchscreens).Touchscreens are common in devices such as
,personal computers
,tablet computers
,electronic voting machines
, andsmartphones
. They can also be attached to computers or, as terminals, to networks. They also play a prominent role in the design of digital appliances such aspersonal digital assistants (PDAs)es
and some books (E-books
).The popularity of smartphones, tablets, and many types of
is driving the demand and acceptance of common touchscreens for portable and functional electronics. Touchscreens are found in the medical field and inheavy industry
, as well as forautomated teller machines
(ATMs), and kiosks such as museum displays orroom automation
, wherekeyboard
andmouse
systems do not allow a suitably intuitive, rapid, or accurate interaction by the user with the display's content.Historically, the touchscreen sensor and its accompanying controller-based
have been made available by a wide array of after-marketsystem integrators
, and not by display, chip, ormotherboard
manufacturers. Display manufacturers and chip manufacturers worldwide have acknowledged the trend toward acceptance of touchscreens as a highly desirableuser interface
component and have begun to integrate touchscreens into the fundamental design of their products.OPERATING SYSTEMS
computer hardware
andsoftware
resources and provides commonservices
forcomputer programs
. The operating system is a component of thesystem software
in a computer system.Application programs
usually require an operating system to function.For hardware functions such as input and output and
, the operating system acts as an intermediary between programs and the computer hardware,system calls
to an OS function or is interrupted by it. Operating systems are found on many devices that contain a computer – fromcellular phones
andvideo game consoles
toweb servers
andsupercomputers
.Examples of popular desktop operating systems include
OS X
,Linux
and its variants, andMicrosoft Windows
. So-calledmobile operating systems
includeAndroid
andiOS
. Other classes of operating systems, such as real-time (RTOS), also exist.BINARY
Binary pictures showing darth vader
Cloud raining binary
Tube of binary
ADA LOVELACE
A gifted mathematician, Ada Lovelace is considered to have written instructions for the first computer program in the mid-1800s.
IN THESE GROUPS
Synopsis
The daughter of famed poet Lord Byron, Augusta Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace—better known as "Ada Lovelace"—was born in London on December 10, 1815. Ada showed her gift for mathematics at an early age. She translated an article on an invention by Charles Babbage, and added her own comments. Because she introduced many computer concepts, Ada is considered the first computer programmer. Ada died on November 27, 1852.
Early Years
Ada Lovelace, born as Augusta Ada Byron, was the only legitimate child of the famous poet Lord George Gordon Byron. Lord Byron's marriage to Ada's mother, Lady Anne Isabella Milbanke Byron, was not a happy one. Lady Byron separated from her husband only weeks after their daughter was born. A few months later, Lord Byron left England, and Ada never saw her father again. He died in Greece when Ada was 8 years old.
Ada had an unusual upbringing for an aristocratic girl in the mid-1800s. At her mother's insistence, tutors taught her mathematics and science. Such challenging subjects were not standard fare for women at the time, but her mother believed that engaging in rigorous studies would prevent Lovelace from developing her father's moody and unpredictable temperament. Ada was also forced to lie still for extended periods of time because her mother believed it would help her develop self-control.
From early on, Lovelace showed a talent for numbers and language. She received instruction from William Frend, a social reformer; William King, the family's doctor; and Mary Somerville, a Scottish astronomer and mathematician. Somerville was one of the first women to be admitted into the Royal Astronomical Society.
Babbage and the Analytical Engine
Around the age of 17, Ada met Charles Babbage, a mathematician and inventor. The pair became friends, and the much older Babbage served as a mentor to Ada. Through Babbage, Ada began studying advanced mathematics with University of London professor Augustus de Morgan.
Ada was fascinated by Babbage's ideas. Known as the father of the computer, he invented the difference engine, which was meant to perform mathematical calculations. Ada got a chance to look at the machine before it was finished, and was captivated by it. Babbage also created plans for another device known as the analytical engine, designed to handle more complex calculations.
Ada was later asked to translate an article on Babbage's analytical engine that had been written by Italian engineer Luigi Federico Menabrea for a Swiss journal. She not only translated the original French text in English, but also added her own thoughts and ideas on the machine. Her notes ended up being three times longer than the original article. Her work was published in 1843, in an English science journal. Ada used only the initials "A.A.L.," for Augusta Ada Lovelace, in the publication.
In her notes, Ada described how codes could be created for the device to handle letters and symbols along with numbers. She also theorized a method for the engine to repeat a series of instructions, a process known as looping that computer programs use today. Ada also offered up other forward-thinking concepts in the article. For her work, Ada is often considered to be the first computer programmer.
Ada's article attracted little attention when she was alive. In her later years, she tried to develop mathematical schemes for winning at gambling. Unfortunately, her schemes failed and put her in financial peril. Ada died from uterine cancer in London on November 27, 1852. She was buried next to her father, in the graveyard of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Nottingham, England.
Personal Life
In 1835, Ada married William King, who became the Earl of Lovelace three years later. She then took the title of Countess of Lovelace. They shared a love of horses and had three children together. From most accounts, he supported his wife's academic endeavors. Ada and her husband socialized with many of the interesting minds of the times, including scientist Michael Faraday and writer Charles Dickens.
Ada's health suffered, however, after a bout of cholera in 1837. She had lingering problems with asthma and her digestive system. Doctors gave her painkillers, such as laudanum and opium, and her personality began to change. She reportedly experienced mood swings and hallucinations.
Legacy
Ada Lovelace's contributions to the field of computer science were not discovered until the 1950s. Her notes were reintroduced to the world by B.V. Bowden, who republished them in Faster Than Thought: A Symposium on Digital Computing Machines in 1953. Since then, Ada has received many posthumous honors for her work. In 1980, the U.S. Department of Defense named a newly developed computer language "Ada," after Lovelace.