DEFINITION:
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| A DESKTOP COMPUTER |
WHAT MAKES UP COMPUTER??
A computer system consists of two major elements: hardware and software. You need both hardware and software for a computer system to work.COMPUTER HARDWARE:
Computer hardware is the collection of all the parts you can physically touch.Some hardware components are easy to recognize, such as the computer case, keyboard, and monitor. However, there are many different types of hardware components.The following figure points out the various hardware components of a computer. |
| Diagram of the various hardware components of a desktop computer |
The computer case contains a power supply unit (#6) to convert general-purpose electricity to direct current for the other components. The most critical component is the motherboard (#2), a plastic board on which several essential components are mounted. This includes the central processing unit, or CPU, (#3), the main memory (#4), and expansions slots (#5) for other hardware components.
The internal hard disk drive (#8) serves as the mass storage device for data files and software applications. An optical disk drive (#7) makes it possible to read from and write to CDs and DVDs. Other hardware components typically found inside the computer case (but not shown in the figure) are a sound card, a video card, and a cooling mechanism, such as a fan.
A computer system also needs input devices, such as a keyboard (#9) and a mouse (#10). To interact with a user, a computer system also needs a display device, such as a monitor (#1).
COMPUTER SOFTWARE:
Computer software, on the other hand, is not something you can touch.The term 'software' refers to the set of electronic program instructions or data a computer processor reads in order to perform a task or operation.Software can be categorized according to what it is designed to accomplish. There are two main types of software: systems software and application software.
System Software:
Systems software includes the programs that are dedicated to managing the computer itself, such as operating system, file management utilities, and disk operating system (or DOS). The operating system manages the computer hardware resources in addition to applications and data.Application Software:
Application software, or simply applications, are often called productivity programs or end-user programs because they enable the user to complete tasks such as creating documents, spreadsheets, databases, and publications, doing online research, sending email, designing graphics, running businesses, and even playing games!Application software is specific to the task it is designed for and can be as simple as a calculator application or as complex as a word processing application. When you begin creating a document, the word processing software has already set the margins, font style and size, and the line spacing for you. But you can change these settings, and you have many more formatting options available.
A machine-level example of software is Basic Input/Output System or BIOS. When you start the computer, the BIOS loads and runs before your hard drive even connects. BIOS checks connection to hardware and looks for the operating system to load.
Microsoft Word is a popular word-processing application that is included in the software suite of applications called Microsoft Office. A software suite is a group of software applications with related functionality. For example, office software suites might include word processing, spreadsheet, database, presentation, and email applications. Graphics suites such as Adobe Creative Suite include applications for creating and editing images, while Sony Audio Master Suite is used for audio production.
HOPE SO YOU LIKED THIS ARTICLE...I WILL POST MORE INFORMATION ABOUT COMPUTER IN NEXT POSTS INSHA ALLAH!!
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