Computer
Computers have become an integral
part of our lives today and you get to see them everywhere around us.
There are many reasons why computers are used so extensively as you can do any
task very quickly. Computers are used in the education sector, banking sector,
business, hospitals and many other sectors.
Computer is an automatic electronic
machine that can do anything very quickly and in a short time. The computer was
initially used to calculate only, but as the changes were made, different
devices were added, making it even better and even bigger.
Computer's Input Output
device
A Computer can be connected to a lot of
devices some of which work as input and some as an output device. But there are
some devices that serve as both input and output. Computer's input and output
devices allow us to send or receive any data to or from the computer.
The input device is the one from
which data enters into the computer. For example, if you type something on a keyboard, it is the input device as the data goes into the computer. And if we
hear some music like the headphone, it is the output device which receives sound from
the computer.
Running an entire computer requires
two important things - Hardware and Software. There is a lot of difference between the two,
both depend on each other. If the computer's hardware is damaged, the software
is of no use and if the software is defective, the hardware is not of any
use.
Computer Hardware
Physical parts of the computer are
called hardware. These physical parts can be electronic, electrical, magnetic,
mechanical or optical, some of which are microprocessors, integrated circuits,
hard disks, optical disks, colour monitors, keyboard, printers, plotters etc.
Computer hardware is the device that we can see, such as keyboard,
mouse, display, printer, scanner, CPU etc. and we can touch and view all these
devices. And these devices serve as input and output in hardware. For example,
if you need to enter a photo in a computer, you'll use a webcam or transfer it
from your camera or mobile to the computer via a data cable, so the webcam
works as an input device.
Data and instructions are entered
into the Computer by the input device. Keyboard is a commonly used as an input
device. Some other input devices have also been developed. They do not require
any typing. For example mouse, joystick, trackball, light pen, graphic tablet,
touch screen etc.
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| Computer Software |
Computer Software
In simple terms, we work on computer programmes,
such as Google Chrome, Audio Player, Video Player, Games etc. These are all
computer software that we can only run but can't touch. Similarly, the
computer's operating system Windows is also a type of software.
What is RAM and ROM?
RAM is Random Access Memory. This is
the most essential part for any computer or device. RAM is used to store data
but data remains stored as long as power is on. When the power is off, the
stored data is exhausted. RAM is used after the operating system is loaded and
is used in normal operations.
ROM is Read-Only Memory and is also a
very essential part like RAM. ROM is the primary storage device of the computer
system. It is the size of the CHIP which is also attached to the computer's
motherboard. As the name suggests, it is used to set up computer data. You
cannot write anything or store any data in this. It regenerates data after the
computer starts. It does not eliminate your data like RAM memory after the
computer is closed and has the entire data information store.
