introduction to computers

We are living in an information age dependent upon digital information. Digital information is electronic information, the result of computer processing. Every type of job relies upon getting information, using it, managing it, and relaying information to others. Computers enable the efficient processing and storage of information. Do not think of a computer merely as the machine with the keyboard and the mouse, although that might be true for some types of computers. Embedded computers may be inside your household appliances, the VCR, the automobile, planes, trains, powerplants, water purification plants, calculators, and even inside a few toys. These embedded computers are very small. They affect our lives each day. Why, even modern traffic lights operate with computers. They are all around us. Think of additional ways in which computers affect our lives each day.


Four Operations of a Computer

Input - Home computers are microcomputers. Input is supplied to the microcomputer with the use of a keyboard, a mouse, or another input device. These input devices may be called peripheral devices.

Processing - is done inside the computer in an area called the central processing unit (CPU). Processing is the conversion of input to output.

Storage - refers to holding information somewhere. RAM, Random Access Memory, is short-term memory. It is volatile memory because the memory is automatically "erased" when the power is turned off or interrupted. The RAM memory is located inside the computer case on the motherboard. A motherboard is not the keyboard. The keyboard is what you type with. A motherboard holds RAM memory, electronic circuits and other computer parts including the central processing unit. ROM, Read-Only-Memory, is not volatile meaning the memory is still there when power is interrupted or turned off. When the computer is turned back on again, ROM memory is still in storage on the internal hard disk.

Output - is the result of a computer process. Output may be viewed on a monitor screen, heard through speakers, printed on printers, and so forth. Output devices may be considered hardware and are also considered to be peripheral devices.