Candidato, Ivan Joshua S.

2ChE B
Parts of Computer
Computer hardware is the collection of physical elements that
constitutes a computer system. Computer hardware is the physical parts or
components of a computer, all of which are physical objects that can be
touched.
1. Hard drive - also called hard disk, it is the permanent storage space that
stores all information and applications of the computer, retaining the space
even when it is turned off.
2. Motherboard - Considered as the most important types of computer
hardware. The motherboard houses the microprocessor, providing the
necessary sockets and slots that connect to all other types of computer
hardware. Thus the motherboard serves as the 'mediator', a channel that
allows the components to work together and walk to each other, making it a
whole and completely working unit.
3. RAM - short for Random Access Memory. It is the memory used to process
applications. RAM is lost when the computer is turned off.
4. ROM - short for Read Only Memory. It serves as memory for storage of
programs.
5. Storage Devices - External storage devices like CDs, DVDs, USB flash
drives are important as removable storage devices that you can take from
one personal computer to another.
6. Power Supply Unit (PSU) - this converts the AC power to low voltage DC
power, integral for the internal components of the PC.
7. Sound Card - responsible for the PC's audio input and output, necessary
for games, music and other multimedia programs.
8. Keyboard - an input device used to input text & characters by pressing
the keys.
9. Mouse - pointing device that detects two-dimensional motion to the
surface. Other pointing devices include the trackball, the touch pad and the
touch screen.
10. Joystick - a gaming device with a handheld stick that pivots from left to
right and up to down, detecting angles in two and three dimensions.
11. Image input devices - includes scanners and webcams, these devices
are used to provide input of images, written text, handwriting, etc. for digital
use.
12. Image output devices - the printer, used to produce a physical and
permanent text or graphical document.
13. Audio input devices - the microphone is used to record or provide input
through sound conversion to electrical signals.
14. Audio output devices - headphones and speakers that allow you to
hear the audio coming from the computer.
15. Monitor - the monitor is an electronic visual display that shows the
graphical and textual information on the computer. There are may types of
monitors, such as the CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), which is almost obsolete, the
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) which is the most common monitor used
nowadays, and the touch screen display.
Computer software is made of one or more computer programs.
Sometimes it means one specific program, or it can mean all the software on
a
computer,
including
the applications and
the operating
system.
Applications are programs that do a specific thing, such as a game or a word
processor. The operating system (Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, Linux, etc.) is
software that helps the applications run, and controls the display and the
keyboard.
1. Application software is the computer programs for performing user
tasks such as word processing and web browsers.

2. System software is used to start and run computer systems and

networks. This includes operating systems.
3. Computer programming tools (also known as Development Software)
are used to create an application and system software. This is done by
translating
and
combining
computer
program
source
code and libraries into executable RAMs. These include compilers and linkers.

Types of Computer
Supercomputer the most powerful computers in terms of
performance and data processing are the Supercomputers. These are
specialized and task specific computers used by large organizations. These
computers are used for research and exploration purposes, like NASA uses
supercomputers for launching space shuttles, controlling them and for a
space exploration purpose.
Mainframe computer Although Mainframes are not as powerful as
supercomputers, but certainly they are quite expensive nonetheless, and
many large firms & government organizations use Mainframes to run their
business operations. The Mainframe computers can be accommodated in
large air-conditioned rooms because of its size. Supercomputers are the
fastest computers with large data storage capacity, Mainframes can also
process & store large amount of data. Banks educational institutions &
insurance companies use mainframe computers to store data about their
customers, students & insurance policy holders.
Minicomputer is used by small businesses & firms. Minicomputers are
also called as Midrange Computers. These are small machines and can be
accommodated on a disk with not as processing and data storage
capabilities as super-computers & Mainframes. These computers are not
designed for a single user. Individual departments of a large company or
organizations use minicomputers for specific purposes. For example, a
production department can use minicomputers for monitoring certain
production process.
Microcomputer desktop computers, laptops, personal digital
assistant (PDA), tablets & smartphones are all types of microcomputers. The
micro-computers are widely used & the fastest growing computers. These
computers are the cheapest among the other three types of computers. The
microcomputers are specially designed for general use like entertainment,
education and work purposes. Well known manufacturers of microcomputer
are Dell, Apple, Samsung, Sony & Toshiba.
Latest Development in Computer Technology
Wireless charging
Place a laptop on a table, and it'll automatically start charging. No wires
needed, no need to carry a power brick. That's how Intel views wireless
charging for laptops, which could become a reality next year.
Creative desktops
From its origin as a dull white box, the desktop has become a hub of
creativity and imagination, with technologies like depth-sensing cameras and
3D printing spinning off a variety of innovations. One example is HP's Sprout,
which looks like a normal all-in-one PC, but packs the latest imaging and
collaboration technology.
Interactive computers
Computers will become more perceptual with a combination of gesture, voice
and visual recognition technologies being installed in PCs. Starting next year,
2D cameras in PCs will be replaced by Intel's RealSense 3D cameras, which
will be able to recognize objects and even measure distances between
items.
Biometric sensors

Soon, your body could log you into an e-mail account. By the end of this
year, Intel will be providing software so users can log in to websites via
biometric authentication. It serves two purposes: biometric authentication is
relatively reliable and secure, and users won't have to remember dozens of
passwords for different sites.
Capacity
Floppy Disk-also called a diskette, is a disk storage medium composed of a
disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular
plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles. Floppy disks,
initially as 8-inch (200 mm) media and later in 5-inch (133 mm) and 3inch (90 mm) sizes, were a ubiquitous form of data storage and exchange.
Compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format. The format
was originally developed to store and play only sound recordings but was
later adapted for storage of data (CD-ROM). Standard CDs have a diameter
of 120 millimetres (4.7 in) and can hold up to about 80 minutes of
uncompressed audio or about 700 MiB of data. The Mini CD has various
diameters ranging from 60 to 80 millimetres (2.4 to 3.1 in)
digital versatile disc or digital video disc, a
type
of
optical
disk
technology similar to the CD-ROM. A DVD holds a minimum of 4.7GBof data,
enough for a full-length movie. DVDs are commonly used as a medium for
digital representation of movies and other multimedia presentations that
combine sound with graphics.
A USB flash drive, also known under a variety of other names, is a data
storage device that includes flash memory with an integratedUniversal Serial
Bus (USB) interface. USB flash drives are typically removable and rewritable,
and physically much smaller than an optical disc. Most weigh less than 30
grams (1.1 oz). As of January 2013, drives of up to 512 gigabytes (GB) were
available.
Blu Ray The format offers more than five times the storage capacity of
traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on
a dual-layer disc. This extra capacity combined with the use of advanced
video and audio codecs will offer consumers an unprecedented HD
experience.
NVIDIA Corporation, Santa Clara, CA, www.nvidia.com) A leading designer of
graphics processors for personal computers. Founded in 1993 by Jen-Hsun
Huang, Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem, NVIDIA launched its first
multimedia processor, the NV1, in 1995. NVIDIA is a fabless company (chips
are made elsewhere) that is known worldwide for its advanced graphics
technologies. NVIDIA chips with brand names such as GeForce, Quadro,
Vanta and RIVA are built into the display adapters of dozens of peripheral
product companies as well as mobile devices.
A solid-state drive (SSD) (also known as a solid-state disk though it
contains no actual disk, nor a drive motor to spin a disk) is asolid-state
storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies as memory to store
data persistently. SSD technology primarily uses electronic interfaces
compatible with traditional block input/output (I/O) hard disk drives, which
permit simple replacements in common applications Additionally, new I/O
interfaces, like SATA Express, have been designed to address specific
requirements of the SSD technology.