Introduction

Computers and computer applications are on almost every aspect of our daily lives. As like many
ordinary objects around us, we may need clearer understanding of what they are. You may ask
"What is a computer?" or "What is a software", or "What is computer hardware?. This write up
will identify the main characteristics of computers that make them different from one another but
first, here is a brief timeline on the history of computers. The history of computers starts out
about 2000 years ago in Babylonia (Mesopotamia), at the birth of the abacus, a wooden rack
holding two horizontal wires with beads strung on them. Blaise Pascal is usually credited for
building the first digital computer in 1642. It added numbers entered with dials and was made to
help his father, a tax collector.
A step towards automated computing was the development of punched cards, which were first
successfully used with computers in 1890 by Herman Hollerith and James Powers, who worked
for the US. Census Bureau. . In 1942, John P. Eckert, John W. Mauchly, and their associates at
the Moore school of Electrical Engineering of University of Pennsylvania decided to build a high
- speed electronic computer to do the job. This machine became known as ENIAC (Electrical
Numerical Integrator and Calculator). Early in the 50s two important engineering discoveries
changed the image of the electronic - computer field, from one of fast but unreliable hardware to
an image of relatively high reliability and even more capability. These discoveries were the
magnetic core memory and the transistor- circuit Element. These technical discoveries quickly
found their way into new models of digital computers.

Definitions
Computer - Pfaffenberger and Daley (2004) define a computer as a machine that can physically
represent data, process the data by following a set of instructions, store the results of the
processing, and display the results so that people can use them. There from the definition it can
be deduced that a computer is therefore a device that performs various functions but these
functions are directed by a human being.
Software -Haag et al (2002) suggest that software is the set of instructions that your computer
hardware executes to process information for you. These instructions are programmed into
computers by computer programmers.
Hardware -Pfaffenberger and Daley (2004) define hardware as the physical parts of a computer
that you can see and touch e.g. printers, disk drives, circuit boards, monitors. The computer has a
system of hardware devices organized according to their functions, a system concept is a group
of interrelated, interacting or interdependent elements forming a whole. It is important to
understand the interacting, interrelated, or interdependent of hardware, software, and data as
shown below

Characteristics that make computers different

Computers differ from one another, the differences are seen in terms of their data processing
speed, amount of data that they can hold (Memory capacity), peripheral devices, its type of
use and Versatility.
1. Processing Speed
Computers can perform calculations in just a few seconds and this has made work to be quickly
accomplished. A computer's processor speed describes the maximum number of calculations
per second the processor can perform, and is given in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).
They are also divided into two groups - single core processors and dual core processors. Dual
core processors boost performance by allowing you to run graphic intensive games or run
programs simultaneously for example downloading music while running a security program. It
can move and copy data at a speed in the order of billion instruction per second. High speed
computer can perform 3 to 4 million simple arithmetic operations per second. The processing
speed is based on its cycle time.
The average desktop computers cycle time is 900 - 1000 nanoseconds. It means that in one
nanosecond the computer can perform 900-1000 operations. The speed of computers system
depends on various factors, including:

2.

Hardware
Programming language
Memory
Memory Capacity

A computer can store large amount of data. The storage function of a computer system takes
place in the computer's primary storage unit, or memory, and in secondary storage devices such
as magnetic disk and tape units. These devices store data and program instructions needed for
processing for later use. The storage capacity of a computer is measured in Mega Byte, Giga
Byte, and Tera Byte. The amount of random access memory (RAM) also affects a computers
performance. Greater amounts of RAM allows the user to run more programs at once and run
them faster. 3 to 4GB RAM is ideal for memory intensive tasks such as gaming, video editing
and producing DVDs. 2GB RAM is ideal for working with larger digital media files such as
movie and video files, graphic design software files, intensive spreadsheets and running multiple
applications simultaneously. 1GB is recommended for a limited amount of activity such as word
processing, emailing, web browsing, watching movies, listen to music and organizing photos.

3. Peripheral Devices
A computer peripheral is a device that is connected to a computer but is not part of the core
computer architecture. The core elements of a computer are the central processing unit, power
supply, motherboard and the computer case that contains those three components. The device is
connected to the computer to expand the functionality of the system. For example, consider a
printer. Once the printer is connected to a computer, you can print out documents. Another way
to look at peripheral devices is that they are dependent on the computer system. Printers can't do
much on their own, and they only become functional when connected to a computer system.
There are many different peripheral devices, but they fall into three general categories:

1. Input devices, such as a mouse and a keyboard

2. Output devices, such as a monitor and a printer
3. Storage devices, such as a hard drive or flash drive
The computer system must have the necessary computer ports that will enable such devices to be
connected to the system in order to increase its functionality.

4. The use of the computer

Depending upon their speed and memory size, computers are classified into following four main
groups and all have different uses:
1. Supercomputer.
2. Mainframe computer.
3. Minicomputer.
4. Microcomputer.
i.

Supercomputer
Supercomputer is the most powerful and fastest, and also very expensive. It was developed in
1980s. It is used to process large amount of data and to solve the complicated scientific
problems. Supercomputer are mainly used for: Weather forecasting, nuclear energy research.

ii.

Mainframe Computers

Mainframe computers are also large-scale computers but supercomputers are larger than
mainframe. These are also very expensive. The mainframe computer specially requires a very
large clean room with air-conditioner. This makes it very expensive to buy and operate. It can
support a large number of various equipments. It also has multiple processors. Large mainframe
systems can handle the input and output requirements of several thousand of users. For example,
IBM, S/390 mainframe can support 50,000 users simultaneously. The users often access then
mainframe with terminals or personal computers.

iii.

Minicomputers

These are smaller in size, have lower processing speed and also have lower cost than mainframe
computer. These computers are also known as midrange computers. The minicomputers are used
in business, education and many other government departments. Although some minicomputers
are designed for a single user but most are designed to handle multiple terminals. Minicomputers
are commonly used as servers in network environment and hundreds of personal computers can
be connected to the network with a minicomputer acting as server like mainframes,
minicomputers are used as web servers. Single user minicomputers are used for sophisticated
design tasks.

iv.

Microcomputer

The microcomputers are also known as personal computers or simply PCs. Microprocessor is
used in this type of computer. Personal computers are available in two models. These are:
1. Desktop PCs
2. Tower PCs
Microcomputer are further divided into following categories.
1. Laptop computer
2. Workstation
3. Network computer
4. Handheld computer
5. Versatility
Computer are capable of performing any task. Multi-processing features of computer makes it
quiet versatile in nature. Provided the task can be reduced to a series of logical steps. It means
the capacity to perform completely different type of work. You may use your computer to

prepare payroll slips. Next moment you may use it for inventory management or to prepare
electric bills. A number of characteristics to contribute to the computers versatility include:

Its speed
Its ability to conveniently store, retrieve and manipulate large volume of data.
Its ability to interface.

Conclusion
In the first place, it should be recognised that computers are capable of doing repetitive
operations. A computer can perform similar operations thousands of times, without becoming
bored, tired, or even careless. Secondly, computers can process information at extremely rapid
rates. Thirdly, computers may be programmed to whatever level of accuracy is specified by the
programmer. These machines are very accurate and reliable especially when the number of
operations they can perform every second is considered. Because they are man-made machines,
they sometimes malfunction or break down and have to be repaired. However, in most instances
when the computer fails, it is due to human error and is not the fault of the computer at all. In the
fourth place, general -purpose computers can be programmed to solve various types of problems
because of their flexibility. One of the most important reasons why computers are so widely used
today is that almost every big problem can be solved by solving a number of little problems - one
after another. The characteristics I have outlined l feel to be the most important features to think
about when choosing your computer which are the processor, memory, peripheral devices it can
accommodate in order expand the computers system capabilities and the use to which the type
of computer is put into.

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