Computers are machines that obtain input, store and process that input into data that can be output. The first computer was created around the middle of the twentieth century and was as large as a huge room. Personal computers (PCs) came many years later and hardware and circuiting has become so small and effective you can carry a computer now in your pocket. Today's PCs can carry out various functions from playing music to analyzing the internal organs
Description of some of the more interesting parts of the computer hardware:
CD-ROM: stands for compact disc read only memory. This piece of hardware can read data from compact discs but is unable to write to them.
DVD-ROM: also called "Digital Video Disc" which is a device that reads media in the format off an optical disk. It works pretty much the same as a CD-ROM but DVD discs can store a lot more data.
Floppy-Drive: a magnetic storage device that is read and write capable. Floppy disks can come in 3 and half inches, 5 and one quarter and 8 inches. They are mostly redundant with the advent of newer storage technologies.
CPU: also known as Central Processing Unit is responsible for processing/interpreting instructions from the computer and then performing tasks. The CPU is a small circuit inserted into a computers motherboard.
RAM: (Random Access Memory) is a very important storage medium for a computer system. It is a circuit that allows the computer to store information in any order (randomly) and return in real-time - it's a very fast storage medium.
USB: aka Universal Serial bus is communication model between the computer and a device, it is used to connect many various PC peripheral devices, for example it can connect a keyboard, printer, flash drive, etc.
Hard-disk: (hard-drive) is a storage piece of hardware that can read and write data. In the modern era a hard disk can generally store massive amounts of data. It's normally used for long-term storage because of its non volatile nature.
Sound-card: is a card type piece of hardware that when inserted and installed into a computer slows the input, processing and output of audio.
Keyboard: is a hardware device that's primary function is to allow end-users to input letters, numbers and alphanumeric characters. A keyboard has the characters imprinted on little keys that when pushed it sends a signal to the computer, then it interprets what key was pushed and enters the result into whatever computer application is currently running.
