UNIT 1 HARDWARE, SOFTWARE AND TYPES OF COMPUTERS

UNIT 1 HARDWARE, SOFTWARE AND TYPES OF COMPUTERS

1. HARDWARE

   • Physical components of a computer system.
   • External hardware devices.
     • Keyboard, mouse, monitor and printer.
   • It can be external or internal.
   • Internal hardware devices.
     • Motherboard, RAM, ROM, Video and Sound cards, HDD and SSD.

2. SOFTWARE

   • Programs that control the computer system.
   • System
     • Programs that allow the hardware to run properly.
     • Compiler, linkers, device driver, and OS.
   • Application
     • Programs that allow to do specific tasks.
     • Word processor, spreedsheet, database, apps, video and photo editing, and more.

3. TYPES OF COMPUTERS

   • PC
     • Advantages: Internet access is more stable, better specifications for a given price, is less likelihood of them being damaged.
     • Disadvantages: Is not portable, it has more components to function.
   • Laptop
     • Advantages: Is portable, no trailing wires, can link into any multimedia system.
     • Disadvantages: Easier to steal, limited battery, the keyboards and pointing devices are difficult or awkward to use.
   • Tablets
     • Advantages: Fully portable, don´t generate heat, can use several apps.
     • Disadvantages: They have limited memory, touch screen can be slow, transferring of files is not easy.
   • Mainfraime computers
     • Advantages: Can have several CPUs, huge amounts of storage capacity, fast processor speeds.