Computer Hardware

Initial Computers

There were initially 6 computers and they were assigned to women to change the electrical switches that programmed the ENIAC.

Hardware Platforms

- A hardware platform is a combination of components put together to form an effective system. A computer platform may include a particular motherboard, CPU, case or hard drive, video card, and other physical components. The type of components included in the platform such as CPU brand may guide what software can run on the computer. - While a desktop computer system has been the standard of computing platform for decades, it is rapidly changing. - Other apparatuses include; Laptop, tablet, smart phone

Vacuum Tubes

- Electric signals were created through vacuum tubes. - Very large and bulky and gave off heat with the electrical pules coming through the bulbs. - Then a transistor was created to amplify or switch signals off and on. - They were smaller, more reliable and cheaper then the vacuum tubes. - Progressed to be an integrated circuit

Removable Storage Media

- In order to bring new programs and data to a computer, many types of removable storage media can be inserted into the computer. Once the only device of this type was the floppy disk, but those times are far behind us. Now there are many and they to are being left by the wayside because of the new digital and collaborative classroom pieces. - Some of these include; CD-ROMS, DVD ROMS, Zips, Tape, and flash or thumb drives.

Tablets

- Lightweight computer with integrated monitor, usually with a touch screen instead of a keyboard. Considered a mobile computing device and have very unique and highly leveled operations

Smart Phone

- Pocket sized cell phone with touch screen and embedded operating system supporting software application. It is a phone and computer all in one! These have a signal processing chip to make the wireless connection to a cell tower. - I call it my life line!

Today because of Gordon Moore......

- Rapid advancement in transistor technology was noticed by Gordon Moore. - He founded the Intel Corporation in 1965. - He observed that the number of transistors could be cheaply placed on a circuit board. The more transistors of information, the faster the computer runs. - Moore's law predicted that the number of the transistors within the same physical are more powerful. So more transistors placed on a same sized circuit board grew every year up until the Intel Core 7 Quad in 2010. - Moore is responsible for computer processors and where we are today, the ability to transmit running software is credited to Moore's Law of adding more and more circuits to the small board. These can be as small as your cellphone, your mp3 or I-pods, your GPS, modems, router, video game consoles and many other modern gadgets.

Integrated Circuit

- This transistor type transmission of signals soon progressed to an integrated circuit- which looks much like we call the motherboard today. - These have become smaller and faster depending on the machine. - This all occurred in the last 50 years.

Touch Sensitive Screens

- You can click, swipe, or even multi select items using your fingers instead of a keyboard and mouse. - Have built in accelerometer- a device that senses motion - Allows you to respond to the device the way you wish. - Have GPS- Global Positioning System that can detect satellite signals and help locate you anywhere on Earth. The GPS position information enables your mobile device to give you local maps and directions to your destination

ROM

A computer also needs to hold some programs in data in memory that rarely or never changes even when the power is turned off.

Heat Sink

A device or substance for absorbing excessive heat

Motherboard

An important part of the computer is the motherboard. The motherboard acts like the body of the computer- it is the central point where ALL the other components connect together. The motherboard contains the Central Processing Unit (CPU or the Brain), Heat Sink, fan, and RAM (memory) and all the connectors for the device; such as, Mouse, Keyboard, and any kind of usb or flash drive.

Desktop

Full computer system with separate monitor, keyboard, mouse, and peripherals

Newest tablets

Have an option to click keyboard on off

Video Card

In order to show programs and data on a computer screen, you must have a video card. This device makes all of the images you see on the monitor. Sometimes a video card is built into the motherboard. In other cases, the video card is separate and is plugged into the motherboard. Usually the add on cards can show better, faster graphical pictures than the built in cards. But today's motherboards will usually have at least basic built in video card features.

1st Computer

Penn State- *ENIAC*- first purely digital computer and could be programmed to do tasks- 1940- used to make atomic energy calculations, and to predict weather for the US Army

Central Processing Unit (CPU or Brain)

On motherboard it is responsible for executing the software programs running on the computer. The CPU is typically broken into two components. The first component is the Control Unit or the CU. The CU will pull information from memory, then decode and execute instructions as necessary. It will call on the second CPU component, the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) to preform any necessary math and logical operations.

Laptop

Small, portable computer system with integrated flip up monitor smaller keyboard, and integrated mouse system, mostly.

Case

The computer case is the external shell that holds all other computer components. The case usually contains one or more cooling fans to keep the internal components from getting too hot. Sometimes called a tower.

Memory

The computer's primary memory is made up of Random Access Memory (RAM), which holds the running programs and active data on your computer. The computer can choose to access any random part of this memory very quickly. However the Ram will only remember programs and data while the computer is turned on. When the computer is switched off, the RAM will lose of the data it contained. When the computer is starting up, programs and data will be loaded into RAM from some secondary storage device such as a a hard drive, which is described below.

Sound Card

The computers sound card has become a very important feature in the last 10-15 years. It sends sound effects and music to the computer's speakers. A sound card is also used to capture sound with a microphone or a Line In connection.. Like the video card, a sound card can be built into the motherboard or plugged in as a separate card. Also like the video card, an add on sound card usually has better quality and more features.

Von Neumann

The first to recognize a computer could store a program in memory.

Hard Drive

The largest storage device on a computer is called the hard disk. Hard Disks store programs and data, remembering everything even when the power is turned off. Because the CPU does not have direct access to this data, we refer to the hard disk as a type of secondary memory or secondary storage. Information can be loaded from the hard disk into primary memory (RAM) for the CPU to use. Once a program is used the result must be saved or it is lost.

Peripherals

The last kind of hardware you can attach to a computer is called a peripheral. Peripherals are the input and output devices that are connected externally to the computer. Some common input devices are the keyboard, mouse, webcam, scanner, microphone, or game controller. Common output devices include the printer monitor, and speakers.