Introduction to Computers

In what year was the IBM PC first introduced?

August 12, 1981

When was the first computer invented? Who is known as the Father of Computing?

Charles Babbage invented the computer, and is well known as the Father of Computing

What is the difference between hardware and software?

Computer hardware is any physical device used in or with your machine, whereas software is a collection of codes installed onto your computer's hard drive

Who invented the first Microprocessor?

Federico Faggin, Marcian Hoff, Stanley Mazor, Masatoshi Shima, James McEwen

What does GUI stand for in computers? What is it?

GUI stands for graphical user interface

Define the term hardware

Hardware is the physical components of a computer that you can touch

In what year did Apple introduce the Macintosh computer?

January 24, 1984

What will happen if you put a USB drive and a magnet too closely together?

Magnets can damage or erase USB Drives, USB drives cannot be harmed or altered by magnetic fields. The drives are not built from magnetic materials

What software sent Bill Gates on his way to becoming one of the richest men in the world?

Microsoft

What are optical storage devices are most commonly known as?

Optical storage devices store and read data using light, often recording information on what's called an optical disk. The most common types of optical storage devices are drives that read and write CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs

What is a personal computer? What is the abbreviation most often used to describe personal computers?

PC

Define the term solid-state storage media and given an example of this type of media

Solid-state storage (SSS) is a type of computer storage media that stores data electronically and has no moving parts. Because there are no moving parts, SSDs require less power and produce far less heat than spinning hard disk drives or magnetic tape

CPU its function

The central processing unit (CPU) of a computer is a piece of hardware that carries out the instructions of a computer program. It performs the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of a computer system

What are the four components that make up a computer system?

The four main components that make up a computer system is input devices, processing devices, output devices and memory (storage) devices

What is a GUI (Graphic User Interface)

a computer program that enables a person to communicate with a computer through the use of symbols, visual metaphors, and pointing devices

motherboard

a printed circuit board containing the principal components of a computer or other device, with connectors into which other circuit boards can be slotted

computer

an electronic device for storing and processing data, typically in binary form, according to instructions given to it in a variable program.

What is a Microprocessor?

an integrated circuit that contains all the functions of a central processing unit of a computer

supercomputer

any of a class of extremely powerful computers

Define the term data

facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis

Define the term software

instructions that tell a computer what to do, a set of instructions that directs a computer's hardware to perform a task

Define the term server

server is a computer connected to a network of other workstations called 'clients'

Hard drive

the hardware component that stores all of your digital content

Is a calculator a computer?

yes