What is a Computer

Macintosh computer release date

1980's

Analytical Engine

1st mechanical computer. Ran off of punched cards. Created by Charles Babbage, but never completed by him.

Transistor

1st thing that led to the miniaturization of the computer

Integrated Circuit

2nd step to the miniaturization of the computer

Microprocessor

3rd step leading to the miniaturization of the computer.

Power Supply

A device that provides power to a computer.

Binary Code

Groupings of 1's and 0's that makes information that a computer can understand.

Supercomputer

Most powerful computers of all, with extremely fast processing speeds. Can perform really complex scientific calculations. They span in size from a few times the size of a desktop computer to the size of an entire room.

RAM

Random Access Memory - temporary place to store material that works quickly. erased when computer turns off. Volatile.

ROM

Read Only Memory- Permanent instructions that cannot be changed. It makes the BIOS function. Checks your OS.

Software

Set of instructions that tells the hardware what to do. It is what guides the hardware and tells it how to accomplish each task.

Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer.

ENIAC

Charles Babbage

Father of the computer- created the cow catcher.

John von Neumann

Wrote a paper that helped people understand how to work a computer.

Mainframe

a little less powerful than supercomputers; can execute multiple tasks at one time at a very high speed.

Mini Computer

also called "mid range computers." multi-user computers that have less storage capabilities; used in businesses for specific tasks.

Order of bytes from least to greatest

bits, byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte

Cause of evolution of computers

continual shrinking of microprocessors.

Output

device that projects images, gives sound, and basically gives out the info from the computer so the user can obtain it (ex: monitor, printer, projector, speakers)

Input

device used to insert data into a computer or other device (ex: keyboard, mouse, microphone, scanner, voice recognition)

Application Software

ex: Word, Excel, Photoshop, WordPerfect...

Auxiliary Storage Devices

ex: network drive, hard drive, flash drive, google drive.

Steve Jobs & Steve Wosniak

made the PC affordable.

Boot Process

starting up a computer from a halted or powered down condition.

Alan Taureg

the idea that a computer can think.

John Mauchley

tried to solve the shortage of firing tables.

Wireless Network

Any type of computer network that is not connected by cables of any kind.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Brain of the computer that performs instructions defined by software

Herman Hollerith

Built the first working mechanical computer based off of the Analytical Engine. Started IBM (International Business Machines)

Micro Computer

PC's, desktops, workstations, servers, tablets, handhelds, wearable.

Motherboard

Printed circuit board on which the CPU, RAM chips and other electronic circuit elements of a digital computer are frequently located.

operating system software

Programs that make the computer work. ex: Windows 8, vista, GUI, Linux.

Xerox

Put out the first PC

Operating System (OS)

Software used to control the computer and its peripheral equipment.

User Friendly

Something anyone can operate

Hard Drive

Storage device that stores digitally encoded data on rapidly rotating rigid disks with magnetic surfaces. The device is either permanently installed within the computer case or can be portable