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Computer 4

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8 views5 pages

Computer 4

Uploaded by

Hana Prasatthong
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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A computer is a machine that can be programmed to automatically carry out sequences

of arithmetic or logical operations(computation). Modern digital electronic computers can


perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These programs enable computers to
perform a wide range of tasks. The term computer system may refer to a nominally complete
computer that includes the hardware, operating system, software, and peripheral equipment
needed and used for full operation; or to a group of computers that are linked and function
together, such as a computer network or computer cluster.
Computers and computing devices from different eras - left to right, top to bottom:

 Early vacuum tube computer (ENIAC)


 Mainframe computer (IBM System 360)
 Smartphone (LYF Water 2)
 Desktop computer (IBM ThinkCentre S50with monitor)
 Video game console (Nintendo GameCube)
 Supercomputer (IBM Summit)

A broad range of industrial and consumer products use computers as control systems, including
simple special-purpose devices like microwave ovens and remote controls, and factory devices
like industrial robots. Computers are at the core of general-purpose devices such as personal
computers and mobile devices such as smartphones. Computers power the Internet, which links
billions of computers and users.
Early computers were meant to be used only for calculations. Simple manual instruments like
the abacus have aided people in doing calculations since ancient times. Early in the Industrial
Revolution, some mechanical devices were built to automate long, tedious tasks, such as guiding
patterns for looms. More sophisticated electrical machines did specialized analog calculations in
the early 20th century. The first digital electronic calculating machines were developed
during World War II, both electromechanical and using thermionic valves. The
first semiconductor transistors in the late 1940s were followed by the silicon-
based MOSFET (MOS transistor) and monolithic integrated circuitchip technologies in the late
1950s, leading to the microprocessor and the microcomputer revolution in the 1970s. The speed,
power and versatility of computers have been increasing dramatically ever since then,
with transistor counts increasing at a rapid pace (Moore's law noted that counts doubled every
two years), leading to the Digital Revolution during the late 20th to early 21st centuries.
Conventionally, a modern computer consists of at least one processing element, typically
a central processing unit (CPU) in the form of a microprocessor, together with some type
of computer memory, typically semiconductor memory chips. The processing element carries out
arithmetic and logical operations, and a sequencing and control unit can change the order of
operations in response to stored information. Peripheral devices include input devices
(keyboards, mice, joystick, etc.), output devices (monitor screens, printers, etc.), and input/output
devices that perform both functions (e.g., the 2000s-era touchscreen). Peripheral devices allow
information to be retrieved from an external source and they enable the result of operations to be
saved and retrieved.
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Etymology

A human computer, with microscope and


calculator, 1952
It was not until the mid-20th century that the word acquired its modern definition; according to
the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known use of the word computer was in a different
sense, in a 1613 book called The Yong Mans Gleanings by the English writer Richard Brathwait:
"I haue [sic] read the truest computer of Times, and the best Arithmetician that euer [sic]
breathed, and he reduceth thy dayes into a short number." This usage of the term referred to
a human computer, a person who carried out calculations or computations. The word continued
with the same meaning until the middle of the 20th century. During the latter part of this period
women were often hired as computers because they could be paid less than their male
counterparts.[1] By 1943, most human computers were women.[2]
The Online Etymology Dictionary gives the first attested use of computer in the 1640

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