What is a Computer and What is the Components?

In my reading of the book I found out that a computer is a device that can help you store, receive, and even process data. We all know that computers are broken down into two parts known as the hardware and the software. Below is a picture of the hardware and the software and there definitions.

Hardware:
The hardware on a computer are things like: keyboard, mouse, speakers, and monitors which are the physical part of the computer which are everything that you can see and physical touch.

Software:
The software on a computer are the programs you install on your computer. The software is used to tell the hardware on the computer what to do. Software are broken down into operating systems and application programs.

A computer can come in many sizes and also have many types. There are two major types of computers people normally buy and they are: Portable (laptop, notebook), and Desktop. Both the Portable and the Desktop computers are made up of the components and they are:

1.) Motherboard – The spin of the computer which is where all the components are attached.
2.) CPU – This carries instructions to the different parts of the computer.
3.) Hard Drive- Are where the files are stored on the computer.
4.) Power Supply- The source of the electrical power.
5.) RAM – Is the memory, the computer storage.
6.) Video- Is how you view images on the computer.
7.) Sound- Is the audio for the computer.
8.) Optical Drive (CD-RW, DVD-RW, CD-RW/DVD-RW) - Reads data from a disk.
9.) Case- Houses the computer components.

When purchasing a computer you must make sure that you have some knowledge of what a computer is and the things that come with it. You should always remember the things like the monitor and keyboards are the hardware of the computer and the things like Windows 7 and Norton security are the software of the computer. Having the knowledge of these things will help you learn the major computers functions more easily.