What is a Computer?Our First Post

A computer is an electronic device that manipulates information, or "data." It has the ability to store, retrieve, and process data. You can use a computer to type documents, send email, and browse the internet. You can also use it to handle spreadsheets, accounting, database management, presentations, games, and more.

Computers Simplified

For beginning computer users, the computer aisles at an electronics store can be quite a mystery, not to mention overwhelming. However, computers really aren't that mysterious. All types of computers consist of two basic parts:

• Hardware is any part of your computer that has a physical structure, such as the computer monitor or keyboard.
• Software is any set of instructions that tells the hardware what to do. It is what guides the hardware and tells it how to accomplish each task. Some examples of software are web browsers, games, and word processors such as Microsoft Word.
  
  
  FACT:-The first electronic computer, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), was developed in 1946. It took up 1,800 square feet and weighed 30 tons.

  Different styles of Computer

  Personal computers come in two main "styles": PC and Mac. Both styles are fully functional, but they do have a different look and feel, and many people prefer one or the other.

  • PC: This type of computer began with the original IBM PC that was introduced in 1981. Other companies began to create similar computers, which were called IBM PC Compatible (often shortened to PC). Today, this is the most common type of personal computer, and it typically includes the Microsoft Windowsoperating system.

  

  A pc

  • Mac: The Macintosh computer was introduced in 1984, and it was the first widely sold personal computer with a Graphical User Interface, or GUI (pronounced gooey). All Macs are made by one company, Apple Inc., and they almost always use the Mac OS X operating system.

  

  A mac