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![[Packard-bell multimedia computer]](../../v2gr/v2gr_hw/hwpbcom.jpg)
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The actual physical
equipment, includes Screen, System Unit, Silicon Chips, etc..
To quote John Cleese (British Comedian) ..
"Something you can kick"..
Note that a floppy disk is
Hardware, what is recorded on it is software !
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| Computer
based information systems |
Computer based information systems involve a variety of hardware, including the
photocopiers, the facsimile machine, the calculator and the computer system.
Computer components include peripheral devices such as OCR scanners, line printers,
terminals, magnetic storage and processing units.
Categories 
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- Input:
Devices for
getting data into the computer,
e.g. From humans - Keyboard
- Output:
Devices that translate processed information from the Computers Central Processing
Unit (CPU) into a form humans can understand.
e.g. Displaying data - Visual display Unit (VDU),
e.g. Printing data - Laser Printer
- Processing:
Devices housed
within the computer cabinet, that control, store and manipulate data and
instructions. Made up of Central Processing Unit (CPU) and
Primary Storage
(memory).
- Storage:
Devices that store data and programs (instructions) permanently.
For microcomputers the most
important are floppy (removable), hard (large capacity high speed) and optical (eg.
CD-ROM - high capacity/cheap) disks.
- Communications:
Devices that send data and programs from one computer or
secondary storage device to another.
e.g. A modem is a device used to send and receive data via a
standard analogue telephone line
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| Systems
unit
|
The cabinet used to hold many of the hardware components.
![[inside a system unit]](../../v2gr/v2gr_hw/hwsu.gif)
| Obsolescence
|
Hardware specifications are changing at an ever increasing rate. It has been said that
the computer industry reinvents itself every 18 months.
In terms of hardware each year is seeing a doubling of the PC performance and storage
capacity. (Moore's law)
If we look at this in terms of vehicles it would resemble something like...
And now some help with commonly used...
COMPUTER LINGO (by A4422DAE at AWIUNI11)
- 6502 The year you will pay off your computer...
- CPU C3PO's mother
- CRASH Normal termination of a program
- CASSETTE DRIVE Used as paper weight after buying a floppy disk drive.
- EPROM Acronym for "Exit Program, Read Owners Manual".
- KEYBOARD Random arrangement of letters
- LED Long Expected Defect
- RESET Another way to terminate a four hour sort
- RS232 R2D2's father
- TERMINAL Mental state of most programmers
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