Chapter 3 - Hardware Basics
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| There is no invention – only discovery | Thomas J. Watson |
| What Computer Do | Store Information |
| Input Devices | The keyboard is the most common input device |
| Output Devices | A video monitor is a common output device |
| Process Information | The processor, or central processing unit (CPU), processes information and performs all the necessary arithmetic calculations. |
| Primary storage | is the computer’s main memory |
| Secondary storage | uses disks or other media |
| Information comes in many forms | Words . . . Numbers . . . Pictures . . . Sounds... Symbols |
| Even the most sophisticated ocmputer is really only a large well-organized volume of bits.” | David Harel |
| ASCII | American Standard Code for Information Interchange |
| Bit | smallest unit of information |
| Byte | a grouping of eight bits of information |
| kilobyte | about 1,000 bytes of information - technically 1024 bytes equals 1K of storage |
| megabyte | about 1 million bytes of information |
| gigabyte | about 1 billion bytes of information |
| terabyte | about 1 million megabytes of information |
| Compatibility | Each computer has a unique instruction set |
| Speed | Speed is measured in units called megahertz (mHz). |
| random access memory | is the most common type of primary storage, or computer memory |
| read-only memory | information is stored permanently on a chip. |
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