Terms
CPU - Central Processing Unit. Sometimes called the brains of the computer.
ie. Intel Pentium IV 2.6 Ghz, AMD Duron or Athalon, Intel Celeron
RAM - Random Access Memory - Short term memory - comes in different sizes. 32mb, 64mb, 128mb, 512mb, 1024mb or 1 gb
Hardware - Physical parts of the computer. i.e. monitor, keyboard, speakers, mouse, etc.
Software - Programs that are installed on the computer.
Operating System - Is software that tells the parts of hte computer how to work with each other and how the hardware and other software should work.
Hard Drive - Mass storage device. It is whedre software is stored. Hard drives are measured in bytes. Now the common size is 40gb.
Imput Device - any piece of harware that gives the computer information. i.e. mouse, keyboard, scanner, microphone, video cam, joystick, etc.
Output Device - any piece of hardware that send information to the user. i.e. monitor, printer, speakers
Input/Output Device - any piece of hardware that can both send and reveive information. i.e. disk drives, touch screens.