Last time I
already give you an article where I talk about network topology (look
it in my blog if you didn't know), the definition, it's function,
history, everything. Now I'm gonna do the same thing, but this time
with computer. Yes, I'm gonna talk about components inside the
computer, hardware and software. And If you are going to build a
computer, you should read this article (And share it, I'm begging
you...).
Computer,
just like we know it was the most important invention after
television, wheel, and smartphone. Everybody used it, can you imagine
what happen if there are no computer? Our life will be so boring, all
of our tasks like homework will always be written in paper. If
computer doesn't exist, smartphone will only be a dream. And there's
a reason why computer is so important; It's the components. The
technology have become more sophisticated this days, and so does the
computer components. So if the component become more sophisticated,
the computer itself become more sophisticated too. Our tasks will be
easy to complete, and we can get all information that we need thanks
to it. And that's why computer is so important.
Anyway,
every high tech device needs a components in order to be working.
Like a smartphone that can't work if there are no ion-lithium
battery, the same with computer. It can't work if there are no
processor inside, and processor can't work if there are no
motherboard in the CPU, all of that components are working together
to form a perfect and beautiful PC. And in this article I'm gonna
explain everything.
Components
Of The Computer
For you who didn't know, the
components inside a computer are divided into three parts. Hardware,
software, and brainware. And hardware itself can be divided into
input, process, storage and also output. You can find all of the
explanation below:
Hardware,
is the most basic thing that you should know if you are going to
build a computer. It can't work without this. But what is hardware
exactly? Well, after I did a research which is in Wikipedia (Just
kidding...). It says that hardware is the phsyical parts of computer
components. And it can be divided into:
Process:
This
is basically the brain of computer. All of the information that you
send, will be processed here. There are three important elements in
here, Primary Storage, Arithmatic Logic Unit, and Main Memory. I
will them explain later.
Software,
the second one should be software. Or known as application. Software
is basicaly a collection of electronic data that was stored and
organized by the computer. The data that was stored can be a program
or instruction that will run or execute a command. And software is
the one that was used by computer to execute that command. The only
difference between hardware and software, is that you can touch a
hardware. And software can't (Unless you have a touch screen computer
of course). And just like hardware, software can be divided into:
Freeware:
is the type of software that you can use as long as you want and of
course you didn't have to pay to own the software. There are no such
thing called limited time in freeware, and it was usually donated to
the communities. This communities have a rights to develop and
control the freeware product. They can also give the software to
the developer, if the developer was no longer continue the
development. They will give the source code to the other developer.
Shareware:
is
another type of software that didn't take your money, or in other
words free. It was almost like a freeware, You can get shareware at
no cost. But there's a requirement for it, you can't use it to the
fullest. That means there will be certain limitations on features
like availabity, function, and comfort that can be fully utilized.
People called it trialware because of that, the developer use
shareware as a tool for advertising. So it's just like video game,
there's a demo version (promotional) and full version (the real
one). Shareware is just like the demo version of a full version
software.
Firmware:
is
a software that was stored in Read Only Memory (ROM), firmware can't
be change even if there are no electricity. What about the place
where it was stored in ROM? It can't be change too, but it can be
modified depends on the type of the ROM like EEPROM and Flash Rom.
Commercial
Software:
is
a software for commercial purposes that can be bought at
distributor, developer, and other software developer partner. The
user who bought that software can't redistribute or reshare the
software without permission, because it was protected by law and you
can go to jail if you did that. One of the example of commercial
software is Corel Draw, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Visual Basic NET,
etc.
Free
Software:
is a software where you can do anything you want. You can bought it
for free, change the source code, and distributed the software. It
was not protected by law because it was open for everyone, you can
even sell the free software that you have changed and make some
profit from it. If you still confused, just imagine a person draw a
straight line in a paper, then that person give you the drawing. And
then you change or modified the straight line into any drawing.
After that you sold it, and get some money.
Open
Source Software:
is
a software where you can changed, learn, upgrade, and distributed
the source code. It was open for a community or a group of developer
to change the code. Because open source software was built for that
purposes, sometimes only a programmer or a person that know
programming that own this kind of software.
Malware:
or
malicious software is a type of software that can harm your
computer. Malware can be very destructive, it can delete all of your
important files, slowing down or decreasing your computer
performance, and even kill your computer. There are so many types of
malware like trojan horse, adware, worm, rootkit, crimeware, etc.
Brainware,
last but not least is brainware. It was not a cpu nor a processor,
but it's you the user. Many people sometimes mistaken brainware as
the important part of the computer, but actually brainware is the
person who use the computer like programmer, netter, and many else.
Brainware is the part of holy trinity of the computer world, software
can't work without hardware and hardware should be operated by
brainware. If there's one missing the computer will not be working.
Hardware
Components
There are so many components
inside in the computer and each of them have it's own function. It's
just like a transformers, there are lots of parts or components
inside and you will be confuse if I mention them all. So for the last
part of this article, I'm gonna mention some of the hardware
components, and put them according to their type like input, process,
storage, and output (sorry if there are bad grammar).
Input
1.
Mouse, is
one of the component that was very important. It was use for
interacting with a monitor, you need this to click everything that
you want to click on your computer. And almost every computer need
it, especially if you are good at design graphic and a gamer too.
There are several types of mouse, serial type mouse, PS/2 mouse,
scroll mouse, and the one that everybody use; optical mouse.
2.
Keyboard, what's
the first thing that come to your mind when you hear the word
computer? Yes, keyboard. It begin from typewriter, and from there
keyboard become more advanced. Just like it's previous ancestor,
there are lots of button in keyboard. From function button
(F1...F12), letter button, numbers, etc. And you will need it for
writing or typing something in your computer.
3.
Scanner, another
input device comes in third place. If you are an illustrator or maybe
you are working for a prson who make a comic book, the you must be
familiar with this device. Just like it's name, scanner is use for
scanning a drawing from a paper and then the scanner put the drawing
that you just scan in the computer.
Process
1.
Processor, the
first and the obvious one is processor. All of data from input device
was sent and then translate it by this device. Processor have two
important role in a computer, as Arithmatic Logic Unit (the center of
all mathematic calculations), and Memory Unit (store all the
functions that was executed by the processor).
2.
Motherboard,
is
like a big town of circuit with processor and a lot of slot (like
IDE, PCI, FDD, etc) as it's building. Yes, this is where you put most
of the computer components. And like I've said before, motherboard
have a lot of slots and some extra slot for card/adapters. There are
lots of thing that you can find in motherboard like BIOS, memory,
CPU, mass-storage interface, serial ports, expansion slots, and
controller.
3.
Sound Card, is
an expansion card that for producing a sound that will connected to a
speaker. Sound card is available in every computer, and computer
doesn't really need sound card to produce a sound. Usually sound card
was attached in motherboard. But if you want a better sound quality,
you may want to bought a separate sound card and put it in PCI slot.
Output
1.
Monitor, or
people called it computer screen. It was the most important thing
that you'll need if you want to have a computer. Monitor is used to
display a data and information that was processed by a computer in a
form of a picture. There are two types of monitor that you can find,
CRT or Cathode Ray Tube (ask your parents if you didn't know) and LCD
or Liquid Crystal Display (The slim version of CRT).
2.
Printer,
is used to display the result of a data that was processed by
computer in a form of writing or picture that was printed in a paper.
Today there are so many types of printer like Dot Matrix (It use
carbon tape to print on paper), Inkjet (It use ink of course), Laser
(The best printer type).
3.
Speaker, is
a device that conects to a computer (and television too) to generate
sound.The signal used to produce sound that comes from a computer
speaker is created by the computer's sound card. To be simple, sound
card is the processing device and speaker is the output.
Storage
1.
USB Flash Disk,
the most popular and most used device in the world. Almost every
people used it, why? Because of course it was easy to use and can
store data up to 128 GB, cheap (the most important thing), can delete
and store your data easily, plug and play and many else.
2.
Hard Disk Drive,
or HDD is a storage device made from a rigid material that shaped
like a disc. It was cover in magnetic oxide with huge storage
capacity (up to 1 terra byte!). This device can be found in almost
every CPU that you can find. And of course there are two types of
HDD, PATA and SATA (the new and most used by today's computer).
3.
Memory,
the basic strorage device. Just like every storage device, it was
used for store the data and the result of output device. Memory was
made in a serial location or cells, one cell can store one word.
Computer memory is divided into two types Primary Memory (like ROM
and RAM), and Secondary Memory (disc, compact disc, and hardisk).
Technology
is probably the greatest achievement in our life, with times passed
by. Technology become more advanced. Just like human that needs air
to breath, gadgets and machine needs a component or hardware in order
to be working. Because of the gadgets and machines our job and tasks
become easier, our house become safer, and we also can meet another
person in another country. All of that will only be a dream if there
are no components or hardware inside it.
