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computer
Last modified: Monday, June 25, 2007
A programmable machine. The two principal characteristics of a computer are:
It can execute a prerecorded list of instructions (a program).
Modern computers are electronic and digital. The actual machinery -- wires, transistors, and circuits -- is called hardware; the instructions and data are called software.
All general-purpose computers require the following hardware components:
In addition to these components, many others make it possible for the basic components to work together efficiently. For example, every computer requires a bus that transmits data from one part of the computer to another.
Computers can be generally classified by size and power as follows, though there is considerable overlap:
Building Your Own PC What hard-core techies and companies like Dell and Compaq have been doing for years is what any computer user can learn how to do - build a computer from scratch. Let SE take you on a stroll through the park and ease the pain of building a DIY PC.
Price Watch - street price search engine Offers a way to find prices on computer products (systems, CPU, memory, storage, networking, multimedia, etc.) from many manufacturers. Prices are entered by the manufacturer using a proprietary Price Watch Info-Link system. Users then see a date and time posting with each product chosen.
IEEE's Computer magazine Monthly magazine received by all members of the IEEE Computer Society. Offers articles of interest to computing professionals, computer scientists and engineers.
What Is 64-bit Computing? When reading about PCs and servers, you'll often see the CPU described by the number of bits (e.g., 32-bit or 64-bit), here's a little info about what that means.
