What is a computer?

A computer is a device used for carrying out sequences of arithmetic and logical operators.Modern computers have the ability to execute a set of operations called programs.A computer system consists of hardware,operating system and  various equipment to form a computer system.

Computers are used by various industrial and consumer devices.This includes for various purposes such as microwave ovens and remote controls.For factories such as industrial robots and computer aided design.For personal use,devices like mobile phones and laptops are convenient.

A modern computer consists of Central Processing Unit (CPU) in the form of a metal oxide computer microprocessor(MOS) as well as computer memory such as  MOS semi-conductor memory chips.

The processing system includes executing arithmetic and logical operations which uses a sequencing and control unit that can change the  order of the operations and also storing data or information.Peripheral devices consists of input and output devices.Peripheral devices allow information to be returned from another source and they allow to result of operations  to be saved and retrieved.

HISTORY

Computation from devices provided support to people for a thousand years using correspondence from fingers.The earliest device for counting was in a form of tally stick.

The abacus  was used for arithmetic tasks.One time the Roman abacus was made Babylonia as early as 2400 BC. In Europe the counting device from the medieval period invented a checkered cloth that would be placed on a table and markers moved around it according to certain rules as a help to counting money.

The Antikythera device was the earliest device used for analog computer.It was used for calculating astronomical positions.It was discovered in Antikythera wreck in the Greek Island of Antikythera. It was found in 1901.

The planimeter was a manual instrument to calculate the area of a closed figure by tracing over it with a mechanical linkage.

The Abacus was probably the earliest known calculating  device.It came during 1100 BCE and is used mainly in Asia.It consists of a rectangular frame with thin parallel rods strung with beads.Systematic positional notation was adopted for writing numbers,the Abacus assigned different units or weighs to rod.Abacus beads can be controlled to perform arithimetic calculations such as multiplication,division addition and subtraction.It is useful for book keeping and commercial transactions.

First Computing Device

An English Mechanical engineer and Polymath,Charles Babbage invented the concept of a programmable computer.He is known as the father of the computer.He invented the first mechanical computer in the 19th century.The inputs of programs and data was provided to the machine via punched cards,a method used at that time to direct mechanical looms.For output the machine would have a printer and a bell as well as a plotter.The machine would also be available to punch numbers into cards to read in later.

The engine supports an arithmetic logic unit,control flow in the form of conditional branching and loops.It also uses integrated memory.All the parts of the machine was to be developed by hand.Charles Babbage failure to completing the analytical engine could be because of financial and political difficulties.However his son Henry Babbage made a simplified version of the analytical engine which was a computer unit in 1888.

Analog Computers

During the first half of 20th century many computer needs were met by the analog computer which used a direct mechanical or electrical  model for problems in computation.But they were not programmable and generally lacked the versatility and accuracy of digital computers.The differential analyzer  a mechanical analog computer was designed to solve many equations using wheel and  disc mechanism and was made by James Thompson in 1876.

A different analyzer was made regarding analog computer built by Hazen and Bush  in 1927.By the 1950, digital electronic computers was replaced by analog computers,but analog computers was still in use during this period.

Digital Computers

Earlier digital computers were electromechanical. They used electric switches that provided calculation that drove mechanics.The devices had slow speed of operating.There were electric computers that drove maximum high speed using vacuum tubes.

There is an electronic  computer known as Z3 that used 2000 relays, 22 bit word length that had a clock mechanism of about  5-10 Hz.Punch film was used to hold program code which used to store 64 words or supplied from the keyboard.The Z3 was not a universal computer but to be executed until complete.

Progress of Hardware

In the 1950 two devices would be invented to create a computer field and marked the history of computer revolution.The first of the devices was the transistor.The vacuum tubes used in this period by all computers and calculating machines  which was invented by Lee De Forest in 1906.The vaccum tube which was about the size of a thumb in human hands used large amounts of electricity to heat a filament around the tube until it was red.

Vacuum tubes were inefficient and required to be replaced.The transistors solved this problem.The main problem with transistor was htat they needed to be soldered together.The circuits became more complex to use and the numerous amount of connection between transistors and use of faulty wiring increased.

In 1958,this problem was solved by Jack St.Clair Kilby of Texas computers.He created the first circuit or chip.A chip is a collection tiny transistors which are connected together  when the transistor is manufactured.Now only connections were needed to other electronic computers.

Modern Computers

The principle of modern computer was first announced by Alan Turing.He introduced a computer device that was the universal computer and is known as universal tuning machine.He proved that a computing could be done with any machine.It executes a list of instruction or program on tape allowing the machine to be programmable.The concept of Turing's design is that it is a stored program,where all the computing could be stored in memory.

Stored Program Computer

A stored program computer  is a computer that stores program instructions in electronic or accessible memory.This contrast with the systems that was used to store programs with plugboards or similiar mechanisms.

The concept of stored program computer can be traced back to 1936 when there was a theory of universal Tuning machine. Von Neummon was aware of this paper and he impressed it on his collaborators.

In 1936, Kondrad Zuse anticipated in two  patent applications that machine instructions could be stored in the same storage used for data.

The university of Mananchester's Baby was known as the first world new computer.However it was not recognized as a full-fledged computer.On 1949 in Cambridge run its first program making it another electronic computer.

Mobile Computers

The first mobile computers  were heavy and ran from main powers.Later portable such as Osborne  and Compaq portable  were considerably lighter but still needed to be plugged in.The first laptops  such as Grid Compass removed this requirement by incorporating batteries and with he complete miniature use of computer resources. and advancements of portable battery life ,portable computers was very popular in 2000.The same developments were used to manufacture mobile phones by the early 2000.

These smartphones and tablets run on a variety of operating systems and recently became the dominant  computing device on the market.

Latest Hardwares

Super Computers

A super computer is a computer with a high level of performance as performed to general purpose computer.Its performance consists of measuring a a floating point operations per second(FLOPS) instead of million instructions per second(MIPS).In 2017 there are hundred quadrillion FLOPS performed by supercomputers.The world fastest supercomputer run Linux-based operating systems.

Supercomputers play a role  in the filed of computer science and are used widely for certain tasks such as weather forecasting, climate research etc.The US has been the long leader  in the super computer field,first through Cray's almost  uninterrupted field and through a variety of technology companies.Japan made major strides in the field with China being the most increase active in this field.

As of June 2020,the fastest supercomputer  is Fugaku in Japan with a LINPACK benchmarks score of 415  PFLOPS followed by Summit by around 266.7 PFLOPS.

Personal Computers

A personal  computer  is a multi-purpose computer whose size,capabilities and price makes it feasible for individual use.Personal computers are used by the end user,rather than  a expert or technician.

Institutional or corporate computer  in 1960  had to write their own programs to do any useful work with the machine.With personal computers users may develop their own applications.They usually run commercial programs or free or open source software. which is ready to run or in binary form.

Since the early 1990,Microsoft  operating system and Intel Hardware dominated the use of personal computers in the market,first with MS-DOS and then with Microsoft Windows.Other alternatives include Apple's MacOS and free and open source Unix like operating systems such as Linux.

Desktop Computer

A desktop computer is a personal computer  designed for use on a table due to its size and power requirements.The most common components for this computer uses a motherboard , a power supply ,memory,bus and other electronic components such as speaker,CPU, keyboard,mouse for input etc. 

Gaming Computer 

A gaming computer also known as a gaming PC or gaming rig is a personal computer  designed for playing computer games that require high amount of computer power.A modern gaming computer is compared to a mainstream computer with the addition of performance-oriented components such as high performance video cards that sacrifice power efficiency for raw components.

A gaming computer  are used mainly for playing games and PC used for maximum performance for use of playing games.Gaming computers can be divided into  low-end,mid-range and and high-end markets.

A gaming computer requires various different parts,they are frequently  custom-assembled,rather than pre-assembled by companies that specialize in building gaming hardwares.

Home Theatre PC

A home theatre PC(HTPC)  or media center computer is a device that combines  some or all capabilities of a personal computer with a software application that supports video,photo audio playback or video recording.

The term media center also refers to specialized  application software designed to run on personal computers. HTPC  has a remote control and the software interface has normally  has a 10-foot user interface design so that it can be views within comfortable viewing modes by the user.

Digital media player and smart TV has been incorporated into consumer electronics through hardware and software changes including video gaming consoles,Blu-ray players and network media players.

Laptop

A laptop or also known as laptop computer  is a small portable personal  computer (PC) having a thin LCD or LED computer screen mounted on the inside of the upper lid mounted on he upper lid of hte clamshell and an alphanumeric keyboard on the inside of the lower lid.The clamshell is opened to use the laptop computer.Laptop computers are folded for transportation is useful  for mobile devices.Its name comes from the lap as it is used to be placed on a users lap.

Laptops combines all the input and output devices and the capabilities of a desktop computer including the display screen ,speakers, a keyboard,data storage device,pointing device such as touchpad or trackpad,with an operating system, a processor or memory into a single unit.

Most modern laptops  feature integrated  webcams and built-in microphones and many laptops have touchscreens.Laptops can be powered either from internal battery or by an external computer supply from an AC adapter.

Smartphone

A smartphone is a mobile  device that combines cellular or mobile computing  functions into one unit.They are distinguished from feature phones  by their strong hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems ,which use wider software,internet  and multimedia functionality along with phone functions.

Smartphones typically contain a number of metal-oxide-conductor(MOS) integrated circuit (IC) chips,including various sensors that can be leveraged by software and support  wireless  communications protocols.

Improved hardware  and faster  wireless  communications have  increased the growth of the smartphone industry.During 2012, many smartphones were in use worldwide.Global smartphones sales surpassed  the sales  figures for feature phones in early 2013.