Who's the boss??. Review on General Tips on Computers

Computers! They get the devil out of me. I’m usually a very passionate person. But put me in front of my Computer & my color changes(My parents says I tend to loose interest in everybody & everything around seems awfully unexciting). Seriously, I’ve this special kind of liking for Computers, which tends to bring the other side of my personality very quickly. Show me a good Computer with some excellent softwares installed in it & I just can’t keep my hands off it. Whenever I see any advanced Computer, I become almost uncontrollable.

Lightning speed, tremendous accuracy, extraordinary reliability, unmatched integrity etc are some of the characteristics of a Computer, which has made its application so pervasive. There is hardly any field of human activity where its not there. It has revolutionized knowledge & information processing system. Knowledge is power & thus, the “Computer Chip’ has become a dominant thing. It is rightly said by someone(I don’t remember his name) that “The fifth generation of computers is the largest battle-ground of the 21st century”.

Computers of the 21st century are more miraculous than the mythical Aladin’s lamp. This tireless & marvelous machine can perform number of complicated calculations instantly. It can execute over a million instructions per second that too without any mistakes. Remember, an intelligent computer named “Deep Blue” capable of executing more than 166 million instructions per second, defeated the Russian grand master Gary Kasparov at chess competition.

These marvels of technology can store an ocean of information & knowledge, analyses it, retrieves information from Internet & gives results as & when ordered. It has helped in overcoming many difficult problems of multiple calculations, scientific data processing, record-keeping & industrial complications. Computers has proved to be a marvelous friend & servant of all the young students, professional & people associated with different line of works.

There are different types of Computers available in the market which can be classified as Analog Computers, Digital Computers & Hybrid Computers.

!)Analog Computers: This is a Computer which is used for processing continuous physical quantities like temperature pressure, current etc. It is mainly used in Chemical plants & large processing units to achieve optimum target….

@) Digital Computers: These are the Computer which are used for processing those quantities that can be represented with numbers. These numbers are represented within a Computer with binary digits(0 & 1). It is mainly used by professionals, businessmen, & Scientists….

#)Hybrid Computers: Hybrid Computers are based on both the techniques & are used to process those quantities which changes continuously. It is normally used in hospitals, government agencies….

Classification of Computers can also be done on the basis of its size & memory.

What is a Computer System?

The 3 main function of a Computers is getting the data & program through input unit, processing it in CPU & giving the final results in a suitable form through output unit. Thus, a Computer system normally consists of 3 parts:

1)Input device: Keyboard & Mouse are 2 very important input devices. They can also be called as Direct Input Devices.

2)CPU: Central Processing Unit is divided in to 3 different parts ie ALU, Control unit & Memory unit.

3)Output device: Some examples of Output devices are Monitor & Printer.

What is MS-DOS?

Microsoft-Disk Operating System must be loaded from the disk to the internal memory before it can be used. According to the function it performs, it is structured in 3 parts:

i)The BIOS(Which is basic input output system): The BIOS performs the basic input output functions using low level device programs. Its main function however, is to communicate with the hardware & to make the hardware execute the instructions of the software.

ii)The Kernel: Kernel is responsible for file handling, including creating, deleting & modifying files. It also manages the directories.

iii)The Shell: The Shell is an interface between the programmer & DOS. It contains instructions for executing some commands which are commonly given by the user.

Did you know: Any PC which is operated by MS-DOS is said to be an IBM-compatible computer.

Now, what is Windows?

Windows is a user friendly software program, which helps the user to work on personal computers. The programs can be entered & executed, the data can be transferred, the DOS command can be easily performed using Windows. It runs each program in its own separate window & there can be many windows on the screen at a time. Windows also allow its users to copy materials from one program to another. Then there are different icons(Shortcuts) containing symbols & pictures representing different documents & programs. To open any particular program you just have to click it twice….

In the end:

There is always this fear in the back of our mind that one day Computers would supersede human mind. Though, this may sound like a distant reality, we should not believe in such superstitions as these believes are not based on facts. In spite of radical & marvelous development in Computers technology, it would still remain a machine, a man made machine. It can never usurp the place & position of the human brain. After all, a computer is a machine, a product of human intelligence which always depends on human consciousness for its maintenance, operation & going. So, tell me……Who’s the boss!