Computer Basics

Information that a user physically enters into a computer by pressing a key on a keyboard, clicking a mouse, tapping a touch screen, pushing a button on a game controller, speaking into a microphone, etc.

• Input

• Output

• Storage

• Process

The operations performed by a computer to retrieve, transform, or classify information.

• Input

• Processing

• Output

• Storage

Information that a computer returns to a user such as

images on a screen, sounds from speakers, and printed pages.

• Input

• Process

• Output

• Storage

The saving of information on memory chips, discs, or other storage media by a computer for later use.

• Storage

• Processing

• Output

• Input

An early computing machine that used punched cards and

metal pins. It was used to compile the 1890 US census.

• WWW

• Netiquette

• Hollerith's Tabulating Machine

• Transistors

A smaller, faster, cheaper, and more durable electronic device that replaced mechanical relays, which were slow and tended to wear down over time.

• Hollerith's Tabulating Machine

• smart phone

• Processing

• Transistor

An electronic device that allowed entire computers to be built into a single board, replacing modules for each part of the computer. It paved the way for personal computer ownership.

• Microchip

• Transistors

• Vacuum Tubes

• Artificial Intelligence

The fastest, most powerful computers that exist at a given time. These computers have processing capabilities designed to solve problems that are too complex for regular computers. They play vital roles in the advancement of national defense, science, and social change.

• Smart Phone

• Supercomputers

• Macro Computers

• Mainframe Computers