| It's very hard to imagine a world without computers! | | | | way of the keyboard and with help from the mouse, |
| Everywhere you look computers are at work | | | | they are able to view what they're typing on the |
| attempting to provide one service or another and | | | | computer monitor (or computer screen) in front of |
| make our lives easier. Computers, in one form or | | | | them. |
| another can be found in vehicles, from cars, trucks and | | | | What could be simpler? In the meantime the inside of |
| motorcycles to larger scale methods of transportation | | | | the computer is very busy going through the |
| such as airplanes and trains. They are in your television | | | | information that is being entered into it and organizing it |
| set, your VCR, your toaster oven, etc. But when we | | | | in a fashion that will be understandable to the |
| conjure up the image of a computer usually our first | | | | computer user. The individual busy typing away has |
| thought is of a PC, otherwise known as a personal | | | | the opportunity to save the work they are doing in two |
| computer. | | | | ways, by way of saving it to the hard disk or drive or |
| Personal computers can be purchased either as | | | | by saving it to a floppy disk or CD. Some people |
| desktops or laptops and have so many different uses. | | | | choose to do both, which is often wise to do. |
| Most of us would be lost without one at home or work | | | | All computers are made with certain pieces of |
| or both! Many public libraries provide computers for the | | | | machinery that enable it to do its job. Describing it in a |
| use of patrons, as it is a service that is invaluable to | | | | general way, every computer comes complete with its |
| every one of us. E-mail or electronic mail is the | | | | brain, or central processing unit (CPU), the memory |
| quickest way to communicate with one another. | | | | bank (which is self explanatory, think of your own |
| With one click on the "send" button a message is sent | | | | memory), the main circuit board (often referred to as a |
| through cyberspace and arrives at the recipient's in | | | | motherboard), the power supply which takes care of |
| box in a matter of seconds. Students of all ages reap | | | | all electrical functions, the hard drive which is the |
| the benefits of the Internet when it comes time to look | | | | permanent storage unit of the computer, the standard |
| up information for school papers. | | | | software (otherwise known as the operating system), |
| And very few people would disagree that typing | | | | the IDE (integrated drive electronics controller), the PCI |
| papers and reports on a computer is far superior to | | | | (or peripheral component interconnect bus), the SCSI, |
| typing on those old rickety typewriters of yester years! | | | | pronounced oddly enough as "skuzzy" which is the |
| And computers carry the added advantage of being | | | | small computer system from which scanners or |
| able to save work for future use, which cuts down on | | | | printers can be plugged into, and the graphic card and |
| a lot of headaches. | | | | sound card which takes care of visual information and |
| Computers process information and in some ways are | | | | aural data respectively. In order to utilize a graphics |
| very complex while in other ways are very simple to | | | | card one needs an AGP (or accelerated graphics |
| understand. To describe how they do this in brief, as a | | | | port) in the computer. |
| person types a series of words into the computer by | | | | |