Computers are an integrated part of many businesses today. Many companies use computers in order to store, process and manage information from various sources. Businesses may also use computers for completing routine tasks like printing, receiving and faxing messages and managing company financial records. Computers can also be used to enhance the performance of an individual office by enabling employees to work more efficiently. Computers allow users to input or control information and to perform various functions such as editing and sorting data, storing and retrieving data, processing large amounts of data and sending electronic mail.
Computers are one of the most important pieces of technology found in the information age. A computer is a device that is programmed to execute certain sets of mathematical or logical instructions automatically. Modern computers are able to do complex sets of calculations, such as simple optimization, sorting and storing large sets of data and performing multiple tasks. The future use of computers will probably continue to increase as computers become more powerful, more affordable and easier to program. There are several different types of computers that fall into different categories.
The primary category of computers includes desktop and laptop computers. Desktop computers are designed to fit in a room or small area and are used with the monitor connected to a personal computer, printer and keyboard. Laptop computers are designed to be carried around and used in a variety of locations. They have larger screens and increased memory, and some have wireless capability.
Digital cameras, hand held printers, personal digital photo printers and scanners all fall into the next category of computers. Digital cameras capture the images seen, either on film or in a digital format, and can be used to create, save and share photos. Printers and scanners convert the images seen into printable documents. Some computers offer a combination of these devices and software that allows users to manipulate and edit the captured images.
Early computers came with a general purpose operating system. As the technology was improved, more sophisticated operating systems were developed. The first true computers, known as mainframe computers, began to be used for business use. Later, personal computers became popular for personal computing. Personal computers can include mobile phones or other hand held devices. Mobile phone technology improved dramatically over the past few years, making handheld devices that were capable of running applications more affordable.
The software that runs on a computer is called the operating system. The operating system controls how the hardware and software interact with each other. An example of an operating system is Microsoft Windows, which is the most common operating system in use today. Software is also part of the computer, but it does not run on the device itself. Instead, the user connects the software to a particular computer and uses the device’s keyboard, pointing and clicking to control the software. Programs are stored on the hard drive of the electronic device, not on the electronic device’s internal memory.
Computers store information using a random access memory, or RAM. RAM is like a cache for temporary data. The data stored in RAM is constantly changing, so the computer must rewrite the old data for the new data to be stored. In order to find the data, the computer accesses a number of different files that are saved on the hard disk. Hard disks can be accessed via a computer’s operating system software, or through the hard drive itself.
One of the most basic pieces of software in computers is the word processor software. Word processors have been around for hundreds of years, and were probably invented in typewriter software. This software allows the user to create documents in a variety of fonts, sizes, and shapes. The word processor software has a storage unit that stores the font, size and other attributes of every font that is installed on a computer.