< Index                                         COMPUTERS

The computer is an electronic device which stores information, processes it and presents the results.

There are different types of computers, but the main categories are:

mainframes, which are big computers used to process huge quantities of data;

personal computers (PCs), the most common ones in the office or at home;

portable computers, including laptops, notebooks and pocket computers or palmtops.

The two main parts of the computer system are called hardware and software: hardware is the mechanical equipment making up the computer; software is the set of instructions that make the computer work.

Some hardware elements are:

- the processor, the part of the computer that performs operations on the information that is put into it;

- the RAM (Random Access Memory), a type of computer memory which can be changed as necessary;

- the ROM (Read Only Memory), a type of computer memory which holds information that can be used but not changed or added to ;

- the hard disk, a magnetic device that is fixed inside a computer and stores a very large amount of information.