ComputerWhat computers do for us
Computers have been around since 1936 and have impacted our society ever since. In our world computers are everywhere from the toys our children play with to the cars we drive and the way we prepare our food. Computers have made our world easier to live in, in every way imaginable. Computers make our world safer, we can get a better education, and computer help improve the way we communicate. With the uses of computers the world is a safer place to live in. Computers are there to help us be safer in our environment. Our cars have security system to tell us if something is wrong and if someone is trying to steal our cars. Our homes are the same way; there are many home security systems to make our hoe better. Without computers this would not be possible. Computers made the world safer also by how we made our world. People are now living longer with the help of computer in the hospital. What human cannot do in an operating room computers can; computers can have a steadier hand than a person therefore making the procedure safer. Years ago men would have to lay brick by hand to build a building. Now there are safer mechanic to help them men. Computers have also impacted our educational system and the way we learn. Computers help people learn better. One can research more topics with ease and student will be introducing to word processing which will help them later in life. The internet becoming more and more available to everyone included children in the classroom. Student can learn much faster with the internet and be prepared their material more quickly with the help of computers. Computers have improved the way we communicate. With computers we can communicate with people all over the world. Cellphone are one way computers have impact the way we communicate. With computers one can talk or chat with someone from a different country. Company can import and export much better with the uses of computers. Without computers we would not have video chat or Skype. The world is continuously changing and people must change with it. Sometimes people think computers are bad some people think computers are good. Whatever they are computer make a different in our live whether one chooses to see it or not. So, in this case it might be better to hop on the band wagon then to get left behind. |
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Types of Computer
Since the advent of the first computer different types and sizes of computers are offering different services. Computers can be as big as occupying a large building and as small as a laptop or a microcontroller in mobile & embedded systems.The four basic types of computers are.
- Super computer
- Mainframe Computer
- Minicomputer
- Microcomputer
The most powerful computers in terms of performance and data processing are the supercomputers. These are specialized and task specific computers used by large organizations. These computers are used for research and exploration purposes, like NASA uses supercomputers for launching space shuttles, controlling them and for space exploration purpose.
A Supercomputer is focused on performing tasks involving intense numerical calculations such as weather forecasting, fluid dynamics, nuclear simulations, theoretical astrophysics, and complex scientific computations. A supercomputer is a computer that is at the front-line of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation. The term supercomputer itself is rather fluid, and the speed of today's supercomputers tends to become typical of tomorrow's ordinary computer. Supercomputer processing speeds are measured in floating point operations per second, or FLOPS. An example of a floating point operation is the calculation of mathematical equations in real numbers. In terms of computational capability, memory size and speed, I/O technology, and topological issues such as bandwidth and latency, supercomputers are the most powerful, are very expensive, and not cost-effective just to perform batch or transaction processing. Transaction processing is handled by less powerful computers such as server computers or mainframes.
The supercomputers are very expensive and very large in size. It can be accommodated in large air-conditioned rooms; some super computers can span an entire building.
Uses of Supercomputer
In Pakistan and other countries Supercomputers are used by Educational Institutes like NUST (Pakistan) for research purposes. Pakistan Atomic Energy commission & Heavy Industry Taxila uses supercomputers for Research purposes.
Space Exploration
Supercomputers are used to study the origin of the universe, the dark-matters. For these studies scientist use IBM’s powerful supercomputer “Roadrunner” at National Laboratory Los Alamos.
Earthquake studies
Supercomputers are used to study the Earthquakes phenomenon. Besides that supercomputers are used for natural resources exploration, like natural gas, petroleum, coal, etc.
Weather Forecasting
Supercomputers are used for weather forecasting, and to study the nature and extent of Hurricanes, Rainfalls, windstorms, etc.
Nuclear weapons testing
Supercomputers are used to run weapon simulation that can test the Range, accuracy & impact of Nuclear weapons.
Popular Supercomputers
A Supercomputer is focused on performing tasks involving intense numerical calculations such as weather forecasting, fluid dynamics, nuclear simulations, theoretical astrophysics, and complex scientific computations. A supercomputer is a computer that is at the front-line of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation. The term supercomputer itself is rather fluid, and the speed of today's supercomputers tends to become typical of tomorrow's ordinary computer. Supercomputer processing speeds are measured in floating point operations per second, or FLOPS. An example of a floating point operation is the calculation of mathematical equations in real numbers. In terms of computational capability, memory size and speed, I/O technology, and topological issues such as bandwidth and latency, supercomputers are the most powerful, are very expensive, and not cost-effective just to perform batch or transaction processing. Transaction processing is handled by less powerful computers such as server computers or mainframes.
The supercomputers are very expensive and very large in size. It can be accommodated in large air-conditioned rooms; some super computers can span an entire building.
Uses of Supercomputer
In Pakistan and other countries Supercomputers are used by Educational Institutes like NUST (Pakistan) for research purposes. Pakistan Atomic Energy commission & Heavy Industry Taxila uses supercomputers for Research purposes.
Space Exploration
Supercomputers are used to study the origin of the universe, the dark-matters. For these studies scientist use IBM’s powerful supercomputer “Roadrunner” at National Laboratory Los Alamos.
Earthquake studies
Supercomputers are used to study the Earthquakes phenomenon. Besides that supercomputers are used for natural resources exploration, like natural gas, petroleum, coal, etc.
Weather Forecasting
Supercomputers are used for weather forecasting, and to study the nature and extent of Hurricanes, Rainfalls, windstorms, etc.
Nuclear weapons testing
Supercomputers are used to run weapon simulation that can test the Range, accuracy & impact of Nuclear weapons.
Popular Supercomputers
- IBM’s Sequoia, in United States
- Fujitsu’s K Computer in Japan
- IBM’s Mira in United States
- IBM’s SuperMUC in Germany
- NUDT Tianhe-1A in China
Mainframe computer
Although Mainframes are not as powerful as supercomputers, but certainly they are quite expensive nonetheless, and many large firms & government organizations uses Mainframes to run their business operations. The Mainframe computers can be accommodated in large air-conditioned rooms because of its size. Super-computers are the fastest computers with large data storage capacity, Mainframes can also process & store large amount of data. Banks educational institutions & insurance companies use mainframe computers to store data about their customers, students & insurance policy holders.
The term mainframe computer was created to distinguish the traditional, large, institutional computer intended to service multiple users from the smaller, single user machines. These computers are capable of handling and processing very large amounts of data quickly. Mainframe computers are used in large institutions such as government, banks and large corporations. They are measured in MIPS (million instructions per second) and respond to up to 100s of millions of users at a time.
Popular Mainframe computers
Although Mainframes are not as powerful as supercomputers, but certainly they are quite expensive nonetheless, and many large firms & government organizations uses Mainframes to run their business operations. The Mainframe computers can be accommodated in large air-conditioned rooms because of its size. Super-computers are the fastest computers with large data storage capacity, Mainframes can also process & store large amount of data. Banks educational institutions & insurance companies use mainframe computers to store data about their customers, students & insurance policy holders.
The term mainframe computer was created to distinguish the traditional, large, institutional computer intended to service multiple users from the smaller, single user machines. These computers are capable of handling and processing very large amounts of data quickly. Mainframe computers are used in large institutions such as government, banks and large corporations. They are measured in MIPS (million instructions per second) and respond to up to 100s of millions of users at a time.
Popular Mainframe computers
- Fujitsu’s ICL VME
- Hitachi’s Z800
Minicomputers are used by small businesses & firms. Minicomputers are also called as “Midrange Computers”. These are small machines and can be accommodated on a disk with not as processing and data storage capabilities as super-computers & Mainframes. These computers are not designed for a single user. Individual departments of a large company or organizations use Mini-computers for specific purposes. For example, a production department can use Mini-computers for monitoring certain production process.
Minicomputers (colloquially, minis) are a class of multi-user computers that lie in the middle range of the computing spectrum, in between the smallest mainframe computers and the largest single-user systems (microcomputers or personal computers). The term superminicomputer or supermini was used to distinguish more powerful minicomputers that approached mainframes in capability. Superminis were usually 32-bit at a time when most minicomputers were 16-bit. The contemporary term for minicomputer is midrange computer, such as the higher-end SPARC, POWER and Itanium-based systems from Oracle Corporation, IBM and Hewlett-Packard.
Popular Minicomputers
Minicomputers (colloquially, minis) are a class of multi-user computers that lie in the middle range of the computing spectrum, in between the smallest mainframe computers and the largest single-user systems (microcomputers or personal computers). The term superminicomputer or supermini was used to distinguish more powerful minicomputers that approached mainframes in capability. Superminis were usually 32-bit at a time when most minicomputers were 16-bit. The contemporary term for minicomputer is midrange computer, such as the higher-end SPARC, POWER and Itanium-based systems from Oracle Corporation, IBM and Hewlett-Packard.
Popular Minicomputers
- K-202
- Texas Instrument TI-990
- SDS-92
- IBM Midrange computers
Desktop computers, laptops, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablets & smartphones are all types of microcomputers. The micro-computers are widely used & the fastest growing computers. These computers are the cheapest among the other three types of computers. The Micro-computers are specially designed for general usage like entertainment, education and work purposes. Well known manufacturers of Micro-computer are Dell, Apple, Samsung, Sony & Toshiba.
Desktop computers, Gaming consoles, Sound & Navigation system of a car, Netbooks, Notebooks, PDA’s, Tablet PC’s, Smartphones, Calculators are all type of Microcomputers.
Microcomputers are the most common kind of computers in use as of 2014. The term “microcomputer” was introduced with the advent of systems based on single chip microprocessors. The best-known early system was the Altair 8800, introduced in 1975. The term "microcomputer" has practically become an anachronism.
These computers include:
Desktop computers, Gaming consoles, Sound & Navigation system of a car, Netbooks, Notebooks, PDA’s, Tablet PC’s, Smartphones, Calculators are all type of Microcomputers.
Microcomputers are the most common kind of computers in use as of 2014. The term “microcomputer” was introduced with the advent of systems based on single chip microprocessors. The best-known early system was the Altair 8800, introduced in 1975. The term "microcomputer" has practically become an anachronism.
These computers include:
- Desktop computers – A case and a display, put under and on a desk.
- In-car computers (carputers) – Built into a car, for entertainment, navigation, etc.
- Game consoles – Fixed computers specialized for entertainment purposes (video games).
- Laptops and notebook computers – Portable and all in one case.
- Tablet computer – Like laptops, but with a touch-screen, entirely replacing the physical keyboard.
- Smartphones, smartbooks, PDAs and palmtop computers – Small handheld computers with limited hardware.
- Programmable calculator– Like small handhelds, but specialized on mathematical work.
- Handheld game consoles – The same as game consoles, but small and portable.
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