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Chapter 2 - Hardware and Software

Hardware - Revolutionary Changes - Revolutionary Changes

Hardware is the physical equipment that comprises a computer system. The monitor, keyboard, printer and so forth are the hardware of a computer. The hardware works with computer software to perform tasks on the computer. The software is the program that tells the computer what to do with the hardware and how to process data.

One of the first computers was the ENIAC, which stood for Electronic Numerical Integrator, Analyzer and Computer. This computer was two stories high, weighed 30 tons and covered 15,000 feet. The leading manufacturer of computer mainframes was IBM, who ruled the marketplace until the 1960’s. In the sixties, a smaller minicomputer appeared, which was easier to program and challenged the dominance of the mainframe computer. Minicomputers were affordable to more businesses since they did not require air-conditioned housing and were easier to program. The dominant minicomputer manufacturer was Digital Equipment.

Hardware is the physical equipment that comprises a computer system. The monitor, keyboard, printer and so forth are the hardware of a computer. The hardware works with computer software to perform tasks on the computer. The software is the program that tells the computer what to do with the hardware and how to process data.

One of the first computers was the ENIAC, which stood for Electronic Numerical Integrator, Analyzer and Computer. This computer was two stories high, weighed 30 tons and covered 15,000 feet. The leading manufacturer of computer mainframes was IBM, who ruled the marketplace until the 1960’s. In the sixties, a smaller minicomputer appeared, which was easier to program and challenged the dominance of the mainframe computer. Minicomputers were affordable to more businesses since they did not require air-conditioned housing and were easier to program. The dominant minicomputer manufacturer was Digital Equipment Company (DEC), which became the second largest manufacturer in the world

Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons. – Popular Mechanics – 1949

During the seventies the microprocessor was further developed which has forever changed the computing industry.

The IBM PC was developed in 1981 based upon a microprocessor chip that was first introduced in 1974. One of the first processors, the Intel 8088, became the seed from which the computer PC market has mushroomed. The first systems had an 8088 processor with two floppy drives and 64 kilobytes of RAM. To complement the chip, IBM went to a small company called Microsoft for development of the operating system. The rest is history with over 100,000,000 microcomputers being sold since 1981.

The microcomputer connotes a computer designed for use by one person. The terms microcomputer, PC and personal computer are interchangeable. The words IBM compatibles and clones are personal computers made by a non-IBM manufacturer.