Computer Components

Welcome. 0:00 In this video, we'll introduce you to different components of the computer. 0:01 We will define and provide examples of hardware, 0:06 software, input, output, and storage. 0:09 Let's start with hardware. 0:14 Hardware refers to the physical components of a computer. 0:15 In other words, the parts you can actually touch. 0:21 And yes, they are typically hard. 0:25 The main brain of a computer consists of the CPU and RAM, or the main memory. 0:28 I can teach an entire course on how these components work. 0:35 But just know that all of the parts of the computer communicate with the main brain. 0:39 Outside of that, we can divide hardware into three device categories, 0:45 input, output, and storage. 0:50 An input device is hardware that provides data to a computer. 0:55 For example, you may use a keyboard and mouse to enter data into a word processing 1:01 application, a camera to take photographs, and a microphone to record audio. 1:06 The computer receives this information and converts it into data it can use, namely 1:12 a series of zeros and ones called binary, which we'll dig into in the next video. 1:17 An output device is hardware that converts computer data into human readable form. 1:23 For example, a screen displays text and images. 1:29 A printer provides a physical paper output for later use. 1:32 Speakers offer audio feedback, and your video game 1:36 controller provides tactile feedback whenever it vibrates in your hand. 1:39 The computer only sees zeros and ones, but 1:44 it converts it back to information that humans can understand. 1:47 A storage device retains digital data for later use. 1:54 I briefly mentioned RAM, which serves as the primary memory of the computer. 1:58 However, main memory is volatile, 2:03 which means it's lost when your computer is powered off. 2:05 For this reason, we rely on secondary and 2:09 tertiary storage to save information permanently. 2:11 Secondary storage can refer to the hard drive that is often housed inside your 2:16 device, a flash drive that plugs directly into a USB port of your computer, 2:22 and even CD and DVD ROM discs that are historically popular for 2:27 distributing music, movies, and software. 2:31 Tertiary storage is also known as cloud storage. 2:35 This means that the data is stored somewhere different from your physical 2:39 location. 2:42 Examples of cloud storage include Google Drive, OneDrive by Microsoft, 2:44 iCloud by Apple, and Amazon Web Services or AWS. 2:50 If you use any of these services, you're saving data in the cloud. 2:56 I could go into a lot more detail about hardware, however, 3:02 without software, the hardware is pretty useless. 3:05 So let's talk about it. 3:09 Software refers to the instructions and data that make the computer work, 3:13 such as system software, which includes the operating system and device drivers. 3:17 This is the boring stuff that runs in the background. 3:22 Think of it like this. 3:25 If your house is the hardware, the system software would be the plumbing and 3:27 electrical system. 3:30 Sometimes you take it for granted, but if it breaks down, 3:32 you go out of your way to get it fixed. 3:35 You may be more familiar with application software. 3:39 This includes the web browser you use to access Treehouse content, 3:41 the word processor to write letters, 3:46 the spreadsheet application to manage your budget, and the apps on your smartphone. 3:48 Throughout your journey here, you may learn how to design application software 3:53 for use on your laptop, favorite web browser, and even your mobile phone. 3:58 In the next video, we'll learn about bits, bytes, and the prefixes used for 4:03 large amounts of data. 4:08 See you soon. 4:10

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