Computer Hardware and Software

Computer Hardware

Computer hardware simply referes to those computer components or parts of the computer system and other peripherals that we can touch, see and feel

• 1. Monitor - This is a computer output device that visually displays the activities that is happening in the computer screen.

• 2. Motherboard - The motherboard is that part of the computer system that connects together different parts of the computer. It is sometimes called the heart of a computer system. It is made up of different components that works together for proper functioning of the computer system.

• 3. CPU (Central Processing Unit) - This is the computer processor that is used to process data. It is responsible for the execution of instructions coming from both system and system software.

• 4. Hard Disk Drive (HDD) - A computer hard disk drive is that part of the computer hardware that is used to store data and various information. It is magnetic disk storage device that is embedded into the computer system.

• 5. Speakers - This is another computer hardware device is responsible for producing or generating sound from multimedia software such as M4 Player, VLC etc.

• 6. Sound Card - Sound card is an output device that is used inside a computer system to generate audio signals which it sends to the computer speakers to generate sound.

• 7. Video Card - Video card is an output device that is used inside the computer system to generate video signals which it sends to the computer monitor to generate or gives a screen display in video format.

• 8. Modem - This is networking hardware computer device that is used to convert digital data/information to analog signal that can be sent over cable wires. It works by modulating and demodulating. The modulator encodes digital information being sent, while the demodulator decodes the encoded digital information thereby getting the exact readable data being sent. Examples of modes are: digital subscriber line, dial-up, satellite modem etc.

• 9. Power Suppy Unit - A power supply unit of a computer system that is responsible for converting current (usually an alternating current) to a low voltage direct current that can be used for the internal components of a computer system.

• 10. Mouse - This is a hardware peripheral device that is used for navigation control and positioning of the cursor pointer. It is also used to initiate certain commands in the computer system (such as clicking - to open a file or folder).

• 11. Floppy Disk - A floppy disk is a computer peripheral hardware device that is made up of magnetic sealed plastic material which is used as a storage device for keeping data, file or information.

• 12. External Camera - This a peripheral hardware device that is connected to the computer which is used for capturing images and taking video shots.

• 13. CD-ROM - Compact Disk - Read Only Memory is hardware device that is used to store and read computer data.

• 14. DVD-ROM - Digital Versatile Disc - Read Only Memory is hardware device that is used to store and read different kinds of data using a computer system. Its storage space capacity types are larger than that of CD-ROM.

Computer Software

A Computer software is a set of instruction that is usually given to a computer system which tells it what to do, how to do it and when to do it. The computer software is divided into two types which are: The System software and the Application software.

• 1. System Software - System software are those types of software that is used to run computer hardware and also creates the platform for running other application programs. The different types of system software include the following:
• (i) Operating System - An operating system usually called OS for short is a program that is responsible for controlling the activities of a computer system, its functions and management of different software activities in the computer system.
• (a) Android - This is mobile phone operating system that was developed by Google. Google has made incremental changes to this operating system since it was developed. Examples of Android versions are Android 1.0, Android 1.5, Android 1.6, Android 2.0, Android 2.3, etc. The current Android version being used today is the Android 10 which was released in septemeber 3rd 2019.

• (b) iOS - iOS which is known as iPhone operating system is an operating system that was developed by Apple Inc, which is used for its apple mobile devices. Examples of devices that uses iOS are: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPod Nano and Apple TV.

• (c) Windows - This is an operating system that was developed by Microsoft Corporation for computer systems. Few examples of windows operating systems versions are: Windows 1.0 - 2.0, Windows 3.0 - 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10

• (d) Linux - Linux is an open-source operating system that is based on the Linux kernel, developed for computers, which is free for both community and professional use also. Examples of Linux operating systems are: Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Kali Linux, Linux Mint, CentOS, Arch Linux, Deepin, Oracle Linux, Knoppix, Manjaro etc.

• (e) Mac OS - This is a graphical user interface-based operating system that was developed by Apple Inc which is primarily used for Apple's Mac Computers. Examples of Mac OS versions are: Mac OS X Panther - 10.3, Mac OS X Tiger - 10.4, Mac OS X Leopard - 10.5, Mac OS X Leopard - 10.6 etc.

• (ii) Device Drivers - A device driver is a computer program that allows the operating system of a computer to communicate with specific computer hardware by giving it set of instructions. Examples of device drivers are listed below:
• (a) BIOS Drivers - These are drivers that are used for loading up the computer system. BIOS are boot loader - a software program that works with the computer hardware to start or load up the computer system
• (b) USB Drivers - These are peripheral device drivers that enables the computer peripheral hardware to interact with the operating system of a computer. Some USB drivers usually comes with the installation disc attached to it. Examples of USB device are: Printers, flash drives, external drives, speakers, etc. USB Devices makes use of cables which is connected to the computer USB ports.
• (c) ROM Drivers - A ROM driver is another computer program device that reads data from a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM etc.
• (d) Printer Drivers - Printer driver is a program that enables the computer to communicate with a printer, converting set of instructions coming from the system or application software into a language that can be understood by the printer.
• (e) Display Drivers - These are software responsible for enabling the operating system to work with the video cards, visual graphics and images that are being displayed by the monitor.
• (f) Sound Card Drivers - Sound card drivers are software program that is responsible for enabling the operating system to work with the audio device of the computer system which allows the computer system to process audio data and gives a sound output using the computer speakers.
• (g) VGA Drivers - VGA Drivers (which fully means Video Graphics Array Driver) is that software program responsible for the computer's internal display adapter which is used to control video device such as monitor system or television set.
• (h) Virtual Device Drivers - They are device drivers that can emulate hardware devices and other type of devices. It is responsible for controlling multiple applications that needs access to computer hardware resources and memory.
• (iii) Firmware - These are instruction data that are usually stored on a Ready Only Memory storage which holds information on how a device should operate. Firmware are permanently installed in a computer hardware device. They are found in motherboards of computer systems. Example of of firmaware is listed below:
• (a) BIOS - BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is a firmware that acts as the communication interface between the computer operating system and the hardware. BIOS are usually found in the motherboard of a computer system inside a small memory chip.

• (b) UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - This type of firmware that provides a light weight BIOS, which acts as the communication interface between the operating system and other hardware and platform firmware

• (iv) Utility - This is a software program that provides additional functionalities (such as optimization, configuration, analysing etc) to the operating system. They help to keep the computer system up and running without issues. Examples of utilities in a computer system are as follows:
• (a) Antivirus - A software program utility designed to detect, protect and terminate (destroy) a virus or malware in a computer device.

• (b) Disk Defragmenter - This is also a software utility program that is used to arrange files in computer system together, bringing all fragments of data into one place in the computer system storage.

• (c) Windows Registry - A windows registry is a hierarchical database that stores information or data settings used by windows and other programs in the computer system.

• (d) System Profiler - This is software utility program that provides detailed information about other software programs which is installed in the computer system and hardware that is attached to the computer system.

• (e) System Monitor - A system monitor is a software utility program that monitors certain aspects of a computer system (such as performance measure, power usage, used memory, etc) and displays this information on the screen for the user to see.

• (f) WinRAR - This software utility program is used to compress and decompress system files.

• (g) Partition Wizard - A partition wizard is a utility tool program that is used for disk partitioning (creating different regions, areas or secondary storage where data can be managed separately from others) and other hard disk related task solutions.

• (h) Windows File Explorer - This is a file management software utility system application that is used by the operating system for browsing through files, folders and directories.

• (i) Razar Cortex - Razer cortex is an optimization software utility tool that is used for better gaming performance in a computer system.

• (j) Directory Opus - A Directory Opus is a software utility program that displays files and directories in listers. It is similar to Windows File Explorer as it is also a file management software which can be used as an alternative for Windows File Explorer.

• (v) Translator - This is a programming processor that is capable of converting code in computer from one language to another. In simple terms we can say a translator translates texts from one language to another in a computer program. Below are the examples of translators:
• (a) Complier - A compiler is a computer program that translates codes written in high level language into machine language that can be understood by the computer system.

• (b) Interpreter - An interpreter is computer program that is responsible for the execution of instructions which translate codes in another language into a machine language (computer language).

• (c) Assembler - An assembler is also a translator that takes instructions or assembly languages (low-level language) written by humans and translates them into machine codes that computer can understand and use for its operations.

• 2. Application Software - These are software that are used for specific task that are usually not related to the operational function of the computer system. They are application that can be used for personal purposes, business, educational and professional use.
• (a) Word Processor - Word processors are computer application software used to write, edit and compose documents. Examples of word processors are: Microsoft Word, WordPad, Google Docs, AbiWord, LibreOffice etc.

• (b) Web Browsers - This is an application that is used for accessing the internet (world wide web). Examples of web browsers are: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Opera etc.

• (c) Graphic software - Graphic software are those application software that are usually used for designing, manipulation of images, editing graphics and photos. Examples of graphic software are: Adobe Photoshop, CorelDraw, Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape, Blender, Adobe Lightroom, Sumo Paint, Sketchbook, Pixar etc

• (d) Presentation software - Presentation software is a type of application software that is used to present information in form of slides containing texts, images and media clips. Examples of presentation software are: Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, Keynote, Prezi, Corel Presentations, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Premiere Pro, Zoho Show, LibreOffice Impress etc.

• (e) Database software - These are application software that is used to manage, maintain and perform database operations (such as editing, creating, copying, deleting and sorting files and records). Examples of database software are: Microsoft Access, Oracle, MySQL, FileMaker Pro etc.

• (f) Multimedia software - Multimedia sofwares are those application software that is capable of playing multimedia files (music and videos). They can also perform other operations such as video editing, arrangements, merging etc. Examples of multimedia software are: VLC, Windows Media Player, Inkscape, Windows Movie Maker etc.

• (g) Education software - Educational software are application software which meant for learning purposes. Examples of these kinds of software are: Google classroom, TalentLMS, Wisenet, etc

• (h) Game software - These are gaming application software for entertainment. Examples of game application software are: Mortal Combat, PES-5, God of War, Chicken Invaders etc.

• (g) Content Access software - Content access software are those type of application software that is primarily used for accessing content without editing the content, but may have software that gives room for editing. Examples of content access software are: Web Browsers, Help Browsers, Media Players etc.

• (h) Spreedsheet software - This is an application software program which has rows and columns, that can be used for organizing, storing and analyzing data. It can also be used to perform some mathematical and statistical calculations. Examples of spreadsheet software are: Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Airtable, EtherCalc, Quip etc.