Computers Then And Now

Last Saturday, I stumbled upon some old school things I used way back in the 1990s when I was studying High School. Assorted books, notebooks and papers are contained in my school bag, and scanning through them, I chanced upon seeing my old notebook for my Computer Subject in Third Year High.

Back then, Desktop Computers have just been introduced in our school, so you can just imagine that a lot of people, including me, have no any idea with regards to operating and/or using them. Of course, only a few families could afford to purchase their own units. So during those times, whenever we have group projects and we need computers, we have to go and visit our classmates who own a computer. The Microsoft Office Words and Excel were not yet popular, and what we use were the Lotus 123 and the Wordstar.

Fifteen years or so later, computer models have evolved fantastically; and we now have Laptop Computers that we could bring and use anywhere and anytime we want. Now we have the latest version of MS Office, plus we can access (almost) anything, thanks to the internet.

As I scan my old notebook, it is always good to look back and re-learn the basics of one of the most important inventions made by mankind- the computer. So for this blog, I will discuss the basic components that make up a computer system.

1. Computer Monitors- Computer monitors pertain to the screen, or the tv-like component of the computer system. This is where you are able to view what the computer is processing at the moment.

2. Keyboards- Keyboards are somewhat similar to the qwerty pads used in our old reliable typewriters. This is what we use when we want to type and/or encode transactions in the computer. The significant difference between the computer keyboards versus the typewriters are the F1 to F12 keys command keys at the top of the keyboard.

3. Computer Mice- or most popularly called as the "mouse", a great help in placing commands and in moving the cursor from one point to the other.

4. Printers- The printer is where the final output document is being processed, or, as the name suggests, this is where the final document is being printed.

5. Central Processing Unit- More commonly known as the CPU, the central processing unit is the heart and brain of the computer. This is where all the transactions are stored and processed as a person gives its command by using the keyboard/mouse, and before the output is shown on the monitor or printed on the computer.

Those are actually the five most basic components of a Computer System. But today, additional parts may include Computer Speakers, Webcams, Microphones, among others.

For the external storage devices, the floppy (5 1/4 and 3 1/2) disks are already obsolete. We now use compact disks and USBs.

Also as I have mentioned before, only a few can purchase computer systems because they are a bit expensive to common regular income earners. But today, it has almost become a necessity for every family to own one unit. And today, it is not that difficult to purchase a unit.

Computer units are actually available for purchase even online. However, it is always advisable that we visit reliable internet sites whenever we purchase items using the internet.

As we look forward for the coming years, we do hope that new technologies and ground-breaking inventions will be discovered to help us doing our jobs more efficiently.