CPU - Central Processing Unit

Pronounced as separate letters, CPU is the abbreviation for central processing unit. Sometimes referred to simply as the central processor, but more commonly called processor, the CPU is the brains of the computer where most calculations take place. In terms of computing power, the CPU is the most important element of a computer system. On large machines, the CPU requires one or more printed circuit boards. On personal computers and small workstations, the CPU is housed in a single chip called a microprocessor. Since the 1970's the microprocessor class of CPUs has almost completely overtaken all other CPU implementations. The CPU itself is an internal component of the computer. Modern CPUs are small and square and contain multiple metallic connectors or pins on the underside. The CPU is inserted directly into a CPU socket, pin side down, on the motherboard. Each motherboard will support only a specific type (or range) of CPU, so you must check the motherboard manufacturer's specifications before attempting to replace or upgrade a CPU in your computer. Modern CPUs also have an attached heat sink and small fan that go directly on top of the CPU to help dissipate heat. Two typical components of a CPU are the following:

The arithmetic logic unit (ALU), which performs arithmetic and logical operations. The control unit (CU), which extracts instructions from memory and decodes and executes them, calling on the ALU when necessary.
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Computer monitor
A 19-inch, 16:10 widescreen LCD monitor. A monitor or a display (also called screen or visual display unit) is an electronic visual display for computers. The monitor comprises the display device, circuitry and an enclosure. The display device in modern monitors is typically a thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) thin panel, while older monitors use a cathode ray tube (CRT) about as deep as the screen size. Originally, computer monitors were used for data processing while television receivers were used for entertainment. From the 1980s onwards, computers (and their monitors) have been used for both data processing and entertainment, while televisions have implemented some computer functionality. The common aspect ratio of televisions, and then computer monitors, has also changed from 4:3 to 16:9 (and 16:10).

Technologies
Further information: Comparison of CRT, LCD, Plasma, and OLED and History of display technology

Multiple technologies have been used for computer monitors. Until the 21st century most used cathode ray tubes but they have largely been superseded by LCD monitors.

Measurements of performance
The performance of a monitor is measured by the following parameters:

Luminance is measured in candelas per square meter (cd/m2 also called a Nit). Aspect ratio is the ratio of the horizontal length to the vertical length. Monitors usually have the aspect ratio 4:3, 5:4, 16:10 or 16:9. Viewable image size is usually measured diagonally, but the actual widths and heights are more informative since they are not affected by the aspect

ratio in the same way. For CRTs, the viewable size is typically 1 in (25 mm) smaller than the tube itself. Display resolution is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. Maximum resolution is limited by dot pitch. Dot pitch is the distance between subpixels of the same color in millimeters. In general, the smaller the dot pitch, the sharper the picture will appear. Refresh rate is the number of times in a second that a display is illuminated. Maximum refresh rate is limited by response time. Response time is the time a pixel in a monitor takes to go from active (white) to inactive (black) and back to active (white) again, measured in milliseconds. Lower numbers mean faster transitions and therefore fewer visible image artifacts. Contrast ratio is the ratio of the luminosity of the brightest color (white) to that of the darkest color (black) that the monitor is capable of producing. Power consumption is measured in watts. Delta-E: Color accuracy is measured in delta-E; the lower the delta-E, the more accurate the color representation. A delta-E of below 1 is imperceptible to the human eye. Delta-Es of 2 to 4 are considered good and require a sensitive eye to spot the difference. Viewing angle is the maximum angle at which images on the monitor can be viewed, without excessive degradation to the image. It is measured in degrees horizontally and vertically.

Keyboard
A keyboard is the set of typewriter-like keys that enables you to enter data into a computer. Computer keyboards are similar to electric-typewriter keyboards but contain additional keys. The keys on computer keyboards are often classified as follows:
alphanumeric keys -- letters and numbers punctuation keys -- comma, period, semicolon, and so on. special keys -- function keys, control keys, arrow keys, Caps Lock key, and so on.
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QWERTY, AZERTY, Dvorak and Other Keyboards

The standard layout of letters, numbers, and punctuation is known as a QWERTY keyboard because the first six keys on the top row of letters spell QWERTY. The QWERTY keyboard was designed in the 1800s for mechanical typewriters and was actually designed to slow typists down to avoid jamming the keys. The AZERTY keyboard is the French version of the standard QWERTY keyboard. AZERTY keyboards differ slightly from the QWERTY keyboard. Another keyboard design, which has letters positioned for speed typing, is the Dvorak keyboard. Unlike the traditional QWERTY keyboard, the Dvorak keyboard is designed so that the middle row of keys includes the most common letters.

Computer Keyboard Standards

There is no standard computer keyboard, although many manufacturers imitate the keyboards of PCs. There are actually three different PC keyboards: the original PC keyboard, with 84 keys; the AT keyboard, also with 84 keys; and the enhanced keyboard, with 101 keys. The three differ somewhat in the placement of function keys, the Control key, the Return key, and the Shift keys. In addition to these keys, IBM keyboards contain the following keys: Page Up, Page Down, Home, End, Insert, Pause, Num Lock, Scroll Lock, Break, Caps Lock, Print Screen. There are several different types of keyboards for the Apple Macintosh. All of them are called ADB keyboards because they connect to the Apple Desktop bus (ADB). The two main varieties of Macintosh keyboards are the standard keyboard and the extended keyboard, which has 15 additional special-function keys.

Image scanner
In computing, an image scanneroften abbreviated to just scanneris a device that optically scans images, printed text, handwriting, or an object, and converts it to a digital image. Common examples found in offices are variations of the desktop (or flatbed) scanner where the document is placed on a glass window for scanning. Hand-held scanners, where the device is moved by hand, have evolved from text scanning "wands" to 3D scanners used for industrial design, reverse engineering, test and measurement, orthotics, gaming and other applications. Mechanically driven scanners that move the document are typically used for large-format documents, where a flatbed design would be impractical. Modern scanners typically use a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a Contact Image Sensor (CIS) as the image sensor, whereas older drum scanners use a photomultiplier tube as the image sensor. A rotary scanner, used for highspeed document scanning, is another type of drum scanner, using a CCD array instead of a photomultiplier. Other types of scanners are planetary scanners, which take photographs of books and documents, and 3D scanners, for producing three-dimensional models of objects. Another category of scanner is digital camera scanners, which are based on the concept of reprographic cameras. Due to increasing resolution and new features such as anti-shake, digital cameras have become an attractive alternative to regular scanners. While still having disadvantages compared to traditional scanners (such as distortion, reflections, shadows, low contrast), digital cameras offer advantages such as speed, portability and gentle digitizing of thick documents without damaging the book spine. New scanning technologies are combining 3D scanners with digital cameras to create full-color, photo-realistic 3D models of objects.[citation needed] In the biomedical research area, detection devices for DNA microarrays are called scanners as well. These scanners are high-resolution systems (up to 1 m/ pixel), similar to microscopes. The detection is done via CCD or a photomultiplier tube (PMT).
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Printer (computing)
In computing, a printer is a peripheral which produces a representation of an electronic document on physical media such as paper or transparency film. Many printers are local peripherals connected directly to a nearby personal computer. Network printers have built-in network interfaces can serve any user on the network. Individual printers are often designed to support both local and network connected users at the same time. Some printers can print documents stored on memory cards or from digital cameras and scanners. Multifunction printers (MFPs) include a scanner and can copy paper documents or send a fax; these are also called multi-function devices (MFD), or all-in-one (AIO) printers. Most MFPs include printing, scanning, and copying among their many features. Consumer and some commercial printers are designed for low-volume, shortturnaround print jobs; requiring virtually no setup time to achieve a hard copy of a given document. However, printers are generally slow devices (30 pages per minute is considered fast, and many inexpensive consumer printers are far slower than that), and the cost per page is actually relatively high. However, this is offset by the on-demand convenience and project management costs being more controllable compared to an out-sourced solution. The printing press remains the machine of choice for high-volume, professional publishing. However, as printers have improved in quality and performance, many jobs which used to be done by professional print shops are now done by users on local printers; see desktop publishing. Local printers are also increasingly taking over the process of photofinishing as digital photo printers become commonplace. The world's first computer printer was a 19th century mechanically driven apparatus invented by Charles Babbage for his difference engine.[1] A virtual printer is a piece of computer software whose user interface and API resembles that of a printer driver, but which is not connected with a physical computer printer.

Computer speaker
Computer speakers, or multimedia speakers, are speakers external to a computer, that disable the lower fidelity built-in speaker. They often have a low-power internal amplifier. The standard audio connection is a 3.5 mm (approximately 1/8 inch) stereo phone connector often color-coded lime green (following the PC 99 standard) for computer sound cards. A plug and socket for a two-wire (signal and ground) coaxial cable is widely used to connect analog audio and video components. Rows of RCA sockets are found on the backs of stereo amplifier and numerous A/V products. The prong is 1/8" thick by 5/16" long. A few use an RCA connector for input. There are also USB speakers which are powered from the 5 volts at 500 milliamps provided by the USB port, allowing about 2.5 watts of output power. Computer speakers range widely in quality and in price. The computer speakers typically packaged with computer systems are small, plastic, and have mediocre sound quality. Some computer speakers have equalization features such as bass and treble controls. The internal amplifiers require an external power source, usually an AC adapter. More sophisticated computer speakers can have a subwoofer unit, to enhance bass output, and these units usually include the power amplifiers both for the bass speaker, and the small satellite speakers. Some computer displays have rather basic speakers built-in. Laptops come with integrated speakers. Restricted space available in laptops means these speakers usually produce low-quality sound. For some users, a lead connecting computer sound output to an existing stereo system is practical. This normally yields much better results than small low-cost computer speakers. Computer speakers can also serve as an economy amplifier for MP3 player use for those who wish to not use headphones, although some models of computer speakers have headphone jacks of their own.

Motherboard
A motherboard (sometimes alternatively known as the mainboard, system board, planar board or logic board[1]) is a printed circuit board (PCB) found in all modern computers which holds many of the crucial components of the system, such as the central processing unit (CPU) and memory, and provides connectors for other peripherals. Motherboard specifically refers to a PCB with expansion capability - the board is the "mother" of all components attached to it, which often include sound cards, video cards, network cards, extra hard drives or other forms of persistent storage, TV tuner cards, cards providing extra USB or Firewire slots, and a variety of thousands of other kinds of custom components. (The term mainboard is applied to devices with a single board and no additional expansions or capability - in modern terms this would include controlling boards in televisions, washing machines and other embedded systems, which are not true motherboards.) Prior to the advent of the microprocessor, a computer was usually built in a card-cage case or mainframe with components connected by a backplane consisting of a set of slots themselves connected with wires; in very old designs the wires were discrete connections between card connector pins, but printed circuit boards soon became the standard practice. The Central Processing Unit, memory and peripherals were housed on individual printed circuit boards which plugged into the backplate. During the late 1980s and 1990s, it became economical to move an increasing number of peripheral functions onto the motherboard. In the late 1980s, motherboards began to include single ICs (called Super I/O chips) capable of supporting a set of low-speed peripherals: keyboard, mouse, floppy disk drive, serial ports, and parallel ports. By the late 1990s, many personal computer motherboards supported a full range of audio, video, storage, and networking functions without the need for any expansion cards at all; higherend systems for 3D gaming and computer graphics typically retained only the graphics card as a separate component. The early pioneers of motherboard manufacturing were Micronics, Mylex, AMI, DTK, Hauppauge, Orchid Technology, Elitegroup, DFI, and a number of Taiwan-based manufacturers. The most popular computers such as the Apple II and IBM PC had published schematic diagrams and other documentation which permitted rapid reverse-engineering and thirdparty replacement motherboards. Usually intended for building new computers compatible with the exemplars, many motherboards offered additional performance or other features and were used to upgrade the manufacturer's original equipment.

Hard disk
A hard disk is part of a unit, often called a "disk drive," "hard drive," or "hard disk drive," that stores and provides relatively quick access to large amounts of data on an electromagnetically charged surface or set of surfaces. Today's computers typically come with a hard disk that contains several billion bytes (gigabytes) of storage. A hard disk is really a set of stacked "disks," each of which, like phonograph records, has data recorded electromagnetically in concentric circles or "tracks" on the disk. A "head" (something like a phonograph arm but in a relatively fixed position) records (writes) or reads the information on the tracks. Two heads, one on each side of a disk, read or write the data as the disk spins. Each read or write operation requires that data be located, which is an operation called a "seek." (Data already in a disk cache, however, will be located more quickly.) A hard disk/drive unit comes with a set rotation speed varying from 4500 to 7200 rpm. Disk access time is measured in milliseconds. Although the physical location can be identified with cylinder, track, and sector locations, these are actually mapped to a logical block address (LBA) that works with the larger address range on today's hard disks. How is data read and stored on a hard drive? Data sent to and from the hard drive is interpreted by the disk controller, which tells the hard drive what to do and how to move the components within the drive. When the operating system needs to read or write information, it examines the hard drives File Allocation Table (FAT) to determine file location and available areas. Once this has been determined, the disk controller instructs the actuator to move the read/write arm and align the read/write head. Because files are often scattered throughout the platter, the head will often need to move to several different locations to access all information. All information stored on a traditional hard drive, like the above example, is done magnetically. After completing the above steps, if the computer needs to read information from the hard drive it would read the magnetic polarities on the platter. One side of the magnetic polarity is 0 and the other is 1, reading this as binary data the computer can understand what the data is on the platter. For the computer to write information to the platter, the read/write head aligns the magnetic polarities, writing 0's and 1's that can be read later. External and Internal hard drives Although most hard drives are internal hard drives, many users also use external hard drives to backup data on their computer and expand the total amount of space available
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to them. External drives are often stored in an enclosure that helps protect the drive and allow it to interface with the computer, usually over USB or eSATA. A great example of a backup external device that supports multiple hard drives is the Drobo. External hard drives come in many shapes and sizes. Some are large, about the size of a book, while others are about the size of a cell phone. External hard drives can be very useful for backing up important data and taking with you on the go. They can store a lot of information, including music and movies.

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