Computers are powerful for a variety of reasons. They work with remarkable speed, reliability, consistency, and accuracy.
Computers can store large amounts of data and information. Also, computers allow users to communicate with other users or computers. A user is anyone who communicates and interacts with a computer or makes use of the information it generates.
Speed
In the system unit, operations get done through electronic circuits. When data, instructions, and information drift along these circuits, they travel at incredibly fast speeds most computers bring out billions of operations in a single second. The world's fastest computer can perform trillions of operations in one second.
Reliability and consistency
The electronic components in modern computers are dependable because they have a low failure rate. The high reliability of components enables the computer to produce consistent results.
Accuracy
Computers process large amounts of data and generate error-free results, provided the data is inputted correctly and the instructions work properly. If data is inaccurate, the resulting output is also incorrect. A computing phrase known as garbage in, garbage out points out that the accuracy of a computer's output depends on the accuracy of the input.
Communications
It is unbearable to go through a day without communication. Communication happens between two or more people sending and receiving messages from one another. The one sending the message is referred to as the sender while the one receiving the information is known as the receiver. The message being transmitted can contain facts, thoughts, perceptions, judgments, beliefs, attitudes, commands, and even reactions. For example, two computers connected by a communications devices, such as a modem, can share stored data, instructions, and information. These two computers can be located in the same room or thousands of miles away from each other in two different countries.
Computers can be classified based on size and computing power. However, as technology advances, these classifications tend to overlap as modern computers have become smaller, yet more powerful, and relatively cheaper.
The general classifications of computers are as follows:
1. Personal computer – is a small, single-user computer based on a microprocessor. In addition to the microprocessor, a personal computer has a keyboard for entering data, a monitor for displaying information, and a storage device for saving data.
2. Workstation – is a powerful, single-user computer. A workstation is like a personal computer, but it has a more powerful microprocessor and a higher-quality monitor.
3. Minicomputer - is a multi-user computer capable of supporting from 10 to hundreds of users simultaneously.
4. Mainframe - is a powerful multi-user computer capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of users simultaneously.
5. Supercomputer- is a extremely fast computer that can perform millions of instructions per second. Below is a picture of NASA’s Pleiades supercomputer that has245, 536 CPU cores and a total memory of 935 TB.
Images from google.com