What do the parts do?

You are pretty familiar with your TV, maybe too familiar!   The TV is mostly an output machine or device.   This means that the stuff, be it information or junk, flows from the TV out to you.   It also has some input controls so that you can give it some input.   These are the volume control, the on off switch and the channel changer, which lives under the couch.

So output is the flow of information to you and input is the flow from you to the device.  

Now computers   

Computers have:

• parts to receive input

• parts to give output

• parts to do work.... process

• parts to remember things while the power is on (short term memory)

• parts to remember things when the power is off (long term memory)

So now, the parts of the computer.  

The Parts of a Computer  

Item

Function

Monitor (screen)

Output

Printer

Output

Processor

Work...Process

Keyboard

Input

Mouse

Input

Modem

Input and Output

Memory (RAM)

Short term storage

Floppy Disks

Long term storage

Hard Disks

Long term storage

 to return to Lesson 5