Computer Hardware- Wikipedia
Although I have been using computers for most of my life, I have never really thought about the hardware that makes computers work. While I have heard the terms motherboard, and RAM, I probably couldn’t have correctly defined either of these terms, and many other of the other components. It’s interesting that I am more familiar with the external pieces of a computer than the more important components like the CPU, which Wikipedia refers to as the “brain” of the computer.
Moore’s Law- Wikipedia and Christie Nicholson’s “60 Second Science” video
Moore’s Law is a trend that I have never heard of before, but it sounds logical. Early computers were so large that they took up entire rooms, but following the trend that Moore’s Law defines, today we are able to carry around iPads or even our phones as our computers that have more capabilities than the first computers. It is expected that Moore’s Law can’t continue indefinitely. Although we might not need to make our devices smaller, since the paper clip-sized phones that Nicholson suggested in the video might not seem practical, why couldn’t the size of the devices remain the same while the technology keeps doubling its storage space?
Computer History Museum
When visiting this website, I spent most of my time going through the Timeline of Computer History Exhibit. I was amazed by the size of the Complex Number Calculator completed in 1939, until I saw the Harvard Mark-1 calculator, which was completed in 1944. It’s incredible that something that large a size was needed for something most of us have as an application in our cell phones. Even if we were to carry around a separate calculator, it would easily fit in our pockets.
Another interesting fact that I came across was that the first email was sent in 1971. I thought it would have been more recently.
I also never really think about the hardware that makes up a computer. I have always simply concerned myself with whether or not it is doing what I need it to do. I guess if I paid more attention to the internal workings of it I would not have to call my brother up everytime I had a problem! :-)
ReplyDeleteHopefully they will keep doubling storage space even if the devices stay the same size- if you think about iPods, they've pretty much stayed the same size for several years, but a few years ago, getting an iPod with 1GB was pretty awesome. Oops... looks like I'll have to take that back- it's BEEN the same size for several years, but now it's SMALLER, and they come with 8GB or 16GB. Crazy. Transistors can't be invisibly tiny though, so they'll have to come up with something different at some point.
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