Wednesday, December 1, 2010

A Guide To Common Technical Terms Used For Computers

By Andrew Johnson


Many people go into a store thinking that it will be relatively easy to figure out which computer they will need. However, if they have little technical knowledge and if they don't understand any of the terminology associated with computers, selecting the right PC can be really difficult. Luckily, this article can help you understand some of the most common computing terms.

The word PC is commonly used as a synonym for the word computer. PC is short for personal computer and though this phrase can describe pretty much any computer, it is more commonly being associated with machines that run the Windows operating system.

An OS, or operating system, is the main program that defines how the machine runs and how you interact with it. It will also determine which applications can and cannot be installed on the computer. Popular operating systems include Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux.

Today, there are quite a few different types of PCs to choose from. These include laptops, towers, and netbooks. Each of these will be able to run pretty much any operating system when set up to do so, but most people usually stick with the operating system that was installed on the computer when they bought it.

Towers are larger than both netbooks and laptops. They are not mobile and have been designed to sit on or under a desk. When purchasing a tower, you'll also need to invest in some peripherals, like a screen, mouse, and keyboard. You will probably need speakers also.

Laptops and netbooks are all-in-one machines that are highly mobile. This means that you will not need to purchase additional equipment to work with them. They should work right out of the box.

When purchasing a computer, some of the more technical terms that you should notice include RAM (random access memory) and processor. The RAM denotes how much memory the computer has access to for running applications. Typically the more RAM you have, the faster your machine will be, but the overall speed will also depend upon the other components within the computer. The processor also determines how fast the machine will run and how many applications it will be able to run simultaneously.

When looking at computers, you should also pay attention to the size of their hard drives. The hard drive is where all of the software and files are stored. This includes your music, videos, and word documents. Larger hard drives will be able to accommodate more files than smaller hard drives.




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