The Basics
Technology devices are divided into two (2) main categories:
Hardware; and
Software
Hardware
Hardware is the word used for any physical technology device, part or component. Basically, hardware is anything that you can physically touch or feel with your hands – a physical object.
Examples of computer and device hardware include: desktops , mini-towers, towers, servers, racks, mini-computers, notebooks (laptops), gaming consoles (Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Xbox), memory chips, main boards, monitors/displays, cameras, batteries, SD cards, micro SD cards, USB memory drives, cables, routers, WiFi modem routers, smartphones, printers, ink, keyboard and mice (plural of a mouse).
Software
Software is the word used for any virtual environment that you can see on your hardware – much like watching a movie on TV. The TV is the hardware (something you can touch) and the movie is the software (something you can view/see, but cannot physically touch).
The main types of software are:
Operating Systems (OS’s);
Microsoft Windows (desktop, server and tablet)
Apple Macintosh OS (desktop computer, server)
Apple iOS (iPhone and iPad)
Android (smartphone and Tablet)
Linux (desktop computer, server, webserver, Android)
Applications (apps)/programs; and
Firmware
The operating system (OS) operates the computer or device, usually visible or visually seen and accessible in the form of a visual virtual environment viewed upon a graphical user interface (GUI) such as a display (monitor, screen or a TV).
Applications are software programs that are pre-installed and can also be installed by the user (any person who uses the computer or device).
Firmware is software that is installed into a ROM (read-only memory) microprocessor chip.
Firmware can be upgraded by downloading it from the device manufacturer’s website and installing it.
How Hardware and Software work together
Since the last half of the past century, operating systems have annexed computer hardware to work together as one which are the two main components that make up the computer. In other words, a computer is made of the physical parts which are controlled by the operating system. The operating system uses the computer hardware parts to follow instructions and execute commands that perform software (app) operations. This means, that the operating system is built of apps (also known as applications or programs on some operating systems or devices).
From the early days of IBM (International Business Machines) mainframes during the 1950’s, to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android in 2023, the operating system has transformed society into a brilliant new way of being able to perform human tasks used in our daily living and for productivity. Hardware and software have developed together in parallel, with manufacturers having to understand each others’ products.
Generally, software should be matched to hardware capabilities. In other words, if you use an old OS such as Windows 95 to control a new computer, there may be problems with both installation of the OS or operation of both the OS and the hardware (the computer itself).
Technical Talk
Hardware is powered by either mains electrical power or battery. The software then controls and uses (operates) the hardware to perform functions or tasks that the user instructs to the machine hardware and pre-installed apps (apps that were already installed) or post-installed apps (apps that the user has installed) to then perform individual software tasks such as open a folder, read the contents of a USB memory drive, perform a function or send an email.
Software generally controls hardware on any technological device and connect to software as well as hardware, regardless of operating system used. Older systems were usually only operating one function at a time, so back then things were quite simple. Today, software performs tasks at fractions of a second.
Software and hardware work together in tandem to follow instructions from the CPU via the user or other machine(s).
Commands are directed by the user to the computer which performs the tasks required.
All contents of the OS (Operating System) and the user’s documents, music, pictures and videos etc., are stored on a storage device, also known as a hard disk, disk drive, solid state drive or memory device (such as a USB drive, also known as a thumb drive or memory stick). The first discs before hard disk drives were floppy disks. Like hard disk drives which have a round disc that physically spin, data is magnetically stored onto the disks as bytes with allocated addresses (locations) by the OS.
Bits and Bytes
A bit is a binary digit. It is in the format as either a number 1 (one) or a 0 (zero). They are called bits. If it is represented as a 1, its command is either ON, YES or TRUE. If it is represented as a 0, it is either OFF, NO or FALSE. Electricity from the computer is released if it is a binary digit (bit) which equals 1, to turn on a device or part in your computer using transistors. This is called Boolean Logic. Logic gates are transistors which allow or restrict the flow of electricity to other transistors and to the rest of the computer or device. Each transistor has different properties that can change the state of each binary digit. These are represented in what are known as Truth Tables (a table of zeros and ones). A byte is 8 bits (8 x bits). This is how memory chunks are used in computers: bytes. Every microprocessor (or microchip) has millions, billions or even trillions of transistors, allowing the OS to process calculations and perform actions or tasks at high speeds.
Bits and bytes are data, stored by the computer on a hard drive, in memory, on an external device such as a USB memory stick or drive, MicroSD card for smartphones and computers; and on a DVD disc. The operating system organises and stores bytes at allocated addresses.
Storage, Memory and Optical Drives
The two types of memory/storage are ROM (Read Only Memory - a DVD, or USB Read-Only Installer Disk) and RAM (Random Access Memory) such as a DDR3 RAM CHIP, which is accessible by the device via the user. RAM disks are readable and writable (RW). You can only read data or information from a ROM disk or drive, however with a RAM disk you can read and write data or information to these devices. Read means that you can view or copy data or information from a ROM disk but you cannot edit or paste data or information to a ROM disk. So, on a RAM drive, you can read, write, copy, paste and edit files, pictures, audio or video – basically any type of file.
Examples of RAM disks include: hard disk drives, solid state drives, USB drives and DDR3 RAM (memory chips).
Some DVD’s are readable, writable (R) and re-writable (RW), which means that they are very versatile (useful or handy) for many situations. DVD±R is a DVD that can be only written (burnt) once. The term ‘burn a disc,’ or ‘burn a DVD,’ mean to write some data, files, documents, music or videos to disc.
DVD±R is a DVD disc that can be written only once. This means that you can burn files to disc or copy another disc to this disc, but you can only do it one time and cannot delete/erase the contents of the disc.
DVD±RW is a DVD disc that can be rewritten as many times as you want. This means that you can copy files to a disc and erase them. Basically, it means you can use the DVD as a storage disc to add or remove copies of your files from your computer or change the disc however you would like to use it. Therefore, you can erase/delete everything on the DVD and then copy new files onto the disc.
ROM = Read Only Memory (readable but not writable storage space, such as internal memory, a CD ROM or a DVD ROM)
RAM = Random Access Memory (readable and writable storage space, such as a hard disk drive, solid state drive, USB drive or writable DVD disk)
Table: Optical Disc media from the past and present.
MEDIA | TECHNICAL NAME AND CAPABILITIES |
CD | Compact Disc; can write data only once; store up to 700MB of data |
CD-R | Compact Disc Recordable; can write data more than one time but cannot delete data (data can only be added until the disc is full) |
CD-RW | Compact Disc Rewritable; can write and erase (delete) data as often as you like! |
DVD | Digital Video Disc; store from 4.7 – 17GB of data |
DVD-R | Digital Video Disc Recordable; can write data more than one time but cannot delete data (data can only be added until the disc is full) |
DVD-RW | Digital Video Disc Rewritable; can write and erase (delete) data as often as you like! |
Blu-ray | Blu-ray Disc; store up to 50GB of data such as movies |
Computers are now an important part of most businesses everyday across our world, increasing productivity and improving lives. Home and work use of computers has made our lives easier.
Stable functioning software is the objective of every software developer, although due to budget or human resource issues, apps may be released containing bugs, making the user experience from non-functional at all to working with errors or frozen states, potentially deeming them unusable. These are commonly known as ‘bugs.’
Even with apps from large companies, there may be a software ‘patch’ update release for the OS or program that you have installed on your machine or device. Most of the time it should improve interoperability, performance or add new features to an app or OS, however in some instances there may appear to be no difference at all. ‘Bugs,’ are found in software, which causes a problem for users, where some type of error or the software freezes and the computer may need to be restarted.
Hard disk drives and SSD’s:
Hard Disk Drives and Solid State Drives have been the storage capacity devices which have had and continue to offer enormous success across the world in millions of computers and other smart devices. Smartphones all use SSD’s – basically, they are all just 1 big microchip processor and one memory chip, which is where everything is stored and runs, or operates as fed into by the OS, via user input. The days of moving parts have gone. Electric has taken over mechanical!