The document provides an overview of computer hardware and software components. It discusses the main physical components of a computer including input devices like keyboards and mice, processing units, storage devices, and output devices like monitors. It also describes the basic units of digital information like bits and bytes and how they are used to store and represent data. Common storage media are explained such as hard drives, flash memory, CDs/DVDs, and floppy disks. An overview of computer specifications and performance from 1982 to 2007 is also presented.

1. Computer Applications Computer Essentials Hardware

2. Computer Hardware Memory Output Input Processor Hard disk Flash memory CD or DVD Storage Temporary Data Holding Data Data Data Data Data

8. Extended ASCII character codes

9. But modern computers use Unicode, which is a much greater encoding system. It allows for encoding of all the languages in the world.

14. What kind of memory? Recommendation: Get DDR memory. It will give better performance because it allows for 2 channels between CPU and other parts.

17. Flash memory – USB stick Flash memory is a non-volatile computer memory that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It is a technology that is primarily used in memory cards and USB flash drives for general storage and transfer of data between computers and other digital products. Easy to use and fairly inexpensive.

18. Nostalgic Storage - Floppy Disks write protection tab liner disk spindle hole sector hole plastic casing sliding metal shutter read/write opening

19. Then and Now 1982 - ABC 80 Made in Sweden 2007 – Macbook Pro Made in China

21. What’s next? “ When man and machine merge” http://www.box.net/shared/static/az0d7ic6il.pdf