Computers

What is a Computer?

__What is a Computer? __

A computer is a machine that carries out instructions given to it by a human. Without instructions, computers wouldn’t be able to do anything.

If this is the case, then what makes them special? Well, computers… It might seem that computers can do almost anything. However, here are some other important things to remember:
 * work faster than humans
 * are more accurate than humans;
 * can store huge amounts of information that they never “forget”.
 * Computers don’t have brains; they are not cleverer than humans.
 * Computers don’t have feelings or “common sense”. This means that there are lots of everyday tasks that humans can perform that computers still cannot.

__Software __ A computer can perform different tasks, depending on the instructions it is given.

 A list of instructions is called a program. Without a program to tell it what to do, a computer would just be a (useless) collection of hardware devices. Software is the name given to programs and the information they use. ||
 * Task [[image:abcprogramming/task.jpg width="229" height="200" align="center"]]
 * Create a table like the one below, in Word. Try to come up with 10 different tasks a computer would solve and the software it uses. ||
 * Task || <span style="background-color: #c0c0c0; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Software Package  ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Browse the World Wide Web || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Internet Explorer  ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Play Games || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Angry Birds  ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Browse the World Wide Web || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Internet Explorer  ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Play Games || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Angry Birds  ||