COMPUTERS

What is Computer?

Computer is an electronic device that is designed to work with Information. The term computer is derived from the Latin term "computare", this means to calculate or programmable machine. Computer can not do anything without a Program. It represents the decimal numbers through a string of binary digits. The Word "Computer" usually refers to the Center Processor Unit plus Internal memory.

Computer Classification: By Size and Power:

Computers differ based on their data processing abilities. They are classified according to purpose, data handling and functionality.

According to functionality, computers are classified as:

• Analog Computer:
  A computer that represents numbers by some continuously variable physical quantity, whose variations mimic the properties of some system being modeled.
• Personal computer:
  A personal computer is a computer small and low cost. The term"personal computer" is used to describe desktop computers (desktops).
• Workstation:
  A terminal or desktop computer in a network. In this context, workstation is just a generic term for a user's machine (client machine) in contrast to a "server" or "mainframe."
• Minicomputer:
  A minicomputer isn't very mini. At least, not in the way most of us think of mini. You know how big your personal computer is and its related family.
• Mainframe:
  It refers to the kind of large computer that runs an entire corporation.
• Supercomputer:
  It is the biggest, fastest, and most expensive computers on earth.
• Microcomputer:
  Your personal computer is a microcomputer.

Since 1980, New Horizons for Learning (NHFL) has served as a leading-edge resource for understanding learning. Concerned that important research was not reaching most classrooms, founder Dee Dickinson decided to create a network to reach teachers with new information she would have loved to have when she was in the classroom. NHFL's role has always been to give visibility to effective teaching and learning practices and ideas that have not yet reached the mainstream. Additionally, NHFL has worked in coordination with other reputable networks and learning communities to synthesize the information and turn information into knowledge and knowledge into practice. The website has also been quoted in numerous books and journals, and has received prestigious awards, including one from the International Society for Technology in Education as one of the best education sites on the Internet. Read more about the founding and history of the New Horizons for Learning under the visionary leadership of Dee Dickinson our History section.

After 26 years of voluntary service as a non-profit network, NHFL was in search of a new host due to the retirement of its founder, Dee Dickinson.Today, New Horizons for Learning at www.education.jhu.edu/newhorizons has transferred to the editorial team at Johns Hopkins University School of Education. It remains a non-profit, international network of educators focused on identifying, communicating, and implementing the most effective teaching and learning strategies at all ages and abilities.

• Whether you are a teacher, school administrator, professor, student, consultant, or parent, you will find useful information from our Archives organized under the following original categories:
• Neurosciences includes information about the development and function of the human brain applied to learning
• Transforming Education includes descriptions of successful projects and methods that are transforming schools and other educational institutions
• Teaching and Learning Strategies offers a synthesis of the most effective ways to facilitate and enhance teaching and learning
• Perspectives on the Future includes illuminating discussions of the kinds of future we are preparing our children and students to face
• Special Needs/Inclusion is a comprehensive collection of information and resources on this topic for parents, teachers, and students
• Lifelong Learning is about learning in childhood and parenting, adolescence, higher education, the adult years, the workplace, and the senior years
• Student Voices offers students' views about learning and ways to help them to use their voices constructively and effectively

The computer industry is in the midst of a transition and the computers of tomorrow will be quite different than what we're currently used to. With the old standby of a "die-shrink and ramped-up clock speeds" no longer possible due to increased power dissipation issues, processor manufacturers have turned the focus onto other means of improving performance on each new emerging class of CPU. The current method du jour is to pack two CPU cores onto one physical processor silicon die. This technique allows for a smoother ride, a nice little performance spike, and as more software is written with SMP support, application performance will also increase easily.