The hardware are the parts of the computer or the processing device (smart phone, tablet, etc) which include the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and related microchips and micro-circuitry, keyboards, monitors, case and drives (hard, CD, DVD, solid-state (ssd), floppy, optical, tape, etc...). Other extra parts are called peripheral components or devices include mouse, printers, modems, scanners, cameras and cards (sound, colour, video) etc... Together they are often referred to as a computer.

Central Processing Unit - Though the term relates to a specific chip or the processor a CPU's performance is determined by the rest of the computer's circuitry and chips.

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With faster processors the clock speed becomes more important. Compared to some of the first computers which operated at below 30 megahertz (MHz) the Pentium chips began at 75 MHz in the late 1990's. Speeds now exceed 3000+ MHz or 3 gigahertz (GHz) and different chip manufacturers use different measuring standards (check your local computer store for the latest speed). It depends on the circuit board that the chip is housed in, or the motherboard, as to whether you are able to upgrade to a faster chip. The motherboard contains the circuitry and connections that allow the various component to communicate with each other.

Though there were many computers using many different processors previous to this I call the 80286 processor the advent of home computers as these were the processors that made computers available for the average person. Using a processor before the 286 involved learning a proprietary system and software. Most new software are being developed for the newest and fastest processors so it can be difficult to use an older computer system.

Keyboard - The keyboard is used to type information into the computer or input information. There are many different keyboard layouts and sizes with the most common for Latin based languages being the QWERTY layout (named for the first 6 keys). The standard keyboard has 101 keys. Notebooks have embedded keys accessible by special keys or by pressing key combinations (CTRL or Command and P for example). Ergonomically designed keyboards are designed to make typing easier. Hand held devices have various and different keyboard configurations and touch screens.

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Some of the keys have a special use. They are referred to as command keys. The 3 most common are the Control or CTRL, Alternate or Alt and the Shift keys though there can be more (the Windows key for example or the Command key). Each key on a standard keyboard has one or two characters. Press the key to get the lower character and hold Shift to get the upper.

Hard drives, Removable Storage and/or Disk Drives (HDD) - All disks need a drive to get information off - or read - and put information on the disk - or write. Each drive is designed for a specific type of disk whether it is a CD, DVD, hard disk or floppy. Often the term 'disk' and 'drive' are used to describe the same thing but it helps to understand that the disk is the storage device which contains computer files - or software - and the drive is the mechanism that runs the disk.

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Flash drives or Solid State Drives (SSD) work slightly differently as they use flash memory to store information so there are no moving parts. Digital cameras also use Flash memory to store information, in this case photographs. Smart phones and Hand held devices use flash drives and many also have removable memory cards that can be added to increase the devices store capacity.

Mouse - Most modern computers today are run using a mouse controlled pointer. Generally if the mouse has two buttons the left one is used to select objects and text and the right one is used to access menus. If the mouse has one button (Mac for instance) it controls all the activity and a mouse with a third button can be programmed by specific software programs for various uses.

One type of mouse has a round ball under the bottom of the mouse that rolls and turns two wheels which control the direction of the pointer on the screen. Another type of mouse uses an optical system to track the movement of the mouse. Laptop computers use touch pads, buttons and other devices to control the pointer. Hand helds use a combination of devices to control the pointer, including touch screens.

Note: It is important to clean the mouse periodically, particularly if it becomes sluggish. A ball type mouse has a small circular panel that can be opened, allowing you to remove the ball. Lint can be removed carefully with a tooth pick or tweezers and the ball can be washed with mild detergent. A build up will accumulate on the small wheels in the mouse. Use a small instrument or finger nail to scrape it off taking care not to scratch the wheels. Track balls can be cleaned much like a mouse and touch-pad can be wiped with a clean, damp cloth. An optical mouse can accumulate material from the surface that it is in contact with which can be removed with a finger nail or small instrument.

Touch screen - Most hand held devices, smart phones and some laptops & monitors have a touch screen to control the device. Slide your finger over the screen to activate program, enter data, save content and all the other functions that a mouse can do. Various combinations such as using two fingers provide short cuts to perform tasks quicker. Care must be taken to avoid scratching or damaging the screen.

Monitors or Screen - The screen displays information when you type or interact with the computer or device. This is called outputting information. When the computer needs more information it will display a message on the screen, often through a dialog box. Monitors and screens come in many types and sizes. The resolution determines the sharpness of the screen. The resolution can be adjusted to control the screen's display.

Older desktop computers used a monitor with a cathode tube but liquid crystal display and other digital technology has replaced this older technology. Most tablets and smart phones use a liquid crystal display or similar technology.

To get the full benefit of today's software with full colour graphics and animation, computers need a color monitor with a display or graphics card.

Printers - The printer takes the information on your screen and transfers it to paper or a hard copy. There are many different types of printers with various levels of quality. The three basic types of printer are; dot matrix, inkjet, and laser.

• Dot matrix printers work like a typewriter transferring ink from a ribbon to paper with a series or 'matrix' of tiny pins.
• Ink jet printers work like dot matrix printers but fires a stream of ink from a cartridge directly onto the paper.
• Laser printers use the same technology as a photocopier using heat to transfer toner onto paper.

Modem - A modem is used to translate information transferred through telephone lines, cable, satellite or line-of-sight wireless. Modern modems are tiny devices that connect your computer or wifi device to the internet.

The term 'modem' stands for modulate and demodulate which changes the signal from digital, which computers use, to analog, which telephones use and then back again. Digital modems transfer digital information directly without changing to analog.

The speed that the information is transferred is called the bandwidth. The bandwidth measures the amount of information transferred per second. Analog modems have a maximum speeds of 56 kilobytes per second. Cable, wireless or digital subscriber lines can transfer information much faster with rates measuring speeds in megabytes and gigabytes per second.

Modems also use Error Correction which corrects for transmission errors by constantly checking whether the information was received properly or not and Compression which allows for faster data transfer rates. Information is transferred in packets. Each packet is checked for errors and is re-sent if there is an error.

Anyone who has used the Internet has noticed that at times the information travels at different speeds. Depending on the amount of information that is being transferred, the information will arrive at it's destination at different times. The amount of information that can travel through a line is limited so speeds change depending on factors such as the number of people using the system, the condition of the equipment and even weather conditions.

There are many more variables involved in communication technology using computers, much of which is covered in the section on the Internet.

Scanners- Scanners allow you to transfer pictures and photographs to your computer. A scanner 'scans' the image from the top to the bottom, one line at a time and transfers it to the computer as a series of bits or a bitmap. You can then take that image and use it in a paint program, send it out as a fax or print it. With optional Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software you can convert printed documents such as newspaper articles to text that can be used in your word processor.

Digital cameras and Handheld devices allow you to take digital photographs. The images are stored on a memory chip or disk that can be transferred to your computer. Most cameras can also capture sound and video.

Case - The case houses the microchips and circuitry that run the computer. Desktop models usually sit under the monitor and tower models beside. They come in many sizes, including desktop and full tower. There is usually room inside to expand or add components at a later time. By removing the cover can find empty slots that allow you to add cards and memory.

Depending on the type, laptop computers may have room to expand . Most laptops also have connections or ports that allows expansion or connection to exterior, peripheral devices such as monitor, portable hard-drives or other devices. One common one is a USB port. Some others are HDMI, Ethernet, and IDE

Cards - Cards are components added to computers to increase their capability. When adding a peripheral device make sure that your computer has a slot of the type needed by the device.

Sound cards allow computers to produce sound like music and voice. There are different types of sound cards with different capacities. Though the human ear may not be able to distinguish the fine difference between sounds produced by the more powerful sound card these cards allow for more complex music and music production.

Graphic cards allow computers to produce colour. The first colour cards were 2 bit which produced 4 colours [CGA]. It was amazing what could be done with those 4 colours. Next came 4 bit allowing for 16 [EGA and VGA ] colours. Then came 16 bit allowing for 1064 colours and then 24 bit which allows for almost 17 million colours and now 32 bit and higher allow monitors to display almost a billion separate colours. A gaming device requires a powerful colour card for the best gaming experience.

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Video cards allow computers to display video and animation. Some video cards allow computers to display television as well as capture frames from video. A video card with a digital video camera allows computers users to produce live video. A high speed connection is required for effective video transmission.

Network cards allow computers to connect together to communicate with each other. Network cards have connections for cable, thin wire or wireless networks. For more information see the section on Networks.

Cables connect internal components to the Motherboard, which is a board with series of electronic pathways and connectors allowing the CPU to communicate with the other components of the computer.

Memory - Memory is usually one of the easiest pieces of hardware to add to your computer. It is common to confuse chip memory with disk storage. An example of the difference between memory and storage would be the difference between a table where the actual work is done (memory) and a cabinet where the finished product is stored (disk). To add a bit more confusion, the computer's hard disk can be used as temporary memory when the program needs more memory than the chips can provide.

Random Access Memory or RAM is the memory that the computer uses to temporarily store the information as it is being processed. The more information being processed the more RAM the computer needs.

One of the first home computers used 64 kilobytes of RAM memory (Commodore 64). Today's modern computers measure memory in megabytes or gigabytes. Operating systems such as Windows or Apple OS have a minimum amount required to use.

RAM memory chips come in many different sizes and speeds and can usually be expanded. In most computers the memory can be expanded by adding or replacing the memory chips depending on the processor you have and the type of memory your computer uses. Memory chips range in size from megabytes to gigabytes. As computer technology changes the type of memory changes as well making old memory chips obsolete. Check your computer to find out what kind of memory your computer uses before purchasing more memory. Some devices like tablets and phones have a preset amount of memory and cannot be upgraded.