computer memo
... instant. The greater a computer's RAM, the more applications it can handle at a time, the faster it can run software, and the greater protection against system crashes. The recommended amount of RAM is at least 256MB according to PC Magazine. ? Read Only Memory (ROM) o ROM is memory that can be read and executed, but not modified. An example would be the data on a standard CD-ROM. It contains the minimum instructions to start the computer. ? Operating System (OS) o The OS is the most important program that runs on a computer: it performs basic tasks such as recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen, keeping track of files and directories on the disk, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers. The OS is the first thing loaded onto the computer, without the operating system, a computer is useless. All desktop computers have operating systems. The most common are the Windows family of operating systems developed by Microsoft, the Macintosh operating systems developed by Apple and the UNIX family of operating systems ? Hard Drive o A Hard Drive is a data storage device inside the computer where all programs and data files are stored, including the Operating System (a program that manages all other programs in a computer.) The bigger the hard drive the more space available to store software and data. Most hard drives today are measured in Gigs or Gigabytes. Monitor Currently, there are two types of monitors available for computers. One type is the cathode ray tube or CRT monitor (Figure 3). This type is basically like your television. Flat panel versions of CRT's are also available, they have a flat display surface instead of a spherical display surface. CRT monitors are normally larger than the LCD?s but provide the best look for full motion video and intricate graphic designs. They are also the least expensive. A relative newcomer to the scene is the liquid crystal diode or LCD monitor (Figure 4). They are common on laptops but as the technology has matured they are starting to become more competitive with CRT monitors in both price and quality. Here are a few things that you can look at when choosing the right monitor for you. ? Screen Size o Size is by far the most important quality to look for in any new monitor. The bigger the screen size the more you can fit on it as well as the easier it is to see. All monitors are measured like televisions, on the diagonal from the upper left corner to the lower right corner or vise versa. There is a significant price difference between different sizes and many times there is a price break between sizes where the manufacturing industry currently has the most output. At this time LCD monitors are more expensive but the prices are falling as manufacturing picks up ? Resolution o Resolution is another important factor along with size. Resolution is a measure of the number of pixels or squares (Figure 5) the monitor can produce both on the horizontal and vertical. For instance 800x600 means the monitor can display 800 squares across and 600 squares up and down. Images will appear larger with a higher resolution. ? Refresh Rate o Refresh rate is also an important feature to look for. CRT monitors call this their Refresh Rate and LCD monitors have what is called a response time. This simply means the screen will refresh what you see at a given interval. The faster the refresh rate the better it will be for your eyes. ? Pitch o Dot or Pixel pitch is a feature that can be important depending on your application. Pitch is the dista...