Basic Definitions

Hardware: The physical parts of a computer.

Transistor: A tiny electrically operated switch that can alternate between "on" and "off".

Chip (aka Microchip aka Integrated Circuit): A tiny piece of silicon that contains millions of transistors and other electronic components.

Moore's Law

Hardware Overview

Modern-day computer systems usually contain, at a minimim, the following hardware components:

The System Unit

Secondary Storage

Input / Output Devices

Communications Devices

Measurements in Computer Science