LESSON 3: The Computer

has Many Faces

 COMPUTERS ACCORDING TO SIZE
• MICROCOMPUTERS are the most numerous among all the computer types. They
may come as a tablet or smartphone, a laptop or netbook or a desktop computers
• MINICOMPUTERS is medium-sized compared to the microcomputer. It is used
by small businesses and organizations for business and office work.
• MAINFRAMES are big, powerful, fast and expensive. They can serve hundreds of
users at the same time. Large businesses and organizations use mainframes for a
high-volume data processing, like maintaining databases and managing networks.
• SUPERCOMPUTERS are extremely fast. They can process trillions of instructions
per second. These are used for heavy scientific calculations and other very
difficult tasks. Some supercomputers are used by weather forecasters. Others
are used by governments and really big companies.
 COMPUTERS ACCORDING TO PURPOSE

• SPECIAL PURPOSE COMPUTER is designed to perform a specific task. Examples are computer for
aircraft navigations, satellite tracking and traffic control. Devices for household use such as
refrigerators, microwave ovens, and industrial machines used in factories, contain special purpose
computer. Other devices such as as mobile telephones and video cameras also contain special
purpose computers.
• GENERAL PURPOSE COMPUTERS is used to deal with a variety of problems and to store number of
different programs. This has resulted in software development, the creation of different programs for
different uses.
• This first computer considered as a general purpose computer is the Z3, developed by Konrad Zuse in
1941. In the 1930s and 1940s many computers were developed and all claimed to be the first
computer. These are:
- ABC (Atanasoff Berry Computer
- ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator/Computer
- Harvard Mk I
- Colossus
 COMPUTER CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO DATA
PROCESSED
• ANALOG COMPUTER are used for specific, engineering, and process-control
puprposes.

• Digital Computer. They process discrete numeric or symbolic values.

• HYBRID COMPUTERS are combination of digital and analog
computers. Examples are those used for traffic control and those
used in the intensive casre units (ICU) of hospitals.