General Computer Question 1: What is a computer?

Answer:   A common, somewhat simplified, definition is that the  computer is an electronic device that can be used to  process information. As we might expect from this definition, the fact that the computer is electronic means that it will be fast: it can operate at electronic speed. But what do we mean when we say the computer can  process information? The answer to that question is not so simple. When computers were first used, they were used exclusively for calculating numbers. During that period, information  processing was defined as calculating numbers. Today, computers are not only used for calculations, but also for creating and manipulating text and pictures. They are used to design bridges and spacecraft, to record a company's sales and to keep track of customers, to create a school newspaper, or to estimate the cost of a new school. If computers can do all these things, then it appears that we must define information processing in terms of what the  current crop of computers can do, and that definition is constantly expanding.

An illustration of a basic computer system is below.

 A Basic Computer System.

In a remarkably short period of time the computer has changed our world. During the first half of the twentieth century, economic growth in the world's industrial societies was fueled by large-scale manufacturing processes. Back then, most manufacturing was involved in converting natural resources into products that were then sold to the public. During that period, the industrialized countries of the world developed factories with assembly lines that were designed to efficiently build everything from household appliances to automobiles, ships, and locomotives. The countries that were best able to adapt their societies to produce these kinds of products became the "industrialized" societies and the dominated the world's economy.

But now, as we move into a new century, a relatively new invention, the computer, is leading to a shift in the world's power structure. Economic growth is now more likely to be fueled by the processing of information, the storage and delivery of facts and knowledge. We are now in the  information age. While industrialized societies still build and sell the products of heavy industry - like automobiles and tractors - the computer has become an indispensable element in their design, manufacture, and distribution. Today, in the industrialized countries, much of the business and economic activity involves the computer. The computer is now involved in design work, the management of money, and the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of products. And, as the world's international markets become ever more competitive, the computer's role will continue to grow steadily (also see the General Computer Question #2 below: How do we use computers?)