It was probably the worst predictio

It was probably the worst prediction in history. Back in the 1940s, Thomas Watson, boss of the giant IBM Corporation, reputedly forecast that the world would need no more than «about five computers». Six decades later and the global population of computers have now risen to something like one billion machines!

To be fair to Watson, computers have changed enormously in that time. In the 1940s, they were giant scientific and military behemoths commissioned by the government at a cost of millions of dollars apiece; today, most computers are not even recognizable as such: they are embedded in everything from microwave ovens to cellphones and digital radios. What makes computers flexible enough to work in all these different appliances? How come they are so phenomenally useful? And how exactly do they work?

A computer is an electronic machine that processes information — in other words, an information processor: it takes in raw information (or data) at one end, stores it until it’s ready to work on it, chews and crunches it for a bit, then spits out the results at the other end. All these processes have a name. Taking in information is called input, storing information is better known as memory, chewing information is also known as processing, and spitting out results is called output.

Imagine if a computer were a person. Suppose you have a friend who’s really good at math. She is so good that everyone she knows posts their math problems to her. Each morning she goes to her letterbox and finds a pile of new math problems waiting for her attention. She piles them up on her desk until she gets around to looking at them. Each afternoon she takes a letter off the top of the pile, studies the problem, works out the solution, and scribbles the answer on the back. She puts this in an envelope addressed to the person who sent her the original problem and sticks it in her out tray, ready to post. Then she moves to the next letter in the pile. You can see that your friend is working just like a computer. Her letterbox is her input; the pile on her desk is her memory; her brain is the processor that works out the solutions to the problems; and the out tray on her desk is her output.

Once you understand that computers are about input, storage, processing, and output, all you have on your desk makes a lot more sense. Your keyboard and mouse, for example, are just input units — ways of getting information into your computer that it can process. If you use a microphone and voice recognition software, that’s another form of input. Your computer probably stores all your documents and files on a hard-drive: a huge magnetic memory. But smaller, computer-based devices like digital cameras and cellphones use other kinds of storage such as flash memory cards. As for output, your computer almost certainly has a screen and probably also stereo loudspeakers. You may have an inkjet printer on your desk too to make a more permanent form of output. Your computer’s processor (sometimes known as the central processing unit) is a microchip buried deep inside. It works amazingly hard and gets incredibly hot in the process. That’s why your computer has a little fan blowing away — to stop its brain from overheating!

Результаты (английский) 1:

It was probably the worst prediction in history. Back in the 1940s, Thomas Watson, boss of the giant IBM Corporation, reputedly forecast that the world would need no more than about five computers. " Six decades later and the global population of computers have now risen to something like one billion machines!To be fair to Watson, computers have changed enormously in that time. In the 1940s, they were giant scientific and military behemoths commissioned by the government at a cost of millions of dollars apiece; Today, most computers are not even recognizable as such: they are embedded in everything from microwave ovens to cellphones and digital radios. What makes computers, flexible enough to work in all these different appliances? How come they are so phenomenally useful? And how exactly do they work?A computer is an electronic machine that processes information — in other words, an information processor: it takes in raw information (or data) at one end, stores it until it's ready to work on it, chews and crunches it for a bit, then spits out the results at the other end. All these processes have a name. Taking in information is the so-called input, storing information is better known as memory, chewing information is also known as processing, and spitting out results is called output.Imagine if a computer were a person. Suppose you have a friend who's really good at math. She is so good that she knows everyone posts their math problems to her. Each morning she goes to her letterbox and finds a pile of new math problems waiting for her attention. She piles them up on her desk until she gets around to looking at them. Each afternoon she takes a letter off the top of the pile, studies the problem, works out the solution, and scribbles the answer on the back. She puts this in an envelope addressed to the person who sent her the original problem and sticks it in her out tray, ready to post. Then she moves to the next letter in the pile. You can see that your friend is working just like a computer. Her letterbox is her input; the pile on her desk is her memory; her brain is the processor that works out the solutions to the problems; and the out tray on her desk is her output.Once you understand that computers are about input, storage, processing, and output, all you have on your desk makes a lot more sense. Your keyboard and mouse, for example, are just input units — ways of getting information into your computer that it can process. If you use a microphone and voice recognition software, that's another form of input. Your computer probably stores all your documents and files on a hard-drive: a huge magnetic memory. But smaller, computer-based devices like digital cameras and cellphones use other kinds of storage, such as flash memory cards. As for output, your computer almost certainly has a screen and probably also the stereo loudspeakers. You may have an inkjet printer on your desk too to make a more permanent form of output. Your computer's processor (sometimes known as the central processing unit) is a microchip buried deep inside. It works amazingly hard and gets incredibly hot in the process. That's why your computer has a little fan blowing away is to stop its brain from overheating!

Результаты (английский) 2:

It was probably the worst prediction in history . Back in the 1940s, Thomas Watson, boss of the giant IBM Corporation, reputedly forecast that the world would need no more than «about five computers». Decades later and of Six the global population of computers have now! Just Risen to something like one's Billion machines!

The To the BE to the Watson of fair, computers have changed enormously in That time. In the 1940s, they were giant scientific and military behemoths commissioned by the government at a cost of millions of dollars apiece; today, most computers are not even recognizable as such: they are embedded in everything from microwave ovens to cellphones and digital radios. What makes computers flexible enough to work in all these different appliances? How come they are so phenomenally useful?

And how exactly do they work? A computer is an electronic machine that processes information - in other words, an information processor: it takes in raw information (or data) at one end, stores it until it's ready to work on it, chews and crunches it for a bit, then spits out the results at the other end. All these processes have a name. In information is for Taking input the Called, Storing information is better known as with a memory, information is chewing Also known as with processing support, and spitting out results is Called output.

Imagine Imagine the if a computer Were a person. Suppose you have a friend who's really good at math. She is so good that everyone she knows posts their math problems to her. Each morning she goes to her letterbox and finds a pile of new math problems waiting for her attention. She piles them up on her desk until she gets around to looking at them. Each afternoon she takes a letter off the top of the pile, studies the problem, works out the solution, and scribbles the answer on the back. She puts this in an envelope addressed to the person who sent her the original problem and sticks it in her out tray, ready to post. Then she moves to the next letter in the pile. You can see that your friend is working just like a computer. Her letterbox is her input; the pile on her desk is her memory ; her brain is the processor that works out the solutions to the problems; the tray out and on HER HER desk is output.

Once you Understand That computers are about input the, storage, processing support, and output, all you have on your desk Makes Sense a lot more. Your keyboard and mouse, for example, are just input units - ways of getting information into your computer that it can process. If you use a microphone and voice recognition software, that's another form of input. Your computer probably stores all your documents and files on a hard-drive: a huge magnetic memory. But smaller, computer-based devices like digital cameras and cellphones use other kinds of storage such as flash memory cards. As for output, your computer almost certainly has a screen and probably also stereo loudspeakers. You may have an inkjet printer on your desk too to make a more permanent form of output. Your computer's processor (sometimes known as the central processing unit) is a microchip buried deep inside. It works amazingly hard and gets incredibly hot in the process. That's why your computer has a little fan blowing away - to stop its brain from overheating!

Результаты (английский) 3:

it was probably the worst prediction in history. back in the 1940s, thomas watson, boss of the giant ibm corporation, reputedly forecast that the world would need no more than "about five computers». six decades later and the global population of computers have now risen to something like a billion machines!to be fair to watson, computers have changed enormously in that time. in the 1940s, they were giant scientific and military behemoths commissioned by the government at a cost of millions of dollars it; today, most computers are not even recognizable as such: they are embedded in everything from microwave ovens to cellphones and digital radios. what makes computers flexible enough to work in all these different appliances. how come they are so phenomenally useful? and how exactly do they work?a computer is an electronic machine that processes information - in other words, an information processor: it takes in raw information (or data) at one end, stores it until it"s ready to work on it, and crunches chews it for a bit, then spits out the results at the other end. all these processes have a name. taking in information is called input, storing information is better known as memory, chewing information is also known as processing, and spitting out results is called output.imagine if a computer were a person. Suppose you have a friend who"s really good at math. she is so good that everyone she knows posts their math problems to her. each morning she goes to her letterbox and finds a pile of new math problems waiting for her attention. she piles them up on her bed until she gets around to looking at them. each afternoon she takes a rounded off the top of the pile, studies the problem, works out the solution, and scribbles the answer on the back. she puts this in an envelope addressed to the person who sent her the original problem and sticks it in her out tray, ready to post. then she moves to the next letter in the pile. you can see that your friend is working just like a computer. her letterbox is her input; the pile on her desk is her memory. her brain is the processor and works out the solutions to the problems; and the out tray on her desk is her output.once you understand that computers are about input, storage, processing, and output, all you have on your desk makes a lot more sense. your keyboard and mouse, for example, are just input units are ways of getting information into your computer and it can process. if you use a microphone and voice recognition software, that"s another form of input. your computer probably stores all your documents and files on a hard drive, a magnetic memory. but smaller, computer - based devices like digital cameras and cellphones use other kinds of storage such as flash memory cards. as for output, your computer almost certainly has a screen and probably also stereo loudspeakers. you may have an inkjet printer on your desk too to make a more permanent form of output. your computer "s processor (sometimes known as the central processing unit) is a microchip buried deep inside. it works amazingly hard and gets quite hot in the process. that"s why your computer has a little fan than just a place to walk, to stop its brain from overheating!