What Makes a Computer Work?

Series Summary

Computers are complex machines built upon very simple principles. They perform arithmetical operations millions of times over to transform digital information moving at lightning speed into usable human data. A personal computer's job is to help a user create, manipulate, deliver, receive or delete media content. This is a simple, sterile definition that sounds uninteresting on the surface. Nevertheless, these fundamental functions mimic human ability in some surprising ways. Therefore, the computer is increasingly becoming an engine of the imagination, a platform for the digital life. In this free video series, a computer and technology specialist explains a variety of computer hardware functions. Learn the basics of how a computer works, how a computer processor works and how a computer monitor works. Get tips on buying a computer, hooking up two computers to one monitor and fixing an upside down computer screen. Computers can be complicated, but with the right information and instruction, anyone can learn about computers!

Video Transcript

"Oh hi, today we're going to show you what makes a computer work. "You just plug it up?" "What makes a computer work? Well, it's quite complicated actually, you see, zero insertion for sockets on the central processing unit, allow for media distribution of electrons to the gooey and the bio's". Now look, it's not quite that easy, but it's not quite that complicated either. Everything that we have in the technology role is actually based off of something that we knew before, like the human brain. What we learned in elementary school about all of our five senses. Our eyes are the input, see, our ears are the input, our nose is the input, we hope it's not the output, and our mouth, our tongue, our hands, everything that's about our five senses is about taking information into the computer that we call the brain. Also we have output. What's the output? Well the mouth when we speak is the output, and our hands when we work is the output. So what's all that got to do with computers. Well I'll tell you, the computer is based on the human brain, on the human experience. Now a lot of people think that this is the computer, but it's not, it's not, this is actually the computer. Here is the brain, this is called the processor, or the CPU, the Central Processing Unit. Just like the brains in our heads, this brain inside the computer on the motherboard, actually relies upon input from the outside, and then it gives us the users, output. We must tell the computer what it's sensing, what it's hearing, what it's seeing. We do that by using things like a mouse, and a keyboard, these are input devices that allow us to input information into the computer. Now once the keyboard and the mouse, and any other kind of input devices have put information into the computer, the information has to come to the memory, then the memory sends all the information that we might need to the brain of the computer, which solves all the problems with lots of calculations. Now once the computer has taken the input information and calculated it with the brain, then it must output the information to the user. To do that, a card on the motherboard takes the information from the computer processor and sends it out to the user. This allows us to see the information coming out of the computer, just like the printer when we print allows us to see the information that comes out of the computer; input, output, very important. The last thing that we really want to do is create some memories. Without memories our experience of input and output has no meaning. That's where our friend the hard- drive comes in. The hard-drive is just like the memories in your head, remember when? This little thing right here is what stores all the memories of the computer, all of the files, all of the letters, all of the things you've ever done on your computer get stored right here, that way the next time we turn the computer on, we can go right back and do it all over again. Well my friends that takes us right back to the old human brain, now you kind of understand a little bit about how computers work, but remember, just like going to school, don't forget to read the manual. Hey the brain needs something to do."