The document categorizes and describes different types of computer systems:
- Microcomputers (personal computers, laptops, PDAs, tablets) are the smallest and cheapest but most widely used. Examples include desktop PCs, laptops, palmtops, and tablets.
- Minicomputers (also called midrange computers) are larger than microcomputers but smaller and less expensive than mainframes. Examples include the VAX and TI-990. They support multi-user operations and network terminals.
- Mainframes are the largest, most powerful and expensive computers, used for centralized computing in large organizations. Examples include IBM systems.
- Supercomputers such as quantum computers are the fastest computers
The document categorizes and describes different types of computer systems:
- Microcomputers (personal computers, laptops, PDAs, tablets) are the smallest and cheapest but most widely used. Examples include desktop PCs, laptops, palmtops, and tablets.
- Minicomputers (also called midrange computers) are larger than microcomputers but smaller and less expensive than mainframes. Examples include the VAX and TI-990. They support multi-user operations and network terminals.
- Mainframes are the largest, most powerful and expensive computers, used for centralized computing in large organizations. Examples include IBM systems.
- Supercomputers such as quantum computers are the fastest computers
The document categorizes and describes different types of computer systems:
- Microcomputers (personal computers, laptops, PDAs, tablets) are the smallest and cheapest but most widely used. Examples include desktop PCs, laptops, palmtops, and tablets.
- Minicomputers (also called midrange computers) are larger than microcomputers but smaller and less expensive than mainframes. Examples include the VAX and TI-990. They support multi-user operations and network terminals.
- Mainframes are the largest, most powerful and expensive computers, used for centralized computing in large organizations. Examples include IBM systems.
- Supercomputers such as quantum computers are the fastest computers
The document categorizes and describes different types of computer systems:
- Microcomputers (personal computers, laptops, PDAs, tablets) are the smallest and cheapest but most widely used. Examples include desktop PCs, laptops, palmtops, and tablets.
- Minicomputers (also called midrange computers) are larger than microcomputers but smaller and less expensive than mainframes. Examples include the VAX and TI-990. They support multi-user operations and network terminals.
- Mainframes are the largest, most powerful and expensive computers, used for centralized computing in large organizations. Examples include IBM systems.
- Supercomputers such as quantum computers are the fastest computers
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CATEGORIES OF COMPUTER SYSTEM
Microcomputers
Definition :
They are commonly called as “Personal Computer” [PC].They are the smallest and the cheapest as compared with minicomputers, mainframe, and super computers. Despite this they are widely used among people or end-user client, due to their low in cost they are so small that they can be kept on a table (PC) or even carry out in a bag (Laptop) or even in a Palm (Mobile Devices ). Their users are fastest growing users compared to other different types of computers. They are designed primarily for single operation but still they can be used as a “workstation” in computer networking.
They are commonly called as “Personal Computer” [PC].They are the smallest and the cheapest as compared with minicomputers, mainframe, and super computers. Despite this they are widely used among people or end-user client, due to their low in cost they are so small that they can be kept on a table (PC) or even carry out in a bag (Laptop) or even in a Palm (Mobile Devices ). Their users are fastest growing users compared to other different types of computers. They are designed primarily for single operation but still they can be used as a “workstation” in computer networking.
Examples of Micro-Computers : Desktop Computers [PC] Laptop PDA | Palmtop Tablet PC Desktop Computers [PC]
These are the single user computer which can be fit on a table .They are small in size usually with single or only 1 “microprocessor” (CPU) they are designed for a single location ,desktop computer s can be used for entertainment , graphics ,and user can perform high level language .with a single user operating system but it can also be used a host in computer networking.
Laptop
They can perform with AC or with Battery, these computers are usually used by the persons who have to work from one location to other not as PC which sticks to one place as they need AC power to operate. There are wide range of people who use these type of computers daily may be engineer who has to give a presentation, student who needs to demonstrate his project, a lawyer, a businessman, a teacher, a graphic designer, a salesperson etc The biggest acid of laptops is their mobility.
Palmtop
Palmtop :: Palmtops are very small in size devices Which includes input and output function. Users can attach mouse or keyboard They can perform each and every task or operation as Personal Computer or Laptop. They have a graphical screen where a client can do all the functions, for example, sending emails ,office works ,and communication inside in a little package.These are the Different computer types which are utilized or used as a part of gigantic numbers around the world.
Tablet Tablet PC:: Tablet computers is additionally called as notebook.Which enables clients to communicate utilizing computerized pen or a fingertip without utilizing a mouse or keyboard. They can't satisfy the functionality of Personal Computer or Laptops.
MINI COMPUTER
They are called as "Midrange Computers" and were produced in 1960's using transistor, center memory technology and innovation. They are quite smaller in size, less expensive and speedier yet not as quick as a mainframe or supercomputer, they are utilized or used as a part of private company organizations, and in the production, department to monitor or screen manufacturing process.
They help multi-client Operations and have a very difficult operating system to deal with and can function as a "HOST" in a system where 100 terminals can be supported. The effective and powerful minicomputer is called as "Super-Minis". Example
VAX
B VAX is a discontinued instruction set architecture (ISA) developed by Digital Equipment
Corporation (DEC) in the mid-1970s. The VAX-11/780, introduced on October 25, 1977, was the first of a range of popular and influential computers implementing that architecture. VAX (Virtual Address extension) is an established line of mid-range server computers from the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). It followed DEC's PDP-11 in 1978 and also introduced a new operating system, VMS. VAX included a 32-bit processor and virtual memory. Historically, VAX has competed with a number of Hewlett-Packard and IBM computers in the small enterprise and university- scientific marketplace. In earlier times, this size and price range of computer was known as the minicomputer. Today, VAX and its competitors sell "servers" for business networks that use the client/server computing model.
Texas Instrument TI-990
The TI-990 was a series of 16-bit minicomputers sold by Texas Instruments (TI) in the 1970s and 1980s. The TI-990 was a replacement for TI's earlier minicomputer systems, the TI-960 and the TI-980. It had several uniquely innovative features, and was easier to program than its predecessors.
The TI-990 had a unique concept that registers are stored in memory and are referred to through a hard register called the Workspace Pointer. The concept behind the workspace is that main memory was based on the new semiconductor RAM chips that TI had developed and ran at the same speed as the CPU. This meant that it didn't matter if the "registers" were real registers in the CPU or represented in memory. When the Workspace Pointer is loaded with a memory address, that address is the origin of the "registers".
Advantage Cater to multiple users Lower costs than mainframes
Disadvantage Large Bulky
Uses of Minicomputer
1.Control of Automated Teller Machine (ATMs)
2.Payroll 3.Hospital patients registration 4.Inventory Control for supermarket 5.Insurance claims processing 6.Small bank accounting and customer details tracking Mainframe
Large, fast and expensive computer
Cost millions of dollar e.g. IBM3091, ICL39, etc Characteristics: Bigger in size than minicomputers Very expensive Support a few hundred users simultaneously (Multi-Users) Difficult to use More computing power than minicomputers Have to be kept in a special air-conditioned room Used in big business organizations and government departments
-Known as enterprise servers
-Occupies entire rooms or floors -Used for centralized computing -Serve distributed users and small servers in a computing network
Areas where mainframes are used:
Airline reservation Big banks with hundreds of branches located all over the world Big universities with thousands of enrollment Natural gas and oil exploration companies Space Vehicle control Weather forecasting Animated Cartoon Some mainframes are designed to be extremely fast and called super computers. It is used for space launching, monitoring and controlling.
Supercomputer Fastest and expensive Used by applications for molecular chemistry, nuclear research, weather reports, and advanced physics Consists of several computers that work in parallel as a single system
Quantum computer super computer
Google, IBM and a handful of startups are racing to create the next generation of supercomputers. Quantum computers, if they ever get started, will help us solve problems, like modelling complex chemical processes, that our existing computers can't even scratch the surface of. But the quantum future isn't going to come easily, and there's no knowing what it'll look like when it does arrive. At the moment, companies and researchers are using a handful of different approaches to try and build the most powerful computers the world has ever seen. Here's everything you need to know about the coming quantum revolution.
