Computer
hideA computer is a machine that manipulates data according to a set of instructions.
Although mechanical examples of computers have existed through much of recorded human history, the first electronic computers were developed in the mid-20th century (1940–1945). These were the size of a large room, consuming as much power as several hundred modern personal computers (PCs). Modern computers based on integrated circuits are millions to billions of times more capable than the early machines, and occupy a fraction of the space. Simple computers are small enough to fit into a wristwatch, and can be powered by a watch battery. Personal computers in their various forms are icons of the Information Age and are what most people think of as "computers". The embedded computers found in many devices from MP3 players to fighter aircraft and from toys to industrial robots are however the most numerous.
The ability to store and execute lists of instructions called programs makes computers extremely versatile, distinguishing them from calculators. The Church–Turing thesis is a mathematical statement of this versatility: any computer with a certain minimum capability is, in principle, capable of performing the same tasks that any other computer can perform. Therefore computers ranging from a mobile phone to a supercomputer are all able to perform the same computational tasks, given enough time and storage capacity.
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News tagged with computer
Food banks go high-tech to feed the hungry
Nov 27, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Food banks across the country are undergoing a high-tech revolution, adopting sophisticated databases, bar coding, GPS tracking, automated warehouses and other technologies used in the food industry ...
Lenovo buying back mobile phone business
Nov 27, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Personal computer maker Lenovo Group said Friday it is joining the race to develop products that link phones and PCs by buying back a mobile phone business that it sold last year.
Living buildings could mop up carbon dioxide
Nov 27, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Architecture could help us tackle climate change, if we start to design our buildings with 'living' materials, according to Dr Rachel Armstrong, UCL Bartlett School of Architecture.
Ecologists sound out new solution for monitoring cryptic species
Nov 27, 2009 |
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Ecologists have at last worked out a way of using recordings of birdsong to accurately measure the size of bird populations. This is the first time sound recordings from a microphone array have been translated into accurate ...
UFO-obsessed Briton loses bid to block US extradition
Nov 26, 2009 |
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A Briton accused of hacking into US military and NASA computers faces extradition to the United States after the British government Thursday rejected last-ditch requests to block the move.
Nanowires key to future transistors, electronics
Nov 26, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new generation of ultrasmall transistors and more powerful computer chips using tiny structures called semiconducting nanowires are closer to reality after a key discovery by researchers ...
Building real security with virtual worlds
Technology / Computer Sciences
Nov 26, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Advances in computerized modeling and prediction of group behavior, together with improvements in video game graphics, are making possible virtual worlds in which defense analysts can explore ...
Post Office card error leaves Italians in the red: report
Nov 26, 2009 |
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A computer glitch left Italian Post Office customers in the red by processing card transactions at 100 times their value, Italian press reported Thursday.
Should I buy a PC or Mac?
Nov 25, 2009 |
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Q. Our 6-year-old PC computer is dying a slow death and we are considering moving to a new iMac but have a few concerns. First, of all, we have several Word documents on our disk drive now that we want to keep and add to ...
Mars Reconnaissance Orbite Team Plans Uplink of Protective Files
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 25, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The team operating NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter plans to uplink protective files to the spacecraft next week as one step toward resuming the orbiter's research and relay activities.
New computer cluster gets its grunt from games
Technology / Computer Sciences
Nov 25, 2009 |
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Technology designed to blast aliens in computer games is part of a new GPU (Graphics Processing Units) computer cluster that will process CSIRO research data thousands of times faster and more efficiently ...
Researchers develop virtual streams to help restore real ones
Nov 24, 2009 |
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Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a unique new computer model called the Virtual StreamLab, designed to help restore real streams to a healthier state. The Virtual StreamLab, which demonstrates the ...
Selling chip makers on optical computing
Nov 24, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Computer chips that transmit data with light instead of electricity consume much less power than conventional chips, but so far, they've remained laboratory curiosities. Professors Vladimir ...
Key scientist says politics behind stolen e-mails
Nov 24, 2009 |
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(AP) -- A leading climate change scientist said hackers breaking into a university's computer server and then posting documents online show the nasty politics of global warming.
Evaluating eHealth: How to make evaluation more methodologically robust
Nov 24, 2009 |
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eHealth -- the organisation and delivery of health services and information using information technology (IT) systems—is playing an increasingly important role in shaping health care systems. This week PLoS Medicine publis ...
