Overview of Computers

Imagining your life without computers can feel like going back ages. Computers are now a part of our everyday life. But a lot of people do not know how computers originated or what the basic principles behind these machines are. To put it in very simple words, a computer is machine that will sequentially work upon any arithmetic or logical command that is given to it.

If you look at any computing machine, there is some method of inputting data, a processor and a form of memory to work upon that data and perform the required operations. And then there is an output device where you can see the results.

This is a very stripped down description of a computer if you compare it with modern day standards. When it comes to the CPU, before the 70's, they used to comprise of several components, but after that they took the form of a single chip. These chips today have billions or trillions of transistors upon them. The memory in computers is RAM (Random Access Memory) on which you can read and write data, and then there is ROM (Read Only Memory) which comes pre-loaded with data.

Input and output devices have varied over the years. Punch cards were used earlier, but now, it is through mouse, keyboard, touch screens and monitors. With the addition of internet and other rapidly advancing technologies computers have become an inseparable part of our lives.

Computer Games

A lot of people are hooked to some sort of computer game or the other. Characters like Mario and Zelda have become a part of our mainstream culture. With advances in technology, games that are produced today have become more realistic and offer a lot more in terms of gameplay.

Computer games are older than what you might think. In fact, one of the first games ever to be developed was Spacewar, in which two space ships tried to destroy each other while revolving around a star. Still, most of the games in this era were based on textual interaction between the player and the computer. During the 80s, graphics started to attain more importance. Atari became a major company in the gaming industry with rights to games like Pac-man.

This booming period for PC games did not last long as many poor quality games were introduced and high profile releases by Atari did not do well. This led to a crash in the industry during the mid 80's. However, this slag did not last long as the introduction of eastern companies like Nintendo in the US market led to resurgence of computer games.

The modern day gaming industry evolved after the success of 3D games that became popular in the mid 90's. CPUs were getting faster and graphics processing units like NVidia's GeForce series allowed companies to make games that were very detailed and provided an incredible game play experience.