Our personal computers consist of a number of elements, generally divided into two categories: computer hardware and software. Some of them are completely material, we are able to touch them, feel them and move them about. All those elements - keyboards, mouses, computer hardware monitors - are called hardware. Software, on the other hand, is the part of our everyday computer-using life that we can never lay our hands on. The variety of programs we use and cannot imagine our life and work without, they are all called software.
Computer hardware and software are both essential to the jobs our computers perform on a daily basis, and one cannot function without the other. That is, computer hardware provides a base for software installation, but if we don't install any programs at all, the hardware will also be useless. Sometimes, of course, a certain kind of software can temporarily replace one of the computer hardware components - think of virtual keyboards! - but it is far more convenient to have computer hardware and software suitable for their own purposes. Computer hardware and software are currently joined together in their developers' effort to make the users' life better, easier, more interesting and satisfying. If you're reading this, it means that you're acquainted with the modern wonder that is Internet; well, you're using your hardware modem/LAN cable AND your software browser to be here at all!
Of course, computer hardware and software can cause problems as well as pleasantries. Computer hardware troubleshooting is something every user needs to have an understanding of in order to avoid a pricey computer hardware repair; with the software, a simple re-installation often solves the problem. As computer hardware and software are so closely entwined, you need to know that there are programs able to harm the hardware, such as viruses. |
