Essay on Computer

The computer is an electronic machine that takes in data, works on it according to instructions and gives the result. It is one of the greatest inventions of modern science. Charles Babbage is called the father of the computer. A computer has input devices such as the keyboard and mouse, a central processing unit that works as its brain, and output devices such as the monitor and printer. It can do millions of calculations in a second, store huge amounts of information and repeat a task any number of times without a mistake or rest. Computers are used in banks, railways, hospitals, schools, offices, shops and space research. With the internet, they connect the whole world. But a computer cannot think for itself, and sitting before it for long hours is bad for health.

We live in the age of computers. From the ticket in our hand to the weather report on television, almost everything around us has passed through a computer. It is hard to imagine modern life without this machine.

A computer is an electronic device that accepts data, processes it according to a set of instructions called a program, and produces the result. The idea of such a machine was given in the nineteenth century by Charles Babbage, who is remembered as the father of the computer. The earliest electronic computers filled whole rooms. Today a far more powerful computer fits in a school bag, and a smartphone is a computer in the pocket.

A computer has two parts: hardware and software. Hardware is what we can touch: the keyboard and mouse for giving input, the central processing unit (CPU), which is the brain of the machine, the memory and hard disk for storing data, and the monitor, speakers and printer for output. Software is the set of programs that tells the hardware what to do.

Three qualities make the computer special. It is fast: it can do in a second what would take a person years. It is accurate: if the instructions and data are right, the answer is right. And it never gets tired or bored.

These qualities have made it useful everywhere. In banks, it keeps accounts and runs ATMs. In railways and airlines, it books tickets. In hospitals, it keeps records and helps in scans and operations. In offices, letters, accounts and designs are made on it. Scientists use it to forecast the weather and to guide satellites and rockets. In schools, smart classes and computer labs make lessons interesting. At home, we use it to study, to draw, to watch films and to talk to relatives.

The computer has some limits. It has no brain of its own; it only follows instructions. If we feed in wrong data, it gives a wrong result. It has also brought new problems. Some jobs are lost when machines do the work of many hands. Long hours at the screen strain the eyes and the back and reduce physical activity. Information stored on computers can be stolen if it is not protected.

Knowing how to use a computer is as necessary today as knowing how to read and write. We should learn it well, use it for good work and take regular breaks from the screen. Used properly, the computer is a faithful friend of humankind.