Literally, “hardware” would mean “hard goods.” With this concept we try designate all tangible components in an electronic systemthat is, what we can play: keyboard, mouse, monitor, chips, boards, printers, etc. An analogy could be made with the human being and say that the software is thoughtMeanwhile he hardware is the body.
It is confusing to relate to hardware with components «real” either “physical» because this would mean that computer systems have non-physical or even unreal components. He hardware would not work or be of any use without a “software«the “intangible” and logical part of a computer system: a set of instructions to be carried out by the hardware. In addition, this terminology is today so established and widespread that, although some translators emphatically recommend substituting the word software due to the idea of «logical support», there is not the slightest consensus to destroy Anglicism «hardware» to give rise to an equivalent expression in our language.
In a PC or computer system similar (cell phone, portable players), we can distinguish between different components: input peripherals (mousekeyboard, scanner, microphone input, webcam, stylus), output (speakers, printer, monitor [salvo que sea touchscreen]), mixed (hard disks, modems, USB memories, interactive screens, optical disk reading units), the Central Processing Unit (central processing unit or CPU, the “brain” of the machine), RAM memory (temporary data storage, place where programs are executed together with the CPU and other more complex components) and the hardware graphics (video cards, which have their own central processing unit).
It is interesting to know that the first computers worked based on vacuum tubes or valves, they were glass tubes the size of a light bulb housing electrical circuits. In great quantity and together with other elements, they formed a hardware system relatively complex involving large dimensions. Tubes used to get full of bugs, which is where the term “debug” (bug = «bicho» in English): «desbichar»; Removing bugs from the tubes for the system to work properly was one of the tasks of technicians in the mid-20th century. These first expressions of what we know today as hardware It allows us to explain the meaning of “hard merchandise” that was indicated at the beginning. Many of these early pieces of equipment took up an entire room and the data processing was not entirely digital, but in many cases included mechanical processing components. From there comes the image, today only imaginable in museums, of the use of punched cards, perhaps the oldest mixed devices, as a resource for exchanging data and information with the CPU of that time. Although the appearance of floppy disk (diskettes) meant an impressive revolution in terms of memory capacity and processing speed, these systems are also part of the memory, being progressively displaced by compact discs, DVDs and current memory cards.
The invention of transistors it was associated with the considerable reduction of the size of the machines; in the same way, they made them more reliable and cheaper. Later, with the technology of silicon chips, these transistors could be assembled into integrated circuits, occupying more space, to later give rise to microprocessors: almost complete computers that fit on a single chip. These parameters constituted the foundation for the appearance of desktop personal computers, which soon gave way to lighter weight and more portable equipment, such as notebooks and the netbooks. These reduced-size hardware versions were also linked to a simplification of the components, which is why the number of mixed elements that simultaneously allow data entry into the equipment grew (input) and information output (output). On this foundation, both tablets, as an expression of size optimization within the framework of high performance, and smartphones arose. The format of hardware of both technical resources ensures that, today, each potential user has the necessary technical framework to send data and receive information anywhere on the planet, thus facilitating communication in a way never before described in the history of humanity.
The nanotechnology promises to deliver the next big leap in the computing age. Through this technique, it is estimated that the transistors will acquire dimensions of less than a micrometer, which is why the weight of the hardware could be reduced to unsuspected levels. Consequently, progressive digitization will allow for a greater dissemination of knowledge and will conclusively demonstrate the unique importance of computing in creating a better future.
Following