Computer Memory
Computer memory is divided into two;
- Primary memory
- Secondary memory
Primary memory is that part that does not store data like documents, music, movies and the like. This part stores instructions or data that is being acted on. Once, one is through with using the computer this memory is cleared. This part of the memory is made up of RAM and ROM. What is of important here is the RAM. This is one aspect that determines the applications you can install on your computer and whether your computer will be slow or not. You can see the RAM on you computer on the about page as shown below.
Secondary memory is the part that stores all your data; documents, music, movies and the like. This includes Hard drive/Local disk/HDD, optical devices like CD and DVD, memory cards, flash disks, eternal hard drives, etc. When you click on file explorer on your computer the memory you see is the Hard disk/hard drive/ HDD as shown below.
Computer Software
This refers to the applications or programs installed on the computer. They are divided into two;
- System software or operating system
- Application software
System Software
This is the initial program which is installed on your computer. It acts as the platform for other applications. The commonly used system software is the Microsoft windows. It may be windows 10, windows 8, windows 7 and windows XP (although the last two are being used they are out of market).
You can see the system software or operating system of your computer on the about page shown below
Application software
These are applications or programs that carries out a specific task. These applications varies from one business area to another. For example, the supermarket application is different from bank system, and the bank system is different from hospital system and so forth. But, there are basic applications that all people should be familiar with. The includes; word processing program like Microsoft Word or LibreOffice, Microsoft Excel or spreadsheet, Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Access, Microsoft PowerPoint, among others.
