T YPES OF C OMPUTERS Computer Technology Mrs. Seale

P ERSONAL C OMPUTER (PC) Designed for general use by a single person. PC Mac

D ESKTOP M ICROCOMPUTER Set up in a permanent location More power, storage, and versatility Less cost

L APTOP C OMPUTER Portable computer Integrates Monitor Keyboard Mouse Processor Memory Hard Drive Battery-Operated Also called notebook

N ETBOOK Smaller than traditional laptop Cheaper than laptop Less powerful

W ORKSTATION Desktop computer with enhanced capabilities Used for performing special tasks 3D Graphics Game Development Sound Editing

S UPERCOMPUTER Multiple high performance computers working in parallel as a single system. Used for highly calculation-intensive tasks Quantum Physics Weather Forecasting Climate research Molecular Modeling Physical Simulations

M AINFRAME (E NTERPRISE S ERVER ) Fill and entire room or a whole floor Simultaneously processes data for hundreds or thousands of users Needs to be reliable, secure, and centralized

S ERVER Optimized to provide services to other computers Uses a LAN (local area network). Powerful Processors Lots of Memory Large Hard Drives

P ERSONAL D IGITAL A SSISTANT (PDA) Flash Memory Touchscreen Technology Used as an appointment book, address book, calculator, and notepad Can be synchronized with personal microcomputer.