Today's world is an information- rich world and it has become a necessity for everyone to know about computers. Hardware as well as software aspects of computers are covered in this book. "Fundamentals of computers" clearly presents how a computer system functions, besides teaching basics of programming. Both hardware and software aspects of computers are covered. Hardware and software work together in digital devices and systems to provide computerized functionality. Hardware includes the physical components, such as the motherboard, chips, memory, and hard drives, while software includes the programs that run on the hardware. Computer is aprogressive electronic device that takes raw data as input from the user and processes it under the control of set of instructions (called program), gives the result (output), and saves it for the future use. Hardware and software are mutually dependent on each other. Both of them must work together to make a computer produce a useful output. An operating system is the most important software that runs on a computer. It manages the computer's memory and processes, as well as all of its software and hardware. It also allows you to communicate with the computer without knowing how to speak the computer's language. Without an operating system, a computer is useless. The internet is a worldwide telecomunications system that provides connectivity for millions of other, smaller networks; therefore, the internet is often referred to as a network of networks. Hardware and software work together in digital devices and systems to provide computerized functionality. Hardware includes the physical components, such as motherboard, chips, memory, and hard drives, while software includes the programs that run on the hardware. Ergo, a computer is hardware, while an operating system such as Microsoft XP is the software that makes the hardware functional. Though hardware and software are most often associated with computers, software also runs on other hardware, such as cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) units, medical equipment, and air traffic control systems.