ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the basics of computers, including the difference between data and information, and the various types of computers, programming languages, operating systems, and types of software. Programming languages are the instructions that tell the computer what to do with the data that are stored in it. Some programming languages support end, user software applications such as word processing or spreadsheet packages. One of the major players in open source game is Red Hat, which markets a variety of software applications using the Linux operating system. Other players include the Apache Software Foundation, which offers a variety of applications, most notably the Apache web browser as an alternative to Microsoft Internet Explorer. The chapter has introduced some of the basics of hardware and software, as well as some of the issues associated with the selection of different types of hardware and software.
