Basics of Computing

Howdy Friends! Technology has a habit of using a lot of words that sound like they should make sense but somehow don’t. This post is a beginner guide to some of the most common terms you’ll run across. No experience required.

What Is a Computer?

A computer is a machine that processes information. It takes input — a keypress, a mouse click, a file — does something with it, and produces output.

At its core, every computer has the same basic parts:

• CPU (Processor) — The brain. It runs instructions and does calculations.
• RAM (Memory) — Short-term memory. It holds whatever the computer is actively working on.
• Storage (Hard drive or SSD) — Long-term memory. It holds your files, apps, and operating system even when the power is off.
• Motherboard — The backbone that connects everything together.

Your laptop, desktop, phone, and tablet are all computers. So is the server that delivers this website to your browser.

What Is a BIOS?

When you press the power button on a computer, something has to wake it up and get things started before the operating system loads. That something is the BIOS.

BIOS stands for Basic Input/Output System. It’s a small piece of software that lives on a chip on the motherboard. It runs the moment power is applied, checks that the hardware is present and working, and then hands control over to the operating system.

Think of it like the opening checklist a pilot runs before takeoff. It happens fast, mostly behind the scenes, and you rarely have to think about it.

Modern computers use an updated version called UEFI, but most people still call it the BIOS.

What Is Firmware?

Firmware is software that lives permanently inside a piece of hardware. It controls how that hardware behaves at a very low level.

Your router has firmware. Your printer has firmware. Your smart TV has firmware. The BIOS we just talked about is a type of firmware.

Unlike regular software you install and uninstall, firmware is baked into the device. It can be updated — manufacturers release firmware updates to fix bugs or add features — but it’s not something you interact with day to day.

A simple way to think about it: firmware is the software a device needs just to be itself.

What Is a Driver?

A driver is a small piece of software that lets your operating system talk to a piece of hardware.

Your operating system (Windows, macOS, Linux) is general-purpose. It doesn’t know out of the box how to communicate with your specific printer, graphics card, or webcam. A driver bridges that gap. It acts as a translator between the OS and the device.

When you plug in a new printer and Windows says “installing driver,” that’s what’s happening. It’s learning how to speak that printer’s language.

Outdated or missing drivers are a common cause of hardware not working properly. Keeping drivers up to date is a basic part of computer maintenance.

What Is a Server?

A server is a computer that provides something to other computers. It “serves” information or resources on request.

When you visit a website, a server somewhere receives your request and sends back the page. When you check your email, a mail server delivers it to you. When you save a file to the cloud, it’s stored on a file server.

Servers are often powerful machines running around the clock in data centers, but technically any computer can act as a server. The word describes a role, not a specific machine.

At GR Host, our servers are virtual machines running in Akamai’s Seattle data center. When someone visits your website, our server receives the request and delivers your site in milliseconds.

What Is a Client?

A client is the other side of the server relationship. It’s the device or software that makes requests and receives responses.

Your web browser is a client. When you type a URL and hit enter, your browser (the client) sends a request to a web server, and the server sends back the page.

Your email app is a client. Your phone is a client when it pulls in your messages. Your laptop is a client when it downloads a file.

The server/client model is everywhere in computing. One side provides, the other requests.

What Is a Network?

A network is two or more devices connected so they can communicate and share resources.

Your home Wi-Fi is a network. The devices on it — your phone, laptop, TV, printer — can communicate with each other and share an internet connection. The internet itself is just a very large network of networks.

Networks can be:

• Local (LAN) — Devices in the same location, like your home or office Wi-Fi.
• Wide Area (WAN) — Devices spread across large distances. The internet is the biggest WAN.

Every time you stream a video, send an email, or load a webpage, you’re using a network. Data travels from one device to another — often across the globe — in fractions of a second.

These concepts are the building blocks of everything that happens in computing. Once you have a mental model for each of them, a lot of the tech jargon you run across starts to click into place.

Have a term you’d like us to explain? Let us know — we’re always happy to add to the list.

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