What is the difference between Hardware and Software?
Hardware is the stuff you can touch, feel, & hold in your hands.
Software is what you see on your monitor but cant touch. Example: Ubuntu, Windows, Compiz, MS Word.

A Computer System is made up of several different pieces of hardware. First, let's take a quick look at the hardware that you should already be familiar with.

• Monitor - Typically, this is the component you use the most. It is the output device that displays information as an image, pictures or video. You look at it anytime you are sitting in front of your computer.
• Keyboard - The keyboard is the input device used to navigate & input text.
• Mouse - The mouse is an input device used to navigate the computer operating system.
• Speakers - Used to hear sounds output from the computer. The standard audio connection is a 3.5mm (1/8 inch) stereo jack plug often color-coded green (following the PC 99 standard) for computer sound cards.
• Microphone - An acoustic-to-electric transducer  or sensor  that converts sound into an electrical signal. This is the component you talk into.
• Modem - (modulator-demodulator) is a device that modulates  an analog carrier signal to encode digital  information, and also demodulates  such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. There are 2 basic modem types; Dial-up and DSL, both are used to connect to the internet.
  
• Computer/Tower - A computer is a programmable machine (made up of internal hardware) that receives input, stores and manipulates data, and provides output in a useful format. All external hardware components connect to this. NOTE: This is NOT a modem or CPU.

What's in a computer?

• Motherboard - The main Printed Circuit Board (PCB) for the entire system. Also called Main Board. All Hardware components connect to this.
• CPU/Processor - If a computer had a  brain it would be the Central Processing Unit. It gets hot fast so it is usually found with a large chunk of metal (usually aluminum) & a fan sitting on it, called a heat sink or cooler.
• RAM/Memory - Random Access Memory is temporary storage. Open programs, music, email, etc. all load in RAM When you turn off your computer everything in RAM is gone.
• HDD/Hard Drive - Permanent storage. All saved data & installed Programs reside on the Hard Disk Drive.
• Optical Drive - DVD & CD drives. These can be rewritable (RW) or read only (R)
• FDD/ Floppy Drive - 3.5" drive that can read & write to Floppy Disks. Floppy Disks are about 3 1/2" x 3 5/8" x 1/8"  and not floppy at all.
• Sound Card - Facilitates the input and output of audio signals  to and from a computer. Your Speakers should plug into a jack located on this card (sometimes built on the motherboard).
• Video Card - Known by many different names, such as video adapter, graphics-accelerator card, display adapter or graphics card. It's function is to generate and output images to a display/monitor.
• Modem (dial-up) -The dial-up modem is typically found inside the Personal Computer (PC), external dial-up modems are available. It's purpose is to connect the computer to the Internet over a standard phone line. Not to be confused with a DSL Modem which is an external device.
• PSU/Power Supply - The Part of the computer that plugs in to the AC power in the wall of your house or office. The Power Supply Unit then converts the the AC power to DC power & distributes it to all of the internal hardware components.