How many types of Computer ?

There are two basic types of computer

• Analog
• Digital

1. ANALOG COMPUTER :Analog computers handle or process information of a physical nature. For instance, temperature, pressure etc. These are based on the measuring of analog or equivalent physical value.
2. DIGITAL COMPUTER : Digital computer process information which is essentially in a binary or two-state form,namely,zero and one. In computing terms,we mostly refer to the digital type of computers.

          Digital computer fall into different range called microcomputer , minicomputers , mainframes and supercomputer , which can be further classified in ascending order of size-small, medium , large and very large.

Different range of Digital Computer

1. Micro Computer : Desktop computers, laptops, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablets and smartphones are all types of microcomputers. The micro-computers are widely used and the fastest growing computers. These computers are the cheapest among the other three types of computers. The Micro-computer are specially designed for general usage like entertainment, education and work purposes. Well known manufacturers of micro-computer are Dell, Apple, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba.
   Desktop computer, Gaming consoles, Sound and Navigation system of a car, Netbooks, Notebooks, PDA's, Tablet PC's, Smartphones, Calculators are all type of Microcomputers.
   
   
 
2. Mini Computer : Mini-computer are used by small businesses & firms. Mini-computers are called as "Midrange computer". These are small machines and can be accommodated on a disk with not as processing and data storage capabilities as super-computers and Mainframes. These computers are not designed for a single user. Individual departments of a large company or organizations use Mini-computers for specific purposes. For example, a production department can use mini-computers for monitoring certain production process.
   Popular Minicomputers
   
   • K-202
   • Texas Instrument TI-990
   • SDS-92
   • IBM Midrange computer


3. Mainframe computer : Although Mainframes are not as powerful as supercomputers, but certainly they are quite expensive nonetheless, and many large firms and government organizations uses Mainframes to run their business operations. The Mainframe computers can be accommodated in large air-conditioned rooms because of its size. Super-computers are the fastest computers with large data storage capacity, Mainframes can also process and store large amount of data. Banks educational institution and insurance companies use mainframe computers to store data about their customer, students and insurance police holders.
   Popular Mainframe computers
   • Fujitsu's ICL VME
   • Hitachi's Z800
     


4. Supercomputer : The most powerful computers in terms of performance and data processing are the Super-computers. These are specialized and task specific computers used by large organizations. These computers are used for research and exploration purposes, like NASA uses supercomputers for launching space shuttles, controlling them and for space exploration purpose. The super-computers are very expensive and very large in size. It can be accommodated in large air-conditioned rooms some super computers can span an entire building.