many of the tech terms we're very familiar with today actually come from
ancient times well maybe not ancient but perhaps ancient in computer years today
we're going to talk about the origins of some of these commonplace terms starting
with RAM RAM stands for Random Access Memory but how exactly does that make
sense when you're using your computer it doesn't pick the data you're trying to
access randomly so what's with the name well RAM originally contrasted with
sequential access memory M did I say mamory or Sam meaning that the system
had to go through the storage medium in sequence until it found what it wanted
magnetic tape delay line memory and drum memory are examples of this the random
in random access refers to how your PC doesn't have to search through the
physical media in order whenever the user requests something it can instead
just go right to the relevant data directly solid state media is a great
example of this modern RAM sticks are solid state but ssds are also
technically a form of Random Access Memory although we don't refer to ssds
as such their Random Access nature is a big part of why they're so fast compared
to Old mechanical spinning hard drives and of course working memory which we
refer to as RAM today is very fast allowing your system to access data from
running programs way faster than it could from even the fastest consumer
ssds although the word random isn't all
that intuitive it is still correct but maybe a better name would be targeted
access memory with that little dog for a mascot love that guy is he still alive
next let's examine the term chipset you know like you'd find on your motherboard
originally a chipset was indeed a set of chips that handled input and output to
and from the PC as well as other functions early chipsets had separate
chips for clock generation and controlling interrupts so that your
keyboard would work however these functions were soon integrated into the
CPU itself but the concept of a set of chips to handle I/O still remained as
eventually chipsets Consolidated into a North Bridge and a South Bridge the
former connected directly to the CPU as well as performance sensitive components
like PCI slots and RAM while the latter the self Bridge provided connectivity
for most other devices such as USB and audio controllers but these days having
multiple chips in a chipset isn't very common as many components either
directly connect to the CPU die or go through a single chip we refer to as a
chip set Intel specifically uses the term platform controller Hub or PCH and
maybe AMD should just adopt that term too cuz if there anything this hobby
needs it's more acronyms but there's another old term that might be the most
surprising of all and we'll tell you what it is right after we thank Corsair
the all new K65 Plus Wireless is a 75%
keyboard designed to free up desk space along for more Mouse movement it
features preed corsera mlx red linear
switches for for a silky smooth key press whether you're trying to go pro in
Counterstrike or in Excel spreadsheets I'm a freak in the sheets you can also
easily connect this to your devices with 2.4 GHz wireless Bluetooth or wired USB
if that's still your thing learn more about the K65 Plus Wireless at the link
in the description did you know that PC
is actually a brand name or at least it was originally it seems weird since PC
or personal computer makes tons of sense intuitively it's a computer and it's
designed for one person but the modern term PC has its roots in the IBM
personal computer capital P and capital c that was released back in 1981 now to
be clear the IBM PC wasn't the first machine in history to be referred to as
a personal computer but the modern PC descended from the architectures used in
that original IBM PC Not only was it popular in its own right but rival
companies like compact reverse engineered the IBM PC's BIOS leading to
a large number of PC compatible clones hitting the market and further fueling
the platform's popularity this led to the term PC becoming less of a brand
designator and more of a term to describe a set of Standards common in
the marketplace during the 1990s the term winel served a similar function
designating a PC compatible system with an Intel processor and Windows operating
system pre-installed but PC Remains the dominant term for any computer with an
x86 based CPU especially after Apple's famous I'm a PC and I'm a Mac ad
Campaign which helps solidify PC as a synonym for a certain class of device
that Apple's machines are not so although it was originally a brand name
kind of serve the same fate as Kleenex thermos and Xerox even more ironic
considering the latter failed in the computer market so should we be calling
new Qualcomm arm-based devices PCS even
if they're not x86 let us know your opinion in the comments and if you want
to know why circuit boards are green usually go watch this video next