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  1. Computer | Definition, History, Operating Systems, & Facts | Britannica

    Dec 22, 2025 · A computer is a programmable device for processing, storing, and displaying information. Learn more in this article about modern digital electronic computers and their design, constituent …

  2. What is a computer? | Britannica

    Dec 22, 2025 · A computer is a machine that can store and process information. Most computers rely on a binary system, which uses two variables, 0 and 1, to complete tasks such as storing data, …

  3. Computer - History, Technology, Innovation | Britannica

    Dec 22, 2025 · It is not too great a stretch to say that, in the Jacquard loom, programming was invented before the computer. The close relationship between the device and the program became apparent …

  4. Computer - Technology, Invention, History | Britannica

    Dec 22, 2025 · Computer - Technology, Invention, History: By the second decade of the 19th century, a number of ideas necessary for the invention of the computer were in the air.

  5. computer summary | Britannica

    Computer, device for processing, storing, and displaying information. Computer once meant a person who did computations, but now the term almost universally refers to automated electronic machinery.

  6. Personal computer (PC) | Definition, History, & Facts | Britannica

    personal computer (PC), a digital computer designed for use by only one person at a time.

  7. Computer - Home Use, Microprocessors, Software | Britannica

    Dec 22, 2025 · Computer - Home Use, Microprocessors, Software: Before 1970, computers were big machines requiring thousands of separate transistors. They were operated by specialized …

  8. Computer - Networking, Digitalization, Automation | Britannica

    Dec 22, 2025 · What it took to turn a network of computers into something more was the idea of the hyperlink: computer code inside a document that would cause related documents to be fetched and …

  9. At sign | Meaning, Symbol, History, Uses, & Facts | Britannica

    He settled on @, one of the least utilized characters in ASCII, which was unlikely to appear in user or computer names and had little potential for causing confusion in the command lines of the operating …

  10. Computer - Memory, Storage, Processing | Britannica

    Dec 22, 2025 · Computer - Memory, Storage, Processing: The earliest forms of computer main memory were mercury delay lines, which were tubes of mercury that stored data as ultrasonic waves, and …