Day Two

• How Does a Computer Work?

A question we all think impossible to answer, but I'll try anyway.
Lets start with a command being typed on the keyboard such as enter. The messenger then takes this message to the motherboard, in particular the CPU (central processing unit). The CPU makes all the decisions and it chooses to send the messenger to the random access memory (RAM). This then passes it the instructions telling the messenger what action should take place from the key having been pressed, eg. get google. With this the messenger returns to the CPU which then tells it to go to the hard drive where the page is stored. Having been to the hard drive and collected the 'google' it returns to the CPU. Surprise, surprise it sends it to the short term memory, the RAM, to store the image. It then goes to the CPU again. The CPU sends the messenger back to the RAM for new instructions with which it returns to the CPU. The instruction from the RAM tells it to 'display google'. The CPU sends it back to the RAM where it gets 'google', then it goes back to the CPU. This time the CPU sends it to the graphics card which then displays the image on the screen. All of this happens before you can begin to think it through on an everyday computer.

• Activity Continued

As yesterday we had taken the computers apart today's gruelling task was to reassemble them, not as easy as we thought... The most common question being, 'Where the hell did this come from?' Suddenly there were lots of bits and pieces unaccounted for in our notes, particularly wires... Where did they go again? they fit here!!! they also fit here... and here...