Product Description
The book is as simple as possible and aimed at a non-technical audience with absolutely no knowledge of computers or electronics, but it is an electrical engineering text.A typical page consists of a circuit diagram (or program) and a paragraph or two of explanation.The book begins with a VERY simple circuit and continues to a very complex circuit (a computer) while explaining everything.Everything has been made as simple as possible while leaving nothing out.Eighty-four circuit diagrams and some timing diagrams and short programs make every point clear.

Computers are the most complex machines that have ever been created.This is the first book to make it possible for ordinary people to understand precisely how the processor, the main and most complex part of a computer, works.In fact, it completely explains the operation of a complete, though simple, computer.

Relays, which are explained, are used in the circuitry instead of transistors for simplicity, though transistors are mentioned.

Did you ever wonder what a bit, a latch, a word (of memory), a data bus, an address bus, a memory, a register, a processor, a timing diagram, a clock (of a processor), an instruction, or machine code is?Though most explanations of how computers work are a lot of analogies or require a background in electrical engineering, this book will tell you precisely what each of them is and how each of them works without requiring any previous knowledge of computers or electronics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

More technical than I thought...
This book is more technical than I expected. I'm not sure exactly what I thought the book would be like, but after thumbing through it the first time, I discovered it literally is about "How a Computer Works." It has detailed diagrams which are very helpful, and very good explanations of the terms, etc.I have found that using my computer dictionary, and definitely a regular dictionary, make anything that is a little confusing much clearer. Don't get this book if you just want something that explains how a computer works from plugging it in - to printing. But if you want a technical explanation of circuitry, etc, and how it all powers the different parts of the computer, you'll appreciate the illustrations most. And I'd say a little previous knowledge of electrical systems makes working with the book easier. DEFINITELY GO THROUGH THE BOOK STARTING AT THE BEGINNING, THROUGH TO THE END!

A Fifteen year old learning computers!
I'm a fifteen year old high school student and I have recentlypurchased this book. This was by far the best five dollars I have ever spent; the knowledge I have gained about computers is unimaginable.

Who this book is for:
-Person(s) of any age wanting to require knowledge about how computers really work
-Anyone who has been interested in electronics
-Hobbyists of electronics who create and mod projects on a daily basis

Who this book is for not:
-Person(s) not wanting to invest time into learning about what is dominating past, current, and future decades

As a fifteen year old I haven't been through most high school science classes, nor math classes and this books was very understandable to me. The book starts out as a simple Light circuit with a battery and light bulb and through pages gains complexity and different circuits. The book also explains simple programing and how a computer would use these circuits to store, erase, and read data.The two main parts of a computer this books is revolved around is the processor and the main memory; it fully explains both to its fullest potential and how each use each other to create programs. The final result leaves you with how memory works, and how a processor functions with that memory. It also leaves you with knowing how binary and simple programs work by using the processor and memory.

All in all, its a marvelous read.

It's THE BOOK to understand how computers work...
... and maybe construct a simple one!
I simply just not understand the negative reviews this book has had. It is just WONDERFUL! It starts with a very simple circuit, and go on adding ideas, one step at time, building a computer from its inner parts! Of course, some parts are more difficult than others, but just give it a second and third read...
This is the book I have been searching, as a computer science teacher, to create more interesting material to my students.

Only book of its kind
I cannot understand why some reviewers gave this book a low rating unless they did not take time to really read it and think. The book requires you to think so make sure you are prepared to do that. I found that when I read it a second time it really clicked.

I always wondered how the core of a computer really works. I know how to program, but what actually happens in the circuitry? How does it work? If you want to know this, this is the only book I have ever found which actually explains it. "Pattern on the Stone" is good for concepts, but this book is far more explicit and puts it all together. I dare you to find a better explanation anywhere for how a processor actually works as comprehensive and simple as this.

Terrible Book
Maybe I missed something two of the other reviewers didn't, but for me this book is plain awful. The diagrams look as though they have been freehand drawn, nothing seems to be clearly explained, in short I can't comprehend anything from this book. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Risk & Insurance, published by Thomson Gale on February 1, 2006. The length of the article is 1049 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Power brokers: computer hardware: superstar middlemen of the computer hardware field come hard-wired with memory and speed. They may not be able to compute as fast as a 2-gigahertz chip or store as much memory as a 100-megabyte hard drive. But what they lack in memory storage and speed, say risk managers, they make up for with vision and creativity.
Publication: Risk & Insurance (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 17Issue: 2Page: 34(1)

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Product Description
The best-selling first edition of The Undocumented PCrevealed hidden programming features of PC hardware that allowedprogrammers to solve tricky problems and dramatically speed up theexecution time of their programs.Thoroughly revised and updated,this new edition contains even more undocumented and hard-to-findinformation.The Undocumented PC includes comprehensive coverage ofPentium, Pentium Pro, and MMX functions, AMD's 5K86 processor, 5x86and 6x86 CPUs from Cyrix, the Windows(r) 95 keyboard functions, andmore. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Helpful Programming Reference
A more accurate title may be "The Under-Documented PC." There seems to be a lot of information about the PC on a higher level, but very little is applicable to the programmer that wants to access the hardware directly or at the BIOS level. This book fills much of the information gap.
The revised, second, edition has been improved in several areas while retaining the overall format of the original volume.
Highly recommended for those who write operating system and similar software for the PC platform. Also valuable for those who want to know more about "what's under the hood."

Misses important points or wrong too often
I found this book to be something of a disappointment, for two reasons. Firstly, in large part it just documents bits, and doesn't anticipate what's important. And secondly, it is too often wrong on some pretty important points.

An example of the first problem would be the descriptions of INT 9 and INT 15h fcn 4Fh. After the PC/AT, the only safe way to look at a keystroke within a TSR, and then pass it on if it is not a keystroke for the TSR, is to intercept using INT fcn 4Fh -- if a TSR uses INT 9, the keyboard is free to replace the value in the keystoke buffer with the next keystroke as soon as it was read by the TSR, and "passing on" the INT 9 interrupt means that the "passed to" application may never see the keystroke that the TSR first intercepted. This book miss that aspect (which is the reason why it was added) of INT 15h fcn 4F completely.

An example of the second problem is the books description of the error 9 for disk operations. For DMAed disks, this error occurs because the DMA address incrementer doesn't/can't handle a carry out of bit 15 of the address, and hence no operation DMA can crosss a 64K absolute REAL memory address boundary.The book describes it as an error associated where the segment:offset form of the address wrapping within the segment, which is an entirely different thing.

These were a couple of the first things that I checked, and after finding his treatment of these very much lacking, I'm inclinded not to trust the author's interpretation of things very much, particularly when there is subtlety involved.

But the book does have a wealth of detail which is hard to find elsewhere, and on that score, it seems hard to beat.

A little dated, but still great for 16-bit development
This is a great book, or I should say WAS a great book.While the information is still 100% applicable if you are still writing code for a 16-bit operating system (DOS), or writing your own operating system, much of the information becomes somewhat useless when applied to 32-bit operating systems (Windows 2000, Linux).

Still, when writing low-level code it is still a useful reference, one of the few out there.

Gilluwe includes source code samples, and is one of the most comprehensive books on the PC architecture.

Unfortunately, this book is now somewhat dated.The BIOS is no longer the de-facto method of controlling the hardware, and is a big headache under 32 bit protected operating systems (Linux, Windows 2000, etc).Newer features, like PCI configuration space, NVRAM, BIOS 32 directory services, DMI and SMBIOS are not covered.

The definitive guide for legacy PC system info
This is the most thorough technical book I've ever read, on a subject only glanced at in other books.You will find every detail about legacy PC hardware and low-level programming for these systems in this book, and it is well organized for low-level system programmers.

PC hardware areas are each given a chapter with an introduction explaining the history and workings of the physical hardware, followed by interrupt and port programming details.There are also chapters devoted solely to the interrupt vector table and BIOS data areas that list all software services, and refer to the other chapters for more details...you can get a good overview of a particular area of PC hardware, or you can just as easily find the particulars of any interrupt service, port usage or BIOS data area entry.Invaluable for low-level programmers!

Excellent for low-level programming
This book provides excellent information on hardware ports, CMOS, disk and video systems.It explains the differences between versions, lists known bugs and workarounds and even comes with functioning code examples.Someof the programming leaves a little to be desired, though. :)But if you'rea good assembly programmer you'll understand it.

Overall it is anexcellent book and a must have for anyone wanting direct hardware-levelaccess (without the save-haven "buffer" provided through an API). This book is for real programmers only.Programmers who want to work atthe machine level.It is, quite simply, the most comprehensive book I'vefound.A one-stop shop for information.

The only problem I found is thatthis book is slightly dated, originally published in 1996 or 1997.Newerfeatures are not included. ... Read more

Product Description
One of the most significant features of MS-DOS 5 is its ability to effectively use extended and expanded memory to break the 640k barrier. This guide is aimed at DOS 5 users. The author provides information on the different types of available memory, describes how memory works and how to install it. It takes users through the step necessary to convert, configure and optimize memory with DOS 5. A special section covers DOS 5's memory abilities with Windows, offering tips on optimizing Windows' performance. ... Read more

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This book focuses on the rapid progress in state-of-the-art dynamic random access memory (DRAM) technology as it has advanced from the Kilo-bit to the Giga-bit regime. Compiled by a panel of experts from the ULSI Process Technology Research and Development Unit at Toshiba Corporation, it provides the reader with the latest information on DRAM technology. This title begins with an overview of recent progress and trends in device technology, particularly the scaling of MOSFETs and DRAM memory cell structures. Various process technologies from lithography to Si wafer technology are described in detail in subsequent chapters, with an emphasis on the theoretical and practical aspects of LSI fabrication as they relate to high-density DRAMs. The material in this book will be particularly valuable for engineers, scientists, and managers engaged in LSI process fabrication and device technology, while also serving as a useful reference for graduate students and university researchers in this fi ... Read more

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This book grants the reader a comprehensive overview of thestate-of-the-art in system-level memory management (data transfer andstorage) related issues for complex data-dominated real-time signaland data processing applications. The authors introduce their ownsystem-level data transfer and storage exploration methodology fordata-dominated video applications. This methodology tackles the powerand area reduction cost components in the architecture for this targetdomain, namely the system-level busses and the background memories.For the most critical tasks in the methodology, prototype tools havebeen developed to reduce the design time. The approach is also veryheavily application-driven which is illustrated by several realisticdemonstrators, partly used as red-thread examples in the book. Thequite general applicability and effectiveness has been substantiatedfor several industrial data-dominated applications, including H.263video conferencing decoding and medical computer tomography (CT) backprojection.To the researcher the book will serve as an excellent referencesource, both for the overall description of the methodology and forthe detailed descriptions of the system-level methodologies andsynthesis techniques and algorithms.To the design engineers and CAD managers it offers an invaluableinsight into the anticipated evolution of commercially availabledesign tools as well as allowing them to utilize the book's conceptsin their own research and development. ... Read more

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Kapitel: Hauptprozessor, Hauptplatine, Interrupt Controller, Dynamic Random Access Memory, Magnetstreifen, Trusted Platform Module, Chipkarte, Nibble, Rechenleistung, Musicam, Memory Management Unit, Verbose, Upgrade, Instructions Per Cycle, Adapter, Arithmetisch-Logische Einheit, Tablet-Pc, Pc-Wasserkühlung, Hd Dvd, Eingebettetes System, Pc-Netzteil, System on a Chip, Microtca, Übertakten, Dematic Subdriver, Security-Token, Usb-Massenspeicher, Linksys Wrt54g, Scancode, Dual Channel, Pegasos, Kvm-Switch, Nullmodem-Kabel, Microtca Carrier Hub, Xploder, Prozessorkühler, Molded Interconnect Devices, Sound Blaster, Chip-Ram Und Fast-Ram, Mesi, Wärmeleitpaste, Epia, Jumper, Register Stack Engine, Mifare, Kartenlesegerät, Hardwarebeschleunigung, Laufwerk, Steckplatz, U3, Intel-Speedstep-Technologie, Expresscard, Ibm-Pc-Kompatibler Computer, Schaltwerk, Chipsatz, Double Data Rate, Dockingstation, Static Random-Access Memory, Undervolting, Rack, Steckplatine, Anwendungsspezifische Integrierte Schaltung, Dongle, Soundstorm, Through Hole Technology, Linkstation, Speichervirtualisierung, Intel I/o Acceleration Technology, Tablet-Computer, Systemlautsprecher, Ip-Core, Optimod, Echtzeituhr, Poken, Peripheriegerät, Steckmodul, Direct Media Interface, Programmable Interval Timer, Computergehäuse, Multi-Chip-Modul, Windows Hardware Engineering Conference, 80 Plus, Via Vinyl Audio, Hot Swapping, Xs-1541, Slimline, Schaltnetz, Wärmeleitpad, Smart Display, Wavetable, Mousepad, Datenfernschaltgerät, Transponderkarte, Bios Parameter Block, Kensington-Schloss, Original Chip Set, Cpu-Leistungsaufnahme, Automatic Test Equipment, the Final Cartridge 3, Flachbandkabel, Diskettenlocher, Fädeltechnik, Auswurftaste, Vergleich Optischer Datenträger, Raster Image Processor, Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller, Southbridge, Final Expansion, Tivoisierung, Datenblock, Hardwarefehler, Mos Technology Ted, Hardware-Plattform, Systemarchitektur, Speicherkart...http://booksllc.net/?l=de ... Read more

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The last decade has seen tremendous growth in usage of the World Wide Web. Web caching is a technology aimed at reducing the transmission of redundant network traffic and improving access to the Web. The key idea in Web caching is to cache frequently- accessed content so that it may be used profitably later. This leads to cost savings, reduction in network traffic, improved access and better content availability. Web Caching and Its Applications gives the reader an understanding of the latest developments in Web caching research.
Topics covered include architectural aspects, aspects requiring coordination among caches, aspects related to network traffic, techniques that complement caching, practical aspects, and aspects related to performance. While Web Caching and Its Applications is designed for a professional audience, students will appreciate the exercises for applying the knowledge to solving practical problems related to Web caching and Internet performance. The book includes an exhaustive list of references for further study. ... Read more

Product Description
The proliferation of embedded systems, and the correspondingnew chip and chip set designs, have brought additional attention tostorage units. Indeed, the heterogeneity of components and structureswithin embedded systems and the possibility of usingapplication-specific storage systems has added a new dimension tomemory system design. Moreover, new degrees of freedom have beenopened since the introduction of embedded memory arrays in differenttechnologies, such as SRAMs, DRAMs and EEPROMs and Flash, and theirrealization on the same silicon substate hosting processing units.

Embedded systems are often designed under stringent energy consumptionbudgets, to limit heat generation and battery size. Since memorysystems consume a significant amount of energy to store and to forwarddata, it is then imperative to balance power consumption andperformance in memory system design. Contemporary system designfocuses on the trade off between performance and energy consumption inprocessing and storage units, as well as in their interconnections.While memory design is as important as processor design in achievingthe desired design objectives, the former topic has received lessattention than the latter in the literature. Memory Design Techniques for Low Energy Embedded Systems centersone of the most outstanding problems in chip design for embeddedapplication. It guides the reader through different memoryorganizations and technologies and it reviews the most successfulstrategies for optimizing them in the power and performance plane. ... Read more

Product Description
As we enter the "decade of data," the disparity between the vast amount of data storage capacity (measurable in terabytes and petabytes) and the bandwidth available for accessing it has created an input/output bottleneck that is proving to be a major constraint on the effective use of scientific data for research. Scalable Input/Output is a summary of the major research results of the Scalable I/O Initiative, launched by Paul Messina, then Director of the Center for Advanced Computing Research at the California Institute of Technology, to explore software and algorithmic solutions to the I/O imbalance. The contributors explore techniques for I/O optimization, including: I/O characterization to understand application and system I/O patterns; system checkpointing strategies; collective I/O and parallel database support for scientific applications; parallel I/O libraries and strategies for file striping, prefetching, and write behind; compilation strategies for out-of-core data access; scheduling and shared virtual memory alternatives; network support for low-latency data transfer; and parallel I/O application programming interfaces. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Microprocessor, Punched Card, Analog Computer, Dynamic Random Access Memory, Laser Printer, Atanasoff-berry Computer, Williams Tube, Ad Lib, Inc., History of Personal Computers, History of Printing, History of General Purpose Cpus, Early Ibm Disk Storage, History of Laptops, History of the Amiga, 1984, Magnetic Tape Data Storage, Moore School Lectures, Arthur Pollen, Stochastic Computing, 9 Track Tape, History of Computer Hardware in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, History of Computer Hardware in Soviet Bloc Countries, History of Hard Disk Drives, Differential Analyser, Microprocessor Development Board, Cromemco Dazzler, Twistor Memory, Traitorous Eight, Ibm 7 Track, Digital Differential Analyzer, Grid Compass, Microangelo, Coincidence Circuit, Vram, Epson Hx-20, Sun Workstation, Gavilan Sc, Lehmer Sieve, Compaq Lte, Grid Systems Corporation, 3m Computer, Outbound Laptop, Wavemate Bullet, Xerox Notetaker, Blit, Castle Clock, Swedish Board for Computing Machinery, Nec Ultralite, Sharp Pc-5000, Sgi Crimson, Marconi Myriad, Grid Gridcase 1535exp, Zapple Monitor, Magnetic Drum Digital Differential Analyzer. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 380. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The history of computing hardware is the record of the constant drive to make computer hardware faster, cheaper, and store more data. Before the development of the general-purpose computer, most calculations were done by humans. Tools to help humans calculate were then called calculating machines, by proprietary names, or even as they are now, calculators. It was those humans who used the machines who were then called computers; there are pictures of enormous rooms filled with desks at which computers (often young women) used their machines to jointly perform calculations, as for instance, ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=13636 ... Read more

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Kapitel: Programmable Read Only Memory, One Time Programmable, Very High Speed Integrated Circuit Hardware Description Language, Field Programmable Gate Array, Systemc, Lookup-Tabelle, Programmierbare Logische Anordnung, Verilog, Copacobana, Programmierbare Logische Schaltung, Ip-Core, Programmiergerät, Complex Programmable Logic Device, Synthese, Advanced Boolean Equation Language, Just Another Hardware Definition Language, Logiksynthese, Programmable Array Logic, Logikbaustein, Antifuse-Technologie, Reduced Binary Circuits, Erasable Programmable Logic Device, Selbstkonfigurierendes System, Configurable Logic Block. Aus Wikipedia. Nicht dargestellt. Auszug: Other reasons this message may be displayed: ...http://booksllc.net/?l=de ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from EDP Weekly's IT Monitor, published by Millin Publishing, Inc. on October 15, 2001. The length of the article is 534 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: EVERGREEN 1 GHZ UPGRADE BUNDLES DELIVER POWER & MEMORY.(Product Announcement)
Publication: EDP Weekly's IT Monitor (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 15, 2001
Publisher: Millin Publishing, Inc.
Volume: 42Issue: 40Page: 5

Article Type: Product Announcement

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Product Description
A memory management unit (MMU), sometimes calledpaged memory management unit (PMMU), is a computer hardware component responsible for handling accesses tomemory requested by the CPU. Its functions include translation ofvirtual addresses to physical addresses (i.e., virtual memorymanagement), memory protection, cache control, bus arbitration, and, insimpler computer architectures (especially 8-bit systems), bankswitching. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Guns Magazine, published by Thomson Gale on June 1, 2007. The length of the article is 1555 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: 50 years of memories: Part III reloading.(CAMPFIRE TALES[TM])
Author: John Taffin
Publication: Guns Magazine (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 53Issue: 6Page: 98(2)

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This digital document is an article from Display Development News, published by Business Communications Company, Inc. on January 1, 2002. The length of the article is 481 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: NEW TECHNOLOGY: Dedicated Memory for Digital Displays.
Publication: Display Development News (Newsletter)
Date: January 1, 2002
Publisher: Business Communications Company, Inc.
Volume: 6Issue: 12Page: NA

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This digital document is an article from Electro Manufacturing, published by Worldwide Videotex on May 1, 2000. The length of the article is 507 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: ST DEBUTS FLASH MEMORY MICROCONTROLLER CHIP W/FLASH PROTECTION.(STMicroelectronics ST10F168)(Product Announcement)
Publication: Electro Manufacturing (Newsletter)
Date: May 1, 2000
Publisher: Worldwide Videotex
Volume: 13Issue: 5Page: NA

Article Type: Product Announcement

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Millipede is a non-volatile computer memory stored on nanoscopic pits burned into the surface of a thin polymer layer, read and written by a MEMS-based probe. It promises a data density of more than 1 terabit per square inch, about 4 times the density of magnetic storage available today. Millipede storage technology is being pursued as a potential replacement for magnetic recording in hard drives, at the same time reducing the form-factor to that of Flash media. IBM demonstrated a prototype millipede storage device at CeBIT 2005, and was trying to make the technology commercially available by the end of 2007. At launch, it would probably be more expensive per-megabyte than prevailing technologies, but this disadvantage is hoped to be offset by the sheer storage capacity that Millipede technology would offer. ... Read more

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This work introduces the concepts used in analyzing the endproductof the Xilinx FPGA bitstream generation toolchain, for the applicationofDynamic Reconfiguration methodologies, i.e. a particular set oftecniques used to change a portion of the FPGA hardware atruntime.By analyzing the bitstream files of single hw sections, therequirementsenforced by the manufacturer can be verified by means of anautomated SW - separated from Xilinx toolchain - described in thebook. The insight into configuration memory gained from theanalysis ofbitstreams has been further exploited to implement advanced toolsfordynamic reconfiguration, such asanalysis of area conflicts in theevolution of the configuration over time, or possible bitstreamrelocation position computation. This book illustrates thealgorithms and methodologies used for extracting information frombitstream files, verifying constraints and perform further analysis inlight of dynamic reconfiguration capabilities of the FPGA. ... Read more