Knotty Calculations For Topological Quantum Computers

Computer Multitasking ... The expression 'time sharing' was usually used to designate computers shared by interactive users at terminals, such as IBM's TSO, and VM/CMS In real-time systems, some waiting tasks are guaranteed to be given the CPU when an external event occurs... The term time-sharing is no longer commonly used, having been replaced by simply multitasking, and by the advent of personal computers and workstations rather than shared interactive systems...

Programming Language ... The earliest programming languages predate the invention of the computer, and were used to direct the behavior of machines such as Jacquard looms and player pianos. Thousands of different programming languages have been created, mainly in the computer field, with many more being created every year...

Microprocessor ... General-purpose microprocessors in personal computers are used for computation, text editing, multimedia display, and communication over the Internet...

History Of Laptops ... Compaq SLT/286 By the end of the 1980s, laptop computers were becoming popular among business people...

Software Bug ... Bugs trigger errors that can in turn have a wide variety of ripple effects, with varying levels of inconvenience to the user of the program. Some bugs have only a subtle effect on the program's functionality, and may thus lie undetected for a long time...

Desktop Replacement Computer ... Desktop replacement computers are also often used with a port replicator, to fully enjoy the desktop comfort... Design features Modern desktop replacements generally perform better than traditional laptop-style computers as their size allows the inclusion of more powerful components... However, these advantages generally come at a price premium, with many computers in this class costing as much as two desktop computers with similar specifications...

Laptop ... As portable computers became smaller, lighter, cheaper, more powerful and as screens became larger and of better quality, laptops became very widely used for all sorts of purposes, by all sorts of people...

Motherboard ... The most popular computers such as the Apple II and IBM PC had published schematic diagrams and other documentation which permitted rapid reverse-engineering and third-party replacement motherboards... Usually intended for building new computers compatible with the exemplars, many motherboards offered additional performance or other features and were used to upgrade the manufacturer's original equipment...

Computer ... Conventionally a computer consists of some form of memory, at least one element that carries out arithmetic and logic operations, and a sequencing and control unit that can change the order of operations based on the information that is stored. Peripheral devices allow information to be entered from an external source, and allow the results of operations to be sent out...

Internet Privacy ... Internet privacy forms a subset of computer privacy. A number of experts within the field of Internet security and privacy believe that privacy doesn't exist; "Privacy is dead – get over it" according to Steve Rambam, private investigator specializing in Internet privacy cases...

Software ... Computer software is so called to distinguish it from computer hardware, which encompasses the physical interconnections and devices required to store and execute (or run) the software. At the lowest level, execunguage consists of groups of binary values signifying processor instructions that change the state of the computer from its preceding state...

History Of The World Wide Web ... The hypertext portion of the Web in particular has an intricate intellectual history; notable influences and precursors include Vannevar Bush's Memex, IBM's Generalized Markup Language, and Ted Nelson's Project Xanadu. The concept of a home-based global information system goes at least as far back as "A Logic Named Joe", a 1946 short story by Murray Leinster, in which computer terminals, called "logics," were in every home...

Rugged Computer ... Construction Virtually all rugged computers share an underlying design philosophy of providing a controlled environment for the installed electronics...

Smartbook ... A German company sold laptops under the brand Smartbook and held a trademark for the word in many countries (not including some big markets like United States, China, Japan, or India). It acted to preempt others from using the term smartbook to describe their products...

Internet Protocol Suite ... The Internet protocol suite has four abstraction layers, each with its own protocols. From lowest to highest, the layers are: The link layer contains communication technologies for a local network...

CPU Design ... CPUs designed for lower performance markets might lessen the implementation burden by: Acquiring some of these items by purchasing them as intellectual property Use control logic implementation techniques (logic synthesis using CAD tools) to implement the other components - datapaths, register files, clocks Common logic styles used in CPU design include: Unstructured random logic Finite-state machines Microprogramming (common from 1965 to 1985) Programmable logic array (common in the 1980s, no longer common) Device types used to implement the logic include: Transistor-transistor logic Small Scale Integration logic chips - no longer used for CPUs Programmable Array Logic and Programmable logic devices - no longer used for CPUs Emitter-coupled logic (ECL) gate arrays - no longer common CMOS gate arrays - no longer used for CPUs CMOS ASICs - what's commonly used today, they're so common that the term ASIC is not used for CPUs Field-programmable gate ar...

Programmer ... Computer programmers write, test, debug, and maintain the detailed instructions, called computer programs, that computers must follow to perform their functions...

Unconventional Computing ... Some mechanical computers have a theoretical or didactic relevance, such as billiard-ball computers or hydraulic ones,... Light (optical computing) Computers can manipulate information as light (rather than electricity or billiard balls)...

Computer Program ... Computer source code is often written by computer programmers. Source code is written in a programming language that usually follows one of two main paradigms: imperative or declarative programming...

Packet Switching ... Packet switching contrasts with another principal networking paradigm, circuit switching, a method which sets up a limited number of dedicated connections of constant bit rate and constant delay between nodes for exclusive use during the communication session. In case of traffic fees (as opposed to flat rate), for example in cellular communication services, circuit switching is characterized by a fee per time unit of connection time, even when no data is transferred, while packet switching is characterized by a fee per unit of information...

Personal Computer Hardware ... EISA Micro Channel architecture ISA: expansion card slot format obsolete in PCs, but still used in industrial computers... Most modern computers have hardware support for sound integrated in the motherboard chipset but some users prefer to install a separate sound card as an upgrade...

Periphere Computer-Systeme ... In addition to UNIX computers, PCS also manufactured industrial terminals. Eventually, PCS was bought out by Mannesmann-Kienzle, which in turn was bought out by Ken Olsen to become part of DEC, Digital Equipment Corporation...

Computer Network ... Networks may be classified according to a wide variety of characteristics such as the medium used to transport the data, communications protocol used, scale, topology, and organizational scope. Communications protocols define the rules and data formats for exchanging information in a computer network, and provide the basis for network programming...