Software Software enables a computer to perform a specific task. Software is what make computers actually do work. Without software a computer would simply power on and sit there doing nothing. Software is an ordered set of instructions that tells what the computer to do. Software is first loaded into RAM and is then used by the central processing unit (processor) to carry out the instructions that the software provides. Anything you do on a computer is initiated and controlled by software. There are two main types of software; application and system. Application software (also called programs) is what the end user (you) use to get things done. Opening a document, editing a photo, browsing the internet, accessing a database and even reading this page is controlled by application software. Pretty much anything you see while performing your day to day task is considered application software. System software, on the other hand, is what you don't see except for maybe the operating system. System software works behind the scenes and helps run the hardware and computer system. The operating system, device drivers and the utilities are examples of system software. Although you can physically "see" the desktop and folders of the operating system there's much more going on in the background that you don't see.

Problems can, and do, arise from using software. This is due to the instructions sent to the processor that may be bad or wrong, or perhaps they interfere with other software that's currently running. Due to the fact that there are an infinite amount of programs out there that people can use, problems will come up from time to time. The beauty of a computer is that you can use a piece of software to perform a task quickly no matter what the task is. Having numerous amounts of programs to choose from is a blessing and a curse. On one hand you can do just about anything with a computer, on the other hand there are sooooo many programs out there that there's bound to be a conflict at some point.

The End Hopefully you have learned a little about computers and what they are. I have tried to be brief, and in doing so I'm sure I have passed over a few things that someone might feel are important. Knowledge is power, the more you have the more you can do. If you have questions then I encourage you to find them on your own using a search engine. The answer is out there. Heck, everything is out there, you just have to find it. If you can't find it then you're not looking hard enough ;-)