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Computers have revolutionized lives, businesses, and technology and have become an integral part of life. However, despite being so popular and valuable, there’s still a lot that people don’t know about computers. Here are some of the mind-blowing random facts that will make an exciting read.
You probably didn’t know that the computer will produce a loud screeching sound if you press the Shift key five continuous times. It will then display a window asking you if you want to activate Sticky keys. Clicking yes on the pop-up window will enable sticky keys, which allow you to quickly press and release keys like Shift, Alt, and Ctrl instead of holding them down. The setting makes it easier to use this key combination, among others.
The recovery mode is one helpful feature on Windows, which you can enter before it boots up all the way. To activate the mode, press the Enter key ten times while holding down the F2 key. The purpose of this is to restore Windows to a previous version. It also comes in handy in helping you recover crucial information if your computer breaks.
The manufacturing of computers first happened in the United States and Britain. The makers used the English alphabet in both the upper and lowercase form, inputting the basic vocabulary of computing programming. They also incorporated the ten digits and most of the famous punctuation marks. Additionally, they used a host of unprintable codes known as control characters or the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII).
Each character had its unique code, comprising a 7-bit binary number. However, since computer memory was expensive, the ASCII set limited the number of binary combinations possible with the seven bits. The limit was 128 characters.
The effect is that there was no more room for other alphabets, but they were later accommodated in an extended version of ASCII that could accommodate 256 characters. As the costs of computer memory continue to drop, the sets of characters have continued to expand. They can accommodate hundreds of characters, including Armenian, Greek, and Cyrillic, in a new standard known as the Unicode.
Did you know that the motherboard comes with a battery that maintains a shallow current in running mode when you shut down your computer? One significant function of this is to keep the bios clock running. When you restart or boot up your machine, the OS syncs with the bios clock to acquire the current time, allowing the computer to run based on that time.
It’s interesting to know that Windows has no idea what time it is and only relies on the data provided by the bios. More importantly, Windows also gets the date from the bios clock.
What does it mean to say that computers are von Neumann devices? It simply refers to the fact that they all have the same structural architecture and use a similar operational process to achieve results. Physically, computers have one or more processors, a bank of RAM, sometimes a graphics processor or accelerator, and one or more data storage devices like DVDs, tape drives, or hard disk drives.
One similar way these machines operate is that they have to move small data amounts to and from across a backplane. As such, they present the same advantages and limitations. Even those that have multiple processor cores use a serial fashion in their operation.
You may not know this, but the dual system Orion X2 is rated the most powerful consumer PC globally. It comes at an eye-watering cost of approximately $50,000. The mind behind the system is one famous Ian Parry, who intended to blow every other system out of the water.
His first innovation was a Phanteks Enthoo Elite case that had everything stuffed inside. In this system, buyers would get two machines crammed into a single case with outstanding liquid cooling. One of the systems is an Intel Core i9-7980XE, featuring three NVIDIA Titan GPUs for inconceivable performance. The second system is an Intel Core i7-9700K featuring a single NVIDIA Titan.
The custom water-cooling feature ensures the machine runs at sustainable temperatures. While the PC is overkill for the average user, its performance is unmatched.
When naming Windows files and folders, the system restricts you from using some specific words or names. For example, you already know that some special characters are banned. However, what you may not know is that some individual names are also not allowed, including:
Most of these names are specially reserved for other uses by Windows.
Express VPN terms Ubuntu as one of the safest operating systems that exist. It’s a Linux distribution that was released in 2004 and continues to receive frequent updates. Some of its excellent security features include:
Besides, Ubuntu is rarely a target for malware and viruses compared to other operating systems. It also comes with more robust protections.
After Ubuntu comes Android as the second most secure OS. It features extensive privacy controls and permissions. Manufacturers continue to push timely security updates and patches, and have gone further to add extra security features into the Google Play Store to block malicious apps.
Computers have come a long way since their innovation and discovery. While much of the information about them is public knowledge, several interesting facts are not known to many people. Some of them are valuable hacks that make using your machine safer and more enjoyable.
Learning more about such facts will widen your knowledge base and make you more competent in computer use. If you’d like to expand your knowledge about computers and learn how they can make your business better, check out our One Source Technology blog.
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