Hardware and Software; What's the Difference?

You may use technology often. But sometimes the terminology can be tricky.

For example, do you know the difference between hardware and software?

• Hardware is the physical and electronic parts of a computer, rather than the instructions it follows.

• Software is the instructions that control what a computer does; computer programs.

Hardware and software are used daily on computers, smartphones, and tablets. One cannot function without the other.

Examples of Hardware

Monitor, Keyboard. Mouse, Projector, Printer, Scanner, Speakers, USB Thumb Drive

Internal Hardware includes: CPU-Central Processing Unit, Modem, Motherboard, RAM, Sound Card, Video card, Network card

Examples of Software

System Software

MS Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, USB Drivers, Printer Drivers, Norton Antivirus, McAfee Antivirus

Application Software

MS Office, Google Docs, Adobe Creative Cloud, Windows Media Player, Web Browsers include Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Safari; Some free programs include Skype, Audacity, and Adobe Acrobat

The next time you are working on your computer, phone or tablet, acknowledge that it is the physical hardware to make your software come to life. When you log on your physical device and load a program, you are using software. They both work together to help you complete a task!

Share the knowledge! Next time you see a friend on a phone or computer, ask them if they are using hardware or software, and see what their response is.