Books: How Computers Work, Seventh Edition

If you can do some basic troubleshooting of your PC’s problems but still feel mystified by what is actually going on in there, take a look at this latest version of Ron White’s How Computers Work.

The full-colour illustrations and easy-to-read descriptions in this book are designed to help you come to grips with how the technology functions.

This basic groundwork would be ideal for people wanting to build their understanding of PCs, students studying computing, or kids just keen to know how things work.

Although the title suggests the book is about PCs (Mac addicts should be warned that this is very much the Wintel platform), How Computers Work also explains other tech gear as well as the Internet. After an introduction that sets today’s PCs in context by discussing how previous generations of computers worked, the book moves on to basics like getting to know your hardware, how RAM works, and how Windows works.

Later chapters deal with other gear like printers, and input/output devices like scanners, game controllers, digital cameras and keyboards, and so on. The section on the Internet includes details on networking and modems — such as how ADSL and cable modems work. Other interesting additions include a double-page spread on how file sharing works.

The colour graphics help when it comes to quickly grasping the concepts, and the publishers have not scrimped on good quality paper to show them to best advantage — while keeping the cost to a reasonable level.