How Computers Process Information
Computers use integrated circuit to process information. Of the many chips in a computer, the microprocessor is the most complex. It is where the information you give a computer is processed.
A simpler kind of chip is used to make DVD players, remote controls, and electronic calculators. The chips in these devices are embedded processors . They're made to do one thing well and the instructions are coded into them. You can't install new software to change what they do. For example, you can't do word processing on your VCR.
Microprocessors are much more versatile than embedded processors. Change the software you're using and you can go from doing word processing to playing a computer game. Change the software again and you can explore the Internet. Instead of being designed to do one thing, microprocessors are designed to do whatever the software you select instructs them to do.
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