Hardware
2. Touching the Digital
Let's start with hardware. This is the stuff you can actually touch — the physical components of your computer, phone, or any other electronic device. Think of your keyboard, mouse, monitor, the internal circuit boards, and even the case that holds everything together. If you can drop it (please don't!), it's likely hardware.
Essentially, hardware is the skeleton and organs of the digital beast. Without it, there's nothing for the software or firmware to run on. It's the foundation upon which everything else is built. Imagine trying to play a video game without a screen or processor — it's just not going to happen!
To give a more specific example, in a computer, the CPU (Central Processing Unit), RAM (Random Access Memory), hard drive, and graphics card are all key pieces of hardware. In your smartphone, it's the touchscreen, camera, battery, and the internal chips that make it all work. Even your charging cable is considered hardware.
Hardware also includes the peripherals you connect to your computer, like printers, scanners, and external hard drives. Basically, any physical piece of technology you can physically interact with.
