Information systems hardware consists of the components of digital technology that you can touch. In
this chapter, we reviewed the components that make up a personal computer, with the understanding
that the configuration of a personal computer is very similar to that of any type of digital computing
device. A personal computer is made up of many components, most importantly the CPU, motherboard,
RAM, hard disk, removable media, and input/output devices. We also reviewed some variations on the
personal computer, such as the tablet computer and the smartphone. In accordance with Moore’s Law,
these technologies have improved quickly over the years, making today’s computing devices much
more powerful than devices just a few years ago. Finally, we discussed two of the consequences of this
evolution: the commoditization of the personal computer and the problem of electronic waste.