What's the difference between software and hardware?

Question

I'm pretty sure it's anything real and you have to install is hardware and software is just downloaded programs? Just checking.

Answer 1

first answer explained the whole thing

Answer 2

Software is how a user interacts with hardware. Hardware is the physical parts of the computer

Answer 3

Software is anything that is a program. It's what runs the computer (the operating system). It's also your applications (for example, Microsoft Word, Windows Media Player). Hardware is the computer itself, all the physical objects such as the CPU, the RAM, the motherboard, also the keyboard, the monitor. So if someone tells you you need to upgrade your hardware, they may be telling you you need more RAM, a bigger harddrive, a newer graphics card, a better power supply–all these things are hardware. Upgrading your software could be upgrading the operating system (for example, going from Windows XP to Windows Vista) or getting the latest version of an application, or getting the newest drivers for things like your graphics card because you updated your operating system.

Software is not just downloaded programs. Probably the biggest most important piece of software on any system is the Operating System, because the computer is useless without one. (It can be Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Unix, and other more obscure systems you would never use.)

Answer 4

software is programs you put on your PC like games, photoshop etc. Hardware is like a router, or switch. A physical part of the pc. hope this helps

Answer 5

Hardware is what you can see, touch and feel. It is tangible. Software is electronic "programs" (or sets of instructions for the hardware). Check the source http://diffen.com/difference/Hardware_vs... for differences between hardware and software in terms of their functionality, types, interdependence and examples.

Answer 6

Basically, hardware is the physical part of the technology - using a computer as an example, it's the parts that you can touch and move around and modify in "the real world."

Software is the stuff on the computer, your programs and operating system, for example.

Answer 7

That's a pretty good layman definition.

Answer 8

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-diff...

" Hardware includes the physical components, such as the motherboard, chips, memory, and hard drives, while software includes the programs that run on the hardware. Ergo, a computer is hardware, while an operating system such as Microsoft XP is the software that makes the hardware functional."

Direct quote from that site. Also see link below:

Answer 9

heres my defintion...

software is like writing the codes on a computer, or programming things like that

hardware is the actual computer, like the bits and pieces that make up a computer

heres the actual defintion...

hardware is a physical device something that you're able to touch and see.

Software is code and instructions that tell a computer and/or hardware how to operate.

hope this helps!

Answer 10

Something like that.  Software extends to everything that is made out of data, is electronic and you can't touch it.

Hardware is everything else tangible.

Answer 11

Software are Programs.

Hardware is the external like mouse, keyboard.

Answer 12

Software is a set of commands that the computer can execute. Like installing a program, playing a video game, etc. It can also be downloaded programs as you have mentioned. You can think of these simply as files.

Hardware is what the computer needs to use the software. Hardware can be referred as "real," or "the physical parts" as you mentioned.