A central processing unit is the component in a digital computer that interprets instructions and processes data contained in software. CPUs provide the fundamental digital computer trait of programmability, and are one of the core components found in almost all modern microcomputers, along with primary storage and input/output facilities. A CPU that is manufactured using integrated circuits, often just one, is known as a microprocessor. Since the mid-1970s, single-chip microprocessors have almost totally replaced all other types of CPUs, and today the term "CPU" almost always applies to some type of microprocessor. Early CPUs were custom-designed as a part of a larger, usually one-of-a-kind, computer. However, this costly methodology of designing custom CPUs for a particular application has largely given way to the development of inexpensive and standardized classes of processors that are suited for one or many purposes. This standardization trend generally began in the era of discrete transistor mainframes and minicomputers and has rapidly accelerated with the popularization of the integrated circuit. Modern microprocessors appear in everything from automobiles to cell phones to children's toys.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1461: Wars of the Roses in England: Lancastrian King Henry VI was deposed by his Yorkist cousin, who then became King Edward IV. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VI_of_England)

1681: King Charles II of England granted William Penn a charter for the Pennsylvania Colony. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Penn)

1825: Despite having lost in both the electoral and popular votes in the 1824 presidential election, John Quincy Adams was inaugurated as the sixth President of the United States. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Quincy_Adams)

1877: Emile Berliner invented the microphone. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/microphone)

1980: Robert Mugabe (pictured) of the Zimbabwe African National Union was elected to head the first government in Zimbabwe. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mugabe)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

There was a young fellow from Trinity, Who took the square root of infinity. But the number of digits, Gave him the fidgets; He dropped Math and took up Divinity. -- George Gamow (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Gamow)