In computers 101 the very first topic is
ROM and RAM
In the discussions that i follow, ROM seems to be used differently.
Computers have programs with applications or apps. Mobile phones seem to have APPS and no programs?
I was wondering if we have a geek in here, lol, who has the time to explain the transition from computer eze. to mobile or cell phone talk.
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Well, RAM would be Random Access Memory whether you’re talking about smartphones or PCs, that doesn’t change. It’s how much space you have for programs to run in, not counting more complex topics like swapping/virtual memory.
ROM normally means Read-Only Memory, and on most PCs would refer to the BIOS/UEFI. However, in the context of smartphones, a “Custom ROM” often refers to a customized version of the phone’s OS (usually Android). This usage of ROM probably derived from the way it used in the emulation community, where historically people dumped actual ROMs from a cartridge and sometimes flashed ROMs onto cartridges if they had the right equipment.
Though in the context of a smartphone, the process of potentially flashing the ROM after rooting a device is mixed together with the process of essentially installing a new OS on the phone, because smartphones aren’t designed as general-purpose machines and thus changing this stuff around is a lot more hacky and device-specific than it would be on something like a PC where you could just wipe the hard drive and reinstall the OS.
As for apps, app is just a short way of saying application software, it was occasionally used in the past (like in the context of saying VisiCalc was a killer app) as well, but in mobile anything a user can run is almost exclusively called an app rather than application or program. Many smartphone apps would qualify as programs in themselves, although on smartphones things are a bit more locked-down and most programs that might run as background processes, daemons, or system services on a PC are forced to either run as part of an app, or as a built-in part of the OS you can’t normally mess with easily that an app has to request permission to use.
Hopefully that helps, I’m more of a PC fan myself and have only recently had to start caring about smartphones because of how hard it’s becoming to avoid them even for me…
Thank you, very helpful. So in referring to a mobile, when we discuss ROM, it is kind of referring to the operating system, totally different from the PC.
Yes ROM is the OS of the phone. Stock ROM is what a phone will be shipped with and updated to during it’s life. A custom ROM runs on the same device but with different features.
Thank you. So now, ROM has become a “word” rather than an acronym?
Transition from P C to mobile
But i notice in some posts that it still all goes back to ones and zeros🤗
Seems like there would be more to the “transitioning” of such a huge step. HOW did ROM get its current meaning and are there now two meanings?..
[…quote=“naillig59, post:7, topic:75688”]
HOW did ROM get its current meaning
[/quote]
…Lazy people.