一个操作系统必须和作为它的基础的硬件系统紧密配合。操作系统需要使用一些只有硬件才能提供的功能。为了完整的了解 Linux ，你需要了解底层硬件的基础知识。本章对于现代 PC 的硬件进行了。

　　1975 年 1 月“ Popular Electronics ”杂志封面上印出了 Altair 8080 的图片，一场革命开始了。 Altair 8080 ，跟随早期的“ Star Trek epsode ”命名，只需要 $397 ，就可由个人电子爱好者自己组装。它拥有 Intel 8080 处理器和 256 字节内存，但是没有屏幕和键盘。以今天的标准来衡量，它太简陋了。它的发明者， Ed Roberts ，制造了名词“ personal computer “来命名他的发明，但现在， PC 这个名词已经用来命名几乎所有你可以不依靠帮助就可以自己运行起来的计算机。用这个定义，甚至一些十分强大的 Alpha AXP 系统也是 PC 。(An operating system must work closely with the hardware system that is the base of it. The operating system needs to use some of the functions that are provided only by hardware. To get a complete understanding of Linux, you need to know the basic knowledge of the underlying hardware. This chapter has been carried out for the hardware of modern PC.



In January 1975, the Popular Electronics magazine covered the picture of Altair 8080 on the cover, and a revolution began. Altair 8080, named after the early "Star Trek epsode", requires only $397, which can be assembled by personal electronics enthusiasts themselves. It has a Intel 8080 processor and 256 bytes of memory, but there is no screen and keyboard. As measured by today's standards, it is too shabby.)