13. What is firmware? How different is firmware from software?

Firmware is programming that's written to the read-only memory (ROM) of a computing device. Firmware, 

which is added at the time of manufacturing, is used to run user programs on the device.

Firmware is usually put into a computer with the intention of not being removed for the duration of the 

computer's lifetime. On the other hand, software is much more flexible in terms of user customization 

preferences. Also, 1. Software generally refers to high level programs while firmware is used to microcode 

embedded in most hardware

2. Software can be very big while firmware are usually very small

3. Software can be replaced without much hassle while replacing firmware is often difficult

4. Software is often stored in user accessible memory while firmware is located in an inaccessible storage embedded in the hardware

5. Software is changed constantly while firmware is very rarely changed if a piece of hardware loses power, the firmware does not lose its memory whereas software does.