Computer Hardware and Software Jack G. Zheng June 15 th 2005 MIS XLM.A

Overview Computer Categories by Size Two major categories of information technology –Software –Hardware

Computer Categories by Size (1) PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) Microcomputer (personal computer) –Notebook/laptop/tablet –Desktop/workstation Minicomputer –Mid-ranged computer that can support departmental use

Computer Categories by Size (2) Mainframe –Large scale computer for organizational use –Historically used in centralized computing Supercomputer –The fastest, most powerful computer, usually used for scientific research –Earth Simulator 1Earth Simulator Used for climate simulation 5120 processors and 2GB RAM per processor 1 Source:

Software

Software Types Application software –Performs specific information processing tasks System software –Manages and supports operations of computer systems and networks (including hardware and application software)

Application Software (1) Personal (productivity) software –Office suites Word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, desktop publishing, web authoring –Communications Messenger, –Graphic and media processing –Education software –Entertainment software –…

Application Software (2) Organizational level software/system: software used for businesses at the organizational level –Vertical market software Unique to a particular industry or organization Examples: MARTA scheduling software; student management software; pilot training software –Horizontal market software General to several or all industries Examples: accounting, payroll, billing, human resources This type of software is very likely to be purchased off- the-shelf

System Software Operating systems software (OS) Utility software [Other categories] –System/server management –Development software

Operating System Software Operating systems (OS) –A basic platform to control computer –Work with hardware, especially processors –Support application software Examples –Windows 95, NT, 98, Me, 2000, XP, 2003, CE –Mac OS –Unix, Solaris, Linux –NOS (network operating system): Novell Multitasking and [multiprocessing]

Utility Software Utility software –Adds additional functionality to the OS –More and more of them are becoming part of OS now Some types –Anti-virus: Norton, McAfee –Uninstaller –Disk optimization software –Crash-proof software –System monitoring, CD/DVD Writing, disk simulation, …

Exercise Are the following products software? What types are they? –Adobe Acrobat Reader –WinZIP –SimCity 2000 –Redhat –Sassar –WebCT –Digital photos, MP3 songs

Hardware

Hardware Categories Input Output Processing Storage Connecting and interface Networking and communication

Common Input Devices Keyboard Point devices –mouse, trackball, pointing stick, touchpad, optical pen Touch screen Game controller Scanner –image scanner, bar code reader optical mark recognition (OMR) Multimedia –microphone, camcorder, cameral, webcam

Common Output Devices Monitor –CRT (cathode ray tube), LCD (liquid crystal display), PlasmaPlasma –Some important specifications Viewable image (screen) size Resolution Dot pitch Printer –Inkjet, Laser, [Dot matrix], multi-functional –DPI (Dot Per Inch)

Processing CPU (central processing unit) –Central command processing device Major manufacturers (for PC) –Intel: Pentium 2, 3, 4, Celeron –AMD: Anthlon Speed: number of cycles per second –Megahertz (Pentium 3), Gigahertz (Pentium 4) –Moores lawMoores law How it works (figure A.19 on page 60) –You can visit Intel museum (in Santa Clara or online)

Data/Storage Units Data units by size –Bit (0 or 1) –Byte (character): 8 bits –Kilobyte (KB): 1024 bytes –Megabyte (MB): 1024 KB –Gigabyte (GB): 1024 MB –Terabyte (TB): 1024 GB ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) –2 7 (128) characters [UNICODE] –New standard for character representation with 2 31 possibilities

Primary Storage (Memory) Memory –Made of silicon –Electronically stores data –Very fast, relatively expensive and smaller storage size Type –RAM: random access memory Temporary storage 640k should be enough for anybody – Bill Gates, 1981 Today: 512MB recommended –[ROM]: read only memory Flash ROM

Secondary Storage Devices Secondary storage –Slower, less expensive, permanent storage, bigger storage size Common devices (see figure A.14 on page 56) –Magnetic: hard drive/disk, floppy, ZIP –Optical: CD/DVD serials –Flash memory: Flash memory (jump drive) Cards: CompactFlash, SmartMedia, xd-Picture Card …

Connection Devices Common interfaces/ports (see figure A.21 on page 63): –Traditional Serial port Parallel port: for printer PS/2: keyboard and mouse –Fast connection USB (universal serial bus) USB 2.0 (480Mbps) IEEE 1394 (firewire): 400Mbps –Wireless Infrared Bluetooth (30 feet) WiFi for wireless computer network (300 feet) [Motherboard/mainboard] Hot swap and PnP (Plug and Play)

Networking and Telecommunication Router Modem –Mo-dulation: digital to analog –Dem-odulation: analog to digital –Types Phone modem: up to 56Kbps DSL modem: 128K to 8M Cable modem: 512K to 20M Satellite modem: 6M up Other networking devices –See more in XLM.E

Summary

Good Resources How computer works – Intel museum – Computer DIY – IEEE history of computing –