1. Chapter 4
Hardware and Software

2. This Could Happen to You: “We Called It Strangle and Cram”
Cut off support to an older version of a product (strangle) and tell your customers that to get support they have to upgrade to the new version (cram)
Neil suggest going to a thin client/server architecture using open source software
FlexTime scenario video
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3. Study Questions
Q1 What do business professionals need to know about computer hardware?
Q2 What is the difference between a client and a server?
Q3 What do business professionals need to know about software?
Q4 Why are thin clients preferred to thick clients?
Q5 Is open source software a viable alternative?
How does the knowledge in this chapter help Kelly and you?
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4. Q1: What Do Business Professionals Need to Know About Computer Hardware?
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5. Other Components Scantron Scanner Special Function Card
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6. Computer Data Binary digits (bits) Used to represent data
Bit is either 0 or 1
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7. Computer Data (cont’d)
Sizing Computer Data
Bytes
8-bit chunk = 1 byte
Important storage capacity terminology
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8. How Does a Computer Work?
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9. How Does a Computer Work? (cont’d) (click here for more info)
CPU (Central Processing Unit)
Transfers program or data from disk to main memory
Moves instruction from main memory via data channel or bus
Has small amount of fast memory called cache
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10. How Does a Computer Work? (cont’d)
Program instructions
Operating system instructions
Main memory contains
Program that controls computer’s resources and blocks of data
Provides services to application programs and users
Operating system
(OS)
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11. Memory Swapping
Occurs when RAM is too small to hold all open programs and data
CPU loads new program segments into unused memory
If none available, operating system swaps out existing instructions, or data, to a disk and copy requested program, or data, to freed space
Swapping slows down your computer
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12. Why Should a Manager Care How a Computer Works?
Too little means constant memory swapping
Need more memory for processing many programs or large files
Main memory size
Expressed in hertz (Hz):
Electrical voltage that changes from low to high and back again at regular intervals.
Need more speed if handling large spreadsheets or database files
32-bit CPU  4 GB RAM
64-bit CPU  almost unlimited RAM
CPU speed
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13. Why Should a Manager Care How a Computer Works? (cont’d)
Cache and main memory are “volatile”
Contents lost when power is cut off
Stores frequently used instructions
Large cache makes computer fast, but more expensive
Magnetic and optical disks are “nonvolatile”
Saved contents survive after power is off
Used for secondary storage
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14. Q2: What’s the Difference Between a Client and a Server?
Client computers used for word processing, spreadsheets, database access
Servers provide services to clients
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15. Server farm Large collection of coordinated servers
Amazon can process 110 order items per second
Google Data sites
Inside a Google Data Center (video)
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16. Q3: What Do Business Professionals Need to Know About Software?
Operating systems
Run only on particular types of hardware
Must conform to instruction set of CPU
Windows works only on Intel instruction set CPUs
Application programs
Written for a particular operating system
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17. What a Manager Needs to Know about Software
Four major operating systems
Windows (95% of business users)
Mac OS (graphic arts)
Unix (scientific & engineering applications)
Linux (open source community)
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18. What a Manager Needs to Know about Software (cont’d)
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19. License Own vs. License Site License
Flat fee payment for right to install software product on all company computers or computers at specific site
Right to use specified number of copies of a program
Limits vendor’s liability
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20. Cloud Computing and Virtualization
Guest Operating Systems
Windows
Linux
IBM
Facebook
Google docs and spreadsheets
Oracle
Server virtualization makes cloud computing feasible
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21. What Types Of Applications Exist and How Do Organizations Obtain Them?
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22. Computer software installed into hardware devices
What Is Firmware?
Computer software installed into hardware devices
Printers, print servers, communication devices
Coded like other software
Installed into read-only memory
Can be changed and upgraded
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23. Experiencing MIS InClass Exercise 4: Purchasing a Computer
Form a team to identify most appropriate computer for three different scenarios. For each scenario, determine hardware and software requirements: size and type of computer, processor speed, size of main memory and disk, operating system, application programs, maintenance and support agreements, and any other factors you deem appropriate.
Scenario 1: Political science major asks you to help her purchase a new laptop computer. Wants to use computer for , Internet access, and for note-taking in class, and spend less than $1,000.
Scenario 2: Father: , Internet access, downloading pictures from digital camera, uploading pictures to a shared photo service, and creating documents for members of his antique auto club.
Scenario 3: You and a group of five students have decided to replace campus newspaper with your own newspaper. Should you buy three offered by university?
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24. Q4: Why Are Thin Clients Preferred to Thick Clients?
Requires nothing more than browser
Does not require installation and administration of client software
Thick client
Has more code to run on it
More features and functions
More expense and administration
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25. Thin and Thick Clients
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26. Q5 Is Open Source Software a Viable Alternative?
GNU general public license (GPL) agreement
Standard for open source software
Successful open source projects
OpenOffice (a Microsoft Office look-alike)
Firefox (a browser)
MySQL (a DBMS, see Chapter 5)
Apache (a web server, see Chapter 8)
Ubuntu (a Windows-like desktop operating system)
Android (a mobile-device operating system)
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27. Why Do Programmers Volunteer Their Services Open Source Projects?
Programming intense combination of art and logic
Freedom to choose projects work on
Exercise creativity working on interesting and fulfilling projects
Exhibit one’s skill in order to get a job
Start a business selling services to support an open source product
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28. How Does Open Source Work?
Closed-source or proprietary software. Source code is not available to users or public. Only available to trusted employees and carefully vetted contractors.
Open-source software available to users in source code form.
Machine code: Source code is compiled into instructions executed directly by a computer’s CPU
Source code: Human readable computer code
Software
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29. Source Code Sample
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30. So, Is Open Source Viable?
Depends on requirements and constraints of situation. You will learn more about matching requirements and programs in Chapter 10.
“Free” open source software requires support and operational costs that could cost more than a licensing fee.
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31. How Does the Knowledge in This Chapter Help Kelly and You?
FlexTime wants to examine all of its value-generating activities and determine if there isn’t some way to reduce costs without reducing value generated.
Knowing process for tracing development from analysis of industry structure through to requirements for information systems is important to ensure all activities in firm facilitate organization’s competitive strategy.
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32. Ethics Guide: Churn and Burn
Mark suggests a conspiracy between hardware and software vendors
Hardware vendors create new, faster computers
Software vendors create products with more features
Time-consuming to learn
Features only needed by some users
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33. Ethics Guide: Churn and Burn (cont’d)
Products have defects
Viruses an example
Vendors turn these into a sales advantage
Should users accept these problems?
Should they rise up in protest?
What should vendors do?
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34. Guide: Keeping up to Speed
If you don’t keep up, you might not gain a competitive advantage
Don’t depend solely on experts or consultants
Develop a competitive advantage in non-technology areas to compensate
Be a “technophile”
Not a technophobe
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35. Guide: Keeping up to Speed (cont’d)
What can a manager do?
Don’t ignore technology
Take seminars
Read articles, ads
C/NET, CIO.com
Wall Street Journal technology articles
Attend professional events
Get involved as a user representative in technology committees
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36. Active Review
Q1 What do business professionals need to know about computer hardware?
Q2 What is the difference between a client and a server?
Q3 What do business professionals need to know about software?
Q4 Why are thin clients preferred to thick clients?
Q5 Is open source software a viable alternative?
How does the knowledge in this chapter help Kelly and you?
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

37. Case Study 4: Dell Leverages the Internet, Directly, but for How Long?
Dell pays close attention to its suppliers and shares information with them on product quality, inventory, and related subjects via a secure website
Provides basic technical support, deployment services, services to maintain and manage Dell systems
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38. Dell Case Study (cont’d)
2009, components of PCs seem to be selling, but not PCs themselves. What might this mean?
Sept. 2009, Dell bought Perot Systems for $3.9 billion. Perot was a provider of information systems services to health care and governmental customers.
Dell views some change in its corporate strategy.
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39. Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.  
Publishing as Prentice Hall