Tonga Institute of Higher Education

IT 245Management Information Systems

Lecture 4Hardware 1

Computer Systems, End User and Enterprise Computing.

Project• Find an organization that will be possible to

use in your project • Definitely not a virtual organization• If Letters required then let me know• Stage 1 – Feasibility Study

– A preliminary study that investigates the information needs of end users and the objectives, constraints, basic resource requirements, cost/benefits and feasibility of proposed projects.

• There are more to come.. So start now!!! .

Computer Systems• All computers are system of input, processing, output,

storage and control components.

Class Exercise

• Do the Hardware Case 1• BTG, NEC Electronics, and Biogen: The

Business Case for Server Computer Farms

Computer Generations

– First Generations – early 1950’s– Second Generations – late 1960’s– Third Generations – 1970’s– Fourth Generations – 1980’s and 1990’s– Fifth Generations – early 21st century.

• Discuss the differences in these generations!!!.

Computer Categories

• Midrange Computer Systems• Mainframe Computer Systems• Supercomputer Systems• Microcomputers

Computer System Categories

Trends in Computer SystemsMajor trends in computer system capabilities

Microcomputer System• Most important category of computer system• Usually called PC’s• Is as a window to the Internet• Are now communication devices and

consumers want them to be as cheap as possible.

• Has become powerful network professional workstations for business professional

Microcomputer System

• Desktop are design to fit on an office desk• Laptop for those who want a small

portable PC• Some are powerful workstation computers

(technical workstations) that support applications with heavy mathematical computing and graphics display demands such as CAD

• Can be used as a Network Server

Network Computers (NC’s)

• emerging as a serious business computing platform.

• Known as thin clients as compared to traditional fat clients full-featured PC’s

• Somewhere in between are stripped-down PC’s known as NetPCs or legacy-free PC’s

Network Computer

• Operating System, application software, and data storage are provided by internet, intranet and extranet server.

• Uses a web browser and can process Java-enabled software applications called applets

• Managed remotely and centrally by network servers

• Generally has no hard disk drive

NetPC (Legacy-free PC)

• Works like a PC, with its own software• Has a hard drive, but may have no floppy

drive or CD-ROM• Box may have no expansion slots or serial

or parallel ports• OS and applications are managed

centrally by network servers.

Network terminal

• An inexpensive terminal-like device without its own disk storage

• Depends on the servers in a network for most of its processing power

• Multi-user version of Windows, Linux or Unix as the server operating system.

• Microsoft Office or Sun Office like multi-user software on the Internet or intranet web server.

Information Appliances

• PC’s aren’t the only options – A host of smart gadgets and information appliance from cellular phones and pagers to handheld PC’s and web-based game machines promise Internet access and the ability to perform basic computational chores.– Hand-held microcomputer devices known as personal

digital assistants (PDAs) most popular devices in the information appliance category.

Computer Terminals

• Major conversion to network computer devices – Dumb Terminals which are keyboard/video monitor devices with limited processing capabilities.

• Replaced by intelligent terminals – which are modified network PCs , network computers or other thin clients

Computer Terminals

• Include network terminals which may be windows terminal, that are dependent on network servers for windows software, processing power and storage or Internet terminal – which depend on Internet or intranet website servers for their operating systems and application software.

Computer Terminals

• Intelligent terminals take many forms and can perform data entry and some information processing tasks independently- This includes the widespread use of transaction terminals in banks, retail stores, factories and other work sites.– Eg

• ATM Automatic Teller Machine• POS Point of Sale terminal

Thinking Questions

• 1 Discuss the advantage of using a Microcomputers

• 2 Discuss the disadvantages of using a microcomputers

Homework Questions?

• 1. Why a company will use a Mainframe as a server for Electronic Commerce?

• 2. Give examples of a Companies or Organizations that use Midrange Computer Systems.

• 3. Give examples of a Companies or Organizations that use Supercomputer Systems.

Review• Computer Systems• Computer Generations• Computer System Categories• Trends in Computer Systems• Microcomputer Systems• Network Computers (NC’s)• NetPC (Legacy-free PC)• Information Appliances• Computer Terminals

Hardware 2

Computer Peripherals and

Storage Technologies.

Peripherals

• Peripheral Devices– Any unit of equipment, distinct from the

central processing unit, that provides the system with input, output or storage capabilities

Peripheral Devices• Can make all the differences in your

computing experience– Eg

• Top quality monitor – easier on eyes• scanner – closer to the ever-elusive goal – the

paperless office• Back up – offer security against data losting• CD-ROM• Memory Cards• 3-D Graphics• And others will help you configure your computer to

meet your needs

Real World Case

• Do Hardware Case 2 – Longs Drugs and Textron: Desktop Versus Network Computing.

Peripherals

• Desktop• Online – all peripherals are separate from

but can be electronically connected to and controlled by CPU

• Offline – opposite of Online

Input Technologies• There has been a major trend toward the

increase in use of input technologies that provide more natural user interface.

• These devices work well with your OS’s GUI– Identify different types of Input Devices

• Keyboard – most widely used input devices• Pointing devices –better alternative for issuing

commands , or making choice and respond to prompts displayed on your video screen.

Peripherals Checklist• Monitor – Bigger is better for computer screens• Printer – Laser printers – better for high volume

business use, color inkjet printers – provide high – quality images and are well – suited for reproducing photographs

• Scanner – Sheet fed scanner or flatbed model.• Hard Disk - Bigger is better• CD-ROM and DVD Drives – become a necessity

fro software installation and multimedia applications – consider high speed variable speed model

• Backup Systems – Don’t compute without them.

Mouse

• Electronic mouse• Trackball• Pointing stick also called track-point• Touchpad• Touch Screens

Pen-based computing

• PDAs – personal digital assistants – contain processors and software that recognize digitizes handwriting, hand printing, and hand drawing.

• Other pen like devices are also available– Digitizer pen– Graphic tablet

Speed Recognition• Promises to be the easiest method for data entry,

word processing and conversational computing– Discrete speed recognition – pause between each

spoken word– Continuous speed recognition – recognizes

continuous, conversationally paced speed.– Speaker independent – voice recognition system allow

a computer to understand a few words from a voice it has never heard before

– Voice messaging computers – uses voice recognition and voice response software to verbally guide an end user through the steps of a task in many kinds of activities.

Optical Scanning

• Read text and graphic and convert them into digital input for computers

• Get document into your computer with a minimum of time and hassle transforming just about anything on paper into digital format.

• OCR• Bar Coding

Other Input Technologies

• Magnetic Stripe – form of data entry that helps computers to read credit cards – iron oxide coating of the magnetic stripe can hold about 200 bytes of information. (Account # etc.

• MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) –sort and post checks to the proper checking accounts

• Smart Cards • Digital Cameras

Output Technologies

• Video Output (monitor) – most important• Use CRT (cathode ray tube)• LCD (liquid crystal display) – Advances in

technology such as active matrix and dual scan capabilities have improved the color and clarity of LCD’s display

Computer Storage

• Binary representation– Bit– byte– Kilobyte KB– Megabyte MB– Gigabyte GB– Terabyte TB– Petabyte

Storage Media Cost

Direct and Sequential Access• Direct Access

– Random Access Memory RAM– Primary storage media such as semiconductor

memory chips– DASDs Direct Access Storage Devices

• Sequential Access– Does not have unique storage address– Data must be stored and retrieved using a sequential

or serial process.– Data are recorded one after another in a

predetermined sequence.

Semiconductor Memory

• Primary storage (main memory)– RAM - Volatile – ROM- non Volatile

Magnetic Disk Storage

• Most common form of secondary storage• Provide fast access and high storage

capacities at a reasonable cost.• Contain metal disks that are coated on

both sides with an iron oxide recording material

Type of Magnetic Disks

• Floppy Disk• Hard Disk Drives

Raid Storage

• RAID (redundant arrays of independent disks)

• Combine from 6 – 100 small hard disk drives and their control microprocessors into a single unit

• Provide large capabilities with high access speeds

Magnetic Tape Storage

• Still used as a secondary storage medium in business applications

• Include tape and cartridges in mainframe and midrange systems

Optical Disk Storage

• CD Disks– Store more than 600 MB – CD-R compact disk recordable– CD-RW compact disk rewritable

• DVD digital video disk or digital versatile disk– DVD hold 3.0 – 8.5 GB– DVD-ROM begin to replace magnetic tape video

cassettes fro movies and other multimedia products.– DVD-RAM being used for backup and archival

storage of large data and multimedia files

Review• Peripherals & Peripheral Devices• Input Technologies• Mouse, Pen-based computing, Speed Recognition, Optical

Scanning and Other Input Technologies• Output Technologies• Computer Storage• Direct and Sequential Access• Semiconductor Memory• Magnetic Disk Storage• Raid Storage• Magnetic Tape Storage• Optical Disk Storage