Tonga Institute of Higher Education
IT 245
Management Information Systems
Lecture 4
Hardware 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
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Midrange Computer Systems
Mainframe Computer Systems
Supercomputer Systems
Microcomputers
Computer System Categories
Trends in Computer Systems
Major trends in computer system capabilities
Microcomputer System
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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 multiuser 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 webbased 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
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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
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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