HARDWARE AND SOFTWAR E
BASICS
A
APPENDIX
Technical architecture refers to the structured process of designing and building software architecture, with focus on
interaction with software and hardware developers. Technical architecture is a part of software architecture, which
focuses on how to deal with certain aspects of the software engineering process. It allows us to design better
systems by:
 Meeting system requirements and objectives: Both functional and non-functional requirements can be
prioritized as "must have", "should have" or "want", where "must have" identifies properties that the system
must have in order to be acceptable. An architecture allows us to evaluate and make tradeoffs among
requirements of differing priority. Though system qualities (also known as non-functional requirements) can be
compromised later in the development process, many will not be met if not explicitly taken into account at the
architectural level.
 Enabling flexible partitioning of the system: A good architecture enables flexible distribution of the system by
allowing the system and its constituent applications to be partitioned among processors in many different ways
without having to redesign the distributable component parts. This requires careful attention to the distribution
potential of components early in the architectural design process.
 Reducing cost of maintenance and evolution: Architecture can help minimize the costs of maintaining and
evolving a given system over its entire lifetime by anticipating the main kinds of changes that will occur in the
system, ensuring that the system's overall design will facilitate such changes, and localizing as far as possible
the effects of such changes on design documents, code, and other system work products. This can be
achieved by the minimization and control of subsystem interdependencies.
 Increasing reuse and integration with legacy and third party software: An architecture may be designed to
enable and facilitate the (re)use of certain existing components, frameworks, class libraries, legacy or thirdparty applications, etc.
HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE BASICS
 Hardware Basics
 Computer Categories
 Software Basics
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Describe the six major categories of hardware and provide an example of each.
Hardware consists of the physical devices associated with a computer system. The six major categories of
hardware include:
 Central processing unit (CPU) The actual hardware that interprets and executes the program (software)
instructions and coordinates how all the other hardware devices work together (e.g., Intel processor)
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Primary storage The computer’s main memory, which consists of the random access memory (RAM), cache
memory, and the read-only memory (ROM) that is directly accessible to the central processing unit (CPU) (e.g.,
RAM)
Secondary storage Equipment designed to store large volumes of data for long-term storage (e.g., diskette,
hard drive, memory card, CD).
Input devices Equipment used to capture information and commands (e.g., keyboard, scanner).
Output devices Equipment used to see, hear, or otherwise accept the results of information processing
requests (e.g., monitor, printer).
Communication devices Equipment used to send information and receive it from one location to another (e.g.,
modem).
Personal digital assistant (PDA) - A small hand-held computer that performs simple tasks such as taking
notes, scheduling appointments, and maintaining an address book and a calendar.
Laptop - A fully functional computer designed to be carried around and run on battery power. Laptops come
equipped with all of the technology that a personal desktop computer has, yet weigh as little as two pounds.
Tablet - A pen-based computer that provides the screen capabilities of a PDA with the functional capabilities of
a laptop or desktop computer. Similar to PDAs, tablet PCs use a writing pen or stylus to write notes on the
screen and touch the screen to perform functions such as clicking on a link while visiting a website.
Desktop - Available with a horizontal system box (the box is where the CPU, RAM, and storage devices are
held) with a monitor on top, or a vertical system box (called a tower) usually placed on the floor within a work
area.
Workstation - Similar to a desktop but has more powerful mathematical and graphics processing capabilities
and can perform more complicated tasks in less time. Typically used for software development, Web
development, engineering, and ebusiness tools.
Minicomputer (midrange computer) - Designed to meet the computing needs of several people
simultaneously in a small to medium-size business environment. A common type of minicomputer is a server
and is used for managing internal company networks and websites. Minicomputers are more powerful than
desktop computers but also cost more, ranging in price from $5,000 to several hundred thousand dollars.
Mainframe computer - Designed to meet the computing needs of hundreds of people in a large business
environment. Mainframe computers are a step up in size, power, capability, and cost from minicomputers.
Mainframes can cost in excess of $1 million. With processing speeds greater than 1 trillion instructions per
second (compared to a typical desktop that can process about 2.5 billion instructions per second), mainframes
can easily handle the processing requests of hundreds of people simultaneously.
Supercomputer - The fastest, most powerful, and most expensive type of computer. Organizations such as
NASA that are heavily involved in research and number crunching employ supercomputers because of the
speed with which they can process information.
Primary storage - The computer’s main memory, which consists of the random access memory (RAM), cache
memory, and the read-only memory (ROM) that is directly accessible to the central processing unit (CPU).
Secondary storage - Equipment designed to store large volumes of data for long-term storage (e.g., diskette,
hard drive, memory card, CD).
Input devices - Equipment used to capture information and commands (e.g., keyboard, scanner)
Output devices - Equipment used to see, hear, or otherwise accept the results of information processing
requests (e.g., monitor, printer).
Primary storage - The computer’s main memory, which consists of the random access memory (RAM), cache
memory, and the read-only memory (ROM) that is directly accessible to the central processing unit (CPU).
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Secondary storage - Equipment designed to store large volumes of data for long-term storage (e.g., diskette,
hard drive, memory card, CD).
Communication devices - Equipment used to send information and receive it from one location to another
(e.g., modem).
2. Describe the eight categories of computers by size.
 Personal digital assistant (PDA) – a small hand-held computer that performs simple tasks such as taking notes,
scheduling appointments, and maintaining an address book and a calendar.
 Laptop computer – a fully functional computer designed to be carried around and run on battery power.
 Tablet computer - a pen-based computer that provides the screen capabilities of a PDA with the functional
capabilities of a notebook or desktop computer.
 Desktop computer – the most popular choice for personal computing needs.
 Workstation computer – Has more mathematical and graphics power than a desktop
 Minicomputer (sometimes called a mid-range computer) – designed to meet the computing needs of several
people simultaneously in a small to medium-size business environment.
 Mainframe computer (sometimes just called a mainframe) – a computer designed to meet the computing needs
of hundreds of people in a large business environment.
 Supercomputer – the fastest, most powerful, and most expensive type of computer.
3. Identify the two main types of software.
Operating system software controls the application software and manages how the hardware devices work
together, whereas utility software provides additional functionality to the operating system. Utility software includes
antivirus software, screen savers, disk optimization software, and anti-spam software
CLASSROOM EXERCISE
Web-Enabled Cell Phones and Web Computers
When categorizing computers by size for personal needs, the focus is typically on PDAs, tablet computers,
notebook computers, and desktop computers. There are several other variations including smartphones (or Webenabled cell phones) that include instant text messaging and Web browsing capabilities. Split students into groups
of four people and have them research smartphone capabilities and costs. Have each group make a purchase
recommendation based on their research. Ask students what their vision of the future is for cell phone telephony.
Will we ever get rid of notebooks and clunky desktops in favor of more portable and cheaper devices such as
smartphones? Why or why not?
CLASSROOM OPENER
Top Ten Data Failure Stories
10. PhD Almost an F -- A PhD candidate lost his entire dissertation when a bad power supply suddenly zapped his
computer and damaged the USB Flash drive that stored the document. Had the data not been recovered, the
student would not have graduated.
9. Suffering from Art -- While rearranging her home office, a woman accidentally dropped a five pound piece of clay
pottery on her laptop, directly onto the hard drive area that contained a book she'd been working on for five years
and 150 year-old genealogy pictures that had not yet been printed.
8. Domestic Dilemma -- A husband deleted all of his child's baby pictures when he accidentally hit the wrong button
on his computer. His wife hinted at divorce if he did not get the pictures back.
7. Bite Worse than Bark -- A customer left his memory stick lying out and his dog mistook it for a chew toy.
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6. Don't Try this at Home -- A man attempting to recover data from his computer on his own found the job too
challenging mid-way through and ended up sending Ontrack his completely disassembled drive -- with each of its
parts in a separate baggie.
5. Out of Time -- A clockmaker suffered a system meltdown, losing the digital designs for all of its clocks. Ontrack
literally beat the clock recovering all their data just in time for an important international tradeshow.
4. Drilling for Data -- During a multi-drive RAID recovery, engineers discovered one drive belonging in the set was
missing. The customer found the missing drive in a dumpster, but in compliance with company policy for disposing
of old drives, it had a hole drilled through it.
3. Safe at Home -- After one of their executives experienced a laptop crash, the Minnesota Twins professional
baseball team called on Ontrack to rescue crucial scouting information about their latest prospects. The team now
relies on Ontrack for all data recoveries within its scouting and coaching ranks.
2. Hardware Problems -- A frustrated writer attacked her computer with a hammer. When the engineers received
the computer, the hammer imprint was clearly visible on the top cover.
1. La Cucaracha -- In hopes of rescuing valuable company information, a customer pulled an old laptop out of a
warehouse where it had been sitting unused for 10 years. When engineers opened the computer, it contained
hundreds of husks of dead and decaying cockroaches.
CLASSROOM EXERCISE
Backup and Recovery
Ask your students to answer the following questions:
 Do you have a backup strategy for your computer?
 How often do you backup?
 What do you backup?
 What type of format do you use for your backup?
 Where do you save the backup?
 How long do you save the backup?
Now ask your students that if you stole their computer or spilled a hot cup of coffee on their computer right now how
much information would they lose?
Encourage your students to create a backup strategy.
CORE MATERIAL
The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes
including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed
notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material.
APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Instructor Note: There are few right or wrong answers in the business world. There are really only efficient and
inefficient, and effective and ineffective business decisions. If there were always right answers businesses would
never fail. These questions were created to challenge your students to apply the materials they have learned to real
business situations. For this reason, the authors cannot provide you with one version of a correct answer. When
grading your students’ answers, be sure to focus on their justification or support for their specific answers. A good
way to grade these questions is to compare your student’s answers against each other.
1. A COMPUTER
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Project Purpose: To understand the correlation between price and changes to various technology
components.
Potential Solution: Although there is no right or wrong answer here, students responses should be pragmatic
to their needs and budget.
2. WEB-ENABLED CELL PHONES
Project Purpose: To understand that we are (certainly) moving to smaller, more portable, and more powerful
computers.
Potential Solution: Although there is no right or wrong answer here, this exercise should provoke some
healthy debates about whether we will get rid of notebooks and desktops in favor of “leaner and meaner” more
portable computers.
3. SMALL BUSINESS COMPUTERS
Project Purpose: To understand the correlation between price and changes to various technology
components.
Potential Solution: Although there is no right or wrong answer here, students responses should be pragmatic
to their needs and budget.
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