Computer for Business:

Part 2: Computer Hardware &

Software
Part 2 – 01: Hardware

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What we have covered in Part 1?
 Why study computers, IT, IS?
 Business & Management Tasks
 Role of IT in Business
 What is Information System?
 How can you use the five-component framework?
 What is information?
 What are the characteristics of good information?
 What is the difference between information
technology and information systems?
 Technological Issues of IT application in business
 Computers and mobile devices
 Types of computer users 2
Five components of an IS

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Introductory question
 You will have $ 20,000 budget next
year for computers/communication
devices for your department.
 Is that enough, not enough, too much?
 What you need to know about
hardware, software and data
communications (IT) to make decision?

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The IT “conveyor belt”
 IT is changing at a rapid rate
 Impossible to keep up with all the
details
 Need to understand:
 The key trends
 The key concepts

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Simple ICT framework
Hardware Software Data
The tangible equipment The instructions which The numbers or other
that comprises the “tell” the hardware what form of information which
computer, including input to do the computer act upon
and output equipment, “ the code” (guide by the software)
and secondary storage
“the iron”
The tangible equipment The instructions which The numbers or other
which allows the computer “tell” the communication form of information which
to exchange information equipment what to do are communicated
with other computers between computers via
the communication
-- example: network channels and equipment
cable, modem, network
card inside a computer

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Contents of Part 2-01:
Hardware
 Review a brief history of computers
 Identify the components of a computer system
 Classify storage devices according to their capacities,
interface, and media
 Recognize how data is processed
 Understand system unit (processors, memory types
and functions, ports and buses)
 Define input, output and explain the types of input,
output devices available
 Understand typical network devices
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Brief history
 Computers are about 75 years old
 Very first electronic computer: the
ENIAC (“electronic numerical integrator
and calculator” – in US)
 First run in February 1946
 Larger and slower than modern
computers

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 17,000 vacuum tubes 150 kw of power
ENIAC About 1800 square feet
30 tons
5000 cycles/second
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Univac I – first commercial
computer (cir. 1955)

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From mainframe to palmtops

Beyond
2010

Hosted environment
- 2000s

Client/Server - 1990s

Rise of PC - 1960s

Mainframe - 1950s 11
IBM mainframe - 1957

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Gordon Moore and Moore’s Law
 Moore’s Law: the number of
transistors on a chip doubles
every 24 months

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 NOTE: time scale (bottom axis) is linear, but capacity
scale (vertical axis) is logarithmic – i.e., exponential
growth rate
CPU transistor counts from 1971-2016 & Moore’s Law

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What does this mean?
 The story of computer hardware is simple:
 Faster – more powerful
 Greater capacity
 Smaller – more efficient
 Cheaper
 Future?
 Next generations of chips
 Eventual limit when chip size approaches the size of an
individual atom!
 Other limits may come first – heat dissipation, parallel
programming challenges

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News on Aresoncpa.com
https://www.aresoncpa.com/samsung-guarantees-four-
generations-of-new-chip-technology.html (Jan 2019):
“Samsung promises four generations of new
chip technology - Moore's Law ain't what it used
to be, but it's not dead”
 Smaller chips are crucial for mobile devices
 Manufacturing process using 3 nanometer
technology (down from 7nm, 5nm, and 4 nm)
 A slowing down speed as compared with Moore’s
Law
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Computer hardware – the basics

Network

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Secondary storage
 Disks and solid-state drives
 Evaluations of storage:
 Capacity
 Cost
 Access speed
 Interface
 Media type
 Portability
 Removability
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Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
 A mechanical storage drive
 Consists of a stack of metal platters
 Read-write heads access the stored data
 Data is stored in binary form in changes
between positive and negative magnetic
polarity

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Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
Optical Drives
 CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray
 Reads and writes in patterns of greater
or lesser reflectivity
Types of Discs
 CD, DVD, Blu-ray
 Read-only, write-once, or rewriteable
 Single-sided or double-sided
 Single-layer, double-layer
Types of Discs
Solid-State Drives
 Use a form of EEPROM (memory) to store data
 Small, removable drives like USB flash drives are
portable
 Large solid state drives designed to replace the hard
disk drive are solid-state hard drives (SSHD)
Secondary storage - concept
 HD have gotten smaller, faster and cheaper
 But basic mechanism is still pretty much the same

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Alternatives for HDD

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 SSD vs. HDD

June 2018 http://www.enterprisestorageforum.com/storage-hardware/ssd-vs-hdd-price-comparison.html 33

System Unit: CPU – RAM
 Processors – CPU (Central Processing Unit)
 Memory types and functions
 Ports and buses

 Two key components of every computer: CPU + Main

Memory

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Overall system performance
 Four most important factors for improving
computer system performance:
 Processor speed (clock speed)
 Speed and capacity of RAM
 Speed and width of the computer “bus”
 The cache memory capacity and speed

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Processors
 The control unit is the component of the
processor that directs and coordinates most
of the operations in the computer
 The arithmetic logic unit (ALU) performs
arithmetic, comparison, and other operations

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The Machine Cycle
Caches
 Cache is a small amount of fast memory located in
or near the CPU
 Stores recently used data or data soon to be used
 Helps limit latency to improve performance
 Multi-level cache system
 L1, L2, L3
 L1 is smallest, fastest, closest to core
 Fetching from L3 takes 10 times as long as from L1
Understanding Memory
 Static vs. Dynamic Memory
 Static = non-volatile
 Dynamic = volatile
 Random Access Memory (RAM) vs. Read Only
Memory (ROM)
 RAM = rewriteable
 ROM = not rewriteable (with exceptions)
 Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM
(EEPROM), basis for solid-state drives and USB
flash drives
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Computer storage capacity
measures
 Computers work internally in “bits” (binary digits)
 The binary system uses two unique digits (0 and 1)

Bits and bytes (group of 8 bits)

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Computer storage capacity
measures
 Larger groupings
 Kilobytes (thousands of bytes)

 Megabytes (millions of bytes)

 Gigabytes (billions of bytes)

 Terabytes (trillions of byte Gb

 RAM typical today: 4 Gb – 8 Gb

 HDD typical today: 500 Gb – 4 Tb 44

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 Ports
 a physical
docking point
using which
an external
device can be
connected to
the computer.
Performance – last word
 Processor speed, RAM, bus, and cache
 These and other aspects of a computer all
interact
 “other things are never equal” when in comes to
increasing performance
 Computer design is an exercise in tradeoffs
 Having little knowledge of these tradeoffs can help
you make better decisions in your own computer
purchases.

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Next … input devices

Network

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 What Is Input?

 Input is any data

and instructions
entered into the
memory of a
computer
 What Is Input?
 Commonly used input methods include:

Pointing
Keyboard Touch screens Pen input
devices

Scanners and
Motion input Voice input Video input reading
devices
Keyboards
 A keyboard is an input device that contains
keys users press to enter data and
instructions into a computer or mobile device
Keyboards
 Most desktop computer keyboards have…
Keyboards
 There are a variety of keyboard options for
computers and mobile devices
Keyboards
 An ergonomic keyboard has a design that reduces the chance of
repetitive strain injuries of wrist and hand
 Ergonomics incorporates comfort, efficiency, and safety in the
design of the workplace
Pointing Devices
Pointing Devices
 A mouse is a pointing device that fits under
the palm of your hand comfortably
 Optical mouse, laser mouse, and touch mouse
Pointing Devices

• A touchpad is • A trackball is
a small, flat, a stationary
rectangular pointing device
pointing device with a ball on
that is sensitive its top or side
to pressure and
motion
Touch Screens
 A touch screen is a touch-sensitive display
Pen Input
 With pen input, you touch a stylus or digital pen
on a flat surface to write, draw, or make selections
Pen Input
 A graphics tablet,
also called a
digitizer, is an
electronic plastic
board that detects
and converts
movements of a
style or digital pen
into signals that are
sent to the computer
Motion, Voice, and Video
Input
 With motion input, sometimes called gesture
recognition, users can guide on-screen elements
using air gestures
Motion, Voice, and Video
Input
 Voice input is the process of
entering input by speaking into a
microphone
 Voice recognition, also called
speech recognition, is the computer
or mobile device’s capability of
distinguishing spoken words
Motion, Voice, and Video
Input
 Audio input is the process of
entering any sound into the
computer such as speech,
music, and sound effects
 Music production software
allows users to record,
compose, mix, and edit music
and sounds
 Motion, Voice, and Video
Input
 Video input is the process of capturing full-motion
images and storing them on a computer or mobile
device’s storage medium

Record video on a digital

video (DV) camera

Transfer video to a
computer or mobile device
 Motion, Voice, and Video
Input
 A webcam is a type of DV camera that
enables a user to:
Send email
Broadcast live
Capture video messages with
images or video
and still images video
over the Internet
attachments

Conduct Make video

videoconferences calls
Motion, Voice, and Video
Input
 A videoconference is a meeting between two or
more geographically separated people
Scanners and Reading Devices
 A scanner is a light-sensing input device that
reads printed text and graphics and then
translates the results into a form the
computer can process

 A flatbed scanner works in a manner similar to a

copy machine except it creates a file of the
document in memory instead of a paper copy
Scanners and Reading Devices
 Page 334
 Figure 7-16
Scanners and Reading Devices
 An optical reader is a device that uses a light
source to read characters, marks, and codes
and then converts them into digital data that
a computer can process
 Optical character recognition (OCR)
 Optical mark recognition (OMR)
Scanners and Reading Devices
 A bar code reader,
also called a bar code
scanner uses laser
beams to read bar
codes
 A QR code stores
information in both a
vertical and horizontal
direction
 Scanners and Reading Devices
 RFID (radio frequency identification) uses radio signals to
communicate with a tag placed in or attached to an object
 An RFID reader reads information on the tag via radio waves
 RFID can track:

Gauging
Tracking times of Tracking location of
Checking lift tickets Managing temperature and
runners in a people and other
of skiers inventory pressure of tires on
marathon items
a vehicle

Tracking payment
Checking out Providing access to Managing as vehicles pass
library books rooms or buildings purchases through booths on
tollway systems
 Scanners and Reading Devices
 Magstripe readers read the magnetic stripe on the
back of cards such as:

Credit cards

Entertainment cards

Bank cards

Identification cards

Other similar cards

Scanners and Reading Devices
 MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) devices read text
printed with magnetized ink
 An MICR reader converts MICR characters into a form the
computer can process
 Banking industry uses MICR for check processing
Scanners and Reading Devices
 A data collection device obtains data directly at the
location where the transaction or event takes place
Again… key trends and
concepts

Network

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What is output?
 Data that is
processed into
useful form
Output - Displays
 Display, LCD Monitor
 Digital TV
 Quality depends:
 Resolution
 Response time
 Refresh rate
 Contrast ration
 Brightness
Output - Printers
 Non-impact printers:
 Ink-jet printers
 Photo printers
 Laser printers
 All-in-one printers
 Plotters
 …
 Impact printers
Communications Devices
 A communications device is any type
of hardware capable of transmitting
data, instructions, and information
between a sending device and a
receiving device
Communications Devices
 A broadband modem sends and
receives data and information to and
from a digital line

Cable DSL
modem modem
Communications Devices
Communications Devices
 A wireless modem uses a mobile phone
provider’s network to connect to the Internet
wirelessly from a computer or mobile device
Communications Devices
 A wireless access point (WAP) is a central
communications device that allows computers and
devices to transfer data wirelessly among themselves
or to a wired network
Communications Devices
 A router connects
multiple computers
or other routers
together and
transmits data to its
correct destination
on a network
Communications Devices
 Some routers provide additional functionality:
 Wireless router
 Broadband router
 Broadband wireless
router
 Mobile broadband
wireless router
Communications Devices
 A network card enables a computer or device
that does not have built-in networking
capability to access a network
 Available in a variety of styles
Communications Devices
 A hub or switch is a device that provides a
central point for cables in a network
incoming data passing through a hub

Returned response passing through a hub

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Incoming data passing through a switch.
Returned response passing through a switch

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Second incoming message passing through a switch
IP address assignments to and through a router

Router acting as a firewall blocking outside access

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Computer hardware

Network
Implication for YOU
 The “Upgrade problem”
 Buying a new laptop or desktop: What
factors to consider?
 Brand name
 Processor chip, RAM, hard disk, cache memory,
display size, …
 Wifi, Bluetooth, voice recognition, camera,
fingerprint…
 Display/monitor quality
 Other inputs/outputs/network devices…
Next… software
 Computers wouldn’t be much use
without software (and data)
 Basic principles of computer software in
the next lessons

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