Management Information Systems

Lecture 3: Computer Hardware

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Hardware

 Part of computer system that can be seen and touched

Categorization of Computing Eras

 Pre computers computing

 Early computing
 Electronic Computers
First generation Computers
Second generation Computers
Third generation Computers
Fourth Geeration Computers
Fifth generation Computers
 Pre-Computer Calculations
 Humans started calculation by counting on fingers
and toes
 Stone or bead abacus was also used for
calculation
• Calculate comes from calculus, the Latin word for
stone
 During 1642: the first mechanical adding machine
was Invented by Blaise Pascal
• It operates by wheels moved counters
• It was later modified in 1674 by Von Leibnitz
 Then humans entered to age of industrialization
• Mechanical loomed used punch cards

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 Early Computing

 In the 19th Century

• Charles Babbage proposed the Analytical Engine,
which could calculate, store values in memory,
perform logical comparisons
• Never built because of lack of electronics
 1880s
• Hollerith’s punched cards was used to record
census data using On/Off patterns
• The holes turned sensors On or Off when run
through tabulating machine
• This company became the foundation for IBM later

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Electronic Computers

 1946 - First Generation Computer

• ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and ENIAC
Computer)
• It is the first electronic and programmable
Machine
• It performed 5000 calculations per second
• Used vacuum tubes as switching circuit Vacuum
• Drawbacks were size(big) and processing tube
ability (slow)
 Early 1950s
• During this time, ENIAC replaced by UNIVAC 1,
then the IBM 704
• Calculations performance jumped to 100,000 UNIVAC
per second
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Waves of Computing

 Late 1950s - Second Generation

• Transistors replaced vacuum tubes
• 200,000 to 250,000 calculations per second
 Mid-1960s - Third Generation
• Integrated circuitry and miniaturization
 1971 - Fourth Generation
• Further miniaturization (VLSI)
• Multiprogramming and virtual storage
 1980s - Fifth Generation
• Millions of calculations per second

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Categories of Computer Systems

Classes by size
Micro Computers
Size
Mini Computers Power consumption
Processing power and
Mainframe Computers Cost increases from
micro to super computers
Super Computers

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Microcomputer Systems

 Usually called a personal computer or PC

 Computing power now exceeds that of the mainframes of
previous generations
 Relatively inexpensive
 Are the networked professional workstations used by business
processions
 Versions include
 Desktop
 laptop
 Tablet
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Microcomputer Uses

 Workstations
• Supports have mathematical computer and graphics display demands
• CAD, investment and portfolio analysis
 Network Servers
• More powerful than workstations
• Coordinates telecommunications and resource sharing
• Supports small networks and Internet or intranet websites

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Corporate PC Criteria

 Solid performance at a reasonable price

 Operating system ready
 Connectivity
• Network interface cards
or wireless capabilities

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Information Appliances
 Hand-held microcomputer devices
 Known as personal digital assistants (PDAs)
• Web-enabled PDAs use touch screens, handwriting recognition,
or keypads
• Mobile workers use to access email or the Web, exchange data
with desktop PCs or servers
• Latest entrant is the BlackBerry
 PDAs include
• Video-game consoles
• Cellular and PCS phones
• Telephone-based home email appliances
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Mini (Midrange Systems)

 High-end network servers that handle large-scale

processing of business applications
 Not as powerful as mainframes
• Less expensive to buy, operate, and maintain
 Often used to manage
• Large Internet websites
• Corporate intranets and extranets
• Integrated, enterprise-wide applications
 Used as front-end servers to assist mainframes with
telecommunications and networks

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Mainframe Computer Systems

 Large, fast, powerful computer systems

• Large primary storage capacity
• High transaction processing
• Handles complex computations
 Widely used as super-servers for…
• Large client/server networks
• High-volume Internet websites
 Becoming a popular computing platform for…
• Data mining and warehousing
• Electronic commerce applications

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Supercomputer Systems

 Extremely powerful systems designed for…

• Scientific, engineering, and business applications
• Massive numeric computations
 Markets include…
• Government research agencies
• Large universities
• Major corporations
 Uses parallel processing
• Billions to trillions of operations per second (gigaflops and teraflops)
• Costs $5 to $50 million

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 Computer System Concept

 A system of hardware devices organized by function

• Input
• Keyboards, touch screens, pens, electronic mice,
optical scanners
• Converts data into electronic form for entry into
computer system
• Processing
• Central Processing Unit (CPU)
• CPU subunits: arithmetic-logic and control unit

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Computer System Concept

• Output
• Video display units, printers, audio response units,
and so on
• Converts electronic information into human-intelligible
form
• Storage
• Primary storage (memory)
• Secondary storage (disk drives)
• Control
• CPU controls other components of the system
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Computer Systems Components

Computer Systems

Hardware Software

Input Processor Communication System Application

Output Devices
Keyboard
ALU Storage Monitor NIC General Purpose
Operating System
MIC
Control Unit Speaker Connection
Scanner Ports Specific Purpose
Printer Utilities
Touch screen RAM
Primary ROM

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Touch Pad Hard Disk
Secondary Flash Disk
Computer Hardware Components

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Computer System Concept

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Computer Processing Speeds

 Early computers
• Milliseconds (thousandths of a second)
• Microseconds (millionths of a second)
 Current computers
• Nanoseconds (billionth of a second)
• Picoseconds (trillionth of a second)
 Program instruction processing speeds
• Megahertz (millions of cycles per second)
• Gigahertz (billions of cycles per second)
• Commonly called the “clock speed”

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 Computer Processing Speeds

 Throughput
• The ability to perform useful computation or data processing assignments
during a given period
 Speed is dependent on…
• Size of circuitry paths (buses) that interconnect microprocessor components
• Capacity of instruction processing registers
• Use of high-speed cache memory
• Use of specialized microprocessor, such as math coprocessor

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Moore’s Law

 A doubling in the number of transistors per integrated

circuit every 18 to 24 months
• Originally observed in 1965, it holds true today
 Common corollary of Moore’s Law…
• Computing prices will be cut in half every 18 to 24 months
• This has been consistently accurate
• Applies to cost of storage as well

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 Peripherals

 Peripheral is a generic name for all input, output, and

secondary storage devices
• Parts of the computer system, but not the CPU
• Are all online devices
 Online devices
• Separate from the CPU, but electronically connected to and controlled by it
 Offline devices
• Separate from and not under the control of the CPU

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 Input Technologies

 Keyboard - Still most widely used input device

 Graphical User Interface (GUI) - Icons, menus, windows, buttons,
bars; Selected with pointing devices
 Electronic Mouse - Most popular pointing device; Pressing mouse
buttons initiates activity represented by the icon selected
 Trackball - Stationary device, similar to mouse; Roller ball moves
cursor on screen
 Pointing Stick - Small eraser-head device
embedded in keyboard; Cursor moves in the direction of the
pressure placed on the stick
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Input Technologies

 Touchpad
• Small, rectangular, touch-sensitive surface
• Usually on keyboard
• Cursor moves in direction your finger moves
 Touch Screen
 Use computer by touching screen Screen emits a grid of
infrared beams, sound waves, or electric current
 Grid is broken when screen is touched

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Pen-Based Computing

 Used in Tablet PCs and PDAs

• Pressure-sensitive layer, similar
to touch screen, under liquid
crystal display screen
• Software digitizes handwriting,
hand printing, and hand drawing

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 Speech Recognition Systems
 Speech be the future of data entry
• Easiest, most natural means of human communication
 Recognizing speech patterns
• Discrete required pauses between each word
• Continuous speech recognition software (CSR) recognized continuous,
conversationally paced speech
 Speech recognition systems digitize, analyze, and classify speech and sound patterns
• Compares to a database of sound patterns in its vocabulary
• Passes recognized words to the application software
• Typically requires voice recognition training
 Speaker-independent voice recognition systems
• Allows computer to recognize words from a voice it has never heard before
• Typically used in voice-messaging computers

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 Optical Scanning
 Devices read text or graphics and convert them into digital input for a computers
• Enables direct entry of data from source documents
 A document management library system
• Scans documents, then organizes and stores them for easy reference or
retrieval
 Scanners
• Compact desktop models are popular for low cost and ease of use
• Larger, more expensive flatbed scanners are faster and provide high-resolution
color scanning
 Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
• Software that reads characters and codes
• Used to real merchandise tags, sort mail, score tests
• Optical scanning wands read bar codes
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Other Input Technologies

 Magnetic Stripe
• Reads the magnetic stripe on credit cards
 Smart Cards
• Microprocessor chip and memory on credit card
• Use more in Europe than in the U.S.
 Digital Cameras
• Allows you to shoot, store, and download photos or full-motion video with audio into the
PC
• Images and audio can then be edited or enhanced
 Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)
• Used by banks to magnetically read checks and deposit slips
• Requires an iron oxide-based ink
• Reader-sorter equipment magnetizes the ink, then passes it under a reading head to
sense the signal

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 Output Technologies

 Video Displays
• Cathode-ray tube (CRT)
• Liquid crystal displays (LCDs)
• Active matrix and dual scan
• Plasma displays
• Used in large TVs and flat-panel monitors
 Printed Output
• Inkjet printers spray ink on a page
• Laser printers use an electrostatic process similar to a photocopying machine

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Storage Tradeoffs

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Computer Storage Fundamentals

 Uses a two-state or binary representation of data.

 These binary state can be:
• On or Off
• On represents the number 1
• Off represents the number 0
 Data are processed and stored in computer systems through
the presence or absence of On/Off signals

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 Bit and Byte

 Bit
• Short for binary digit
• Smallest element of data
• Either zero or one
 Byte
• Group of eight bits, which operate as a single unit
• Represents one character or number

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Storage Capacity Measurement

 Byte (B)
 Kilobyte (KB): one thousand bytes
 Megabyte (MB): one million bytes
 Gigabyte (GB): one billions bytes
 Terabyte (TB): one trillion bytes
 Petabyte (PB): one quadrillion bytes

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Direct and Sequential Access

 Direct or Random Access

• Directly store and retrieve data
• Each storage position has a unique address and can be accessed
in the same length of time
• Semiconductor memory chips, magnetic disks
 Sequential Access
• Data is stored and retrieved sequentially
• Must be accessed in sequence by searching through prior data
• Magnetic tape

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Semiconductor Memory

 Microelectronic semiconductor memory chips

are used for primary storage
• Advantages: small size, fast, shock and temperature
resistance
• Disadvantages: volatility; must have uninterrupted electric
power or loses memory

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Types of Semiconductor Memory

 Random Access Memory (RAM)

• Most widely used primary storage medium
• Volatile memory
• Read/write memory
 Read-Only Memory (ROM)
• Permanent storage
• Can be read, but not overwritten
• Frequently used programs burnt into chips during manufacturing
process
• Called firmware

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Flash Drives

 Sometimes referred to as a jump drive

• Uses a small chips containing
thousands of transistors
• Can store data for virtually
unlimited periods without power
• Easily transported and highly
durable
• Storage capacity of up to 1 GB
• Plugs into any USB port

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Magnetic Disks

 Used for secondary storage

• Fast access and high capacity
• Reasonable cost
 Types of Magnetic Disks
• Floppy Disks (diskettes)
• Magnetic disk inside a plastic jacket
• Hard Disk Drives (hard drives)
• Magnetic disk, access arms, and read/write heads in sealed module for
stable environment
• Fixed or removable
• Capacity from several hundred MBs to
hundreds of GBs 40
RAID Storage

 Redundant Arrays of Independent Disks

• Disk arrays of hard disk drives
• Provides virtually unlimited online storage
• Combines from 6 to more than 100 small hard disk drives into a single
unit
• Data are accessed in parallel over multiple paths from many disks
• Redundant storage of data on several disks provides fault-tolerant
capacity
• Storage area networks can interconnect many RAID units

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 Magnetic Tape

 Secondary storage
• Tape reels, cassettes, and cartridges
• Used in robotic, automated drive assemblies
• Archival and backup storage
• Lower-cost storage solution

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 Uses of Optical Disks

 Image processing
• Long-term storage of historical image files
• Storage of scanned documents
 Publishing medium
• Allows fast access to reference materials
• Catalogs, directories, and so on
 Interactive multimedia applications
• Video games, educational videos, and so
on

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Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

 One of the newest and fastest growing

storage technologies
• System for tagging and identifying mobile
objects
• Used with store merchandise, postal
packages, casino chips, pets
• Special reader allows objects to be
tracked as they move from place to place
• Chips half the size of a grain of sand
 Passive chips derive power from reader
signal
• Active chips are self-powered
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 RFID Versus Bar Coding

 RFID
• Scans from greater distance
• Can store data
• Allows more information to be tracked
 Privacy concerns
• Invisible nature of the system
• Capacity to transmit fairly sophisticated messages

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Thank You