McGraw-Hill/Irwin ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, All Rights Reserved Plug-in B3 HARDWARE & SOFTWARE

5-2 INTRODUCTION Information technology (IT) –computer-based ______ –that people use –to support the information-processing needs of an ______________ Computer system consists of –Hardware - consists of the physical devices associated with a computer system –Software - the set of ____________ that the hardware executes to carry out specific tasks

5-3 HARDWARE BASICS Computer –an electronic device operating under the control of instructions stored in its own ___________ that can accept, manipulate, and store data Hardware components include: 1.Central processing unit (CPU) 2.Primary storage 3.____________ storage 4.Input device 5.Output device 6.Communication device

5-4 Central Processing Unit (CPU) CPU (or _________________) –Executes the program (software) instructions –Coordinates all the other hardware devices Parts of the CPU –Control unit interprets software instructions literally tells the other hardware devices what to do –Arithmetic-logic unit (ALU) Performs ___________ operations Performs logic operations (such as sorting and comparing numbers)

5-5 Central Processing Unit The number of CPU cycles per second determines the speed of a CPU –Megahertz (MHz) - the number of _________ of CPU cycles per second –Gigahertz (GHz) - the number of _________ of CPU cycles per second

5-6 Central Processing Unit CPU speed factors –Clock speed—rate at which instructions are performed –Word length—number of bits processed at each cycle –_____ width—number of “lanes” for signals to travel –Chip line width—distance between transistors in a chip Binary digit (bit) –the smallest unit of information that a computer can process Byte –a group of ______ bits representing one natural language character – = A

5-7 Primary Storage Primary storage –the computer’s main memory –directly accessible to the _____ –consists of random access memory (RAM)—high speed ________ memory—very high speed read-only memory (ROM)—fixed set of instructions

5-8 Random Access Memory (RAM) Random access memory (RAM) –the computer’s primary working memory RAM stores –Program instructions –______ Characteristics of RAM – High-speed access –Volatility (when _______ goes off)

5-9 Read-Only Memory (ROM) Read-only memory (ROM) - the portion of a computer’s primary storage that does not lose its contents when one switches off the power –Flash memory –Memory card –Memory stick

5-10 Secondary Storage Secondary storage - consists of equipment designed to store large volumes of data for long-term storage –Megabyte (MB or M or Meg) - roughly 1 million bytes –Gigabyte (GB) - roughly 1 billion bytes –Terabyte (TB) - roughly 1 _______ bytes

5-11 Magnetic Medium Magnetic medium - a secondary storage medium that uses magnetic techniques to store and retrieve data on disks or tapes coated with magnetically sensitive materials –Magnetic tape - an older secondary storage medium that uses a strip of thin plastic coated with a magnetically sensitive recording medium –Hard drive - a secondary storage medium that uses several rigid disks coated with a magnetically sensitive material and housed together with the recording heads in a hermetically sealed mechanism

5-12 Other Media Optical medium: –Compact disk-read-only memory (CD-ROM) –Compact disk-read-write (CD-RW) drive –________ video disk (DVD) –DVD-ROM drive –Digital video disk-read/write (DVD-RW) Flash memory –Electrically __________ Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) –‘flash drives’

5-13 Input Devices Input device - equipment used to capture information and commands –Manual input devices Joystick Keyboard Microphone –Automated input devices Bar code scanner Digital camera Magnetic ____ character reader

5-14 Output Devices Output device - equipment used to see, hear, or otherwise accept the results of information processing requests –Cathode-ray tube (CRT) –________ crystal display (LCD) –Laser printer –Ink-jet printer –Plotter

5-15 Communication Devices Communication device - equipment used to send information and receive it from one location to another –Dial-up access –Cable –Digital subscriber line (DSL) –Wireless –Satellite

5-16 COMPUTER CATEGORIES Computer categories include: –Personal digital assistant (PDA) –Laptop –Tablet –_________ –Workstation –Minicomputer –Mainframe computer –Supercomputer

5-17 SOFTWARE BASICS System software - controls how the various technology tools work together along with the application software –__________ system software Windows, Mac, Linux –Utility software Backup Recovery Security –Application software

5-18 Application Software Most common types of application software –Browser: for surfing the Internet –Database management: accessing large amounts of data – communication –Presentation graphics: slide shows –Spreadsheet: performing complex calculations –Word processing: creating documents