Hardware and Software Basics BSAD 141 Dave Novak BDIS: 1.1 (2-13) Appendix A

Reminder Please READ the syllabus so that you understand the expectations, requirements, and structure of the course Understand the software requirements

Course Website URL I administer everything through the BSAD 141 course website Provides the schedule, class notes, class activities, reading assignments, grades, etc. I suggest that you save the site in your favorites You will need to consult the site multiple times a week

Required Software Microsoft Office suite (includes Word, Excel, Access, and Visio) MACs will need to have special software installed such as VirtualBox You CANNOT run the Apple version of Excel or Access – You will need the Windows version! Matt Parisi (227 Kalkin) during business hours Bring your power supply

Topics Covered Hardware and software overview Basic hardware Basic software Data and information What is MIS?

Why should a non-IT worker or manager care how about technology related issues?

IS versus IT Information systems (IS) – a large conceptual idea covering all systems designed to create, store, manage, and disseminate information Information technology (IT) – a component of IS that specially addresses the technologies being used by the systems A particular information system (i.e. UVM’s course registration system) uses many different technologies

IS vs. IT Information Systems (IS) includes all five components below, while Information Technology (IT) addresses only the hardware and software components Source: “Experiencing MIS”, Kroenke, 2008

Hardware versus Software Hardware - Consists of the physical tangible devices (these can be touched) associated with a computer system Monitors Printers Software - The collection of non-tangible instructions that the hardware executes to carry out specific tasks Hardware and software must work together

Hardware Basics

Source: Kroenke, Experiencing MIS, 2008, p. 70

Central Processing Unit What is the CPU and what does it do?

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

Bit versus Byte Binary digit (bit) - The smallest unit of information that a computer can process 1 or 0 Byte - A group of eight bits representing one natural language character Question: When do you use b vs. B?

Central Processing Unit CPU speed factors Clock speed Word length Bus width

Central Processing Unit Parallel Bus versus Serial Bus

Primary Storage Primary storage - The computer’s main memory

Primary Storage Primary storage - The computer’s main memory, which consists of: 1) Random access memory (RAM) 2) Cache memory 3) Read-only memory (ROM)

Random Access Memory (RAM)

Cache Memory

Read Only Memory (ROM)

What is Virtual Memory? Virtual memory is a technique for combining the computer’s RAM with temporary space on the hard drive (cheap storage) Modern applications and programs can be memory intensive Computers have a limited amount of all types of memory, and adding additional memory costs money

How Virtual Memory works A reserved space on the hard drive for virtual memory fluctuates in size (by default) depending on how much additional memory the system needs This reserved space is called the page file (a.k.a. swap file) Still may experience “slowness” when the computer pauses to change tasks and swap files

Purpose of Virtual Memory Increases Usable Memory Virtual memory allows some of the contents in RAM that haven’t been used recently to be copied into memory or storage on the hard drive. This frees up space in RAM to load and run new applications Alternatively, you would have to seriously limit the number of applications you have open at any given time or add more RAM Hard disk space is MUCH cheaper than RAM, so the cost effective solution may not be to add more RAM

PC Optimization through VM Management Setting your virtual memory allocation to a static amount is a technique to optimize system performance. Clearing the swap file can help lagging systems Fluctuating virtual memory allocated space leads to noticeable lag when the size is adjusted fragmentation errors

Virtual Memory Scenario: You have a machine with 2 GB of RAM 1.8 GB is already being used by the system for background services (real-time virus protection, AIM, Auto-Updating Services, itunes…) You now want to run MS Visio 2010 and to do so you, need 500 MB of available Memory. What does your machine do?

Secondary Storage Secondary storage - Consists of equipment designed to store large volumes of data for long- term storage Less expensive but much slower to access and use

Types of Secondary Storage (magnetic) 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

Types of Secondary Storage (optical) A device that uses lasers to read or write data Compact disk-read-only memory (CD- ROM) Compact disk-read-write (CD-RW) drive Digital video disk (DVD) DVD-ROM drive Digital video disk-read/write (DVD-RW)

Types of Secondary Storage (optical) Difference between CDs and DVDs? What is Blu-ray?

Units of Storage

Kilobyte (KB) – Approximately one thousand Bytes Megabyte (MB) - Approximately one million Bytes Gigabyte (GB) - Approximately one billion Bytes Terabyte (TB) - Approximately one trillion Bytes Petabyte (PB) - Approximately one quadrillion Bytes

Software Basics System software – software designed to operate and manage all the hardware in the computer and provides a platform for running all application software

Types of System Software 1) Operating system software 2) Utility software 3) Device Drivers

Operating System Software

Questions you should be able to answer: Name three commonplace operating systems What operating system does your mobile computing device currently run?

Utility Software

Types of Utility Software Disk image Disk optimization Encrypt data File and data recovery Text protect Preventative security Spyware Uninstaller

Device Drivers

Application Software Software that is used to perform specific tasks beyond operating the computer itself System software manages the computer, but does not necessarily do anything for the user Application software directly serves the user Application software is run in combination with (or on top of) a specific system software

Generic Types of Application Software Browser Communication Data management Desktop publishing Groupware Presentation graphics Programming Spreadsheet Word processing

Examples of Specific Types of Application Software Browser Internet Explorer is specifically designed to run with Microsoft Windows system software Safari is specifically designed to run with Apple / MAC system software Firefox is designed to work with different system software, but you need to download the version that is specific to the system software you are running

Issues with Specific Types of Application Software Most application software is designed to work with a specific system software suite – i.e. MS Office / MS Windows / on a PC, Android/smartphone and tablets (note that Android is based on Linux) If you are running Apple-based system software on your iPhone, iPad, or MAC, you cannot run application software that is specifically designed for a different system software like Windows

Data Raw, unorganized facts and figures that need to be processed Data can be random until properly organized

Information Data (raw, unorganized facts and figures) that have been organized, structured or presenting in a given context to make it useful

Data versus Information Data – the numeric score that you receive on an assignment (i.e. you receive a 50) Information – the numeric score you receive relative to the maximum number of points on the assignment and the average of all scores in the class (i.e. you scored a 50 out of 55 total points where the average score for the class was 47)

Management Information Systems (MIS) Generally refers to how people and organizations design, implement, manage, and use all types of information technology (IT) and information systems (IS) to generate information to improve the effectiveness of decision-making

Summary of Topics Covered Hardware and software overview Basic hardware Basic software Data and information What is MIS? Check the schedule BEFORE next class!