BUS1MIS Management Information Systems Semester 1, 2012 Week 4 Lecture 1

Administration Online Quiz – Tutorial 2 (theory), Week 4 25 multiple choice and true/false questions Conducted during tutorial time or at home Becomes available on Thursday 22 th March at 9am Remains available for a week BUT – you only get one chance 50 minute time limit Tests Chapter 1, Section 1.1 p. 3 – 13 and Section 1.2 Textbook can be used

Essentials of IS: Hardware and Software Why should a business manager take any interest in hardware and software? Ref: Appendix B, on-line website for the text At some stage an investment in hardware and software will be required. The investment may be a significant one. There are better and worse times to make the investment. The investment needs to be protected. Why not just call in an IT consultant? Why not indeed. However, a business manager with no knowledge of hardware and software requirements, and current trends and prices, cannot effectively oversee the consulting process.

Essentials of IS: Hardware and Software Learning Objectives Describe the six major categories of hardware and provide an example of each. Identify the different computer categories and explain their potential business uses. Explain the difference between primary and secondary storage. List the common input, output, storage and communication devices Describe the eight categories of computers by size Define the relationship between operating system software and utility software

Essentials of IS: Hardware and Software Information technology HardwareSoftware physical devices associated with a computer system set of instructions executed by the hardware to achieve a task A computer is `an electronic device operating under the control of instructions stored in its own memory that can accept, manipulate, and store data’.

Hardware 6 categories Central Processing Unit (CPU) Primary storage Secondary storage Input devices Output devices Communication devices

Central processing unit (CPU) RAM ROM Memory = read only memory (ROM) + random access memory (RAM) CPU = control unit + arithmetic logic unit ROM is permanent and cannot be changed (can only be read from) RAM can change ( read from and written to) and is volatile (the contents are lost when the power is turned off) Memory size is measured in bytes Processing (clock) speed is measured in cycles per sec (Hertz) The number of bits that can be processed by the CPU is the word length of the machine (e.g. 32-bit (4 Byte) machines, 64-bit machines (8 Byte) etc The trend is towards faster processing, by physically smaller CPUs with larger word lengths and larger random access memory 1 kilobyte (KB) ~ 1,000 bytes 1 megabyte (MB) ~ 1,000 KB 1 gigabyte (GB) ~ 1,000 MB 1 terabyte(TB) ~ 1,000 GB) CPU and Primary Memory The trend is towards as much memory as you can afford

CPU and Primary Memory Check out the CPU and Primary Memory at:

Central processing unit (CPU) RAM ROM Hard drive Secondary storage Permanent, typical size 180 GB, 500 GB, 1TB for magnetic disc [hard drive] Different media magnetic optical CD-ROM, CD-RW,DVD etc Memory stick ~800MB to ~17GB Up to ~64GB Primary storage

Central processing unit (CPU) RAM ROM Hard drive Secondary storage Input devices manualautomated keyboard mouse scanner Primary storage

Central processing unit (CPU) RAM ROM Hard drive Secondary storage Input devices Primary storage output devices Flat screen technology is replacing the older CRT technology Laser and inkjet printers issues: running costs and speed

Central processing unit (CPU) RAM ROM Hard drive Secondary storage Input devices Primary storage output devices communication devices allows communication between this computer and others carrier technology can vary (table B.9) e.g. modem Issue: rate of data transfer (bandwidth)

Computer Software System SoftwareApplication Software Operating system + utility software Controls the application software, controls the connected hardware Extra functionality e.g. anti- virus software, anti-spam software etc The software that you use to do things (applications) Word processing Web browsing Image processing Spreadsheet modelling Database e.g. Windows, Mac OS X, Linuxe.g. Norton’s Utilities Open sourced Open sourced vs. proprietary software

Computer Software EXCEL Operating system MS-WORD printer keyboard mouse monitor Random Access Memory Multitasking : more than one application running at the same time

Computer types [categories] PDA [personal digital assistant] Laptop Tablet Desktop Minicomputer Mainframe Supercomputer See fig B.11 increasing physical size increasing cost [although laptops tend to be a little more expensive that a corresponding desktop] increasing processing power In general … Most relevant to small business … …and larger organisations

What happens when you turn your computer on? CPU ROM 1.Some basic instructions, stored in ROM, are executed, e.g. check memory, identify and check the attached devices, 2.Load the operating system into RAM RAM 3.Run the operating system (OS) output device input device secondary storage device 4. … then the OS awaits developments! OS files here

What happens when you turn your computer off? CPU ROM RAM output device input device secondary storage device All the contents of RAM are lost! … only the contents of ROM remain

Hardware and Software: Issues When acquiring a computer system you should consider … your requirements … compatibility with your existing systems … your budget When dealing with an IT consultant you need to have some understanding of technical issues such as … operating and application software … processing speed and memory size …storage media and storage capacity … automated and manual input … softcopy and hardcopy output The three exercises described at the end of Appendix B, Hardware & Software Basics, illustrate some of these issues … off the shelf vs a customised solution

Hardware and Software: Humour Blackberry – PDA Orange – phone company in the UK