Hardware - Software - Mobile

Learning Outcomes

  • What business professionals need to know about:

    • Computer hardware

    • Software

  • Impact of new hardware on competitive strategies

  • Open-source software as a viable alternative

  • Differences between native and web applications

  • Importance of mobile systems

  • Challenges of personal mobile devices at work

Information Technology (IT)

  • Definition: Use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange electronic data.

  • Five-Component Framework:

    • Hardware

    • Software

    • Data

    • Procedures

    • People

Hardware and Software

  • Hardware: Physical devices of a computer system.

  • Software: Instructions executed by hardware to perform tasks.

Why Managers Should Care About Computer Functionality

  • Matching computers to tasks enhances productivity and reduces frustration.

  • Examples of tasks:

    • Simple Tasks: Transaction processing, word processing.

    • Complex Tasks: Presentations, audio/video editing, multi-tasking.

Types of Hardware Considerations

  • Thin Client vs. Thick Client:

    • Thin Client: 1.0 GHz, 32-bit, 0.5-1 GB memory, $300-$500.

    • Thick Client: 1.5 GHz, 64-bit, 2-16 GB memory, $400-$2,000.

Technological Advancements

  • Transistor Counts:

    • Apple's M2 Ultra: 134 billion transistors.

    • iPhone 15: >24 billion transistors.

    • Intel’s target: 1 trillion transistors per chip by 2030.

Evolution of Computing Power

  • Historical progression from punch cards to modern supercomputers.

  • Impact of the number of transistors on processor capabilities.

Computer Categories

  • Personal/Business Computers:

    • Types: Smartphone, laptop, desktop, microcontroller, mainframe, supercomputer.

Supercomputing Highlights

  • China’s Tianhe-2:

    • Cores: 3,120,000

    • Linpack Performance: 33,862.7 TFlop/s

    • Memory: 1,024,000 GB

    • Requires 1,300 scientists for support.

Cloud Computing

  • Definition: A network of servers providing computing services via the Internet.

  • Accessing videos online involves cloud resources rather than direct server identification.

Types of Memory

  • Volatile vs. Nonvolatile Memory:

    • Volatile: Cache and main memory (RAM).

    • Nonvolatile: ROM, flash memory, hard disks.

Storage Capacity Terms

  • Kilobyte (KB), Megabyte (MB), Gigabyte (GB), Terabyte (TB), Petabyte (PB), Exabyte (EB), Zettabyte (ZB): definitions and equivalences.

Components of a Computer

  • Input devices: Keyboard, mouse, scanner.

  • Output devices: Monitor, printer, speakers.

  • Processing units: CPU, main memory.

Mobile and Digital Reality Devices

  • Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), and Virtual Reality (VR) defined with examples.

  • Discussion of self-driving cars and IoT's role in strategic innovation.

// Computing Environment

  • Typical server characteristics and server farm importance in processing requests.

  • Overview of laptops, watches, and mobile devices with specific component analysis.

Software Types

  • Distinction between operating systems, utility software, application software, and open-source vs. closed-source software.

Future Disruptive Technologies

  • Quantum computing and artificial intelligence's impact on future computing environments and strategies.