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.