Chapter 3

Computer Hardware
 Pre-Computer Calculations
• Calculate comes from calculus, the Latin word for stone
• 1642: first mechanical adding machine
• Invented by Blaise Pascal
• Modified in 1674 by Von Leibnitz

Early Computing
• 19th Century
• Charles Babbage proposed the Analytical Engine, which could calculate, store values in
memory, perform logical comparisons
• Never built because of lack of electronics
• 1880s
• Hollerith’s punched cards used to record census data using On/Off patterns
• The holes turned sensors On or Off when run through tabulating machine
• This company became the foundation for IBM
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 Electronic Computers
• 1946 - First Generation Computer
• ENIAC
• Programmable
• 5000 calculations per second
• Used vacuum tubes
• Drawbacks were size and processing ability
• 1950s
• ENIAC replaced by UNIVAC 1, then the IBM 704
• Calculations jumped to 100,000 per second
Microcomputers
• 1975
• ALTAIR flicking switches
• 1977
• Commodore and Radio Shack produce personal computers
• 1979
• Apple computer, the fastest selling PC thus far
• 1982
• IBM introduced the PC, which changed the market
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Categories of Computer Systems

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 Microcomputer Systems
• Usually called a personal computer or PC
• Computing power now exceeds that of the mainframes of previous generations
• Relatively inexpensive
• Are the networked professional workstations used by business processions
• Versions include hand-held, notebook, laptop, tablet, portable, desktop, …

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Recommended PC Features
Business Pro Multimedia Heavy Newcomer
2-3 GHz processor Mac G4 or 2-3 GHz 1-2 GHz Celeron
Intel processor processor
512MB RAM 512MB RAM 256MB RAM
80GB hard drive 120GB+ hard drive 40GB hard drive
18-inch flat-panel 18-inch or larger CRT, 17-inch CRT or 15-inch
display flat-panel LCD, or flat panel LCD
plasma display
CD-RW/DVD drive or CD-RW/DVD+RW CD-RW/DVD drive
portable hard drives for drive
backup
Network interface card High-end color printer Internal, 56K modem
(NIC)
Basic speaker system Deluxe speaker system Basic inkjet printer
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Microcomputer Uses
• Workstations
• Supports have mathematical computer and graphics display demands
• Network Servers
• More powerful than workstations
• Coordinates telecommunications and resource sharing
• Supports small networks and Internet or intranet websites

Corporate PC Criteria
• Solid performance at a reasonable price
• Operating system ready
• Connectivity
• Network interface cards or wireless capabilities
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 Information Appliances
• Hand-held microcomputer devices
• Known as personal digital assistants (PDAs)
• Web-enabled PDAs use touch screens, handwriting recognition, or keypads
• Mobile workers use to access email or the Web, exchange data with desktop PCs or
servers
• Latest entrant is the BlackBerry
• PDAs include
• Video-game consoles
• PCS phones
• Telephone-based home email appliances

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Midrange Systems
• High-end network servers that handle large-scale processing of business
applications
• Not as powerful as mainframes
• Less expensive to buy, operate, and maintain
• Often used to manage
• Large Internet websites
• Corporate intranets and extranets
• Integrated, enterprise-wide applications
• Used as front-end servers to assist mainframes with telecommunications and
networks

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Mainframe Computer Systems
• Large, fast, powerful computer systems
• Large primary storage capacity
• High transaction processing
• Handles complex computations
• Widely used as superservers for…
• Large client/server networks
• High-volume Internet websites
• Becoming a popular computing platform for…
• Data mining and warehousing
• Electronic commerce applications

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 Supercomputer Systems
• Extremely powerful systems designed for…
• Scientific, engineering, and business applications
• Massive numeric computations
• Markets include…
• Government research agencies
• Large universities
• Major corporations
• Uses parallel processing
• Billions to trillions of operations per second (gigaflops and teraflops)
• Costs $5 to $50 million

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Computer System Concept

• A system of hardware devices organized by function

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Computer System Concept
• Output
• Video display units, printers, audio response units, and so on
• Converts electronic information into human-intelligible form
• Storage
• Primary storage (memory)
• Secondary storage (disk drives)
• Control
• CPU controls other components of the system

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Computer System Concept

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Computer Processing Speeds
• Early computers
• Milliseconds (thousandths of a second)
• Microseconds (millionths of a second)
• Current computers
• Nanoseconds (billionth of a second)
• Picoseconds (trillionth of a second)
• Program instruction processing speeds
• Megahertz (millions of cycles per second)
• Gigahertz (billions of cycles per second)
• Commonly called the “clock speed”

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Computer Processing Speeds
• Throughput
• The ability to perform useful computation or data processing assignments during a
given period
• Speed is dependent on…
• Size of circuitry paths (buses) that interconnect microprocessor components
• Capacity of instruction processing registers
• Use of high-speed cache memory
• Use of specialized microprocessor, such as math coprocessor

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 Peripherals

• Peripheral is a generic name for all input, output, and secondary storage
devices
• Parts of the computer system, but not the CPU
• Are all online devices
• Online devices
• Separate from the CPU, but electronically connected to and controlled by it
• Offline devices
• Separate from and not under the control of the CPU

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 Input Technologies
• Keyboard - Still most widely used input device
• Graphical User Interface (GUI) - Icons, menus, windows, buttons, bars; Selected with
pointing devices
• Electronic Mouse - Most popular pointing device; Pressing mouse buttons initiates
activity represented by the icon selected
• Trackball - Stationary device, similar to mouse; Roller ball moves cursor on screen
• Pointing Stick - Small eraser-head device embedded in keyboard; Cursor moves in the
direction of the pressure placed on the stick

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 Input Technologies
• Touchpad
• Small, rectangular, touch-sensitive surface
• Usually on keyboard
• Cursor moves in direction your finger moves
• Touch Screen
• Use computer by touching screen Screen emits a grid of infrared beams, sound
waves, or electric current
• Grid is broken when screen is touched

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Pen-Based Computing

• Used in Tablet PCs and PDAs

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Speech Recognition Systems
• Speech be the future of data entry
• Easiest, most natural means of human communication
• Recognizing speech patterns
• Discrete required pauses between each word
• Continuous speech recognition software (CSR) recognized continuous, conversationally paced speech
• Speech recognition systems digitize, analyze, and classify speech and sound patterns
• Compares to a database of sound patterns in its vocabulary
• Passes recognized words to the application software
• Typically requires voice recognition training
• Speaker-independent voice recognition systems
• Allows computer to recognize words from a voice it has never heard before
• Typically used in voice-messaging computers

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 Optical Scanning
• Devices read text or graphics and convert them into digital input for a computers
• Enables direct entry of data from source documents
• A document management library system
• Scans documents, then organizes and stores them for easy reference or retrieval
• Scanners
• Compact desktop models are popular for low cost and ease of use
• Larger, more expensive flatbed scanners are faster and provide high-resolution color scanning
• Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
• Software that reads characters and codes
• Used to real merchandise tags, sort mail, score tests
• Optical scanning wands read bar codes

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 Other Input Technologies
• Magnetic Stripe
• Reads the magnetic stripe on credit cards
• Smart Cards
• Microprocessor chip and memory on credit card
• Use more in Europe than in the U.S.
• Digital Cameras
• Allows you to shoot, store, and download photos or full-motion video with audio into the PC
• Images and audio can then be edited or enhanced
• Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)
• Used by banks to magnetically read checks and deposit slips
• Requires an iron oxide-based ink
• Reader-sorter equipment magnetizes the ink, then passes it under a reading head to sense the
signal
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Output Technologies

• Video Displays
• Cathode-ray tube (CRT)
• Liquid crystal displays (LCDs)
• Active matrix and dual scan
• Plasma displays
• Used in large TVs and flat-panel monitors
• Printed Output
• Inkjet printers spray ink on a page
• Laser printers use an electrostatic process similar to a photocopying machine

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Storage Tradeoffs

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Computer Storage Fundamentals
• Uses a two-state or binary representation of data
• On or Off
• On represents the number 1
• Off represents the number 0
• Data are processed and stored in computer systems through the presence or
absence of On/Off signals
Bit and Byte
• Bit
• Short for binary digit
• Smallest element of data
• Either zero or one
• Byte
• Group of eight bits, which operate as a single unit
• Represents one character or number
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Storage Capacity Measurement
• Kilobyte (KB): one thousand bytes
• Megabyte (MB): one million bytes
• Gigabyte (GB): one billions bytes
• Terabyte (TB): one trillion bytes
• Petabyte (PB): one quadrillion bytes

Semiconductor Memory
• Microelectronic semiconductor memory chips are used for primary storage
• Advantages: small size, fast, shock and temperature resistance
• Disadvantages: volatility; must have uninterrupted electric power or loses memory

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Types of Semiconductor Memory
• Random Access Memory (RAM)
• Most widely used primary storage medium
• Volatile memory
• Read/write memory
• Read-Only Memory (ROM)
• Permanent storage
• Can be read, but not overwritten
• Frequently used programs burnt into chips during manufacturing process
• Called firmware

Flash Drives
• Sometimes referred to as a jump drive
• Uses a small chips containing thousands of transistors
• Can store data for virtually unlimited periods without power
• Easily transported and highly durable
• Storage capacity of up to 1 GB
• Plugs into any USB port 28
Magnetic Disks
Used for secondary storage •
Fast access and high capacity •
Reasonable cost •
Types of Magnetic Disks •
Floppy Disks (diskettes) •
Magnetic disk inside a plastic jacket •
Hard Disk Drives (hard drives) •
Magnetic disk, access arms, and read/write heads in sealed •
module for stable environment
Fixed or removable •
Capacity from several hundred MBs to •
hundreds of GBs
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RAID Storage
Redundant Arrays of Independent Disks •
Disk arrays of hard disk drives •
Provides virtually unlimited online storage •
Combines from 6 to more than 100 small hard disk drives •
into a single unit
Data are accessed in parallel over multiple paths from many •
disks
Redundant storage of data on several disks provides fault- •
tolerant capacity
Storage area networks can interconnect many RAID units •

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Magnetic Tape
Secondary storage •
Tape reels, cassettes, and cartridges •
Used in robotic, automated drive assemblies •
Archival and backup storage •
Lower-cost storage solution •

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Optical Disks

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Uses of Optical Disks
Image processing •
Long-term storage of historical image files •
Storage of scanned documents •
Publishing medium •
Allows fast access to reference materials •
Catalogs, directories, and so on •
Interactive multimedia applications •
Video games, educational videos, and so on •

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Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
One of the newest and fastest growing storage •
technologies
System for tagging and identifying mobile objects •
Used with store merchandise, postal packages, casino chips, •
pets
Special reader allows objects to be tracked as they move from •
place to place
Chips half the size of a grain of sand •
Passive chips derive power from reader signal •
Active chips are self-powered •

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