TABLE OF CONTENTS

Unit One ............................................................................................................................. 2

Introduction to Information Systems .............................................................................. 2
An Overview of Management Information Systems...................................................... 9
UNIT Three ..................................................................................................................... 17
COMPUTER HARDWARE .......................................................................................... 17
What is Computer Hardware? ...................................................................................... 17
Unit Four.......................................................................................................................... 35
Computer software ......................................................................................................... 35
Unit Five ........................................................................................................................... 43
File and Database Management System ....................................................................... 43
Unit Six............................................................................................................................. 52
How to Buy Your Own Personal Computer ................................................................. 52
Computers in Business ................................................................................................... 60
Data Security and Control ............................................................................................. 65
Unit Eight......................................................................................................................... 72
Local Area Networks ...................................................................................................... 72
The Internet ..................................................................................................................... 75
Internet Services and Access Software ......................................................................... 75
Electronic Commerce and Applications to Business ................................................... 81

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 Unit One

Introduction to Information Systems

The main purpose of this Unit is to give an understanding of information systems

by analysing the field of information systems as it relates to business end-users
and the fundamental concepts used in the study of information systems.

Why do managers need to understand information systems?

Information systems have become vital component of successful business firms

and other organizations. Thus they constitute an essential field of study. It is
important that managers have a basic understanding of information systems, as
it is to understand any other functional area in business.

What then is an Information system from the manager’s perspective?

An information system is a set of people, procedures and resources that collects,

transforms, and disseminates information in an organization. Today managers
rely on many types of information systems; manual information systems (paper
and pencil) and informal information systems (word of-mouth).

A computer based-information system is a system that uses hardware, software,

telecommunications and other forms of information technology to transform data
resources into a variety of information products.

A management information system is a type of information system that

provides information for decision-making managers. Anyone who uses an
information system or the information it produces in an end-user. A managerial
end-user is a manager, entrepreneur, or managerial-level professional who
personally uses information systems.

Business and other organizations need people who can use computers to
enhance their own personal productivity and productivity of their work groups,
departments and organizations. A manager should be able to use word
processing and electronic mail to communicate more effectively, spreadsheet
packages to effectively analyse decision situations, and database management
packages to provide better reports on organizational performance. Managers
also have to be aware of the management problems and opportunities presented
by the use of computers, and how you can effectively confront such challenges.

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Then they can play a major role in seeing that information system resources are
used efficiently and effectively to benefit the organization.

Information systems play a vital role in business success. They can provide the
information a business needs for efficient operations, effective management, and
competitive advantage. However, information systems can fail. If information
systems do not properly support the strategic objectives, business operations or
management needs of an organization, they can seriously damage its prospects
for survival and success.

Therefore proper management of information systems is major challenge for

managers. Therefore information systems function represents:
 A major functional area of business that is as important to business as the
functions of accounting, finance and human resource management.
 A major part of the resources of an organization and its cost of doing
business, thus posing a major resource management challenge.
 An important factor affecting operational efficiency, employee productivity
and morale and customer service and satisfaction.
 A major source of information and support needed to promote effective
decision making by managers.
 An important ingredient in developing in developing competitive products
and services that gives an organization a strategic advantage in the global
marketplace.
 A vital, dynamic, and challenging career opportunity for millions of men
and women.
The IS field is constantly changing and expanding as dramatic technological
developments and behavioural research findings push back the frontiers of the
dynamic displine.

There are basically five areas that managerial users have to concentrate on as
far as Information systems are concerned. These include:

The foundation concepts of IS; the basic components and types of

information systems; this requires some understanding of some fundamental
concepts in general systems theory and information processing. The managers
need to learn some behavioural and technical concepts that will help one
understand how information systems can support the business operations,
managerial decision making and strategic advantage of business firms
The technology of IS; major concepts, developments and management
issues in information technology; this includes hardware, software,
telecommunications, database management and other information processing
technologies.
The applications of IS; in what ways can information systems assist end
users and organizations in accomplishing their work activities and meeting
strategic objectives? A manager should gain a basic understanding of

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information systems concepts and applications in the areas such as end user
computing, office automation, transaction processing.
The development of IS; how do end users or information specialists
develop information systems solutions to business problems? For this one has to
understand the software development life cycle and how prototyping can be sued
by end-users and IS specialists‟ o construct information systems applications that
successfully meet end users and organizational needs.
The Management of IS; how should business and end users meet the
major challenges they face in managing the information systems of their
organizations? Managers should understand concepts such as information
resource management and information systems planning, implementation and
control as well as important international and ethical issues in information
systems.

Fundamentals of Information Systems

What is a system?

A system can be defined as a group of interrelated or interacting elements

forming an unified whole.

Such a system has three basic interacting components or functions the input;
involves capturing and assembling elements that enter the system to be
processed. Processing involves transformation process that converts input into
output. Output involves transferring elements that have been produced by
transformation process to their ultimate destination.

The system concept can be made more useful by including feedback and control.
Feedback is data about the performance of a system. Control involves
monitoring and evaluating feedback to determine whether a system is moving
toward the achievement of the goal.

A system does not exist in a vacuum; it exists and functions in an environment

containing other systems.

Types of Information Systems Control (ISC)

a. Feedback Control (Negative)

Through this, the systems continually receives information from its environment, which
permits it to make adjustments, to survive and maintain dynamic equilibrium. For
instance in a business environment an organisation continually adjust its operations
owing to changes in the raw material supply, labour and other exogenous factors.

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 Input Process Output

Sensor
Comparator
Effector
Standard

A typical feedback control system consists of the components above. Each one of the
components plays a significant role in the operation of the system :

i. Input - This takes the form of money, raw materials, energy, decisions,
information etc. Physical input to information system may be in the form of
computer media such as keyboard or manuscript documents.
ii. Process - This is what translates Input into Output. For example in the case
of a production system, this is what converts raw materials into finished
products.
iii. Output – This is the result of processing.
iv. Sensor - This is a means of measuring output from the system. It can be in
the form of a human being or mechanised equipment.
v. Standard - This is a set of measurements or expected results used to
benchmark success or failure of the system. E.g this can be a quality or
quantity value.
vi. Comparator - A means of comparing the system output against the set
standard. E.g an employee can compare monthly output against expected
monthly output
vii. Effector – A means of effecting change to either the input or the output. An
example would be an increase in the efficiency of the system or reduction or
increase in the quantity or quality of input.

b. Positive Feedback

This results in successively greater deviations from the results actually

sought. Infact positive feedback results in some control activity which
causes performance or output to continue deviating (or even increase the
deviation) from the set standard. This feedback is necessary sometimes to
allow for business growth.

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 Standard

30

25

20

15

10

0
A B C D E F G H I J

Negative Feedback (above) Positive Feedback (below)

Standard

30

25

20

15

10

0
A B C D E F G H I J K

c. Feedforward

With feedback control, historical results are used to trigger the control mechanism. In
some systems the effectiveness of this control systems can be damaged by delays in
reporting or taking action. In feedforward, intermediate results of input,process output
are used to influence the same cycle of input,process, output. The system tries to
anticipate what is will happen in the future and bringing into effect the control
mechanism before an event occurs. Accurate forecasting and contingency planning are
crucial to successful feedforward control.

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Components of an IS

The Information System Model

An information system model uses resources of people (end users and IS

specialists) hardware and software to perform input, processing, output storage
and control activities that convert data resources to information products.

The IS model shows that an IS consists of four major resources: people,

hardware, software and data resources.

What are data resources?

Data can take many forms; Databases, which hold processed and organized
data Model bases; which hold conceptual, mathematical and logical models that
express business relationships, computational routines or analytical techniques
Knowledge bases; which hold knowledge in a variety of forms such as facts and
rules of interface.

Data Vs Information
Data is raw facts or observations, typically about business transaction for the
sale of an automobile would generate a lot of data describing these events.
Information can be described as data that has been converted into a meaningful
and useful context for specific end users.

Information System Activities

What are the basic activities in an unformatted system?

As a managerial end user, one should be able to recognize the fundamental

component of IS encountered in the real world. This means that one should be
able to identify

The people, hardware, software and data resources they use

The types of information products they produce
The way they perform input, output, storage and control activities

The lad of understanding will help one be a better user developer and manager
of IS.

The Role of information systems in an organization

Support of business operations

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 Support of managerial decision-making
Support of strategic competitive advantage

Types of Information Systems

a. Transaction Processing Systems (TPS)

A processing system designed to go through a series of transations so that an

organisation runs efficiently. A TPS is likely to be a mundane task where a
number of transactions go through procedures to input, validate, process and
output the results. An example would be the recording of sales and issuing of
invoices.

b. Management Information Systems (MIS)

An intergrated system for providing information to support the operations,

management, and decision making functions of an organisation. The system
would incoperate both computer hardware and software and databases. An
MIS may have a transaction processing system as one of its componets.

c. Decision Support System

his is an information system that assist decision makers in making

structured decisions. Such systems often involve sophisticated statistical
analysis systems and the application of complex mathematical theory. DSS
systems are used in planning, analysis of alternatives and the heuristic (trial
and error) search solutions.

d. Expert Systems

An expert system is a computer system that enables a boy of expertise to

be stored in a computer in such a way that people who are not experts in that
field can receive guidance on making decisions. They are suitable for any
kind of situation where expertise is not universal and logical predictions are
possible. A typical example is the prescription and dispensing of drugs. Non
experts can use Expert Systems to predict the drug to be prescribed to
patients after entering patient complaints.

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 Unit Two

An Overview of Management Information Systems

Computers have become pervasive in every aspect of our lives. Managers have
a major responsibility for determining their information system needs designing
and implementing information systems that support these needs.

Computers have created opportunities for managers to improve customer

service, reduce costs, improve productivity, increase market share and increase
profits.

The objective of this course is to

 Emphasize how managers can and should be involved with systems planning
 Emphasize what information systems resources are available to managers for
decision support.
 Emphasize how these resources can be used at all levels of decision making
and in major functional management levels.

In this part of the course the following will be addressed:

0. What is the manager‟s view of an information system?
The process of management
Management roles and performance
1. The framework for information systems
2. The strategic uses of information technology

What is the manager’s view of an information system?

The process of management

 Planning,
 Organizing,
 Directing
 Controlling people and the activities
 Adapting to changes in the environment

Planning:
Deciding what to do.
Evaluating the organization resources and environment and establishing a
set of organizational goals.
Organizing:
 Develop tactics to achieve the goals.
 Training and establishing communications networks..
Directing:

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 Directing and motivating employees to achieve the organizational goals.
Controlling:
Determining if the organization‟s performance is on target.

Management Roles and Performance

 Interpersonal
 Informational
 Decisional

Interpersonal
 Figure-head; ceremonial duties,
 Leader-train; hire and motivate
 Liaison; make contact

Informational
 Monitor or scan environment for information
 Disseminator
 Spokesperson

Decisional
Entrepreneur
Disturbance handler
Resource alligator
Negotiator

Levels of Management
Top-level-establish goals for the organization
Middle level- allocate resources so that the objectives of the top
management are met
First-line management-supervise day to day operations

The Activities of the Organisation

 Operational planning
 Tactical planning
 Strategic planning
Operational planning-long-range plans
Tactical planning-budgets and tactical plans
Operational planning-day to day transactions

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Each level requires specific information systems :

Management Type of Information Support

Level Decision Required Used

Top Level Strategic Decisions External Decision Support

Long Term decisions Qualitative System
Agregated

Middle Level Tactical Decisions External Decision Support

Mid term Qualitative MIS
Probabilistic

Low Levl Operation Decisions Timely Decision Support

Short Term Quantitative Expert System
Deterministic
Accurate

How information technology supports business activities

The challenge to management:

TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY CAN USE IT TO SUPPORT BUSINESS

ACTIVITIES.
Porter and Miller’s concept of the value chain.
 Explains which business activities can be analyzed and transformed through
the use of information technology.
 Activities are divided into value activities that is the distinct activities the
organization must perform to do business
 Primary activities
Inbound logistics-materials handling, delivery
Operations-manufacturing, parts assembly
Outbound logistics-order processing, shipping
Marketing and sales-advertising, promotion
Service-service and repair.
 Support activities
Human resources
Technology

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According to Porter, a firm must be able to perform its value activities at a lower
cost than its rivals must or in a way that provides its buyers with added value or
services

How information technology supports value activities

Value activity Use of IT

Inbound logistics Just-in-time inventory
Operations Process control systems, e.g. monitor
oil refinement
Marketing and sales Laptops for direct sales, a laptop can
simulate the earnings of an insurance
portfolio
After-sale service Electronic dispatch of technical support
e.g. an on-line database matches
service calls with the capabilities of
service technicians

How information technology supports secondary activities

Secondary activity Use of IT

Management communications Electronic -mail
Human resources On-line access to personnel files with a
skills database
Technology Computer aided design and
manufacturing
Procurement On-line access to suppliers inventory
files

Using IT for a Competitive Advantage

Gregory Parsons, in his work, on IT and competitive advantage introduced a 3-

level framework to help managers assess the current and potential effect of IT.

Industry-level effect
IT can change the nature of the industry in which the firm operates. IT can affect
products and service markets and production economies.

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Products and services
IT can either alter the product development cycle or increase the speed of
distribution. For example publishing business. Large hotels have set up video-
conferencing centres in various metropolitan hotels so that companies can book
on-site electronic conference centres.
Production Economies
A food marketer with a nation wide network of distribution centres can serve
regional markets and also reallocate inventories to serve the nation market.
Markets
Customers are accustomed to banking with automatic teller machines and
shopping where point –of-sale scanners are used.

Firm-level effect
Five competitive forces influence the profitability of an industry
 Buyers
 Suppliers
 Substitute products
 Rivals
 New entrants

Buyers
Businesses can use IT to reduce the power that buyers have by introducing
switching costs. A Business can tie its purchasing agents to its order entry
system. Once the purchasing agents learned how to use the system to check
order and delivery status, they could easily order from the supplier.
Supplier
Firms should control the suppliers e.g. the automotive industry has had to rely on
high-priced labour as a supplier of services- use of robots to handle assembly-
line tasks has partially offset the acceleration costs of labour. Suppliers have to
be more cautious because of the sophisticated quality control systems users
have designed.
Substitute products
A firm can attempt to deter its customers from buying substitute by lowering the
cost of its products and services or by improving their perceived performance
and value.
New entrants
Entry barriers that enable established firms to block the entry of new comers
include reputation, service levels and distribution channels. IT can create entry
barriers by constructing on-line telecommunications networks linking sales
agents to home office database with information about policies and claims. As an
example an airline reservation system was built for major airlines BA, AA. To win
the business of travel agents and business travellers, smaller airlines without
reservation systems were forced to list their flights on the reservation system for
the big carriers. These small airlines are at a disadvantage because the host

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carriers have access to information on their flights, fares and booking. Small
airlines maybe forced to pay the big airlines for each booking.
Rivals
Firms in the railroad industry can join to establish communication networks to
track freight locations and schedules for their customers.

Strategy-level Impacts
Low-cost leadership is the ability to reduce costs or to improve productivity
without incurring additional costs. A computer system that cuts the cost of
transaction processing will support the low-cost leadership strategy.
Product differentiation -computer-aided design and the installation of a hotline
to technical support.
Market specialisation-electronic library access for PC owners and market
profitability analysis.

New Business Opportunities

Video-conferencing; holding electronic meeting could limit the airline and
hotel business in the next 5 to 10 years. However Hotels are now providing video
conferencing centers.
Companies can market new products and services via existing networks
and databases. A big American shop SEARS has a massive customer database
to market new consumer products. One database includes information about all
customers who have purchased SEARS Kenmore appliance. Telemarketing is
using this database to contact new appliance owners to offer maintenance
contacts. Marketing personnel search through the database for the appliance
owners who made their purchases over 7 years ago and would want to trade-in
their products.
Supermarkets with point-of-sale bar-code scanners have become
research laboratories for market research firms.

Using Information Technology to improve customer service

One of the most important challenges today is to provide effective customer
service.
Imagine mail-order retail sporting goods chain that maintained a database of your
preferences and contacted you when it offered specific promotions on items for
which you had indicated preference.
Augmented service means adding value to a product or service by providing the
customer with additional support through the product life cycle beginning with the
acquisition of the product and through the retirement e.g. a retail computer chain
can develop an Internet site that enables prospective customers to check the
availability of new and refurbished desktop computers and laptops and to order
the items over the web.

The Electronic Marketplace

The emergence of the electronic marketplace is an important trend in the 1990s.

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Electronic sales channels reduce the costs of locating suppliers, ordering
merchandise and reconciliation. Players in the electronic market place include
suppliers, retailers and customers and manufacturers and dealers. Some
examples of players in the electronic marketplace;
Inventory locator service- offers an airline parts inventory database that
enables the airlines to locate suppliers of the parts they need for repair and
maintenance.
Some of the on-line shopping malls and catalogues on the Web.
Telcot, an electronic market for cotton, enabling 12 000 farmers to sell
their products.
IVANS; the network that links insurance agents, insurance carriers and
other information sources for insurance agents.
SABRE and APOLLO; airline reservations systems of America, have
become electronic travel supermarkets from related services as hotel and rental
and car reservations.

Electronic markets help the buyer because they enable both companies and
consumers to search through the databases of competitive products and find the
most cost-effective goods and services.

The Strategic Impact of the Internet and Electronic Commerce

Internet

Internet is a network of networks, 25000 networks that can transfer data via
many routes.
In-order to obtain access to the Internet; users can obtain accounts from an
Internet service provider.

Overview of Internet Applications

Individual-to-group communications for research, collaborations and
distance education across national boundaries.
 Information databases; access to virtual libraries containing both text and
multimedia information.
Information access using anonymous FTP.
Information processing services; remote access to a variety of software
programs for operations and research.

Business Uses of Internet

To market products and services.
Electronic communications, data transfer, creation of electronic
storefronts.

Why Companies are using Internet

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 As companies move into the international market, the Internet provides
global communications network vital for creating a global business presents.
Competitive advantage.
Information access competitor practices.
Cost containment.
Sales and marketing.
Electronic communication.

As companies start thinking of placing themselves on the Web some questions

follow:
How large is the economic potential of the electronic community
How intense is competition likely to be
Do we need to create an electronic community in order to defend an
existing business niche to create a new one or both?
How can we organize or segment the electronic community?
Do we want to form an electronic community on our own or in conjunction
with an alliance of partner?

The risks of information systems

Shifting the balance of competition.
Failure to upgrade the capabilities of a strategic system.
Litigation

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 UNIT Three

COMPUTER HARDWARE

1.1 Introduction
A computer has become a common tool on managers' desks. Many managers
are relying on computer-generated information to make decisions. At the same
time, managers are being faced with decisions on what to acquire for themselves
and their personnel. For example:

 A sales manager wants to know what type of computer he/she should buy for
the salespeople.
 A production manager wants to know whether he/she should buy or lease
some computer systems that he/she wants his/her product engineers to use
to improve the design of new products.
 A human resources manager wants to identify computer systems that would
be least stressful to the physical health of his/her organization work force.
 The top management of a corporation is faced with replacing its large
computer system and wants to know what options are available.

The decisions to be made in each of the above cases require a manager to

understand the computer systems resources; hardware and software. What then
is this computer? How can it be useful to us?

A computer is a machine that accepts data (input) and processes it into useful
information (output). What then is a computer system? A computer system
includes a computer, peripheral devices and software. The electronic and
mechanical devices used for processing data are referred to as the hardware. In
addition to the computer itself, the term hardware refers to components called
peripheral devices that expand the computer‟s input, output and storage
capabilities. To be useful, a computer requires a set of instructions called
software, which tells the computer how to perform a particular task.

What is Computer Hardware?

The term hardware refers to computer equipment, the actual machinery used in a
computer system. These include the systems unit, the input devices, the output
devices, storage devices and communication devices. Lets explain each of these
components in details:

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The systems unit:

The system unit is a box –like unit consisting of components, each performing a
discrete function. The components work together to accomplish the main function
of the computer; the accepting, and the processing of input into output. The
components of the system unit include the internal power supply, the exhaust
fan, the speaker, the motherboard, and the hard disk. The system unit draws
power from AC mains through a device called SWITCHED MODE POWER
SUPPLY unit (SMPS). The SMPS converts the AC to DC output of 5 to 12 volts.
The SMPS provides cable connectors to supply the required voltage to other
internal components like the floppy drives, the hard disk drive, the motherboard
and external devices such as the keyboard. The SMPS has a small fan, attached
to it. This fan rotates as long as the computer is switched on. The system unit
also has a small audio speaker. The speaker is connected to the motherboard
and produces a sound whenever instructed by software programs. For example
when the machine starts up, a self-test program is executed that uses beeps to
indicate that everything works satisfactorily.

The motherboard is a large board containing tiny electronic circuits and other
components. All peripheral devices are connected to the motherboard. The
components for the motherboard include the microprocessor, the clock chip,
memory chip, and bus and ports.

Lets look at each of these motherboard components:

Memory
Memory is the electronic circuitry that holds data and program instructions.
Memory is sometimes called primary storage. There are four types of memory:
Random Access Memory (RAM), virtual memory, CMOS memory and Read Only
Memory (ROM).

RAM
The RAM, which is part of the motherboard, is the name given to the Random
Access Memory. The RAM holds data before and after it is processed. For
example when one enters a document, the characters one types usually are not
processed right away. They are held in the RAM until one tells the software to
carry out a process like printing. Think of the RAM as a chalkboard, which can be
erased when the new instructions are input. The RAM is volatile, in other words,
if the computer is turned off or the power goes out, all data stored in the RAM
instantly and permanently disappears. When someone unhappy says I have lost
my data, what it means is that the person was entering data for a document or
worksheet, and the power went out before the data was saved on the disk.

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Why is RAM important?
The contents of the Ram are necessary for the computer to process any data.
The CPU receives instructions from the RAM, uses the data in RAM for
processing, and keeps the results of processing temporarily in RAM until it is
needed again or are stored on disk.

Ram stores user data, operating system instructions and program instructions.
Every time one turns on the computer, the computer copies a set of operating
system instructions from disk into RAM. These instructions, which help control
the computer functions, remain in RAM until the computer is turned off. RAM also
holds program instructions. When one is using a word processor, the computer
copies the instructions that turn your computer into a word processor from the
disk into the RAM.

How much RAM does my computer need?

The size of the RAM is measured in megabytes. Today the microcomputer have
between 16 to 256 megabytes of RAM, this means that they can hold between
16 and 256 million bytes of data.

The amount of RAM required to run a software package is usually specified on

the outside of the software box. However you might find that the amount of RAM
available is not enough to run the software package you intend to run. In this
case one might want to acquire additional RAM to expand the existing capacity
only up to the limit specified by the manufacturer. When you purchase the RAM,
make sure it is the correct type, configuration and speed for your computer. The
technical reference manual for the computer should contain the information you
need to purchase the right type of RAM.

Virtual memory
What happens if one runs out of memory?
Suppose you are running two programs at the same time, one needing 4MB of
RAM and a spreadsheet program that requires 2MB. In all one needs 6MB, but
the available RAM is only 4MB, how can this be handled. To run both programs
at the same time, we need 2MB extra to run both programs. With such one wont
need extra memory because with modern operating systems, the computer uses
the space on one‟s computer‟s hard disk as an extension of RAM. The
computer‟s ability to use disk storage to simulate RAM is called virtual memory.

ROM
ROM is a set of chips containing instructions that help a computer prepare for
processing tasks. The instructions in ROM are permanent, and the only way to
change them is to remove the ROM chips from the main board and replace them
with another set. If this is the case why not use the adaptable RAM? The answer

19
to this question is that when the computer is switched on, the CPU receives
electrical power and is ready to begin executing instructions. But because the
computer was just turned off, RAM is empty; it doesn‟t contain any instructions
for the central processing unit to execute. This is when the Rom plays a part.
ROM contains a small set of instructions that tell the computer how to access the
disk drives and look for the operating system.

The contents of the ROM can be read and used, but the user cannot change
them. ROMs are sometimes referred to as firmware. For example a pocket
calculator might have a program for calculating square roots in the ROM. ROM is
very non-volatile, meaning that its contents do not disappear when the power is
turned off. Contents of some ROM chips can be changed using specialized
ROM burners. These chips, which can be changed, are called PROM
(Programmable Read Only Memory) chips. A PROM chip that can be erased by
exposure to ultraviolet light and then be reprogrammed is called an EPROM or
erasable PROM. The EPROM chips that can be electronically erased or
electronically altered are often called EEPROM and EAPROM respectively.

CMOS Memory
The computer is not ready to process data until it has copied certain operating
system files from the hard disk into the RAM. But the computer can only find data
on the hard disk if it has some information about how the hard disk is formatted.
The computer must know the number of tracks and sectors and the size of each
sector, or it cannot know where to look for the operating system files. If
information about the hard disk were permanently stored in ROM, one would
never be able to replace one‟s hard disk drive with a larger one. The computer
could not access the new hard disk using information about the old disk.
Therefore, a computer must have some semi permanent way of keeping boot
data, such as the number of hard disk drive tracks and sectors. CMOS
(Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor, pronounced “SEE moss), holds
the data, but requires very little power to retain its contents. Because of its low
power requirements, a CMOS chip can be powered by battery. CMOS uses
battery power to retain vital data about one‟s computer configuration, even when
one‟s computer is turned off. When one‟s system configuration changes, the
data in the CMOS memory must be updated.

Microprocessor

The microprocessor is a central processing unit (CPU) or processor on a chip.

The CPU is highly complex, extensive set of electrical circuitry that executes
stored program instructions. The CPU interacts closely with primary storage or
memory referring to it for both instructions and data. Technically the memory is
not part of the CPU. The CPU consists of the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) and the

20
Control Unit. The ALU contains the electronic circuitry that executes all arithmetic
and logical operations. The four arithmetic operations are addition, multiplication,
subtraction and division. Logical operations are usually comparing operations.
The control unit contains circuitry. It directs and coordinates the entire computer
system in carrying out or executing stored program instructions. It is important to
note that the control unit does not execute the instructions; it only directs other
parts of the system to do so. Closely associated with the CPU are registers.
These are temporary storage areas for instructions or data. They can operate
very rapidly in accepting, holding and transferring instructions or data in
performing arithmetic or logical comparisons. There are a number of registers; an
accumulator register collects the results of computation; a storage register
temporarily holds data taken from or about to be sent to the memory; the address
register tells where each instruction and each piece of data being stored in
memory is; a general purpose register is used for several functions that is for
arithmetic and addressing purposes.

Many computers use multiple processors for processing. Instead of one CPU
with a single control unit and ALU, the CPU can contain several types of
processing units. The number and type of processors are dependent on the
functions of which the computer is meant. This gives rise to different designs for
processors:

A support processor design: there is a specialized microprocessor to help

the main CPU perform a variety of functions, for example for input/output
memory management, arithmetic computations, and telecommunications. All
these operations are typically performed at speeds that are orders of magnitudes
slower than the main processor. Many computers may rely on support
microprocessors such as arithmetic co-processors, video display controllers, and
magnetic disk controllers. These processors reduce processing on the main
processors.

A coupled processor design: uses multiple CPUs or main processors to do

multi processing that is executing more than one instruction at the same time.
The CPUs provide a backup to each other in case one of them fails. This is the
case in a weather monitoring systems where a processor is earmarked for each
region.

Parallel processor design: the system can execute many instructions at a

time in parallel. Several instruction processors organized in clusters are used. A
weather system monitoring more than one parameter per region; rain, humidity,
and wind require a parallel processor.

Microprocessors have a variety of instructions, which carry out specific

operations such as memory fetches, and additions. One of the differences

21
 among CPUs is the instruction set they use, or the group of program
commands that they understand and can execute.

As microprocessors have become more complex, the designers have added

more instructions to the set provided by the chip. A chip is a wafer of silicon
on which is a complete electronic circuit for a particular computer function.

The Relationship Between Parts of the Computer

Besides the systems unit and other components explained above, we have other
parts of the computer; the input devices, output devices and secondary storage
unit. These components are related as shown in the diagram below.

Input device CPU Output device

Memory

SSU

Figure 1: Block Diagram of a Digital Computer (O’Brien)

The input devices enter data and instructions into the computer, for the CPU to
process. Examples of the input devices include the keyboard, the mouse, touch
screen, optical scanner, light pen and voice input.

The output devices communicate and record information. Examples of the output
devices include the visual display unit, and the printer.

The secondary storage devices store data and programs for processing. These
include the magnetic disk and tape units and optical disks.

22
1.2.2 Storage capacity of a computer
The storage of a computer can be divided into primary memory or internal
memory and auxiliary memory or secondary storage.

Just to recap on what we explained earlier on in this Unit, the primary

memory stores data for processing. The characteristics of primary memory
are that it is volatile; it can be accessed randomly and is fast. It is referred
to as volatile because it retains data only as long as the system is on.
This is the main memory, which is sometimes refereed to as the RAM
(Random Access Memory).

An auxiliary memory is provided by secondary storage. Secondary

storage permits the storage of more data than does main memory.
Secondary storage takes the form of magnetic disks and tapes.
Additionally, secondary storage is non-volatile.

Data and instructions are stored in both main memory and secondary
storage as bits or binary digits. A binary digit has any two states; 'on' and
'off'. The 'on' and 'off' bits form characters of the alphabet, numerals and
any special characters used in the code. Two of the mostly used codes
are the ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) and
the EBCDIC (Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code). ASCII
and EBCDIC codes use 8 bits to make a character. The eight-bit set that
represents a character is called a byte. In EBCDIC, and an „A‟ is stored
as 11000001. In ASCII, the same „A” is stored as 1000001.

The capacity of a computer 's primary storage and its secondary storage
devices is usually measured in terms of the number of bytes, which is the
characters it can hold. One Kilobyte (KB) is equal to 1024 bytes. An
advertisement may have a main memory size of 640KB meaning it can
hold 655 360 bytes in memory. A Megabyte would be 1000 000 bytes and
a Gigabyte would be 1000 000 000 bytes. A Terabyte is 1 trillion bytes of
storage positions.

To increase the memory of a computer, one has to add memory boards to

the special memory board slots on the motherboard. The memory slots
accept SIMM (Single in-line memory modules). A SIMM memory board is
small and may contain 1MB, 8MB, 16MB, or more.

A double-sided double density 3.5inch diskette has a capacity of 1.25MB.

A typical hard disk for a PC contains 4GB, 6 GB or 8 GB.

In addition to storage capacity, users are concerned with access time.

Access time is the average time it takes a computer to locate data on
some storage media and read it. Access time is measured in milliseconds.

23
 It is very easy to compare two storage technologies based on storage
capacity and access time.

1.2.3 The Power of a Computer

Three of the ways, which can be used to measure the power of a

computer, are word-size, clock speed measured in megahertz and number
of instructions per unit time measured in millions of instructions per
second (MIPS).

The word size is the number of bits of data a computer can transfer
between the CPU and main memory at one time. A machine with a 32-bit
word size can pass data through a 32-bit data path. A data path is a set
of wires through which data passes between the CPU and its components.
This is sometimes referred to as a bus. A data path is four characters
wide (32 bits). Bigger computers have bigger word size. For example a
data path of size 64-bit. A very good example given in Schultheis and
Sumner [SchuSum98] year is to think of a 16-bit machine as a highway
with two lanes. Only two cars can use the highway at one time. A 32-bit
machine is a four-lane highway allowing four cars to pass concurrently.
Therefore, the bigger the word-size, the more the amount of data that can
be transferred between the CPU and main memory.

The other measure of computer power is the speed at which the CPU
completes its internal processing task. This is measured in millions of
clock ticks per second, megahertz (MHz).

MIPS are another measure of computer power. This is millions of

instructions that the processor can handle per given second.

Microcomputer Compatibility

Hundreds of companies manufacture microcomputers, but there are only a

small number of microcomputer designs or platforms. Today there are two
major microcomputer platforms; IBM-compatibles and Macintosh
compatibles. IBM compatibles are based on the architecture of the first
IBM computer. Dell, Compaq, gateway and other companies manufacture
IBM computers. Apple Computer manufactures Macintosh, Inc.
Computers that operate in essentially the same way are said to be
compatible. Two computers are compatible if they communicate with each
other, share the same software, share data and use the same peripheral
devices.

24
 The term peripheral device designates equipment that is used with a
computer, but is not a necessary or integral part of it. Peripheral devices
allow one to expand and modify one‟s basic computer system. Here are
examples of peripheral devices:
A hand scanner; converts a 4-6 inch section of text or graphics into
electronic format. To use the scanner pull it over the text one wants to
convert.
A modem; transfers data from one computer to another over the telephone
lines.
An LCD projection display panel; is placed on an overhead projector to
produce a large display of the information shown on the computer screen.

Input and output devices

Input is the bridge between data and processing. Input devices include the
all devices that collect data at its source. Some devices are involved in
both input and output. Specialized input and output devices produce
computer-generated graphics. Output is the human connection with
computing. Output devices include printers, computer output microfilm and
voice output.

Input Devices
There are different ways of inputting data into the computer.
Some input data can go directly into the computer for processing,
as in bar codes or speaking or pointing.
Some input data goes through some medium that a machine can
then read.
The challenge is to cut down on the number of intermediate steps
required between the capturing of the data and the processing. One way
of achieving this is to use source data automation equipment. Source
data automation equipment allows the collection of data at the source and
the sending of the data directly to the computer. Wherever source data
automation is used the data entry equipment needs to be fairly ease to
use, reliable and maintenance-free. Lets look at the different methods of
source data automation; magnetic character recognition, optical
recognition, data collection devices and voice input.

Magnetic-Ink Character recognition (MICR) is a method of machine

reading characters made of magnetized particles. Banks in processing
checks use the MICR method. A machine called an MICR reader/sorter
reads the magnetic ink at the bottom of the check and sorts the checks

25
into different compartments. Electronic signals are then send to the
computer.
Optical recognition system reads numbers, letters, special characters
and marks. An electronic scanning device converts the data into electrical
signals and sends the signals to the computer for processing. Optical
recognition devices read optical marks, optical characters, handwritten
characters and bar codes. Optical mark recognition involves the use of a
device that uses a light beam to recognize the marks and converts them to
electrical signals, which are then sent to the computer for processing.
Optical character recognition devices use a light source to read special
characters and convert them into electrical signals to be sent to the CPU.
The characters; letters, numbers and special symbols can be read by both
machines and humans. The American national Standards Institute
designed a standard typeface for optical characters called OCR-A. A
hand- held device called a wand reader is popularly used to read OCR-A.
Wands are widely used in libraries, hospitals and factories. The wand
reader is connected to a point-of sale terminal. In retail shops like Clicks
and W store in Zimbabwe, the retailer passes the wand reader over the
price tag. Both the price and merchandise numbers are entered into the
computer system. Given the merchandise number the computer can
retrieve a description and price of the item from the file. The price and
description of the item are displayed on the screen of the POS terminal. A
small printer produces a customer receipt. The computer calculates the
subtotal, the sales tax and the total. Some machines can read hand
written characters. Not all handwriting can be read, there are certain
issues regarding size, completeness and legibility, which need to be taken
into account. A Universal Product Code uniquely identifies a product on
the shelf. The UPC is represented by a pattern of vertical marks, bars
called bar codes. A bar code reader can sense the stripes. A bar code
reader a stationary photoelectric scanner that reads the code by means of
reflected light. The bar code reader is part of the POS terminal. When one
buys an item, the retailer moves the item past the scanner that reads the
bar code. The bar code identifies the product to the store‟s computer. The
computer then tells the point of sale terminal what the price is. Swift
Zimbabwe has used bar-coding system to track packages. A bar code,
which uniquely identifies the package is printed on the package. As each
package wends through the transportation system, the bar-coded tag is
read at each point and the bar code number is fed into the computer. An
employee can use a computer terminal to query the location of a given
package at any time. The sender can request a status report on a
package and receive a response soon.

Another direct source of data entry is made through data collection

devices. Usually such devices are sturdy, trouble free and ease to use
since they are located in the dusty, humid and hot location. Examples are

26
 machines for taking inventory, reading shipping labels and recording
costs.

Pointing devices offer a better way for issuing commands, making choices
and responding to prompts displayed on the screen. Examples of pointing
devices include an electronic mouse, trackballs and joystick. A mouse is a
handheld input device connected to a computer terminal either with a wire
or via radio, infrared, or other wireless transmission that lets you enters
data or commands without a keyboard. A joystick looks like a gearshift set
in a box (popular with video games). A trackball is a stationary device
related to the mouse. An end user turns a roller ball with only its top
exposed outside its case to move the cursor on the screen. Using mice
and trackballs, a user can make menu selections.

Touch sensitive screen devices allow you to make a selection by touching

the surface of its display screen (generate an electric current).

Pen-based input devices allow the user to directly write onto the screen.
A light-sensitive pen can be used to write directly on a video screen using
photoelectric circuitry. The light sensitive pen enables the computer to
calculate the coordinates of the points on the screen touched by the light
pen. A graphics tablet allows the user to write or draw on the surface of
the tablet, the handwriting is digitized by the computer and accepted as
input displayed on the screen. Non-impact printers are typically of higher
quality than the impact printers.

1.2.6 Output Devices

The video display unit is the most common type of output device. Video
displays use the cathode ray tube (CRT) technology used in home
televisions. Liquid crystal displays such as those used in calculators are
also being used to display computer output. Plasma display devices have
replaced CRT devices where a flat display is needed.

Printed output is another form of visual output. Printers can be used to

display output. There are two types of printers; impact and non-impact
printers. Impact printers' form characters on the paper by pressing a
printing element and an inked ribbon against paper. An example of such a
printer is a dot matrix printer. Non-impact printers are quieter than impact
printers. Laser printers and inkjet printers are examples of non-impact
printers.

27
 Storage Technologies
When it comes to compute storage there are a number of questions that are
asked:
How much data do I need to store?
How fast can I access the data?
A storage media can be described as disk, tape, or other substance that contains
data. A storage device is the mechanical apparatus that records and records and
retrieves the data from the storage medium. The process of storing data is often
referred to as writing data or saving a file.
Some of the popular storage media include; magnetic disk storage, tape storage,
and Optical storage

Magnetic disk storage

Magnetic disk storage is the most common form of secondary storage.
With magnetic storage the computer stores data on disks and tape by
magnetized selected particles of an oxide-based surface. The particles
retain their orientation until their orientation is changed, thereby making
disks and tape fairly permanent but modifiable storage media. One can
intentionally change or erase files stored on magnetic media. Data stored
on magnetic media such as floppy disks can also be unintentionally
altered by the environment and by device or media failure. In the
environment, magnetic fields, dust, mold, smoke particles, and heat are
the primary culprits causing data loss. Placing a magnet on your disk is a
sure way of losing data. The metal detectors in an airport use a magnet
field, but the field is not strong enough to disrupt the data on one‟s floppy
or hard disk. The x-ray machine on the conveyer belt is even less
destructive; x-rays do not affect the magnetic particles. One is likely to
damage disks by leaving them on the dashboard in the car or carrying
them in the paperback where they will pick up dust and dirt.

Media failure is a problem with the loss of data. Magnetic media gradually
lose their magnetic charge, resulting in loss of data. Experts estimate that
the life expectancy of data on magnetic media three years. It si
recommended that every two years the data is refreshed by copying it.

A device failure is a problem with a mechanical device such as disk drive.

Storage devices fail as a result of power or circuitry problems.

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Floppy disks

A floppy is a flexible mylar plastic disk covered with a thin layer of

magnetic oxide. Floppies come in different sizes: 3.5inch and 5.25 inch
and 8inc.

In the past, floppies stored data on one side: but today most store data on
both sides. A double-sided disk (DS) stores twice as much data as the
single sided disk.

The amount of data a computer can store on each side of the disk
depends on the way the disk is formatted. The formatting process creates
a series of concentric tracks on the disk, and each track is divided into
smaller segments called sectors. A double-sided disk that is formatted
with 40 tracks per side and 9 sectors per track has 720 sectors. On IBM-
compatible computers, each sector of a track holds 512 bytes of data.

In addition to being double sided, floppies are available in double density

and high density. Disk density refers to the size of the particles on the disk
surface. The density limits the amount of data that one can reliably store
on the disk. Double density disks are usually formatted with 80 tracks per
side and 9 sectors per track; it stores 720 kilobytes. A high-density disk
stores more data than the double density. It is usually formatted with 80
tracks and 18 sectors per side for a storage capacity of 1.44MB.

The read/write head can read or write data from any sector of the disk, in
any order. This ability is referred to as random access or direct access.

For what kind of projects are floppies the best kind of storage
technology?

Hard Disk storage

The hard disk is made up of a collection of disks known as platters. A hard disk
platter is flat, rigid disk made of aluminum or glass and coated in magnetic oxide.
These platters are sealed in a vacuum container. Microcomputer platters are
typically 3.5 inches in diameter, however the storage capacity of a hard disk
exceeds that of the floppy. Each data storage surface has its own read-write
head. These move in and out from the center of the disk to locate a specific
track. The head hovers only five micro inches above the disk surface so the
magnetic field is much more compact than on a floppy disk. As a result more
data is packed into smaller area on a hard disk platter. When platters are joined
together, they form a cylinder. A disk drive is a device that allows data to be read

29
from the disk or written on a disk. In the disk drive the disk rotates at speeds of
300 to 400 revolutions per minute for floppy disks and 3600 for hard disks. In a
disk pack all disks rotate at the same time, although only one disk is being read
or written on at any given time. To read or write on a disk, an access arm moves
a read/write head into position over a particular track. The access arm acts like a
needle arm on a stereo. A disk has a series of access arms, which slip in
between the disks in the pack. Two read/write heads are on each arm, one facing
up for the surface above it, another facing down for the surface below it. However
it is important to note that only one read/write head can operate at any one time.
It is important to note that if the read/write head crashes into a particle like dust,
fingerprints and hair, data is destroyed and the disk is damaged. Hence it is
important to keep disks and disk drives clean

Why is it that hard disk offer faster access speed than floppies?
Unlike floppies, which only start rotating, when one request data, hard disks are
continually in motion, so there is no delay as the disk spins up to speed.

One can ask the operating system to tell you the capacity of your hard disk and
how much of the capacity is currently used for data.

Type CHKDSK at the C:\> prompt.

Some hard disks are removable or hard disk cartridges; these can be inserted
and removed from the drive much like a floppy disk. Removable hard disk
provides security for one‟s data.

To further increase the speed of data access, a computer might use a disk
cache. A disk cache is a special area of computer memory into which the
computer transfers the data you likely to need from disk storage.

Disks

Read/write arm

Figure 2: Multi-disk hard drive

30
Magnetic tape
Data is recorded in the form of magnetized spots on the iron oxide coating or the
plastic tape. Gaps are used to separate individual data records. Access of the
records is sequential.

Optical disks

With optical storage, data is burnt into the storage medium using beams of laser
light. The burns form patterns of small pits in the disk surface to represent data.
The pits on optical media are permanent, so the data cannot be changed. Optical
media re very durable, the useful life of a CD-ROM is estimated to exceed 500
years. To read the data on a CD_ROM, an optical read head distinguishes the
patterns of the pits that represent bytes. CDs hold tremendous amount of data,
up to 680 megabytes
This is a new storage media. Beams of laser light read optical disks by magnetic
means. Mainframes use 8-12 inch plastic disks. Microcomputers use CD-ROM
(Compact Disk Read Only Memory); these let you read from the disk and not
write onto it. Another optical disk technology produces write once, read many
(WORM) disks. This allows microcomputer with the proper disk drives to record
their own data once on appropriate disk and then be able to read it. Erasable
optical disks have also become available. The major advantage of optical disks is
their storage capacity. Information stored on the disks requires multiple floppies.

Hardware standards in an organisation

Computer hardware acquired must fit in with the acquisition scheme for the entire
organization. Having an array of different hardware types may lead to many
problems:
Lack of compatibility.
Lack of expandability.
Lack of reliability.

Managers have to make sure hardware standards exist in an organization. In

addition to establishing and maintaining hardware standards, managers face a
number of issues when acquiring hardware:
 Timing of the acquisition; buyers have a tendency to defer purchasing new or
additional computer systems. When buyers finally acquire hardware, they
are often upset when subsequent models provide more power at a lower
cost. An acquisition decision should be based on careful estimates of the
costs of the system and the benefits it will offer. One may choose to defer
acquisition because future models are likely to be improved or less
expensive and better in the future.
 Renting, leasing and buying; the costs of many minicomputer and
microcomputer systems have dropped to the point that many organizations
do not consider whether they will lease or buy these systems, they simply

31
 buy the computer. It is important to determine the costs both of buying and
of leasing. The advantages and disadvantages of purchasing or leasing
computer equipment are basically the same as those for acquiring any
durable good.
 Choosing a hardware vendor; the decision may not be an option open to
someone as a vendor. The organization may have a relationship with one or
more hardware vendors. As such, a special relationship may facilitate
volume discounts, faster service, special training, custom installation or other
services.
 Installation, maintenance and training. Once delivered, computer systems
must be installed and maintained. Installation may involve adding extra air-
conditioning, special wiring, cabling, electrical systems and special security
systems. Further employees will need training in the use of computer
systems.
 Operating costs and the environment; some of the steps that may be taken
to save on energy include; turning off your PC when not in use, setting your
screen saver to blank, and viewing documents electronically instead of
printing them
 The ergonomics of the computer workstation; ergonomics in the workplace is
the science of adapting employee workstations, including computer
workstations to fit the worker. Applying ergonomics include; removing work
conditions pertaining to the workstations that can harm the employee,
improving employee liability for work-related injuries, and improving
employee morale.

Activity 1

1. What is a computer? Why is it important to think of a computer as a system

instead of an information-processing box?
2. In what ways does a computer process data?
3. How is using a microcomputer different from using a mainframe?
4. When one uses a computer system, what hardware components will it
include?
5. Can all the computers use the same software?

1.2.4 Types of Computer

There are different types of computers. These include:

Microcomputer
Minicomputer
Mainframe

The main differences among these computers include:

32
 Processing speed,
Memory capacity,
Number and capabilities or peripheral devices for input, output and
storage devices that can be attached to the computer, and
Usage.

Microcomputers (PC)
A business microcomputer can be defined as a small desktop computer
that occupies little more space than a typewriter and is movable. It can
easily be linked quite simply into a network system. A microcomputer can
also be described as a powerful professional workstation for use by end
users in businesses and other organizations.

Microcomputers can be categorized according to size; laptop and desktop.

The trend for computers has been to smaller and smaller sizes.
Personalized digital assistants are small hand-held computer systems that
can be used to take notes, keep track of opportunities, and receive faxes.
These include pen-based computers, electronic clipboards, pocket
organizers and cell phones.

Microcomputers can also be categorized according to use: home,

workstation, multi-user computers, and telecommunications network
server. A workstation computer supports applications with heavy
mathematical computing and graphics display demands such as
Computer Aided Design (CAD). The telecommunications network server is
discussed under the "Telecommunications" Chapter.

Microcomputers can be used in a variety of ways by the end-user; in word

processing, database management systems, graphics handling,
communications, and application development

Minicomputer computer systems

Minicomputers are larger and more powerful than most microcomputers.
These have become popular in scientific research, instrumentation
systems, engineering analysis and industrial monitoring and control.
Minicomputers have also become popular in manufacturing plants and as
network servers to help control local area networks.

Mainframe computer systems

Mainframes are large, powerful computers physically larger than micros,
and minis. They have one or more central processors with faster
instruction processing speeds. They also have large primary storage
capacities and can service hundreds of users at once.

33
 Mainframe systems are designed to handle the information process needs
of organizations with many employees and customers with complex
computational problems.

Supercomputer system
This is an extremely powerful and specialized mainframe computer
system designed for high-speed numeric computation. Examples of such
systems may be found in military defense systems, and national weather
forecasting agencies.

34
 Unit Four

Computer software

Computer software determines what a computer can do. Software transforms a

computer from one kind of machine to another.

A computer program is a set of detailed, step-by-step instructions that tells a

computer how to solve a problem or carry out a task. The steps in a computer
program are written in a language that the computer can interpret and process.

Today many organizations purchase commercially written programs to avoid the

time and expense of writing their own programs.

The term "computer software" refers to a set of programs that enable an end
user to use the computer hardware.

Is it legal to copy software?

Just because people can copy software, it doesn‟t mean its legal to do so. A
copyright is a form of legal protection that grants certain exclusive rights to the
author of a program or the owner of the copyright. The owner of the copyright
has the exclusive right to copy the software, to distribute or sell the software and
to modify the software.

When purchase copyrighted software, you do not become the owner of the
copyright. People who illegally copy software are called software pirates, and the
illegal copies they create are referred to as pirated software.

Licensed Software

In addition to copyright protection, computer software is often protected by the

terms of a software license. A software license is a legal contract that defines the
ways in which one may use a computer program. For microcomputer software,
the license is usually on the outside of the package, on a separate card inside
the package or in the reference manual. Software licenses are often lengthy and
written in legalese, but they are generally divided into manageable sections that
can be understood by reading them carefully.

Computer software can be classified into the following:

Systems software

35
 Applications software
Development software

1.3.1 Systems software

Systems software refers to the programs that manage the computer
resources (CPU, peripherals, secondary devices and printers) and
operations of the computer as it performs various information tasks.

The systems software in other words offers an interface between the

computer systems and the application programs the user wants to run.
Systems software includes operating systems software, communications
software and utility software.

The people who write and maintain systems software are called systems
programmers.

Operating systems
Operating systems consists of supervisory programs, job management programs
and input management programs.

Supervisory programs manage computer resources, such as main memory, disk

storage, CPU processing time and peripherals. Job management programs
select, initiate, terminate and otherwise schedule jobs, which need to be
processed. Input/output management programs interact with input and output
devices, exchange data between the CPU and input devices, output devices, and
secondary storage devices.

Microcomputer operating systems

As a manager using a computer terminal attached to a mainframe, you may not
have much direct contact with the operating system your computer systems
uses. However there is a high probability that a manager will use a stand-alone
microcomputer in his/her work, and should therefore know something about
microcomputer operating systems. A number of issues may be raised:
Is it a single or multi-tasking operating system? Many microcomputer
operating systems are single tasking, meaning they allow only one person to run
one program at a time. Multitasking and multi-user operating systems permit
more than one program to run and more than one person to use the system at
one time. Multitasking operating systems may allow a user to receive a fax
message at the same time one is searching a database.
Is it a task switching operating system? A task switching operating system
lets one load more than one program at a time and allows switching between the
programs. The task that one is working with is the foreground task and the
suspended tasks are background tasks.

36
 What utilities are available with the operating system? Some of the most
commonly used utilities of a microcomputer operating system are delete, copy
contents of one diskette to another, format a diskette, delete files stored in
diskette, and compress data. A user not satisfied with the operating system
utilities may decide to purchase third-party software, which will then provide the
missing utilities.
Is the operating systems hardware dependent ?; An operating systems
may be limited to running on specific hardware or may have versions that allow it
to run on different types of computer systems.
What user interface is offered by the operating system? An operating
system interface consists of the operating system features by which the user
interacts with. Graphical User Interface (GUI) and command user interface are
examples of user interfaces. The ease with which one can get to use an
operating system is important to the manager.

Every manager ought to be concerned about the above issues. This may enable
them to make comparisons of the operating systems available in the
organization or else help make an acquisition decision.

Examples of operating systems

Some examples of operating systems include MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk
Operating Systems), Windows 95 and Unix. MS-DOS is a widely used
microcomputer system. It is a single user, single tasking operating system.
Windows95 is a multitasking operating system and provides integrated
networking support. Unix is a popular operating system that is available for
microcomputers, minicomputers and mainframe computer systems. The
Unix operating system is multitasking and multi-user because it permits
more than one program to run and more than one person to use the
system at one time.

Communication software
Communication software is really an extension to the operating system
software. The main responsibility of this software is to control a variety of
communications equipment so that the computer system can communicate
with peripherals located far from the CPU.

1.3.2 Application software

Application software performs specific data or text processing functions;
word processing and payroll programs are examples of application
software. A manager has to be aware of some of the issues that may be
raised for the application software.
 Is it custom versus commercial software? Hired programmers or
consultants develop custom software according to the user needs. This is
referred to as custom software. Commercial software is off- the shelf
software.

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 Is it shareware and freeware software? Shareware is the software that
one can down load from the Internet and use for a specified period of
time, after which one has to pay the vendor. Freeware is similar to
shareware except that freeware is entirely free.
 Are the application programs written to run under a specific operating
system? An important feature of the operating systems is the quantity
and diversity of application programs that have been written for it, which
is what is often referred to as the application library.
 Is the application software portable? Software is portable when it has
different versions for many operating systems that is it is able to switch
between two or three operating systems and can be converted easily
from one operating system to another. An organization that has portable
software saves training time.
 Is the software single-user or multi-user? Application software can either
be single or multi-user. An application that allows only one user to work
on a particular assignment is single-user whereas the other is multi-user.
 Is the application software sold as a stand-alone package or an
integrated suites and compatible packages that are designed to work
together? Stand-alone packages may pose problems for the manager.
Suites are more advantageous to use; they can offer a set of uniform
menus; making it easier for personnel to move from one package to
another. A suite usually incorporates a word processor, a spreadsheet
program, a presentation graphics program and a database management
program. Microsoft Office is an integrated suite of Word (a word
processing package), Excel (a spreadsheet program), PowerPoint (a
presentation graphics program), and Access, a database management
program.

Application software can be divided into general-purpose, function-specific

and industry-specific. People in different industries at different levels can
use general-purpose software. Function-specific addresses certain
specific functions within an organization, for example Accounting package.
Industry-specific software includes programs tailored to the problems and
needs of a particular industry, for example job-estimation programs are
available for the construction industries.

Application software can be classified into the following categories:

Word-processing software; a collection of software that permits the user
to create, edit and print documents. Most word processing packages
come with spell-checkers, grammar checkers and thesaurus programs for
creating drawings and table of contents. Word, WordPerfect are
examples of word processing software.
Spreadsheet software; allows managers to prepare budgets, tax analysis,
sales and profit projections. Managers can design templates, which
contain formulas used to create columns or row averages. Spreadsheets

38
 allow managers to simulate various solutions. A user may enter a number
of different values and see the effect on the results such as profit
margins. Excel and Lotus 1-2-3 are examples of spreadsheets.
Presentation graphics software; Presentation graphics software lets
managers prepare slides containing charts, text and images.
Presentation graphics software usually provides libraries of clip art
images that can be cut and paste into a slide to make the slide more
attractive and informative.
Database management software; the database management software
allows users to prepare reports based on data found in different records.
Database management software is an important managerial decisions
support tool for managers at all levels of an organization.
Statistical software; statistical software offers an easy way to treat data
statistically. This gives an insight into the variations and significance of
the underlying data. Graphical tools like bar graphs and line charts are
available to give a more visual effect of such data.
Security software; the role of security software is to protect the computer
systems from a variety of threats like viruses and unauthorized access.
Desktop organizer software; desktop organizer software offers a variety
of useful features designed to clear one's desktop of calculators, memo
pads, telephone directories and calendars.

Whenever managers are confronted with a decision of buying application

software, they need to consider the following:

Relevance of the software to the task at hand.

Sophistication; simple programs are usually easy to learn, cost less
and are appropriate for those who use the software infrequently
Ease of use; user-friendliness
The readability and clarity of the documentation, or manual for the
software package, the clarity of the menus and prompts displayed on
the screen, on-line help that explains the prompts and commands,
tutorials that teach you how to use software, a graphical user interface
with its point-and-click environment.
Easiness of installation.
Memory requirements; software packages vary in the amount of main
memory they require.

1.3.3 Software Licensing

If you are planning to use software in more that one machine, check on
the software company copyright agreement. Site licensing agreement
allows you to pay a flat fee for the software and use the software on many
workstations. Concurrent-use license agreement allows you to make the
software available to everyone on a network but pay only for those
machines that are actually running the software.

39
 Software licenses can be a one off payment or they can be periodic, for
instance annual. The licenses might have budgetary implications.

Multimedia
Multimedia is defined as an integrated collection of computer-based media
including text, graphics, and sound animation, photo images and video. Most
multimedia applications are shipped on a CD-ROM because the graphics, sound
and video require large amounts of storage space.

Multimedia technology adds pizzazz to all types of computer applications:

productivity, business, entertainment, and education and reference. A manager
can use a multimedia scheduler to remind one of appointments and due dates.
Instead of flashing a message on one‟s screen, the multimedia scheduler
reminds you of appointments by displaying a video image of a “personal
assistant”. “Excuse Me,” your personal assistant might say” but I believe you
have an appointment in five minutes”. One can use multimedia presentation
application to create a motivational business presentation that includes short
video message from the president, pictures of a new product, graphs of projected
sales, sound effects of cheering crowds, and text that lists the features and
benefits of the new product.

How do I know if my computer can use multimedia applications?

Today‟s multimedia applications require a computer system that can display

graphic images, run video clips and play sounds. Because most multimedia
applications are shipped on a CD-ROM disk, one‟s computer needs to have a
CD-ROM drive. One‟s computer must be able to quickly manipulate and transfer
large amounts of data so you need a fast computer with a lot of memory. To
display realistic graphical and video images, one‟s computer must have a high-
resolution monitor capable of displaying a wide range of colours. To play realistic
sounds, one‟s computer needs a sound card and speakers.

Most modern computers are equipped for multimedia applications. In one is in

the market for a new computer, it makes sense to get one equipped for
multimedia because of the many excellent multimedia applications available
today. If one already has a computer, which is not equipped for multimedia, you
can add multimedia capabilities by purchasing a multimedia kit that contains a
CD_ROM drive and sound card.

40
Installing Software

Before one can install software or a multimedia application, one has to make
sure it is compatible with one‟s computer system. To be compatible, the software
must be written for the type of computer one uses and for the operating system
installed on one‟s computer. System requirements specify the minimum
hardware and operating system requirements needed for a software product to
work correctly.

Does the version of my computer’s operating system affect compatibility?

1. Suppose you want to purchase software for your IBM-compatible

computer. First you need to make sure the software is written for IBM-
compatible computers, rather than Apple Macintosh
2. The next thing is to make sure that the software is compatible with one‟s
operating system. It is important to note that operating systems go
through numerous versions. A higher version number indicates a more
recent revision; DOS 6 is more recent than Dos 5. Windows 95 is more
recent than Windows 3.1 Operating system are usually downwardly
compatible, which means that one can use application software designed
for earlier version of the operating system, but not those designed for the
later versions. A software application that requires Windows 3.1 should
work with Windows 95. A software application that requires Windows 95,
is not likely to work with earlier versions of the operating system.

1.3.4 Selecting Microcomputer Software

Identify the application needs; selecting a computer system should not
begin with the computer hardware. For example you might identify
sales forecasting as the major application you need to computerize.
Spell out the features of a forecasting system needed, for example, the
ability to display colour graphics or ability to print displays to
transparency.
Choosing the software that best fits your business needs; after
identifying potential software packages that may serve your application
needs you should compare the features of each package to the
specific features your application requires. In the weight-average
method you:
 List the features that you want in the application
 Weight the features
 Rate the quality of those features in each package that you review.
 Multiply the weight times the quality for each package
 Find average result
 Choose package with the highest average
Choose the hardware.

41
 Choose a software vendor; before buying software; find out what level
and types of after sales support the vendor provides.

Management Concerns
What type of software is required? A decision has to be made on whether
to acquire a software package and place on each workstation, to buy a site
license so that it can be placed on any workstation or buy concurrent license that
restricts simultaneous use of the software to a specific number of workstations.
The cost of upgrades to hardware that the software might require, for
example, some software might require more main memory. Computers with little
hard drive space and little RAM do not work well.
Cost of training the personnel in maintenance of the upgrades.
The cost of upgrading the software to the latest version, upgrades may
require a new operating system
Deciding whether to acquire custom build software or to buy a commercial
package.

Now that the basics of hardware and software have been covered, it is
important that we look at the electronic office.

Activity 2

1. As a manager why is it important for me to know something about an

operating system on my computer?
2. What is the difference between shareware and freeware?
3. What is the difference between systems software and application
software?

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 Unit Five

File and Database Management System

A major purpose of information system technology is to improve management

decision mainly by providing the right information at the right time.

Managers need to find useful information, how to access it and how to use is in
their decision-making.

As a manager, you may use computerized data to complete day-to-day

operational tasks, for example use payroll files to prepare the weekly payroll and
provide payroll checks. Files may be searched to assist in long-range planning.

Regardless of the level of management activity for which you are using the
information, knowledge of basic file and database concepts improves your ability
to locate, access and using information available to you for decision making.

Computerized files allow for fast access of data.

File Concepts:

Building blocks of computer-based filing system;

Bit
Byte
Field
Record
File
Database

In a computer file, each record usually must have a primary key.

File Structures:

The way you choose to store records on magnetic media is called the file
structure.

Sequential File Structures

Employee records may be stored sequentially by primary key. If you were a
manager in the personnel department and needed to examine individual
employee records throughout the day as various employees visited you for
advice, the sequential method of access would not be very efficient.

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Direct File Structure:
Allows direct access to record
A direct access storage media has to be used. Each record is given a
specific disk address so it can be found directly.
A disk address may be generated by a hash algorithm to the primary key
Disadvantage is that several record numbers may generate the same
address

Indexed Sequential File Structure:

Records are stored sequentially on a direct access medium such as a hard disk
with a specific disk address for each record. An index is maintained as records
are added to the file and is used to keep track of the disk address of each record
or block of records.

Accessing Records:
Types of Operations:
Adding new records to a file
Deleting records from a file
Modifying records in a file
Viewing records from a file on a screen
Creating reports from records in a file

Inverted Files:
Each record has a primary key and secondary indexes. Files that have
secondary indexes are called inverted files

File structures and processing methods:

The first 4 operations above can be completed directly with either the indexed
sequential structure or the direct structure. One can go directly to the record you
want and view it, delete it, or modify it immediately. This type of processing is
called on-line, real-time processing.

If you do not need to process employee records individually, then a sequential

access file structure might be appropriate. Records stored on a sequential file
are batch processes.

Database Concepts
A database is a collection of related files

A database management system is a collection of software programs that;

Store data in a uniform and consistent way

44
 Organizes the data into records in a uniform and consistent way
Allows access to the data in a uniform and consistent way

Application
Program

Application Databas
Program DBMS e

Application
Program

In a database management system, application programs do no to obtain the

data they need directly from the storage media. They must first request the data
from the DBMS.

Components Of A Database Management System

1. Data dictionary
Contains the names and descriptions of every data element in the
database
Also contains a description of how data elements relate to one another
Prevents users or application developers from adding data elements that
have the same name.
1. Data Languages
Programmers use a special language called the data description language
to describe the characteristics of the data elements.
2. Application development Tools:
An application development tool is a program designed to help
programmers develop application programs that use the database eg
CASE tools.
3. Security Software
Provides a variety of tools to shield database from unauthorized access
and from unwanted virus
4. Report writers:
Allows programmers, managers and other users to design output report
5. Query Language:

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 A set of commands used primarily for accessing data from a database
6. Web Server Software:
Many DBMS vendors have integrated WWW server software into their
product. The software turns the computer system housing the database
into Web server and enables users with Web connection to access the
data from wherever they are located. Data is also converted into a format
that is readable by standard Web browsers.
7. Teleprocessing Monitors; a software package that manages
communication between the database and remote terminals.

The Database Administrator

Manages the organization‟s data resources, databases plans, design,
operation, training, user support, security and maintenance.
The deployment of a DBMS in a firm generates a number of changes in
the way records and files are administered.

- May users now share data

- Pooling data in a common database requires census concerning the
structure of the data elements
- Maintaining data consistency and security is an important role of this DBA.
The DBA must not only approve access to data stored but also approve
the access procedures. Ability to delete, add, modify existing data must
be tightly controlled.

Views Of The Data

The data in a database has two views. The logical view is the way users
perceive records are structured and the relationship among records in the
database. The physical view is the way the records are actually organized and
stored on the storage media.

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The Schema
A schema is a description of the logical view of a database to design
schema
A common tool is an ERD.

Name Address Phone Number

Repair Vendor

Repairs

Eq. Number Equipment location

Sub-schema

the view used by an application programmer, an application program or a

users. A sub-schema encompasses only a subset of the data elements in the
entire database, those data elements needed by one user.

Database Models

 Hierarchical database model

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 Network “ “
 Relational “ “
 Object-oriented “ “

Hierarchical database

Each record is related to others in a parent-child relationship.

Network database model

A view all records in sets, each set is composed of an owner record and
one or more member records.
Model permits a record to be a member of more than one set at one time.

Hierarchical and network models are less flexible than other database models
because the relationship between records must be determined and implemented
before a search can be conducted. The model fixes relationships.

Relational Databases
Organized into a series of 2-dimensional tables

Repair Vendor Records

Repair Vendor Number Repair Vendor Name Repair

Vendor Address
43623 Tele.co 15 Harare St

Equipment Records

Equipment Number Equipment Name Date purchased

Repair Number
10893 Typewriter 12/02/94 43623

Example of query

SELECT REPAIR_VENDOR.NAME, EQUIPMENT,NAME

FROM REPAIR_VENDOR, EQUIPMENT
WHERE REPAIR_VENDOR. NO =
EQUIPMENT.REPAIR_VENDOR_NO

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Advantages of DBMS
Data sharing
Reduced data redundancy
Improved data consistency
Data independence – database system keeps descriptions of data
separate from the applications that use the data.
Changes in the data definitions can occur without necessarily requiring
changes in every application program that uses the data.
Increased application program and user productivity – 0-0 databases
provide developers with libraries of reusable code 10-speed development of
application.
Improved data administration and control
Increased emphasis on data as a resource

Problems of Database Management Systems

Concurrency problems
Concurrency accesses to the same stored data.
A way to avoid concurrency problem is to look only the record being used
that uses sophisticated means of handling concurrency is to use a DBMS
that uses versatility – perm its every user to view a record and make
updates in that record. However, before any record update is actually
saved, the system checks to see if the record (the prior version of the
record) has changed.

If you connect several microcomputers together in order to share data files

on a hard disk, you should upgrade your DBMS S/W to a multi-user
version with concurrency.

Resource problems – DBMS usually require extra computing resource:

Much data must be stored on-line to answer queries, more terming to put
managers and other users on-line to the database
Additional hard disk systems to put more data on-line
May even need to increase the size of number of CP US to run the extra
S/W required by the DBMS

Security Problems
Access security means more than merely providing login identification
account codes, passwords, physical access to terminals, tapes and other devices

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Specialised Databases

The last few years have been growth in specialized databases as decision
makers seek to use ever more data from both inside and outside their
organizations.

On-line databases: Online information services are companies that provide a

variety of information. Services are companies that provide a variety of
information services to organizations or individuals who subscribe to their
services. These services include access to many databases and also might
include the use of a network over which your computer users may communicate
with one another. On-line databases are also available on the WWW. On-line
databases enable managers to analyze and manipulate large quantities of
information external to their organization. On-line databases are essentially
electronic libraries. The information sources help managers stay current on
topics of importance of their organizations.

For example:
Trade and Industry Index (abstract and indexes of 12 000 publication)
Encyclopedia of Association (data on 80 000 non-profit organizations)
Business Wire (news form government agencies, universities,
organizations and companies)

Data Warehousing
 A term for any system that stores, retrieves, manages or otherwise
manipulate massive amounts of data
 A data warehouse may contain data taken from the organization‟s database
as well as data obtained from external sources
 A major difference between data in traditional databases and data in a data
warehouse is that the organization of data in a data warehouse is subject-
oriented

The major component of a data warehouse is:

The data itself
The h/w and network infrastructure that provides storage of and access to
the data
The s/w that extracts data from its original source, converts at a uniform
format and places it into the warehouse
Graphical query tools to permit data mining of the warehouse content
Warehouse management software.

One major uses of data warehouses is marketing analysis; identifying customer

buying preference and trends and designing marketing programs that focus on
customer profits

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51
 Unit Six

How to Buy Your Own Personal Computer

Suppose one decides to purchase a computer. You probably look at the ads to
get an idea of features and prices. Most computer ads list the specifications
describing the computer components, capabilities and special features. There
are a number of issues that you have to consider when you acquiring a PC.

Analyse your needs and wants

Why do you want a computer? Will it probably wind up being used for games
most of the time or business applications? Some of the needs might include:
Education for children
Filing and retrieving personal records
Word processing
Office homework
Entertainment, games
Running a home business
Personal finances
Publishing newsletter
Access to remote information
Learning programming
Shopping and banking from home

Buy Now or Later

People who are interested in buying a computer may delay their purchase
because the price is too high or because they think more sophisticated
computers are coming soon. Computer prices are quite variable and it is quite
true that you may get a bargain by waiting. And it is also true that something will
no doubt come along in a year or two that will make the present equipment seem
inadequate in some way. Yet the longer out wait to buy, the longer you miss out
on acquiring experience and expertise with personal computers.

What to look for in hardware

The CPU
PCs started out with what is known as an 8 bit-processor, but now most
manufacturers make machines with 64-bit processors. More bits mean more
power and faster processing speed.

52
Memory
Memory is measured in bytes. A minimum of 256KB is suggested for personal
computers used for business applications. These days‟ computers of 32MB
memory are being manufactured.

Communications Connections
If you wish to connect your computer via telephone lines to electronic bulletin
boards or information utilities, you will need a modem.

Many computer systems include a modem that transmits to and receives data
from other computers over telephone lines. Speed of transmission is usually
expressed as bits second (bps). The faster modem speeds mean faster data
transmission. An above 28800 bps is typical for modern computer systems.

A fax/modem is a modem that includes fax capability. This means that it can
send a document that is in memory of one is computer to any standard fax
machine, where the document is printed on paper.

A modem requires communication software that helps one enter the settings
required to establish communications with a variety of computers. W hen one
purchases a computer system that includes a modem; the computer vendor has
probably installed the communications software needed to operate the modem.

Comparison of the microprocessors

Which microprocessor is best for my computing needs?
Typical ads indicate the type of processor and its speed

The cost and benefits of RAM cache

A RAM cache is a very important optimum performance of computers with high-
speed processors because the CPU can process data faster than it can retrieve it
from the regular RAM area. A computer with an 80486 microprocessor should
have at last 128KB of RAM cache. Pentium systems should have at least 256k.
Cache memory chips add to the cost of a computer system.

RAM: Requirements and cost

The amount of RAM a computer needs depends on the operating system and
applications software one is planning to use. It is theoretically possible to run
Windows 3.1 in as little as 2MB of RAM. Most Windows 3.1 applications require
at least 4MB and perform even better with 8MB or more. Windows 95 requires at
least 4MB of RAM, but performs better with 8 MB is the recommended minimum
for the computing needs of today‟s typical computer user.

53
Floppy Disks Drives: How many?

A popular misconception is that a computer needs two disk drives to copy routers
of one disk to another but this is not the case. Both DOS and Windows allow one
to make a copy of an entire disk by reading data from original disk into memory,
then inserting the destination disk and coping data from memory into destination
disk.

CD-ROM – Is it worth the Cost?

A CD-ROM drive is a worthwhile investment that lets one Multimedia, game,
educational and reference applications that take available only on CD-ROM
disks. Most microcomputers are configured with a double-speed (x2) quad-
speed (4x) or six-speed (x6) CD-ROM drive. A faster CD-ROM drive wine deliver
data a faster rate and provide better performance, especially with multimedia
applications.

Hard Drive Specification

The factors that influence hard drive performance and price include storage
capacity, controller type, cache capacity and bus speed. The two most popular
types of hard drives are EIDE and SCSI (Small Computer System Interface). A
drive mechanism includes a circuit board called controller that positions the disk
and read/write heads to locate data. Disk drives are categorized according to the
type of controller they have. An EIDE (Enhanced Integrated Device Electronics)
drive features high storage capacity and fast data transfer. SCSI drives provide
a slight performance over EIDE drives and are recommended for high
performance microcomputer systems and minicomputers.

In addition to drive capacity, access time and type, most ads provide info about
disk cache capacity and bus type.

Microcomputer Bus and Slot Types

Computer ads generally specify the type of expansion bus the computer uses to
transport data. Its speed and the number of bits that can be transported doing
each clock cycle determine the capacity of he expansion bus. The bus speed is
measured in measured in megahertz. A 33MHz is faster than a 4.77MHz bus. In

Selecting a System Unit Case

The system unit case holds the main board and provides opening called bays for
mounting disk, CD-ROM and tape drives. Some bays are internal others are
external. An external bay provides an opening for installing a device that one

54
needs to access from the outside of the case. For example one would install a
floppy disk drive in an external bay because one need to insert and remove the
floppy disks. An internal bay provides a mounting bracket for devices that do not
need to be accessible from outside the system unit case. A system unit with
many bays provides greater expansion capability.

Why buy a Sound Card?

Most games and many multimedia applications require a Sound Blaster

compatible sound card.

What to look for in Software

Hardware requirements for software

Look out for what hardware requirements are needed by the software.

Brand names
Usually, in general publishers of brand-name software offer better support than
smaller, less well-known companies. Such support may be in the form of
tutorials, classes by the vendor or others and some hotline assistance.

Software Demonstrations
Wherever possible, have the software demonstrations.

The value of Bundled Software

The price of most computers includes the operating system, so if one purchases
an IBM-compatible computer, one can expect that the latest version of DOS and
Windows will be installed on the hard drive by the vendor or manufacturer. Many
computer vendors also include applications software such as word processing
package or personal finance manager.

All other factors being equal, a system with bundled software will cost only
slightly more than a system without bundled software. So bundling is often good
value if not all of the software meets one‟s needs. The slight increase in the price
of a computer system with bundled software is generally less than you would pay
if one bought the software separately.

Shopping Around: Where to buy

Service and Support

Perhaps the single argument for buying at a specialised computer stores are
service and support.

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Maintenance Contract
When buying a computer, you may wish to check out getting a contract, which
should cover both parts and labour. Contracts differ in their coverage:
The best type of contract offers a repairperson to come out and fix your
system on-site within a certain number of hours. The option is usually available
for significant business customers.
Carry-in service allows one to bring in their machine for repairs. With
carry-in service, the store may provide one with a loaner while they fix it.

How do you choose a printer?

More often printers are sold separately so that consumers can choose the
quality, features and price they want. Ink-jet and personal laser printers are the
most popular with today‟s consumers. If one wants colour printouts, colour ink-jet
printers offer the best performance value because of the high price of colour
laser printers and poor quality of colour dot matrix printers

Lets contrast the characteristics of the two printers:

The Ink-jet printer characteristics

Moderate price
High quality output
Inexpensive to operate
Cannot print multipart forms
Slow
Quiet
Low=cost, low-quality colour
Durable

The laser printer characteristics

Moderate to high price
High quality output
More expensive to operate
Cannot print multipart forms
Fast
Quiet
Expensive, high quality colour
Durable

Manager’s guide to purchasing a notebook computer

Most technical specifications pertaining to desktop computers also pertain to the
notebook computer. In this part I only explain the additional specifications
specific to the notebook computer.

56
The advantage of PCMCIA cards
A PCMCIA slot (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) is a
special type of expansion slot developed for notebook computers, which do not
have space in the case for full-size expansion slots and cards. The slot is
external and one can insert a PCMCIA card.
The PCMCIA (PC) cards are credit-card size circuit boards that incorporate an
expansion card and a device. Foe example some PC cards contain a modem,
other contain memory expansion, others contain a hard disk drive. One can plug
in the PC cards without switching off the power.

The slots are categorized according to size. Type 1 accepts the thinnest card
such as memory expansion cards. Type 2 slots accept most of the popular cards
those that contain a modem, sound cards and network cards. Type 3 slots accept
the thickest cards, which contain devices such as hard disk drives. Most
notebooks provide a multipurpose slot that will accept both type 2 and type 3.

Is it true that the screen image on a notebook computer is not as good as

the image on a desktop computer?
Notebooks have a flat panel liquid crystal display (LCD). This type of screen uses
a technically sophisticated method of passing light through a thin layer of liquid
crystal cells to produce an image. The LCD is either passive matrix screen or
active matrix screen. A passive matrix screen relies on timing to make sure the
liquid crystal cells are illuminated. As a result the timing of updating the screen
image does not always keep up with the moving images, and the display can
appear blurred. An active matrix screen updates more rapidly and provides
image quality similar to that of a monitor.

Most notebooks have a VGA or SVGA port for an external monitor.

Can I use a notebook computer for multimedia computing?

Notebooks with built-in CD_ROM drives and sound cards are available, even
though they are slightly heavier and more expensive than their multi-media
counterparts.

A docking station can be used as an alternative to built-in multimedia

components. A docking station is essentially an additional expansion bus into
which one plugs their notebook computer. The notebook provides the processor
and RAM. The docking station provides expansion slots for cards that would not
fit into the notebook case.

Which notebook-pointing device is for you?

The three most popular options are the built-in track ball, track point and the
touch pad.

57
A track point is a small eraser like device embedded among the typing keys. To
control the on-screen pointer, one pushes the track point up, left, down and right.
Buttons for clicking and double clicking are located in front of the space bar.

A touch pad is a touch-sensitive device. By dragging your finger over the surface,
one controls the on-screen pointer. Two buttons equivalent to mouse buttons are
located in front of the touch pad.

A track ball is like a upside-down mouse. By rolling the ball with one‟s fingers,
one controls the onscreen pointer. Buttons for clicking are often located above or
to the side of the track ball.

Is it ever safe for me to buy a computer by mail?

What accounts for the price differences for computers with the same
specifications from different vendors?

Ergonomic Considerations

1. Check whether the video display can swivel and tilt, this will remove the
need to sit in exactly one position for along period of time.
2. The best way to know what keyboard suits someone is to sit down in the
store and type for a while. The issues to consider as far as the keyboard is
concerned are the tactile touch, colour, slope, layout and detachability.
Keyboard tactile touch: On the inexpensive end are touch-sensitive
membrane plastic keyboards, which are just flat surfaces. These are only
ideal when we need to play games. Make sure the keys are not cramped
together since you will find the typing very error prone. This is a special
concern if you have large hands, chubby fingers or long fingernails.
Keyboard colour; ideally keys should be grey with a matte finish. The dull
finish reduces glare.
Keyboard shape; if you plan to use your keyboard for many hours at a
time, its slope will be very important to you. A keyboard slope should be a
minimum of 7 degrees and a maximum of 15 degrees. Slopes outside this
range can cause discomfort in the wrist and high error rates. Some
personal computer keyboards have adjustable slopes.
Keyboard layout; besides touch, look at the layout of the keyboard itself.
Most follow the QWERTY layout of typewriter keyboards. However, some
have separate numeric keypad, located to the right of the keyboard. This
may be useful when you enter a lot of numbers. In addition some
keyboards have separate function keys.
Detachable keyboard; a detachable keyboard cab be held on the lap, a
desirable feature. This allows the keyboard to be moved around to suit the
comfort of the user. This feature becomes indispensable for a computer
that will be used by people of different sizes, adults and small children, for
instance.

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59
 Unit Seven

Computers in Business

Dream Office versus the reality

Office automation is the use of technology to help achieve the goals of the office.
Some people think of office technology as foregone conclusion. But it is not that
simple. There are a number of problems associated with introducing office
automation, from reluctant workers to in compatible machines.

Who in an organization needs a computer anyway?

Clerical employees need database access to capture, store, retrieve and
update records.
Professionals need spreadsheets and graphics to help them analyse,
process, and present information.
Executives need spreadsheets and other software tools to help them in
decision-making process.
All employees need networking support to communicate more effectively.
Any employee who needs to prepare attractive documents with both text
and graphics can use electronic publishing or desktop publishing

How can we get computers to talk to each other?

One way to minimize the costs of computer operations is to share computer
resources among two or more computers.

Electronic Office
The present generation of managers should be more technology-oriented than
the previous generations. An electronic office is a collection of various
technologies that are intended to improve the efficiency of office work. The main
areas of automation include word-processing, PCs, intelligent terminals,
electronic mail (including facsimile), videotext, electronic funds transfer, and
desktop publishing.
Word-processing
Word processing is used on a large and expending scale. As described
earlier on, word-processing is an enhanced method of typing documents.
Word processing in its advanced form includes the composition, recording,
transcription, editing and communication of text.

Although the acquisition of a word processor can result in considerable

increase in the throughput of typing and related work, a careful

60
 consideration of the requirements has to be done first. Clifton and Sutcliffe
year categorize the documents that are used in offices as follows:
 One-off text; usually individualized letters and memorandum.
 Replicated text; standard letters and certain legal documents, with
some degree of individuality.
 Updateable text; such as reports and manufacturers' manuals that may
need amending at regular and frequent intervals.

The attraction of using a word-processor mainly depends on the type of

document. For example, the first category of documents would least likely
attract an advantage from word processing.

There are different categories of word-processors available:

Stand-alone processors; consist of a PC together with the word-
processing software and a high quality printer.
Shared-logic word processor; consists of a number of workstations
connected to a microprocessor and sharing one or more printers.
Mainframe word processors; the word processor is effectively similar to
a computer terminal in that it time-shares the computer' processor
along with other terminals.
Communication word-processor; consists of several multi-station word-
processors each equipped with a communication controller. It is
possible for each word-processor to communicate with a central
mainframe and with other word-processors.

Desktop publishing
This can be defined as the use of special software to generate very high quality
material on the laser printer. The publisher is the computer itself. Desktop
publishing systems can rapidly produce forms, newsletters and technical
documents as well business cards with the company logos and manuals with
magazine like layouts.

Electronic mail (EM)

EM (E-mail) means that letters and documents typed or scanned in one office are
transmitted to another office very quickly irrespective of distance. This means
that a computer with some communication protocol must be employed. Each
letter sent includes an address of the receiver. Some of the possible features of
EM include; automatic redirection of messages if the recipient has moved,
notification to sender if a message cannot be delivered. The same message can
be sent to several recipients, recording times of dispatch and delivery of
messages, message filing and retrieval, and automatic accounting and billing of
users. Facsimile and voice mails are examples of EM.

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Facsimile (fax)
Facsimile is achieved by optical analysis of the document's appearance at the
sending end and converting it into digital representation. The reverse process is
carried out at the receiving end so that an exact copy can be produced.

Voice mail
Voice mail is the storing and forwarding of digitized speech. Each participant has
his or her own mailbox from which messages are retrieved by calling on the
phone. For example if a recipient does not answer, the caller can dictate a
message into the system. The voice mail system then translates the words into
digital impulses and stores them in the recipient‟s voice mailbox. Later, when the
recipient dials the mailbox, the system delivers the message in audio form

Videotext
Videotext systems make information available to a very large number of people
and are based upon one or more databases. Examples of videotext are tele-text
and view-data.
Tele-text involves the transmission of pages of information in addition to TV
programs by television station. Tele-text provides information of general nature;
sports results, weather forecasts, entertainment guides. The programs are
received by a television set tuned to the channel.
View-data uses telephone lines as the communication medium between the
computer and the user. The computer's output is displayed on an adapted
television set or a VDU. The user has to pay for the telephone line usage during
transmission from and to the computer. View-data systems make use of large
databases. An example of the application of view-data systems is the use of
view-data electronic mail. View-data electronic mail allows the sender to
dispatch messages or data to a selected recipient. If the recipient terminal is
switched on, a, message is displayed at the bottom of the screen to indicate that
a message has been received.

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)

Banks deal with several million financial transactions per working day, many of
which entail the preparation and handling of documents. This vast amount of
work involved is forcing companies to move towards document-free methods of
transferring money between bank accounts. EFT means that financial
transactions are represented by electronic or magnetic means instead of on
documents and accounts are updated concurrently in computer storage. A
customer has a credit card that is inserted into the Point of Sale terminal. The
amount of the bill is entered via a keyboard or directly from the Point of Sale.
EFT can now be used in people's homes, enabling them to inspect their bank
accounts, make transfers, settle bills and pay for goods purchased using
domestic television. Think of the way in which the credit cards are used in the
purchasing of some goods.

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Teleconferencing
Teleconferencing is a method of using technology to bring people and ideas
together despite geographical barriers. There are several varieties of
teleconferencing:
Computer conferencing is a method of sending receiving and storing typed
messages within a network of users. Computer conferencing can be used to
coordinate complex projects over great distances and for extended periods.
Conferences can be set up for a limited time to discuss a particular problem.
A computer conferencing system is a software package designed to organize
communication. In addition to conferencing software each participant needs a
personal computer or word processor, a telephone, modem and data
communication network software. Computer conferencing is a many-to-many
arrangement; everyone is able to talk to everyone else. Messages may be sent
to specify individual or broadcast to all receivers. Receivers are automatically
notified of incoming messages.

Videoconferencing
If we add videos to teleconferencing we get videoconferencing. Although the set
up is expensive to rent and even more expensive to own, the costs seem small
compared to travel expenses for in-person meetings. There are drawbacks to
videoconferencing; most people do not like the way they look on camera.

Joys and Woes of the automated office

Hidden costs
In addition costs to the hardware, software, and supplies, connection to a local
area network, shared log-distance communications there also may be a need for
changes in the office environment, such as improving lighting, wiring the site for
additional electric power, increasing the amount of air conditioning, and providing
improved acoustics to reduce the noise generated by the new equipment.
Personnel problems
Fear tops the list: fear of looking stupid, fear of diminished power, and fear of job
loss. A manager should anticipate these problems and alleviate them with
through training.
Security
There are high chances of getting software to home computers has become a big
problem. Another costly problem is that office workers are finding it easy to steal
keyboards, modems, software, diskettes and supplies.

Why the automated office will triumph anyway

Reduced work
Improved decision making
Improved services
Competitive edge

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Improved quality of work life.

Conclusion

In this unit, we discussed computer system resources, that is, computer

hardware and software. Computer hardware was defined as the actual
machinery used in a computer system. Computer hardware includes
components of a computer, storage capacity, power of a computer, types
of computers, input and output devices and storage media.

Computer software relates to a set of programs that enable end users to

access computer hardware. Computer software relates to a set of
programs that enable end users to access computer hardware. Computer
software was classified under systems software, application software and
development software. We hope that as managers, you will be able to
select the most appropriate computer hardware and software for your
organization.

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 Unit Seven

Data Security and Control

What can go wrong with data?

Data on the computer system is important, but events occur that destroy data or
make it inaccurate. What is the most likely cause of lost or inaccurate data?

Despite all the sensational press coverage of computer criminals and viruses,
that most common cause of lost data is operator error. Operator error refers to a
mistake made by a computer user. A few examples will have this

A clerk at the medical records office of a metropolitan hospital was

embarrassed to realize that he had billed a patient for 555 aspirins instead of 5
Working late at night the president‟s press secretary finished the final
revisions for the next day‟s speech, lately to make a copy of the speech as a
backup he mistakenly copied the old version of the speech over the new version.

Many organizations have reduced the incidence of operator errors by using direct
source input device.

Power failures, spikes and surges

A power failure is a complete loss of power to the computer system. Data stored
in RAM is lost if there is a power failure. An interruptible power supply (UPS) is
the best protection against power problem. A UPS is a device containing a
battery and other circuiting that provides a continuous supply of power.

Two other common power problems are spikes and surge. A power spike is an
increase in power that lasts only a short time. A power surge lasts a little longer.
Lighting can also cause a surge that damages computer equipment circuitry. A
surge or spike can damage the computers main board and the circuit boards on
you disk drives,

Hardware Failure
The reliability of components is measured as Mean Time Between Failures
(MTBF) for example, one might read that a hard disk drive has a MTBF of 124
000 hours. Does it mean that the hard disk drive will work for the time before it
fails? The answer is no. The MTBF is an estimate based on laboratory tests of a
few sample components. The tests are conducted in a required laboratory
environment where power problems, failure of other components and regular
work do not exist.

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Viruses, vandalism and computer crime
Data stored on micro, mini and mainframe can be damaged destroyed or altered
by vandalism. The vandals are called hackers, crackers or cyberpunks. The
programs these hackers create are referred to as malware, programs, vandal
ware or punk ware. More typically these programs are referred as viruses.

Computer Viruses
What is a computer virus?

A computer virus is a program that attaches itself to a file and reproduces itself to
spread from one file to another.

A virus can destroy data, display any writing message, or otherwise disrupt
computer operations.

A computer virus generally infects the executable files on one‟s computer system
not the data files. When one uses the infected program, the computer also runs
the attached virus instructions to replicate or deliver its payload. The term
payload refers to the ultimate mission of a virus.

Most viruses attach themselves to executable files because these are the files
that one‟s computer runs. If a virus attaches to an executable file that one rarely
use, it might not have an opportunity to spread do much damage. On the other
hand, boot sector viruses will infect the system files your computer uses every
time you turn it on can cause widespread damage and persistent problems.

How does the virus work?

The symptoms of a virus infection depend on the VIRUS. The following

symptoms might indicate that one‟s company has contracted a virus.

 One‟s computer displays annoying message such as “Gotcha!”

“You are stored!”
 One has difficulty saving file
 Files are mysteriously missing
 One‟s computer reboots unexpectedly

A key point to understand about viruses is that they contain instructions that the
computer must perform for the virus to spread or deliver its payload.

66
A modern Trojan horse
A Trojan horse is a computer program that appears to perform one function while
actually doing something else. Think of a Trojan horse a container that hides a
secret program. That program might be a virus or a time bomb or a simply
program that, when run, carriers out a nasty task such as formatting your hard
disk. A Trojan horse something but not always shelters a virus

How does it work?

Time Bombs and Logic Bombs

A virus or other unwelcome surprises can lurk in one‟s computer system for days
or months without discovery. A time bomb is a computer program that stays in
one‟s system undetected until it is triggered by a certain event in time, such as
when the computer system clock reaches a certain date. A virus or Trojan horse
usually carries a time bomb, e.g. Michelangelo virus contains a time bomb
designed to damage files on one‟s hard disk on March 6. A notorious time bomb
appeared in Dec 1989. Many hospitals aid medical clinics received an innocent-
looking package containing “Aids Information” software from a company called
PC Cyborg. The process of installing the software also installed a time bomb.
After the computer was booted a certain number of times, the time bomb
scrambled the data on the hard disk. Next the bomb displayed an invoice
demanding payment before the method for unscrambling the hard disk data was
revealed.
A logic bomb is a computer program that is triggered by the appearance or
disappears of specific data. A VIRUS or Trojan horse can carry a logic bomb.
For example suppose a programmer in a large corporation believes that she is
on the list of employees to the terminated during the next cost-cutting campaign.
Her hostility overcomes her ethical judgment, and she creates a logic bomb
program that checks the payroll file every day to make sure her employment
status is still active. It the programmer‟s status changes to terminated her logic
bomb activates a program that destroys data on the computer.

Worms
A software worm is a program designed to enter a computer system usually a
network, through security holes. Like a virus, a worm reproduces itself. Unlike a
virus, a worm does not need to be attached to an executable program to
reproduce.

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Avoidance and Detection
Computer common in the following
Public domain s/w
Shareware
Disks containing illegal copies of computer program downloaded from
bulletin boards.

A virus detection program or antiviral program examines the files stored on a disk
to determine if they are infected with a virus, and then disinfects the disk if
. The earliest virus detection software simply examined the length of
program on a computer a change in the length of a program from one
computing session to the next indicated the possible presence of a virus.

In response to early virus detection programs, hackers became more cunning.

They created programs that inserted themselves into unused portions of a
program file but do not change its length. The people who designed virus
detection programs fought back. They designed programs that examine bytes in
an infected application program and calculate a checksum. A checksum is a
value that is calculated by combining all the bytes in a file. Each time a program
is run, the virus detection program would calculate the checksum. If any byte of
the application has been changed, then checksum will be different. The problem
with checksum is that one has to start off with a virus free program.

Another technique used by virus detection programs is to search for a signature.

A signature is a unique series of bytes that can be used to identify a known virus.
More of a finger print. The signature is usually a section of the virus program,
such as a unique series of instructions. Most of today‟s virus detection software
scans for virus signatures. The signature search technique is fairly quick, but can
only identify those viruses with known signatures.

A common misconception is that write protecting one‟s disks prevents virus

infection. Although a virus cannot jump onto one‟s disk when it is write protected,
one has to remove the write protection each time one saves a file on the disk.
With the write protection removed, the disk is open to virus attack.

What to do if you detect a Computer Virus

Take steps to stop the virus from spreading. If the virus is on your computer
system, there are two ways for removing a virus. First, one attempts to restore
the infected program to its original condition by detecting the virus with disinfect
function of virus detection software. However, detect on how the virus attached
itself to he program it might not be possible to remove the virus without
destroying the program. If the virus cannot be removed successfully, use the
second method; erase the infected program, test the system again to make sure
the virus has been eliminated, then reinstall the program from the original disks.

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Computer Crime
Traditional laws do not cover the range of possibilities for computer crimes.
Suppose a person unlawfully enters a computer facility. That person might be
prosecuted for breaking and entering. But would breaking and entering laws
apply to a person who uses an off-site terminal to enter a computer system
without authorization.

In 1995, a hacker was tracked down who broke into dozens of corporate,
university, government and personal computers. Before his arrest he stole 20000
credit card numbers. He was the most wanted hacker in the world.

Data Security and Risk Management

Data security is a collection of techniques that provide protection for data.
Sometimes computer users cite Jeff Richards Laws of Data Security. As tongue-
in-check advise on how to attain foolproof security.

 Don‟t buy a computer

 If you buy a computer, don‟t turn it on. In most situations it is too time
consuming, too expensive and too complex to provide total security.
In the context of computers, risk management is the process of weighing threats
to computer data against the amount of data that is expendable and the cost of
protecting crucial data. The steps in risk management are as follows:
Determine the likely threats to computer data. For individual computer
users the major threats are hardware failure, operation error and vandalism.
Assess the amount of data that is expendable, for this assessment one
must ask themselves how much data one would have to re-enter if one‟s hard
drive was erased and how much of one‟s data would be forever lost because it
could not be reconstructed.
Determine the cost of protecting all of your data versus protecting some of
your data
Select the protective measures that are affordable, effect against the
identified threats, and easy to implement.

Establish policies
Policies are the rules and regulations that specify how a computer system should
be used. Policies are most often determined by management and used by large
organizations to stipulate who can access computer data. A typical example of a
policy might be: Employees are provided with desktop computers to enhance
their productivity. These computers may be used for work-related tasks.
However, employees are prohibited from using company computers for games,
personal financial management or other activities not related direct to their job
description.

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Procedures
It might seem that nothing can be done to prevent operator error. After all
mistakes happen. Successful computer users develop habits that significantly
reduce their chances of making mistakes. These habits when formalised and
adopted by the organization are referred as procedures. Procedures help reduce
human errors that can erase or damage data. Some examples of procedures are
these:

a) Save your files frequently as you work so you don‟t lose too much
data if the power fails
b) When you format a disk, always view a directory of its contents first
to make sure the disk in the drive is the one wait to format

Use of Audit Controls

How can an organization determine if employees are following procedures?

Audit controls monitor the accuracy and efficiency of a computer system. They
also track employee activities as well as machine operations to help an
organization determine if employees are following procedures. Examples of
audit controls

A security log audits network usage by recording the time, date and use ID
for each login.
S/w monitors the number of keystrokes per hour for each data entry
operator.

Restrict On-Line Access to Date

Passwords are a first line of defense against unauthorized access, what if a
hacker breaks in anyway? One way is to have user rights these limit the
directory and files that each user can access. Hackers occasionally gain
unauthorized access to computer system through something called a trap door.
A trap door is a special set of instructions that allow a user to bypass the normal
security precautions and enter the system.

Is there any way to prevent criminals from using stolen data?

Encryption is the process of scrambling or hiding information so it cannot be
understood until it is decrypted or deciphered to change it to its original form.
Restrict physical Access to the computer System
Restrict access to the area surrounding the computer to prevent physical
damage to the equipment.

70
 Keep data backups in a locked vault to prevent theft and to protect against
fire or water damage
Use computerized techniques that identify people based on voice patterns
fingerprints, palm prints, handwriting.

Provide Redundancy
The most dependable way to minimize downtime is to duplicate data and
equipment. Duplicating equipment means maintaining equipment that duplicates
the functions critical to computing activities. This is sometimes referred to as
hardware redundancy.

Install and use virus detection software

Virus detection software finds and eradicates many viruses, but it is not 100%
reliable. It will fail to detect viruses without a known signature, polymorphic
viruses that change after they infect one‟s computer and viruses that use stealth
technology to hide from virus detection programs.

Make back up

A backup is a duplicate copy of a file or the contents of a disk drive. If the original
file is lost or damaged, one can use the backup copy to restore the data to its
original working condition.

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 Unit Eight

Local Area Networks

A computer network
 A collection of computers and of the devices that communicate to
share data, hardware and software.

LAN
 A network that is located with a relatively limited area such as a
building or campus

WAN
 A network that covers a large geographical area

Network resources
Standalone computer – computer not connected to a network
Workstation - a computer connected to a local area network using a cable
or other communications channel
Local resources - workstations usual resources hard drive, software, data and
printer
Network resources - application s/w, storage space for data files.
Network resources – application s/w storage space for data files
Network server server – a computer connected to the network that serves or
distributes, resources to network users
Network printer – provides output capabilities to all network users
Node – each device on a network, including workstations, servers and printers

The Login Process

 Need to log on
 During login, a user ID and password are entered
 A user account provides access to network resources and
accumulates information about one‟s network use by tracking when
one logs in and logs out.
 Password

How does my computer access data files and application software from a
network server?

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Mapping terminology for assigning a drive letter to a network server disk
drive; e.g. a typical workstation with a floppy drive A : and a hard
drive C; the login process maps the server hard drive as F.

Once mapped, one can access data files and application software
from that drive just usual.

Using programs on a network

When you start a program stored on a server, the programs is copied to
the RAM of one‟s workstation
With proper licensing many users can access a program at the same time
(sharing a program)
The network server sends a copy of the program to each user‟s
workstation

Advantages of sharing programs

Less disk storage space is required because the program is stored only
once on the server
When a new version of s/w is released, it is easier to update one copy of
the program on the server
Purchasing a software license for a network can be less expensive than
purchasing single-used licenses for each workstation on the network

Using Data files on a Network

If a document is stored on your local hard disk then it is only accessible
from the workstation
If it stores a file on the server hard disk, other users can also access it
Most data files on a network server can be opened by only one user a
time
When one user has file open, it is locked to other users

Using a Network Printer

Most application software sends one waits to put to the printer that is
connected to the computers parallel part
Network workstations often do not have local computers instead they need
access to a network printer

Network Interface Cards and Cables

A network interface card is the key hardware component for connecting a
computer to a LAN.

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Network Servers
When I use a network, is my data processed locally or on the network server ?

Dedicated file server – devoted only to the task of delivery program and
data files to workstation
Program run using the memory and processor of the workstation
A non-dedicated server/peer-to-peer the computer functions like a normal
workstation, but other workstations can access programs and data files from the
hard disk of one‟s computer
Print-server stores files in a print queue and sends each queued file to the
network printer
A print job is a file that has send to the printer
An application server is a computer that runs application software and
forwards the results of processing to workstations requested
An application sever makes it possible to use the processing power of
both the server and the workstation.

 Host computer - some networks include a host computer

- a host computer has terminals attached
- all processing takes place at the host

Software for Networks

 a network operating system such as Novell Netware
 a network operating system usually has two component; server software
and client software
 Network server software – installed on a file sever and controls file access
from the server, hard drive, manages the print queue and tracks user data
such as Ids and passwords.
 Network client software is installed on the local hard drive of each
workstation and is essentially a device drive for the network interface card.
Network client software is activated when a computer is booted, and established
the connection between one‟s workstation and other devices on the network

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 Unit Nine

The Internet
Background idea
To construct a network of geographical dispersed computers that would
continue to function even if one computer is destroyed
1969 – ARPANET – 4 computer networks were connected ARPANET –
was small hence „i‟
A site can be defined as each of the networks included in the Internet

1984 – 1024
1994 – 2 217 000

Unique features of Internet:

 Incredible size 1984-1024; 1994 2217 000
 Owned by no-one
 Chaotic organization of information on the Internet „junk‟ + „quality‟
 No screening of data

Internet Services and Access Software

What kind of info can I find on the Internet?
 Electronic mail
 Discussion groups
 Government documents
 On-line shopping software packages are
 Interactive entertainment used to access information
 Downloadable software
 Music
 Video clips

Internet E-mail

Why study email?

 To understand the sending of mail to virtually anyone who has an e-mail
box anywhere in the world
 To get a better idea of how the Internet works

To send mail one needs

Access to email on a computer that is connected to the Internet

75
 Compose the message on your computer using your email client s/w,
address the message and tell email system to send it.

Email addressing system

president@compcentre.uz.ac.zw

 President – user id.

 Compcentre – machine name
 A machine name is a unique set of numbers and letters that identifies
each computer connected to the internet

A domain name groups computers on the Internet into the following

com (commercial)
edu (educational)
org (other organization)
net (network resources)

When email is send

 Local mail server examines the machine name
 Messages addressed to users on the local machine are delivered by the
local mail server
 Other are sent by Internet

The World Wide Web (WWW)

A vast ever-expanding collection of online documents and information
formatted in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) distributed over the Internet.
Information is in multimedia format with graphics, music or video clips
Web pages – pages that contain information on a particular topic
Links – pointers to other web pages (one or more links to other pages)
To offer www service, on Internet site must set up web server software
and format its info into pages using HTML.

Use of HTML editor

 Creates links among pages
 Displays links in boldface underline text
 Positions graphics

The URL (Uniform Resource Locator)

Each web page has a unique address called a Uniform Resource locator (URL)
example

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 http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/dino.htmm

http:// - means it is a web page; web pages are sent between sites using
Hypertext Transfer Protocol
www.hcc.hawaii.edu is the Internet address of the www server at Honolulu
college
/dino.html differentiates the pages at a particular site.

To access WWW information, you need a computer with Internet access and
software (web browser).

What is a web browser

Software
Displays the text, graphics, and links for a web page
Helps one follow links from one web page to another. Netscape, Mosaic,
Search the web
Explore the categories of information on the web
Create your own web pages

HOME PAGE – Introductory screen

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

FTP is a method for transferring files from one computer to another. This is
usually from host computer to your microcomputer. FTP software connects the
microcomputers to a remote host computer called an FTP server.

Once connected:
 One can look through the directory of files stored on the host
 User can instruct the FTP software to transmit a copy of the file to the
microcomputer‟s h/disk.
 Most hosts require one to log on.

Use Anonymous FTP: Anyone without an account on the host computer can use
FTP s/w to log using user „ID‟ anonymous

NB Not every host accepts

Anonymous logins

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Archie

Archie is an on-line Internet service. It searches a special FTP database to find

hosts that contain the file one needs and allow anonymous FTP.

Telnet
Can I play interactive games with other Internet users?

What is Telnet?
Internet service that establishes a connection between your computer and
a remote host so you can use the processing power of remote host to run
software. Why would you do that?
Software was not written for the type of computer you have
Software is too complex for your computer‟s processor
If copyright restrictions prevent you from downloading the s/w

To Use Telnet
You need Telnet s/w
Computer becomes part of the host‟s network

Once connected, the remote host can be used to

 Send mail
 Run programs
 Copy files
 Create files

MUD (Multiple User Dimension)

- Computer-generated environment in which you talk to other
participants solve puzzles
- Text-based

MOO (Multi-User Object-Oriented)

similar to MUD but uses graphics

[often called virtual reality]

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Gopher
A menu driven Internet service that helps one locate info.
Although new, will probably be replaced by the WWW because Web has a
graphical user interface that is easier to use.
To use Gopher -> Gopher s/w on your computer and you need to connect
to a Gopher server.

Use net Groups

Usenet is Internet service that maintains thousands of discussion groups
involving millions of people from all over the world.

Each group focuses on a particular topic e.g. music, business, and education.

Usenet groups‟ comments are called articles or postings.

Usenet conversations are asynchrous (they do not take place in real time)
Some discussion groups are moderated by a discussion group moderator
– who screens contribution to the discussion, routes personal messages to
individual subscribers
Sequence of comments for a particular conversation is called a thread
To read UseNet articles – news reader software – which keeps track of
newsgroup you use and provides commands to use to read articles

When you participate in newsgroups follow rules referred to as netiquette

(unwritten rules)

Put your best foot forward

Use conventions to avoid misunderstanding
Help readers follow the thread
Be brief
Avoid flames
Read before you ask
Personal message belong on e-mail

Connecting to the Internet

What special Equipment do I need?

A computer (500 MHz)
A modem (28.8 bps)
A telephone line

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Who will provide an Internet Connection?
Internet Access provider
User account on a host computer that has Internet access.

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 Unit Ten

Electronic Commerce and Applications to Business

There is no universally accepted definition of the term “electronic commerce”.

However it is used to cover the distribution, marketing, sale or delivery of goods
and services by electronic means.

E-commerce existed before the Internet was widely used and still exists in many
forms such as EDI(Electronic Data Interchange) which takes place over non
TCP/IP networks, and is still much more important in business commerce than
the Internet.

It follows that recent intense interest in e-commerce may stem in great part from
the way in which the Internet has affected business to consumer trade, making
usual business to consumer commerce into e-commerce. There are undeniable
grounds for interest in business to consumer e-commerce, taking into account
the fact that the number of individuals connected to the Internet is growing at a
phenomenal rate, couples with an increase in commercial applications of the
Internet.

The Internet may be used for commercial transactions; whether they be business
to business or business to consumer. A commercial transaction can be divided
into three main stages:
The advertising and searching stage
The ordering and payment stage
The delivery stage.
Any or all these can be carried out on the Internet and may therefore be covered
by the concept of e-commerce.

Commercial firms and organizations to advertise and market both goods and
services all over the world are increasingly using electronic means.
Manufacturers and retailers in the far-off countries can offer their products or
services with information on product capabilities and benefits, content or
components, prices, production schedules, delivery, and payment conditions..

What are the general observations in the use of e-commerce?

Consumers benefit from instant price and product comparisons, delivered by
shopping agents‟ software or product ratings sites, and different pricing
mechanisms.

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It simplifies commercial transactions between buyers and sellers, there is greater
transparency in pricing goods and services and the reduced need to deal through
traditional middlemen are likely to make prices more competitive.

Businesses can take advantage of advanced data exploitation from online

transactions for more targeted, aggressive marketing, even to a very large
customer base.

For businesses that deal in goods and services that can be delivered digitally,
directly over the Internet, such as software, travel bookings and banking and
insurance services will probably see the most e-commerce-related change in
their respective sectors.

Weaknesses of e-commerce
Order fulfilment and delivery; once the product has been bought, order fulfilment
and delivery are important, but not always efficient aspects of e-commerce.
Mixing online and offline retailing and the new automated warehousing and
delivery mechanisms can help businesses deal with delivery more efficiently.

Not all products sell as others, electronic shopping has so far been successful
with low-touch goods such as computer books and CDs, which consumers don‟t
need to see and touch, than with high-touch than with high-touch goods like
clothes.

A widely perceived weakness of Internet commerce is security of payments

especially fear of the theft of credit card numbers.

What are the common misunderstanding and mistakes regarding e-

commerce?

Believing that having a web site will lead to instant sales.

Believing that using the Internet is an easy way to make one‟s business
and products known worldwide. There are about a third of a trillion pages visible
on the WWW and the number is growing very rapidly; being present on the Web
does not necessarily mean being visible.
Believing that an Internet site will replace other promotional techniques,
rather that fit into the firm‟s overall promotional strategy.
Not spending enough to promote the web site, such as email messaging,
registering with all major search engines, direct mailing of notices, updating
business cards and letterheads, using the television and other traditional
methods to advertise the web site.
Designing a web site that makes it difficult for one‟s customers to identify
the advantages of one‟s product or if the site is used for on-line transactions
makes it difficult for one‟s customers to buy from you.

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 Not updating the site frequently
Believing that a perfect design for the site will automatically lead to sales.
Believing that with the advent of the Internet, intermediateness will
disappear
Believing that the Internet will level the playing field between small and big
businesses.
Believing that using a credit card is risky for the buyer. In fact, sellers bear
the risk and reprisal of fraud.

How is the Internet changing the way business is conducted?

Buyers can now more easily, and at lower cost, compare prices and
service from suppliers anywhere in the world.
Internet has made it possible for business to sustain “one-to-one”
customer relationship with an unlimited number of customers
Customers can more easily specify individual requirements online,
permitting customisation of products.
Buyers are grouping together for quantity discounts.
Virtual enterprises are reaching customers faster for a small fraction of the
cost of stores and salespeople.
Potentially global competition and ease of price comparison mean that
many Internet retailers can activate only low price mark-ups.
Big businesses and well-known brands dominate the Internet, however
small business are coming in.
Services will witness a profound change with banking, education,
consulting, design and marketing leading the way in e-commerce.
The Internet will spread innovation to more people much more quickly
than in the past.
Local and foreign suppliers are more easily and closely intergraded into
the supply chain.
Many small enterprises add to their income by becoming “affiliates” of
larger businesses.
Online merchants can make offers of complementary products to
customers, “cross-selling” or “up-selling” at low cost and even “automatically by
using data collected online existing customers on product preferences,
purchasing histories.

What industries have changed most profoundly by e-commerce?

According to Internet researchers Forrester Research and Business Week

(Business week, The Internet age, October 1999) six industries have most
profoundly changed the ways in which business is conducted over the Internet.

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 Computing and Electronics; Dell Computer, Cisco Systems and Intel sell
more than $100 million a day over the Internet.
Telecommunications; because of the increased use of data transmission
through email, servers and web sites, revenues from telecom services to
businesses are expanding for global leaders.
Financial services; financial services are easily digitised, delivered online
and inexpensive.
Retailing; traditional retailers while manufacturers of certain types of
goods have created thousands of web sites and products are starting to sell
directly to consumers.
Energy; led by online sales of natural gas, trading of other energy such as
electricity, coal and fuel is taking place online due to the ability to respond
immediately to fluctuating demand.
Travel; consumers are bypassing travel agents to book tickets and other
travel arrangements on-line, significantly reducing costs.

What are the benefits of e-commerce?

Most enterprises do not want simply to design a web site to attract customers.
Many see electronic commerce as providing the following opportunities:
Enhance credibility by projecting a more solid, up-to-date professional
image.
Promote products and services
Advertise in more markets at less expense
Answer questions about products and services
Provide on-line quotations
Improve response time to customer queries
Obtain feedback from customers
Improve customer service.
Provide same-day service or service out of normal working hours.
Use email- as a marketing tool
Use e-mail as a customer communication tool
Offer paperless documentation
Coordinate supply and customer relations from several outlets
Operate a dealer network more efficiently
Conduct foreign market research.

What are the essential elements of an electronic commerce strategy or

business plan?

Developing an e-commerce business plan requires careful planning and

commitment.. As with any new business operation, the decision to have an e-
commerce strategy must be envisaged as along term business investment,
rather than a short term profit objective.

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Before drawing up a business plan for presentation to banks or investors,
consider the following:
Management. Conduct an analysis of the firm to ensure that the decision to have
an e-commerce strategy is supported by all levels of management.
Human resources and training: Integration of the Internet in the business.
Create awareness among employees. Assign responsibility for site creation
(layout, code writing, updating, and technical maintenance, responding to
customer requests for information and fulfilling orders.)
Executive summary; this is a very important part of one‟s plan that should be
written after the rest of the plan has been finished. It is very likely that that
investors or your bank will initially read only the executive summary. It must be
brief and factual.

A typical executive would contain some of the following:

Objective: define long-term goals and determine how electronic commerce will
help to attain those goals.
Orientation: How do you want to use the Internet?
Present situation: Identify the firm‟s products that will sell well over the Internet
and why.
Set the criteria for evaluation; These should include the number of hits per
month, number of pages viewed, number of repeat visitors, number of actual
contacts, number of orders, number of transactions.
Promotion: How will the site be promoted?
Market Analysis: What are the opportunities in the electronic commerce market
for you?
Existing competition: Conduct an industry analysis to assess existing
competition, and to determine the firm‟s competitiveness within the industry. List
the web sites for all major and minor competitors. What is the estimated market
share of each competitor? What are the expected trends in your industry for
electronic commerce?
Target customers: What is the demographic and socio-economic profile of the
customers you expect to target online? Why do you believe they will purchase
from you over the Internet.
Focus group research: Research a small focus group of potential customers
from the target market, in order to gain constructive feedback and criticism, about
the product‟s potential to sell in an electronic commerce environment.
Calculated risk; Estimate the industry and the firm‟s performance over the next
three to five years, both online and offline.
Marketing strategy; How will online customers, importers, agents, wholesalers
be attracted and their interest sustained.
Content: What elements to include on the site?
Selling strategy: consider pricing/profitability, order processing (how will orders
be taken. How will payment be made (fax, mail, Internet).

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Business relationship: Establish a plan, and determine the type of relationship
to be established for developing international business relationships, including
aspects such as cross-culture training.
Integration: outline how your system will integrate with the systems used by
your bank, business customers, suppliers and distributors.
Manufacturing plans; indicate initial volume, expansion requirements, sources
of materials, manufacturing sites etc.
Financial projections: be realistic and conservative
Twelve-month budget: Anticipate costs for the first year of your electronic
commerce strategy.
Cash-Flow projections: calculate cash receipts vs cash disbursement.
Five year plan; include a five-year profit and loss statement.
Balance sheet; illustrate the firm‟s liquidity and cash position.
Conclusion; Re-state basic electronic commerce goal, total capital required,
profit expected, schedule and general comments.

What are the traps to avoid when developing an electronic commerce

strategy or business plan?

Not seeking advice.

Not obtaining management commitment
Not analysing the market research; proper analysis of one‟s research
should confirm or deny that a product will be accepted on the Internet and will
sell to certain markets.
Not determining export and import flow (industry analysis); many firms find
it difficult to find information about the countries where a particular product is
being exported to, or imported from For the exporter to be successful in a
particular market and to target its electronic marketing message, it is absolutely
critical to determine whether the product will be competitive.
Not determining the optimum export price; pricing a product is the most
important factor affecting financial projections in the electronic commerce
strategy
Not acknowledging how buyers make decisions; it is important to address
how buyers make purchasing decisions on the Internet, so that the readers of e-
commerce international business plan realize that the firm is aware of what
factors influence foreign buyers. The most important factor in a buyer‟s decision
to purchase whether online or offline is whether or not she trusts the seller,
therefore every effort should be made to ensure that your site projects your
trustworthiness.
Overall marketing communications; many first-time electronic commerce
businesses are passive rather than active, selling only because someone from
another country contacted them.
Not checking the buyer‟s credit worthiness, before agreeing to any deal, it
is essential that a potential buyer distribute or partner‟s credit be checked.

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 Choosing methods of distribution; many firms only consider electronic
commerce directly as a means of conducting international business. Designing a
web site gives the small enterprise the greatest control of the marketing,
financing, and growth of his/her electronic commerce strategy market.

What are some of the lessons, challenges and solutions regarding e-

commerce in developing countries?

Lessons
Link the Internet to an organization‟s main business goals. Electronic
business should be driven by senior management rather than relegating the task
to information technology (IT) technicians

Ensure that you have the resources for marketing and maintenance and
not just the installation and initial design of your design. Some experts suggest
that a third of resources be dedicated to start-up costs, another third be
dedicated to promotion efforts and the final third to updating and maintenance.

Some enterprises are more suited to sales and delivery via the Internet
than others, music, books, software; travel services are in the forefront of
electronic commerce.

When used properly the Internet can reduce communication costs, foster
closer links between organizations in different locations, store business
information contacts and streamline purchasing and supply management.
Challenges

 Telecommunications infrastructure gap.

 Translation difficulties
 Costs of installation and access
 Limited supply of computers in developing countries
 Limited Internet access due to little or no availability of local Internet
Service providers.
 Traditional export or distance selling problems which would apply to
selling via he Internet; labelling, shipping, return of goods, warehousing or
stock management, payment collection and export-related paper work.
Solutions
 The growing uses of satellite and mobile telephone links for Internet
access instead of telephone lines. These have several major advantages
for the spread of the Internet in developing countries; they are wireless, so
the bandwidth is not limited by the inherent limitations of cooper twisted
pair and they are digital, greatly simplifying or eliminating modems. They
are much less costly to establish in most developing countries than the
cooper-based network.

 Free software, discussion groups and mega-sites for trade research

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  Using the Internet to gather market research, provide market intelligence,
offer links to business contact, product an service descriptions and interact
in business-related newsgroups.

What are the usual fees for web site development and updates?

Fees to develop and maintain a web site vary considerably. Generally, they are
based upon an hourly fee for the type of expertise needed, multiplied by the
number of hours the project will take.

The experience of the company staff; as a rule, the greater the

experience, the higher the fee.
The size of the company: large companies, with larger overheads costs.
May charge higher fees.
The eagerness of the company to obtain your business; fees may be
reduced, or extra services included, if the company is hungry for the project
The size of the project to be undertaken; the greater the number of
services, pages and features, the higher the total fee.
How quickly one wants to have the web page set up and operating.

Before choosing and meeting with the developer:

Learn as much as you can about the possibilities and opportunities for
your company, prepare the e-commerce plan.
Prepare to articulate your goals for site to the developer; what do you want
to have occurred as a result of being on the web.
Determine what you want to have included in your site and drafting the
site map.
Draft the text of the pages
Gather any visuals and documents you want to include
Establish a process for obtaining internal approvals for the various states
of the developers.
While working with the developer

 Consider the developer‟s suggestions for improvements; they may save

you money in the development and make your site more effective in
operations.
 Make the fewest possible changes once the process has begun
 Obtain internal approvals as quickly as possible.

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What products will sell on the Internet?

Competition; if a product or service is unique, or can at least be

characterized or described using unique terms, it will fare better on the Internet
due to exclusivity and being easier to locate using search engines.
Price; where the Internet helped customers compare prices for identical
goods, the bottom line is that the cheapest price rules the Internet.
The touch factor; customers still need to touch, see, smell, try on,
experiment with or talk to someone about thousands of products.
Uniformity of product; products that are manufactures will likely be
easier to sell online than those that are handmade or custom produced to the
greater consistency of product characteristics
Immediacy of product; if you need a ladder to change a light bulb, you
are not likely to go to the Internet to purchase either item.
Repeat usage of product; familiar products that need to be purchased on
regular basis are easier for the consumer to purchase over the Internet to save
time, boredom and money.

What services sell well on the Internet?

Accounting
Advertising
Air transportation
Commercial education and training
Computer services and software
Financial services
Travel and Tourism
Web site design and maintenance
Auction Services
Education

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