APPENDIX A

Hardware and Software Basics

 Appendix A Overview
Hardware and Software Basics
• Hardware Basics
• Computer Categories
• Software Basics

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 Learning Outcomes
A.1 Describe the six major categories of hardware and provide
an example of each.
A.2 Identify the different computer categories and explain
their potential business uses.
A.3 Identify the two main types of software.

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 Introduction
Information technology (IT) – Any computer-based tool
that people use to work with information and support
the information and information-processing needs of
an organization
• Hardware – Consists of the physical devices associated
with a computer system
• Software – The set of instructions that the hardware
executes to carry out specific tasks

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 Hardware Basics
Computer – An electronic device operating under the
control of instructions stored in its own memory that
can accept, manipulate, and store data
Hardware components include:
1. Central processing unit (CPU)
2. Primary storage
3. Secondary storage
4. Input device
5. Output device
6. Communication device

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 Figure A.1 Hardware and Software Overview

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 Figure A.2 Hardware Components of a
Computer System

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 Figure A.3 How the Hardware Components
Work Together

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 Central Processing Unit 1 of 3
Central processing unit (CPU) (or microprocessor) – The actual
hardware that interprets and executes the program (software)
instructions and coordinates how all the other hardware devices
work together
Control unit – Interprets software instructions and literally tells
the other hardware devices what to do, based on the software
instructions
Arithmetic-logic unit (ALU) – Performs all arithmetic operations
(for example, addition and subtraction) and all logic operations
(such as sorting and comparing numbers)

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 Central Processing Unit 2 of 3
The number of CPU cycles per second determines the
speed of a CPU
• Megahertz (MHz) – The number of millions of CPU
cycles per second
• Gigahertz (GHz) – The number of billions of CPU cycles
per second

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 Central Processing Unit 3 of 3
CPU speed factors
• Clock speed
• Word length
• Bus width
• Chip line width
Binary digit (bit) – The smallest unit of information that
a computer can process
Byte – A group of eight bits representing one natural
language character

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 Primary Storage
Primary storage – The computer’s main memory, which
consists of the random access memory (RAM), cache
memory, and the read-only memory (ROM) that is
directly accessible to the CPU

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 Random Access Memory (RAM)
Random access memory (RAM) – The computer’s
primary working memory, in which program
instructions and data are stored so that they can be
accessed directly by the CPU via the processor’s high-
speed external data bus
• Volatility
• Cache memory

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 Read-Only Memory (ROM)
Read-only memory (ROM) – The portion of a
computer’s primary storage that does not lose its
contents when one switches off the power
• Flash memory
• Memory card
• Memory stick

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 Secondary Storage
Secondary storage – Consists of equipment designed to
store large volumes of data for long-term storage
• Megabyte (MB or M or Meg) – Roughly 1 million bytes
• Gigabyte (GB) – Roughly 1 billion bytes
• Terabyte (TB) – Roughly 1 trillion bytes

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 Figure A.5 Binary Terms
Term Size
Kilobyte (KB) 1,024 bytes
Megabyte (MB) 1,024 K B
1,048,576 bytes
Gigabyte (GB) 1,024 M B (109 bytes)
Terabyte (TB) 1,024 G B (1012 bytes)
1 T B equals printing of 1 T B would require 50,000 trees to
be made into paper and printed.
Petabyte (PB) 1,024 T B (1015 bytes)
200 P B equals all production of digital magnetic tape in
1995.
Exabyte (EB) 1,024 P B (1018 bytes)
2 E B equals total volume of information generated
worldwide annually.
5 E B equals all words ever spoken by human beings.

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 Magnetic Medium
Magnetic medium – A secondary storage medium that uses
magnetic techniques to store and retrieve data on disks or tapes
coated with magnetically sensitive materials
Magnetic tape – An older secondary storage medium that uses a
strip of thin plastic coated with a magnetically sensitive
recording medium
Hard drive – A secondary storage medium that uses several rigid
disks coated with a magnetically sensitive material and housed
together with the recording heads in a hermetically sealed
mechanism

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 Optical Medium
Optical medium types include:
• Compact disk-read-only memory (CD-ROM)
• Compact disk-read-write (CD-RW) drive
• Digital video disk (DVD)
• DVD-ROM drive
• Digital video disk-read/write (DVD-RW)

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 Figure A.6 Input Devices
Input device
- Equipment
used to
capture
information
and
commands

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 Figure A.7 Output Devices 1 of 2

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 Figure A.7 Output Devices 2 of 2

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 Communication Devices
Communication device – Equipment used to send
information and receive it from one location to another
• Dial-up access
• Cable
• Digital subscriber line
• Wireless
• Satellite

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 Computer Categories 1 of 2
For the past 20 years, federally funded supercomputing
research has given birth to some of the computer
industry’s most significant technology breakthroughs
including:
• Clustering
• Parallel processing
• Mosaic browser

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 Computer Categories 2 of 2
Computer categories include:
• Personal digital assistant (PDA)
• Laptop
• Tablet
• Desktop
• Workstation
• Minicomputer
• Mainframe computer
• Supercomputer

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 Software Basics
The two main types of software are system
software and application software.

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 System software – Controls how the various technology
tools work together along with the application software

System software includes both

• Operating system software
• Utility software

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 Operating system software
Operating system software controls the application software
and manages how the hardware devices work together.

When using Excel to create and print a graph, the operating

system software controls the process, ensures that a printer is
attached and has paper, and sends the graph to the printer
along with instructions on how to print it.

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 Operating system software also supports a variety of useful
features, one of which is multitasking.

• Multitasking allows more than one piece of software to be

used at a time.

• Multitasking is used when creating a graph in Excel and

simultaneously printing a word processing document. With
multitasking, both pieces of application software are
operating at the same time.

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There are different types of operating system software for personal
environments and for organizational environments (see Figure A.11 ).

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 Utility Software
Utility software provides additional functionality to the
operating system.

Utility software includes antivirus software, screen savers, and

antispam software.

Figure A.12 displays a few types of available utility software.

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 Application Software
Application software is used to solve specific problems or
perform specific tasks.

Application software is used for specific information processing

needs, including payroll, customer relationship management,
project management, training, and many others.

From an organizational perspective, payroll software,

collaborative software such as videoconferencing (within
groupware), and inventory management software are all
examples of application software (see Figure A.13 ).

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 Distributing Application Software
Software updates (software patch) occur when the software
vendor releases updates to software to fix problems or enhance
features.

Software updates (software patch) occur when the software

vendor releases updates to software to fix problems or enhance
features.
Software upgrade occurs when the software vendor releases a
new version of the software, making significant
changes to the program.

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 Application software can be distributed using one of the
following methods:
■ Single user license—restricts the use of the software to one
user at a time.
■ Network user license—enables anyone on the network to
install and use the software.
■ Site license—enables any qualified users within the
organization to install the software,
regardless of whether the computer is on a network. Some
employees might install the
software on a home computer for working remotely.
■ Application service provider license—specialty software paid
for on a license basis or
per-use basis or usage-based licensing

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 Learning Outcome Review

Now that you have finished the appendix please review

the learning outcomes in your text.

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 Appendix of Image Long Descriptions

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 Appendix 1 Figure A.1 Hardware and Software
Overview
Hardware refers to the physical devices associated with a computer system.

Hardware includes:
• Central processing unit
• C P U – The computer's "brain"
• R A M – Integrated circuits; works with the C P U
• Input device
• Keyboard; mouse; scanner
• Output device
• Monitor; printer; headphones
• Storage device
• D V D; memory stick; hard drive
• Communication device
• Modem; wireless card
• Connecting device
• Cables; U S B port
Software refers to the set of instructions the hardware executes to carry out specific tasks.

Software includes:
• System software – Controls how the various tools work together with application software
• Operating system software
• Windows; Mac O S; Linux
• Utility software
• Antivirus; screen savers; data recovery
• Application software – Performs specific information processing needs
• Word processing software
• Microsoft Word
• Spreadsheet software
• Microsoft Excel
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 Appendix 2 Figure A.2 Hardware Components of a
Computer System
C P U – The actual hardware that interprets and executes the program (software)
instructions and coordinates how all the other hardware devices work together.
Primary storage – The computer's main memory, which consists of the random access
memory (R A M), the cache memory, and the read-only memory (R O M) that is
directly accessible to the central processing unit (C P U).
Secondary storage – Equipment designed to store large volumes of data for long-term
storage (diskette, C D, D V D, memory stick).
Input devices – Equipment used to capture information and commands (mouse,
keyboard, scanner).
Output devices – Equipment used to see, hear, or otherwise accept the results of
information processing requests (monitor, printer, microphones).
Communication device – Equipment used to send information and receive it from one
location to another (modem, wireless card).

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 Appendix 3 Figure A.3 How the Hardware
Components Work Together
A computer system consists of: a central processing unit (C P U),
control unit, and arithmetic-logic unit.
Primary storage devices (such as memory chips) and input
devices (such as a keyboard or mouse) feed information into the
system.
Secondary storage devices (such as a thumb or optical drive),
communication devices (such as a modem cable), and output
devices (such as a monitor or printer) receive information from
the system.

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 Appendix 4 Figure A.6 Input Devices
Manual input devices include:
Keyboard – Provides a set of alphabetic, numeric, punctuation, symbol, and control keys.
Mouse – One or more control buttons housed in a palm-sized case and designed so that one can
move it about on the table next to the keyboard.
Touch pad – Form of a stationary mouse on which the movement of a finger causes the pointer
on the screen to move; typically found below the space bar on laptops.
Touch screen – Allows the use of a finger to point at and touch a monitor to execute commands.
Pointing device – Devices used to navigate and select objects on a display screen.
Game controller – Devices used for games to obtain better control screen action.
Automated input devices include:
Image scanner – Captures images, photos, graphics, and text that already exist on paper.
Bar code scanner – Captures information that exists in the form of vertical bars whose width and
distance apart determine a number.
Biometric scanner – Captures human physical attributes such as a fingerprint or iris for security
purposes.
Optical mark reader – Detects the presence or absence of a mark in a predetermined place
(popular for multiple-choice exams).
Optical character reader – Converts text into digital format for computer input.
Digital still camera – Digitally captures still images in varying resolutions.
Digital video camera – Digitally captures video.
Webcam – Digitally captures video and uploads it directly to the Internet.
Microphone – Captures sounds such as a voice for voice-recognition software.
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 Appendix 5 Figure A.7 Output Devices 1 of 2
Cathode-ray tube (C R T) – A vacuum tube that uses an electron
gun (cathode) to emit a beam of electrons that illuminates
phosphors on a screen as the beam sweeps across the display
repeatedly.
Liquid crystal display (L C D) – Low-powered displays used in
laptop computers where rod-shaped crystal molecules change
their orientation when an electrical current flows through them.
Light-emitting diode (L E D) – Tiny bulb used for backlight to
improve the image on the screen.
Organic light-emitting diode (O L E D) – Displays use many layers
of organic material emitting a visible light and therefore
eliminating the need for backlighting.

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 Appendix 6 Figure A.7 Output Devices 2 of 2
Ink-jet printers – Printer that makes images by forcing ink
droplets through nozzles.
Laser printer – Printer that form images using an electrostatic
process, the same way a photocopier works.
Multifunction printer – Printer that can scan, copy, fax, and print
all in one device.
Plotter – Printer that uses computer-directed pens for creating
high-quality images, blueprints, schematics, etc.
3-D printer – Printer that can produce solid, three-dimensional
objects.

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