APPENDIX A

HARDWARE
AND
SOFTWARE

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright 2013 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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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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CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT

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

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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PRIMARY STORAGE

Primary storage - The computers 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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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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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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INPUT DEVICES

Input device - Equipment used to

capture information and commands
Manual input devices
Joystick
Keyboard
Microphone
Automated input devices
Bar code scanner
Digital camera
Magnetic ink character reader
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OUTPUT DEVICES

Output device - Equipment used to see,

hear, or otherwise accept the results of
information processing requests
Cathode-ray tube (CRT)
Liquid crystal display (LCD)
Laser printer
Ink-jet printer
Plotter
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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

Computer categories include:

Personal digital assistant (PDA)
Laptop
Tablet
Desktop
Workstation
Minicomputer
Mainframe computer
Supercomputer
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SOFTWARE BASICS

System software - Controls how the various

technology tools work together along with the
application software
Operating system software
Utility software
Application software
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UTILITY SOFTWARE
Types of utility software
Crash-proof
Disk image
Disk optimization
Encrypt data
File and data recovery
Text protect
Preventative security
Spyware
Uninstaller
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APPLICATION SOFTWARE
Types of application software
Bowser
Communication
Data management
Desktop publishing
Email
Groupware
Presentation graphics
Programming
Spreadsheet
Word processing