Week 3 Project

/

Hardware and Software for Digital Enterprise—Part 2

Storage

The primary storage consists of different types of semiconductor memory chips:

Random Access Memory (RAM): Used for short-term storage of data during the execution of program instructions.

Read-Only Memory (ROM): Used for permanent storage of important program instructions like how to form various letters, numbers, and symbols with fonts.

The main secondary storage technologies are:

Magnetic Disk: Data is stored by means of magnetized spots on a hard or �oppy disk.

Optical Disk: Stores massive quantities of data in a highly compact form.

Magnetic Tape: Large volumes of information are stored sequentially by means of magnetized and non-magnetized spots on a tape.

Communication Devices

Multimedia integrates two or more of the following types of media transforming these into a computer-based application:

Text

Graphics

Sound

Voice

Full-motion video

Still video

Animation

Classification of Computer Hardware

Computer hardware is classi�ed as:

Mainframes: These are the largest computers used in very large business organization, research, and military applications.

Midrange computers: These are minicomputers used in factories, colleges, and research labs to act as servers that provide software, printers, and the Internet access to computers on its network.

Workstations: These are desktop computers with powerful graphic and mathematical capabilities.

Supercomputers: These are sophisticated and powerful computers that can perform complex and massive computations rapidly.

PCs: These are laptop or desktop computers.

After discussing computer hardware let us explore the other aspect of IS infrastructure—computer software

/