Discussion: Information System Infrastructure (300 words)

dk1913

PrinciplesofInformationSystemsch3andch4.pdf

Home >Information Systems homework help >Discussion: Information System Infrastructure (300 words)

PART 2 InformationTechnology Concepts

Chapter 3 Hardware and Mobile Devices

Chapter 4 Software and Mobile Applications

Chapter 5 Database Systems and Big Data

Chapter 6 Networks and Cloud Computing

Macrovector/Shutterstock.com

CHAPTER

3 Hardware and Mobile Devices

Stephen Coburn/Shutterstock.com

Know?Did Yo u

• The Large Hadron Collider (LHC)—built to gain a better understanding of what our universe is made of and how it began—captures about 3 gigabytes of data per second. One gigabyte can store seven minutes of HD-TV. The mission of the LHC Computing Grid is to store and analyze all this data using 132,922 physical processors, 300 petabytes of online disk storage, and 230 petabytes of magnetic tape storage. For perspec- tive, one gigabyte can store seven minutes of HD-TV while one petabyte is equivalent to 13.3 years of HD- TV.

• Current technology allows chip manufacturers to create chips with features that measure as small as

14 nanometers (nm) across. For perspective, a mole- cule of water is around 0.5 nm across. Not only are chips getting smaller, but they are getting faster and require less energy. These improved chips will be in your computing devices, smartphones, and wearable computers making them more powerful and useful.

• Biomedical engineers are exploring a process called bioprinting, which uses 3D printers to create living tissue capable of naturally integrating into the body. This will eventually enable the construction of fully functional human organs.

Principles Learning Objectives

• The computer hardware industry is rapidly changing and highly competitive, creating an environment ripe for technological breakthroughs.

• Computer hardware must be carefully selected to meet the evolving needs of the organization and its supporting information systems.

• The computer hardware industry and users are implementing green computing designs and products.

• Identify and briefly describe the functions of the primary components of a computer.

• Give an example of recent innovations in computer processor chips, memory devices, and input/output devices.

• Identify the characteristics of various classes of single-user and multiuser computer systems, and discuss the usage of each class of system.

• Identify some of the challenges and trade-offs that must be considered in implementing a data center.

• Define the term "green computing" and identify the primary goals of this program.

Why Learn about Hardware and Mobile Devices? Organizations invest in computer hardware to improve worker productivity, increase revenue, reduce costs, provide better customer service, speed up time to market, and facilitate collaboration among employees. Organizations that don’t make wise hardware investments are often stuck with outdated equipment that is unreliable and that cannot take advantage of the latest software advances. Such obsolete hardware can serve as an anchor to progress and can place an organization at a competitive disadvantage. Managers, no matter what their career field and educational background, are expected to help define the business needs that hardware must support. In addition, managers must be able to ask relevant questions and evaluate options when considering hardware investments for their areas of the business. This need is especially true in small organizations, which might not employ information system specialists. Managers in marketing, sales, and human resources often help IS specialists assess opportunities to apply computer hardware and evaluate the options and features specified for the hardware. Managers in finance and accounting must keep an eye on the bottom line—guarding against overspending—yet be willing to invest in computer hardware when and where business conditions warrant it.

As you read this chapter, consider the following:

• What major competitive advantages can organizations gain from the effective use of computer hardware and mobile devices?

• What impact do the increasing capabilities and decreasing costs of hardware over time have on how organizations are using information system hardware?

This chapter focuses on the hardware components of a computer-based infor- mation system (CBIS). Recall that hardware refers to the physical components of a computer that perform the input, processing, output, and storage activi- ties of the computer. When making hardware-purchasing decisions, the over- riding consideration of a business should be how hardware can support the objectives of the information system (IS) and the goals of the organization.

Anatomy of a Computer

Computer system hardware components include devices that perform input, pro- cessing, data storage, and output, as shown in Figure 3.1. These include the proces- sor, memory, and input/output devices, all of which are discussed in this section.

FIGURE 3.1 Basic anatomy of a computer Computer hardware components include the processor (CPU), memory, address and data bus, and input/output devices.

CPU Main

memory

Address bus

Data bus

Input/ output devices

86 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

Processor The central processing unit (CPU) or simply processor is the part of a com- puter that sequences and executes instructions. Memory provides the proces- sor with a working storage area to hold program instructions and data. It rapidly provides data and instructions to the processor. Input/output devices provide data and instructions to the computer and receive results from it. Data and instructions are routed to and from the various components over the bus, a set of electronic circuits.

The components of the computer work together to complete the instruc- tions (e.g., add, multiply, divide, subtract, compare) of a computer program to accomplish the goals of the user (e.g., send/receive email, develop a profit forecast, pay an invoice). Completing an instruction involves two phases (instruction and execution), which are broken down into the following four steps (see Figure 3.2):

● Instruction phase:

● Fetch instruction. The computer reads the next program instruction to be executed—along with any necessary data—into the processor.

● Decode instruction. The instruction is decoded and passed to the appropriate processor execution unit.

● Execution phase:

● Execute instruction. The computer executes the instruction by mak- ing an arithmetic computation, logical comparison, bit shift, or vector operation.

● Store results. The results are stored in temporary storage locations called registers or in memory.

Each processor produces a series of electronic pulses at a predetermined rate, called the clock speed, which governs the speed at which these steps are com- pleted. Clock speed is measured in gigahertz (GHz), which is a unit of fre- quency that is equal to one billion cycles per second. Many of today’s personal computers operate in the 1 to 4 GHz range. The higher the clock speed, the shorter the interval between pulses and the faster instructions can be completed.

Unfortunately, the faster the clock speed of the processor, the more heat the processor generates. This heat must be dissipated to avoid corrupting the

FIGURE 3.2 Execution of an instruction (1) In the instruction phase, a program’s instructions and any necessary data are read into the processor. (2) The instruction is then decoded by the control unit of the CPU so that the central processor can understand what to do. (3) In the execution phase, the arithmetic and logic unit (ALU) component of the CPU does what it is instructed to do, making either an arithmetic computation or a logical comparison. (4) The results are then stored in the registers or in memory. The instruction and execution phases together make up one machine cycle.

Processing device

Registers

Control unit ALU

Memory

(2) Decode (3) Execute

(1) Fetch (4) Store I-Time E-Time

central processing unit (CPU): The part of a computer that sequences and executes instructions.

memory: A component of the com- puter that provides the processor with a working storage area to hold program instructions and data.

input/output device: A computer component that provides data and instructions to the computer and receives results from it.

bus: A set of electronic circuits used to route data and instructions to and from the various components of a computer.

clock speed: A series of electronic pulses produced at a predetermined rate that affects machine cycle time.

gigahertz (GHz): A unit of frequency that is equal to one billion cycles per second; a measure of clock speed.

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 87

data and instructions the computer is trying to process. Thus, processors that run at higher temperatures need bigger heat sinks (a device or substance for absorbing excessive heat), fans, and other components to eliminate the excess heat. This increases the size and weight of the computing device.

Processor Families This section will introduce the concept of instruction set architecture and pro- cessor family and briefly discuss three of the most commonly used processor families.

The instruction set architecture (ISA) of a computer defines the basic set of commands (opcodes) that the processor can execute. Examples of opcodes include:

● ADD—Add two numbers together. ● COMPARE—Compare numbers. ● IN—Input information from a device (e.g., keyboard). ● JUMP—Jump to designated memory address. ● JUMP IF—Conditional statement that jumps to a designated memory

address. ● LOAD—Load information from memory to the processor. ● OUT—Output information to device (e.g., monitor). ● STORE—Store information to memory.

A processor family is a set of processors from the same manufacturer that have similar features and capabilities. However within each processor family, multiple processors are developed to meet the many diverse comput- ing needs of consumers. While the general ISA and feature set within a given family are identical, certain model specific variations occur. Different proces- sors can use almost the same instruction set while still having very different internal design. For example, both the Intel Pentium and AMD Athlon proces- sors use nearly the same instruction set.

x86 family. Intel, AMD, and VIA Technologies are the largest manufac- turers of x86 processors. Servers based on the x86 processor dominate data centers, and it is the world’s predominant personal computer CPU processor.

Intel Atom. This is the brand name for a line of ultra-low-voltage CPUs from Intel that is designed to generate less heat than the x86 chip. As a result, it requires less power and fewer additional components to dissipate the excees heat. As a result, the Intel Atom is used mostly in lightweight portable computers and mobile Internet devices.

ARM. These processors are used in computers that run Android, iOS, and other operating systems found in mobile devices such as laptops and smart- phones. ARM is a designer of computer processors; it licenses its designs to chip manufacturers to build. ARM created a design for a family of processors based on Reduced Instruction Set Processing (RISC). RISC processors execute a small set of simplified instructions more quickly than complex instruction set computers based on the x86 processor. Because RISC processors require less power and generate less heat than standard x86 processors, ARM proces- sors do not require big heat sinks and fans to remove excess heat. This results in smaller, lighter, more energy-efficient computing devices with longer bat- tery life—ideal for use in smartphones and tablets.

The toughest challenge in designing a processor for a smartphone or tablet is balancing performance and power consumption. Many processor designs rely on a multiple-core configuration ARM calls big.LITTLE that includes high clock speed along with powerful cores, and slower, more energy-efficient cores. The powerful cores are used when high performance is required, such as for gaming computers. The more energy-efficient cores are used for less taxing tasks, such as Web browsing and email. This approach provides sufficient computing power to get the job done, but

instruction set architecture (ISA): A basic set of commands (opcodes) that the processor can execute.

processor family: A set of proces- sors from the same manufacturer that have similar features and capabilities.

88 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

reduces heating problems and, consequentially, the drain on the battery to run a cooling fan. Mobile devices from Samsung and Qualcomm employ the big.LITTLE design.

Multiprocessing Multiprocessing involves the simultaneous execution of two or more instruc- tions at the same time. One form of multiprocessing uses coprocessors. A coprocessor speeds processing by executing specific types of instructions while the CPU works on another processing activity. Coprocessors can be internal or external to the CPU and can have different clock speeds than the CPU. Each type of coprocessor performs a specific function. For example, a math coprocessor chip speeds mathematical calculations, while a graphics coprocessor chip decreases the time it takes to manipulate graphics.

A multicore processor has two or more independent processing units, called cores, which are capable of sequencing and executing instructions. The multiple cores can run multiple instructions at the same time, thereby increasing the amount of processing that can be completed in a given amount of time.

Parallel Computing Parallel computing is the simultaneous execution of the same task on multi- ple processors to obtain results more quickly. Systems with thousands of such processors are known as massively parallel processing systems, a form of multiprocessing that speeds processing by linking hundreds or even thou- sands of processors to operate at the same time, or in parallel, with each pro- cessor having its own bus, memory, disks, copy of the operating system, and applications. The processors might communicate with one another to coordi- nate when executing a computer program, or they might run independently of one another under the direction of another processor that distributes the work to the various processors and collects their results.

The most frequent uses for parallel computing include modeling, simulation, and analyzing large amounts of data. For example, parallel computing is used in medicine to develop new imaging systems that complete ultrasound scans in less time and with greater accuracy, enabling doctors to provide better, more timely diagnoses to patients. Instead of building physical models of new products, engineers can create virtual models and use parallel computing to test how the products work and then change design elements and materials as needed.

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California is home to the Sequoia supercomputer, an impressive example of a massively parallel pro- cessing system. Sequoia is consistently ranked as one of the fastest computers in the world, with over 1.5 million processing cores that allow it to process over 17 quadrillion computations per second.1 Although utilized primarily for nuclear weapons simulation, Sequoia was recently used by a group of researchers to model mantle convection (the process within the Earth’s inte- rior that is responsible for the movement of the Earth’s tectonic plates and the earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis that sometimes accompany those movements). The model could only be simulated on such a powerful com- puter and is a step toward developing a better understanding and prediction of natural disasters.2

Grid computing is the use of a collection of computers, often owned by multiple individuals or organizations, that work in a coordinated manner to solve a common problem. Grid computing is a low-cost approach to parallel computing. The grid can include dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of computers that run collectively to solve extremely large processing problems. Key to the success of grid computing is a central server that acts as the grid leader and traffic monitor. This controlling server divides the computing task into subtasks and assigns the work to computers on the grid that have (at

multiprocessing: The simultaneous execution of two or more instructions at the same time.

coprocessor: The part of the computer that speeds processing by executing specific types of instructions while the CPU works on another processing activity.

multicore processor: A microprocessor that has two or more independent processing units, called cores, which are capable of sequencing and executing instructions.

parallel computing: The simultaneous execution of the same task on multiple processors to obtain results faster.

massively parallel processing system: A system that speeds processing by linking hundreds or thousands of processors to operate at the same time, or in parallel, with each processor having its own bus, memory, disks, copy of the operating system, and applications.

grid computing: The use of a col- lection of computers, often owned by multiple individuals or organizations, that work in a coordinated manner to solve a common problem.

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 89

least temporarily) surplus processing power. The central server also monitors the processing, and if a member of the grid fails to complete a subtask, the server restarts or reassigns the task. When all the subtasks are completed, the controlling server combines the results and advances to the next task until the whole job is completed.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was built to study the behavior of fun- damental particles to gain a better understanding of what our universe is made of and how it began. The LHC hurls protons and other particles at each other at nearly the speed of light and then records what happens when they smash together. LHC detectors record particle collisions with 100 million read-out channels taking 14 million pictures per second. This translates to about 3 gigabytes of data per second or about 25 petabytes (25 million giga- bytes) of data per year. The Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) project is a global collaboration of more than 170 computing centers in 42 countries, linking up national and international grid infrastructures. Its mission is to store and analyze all this data on the LHC Computing Grid, which consists of 132,922 physical CPUs, 300 petabytes of online disk storage, and 230 peta- bytes of magnetic tape storage.3

Manufacturing Processors An integrated circuit (IC)—or chip—is a set of electronic circuits on one small piece of semiconductor material, normally silicon. ICs can be made extremely small with up to several billion electronic components packed into an area the size of a fingernail. Processors and memory chips are exam- ples of integrated circuits. A semiconductor fabrication plant (also called a fab or foundry) is a factory where integrated circuits are manufactured. Extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) is a highly complex process used in manufacturing computer chips with feature sizes that are extremely small— measured in nanometers (nm) or billionths of a meter. EUVL involves direct- ing a laser beam at xeon gas to heat it up and eject electrons to etch the tiny components of the chip. The entire process must occur in a vacuum. Cur- rent technology allows chip manufacturers to create chips with features that measure as small as 14 nm across. For perspective, a molecule of water is about 0.5 nm across. Table 3.1 lists some of the Intel processors and their characteristics.

Intel, Samsung, and STMicroelectronics design and manufacture their chips in their own fab plants. Some organizations operate a semiconductor fab for the purpose of fabricating the designs of other companies. Such orga- nizations are known as foundry companies. Qualcomm, Nvidia, and AMD are examples of fabless manufacturers; they outsource their manufacturing to foundry companies who fabricate the design.

TABLE 3.1 Some members of the Intel family of processors

Chip Family Product Name MaxClock

Speed (GHz) Number of Cores

Lithography (Nanometers)

x86 Xeon E7-2850 2.0 10 32

x86 Core i7 Extreme Edition 980x

3.3 6 32

x86 Core i5 6600 3.9 4 14

x86 Pentium 4 G4400T 2.9 2 14

Atom x7 Z8700 2.4 4 14

Atom x5 Z8500 2.2 4 14

integrated circuit (IC): A set of electronic circuits on one small piece of semiconductor material, normally silicon.

semiconductor fabrication plant: A factory where integrated circuits are manufactured; also called a fab or a foundry.

90 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

Fabs are extremely expensive to set up and require many expensive devices to function. Intel is investing $6 billion to upgrade its fab plant in Kiryat Gat,Israel, and will hire 1,000 workers in addition to the 2,500 who already work there. It is believed that the plant will shift to making chips employing new 10-nanometer technology, which experts expect to arrive in 2016.4,5

Memory Main memory provides the CPU with a working storage area for program instructions and data. The chief function of memory is to rapidly provide data and instructions to the CPU. In order for their systems to run efficiently, orga- nizations must invest in a sufficient amount of main memory. Organizations also need large amounts of secondary storage to hold the huge quantities of data that cannot fit within the limits of main memory.

Like the CPU, memory devices contain thousands of circuits imprinted on silicon chips. Each circuit is either conducting electrical current (on) or not conducting current (off). Data is stored in memory as a combination of on or off circuit states. Usually, 8 bits are used to represent a character, such as the letter A. Eight bits together form a byte (B). In most cases, storage capacity is measured in bytes, with 1 byte equivalent to one character of data. The con- tents of the Library of Congress, with over 126 million items and 530 miles of bookshelves, would require about 20 petabytes of digital storage. It is esti- mated that all the words ever spoken by humans represented in text form would equal about 5 exabytes of information.6 Table 3.2 lists units for mea- suring computer storage.

Types of Memory Computer memory can take several forms. Instructions or data can be tempo- rarily stored in and read from random access memory (RAM). As currently designed, RAM chips are volatile storage devices, meaning they lose their con- tents if the current is turned off or disrupted, which can be caused by a power surge, a brownout, or electrical noise generated by lightning or nearby machines. RAM chips are mounted directly on the computer’s main circuit board or in other chips mounted on peripheral cards that plug into the main circuit board. These RAM chips consist of millions of switches that are sensi- tive to changes in electric current.

RAM comes in many varieties: Static random access memory (SRAM) is byte-addressable storage used for high-speed registers and caches; dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is byte-addressable storage used for the main memory in a computer; and double data rate synchronous dynamic

TABLE 3.2 Computer storage units Name Abbreviation Number of Bytes

Byte B 1

Kilobyte KB 1,000

Megabyte MB 1,0002

Gigabyte GB 1,0003

Terabyte TB 1,0004

Petabyte PB 1,0005

Exabyte EB 1,0006

Zettabyte ZB 1,0007

Yottabyte YB 1,0008

main memory: The component of a computer that provides the CPU with a working storage area for program instructions and data.

byte (B): Eight bits that together represent a single character of data.

random access memory (RAM): A form of memory in which instructions or data can be temporarily stored.

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 91

random access memory (DDR SDRAM) is an improved form of DRAM that effectively doubles the rate at which data can be moved in and out of main memory. DDR has been superseded by second-, third-, and fourth-generation DDR called DDR2, DDR3, and DDR4, respectively. DDR3 requires 1.5 volts of electrical power to operate, while DDR4 needs just 1.2 volts. DDR4 also sup- ports a deep power-down mode, which allows the host device to go into standby without needing to refresh its memory—reducing standby power con- sumption by up to 50 percent. Thus, DDR4 reduces the energy required to run portable devices and servers. This means longer battery life for portable com- puter users and lower electric bills for organizations that operate servers farms.7

Although microprocessor speed has roughly doubled every 24 months over the past several decades, memory performance has not kept pace. In effect, memory has become the principal bottleneck to system performance. Cache memory is a type of high-speed memory that a processor can access more rapidly than main memory to help ease this bottleneck. See Figure 3.3. Frequently used data is stored in easily accessible cache memory instead of slower memory, such as RAM. Because cache memory holds less data, the CPU can access the desired data and instructions more quickly than when selecting from the larger set in primary storage. Thus, the CPU can execute instructions faster, improving the overall performance of the computer sys- tem. Cache memory is available in three forms. The level 1 (L1) cache is on the CPU chip. The level 2 (L2) cache memory can be accessed by the CPU over a high-speed dedicated interface. The latest processors go a step further, placing the L2 cache directly on the CPU chip itself and providing high-speed support for a tertiary level 3 (L3) external cache. See Figure 3.4.

FIGURE 3.3 Cache memory Processors can access this type of high-speed memory faster than main memory. Located on or near the CPU chip, cache memory works with main memory. A cache controller deter- mines how often the data is used, transfers frequently used data to cache memory, and then deletes the data when it goes out of use.

CPU

Cache controller

Memory (main store)

Cache memory

Typically 4 MB

Miss

Typically 256 KB or moreHit

FIGURE 3.4 Relative speed of various types of storage The closer memory is to the CPU, the faster the CPU can access it.

Faster

DDR4 SDRAM DDR3 SDRAM DDR2 SDRAM DDR SDRAM

Registers

Cache memory Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

cache memory: A type of high- speed memory that a processor can access more rapidly than main memory.

92 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

Read-only memory (ROM), another type of memory, is nonvolatile, meaning that its contents are not lost if the power is turned off or interrupted. ROM provides permanent storage for data and instructions that do not change, such as programs and data from the computer manufacturer, includ- ing the instructions that tell the computer how to start up when power is turned on. ROM memory also comes in a couple varieties. Programmable read-only memory (PROM) is used to hold data and instructions that can never be changed. Electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) is user-modifiable read-only memory that can be erased and repro- grammed repeatedly through the application of higher-than-normal electrical voltage. EEPROM requires data to be written or erased 1 byte at a time.

Secondary Data Storage Devices Storing data safely and effectively is critical to an organization’s success. Driven by many factors—such as needing to retain more data longer to meet government regulatory concerns, storing new forms of digital data such as audio and video, and keeping systems running under the onslaught of increasing volumes of email—the world’s information is more than doubling every two years. Nearly 6 zettabytes (6 × 1021 bytes) of information was cre- ated and stored in 2013 alone.8 It is mainly unstructured digital content such as video, audio, and image objects that is fueling this growth. IBM, which is investing heavily in technologies (such as Watson, its cognitive computer sys- tem) that can help organizations manage all that unstructured data, estimates that more than 80 percent of the 2.5 billion gigabytes of data created every day comes in the form of unstructured data.9

For most organizations, the best overall data storage solution is likely a combination of different secondary storage options that can store large amounts of data, instructions, and information more permanently than allowed with main memory. Compared with memory, secondary storage offers the advantages of nonvolatility, greater capacity, and greater economy. On a cost- per-megabyte basis, secondary storage is considerably less expensive than pri- mary memory. See Table 3.3. The selection of secondary storage media and devices requires understanding their primary characteristics: access method, capacity, and portability.

As with other computer system components, the access methods, storage capacities, and portability required of secondary storage media are deter- mined by the business requirements that must be met. An objective of a credit card company might be to rapidly retrieve stored customer data to approve consumer purchases. In this case, a fast access method is critical. In other cases, such as equipping the Coca-Cola field salesforce with smartphones,

TABLE 3.3 Cost comparison for various forms of storage

Data Storage Type

Cost per GB

2009 2011 2013 2015

8 GB flash drive $2.50 $2.48 $1.25 $.69

25 GB rewritable Blu-ray disc $.44 $.11 $.30 $.30

72 GB DAT 72 data cartridge $.21 $.24 $.26 $.21

50 4.7 GB DVD+R disks $.09 $.31 $.07 $.08

500 GB portable hard drive $.23 $.15 $.12 $.12

1 TB desktop external hard drive $.12 $.09 $.10 $.10

Source: Office Depot, www.officedepot.com, December 2009, October 2011, October 2013, and October 2015.

read-only memory (ROM): A non- volatile form of memory.

secondary storage: A device that stores large amounts of data, instruc- tions, and information more perma- nently than allowed with main memory.

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 93

portability and ruggedness might be major considerations in selecting and using secondary storage media and devices.

In addition to cost, capacity, portability, and ruggedness, organizations must address security issues so that only authorized people are allowed access to sensitive data and critical programs. Because the data and programs kept on secondary storage devices are so critical to most organizations, all of these issues merit careful consideration.

Secondary data storage is not directly accessible by the CPU. Instead, computers usually use input/output channels to access secondary storage and then transfer the desired data to intermediate areas in primary storage. The most common forms of secondary storage devices are magnetic, optical, and solid state.

Magnetic Secondary Storage Devices Magnetic storage uses tape or disk devices covered with a thin magnetic coating that enables data to be stored as magnetic particles. Magnetic tape is a type of secondary storage medium, which is frequently used for storing backups of critical organizational data in the event of a disaster. Examples of tape storage devices include cassettes and cartridges measuring a few millimeters in diameter, requiring very little storage space. Magnetic tape has been used as storage media since the time of the earliest computers, such as the 1951 Univac computer.10 Continuing advancements have kept magnetic tape as a viable storage medium. For example, IBM and FUJIFILM Corporation of Japan recently achieved a recording density of 123 billion bits per square inch on low-cost magnetic tape. While still in development, this innovation represents the equivalent of a 220-terabyte tape cartridge (enough to hold the text of approximately 220 million books) that could fit into the palm of your hand.11

The High-End Computing Capability (HECC) Project at NASA offers scien- tists and engineers access to supercomputing systems services that are backed up by a 132-petabyte tape storage system.12 Many such supercomputers, including those deployed at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, use robotic tape backup systems. See Figure 3.5.

A hard disk drive (HDD) is a direct access storage device used to store and retrieve data from rapidly rotating disks coated with magnetic material.

FIGURE 3.5 Robotic tape backup system The National Center for Atmospheric Research uses a robotic tape backup system to back up a fleet of supercomputers that solve the world’s most computationally inten- sive climate-modeling problems.

magnetic tape: A type of sequential secondary storage medium, now used primarily for storing backups of critical organizational data in the event of a disaster.

hard disk drive (HDD): A direct access storage device used to store and retrieve data from rapidly rotating disks coated with magnetic material.

Co ur te sy

of D eu ts ch es

Kl im ar ec he nz en tr um

G m bH

94 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

A hard disk represents bits of data with small magnetized areas and uses a read/write head to go directly to the desired piece of data. Because direct access allows fast data retrieval, this type of storage is used by organizations that need to respond quickly to customer requests, such as airlines and credit card firms. For example, information on the credit history of a customer or the seat availability on a particular flight would likely be stored on a direct- access hard disk drive so that a customer-service representative or manager could obtain that data in seconds. Hard disk drives vary widely in capacity and portability.

Putting an organization’s data online involves a serious business risk— the loss of critical data can put a corporation out of business. The concern is that the most critical mechanical components inside a HDD storage device—the disk drives, the fans, and read/write heads—can fail. Thus, organizations now require that their data storage devices be fault tolerant, that is, they can continue with little or no loss of performance if one or more key components fail. In response, disk manufacturers are continually developing new technologies that will improve the performance and reliabil- ity of their hard disk drives. For example, Western Digital’s HGST subsidiary recently released the world’s first 10-terabyte helium-filled hard drive—the Ultrastar He10 HDD. By using helium, HGST is able to decrease friction within its HDDs, allowing them to spin more reliably and consume less power than conventional designs. And according to HGST, the Ultrastar He10 has a mean-time-between-failure rating of 2.5 million hours, giving it the highest reliability rating of any HDD on the market.13,14

A redundant array of independent/inexpensive disks (RAID) is a method of storing data that generates extra bits of data from existing data, allowing the system to create a “reconstruction map” so that if a hard drive fails, it can rebuild lost data. With this approach, data can be split and stored on different physical disk drives, using a technique called striping that evenly distributes the data. RAID technology has been applied to storage systems to improve system performance and reliability.

RAID can be implemented in several ways. RAID 1 subsystems duplicate data on the hard drives. This process, called “disk mirroring,” provides an exact copy that protects users fully in the event of data loss. However, to keep complete duplicates of current backups, organizations need to double the amount of their storage capacity. Other RAID methods are less expensive because they duplicate only part of the data, allowing storage managers to minimize the amount of extra disk space they must purchase to protect data.

The National Foreign Language Center (NFLC) at the University of Mary- land is a research institute dedicated to improving the nation’s ability to under- stand and communicate with people around the world. The staff at the NFLC are involved in a variety of projects that develop and disseminate language information to policy makers across the United States. These projects generate large amounts of data that the institute had been storing on a Windows-based Dell server. However, with data accumulating at a rate of 150 to 200 gigabytes per month, the NFLC needed to implement a new storage solution. The NFLC opted for a RAID storage solution, which gave the institute enough storage space to offload thousands of large audio and video files, freeing up space on its Dell server. The RAID storage option offered the NFLC the ability to dramat- ically increase its capacity at a relatively low price per terabyte of storage.15,16

Virtual tape is a storage technology suitable for less frequently needed data. With virtual tape systems, data appears to be stored entirely on tape car- tridges, although some parts might actually be located on faster hard disks. The software associated with a virtual tape system is sometimes called a vir- tual tape server. Virtual tape can be used with a sophisticated storage- management system that moves data to slower but less costly forms of storage media as people use the data less often. Virtual tape technology can decrease

redundant array of indepen- dent/inexpensive disks (RAID): A method of storing data that generates extra bits of data from existing data, allowing the system to create a “reconstruction map” so that if a hard drive fails, the system can rebuild lost data.

virtual tape: A storage device for less frequently needed data. With virtual tape systems, data appears to be stored entirely on tape cartridges, although some parts of it might actually be located on faster hard disks.

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 95

data access time, lower the total cost of ownership, and reduce the amount of floor space consumed by tape operations.

Optical Secondary Storage Devices An optical storage device uses special lasers to read and write data. The lasers record data by physically burning pits in the disc. Data is directly accessed from the disc by an optical disc device, which operates much like a compact disc player. This optical disc device uses a low-power laser that measures the difference in reflected light caused by a pit (or lack thereof) on the disc.

A common optical storage device is the compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), with a storage capacity of 740 megabytes of data. After data is recorded on a CD-ROM, it cannot be modified—the disc is “read-only.” A CD burner, the informal name for a CD recorder, is a device that can record data to a compact disc. CD-recordable (CD-R) and CD-rewritable (CD-RW) are the two most common types of drives that can write CDs, either once (in the case of CD-R) or repeatedly (in the case of CD-RW). CD-rewritable (CD-RW) tech- nology allows PC users to back up data on CDs.

A digital video disc (DVD) looks like a CD, but it can store about 135 minutes of digital video or several gigabytes of data. At a data transfer rate of 1.352 megabytes per second, the access speed of a DVD drive is also faster than that of the typical CD-ROM drive. Software, video games, and movies are often stored and distributed on DVDs. See Figure 3.6.

DVDs have replaced recordable and rewritable CD discs (CD-R and CD-RW) as the preferred physical media for sharing movies and photos. Whereas a CD can hold about 740 megabytes of data, a single-sided DVD can hold 4.7 gigabytes, with double-sided DVDs having a capacity of 9.4 giga- bytes. Several types of recorders and discs are currently in use. Recordings can be made on record-once discs (DVD-R and DVD+R) or on rewritable discs (DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM). Not all types of rewritable DVDs are compatible with other types.

The Blu-ray high-definition video disc format based on blue laser technol- ogy stores at least three times as much data as a DVD. The primary use for this technology is in home entertainment equipment to store high-definition video, although this format can also store computer data. A dual-layer Blu-ray disc can store 50 gigabytes of data.17

DVD and Blu-ray discs are commonly used to store data; however, the discs can become unreliable over time as they are exposed to light, humidity, and chemical changes inside the disc itself. As a result, the data stored on such discs can become unreadable over time. Thus, disc manufacturers are focused on developing longer-lasting DVD and Blu-ray technology.

Scientists are experimenting with an even more advanced storage technolo- gies, including the use of DNA molecules to store vast amounts of data for long periods of time. DNA molecules consist of four chemicals connected end- to-end, similar to the sequences of ones and zeroes that computers use to rep- resent data. One gram of DNA is capable of holding 455 exabytes (one exabyte is equivalent to a billion gigabytes).18 In addition, data could be stored in DNA

FIGURE 3.6 Digital video discs and player DVDs look like CDs but have a greater storage capacity and can transfer data at a faster rate. Pl

us 69 /S hu tt er st oc k. co m

optical storage device: A form of data storage that uses lasers to read and write data.

compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM): A common form of optical disc on which data cannot be modified once it has been recorded.

digital video disc (DVD): A form of optical disc storage that looks like a CD but that can store more data and access it more quickly.

96 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

for thousands of years. By comparison, today’s most powerful desktop hard drives hold around 6 terabytes of data and might last 50 years.19 At this time, the cost of synthesizing DNA to store data and the cost of decoding the data stored in DNA are prohibitively expensive, unless the data needs to be archived for at least 600 years. It will likely be a decade or more before the technology evolves to the point where DNA data storage is practical.20

Solid State Secondary Storage Devices A solid state storage device (SSD) stores data in memory chips rather than on hard disk drives or optical media. These memory chips require less power and provide much faster data access than magnetic data storage devices. In addition, SSDs have no moving parts, so they are less fragile than hard disk drives. All these factors make the SSD a preferred choice over hard disk drives for portable computers.

A universal serial bus (USB) flash drive is one example of a commonly used SSD. USB flash drives are external to the computer and are removable and rewritable. Most weigh less than an ounce and can provide a wide range of storage capacity. Samsung has developed a 15.36-terabyte solid state stor- age device based on 48-layer 3D chip technology.21 This technology allows for vertical stacking of flash cells, thus requiring less space to store data. It also improves performance and requires less power.

Enterprise Storage Options Businesses need to store the large amounts of data created throughout an organization. Such large-scale secondary storage is called enterprise storage and comes in four forms: attached storage, network-attached storage (NAS), storage area networks (SANs), and cloud computing storage.

Attached Storage Attached storage methods include all the options just discussed—tape, hard disk drives (including RAID devices), virtual tape systems, optical devices, and solid state secondary storage devices—which are connected directly to a single computer. Attached storage methods, though simple and cost effective for single users and small groups, do not allow systems to share storage, and they make it difficult to back up data.

Because of the limitations of attached storage, firms are turning to network-attached storage (NAS) and storage area networks (SANs). These alternatives enable an organization to share data storage resources among a much larger number of computers and users, resulting in improved storage efficiency and greater cost effectiveness. In addition, they simplify data backup and reduce the risk of downtime. Nearly one-third of system down- time is a direct result of data storage failures, so eliminating storage problems as a cause of downtime is a major advantage.

Network-Attached Storage Network-attached storage (NAS) is a hard disk drive storage device that is set up with its own network address and provides file-based storage services to other devices on the network. NAS includes software to manage storage access and file management, relieving the users’ computers of those tasks. The result is that both application software and files can be served faster because they are not competing for the same processor resources. Computer users can share and access the same information, even if they are using differ- ent types of computers. Common applications for NAS include consolidated storage, Internet and e-commerce applications, and digital media.

CD-adapco is the world’s largest independent provider of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software and services. The company’s products are

Solid state storage device (SSD): A storage device that stores data in memory chips rather than on hard disk drives or optical media.

network-attached storage (NAS): A hard disk drive storage device that is set up with its own network address and provides file-based storage services to other devices on the network.

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 97

used for complex engineering simulations by over 3,000 different organiza- tions around the world. CD-adapco has deployed more than one petabyte of Panasas ActiveStor storage, an advanced NAS solution designed for technical computing environments. ActiveStor is a scalable, hybrid NAS platform that utilizes high-capacity hard drives and solid state drives in the same system.22,23

Storage Area Networks A storage area network (SAN) is a high-speed, special-purpose network that integrates different types of data storage devices (e.g., hard disk drives, mag- netic tape, solid state secondary storage devices) into a single storage system and connects that to computing resources across an entire organization. See Figure 3.7. SANs can provide important capabilities such as disk mirroring, data backup and restore, data archiving, data migration from one storage device to another, and the sharing of data among computing devices con- nected to the network.

Using a SAN, an organization can centralize the people, policies, proce- dures, and practices for managing storage, and a data storage manager can apply the data consistently across an enterprise. This centralization eliminates inconsistent treatment of data by different system administrators and users, providing efficient and cost-effective data storage practices.

When the city of Riverside, California, created its “Riverside 2.0” strate- gic plan, it set goals related to cybersecurity, disaster preparedness, and gov- ernment transparency. To meet those goals, the city needed to upgrade its data centers to a more flexible and scalable platform. As part of the project, the city migrated 500 terabytes of data to a new storage infrastructure that offered enterprise SAN performance—with almost double the previous stor- age capacity—to support its extensive array of e-government services as well as mission-critical applications, such as those related to public safety and utilities.24

A fundamental difference between NAS and SAN is that NAS uses file input/ output, which defines data as complete containers of information, while SAN deals with block input/output, which is based on subsets of data smaller than a file. SAN manufacturers include EMC, Hitachi Data Systems Corporation, NetApp, Xiotech, and IBM.

As organizations set up large-scale SAN systems, they use more computers and network connections than in a NAS environment, and consequently, the

FIGURE 3.7 Storage area network A SAN provides high-speed con- nections among data storage devices and computers over a network.

Computer 1

Computer 2

Computer 3

Storage device 1

Storage device 2

Storage device 3

Storage area

network

storage area network (SAN): A high-speed, special-purpose network that integrates different types of data storage devices (e.g., hard disk drives, magnetic tape, solid state secondary storage devices) into a single storage system and connects that to computing resources across an entire organization.

98 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

network can become difficult to manage. In response, software tools designed to automate storage using previously defined policies are finding a place in the enterprise. Known as policy-based storage management, the software products from industry leaders such as Veritas Software Corporation, Legato Systems, EMC, and IBM automatically allocate storage space to users, balance the loads on servers and disks, and reroute network traffic when systems go down—all based on policies set up by system administrators.

The trend in secondary storage is toward higher capacity, increased porta- bility, and automated storage management. Organizations should select a type of storage based on their needs and resources. In general, storing large amounts of data and information and providing users with quick access make an organization more efficient.

Storage as a Service Storage as a service is a data storage model in which a data storage service provider rents space to people and organizations. Users access their rented data storage via the Internet. Such a service enables the users to store and back up their data without requiring a major investment to create and main- tain their own data storage infrastructure. Businesses can also choose pay- per-use services, where they rent space on massive storage devices housed either at a service provider (such as Hewlett-Packard or IBM) or on the custo- mer’s premises, paying only for the amount of storage they use. This approach makes sense for many organizations, especially those with wildly fluctuating storage needs, such as those involved in the testing of new drugs or in developing software.

Increasingly, individuals and organizations expect to be able to access data, documents, databases, presentations, and spreadsheets from anywhere, with any sort of Internet-enabled device, such as a smartphone, tablet, or lap- top. In response to this need, numerous cloud-based storage services have emerged, including Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud, Apple iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive, and Mozy. These services provide data storage at a rate of $2 or less per gigabyte a year.

Amazon’s Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) allows subscribers to upload, store, and download data. Amazon S3 stores subscriber data as objects within resources it calls “buckets.” Subscribers can store as many objects as they want within a bucket and can write to, read, and delete objects in their bucket. Subscribers can choose to label their data private or make it publicly accessible. Subscribers can also elect to encrypt data prior to storage, and they can control who can create, delete, and retrieve objects in their buckets. Subscriber data is stored on redundant servers across multiple data centers to provide data redundancy and protect against accidental loss of data or natural disasters.

Social media start-up, Pinterest, operates a photo-sharing Web site where users create personalized boards with visual bookmarks—called pins—that link back to the sites they came from. Individuals and businesses use Pinterest to discover and save creative ideas—or to be discovered by the site’s more than 100 million active users. The company describes itself as a visual book- marking tool, but, perhaps more important, it also considers itself to be the world’s first and biggest discovery engine. And with more than 50 billion pins created since it launched in 2010, Pinterest is a data-driven company.25

The site’s infrastructure growth is fueled by its user growth, and from the beginning, Pinterest has used Amazon Web Services, including the Amazon S3 data storage service, where it now stores over 8 billion objects and more than 10 petabytes of data. Pinterest logs approximately 14 terabytes of data each day, and the Amazon S3 service offers the company the scale and flexi- bility it requires to operate a large and rapidly growing consumer Internet service.26–28

policy-based storage management: The automation of storage using previously defined policies.

storage as a service: A data stor- age model where a data storage ser- vice provider rents space to individuals and organizations.

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 99

Input and Output Devices Input and output devices are the gateways to the computer system—you use them to provide data and instructions to the computer and receive results from it. Input and output devices are part of a computer’s user interface, which includes other hardware devices and software that allow you to interact with a computer system.

As with other computer system components, an organization should keep its business goals in mind when selecting input and output devices. For exam- ple, many restaurant chains use handheld input devices or computerized terminals that let food servers enter orders and transfer them to the kitchen efficiently and accurately. These systems have also cut costs by helping restau- rants track inventory and market to customers.

In general, businesses want input devices that let them accurately and rapidly enter data into a computer system, and they want output devices that let them produce timely results. Some organizations have very specific needs for input and output, requiring devices that perform specific functions. The more specialized the application, the more specialized the associated system input and output devices.

Getting data into a computer—input—often requires transferring human- readable data, such as a sales order, into a computer system. “Human-readable data” means data that people can read and understand. The temperature regis- tered on a thermometer is an example of human-readable data. An example of machine-readable data is the universal bar code on many grocery and retail items that indicates the stock-keeping identification number for that item. To the human eye, the universal bar code is unintelligible and looks like a series of vertical bars of varying thicknesses. Some data, such as magnetic ink on bank checks, can be read by people and machines. Usually, people begin the input process by organizing human-readable data and transforming it into machine-readable data. Every keystroke on a keyboard, for example, turns a letter symbol of a human language into a digital code that the machine can manipulate.

Data Entry and Input Getting data into the computer system is a two-stage process. First, the human-readable data is converted into a machine-readable form through data entry. The second stage involves transferring the machine-readable data into the system. This is data input.

Today, many companies use online data entry and input: They communi- cate and transfer data to computer devices directly connected to the computer system. Online data entry and input place data into the computer system in a matter of seconds. Organizations in many industries require the instantaneous updating offered by this approach. For example, when ticket agents for a con- cert venue enter a request for tickets, they can use online data entry and input to record the request as soon as it is made. Ticket agents at other terminals can then access this data to make a seating check before they process another request.

Source Data Automation Regardless of how data gets into the computer, it should be captured and edi- ted at its source. Source data automation involves capturing and editing data where it is originally created and in a form that can be directly entered into a computer, thus ensuring accuracy and timeliness. For example, using source data automation, salespeople enter sales orders into the computer at the time and place they take the orders. Any errors can be detected and corrected immediately. If an item is temporarily out of stock, the salesperson can dis- cuss options with the customer. Prior to source data automation, orders were

data entry: Converting human- readable data into a machine-readable form.

data input: Transferring machine- readable data into the system.

source data automation: Captur- ing and editing data where it is initially created and in a form that can be directly entered into a computer, thus ensuring accuracy and timeliness.

100 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

written on paper and entered into the computer later (usually by a clerk, not by the person who took the order). Often the handwritten information wasn’t legible or, worse yet, order forms were lost. If problems occurred during data entry, the clerk had to contact the salesperson or the customer to “recap- ture” the data needed for order entry, leading to further delays and customer dissatisfaction.

Data entry and input devices come in many forms. They range from special- purpose devices that capture specific types of data to more general-purpose input devices. Some of the special-purpose data entry and input devices are dis- cussed later in this chapter. First, we focus on devices used to enter and input general types of data, including text, audio, images, and video for personal computers.

Common Personal Computer Input Devices A keyboard and a computer mouse are common devices used for entry and input of data, such as characters, text, and basic commands. Some compa- nies manufacture keyboards that are more comfortable, more easily adjusted, and faster to use than standard keyboards. These ergonomic key- boards, such as the split keyboard, are designed to help users avoid wrist and hand injuries caused by hours of typing. Other keyboards include touch pads, which let you enter sketches on the touch pad while still using keys to enter text. See Figure 3.8. A mouse is used to point to and click symbols, icons, menus, and commands on the screen. The computer takes a number of actions in response, such as entering data into the computer sys- tem. Wireless mice and keyboards help keep a physical desktop free from clutter.

Speech-Recognition Technology Using speech-recognition technology, a computer can interpret human speech as an alternative means of providing data or instructions. The most basic systems are designed to support a limited conversation on a fixed topic. For example, your insurance provider may employ a speech-recognition sys- tem to support calls to its billing department. The scope of the conversation is very limited, and the caller is guided to make one of a few possible and very distinct responses. For example, a typical prompt is “Do you wish to inquire about your monthly bill or make a payment?” More advanced systems can recognize continuous speech and convert it to text such as in closed- caption live TV broadcasts, sometimes with amusing results when key words are not properly converted to text.

Nurses at the Hudson Valley Heart Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, now use speech-recognition technology to record all of their patient history and prog- ress notes, physical exam results, and discharge summaries. The software, which makes use of natural language-processing technology, automatically updates the

FIGURE 3.8 Drawing pad and integrated keyboard A drawing pad and integrated keyboard can replace a traditional keyboard and mouse for input.

speech-recognition technology : Input devices that recognize human speech.

iS to ck ph ot o. co m /F ot os to rm

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 101

hospital’s electronic health record (EHR) system when a nurse adds new informa- tion for a patient. The hospital expects the new system to cut down on the amount of time nurses spend on documentation (currently estimated at 19 per- cent of their day, nationally).29

Motion-Sensing Input Devices The major video game makers Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony all have game controllers based on motion-sensing input devices. Kinect is a motion-sensing input device that enables the user to control the Microsoft Xbox as well as computers running the Windows operating system. The sensor is a horizontal bar positioned above or below the video display. It includes a Webcam-style device that interprets the user’s hand gestures as instructions to quickly swipe through home screens and apps. The Wii Remote is the primary controller for Nintendo’s Wii console. It can sense motion in all three dimensions and has an optical sensor that enables it to determine where the Wii Remote is point- ing. This allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on the video screen via gestures and pointing. PlayStation Move is the motion-sensing game controller from Sony Computer Entertainment. It employs a handheld motion controller wand with sensors that detect its motion and a Webcam to track its position. These manufacturers hope that their motion-sensing input devices will broaden their user base beyond the typical gamer and increase their market share. However, such input devices may also prove useful in the operation of business information systems.

Scanning Devices Scanning devices capture image and character data. A page scanner is like a copy machine. You either insert a page into the scanner or place it face down on the glass plate of the scanner and then scan it. With a handheld scanner, you manually move or roll the scanning device over the image you want to scan. Both page and handheld scanners can convert monochrome or color pictures, forms, text, and other images into machine-readable digits. Consider- ing that U.S. enterprises generate an estimated 1 billion pieces of paper daily, many companies are looking to scanning devices to help them manage their documents and reduce the high cost of using and processing paper.

The NeatReceipt filing system is a compact, portable scanner and associ- ated software that enable the user to scan business cards and convert them into digital contacts. NeatReceipt can also scan receipts to convert them into records of vendors and amounts that can be used for tax preparation.30

Optical Data Readers Individuals and organizations can also use a special scanning device called an optical data reader to scan documents. The two categories of optical data readers are optical mark recognition (OMR) and optical character recognition (OCR). OMR readers are used for tasks such as grading tests and scanning forms. With this technology, pencils are used to fill in bubbles or check boxes on OMR paper, which is also called a “mark sense form.” OMR systems are used in standardized tests, including the SAT and GMAT tests, and to record votes in elections.

In contrast, most OCR readers use reflected light to recognize and scan various machine-generated characters. With special software, OCR readers can also convert handwritten or typed documents into digital data. After data is entered, it can be shared, modified, and distributed over computer net- works to hundreds or thousands of people. Previously, the use of OCR tech- nology required a special scanner device that creates an image of the characters to be converted. Expensive OCR software was then required to convert that image into text. However, it is now possible to complete this pro- cess using the camera in an Android smartphone or tablet. Once the image is

102 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

stored on the camera or tablet, you use the Google Drive app for Android to copy the image to Google Drive, where Google’s software and servers will do the OCR conversion at no cost.

Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) Devices In the 1950s, the banking industry was becoming swamped with paper checks, loan applications, bank statements, and so on. The result was the development of magnetic ink character recognition (MICR), a system for reading banking data quickly. With MICR, data is placed on the bottom of a check or other form using a special magnetic ink. Using a special character set, data printed with this ink is readable by both people and computers. See Figure 3.9.

Magnetic Stripe Cards A magnetic stripe card stores a limited amount of data by modifying the magnetism of tiny iron-based particles contained in a band on the card. The magnetic stripe is read by physically swiping the card at a terminal. For this reason, such cards are called contact cards. Magnetic stripes are commonly used in credit cards, transportation tickets, and driver’s licenses.

Magnetic stripe technology is still in wide use in the U.S. credit card industry. The data encoded on the magnetic stripe on the back of the card is read by swiping the card past a magnetic reading head. To protect the consumer, businesses in the United States have invested in extensive com- puter networks for verifying and processing this data. Software at the point- of-sale (POS) terminal automatically dials a stored telephone number to call an acquirer, an organization that collects credit-authentication requests from merchants and provides the merchants with a payment guarantee. When the acquirer company receives the credit-card authentication request, it checks the transaction for validity by reading the card number, expiration date, and credit card limit recorded on the magnetic stripe. If everything checks out, the authorization is granted. Should it later be discovered that the credit card was stolen or bogus, the merchant and the bank that partnered with the merchant are liable for the loss. The merchant loses the value of any goods or services sold plus the transaction fee associated with processing the sale. If the bank that issued the card does not have a charge-back right then, the bank bears the loss and the merchant is covered for the cost of the goods and services.

Unfortunately, the magnetic stripe is not a secure place for sensitive con- sumer information. The magnetic stripes on traditional credit and debit cards store contain unchanging data. Whoever accesses that data gains the sensitive card and cardholder information necessary to make purchases. The data on the stripe can be lifted from an existing card and copied onto a new card and used to make fraudulent purchases. Almost half of the world’s credit card fraud now happens in the United States—even though only a quarter of all credit card transactions happen here.31

An employee of an Apple store in Queens, New York, was arrested and charged with using fraudulent credit cards to buy almost $1 million worth of

FIGURE 3.9 MICR device Magnetic ink character recognition technology codes data on the bot- tom of a check or other form using special magnetic ink, which is read- able by people and computers.

magnetic stripe card: A type of card that stores a limited amount of data by modifying the magnetism of tiny iron-based particles contained in a band on the card.

O ki li7 7/ Sh ut te rs to ck .c om

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 103

Apple gift cards. The man sold each $2,000 Apple gift card to a third party for $200. When he was arrested, the alleged fraudster was in possession of more than 50 American Express and Visa gift, debit, and prepaid credit cards with re-encoded magnetic stripes.32

Chip Cards Credit cards with only magnetic stripes are finally being phased out in the United States. After October 1, 2015, a liability shift occurred—merchants who accept payments made via a chip card’s magnetic stripe can continue to do so, however, they must accept responsibility for any fraudulent purchases. This provides a strong incentive for merchants to move to new payment term- inals that accept the chip card.

Credit cards with chips employ the EMV (Europay, Mastercard, Visa) global standard for enabling chip cards to work at point-of-sale systems and automated teller machines. Unlike with magnetic stripe cards, every time an EMV card is used for payment, the card chip creates a unique transaction code that can never be used again. If a hacker somehow steals the chip infor- mation from one specific point of sale, typical card duplication will not work because the stolen transaction number created in that instance is not usable again and the card would just get denied.

Smart Cards Most European countries use smart card technology. Smart cards are embed- ded with computer chips containing key consumer and account data. Smart card users must either enter their PIN (chip-and-PIN) or sign (chip-and-sign) for each transaction to be approved. The smart cards require different term- inals from those used for magnetic stripe cards. All the information needed for authorization is contained in the chip or is captured at the point-of-sale. With smart cards, merchants do not need to send data over networks to obtain authorization.33

Contactless Payment Cards Contactless payment cards contain an embedded chip and antenna that enables the consumer to simply hold the card close to a terminal to transfer the data necessary to make a payment. Typically, no signature or PIN entry is required for purchases less than $25, making transactions speedier than payments made by conventional credit or debit card or even cash. Contact- less payment cards are ideal in situations where the consumer must make a fast payment, such as when boarding a form of mass transportation; how- ever, some observers are concerned that it is relatively easy to scan details from contactless cards. During 2014, in the United Kingdom, where this form of payment is very popular, some 58 million contactless cards were used to make 15.8 billion transactions totaling £802 billion ($1.23 trillion), for an average transaction of £50.75 ($78.16).34 American Express Expres- sPay, ExonMobile SpeedPass, MasterCard PayPass, and Visa PayWave are contactless payment cards used in the United States.

Point-of-Sale Devices Point-of-sale (POS) devices are devices used to capture data. They are fre- quently used in retail operations to enter sales information into computer systems. The POS device computes the total charges, including tax. In med- ical settings, POS devices are often used for remote monitoring in hospitals, clinics, laboratories, doctors’ offices, and patients’ homes. With network- enabled POS equipment, medical professionals can instantly get an update on the patient’s condition from anywhere at any time via a network or the Internet. POS devices use various types of input and output devices, such as keyboards, bar-code readers, scanning devices, printers, and screens.

smart card: A credit card embedded with a computer chip that contains key consumer and account data; smart card users must either enter their PIN (chip-and-PIN) or sign (chip-and-sign) for each transaction to be approved.

contactless payment card: A card with an embedded chip that only needs to be held close to a terminal to transfer its data; no PIN number needs to be entered.

point-of-sale (POS) device: A device used to enter data into a computer system.

104 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

Much of the money that businesses spend on computer technology involves POS devices.

Many restaurants, bars, and retail shops are switching from traditional cash registers and costly credit card terminals to simpler devices that plug into smartphones and tablets. For example, a device called the Square Stand includes a built-in card reader that connects to an iPad and a hub device that connects to accessories, including a cash drawer, receipt printer, and scanner. With this device, a small retailer can have a cash register that keeps track of inventory and provides instant sales analysis for the cost of an iPad and $450 for the Square Stand, printer, and cash drawer, plus a per-transaction fee of 2.75 percent. PayPal and Groupon also offer similar devices.35

Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Devices The automated teller machine (ATM), another type of special-purpose input/ output device, is a terminal that bank customers use to perform transactions with their bank accounts. Other types of companies also use various ATM devices, sometimes called kiosks, to support their business processes. Some can dispense tickets, such as for airlines, concerts, and soccer games. Some colleges use them to produce transcripts.

Bar-Code Scanners A bar-code scanner employs a laser scanner to read a bar-coded label and pass the data to a computer. The bar-code reader may be stationary or hand- held to support a wide variety of uses. This form of input is used widely in store checkouts and warehouse inventory control. Bar codes are also used in hospitals, where a nurse scans a patient’s wristband and then a bar code on the medication about to be administered to prevent medication errors.

Several companies have created applications that convert a cell phone camera into a bar-code reader. You can scan a bar code from a print ad, pack- aging, or label to launch Web sites and buy items with a few clicks.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Devices Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that employs a microchip with an antenna to broadcast its unique identifier and location to receivers. The purpose of an RFID system is to transmit data by a mobile device, called a tag (see Figure 3.10), which is read by an RFID reader and processed according to the needs of a computer program. One popular appli- cation of RFID is to place microchips on retail items and install in-store read- ers that track the inventory on the shelves to determine when shelves should be restocked. The RFID tag chip includes a special form of EPROM memory that holds data about the item to which the tag is attached. A radio frequency

FIGURE 3.10 RFID tag An RFID tag is small compared with current bar-code labels used to identify items.

radio frequency identification (RFID): A technology that employs a microchip with an antenna to broadcast its unique identifier and location to receivers.

iS to ck ph ot o. co m /a lb ln

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 105

signal can update this memory as the status of the item changes. The data transmitted by the tag might provide identification, location information, or details about the product tagged, such as date of manufacture, retail price, color, or date of purchase.

Target Corporation is slowly rolling out RFID technology in its stores, starting with key vendors in high-priority categories, such as women’s and kids’ apparel and home décor. The retailer will use RFID smart labels attached to price tags in an effort that is expected to help the company improve inventory accuracy throughout its supply chain and better fulfill orders placed on its Web site for store pickup.36,37 In a separate, small-scale RFID-enabled trial, Target utilized RFID-tag lanyards in its pop-up holiday store in New York City during the 2015 holiday shopping season. Visitors to the temporary store were given lanyards outfitted with RFID tags, which they could scan next to any product they wished to purchase. Shoppers then checked out using a digital shopping cart and received their product at the front of the shop. Although this trial was extremely limited (involving just 16 different products), it allowed Target to begin testing the concept of cartless shopping, which the retailer sees as a way to generate new sales and compete with online shopping sites.38

Pen Input Devices By touching the screen with a pen input device, you can activate a command or cause the computer to perform a task, enter handwritten notes, and draw objects and figures. Pen input requires special software and hardware. Hand- writing recognition software, for example, converts onscreen handwriting into text. Many tablet computers can transform handwriting into typed text and store the “digital ink” just the way a person writes it. People can use a pen to write and send email, add comments to documents, mark up presenta- tions, and even hand draw charts in a document. The data can then be moved, highlighted, searched, and converted into text. If perfected, this inter- face is likely to become widely used. Pen input is especially attractive to peo- ple who are uncomfortable using a keyboard. The success of pen input depends on how accurately and at what cost handwriting can be read and translated into digital form.

Touch Screens Advances in screen technology allow display screens to function as input as well as output devices. By touching certain parts of a touch-sensitive screen, you can start a program or trigger other types of action. Touch screens can remove the need for a keyboard, which conserves space and increases porta- bility. Touch screens are frequently used at gas stations to allow customers to select grades of gas and request a receipt; on photocopy machines for select- ing options; at fast-food restaurants for entering customer choices; at informa- tion centers for finding facts about local eating and drinking establishments; and at amusement parks to provide directions to patrons. They also are used in kiosks at airports and department stores. Touch screens are also being used for gathering votes in elections.

As touch screens get smaller, the user’s fingers begin to block the infor- mation on the display. Nanotouch technology is being explored as a means of overcoming this problem. With this technology, users control the touch screen from its backside so that fingers do not block the display. As the user’s finger moves on the back of the display, a tiny graphical finger is pro- jected onto the touch screen. Such displays are useful for mobile audio players that are about the size of a coin.

Application developers are busy trying to find ways to take advantage of Apple’s 3D Touch feature, which the company introduced in the fall of 2015 with its iPhone 6s smartphone. 3D Touch uses a pressure-sensitive touch

106 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

screen that measures how forcefully you press down on the screen. The new feature adds “peek” and “pop” gestures to the tap, swipe, and pinch gestures with which most smartphone users are familiar. 3D Touch is designed to bring a new dimension of functionality to the iPhone, allowing users to both see and feel what a press can do.39 OpenTable, an online restaurant- reservation and review service, has included 3D Touch features in the latest version of its iPhone apps. Users can 3D Touch the app’s icon to quickly view favorited restaurants and upcoming reservations. Within the app, users can “peek” at a restaurant’s details by pressing lightly on the name of the res- taurant in a list of search results. Swiping up offers the ability to instantly see available reservation times, and pressing harder on a restaurant name “pops” a user to the restaurant’s full profile.40

Output Devices Computer systems provide output to decision makers at all levels of an orga- nization so they can solve a business problem or capitalize on a competitive opportunity. In addition, output from one computer system can provide input into another computer system. The desired form of this output might be visual, audio, or even digital. Whatever the output’s content or form, output devices are designed to provide the right information to the right person in the right format at the right time.

Display Screens The display screen is a device used to show the output from the computer. Today a variety of flat-panel display screens are far lighter and thinner than the traditional cathode-ray tubes (CRTs) associated with early computers. Table 3.4 compares types of flat-panel display screens.

With today’s wide selection of display screens, price and overall quality can vary tremendously. The quality of a screen image is largely determined by the number of horizontal and vertical pixels used to create it. The images shown on your display device are composed of a million or more pixels. Res- olution is the total number of pixels contained in the display; the more pixels, the clearer and sharper the image. A common resolution is 2,040 horizontal pixels × 1,536 vertical pixels. The size of the display monitor also affects the quality of the viewing. The same pixel resolution on a small screen is sharper

TABLE 3.4 Various types of flat-panel displays Type Description Noteworthy Feature

Liquid crystal display (LCD) Uses several layers of charged liquid crys- tals placed between clear plates that are lit from behind by a fluorescent light to create light and images

The viewing angle tends to be worse than that of plasma displays

Light-emitting diode (LED) An LCD display that uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as backlight on the screen rather than a fluorescent lamp

Provides better contrast and lower energy consumption than LCDs

Organic light-emitting diode (OLED)

Functions by exciting organic compounds with electric current to produce bright, sharp images

Does not employ a backlight, which enables improved contrast and lower power consumption than LCD and LED LCD displays

Plasma Uses electricity to excite gas atoms to light up appropriate phosphors on the screen to emit light and color

Performs well in dark conditions but not as well in well-lit rooms

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 107

than on a larger screen, where the same number of pixels is spread out over a larger area.

The computer graphics card takes binary data from the CPU and trans- lates it into an image you see on your display device. It is the computer gra- phics card that controls the quality of the image and determines how many display devices can be attached to the computer. The computer graphics card holds the graphics processing unit (GPU), a powerful processing chip that renders images on the display screen. After the computer graphics card takes binary data from the CPU, the GPU decides what to do with each pixel on the screen to create the image. As the GPU creates images, it uses RAM on the graphics card (called video RAM or VRAM) to store data about each pixel, including its color and location on the screen. One measure of a video card’s performance is how many complete images the card can display per second, which is called the frame rate. The human eye can process roughly 25 frames per second; however, many video games require a frame rate of at least 60 frames per second to provide a good user experience.41

Because many users leave their computers on for hours at a time, power usage is an important factor when deciding which type of display to pur- chase. Although power usage varies from model to model, OLED displays are the most energy efficient, with LCD monitors generally consuming between 35 and 50 percent less power than plasma screens.

Aspect ratio and screen size describe the size of the display screen. Aspect ratio is the ratio of the width of the display to its height. The aspect ratio of width to height of 4:3 or 5:4 is good for people who use their computer to view or create Web pages or documents. Widescreen displays typically have an aspect ratio of 16:10 or 16:9 to allow improved viewing of movies and video games.

Companies are competing on the innovation frontier to create thinner, lighter, flexible, and more durable display devices for computers, cell phones, and other mobile devices. LG Display, a leading manufacturer of LCD and OLED displays, recently unveiled prototypes for a 55-inch double-sided OLED display that is just 5.3 mm thick, as well as a flexible 1-mm thick “wallpaper” OLED display that can be attached to the wall using a magnetic mat. The com- pany also has working prototypes for a transparent display and one that can be rolled up like a newspaper. According to LG, its innovative OLED displays are flexible enough to curve around corners and are almost impossible to break.42,43 Many of these displays are still in development as LG works through the complex manufacturing processes involved. In the meantime, the company is investing over $8 billion to build a new display panel manufactur- ing facility that is expected to be up and running in 2018.44

Printers and Plotters One of the most useful and common forms of output is called hard copy, which is simply paper output from a printer. The two main types of printers are laser printers and inkjet printers, and they are available with different speeds, features, and capabilities. Some can be set up to accommodate paper forms, such as blank check forms and invoice forms. Newer printers allow businesses to create full-color, customized, and individualized printed output using standard paper and data input. Ticket-receipt printers, such as those used in restaurants, ATMs, and point-of-sale systems are in wide-scale use.

The speed of a printer is typically measured by the number of pages printed per minute (ppm). Similar to a display screen, the quality, or resolu- tion, of a printer’s output depends on the number of dots printed per inch (dpi). A 600-dpi printer prints more clearly than a 300-dpi printer. A recurring cost of using a printer is the inkjet or laser cartridge that must be replaced periodically—every few thousand pages for laser printers and every 500 to 900 pages for inkjet printers.

computer graphics card: A component of a computer that takes binary data from the CPU and translates it into an image you see on your display device.

graphics processing unit (GPU): A powerful processing chip that renders images on the screen display.

108 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

Inkjet printers that can print 10 to 40 ppm for black-and-white output and 5 to 20 ppm for color output are available for less than $175. With an initial cost much less than color laser printers, inkjet printers can print vivid hues and can produce high-quality banners, graphics, greeting cards, letters, text, and photo prints.

Laser printers are generally faster than inkjet printers and can handle a heavier print load volume. A monochrome laser printer can print 25 to 45 ppm and cost anywhere from $200 to $700. Color laser printers can print color pages at a rate of 10 to 35 ppm and are available in a wide range of prices—from $350 to more than $3,500 for a high-quality color laser printer.

A number of manufacturers offer multiple-function printers that can copy, print (in color or black and white), fax, and scan. Such multifunctional devices are often used when people need to do a relatively low volume of copying, printing, faxing, and scanning. Typical prices for multifunction printers range from $100 to $400, depending on features and capabilities. Because these devices take the place of more than one piece of equipment, they are less expensive to acquire and maintain than a stand-alone fax plus a stand-alone printer, copier, and so on. Also, eliminating equipment that was once located on a countertop or desktop clears a workspace for other work- related activities. As a result, such devices are popular in homes and small office settings.

Mobile print solutions enable users to wirelessly send documents, email messages and attachments, presentations, and even boarding passes from any smartphone, tablet, or laptop to any mobile-enabled printer in the world. For example, PrinterOn Enterprise enables any print requests from any mobile or fixed device to be routed to any of over 10,000 printers worldwide that are configured with the PrinterOn Enterprise service. Mobile users who use the service only need to access a directory of PrinterOn printers and locations and then send an email with the attachment to be printed to the email address of the printer. American Airlines Admiral Club, Delta Sky Club, Embassy Suites, and DoubleTree by Hilton have installed PrinterOn printers at many of their locations.45

Plotters are a type of hard-copy output device used for general design work. Businesses typically use plotters to generate paper or acetate blue- prints, schematics, and drawings of buildings or new products. Standard plot widths are 24 inches and 36 inches, and the length can be whatever meets the need—from a few inches to many feet.

3D Printers 3D printers have created a major breakthrough in how many items will be “manufactured.” See Figure 3.11. 3D printing technology takes a three- dimensional model of an object stored on a computer and sends it to a 3D printer to create the object using strands of a plastic filament or synthetic powder. The filament comes in spools of various colors and is fed through a heated extruder that moves in several directions to place super thin layers on top of each other. The stacks are then bonded together, often using ultraviolet light, to create a 3D object. 3D printers come with a wide range of capabilities in terms of how fast they can build objects and how large of an object they can build. 3D printers for home use typically run $1,000 and up, while com- mercial 3D printers can cost tens of thousands of dollars.46

3D printing is commonly used by aerospace firms, auto manufacturers, and other design-intensive companies. It is especially valuable during the con- ceptual stage of engineering design when the exact dimensions and material strength of the prototype are not critical. Some architectural design firms are using 3D printers to create full color models of their projects to show clients. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital uses 3D printing to create models of patients’ hearts so that physicians can plan their surgery.47

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 109

The automotive, electronics, and toy industries are early adopters of using 3D printing to improve upon traditional manufacturing processes. Ford Motor Company used 3D printing to design the new engine cover of its next- generation Mustang. Following traditional methods, an engineer would first create a computer model and then wait for about four months for a prototype to be produced, at a cost of $500,000. Using 3D printing, Ford can print the prototype in just four days at a cost of only $3,000.48 A drag racing enthusiast created a remote control dragster capable of going 202 mph using 3D printing.49

3D printing can cut costs and reduce the waste and carbon footprint asso- ciated with traditional manufacturing. With 3D printing, production and assembly can be local, with no need to ship products thousands of miles to their destination. Only the raw materials needed to create the object—be it carbon fiber, metal powder, plastic filament, or some other substance—are used. Product parts can be replaced using parts manufactured with 3D print- ing so the entire product doesn’t have to be disposed of and replaced each time it malfunctions.50

Biomedical engineers are exploring a process called bioprinting, which uses 3D printers to build human parts and organs from actual human cells. For example, bioprinting is being used to create custom breast implants and grafts for cancer patients using the recipient’s own fat and skin cells.51 Regen- erative medicine pioneer Organovo is able to build blood vessels and cardiac tissue via a 3D printer that dispenses cells instead of ink. The firm plans to begin selling 3D printed liver tissue.52

Digital Audio Players A digital audio player is a device that can store, organize, and play digital music files. MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3) is a popular format for compressing a sound sequence into a very small file while preserving the original level of sound quality when it is played. By compressing the sound file, it requires less time to download the file and less storage space on a hard drive.

You can use many different music devices smaller than a deck of cards to download music from the Internet and other sources. These devices have no moving parts and can store hours of music. Apple first moved into the digital music market with its iPod MP3 player in 2001. In 2003, it launched its iTunes Music Store, where users can find music online, preview it, and download it

FIGURE 3.11 3D printer 3D print technology is making it possible to print objects ranging from everyday objects to houses.

bioprinting: The use of 3D printers to build human parts and organs from actual human cells.

digital audio player: A device that can store, organize, and play digital music files.

MP3: A standard format for compres- sing a sound sequence into a small file.

dr ea m ni ko n/ iS to ck /G et ty

Im ag es

110 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

Critical Thinking Exercise

in a way that is safe, legal, and affordable. Other MP3 manufacturers include Dell, Sony, Samsung, Iomega, Creative, and Motorola, whose Rokr product was the first iTunes-compatible phone. Today, you can use your smartphone to view YouTube videos, buy music online, check email, and more.

E-Book Readers The digital media equivalent of a conventional printed book is called an e-book (short for electronic book). The Project Gutenberg Online Book Cata- log offers over 50,000 free e-books and a total of over 100,000 e-books avail- able. E-books can be downloaded from many sites, including the Project Gutenberg site (www.gutenberg.org), onto personal computers or dedicated hardware devices known as e-book readers. The devices cost anywhere from around $60 to $350, and users typically pay between $10 and $20 to down- load electronic versions of the best-selling books. E-book readers usually have the capacity to store thousands of books. The most current Amazon.com Kindle, Kobo Aura, Barnes & Noble Nook e-readers have e-paper displays that look like printed pages. A typical e-reader weighs less than three-quarters of a pound, is around one-half inch thick, and comes with a display screen rang- ing from 5 to 8 inches in size. Thus, these readers are more compact than most paperbacks and can be easily held in one hand. More recent versions of e-book readers display content in 16 million colors and high resolution. On many e-readers, the size of the text can be magnified for readers with poor vision.

Choosing Your Next Computer You are looking for the latest and greatest portable computer to replace your five- year old laptop. You will use this computer for both work and personal comput- ing tasks—everything from creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations to surfing the Web and editing videos of your friends and family. You want a computer that is powerful, lightweight, and comes with a long battery life.

Review Questions 1. Should you purchase a computer with an x86 processor, an Intel Atom

processor, or an ARM processor? What are the pros and cons of each type of processor? Will you want a multicore processor? Why or why not?

2. What sort of main memory and cache memory should you seek?

Critical Thinking Questions 1. What sort of secondary storage devices would most economically meet your

needs? 2. Which input and output devices would be most useful to you?

Computer System Types

In general, computers can be classified as either special purpose or general purpose. Special-purpose computers are used for limited applications, for example, by military, government, and scientific research groups such as the CIA and NASA. Other applications include specialized processors found in appliances, cars, and other products. For example, automobile repair shops connect special-purpose computers to your car’s engine to identify specific performance problems. As another example, IBM is developing a new generation of computer chips to develop so-called cognitive computers that are designed to mimic the way the human brain works. Rather than

e-book: The digital media equivalent of a conventional printed book.

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 111

being programmed as today’s computers are, cognitive computers, such as IBM’s Watson computer, are able to learn through experiences and out- comes and mimic human learning patterns.

General-purpose computers are used for a variety of applications, including the business applications discussed in this text. General-purpose computer systems can be divided into two major groups: systems used by one user at a time and systems used by multiple concurrent users. Table 3.5 shows the general ranges of capabilities for various types of computer systems.

TABLE 3.5 Types of computer systems Single-user computer systems can be divided into two groups: portable computers and nonportable computers.

Single-User Computers

Portable Computers

Factor Smartphone Laptop Notebook/Ultrabook Tablet

Cost $150–$1,000 $300–$3,000 $300–$800 $75–$1,500

Weight (pounds) <0.5 <6 <3 <2

Screen size (inches)

2–5.5 <20 <12 <13

Typical use Combines a cell phone with a hand- held computer; run apps and text mes- saging services; access network and the Internet wirelessly

Run worker productivity software, access the Internet, play games, listen to music, and watch videos

Smaller version of a laptop, with sufficient processing power to run nearly every busi- ness application

Capture data at the point of contact, read email, access the Internet, read e-books, view photos, play games, listen to music, and watch videos

Nonportable Computers

Factor Thin Client Desktop Nettop Workstation

Cost $200–$500 $500–$3,000 $150–$350 $1,500–$9,500

Weight (pounds) <3 20–30 <5 <20–35

Typical use Enter data and access applications via the Internet; can be portable or non- portable

Run worker pro- ductivity software, access the Internet, play games, listen to music, and watch videos

Small, limited capacity desktop computer; performs basic tasks such as Internet surf- ing, accessing Web- based applications, document processing, and audio/video play- back[

Powerful desktop capable of per- forming engineer- ing, computer aided design, and software develop- ment functions

Multiple-user computer systems include servers, mainframes, and supercomputers.

Multiple-User Computers

Factor Server Mainframe Supercomputer

Cost >$500 >$75,000 >$250,000

Weight (pounds) >25 >100 >100

Typical use Execute network and Internet applications

Execute computing tasks for large organizations and provide massive data storage

Run scientific applications; per- form intensive number crunching

112 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

Portable Computers Many computer manufacturers offer a variety of portable computers, those that are small enough to carry easily. Portable computers include wearable computers, smartphones, laptops, notebooks, ultrabooks, and tablets.

Wearable Computers A wearable computer is an electronic device capable of storing and proces- sing data that is incorporated into a person’s clothing or personal accesso- ries. Companies like Apple, FitBit, Google, Huawei, LG, Pebble, Samsung, Sony, TomTom, Xiaomi, and others offer health-tracking wrist bands or smart watches that can capture a wide range of data, including distance cov- ered, elevation climbed, pace, calories burned, continuous heart rate, and quality of sleep. Most can also display call and text notifications and enable one to control songs from a mobile playlist. These products cost anywhere from $75 to $750.

Around one-half to two-thirds of U.S. employers with 15 or more workers have implemented some sort of employee wellness program. One-half of fit- ness band sales in the United States are to organizations that pass these devices along to its employees, often at no charge. Iron Mountain, the records and data management firm, awards employees points for completing various health- and wellness-related “challenges” that can later be converted into cash. One challenge requires employees to connect a wearable device to a computer portal and walk one million steps in a year.53

Chinese researchers have developed an e-skin that is just a few atoms thick so it can press close to the skin. The e-skin contains all the sensors needed to track and broadcast the wearer’s blood pressure, pulse, and other vital measurements. The developers are hoping the material can be used to provide instant health assessment and real-time patient diagnoses.54

The Mi.Mu is a high-tech glove designed to ease the creation of music using computers and other technology through gestures, enabling musicians to avoid cumbersome dials and computer screens. When wearing the gloves, an upward movement of the hand raises the pitch, extending an index finger adds some reverb, and snapping your palm shut silences everything.55 Google is partnering with Levi Strauss & Co to make conductive yarn that can be woven into garments to enable touch and gesture interactivity that would allow wearers to do things like press their sleeve to turn a light on or activate their smartphone to make a call.56

Smartphones While features and capabilities vary from model to model and manufacturer to manufacturer, with most smartphones you can place calls, download and run apps (e.g., games, a contact list manager, and personal and business finance managers), send and receive text messages and email, view documents and files, take and send photos and videos, get driving directions via GPS, browse Web sites, and create a playlist of digital tunes. Smartphones employ a combi- nation chipset called a “system on a chip,” which includes processor cores, RAM and ROM memory, interface controllers and voltage regulators, as shown in Figure 3.12. With system on a chip, all the critical components of the smartphone are located in a relatively small area, making the device faster and more energy efficient and reducing assembly costs.

Mobile Computers A laptop is a personal computer designed for use by mobile users, being small and light enough to sit comfortably on a user’s lap. Laptops use a vari- ety of flat-panel technologies to produce lightweight and thin display screens with good resolution. In terms of computing power, laptops can match most

portable computer: A computer small enough to carry easily.

wearable computer: An electronic device capable of storing and proces- sing data that is incorporated into a person’s clothing or personal accessories.

laptop: A personal computer designed for use by mobile users, being small and light enough to sit comfortably on a user’s lap.

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 113

desktop computers as they come with powerful CPUs as well as large-capacity primary memory and disk storage. This type of computer is highly popular among students and mobile workers who carry their laptops on trips and to meetings and classes. Most personal computer users now prefer a laptop over a desktop because of its portability, lower energy usage, and smaller space requirements.

Numerous portable computers are smaller than the typical laptop and have various names, including notebook and the even smaller ultrabook. The newest notebook computers come with a natural user interface, including both voice-control integration and touch screens; high-quality display screens; always-on, always-connected capabilities; all-day battery life; and processing power sufficient to run most business applications and games.

Tablet are portable, lightweight computers that can come with or without a keyboard and allow you to roam the office, home, or factory floor, carrying the device like a clipboard. You can enter text with a writing stylus directly on the screen, thanks to built-in handwriting-recognition software. Other input methods include an onscreen keyboard and speech recognition. Tablets that support input only via a writing stylus are called slate computers. The convert- ible tablet PC comes with a swivel screen and can be used as a traditional note- book or as a pen-based tablet PC. Most new tablets come with a front-facing camera for videoconferencing and a second camera for snapshot photos and video. Tablets are especially popular with students and gamers. They are also frequently used in the healthcare, retail, insurance, and manufacturing indus- tries because of their versatility.

The Apple iPad is a tablet capable of running the same software that runs on the Apple iPhone and iPod touch devices, giving it a library of well over a million applications. It also runs software developed specifically for the iPad. The device supports Internet access over both wireless and cellular networks, and it includes an onscreen keypad, although a physical keyboard can also be attached. Apple offers a variety of iPad models, ranging from the iPad mini, which weighs 0.73 pounds and has a 7.9-inch screen, up to the iPad Pro, which weighs 1.5 pounds and has a 12.9-inch screen.

A number of computer companies offer tablets to compete with Apple’s iPad, including the Amazon Fire, the Inspiron and Venue by Dell, the Nexus and Pixel from Google, the Tab 2 and Yoga from Lenovo, the Surface Pro from Microsoft, the Shield from Nvidia, the Tablet S and Xperia from Sony, the Encore and Excite by Toshiba, the Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Note from Sam- sung (see Figure 3.13), and the low-cost (less than $75) Aakash and Ubislate from the India-based company Quad.

Thin Clients, Desktops, and Workstations Nonportable single-user computers include thin client computers, desktop computers, nettop, and workstations.

FIGURE 3.12 Anatomy of a smartphone Smartphones employ a combination chipset called a “system on a chip,” which includes processor cores, RAM and ROM memory, interface controllers, and voltage regulators. Keyboard Display Microphone Speaker GPS Camera

System on a chipMemory Modem

User Input/Output

tablet: A portable, lightweight com- puter with no keyboard that allows you to roam the office, home, or factory floor carrying the device like a clipboard.

114 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

A thin client is a low-cost, centrally managed computer with no internal or external attached drives for data storage. These computers have limited capabilities and perform only essential applications, so they remain “thin” in terms of the client applications they include. As stripped-down computers, they do not have the storage capacity or computing power of typical desktop computers, nor do they need it for the role they play. With no hard disk, they never pick up viruses or suffer a hard disk crash. Unlike personal computers, thin clients download data and software from a network when needed, mak- ing support, distribution, and updating of software applications much easier and less expensive. Thin clients work well in a cloud-computing environment to enable users to access the computing and data resources available within the cloud. The Chromebook, which runs the Chrome OS operating system, is a highly portable device, is widely used in many schools, and is an example of a thin client.

As patient records within the healthcare industry have gone increasingly digital, many healthcare providers have struggled to find new ways to ensure that their staff have ready access to a patient’s pertinent records. Chapters Health System, which provides post-acute, palliative, and hospice care for patients across west-central Florida, decided to upgrade to thin client technology in the form of Samsung Chromebooks for its staff of 140 caregivers, who fre- quently make rounds to hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and private home. For Chapters Health, the Chromebooks offer affordable, light- weight, and secure access to clinical data—along with a nine-hour battery life.57

FIGURE 3.13 Tablet The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Android tablet has a large touch screen and a quad-core processor.

thin client: A low-cost, centrally managed computer with no internal or external attached drives for data storage.

iS to ck ph ot o. co m /M

ix m ik e

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 115

Desktop computers are single-user computer systems that are highly ver- satile. Named for their size, desktop computers can provide sufficient comput- ing power, memory, and storage for most business computing tasks.

The Apple iMac is a family of Macintosh desktop computers first intro- duced in 1998 in which all the components (including the CPU and the disk drives) fit behind the display screen. Intel’s Core i7 High-end Desktop Proces- sor family of computers has eight cores, 20 megabytes of cache memory, and supports DDR4 memory. The CPU operates at a base clock frequency of 3.0GHz making it a popular choice for gamers.

A nettop computer is a very small, inexpensive desktop computer typi- cally used for Internet access, email, accessing Web-based applications, docu- ment processing, and audio/video playback. A key feature of nettop computers is that they require perhaps one-tenth the amount of power to operate as a typical desktop computer.

Workstations are more powerful than personal computers but still small enough to fit on a desktop. They are used to support engineering and techni- cal users who perform heavy mathematical computing, computer-assisted design (CAD), video editing, and other applications requiring a high-end pro- cessor. Such users need very powerful CPUs, large amounts of main memory, and extremely high-resolution graphic displays. Workstations are typically more expensive than the average desktop computer. Some computer manu- facturers are now providing laptop versions of their powerful desktop work- stations. The Mac Pro is a series of workstation and server computers based on the high performance Intel Xeon processor.

Larson & Darby Group is an architectural, engineering, interiors, and technology design firm that uses powerful HP Z workstations to run Autodesk AutoCAD and related software. Larson & Darby needs high-performance com- puting to meet the challenging demands of creating 3D models and then ren- dering those models to put design options in front of clients. If the computer hardware runs slowly, then designers must wait for drawings to regenerate when changes are made and this eats into design time. Reliability is also criti- cal. Rendering can take hours on many projects and a hardware failure can mean losing a full day’s worth of work.58

Servers, Mainframes, and Supercomputers Servers, mainframes, and supercomputers are designed to support work- groups from a small department of two or three workers to large organiza- tions with tens of thousands of employees and millions of customers.

A server is a computer employed by many users to perform a specific task, such as running network or Internet applications. While almost any computer can run server operating system and server applications, a server computer usually has special features that make it more suitable for operat- ing in a multiuser environment. These features include greater memory and storage capacities, faster and more efficient communications abilities, and reliable backup capabilities. A Web server is one specifically designed to handle Internet traffic and communications. An enterprise server stores and provides access to programs that meet the needs of an entire organization. A file server stores and coordinates program and data files. Server systems consist of multiuser computers, including supercomputers, mainframes, and other servers.

Servers offer great scalability, the ability to increase the processing capa- bility of a computer system so that it can handle more users, more data, or more transactions in a given period. Scalability is achieved by adding more, or more powerful, processors. Scaling up adds more powerful processors, and scaling out adds many processors to increase the total data-processing capacity. Most new servers include onboard diagnostic capabilities that enable

desktop computer: A nonportable computer that fits on a desktop and provides sufficient computing power, memory, and storage for most business computing tasks.

nettop: A very small, inexpensive desktop computer typically used for Internet access, email, accessing Web-based applications, document processing, and audio/video playback.

workstations: A more powerful personal computer used for mathemat- ical computing, computer-assisted design, and other high-end processing but still small enough to fit on a desktop.

server: A computer employed by many users to perform a specific task, such as running network or Internet applications.

scalability: The ability to increase the processing capability of a computer system so that it can handle more users, more data, or more transactions in a given period.

116 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

the server to alert the IS operations group to potential problems, a capability that used to be only available for high-end, mainframe computers.

A mainframe computer is a large, powerful computer shared by dozens or even hundreds of concurrent users connected to the machine over a network. Mainframe computers have been the workhorses of corporate computing for more than 50 years. They can support thousands of users simultaneously and can handle all of the core functions of a corporation. Mainframe computers provide the data-processing power and data-storage capacity that enables banks and broker- age firms to deliver new mobile services, credit card companies to detect identity theft, and government agencies to better serve citizens. Examples of companies using mainframe technology include ADP, which processes payroll for millions of employees at over 610,000 client companies; Mastercard, which manages 2 billion accounts and tracks $4.1 trillion of spending in 150 different currencies in 210 countries around the world; and UPS, which tracks the route of 18 million packages and documents each day in 200 countries and territories.59–61

IBM spent $1 billion and five years designing its new z13 mainframe sys- tem, which is capable of processing 2.5 billion transactions per day. Pricing for the z13 depends on configuration, but versions of the previous model ran as high as $1 million.62

Radixx International operates the computerized reservation systems for 40 small and midsize airlines with 90,000 directly connected travel agents. The reservation systems were running on a collection of 400 servers; however, Radixx recently switched to running on IBM mainframes, reducing its total cost of ownership by about 50 percent.63

Supercomputers are the most powerful computers with the fastest proces- sing speed and highest performance. They are special-purpose machines designed for applications that require extensive and rapid computational capa- bilities. Originally, supercomputers were used primarily by government agen- cies to perform the high-speed number crunching needed in weather forecasting, earthquake simulations, climate modeling, nuclear research, study of the origin of matter and the universe, and weapons development and testing. They are now used more broadly for commercial purposes in the life sciences and the manufacture of drugs and new materials. For example, Procter & Gam- ble uses supercomputers in the research and development of many of its leading commercial brands, such as Tide and Pampers, to help develop detergent with more soapsuds and improve the quality of its diapers. And supercomputers are also used to help establish the safety ratings for vehicles sold in the United States. The ratings are based on sophisticated computer simulations, during which supercomputers crunch equations involving many different variables. These computer-generated simulations are combined with data taken from actual crash tests and analyzed to determine safety ratings that many consumers use as one factor in determining which car to buy.

Most new supercomputers are based on an architecture that employs gra- phics processing unit (GPU) chips in addition to traditional central processing unit (CPU) chips to perform high-speed processing. The speed of supercom- puters is measured in floating point operations per second (FLOPS). Table 3.6 lists supercomputer processing speeds.

TABLE 3.6 Supercomputer processing speeds Speed Meaning

GigaFLOPS 1 � 109 FLOPS TeraFLOPS 1 � 1012 FLOPS PetaFLOPS 1 � 1015 FLOPS ExaFLOPS 1 � 1018 FLOPS

mainframe computer: A large, powerful computer often shared by hundreds of concurrent users con- nected to the machine over a network.

supercomputers: The most power- ful computer systems with the fastest processing speeds.

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 117

Critical Thinking Exercise

The fastest supercomputer in the world as of November 2015 is the Tianhe-2 built by the National University of Defense Technology located in Hunan Province, China. It was built at an estimated cost of about $3 billion and is expected to be used for simulations, analysis, and government security applications.64

Table 3.7 lists the five most powerful supercomputers in use as of July 2015.

Upgrading an Organization’s Computers Your organization earns $50 million in annual sales, has 500 employees, and plans to acquire 250 new portable computers this year along with another 250 next year. The goal is to issue every employee a company-owned com- puter, which they can use at work and at home. The computers will be loaded with antivirus software and productivity software to meet each employee’s busi- ness needs. Your organization has decided it will purchase the computers from the same manufacturer to obtain a quantity purchase discount. To the extent possible, the goal is to have the same hardware and software for every- one to simplify the troubleshooting and support of the computers. The chief financial officer has asked you to lead a project team to define users’ computer hardware needs and recommend the most cost-effective solution for meeting those needs.

Review Questions 1. Which classes of portable computers could meet the needs of your organization? 2. What are the pros and cons of each class of portable computer?

Critical Thinking Questions 1. Who else (role, department) and how many people would you select to

be a member of the team? How would your team go about defining users’ needs?

2. Do you think that only one manufacturer and model of portable computer will meet everyone’s needs, or should you define multiple portable computers based on the needs of various classes of end user?

TABLE 3.7 Five most powerful operational supercomputers (July 2015)

Rank Name Manufacturer Research Center Location Number of Cores

Speed (Petaflops)

1 Tianhe-2 NUDT National University of Defense Technology (NUDT)

China 3.1 million 33.9

2 Titan Cray Oak Ridge National Laboratory

United States

0.56 million 17.6

3 Sequoia IBM Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

United States

1.5 million 17.2

4 K Fujitsu Riken Advanced Institute for Computational Science

Japan 0.75 million 10.5

5 Mira IBM Argonne National Laboratory United States

0.8 million 8.6

Source: Lendino, Jamie, “China’s Tianhe-2 Still the Fastest Supercomputer in the World, but the US Is Catching Up,” Extreme Tech, July 13, 2015, www.extreme tech.com/extreme/209704-chinas-tianhe-2-still-the-fastest-supercomputer-in-the-world-but-the-us-is-catching-up.

118 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

Server Farms, Data Centers, and Green Computing

This section will cover three topics that provide a good overview of what the computer industry and various organizations are doing to meet their comput- ing needs in a more efficient and environmentally friendly manner.

Server Farms Often, an organization will house a large number of servers in the same room, where access to the machines can be controlled and authorized support per- sonnel can more easily manage and maintain the servers. Such a facility is called a server farm. Apple, Google, Microsoft, the U.S. government, and many other organizations have built billion-dollar server farms in small rural communities where both land and electricity are cheap.

Server manufacturers are competing heavily to reduce the power required to operate their servers and are making “performance per watt” a key part of their product differentiation strategy. Low power usage is a critical factor for organizations that run server farms made up of hundreds or even thousands of servers. Typical servers draw up to 220 watts, although new servers based on Intel’s Atom microprocessor draw 8 or fewer watts. The annual power savings from such low-energy usage servers can amount to tens of thousands of dollars for operators of a large server farm. Server farm operators are also looking for low-cost, clean, renewable energy sources. For example, Apple runs a server farm in Maiden, North Carolina, on 167 million kilowatt hours of power generated from a 100-acre solar energy facility. This is enough power to operate 17,600 homes for a year.65

A virtual server is an approach to improving hardware utilization by log- ically dividing the resources of a single physical server to create multiple logi- cal servers, each acting as its own dedicated machine, as shown in Figure 3.14. The server on which one or more virtual machines is running is called the host server. Each virtual server is called a guest server or a virtual machine, and it includes its own operating system to manage the user inter- face and control how the virtual machine uses the host server’s hardware. The use of virtual servers is growing rapidly, with at least 70 percent of x86 server workloads virtualized.66 In a typical data center deployment of several hundred servers, companies using virtualization can build 12 virtual machines for every actual server, with a resulting savings in capital and operating expenses (including energy costs) of millions of dollars per year. The hypervi- sor is a virtual server program that controls the host processor and resources,

FIGURE 3.14 Virtual server Virtualization is an approach to improving hardware utilization by logically dividing the resources of a single physical server to create multiple logical servers.

Physical server #1

Virtual server #1

Virtual server #2

Virtual server #3

Physical server #2

Physical server #3

Hypervisor

Without virtualization - Three physical servers

each running at low level of utilization

With virtualization - Single physical server

running at high level of utilization

Single physical server serving as host for 3

virtual servers

server farm: A facility that houses a large number of servers in the same room, where access to the machines can be controlled and authorized sup- port personnel can more easily manage and maintain the servers.

virtual server: A method of logically dividing the resources of a single physical server to create multiple logi- cal servers, each acting as its own dedicated machine.

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 119

allocates the necessary resources to each virtual system, and ensures that they do not disrupt each other.

Cognizant, an IT, consulting, and business process outsourcing company based in New Jersey, is making use of virtual servers in some of its 100 devel- opment and delivery centers worldwide. At one point, the company had almost 7,000 physical servers, which became unstainable in terms of cost and management time. To address this problem, Cognizant utilized virtual server technology to reduce its number of physical servers by 90 percent. It now runs 8,000 virtual servers, representing 85 percent of its server capacity.67

Software developers and hardware managers can package applications and software components into containers that give whatever is inside a well- defined, compact envelope that can be used to more easily manage it, includ- ing moving it across various hosts. While virtual machines divide the host server into multiple operating systems, all containers use the operating system of their host server. This means containers require less memory to run and are faster to deploy than virtual machines.

Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and the International Securities Exchange are just some of the organizations within the banking and financial services industries that have been exploring the possibility of using container software (such as CoreOS and Docker), partly in response to demands from their own developers who are looking for more efficient ways to deploy their applications. Like other organizations, banks and other financial institutions like the simplicity that containers offer; however, some institutions are still only using containers for in-house applications and for development due to security and regulatory compliance concerns. Recently, Goldman Sachs became one of the first financial institutions to launch some applications into production using containers in the public cloud.68,69

A blade server houses many computer motherboards that include one or more processors, computer memory, computer storage, and computer net- work connections. These all share a common power supply and air-cooling source within a single chassis. By placing many blades into a single chassis, and then mounting multiple chassis in a single rack, the blade server is more powerful but less expensive than traditional systems based on mainframes or server farms of individual computers. In addition, the blade server approach requires much less physical space than traditional server farms.

Data Center A data center is a climate-and-access-controlled building or a set of buildings that houses the computer hardware that delivers an organization’s data and information services.

The rapid growth in the demand for additional computing capacity is causing an explosion in the growth of new and existing data centers. Rack- space is a major cloud-computing service provider that manages over 112,000 servers supporting its more than 300,000 cloud and hosting custo- mers.70 Apple, Facebook, AT&T, Rackspace, and IT services company Wipro are among firms that have spent hundreds of millions in a single year on new data centers. Google spends on the order of $4 billion a year on build- ing data centers in an attempt to keep up with the burgeoning demand of its existing and new customers.71 Apple is spending $2 billion to build one data center in Mesa, Arizona, to serve as a command center for its global networks.72

The need for additional data storage capacity is another factor driving the growth in data centers. According to one study, somewhere between one- third and one-half of all data centers will run out of space in the next several years. Of those organizations needing more database capacity, about 40 per- cent indicated that they would build new data centers, about 30 percent said

container: A way for software developers and hardware managers to package applications and software components into a well-defined, compact envelope that can be used to more easily manage it, including moving it across various hosts.

blade server: A server that houses many individual computer motherboards that include one or more processors, computer memory, computer storage, and computer network connections.

data center: A climate- and-access-controlled building or a set of buildings that houses the computer hardware that delivers an organization’s data and information services.

120 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

they would lease additional space, and the rest indicated that they would investigate other options, including the use of cloud computing.

A further driving force behind the increased spending on new data cen- ters is that some organizations are consolidating their data centers from many locations down to just a few locations. The goal of consolidation is to lower ongoing operating costs—less spending on utilities, property taxes, and labor. General Motors consolidated 23 data center locations into just two, reducing both its operating costs and energy usage.73 The General Accounting Office reports that the federal government saved $2 billion between 2011 and 2014 from its data center consolidation efforts.74

Traditional data centers consist of warehouse-size buildings filled with row upon row of server racks and powerful air conditioning systems designed to remove dust and humidity from the air and offset the heat generated by the processors. Such data centers can use as much energy as a small city and run up a power bill of millions of dollars per year. Indeed, energy costs can amount to 25 percent of the total cost of operating a data center, with hard- ware expenses and labor costs the other 75 percent.

Businesses and technology vendors are working to develop data centers that run more efficiently and require less energy for processing and cooling. For example, Red Cloud, an Australian Web site hosting company, implemen- ted a range of modular data center solutions from Cannon Technologies to increase its number of data centers by 11, thus adding 1 million square feet of available space. The module pods can be assembled in just a few days using only basic hand tools.75 Google, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, and others have adopted similar modular data center approach. See Figure 3.15.

About half the energy usage of a traditional data center goes to operate its computers. The other half goes to cooling the computers, removing dust and humidity from the air, and lighting the facility, along with other systems that sustain the data center. Such a data center has a power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 2.0. (PUE ¼ total power consumed/power required to run the com- puters). The ideal goal is a PUE of 1.0, which would indicate that all the power goes to running the computers. Google has been able to build data centers that operate with a PUE of 1.14.76

In a further attempt to lower ongoing operating costs, many organizations are locating their data centers in areas with milder climates and lower energy rates and land costs. For organizations in the United States, this translates to

FIGURE 3.15 Modular data center Microsoft employs a state-of-the-art modular data center. Source: www.datacenterknowledge.com/ archives/2013/01/31/microsofts-1-billion-roof less-data-center/

OUTSIDE AIR

TEMP

62 62 50

TEMP HUMIDITY

SERVER AIR

1 3 4

ON OFF FAN

ON OFF EVAP WASHER

100% OPEN OUTSIDE AIR DAMPER

0% OPEN MIXING DAMPER

COOLING HEATING

ECONOMIZER

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 121

rural locations in the south and the northwest. Apple’s $1 billion data center, Google’s $600 million data center, and Facebook’s $450 million data center are all located in rural North Carolina.77

The ability to absorb the impact of a disaster (e.g., hurricane, earthquake, terrorism attack, or war) and quickly restore services is a critical concern when it comes to the planning for new data centers. As a result, data centers of large information systems service organizations are often distributed among multiple locations in different areas of the country or even different countries to ensure continuous operations in the event of a disaster. If one data center in such an arrangement is affected by a disaster, its work load could be redirected to one or more of the distributed data centers not affected. IBM offers an extreme example of distributed data centers. Since 2009, IBM has opened nine data centers in Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Uruguay to ensure around-the-clock services to its Latin American customers. Globally, IBM has more than 400 widely distributed data centers to meet the needs of its customers.78 In addition to the distribu- tion strategy, most data centers have implemented some form of backup gen- erator or uninterruptible power supply in the event that the local power provider fails.

Green Computing Electronic devices such as computer hardware and smartphones contain hun- dreds or even thousands of components. The components, in turn, are com- posed of many different materials, including some that are known to be potentially harmful to humans and the environment, such as beryllium, cad- mium, lead, mercury, brominated flame retardants (BFRs), selenium, and polyvinyl chloride.79 Electronics manufacturing employees and suppliers at all steps along the supply chain and manufacturing process are at risk of unhealthy exposure to these raw materials. Users of these products can also be exposed to these materials when using poorly designed or improperly manufactured devices. Care must also be taken when recycling or destroying these devices to avoid contaminating the environment.

Green computing is concerned with the efficient and environmentally responsible design, manufacture, operation, and disposal of IS-related pro- ducts, including all types of computing devices (from smartphones to super- computers), printers, printer materials such as cartridges and toner, and storage devices. Many business organizations recognize that going green is in their best interests in terms of public relations, safety of employees, and the community at large. They also recognize that green computing presents an opportunity to substantially reduce total costs over the life cycle of their IS equipment. Green computing has three goals: reduce the use of hazardous material, allow companies to lower their power-related costs, and enable the safe disposal or recycling of computers and computer-related equipment.

It is estimated that 51.9 million computers, 35.8 million monitors, and 33.6 million hard copy devices (printers, faxes, etc.)—representing a total of 1.3 million tons of waste—were disposed of in the United States in 2010 alone.80 Because it is impossible for manufacturers to ensure safe recycling or disposal, the best practice would be for them to eliminate the use of toxic substances, particularly since recycling of used computers, monitors, and prin- ters has raised concerns about toxicity and carcinogenicity of some of the substances. However, until manufacturers stop using these toxic substances, safe disposal and reclamation operations must be carried out carefully to avoid exposure in recycling operations and leaching of materials, such as heavy metals, from landfills and incinerator ashes. In many cases, recycling companies export large quantities of used electronics to companies in unde- veloped countries. Unfortunately, many of these countries do not have strong

green computing: A program concerned with the efficient and environmentally responsible design, manufacture, operation, and disposal of IS-related products.

122 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

Critical Thinking Exercise

environmental laws, and they sometimes fail to recognize the potential dan- gers of dealing with hazardous materials. In their defense, these countries point out that the United States and other first-world countries were allowed to develop robust economies and rise up out of poverty without the restric- tions of strict environmental policies.

Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) is a sys- tem that enables purchasers of electronic products to evaluate, compare, and select products based on a set of environmental criteria. EPEAT was first implemented in 2006 with Computer and Displays (IEEE 1680.1 stan- dard) and has now expanded to Imaging Equipment, under the IEEE 1680.2 standard from January 2013. Products are ranked in EPEAT according to three tiers of environmental performance: bronze, silver, and gold. See Table 3.8.81 Individual purchasers as well as corporate purchasers of compu- ters, printers, scanners, and multifunction devices can use the EPEAT Web site (www.epeat.net) to screen manufacturers and models based on environ- mental attributes.82

Some electronics manufacturers have developed programs to assist their customers in disposing of old equipment. For example, Dell offers a free worldwide recycling program for consumers. It also provides no-charge recy- cling of any brand of used computer or printer with the purchase of a new Dell computer or printer. This equipment is recycled in an environmentally responsible manner, using Dell’s stringent and global recycling guidelines.83

HP, which offers a similar program, has recovered 2.8 billion pounds of pro- ducts since 1987.84

Computer manufacturers such as Apple, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard have long competed on the basis of price and performance. As the difference among the manufacturers in these two arenas narrows, support for green computing is emerging as a new business strategy for these companies to dis- tinguish themselves from the competition. Apple claims to have the “greenest lineup of notebooks” and is making progress at removing toxic chemicals from its manufacturing process. Dell is focused on becoming “the greenest technology company on Earth.” Hewlett-Packard often highlights its long tra- dition of environmentalism and is improving its packaging to reduce the use of materials. It is also urging computer users around the world to shut down their computers at the end of the day to save energy and reduce carbon emissions.

Moving to Green Computing Your organization is a leader in the development of renewable energy sources based on enhanced geothermal systems and is viewed as a champion in the fight to reduce carbon emissions. The organization employs over 25,000 people world- wide and operates three global data centers, one each in the United States, Eur- ope, and Southeast Asia. The CEO has asked all her C level executives for input on a proposed strategy to become a leader in green computing.

TABLE 3.8 EPEAT product tiers for computers

Tier Number of Required Criteria That Must Be Met

Number of Optional Criteria That Must Be Met

Bronze All 23 None

Silver All 23 At least 50%

Gold All 23 At least 75%

Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT): A system that enables purchasers to evaluate, compare, and select electronic products based on a set of environmental criteria.

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 123

Review Questions 1. In what ways is a move toward green computing consistent with your organi-

zation’s mission of developing renewable energy sources? 2. One green computing proposal is to consolidate the three data centers into

one. Discuss the pros and cons of this approach.

Critical Thinking Questions 1. Identify two additional tactics the organization might take to accelerate its

move toward green computing? 2. Identify the pros and cons or any issues associated with your proposed tactics.

Summary

Principle: The computer hardware industry is rapidly changing and highly compet- itive, creating an environment ripe for technological breakthroughs.

Computer hardware should be selected to meet specific user and business requirements. These requirements can evolve and change over time.

The central processing unit, memory, input/output devices, and the bus cooperate to execute program instructions following a fetch, decode, execute, and store process.

Computer system processing speed is affected by clock speed, which is measured in gigahertz (GHz). As the clock speed of the CPU increases, more heat is generated, which can corrupt the data and instructions the computer is trying to process. Bigger heat sinks, fans, and other compo- nents are required to eliminate the excess heat. Chip designers and manu- facturers are exploring various means to avoid heat problems in their new designs.

The Intel x86, Intel Atom, and ARM processors are each based on a differ- ent instruction set and are designed with different goals in mind.

A multicore processor is one that combines two or more independent pro- cessors into a single computer so that the independent processors can share the workload.

Parallel computing is the simultaneous execution of the same task on multi- ple processors to obtain results more quickly. Massively parallel processing involves linking many processors to work together to solve complex problems.

Grid computing is the use of a collection of computers, often owned by multiple individuals or organizations, that work in a coordinated manner to solve a common problem.

An integrated circuit—such as a processor or memory chip—is a set of electronic circuits on one small chip of semiconductor material. A fab or foundry is a factory where integrated circuits are manufactured. Fabless man- ufacturers outsource their manufacturing to foundry companies who fabricate the design.

Main memory provides the CPU with working storage for program instructions and data. The chief function of memory is to rapidly provide data and instructions to the CPU. Memory storage capacity is measured in bytes.

Random access memory or RAM is volatile; loss of power to the computer erases its contents. RAM comes in many different varieties, including dynamic RAM or DRAM (dynamic random access memory) and DDR SDRAM (double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory). DDR has been superseded by DDR2, DDR3, and DDR4.

Cache memory is a type of high-speed memory that CPUs can access more rapidly than RAM.

124 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

Read-only memory (ROM) is nonvolatile and contains permanent pro- gram instructions for execution by the CPU. Other nonvolatile memory types include programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable program- mable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), and flash memory.

Computer systems can store larger amounts of data and instructions in sec- ondary storage, which is less volatile and has greater capacity than memory. The primary characteristics of secondary storage media and devices include access method, capacity, portability, and cost. Common forms of secondary storage include magnetic storage devices such as tape, hard disk drives, and virtual tape; optical storage devices such as CD-ROMs and digital video discs (DVDs); and solid state storage devices (SSDs) such as flash drives.

Redundant array of independent/inexpensive disks (RAID) is a method of storing data that generates extra bits of data from existing data, allowing the system to more easily recover data in the event of a hardware failure.

Network-attached storage (NAS) and storage area networks (SAN) are alter- native forms of data storage that enable an organization to share data storage resources among a much larger number of computers and users for improved storage efficiency and greater cost effectiveness.

Storage as a service is a data storage model in which a data storage service provider rents space to people and organizations.

Input and output devices allow users to provide data and instructions to the computer for processing and allow subsequent storage and output. These devices are part of a user interface through which human beings interact with computer systems.

Data is placed in a computer system in a two-stage process: Data entry converts human-readable data into machine-readable form; data input then transfers machine-readable data into the system. Common input devices include a keyboard, a mouse, speech-recognition technology, motion-sensing input devices, scanning devices, optical data readers, magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) devices, magnetic stripe cards, chip cards, smart cards, con- tactless payment cards, point-of-sale (POS) devices, automated teller machines (ATMs), bar-code scanners, radio frequency identification (RFID) devices, pen input devices, and touch-sensitive screens.

There are numerous flat-panel display screens, including liquid crystal dis- play (LCD), light-emitting diode (LED), organic light-emitting diode (OLED), and plasma devices. Display screen quality is determined by the computer graphics card, aspect ratio, size, color, and resolution. Other output devices include printers, plotters, digital audio players, and e-book readers.

3D printing has created a major breakthrough in how many items will be manufactured. Biomedical engineers are exploring a process called bioprinting, which uses 3D printers to build human parts and organs from actual human cells.

Principle: Computer hardware must be carefully selected to meet the evolving needs of the organization and its supporting information systems.

Computer systems are generally divided into two categories: single user and multiple users.

Single-user systems include portable computers, such as wearable compu- ters, smartphones, laptops, notebooks, and tablets.

Nonportable single-user systems include thin client, desktop, nettop, and workstation computers. Some thin clients (e.g., the Chromebook) are designed to be highly portable.

Multiuser systems include servers, blade servers, mainframes, and supercomputers.

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 125

Scalability is the ability to increase the processing capability of a computer system so that it can handle more users, more data, or more transactions in a given period.

A mainframe computer is a large, powerful computer shared by dozens or even hundreds of concurrent users connected to the machine over a network.

Supercomputers are the most powerful computers with the fastest proces- sing speed and highest performance.

Principle: The computer hardware industry and users are implementing green com- puting designs and products.

A server farm houses a large number of servers in the same room, where access to the machines can be controlled and authorized support personnel can more easily manage and maintain the servers.

A virtual server is an approach to improving hardware utilization by logi- cally dividing the resources of a single physical server to create multiple logical servers, each acting as its own dedicated machine.

A data center is a climate-and-access-controlled building or a set of build- ings that houses the computer hardware that delivers an organization’s data and information services. The rapid growth in data centers is stimulated by the increased demand for additional computing and data storage capacity and by the trend toward consolidating from many data centers down to a few.

Organizations and technology vendors are trying a number of strategies to lower the ongoing cost of data center operations.

The ability to absorb the impact of a disaster and quickly restore services is a critical concern when it comes to planning for new data centers.

Green computing is concerned with the efficient and environmentally responsible design, manufacture, operation, and disposal of IT-related products.

Many business organizations recognize that going green can reduce costs and is in their best interests in terms of public relations, safety of employees, and the community at large.

Three specific goals of green computing are to reduce the use of hazardous material, lower power-related costs, and enable the safe disposal and/or recy- cling of IT products.

The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool can be used by purchasers of electronic products to evaluate, compare, and select products based on a set of environmental criteria.

Key Terms

bioprinting

blade server

bus

byte (B)

cache memory

central processing unit (CPU)

clock speed

compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM)

computer graphics card

contactless payment card

container

coprocessor

data center

data entry

data input

desktop computer

digital audio player

digital video disc (DVD)

e-book

Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT)

gigahertz (GHz)

graphics processing unit (GPU)

126 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

green computing

grid computing

hard disk drive (HDD)

instruction set architecture (ISA)

input/output device

integrated circuit (IC)

laptop

magnetic stripe card

magnetic tape

main memory

mainframe computer

massively parallel processing system

memory

MP3

multicore processor

multiprocessing

nettop

network-attached storage (NAS)

optical storage device

parallel computing

point-of-sale (POS) device

policy-based storage management

portable computer

processor family

radio frequency identification (RFID)

random access memory (RAM)

read-only memory (ROM)

redundant array of independent/inexpensive disks (RAID)

scalability

secondary storage

semiconductor fabrication plant

server

server farm

smart card

solid state storage device (SSD)

source data automation

speech-recognition technology

storage area network (SAN)

storage as a service

supercomputer

tablet

thin client

virtual server

virtual tape

wearable computer

workstation

Chapter 3: Self-Assessment Test

The computer hardware industry is rapidly chang- ing and highly competitive, creating an environ- ment ripe for technological breakthroughs.

1. The is the part of the computer that sequences and executes instructions. a. CPU b. memory c. bus d. input/output devices

2. Clock speed is measured in GHz or . a. millions of instructions per second b. millions of cycles per second c. billions of cycles per second d. millions of floating point instructions per

second 3. A key advantage of ARM processors over the tra-

ditional x86 complex instruction set processors is that . a. ARM processors do not generate as much heat b. ARM processors are more powerful c. ARM processors are larger d. ARM processors have a faster clock speed

4. The use of a collection of computers, often owned by multiple individuals or organizations, to work in a coordinated manner to solve a common problem is called . a. parallel computing b. massively parallel processing c. multicore processing d. grid computing

5. is a highly complex process used in manufacturing computer chips with feature sizes that are extremely small.

6. L1 is the fastest type of cache memory built into a computer, faster even than DDR4 SDRAM mem- ory. True or False?

7. The optical storage device capable of storing the most data is the . a. DVD b. Blu-ray disc c. CD-ROM d. double-sided DVD

8. A high-speed, special-purpose network that inte- grates different types of data storage devices into a single storage system and connects them to

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 127

computing resources across an entire organiza- tion is called a(n) . a. network-attached storage b. storage area network c. storage as a service d. enterprise data storage solution

9. involves capturing and editing data where it is originally created and in a form that can be directly entered into a computer to ensure accuracy and timeliness.

10. After October 1, 2015, merchants who accept payments made via a chip card’s magnetic stripe can continue to do so; however, they must accept responsibility for any fraudulent purchases. True or False?

11. is a process that uses 3D printers to build human body parts and organs from actual human cells.

Computer hardware must be carefully selected to meet the evolving needs of the organization and its supporting information systems.

12. A combination chipset called a includes processor cores, RAM and ROM mem- ory, interface controllers, and voltage regulators.

13. A is a low-cost, centrally managed computer with no internal or external attached drives for data storage. a. tablet b. thin client

c. nettop computer d. workstation

14. Servers offer great , the ability to increase the processing capability of a computer system so it can handle more users, more data, or more transactions in a given period.

The computer industry and users are implementing green computer designs and products.

15. is an approach to improving hard- ware utilization by logically dividing the resources of a single physical server to create multiple logical servers each with its own dedi- cated machine. a. Server farm b. Multiprocessing c. Virtual server d. Hypervisor

16. Which of the following is not a goal of green computing? a. Enable the safe disposal or recycling of com-

puters and computer-related equipment. b. Allow companies to lower their power-related

costs. c. Reduce the use of hazardous material. d. Reduce the cutting down of trees and other

foliage. 17. Green computing is about saving the environ-

ment; there are no real business benefits associ- ated with this program. True or False?

Chapter 3: Self-Assessment Test Answers

1. a 2. c 3. a 4. d 5. Extreme ultraviolet lithography or EUVL 6. True 7. b 8. b 9. Source data automation

10. True 11. Bioprinting 12. system on a chip 13. b 14. scalability 15. c 16. d 17. False

Review Questions

1. Identify four fundamental components of every computer.

2. What is the purpose of the computer bus?

3. How does clock speed govern the execution of instructions by a computer?

4. What is the x86 instruction set?

5. What is a multicore processor? 6. What is the difference between a foundry

company and a fabless manufacturer? 7. How does the role of main memory differ from

the role of secondary storage? 8. Which is the largest amount of memory—a

gigabyte, petabyte, or terabyte?

128 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

9. Identify and briefly discuss the fundamental characteristic that distinguishes RAM from ROM memory.

10. What is cache memory and how is it used? 11. What is a solid state storage device? 12. What is RFID technology? Identify three practical

uses for this technology. 13. When speaking of computers, what is meant by

scalability?

14. How is a blade server different from a regular server?

15. Identify and briefly describe the various classes of single-user, portable computers.

16. Identify three reasons for increased spending on data centers.

17. Define the term “green computing,” and state its primary goals.

18. What is the EPEAT? How is it used?

Discussion Questions

1. Discuss the role a business manager should take in helping determine the computer hardware to be used by the organization.

2. Identify the similarities and differences between massively parallel processing systems and grid computing.

3. Briefly describe the concept of multiprocessing. How does parallel processing differ from multiprocessing?

4. Discuss some of the technical and nontechnical issues that might come up in trying to establish a large grid computing project such as the Large Hadron Collider.

5. What is 3D printing? Discuss what you think the future is for 3D printing.

6. What is a multicore processor? What advantages does it offer users over a single-core processor? Are there any potential disadvantages?

7. Outline how the Electronic Product Environment Assessment Tool (EPEAT) can be used for rating computers.

8. Identify and briefly discuss the advantages and disadvantages of solid state secondary storage

devices compared with magnetic secondary stor- age devices.

9. Briefly discuss the advantages and disadvantages of attached storage, network-attached storage, and storage area networks in meeting enterprise data storage challenges.

10. If cost were not an issue, describe the characteristics of your ideal computer. What would you use it for? Would you choose a tablet, laptop, desktop, or workstation computer? Why?

11. Briefly explain the differences between the mag- netic stripe card, chip card, and the smart card. Which do you believe is safest for the consumer? Why?

12. Fully discuss why some organizations are consolidating many data centers into a few. Are there any potential drawbacks to this strategy?

13. Discuss potential issues that can arise if an orga- nization is not careful in selecting a reputable service organization to recycle or dispose of its IS equipment.

Problem-Solving Exercises

1. Do research to find the total worldwide sales for hard disk drives and solid state storage devices over a five-year or more period. Try to get figures for the number of units sold as well as total stor- age capacity in some unit, such as gigabytes. Use graphing software to develop a chart showing these sales figures. Write a few paragraphs stating your conclusions about the future of the hard disk drive market versus solid state storage.

2. Develop a spreadsheet that compares the fea- tures, initial purchase price, and a two-year esti- mate of operating costs (paper, cartridges, and toner) for three different color laser printers. Assume that you will print 50 color pages and 100 black-and-white pages each month. Now do the same comparison for three inkjet printers. Write a brief memo on which of the six printers

you would choose and why. Develop a second spreadsheet for the same printers, but this time assume that you will print 250 color pages and 500 black-and-white pages per month. Now which of the printers would you buy and why?

3. Use word-processing software to document what your needs are as a computer user and your jus- tification for selecting either a desktop or some form of a portable computer. Find a Web site that allows you to order and customize a computer and select those options that will best meet your needs in a cost-effective manner. Assume that you have a budget of $850. Enter the computer spe- cifications you selected along with the associated costs from the Web site into an Excel spread- sheet. Insert that spreadsheet into the document defining your needs.

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 129

Team Activities

1. Have you and your team do research on the Web to identify three large grid computing projects of interest to the team. Visit the home page for each of these projects to learn more about the goals of the project, results to date, and what is required if you wish to volunteer to help this project. Choose one of the projects, and volunteer to have your computer added to the grid. Write a brief paper summarizing why your team chose this particular grid computing project, what was required for your computer to join the grid, and how being a member of the grid affected your use of your computer.

2. With one or two of your classmates, visit three different retail stores or Web sites in search of your ideal smart watch. Document the costs, fea- tures, advantages, and disadvantages of three

different watches using a spreadsheet program. Analyze your data, and write a recommendation on which one you would buy. Be sure to clearly explain your decision.

3. With the members of your team, visit a data cen- ter or server farm, perhaps at your university or a nearby computer services firm. (Be sure to obtain permission from the appropriate company resources prior to your visit). As you tour the facility, draw a simple diagram showing the locations of various pieces of hardware equip- ment. Label each piece of equipment. Document what has been done in terms of access control, power backup, surge protection, and HVAC. Discuss use of virtualization and containers at the site.

Web Exercises

1. Do research on the Web to find a description of Moore’s Law. What are the implications of this law? Are there any practical limitations to Moore’s Law?

2. Do research on the Web to learn more about bioprinting—both current and potential future applications.

3. Do research on the Web to learn more about Apple’s decision to withdraw from the EPEAT program and why it later reversed that decision. Write a one-page report summarizing your findings.

Career Exercises

1. A friend of yours texted you that he is consider- ing changing his major to computer engineering. He wants to meet with you and get your input on this move. Do some research to find out just what is a computer engineer and what do they do. What are the career prospects, and what sort of education and experience is required to become a computer engineer?

2. How might supercomputers be employed in your current or future career field?

3. Examine the possibility of a career in computer hardware sales. Which area of sales do you believe holds the brightest prospects for young college graduates—servers, mainframe compu- ters, supercomputers, or high-volume storage devices? Why? What would be some of the advantages and disadvantages of a career in computer hardware sales?

Case Studies

Case One

ARM The Acorn Computer Group developed the world’s first commercial Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) processor in the 1980s. The simpler commands employed in RISC computers enables the computer to operate faster, use less power, and take up less space—major advances over the early complex instruction set computer systems (CISC), which tried to pack as many actions into each command as possible.ARM was founded in 1990 as a spin-off of Acorn

Computer and Apple after the two companies began collaborating on the ARM processor for the Newton computer system—Apple’s ill-fated attempt at a handheld computer.

The ARM business model involves the design and license of intellectual property rather than the manufacture and sales of actual semiconductor chips. ARM licenses the rights to build chips based on its design to the world’s leading semiconductor and systems companies. These companies pay ARM a license fee for the original design along with a royalty on every chip or wafer produced. ARM has signed over 1,100

130 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

licenses with more than 300 companies. Some companies elect to license the ARM instruction set to design their own processors. See Table 3.9.

Over 60 billion ARM chips have been shipped since the company was founded. Chips based on ARM designs are found in 99 percent of the world’s smartphones and tablets. In addition, processors based on designs licensed from ARM are used in all sorts of computing devices, including microcontrollers in embedded systems such as antilock braking systems (ABS) systems for autos, smartTVs, and smartwatches. The number of ARM-designed chips sold is estimated to be 25 times that of Intel-designed chips.

Personal computer vendors upgrade their products every 12 to 18 months. The smartphone industry is demanding an upgrade every six months to a year. ARM is constantly striving to keep pace with these demands. The Cortex-A57 is a processor design by ARM that was announced in October 2012 and appeared in handsets two years later. The Cortex-A72, its successor, was announced in February 2015 and began to appear in mobile devices by the end of 2015.The Cortex A72 processor represents a 50 times increase in processing power compared with smartphone chips used just five years ago. Development of the Cortex A-72 continues the trend of smartphones getting more and more powerful and becoming our primary computing device, replacing the personal computer for many uses.

Meanwhile, Intel is now shipping chips code-named Sofia for inexpensive smartphones. These chips were made in conjunction with the Chinese company Rockchip, which has experience in turning around processor designs in a matter of months. Intel will soon begin to ship a high-end Atom chip called Broxton, which has a modular design that allows Intel to modify the chip and deliver updates at a faster pace. Broxton supports Intel’s strategy of delivering products that can be easily customized—similar to the chip designs of ARM.

China assembles most of the world’s smartphones and computers, but currently must import most of the technology that underlies them. Chinese authorities hope to gain a

bigger role in the microchip industry and have made ownership of semiconductor intellectual property a priority. The issue of protecting intellectual property rights is a major concern for ARM and its customers entering or doing business and China.

Critical Thinking Questions 1. What are some of the challenges and opportunities

facing the processor chip industry in general and ARM in particular?

2. Some chip industry observers and financial analysts believe that because of its licensing business model, ARM missed an opportunity to capture billions of dol- lars in sales of microprocessor chips it could have manufacturered. Compare sales, profits, and stock prices over a three-year period for ARM to two of its customers who do have fab plants and manufacture their own chips such as Samsung Electronics and Intel or AMD, a competitor. Do you believe that the ARM licensing rather than manufacturing business model has hurt the firm? Why or why not?

3. Do research to learn more about how China came to be the lead assembler of the world’s smartphones and computers. What are some of the pros and cons of outsoucring this work to China?

SOURCES: “Company Profile,” www.arm.com/about/company-profile/, accessed July 15, 2015; Vance, Ashlee, “ARM Designs One of the World’s Most-Used Products. So Where’s the Money?,” Bloomberg Business, February 4, 2014, http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-02-04 /arm-chips-are-the-most-used-consumer-product-dot-where-s-the- money; Hackman, Mark, “ARM Launches Cortex A-72 Platform, Powering Flagship Smartphones in 2016,” PC World, February 3, 2015, www.pcworld.com/article/2879037/arm-launches-cortex-a-72-plat form-powering-flagship-smartphones-in-2016.html; Hamblen, Matt, “The Rise of China’s Smartphone Makers,” Computerworld, December 30, 2014, www.computerworld.com/article/2859707/the-rise-of-chinas- smartphone-makers.html and “Intel Plans to Increase CPU Performance with New Atom Chips,” Alvareztg Technology Group, www.alvareztg .com/intel-plans-to-increase-cpu-performance-with-new-atom-chips .html/, accessed July 16, 2015,

Case Two

Vivobarefoot Upgrades Technology Infrastructure Vivobarefoot is an innovative shoe company that recently undertook a major review of its technology infrastructure to determine what changes needed to be made to support and accelerate the company’s already rapid growth. Vivobarefoot’s success is connected to the growing popularity of barefoot or “miminalist” running. In fact, the company lays claim to the first minimalist shoe, originally produced in 2004, offering an ultrathin, puncture-resistant sole that provides “maximum sensory feedback and maximum protection.”

The specialist shoe company is headquartered in the United Kingdom, but also has a team based in China, where all of its manufacturing takes place. Vivobarefoot sells it shoes online, through a variety of partnerships around the world, and in its store in Covent Garden, a popular shopping district in London. According to founder Galahad Clark, the company went from selling 30,000 pairs of shoes per month

TABLE 3.9 Partial list of ARM licensees Companies That License the ARM Chip Design to Incorporate It into Their Own System on a Chip

Companies That License The ARM Instruction Set to Design Their Own Processor

ApliedMicro Apple

Broadcom Broadcom

HiSilico Intel

Rockchip Marvell Technology Group

Samsung Microsoft

STMMicroelectronics Nvdia

Qualcomm

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 131

to over 300,000 per month—over the course of just five years.

As with many companies that experience rapid growth, over the years, Vivobarefoot had acquired a hodgepodge of hardware and software that was no longer meeting its needs. According to Damian Peat, global operations director for the company, “We were working with some pretty archaic systems. We had three servers in our basement all running Windows Server 2003 and backed up to tape, and I would worry a lot about the chance of something not working.” Vivobarefoot employees were also using multiple versions of Microsoft Office, and staff in China were forced to use personal Gmail accounts because they could not reliably access the company’s Microsoft Exchange email server in London.

Managing the variety of hardware and software systems was becoming time consuming and costly. And, like thousands of other companies, Vivobarefoot was also faced with the reality that it would soon be forced to migrate away from Windows Server 2003, as Microsoft was ending its support of the outdated server operating system. According to Peat, “Upcoming end of support for Windows Server 2003 gave us concerns around security patching and mounting management costs, and we already had significant risk around data security. …My priority became to get everything onto one safe, reliable platform as soon as possible.”

After a review of available technologies, Vivobarefoot chose to replace Windows Server 2003 with Windows Server 2012 R2 and Hyper-V hypervisor software, giving the company both physical and virtual server capabilities, including the capacity the company needs to host file servers and business-critical applications, such as accounting software and stock management systems. The company also migrated to Office 365 in both its London and China offices. Office 365 had particular appeal for the company because, as a global cloud service, it is easily accessible in China, where staff are now more easily able to communicate—using Vivobarefoot email addresses rather than Gmail accounts. Vivobarefoot staff are also making use of Microsoft’s OneDrive for Business, where they can store, share, and sync files. According to Peat, with these cloud-based upgrades, the company “can ensure everyone can see the same documents and access them whenever they need, which is really beneficial.” As part of a phased process, the company is also moving many employees to Windows 8.1 laptops and Surface Pro tablets.

As part of its efforts to streamline its IT infrastructure at all levels, Vivobarefoot has also moved away from tape backups to a remote hosted backup service, and the upgraded server technology means that many other system management tasks have been simplified, as well. Data security has been improved, and IT staff have gained the ability to manage the company’s servers remotely. While Vivobarefoot still has work to do to migrate all of its technology to the same platform, the company’s efforts have gone a long way toward providing the company with an updated and more rational arrangement of hardware, software, and cloud computing.

Critical Thinking Questions 1. What are some of the competitive advantages Vivo-

barefoot gained through its infrastructure update? 2. One ongoing concern for Vivobarefoot is the quality

and speed of the Internet service available to its office in central London. Given that, do you think it made sense for the company to move more of its IT services to the cloud? Go online and do some research about Microsoft’s Office 365 product. What options does it offer for working offline if Internet service is not available? Does that change your opinion about Vivo- barefoot’s shift to the cloud?

3. Estimates for the number of computers still running Windows Server 2003 range from hundreds of thou- sands to several million—even though Microsoft has stopped supporting the product. What are the risks for companies that continue to use software or hardware technology after a vendor ends support for it?

SOURCES: “Frequently Asked Questions,” Vivobarefoot, www.vivobare foot.com/us/customer-services/frequently-asked-questions#FAQST1, accessed December 11, 2015; Ho, Geoff, “Shoe Manufacturer Vivobare- foot to Step It Up to Fund Expansion Plans,” Express, May 3, 2015, www .express.co.uk/finance/city/574639/Shoe-manufacturer-Vivobarefoot -raise-money-fund-expansion-plans; Worth, Dan, “Windows Server 2003 Migration Helps Shoe Seller Vivobarefoot Put One Foot in the Cloud,” V3.co.uk, April 17, 2015, www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2404420 /windows-server-2003-migration-helps-shoe-seller-vivobarefoot-put-one -foot-in-the-cloud; “Pioneering Footwear Brand Unites Teams for Secure, Remote Working,” Microsoft, www.microsoft.com/en-gb/smb/customer -success-stories/vivobarefoot-unites-global-teams, accessed December 11, 2015; Curtis, Joe, “How Vivobarefoot Escaped Windows Server 2003 in IT Upgrade,” IT Pro, July 8, 2015, www.itpro.co.uk/server/24948/how -vivobarefoot-escaped-windows-server-2003-in-it-upgrade.

Notes

1. “Top 10 Sites for November 2015,” Top500 Project Committee, www.top500.org/lists/2015/11, accessed December 11, 2015.

2. “Courant’s Stadler and Colleagues Win 2015 Bell Prize,” New York University, November 25, 2015, www.nyu .edu/about/news-publications/news/2015/11/24/cour ants-stadler-and-colleagues-win-2015-bell-prize-.html.

3. Mearian, Lucas, “CERN’s Data Soars to 530M Gigabytes,” Computerworld, August 14, 2015, www.computerworld .com/article/2960642/cloud-storage/cerns-data-stores -soar-to-530m-gigabytes.html.

4. “Israel Approves Intel’s $6 Billion Investment in Chip Plant,” Reuters, September 22, 2014, www.reuters.com /article/2014/09/22/us-israel-intel-plant-idUSKCN0HH1 F720140922.

5. Clark, Don, “IBM Reports Advances in Shrinking Future Chips, Wall Street Journal, July 9, 2015, www.wsj.com /articles/ibm-reports-advances-in-shrinking-future- chips-1436414814.

6. Seubert, Curtis, “How Many Bytes Is an Exabyte,” eHow, www.ehow.com/about_6370860_many-bytes-exabyte_ .html, accessed August 8, 2013.

132 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

7. Patrizio, Andy, “All about DDR4, the Next-Gen Memory Coming Soon for PCs and Mobile Devices,” PC World, June 24, 2014, www.pcworld.com/article/2365823/next -gen-memory-is-coming-fast-here-s-what-you-need-to -know-about-ddr4.html.

8. Malle, Jean-Pierre, “Big Data: Farewell to Cartesian Thinking?” Paris Tech Review, March 15, 2013, www.paristechreview.com/2013/03/15/big-data-carte sian-thinking.

9. “Media Alert: New IBM Cloud Service Enables Develo- pers to Create Apps That Tap into Vast Amounts of Unstructured Data,” IBM, December 7, 2015, www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/48257.wss.

10. Mims, Christopher, “And the Longest Running Digital Storage Medium Is …,” MIT Technology Review, July 13, 2011,www.technologyreview.com/view/424669/and-the -longest-running-digital-storage-medium-is.

11. “IBM Research Sets New Record for Tape Storage,” IBM, April 9, 2015, www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/ 46554.wss.

12. “High-End Computing Capability: Archival Storage Sys- tem,” NASA, www.nas.nasa.gov/hecc/resources/storage _systems.html, accessed December 11, 2015.

13. “HGST Ultrastar HDD Is a 10TB Helium Monster, Aims to Cope with Data Overload,” TechRadar, December 1, 2015, www.techradar.com/us/news/computing-compo nents/storage/hgst-ultrastar-hdd-is-a-10tb-helium-mon ster-aims-to-cope-with-data-overload-1310236.

14. “Western Digital Welcomes Big Data with 10 TB Helium HDDs,” Infostor, December 2, 2015, www.infostor.com /storage-management/western-digital-welcomes-big -data-with-10-tb-helium-hdds.html.

15. “Welcome to the NFLC,” National Foreign Language Cen- ter, www.nflc.umd.edu, accessed December 12, 2015.

16. “Research Institute at the University of Maryland Off- loads Large Library of Files to RAID Storage,” RADirect, www.rad-direct.com/Success_Story_NFLC.htm, accessed December 12, 2015.

17. Inglis, Blair, “Sony Working on Blue-Ray Successor—Are PS4 Discs Soon to Be Outdated?” The Six Axis, July 30, 2013, www.thesixthaxis.com/2013/07/30/sony-working -on-blu-ray-successor-are-ps4-discs-soon-to-be-out- dated.

18. Shadbolt, Peter, “The Eternity Drive: Why DNA Could Be the Future of Data Storage,” CNN, February 25, 2015, www.cnn.com/2015/02/25/tech/make-create-innovate- fossil-dna-data-storage.

19. MacDonald, Glenn, “DNA Data Storage Lasts Thousands of Years,” Discovery, August 7, 2015, http://news.discov ery.com/tech/biotechnology/dna-data-storage-lasts-thou sands-of-years-150817.htm.

20. Keith, Jonathan, “DNA Data Storage: 100 Million Hours of HD Video in Every Cup,” Phys.Org, January 25, 2013, http://phys.org/news/2013-01-dna-storage-million -hours-hd.html.

21. Mearian, Lucas, “Samsung Unveils 15 TB SSD Based on Densest Flash Memory,” Computerworld, August 17, 2015, www.computerworld.com/article/2971482/cloud -security/samsung-unveils-15tb-ssd-based-on-densest -flash-memory.html.

22. “About,” CD-adapco, www.cd-adapco.com/about#, accessed December 12, 2015.

23. “Panasas ActiveStor Storage Speeds Modeling Computation at CD-adapco,” Panasas, November 17, 2015, www.panasas.com/news/press-releases/panasas -activestor-storage-speeds-modeling-computation-cd -adapco.

24. “City of Riverside: Building the Connected Community of the Future,” NetApp, December 2, 2015, www.netapp. com/us/media/cs-city-of-riverside.pdf.

25. Patel, Raj, “Discover Pinterest: Cloud Engineering,” Pin- terest, November 20, 2015, https://engineering.pinterest. com/blog/discover-pinterest-cloud-engineering.

26. Murphy, Margi, “Pinterest Nails down More Users after Building Apache HBase Analytics Tool,” TechWorld, April 16, 2015, www.techworld.com/news/big-data/pin terests-pinalytics-using-hadoop-get-grips-with-its-data -3608139.

27. Shahangian, Mohammad “Powering Big Data at Pinter- est,” Pinterest, July 24, 2014, https://engineering.pinter est.com/blog/powering-big-data-pinterest.

28. “AWS Case Study: Pinterest,” Amazon Web Services, https://aws.amazon.com/solutions/case-studies/pinterest, accessed December 13, 2015.

29. Conn, Joseph, “Nurses Turn to Speech-Recognition Soft- ware to Speed Documentation,” Modern Healthcare, December 12, 2015, www.modernhealthcare.com/arti cle/20151212/MAGAZINE/312129980.

30. “Overview,” Neat, www.neat.com, accessed October 16, 2015.

31. “Everything You Need to Know about the Switch to Chip Cards,” https://squareup.com/townsquare/emv, accessed October 16, 2015.

32. Vaas, Lisa, “The $1 Million Apple iTunes Gift Card Scam,” Naked Security, October 23, 2015, https://naked security.sophos.com/2015/10/23/the-1m-apple-itunes- gift-card-scam.

33. “US Credit Cards with Smart Chip Technology, The Points Guy, May 30, 2013, http://thepointsguy.com/2013 /05/us-credit-cards-with-smart-chips.

34. “Summary Figures (2014),” UK Cards Association, www .theukcardsassociation.org.uk/2014-facts-figures/sum mary_figures_2014.asp, accessed October 17, 2015.

35. “Square Helps More Sellers Grow Their Business Faster,” Square, https://squareup.com/?pcrid=3330880435& pdv=c&pkw=square+stand&pm=true&pmt=e, accessed October 17, 2015.

36. Gagliordi, Natalie, “Target Will Roll Out RFID Price Tags to Improve Inventory Management,” ZDNet, May 19, 2015, www.zdnet.com/article/target-will-roll-out-rfid -price-tags-to-improve-inventory-management.

37. Swedberg, Claire, Target Announces Nationwide RFID Rollout,” RFID Journal, May 20, 2015, www.rfidjournal. com/articles/view?13060.

38. Schuman, Evan, “Target Prepping Stores with ‘No Shop- ping Cart, No Bag’,” Computerworld, www.computer world.com/article/3013962/retail-it/target-prepping -stores-with-no-shopping-cart-no-bag.html.

39. “3D Touch,” Apple, www.apple.com/iphone-6s/3d-touch, accessed December 13, 2015,

40. Andrzejewski, Alexa, “OpenTable for iOS 9: The Shortest Path between You + Dining,” OpenTable, December 25, 2015, http://blog.opentable.com/2015/opentable-for-ios- 9-the-shortest-path-between-you-dining.

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 133

41. Tyson, Jeff, Wilson, Terry V., “How Graphics Cards Work, How Stuff Works,” http://computer.howstuff works.com/graphics-card.html, accessed October 17, 2015.

42. “LG Unveils Its New Flexible, Paper-Thin TV,” Science Alert, August 11, 2015, www.sciencealert.com/lg-unveils- its-new-flexible-paper-thin-tv.

43. Hill, Simon, “LG Display Talks Flexible, Transparent, Double-Sided OLEDs in IFA Keynote,” Digital Trends, September 4, 2015, www.digitaltrends.com/home-the ater/lg-display-envisions-a-future-of-flexible-wafer-thin -oled-displays.

44. Seppala, Timothy J., “LG’s Spending Billions to Make More OLED Things,” Engadget, November 26, 2015, www.engadget.com/2015/11/26/lg-oled-manufacturing- plant.

45. “PrinterOn”, PrinterOn, www.printeron.com/images /docs/PrinterOnAirportPrintingSolutions.pdf, accessed August 19, 2013.

46. Saker, Anne, “Printing a 3D Heart to Save a Heart,” Cincinnati.com, February 22, 2015, www.cincinnati .com/story/news/2015/02/21/printing-heart-save-heart /23825279/.

47. Ibid. 48. “3D Printing in the Automotive Industry,” FunTech, Jan-

uary 7, 2015, http://blog.funtech.com/2015/01/3d-print ing-in-automotive-industry.html.

49. Sher, Davide, “World’s Fastest RC Car 3D Printed on Ultimaker 2 Extended,” October 12, 2015, http://3dprin tingindustry.com/2015/10/12/worlds-fastest-rc-car-3d -printed-on-ultimaker-2-extended/.

50. Gilpin, Lyndsey, “10 Industries 3D Printing Will Disrupt or Decimate,” Republic, February 25, 2014, www.techre public.com/article/10-industries-3d-printing-will-dis rupt-or-decimate.

51. Benvin, Rich, “Biotech Startup Uses 3D Bioprinting to Create Custom Breast Implants and Grafts,” Bioprinting World, July 27, 2015, http://bioprintingworld.com/bio tech-startup-uses-3d-bioprinting-to-create-custom- breast-implants-and-grafts.

52. Benvin, Rich, “3D Organ Bioprinting—Who Wants to Live Forever?,” Bioprinting World, March 24, 2015, http://bioprintingworld.com/3d-organ-bioprinting-who -wants-to-live-forever.

53. Hamblen, Matt, “Wearables and Company Wellness Pro- grams Go Hand-in-Hand,” Computerworld, June 18, 2015, www.computerworld.com/article/2937333/wear ables/wearables-and-company-wellness-programs-go- hand-in-hand.html.

54. Fogarty, Kevin, “Card-Sized Diagnostics, e-Skin Are Future of Wearable Medicine,” Computerworld, May 13, 2015, www.computerworld.com/article/2922118/health care-it/health-sensing-e-skin-card-sized-diagnostics-are- future-of-wearable-medicine.html.

55. Broder, Kevin, MD, “Glove from Imogen Heap Will Change the Way You Make Music,” Wearable Devices, June 24, 2014, www.wearabledevices.com/2014/06/24/ glove-from-imogen-heap.

56. Arthur, Rachel, “Google and Levi’s Want to Put Compu- ters in Your Clothing,” Forbes, June 16, 2015, www.for bes.com/sites/rachelarthur/2015/06/16/google-and-levis- want-to-put-computers-in-your-clothing.

57. “Chromebooks in Healthcare: Good for Patients and for Bottom Lines,” Samsung, December 7, 2015, https:// insights.samsung.com/2015/12/07/chromebooks-in -healthcare-good-for-patients-and-for-bottom-lines-2/.

58. “Case Study: Larson & Darby Group,” HP, www8.hp.com/us/en/pdf/larson-darby-group-hi- res_tcm_245_1814936.pdf, accessed November 2, 2015.

59. “About ADP,” ADP, www.adp.com/who-we-are.aspx, accessed October 18, 2015.

60. “About Mastercard,” Mastercard, www.mastercard.us /en-us/about-mastercard/what-we-do/payment-proces sing.html, accessed October 18, 2015.

61. “About UPS,” UPS, www.ups.com/content/us/en/about /index.html?WT.svl=SubNav, accessed October 18, 2015.

62. Dignan, Larry, “IBM Rolls Out Z13, Repositions Main- frame for Mobile Transactions,” ZD Net, January 13, 2015, www.zdnet.com/article/ibm-rolls-out-z13-reposi tions-mainframe-for-mobile-transactions.

63. Green, Timothy, “Here’s Why IBM Is Still Building Mainframes,” The Motley Fool, accessed October 18, 2015, www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/01/24 /heres-why-ibm-is-still-building-mainframes.aspx.

64. Chen, Stephen, “World’s Fastest Computer, Tianhe-2, Might Get Very Little Use,” South China Morning Post, June 20, 2013, www.scmp.com/news/china/article /1264529/worlds-fastest-computer-tianhe-2-might-get- very-little-use.

65. “A Rare Look inside Apple’s Maiden, North Carolina Data Center [Video],” iClarified, posted April 25, 2014, www .iclarified.com/40226/a-rare-look-inside-apples-maiden- north-carolina-data-center-video.

66. “Guide to Virtualization Hypervisors,” Network Comput- ing, February 9, 2015, www.networkcomputing.com /data-centers/guide-to-virtualization-hypervisors/d/d-id/ 1318945.

67. “VMWare Case Study: Cognizant,” VMWare, October 27, 2015, www.vmware.com/files/pdf/customers/vmware -cognizant-15q1-cs-en.pdf?src=WWW_customers_vm ware-cognizant-15q1-cs-en.pdf.

68. Crosman, Penny, “Why Tech-Savvy Banks Are Gung Ho about ‘Container’ Software,” American Banker, Decem- ber 3, 2015, www.americanbanker.com/news/bank-tech nology/why-tech-savvy-banks-are-gung-ho-about-con tainer-software-1078145-1.html.

69. Ovide, Shira, “Software Firms Scramble to Jump into Containers,” Wall Street Journal, November 4, 2015, www.wsj.com/articles/software-firms-scramble-to-jump -into-containers-1415149692.

70. Morgan, Timothy Prickett, “Inside the Rackspace Open- Power Megaserver,” The Platform, March 23, 2015, www.theplatform.net/2015/03/23/inside-the-rackspace -openpower-megaserver.

71. Arthur, Charles, “Technology Firms to Spend $150bn on Building New Data Centres,” Guardian, August 23, 2013, www.theguardian.com/business/2013/aug/23/ spending-on-data-centres-reaches-150-billion-dollars.

72. Colt, Sam, “Apple is Building a $2 Billion Data Center in Arizona,” Business Insider, February 2, 2015, www.busi nessinsider.com/apple-is-building-a-2-billion-data-cen ter-in-arizona-2015-2.

73. “GM’s Latest Michigan Data Center Gets LEED Gold,” Data Center Dynamics, September 13, 2013, www.data

134 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

centerdynamics.com/focus/archive/2013/09/gms-latest -michigan-data-center-gets-leed-gold.

74. Boyd, Aaron, “Data Center Consolidation Biggest Money Saver among IT Reforms,” Federal Times, Sep- tember 15, 2015, www.federaltimes.com/story/govern ment/it/data-center/2015/09/15/data-center-biggest -saver/72325764.

75. “Modular Data Center Expansion Planned for Red Cloud,” Wired Real Estate Group, http://wiredre.com /modular-data-center-expansion-planned-for-red-cloud, accessed October 18, 2015.

76. Babcock, Charles, “5 Data Center Trends for 2013,” InformationWeek, January 2, 2013, www.information week.com/hardware/data-centers/5-data-center-trends- for-2013/240145349?printer_friendly=this-page.

77. Thibodeau, P., “Rural N.C. Becomes Popular IT Loca- tion,” Computerworld, June 20, 2011, p. 2.

78. “IBM Opens New Cloud Data Center in Peru to Meet Demand for Big Data Analytics,” IBM, August 22, 2013, www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/41809.wss.

79. Wells, Brad, “What Truly Makes a Computer ‘Green’?” OnEarth (blog), September 8, 2008, www.onearth.org /node/658.

80. “Electronics Waste Management in the United States through 2009,” U.S. EPA, May 2011, EPA 530-R-11-002 www.epa.gov/wastes/conserve/materials/ecycling/docs /fullbaselinereport2011.pdf.

81. “EPEAT Environmental Criteria,” EPEAT, www.epeat. net/resources/criteria, accessed August 19, 2013.

82. “Electronic Environmental Assessment Tool,” EPEAT, www.zerowaste.org/epeat_devel/faq.htm, accessed Octo- ber 18, 2015.

83. “Asset Resale and Recycling,” Dell, www.dell.com/learn /us/en/uscorp1/services/asset-resale-and-recycling? c=us&l=en&s=corp&cs=uscorp1, accessed October 18, 2015.

84. “Product Return and Recycling,” www8.hp.com/us/en /hp-information/environment/product-recycling.html#. ViOsZo2FP4g, accessed October 18, 2015.

CHAPTER 3 • Hardware and Mobile Devices 135

CHAPTER

4 Software and Mobile Applications

Georgejmclittle/Shutterstock.com

Know?Did Yo u

• Know how you’re constantly updating and upgrading programs on your computer and devices? You can thank IBM for that. They birthed the software industry in 1969 when they decided to charge customers sepa- rately for software and services. Although business computers had been in use since the mid-1950s, hard- ware manufacturers had bundled software with their hardware without charging for it.

• If you move to the Microsoft Windows 10 operating system, you will no longer have to upgrade to a new

operating system every few years. Instead, Microsoft will be providing continual, incremental updates and improvements, rolled out automatically, perhaps as often as monthly for individual consumers. Windows 10 is here to stay!

• As of July 2015, Apple’s App Store had over 1.5 million apps available for iOS device users, and Android users could choose from over 1.6 million mobile apps on Google’s Play Store.

Principles Learning Objectives

• Software is valuable in helping individuals, work- groups, and entire enterprises achieve their goals.

• Identify and briefly describe the functions of two basic kinds of software.

• Define the term “sphere of influence,” and describe how it can be used to classify software.

• The operating system is called the “soul of the computer” because it controls how you enter data into your computer, perform meaningful work, and display results.

• Define the basic functions performed by the operating system.

• Identify current operating systems that are used for personal, workgroup, and enterprise computing.

• Discuss the role of the operating system in embedded systems.

• Organizations typically use off-the-shelf applica- tion software to meet common business needs and proprietary application software to meet unique business needs and provide a competitive advantage.

• Discuss how application software can support personal, workgroup, and enterprise business objectives.

• Identify three basic approaches to developing application software and discuss the pros and cons of each.

• Identify programming languages commonly in use today.

• The software industry continues to undergo constant change; computer users need to be aware of recent trends and issues in the software industry to be effective in their business and personal life.

• Identify several key software issues and trends that have an impact on organizations and individuals.

Why Learn about Software and Mobile Applications? Software is indispensable for any computer system and the people using it. In this chapter, you will learn about system software—which includes operating systems, utilities, and middleware—and application software. The operating system is sometimes called the “soul of the computer,” and without it, you would be unable to enter data into your computer, perform meaningful work, or display results. You use application software to help you accomplish tasks that enable you to accomplish tasks efficiently and effectively. Sales representatives use software on their smartphones and tablet computers to enter sales orders and help their customers get what they want. Stock and bond traders use software to make split-second decisions involving millions of dollars. Scientists use software to analyze the threat of climate change. Regardless of your job, you will likely use software to help you advance in your career and earn higher wages. You can also use software to help you prepare your personal income taxes, keep a budget, and stay in contact with friends and family online. Software can truly advance your career and enrich your life. We begin with an overview of software.

As you read this chapter, consider the following:

• How is application software tied to or limited by advances in hardware and operating systems?

• How can organizations ensure that their employees use appropriate software to support their work tasks and meet the goals of the enterprise?

An Overview of Software

Software consists of computer programs that control the workings of computer hardware. Software can be divided into two types: systems software and application software. System software includes operating systems, utilities, and middleware that coordinate the activities and functions of the hardware and other programs throughout the computer system. Application software consists of programs that help users solve particular computing problems. Examples include a spreadsheet program or a program that captures and dis- plays data that enables monitoring of a manufacturing process.

The effective use of software can have a profound impact on individuals and organizations. It can make the difference between profits and losses and between financial health and bankruptcy. As Figure 4.1 shows, companies recognize this impact; globally, spending on software now exceeds other IT

FIGURE 4.1 Software expenditures exceed spending on hardware Since the 1950s, businesses have substantially increased their expen- ditures on software compared with hardware.

Software

Outsourcing

Hardware

Consulting

Communications

equipment

15%

20% 20%

26%

19%

system software: Software that includes operating systems, utilities, and middleware that coordinate the activities and functions of the hardware and other programs throughout the computer system.

application software: Programs that help users solve particular com- puting problems.

138 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

expenditures, including spending on computer hardware. This is far different from when computers first were available; software was given away and cus- tomers paid only for the hardware.1 Indeed, the software industry was born in 1969 when IBM decided to unbundle—and charge customers separately for—its software and services. Although business computers had been in use since the mid-1950s, hardware manufacturers had previously bundled soft- ware with their hardware without charging separately for it.

Software Sphere of Influence Every organization relies on the contributions of individuals and groups across the enterprise to achieve its business objectives. One useful way of classifying the many potential uses of information systems is to identify the scope of the problems and opportunities that the software addresses. This scope is called the sphere of influence. For most companies, the spheres of influence are personal, workgroup, and enterprise. Table 4.1 shows how various kinds of software support these three spheres.

Information systems that operate within the personal sphere of influence serve the needs of individual users. These information systems help users improve their personal effectiveness, increasing the amount and quality of work they can do. Such software is often called personal productivity soft- ware. For example, VIP Organizer is personal productivity software designed to help users develop to do lists, categorize tasks, keep notes and records in a single database, report on performance, and set deadlines and priorities.2

When two or more people work together to achieve a common goal, they form a workgroup. Workgroups include large, formal, permanent organiza- tional entities, such as sections or departments, as well as temporary groups formed to complete a specific project. An information system in the work- group sphere of influence helps workgroup members attain their common goals. Microsoft Outlook is an example of an application in the workgroup sphere of influence; see Figure 4.2. IBM Notes, another application in the workgroup sphere of influence, provides collaboration features such as team calendars, email, to-do lists, contact management, discussion forums, file shar- ing, microblogging, instant messaging, blogs, and user directories.3 JGC Cor- poration is an engineering construction company with operations in more than 70 different countries. Many of its projects cost over $15 billion, last for 10 years or more, and involve hundreds of partner companies. JGC employs Lotus Notes to coordinate the work of project teams and relay information about project status, changes in work plans, and other critical information.4

Information systems that operate within the enterprise sphere of influ- ence support an organization in its interactions with its environment, includ- ing customers, suppliers, shareholders, competitors, special-interest groups, the financial community, and government agencies. The enterprise sphere of influence for a company might include business partners such as suppliers that provide raw materials, retail companies that store and sell a company’s

TABLE 4.1 Software supporting individuals, workgroups, and enterprises Software Type Personal Workgroup Enterprise

Systems software Smartphone, tablet, personal computer, and workstation operating systems

Network operating systems Server and mainframe operating systems

Application software

Word-processing, spreadsheet, database, and graphics programs

Email, group-scheduling, shared-work, and collabo- ration applications

General-ledger, order- entry, payroll, and human- resources applications

sphere of influence: The scope of the problems and opportunities that the software addresses.

personal sphere of influence: The sphere of influence that serves the needs of an individual user.

personal productivity software: Software that enables users to improve their personal effectiveness, increasing the amount of work and quality of work they can do.

workgroup: Two or more people who work together to achieve a common goal.

workgroup sphere of influence: The sphere of influence that helps workgroup members attain their common goals.

enterprise sphere of influence: The sphere of influence that serves the needs of an organization in its interac- tions with its environment.

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 139

Critical Thinking Exercise

products, and shipping companies that transport raw materials to the plant and finished goods to retail outlets. Many organizations use SAP enterprise resource planning software to capture customer orders, manage inventory, plan and ship customer orders, bill customers, and manage accounts payable and accounts receivable.

Establishing a Corporate App Store You are a new hire in the finance organization of a large retail firm. You are amazed to see the number of different software applications (apps) employed by your coworkers, who use them for everything from maintaining personal calen- dars to calculating the rate of return on projects to forecasting sales and financial data. It seems that everyone has a favorite app for doing each of these tasks. For example, in the few weeks you have been here, you identified over half a dozen different apps that are being used to calculate the rate of return on projects and investments. Your coworkers download these apps from the Internet or build them using spreadsheet software. You previously worked as an intern at another large retailer that had established a corporate app store, which employees accessed to download corporate-approved apps that had been vetted and recom- mended for use for specific tasks. You wonder if such an approach should be implemented at your current employer.

Review Questions 1. Give an example of two tasks that an employee in the finance organization of

this retail firm might perform that would have an impact restricted to their own personal sphere of influence.

2. Identify two tasks that an employee might perform that would have an impact on the workgroup and two that would have an impact on the enterprise sphere of influence.

Critical Thinking Questions 1. What risks are associated with letting employees use their favorite app to per-

form various tasks? Are these risks associated with tasks in the personal, workgroup, or enterprise sphere of influence?

FIGURE 4.2 Microsoft Outlook Outlook is an application that work- groups can use to schedule meet- ings and coordinate activities. Mi

cr os of tp ro du ct sc re en sh ot s us ed

wi th pe rm is si on

fro m

M ic ro so ft Co rp or at io n

140 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

2. Can you identify some advantages and disadvantages of establishing a corpo- rate app store?

We will now discuss systems software including operating systems, utili- ties, and middleware.

Systems Software

The primary role of system software is to control the operations of computer hardware. System software also supports the problem-solving capabilities of application programs. System software can be divided into three types: oper- ating systems, utility programs, and middleware.

Operating Systems An operating system (OS) is a set of programs that controls a computer’s hardware and acts as an interface with application software; see Figure 4.3. An operating system can control one or more computers, or it can allow mul- tiple users to interact with one computer. The various combinations of OSs, computers, and users include the following:

● Single computer with a single user. This system is commonly used in personal computers, tablets, and smartphones that support one user at a time. Examples of OSs for this setup include Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Google Android.

● Single computer with multiple simultaneous users. This type of system is used in larger server or mainframe computers that support hundreds or thousands of people, all using the computer at the same time. Examples of OSs that support this kind of system include UNIX, z/OS, and HP-UX.

● Multiple computers with multiple users. This type of system is used in computer networks, including home networks with several computers attached as well as large computer networks with hundreds of computers attached, supporting many users, who may be located around the world. Network server OSs include Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server, Windows Server, and Mac OS X Server.

● Special-purpose computers. This type of system is typical of a number of computers with specialized functions, such as those that control

FIGURE 4.3 Role of operating systems The role of the operating system is to act as an interface between appli- cation software and hardware.

User interface

Application program interface

Operating system kernel and utilities

Hardware drivers

Hardware

operating system (OS): A set of computer programs that controls the computer hardware and acts as an interface to application software.

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 141

sophisticated military aircraft, digital cameras, or home appliances. Exam- ples of OSs designed for these purposes include Windows Embedded, Symbian, and some distributions of Linux.

The OS, which plays a central role in the functioning of a computer sys- tem, is usually stored on a hard drive in general-purpose computers and in solid state memory on mobile computers such as tablets and smartphones. After you start, or boot up, a computer system, the kernel of the OS is loaded into primary storage and remains there for as long as the computer is pow- ered on. The kernel, as its name suggests, is the heart of the OS and controls its most critical processes. The kernel ties all of the OS components together and regulates other programs.

Other portions of the OS are transferred to memory as the system needs them. OS developers are continually working to shorten the time required to boot devices after they are shut down and to wake devices from sleep mode.

You can also boot a computer from a CD, a DVD, or even a USB flash drive. A storage device that contains some or all of the OS is often called a rescue disk because you can use it to start the computer if you have problems with the primary hard disk.

Functions Performed by the Operating System The programs that make up the OS perform a variety of activities, including the following:

● Control common computer hardware functions ● Provide a user interface and manage input/output management ● Provide a degree of hardware independence ● Manage system memory ● Manage processing tasks ● Provide networking capability ● Control access to system resources ● Manage files

Common Hardware Functions The OS enables applications to perform a variety of hardware-related tasks, such as the following:

● Get input from the keyboard or another input device ● Retrieve data from disks ● Store data on disks ● Display information on a monitor or printer

Each of these tasks requires a detailed set of instructions. The OS converts a basic request into instructions that the hardware can process. In effect, the OS acts as an intermediary between the application and the hardware. The OS uses special software (called hardware drivers) provided by device manu- facturers to communicate with and control a device. Hardware drivers are typ- ically downloaded from the device manufacturer’s Web site or read from an installation DVD and installed when the hardware is first connected to the computer system.

User Interface and Input/Output Management One of the most important func- tions of any OS is providing a user interface, which allows people to access and interact with the computer system. The first user interfaces for mainframe and personal computer systems were command based. A command-based user interface requires you to give text commands to the computer to per- form basic activities. For example, the command ERASE 00TAXRTN would cause the computer to erase a file named 00TAXRTN. RENAME and COPY are other examples of commands used to rename files and copy files from one location to another. Today’s systems engineers and administrators often use a

kernel: The heart of the operating system that controls the most critical processes of the OS.

user interface: The element of the operating system that allows people to access and interact with the computer system.

command-based user interface: A user interface that requires you to give text commands to the computer to perform basic activities.

142 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

command-based user interface to control the low-level functioning of com- puter systems. Most modern OSs (including those with graphical user inter- faces, such as Windows) provide a way to interact with the system through a command line. See Figure 4.4.

A graphical user interface (GUI) displays pictures (called icons) and menus that people use to send commands to the computer system. GUIs are more intuitive to use than command-based interfaces because they try to anticipate the user’s needs and they provide easy-to-recognize options. Micro- soft Windows is one popular operating system with a GUI. As the name sug- gests, Windows is based on the use of a window, or a portion of the display screen dedicated to a specific application. The screen can display several win- dows at once.

Although GUIs have traditionally been accessed using a keyboard and mouse, more recent technologies allow people to use touch screens and spoken commands. Today’s mobile devices and some PCs, for example, use a touch user interface—also called a natural user interface (NUI) or multitouch interface.

Speech recognition is also available with some operating systems. Microsoft and other operating system manufacturers have developed voice-command computer control software. Microsoft employs a special programming language called Speech Application Program Interface (SAPI) to associate your voice commands with specific actions performed by the computer. Apple’s OpenEars makes it simple for you to add speech recognition and text to speech to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod. Siri, the personal assistant that acts as an app on the Apple iOS operating system, uses a natural language user interface to answer questions. Adacel is a company that develops advanced simulation and control systems for aviation and defense. It is working on a voice-activated control sys- tem to operate the display system on aircrafts.

Some operating systems provide sight interfaces that enable a computer to perform different commands or operations depending on where a person is looking on the screen. Some companies are also experimenting with sen- sors attached to the human brain (brain interfaces) that can detect brain waves and control a computer as a result. Sight and brain interfaces can be very helpful to disabled individuals.

FIGURE 4.4 Command-based and graphical user interfaces A Windows file system viewed with a GUI (a) and from the command prompt (b).

(a)

(b) M ic ro so ft pr od uc t sc re en sh ot s us ed

w ith

pe rm is si on

fr om

M ic ro so ft Co rp or at io n

graphical user interface (GUI): An interface that displays pictures (icons) and menus that people use to send commands to the computer system.

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 143

Operating system developers must be extremely careful in making changes to their user interface. The Windows 8 touch interface represented a major change from its traditional mouse-driven point-and-click user inter- face. Initial user reaction was lukewarm at best, with many users complain- ing about the loss of the Start button to display a pop-up menu of programs, folders, and icons. For Windows 10 (there is no Windows 9), Microsoft responded to consumers’ feedback by bringing back the tradi- tional Start screen. Microsoft also tried to appease users accustomed to the tile-based interface of Windows 8 by adding a few tiles to the right side of the Start menu.

Hardware Independence An application programming interface (API) is a set of programming instructions and standards that enable one software program to access and use the services of another software program. An API provides a software-to-software interface, not a user interface. The API also provides software developers tools that allow them to build application soft- ware without needing to understand the inner workings of the OS and hard- ware. Software applications are designed to run on a particular OS by using the operating system’s application program interface.

APIs also provide a degree of hardware independence so that the under- lying hardware can change without necessarily requiring a rewrite of the soft- ware applications. Hardware independence refers to the ability of a software program to run on any platform, without concern for the specific underlying hardware. When new hardware technologies are introduced, the operating system, not the application software, is required to adjust to enable use of those changes.

A software manufacturing company or service provider will often release its API to the public so that other software developers can design products that employ its service. For example, Amazon.com released its API to other Web site developers so they could use it to access Amazon’s product information; thus, allowing third-party Web sites to post direct links to Amazon products with updated prices and a “buy now” option.5

Memory Management The OS also controls how memory is accessed, maxi- mizing the use of available memory and storage to provide optimum effi- ciency. The memory-management feature of many OSs allows the computer to execute program instructions effectively and to speed processing. One way to increase the performance of an old computer is to upgrade to a newer OS and increase the amount of memory.

Most OSs support virtual memory, which allocates space on the hard disk to supplement the immediate, functional memory capacity of RAM. Vir- tual memory works by swapping programs or parts of programs between memory and one or more disk devices—a concept called paging. This proce- dure reduces CPU idle time and increases the number of jobs that can run in a given time span.

Processing Tasks Operating systems use the following five basic approaches to task management to increase the amount of processing that can be accom- plished in a given amount of time:

● Multiuser. Allows two or more users to run programs at the same time on the same computer. Some operating systems permit hundreds or even thousands of concurrent users. The ability of the computer to han- dle an increasing number of concurrent users smoothly is called scalability.

● Multiprocessing. Supports running a program on more than one CPU. ● Multitasking. Allows more than one program to run concurrently.

application programming inter- face (API): A set of programming instructions and standards that enables one software program to access and use the services of another software program.

hardware independence: The ability of a software program to run on any platform, without concern for the specific underlying hardware.

144 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

● Multithreading. Allows different threads of a single program to run concurrently. A thread is a set of instructions within an application that is independent of other threads. For example, in a spreadsheet program, the thread to open the workbook is separate from the thread to sum a column of figures.

● Real time. Responds to input instantly. To do this, the operating system task scheduler can stop any task at any point in its execution if it deter- mines that another higher priority task needs to run immediately. Real- time operating systems are used to control the operation of jet engines, the deployment of air bags, and the operation of antilock braking systems—among other uses.

Not all operating systems employ all these approaches to task manage- ment. For example, the general-purpose operating systems with which we are most familiar (e.g., Windows, Mac OS, and Linux) cannot support real-time processing.

Networking Capability Most operating systems include networking capabilities so that computers can join together in a network to send and receive data and share computing resources. Operating systems for larger server compu- ters are designed specifically for computer networking environments.

Access to System Resources and Security Because computers often handle sensi- tive data that can be accessed over networks, the OS needs to provide a high level of security against unauthorized access to the users’ data and programs. Typically, the OS establishes a logon procedure that requires users to enter an identification code, such as a user name, and a password. Operating systems may also control what system resources a user may access. When a user success- fully logs on to the system, the OS permits access to only the portions of the sys- tem for which the user has been authorized access. The OS records who is using the system and for how long, and it reports any attempted breaches of security.

File Management The OS manages files to ensure that files in secondary stor- age are available when needed and that they are protected from access by unauthorized users. Many computers support multiple users who store files on centrally located disks or tape drives. The OS keeps track of where each file is stored and who is cleared to access them.

Current Operating Systems Today’s operating systems incorporate sophisticated features and impressive graphic effects. Table 4.2 classifies a few current operating systems by sphere of influence.

TABLE 4.2 Operating systems by sphere of influence Personal Workgroup Enterprise

Microsoft Windows Microsoft Windows Server Microsoft Windows Server

Mac OS X, iOS Mac OS X Server

Linux Linux Linux

Google Android, Chrome OS

UNIX UNIX

HP webOS IBM i and z/OS IBM i and z/OS

HP-UX HP-UX

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 145

From time to time, software manufacturers drop support for older operating systems—meaning that although computers and software running under these operating system will continue to run, the operating system manufacturer will no longer provide security fixes and updates. Without such patches, the users’ com- puters are more susceptible to being infected by viruses and other malware. For example, Google announced that in 2016 it would be ending its support for its Chrome browser on Windows XP and Vista as well as on Mac OS X 10.6, 10.7, and 10.8. Google chose to drop support for these operating systems because they are no longer actively supported by Microsoft and Apple, respectively.6

Discontinuance of support is a strong reason to upgrade to new software. However, many organizations take the approach that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” In their view, other projects take priority over updating software that is still functioning. However, this approach can lead to interruptions in key systems. For example, on November 7, 2015, planes were grounded for sev- eral hours at Paris’ busy Orly airport when a computer that links air traffic control systems with France’s main weather bureau stopped working. The computer was running on Windows 3.1, a 23-year-old operating system dropped from support by Microsoft over a decade ago.7

Personal Computing Operating Systems This section summarizes information about several operating systems that are found on personal computers, portable computers, and mobile devices.

Microsoft PC Operating Systems In 1980, executives from IBM approached Microsoft’s Bill Gates regarding the creation of an operating system for IBM’s first personal computer. That operating system, which was ultimately called Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS), was based on Microsoft’s pur- chase of the Quick and Dirty Operating System (QDOS) written by Tim Pater- son of Seattle Computer Products. Microsoft bought the rights to QDOS for $50,000. QDOS, in turn, was based on Gary Kildall’s Control Program for Microcomputers (CP/M). As part of its agreement with Microsoft, IBM allowed Microsoft to retain the rights to MS-DOS and to market MS-DOS separately from the IBM personal computer. The rest is history, with Gates and Microsoft earning a fortune from the licensing of MS-DOS and its descendants.8 MS- DOS, which had a command-based interface that was difficult to learn and use, eventually gave way to the more user-friendly Windows operating sys- tem, which opened the PC market to everyday users. See Figure 4.5.

FIGURE 4.5 Microsoft Windows 10 Windows 10 brings back the familiar Start menu, replaces the Explorer browser with the Edge browser, and provides the Cortana personal assistant. om ih ay /S hu tt er st oc k. co m

146 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

With its launch of Windows 10, Microsoft announced that it is moving away from its usual practice of releasing major new versions of its Windows operating system every few years (see Table 4.3 for an overview of the current and previous versions of Windows). Instead, the company will be

TABLE 4.3 Summary of Microsoft Windows operating systems Year Version Highlights

1985 Windows 1.0 Ran as a graphical, 16-bit multitasking shell on top of an existing MS-DOS installation, providing an environment that could run graphical programs designed for Windows as well as existing MS-DOS software

1987 Windows 2.0 Introduced more sophisticated keyboard shortcuts as well as the ability to minimize and maximize Windows

1988 Windows 2.03 Allowed application Windows to overlap each other

1990 Windows 3.0 Introduced a multitasking capability with a protected/enhanced mode, which allowed Windows applications to use more memory; first widely successful version of Windows

1992 Windows 3.1 Introduced improved system stability and expanded support for multimedia, TrueType fonts, and workgroup networking

1995 Windows 95 Introduced numerous important features and functions, such as the taskbar, the Start button, and a new approach to user navigation; moved from a 16-bit architecture to a 32-bit architecture

1998 Windows 98 Introduced many features, such as the Quick Launch toolbar, the Active Desktop, single-click launching, Back and Forward navigation buttons, favorites, and the address bar in Windows Explorer, and image thumbnails; heavily criticized operating system, with major compatibility issues

1999 Windows 98 Second Edition

Included fixes for many Windows 98 problems and replaced Internet Explorer 4.0 with Internet Explorer 5.0; improved audio, modem, and USB support

2000 Windows 2000 An operating system for use on both client and server computers; marketed as the most secure Windows version ever, but it became the target of a number of high- profile virus attacks, such as Code Red and Nimda

2000 Windows ME Rated Microsoft’s worst OS by many industry observers; exhibited stability and com- patibility issues; included Internet Explorer 5.5, Windows Media Player 7, and Win- dows Movie Maker software, which provided basic video editing functions that were designed to be easy for consumers to use

2001 Windows XP Offered a major advance from the MS-DOS–based versions of Windows in terms of secu- rity, stability, and efficiency; introduced a significantly redesigned graphical user interface

2007 Windows Vista Focused primarily on improving security; offered an updated graphical user interface and visual style dubbed “Aero” and a new search component called Windows Search; provided redesigned networking, audio, print, and display subsystems, as well as new multimedia capabilities, including Windows DVD Maker

2009 Windows 7 Provided an incremental upgrade to the operating system; intended to address Win- dows Vista’s performance issues, while maintaining hardware and software compati- bility; provided support for touch displays and 64-bit processors

2012 Windows 8 Introduced major changes to the operating system’s platform and user interface to improve user experience on tablets; included a touch-optimized Windows shell, a Start screen that displays programs and dynamically updated content on a grid of tiles, the ability to sync apps and settings between devices, and the Windows Store for down- loading and purchasing new software

2013 Windows 8.1 Included an improved Start screen, additional bundled apps, tighter OneDrive inte- gration, Internet Explorer 11, a Bing-powered unified search system, and restoration of a visible Start button on the taskbar

2015 Windows 10 Brought back the familiar Start menu and desktop; introduced the Edge browser and the Cortana assistant, which responds to natural language and can perform a variety of organizational tasks for the end user, including setting reminders, scheduling calendar events, calculating math problems, and converting measurements and money

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 147

providing ongoing, incremental upgrades and improvements, rolled out auto- matically, perhaps as often as monthly for individual consumers. Organiza- tions, whose information systems professionals desire minimal change in order to ensure reliable operations of corporate applications, may elect to opt out of such frequent updates. Microsoft hopes that the automatic, rapid update cycle will force users to stay current and discontinue use of older operating systems. One benefit of this approach is that it will allow Microsoft to gradually shift some of its resources away from updating and maintaining earlier versions of Windows. Ideally, those resources will instead be refocused on efforts to improve Windows 10. Microsoft also plans to make Windows 10 a common platform with a single app store for any machine—smartphone, laptop, desktop, xBox game station, etc. (with variations to allow for differing screen sizes and uses).9

Apple Computer Operating Systems In July 2001, Mac OS X was released as an entirely new operating system for the Mac. Based on the UNIX operating system, Mac OS X included a new user interface with luminous and semitrans- parent elements, such as buttons, scroll bars, and windows along with fluid animation to enhance the user’s experience.

Since its first release, Apple has upgraded OS X multiple times, as shown in Table 4.4. The first eight versions of the OS were named after big cats, the latest are named after places in California. OS X 10.11 El Capitan is Apple’s latest operating system. See Figure 4.6. It offers enhanced security features as well as the ability to launch the iBooks app, and books you’ve already down- loaded to your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch will appear in your library. Direc- tions, bookmarks, and recent searches are automatically passed on to all your iOS devices, and you can now use natural language when using the Spotlight search feature (e.g., “spreadsheet I worked on yesterday”). The new Split View feature automatically positions two app windows side by side in full screen so you can work with both apps at the same time. Power-saving technology enables you to browse longer, and upgraded graphics-rendering technology has improved overall system performance compared to previous versions.10

Because Mac OS X runs on Intel processors, Mac users can set up their computers to run both Windows and Mac OS X and select the platform they want to work with when they boot their computers. Such an arrangement is called dual booting. While Macs can dual boot into Windows, the opposite is

TABLE 4.4 Summary of recent Mac operating systems OS X Version Name Date Released

10.0 Cheetah 2001

10.1 Puma 2001

10.2 Jaguar 2002

10.3 Panther 2003

10.4 Tiger 2005

10.5 Leopard 2007

10.6 Snow Leopard 2009

10.7 Lion 2011

10.8 Mountain Lion 2012

10.9 Mavericks 2013

10.10 Yosemite 2014

10.11 El Capitan 2015

148 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

not true. OS X cannot be run on any machine other than an Apple device. However, Windows PCs can dual boot with Linux and other OSs.

Linux Linux is an OS developed in 1991 by Linus Torvalds as a student in Finland. The OS is distributed under the GNU General Public License, and its source code is freely available to everyone. It is, therefore, called an open- source operating system.

Individuals and organizations can use the open-source Linux code to create their own distribution (flavor) of Linux. A distribution consists of the Linux kernel (the core of the operating system)—which controls the hardware, manages files, separates processes, and performs other basic functions—along with other software. This other software defines the termi- nal interface and available commands, produces the graphical user interface, and provides other useful utility programs. A Linux distributor takes all the code for these programs and combines it into a single operating system that can be installed on a computer. The distributor may also add finishing touches that determine how the desktop looks like, what color schemes and character sets are displayed, and what browser and other optional software are included with the operating system. Typically, the distribution is “opti- mized” to perform in a particular environment, such as for a desktop com- puter, server, or TV cable box controller.

More than 100 distributions of Linux have been created.11 Many distribu- tions are available as free downloads. Three of the most widely used distribu- tions come from software companies Red Hat, SUSE, and Canonical. Although the Linux kernel is free software, both Red Hat and SUSE produce retail ver- sions of the operating system that earn them revenues through distribution and service of the software. openSUSE is the distribution sponsored by SUSE. See Figure 4.7.

Red Hat, an open-source software developer based in Raleigh, North Carolina, offers a range of Linux-based solutions. Its Red Hat Enterprise Linux distribution, first released in 2000, is an enterprise-grade operating system that can be deployed on desktops as well as servers.12 Cerner Corpo- ration is a Kansas-based provider of healthcare IT solutions whose software solutions are in use in over 18,000 healthcare facilities around the world.13

When Cerner was looking to standardize the hosting environment for its flagship Cerner Millennium application suite, it chose to implement the Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system. Millennium applications provide healthcare providers real-time access to a variety of data, including patient

FIGURE 4.6 Mac OS X El Capitan El Capitan incorporates many fea- tures of Apple’s mobile devices into its desktop operating system. Source: Apple, Inc. ©

A pp le , In c

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 149

information, diagnoses, lab results, and medication lists. When deciding on an operating system for its hosting environment for high-priority applica- tions, an important consideration for Cerner was the fact that over 70 per- cent of its Millennium customers opt to host their applications using Cerner’s hosting services. It was a priority for Cerner and its customers that the company implement a dependable and scalable solution. With its imple- mentation of Red Hat’s Linux distribution, Cerner found that it gained per- formance improvements and a lower total cost of ownership in addition to a more stable and scalable system.14

Google: Android and Chrome Over the years, Google has extended its reach beyond its popular search engine (Google) to offer application software (Goo- gle Docs), email services (Gmail), a mobile operating system (Android), Web browser (Chrome), and, more recently, a PC operating system—Chrome OS. The various releases of the Android operating system have been given tasty names such as Gingerbread, Jelly Bean, and Ice Cream Sandwich. Android has surpassed 1 billion users across all devices—with 80 percent of mobile phones worldwide operating on Android.15

Chrome OS is a Linux-based operating system for notebooks and desktop PCs primarily used to access Web-based information and services such as email, Web browsing, social networks, and Google online applications. The OS is designed to run on inexpensive low-power computers. Chrome OS for personal computers is designed to start fast and provide quick access to appli- cations through the Internet. An open-source version of Chrome OS, named Chromium OS, was made available at the end of 2009. Because it is open- source software, developers can customize the source code to run on different platforms, incorporating unique features.

Workgroup Operating Systems To keep pace with user demands, business technology must be able to sup- port an environment in which network usage, data storage requirements, and data-processing speeds are increasing at a dramatic rate. Powerful and sophis- ticated operating systems are needed to run the servers that meet these business needs for workgroups.

Windows Server Microsoft designed Windows Server to perform a host of tasks that are vital for Web sites and corporate Web applications. For exam- ple, Microsoft Windows Server can be used to coordinate and manage large

FIGURE 4.7 openSUSE operating system openSUSE is a distribution of Linux available as a free download. Co

ur te sy

of op en SU

SE .o rg

150 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

data centers. Windows Server delivers benefits such as a powerful Web server management system, virtualization tools that allow various operating systems to run on a single server, advanced security features, and robust administra- tive support. Windows Server 2016 provides further enhancements for containerization—with individual containers having their own Windows Server kernel that is not shared with the host machine. This ensures that users can run jobs without worrying that workloads running on one container will reach outside their bounds and interfere with either the host machine or other applications running on it. Windows Home Server allows individuals to connect multiple PCs, storage devices, printers, and other devices into a home network. Windows Home Servers provides a convenient way for home users to store and manage photos, video, music, and other digital content. It also provides backup and data recovery functions.

UNIX UNIX is a powerful OS originally developed by AT&T for minicomputers— the predecessors of servers, which were larger than PCs and smaller than main- frames. UNIX can be used on many computer system types and platforms, includ- ing workstations, servers, and mainframe computers. UNIX also makes it easy to move programs and data among computers or to connect mainframes and work- stations to share resources. There are many variants of UNIX, including HP-UX from Hewlett-Packard, AIX from IBM, and Solaris from Oracle. The UNIX platform (a computer capable of running the UNIX operating system plus the operating system itself) is considered a high-cost platform compared to Linux and Windows Server.

The Solaris operating system is a UNIX-based operating system originally developed by Sun Microsystems. Oracle, known primarily as a database man- agement software firm, acquired Sun in 2010. Sun products included server hardware, the Solaris operating system, and the Java programming language. Oracle now offers so-called general-purpose engineered systems that include a combination of Oracle and Sun software running on powerful Sun servers, dubbed SPARC.16 Office Depot is one of the largest retail office supply com- panies in the world, with some 1,400 stores in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. The company upgraded the information system infrastructure used to run its ERP application to SPARC servers and the Solaris operating system to gain a 20 percent increase in performance.17

Red Hat Linux Red Hat Software offers Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server, an operating system that is very efficient at serving Web pages and can manage a cluster of several servers. Distributions such as Red Hat have proven Linux to be a very stable and efficient OS. Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization (RHEV) software provides virtualization capabilities for servers and desktop compu- ters to enable the hardware to run more than one operating system. See Figure 4.8.

Casio is a multinational electronics manufacturing company headquar- tered in Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, cameras, musical instruments, and watches. Casio migrated to RHEV, and its virtual servers now use only 60 percent of the resources used by physical servers. The firm has also been able to ensure that in the event of a server failure, other servers will have the capacity to pick up the load without a serious effect on the entire system.18

Mac OS X Server The Mac OS X Server is the first modern server OS from Apple Computer, and it is based on the UNIX OS. Designed for OS X and iOS, OS X Server makes it easy to collaborate, develop software, host Web sites and wikis, configure Mac and iOS devices, and remotely access a net- work. Smartphone users running iOS can now open, edit, and save docu- ments on OS X Server.

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 151

Enterprise Operating Systems Mainframe computers, often referred to as “Big Iron,” provide the computing and storage capacity required for massive data-processing environments, and they provide systems that can support many users while delivering high per- formance and excellent system availability, strong security, and scalability. A wide range of application software has been developed to run in the main- frame environment, making it possible to purchase software to address almost any business problem. Examples of mainframe OSs include z/OS from IBM, HP-UX from Hewlett-Packard, and Linux. The z/OS is IBM’s first 64-bit enter- prise OS and is capable of handling very heavy workloads, including serving thousands of concurrent users and running an organization’s critical applica- tions. (The z stands for zero downtime.)

Mobile Operating Systems Smartphones now employ full-fledged personal computer operating systems such as the Google Android, Apple iOS, and Microsoft Windows Phone that determine the functionality of your phone and the applications that you can run. These operating systems have software development kits that allow devel- opers to design thousands of apps providing a myriad of mobile services.

Table 4.5 lists the top four mobile operating systems for smartphones and tablets based on worldwide market share as of the second quarter (2Q) of 2015. Table 4.6 lists the top tablet operating systems based on sales in 1Q 2015.

FIGURE 4.8 Red Hat Linux Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization (RHEV) software provides virtualiza- tion capabilities for servers and desktop computers. Source: www.redhat.com

152 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

Embedded Operating Systems An embedded system is a computer system (including some sort of processor) that is implanted in and dedicated to the control of another device. Embedded systems control many devices in common use today, including TV cable boxes, smartphones, digital watches, digital cameras, MP3 players, calculators, micro- wave ovens, washing machines, and traffic lights. The typical car contains many embedded systems, including those that control antilock brakes, air bag deploy- ment, fuel injection, active suspension devices, transmission control, and cruise control. A global positioning system (GPS) device uses an embedded system to help people find their way around town or more remote areas. See Figure 4.9.

TABLE 4.5 Comparison of smartphone operating systems

Smartphone Operating System

Worldwide Market Share of Sales during 2Q 2015

Estimated Total Number of Applications

Estimated Rate of Increase in Number of New Applications

Google Android 82.8% 1,824,500 (Nov 2015) 980/day

Apple iPhone OS (iOS) 13.9% 1,500,000 (July 2015) 667/day

Microsoft Windows Mobile (to be replaced by Windows 10 Mobile)

2.6% 300,000 (June 2014) 550/day

Blackberry OS 0.3% Not available Not available

Sources: “Smartphone OS Market Share, 2015 Q2,” International Data Corporation, August 2015, www.idc.com/prodserv/smartphone-os-market-share.jsp; Costello, Sam, “How Many Apps Are in the App Store?,” About Tech, September 15, 2015, http://ipod.about.com/od/iphonesoftwareterms/qt/apps-in-app-store.htm; Whitney. Lance, “Windows Phone Store Hits More than 300,000 Apps,” CNET, August 8, 2015, www.cnet.com/news/windows-phone-store-hits-more-than-300000-apps.

TABLE 4.6 Worldwide market share of tablet computer operating systems Table Computer Operating System Worldwide Market Share

Android 67%

iOS 28%

Windows 5%

Source: Shah, Agam, “Windows Forecast to Gradually Grab Tablet Market Share From iOS and Android,” PCWorld, March 12, 2015, www.pcworld.com/article/2896196/windows-forecast-to-gradually-grab-tablet -market-share-from-ios-and-android.html.

FIGURE 4.9 GPS devices use embedded operating systems A GPS device uses an embedded system to acquire information from satellites, display your current loca- tion on a map, and direct you to your destination. iSt

oc kp ho to .c om

/S te ph en

M or ris

embedded system: A computer system (including some sort of proces- sor) that is implanted in and dedicated to the control of another device.

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 153

Some embedded systems include specialized operating systems. For exam- ple, Palm, an early smartphone manufacturer, developed its well-regarded Palm webOS operating system to run its Pre and Pixi smartphones. Although webOS was considered innovative, Palm’s smartphones were a market failure, and in 2010, HP bought the company along with webOS, hoping to use it to develop its mobile platform. HP’s efforts were also unsuccessful, and in early 2013, LG bought all the assets associated with webOS from HP. LG now uses the specialized software in its smart TVs to enable users to watch streaming movies and television shows and YouTube videos, connect to social networks, play games, get news, and download apps.19

Some of the more popular OSs for embedded systems are described in the following section.

Windows Embedded Windows Embedded is a family of Microsoft operating systems included with or embedded into small computer devices. For exam- ple, Windows Embedded Compact includes several versions that provide computing power for TV set-top boxes, automated industrial machines, media players, medical devices, digital cameras, PDAs, GPS receivers, ATMs, gaming devices, and business devices such as cash registers. Microsoft Win- dows Embedded Automotive helps manufacturers provide drivers with everything they need to stay in touch with others, be entertained, and be informed. Drivers can also monitor vehicle performance, screen for mainte- nance issues, and allow remote tracking of the car’s location. Speech recog- nition, touch interface, and hands-free technologies enable drivers to stay focused on the road and in control of their surroundings. The Ford Sync sys- tem uses an in-dashboard display, an industrial-strength operating system owned by BlackBerry called QNX, and wireless networking technologies to link automotive systems with smartphones and portable media players. See Figure 4.10.

Syndicat Mixte Autolib’ is an electric car-sharing program implemented by the city of Paris and surrounding municipalities. The goals of the pro- gram are to relieve traffic congestion, reduce noise and air pollution, and provide people with flexible transit options. Various components of the Win- dows Embedded operating system provide connectivity between the in-car system, rental kiosks, charging stations, and a central control system. Syndi- cat Mixte Autolib’ has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 1.5 metric tons annually and replaced 25,000 privately owned gas vehicles. Autolib’ subscri- bers enjoy additional benefits including GPS navigation and free parking.20

FIGURE 4.10 Ford Sync 3 user interface The Ford Sync 3 system allows drivers to wirelessly connect smartphones and media devices to automotive systems. Source: McCracken, Henry, “Why Ford Dumping Microsoft’s Automotive Software Was Inevitable—And Probably Long Overdue,” Fast Company, http://www.fast company.com/3039760/why-ford-dumping -microsofts-automotive-software-was -inevitable-and-probably-long-overdue.

154 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

Proprietary Linux-Based Systems Because embedded systems are usually designed for a specific purpose in a specific device, they are usually proprie- tary or custom-created and owned by the manufacturer. Sony’s Wii, for exam- ple, uses a custom-designed OS based on the Linux kernel. Linux is a popular choice for embedded systems because it is free and highly configurable. It has been used in many embedded systems, including e-book readers, ATMs, smartphones, networking devices, and media players.

Utility Programs Utility programs perform a variety of tasks typically related to system main- tenance or problem correction. For example, there are utility programs designed to merge and sort sets of data, keep track of computer jobs being run, compress data files before they are stored or transmitted over a network (thus saving space and time), and perform other important tasks.

Just as your car engine runs best if it has regular tune-ups, computers also need regular maintenance to ensure optimal performance. Over time, your computer’s performance can start to diminish as system errors occur, files clutter your hard drive, and security vulnerabilities materialize. Sysinternals Suite is a collection of Windows utilities that can be downloaded for free from the Microsoft Technet Web site. These utilities can be used to boost the performance of a slow PC, repair errors in the registry and on a hard drive, remove unnecessary files, improve system security and privacy, and optimize sluggish system processes as shown in Figure 4.11.21

Although many PC utility programs come installed on computers, you can also purchase utility programs separately. The following sections examine some common types of utilities.

Hardware Utilities Hardware utilities can be used to check the status of all parts of the PC, including hard disks, memory, modems, speakers, and printers. Disk utilities check the hard disk’s boot sector, file allocation tables, and directories and analyze them to ensure that the hard disk is not damaged. Disk utilities can

FIGURE 4.11 Sysinternals Suite Sysinternals Suite is a collection of utilities for troubleshooting and maintaining a Windows system.

utility program: A program that helps to perform maintenance or cor- rect problems with a computer system.

M ic ro so ft pr od uc t sc re en sh ot s us ed

w ith

pe rm is si on

fr om

M ic ro so ft Co rp or at io n

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 155

also optimize the placement of files on a crowded disk. Hardware manufac- turers often provide utilities that can be used for their specific devices. Other companies such as Symantec, which produces Norton Utilities, offer hardware utilities that can be used to repair, maintain, and optimize a range of system types.

Security Utilities Computer viruses and malware from the Internet and other sources can be a nuisance and worse—sometimes completely disabling a computer. Antivirus and anti-malware utilities can be used to constantly monitor and protect a computer. If a virus or other malware is found, it can often be removed. Fire- wall software is another important security utility for protecting a computer system. Firewall software filters incoming and outgoing packets, making sure that neither hackers nor their tools are attacking the system. Symantec, McA- fee, and Microsoft are the most popular providers of security software.

File-Compression Utilities File-compression programs can reduce the amount of disk space required to store a file or reduce the time it takes to transfer a file over the Internet. Both Windows and Mac operating systems let you compress or decompress files and folders. A Zip file has a .zip extension, and its contents can be easily unzipped to the original size. MP3 (Motion Pictures Experts Group-Layer 3) is a popular file-compression format used to store, transfer, and play music and audio files, such as podcasts—audio programs that can be downloaded from the Internet.

Spam-Filtering Utilities Receiving unwanted email (spam) can be a frustrating waste of time. Email soft- ware and services include spam-filtering utilities to assist users with these annoyances. Email filters identify spam by learning what the user considers spam and routing it to a junk mail folder. In addition, many security utilities— such as Symantec’s Norton Security and Kaspersky’s Internet Security—include spam-filtering utilities. Businesses often invest in additional software to ensure better protection for enterprise-level email systems where spam containing viruses is a serious threat. A variety of companies, including Cisco, Barracuda Networks, and Google, offer spam-filtering software that can intercept danger- ous spam as it enters the corporate email system.

Being able to block spam efficiently and accurately is a priority for organi- zations such as the Long Island Rail Road Company (LIRR), a commuter rail system serving over 300,000 passengers weekly in southeastern New York.22

The LIRR uses enterprise-level messaging security software from GWAVA to protect more than 2,000 email accounts. Using GWAVA’s software, which is integrated into the LIRR’s overall communication infrastructure, the railroad’s IT team is able to block more than 34,000 spam emails each month.23

Network and Internet Utilities A broad range of network- and systems-management utility software is avail- able to monitor hardware and network performance and trigger an alert when a server is crashing or a network problem occurs. IBM’s Tivoli Netcool Network Management, Hewlett-Packard’s Automated Network Management Suite, and Paessler’s PRTG Network Monitor can be used to solve computer- network problems and help save money. As shown in Figure 4.12, PRTG Net- work Monitor creates a sensor for each network device and then monitors the device to make sure it is connected and working properly. If a device encoun- ters a problem, the network manager is alerted via email or text message.

The University of Kentucky community includes more than 26,000 students and almost 11,000 employees on its campus in Lexington.24 The university’s computing infrastructure is made up of multiple local area networks (LANs)

156 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

that connect to the school’s wide area network (WAN). One of those LANs includes over 1,000 desktop computers, 50 switches, 6 servers, and 2 routers. The university’s network administrators use AdRem’s NetCrunch network moni- toring software to ensure uninterrupted service on the network, which serves 17 different on-campus labs. NetCrunch allows the school’s IT personnel to monitor the network and track connectivity problems with minimum human attention, by providing early warnings regarding failures in device, server, and desktop performance. In particular, the utility has helped the network team cut down on connectivity problems related to port settings at switches and routers, thus improving network performance for the students and faculty who rely on it for a variety of learning, teaching, and research activities.25

Server and Mainframe Utilities Some utilities enhance the performance of servers and mainframe computers. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas provides medical, dental, and life insur- ance coverage to 800,000 customers. As part of its service, it offers online access to health information stored in an IBM DB2 database running on an IBM z/OS mainframe. The company employs IBM mainframe utility programs to manage this operation effectively. The IBM z/OS Data Facility System Man- aged Storage utility applies the appropriate retention policies to data stored on direct access storage devices, and the IBM Tivoli Workload Scheduler is used to preform automated job scheduling to ensure critical jobs are com- pleted on time.26

The main enabling technology for cloud computing is software that allows the creation of virtual servers, which separate a physical computing device into one or more “virtual” servers, each of which can be easily used and managed to perform computing tasks (see Figure 4.13). A server administrator uses software to divide one physical server into perhaps as many as a dozen virtual machines—with each virtual machine capable of processing a set of data for users from a given organization. In a typical cloud computing data center

FIGURE 4.12 PRTG Network Monitor PRTG Network Monitor and other network utility software can help you to keep track of network compo- nents, traffic flows, and network performance. Source: www.paessler.com/prtg ©

Pa es sl er

A G

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 157

deployment of several hundred servers, companies using virtual servers can save millions of dollars in capital and operating expenses (including energy costs) per year by dramatically reducing the number of actual physical servers in use.

Other Utilities Utility programs are available for almost every conceivable task or function. Managing the vast array of operating systems for smartphones and mobile devices, for example, has been difficult for many companies. Many organiza- tions unwisely allow employees to connect to corporate databases using smartphones and mobile devices with little or no guidance. Utility programs called mobile device management (MDM) software can help a company man- age security, enforce corporate strategies, and control downloads and content streaming from corporate databases into smartphones and mobile devices. Columbia Sportswear Company uses VMWare’s AirWatch MDM package to deliver mobile applications and manage hundreds of mobile devices in its retail stores and distribution centers. AirWatch allows the retailer’s IT staff to manage the mobile devices from a central location, ensuring secure and con- sistent deployment of mobile devices and applications, including those used for tracking sales and monitoring staff scheduling.27

In addition, a number of companies, such as CNET, offer utilities that can be downloaded for most popular operating systems. CNET offers hundreds of utilities for Windows operating systems, including defraggers (fixes the prob- lem of fragmentation, which occurs when data is broken up into discontinu- ous pieces that waste space on your hard drive), system cleaners (cleans tracks on your hard drive, deletes temporary files, and cleans your registry), uninstallers (safely removes unwanted software), and replacements for Note- pad and Task Manager.

Middleware Middleware is software that provides messaging services that allow different applications to communicate and exchange data. This systematic tying together of disparate applications, often through the use of middleware, is known as enterprise application integration (EAI). It is implemented to address situations in which a company acquires different types of informa- tion systems—often through mergers, acquisitions, or expansion—that need

FIGURE 4.13 Virtualization Virtual servers that separate a phys- ical computing device into one or more “virtual” servers, each of which can be easily used and managed to perform computing tasks.

Application

VMWare Virtualization Layer

Actual hardware

Operating system

Virtual hardware

Application

Operating system

Virtual hardware

Without virtualization

With virtualization

Application

Operating system

Hardware—CPU, memory, etc.

middleware: Software that allows various systems to communicate and exchange data.

enterprise application integra- tion (EAI): The systematic tying together of disparate applications so that they can communicate.

Ju lia

Iv an ts ov a/ Sh ut te rs to ck .c om

158 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

Critical Thinking Exercise

to share data and interact. Middleware can also serve as an interface between the Internet and private corporate systems. For example, it can be used to transfer a request for information from a corporate customer on the company Web site to a traditional database on a mainframe computer and to return the results of that information request to the customer on the Internet.

The use of middleware to connect disparate systems has evolved into an approach for developing software and systems called SOA. Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is a software design approach based on the use of discrete pieces of software (modules) to provide specific functions (such as displaying a customer’s bill statement) as services to other applications. Each module is built in such a way that ensures that the service it provides can exchange information with any other service without human interaction and without the need to make changes to the underlying program itself. In this manner, multiple modules can be combined to provide the complete function- ality of a large, complex software application. Systems developed with SOA are highly flexible, as they allow for the addition of new modules that provide new services required to meet the needs of the business as they evolve and change over time.

SOA itself has evolved over time. One potential downside to SOA is that it can lead to expensive and challenging implementations of individual ser- vices that are too complex. In response, some organizations have shifted their SOA approach—starting with microservices at the department level, rather than at the enterprise level, and building from there. Microservices are designed to quickly solve tactical problems by doing one thing very well, and they offer organizations the opportunity to implement SOA using simplified components.28

Netflix, which describes itself as the world’s leading Internet television network, has 70 million members in 60 countries watching more than 100 million hours of streaming TV shows and movies each day.29 Recently, the company shifted its development approach to a microservices architecture approach, with many small engineering teams responsible for the develop- ment of hundreds of microservices that work together to stream content to customers. Each microservice represents a single-product feature that can be updated independently. This architecture, along with Netflix’s continu- ous delivery approach to development, means that microservices can be upgraded and debugged on their own schedules, improving performance and reliability for the company’s millions of customers.30,31

Migration to New Operating System The information systems support organization of your firm is keen to migrate all employees from whatever operating system they have now (mostly Windows 8) to Microsoft Windows 10. Making such a change can be a big deal for employees and can require them to get comfortable with a new user interface and ways of accomplishing their work.

Review Questions 1. What are some of the advantages of such a move? 2. What are some potential issues that could arise from this change?

Critical Thinking Questions 1. What are some of the negative forces that will cause employees to resist this

change? 2. What are some creative things the IS team could do to overcome these resis-

tance forces?

service-oriented architecture (SOA): A software design approach based on the use of discrete pieces of software (modules) to provide specific functions as services to other applications.

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 159

Application Software

The primary function of application software is to apply the power of a com- puter system to enable people, workgroups, and entire enterprises to solve problems and perform specific tasks. Millions of software applications have been created to perform a variety of functions on a wide range of operating systems and device types. The following are some of the dozens of categories of applications:

Business Genealogy Personal information manager

Communications Language Photography

Computer-aided design Legal Science

Desktop publishing Library Simulation

Educational Multimedia Video

Entertainment Music Video games

In almost any category of software, you will find many options from which to choose. For example, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Apple Safari, and Opera are all Web browsers that enable users to surf the Web. The availability of many software options enables users to select the software that best meets the needs of the individual, workgroup, or enter- prise. For example, Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), a large, multinational organization, chose the SAP Enterprise Resource Planning software with its vast array of options, features, and functionality to meet its complex global accounting needs. However, a small, neighborhood bakery might decide that Intuit’s QuickBooks, an accounting software package designed for small busi- nesses, meets its simple accounting needs.

In most cases, application software resides on the computer’s hard disk before it is brought into the computer’s memory and then run. Application software can also be stored on CDs, DVDs, and USB flash drives. An increasing amount of application software is available on the Web. Some- times referred to as a rich Internet application (RIA), a Web-delivered application combines hardware resources of the Web server and the PC to deliver valuable software services through a browser interface. Before a person, a group, or an enterprise decides on the best approach for acquir- ing application software, they should carefully analyze computing goals, needs, and budget.

Overview of Application Software Proprietary software and off-the-shelf software are two important types of application software. Proprietary software is one-of-a-kind software designed for a specific application and owned by the company, organization, or person that uses it. Proprietary software can give a company a competitive advantage by providing services or solving problems in a unique manner— better than methods used by a competitor. Off-the-shelf software is pro- duced by software vendors to address needs that are common across busi- nesses, organizations, or individuals. For example, Amazon.com uses the same off-the-shelf payroll software as many businesses, but on its Web site, the company uses custom-designed proprietary software, which allows visi- tors to more easily find items to purchase. The relative advantages and disad- vantages of proprietary software and off-the-shelf software are summarized in Table 4.7.

rich Internet application (RIA): A Web-delivered application combines hardware resources of the Web server and the PC to deliver valuable software services through a Web browser interface.

proprietary software: One- of-a-kind software designed for a spe- cific application and owned by the company, organization, or person that uses it.

off-the-shelf software: Software produced by software vendors to address needs that are common across businesses, organizations, or individuals.

160 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

Many companies use off-the-shelf software to support business processes. Key questions for selecting off-the-shelf software include the following:

● Will the software run on the OS and hardware you have selected? ● Does the software meet the essential business requirements that have

been defined? ● Is the software manufacturer financially solvent and reliable? ● Does the total cost of purchasing, installing, and maintaining the software

compare favorably to the expected business benefits?

Founded in 1955, H&R Block is the world’s largest tax services provider, with 80,000 employees in 12,000 offices across the United States. In 2014, more than 24 million tax returns were prepared by H&R Block tax professionals and by cli- ents using the company’s digital tax solutions.32 H&R Block places a priority on providing accurate and easily accessible information about the company—as well as tax preparation information and tips—through its online newsroom. When the tax preparer was building the newsroom for its corporate Web site, it opted to use an off-the-shelf software package called PressPage. By using a proven, off-the-shelf option, H&R Block was able to quickly deploy an online newsroom that included all of the features it needed, while taking advantage of PressPage’s best practice expertise. The result was a user-friendly newsroom that complements the company’s “brand journalism” approach to public relations.33

As mentioned in Chapter 1, workers in many organizations operate in a cloud-computing environment in which software, data storage, and other ser- vices are provided by the Internet (“the cloud”); the services are run on another organization’s computer hardware, and both software and data are easily accessed. Examples of public cloud service providers, which make their services available to the general public, include Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), IBM’s Blue Cloud, Sun Cloud, Google Cloud Platform, Rackspace’s Managed

TABLE 4.7 Comparison of proprietary and off-the-shelf software Proprietary Software Off-the-Shelf Software

Advantages Disadvantages Advantages Disadvantages

You can get exactly what you need in terms of fea- tures, reports, and so on.

It can take a long time and a significant amount of resources to develop required features.

The initial cost is lower because the software firm can spread the develop- ment costs across many customers.

An organization might have to pay for features that it does not require and never uses.

Being involved in the development offers more control over the results.

In-house system develop- ment staff may be hard- pressed to provide the required level of ongoing support and maintenance because of pressure to move on to other new projects.

The software is likely to meet the basic business needs. Users have the opportunity to more fully analyze existing features and the performance of the package before purchasing.

The software might lack important features, thus requiring future modifica- tion or customization, which can be very expen- sive,and because users will eventually be required to adopt future releases of the software, the customiza- tion work might need to be repeated.

You can more easily mod- ify the software and add features that you might need to counteract an ini- tiative by competitors or to meet new supplier or cus- tomer demands.

The features and perfor- mance of the delivered software may fail to meet evolving business and end user needs.

The software is likely to be of high quality because many customer firms have tested the software and helped identify its bugs.

The software might not match current work pro- cesses and data standards.

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 161

Cloud, and Windows Azure Services Platform. Public cloud users can realize a considerable cost savings because the very high initial hardware, application, and bandwidth costs are paid for by the service provider and passed along to users as a relatively small monthly fee or per-use fee. Furthermore, companies can easily scale up or down the amount of services used, depending on user demand for services. Cloud computing also provides the benefit of being able to easily collaborate with others by sharing documents on the Internet.

Cloud services are often given popular acronyms such as SaaS (software as a service), PaaS (platform as a service), IaaS (infrastructure as a service), and HaaS (hardware as a service). Software as a service (SaaS) allows organizations to subscribe to Web-delivered application software. In most cases, the company pays a monthly service charge or a per-use fee. Many business activities are sup- ported by SaaS. SaaS vendors include Oracle, SAP, NetSuite, Salesforce, and Google. Each year, The Container Store sells over $200 million worth of storage and organization products through its 70 retail stores.34 The retail chain has grown rapidly, and it is committed to maintaining satisfaction for its 4,000 employees—a goal that was becoming more difficult to achieve given the limited resources of the company’s IT, benefits, and payroll departments. In order to free up some of those internal resources, The Container Store migrated its pay- roll and benefit processes to UltiPro HCM, a SaaS provided by Ultimate Software. The SaaS solution helped the company streamline its payroll and benefits admin- istration while increasing employee satisfaction by providing them real-time, online access to up-to-date salary and benefits information.35

Tableau software allows users to import databases or spreadsheet data to create powerful visualizations that provide useful information. Figure 4.14 shows a Tableau visualization that tracks the unemployment rate across the country over time. Orange indicates an unemployment rate exceeding the national average, whereas blue indicates rates below the national average.

Amazon is considered one of the leading public cloud service providers because of the variety of services that it provides through its Amazon Web Ser- vices (AWS) platform. Amazon delivers one of the most reliable public cloud platforms available, and it is also rapidly adding new services, including tools for software developers and services to support version control and collabora- tion.36 Airbnb is an online marketplace that connects travelers and property owners who are looking to rent out their properties to vacationers. Airbnb sup- ports its business using cloud-based Web site, storage, and database-hosting

FIGURE 4.14 Tableau software Tableau is available in desktop and cloud versions and helps users visualize data, such as how the unemployment rate changes over a 20-year period. ©

Ta bl ea u So ft w ar e

Software as a Service (SaaS): A service that allows businesses to sub- scribe to Web-delivered application software.

162 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

services from Amazon Web Services. The company chose AWS because it offered the reliability and flexibility Airbnb requires to continue to grow its business—at a relatively low cost and with no minimum usage commitments.37

Google’s Chromebook line of personal computers is an example of a consumer-focused implementation of the SaaS model. Built by Samsung and Acer, Chromebooks include only an Internet browser—with all software applica- tions accessed through an Internet connection. Rather than installing, storing, and running software on the Chromebook, users access software that is stored on and delivered from a Web server. Typically the data generated by the software is also stored on the Web server.

While SaaS and cloud computing offer many benefits, these software delivery models also involve some risks. For example, sensitive information could be compromised by unauthorized access by employees or computer hackers. In addition, the company providing the hosting services might not keep its computers and network up and running as consistently as necessary, or a disaster could disable the host’s data center, temporarily putting an orga- nization out of business. Some companies also find it is difficult to integrate the SaaS approach with some of its existing software.

Personal Application Software Hundreds of thousands personal software applications are available to meet the needs of individuals at school, home, and work—with new applications released on a daily basis. New computer software under development, along with existing GPS technology, for example, will enable people to see 3D views of where they are, along with directions and 3D maps to where they would like to go. The features of some popular types of personal application software are summarized in Table 4.8. In addition to these general-purpose programs, thousands of other personal computer applica- tions perform specialized tasks that help users prepare their taxes, get in shape, lose weight, get medical advice, write wills and other legal docu- ments, repair their computers, fix their cars, write music, and edit pictures and videos. This type of software, often called user software or personal productivity software, includes the general-purpose tools and programs that support individual needs.

The following sections discuss some of the most popular types of personal application software currently available.

Word Processing Word-processing applications are installed on most PCs today. These applica- tions come with a vast array of features, including those for checking spelling, creating tables, inserting formulas, and creating graphics. See Figure 4.15. Much of the work required to create this book involved the use of the popular word-processing software, Microsoft Word.

A team of people can use a word-processing program to collaborate on a project. The authors and editors who developed this book, for example, used the Track Changes and Review features of Microsoft Word to track and make changes to chapter files. With these features, you can add comments or make revisions to a document that a coworker can review and either accept or reject. Some cloud-based word-processing applications, such as Google Docs, allow multiple authors to collaborate in real time.

Spreadsheet Analysis Many individuals and organizations use spreadsheet applications that offer powerful tools for manipulating and analyzing numbers and alphanumeric data. Common spreadsheet features include statistical analysis tools, built-in formulas, chart- and graphics-creation tools, and limited database

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 163

capabilities. See Figure 4.16. Business functions include those that calculate depreciation, present value, internal rate of return, and the monthly pay- ment on a loan. Optimization is another powerful feature of many spread- sheet programs that allows the spreadsheet to maximize or minimize a quantity subject to certain constraints. For example, a small furniture manu- facturer that produces chairs and tables might want to maximize its profits. The constraints could be a limited supply of lumber, a limited number of workers who can assemble the chairs and tables, or a limited amount of available hardware fasteners. Using an optimization feature, such as Solver in Microsoft Excel, the spreadsheet can determine the number of chairs and tables that should be produced—given the labor and material constraints— to maximize profits.

While the built-in formulas available in many spreadsheet applications are powerful tools, they are not foolproof, as can be seen in the example of Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff’s famous 2010 study “Growth in a

TABLE 4.8 Examples of personal application software Type of Software Use Example

Word processing Create, edit, and print text documents Apache OpenOffice Writer

Apple Pages Corel Write Google Docs Microsoft Word WordPerfect

Spreadsheet Perform statistical, financial, logical, database, graphics, and date and time calculations using a wide range of built- in functions

Apache OpenOffice Calc Apple Numbers Google Sheets IBM Lotus 1-2-3 Microsoft Excel

Database Store, manipulate, and retrieve data Apache OpenOffice Base Microsoft Access IBM Lotus Approach

Graphics Develop graphs, illustrations, drawings, and presentations Adobe FreeHand Adobe Illustrator Apache OpenOffice Impress

Microsoft PowerPoint

Personal information management

Helps people, groups, and organizations store useful information, such as a list of tasks to complete or a set of names and addresses

Google Calendar Microsoft Calendar Microsoft Outlook One Note

Project management Plan, schedule, allocate, and control people and resources (money, time, and technology) needed to complete a proj- ect according to schedule

Microsoft Project Scitor Project Scheduler

Financial management Track income and expenses and create reports to create and monitor budgets (some programs also have investment portfolio management features)

GnuCash Intuit Mint Intuit Quicken Moneydance You Need a Budget (YNAB)

Desktop publishing (DTP) Use with personal computers and high-resolution printers to create high-quality printed output, including text and graphics; various styles of pages can be laid out; art and text files from other programs can also be integrated into published pages

Adobe InDesign Apple Pages Corel Ventura Publisher Microsoft Publisher QuarkXpress

164 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

U se d w ith

pe rm is si on

fr om

M ic ro so ft Co rp or at io n

FIGURE 4.15 Word-processing program Word-processing applications, such as Microsoft Word, can be used to write letters, professional docu- ments, work reports, and term papers.

FIGURE 4.16 Spreadsheet program Consider using a spreadsheet pro- gram, such as Microsoft Excel, when calculations are required.

U se d w ith

pe rm is si on

fr om

M ic ro so ft Co rp or at io n

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 165

Time of Debt,” which concluded that a country’s economic growth is reduced when its public debt level reaches 90 percent of GDP. In recent years, this finding has been used as a justification to push countries to reduce their deficits. However, a more recent study by Thomas Herndon, Michael Ash, and Robert Pollin uncovered that the original study has three major flaws. First, it excluded three occurrences of high-debt, high-growth nations. Second, it made some questionable assumptions about weighting different historical episodes. Third, it had an error in Excel spreadsheet for- mulas that excluded Belgium from their analysis. Correcting for these prob- lem leads to an entirely different conclusion—“The average real GDP growth rate for countries carrying a public debt-to-GDP ratio of over 90 per- cent is actually 2.2 percent, not −0.1 percent as published in Reinhart and Rogoff.”38

Database Applications Database applications are ideal for storing, organizing, and retrieving data. These applications are particularly useful when you need to manipulate a large amount of data and produce reports and documents. Database manipulations include merging, editing, and sorting data, and database applications can be used in a variety of ways. You could use a database application to keep track of a CD collection, the items in your apartment, tax records, and expenses. A student club could use a database to store names, addresses, phone numbers, and dues paid. In business, a database application could be used to help pro- cess sales orders, control inventory, order new supplies, send letters to custo- mers, and pay employees. Database management systems can be used to track orders, products, and customers; analyze weather data to make forecasts; and summarize medical research results. A database can also be a front end to another application. For example, you can use a database application to enter and store income tax information and then export the stored results to other applications, such as a spreadsheet or tax-preparation application.

Presentation Graphics Program It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. With today’s available graphics programs, it is easy to develop attractive graphs, illustrations, and drawings that help communicate important information. See Figure 4.17. The

FIGURE 4.17 Presentation graphics program Presentation graphics programs, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, can help you make a presentation for school or work. Mi

cr os of t pr od uc t sc re en sh ot

us ed

w ith

pe rm is si on

fr om

M ic ro so ft Co rp or at io n

166 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

category of presentation graphics applications includes programs that can be used to perform a variety of tasks, including creating advertising brochures, event announcements, and full-color presentations; some presentation graphics programs can also be used to organize and edit photographic images. And if you need to make a presentation at school or work, you can use a special type of graphics program called a presentation application—–such as Microsoft PowerPoint—to develop slides and then display them while you are speaking. Because of their popularity, many colleges and departments require students to become proficient at using presentation graphics programs.

Many graphics and presentation programs, including Microsoft PowerPoint, consist of a series of slides. Each slide can be displayed on a computer screen, printed as a handout, or (more commonly) projected onto a large viewing screen for audiences. In PowerPoint, you can select a template designed for a specific type of presentation, such as recommending a strategy for managers, communicat- ing news to a salesforce, giving a training presentation, or facilitating a brainstorm- ing session. PowerPoint includes powerful built-in features that let you create a presentation step-by-step, including applying color and attractive formatting. You can also design a custom presentation using the many types of charts, drawings, and formatting available. Most presentation graphics programs also provide access to online clip art, such as drawings and photos of people meeting, medical equip- ment, telecommunications equipment, entertainment, and much more.

Personal Information Managers Personal information management (PIM) software helps people, groups, and organizations store useful information, such as a list of tasks to complete or a set of names and addresses. PIM software usually provides an appointment calendar, an address book or contacts list, and a place to take notes. In addi- tion, information in a PIM can typically be linked. For example, you can link an appointment with a sales manager in the calendar to information on the sales manager in the address book. When you click the appointment in the calendar, a window opens displaying information on the sales manager from the address book. Microsoft Outlook is an example of very popular PIM soft- ware. Increasingly, PIM software is moving online, where it can be accessed from any Internet-connected device. See Figure 4.18.

FIGURE 4.18 Personal information management software Evernote lets you take notes, sync files across devices, save Web pages, and share your ideas with friends and colleagues. It runs on computers and on smartphones. Ev

er no te

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 167

Some PIMs allow you to schedule and coordinate group meetings. If a computer or handheld device is connected to a network, you can upload the PIM data and coordinate it with the calendar and schedule of others who are using the same PIM software on the network. You can also use some PIMs to coordinate emails inviting others to meetings. As users receive their invita- tions, they click a link or button to be automatically added to the guest list.

Software Suites and Integrated Software Packages A software suite is a collection of programs packaged together and sold in a bundle. A software suite might include a word processor, a spreadsheet pro- gram, a database management system, a graphics program, communications and note-taking tools, and organizers. Some suites support the development of Web pages, and some offer a speech-recognition feature—so that applica- tions in the suite can accept voice commands and record dictation. Software suites offer many advantages. The software programs within a suite have been designed to work similarly so that after you learn the basics for one application, the other applications are easy to learn and use. Buying software in a bundled suite is cost effective; the programs usually sell for a fraction of what they would cost individually.

Table 4.9 lists several popular general-purpose software suites for per- sonal computer users. Microsoft Office has the largest market share. Most of these software suites include a spreadsheet program, a word processor, a database program, and graphics presentation software. All can exchange documents, data, and diagrams. In other words, you can create a spreadsheet and then cut and paste that spreadsheet into a document created using the word-processing application.

Some companies offer Web-based productivity software suites that do not require the installation of any software on your device—only a Web browser. Google, Thinkfree, and Zoho offer free online word processors, spreadsheet programs, presentation applications, and other software that can be accessed via the Internet.

After observing this trend, Microsoft responded with an online version of its popular Office applications. Microsoft Office 365 is available in a range of configurations designed for home or office use, for a monthly subscription fee. See Figure 4.19. Depending on the plan purchased, subscribers can access Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Outlook, Excel, Exchange for mes- saging, SharePoint for collaboration, and Skype for Business for conferencing. These cloud-based applications cost on the order of $10 per user per month depending on the features used. Microsoft offers plans for individuals, small businesses, enterprises, and education institutions. For example, any institution worldwide that licenses Office 365 ProPlus or Office Professional Plus for staff and faculty can provide access to Office 365 ProPlus for students at no

TABLE 4.9 Major components of leading software suites Personal Productivity Function

Microsoft Office

Corel WordPerfect Office

Apache OpenOffice Apple iWork Google Apps

Word processing Word WordPerfect Writer Pages Docs

Spreadsheet Excel Quattro Pro Calc Numbers Spreadsheet

Presentation graphics

PowerPoint Presentations Impress and Draw

Keynote Presentation

Database Access Base

software suite: A collection of pro- grams packaged together and sold in a bundle.

168 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

additional cost. The online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote are tightly integrated with Microsoft’s desktop Office suite for easy sharing of documents among computers and collaborators.

The H.J. Heinz Company, now part of Kraft Heinz Company, sells baby food, frozen entrees, ketchup, mustard, sauces, and other products in more than 200 countries. The firm wanted to help employees spend less time travel- ing and make it easier for them to share best practices, solve business pro- blems, and come up with new ideas, regardless of their geographical locations. This led Heinz to adopt Microsoft Office 365 for its more than 20,000 employees who will use Exchange Online for email and calendaring, Sync for Business for conferencing and instant messaging, and Yammer (an enterprise social network) to share ideas and collaborate on projects. Heinz is also making the Office desktop suite available to its employees through Office 365 ProPlus.39

Other Personal Application Software In addition to the software already discussed, many other interesting and powerful application software tools are available for personal and business use. In some cases, the features and capabilities of these applications more than justify the cost of an entire computer system. TurboTax, for example, is a popular tax-preparation program that annually saves millions of people many hours and even dollars in preparing their taxes. With just a quick online search, you can find software for creating Web sites, composing music, and editing photos and videos. Many people use educational and reference soft- ware and software for entertainment, games, and leisure activities. Game- playing software is popular and can be very profitable for companies that develop games and various game accessories, including virtual avatars such as colorful animals, fish, and people. Some organizations have launched pro- grams designed to promote physical activity by incorporating the use of active video games (e.g., Wii Boxing and DanceDance Revolution) into broader physical education programs. Retirement communities also use video games to keep seniors physically active.40 Engineers, architects, and designers often use computer-assisted design (CAD) software to design and develop build- ings, electrical systems, plumbing systems, and more. Autosketch, CorelCAD,

FIGURE 4.19 Web-based application suite Microsoft Office 365 is a Web-based application suite that offers basic software suite features over the Internet using cloud computing.

M ic ro so ft sc re en sh ot

us ed

w ith

pe rm is si on

fr om

M ic ro so ft Co rp or at io n

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 169

and AutoCad are examples of CAD software. Other programs perform a wide array of statistical tests. Colleges and universities often have a number of courses in statistics that use this type of application software. Two popular statistical analytics applications in the social sciences are SPSS and SAS.

Mobile Application Software The number of applications (apps) for smartphones and other mobile devices has exploded in recent years. Besides the proprietary apps that come with these devices, hundreds of thousands of mobile apps have been developed by third parties. As of July 2015, Apple’s App Store had over 1.5 million apps available for iOS device users, and Android users could choose from over 1.6 million mobile apps on Google’s Play Store.41 Microsoft and other soft- ware companies are also investing in mobile applications for devices that run on their software. For example, SceneTap, an application for iPhones and Android devices, can determine the number of people at participating bars, pubs, or similar establishments and the ratio of males to females. The applica- tion uses video cameras and facial-recognition software to identify males and females. SocialCamera, an application for Android phones, allows people to take a picture of someone and then search their Facebook friends for a match. However, many people consider facial-recognition software a potential invasion to privacy.

Table 4.10 lists a few mobile application categories. Many apps are free, whereas others range in price from 99 cents to hundreds of dollars.

Workgroup Application Software Workgroup application software is designed to support teamwork, whether team members are in the same location or dispersed around the world. This support can be accomplished with software known as groupware, which

TABLE 4.10 Categories of mobile applications Category Description

Books and reference Access e-books, subscribe to journals, or look up information on the Merriam-Webster or Wikipedia Web sites

Business and finance Track expenses, trade stocks, and access corporate information systems

Entertainment Access all forms of entertainment, including movies, television programs, music videos, and information about local night life

Games Play a variety of games, from 2D games such as Pacman and Tetris to 3D games such as Need for Speed, Call of Duty, and Minecraft

Health and fitness Track workout and fitness progress, calculate calories, and even monitor your speed and progress from your wirelessly connected Nike shoes

Lifestyle Find good restaurants, make a dinner reservation, select wine for a meal, and more

Music Find, listen to, and create music

News and weather Access major news and weather providers, including Reuters, AP, the New York Times, and the Weather Channel

Photography Organize, edit, view, and share photos taken on your phone’s camera

Productivity and utilities

Create grocery lists, practice PowerPoint presentations, work on spreadsheets, synchronize with PC files, and more

Social networking Connect with others via major social networks, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Sports Keep up with your favorite team or track your own golf scores

Travel and navigation Use the GPS in your smartphone to get turn-by-turn directions, find interesting places to visit, access travel itineraries, and more

workgroup application software: Software that supports teamwork, whether team members are in the same location or dispersed around the world.

170 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

helps groups of people work together effectively. Microsoft Exchange Server, for example, has groupware and email features. Also called collaborative soft- ware, workgroup software allows a team to work together remotely, sharing ideas and work via connected computer systems.

Examples of workgroup software include group-scheduling software, electronic mail, and other software that enables people to share ideas. IBM Notes and Domino are examples of workgroup software from IBM. See Figure 4.20. (Notes runs on the end user’s computing device, while Domino runs on a server and supports the end user.) Web-based software is ideal for group use. Because documents are stored on an Internet server, anyone with an Internet connection can access them easily. Google provides workgroup options in its online applications, which allow users to share documents, spreadsheets, presentations, calendars, and notes with other specified users or everyone on the Web. This sharing makes it convenient for several people to contribute to a document without concern for software compatibility or storage. Google also provides a tool for creating Web-based forms and sur- veys. When invited parties fill out the form, the data is stored in a Google spreadsheet.

Clark Realty Capital (CRC) is a national real estate firm with nine offices across the United States. Its agents are constantly on the move, and in the past, they had difficulty staying connected to the latest version of important documents. This created problems because the firm’s agents are constantly working to close deals on tight deadlines, which requires the ability to frequently and quickly update documents related to a transaction. The firm began sharing files via Google Drive to provide employees real-time access to the current version of each document, thus eliminating the need for email attachments and managing multiple versions of a file. Employees use Google Apps to create, access, and update these documents.42

Enterprise Application Software Software that benefits an entire organization—enterprise application software—can be developed specifically for the business or purchased off the

FIGURE 4.20 IBM Notes Social Edition IBM Notes Social Edition is a work- group software. C

ou rt es y of

IB M

Co rp or at io n

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 171

shelf. There are many categories of enterprise software, including the following:

Accounts payable Accounts receivable Airline industry operations Automatic teller systems Cash-flow analysis Check processing Credit and charge card administration Distribution control Fixed asset accounting General ledger Human resource management Inventory control

Invoicing Manufacturing control Order entry Payroll Receiving Restaurant management Retail operations Sales ordering Savings and time deposits Shipping Stock and bond management Tax planning and preparation

The total cost, ease of installation, ease of management, and the ability to integrate the software with other enterprise applications are the major consid- erations of organizations when selecting enterprise software. The ability to extend enterprise applications so that they can run on smartphones and other mobile devices is increasingly becoming a priority for many organizations.

Advantage Sign & Graphic Solutions, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, sells equipment and supplies to businesses in the sign and graphics industry. The company operates 10 regional facilities that allow it to provide next-day delivery of most supplies to customers around the country.43 In order to improve its profitability and attract more customers, the company implemen- ted several NetSuite enterprise applications, including NetSuite ERP, CRM+, E-commerce, and Advanced Shipping. With the NetSuite software, Advantage was able to launch a new e-commerce site, reduce order-processing time by 65 percent, and decrease its on-hand inventory by 15 percent. Implementing an integrated set of enterprise applications simplified the company’s opera- tions and helped it better connect with customers.44

Enterprise software also helps managers and workers stay connected. At one time, managers and workers relied on email to stay in touch with each other, but business collaboration and enterprise social networking tools— such as Asana, blueKiwi, Yammer, and Jive—are replacing traditional email and text messaging.

Worldwide spending on enterprise software was estimated to be about $310 billion in 2015.45 Most software spending goes to application software, as shown in Figure 4.21.46

FIGURE 4.21 Spending by type of software Of all software types, businesses spend the most on application software.

Application

Custom built

Middleware

Operating systems

26% 43%

24%

172 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

Application Software for Transaction Processing, Business Analytics, and Competitive Advantage Specialized application software for learning enhancement and manage- ment, business analytics, information, decision support, and competitive advantage is available in every industry. For example, many schools and colleges use Blackboard or other learning management software to organize class materials and grades. Genetic researchers, as another example, are using software to visualize and analyze the human genome. Music executives use business analytics software to help them pick the next hit song.

Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department (RWRD) man- ages and maintains the Arizona county’s sanitary sewer system, which serves 1 million people and treats 60 million gallons of wastewater each day.47 The department recently implemented Wonderware’s IntelaTrac mobile workforce and decision support software. The software, which is integrated with the automated SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system that runs the sewer system, provides plant personnel with a range of reporting and analytics tools that have helped them to improve efficiency and reduce costs in RWRD’s two wastewater treatment plants and seven regional sub- facilities. RWRD has been able to reduce energy consumption by 10 percent and double its plant capacity, while operating with the same number of people.48

But how are all these systems actually developed and built? The answer is through the use of programming languages, some of which are discussed in the next section.

Programming Languages Both system and application software are written in coding schemes called programming languages. The primary function of a programming language is to provide instructions to the computer system so that it can perform a processing activity. Information systems professionals work with different programming languages, which are sets of keywords, commands, symbols, and rules for constructing statements that people can use to communicate instructions to a computer. Programming involves translating what a user wants to accomplish into a code that the computer can understand and exe- cute. Program code is the set of instructions that signal the CPU to perform circuit-switching operations. In the simplest coding schemes, a line of code typically contains a single instruction such as, “Retrieve the data in memory address X.” The instruction is then decoded during the instruction phase of the machine cycle.

Like writing a report or a paper in English, writing a computer program in a programming language requires the programmer to follow a set of rules. Each programming language uses symbols, keywords, and commands that have special meanings and usage. Each language also has its own set of rules, called the syntax of the language. The language syntax dictates how the symbols, keywords, and commands should be combined into statements capable of conveying meaningful instructions to the CPU. Rules such as “statements must terminate with a semicolon,” and “variable names must begin with a letter,” are examples of a language’s syntax. A variable is a quantity that can take on different values. Program variable names such as SALES, PAYRATE, and TOTAL follow the sample rule shown above because they start with a letter, whereas variables such as %INTEREST, $TOTAL, and #POUNDS do not.

programming languages: Sets of keywords, commands, symbols, and rules for constructing statements by which humans can communicate instructions to a computer.

syntax: A set of rules associated with a programming language.

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 173

With higher-level programming languages, each statement in the lan- guage translates into several instructions in machine language. A special soft- ware program called a compiler translates the programmer’s source code into the machine-language instructions, which consist of binary digits, as shown in Figure 4.22. A compiler creates a two-stage process for program execution. First, the compiler translates the program into a machine language; second, the CPU executes that program. Another programming approach is to use an interpreter, which is a language translator that carries out the opera- tions called for by the source code. An interpreter does not produce a com- plete machine-language program. After the statement executes, the machine- language statement is discarded, the process continues for the next statement, and so on.

The majority of software used today is created using an integrated development environment. An integrated development environment (IDE) combines all the tools required for software engineering into one package. For example, the popular IDE Microsoft Visual Studio includes an editor that supports several visual programming interfaces and languages (visual programming uses a graphical or “visual” interface combined with text- based commands), a compiler and an interpreter, programming automation tools, a debugger (a tool for finding errors in the code), and other tools that provide convenience to the developer.

Software development kits (SDKs) often serve the purpose of an IDE for a particular platform. For example, software developers for Google’s Android smartphone platform use the Java programming language along with the Android Studio with built-in Android Developer Tools to streamline their Android app development. They can also use special code libraries provided by Google for Android functionality, and they test out their applications in an Android Emulator.49 See Figure 4.23.

IDEs and SDKs have made software development easier than ever. Many novice coders, including some who might have never considered developing software, are publishing applications for popular platforms such as Facebook and the iPhone.

Table 4.11 lists some of the most commonly used programming languages.

FIGURE 4.22 How a compiler works A compiler translates a complete program into a complete set of binary instructions (Stage 1). After this is done, the CPU can execute the converted program in its entirety (Stage 2).

Stage 1: Convert program

Stage 2: Execute program

Program execution

Machine- language program

Computer program

Compiler Machine- language program

compiler: A special software pro- gram that converts the programmer’s source code into the machine-language instructions, which consist of binary digits.

174 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

FIGURE 4.23 Emulator for Android smartphones To develop for the Android, you use an SDK with a mobile device emu- lator so you can prototype, develop, and test Android applications with- out having to transfer them to a physical device. Co

ur te sy

of G oo gl e

TABLE 4.11 Commonly used programming languages for new software development Language Description

COBOL An English language-like programming language designed for business use, COBOL has been in use since 1959. Billions of lines of COBOL code are still in use in systems around the world, including credit card systems, ATMs, retail/POS systems, banking and payroll systems, healthcare systems, government systems, reservation systems, and traffic signal systems. Due to its declining popularity and the retirement of experienced COBOL programmers, COBOL programs are gradually being migrated to new platforms, rewritten in modern languages, or replaced with software packages.

C Developed in the early 1970s, C is the base for other popular languages, such as C#, Java, JavaScript, and Python. C is mostly used for implementing operating systems and embedded applications. Because it provides the foundation for many other languages, it is advisable to learn C (and C++) before moving onto other languages.

C ++ Originally designed to enhance the C language, C++ is used to develop systems software, application software, high-performance server and client applications, and video games.

Java Java is a programming language developed by Sun Microsystems in the 1990s, and it is still widely used in the development of enterprise software, Web-based content, and games. Java is also used for mobile apps that run on the Android operating system.

JavaScript A scripting language developed by Netscape, JavaScript derives much of its syntax from C. JavaScript can be used across multiple Web browsers and is considered essential for developing interactive or animated Web functions. It is also used in game development and for writing desktop applications.

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor)

A popular programming language for Web developers, PHP is used to create dynamic Web sites and to develop apps. PHP is used in more than 200 million Web sites, including WordPress, Digg, and Facebook.

Python Python is another scripting language used to develop Web sites and mobile apps. Python is consid- ered a fairly easy language for beginners to learn due to its readability and compact syntax, and it is used in Web apps for Google, Instagram, NASA, Pinterest, and Yahoo!

Ruby Ruby is a scripting language designed to be simple and easy to use for developing Web sites and mobile apps. It powers the Ruby on Rails (or Rails) framework, which is used on Scribd, GitHub, Groupon, and Shopify.

SQL A language for accessing data in relational database management systems, SQL is most commonly used for its “Query” function, which searches relational databases. SQL was standardized in the 1980s by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 175

Critical Thinking Exercise

Walmart’s VMI System Walmart employs a special kind of enterprise system called an interorganizational information system it calls vendor-managed inventory (VMI) to improve product flow and lower its store inventories. Under this program, suppliers are responsi- ble for managing the inventory of their products in Walmart’s warehouses. Suppli- ers are granted access to a Walmart database that contains item-level sales and inventory data for their products only, which help the vendors develop product demand projections using a collaborative planning, forecasting, replenishment process. Each link in the supply chain is interconnected using information tech- nology that includes a central database, store-level-point-of-sale systems, and a satellite network for fast and reliable communications.

Review Questions 1. Do you think that the VMI software is off-the-shelf or proprietary software? Why? 2. Should Walmart allow the suppliers to take a major role in defining and cus-

tomizing the features and capabilities of this system or should they insist on a “one size fits all” approach?

Critical Thinking Questions 1. What special issues and considerations are likely to arise in the operation and

support of an interorganizational system? 2. Given the business criticality of this system, would it make sense for Walmart

to consider moving this system into a public cloud environment? What would be the advantages and disadvantage of such a move?

Software Issues and Trends

Because software is such an important part of today’s computer systems, issues such as software bugs, copyrights and licensing, freeware and open-source soft- ware, upgrades, and global software support are receiving increased attention. These topics are covered in the following sections.

Software Bugs A software bug is a defect in a computer program that keeps it from performing as its users expect it to perform. While some bugs are subtle—allowing errors to creep into your work undetected—other bugs are very obvious, causing programs to ter- minate unexpectedly. For example, not all goes smoothly when users upgrade to a new operating system. Applications that used to run without a problem under the old operating system may begin to experience difficulty. Users of Microsoft’s Office for MAC 2016 who upgraded to Apple’s El Capitan OS initially experienced applica- tion crashes for Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. Although the bugs were eventually fixed, many users spent weeks dealing with the crashes.50

Most computer and software vendors say that as long as people design and program hardware and software, bugs are inevitable. The following list summarizes tips for reducing the impact of software bugs:

● Register all software so that you receive bug alerts, fixes, and patches. ● Check the manual or read-me files for solutions to known problems. ● Access the support area of the manufacturer’s Web site for patches. ● Install the latest software updates. ● Before reporting a bug, make sure that you can recreate the circum-

stances under which it occurs. ● After you can recreate the bug, call the manufacturer’s tech support line.

176 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

● Consider waiting before buying the latest release of software to give the ven- dor a chance to discover and remove bugs. Many schools and businesses don’t purchase software until the first major revision with patches is released.

Copyrights and Licenses Most companies aggressively guard and protect the source code of their soft- ware from competitors as well as customers. As a result, most software pro- ducts are protected by law using copyright or licensing provisions. Those provisions can vary, however. In some cases, users are given unlimited use of software on one or two computers. This stipulation is typical for applica- tions developed for personal computers. In other cases, users pay based on usage: If you use the software more, you pay more. This approach is becom- ing popular, with software placed on networks or larger computers. Most of these protections prevent you from copying software and giving it to others. Some software now requires that you register or activate it before it can be fully used. This requirement is another way software companies prevent illegal distribution of their products.

In a recent survey of 50 companies with more than 10,000 employees, 10 percent of the respondents indicated that their firm had been fined, assessed additional fees, or required to purchase backdated maintenance as a result of license compliance issues uncovered in a software audit. The costs ranged from less than $100,000 to more than $1 million.51

When people purchase software, they don’t actually own the software, but rather they are licensed to use the software on a computer. This is called a single-user license. A single-user license permits you to install the software on one or more computers, used by one person. A single-user license does not allow you to copy and share the software with others. Table 4.12 describes dif- ferent types of software licenses.52 Licenses that accommodate multiple users are usually provided at a discounted price.

Freeware and Open-Source Software Some software developers are not concerned about profiting from their intellectual property, which has given rise to alternative copyrights and licensing agreements. Freeware is software that is made available to the public for free. Software developers might give away their product for several reasons. Some want to build customer interest and name recogni- tion. Others simply don’t need the money and want to make a valuable donation to society. Still others, such as those associated with the Free Soft- ware Foundation (www.fsf.org), believe that all software should be free. Freeware is placed in the public domain where anyone can use the software free of charge. (All creative works that reach the end of their term of copy- right revert to the public domain.) Table 4.13 shows some examples of freeware.

Freeware differs slightly from free software. Freeware simply implies that the software is distributed for free. The term “free software” was coined by Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation, and it implies that the software is not only freeware, but also open source. Open-source software is distributed, typically for free, with the source code also available so that it can be studied, changed, and improved by its users. Over time, open-source software evolves in response to the combined contributions of its users. The Code For America (CFA) organization, for example, used open-source soft- ware to develop a map-based app for the city of Boston that allows indivi- duals, small businesses, and community organizations to volunteer to shovel out specific hydrants that might be completely covered with snow in the win- ter. After creating the app for Boston, CFA made its efforts available for free

single-user license: A software license that permits you to install the software on one or more computers, used by one person.

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 177

TABLE 4.13 Examples of freeware Software Description

Adobe Reader Software for viewing Adobe PDF documents

AVG Anti-Virus Antivirus security software

IrfanView Photo-editing software

Pidgin Instant messaging software

Thunderbird Email, news, and chat software

WinPatrol Anti-malware software

TABLE 4.12 Software licenses License Subtype Description

Single-user license

General This type of license allows the program to be installed and used on one CPU that is not accessed by other users over a network. The software can be used only on a single computer, and other users cannot access or run the software while connected to your computer.

Perpetual license A perpetual license allows the customer to install and use the software indef- initely. Technical support is included for a limited term, usually 90 days.

Subscription license A subscription license allows the user to use the software for a specified time period. This license usually includes technical support and access to upgrades and patches released during the term of the subscription. At the end of the term, the user has several options: (1) renew the subscription, (2) purchase a perpetual license at a discounted cost, or (3) remove the software from the computer.

Freeware license This license type is offered as freeware by the author and does not require paying any fee for use.

Shareware license This is a license to use software for a limited trial period. If you want to con- tinue to use the software after the trial period, you must pay a shareware fee.

Individual/multi- user licenses

Volume licenses A volume license allows the licensee to install the software on a certain number of computers. The licensee has to satisfy a minimum purchase requirement to receive a reduced price. When purchasing the licenses, the licensee usually receives one copy of the media and documentation, with the option of purchasing more.

Site/enterprise This license provides access to software at a single location. Typically, these licenses are individually negotiated with the publisher and vary widely in their provisions.

Network/multi- user licenses

Per server (network)

A per server license type requires that you have a single copy of the soft- ware residing on a file server. With per server licensing, a specified num- ber of client access licenses (CALs) are associated with a particular server. The number of devices that can legally access that server simultaneously is limited to the number of CALs purchased for that particular server.

Per seat (machine) A per machine/seat license requires that you purchase a license for each client computer and/or device that needs to access the software. This license type is typically used in conjunction with a network license.

Per processor Under the per processor model, you acquire a processor license for each processor in the server on which the software is running. A processor license usually includes access for an unlimited number of users to con- nect. You do not need to purchase additional server licenses, CALs, or Internet connector licenses.

Source: “Software License Types,” Tulane University, http://tulane.edu/tsweb/software/software-license-types.cfm, accessed November 28, 2015.

178 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

to other cities and municipalities. Table 4.14 provides examples of popular open-source software applications.

Open-source software is not completely devoid of restrictions. Much of the popular free software in use today is protected by the GNU General Pub- lic License (GPL). The GPL grants you the right to do the following:

● Run the program for any purpose ● Study how the program works and adapt it to your needs ● Redistribute copies so you can help others ● Improve the program and release improvements to the public

Software under the GPL is typically protected by a “copyleft” (a play on the word “copyright”), which requires that any copies of the work retain the same license. A copyleft work cannot be owned by any one person, and no one is allowed to profit from its distribution. The Free Software Directory (http://directory.fsf.org) lists over 5,000 software titles of application software, systems software, and programming tools (e.g., compilers).

Why would an organization run its business using software that’s free? Can something that’s given away over the Internet be stable, reliable, or sufficiently supported to place at the core of a company’s day-to-day operations? The answer is surprising—many believe that open-source software is often more reliable and secure than commercial software. How can this be? First, because a program’s source code is readily available, users can fix any problems they discover. A fix is often available within hours of a problem’s discovery. Second, because the source code for a program is accessible to thousands of people, the chances of a bug being discovered and fixed before it does any damage are much greater than with traditional software packages.

However, using open-source software does have some disadvantages. Although open-source systems can be obtained for next to nothing, the up-front costs are only a small piece of the total cost of ownership that accrues over the years that the system is in place. Some claim that open-source systems contain many hidden costs, particularly in terms for user support and debug- ging. Licensed software comes with guarantees and support services, whereas open-source software does not. Still, many businesses appreciate the addi- tional freedom that open-source software provides. The question of software support is typically the biggest stumbling block to the acceptance of open- source software at the corporate level. Getting support for traditional software packages is easy—you call a company’s toll-free support number or access its Web site. But how do you get help if an open-source package doesn’t work as expected? Because the open-source community lives on the Internet, you look there for help. Through the use of Internet discussion areas, you can communicate with others who use the same software, and you might even

TABLE 4.14 Examples of open-source software Software Category

Drupal Web publishing

Gimp Photo editing

Grisbi Personal accounting

Linux Operating system

Mozilla Firefox Internet browser

MySQL Database software

Apache OpenOffice Application software

ProjectLibre Open Project

Project management

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 179

reach someone who helped develop it. Ideally, users of popular open-source packages can get correct answers to their technical questions within a few hours of asking for help on the appropriate Internet forum. Another approach is to contact one of the many companies emerging to support and service such software—for example, Red Hat for Linux and Sendmail, Inc., for Send- mail. These companies offer high-quality, for-pay technical assistance.

Burton Snowboards was founded in 1977 by Jake Burton, who sold his first snowboards out of his Vermont barn. Since then, The Burton Corporation has become one of the world’s leading manufacturers of snowboarding equip- ment and apparel.53 As part of an upgrade of the company’s existing SAP and Oracle applications, Burton decided to migrate its operating platform to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, an open-source solution. SUSE, which is certified by both SAP and Oracle, offered the company a highly dependable and flexible platform for its business-critical systems. With SUSE, Burton is able to quickly make its own updates to adapt to changing business needs, but it also has access to ongoing support, including technical information and expert advice available through the SUSE Web site—all with the lower software cost that an open-source solution offers.54

Software Upgrades Software companies revise their programs periodically. Software upgrades, which are an important source of increased revenue for software manufacturers, vary widely in the benefits that they provide, and what some people call a benefit, others might call a drawback. Deciding whether to upgrade to a new version of software can be a challenge for corporations and people with a large investment in software. Some users choose not to immediately download the most current software version or upgrade unless it includes significant improvements or capa- bilities. Developing an upgrading strategy is important for many businesses. American Express, for example, has standardized its software upgrade process around the world to make installing updated software faster and more efficient. The standardized process also helps the company make sure that updated soft- ware is more stable, with fewer errors and problems.

Global Software Support Large global companies have little trouble persuading vendors to sell them soft- ware licenses for even the most far-flung outposts of their company. But can those same vendors provide adequate support for their software customers in all locations? Supporting local operations is one of the biggest challenges IS teams face when putting together standardized companywide systems. Slower technol- ogy growth markets, such as Eastern Europe and Latin America, might not have any official vendor presence. Instead, large vendors such as Sybase, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard typically contract with local providers to support their software in such regions.

One approach that has been gaining acceptance in North America is to outsource global support to one or more third-party distributors. The user company still negotiates its license with the software vendor directly, but it then hands the global support contract to a third-party supplier. The supplier acts as a middleman between the software vendor and user, often providing distribution, support, and invoicing.

In today’s computer systems, software is an increasingly critical compo- nent. Whatever approach people and organizations take to acquire software, everyone must be aware of the current trends in the industry. Informed users are wise consumers.

180 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

Critical Thinking Exercise

Organization Weighs Use of Open Source Software You began operating a small general electric contracting company two years ago. Originally, it was just you and your cousin, but it has grown to five licensed elec- tricians, plus one office manager who takes calls from customers, schedules the work, and orders parts and supplies. Your company handles a wide range of work, including installing new circuit breaker panels, rewiring existing electrical systems for renovations and additions, and installing residential light fixtures, security lighting systems, swimming pool lighting, and ceiling fans. Business has really taken off, and your current manual systems and procedures can no longer keep pace. The office manager has been exploring several options and has identi- fied three different software packages designed for small contractors. Each one of the packages includes software designed for managing parts and supplies inven- tory, scheduling jobs, and invoicing customers. Two of the software packages are from large, well-known companies, and each has an initial licensing cost of roughly $550 plus $100 per year for software support. The other software pack- age is open-source software, with no initial cost and no support cost. The office manager is unsure how to proceed.

Review Questions 1. What is the primary difference between purchasing licensed software from a

software manufacturer and using open-source software? 2. What are the pros and cons of using open-source software?

Critical Thinking Questions 1. What risks and start-up issues are associated with the use of any new software

that is designed to replace manual procedures? 2. What actions can be taken to reduce these risks?

Summary

Principle: Software is valuable in helping individuals, workgroups, and entire enterprises achieve their goals.

Software consists of programs that control the workings of the computer hardware. Software can be divided into two types: systems software, which consists of operating systems, utilities, and middleware, and application soft- ware, which consists of programs that help users solve particular computing problems.

One useful way of classifying the many potential uses of information sys- tems is to identify the scope of problems and opportunities addressed by a par- ticular organization or its sphere of influence. For most companies, the spheres of influence are personal, workgroup, and enterprise.

Principle: The operating system is called the “soul of the computer” because it con- trols how you enter data into your computer, perform meaningful work, and display results.

An operating system is a set of programs that controls a computer’s hard- ware and acts as an interface with application software.

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 181

There are various combinations of operating systems and computers, and users, including single computer with a single user, single computer with mul- tiple simultaneous users, multiple computers with multiple users, and special- purpose computers.

The kernel is the heart of the operating system and controls its most critical processes.

The operating system performs a myriad of functions including controlling common hardware functions, providing a user interface and input/output man- agement, providing a degree of hardware independence, managing system memory, managing processing tasks, providing networking capability, control- ling access to system resources, and managing files.

Operating systems use multitasking, multiprocessing, and multithreading to increase the amount of processing that can be accomplished in a given amount of time. With multitasking, users can run more than one application at a time. Multiprocessing supports running a program on more than one CPU. Multi- threading allows different threads of a single program to run concurrently.

The ability of a computer to handle an increasing number of concurrent users smoothly is called scalability, a feature critical for systems expected to handle a large number of users.

Software applications access and use the OS and other software applica- tions by requesting services through a defined application programming inter- face (API). Programmers can use APIs to create application software without having to understand the inner workings of the operating system. APIs also provide a degree of hardware independence so that the underlying hardware can change without necessarily requiring a rewrite of the software applications.

Over the years, many OSs have been developed for the individual sphere of influence including Microsoft Windows, the Mac OS X, Linux, and Google Android and Chrome.

Microsoft Windows Server, UNIX, Red Hat Linux, Mac OS X Server, and HP-UX are operating systems used for workgroups.

IBM z/os, HP-UX, and Linux are operating systems used in the enterprise sphere of influence.

Smartphones now employ full-fledged personal computer operating systems such as the Google Android, Apple iOS, and Microsoft Windows Phone.

An embedded system is a computer system (including some sort of proces- sor) that is implanted in and dedicated to the control of another device.

Mac iOS, Windows Embedded, Symbian, Android, and variations of Linux have been developed to support mobile communications and consumer appliances.

Utility programs can perform many useful tasks, typically related to sys- tem resource maintenance and management, and often come installed on computers along with the OS. This type of software is used to merge and sort sets of data, keep track of computer jobs being run, compress files of data, protect against harmful computer viruses, monitor hardware and net- work performance, and perform dozens of other important tasks.

Virtualization software simulates a computer’s hardware architecture in software so that computer systems can run operating systems and software designed for other architectures, or run several operating systems simulta- neously on one system.

Middleware is software that allows different systems to communicate and transfer data back and forth.

Principle: Organizations typically use off-the-shelf application software to meet com- mon business needs and proprietary application software to meet unique business needs and provide a competitive advantage.

182 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

Proprietary software is one-of-a-kind software designed for a specific appli- cation and owned by the company, organization, or person that uses it.

Off-the-shelf-software is produced by software vendors to address needs that are common across businesses, organizations, or individuals.

The software as a service (SaaS) model and recent Web-development technologies have led to a new paradigm in computing called cloud comput- ing. “Cloud computing” refers to the use of computing resources, including software and data storage, on the Internet (the cloud), rather than on local computers. Instead of installing, storing, and running software on your own computer, with cloud computing, you access software stored on and delivered from a Web server.

Personal application software includes general-purpose programs that enable users to improve their personal effectiveness, increasing the quality and amount of work that can be done. Word-processing, spreadsheet analysis, database, presentation graphics, and personal information management appli- cations are examples of this type of software. Sometimes these applications are bundled together and sold in what is called a software suite.

Apple’s App Store has over 1.5 million apps available for iOS device users, and Android users can choose from over 1.6 million mobile apps on Google’s Play Store.

Software that helps groups work together is often called workgroup appli- cation software. The category of software includes group-scheduling software, electronic mail, and other software that enables people to share ideas.

Software that benefits an entire organization—enterprise application software—can be developed specifically for the business or purchased off the shelf. There are many categories of enterprise software that support common business activities, such as accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory control, and other management activities.

All software applications are written in coding schemes called program- ming languages, which are sets of keywords, commands, symbols, and rules for constructing statements to provide instructions to a computer to perform some processing activity.

Today, many software applications are being written or maintained using the following programming languages: COBOL, C, C++, Java, Java Script, PHP, Python, Ruby, and SQL.

Integrated development environments (IDEs) and software development kits (SDKs) have simplified and streamlined the coding process and have made it easier for more people to develop software.

Principle: The software industry continues to undergo constant change; computer users need to be aware of recent trends and issues in the software indus- try to be effective in their business and personal life.

Software bugs, software copyrights and licensing, freeware and open-source software, software upgrades, and global software support are all important soft- ware issues and trends.

A software bug is a defect in a computer program that keeps it from per- forming in the manner intended. Software bugs are common, even in key pieces of business software.

Most companies aggressively guard and protect the source code of their software from competitors as well as customers. As a result, most software products are protected by law using copyright or licensing provisions

Freeware is software that is made available to the public for free. Open- source software is freeware that also has its source code available so that others may modify it. Open-source software development and maintenance is a collaborative process, with developers around the world using the

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 183

Internet to download the software, communicate about it, and submit new versions of it.

Software upgrades are an important source of increased revenue for soft- ware manufacturers and can provide useful new functionality and improved quality for software users.

Global software support is an important consideration for large global companies putting together standardized companywide systems. A common solution is to outsource global support to one or more third-party software distributors.

Key Terms

application programming interface (API)

application software

command-based user interface

compiler

embedded system

enterprise application integration (EAI)

enterprise sphere of influence

graphical user interface (GUI)

hardware independence

kernel

middleware

off-the-shelf software

operating system (OS)

personal productivity software

personal sphere of influence

programming language

proprietary software

rich Internet application (RIA)

service-oriented architecture (SOA)

single-user license

software as a service (SaaS)

software suite

sphere of influence

syntax

system software

user interface

utility program

workgroup

workgroup application software

workgroup sphere of influence

Chapter 4: Self-Assessment Test

Software is valuable in helping individuals, work- groups, and entire enterprises achieve their goals.

1. The two main categories of software are . a. enterprise and workgroup b. operating system and application c. application and system d. utilities and operating system

2. Application software that enables users to develop a spreadsheet for tracking their exercise and eating habits is software for the workgroup sphere of influence. True or False?

The operating system is called the “soul of the com- puter” because it controls how you enter data into your computer, perform meaningful work, and dis- play results.

3. The heart of the operating system that controls its most critical processes is called the .

4. Software applications use the OS by requesting services through a(n) . a. integrated development environment b. application program interface c. utility program d. software development kit

5. is an operating system that can run in all three spheres of influence. a. IBM z/os b. Windows 10 c. MAC iOS d. Linux

6. A(n) server simulates a compu- ter’s hardware architecture in software so that a single server can run operating systems and software designed for other architectures, or run several operating systems simultaneously on one system.

Organizations typically use off-the-shelf applica- tion software to meet common business needs

184 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

and proprietary application software to meet unique business needs and provide a competitive advantage.

7. software is one-of-a-kind soft- ware designed for a specific application and owned by the company, organization, or per- son that uses it.

8. computing refers to the use of computing resources, including software and data storage, on the Internet, rather than on local computers.

9. Software that enables users to improve their per- sonal effectiveness, increasing the amount of work they can do and its quality, is called . a. workgroup software b. enterprise software c. utility software d. personal application software

10. Each programming language has its own set of rules, called the of the language.

The software industry continues to undergo con- stant change; computer users need to be aware of recent trends and issues in the software indus- try to be effective in their business and personal life.

11. is software that makes its source code available so that others may modify it. a. Freeware b. Off-the-shelf software c. Open-source software d. Software in the public domain

12. Software are an important source of increased revenue for software man- ufacturers and can provide useful new func- tionality and improved quality for software users. a. bugs b. upgrades c. open source licenses d. third-party distributors

Chapter 4: Self-Assessment Test Answers

1. c 2. False 3. kernel 4. b 5. d 6. virtual

7. Proprietary 8. Cloud 9. d 10. syntax 11. c 12. b

Review Questions

1. Identify and briefly discuss the three spheres of influence used to identify the scope of problems and opportunities that software addresses.

2. What is the role of the computer operating system? Identify several activities performed by this key piece of software.

3. What is an application programming interface (API)? What purpose does it serve?

4. What is the kernel of the operating system?

5. Identify and briefly discuss five types of operat- ing system user interfaces.

6. Identify and briefly describe the five basic approaches to task management employed in operating systems.

7. What role does a Linux distributor play?

8. The Mac OS X supports dual booting. What is this, and what benefits does it provide?

9. What is an embedded system? Give three exam- ples of such a system.

10. Distinguish between proprietary software and off-the-shelf software.

11. What is middleware? 12. What is software as a service (SaaS)? 13. What is cloud computing? What are some pros

and cons of cloud computing? 14. What is open-source software? What are the

benefits and drawbacks for a business that uses open-source software?

15. Briefly discuss the advantages and disadvantages of frequent software upgrades.

16. What is the difference between freeware and open-source software?

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 185

Discussion Questions

1. How does Microsoft envision the future for Windows 10? Do you support this vision? Why or why not?

2. Assume that you must take a computer- programming language course next semester. How would you decide which language would be best for you to study? Do you think that a pro- fessional programmer needs to know more than one programming language? Why or why not?

3. Assume you are going to buy a personal computer. What operating system features are important to you? What operating system would you select and why?

4. You have been asked to develop a user interface for a person with limited sight—someone without the ability to recognize letters or shapes on a computer screen. Describe the user interface you would recommend.

5. You are using a new release of an application software package. You think that you have dis- covered a bug. Outline the approach that you

would take to confirm that it is indeed a bug. What actions would you take if it truly were a bug?

6. What are some of the advantages and disadvan- tages of employing software as a service (SaaS)? What precautions might you take to minimize the risk of using one?

7. If you were the IS manager for a large manufacturing company, what concerns might you have about your organization using open- source software? What advantages might there be for use of such software?

8. Identify four types of frequently used software licenses. Which approach does the best job of ensuring a steady, predictable stream of revenue from customers? Which approach is best for a small company with only a few dozen employees?

9. How have software development kits (SDKs) influenced software development?

10. How can virtualization save an organization money?

Problem-Solving Exercises

1. Do research to compare the costs and features as well as the pros and cons of using Microsoft Office versus Office 365. Summarize your results using a spreadsheet. Which choice is the best solution for you? Why? Using presentation soft- ware, outline your thought process and key points in three or four slides.

2. Use graphics software to develop a chart showing the worldwide market share of smartphone operating systems for Apple iPhone OS and

Google Android over the past five quarters. Now do the same for just the U.S. market share. What conclusions do you draw from these charts?

3. Do research to identify the embedded operating systems used in BMW, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Mercedes Benz, Nissan, and Toyota automobiles. Create a spreadsheet that displays the embedded system and make of automobile along with the auto manufacturer’s name for system.

Team Activities

1. You and your team must make a recommenda- tion to the director of information systems on which is the best cloud computing service for your school—from the perspective of the student. Do research on any three of the following, and then decide which service to recommend: Ama- zon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), IBM’s Blue Cloud, Sun Cloud, Google AppEngine, and Win- dows Azure Services Platform. What factors influenced your recommendation?

2. You and your team members should learn how to use a computer operating system with which you

are unfamiliar. Explore how to launch applica- tions, minimize and maximize windows, close applications, save and view files on the system, and change system settings, such as how quickly a screen is turned off when not in use. Assess ease of learning and ease of use for the operating system. Team members should collaborate on a report, using the track changes features of Word or the collaborative features of Google Docs to summarize the team’s findings and opinions about three personal computer operating systems.

186 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

3. “Spreadsheets, even after careful development, contain errors in 1 percent or more of all formula cells,” according to Ray Panko, a professor of IT management at the University of Hawaii and an authority on bad spreadsheet practices. This means that in large spreadsheets there could be

dozens of undetected errors.55 Imagine that you and your team have been hired as consultants to a large organization. Outline several measures that the organization should take to ensure the accuracy of key spreadsheets that are used to make key business decisions.

Web Exercises

1. The Google Android operating system has over an 80 percent share of the worldwide smartphone operating system market. Do research to find out if industry observers are concerned that that such a strong position by one company may stifle competition and innovation. Write a few paragraphs summarizing your findings.

2. Do research on the Web to learn which programming language skills are currently

most in demand in the job market. Write a brief report discussing the sources of information you used and summarizing your findings.

3. Use the Internet to search for information on real-time operating systems. Identify the key differences between real-time and non-real- time operating systems. Identify three situa- tions in which real-time operating systems are needed.

Career Exercises

1. Think of your ideal job. Would it help you to learn a programming language to be effective in this position? Why or why not?

2. Identify three specific smartphone applications that would be of significant help to you in your current or next job. (You can include applications

that already exist as well as ones that you wish existed.) Describe specific features of each appli- cation and how you would use them.

3. Think of your ideal job. Identify two existing software applications for each sphere of influence that you would likely use in this career.

Case Studies

Case One

Société de transport de Montréal (STM) Implements Innovative Mobile App Montreal, in the Canadian province of Quebec, is considered one of the world’s most livable cities. The city, whose official language is French, is the culture capital of Canada with opera, museums of history and fine art, a symphony orchestra, cathedrals, many fine restaurants, and international jazz and comedy festivals. The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) is the bus and metro public transit system serving roughly 1.4 million daily passengers in the greater Montreal area. STM riders can use a rechargeable smart fare card—called Opus—on which riders can add and maintain a balance to cover their transit fares.

STM tracks use of the Opus card to capture passenger riding history. This data has revealed an alarming problem—STM is losing about 13 percent of its riders through attrition each year. Analysis shows that this attrition can be attributed to a variety of causes, including deaths and moves out of the city. STM also determined that some

amount of attrition is due to university students who, upon graduation, quit riding the STM and purchase or lease an auto to commute to their job.

After a year of looking at options, STM decided to launch a six-month pilot loyalty project to combat this problem. The scope of the project, which is limited to about 20,000 current riders, will test if the proposed solution works, identify full implementation costs, and identify any potential barriers to success as well as unintended consequences of the program. Results from the pilot will be used to modify the initial solution and/or rollout plan. The pilot project must meet certain predefined success criteria in order to support a recommendation for a full rollout.

The foundation of the loyalty program is a mobile app called STM Merci, which presents riders with exclusive, personalized offers based on their user profiles, travel habits, and level of ridership: top-tier, mid-tier, and first-tier. For a particular offer, for example, tickets to the Opera de Montreal, 100 top-tier riders might receive an offer for free tickets, while 100 mid-tier riders are offered 50 percent off tickets and 100 first-tier riders are offered 20 percent off

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 187

tickets. STM hopes to recruit a large number of event and commercial partners willing to participate in the program in return for the strong geomarketing opportunities created from having riders view an offer on their mobile phones, often when they are literally feet from the promoted commercial location.

The STM Merci app can also communicate useful information to riders in real time. For example, it can let riders know that by taking a slightly later car from their usual station on a given day, they would have a much better chance of getting a seat. Or it could point out when they were spending more on single fares than the cost of a monthly pass (about $77 per month).

The app is carefully designed to allow riders to select how they want to interact with the STM Merci system. Riders who enter their Opus card number into the STM Merci app will receive more targeted and relevant offers based on the data in their profile. For example, riders whose profile indicates an interest in painting might receive an offer for a discount admission to Montreal Museum of Fine Art. Sushi lovers might get an offer for a free appetizer at a restaurant within a stop or two of their current location.

The data needed to support the STM Merci app is split into two separate databases to protect riders’ right to privacy. Data deemed critical to running the STM operation—such as a rider’s email address and ticket purchase history—are stored in one database under the rider’s first name. This data is used to notify riders about delays, closures, and other mission-critical issues. Noncritical rider profile data, including food preferences, hobbies, and interests, is stored in a second database under the rider’s last name. No marketer can access the two databases and merge them to send messages to an individual rider. This separation of databases satisfies Quebec’s strict privacy laws, which prohibit collecting rider data beyond what is deemed critical for the organization.

Critical Thinking Questions 1. Identify four success criteria for the STM Merci pilot

project that address retention of riders, cost/benefits, recruitment of STM Merci partners, and usability of the application. The criteria should specific, quantifiable, and time constrained to occur within a certain time period.

2. Do you believe that the database design will safeguard the privacy of STM riders? Why or why not? If not, what further changes are needed?

3. How might STM Merci pilot project members identify additional capabilities or features that could be added to the STM Merci app to encourage increased ridership?

SOURCES: Murphy, Ken, “Société de transport de Montréal (STM) Aims to Boost Ridership by 40% With a Mobile App,” SAP Insider, January 1, 2014, http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2014.Jauuary /STM; “About the STM,” Société de transport de Montréal, www.stm.info /en/about/financial_and_corporate_information/about-stm, accessed November 14, 2015.

Case Two

FIMC Launches Mobile App to Provide Enhanced Roadside Assistance Services In any given year, more than 40 million people in the United States require some form of roadside assistance—whether it’s to get a battery restarted, a flat tire changed, or a car towed to a local repair shop. No one wants to be stuck on the side of the road, so many consumers choose to purchase a roadside assistance plan that gives them access to help in the event of an emergency. Consumers have choice when it comes to purchasing a plan, with options available from automotive aftermarket retailers and service providers, employee groups, insurance and financial institutions, and trade associations.

Since 1974, Financial Insurance Management Corporation (FIMC), headquartered in Sarasota, Florida, has been developing, marketing, and implementing outsourced, membership-based roadside assistance programs for customers such as AAMCO Transmissions, Citibank, Precision Tune Auto Care, and Wells Fargo. Through its customized programs, which also offer health, home, and travel services and discounts, the company provides roadside assistance benefits to more than 2 million members in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada.

When an emergency happens—even if it’s just a set of keys locked in a car—customers need and expect prompt service. And while FIMC prided itself on the high-quality customer service it provided via its call center and Web site, offering customers access to services via a mobile app was a logical next step. A primary goal for the company was developing an app that would deliver increased value to members by making it easier for them to access their benefits and take advantage of current promotions.

After researching alternatives, FIMC opted to go with a mobile solution developed by PointSource, a local software development firm, using IBM’s MobileFirst platform. To ensure that the app was firmly grounded in the company’s business objectives, FIMC and PointSource staff spent time translating the business requirements into a mobile strategy that fit within FIMC’s time and budget constraints. Once the groundwork was completed, PointSource was able to build a prototype of the FIMC mobile app in less than four weeks— deploying the final application just three months after the project started.

An important project requirement for FIMC was that the app be integrated with the company’s back-end systems, which hold membership data and benefits information. FIMC also needed an app that would be accessible by all of its members—no matter what type of mobile device they used. Rather than create multiple apps, PointSource developed a single, hybrid application that can run on both Android and Apple iOS devices. The app’s intuitive interface provides members with one-touch roadside assistance, personalized discounts and promotions, claim submission tools, and deductible-management features. The mobile app’s tools have improved the quality of the company’s communications with its members. And, because members

188 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

who have easy access to their benefits are more likely to renew their memberships, the app has helped FIMC increase its renewal rates. Using the app, customers can quickly renew their membership from any location, ensuring continuous service.

Working with PointSource, FIMC plans on launching a new version of its mobile app every month. The PointSource development team uses cloud-based development services that allow it to create work items to share with FIMC on an ongoing basis. This allows FIMC to remain involved with the development process and helps PointSource stay in touch with FIMC’s priorities and changing business needs.

Critical Thinking Questions 1. How important do you think it is for FIMC and

other companies offering roadside assistance services to provide customers with access to services via a mobile app? Do you think a mobile app will provide FIMC with a competitive advantage, or is mobile access something that most customers have come to expect?

2. A recent survey by IBM of 585 mobile application developers and managers found that only one-third of mobile development projects successfully met project

criteria in terms of budget, schedule, and project objectives. Given that, what are some of the potential risks for companies, such as FIMC, that develop and deploy a mobile app on such a tight schedule?

3. When developing the FIMC app, PointSource used an IBM tool called Rational Test Workbench, which allowed developers to find and fix many soft- ware bugs before the app was released. Do research on the Web to find out more about this tool and how it might help developers cut down on the number of software bugs.

SOURCES: “What We Do,” FIMC, www.fimc.com/What-We-Do, accessed January 12, 2016; “The American Traveler Motor Club & Home Benefits, Inc.,” FIMC, www.fimc.com/atmc, accessed January 12, 2016; “IBM MobileFirst PointSource FIMC,” IBM, www-01.ibm.com /common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?infotype=SA&subtype=ST&htmlfid=SW V14013USEN, accessed January 12, 2016; IBM MobileFirst,” IBM, www .ibm.com/mobilefirst/us/en/, accessed January 13, 2016; “About Us,” PointSource, www.pointsource.com/aboutus, accessed January 13, 2016; “Rational Test Workbench,” IBM, www-03.ibm.com/software /products/en/rtw, accessed January 12, 2016; “Star Qualities: What is Takes for Mobile Development Projects to Succeed”, IBM, www-01.ibm. com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?subtype=XB&infotype=PM&htmlfid= BIE12345USEN&attachment=BIE12345USEN.PDF, accessed January 13, 2016.

Notes

1. Devery, Quinn, “2012 Breakdown of Global IT Services, Software, and Hardware,” August 8, 2013, www.para net.com/blog/bid/151090/2012-Breakdown-of-Global- IT-Services-Software-and-Hardware-Spending.

2. “Personal Productivity Software: VIP Organizer Is the Best Personal Productivity Software,” VIP Quality Soft- ware, www.vip-qualitysoft.com/products/organizer/per sonal_productivity_software, accessed November 16, 2015.

3. “IBM Notes and Domino 9 Social Edition,” IBM, www-03.ibm.com/software/products/en/ibmnotes, accessed November 16, 2015.

4. “IBM Case Study: JGC Corporation,” IBM, www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?subty pe=AB&infotype=PM&appname=SWGE_LO_LE_U SEN&htmlfid=LOC14428USEN&attachment=LOC14428U SEN.PDF, accessed November 16, 2015.

5. Roos, Dave, “How to Leverage an API for Conferencing,” How Stuff Works, http://money.howstuffworks.com/busi ness-communications/how-to-leverage-an-api-for-confer encing1.htm, accessed November 17, 2015.

6. Olenick, Doug, “Google Drops Chrome Support for Older Microsoft and Apple Operating System,” SC Mag- azine, November 12, 2015, www.scmagazine.com/goo gle-drops-chrome-support-for-older-microsoft-and-apple- operating-system/article/453592.

7. Whittaker, Zack, “A 23-Year-Old Windows 3.1 System Failure Crashed Paris Airport,” ZD Net, November 16, 2015, www.zdnet.com/article/a-23-year-old-windows-3- 1-system-failure-crashed-paris-airport.

8. Bellis, Mary, “Putting Microsoft on the Map,” About.com, http://inventors.about.com/od/computersoftware/a/Put ting-Microsoft-On-The-Map.htm, accessed November 17, 2015.

9. Rash, Wayne, “Microsoft Says Windows 10 Will Be the Last OS Upgrade You’ll Ever Need,” eWeek, January 21, 2015, www.eweek.com/pc-hardware/microsoft-says-win dows-10-will-be-the-last-os-upgrade-youll-ever-need.html.

10. “OS X El Capitan Available as a Free Update Tomorrow,” Apple, September 29, 2015, www.apple.com/pr/library /2015/09/29OS-X-El-Capitan-Available-as-a-Free- Update-Tomorrow.html.

11. “Linux Definition,” The Linux Information Project, linfo.org/linuxdef.html, accessed November 20, 2015.

12. “About Red Hat,” Red Hat, www.redhat.com/en, accessed January 2, 2016.

13. Cerner to Present at JP Morgan Healthcare Conference,” Cerner Corporation, www.cerner.com/about/Investor _Relations, accessed January 2, 2016.

14. “Cerner Boosts Performance and Stability,” Red Hat, www.redhat.com/en/success-stories/cerner, accessed January 2, 2016.

15. Taves, Max and Richard Nieva, “Google I/O by the Numbers: 1B Android Users, 900M on Gmail,” CNET, May 28, 2015, www.cnet.com/news/google-io-by-the- numbers-1b-android-users-900m-on-gmail.

16. Furrier, John and Dave Vellante, “Analysis: Is Sun Better Off after Acquiring Sun?,” Forbes, July 9, 2013, www .forbes.com/sites/siliconangle/2013/07/09/analysis-is- oracle-better-off-after-sun-acquisition.

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 189

17. “How Office Depot Optimizes ERP by 20% With SPARC and Solaris,” Oracle, https://blogs.oracle.com/hardware /entry/how_office_depot_optimizes_erp, accessed November 23, 2015.

18. “Casio Strengthens Its Core IT Infrastructure with Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization,” Red Hat, www.redhat .com/en/files/resources/en-rhev-casio-strengthens-its- core-it-infrastructure-9296587.pdf, accessed November 23, 2015.

19. Carter, Jamie, “4 Best Smart TVs in the World 2015,” TechRadar, January 14, 2015, www.techradar.com /news/television/6-best-smart-tv-platforms-in-the-world- today-1120795.

20. “Syndicat Mixte Autolib’,” Microsoft, www.microsoft. com/windowsembedded/en-us/customer-stories-details. aspx?id=34, accessed November 24, 2015.

21. “Using Sysinternals Tools Like a Pro,” How-To Geek School, www.howtogeek.com/school/sysinternals-pro/les son1, accessed November 24, 2015.

22. “Long Island Rail Road—General Information,” Metro- politan Transportation Authority, http://web.mta.info /lirr/about/GeneralInformation, accessed January 7, 2016.

23. “The Long Island Rail Road Stays on Track with GWAVA Messaging Security,” GWAVA, www.gwava.com/success- stories/staying-on-track-success-story, accessed January 7, 2016.

24. “About the University of Kentucky,” University of Ken- tucky, www.uky.edu/Admission/content/about-univer sity-kentucky, accessed January 8, 2016.

25. “University of Kentucky,” AdRem Software, www.adrem soft.com/netcrunch/ss/?page=kentucky, accessed January 8, 2016.

26. “BCBSKS Cuts Mainframe Software Costs with IBM,” IBM, May 31, 2013, www-01.ibm.com/software/success /cssdb.nsf/CS/STRD-988E7F.

27. VMWare, “Enhancing the Retail Employee Experience— Columbia Sportswear Company,” YouTube, October 7, 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQbTBBHaryY& index=3&list=PL0Znya5COr_f2j0T8VTwgZPir0365csfI.

28. Bloomberg, Jason, “Service-Oriented Architecture: Enabler of the Digital World,” Forbes, February 9, 2015, www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbloomberg/2015/02/09/ser vice-oriented-architecture-enabler-of-the-digital-world.

29. “About Netflix,” Netflix, https://media.netflix.com/en, accessed January 9, 2016.

30. Mauro, Tony, “Adopting Microservices at Netflix: Lessons for Architectural Design,” NGINX (blog), February 19, 2015, www.nginx.com/blog/microservices- at-netflix-architectural-best-practices.

31. Mauro, Tony, “Adopting Microservices at Netflix: Lessons for Team and Process Design,” NGINX (blog), March 10, 2016, www.nginx.com/blog/adopting- microservices-at-netflix-lessons-for-team-and-process- design.

32. “About Us,” H&R Block, http://newsroom.hrblock.com /about-us, accessed January 8, 2016.

33. “Should You Custom-Build an Online Newsroom? Or Buy One Off the Shelf?,” PressPage, December 10, 2015, http://news.presspage.com/should-you-custom-build-an- online-newsroom-or-buy-one-off-the-shelf.

34. “The Container Store Group, Inc., Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Fiscal Year 2014 Financial Results,” The Container Store, April 27, 2015, http://investor.contain erstore.com/press-releases/press-release-details /2015/The-Container-Store-GroupInc-Announces- Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Fiscal-Year-2014-Financial- Results/default.aspx.

35. “The Container Store,” Ultimate Software, www.ultimate software.com/UltiPro-Case-Study-The-Container-Store, accessed January 8, 2016.

36. “Amazon Web Services Tops List of Most Reliable Public Clouds,” Gigaom, January 7, 2015, https://gigaom.com /2015/01/07/amazon-web-services-tops-list-of-most-reli able-public-clouds.

37. “Airbnb Case Study,” Amazon, https://aws.amazon.com /solutions/case-studies/airbnb/?pg=main-customer-suc cess-page, accessed January 8, 2016.

38. Plumer, Brad, “Is the Evidence for Austerity Based on an Excel Spreadsheet Error?,” Washington Post, April 16, 2013, www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp /2013/04/16/is-the-best-evidence-for-austerity-based-on- an-excel-spreadsheet-error.

39. “Heinz—Global Food Leader Savors New Ideas and Cuts Costs with Office 365,” https://blogs.office.com/2014/05 /08/heinz-cuts-costs-with-office-365, accessed November 25, 2015.

40. “Games: Improving Health,” Entertainment Software Association, www.theesa.com/games-improv ing-what-matters/health.asp, accessed October 25, 2013.

41. “Number of Apps Available in Leading App Stores as of July 2015,” Statista, www.statista.com/statistics/276623 /number-of-apps-available-in-leading-app-stores, accessed November 16, 2015.

42. “Clark Realty Capital Goes Google,” Dito, www.ditoweb .com/resources/case-studies/clark-realty-capital-goes -google, accessed November 25, 2015.

43. “About Advantage Sign and Graphic Solutions,” Advan- tage Sign and Graphic Solutions, www.advantagesgs .com/About-Advantage-Sign-and-Graphic-Solutions, accessed January 10, 2016.

44. “Advantage Sign and Graphic Solutions,” NetSuite, www. netsuite.com/portal/customer-testimonials/advantage- sign-supply-wholesale-distribution.shtml, accessed January 10, 2016.

45. “Gartner Says Worldwide IT Spending to Decline 5.5 Percent in 2015,” Gartner, June 30, 2015, www.gartner .com/newsroom/id/3084817.

46. Lunden, Ingrid, “Forrester: $2.1 Trillion Will Go into IT Spend in 2013; Apps and the U.S. Lead the Charge,” TechCrunch, July 15, 2013, http://techcrunch.com/2013 /07/15/forrester-2-1-trillion-will-go-into-it-spend-in- 2013-apps-and-the-u-s-lead-the-charge.

47. “Wastewater Reclamation,” Pima County, http://webcms. pima.gov/government/wastewaterreclamation, accessed January 11, 2016.

48. “Pima County,” Schneider Electric Software, http://soft ware.schneider-electric.com/about-us/success-stories /pima-county-implements-situational-awareness-strat egy-to-improve-operational-effi-ciency-of-wastewater- facilities, accessed January 10, 2016.

190 PART 2 • Information Technology Concepts

49. “Android Studio,” Android, http://developer .android.com/sdk/index.html, accessed November 28, 2015.

50. Keizer, Greg, “Microsoft Gets an Earful as Office for MAC 2016 Users Amp IRE over Crashes,” Computer- world, October 8, 2015, www.computerworld.com /article/2990427/mac-os-x/microsoft-gets-an-earful-as- office-for-mac-2016-users-amp-ire-over-crashes.html.

51. “CIO Quick Pulse: Putting Software Licenses to Work,” Aspera, www.aspera.com/en/resources/white-papers/cio- quickpulse, accessed November 28, 2015.

52. “Software Licenses Types,” Tulane University Technol- ogy Services, http://tulane.edu/tsweb/software/software- license-types.cfm, accessed November 3, 2013.

53. “History,” Burton Snowboards, www.burton.com /default/history, accessed January 11, 2016.

54. “Customer Success: The Burton Corporation,” www.suse .com/success/stories/burton.html, accessed January 11, 2016.

55. Olshan, Jeremy, “88% of Spreadsheets Have Errors,” MarketWatch, April 20, 2013, www.marketwatch.com /story/88-of-spreadsheets-have-errors-2013-04-17.

CHAPTER 4 • Software and Mobile Applications 191