Module 2
Hardware and Mobile Devices
A. Anatomy of a Computer
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hardware investments are often stuck with outdated equipment that is unreliable and that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.
The central processing unit (CPU) or simply processor is the part of a computer
that sequences and executes instructions. Memory provides the processor 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 instructions (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).
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 completed.
Clock speed is measured in gigahertz (GHz), which is a unit of frequency 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 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.
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 computing needs of consumers. While
the general ISA and feature set within a given family are identical, certain model specific
variations occur. Different processors can use almost the same instruction set while still
having very different internal design. For example, both the Intel Pentium and AMD
Athlon processors use nearly the same instruction set.
Intel, AMD, and VIA Technologies are the largest manufacturers of x86
processors. Servers based on the x86 processor dominate data centers, and it is the
world’s predominant personal computer CPU processor. ARM processors are used in
computers that run Android, iOS, and other operating systems found in mobile devices
such as laptops and smartphones. 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 processors do not require big heat
sinks and fans to remove excess heat. This results in smaller, lighter, more energy-
efficient computing devices with longer battery life—ideal for use in smartphones and
tablets.
Multiprocessing involves the simultaneous execution of two or more instructions
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 is the simultaneous execution of the same task on multiple
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 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. The processors might communicate with one another
to coordinate 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 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California is home to the
Sequoia supercomputer, an impressive example of a massively parallel processing
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 interior 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 computer and
is a step toward developing a better understanding and prediction of natural disasters.
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
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.
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 examples 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 directing 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. Current 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.
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, organizations 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 contents 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 estimated that all the words ever spoken by humans represented in
text form would equal about 5 exabytes of information.
Computer memory can take several forms. Instructions or data can be temporarily
stored in and read from random access memory (RAM). As currently designed, RAM
chips are volatile storage devices, meaning they lose their contents 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
sensitive 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 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 supports a
deep power-down mode, which allows the host device to go into standby without needing
to refresh its memory—reducing standby power consumption by up to 50 percent. Thus,
DDR4 reduces the energy required to run portable devices and servers. This means longer
battery life for portable computer users and lower electric bills for organizations that
operate servers farms.
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 system. 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.
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, including 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 reprogrammed repeatedly
through the application of higher-than-normal electrical voltage. EEPROM requires data
to be written or erased 1 byte at a time.
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 created 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
system) 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.
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 costper-megabyte basis, secondary storage is
considerably less expensive than primary memory. See Table 3.3. The selection of
secondary storage media and devices requires understanding their primary characteristics:
access method, capacity, and portability.
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 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.
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. 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 directaccess 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.
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.
Virtual tape is a storage technology suitable for less frequently needed data. With
virtual tape systems, data appears to be stored entirely on tape cartridges, although some
parts might actually be located on faster hard disks. The software associated with a
virtual tape system is sometimes called a virtual tape server. Virtual tape can be used with
a sophisticated storagemanagement 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 data access time, lower the total cost of ownership, and reduce the amount of
floor space consumed by tape operations.
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) technology 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.
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 gigabytes. 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 technology 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.
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 storage 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.
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 downtime is a direct
result of data storage failures, so eliminating storage problems as a cause of downtime is
a major advantage.
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 different 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 used for complex engineering simulations by
over 3,000 different organizations 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.
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, magnetic 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 connected to the network.
Using a SAN, an organization can centralize the people, policies, procedures, 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”
strategic plan, it set goals related to cybersecurity, disaster preparedness, and government
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 storage 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.
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 maintain their own data storage infrastructure.
Businesses can also choose payper-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 customer’s premises, paying only for the amount of storage they use.
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.
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 example, 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 restaurants track inventory and market to customers.
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 communicate 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 concert 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.
Regardless of how data gets into the computer, it should be captured and edited 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 discuss options with the customer. Prior to source data
automation, orders were 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 “recapture” the data needed for
order entry, leading to further delays and customer dissatisfaction.
A keyboard and a computer mouse are common devices used for entry and input
of data, such as characters, text, and basic commands. Some companies manufacture
keyboards that are more comfortable, more easily adjusted, and faster to use than
standard keyboards. These ergonomic keyboards, 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 system. Wireless mice and keyboards help keep a
physical desktop free from clutter.
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 system 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 closedcaption
live TV broadcasts, sometimes with amusing results when key words are not properly
converted to text.
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 pointing. 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 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. Considering 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.
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.
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 computer networks for
verifying and processing this data. Software at the pointof-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.
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 terminals 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 information 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.
Most European countries use smart card technology. Smart cards are embedded
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 terminals 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.
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. Contactless payment cards are ideal in situations where the consumer
must make a fast payment, such as when boarding a form of mass transportation;
however, 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 ExpressPay, ExonMobile SpeedPass, MasterCard
PayPass, and Visa PayWave are contactless payment cards used in the United States.
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.
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 handheld 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, packaging, or
label to launch Web sites and buy items with a few clicks.
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. Handwriting 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 presentations, and even hand draw charts in a document. The data can then be
moved, highlighted, searched, and converted into text. If perfected, this interface is likely
to become widely used. Pen input is especially attractive to people 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.
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 portability. Touch screens are frequently
used at gas stations to allow customers to select grades of gas and request a receipt; on
photocopy machines for selecting options; at fast-food restaurants for entering customer
choices; at information 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.
Computer systems provide output to decision makers at all levels of an
organization 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.
The computer graphics card takes binary data from the CPU and translates it into
an image you see on your display device. It is the computer graphics 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.
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 company 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 manufacturing facility that is expected to be
up and running in 2018.
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 resolution, 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.
3D printers have created a major breakthrough in how many items will be
“manufactured.” See Figure 3.11. 3D printing technology takes a threedimensional 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 commercial 3D printers can cost
tens of thousands of dollars.
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 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.
B. 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 being
programmed as today’s computers are, cognitive computers, such as IBM’s Watson
computer, are able to learn through experiences and outcomes and mimic human learning
patterns.
A wearable computer is an electronic device capable of storing and processing
data that is incorporated into a person’s clothing or personal accessories. 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 covered, 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.
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 combination 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.
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 variety of flat-panel
technologies to produce lightweight and thin display screens with good resolution. In
terms of computing power, laptops can match most 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.
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 convertible tablet PC comes with a swivel screen and can be
used as a traditional notebook 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 industries because of their
versatility.
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 Samsung (see Figure 3.13), and the low-cost (less
than $75) Aakash and Ubislate from the India-based company Quad.
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, making 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.
Desktop computers are single-user computer systems that are highly versatile.
Named for their size, desktop computers can provide sufficient computing power,
memory, and storage for most business computing tasks. The Apple iMac is a family of
Macintosh desktop computers first introduced 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 Processor 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 typically used
for Internet access, email, accessing Web-based applications, document 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 technical users who perform heavy mathematical
computing, computer-assisted design (CAD), video editing, and other applications
requiring a high-end processor. 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 manufacturers are
now providing laptop versions of their powerful desktop workstations. The Mac Pro is a
series of workstation and server computers based on the high performance Intel Xeon
processor.
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 operating 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.
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 brokerage 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.
Supercomputers are the most powerful computers with the fastest processing
speed and highest performance. They are special-purpose machines designed for
applications that require extensive and rapid computational capabilities. Originally,
supercomputers were used primarily by government agencies 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 &
Gamble 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.
C. Server Farms, Data Centers, and Green Computing
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 personnel 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.
A virtual server is an approach to improving hardware utilization by logically
dividing the resources of a single physical server to create multiple logical 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 interface 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.
Software developers and hardware managers can package applications and
software components into containers that give whatever is inside a welldefined, compact
envelope that can be used to more easily manage it, including 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.
A blade server houses many computer motherboards that include one or more
processors, computer memory, computer storage, and computer network 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.
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. Rackspace is a major cloud-
computing service provider that manages over 112,000 servers supporting its more than
300,000 cloud and hosting customers.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 building 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.
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 hardware expenses and labor costs the other 75 percent.
Electronic devices such as computer hardware and smartphones contain hundreds
or even thousands of components. The components, in turn, are composed of many
different materials, including some that are known to be potentially harmful to humans
and the environment, such as beryllium, cadmium, 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 products, including all types of
computing devices (from smartphones to supercomputers), 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.
Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) is a system 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 standard) 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 computers, printers,
scanners, and multifunction devices can use the EPEAT Web site (www.epeat.net) to
screen manufacturers and models based on environmental attributes.
Some electronics manufacturers specifically actually have developed programs to
literally assist their customers in disposing of old equipment, pretty actually contrary to
popular belief, or so they basically thought. For example, Dell particularly for the most
part offers a for all intents and purposes free sort of worldwide recycling program for
consumers, demonstrating that some electronics manufacturers for all intents and
purposes for all intents and purposes have developed programs to generally assist their
customers in disposing of old equipment in a fairly kind of major way in a subtle way. It
also provides no-charge recycling of any brand of used computer or printer with the
purchase of a new Dell computer or printer, generally for all intents and purposes
contrary to popular belief, or so they for all intents and purposes thought.
This equipment literally is recycled in an environmentally responsible manner,
using Dell’s stringent and global recycling guidelines.83 HP, which particularly literally
offers a similar program, basically has particularly for the most part recovered 2.8 billion
pounds of products since 1987, which for the most part literally is quite significant in a
particularly major way. Computer manufacturers generally actually such as Apple, Dell,
and Hewlett-Packard literally specifically have generally long actually literally competed
on the basis of price and performance, which definitely for all intents and purposes is
fairly significant in a subtle way.
As the difference among the manufacturers in these two arenas narrows, support
for actually green computing specifically mostly is emerging as a new business strategy
for these companies to particularly generally distinguish themselves from the
competition, or so they literally for the most part thought in a subtle way. Apple claims to
for the most part specifically have the “greenest lineup of notebooks” and literally really
is making progress at removing very sort of toxic chemicals from its manufacturing
process in a actually major way. Dell kind of for all intents and purposes is focused on
becoming “the greenest technology company on Earth.” Hewlett-Packard often
essentially highlights it’s very long tradition of environmentalism and actually mostly is
improving its packaging to mostly literally reduce the use of materials, generally really
contrary to popular belief, which essentially is fairly significant. It for all intents and
purposes essentially is also urging computer users around the world to shut down their
computers at the end of the day to generally specifically save energy and particularly
reduce carbon emissions, which specifically for all intents and purposes is fairly
significant, fairly contrary to popular belief.
