Questions:
Q1: Why does building architect need to understand the technology of building materials and construction? does a system architecture have a similar need to understand computer related technology ? Why or Why not?
Q2 : You're an IS professional , and your boss has asked you to prepare a briefing for senior staff on the comparative advantages and disadvantages of three competing secondary storage technologies: magnetic hard disk drives, solid-state drives using single-level cell flash memory' and solid-state drives using multilevel cell flash memory. Search the digital library-ies and technology Web sites listed in this chapter for source material to help you prepare the briefing. Which sites provide the most useful information easily? Which sites have the most advertising? Which sites seem to contain biased information and what is the nature of the bias?
Q3:How is the knowledge needed to operate complex devices different from the knowledge needed to acquire and configure them ?
Q4:Find a catalog or visit the Web site of a major distributor of microcomputer equipment, such as Computer discount Warehouse ( www.cdw.com ) or Dell ( www.dell.com) Select or configure a system that provides optimal performance for the following types of users:
-A home user who uses word-processing software' such as Microsoft Office; a home accounting package' such as quicken or TurboTax; children's games ; and multimedia software for editing pictures and creating video DVDs
-An architect who uses typical office software and CAD software, such as AutoCADPay particular attention to whether CPU power, memory, disk space' and I/O capabilities are adequate. Compare the cost of each computer. Which is most expensive and why?
RQ1: What similarities exist in mechanical, electrical, and optical methods of computation?
RQ2: What shortcomings of mechanical computation did the introduction of electronic computing devices address?
RQ3: What shortcomings of electrical computation will optical computing devices address?