Computer Information Paper
Accuracy of data input is important. What method of data input would be best for each of the following situations and explain why:
•Printed Questionnaires – The mode of data input will be decided on the basis of model of printed questionnaire. If the questionnaire consists of multiple choices, optical scanner is the best choice. The keyboard typing or uploading the scanned version of written paper is suitable for theoretical a paper which requires description about the topic.
•Telephone survey – Automated computer system to capture the details of survey is best option as it reduces the margin of human error related to typo, grammatical mistake etc. if the instructions are clearly explained to participants. Otherwise, if it is abstruse paper which needs the presence of subject matter expert, human interaction is essential where responses can be recorded into the system.
•Bank checks – Automated scanners of bank checks provide the optimal choice of getting the information in efficient manner to reduce the human errors. Still manual check is required to verify the correctness of details whether system has uploaded the exact description mentioned in checks without losing some details due to customer’s error or misinformation.
•Retail tags – RFID for International bar code is best method of input in the case of identifying the information embedded in retail tags. It can be problematic in the case when wrong bar code is attached to the item. But it can be rectified easily by attentiveness of sales person or customer. Still if there is lack of RFID process, then human intervention is possible choice for recording the details.
•Long documents – Automatic uploading process of scanned version of long document is most suitable choice if paper format of long documents is already available. Manual typing becomes essential in the absence of paper version.
Convenience and quality of output are important. Explain what method of output would be best for each of the following situations and explain why:
•Hand held computer– Personal Digital Assistant along with blackberry are leading products in handheld devices which can provide all the basic operations of computer like email, Microsoft office, internet access, multimedia files. It retains all the functionality of regular phone. They resemble in high resolution of larger computer but there is definite gap in size of hard disk. It is sufficient for small operations but ease of navigation in big screen through files makes them better choice for tedious assignment. Portability is obvious advantages in handheld computers in comparison to laptops or desktops.
•Color photograph – Professional quality of high resolution is difficult to match in the case of color photograph. Arrival of niche products in digital cameras is reducing the gap from film cameras. There is user-friendly behavior of these cameras to upload on computers and take the print outs. It provides good options for amateur which is cost-effective also. Multiple copies of any photo are also available at tip of finger.
•Resume – Electronic version of resume provides the accessibility to each stakeholders without going through hassles of mailing process involved in sending the hard copy of the file. It can be easily emailed to everyone without any need of physical transportation. Once the process of selection or need of resume is over, it can be kept in the office file for the sake of record.
•Memorandum – Intranet or internal email system with secured features provides the option of sharing the information without threat of malicious attack of virus from outside agency. The firewall and monitoring system of company protects the information which can be leaked to external sources. Still it is impossible to achieve full proof system because it depends on many factors including sincerity of employees.
•Statistical report – This kind of report can be published using the internal bulletin in the form of PowerPoint presentations, statistical graph in excel sheet or just as plain text on the dash board. The highlights of important statistical achievement create visual impression to emphasize the relevant points. If senior management can take the responsibility of presenting the papers in podium which allows human interaction to understand the process, it will leave reasonable impact. Afterwards, the handouts for presentation can be messaged through mail to concerned persons.
•Company annual report – This is one of the important papers for discussion. Paper format is costly as volume of papers will be high in the case of large documents. Still paper form can be provided to important stakeholders along with messaging electronic version of annual report to each interested persons. Investors and business client will find easy to maintain soft copy of the report to access them for financial analysis whenever they want.
Different types of storage devices are optimal for different situations. Explain what situations are appropriate for the following devices and explain why:
•Hard disk - Hard disk is high capacity storage that is made up of many circular and inflexible platters where data can be stored electronically. Miniature hard disk has greater storage capacities than flash memory but lesser than laptop hard disk. External and removable hard disk is utilized for back up or transferring the file. External hard disk is connected to system unit whereas removable hard disk can be inserted or removed.
•Floppy disk – This has become obsolete after arrival of flash drive and other portable devices with higher data storage capacity. It is useful in the case of small files. It is slow method of storing data. Current products of computer do not create floppy disk drive.
•RAM – RAM stands for random access memory which is used for carrying the task of runtime operations. It stores the data in integrated circuit form in CPU where each data can be accessed randomly without any association with order of data or location. It has second fastest retrieval time of data after cache. Once the task is completed, RAM releases the memory as it is case of volatile memory. Latest series of computer products can provide up to 8 GB of RAM.
•CD ROM - CD-ROM is compact disc read-only memory where contents cannot be deleted or changed. Its capacity is around 650 MB to 1 GB. In recordable CD, you can write the content once but it can’t be erased whereas rewritable CDs allow to record and write multiple times. Arrival of recordable CD has given the option of collecting different set of images, audio and video files at your own choice.
•Tape – Tape is useful for backups of huge volume of data which has slow data storage time. Hence it is advisable to avoid using it in real time. Still it is good choice of storage as back up in the case of crash of hard drive. It has also become obsolete like floppy drive.
•Flash or Jump Drive – Flash Drive which is also known as Jump Drive can be plugged into any USB slot. Its pocket size feature with data storage capacity up to 128 GB starting with 64 MB is setting it as standard device. It is compatible with most of the latest PC versions with occasional cases of incompatibility.
Explain the role of each of the following in determining the speed of a computer:
•RAM - (Random Access Memory) Since RAM is the second fastest retrieval time of data after cache, its best to have the recommended amount of memory. With windows 7 64-bit the minimum required is 2 GB and 32-bit is 1 GB (Microsoft, 2010, p. 1) I personally use 6 GB of RAM with Windows 7 64-bit. There is also speed associated with memory 1066MHz to 2000MHz the faster the better.
•Clock speed - Clock speed is a measure of how quickly a computer completes basic operations. It is measured as a frequency in hertz, and most commonly refers to the speed of the computer's CPU, or Central Processing Unit. A 3.4GHz computer is running 3,400,000,000 cycles per second.
•Data on hard disk – Data on a hard disk is accessed via its interface, IDE, Serial ATA (SATA), and Small Computer Scientific Interface (SCSI), It is a permanent storage component unlike the RAM. Hard Drives speed is measured in three areas oMaximum Transfer Rate – The highest amount of data that can be transferred per second. an ATA100 disk would be 100Mb/s o Spindle Rotation Speed - The faster the rotation speed, the more data can be written per second. oSeek Time - seek time of a hard disk is the average time it takes for the disk to find the data.
•Data on CD ROM - CD-ROM drives are rated with a speed factor relative to music CDs (1× or 1-speed which gives a data transfer rate of 150 KiB/s). Drives today are available at speeds up to 52x.
•Data on floppy disk – floppy disk have fallen to the side with the cost of hard drive became affordable. The floppy drive was never a speed daemon, but allowed quick transfer of files between workstations referred as Sneaker net. References
CRUCIAL. (2010). Computer memory requirements: How much memory do you need?. Retrieved from http://www.crucial.com/support/howmuch.aspx
Microsoft Computer Dictionary 6th Edition CHM Book. (6th Edition ed.). (14:Mar:2009). Retrieved from http://www.ebooksdownloadfree.com/Computer-Hardware/Microsoft-Computer-Dictionary-6th-Edition-BI827.html
Microsoft. (2010). Windows 7 system requirements. Retrieved Sep 9, 2010, from http://windows.microsoft.com/systemrequirements