O'Brien CoverManagement Information Systems 4/e - James A. O'Brien
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Chapter 4: Managerial Overview: Computer Hardware


Answers to Application Exercises
Answers to Application Exercises

1. Input Alternatives

Which method of input would you recommend for the following activities? Explain your choices. Refer to Figure 4.40 to help you.

  1. Entering data from printed questionnaires

  2. Entering data from telephone surveys

  3. Entering data from bank checks

  4. Entering data from merchandise tags

  5. Entering data from engineering drawings computer


2. Output Alternatives

Which method of output would you recommend for the following information products? Explain your choices. Refer to Figure 4.40 to help you.

  1. Visual displays for portable microcomputers

  2. Legal documents

  3. Engineering drawings printer

  4. Financial results from top executives

  5. Responses from telephone transactions


3. Storage Alternatives

Indicate which secondary storage medium you would use for each of the following storage tasks. Select from the choices on the right using Figure 4.32 to help you.

  1. Primary storage

  2. Large capacity permanent storage

  3. Large capacity fast direct access

  4. Large files for occasional processing

  5. Inexpensive portable direct access


4. Computer Hardware Prices

The following table shows some price and capacity figures for four important components of a computer system: the microprocessor primary memory (RAM) secondary hard disk storage and modems. These figures were gathered from old copies of PC magazines and are typical of the configurations and prices available in the years indicated. Although there have been improvements in these components that are not reflected in basic measures of their speed or capacity it is interesting to examine trends in these measurable characteristics.

  1989 1991 1993 1995
Microprocessor        
Speed (Megahertz) 10 25 33 100
Cost $245 $180 $125 $275
Cost/Megahertz $24.50 $7.20 $3.79 $2.75
Random Access Memory        
No. of Megabytes 1 1 4 4
Cost $640 $55 $140 $140
Cost/Megabyte $640.00 $55.00 $35.00 $35.00
Hard Disk Storage        
No. of Megabytes 40 105 250 540
Cost $435 $480 $375 $220
Cost/Megabyte $10.88 $4.57 $1.50 $0.41
Modem        
Bits Per Second 2400 9600 14400 28800
Cost $240 $400 $185 $160
Cost/1000 BPS $100.00 $41.67 $12.85 $5.56


  1. Investigate current configurations and prices for these PC components.

  2. Create a spreadsheet including the preceding figures and the current figures you got. In your spreadsheet calculate a cost per unit of capacity (cost per megahertz of speed for microprocessor units cost per megabytes for RAM and hard disk storage and cost per BPS for modems).

  3. Create a graph highlighting your results. What has been the trend in the prices of these components? Do you expect the trends you found to continue? Why or why not?


5. Computer Systems at ABC Company

You have been asked to assemble cost estimates for upgrades to your department's computer network. This upgrade involves purchasing 12 microcomputers for use as workstations three laser printers and a high-end workstation for use as a database server. The per-unit pricing offered by a local supplier is as follows:

Base Workstation Unit $2 000
RAM Upgrade $425
Hard Drive Upgrade $100
Monitor (15 inch) $275
Monitor (17 inch) $360
Laser Printer $625
Database Server $7 200


After checking the needs of various users you determine that five of the workstations will need to be upgraded to two gigabyte hard drives. Seven of the workstations will require 17-inch monitors while five can be configured with 15-inch monitors.

  1. Create a spreadsheet to analyse the cost of the needed equipment.

  2. Suppose that the vendor offered to give either a 15 percent discount on the database server or a 50 percent discount on the printers. Modify your spreadsheet to show the effects of each discount.

  3. Write a memorandum summarizing your results and including your recommendations for this purchase. Include copies of your spreadsheet analysis.



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