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.
- Entering data from printed questionnaires
Scanner
- Entering data from telephone surveys
Touch-Tone
- Entering data from bank checks
MCR
- Entering data from merchandise tags
Scanner Wand
- Entering data from engineering drawings computer
Graphics tablet or Pen-based 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.
- Visual displays for portable microcomputers
LCD or plasma displays
- Legal documents
Printer
- Engineering drawings printer
Plotter or high quality graphics printer
- Financial results from top executives
Video screen or printer
- Responses from telephone transactions
Voice response
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.
- Primary storage
Semiconductor memory
- Large capacity
permanent storage
Optical disk
- Large capacity
fast direct access
Magnetic hard disk
- Large files for occasional processing
Magnetic tape
- Inexpensive
portable
direct access
Floppy disk
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 |
- Investigate current configurations and prices for these PC components.
See Data/Solution Disk or
Click here to download Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
- 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).
See Data/Solution Disk or
Click here to download Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
- 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?
See Data/Solution Disk or
Click here to download Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
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.
- Create a spreadsheet to analyse the cost of the needed equipment.
See Data/Solution Disk or
Click here to download Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
- 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.
See Data/Solution Disk or
Click here to download Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
- Write a memorandum summarizing your results and including your recommendations for this purchase. Include copies of your spreadsheet analysis.
See Data/Solution Disk or
Click here to download Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
|
