Hardware Systems

Hardware Systems

Many technologies are available to a business looking to create their own digital data. Nevertheless, some things must be well thought-out before buying equipment or software. The deciding factors of what will work best for an organization are dependent on the organization's current software, budget, skill-level of employees, available time, available data, and amount of data in need of digitizing. Because the process of data conversion, collection, and creation is often the costliest component of applying a data storage system, the conclusion cannot be made without careful thought.

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 - Keyboard

* Telephone survey - Keyboard

* Bank checks - Scanning

* Retail tags - Scanning - Bar Codes

* Long documents - Scanning

The best method of entering data is the keypad. While the rate at which information can be entered is based on the skills of the individual entering the data, it is still the most acceptable method.

Scanning is the process of translating photographs into a digital form that can be recognized by a computer. Scanners come in an assortment of configurations. The type that should be considered depends on your scanning needs and budget.

Bar codes are designed for quick and accurate data entry. Bar Codes can be printed effortlessly on many laser printers and can be attached to nearly anything, such as equipment, work orders, and machines, supply parts, and more.

Convenience and quality of output are important. Explain what method of output would be best for each of the following situations and explain why:

* Handheld computer - Wireless data transfer - the whole point of a handheld is mobility, and if you cannot be mobile with data transfer then it is a pocket post-it note.

* Color photograph - photo quality printer along with photo quality paper.

* Resume - Laser printer - High-resolution and high-definition on heavy, quality paper, for a good hands-on presentation. In today's world, a resume should also be easily scan-able and this is a reason to consider when selecting font, paper, and more, for the final output.

* Memorandum - Laser printer - E-mail if it is available to all recipients, otherwise a quick print on draft resolution and however many copies are needed, it can be made with any basic copier.

* Statistical report - Letter quality printer; although actually depends on the audience - softcopy the report if handing the information off to someone who will leverage it for other purposes; power-point or something similar in person if you need to explain the results, or summary document if it is for an executive review.

* Company annual report - High quality Letter printer - professional printing - High-volume printer; should be available both online and in paper copies to all shareholders.

Different types of storage devices are ideal for different situations. Explain what situations are appropriate for the following devices and explain why:

* Hard disk - Magnetic disk is the main form of secondary storage on most computers because it enables large volumes of data to be stored or retrieved rapidly. In addition, data can be accessed randomly or sequentially. Because of these characteristics, many computers use magnetic disks as their sole form of secondary storage. This is ideal for system software hosting and application hosting, because it is "permanent" memory.

* Floppy disk - portable magnetic disks - growing obsolete because of the arrival of CD-RW's and DVD-RW's; suitable for smaller files that need portability but does not need the byte-space taken up by larger files.

* RAM - Random-access [memory] means that data in any part of the primary storage can be retrieved (accessed) in any order (that is, randomly). RAM is the main type of primary storage used with computers and, as you know, it is volatile. RAM is suitable for spooled documents to