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chapter 3 Computer system A computer is a combination of components that perform input, processing, output, storage, and control functions.

Central processing unit The main processing component of a computer system. Cycles per second A measure of computer speed in terms of processor cycles. Information appliance Devices for consumers to access the Internet. Primary Storage unit The memory of a computer. Secondary storage Magnetic disks and tape and optical disks perform this function. Peripherals Input/output and secondary storage devices for a computer system. Online Connected to and controlled by a CPU Off-line Separate from and not controlled by a CPU Binary representation Results from the presence or absence or change in direction of electric current, magnetic fields, or light rays in computer circuits and media. Graphical user interface A common computer interface using a desktop metaphor and icons. Microcomputer Can be a desktop/laptop or handheld computer. Midrange system A computer category between microcomputers and mainframes. Floppy disk A small, portable magnetic disk encased in a thin plastic shell. Hard disk A large-capacity disk typically found in computer systems. Network computer Low-cost microcomputers for use with the Internet and corporate intranets. RAID A redundant arry of inexpensive hard drives. Network terminal A terminal that depends on network servers for its software and processing power. Network server A computer that manages network communications and resources. Supercomputer The most powerful type of computer. Magnetic stripe A magnetic tape technology for credit cards. Nanosecond One-billionth of a second. Gigabytes Roughly 1 billion characters of storage. Pointing devices Includes electronic mice, trackballs, pointing sticks, and touch pads. Minicomputer Early midrange systems used for processing-intensive applications such as scientific research and engineering analysis. Mainframe system The largest of the three main types of computers. MIPS (millions instructions per second) Processor power measured in terms of number of intructions processed. Moore's law Prediction that computer power will double approximately every 18 to 24 months. Speech recognition Promises to be the easier, most natural way to communicate with computers. Optical scanning Capturing data by processing light reflected from images. Processing speed The speed of a computer. Millisecond One one-thousandth of a second. Kilobyte 1,024 bytes. Computer terminal A device with a keyboard and a video display networked to a computer is a typical example. Storage capacity The amount of data a storage device can hold. Workstation computer A personal computer used as a technical workstation. Bit The smallest unit of data storage. Terabyte One trillion bytes. ROM (read-only memory) You cannot erase the contents of these storage circuits. RAM (random-access memory) The memory of most computers consists of these storage circuits.

Volatility The property that determines whether data are lost or retained when power fails. Direct access Each position of storage can be accessed in approximately the same time. Sequential access each position of storage can be accessed according to a predetermined order. Semiconductor memory Microelectronic storage circuits on silicon chips. Magnetic disk uses magnetic spots on metal or plastic disks. Magnetic tape uses magnetic spots on plastic tape. Optical disks Uses a laser to read microscopic points on plastic disks. Microsecond A millionth of a second. Picoseconds A trillionth of a second. Byte A grouping of eight bits that represents on alphabetic or special character. RFID (radio frequency identification) A short-range wireless technology most commonly used to tag, track, and identify objects. Megabyte Around a million bytes; more precisely, 2 to the 20th power. Petabyte A unit of information or computer storage equal to one quadrillion bytes, or 1,024 terabytes. Chapter 2 Competitives forces A business must deal with customers, suppliers, competitors, new entrants, and substitutes. Competitive strategies Cost leadership, differentiation of products, and new product innovation are examples. Raise barriers to entry Using investments in technology to keep firms out of an industry. Lock in customers and suppliers Making it unattractive for a firm's customers or suppliers to switch to its competitors. Create switching costs Strategies designed to increase the time, money, and effort needed for customers or suppliers to change to a firm's competitors. Strategic information systems Information systems that reengineer business processes or promote business innovation are examples. Customer value This strategic focus recognizes that quality, rather than price, has become the primary determinant in customers choosing a product or service. Value chain Highlights how strategic information systems can be applied to a firm's business processes and support activities for competitive advantange. Leverage investment in IT A business finding strategic uses for the computing and telecommunications capabilities it has developed to run its operations. Business process reengineering Information technology helping a business make radical improvements in business processes. Agile company A business can prosper in rapidly changing makets while offering its customers individualized solutions to their needs. Virtual company A network of business partners formed to take advantage of rapidly changing market opportunities. Knowledge-creating company Learning organizations that focus on creating disseminating, and managing business knowledge. Knowledge management system Information systems that manage the creation and dissemination of organizational knowledge. Interenterprise information systems Using the internet and exranets to link a company's information systems to those of its customers and suppliers.

Chapter 1 Knowlege workers People who spend most of their workday creating, using, and distributing information. Information system model Computer hardware and software, networks, data management, and other technologies. Roles of IS in business Information systems support an organization's business processes, operations, decision making, and strategies for competitive advantage. Support of business processes Using IT to reengineer business processes to support e-business operations. Suppport of business decision making Using Web-based decision support systems to support sales managers. Support of strategies for competitive advantage Using information technology for e-commerce to gain a strategic advantage over competitors. Information system A system that uses people, hardware, software, and network resources to collect, transform, and disseminate information within an organization. Computer-based information system An information system that uses computers and their hardware and software. IS specialists Anyone who uses an information system or the information it produces. E-businesss Applications Applications using the Internet, corporate intranets, and interorganizational extranets for e-business operations, e-commerce, and enterprise collaboration. E-commerce The buying, selling, marketing, and servicing of products over the Internet and other networks. Enterprise collaboration systems Groupware tools to support collaboration among networked teams. Type of information systems A group of interrelated components with a clearly defined boundary working together toward the attainment of a common goal. Feedback Data about a system's performance. Control Making adjustments to a system's components so that it operates properly. Data Facts or observations Information Data that have been placed into a meaningful context for an end user. Information system activities Converting data into information is a type of this kind of activity. Information system model An information system uses people, hardware, software, network, and data resources to perform input, processing, output, storage, and control activities that transform data resources into information products. Hardware resources Machines and media. Machines Computers, disk drives, video monitors, and printers are examples. Media Magnetic data, optical disks, and paper forms are examples. Software resources Programs and procedures. Programs A set of instructions for a computer. Procedures A set of instructions for people. People resources End users and information systems professionals. Input Using the keyboard of a computer to enter data. Processing Computing loan payments. Output Printing a letter you wrote using a computer. Storage Saving a copy of the letter on a magnetic disk. Control Having a sales receipt as proof of a purchase.

Type of information system Information systems can be classified into operations, management, and other categories. Operations support systems Includes transaction processing, process control, and end-user collaboration systems. Management support systems Includes management information, decision support, and executive information systems. Cross-functional information system Information systems that perform transaction processing and provide information to managers across the boundaries of functional business areas. Intranet Internet-like networks and Web sites inside a company. Extranet Interorganizational Internet-like networks among trading partners. E-business Using the Internet, intranets, and extranets to empower internal business operations, ecommerce, and enterprise collaboration. Function business systems Information systems that focus on operational and managerial applications in support of basic business functions such as accounting or marketing. Data resources Data should be viewed the same way as any organizational resource that must be managed effectively to benefit all stakeholders in an organization. Developing successful information system solutions A major challenge for business managers and professionals today in solving business problems. Information products Examples include messages, reports forms, and graphic images, which may be provided by video display, audio responses, paper productions, and multimedia. Network resources These include communications media and network infrastructure. IS specialists People who develop and operate information systems. Data or information processing The execution of a set of activities in order to convert data into information. Process control systems Those systems implemented in order to direct physical conversion processes, such as oil refinement. Management information systems The second stage of information systems evolution, focused on providing managerial users with information relevant to decision making in the form of predefined reports. Transaction processing systems A type of operation support systems geared toward the recording and processing of data captured as a result of business transactions. Enterprise collaboration systems A type of operation support systems that enhance team and workgroup communication and productivity.

Chapter 4 Application service provider (ASP) Application service provider are companies that own, operate, and maintain application software and the computer system resources (servers, system software, networks, and IT personnel) required to offer the use of the application software for a fee as a service over the Internet. Application software Programs that specify the information processing activities required for completion of specific tasks of computers users. Examples are electronic spreadsheet and word processing programs or inventory or payroll programs. Assembler language A programming language that utilizes symbols to represent operation codes and storage locations. CASE tools Computer-aid software engineering, an integrated single application support tool that is used to debug and analyze programs. Cloud computing A form of computing in which software and, in some cases, virtualized hardware resources are provided as a service over the Internet. COTS software Commercial off-the-shelf, software that is developed with the intension of selling the in multiple copies and usually for a profit. In this case, the organization that writes the software is not the intended target audience for its use. Custom software Software applcations that are developed within an organization for use by that organization. In other words, the organization that writes the program code is also the organization that uses the final software application. Desktop publishing (DTP) The use of microcomputers, laser printers, and page makeup software to produce a variety or printed materials that were formerly produced only by professional printers. E-mail Mail that is used to communicate with one another by sending and receiving electronic messages and file attachments via the Internet of an organization's intranet or extranets. Fourth-generation language (4GL) Programming languages that are easier to use than high-level languages such as BASIC, COBOL, or FORTRAN. They are also known as nonprocedural, natural, or very high-level languages. Function-specific application software applications packages that are designed to support specific needs of the end users in business and other fields. General-purpose applicaiton programs Programs that perform common information processing jobs for end users. For example, word processing, spreadsheet, database management, and graphics program. Groupware Software to support and enhance the communication, coordination, and collaboration among networked teams and workgroups, including software tools for electronic communications, electronic conferencing, and cooperative work management. High-level language A programming language that utilizes macro instructions and statements that closely resemble human language or mathematical notation to desribe the problem to be solved or the procedure to be used. Also, called a compiler language. HTML Hypertext Markup Language, a popular page description language for creating hypertext and hypermedia documents for World Wide Web and intranet Web sites. Instant messaging (IM), an e-mail/computer-conferencing hybrid technology that has become a standard method of electronic messaging for millions Internet user worldwide. Integrated package Software that combines the ability to do several general-purpose applications (such as word processing, electronic spreadsheet, and graphics) into one program. Java An object-oriented programming language designed for programming real-time, interactive, Web-based applications i the form of applets for use on clients and servers on the Internet, intranets, and extranets.

Language translator A program that converts the programming language instructions in a computer program into machine language code. Major type include assemblers, compilers, and interpreters. Machine language A programming language in which instructions are expressed in the binary code of the computer. Middleware Software that helps diverse software programs and networked computer systems work together, thus promoting their interoperability. Multitasking The concurrent use of the same computer to accomplish several deifferent information processing task. Each task may require the use of a different program or the concurrent use of the same copy of a program by several users. Natural language A programming language that is very close to human language. Also called very highlevel language. Object-oriented language (OOP), an object-oriented programming language used to develop programs that create and use objects to perform information processing tasks. Operating system A basic subsystem of the business firm that constitutes its input, processing, and output components. Also called a physical system. Personal information manager (PLM), a software package that helps end users store, organize, and retrieve text and numerical data in the form of notes, lists, memos, and a variety of other forms. Presentation graphics software Software that uses computer-generated graphics to enhance the information presented in reports and other types of presentations. Programming language A language used to develop the instructions in computer programs. Software suites A combination of individual software packages that share a common graphical user interface and are designed for easy transfer of data between applications. Spreadsheet package Electronic spreadsheet that are used by business for analysis, planning, and modeling, such as Lotus 1-2-3, Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice Calc, and Corel QuattroPro. System software Programs that control and support operations of a computer system. System software includes a variety of programs, such as operating systems, database management systems, communications control programs, service and utility programs, and programming language translators. User interface That part of an operating system or other program that allows users to communicate with it to load programs, access files, and accomplish other computing tasks. Utilities Utility program is a standard set of routines that assists in the operation of a computer system by performing some frequently required process such as copying, sorting, or merging. Virtual memory The use of secondary storage devices as an extension of the primary storage of the computer, thus giving the appearance fo a larger main memory than actually exists. Web browser A software package that provides the user interface for accesssing Internet, intranet, and extranet Web sites. Browsers are becoming multifunction universal clients for sending and receiving e-mail, downloading files, accessing Java applets, participating in discussion groups, developing Web pages, and other internet, intranet, and extranet applications. Web service A collection of Web and object-oriented technologies for linking Web-based applications running on different hardware, software, database, or network platform. For example, Web services could link key business functions within the applications a business shares with its customers, suppliers, and business partners. Word processing software Software that is allows the automation of the transformation of ideas and information into a readable form of communication. It involves the use of communications in the form of documents. XML (Extensible Markup Language), a Web document content description language that describes the content of Web pages by applying hidden identifying tags or contextual labels to the data in Web documents. By categorizing and classifying Web data this way, XML makes Web content easier to identify, search, analyze, and selectively exchange between computers.

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