Unit 1 Ch 1 Vocab

Personal or desktop computer

Larger than personal computers. Requires standardization, and specially trained administrators and maintenance technicians. Super-computers and mainframe computers fit in this category.

Laptops, handhelds, smartphones, PDA's

A notebook computer with a screen that lies flat. Order forms may be displayed and filled out using a pen,, as if they were paper forms. The handwriting and boxes checked on a form are automatically converted into text and data. Many also have traditional keyboard and my function as a notebook or laptop computer.

A PC at an organization that is connected to the company's network.

Powerful computers that run special software to serve specific purposes.

Computers in an organization may be connected to form a network that is coordinated by specialized software running on a personal computer or workstation.

A computer that runs specialized software to support Web pages. It may be a personal computer, workstation or mainframe, depending on the capacity needed to meet the demand.

Business sales, accounting, and customer information databases are stored on computers that are more powerful than a typical workstation or network server. These computers vary in capability, depending on the size of the organization and the size of the data files they manage.

Used to communicate directly with file servers. They have no storage and are useless if disconnected form the file server. Used at check out counters in stores. A POS terminal may be a dumb terminal or it can be an appliance that is dedicated to handling sales.

Large computer systems used by organizations to process large amounts of information. Typical uses for mainframe computers include processing insurance claims, evaluating census data, tracking credit card purchases, payroll processing, and customer billing.

Characterized by their ability to evaluate complex interactions quickly. One use of supercomputers is modeling using finite element analysis. For examples, designing airplanes, and examining air flow.

Can evaluate millions of these complex interaction formulas each second to simulate the behavior of an airplane in a reasonable amount of time, whereas a mainframe computer may take weeks to evaluate the same information.

Found at national research laboratories, large research universities, government facilities, and military research facilities.

The fundamental programming that controls the way computers interact with their various parts and with users.

• Windows (Microsoft)
• Mac (Apple)
• Linux (Linux (no particular company and is free)