AIS-Ch.2

Information Technology- serves as a platform upon which other system components rely.

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Hardware of a computer system- typically surround the computer and help it process data.

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• Enable users to enter data into a computer system.
• Ex: mice and keyboards.

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• Enable users to see processed results.
• Ex: monitors and printers

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• Enable users to store data for future reference.
• Ex: hard disk

• Enable users to transmit data over data networks.
• Ex:internal networking cards.

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• The starting point for collecting accounting data in most AISs.
• Ex (Manuel): time cards, packing slips, survey forms, employee application forms, patient intake forms, purchase invoices, sales invoices, cash disbursement vouchers, and travel reimbursement forms
• Ex (Computerized): Airline reservation screens, bank deposit screens, and web-based customer-order forms

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• Point of Sale- device to gather and record pertinent data electronically at that time.
• Ex: UPC
• Input device

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Magnetic ink character recognition- Input device that uses Magnetic-encoded paper.


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Optical Character Recognition- Input device that uses optical rather than magnetic readers to interpret the data found on source documents. Machine and human readable. Ex: scantron

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Personal data assistant- Input device that enable their users to make phone calls as well as maintain such personal data as address books and check registers.

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Central Processing Unit- The computer unit that transcribes data into useful information.

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Random Access Memory- Primary memory used to store data and program instructions temporarily for immediate processing and execution.

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processes data and execute instructions directly from primary memory.

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Dot-Matrix printer are impact printers that employ tiny wires in a print head to strike an inked ribbon and create tiny dots on a print page

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Liquid Crystal Display- Soft-copy output video screen, flat-panel; create video outputs that same way that televisions do.

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Picture elements- Tiny discrete dots arranged in a matrix.

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is primary memory that loses its contents when electrical power is lost.

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• A place to store data on permanent media that maintain their accuracy and integrity yet permit these systems to access and modify information quickly and easily.
• Ex: magnetic disks, cd-roms, dvd disks, and usb flash disks.

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Secondary storage device that consists of one or more spinning platters, each surface of which has an iron oxide coating that can be magnetized to record information.

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Redundant arrays of inexpensive disks- Secondary storage unit that increases storage capacities and guard against disk failures.....stacks of hard disks.


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Compact disk-read only memory- Secondary storage unit that is removable and has a high storage capacity.

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Write-once, read-many-

Digital video disk- plastic disk that uses a laser to encode microscopic pits in its substrate surface. can hold 17g. Adv: 1. huge storage capacity. 2. single, light-weght, reliable, easily-transportable medium.

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is solid state (no moving parts like the hard disk) memory that comes in various forms. i.e. USB, PCMCIA cards (used with laptops), memory sticks used with cameras, memory cards used with video games- particularly useful to accountants.

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allows users to store graphic images in digital formats on secondary storage media. Capture almost any doc electronically. i.e. checks, hand written signature, medical-diagnostic scans, drawings, flowcharts, photos.

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• speed
• Physical Storage
• computer record-retrieval, classification
• CENTRAL- stored for anyone to retrieve

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Electronic document and record management systems- record management system, create and store multiple versions of documents.

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refers to transmitting data to and from different locations. i.e getting info from centralized cpu. ex: Banks transmit deposit and withdrawal info from cpu.

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physical path that data take in data transmissions. e.i. microwaves, radio waves, cables, telephone lines.