Chapter 8

1. Chapter 8 Computer Industry, History, Products, and Careers

2. What came before the computer? • Manual calculators assist in numeric calculations but require the human operator to know the processes • An abacus is an example of a manual calculator that was used by the Chinese in 1200.

3. Napier’s bones are used to perform multiplication and division using algorithms

4. The slide rule which operates on Napier’s logarithms was a manual tool used through the 60s by scientists and engineers

5. Precursors to the Calculator • Machines allowed people to enter numbers and pull a lever to calculate the math • Schickard’s calculator in 1623 used interlocking gears similar to an odometer • Blaise Pascal created the Pascaline in 1642 that could add, subtract, multiply, and divide • Leibniz calculator was introduced in 1673 • In 1820 deColamr’s Arithrometer became the first mass produced calculator

6. The beginning of computers • In 1834 Babbage designed the analytical machine after he was unable to design his difference machine due to limitations in technology • Babbage’s Analytical machine is credited with the ideas of memory, programmable processor, output devices, and user-definable input • Used punch cards for storing programs and data

7. More early computers • Hollerith tabulating machine was invented to help count the 1890 census in the US • Punched cards had areas to indicate fields such as “nationality” • Counting the census went from a task taking over 8 years to count to a task that only required 6 months to count and two years to complete statistical calculations • Hollerith incorporated his calculating machine and in 1924 changed the company’s name to International Business Machines (IBM)

8. The Prototypes • Prototypes are experimental devices that need more work but have many aspects of what the final product will be • Atanasoff-Berry computer (ABC) was a was presented by an Iowa professor and graduate student in 1942 using vacuum tubes and incorporated the idea of the binary number system • German Konrad Zuse created a prototype for the computer called the Z3 but it never became popular because Hitler didn’t see any advantage in computers

9. More Prototypes… • IBM strung together a lot of its tabulating machines to create a large manual computer called Harvard Mark I but it was very different from modern computers • COLOSSUS was a computer used in 1943 by the British to break Enigma codes of the German army • ENIAC was completed at the end of WWII and used by the US to compute trajectory tables for the Army

10. Commercially available computers • UNIVAC is considered by most to be the first commercially successful computer • Cost approximately $930,000 and UNIVAC was installed in 46 locations between 1951 and 1958 • 14.5 feet long and 7.5 feet high and 9 feet wide • Could read data at 7200 characters per second • Had RAM capacity of 12KB

11. Stages of Modern Computers • First generation computers • Operate on vacuum tubes • Consume a lot of electricity • Vacuum tubes numbered in the tens of thousands per machine • Vacuum tubes were generally replaced at least once a year since they had short lives • Programs were custom built and programmers had to write entire programs in 1s and 0s

12. Second Generation Computers • Used transistors instead of vacuum tubes • Transistors regulate electricity flow and are smaller and, cheaper, less power hungry, and reliable than vacuum tubes • Rudimentary operating systems came into existence • Introduction of first high-level programming languages such as COBOL and FORTRAN

13. Third Generation Computers • Based on integrated circuits developed by Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor • Allows for the packaging of the equivalent of thousands of vacuum tubes or transistors into one miniature chip • The RCA Spectra and very popular IBM 360 were the first computers to use integrated circuits in 1965 • Digital Equipment corporation introduced the first mini-computer that was significantly smaller and could run multiple programs for multiple users

14. Fourth Generation Computer • Introduction of the microprocessor in 1971 • Intel’s 4004 was the size of a corn flake but matched the processing power of the ENIAC with its 18,000 vacuum tubes • Key component of today’s personal computers

15. Personal Computer History • Dominated by hobbyists and many could be bought as kits in the 1970s such as the MITS Altair • In 1977 Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer Inc and released a kit with a system board containing 4KB of RAM • In 1978 the preassembled Apple II had color graphics, expansion slots, a disk drive, 1.07 Mhz processor and 16KB of RAM. • Provided first commercial software package called VisiCalc(spreadsheet)

16. More on Personal Computers • IBM entered the fray with the IBM PC, the first time the term “personal computer” was used • The PC had 4.77 MHz processor, 16KB of RAM and 160KB floppy drives • Soon followed by the PC XT that had RAM upgradeable to 640KB and had a 10MB hard drive.

17. Growing Competition Between IBM and Apple • IBM PCs were made with off the self products and many “clones” appeared that could run the same programs as IBM brand computers • IBM computers used DOS as the operating system that had recently been introduced by Bill Gates • Many considered DOS too hard for most people to use and Apple introduced the Apple Lissa in 1983 with the first GUI, priced out of most people’s range at $10,000

18. The Wars continue to this day • In 1984, Apple released the Macintosh at $2,495 with a GUI • Two camps were formed: DOS/IBM vs. Macintosh • IBM’s architecture was open and any people programmed for the DOS environment • Apple kept their system proprietary • As a result, by the mid-1990s IBM compatible machines comprised more than 90% of the personal computers • Personal computers began to become very popular in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s as more useful software became available and the first people began to use the Internet for the first time.

19. Players in the IT Industry • IT or information technology field includes companies that manufacture and design hardware, software, and IT services • Chipmakers such as Intel and AMD • Equipment Manufacturers such as HP • Software publishers such as Microsoft • Service companies such as AOL • Retailers such as CompUSA • Some companies fit into multiple categories • Dot.coms generally don’t fit here unless their business deals with one of the above

20. What is Silcon Valley? • An area south of San Francisco • Many early IT pioneer companies were located here and attracted other IT companies to the area • Many major IT companies have headquarters located there

21. How about outsourcing and offshoring? • Two terms that deal with the idea of a company getting someone else to do their IT work • Outsourcing is using components or labor from other sources • Most companies outsource something ITish…either software or hardware • Offshoring is relocating business operations to other countries to lower costs • India, Malaysia, Thailand and Mexico all have representative offices from major US IT companies

22. Economics of IT • Worldwide IT consumes $800 billion annually • Biggest producers are US, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and China • The dot.com bubble occurred in the late 90’s due to too much investment in unstable online businesses and bad management from new online entrepreneurs • IT still continues to be strong industry due to globalization of business and increases in population

23. QUIZ • Define • Hollerith Tabulating Machine • UNIVAC • First Generation Computer • Second Generation Computer • Third Generation Computer • Fourth Generation Computer • Visicalc • Offshoring

24. How software and hardware come to be • Development schedule in IT is not cyclical so new developments are released year round • A hardware product’s life cycle includes: • Product development • Product Announcement • Introduction • Maintenance • Retirement • Vaporware is software that is announced but never produced • MSRP or manufacturer’s suggested retail price will decline during the maintenance stage as demand lessens and discounts result in the street price

25. Software’s lifecycle • Software follows a similar life cycle • Before release, it undergoes at least two rounds of testing • Alpha testing takes place in house and fixes known problems or bugs • Beta testing takes place outside the company with another firm or volunteer testers • Unlike hardware, new software releases mean the old products can no longer be purchased from the software company

26. Market shares in the IT industry • A market share is represented by a company’s share or percentage of the market “pie” • In PC OS, Microsoft takes 80% of the market, leaving 20% for Apple and some Linux vendors • In hardware, Dell has 16% of the market followed closely by HP

27. PC Hardware Companies • As mentioned before, PC hardware is competitive and companies are often divided into tiers: • First tier-established companies generally with higher prices, believed to have better quality, more financial resources, and better stability • Second tier-newer companies, somewhat lower prices, quality approaching that of 1st tier, minimize cost internally, and have smaller or outsourced support • Third tier-new companies and appear much less expensive than others. Low cost could result from low-quality or low overhead but it is difficult to know. Do not have substantial financial stability and are more likely to go out of business than other tiers

28. Where to buy computers… • There are many different marketing channels for computers • Distribution Centers-generally sell parts and systems to sell to retail stores • Retail stores-places such as Best Buy and CompUSA • Mail order-places that offer lower prices but little to no support for telephone and mail ordered systems e.g.Microwarehouse • VAR or Value added reseller-companies that buy systems and then add value by configuring for specific uses or specific businesses • Direct-buy from manufacturer online or via phone such as Dell and IBM

29. And how the government is involved… • There is not a specific government agency that oversees the IT industry • It is affected by FCC and FTC regulations and other broad based agencies • Congress passes many laws that affect IT industry • IT industry does not want further regulation and has set up bodies to self-regulate so government intervention is not necessary

30. Careers in the IT industry • A computer professional is described as “any person whose primary occupation involves the design, configuration, analysis, development, modification, testing, or security of computer hardware or software”.

31. People in the Information Systems Department • CIO-Chief Information Officer • Systems Analysts • Programmers • Security Specialists • Database Adminsitrators • Network Specialist • Computer Operator • Technical Support Specialist • Website Designer

32. Professionals outside the IS Office • Technical Writer • Computer Salesperson • Quality Assurance Specialist • Computer Engineer • Manufacturing Technician

33. Who is in the IT industry currently • Younger work force than many other industries with 34% age 25-34 • More men than women • Minorities are represented in IT mainly by Asian countries • African American IT workers are growing slowly in numbers • Hispanics are the most underrepresented group in the workforce even though this is the fastest growing population segment

34. I wanna be a computer professional when I grow up… • Job market is on the mend after dot.com bubble burst • Flexibility with different skills is key • Education, most require minimum of college degree, a very few require a Master’s degree • Certifications (generally after a course of study and 1 or more tests) of general knowledge, software applications, and other areas such as networking, DB admin, and security can also help get jobs

35. Perks of the IT industry • Salaries are competitive with average salaries in the south averaging in the 50-80K range • Many companies have employee-friendly workplaces • Some part time and contract work (temporary workers paid by the job) is available although most people work 40+ hours a week • Many are moving to telecommuting which allows working from home via the company network and internet • Generally a safe industry when attention is paid to …

36. Ergonomics • The study of work and work environments • The science of designing the work to fit the worker, not making the worker’s body physically fit the job

37. Quiz • ______is an area south of San Francisco where many IT companies are headquartered • _______is moving operations to other countries where labor and operating costs are less expensive • ______is software that is announced but never produced • ______ stands for Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price • ______is a second round of testing that occurs outside software publisher’s company • _____tier corporations are established and generally have higher prices than other tiers • ______ is the study of work and work environments usually to maximize safety and comfort for workers

38. Job Hunting Tips and Technology • Post your resume online to show that you know how to create web pages as well as use technology for common tasks • Create a web portfolio that allows you to showcase your work to prospective employers • When sending your resume via email, copy and paste into the body instead of attaching so you don’t have to worry about file formats and in case employer is cautious of viruses or do

39. Using Online Job Databases • Include any buzzwords pertinent to your field • Use descriptive adjectives such as “experienced”, “enthusiastic”, etc. • Contact Career Services for a review of your resume and a list of places you may wish to submit it • Use single columns so search engines won’t be fooled

40. Job Listings and Job Banks • Many classifieds are now online • Tarleton’s Career Services has an online job center • Large databases such as monster.com hold job postings for all types of jobs • Other areas such as professional organizations may have job listings limited to your field • Job search agents takes down your info and goes out and searches many job banks for jobs that fit your criteria, usually notifying you of found matches via email • Metasearch tools also allow you to search multiple sites with one query

41. Head Hunters and Employemnt Agencies • Head hunters are professional talent scouts for corporations that place people in companies. • Their services are usually paid for by the company seeking talent • Employment agencies help find positions, many times temporary, that can lead to permanent employment. • Agencies may charge fees to the employee at the time a position is found or there may be up front fees

42. Choosing from the many possibilities…. • To find out about a company’s corporate culture, check out their website or articles such as Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Places to Work” • Finding information about your new hometown can also be accomplished by checking out the Chamber of Commerce site for the city you are moving to or by using sites such as www.homefair.com for information on the cost of moving, the cost of living, and quality of life

43. Quiz • What is a head hunter? • How is a metasearch tool different from a job search agent? • What should you do to send your resume to prospective employers using email? • What is the difference between a head hunter and an employment agency?