CH 5 MIS
five waves of computing
1 - Wave I (1960s, room size mainframe computers) 2 - wave II (1970s, refrigerator size minicomputers) 3 - Wave III (1980s personal computers) 4 - Wave IV (1990s internet computing) 5 - Wave V - (Now, Ubiquitous computing)
10. What are the five waves of computing? Give examples of firms and industries impacted by the fifth wave.
1 - Wave I (1960s, room size mainframe computers)- Only huge corporations could access these. 2 - wave II (1970s, refrigerator size minicomputers) These were smaller and more affordable to smaller companies and organizations. 3 - Wave III (1980s personal computers) This allowed for almost every person in any organization or corporation, no matter the size, to have a PC. 4 - Wave IV (1990s internet computing) it was easier to access cheap servers and networks around the world which allowed people to be more connected and allowed most people to have home PCs. 5 - Wave V - (Now, Ubiquitous computing)- Apple Inc., this wave has allowed them to have a broad range of technology products while constantly adding extra storage, processing, and features and dropping prices even lower year by year.
6. Search online to identify the five fastest supercomputers currently in operation. Who sponsors these machines? What are they used for? How many processors do they have?
1. Frontier System run at Oak Ridge- 8.7 m cores 2. Fungaku -Japan 7.6 m cores 3. Lumi - Finland, 4. Leonardo- Italy 5. Summit - IBM, USA, 2.4 M cores
fabs
Semiconductor fabrication facilities; the multibillion dollar plants used to manufacture semiconductors.
solid state electronics
Semiconductor-based devices. Solid state components often suffer fewer failures and require less energy and power than mechanical counterparts because they have no moving parts. RAM, flash memory, and microprocessors are solid state devices. Hard drives are not.
optical fiber line
A high-speed glass or plastic-lined networking cable used in telecommunications.
3. What is a microprocessor? What devices do you or your family own that contain microprocessors (and hence are impacted by Moore's law?)
A microprocessor is the brain of a computing device. It is part of the computer that executes the instructions of a computer program, allowing it to run on a Web browser, word processor, video game, or virus. My family owns iPhone which all contain microprocessors, and it is clear they are affected by Moore's Law as a new iPhone with a better processor comes out pretty much every year.
4. What is a semiconductor? What is the substance from which most semiconductors are made?
A semiconductor is a substance that is used inside of most computer chips that can enable and inhibit the flow of electricity. They are usually made from a silicon dioxide. Printed through microlithography, similar to screen printing a t shirt, layered on the chip.
silicon wafer
A thin, circular slice of material used to create semiconductor devices. Hundreds of chips may be etched on a single wafer, where they are eventually cut out for individual packaging.
grid computing
A type of computing that uses special software to enable several computers to work together on a common problem as if they were a massively parallel supercomputer. firms place special software on their already existing PCs or servers that allows these computers to work together on a common problem. With grid software, usually idle computers can attack portions of a complex task collectively. Grid computing also costs significantly less, as if you have already existing servers and PCs it would only take around 25k instead of millions
14. How did Amazon utilize the steep decline in magnetic storage costs to its advantage?
Amazon utilizes the steep decline in magnetic storage costs to its advantage by using the search in book which allowed book sales to rise. From there it was able to start selling digital books and nook e readers.
9. Give examples of firms that have effectively leveraged the advancement of processing, storage, and networking technology.
Ambient Devices has effectively leveraged the advancement of processing, storage and networking, as it uses the concept of Moore's law and applies them to everyday products such as lamps and umbrellas. They took advantage of new opportunities to create new markets fast, as they can create products that can tell you what the weather is on your umbrella by developing and designing the device and software in just six months. GlowCap from Vitality is also a brand that has successfully harnessed this, as they are creating a smart pill bottle that will flash when you are supposed to take your medicine. This would not be possible without leveraging the advancements of processing and networking and the cheaper costs of tech. Apple is another example, as it leveraged Moore's law and better tech by constantly adding storage and features while reducing the prices on their products like the iPod.
7. What part does corruption play in the recycling and disposal of e-waste?
Awful conditions for workers such as no PPE, breathing in toxins. Awful conditions for environment as companies will dump waste sludge and the carcasses of what is left into nearby fields and streams which can contaminate water and food. Even though some countries are trying to fight this, it is easy for corrupt companies to bribe customs with money in order to slide past the bans.
12. How have cheaper, faster chips impacted the camera industry? Give an example of the leadership shifts that have occurred in this industry.
Chip based cameras have allowed Nokia to become the company that sells more cameras than any other despite Nokia mainly offering mobile phones. This is because you can easily embed these chips into phones or devices instead of having a larger physical camera. Older, former photography giants such as Konica and Pentax have had to exit the business as they cannot keep up due to Moore's Law.
10. Name two companies that have incurred the wrath of environmental advocates. What might these firms have done to avoid such criticism?
Dell has been caught using prison labor from China for its recycling,
3. Many well-meaning individuals thought that recycling was the answer to the e-waste problem. But why hasn't e-waste recycling yielded the results hoped for?
Even though there a lot of well meaning individuals, the companies who actually do the good of these individuals are few and far between. Because the modern value chain, vagaries of intl law, and companies that may not care, it is hard to yield the hoped for results
5. How does flash memory differ from the memory in a PC? Are both solid state?
Flash memory is a solid state electronic while physical hard drives are not, as they having internal moving parts. USB more similar to solid state drive than hard drive. This means that flash memory is a lot less likely to fail and requires a lot less power, and they are also better for portable devices as jostling or moving around won't cause skipping or failing like a hard drive device would.
9. What are the possible consequences should a U.S. firm be deemed "environmentally irresponsible"?
If a company is deemed environmentally irresponsible then they could face serious legal repercussions and it could permanently damage and tarnish their brand.
8. What part might product design and production engineering play in the reduction of the impact of technology waste on the environment?
If companies consciously design their products to eliminate toxic materials as much as possible from the production process, it could help improve e-waste especially if they replace them with safer materials
2. How does grid computing change the economics of supercomputing?
It costs a lot less to have grid computing software and services in comparison to the costs it would take to build and run a supercomputer, as grid computing utilizes the computers and tech that a company or firm already has to focus the collective computing power onto one problem or task. This differs from supercomputing as new processors and cores will need to be bought and built in which can be very expensive.
13. What has been the impact of "faster, cheaper" on Apple's business lines?
It has allowed Apple to have a wider range of products without sacrificing sales or abilities of their devices, and they can continuously add on extra features and apps such as iTunes that help people every day and help Apple dominate industries like music and technology.
8. What is the advantage of using grid computing to simulate an automobile crash test as opposed to actually staging a crash
It helps save a lot of cars from going to the junkyard and also speeds up the process of the cars hitting the market
5. Why is it difficult to recycle e-waste?
It is difficult because it is extremely labor intensive to harvest the e waste effectively.
6. Why is e-waste exported abroad for recycling rather than processed domestically?
It is exported abroad because it can be ten times cheaper than dealing with it at home even though it will be processed in dreadful conditions.
7. Why is Moore's Law important for managers? How does it influence managerial thinking?
It is important as managers will often have to try to predict the future as technology will consistently get cheaper and price elasticity will occur. This means that not only will existing customer buy new products, whole ne firms and markets will too, which could affect your revenue. Additionally, your new tech you bought to make your company more efficient may be obsolete in the next two years, so this could be a factor when looking into investing in new tech
4. As chips grow smaller they generate increasing amounts of heat that needs to be dissipated. Why is keeping systems cool such a challenge? What are the implications for a firm like Yahoo! or Google? For a firm like Apple or Dell?
It is such a challenge, as these elaborate and advanced cooling systems usually use up a lot of power. Because the electrons are packed so tightly, it generates a lot more heat. Many companies have reported that the cost to keep the servers up is more than the servers themselves due to how much power it takes to cool and run these data centers.
1. What is Moore's Law? What does it apply to?
It is the phenomenon of faster cheaper computing that says that the process of chip making enabled more powerful chips to be made at cheaper prices and that chip and processing performance per dollar doubles every eighteen months.
2. Which commercial solutions, described in the section above, are currently being used to counteract the forces mentioned above? How do these solutions work? What are the limitations of each?
Many companies have added fans or cooling systems to their devices, and in data centers, the have implemented elaborate air conditioning and venting systems. These work to ventilate the devices and prevent a meltdown. Some companies have also chosen cheaper locations to have their data centers so that their power costs are a lot less.
multicore microprocessors
Microprocessors with two or more (typically lower power) calculating processor cores on the same piece of silicon. these usually outperform a single speedy chip, while running cooler and generating less power.
2. What sorts of materials might be harvested from e-waste recycling?
Plastics and aluminum, and more valuable metals such as silver, platinum, and copper.
8. What is price elasticity? How does Moore's Law relate to this concept? What's special about falling chip prices compared to price drops for products like clothing or food?
Price elasticity is how sensitive demand is to changes in the price of a product. Moore's Law relates to this concept, as Moore's law says in 18 months tech will get cheaper and better which means that the price elasticity of tech will increase and consumers will want to buy more. It differs from falling prices of items like clothing or food as tech is constantly increasing its abilities and evolving into something better.
11. As Moore's Law advances, technology becomes increasingly accessible to the poor. Give examples of how tech has benefited those who likely would not have been able to afford the technology of a prior generation.
Since Moore's law means that price drops while product abilities increase every 18 months, this means that not only it is it more affordable for less fortunate people, it also means that it does more for the cheaper price. Additionally, the cheaper prices mean that technology is wider spread and easier to access, as in the 80s most people only got PCs through their work, while now most every library has a computer that is free to use and the cost of phones are a lot cheaper.
15. How does Moore's Law impact production and inventory decisions
Since chip based component products have chips that fall rapidly in value, this means that if your product is sitting on the shelves after overproduction, you may lose money do to the product not being as relevant anymore.
6. What kinds of problems might be solved if the promise of quantum computing is achieved? How might individuals and organizations leverage quantum computing? What sorts of challenges could arise from the widespread availability of such powerful computing technology?
Since quantum computing can have qubits which have bits that can be a one or zero at the same time, this means that the storage capacity of a computer would increase exponentially. This could allow companies to recreate models of the human system and test side effects before medicines were ever given to humans, it could predict weather months in advance, and even allow you to see the name of someone if you look at their face. Some challenges that would arise would be the trouble it takes to harness the properties of quantum physics and figure out how to consistently use this level of technology without the laws of physics interfering.
4. What are the characteristics of problems that are most easily solved using the types of parallel computing found in grids and modern day supercomputers? What are the characteristics of the sorts of problems not well suited for this type of computing?
Software must be written to divide smaller tasks among the different chips, computers or multi core processors. This means that for linear problems such as a multi step problem, they are not great.
3. Which businesses are using supercomputing and grid computing? Describe these uses and the advantages they offer their adopting firms. Are they a source of competitive advantage? Why or why not?
Supercomputers- IBM Deep Blue: United Airlines is able to examine 350k flight combos instead of just 3k at a time, supercomputers require a lot of extra pts and processors, can be very expensive but very powerful Grid Computing- Gm and Ford use grid computing to test cars in crashes, Proctor and Gamble use it to redesign potato chip manufacturing steps. Is less expensive if you already have some hardware set up, can help you utilize your computers and other hardware more They are a source of competitive advantage because it allows you to run more information at a faster rate and possibly a lesser cost (grid computing)
Random Access Memory (RAM)
Temporary memory a computer uses to store information while it is processing. It is chip-based memory and is usually thought of as temporary storage that provides fast access for executing computer programs and files. When you launch or load a program, it usually moves from your hard drive to RAM chips, where it can be quickly executed by the processor. RAM is volatile memory, and if a disruption occurs that means all your info will be lost since it is temporary memory.
Volatile memory (RAM)
Temporary storage while program is running - Content is erased when computer is turned off.
Microprocessor
The central processing unit that is generally made from a single integrated circuit. It is the brain of a computing device and the part of the computer that executes the instructions of a computer program.
6. Which of the following are solid state devices: an iPod shuffle, a TiVo DVR, a typical laptop PC?
The iPod shuffle is a solid state device, as it uses flash memory instead of a hard drive.
2. Are other aspects of computing advancing as well? At what rates?
Yes, RAM chips and flash memory will increase in double the storage for the same price in 18 months. Data storage every twelve months, networking over optical fiber line can double every nine months.
3. Will multicore chips run software designed for single-core processors?
Yes, as it still has the same processing power but with less effort. They usually run older software by only using one of the cores
4. What lessons do the challenges of e-waste offer the manager? What issues will your firm need to consider as it consumes or offers products that contain computing components?
Your firm will need to consider the complexities of the modern value chain, vagaries of international law, and nefarious actions of those willing to put profits above principle.
5. What are some of the materials that may replace the silicon that current chips are made of?
a chip could have its aluminum components replaced with copper to run faster, And to replace the silicon, researchers have been looking into indium gallium arsenide, germanium, and bismuth telluride so that the chip can run faster and require less wattage. Another idea was to use chicken feathers or carbon nanotubes. On the other hand, some people are trying to move away from electricity to optical computing, which means that signals are sent via light instead of electricity, which could be faster than regular chips. if lasers can be mass produced in a smaller version. Some people are even experimenting with biological material similar to a DNA storage based device.
massively parallel processing
a form of multiprocessing that speeds processing by linking hundreds or thousands of processors to operate at the same time, or in parallel, with each processor having its own bus, memory, disks, copy of the operating system and applications. the fastest supercomputers are built using hundreds of microprocessors all programmed to work in unison in order to work as one big brain.
supercomputer
a mainframe computer that is one of the most powerful available at a given time. These computers are among the faster of any of the world at the time of their introduction. It used to only be available to governments and high-end research labs, however now, businesses are able to change their algorithms to benefit from them as well. This can allow companies to hold more data all at once and save millions of dollars.
price elasticity
a measure of the sensitivity of demand to changes in price. Tech products are highly price elastic, meaning that consumers will buy more products as they become cheaper.
semiconductor
a substance such as silicon dioxide used inside most computer chips that is capable of enabling as well as inhibiting the flow of electricity.
Stacked Semiconductors
also referred to as three-dimensional semiconductors, a flat chip is sliced into pieces then reconnected vertically to make a "silicon sandwich". These chips are faster and cooler since the electrons travel shorter distances. However, these are tougher to design and manufacture.
1. What is e-waste? What is so dangerous about e-waste?
because tech only has an expected lifetime of only a few years, this means there is a rapid obsolescence of products and creates tons of discarded tech junk known as electronic waste. It is dangerous because the US alone generated over 2.5 m tons of waste and can have toxic products such as cadmium, mercury, lead, and other hazardous materials.
7. What is "Moore's Wall"?
physical limitations will stop the exponential growth of Moore's law and tech will no longer increase in power and decrease in cost at the same rate
1. What three interrelated forces threaten to slow the advancement of Moore's Law?
size, heat, and power- more tightly packed electrons will heat up a chip and possibly melt due to the super small size and huge power.
flash memory
sometimes called "flash ram"; is solid-state memory that can be erased and reprogrammed; gets its name because the microchip is organized so that a section of memory cells are erased in a single action or "flash". It is not as fast as RAM in usual PCs, but this type of memory hold your data even when the power is off which makes it nonvolatile memory. Cameras, MP3s, and USB drives all use this.
nonvolatile memory
storage that retains data even when powered down. A more permanent storage media such as hard disks or flash memory.
1. What is the difference between supercomputing and grid computing? How is each phenomenon empowered by Moore's Law?
supercomputing uses hundreds of microprocessors all at once in one computer, while grid computing is hundreds of computers working to solve one problem. As processors get stronger and cheaper, this will allow supercomputers to utilize more cores to be more powerful. As computers and hardware get cheaper, this will allow for a larger grid and this will help the grid work on problems more efficiently.
Moore's Law
the observation that computing power roughly doubles every eighteen months.