Exam 10: Hardware and Software Basics

What is a computer designed to meet the computing needs of several people simultaneously in a small to medium-size business environment?

___________ system software controls the application software and manages how the hardware devices work together.

What refers to a device's ability to function with or without power?

A desktop computer sits on,next to,or under a user's desk and is too large to carry around.The computer box is where the CPU,RAM,and storage devices are held with a monitor on top,or a vertical system box (called a tower)usually placed on the floor within a work area.

Describe the eight categories of computers by size.

What software helps save information if a computer crashes?

Personal ____________ assistant is a small handheld computer that performs simple tasks such as taking notes,scheduling appointments,and maintaining an address book and a calendar.The PDA screen is touch-sensitive,allowing a user to write directly on the screen,capturing what is written.

A ________________ is the fastest,most powerful,and most expensive type of computer.Organizations such as NASA that are heavily involved in research and number crunching employ supercomputers because of the speed with which they can process information.Other large,customer-oriented businesses such as General Motors and AT&T employ supercomputers just to handle customer information and transaction processing.

The _____________ processing unit (CPU)(or microprocessor )is the actual hardware that interprets and executes the program (software)instructions and coordinates how all the other hardware devices work together.

What is a small unit of ultra-fast memory that is used to store recently accessed or frequently accessed data so that the CPU does not have to retrieve this data from slower memory circuits such as RAM?

What uses programs such as Window Washer which erases file histories,browser cookies,cache contents,and other crumbs that applications and Windows leave on a hard drive?

What performs all arithmetic operations (for example,addition and subtraction)and all logic operations?

What is software for data recovery and relieves the burden of reinstalling applications if a hard drive crashes or becomes irretrievably corrupted?

____________ storage is the computer's main memory,which consists of the random access memory (RAM),cache memory,and read-only memory (ROM)that is directly accessible to the CPU.

Application software also supports a variety of useful features,one of which is multitasking.

A _______________ computer is designed to meet the computing needs of hundreds of people in a large business environment.Mainframe computers are a step up in size,power,capability,and cost from minicomputers.

What removes any software that employs a user's Internet connection in the background without the user's knowledge or explicit permission?

What interprets software instructions and literally tells the other hardware devices what to do,based on the software instructions?

What is an input device designed for special applications for use by people with different types of special needs?

What is the actual hardware that interprets and executes the program (software)instructions and coordinates how all the other hardware devices work together?