the basic terminology of computer hardware technology

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T hink back to your first year of nursing school and remember how confusing the "language" of health care seemed. Nurses and physicians used terms such as ventilator and infusion pump without a second thought, but the words were not familiar to us until we learned their meanings. As computer systems become more a part of the ED setting, we again have another language to learn, the language of information systems. This article is intended to provide the computer novice with basic information and terminology regarding computer hardware. PC terminology The basics The basic personal computer (PC) configuration today consists of the monitor, the keyboard, the mouse, and the computer itself. The computer case is the upright box (tower) or horizontal box (desktop) that houses the CPU (central processing unit), which is the brains of the computer, the floppy disk drives, perhaps a CD-ROM player, the power supply, and so on. The CPU is described by two means: the model and the speed. IBM-compatible models include 386, 486, Pentium, and Pentium-Pro. Speed is designated by Hz (hertz) such as 90 MHz or 120 MHz. The MHz speed refers to the speed with which the computer will process information-- the higher the number, the faster the data processing capability. However, processing speed can be influ- enced by other factors such as the model and amount of memory. Cheryl Parker is Director of Educational Services, Superior Consultant Company, Inc., Southfield, Michigan, and president of the Washington State ENA. She is a nursing informatics and ED specialist. For reprints, write Cheryl Parker, RN,C, MSN, CEN, Superior Con- sultant Company, Inc., 4000 Town Center, Suite 1100, Southfield, MI 48075. J Ernerg Nuts 1997;23:351-3. Copyright {9 1997 by the Emergency Nurses Association. 0099-1767/97 $5.00 + 0 18/62/82379 RAM/ROM RAM and ROM are two commonly heard terms in ref- erence to PC hardware. RAM is random access mem- ory and ROM is read-only memory~ ROM is, from the user's viewpoint, inaccessible and permanent. Data and instructions stored in ROM are not lost when the computer is powered down. RAM is important because it is the temporary memory that holds the instructions and data for the software currently being used every time the com- puter is in use. If the software you wish to use calls for 8MB (megabytes) of RAM and you~ computer only has 4MB, you cannot use this program. It is important when purchasing new software to look at the mini- mum amount of RAM needed to run the program to determine whether your computer can handle the software. Also, if you open too many programs at one time, thereby using up all the available memory, an error message will be displayed, your computer will operate very slowly, or it will "crash" altogether. The most important thing to remember about RAM is that when the computer is turned off, either on purpose or by accident, everything in RAM is lost. This is what happens if you are working on a word processing document and a power failure turns off your computer. If you had saved your document to the hard drive (permanent storage area) when power was interrupted, only the information you typed since you last saved your document will be lost. Components Hard drive • This is where information is recorded and where your programs reside when you are not using them. • Like closet space--no matter how much you have, you're always running out of room on your hard drive. • One megabyte (1 million bytes) = one book of 250 pages single-spaced, whereas one gigabyte (1 bil- lion bytes) = 1000 books of 250 pages single- spaced. August 1997 351

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Page 1: The basic terminology of computer hardware technology

T hink back to your first year of nu r s ing school and r emember how confus ing the "language" of

health care seemed. Nurses and phys ic ians u sed terms such as venti lator and infusion p u m p wi thou t a

second thought , bu t the words were not familiar to us until we learned their mean ings .

As compute r sys tems b e c o m e more a part of the ED set t ing, we aga in have another l anguage to learn, the l anguage of information systems. This article is i n t ended to provide the compute r novice wi th bas ic informat ion a n d te rminology r ega rd ing compu te r

hardware.

PC terminology The basics The bas i c pe r sona l compu te r (PC) conf igura t ion today consis ts of the monitor, the keyboard, the mouse, and the compute r itself. The computer case is the upr ight box (tower) or horizontal box (desktop) that houses the CPU (central p rocess ing unit), wh i c h is the bra ins of the computer, the floppy disk drives, perhaps a CD-ROM player, the power supply, and so on. The CPU is descr ibed by two means : the model and the speed. IBM-compatible models inc lude 386, 486, Pent ium, and Pent ium-Pro.

Speed is de s igna t ed by Hz (hertz) such as 90 MHz or 120 MHz. The MHz speed refers to the speed with wh ich the compute r will process i n f o r m a t i o n - - the higher the number , the faster the data p rocess ing capability. However, p rocess ing speed can be influ- enced by other factors such as the model and a m o u n t of memory.

Cheryl Parker is Director of Educational Services, Superior Consultant Company, Inc., Southfield, Michigan, and president of the Washington State ENA. She is a nursing informatics and ED specialist. For reprints, write Cheryl Parker, RN,C, MSN, CEN, Superior Con- sultant Company, Inc., 4000 Town Center, Suite 1100, Southfield, MI 48075. J Ernerg Nuts 1997;23:351-3. Copyright {9 1997 by the Emergency Nurses Association. 0099-1767/97 $5.00 + 0 18/62/82379

RAM/ROM R A M and R O M are two commonly heard terms in ref-

e rence to PC hardware. RAM is r andom access m e m - ory and ROM is read-only memory~ ROM is, from the user ' s viewpoint , inaccess ib le and pe rmanen t . Data and ins t ruc t ions stored in ROM are not lost w h e n the compute r is powered down.

RAM is impor tan t b e c a u s e it is the temporary memory that holds the ins t ruc t ions and data for the software currently be i ng u s e d every t ime the com- puter is in use. If the software you wish to use calls for 8MB (megabytes) of RAM and you~ compute r only

has 4MB, you canno t use this program. It is impor tan t w h e n pu rchas ing n e w software to look at the mini-

m u m a m o u n t of RAM n e e d e d to run the program to de te rmine whe ther your compute r can handle the software. Also, if you open too m a n y programs at one time, thereby u s i ng up all the available memory, an error m e s s a g e will be displayed, your compute r will operate very slowly, or it will "crash" altogether.

The mos t impor tan t t h ing to r emember about RAM is tha t w h e n the compute r is tu rned off, either on purpose or by accident , every th ing in RAM is lost. This is wha t h a p p e n s if you are working on a word process ing d o c u m e n t and a power failure tu rns off your computer . If you had saved your d o c u m e n t to the hard drive (pe rmanen t s torage area) w h e n power was interrupted, only the informat ion you typed s ince you last saved your d o c u m e n t will be lost.

Components Hard drive • This is where informat ion is recorded and where

your programs reside w h e n you are not u s i ng them. • Like closet s p a c e - - n o mat te r how m u c h you have,

you ' re always r u n n i n g out of room on your hard drive.

• One m e g a b y t e (1 million bytes) = one book of 250 pages s ingle-spaced, whereas one g igabyte (1 bil- lion bytes) = 1000 books of 250 pages single- spaced.

August 1997 351

Page 2: The basic terminology of computer hardware technology

JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING/Parker

Floppy drives • "Floppies" are r e m o v a b l e disks t ha t are u s e d to

s tore da ta . D e p e n d i n g on the t y p e of disk, e a c h f loppy c a n hold up to 1.44 MB of data .

O n e m e g a b y t e (1 mi l l ion b y t e s ) = o n e b o o k of 250 p a g e s s i n g l e - s p a c e d , w h e r e a s o n e g i g a b y t e (1 bil l ion b y t e s ) = 1000 b o o k s of 250 p a g e s s i n g l e - s p a c e d .

Input devices • T h e s e inc lude the k e y b o a r d and var ious t y p e s of

"pointer" dev i ce s such as a mouse , t rackball , or gl ide pad . The major a d v a n t a g e of t he t rackbal l or gl ide p a d is t ha t t h e y do not n e e d the coun te r s p a c e to b e m o v e d a round on a p a d the w a y a m o u s e does . However , if phys i ca l s p a c e is no t an issue, t hen pe r sona l p re fe rence is the d e c i d i n g factor, a l though s o m e peop le wi th long f ingernai ls or oily sk in m a y have a more difficult t ime w i th a gl ide pad .

Monitor • The mon i to r ' s reso lu t ion is e x p r e s s e d in pixels,

w h i c h is t he n u m b e r of dots tha t m a k e up the image . The more dots , t he be t t e r resolut ion.

• VGA (Video Graph ic s Array) 640 x 480 dp i • SVGA (Super VGA) 800 x 600 dp i • UVGA (Ultra VGA)/XVGA 1024 x 768 dp i • The g r a p h i c s ca rd con f igu ra t ion cont ro ls h o w

m a n y colors can b e d i sp layed , from 16 to 16 mill ion colors. Larger moni tors , such as_ 17_,~fh~h and 21- inch models , can b e u s e d to r ep l ace w~i te boa rds for p a t i e n t t racking .

Printers • L a s e r . A laser b e a m electr ical ly cha rge s a pr in t

d rum a n d the toner (dry ink) s t icks to t h e s e electr i - cally c h a r g e d areas . Paper and toner are h e a t e d to b o n d the toner to t he paper . T h e s e pr in te rs a re qu ie t a n d can hand l e la rge volumes, b u t the num- ber of p a g e s p r i n t ed per m i n u t e is h ighly d e p e n - den t on the model . Color p r in t ing is avai lable b u t very expens ive .

• I n k j e t . A n ink je t pr in ter sp rays l iquid ink onto paper . Color ink je t p r in te r s are avai lable for very

r ea sonab le pr ices , w h i c h m a k e s t h e m an exce l len t cho i ce for office pr inters . M a n a g e r s can d i sp lay g r a p h s and cha r t s in color, w h i c h m a k e s an excel- lent i m p a c t on an aud ience . T h e s e p r in te r s a re usu- ally s lower t h a n laser pr inters , e spec ia l ly w h e n p r in t ing in color.

• D o t m a t r i x . A dot mat r ix pr in te r is an i m p a c t p r in te r in w h i c h the pr in t h e a d ac tua l ly s t r ikes the paper . This t y p e of pr in ter can pr in t on m u l t i p a g e forms. Dot mat r ix pr in te rs a re c h e a p and las t a long t ime, bu t t hey are very noisy!

Modem • A m o d e m prov ides c o m m u n i c a t i o n capab i l i t i e s

b e t w e e n two c o m p u t e r s u s i n g the t e l e p h o n e lines. • M o d e m s can be u s e d to c o n t a c t Vendor Help Desk

staff, ga the r informat ion from t h e In ternet , and c o m m u n i c a t e w i th o thers by E-mai l (e lectronic mail).

• M o d e m s p e e d is m e a s u r e d in bi ts pe r s e c o n d (bps), w h i c h is commonly referred to as t he baud rate.

• Baud ra te is t he s p e e d at w h i c h d a t a is t r ansmi t - ted, for example , 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 14400, and 28800 baud .

• C o m m u n i c a t i o n s p e e d is d e t e r m i n e d b y bo th com- puters , for example : a 4800 b a u d m o d e m c o m m u - n i c a t i n g wi th a 28800 b a u d m o d e m = 4800 b a u d t r a n smi s s ion speed .

• C o m m o n s p e e d s t o d a y for u s e w i t h s t a n d a r d p h o n e l ines are 28800 a n d 33600 bps .

E a c h c o m p a c t d i sk c a n ho ld 650 m e g a b y t e s of d a t a an ent i re e n c y c l o p e d i a on a s i n g l e CD. M a n y t ra in ing p r o g r a m s for h e a l t h care are a v a i l a b l e on CD-ROM, as w e l l as r e s o u r c e s s u c h a s M e d l i n e a n d CINAHL.

CD-ROM • S t ands for C o m p a c t D i s k - R e a d Only M e m o r y • E a c h c o m p a c t d i sk can hold 650 m e g a b y t e s of

d a t a - - a n ent i re e n c y c l o p e d i a on a s ingle CD. • M a n y t ra in ing p r o g r a m s for hea l th ca re are avail-

ab le on CD-ROM, as well as r e sou rces such as Med l ine and CINAHL.

3 6 2 Volume 23, Number 4

Page 3: The basic terminology of computer hardware technology

Parker/JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING

Scanner • Available as fiat-bed and handhe ld scanners • Used to s c a n wri t ten documents , photos, or any

th in object into a format tha t can be used by the computer.

• Can be u sed to scan d o c u m e n t a t i o n from other facilities into a format usable to the computer.

• A s c a n n e d image can be saved as a graphic (pic- ture) that c a n n o t be edited.

• A second way to save s c a n n e d documen t s is to use software called OCR (optical character recognit ion) software tha t looks at the "pictures" of each typed character a n d t ranslates it into a text d o c u m e n t that can be loaded into a word processor. When this OCR process is complete, the s c a n n e d docu- m e n t is saved as a normal word-processed docu- m e n t that c an be edi ted just as if you typed it originally.

Conclusion There are excellent resources for novices on the topic of bas ic computers in bookstores, for example, the "For Dummies" Series by IDG Books and PC Novice m a g a z i n e (to order PC Novice, call [800] 472-4100). Learn ing any n e w l anguage takes t ime a nd effort, bu t as compute r technology b e g i n s to touch almost every part of our lives, it is t ime a nd effort well spent .

Contributions to this column may he sent to Marsha Zimmerman, RN, MA, 1414 Ashland Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104; (612) 34 7-8 796 (E-mail address.. [email protected]) or Vicky Bradley, RN, MS, 4017 Palomar Blvd., Lexington, KY 40513; phone (606) 257-2350 (E-mail address.. vmbradle%taonode.mvs.hosp.uky.edu).

ENA Special Interest Group~ Our Way of Meeting Your Needs

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would like more information about ENA's Special In teres t Group in your area of inter- est, please check the appropriate box below and re turn this form to:

Emergency Nurses Assoc ia t ion Professional Services 216 Higgins Rd. Park Ridge, IL 60068

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August 1997 353