Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Smartphone: A mobile
phone that can run com-
puter applications and
has Internet access capa-
bility (see Figure 1.5).
Smartphones usually
have a touch-sensitive
screen, and provide voice
calls, text messaging, and
Internet access. Many
have a variety of location-
aware applications, such
as a global positioning
system (GPS) and map-
ping program and a local
business guide.
smartphone A cellular phone that includes com-
puter applications and Internet access capability.
global positioning system (GPS) A device
that determines your current position by communi-
cating with an orbiting satellite and provides maps
and driving directions.
© iStockphoto.com/scanrail
Figure.1 5 A smartphone combines the
capabilities of a cell phone with a small touch-
sensitive tablet screen.
Multi-User Computers
Multi-user computers are designed to serve groups of people, from a
small office to a huge international enterprise. Here are some common
types of multi-user computers:
Server: A computer dedicated to serving and supporting a network,
a group of network users, and/or their information needs. Many
networks employ servers to provide a centrally accessible storage
space for data, and share common devices like printers and scanners.
A small network server may look similar to a desktop PC, but may
have a different operating system, such as Windows Server or
Linux. A large server that manages a wide-ranging network may
look similar to a mainframe. A group of
servers located together in a single room
or facility is called a server farm , or server
cluster. Large Internet service provider (ISP)
companies maintain extensive server farms.
server A computer that is dedicated to perform-
ing network tasks such as managing files, printers,
or email for multiple users.
server farm A group of servers located in the
same physical area.
mainframe A large and powerful computer
capable of serving many users and processing
large amounts of data at once.
Mainframe: A large and powerful com-
puter capable of processing and storing large
amounts of business data. For example, a
mainframe might collect all the sales data
from hundreds of cash registers in a large
department store and make it available to
executives. The modern mainframe unit itself
is a large cabinet, or a series of cabinets,
each about the size of a refrigerator (see
Figure 1.6). A mainframe may be stored in
its own air-conditioned room in a business
or school, and may have multiple employ-
ees monitoring and maintaining it. In earlier
decades, smaller and less expensive multi-
user computers called minicomputers were
employed in many businesses, but mini-
computers are no longer widely used.
Figure.1 6 A mainframe is a powerful business computer system
that can receive and process data from many sources at once.
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