April is a great month. It really is Spring – flowers – open windows – bright sun. And, even in Florida, it precedes hot and humid and living with air conditioning. Someone was telling me about their proposed trip to Disney, and I realized that sounded like fun. We locals avoid the attractions unless conditions are perfect, which means not too hot and not too crowded. April qualifies!
The Web CSTA (Computers: Systems, Terms and Acronyms) class is early this month, and it is filled. There's still room in UITJ (Understanding IT Jobs) on April 5th, and remember you can attend UITJ either before or after CSTA. CSTA gives you the technical knowledge and UITJ covers the different IT jobs so you can work with resumes and/or requirements. They're designed to go together for recruiters and account managers – those of you who need to understand both the technology and the jobs.
Here's the schedule. Or you can view the complete Schedule on our website.
CSTA Web sessions:
May 2,3
May 30, 31
June 27, 28
CSTA classroom sessions:
May 8 - DC area
May 23 - Atlanta area
June 5 - Chicago area
UITJ (Understanding IT Jobs) Web sessions:
April 5
May 31
TR Web session:
May 16
Keep in touch . . .
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Hardware Advances
I think we're all used to a feeling of dismay when we need a new computer. We know when we start looking, there will be new options that we probably don't understand and don't have a clue as to whether we need them or not. A quote of "you have been able to buy twice the computing power with your dollar every 18 months since the 1950s," tells us how much and how often the computers change – and get better! And it's not just the computers, there have been great advances in storage devices.
Computers
Computers have changed so much and so fast, that people often ask if improvements will continue. Computers change in two areas: the processing speed increases, and/or memory gets larger. Computers get faster with dual-core, or multi-core processors, which add additional processors. There is a limitation to simply increasing the power of a single processor. Putting more transistors into a single processor increases heat, and by dividing work between two microprocessors, a chip can run faster than a single-microprocessor chip without generating excessive heat. Dual-core processors are now common, and quad-core (4 processors) processors were released from Intel late in 2006, and will be released from AMD in 2007. Multi-core processors with processors in double digits are already included in special systems such as gaming machines where graphics, animation, and fast response are a basic requirement.
Most of us are aware that memory is one of the biggest limitations in processing. A computer's memory must hold all programs and all data during execution. Advances in memory are important. It doesn't do much good to speed up processing if retrieving information from memory creates a significant slow-down. Memory chips are classified as SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) and DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). SRAM is fast, but doesn't hold as much data as DRAM, so it has been the dominant technology. IBM has, however, been able to speed up the DRAM to the point where it's nearly as fast as SRAM, and the result is a type of memory known as embedded DRAM, or eDRAM, that helps boost the performance of multi-core processors. This technology will be included in servers by 2008.
MRAM (Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory) is also waiting in the wings. It's used for high speed memory that uses magnetic charges rather than electrical charges. This allows a single memory solution to replace multiple memory options within one chip thus creating faster (and more cost–effective) memory. MRAM is a nonvolatile memory technology that protects data in the event of power loss and does not require periodic refreshing. While improvements to the existing technology have kept MRAM from general use, many people believe it will become the common standard for computer memory.
So, yes, computers are still improving with faster processing and more memory.
Another device that is exciting is the fuel cell, a replacement for regular batteries for notebook computers. Fuel cells allow the computer to operate for 40 hours without attention. They do this by taking in hydrogen and oxygen and turn them into electricity. They do require a refill of fuel such as hydrogen gas or liquid methanol in order to keep operating, but this is expected to be minimal. Fuel cell prototypes have been built, but commercial products are not expected before 2010.
Storage
Everyone is handling more and more data. Companies now have terabytes (trillions of bytes) of data they maintain. So, we need to increase both the speeds and sizes of disk storage. Some of the technologies that are being developed:
• holographic storage records data throughout the entire depth of the medium rather than just on the surface as in traditional data storage. Lasers are used to record a million bits of data with a single flash of light. The technology combines high storage densities with fast transfer rates and can use different storage media, and products can range from handheld devices for consumers to storage products for the enterprise. 2GB (Gigabyes – billions of bytes) of data could be stored on a postage stamp, 20 GB on a credit card, or 300 GB on a disk. The main vendors working on this technology are Optware and InPhase.
• optical disks are storage devices that are read and written by laser. They provide greater storage capacities than magnetic disks, and can contain up to 27GB on a single-sided 12-centimeter disc. Blue-laser-based optical disk technology uses the shorter wavelength of blue light and capacities of 100GB are expected.
• phase-change memory is technology that could replace hard disk drives on PCs. A prototype already runs 500 times faster than flash memory and uses half as much power to write data to a memory cell. The initial use is to store songs, pictures and other data on iPods and digital cameras and commercial use is planned for use in 2015. IBM is heading a group of vendors working on this.
Bigger and faster disks are inevitable. This will bring new challenges to IT. Security immediately comes to mind. If we can store 300GB of data on a single disk, we can store, i.e., our complete customer database on a disk or two….
IT keeps evolving.
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1. How many mobile phones were purchased last year?
2. What's the difference between alphaWorks and developerWorks?
3. What's the latest news on FoxPro?
4. J2EE no longer exists. What???
5. Which of the following does not belong?
a. RHCE
b. RHEL
c. SLED
d. SLES
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Time for the 17th Edition! |
This is always a great time. We're waiting expectantly for the 17th Edition of Computers: Systems, Terms and Acronyms to come back from the printer. For those of you who have been with us for a long time, once again you can refer to the "white book." The cover of this edition is basically white, which did remind us of the first few books before we went to formal printing. We really like the cover, but of course it's the insides that are important!
The coverage of data changed the most, with updates to BI (Business Intelligence) and data integrations. These changes are closely associated with the changes to ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and BPM (Business Process Modeling) systems. According to many experts, data is the #1 concern in any IT related function. Companies are saving so much data, and have so many more requirements about how they save and access data (SOX, HIPAA, etc.), that both data management and the applications must constantly be updated to comply.
The glossary has also been updated to include new and newly popular terms. We continue to include the definitions of systems, terms, and acronyms, and then add the hottest products of the current time. We update all definitions with each edition of the book so you have the latest definitions at your fingertips.
We cannot include all definitions so don't forget TechRef®, the online knowledgebase that is the source of the book. If your job requires an overall knowledge of IT and an awareness of the products used in the IT area, the book provides that knowledge. If, however, you need detailed knowledge of multiple areas of IT, you should add TechRef® to your resources.
Remember – both TechRef® and Computers: Systems, Terms and Acronyms were written for business people. They don't go into excruciating detail about how technology works. They cover what IT does – in business terms.
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EA (Enterprise Architecture)
Enterprise architecture is an overall approach and methodology that connects the main components of IT and how they work together. The word "enterprise" is important. Everything in EA is designed to work with the entire company, to link the business mission, strategy, and processes of an organization to its IT strategy. It's a growing technology, and the government is one of its biggest proponents. You're really likely to run across its terms and concepts if you work with the government, if not, you're still likely to run across the ideas, titles, and software.
applications, or solutions architecture Defining the major applications needed to manage data and support business functions. Building technical specifications from the business functions. This includes integrating systems with in-house and purchased software.
architectural framework An architectural framework includes a methodology for designing an information system by using building blocks. It defines a common vocabulary and describes the building blocks and states how they fit together. It includes a set of development tools, recommended standards, and a list of compliant products that can be used to implement the building blocks. Architectural frameworks are used in EA (Enterprise Architecture) and are created by tool vendors, the government, and IT practitioners.
BPM (Business Process Modeling) Modeling the actual business processes that the enterprise performs independently of any system or implementation. Expresses each business process and its inputs and outputs.
business architecture Creating business models concentrating on business areas and processes. Defining business processes, information flows, and information needed for the business functions.
data, or information architecture Ensuring that data is organized properly and supports the application systems for enterprise data and multiple systems. Developing and maintaining standards/compliance issues, managing and maintaining user interfaces to data, creating conceptual, logical and physical data models, and building data dictionaries, database schemas.
development architecture Development can follow any number of architectures, e.g., EA (Enterprise Architecture) is based on the uses of programs and data according to business goals, open-source architecture stresses frequent releases of small improvements to software, SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) builds a standards-based collection of services (programs) that communicate with each other. Architectures work with frameworks, methodologies, standards, rules, and development platforms. These technologies can be used in more than one architecture, and an architecture can include multiples of these tools.
infrastructure architecture Building and maintaining the physical (hardware) infrastructure of the company. Working with resource capacity, network capacity, server clustering, administration, and security.
technology architecture Modeling the technology environment for the enterprise showing actual hardware and systems software at the nodes and lines and their systems software including operating systems and middleware.
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1. Over 1 billion mobile phones shipped in 2006 according to IDC, 295 million during the last three months of the year. It will be interesting to see how sales of the iPhone will affect these numbers in 2007.
2. Both are IBM community sites, and both are accessed by developers, but they have different uses. alphaWorks developers download "alpha" code (first run code) and participate in the development of emerging technologies. Developer feedback is then incorporated in the technologies. developerWorks is a community site for anyone developing software for IBM environments and contains how-to articles, tutorials, member-created podcasts, blogs, and wikis, and a repository for developers to share user-generated content such as code, plug-ins, and software programs.
3. Not good for FoxPro loyalists. Microsoft has announced they will no longer upgrade the software, and will drop support completely in 2015.
4. Don't worry, it's another name change. As of 2006, Sun has changed the name of J2EE to Java EE x, with x representing the last digit in the release number. The current release is 1.5, hence Java EE 5. Although the official name has been changed, people will be using "J2EE" for a long time.
5. a) RHCE does not belong. That's a certification program for Red Hat Certified Engineers. The other three are all Linux distributions.
a. RHCE Red Hat Certified Engineer
b. RHEL Red Hat Enterprise Linux
c. SLED SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop
d. SLES SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
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