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Lesson 1.3: The Categories of Machines
and Other IT Infrastructures or
Gadgets
Figure 1. The five sizes of computers
Supercomputers
Supercomputers are high-capacity computers with thousands of processors that can execute more than several trillion calculations per second. These are the most costly and quickest computers available. Computing professionals use supercomputers for tasks requiring the processing of enormous volumes of data, such as doing census count, forecasting the weather, designing aircraft, modeling molecules, and breaking encryption codes. Lately, they have been employed for business purposes—for instance, sifting demographic marketing information—and creating film animation. Supercomputers are still the most robust computers, but a new generation may be coming that relies on nanotechnology , using molecule-size nanostructures to create tiny machines for holding data or performing tasks. Computers the size of a bottle cap could become available that works ten times faster than today’s fasters supercomputer. Eventually, nanotech could show up in every device and appliance in your life.
Figure 2. NASA researchers and university partners use supercomputers to better understand the coronavirus and how it spreads. (image source: NAS Supercomputing | Twitter)
Mainframe Computers
The only type of computing machine available until the late 1960s, mainframes are water- or air-cooled computers that differ in size from small, to medium, to large, depending on their use. Small mainframes, also called midsize computers ; they used to be called minicomputers , although today it is a seldom- used term. Mainframes are used by large organizations—such as banks, airlines, insurance companies, and colleges—for processing millions of transactions. Often users access a mainframe through a terminal , which has a display screen and a keyboard and can input and output data but cannot process data by itself. Mainframes process billions of instructions per second. Figure 3. A mainframe computer (image source: What Are Some Examples of Mainframe Computers? | Reference.com)
Figure 5. Laptops (left) are more portable devices than desktops (right) (image source: MacBook laptop vs Mac desktop: Buying guide - Macworld UK) A tablet is a mobile gadget, typically with a mobile operating system, a rechargeable battery in a single thin package, and a touchscreen display processing circuitry. Tablets resemble smartphones in some ways and can also be used to take photos, make phone calls, send messages, record videos, and perform tasks that can also be performed by a smartphone. Smartphones , on the other hand, is a mobile phone with highly advanced features—a high- resolution touchscreen display, Wi-Fi connectivity, among others. It is a cellular phone with an integrated computer and other elements not originally associated with telephones, like an operating system, web browsing capability, and the ability to run software applications.
Figure 6. A tablet is bigger than a smartphone in terms of size. (image source: iMore)
Microcontrollers
Microcontrollers, also called embedded computers , are the minute, specialized microprocessors installed in “smart” appliances and automobiles. These microcontrollers enable microwave ovens, for example, to store data about how long to cook your potatoes and at what power setting. Developing a new universe of experimental electronic appliances uses microcontrollers. For example, they are behind single-function products such as digital cameras, MP3, and MP4 players, which develop into hybrid forms such as gadgets that store photos, videos, and music. They also help run tiny web servers embedded in clothing, jewelry, and household appliances such as refrigerators. Also, blood-pressure monitors, airbag sensors, gas and chemical sensors for water and air, and vibrations sensors use microcontrollers.
Figure 8. Some examples of peripheral devices (image source: Design Elements - Computer Peripheral Devices | ConceptDraw on Pinterest) A solid-state drive (SSD) is a solid-state storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies as memory to store data persistently, typically using flash memory. Sometimes called a solid-state device or a solid-state disk, although SSDs lack the physical spinning disks and movable read-write heads used by HDDs. In its purest form, an SSD is a flash memory and has no moving parts. SSD storage is much faster than its HDD equivalent. Flash drives are solid-state devices that connect to the computer via the USB port. It provides a quick and reliable method of storing data externally. It is typically removable, rewritable, and much smaller than an optical disc. An automatic voltage regulator (AVR) is a hardware device used to maintain a constant voltage and power line conditioning to the equipment load under a wide variety of conditions, even when the utility input voltage, frequency, or system load vary widely. An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is a device that supplies battery backup when the electrical power fails to an unacceptable voltage level. Small UPS devices provide power for a few minutes, sufficient to power down the computer in an orderly manner, while larger systems have an adequate battery for several hours.
