Prerequisite: Exercise 1
Direction: Use a word processor (Microsoft Word) to answer the questions in the exercise.
Question 1. Choosing Microprocessors
The following processors are made by Intel:
A. Mobile Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor with Hyper-Threading Technology
Processor speed: 3.2GHz
Low power consumption
Level 2 cache: 512KB
System bus: 800 MHz
B. Mobile Intel Pentium® 4 Processor-M
Processor speed: 2.8GHz
Level 2 512KB
System bus: 533 MHz
C. Intel Celeron®
Processor speed: 2.8 GHz
Level 2 128KB
System bus: up to 400 MHz
You may find the following resources useful:
  • Intel Notebook Processors
  • The CPU Scorecard
a. List the processors described above by their price range (from the cheapest to the most expensive).
Intel Celeron® Processor < Mobile Intel Pentium® 4 Processor-M < Mobile Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor with Hyper-Threading Technology
b. List the processors described above by their performance (from the best to the worst).
Mobile Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor with Hyper-Threading Technology> Mobile Intel Pentium® 4 Processor-M> Intel Celeron®
c. Which of the above processors would be the fastest when used for multi-media production and multi-tasking (running 10 or more applications at the same time)?
Mobile Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor with Hyper-Threading Technology .
Question 2. Computer Purchase
Let us assume that you are purchasing a new computer for a specific usage. You need to choose a computer from various available configurations.
Listed below are four different usage cases of a computer (a-d). For each usage case, identify components of the computer configuration that are most important to consider. Explain your answers.
Components to be considered include (but are not limited to):
  • Monitor size/resolution
  • Graphics card/video card
  • Storage devices (for example, DVD-ROM)
  • Memory (RAM, cache, and hard disk)
  • Disk controller interfaces (ATA, EIDE)
For example, if a computer were to be used for viewing movies, a DVD-ROM drive is needed since movies are available as CDs and now increasingly as DVDs. A large monitor (about 19”) that supports high resolutions and a video card will also be necessary to enjoy the movie.
a. Simultaneously running a number of programs
A good CPU and a big RAM is needed. Because a good CPU can make you computer run more fast so that you can run a number of programs simultaneously and also a good CPU can deal with a lot of data at the same time. So you need a good CPU. A big RAM can help the CPU work faster, so it’s also necessary. However caches are also needed.
b. Running a speed-critical application
The most in portent component is CPU, also a big RAM, good Disk controller interfaces, a good Graphics card and video card and caches is also needed. With the help of theirs, you can run a speed-critical application more smoothly.
c. Storing and retrieving huge volumes of data
In order to storing and retrieving huge volumes of data, a large hard disk is necessary. However a Disk controller interfaces is also important, it can make a high speed of storing and retrieving huge of data. And a big RAM is also needed, it can make a high speed of storing and retrieving huge of data too.
d. Purchasing a basic configuration, to be upgraded later as needed
Question 3. Laptop Computer Selection
You are a new graduate student enrolling in a Masters in Information Technology program. The department requires you to have a computer with the following requirements:
  • 512 MB of RAM
  • 20 GB hard drive
  • CD-ROM drive
  • Wireless connection
  • Ethernet network card
  • Windows XP Professional version
Your school has wireless connection, and Ethernet jacks. However, some classes are three hours long, and your AC adapter may not be long enough to reach an outlet. You also would be carrying this computer around from class to class.
The most you can spend is US$1200.
Indicate the range of values you desire for each of the following criteria:
a. Weight
b. Screen size
c. Number of USB ports
d. Number of Firewire ports
e. Need CD-RW?
f. Need DVD-ROM?
g. Need DVD-RW?
h. Manufacturer preferences?
i. Search the Internet for two suitable computers meeting the above requirements and your budget constraint. Submit screenshots of the Web pages detailing the computer configuration and price.

j. Record your search results in a MS Excel spreadsheet. Fill column A with the following category labels:
1. Manufacturer
2. Processor
3. Memory (maximum upgrade capacity)
4. Screen size
5. Weight
6. Graphics card
7. USB
8. Firewire
9. CD-ROM
10. DVD-ROM
11. Communications (e.g. wireless, Ethernet)
12. Battery life
13. Price
14. Available Rebate
Save and submit your Excel file.
k. Make your final purchase decision and justify your decision.
Question 4. File Compression
In this section, you will use a compression algorithm to compress a message. Then you will use a compression application to determine the properties of compression.
  1. How does dictionary-based compression work?
Dictionary-based compression replaces common sequences of characters with a single codeword, or symbol, which points to a dictionary of the original characters or to the original occurrence of the word.
Use dictionary-based compression to compress the message below:
sea shells, sea horses, and seals are in the sea.
b. How many bytes does the message above contain (each character is 1 byte including spaces)?
49bytes.
c. Create a compression dictionary and calculate its size in bytes.
Dictionary: #sea
4 bytes.
d. What is the compressed message?
#shells, #horse, and #ls are in the#.
e. How many bytes did the entire compression use?
37bytes.
f. Is dictionary-based compression a lossy compression? Explain.
No. the dictionary-based compression is a lossless compression, because it can reconstitute all of the original data by the dictionary.
Copy and paste the entire content of this exercise into Notepad and save it as compress0.txt
Compress this file using WinZip or any compression application and name it compress1.zip. If you do not have WinZip application installed on your computer, refer to Appendix B. Downloading WinZip Appendix for directions to download the application.
g. What is the size of the file before and after compression? What is the compression ratio of compress1.zip to the original file?
Before compression, the file named "compress0.txt" is 7,147 bytes.
After compression, the file named "compress1.zip" is 3,062 bytes.
Compression ratio of compress1.zip is 42.84%.
Compress compress1.zip and name it compress2.zip.
h. What is the compression ratio of compress2.zip to compress1.zip? Explain what is happening. (Hint: think of information that needs to be stored for a compression.)
The compression ratio of compress2.zip to compress1.zip is 105.05%. The compress2.zip is 3186 bytes. It is bigger than compress1.zip which is 3062 bytes.
Because after the first compression, the file has become very small. There are only a little potential to compress. But the dates of the file information itself have been larger than the bytes which are compressed. So the second expression is bigger than the first one.
i. Is this a lossy or lossless compression? What do you think would happen if you kept on compressing the file successively?
It is a lossy compression. The file may become bigger and bigger. So I think after several times lossy compression the file may be damaged.
j. Is lossy compression appropriate for compressing images? Is it appropriate for hard disk backups? Provide explanations for both parts.
Your grade will be based upon the following
Questions
1. Choosing Microprocessors (6%)
2. Computer Purchase (24%)
3. Laptop Computer Selection (40%)
4. File Compression (30%)
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