What is a term used in computing that refers to delay especially when discussing networking and data transfer speeds?

A thin, circular slice of material used to create semiconductor devices. Hundreds of chips may be etched on a single wafer, where they are eventually cut out for individual packaging.

Storage (such as RAM chips) that is wiped clean when power is cut off from a device

Nonvolatile, chip-based storage, often used in mobile phones, cameras, and MP3 players. Sometimes called flash RAM, this is slower than conventional RAM, but holds its charge even when the power goes out.

A type of computing that uses special software to enable several computers to work together on a common problem as if they were a massively parallel supercomputer

Connecting server computers via software and networking so they their resources can be used to collectively solve computing tasks

A form of cloud computing where a firm subscribes to a third-party software and receives a service that is delivered online

Software as a service (SaaS)

A vision where low-cost sensors, processors, and communication are embedded into a wide array of products and our environment, allowing a vast network to collect data, analyze input, and automatically coordinate collective action

A term often used in computing that refers to delay, especially when discussing networking and data transfer speeds. Low-______ systems are faster systems

Semiconductor fabrication facilities; the multi billion dollar plants used to manufacture semiconductors

Fabs (semiconductor fabrication facilities)

A substance such as silicon dioxide used inside most computer chips that is capable of enabling as well as inhibiting the flow of electricity. From a managerial perspective, when someone refers to semiconductors, they are talking about computer chips, and the semiconductor industry is the chip business.

The part of the computer that executes the instructions of a computer program

The fast, chip-based volatile storage in a computing device

Random-access memory (RAM)

Chip performance per dollar doubles every eighteen months

Computers designed with many microprocessors that work together, simultaneously, to solve problems

Microprocessors with two or more (typically lower power) calculating processor cores on the same piece of silicon

Multicore microprocessors

A high-speed glass or plastic-lined networking cable used in telecommunications

A high-speed glass or plastic-lined networking cable used in telecommunications.

Computers that are among the fastest of any in the world at the time of their introduction

Storage that retains data even when powered down (such as flash memory, hard disk, or DVD storage)

The rate at which the demand for a product or service fluctuates with price change. Goods and services that are highly price elastic (e.g., most consumer electronics) see demand spike as prices drop, whereas goods and services that are less price elastic are less responsive to price changes (think heart surgery)

Semiconductor-based devices. Solid state components often suffer fewer failures and require less energy than mechanical counterparts because they have no moving parts. RAM, flash memory, and microprocessors are examples. Hard drives are not.

A massive network of computer servers running software to coordinate their collective use. These provide the infrastructure backbone to SaaS and hardware cloud efforts, as well as many large-scale Internet services

Replacing computing resources - either an organization's or individual's hardware or software - with services provided over the Internet.

The chip-based equivalent of a hard drive

How often does data storage double

How often does networking speed double

1960s
Computing was limited to large, room sized mainframe computers that only governments and big corporations could afford.

Second wave - Moore's Law

1979s
Minicomputers (refrigerator sized computers that were as speedy or speedier than the prior generation of mainframes, yet were affordable for workgroups, factories, and smaller organizations

1980s
PCs, nearly every white collar working in American had a fast and cheap computer on their desk by the end of the decade

1990s
Internet computing; cheap servers and networks made it possible to scatter data around the world at the same time that fast, cheap PCs became mouse-click easy and PC ownership became common in the industrialized world.

Pervasive computing; technology is fast and so inexpensive that it is becoming ubiquitously woven into products

A point in the future where objects will collect and share data and automatically coordinate collective action for radical efficiency improvements.

What three interrelated forces are threatening to slow down Moore's Law's advance?

The supertiny on-off switches in a chip that work collectively to calculate or store things in memory