A Report on Operating Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

A Report on Operating Systems - Essay Example The 'ENIAC' had the capacity to do 100,000 calculations per second (White, 2005). As the needs increased, many scientific computing needs were met by increasingly sophisticated, special-purpose analog computers during the 20th century, which used a direct physical or electrical model of the problem as a basis for computation. However, these features became more and more uncommon after the introduction digital computer. A succession of steadily more potent and versatile computers were constructed in the 1930s and 1940s, with increasing use of digital electronics (invented by Claude Shannon in 1937) and more versatile programmability (Computer, 2006). Later, Intel released the world's first commercial microprocessor, the 4004 on November 15th, 1971. This is a Fourth generation computer using a microprocessor to locate much of the computer's processing abilities on a single (small) chip. The microprocessor allowed the development of microcomputers, personal computers that were small and cheap enough to be affordable by ordinary people. The first such personal computer was the MITS Altair 8800, released at the end of 1974, but it was followed by computers such as the Apple I & II, Commodore PET and eventually the original IBM PC in 1981. Although processing power and storage capacities have increased beyond all recognition since the 1970s the underlying technology of LSI (large scale integration) or VLSI (very large scale integration) microchips has remained basically the same, so it is widely regarded that most of today's computers still belong to the fourth generation (White, 2005).The demands of today's computer users as well as the modern network have moved beyond that of simple client server connectivity. There is now the availability of a wide variety of end-to-end communication products aimed at specific business functions. These include access points, broadband, cable, content networking, contact centre solutions, data centre networking, network management, optical, routing, security, VPN, storage networking, switching, unified communications, video, voice and wireless (Networking, 2004). Today's computers also have huge speed and capacity for information processing compared to computers of the past, and they have become exponentially more powerful over the years (a phenomenon known as Moore's Law). The original computers were as huge as the size of a big room. Today's smaller computers for individual use, called personal computers, and their portable equivalent, the notebook computer, are ubiquitous information-processing and communication tools and are perhaps what most non-experts think of as "a co mputer". However, the most common form of computer in use today is the embedded computer, small computers used to control another device. Embedded computers control machines from fighter planes to digital cameras (Computer, 2006). Historical developments in operating systemsSoon after the invention of the computer, it was discovered that certain tasks were required in many different programs; an early example was computing some of the standard mathematical functions. For the purposes of efficiency, standard versions of these were collected in libraries and made

Pricing Strategy River Side Cafe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pricing Strategy River Side Cafe - Essay Example This gives River Side Cafe a distinct competitive advantage over its competitors as its unique Mexican style attracts and retains coffee and tea lovers at its premises. Therefore, the premium pricing strategy is the best strategy for River Side Cafe to adopt because it is also a new entrant into the market with the hope of maximizing its revenues especially in the first stages of the cafe’s product life cycle (Smith, 2011). River Side Cafe is a new player in the tea and coffee industry. As such, it has to curve out a name for itself in the beverages service industry in order to attract and retain loyal customers. However, it faces stiff competition from established industry players who already have reputable brand names and command a large share of the market. These include the likes of Tchibo, Nestle, Wal-Mart and Starbucks. These companies have a wide capital outlay to expand and promote their business thereby remaining relevant in the market over a long period. Therefore, River Side Cafe has to establish its own competitive advantages in order to enter this strongly guarded beverages market. Owing to its unique features in brewing and serving coffee and tea, the cafe also incorporates a pricing strategy in order to penetrate the market further (Jensen, 2013). Premium pricing is the best pricing strategy for the cafe to use in entering the beverages business under such competitive markets. This strat egy gives the cafe class, style and prestige as well as promoting its clients’ base through word of mouth references. Being a new kid in the block and charging high prices for their products and services attracts high-end consumers as well as establish a reputable