27th
11 -
2011
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comment closed
Kerri Salls
I was slowed down when my computer crashed and I had no data, no address book and not even my passwords to get back online. I didn’t think I was doing anything remarkable by bouncing back to productivity even with this handicap for a week. But from the feedback I’ve had from more than a few people, it seems paralysis would have been the acceptable common option.
Yes, I got slowed down, but nothing critical was lost and no appointments missed. Why? Internal reserves, resources and drive. How do you survive in business today without your computer (or maybe it’s when your cell phone drops in the lake or your Ipod gets lost)?
There were three parts to my personal survival. They are:
A. Resourcefulness — When things don’t go your way, you can have a pity party and choose to be paralyzed. Or you can decide to dig in to your reserves and available resources to propel you forward in spite of obstacles. I start with a simple question: What’s the most important thing that needs to be done now and how do I do it (options)?
It’s a matter of choosing to get the work done and keeping your priorities in order, or using this problem (any problem) as an excuse to procrastinate, or wallow in self-pity, or give up.
B. Intestinal Fortitude — This was my father’s term for the drive, determination, guts, stamina and the like to find a way or make a way when you hit a roadblock. Intestinal fortitude keeps you going because the vision is clear, your passion is unquenchable and you are a winner – and winners never quit.
Of course when a glitch happens, what matters is how you handle it, not deny it. Handling a problem head on, gives you an action plan. Action puts you in control. When you are in control, the fear and panic can’t control you.
If a glitch with your computer is enough to put your whole business at risk, maybe you need a dose of intestinal fortitude to make some hard decisions to reduce that risk in the future, e.g. strategic investments in your infrastructure, etc. Look at the cost of the investment compared to the direct cost or opportunity costs of a week offline (think salaries, sales, customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, product delays, and shipping delays).
C. Planning — In this case, I was indeed lucky. The three days after the disk crash had already been blocked out to work on my three-year vision and budget to get there and the detailed plans for 2006. My schedule was already cleared of appointments, deadlines or correspondence.
As business owners, we all need some reflection time to lift our sights and take a longer view of where we are going, otherwise, it’s possible to short-change yourself and the business.
The silver lining of my system crash was that without my own computer, I couldn’t be tempted to procrastinate or avoid the soul-searching and reflection this process requires. I was able to really concentrate on what I want to do professionally and personally for the next 12-36 months.
27th
11 -
2011
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comment closed
Rack mount computers are essentially computer servers. Computer servers are not the ones you play games on or send emails to your friends with.
Servers perform a small number of specialized operations, some as little as a single operation, but they have the ability to perform it millions of times over and over again, quickly and flawlessly. And when one server is no longer adequate to handle the volume of transactions that a business may require, other, bigger, more powerful servers are needed. When the new servers arrive, they are networked into the system and to save space, are mounted on racks.
When the business with the servers is a steel company, or an automobile manufacturer, industrial rack mount computers are the standard. Stored in rugged steel frames, stackable in standard 19-inch racks, industrial rack mount computers are used for database servers, web servers and networks. Furthermore they are also quite commonly used in laboratory and workshop environments.
Linux is a special operating system that is basically a version of Unix, which has become the foundation of the Internet. When ISP’s like AOL and others came into existence, the amount of servers they needed to accommodate millions of customers eager to surf the web was staggering. In order to make space for that amount of computers, a special rack mounted unit was created to hold the Linux servers. Dubbed the Linux Rack mount Computer system, it became the choice for all of the new Internet businesses all over the world. Soon after, manufacturers of the Linux Rack mount Computer racks where inundated with orders and quickly fell behind schedule.
It took a while for Intel to catch up with it’s rivals, but once they did, the Xeon Rack mount Computers quickly overtook everyone else in the field and became the gold standard among all of the rack mounted computers being installed.
27th
11 -
2011
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comment closed
Computers are now the latest form of communication in the 21st century. It is the most widely-used and reliable gadget nowadays.
A computer is a fast, electronic, and computational device, which operates under the control of instructions that can store, send, and interpret data. The first ones produced somehow resemble the modern day computers and were introduced in the middle of the 20th century particularly in the 1940s.
The concept of various machines is slightly similar to the computers that existed much earlier than the said date. The early model of electronic computers was about the size of a very large room that consumes enough power to about 700 modern personal computers.
On the other hand, our computers are now based on integrated circuits. These are a million times more capable while only occupying a small space. Nowadays, computers may be built small enough to fit inside the timepiece. The battery is enough to make it work. Personal computers are also called “icons of the Information Era” and sometimes mistaken to be a computer although the most common computer today is what we call “the embedded computer.”
As the word “embedded” implies, this type of computer is a simple and very small device used in order to control devices. Furthermore, embedded computers are found in machines such as fighter aircrafts, digital cameras, industrial robots, as well as children’s toys.
Computers are versatile for they have the ability to execute as well as store instructions, which are called programs. It is said that any computer is probably capable in performing the tasks that any other type of computer can do. So it means that any type whether it is a personal or a super computer, are able to do the same computational tasks that are presented or given to them given that they have enough storage capacity.
How Does a Computer Work?
In general, ithas four sections namely the control unit, the ALU or arithmetic and logic unit, and the I/O or the input and output devices. Groups of wires called “busses” interconnect all the parts.
The ALU, control unit as well as the basic input and output devices along with other hardware that are closely linked with the said devices are known as the CPU or the central processing unit. The early versions of CPU were made of various separate components but ever since the 1970s, the CPUs are typically constructed on a sole integrated circuit known as a microprocessor.
The Control Unit is also called a central controller and control system that directs other computer components. Its main process is to decode or interpret one by one the set of instructions in a program. It decodes each set of instruction and turns them into a sequence of controlled signals that functions the computer parts. The control systems of advanced computers may probably change some of the order of the instructions in order to improve its performance.
A main component of all CPUs is the special memory cell or a register called the “program counter”. The so-called program counter keeps track of the location of the memory wherein the next set of instructions is read.
The control system has various functions. One of which is to read the code of the next set of instructions from the indicated cell of the program counter. Another function is that it decodes the numerical codes of the instructions into a series of signals or commands for each system.
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