INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT 1-ANSWER MGT 300 JUN-OCT 2012

Price and Performance Trends for Computer Hardware a) Create a spreadsheet based on the figures below and include a new row for each component showing the price per unit of capacity (cost per megahertz of speed for microprocessors and cost per megabyte of storage for RAM and hard disk devices). See Data Solutions Disk for a sample spreadsheet [Chapter 03 - Solutions Ex 2.xls] b) Create a set of graphs highlighting your results and illustrating trends in price per unit of performance (speed) or capacity. See Data Solutions Disk for a sample spreadsheet [Chapter 03 - Solutions Ex 2.xls] c) Write a short paper discussing the trends you found. How long do you expect these trends to continue? Why? The trends for all three elements, CPU, RAM, and hard drives all lead to continued advances. This trend is loosely described by "Moore's Law." We can attribute this trend to new technologies, increasing production volumes, and to consumer demand that reflects a growing market of increasingly sophisticated computer users. Better hardware enables more user-friendly software that in turn broadens the overall computer consumer market and increases demand. This demand enables larger and more efficient production runs and provides funds for additional research and development. We can expect this downward price trend to end only after the consumer marketing has completed its expansion and when technology reaches physical limits. Engineers estimate that we will reach physical limits by around 2010. Similar estimates made in the past have been revised upwards over time. d) Prepare a summary presentation outlining the points from your paper (above). Be sure to link your Excel charts into the PowerPoint presentation so they automatically update when any data changes in the spreadsheet. See Data Solutions Disk for a sample presentation [Chapter 03 - Solutions Ex 2.ppt]. Encourage students to review PowerPoint's Link or embed an Excel chart help file for specific instructions regarding linking charts into presentations.