University of Baltimore
Merrick School of Business
University of Baltimore
Merrick School of Business
| office | BC 473 | v-mail | 837-5272 |
| abento@ubmail.ubalt.edu | URL | http://worf.ubalt.edu/~abento | |
The latest estimates set the number of PCs installed in business organizations beyond 60 million units, and still growing at a rate of 20% a year. PCs and PC related expenditures are estimated to be more than 65% of all expenditures with IT in business organizations, and the total IT expenditure is believed to represent 40% of all capital expenditures made by firms in the USA, in the last ten years. Therefore, there is a pressing need to provide high quality PC systems support for end-users. The aim of this course is to provide an advanced foundation in information technology (IT) capable of enabling students to support PC users in selecting, acquiring, customizing, optimizing, maintaining and upgrading their PC hardware and system software.
Excellence in PC systems support cannot be achieved in only one course. Students coming to this course should have basic knowledge of computer concepts and applications, including programming, data base management systems, telecommunications, operating systems, etc. This course will provide state-of-the-art knowledge on PC systems support, and will develop analytical skills, as a foundation for life-long learning on PC systems support, through the use of diagnostic and troubleshooting tools and techniques.
Learning teamwork is an integral part of the course. No IT professional works all by him/ herself. On the contrary, she/he works constantly interfacing with users and other IT professionals. In this course, all assignments, but the final exam, are to be done in groups of 3 to 4 students. The ability to communicate verbally and orally is also a must for an IT professional. The groups will write reports and make presentations on topics not covered by the lectures, and on their experiential/practical projects.
Understanding professional and ethical standards in PC systems support is a key component of the course. It is estimated that the software industry loses more than twenty billion dollars a year because of software "piracy" -- unauthorized copies of software. Since the Fall of 1992, violating copyright law is a felony (criminal justice case), not simply a civil justice case. An IT professional, specially working in PC systems support, should know and guarantee that business organizations, end-users and her/himself follow copyright laws, and stand for the highest levels of professionalism in the use of IT.
Specifically the course aims to enable each student to have the ability to:
The PCs studied in this course are based on Intel 8086/8, 80286, 80386, 80486 and Pentium
processors. The operating systems studied in this course are Microsoft DOS and Windows 3.1
and 95. This is neither an endorsement or recommendation of these products. Other processors
(Cyrix, AMD, MIPS, PowerPC, etc) and operating systems (UNIX, Windows NT, etc) will also
be discussed in this course.
Class handouts will be available on the Web at the following address of the course syllabus:
Note: To print properly this syllabus set top and bottom margins to 1" in your browser.
| Mini-projects (5) | 25% |
| Projects (2) | 30% |
| Special topic presentations | 15% |
| Final Exam | 30% |
The projects are to be done in group (12 small groups will be formed) and a written report is to be
delivered in my e-mail box in the corresponding due date (see outline). Your grade on the
projects will depend upon the content and structure of the written documentation, and the degree
of professionalism demonstrated in its presentation to the class. Four groups will present their
findings each time (each group will present twice).
mp1. PC diagnostic: use a software diagnostic package (included in one of the textbooks) to identify characteristics and potential problems of three PCs with different processors, e.g. 8080, 80286, 80486, 80586, Pentium.
p1. PC assembly: work with volunteers of the Columbia-Baltimore User Group to assemble working PCs, to be donated to schools with a population of "at-risk" students, from discarded PCs and parts.
mp2. Configuring DOS: create autoexec.bat and config.sys instructions that allow different uses of a PC hardware and software resources, including dual booting.
mp3. Memory optimization: use a software utility like MemMaker , QEMM386, etc, to optimize conventional, extended and expanded memory for a 386, or better, PC system, in a Windows 3.1 environment.
mp4. Tailoring Windows: setup Windows 95 (if not done), and tailor it for the needs of a user, including setting options in control panel, creating shortcuts, setting up applications, compressing drives, etc.
p2. PC for Windows: select a computer configuration to satisfy the needs and the budget of a user. At least three mail order companies configurations, including price quotations, should be included in the selection. A benchmark of the selected (or equivalent) configuration should also be part of the documentation (the free Wintune benchmark should be used for this end).
mp5.TCP/IP connection to the Web: peruse the various ISP provider's pages, study Windows 95 DUN (Dial up networking) and prepare or adapt instructions for setting TCP/IP connection to
a specific ISP provider. This mini-project will not be presented in class.
The topic presentations are also to be done in group (6 large groups). Each group will prepare only one presentation on a selected topic (see outline), including a forty-five minutes presentation and a written report, with no less than five pages, and no more than twenty pages. Each presentation should be based on at least three survey articles published in computer journals or magazines. A copy of the report and at least a reference link for one of the articles should be placed on a Web page, created by each group, at least in the day before the presentation. The arrangements in regard to selection of topic should be finalized by February 11. The presentations will take place in the days indicated in the outline from 7:00 to 7:45 PM, followed by a 15-minute period of discussion and questions.
The presentations and the report should have three sections, clearly identified, covering the
following: (1) topic definition: relevance and overview; (2) topic development: main concepts,
summary of the findings of the survey articles, tables, performance indicators and benchmark
results, etc; and (3) conclusion: what you learned and your recommendations.
The final exam will be an open book, in class, multiple choice literacy exam covering all topics discussed in the course, including the special topics presented by your peers.
Required:
On reserve:
Note: chapters of the books are referenced on the Outline using the symbols at the end of the reference lines above. For example chapter 5 in Halliday is shown as (5), chapter 9 in Ethington is shown as /9/.
Web references:
| OUTLINE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Topic | Activity | |
| 02/04 | Introduction | group formation | |
| 02/11 | Motherboard, CPU and memory (1-5) | presentation format and tools | |
| 02/18 | Disk drives: types, backup, cache (11-13) | hardware exercise and tools | |
| 02/25 | Video display, cards, memory (14) |  PC diagnostic (mp1) | |
| 03/04 | I/O ports, mouse, printer, modem (15-20) |  laptops, notebooks (pr) | |
| 03/11 | Multimedia, cd-rom, sound boards (21-23) | RISC machines (pr) | |
| 03/18 | DOS overview and commands [6-12] | PC assembly (p1) | |
| 03/25 |
Spring Break |
no class | |
| 04/01 | DOS configuration and others [12-22] | Multimedia (pr) | |
| 04/08 | Windows 3.1 review and memory management {1-13} | Configuring DOS (mp2) | |
| 04/15 | Windows 3.1 win and system ini {14} | NC and NETPC (pr) | |
| 04/22 | Windows 95 overview /2-7/ | Memory management (mp3) | |
| 04/29 | Windows 95 setup, customization /17,20/ | Peer-to-peer network (pr) | |
| 05/06 | Ethical aspects & copyright law | Tailoring Windows (mp4) | |
| 05/13 | Client-server network (pr)PC for Windows (p2) | Final exam review | |
| 05/20 | Final exam | TCP/IP to the Web (mp5) | |
Activity symbols:
Special topic presentations. Each group will present a different topic. Based on literature
review. Reports are to be posted on the Web..
Reports due from all groups. Four groups will present each time. Based on experiential/assignment activities. Each group will keep its own report copy.