I need a comprehesive list of inventions critical to the performance
of a personal computer. More specifically, I need list of every
technology that can go wrong with a computer to make it not work or
significantly degrade performance. |
Request for Question Clarification by
jbf777-ga
on
04 Nov 2004 15:30 PST
Hello austintex -
To what detail level are you looking to examine this topic? As
omnivorous-ga has said below, there are a tremendous number of
"layers" to this; would an examination of the "top level" suffice?
I.e., major component parts, such as motherboard, controllers,
modules, drives, software, etc.?
jbf777
|
Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
06 Nov 2004 05:31 PST
Hello austintex-ga,
You've asked a rather intriguing question. As noted in the comments,
there are many thousands of discrete components to a modern desktop
computer. However, these are usually lumped together under a series
of "components", which is a much smaller list.
For instance, a keboard may have dozens (or more) individual
technologies housed in it -- springs to give the keys their "feel",
LED's to indicate the status of the keyboard, electronics to
"translate" the key pressed to the appropriate digital signal, etc.
However, for most purposes, it is more than adequate to simply refer
to is as the "keyboard", without referring to the individual
sub-components that it contains.
The HowStuffWorks site lists these components as the major parts of a
desktop computer:
Central processing unit (CPU)
Random-access memory (RAM)
Read-only memory (ROM)
Basic input/output system (BIOS)
Caching
Virtual memory
Motherboard
Power supply
Hard disk
Operating system
Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) Controller -
Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) Bus
SCSI -- small computer system interface
AGP - Accelerated Graphics Port
Sound card
Graphics card
Monitor
Keyboard
Mouse
Removable storage:
Floppy disk
CD-ROM
Flash memory
DVD-ROM
Connections:
Parallel Port
Serial Port
Universal Serial Bus
FireWire
Modem
Local area network (LAN) card
Cable modem
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) modem
Very high bit-rate DSL (VDSL) modem
Please let me know if this is the sort of list you are looking for,
and if so, what information you would like to have about the
components listed here?
Thanks.
pafalafa-ga
|
Dear austintex,
The following is a comprehensive list of technologies critical to the
performance of a computer.
Each item is annotated in the lefthand column with one or both of the
symbols F and S, which stand respectively for Fatal and Serious. Failure
means that if the technology in question were to malfunction, the computer
would cease to function in a useful manner. Serious means that one would
still be able to use the computer, but the malfunctioning technology
would significantly compromise its performance.
A technology susceptible to both Fatal and Serious failure is noted as
such. Technologies whose malfunction would lead to a mild or negligible
decrease in performance are not listed.
I have divided the critical technologies into categories and subcategories
according to their function within the computer and, in some cases,
their purpose for the user.
INPUT
=====
Control
-------
S mouse
S trackball
S touchpad
S stylus
F S keyboard
F S braille keyboard
F S touch screen
Peripheral
----------
S microphone
S scanner
S digital still camera
S webcam
S security sensor
OUTPUT
======
Visual
------
F monitor
S status Light Emitting Diode (LED)
Audio
-----
S integrated speaker
S satellite speaker
S subwoofer
S headphone
Peripheral
----------
F S braille display
S dot-matrix printer
S daisy-wheel printer
S line printer
S inkjet printer
S laser printer
S video projector
STORAGE
=======
Volatile
--------
F primary memory (RAM)
F S cache memory
Static
------
F S hard disk
F S floppy disk
Peripheral
----------
F S CD-ROM
S CD-RW
S DVD-ROM
S DVD-RW
S flash memory
PROCESSING
==========
Core
----
F Central Processing Unit (CPU)
F Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
F S math coprocessor
Software
--------
F operating system
F S graphical server
F S window manager
F S application
F S driver
Visual
------
F S graphics chip
F S video card
Audio
-----
F S sound chip
S sound card
Network
-------
S audible-frequency telephone modem
S DSL modem
S cable modem
F S Ethernet card
S wireless card
Physical
========
Electrical
----------
F power supply
F power cable
F S laptop battery
S laptop adapter
Cooling
-------
F S CPU fan
F S case fan
F S hard-disk fan
Case
----
F S physical integrity
S laptop hinge
F power switch
S reset button
F power-switch lock
F S drive lock
F S input/output (I/O) ports
I have enjoyed addressing the matter of critical computer technologies on
your behalf. If you feel that any part of my answer requires correction
or elaboration, please let me know through a Clarification Request so
that I have a chance to fully meet your needs before you assign a rating.
Regards,
leapinglizard |
Request for Answer Clarification by
austintex-ga
on
08 Nov 2004 11:49 PST
We are looking for not the "top level" (ie. major component parts) but
the techinical microlevel technology. According to omnivorous-ga, "The
list will run into the tens of thousands". This is what we are
searching for... a detailed and comprehensive list.
|
Clarification of Answer by
leapinglizard-ga
on
08 Nov 2004 12:49 PST
I can certainly give you a micro-level technology listing. However, in
order to supply these items in a format that you find useful, I'd like
to know to what purpose you intend to put them. You needn't divulge
all the details of your work. It would suffice if you gave me some
idea of how you're going to use this information.
Thanks,
leapinglizard
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
austintex-ga
on
10 Nov 2004 11:56 PST
The answer will be used in expert testimony in technology legal case.
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
austintex-ga
on
10 Nov 2004 12:01 PST
ideally the list (i.e. microlevel technologies critical to the
performanc of a PC) could be sorted and/or ranked by the importance of
the technology. We are under time pressure and would need the list in
the next two days. Is this possible?
|
Clarification of Answer by
leapinglizard-ga
on
10 Nov 2004 13:57 PST
I can supply a comprehensive, micro-detailed list of critical computer
devices within two days, but not a ranking by importance. It would be
in the form of a remotely hosted HTML file containing links to a
description of each device. There are over 60,000 devices, so the file
would be rather large. Would this format suit your requirements?
leapinglizard
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
austintex-ga
on
11 Nov 2004 10:40 PST
We are not looking for a list of devices. We are looking for a list of
technologies critical to the performance of a computer. For example,
Intergraph Patent Number 4933835 which is an apparatus for maintaining
consistency of cache memory. Another example is Patent 5091846 which
provides caching/non-caching write-through and copyback modes for
virtual addresses including bus snooping to maintain coherency. As
per omnivorous-ga comment on 03, this list should "run into the tens
of thousands".
|
Clarification of Answer by
leapinglizard-ga
on
11 Nov 2004 12:21 PST
I think we're talking about the same thing. I have a list of more than
60,000 patents covering critical methods and devices in computers.
leapinglizard
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
austintex-ga
on
12 Nov 2004 10:04 PST
perfect.
|
