计算机专业英语听说（二）.doc

计算机专业英语听说（二）n What does a computer do? What is hardware and software?A computer takes information, process it, and outputs the results.Hardware is the physical component such as the monitor and hard drivesIt is set of instructions that tells the computer what to do.n In the 19th century, what do many fields relied upon?It is a machine used by the Germans during WWII to encrypt their radio messages.n Who created the tables, what were these people called, and what was wrong with the tables?Specially trained specialists would spend entire careers calculating the figures. They were called computers.The tables contained many mistakes.n What does the difference engine do and who benefits from it? And what was the difficulties in building it? The difference engine is a machine that would make calculations without any error to create tables for other fields.The British government and the people would benefit the most.The machine shops at the time could not build the parts precisely as required.n What is the difference between a mechanical computer and an electronic digital computer?A mechanical computer calculates using physical gears, shafts, etc. while electronic digital computers uses electricity to create on off states to make calculations.n Who was Charles Babbage?Charles Babbage was a 19th century British scientist aristocrat. He was the inventor of the difference engine and the analytical engine, both of which were considered proto-computers.n Who was Herman Hollerith?He was a MIT instructor that invented a tabulation machine that was used by the census bureau to speed up the count.n Who was Ada Augusta?She was a countess who first described the analytical engine and wrote hypothetical problems in which the machine can solve.v Why wasnt Holleriths machine successful with the railroads?Because it was too slow for the railraod industryv What is the Enigma Machine?It is a machine used by the Germans during WWII to encrypt their radio messages.v What was colossus and what was its job?Colossus was a code breaking machine/computer used to break the enigmav What was ENIAC and what was its job?It was used to calculate firing tables for artillery pieces.v What event made the UNIVAC famous?It accurately predicted the outcome of the 1952 US presidential race even though experts had different predictions.v What was the problem with vacuum tubes used in ENIAC?They were constantly burning out causing the machine to stop working.v Whats the main difference between Colossus and ENIAC?Colossus was built to do only one function, break the enigma codeENIAC was programmable and used to calculate different types of firing tables.v Why is predicting the outcome of the presidential race important in the history of computers?Because it proved the power and utility of a computer. Prior to this, computers were thought to be of limit use only to scientists. After the prediction it showed the usefulness in everyday life.n Why didnt IBM want to jump into the computer business?Because it was too costly to develop.n Why did IBM decide to develop the computer?Because their customers threatened to leave IBM because the punch cards were to bulky.n What invention lead to the miniaturization of the computer?The invention of the transistor lead to the first wave, The second wave was the invention of the integrated circuit.n What is an integrated circuit?An integrated circuit is combining all the different electrical component such as the transistor, diode, capacitor, onto one chip.n What kind of interface did early computers have?They have what is called a command line interface.n What was the problem with IBMs tabulating machine that used punch cards?The punch cards which stored the data were taking up too much room.The customers threatened to leave IBMn How did the space age aid the development of the computer?The space program required a powerful computer that took very little space and was willing to pay for such a computer.n What was is significance of Xerox Parc?Many of the ideas and innovation used in modern computers were developed there.mousegraphical interfaceNetworkinglaser printer What was first mass market PC company?Apple computers What did the first Apple look like?It was just a circuit board with no keyboard or case. What became clear to Steve Jobs regarding computer hobbyists?He realized that while there are many people who knew how to assemble their own computer, hardware hobbyists, there are even more people who couldnt but still wanted a computer, software hobbyists. What does a venture capitalist do?They provide investment money to startup company t help them grow and make a profit. What did microcomputers need to be taken seriously by the mass market?In need to have a useful function beside just playing games. It need a killer application, an application so useful that people would buy a computer just to use it. What is Visicalc and what does it do?It is the first spreadsheet program. It is a tool used for financial planning by calculating what if scenarios in business.l Why didnt Bill Gates finish Harvard?Because he didnt want to miss his opportunity of starting an industry.He knew the PC revolution was about to take place and it would wait for him to finish schooll How did Apple computers change the PC industry?First, it developed a complete computer package of hardware and software.Second, it provided a sense of style and vision to the PC industry.It help shaped the future direction of the PCs developmentl Describe how Apple computer got started and how it became a large company.It was started as a hobby building computers.The first version was a simple circuit board that required additional parts to make it complete.The second version, the Apple 2 was a complete computer but needed venture capital to get started.Finally, Apple became very popular due to the killer Application, Visicalc.o What was the problem with machine language?Machine languages are difficult to understandIt took a long time to program in to the computerand each computer used a different language.o What did Grace Hopper invent?She invented the first programming language, COBOL.o What were early Intel processor chips mainly used for?It was mainly used for calculators and traffic lights.o What was the first personal computer? In what year was it announced?The first computer was the Altair 8800It was launched in 1975o What software did the first PC needed to make it useful?It needed a programming languageA BASIC interpreter is used to make programming easier.o Describe the typical lifestyle of a technology startup company.Most startups were started by nerds who dedicate their entire focus on their job.They do not work a normal nine-to-five schedule, constantly coding with every second available.They dedicated all their time to coding, eating and sleep at the office is very normal.o How was the Altair 8800 programmed early on?Program instructions are entered into the Altair using switches in the front panel.The switches represent the binary code value of the instruction given.Once the switches are in the proper position, a ninth switch is flipped and the instruction is loaded into memory.o What was Bill Gates and Paul Allens contribution to the Altair, what is the significance?Bill and Paul wrote a BASIC interpreter for the Altair.This is important because it made the Altair much easier to use and allowing normal people with very little computer knowledge to learn to use the Altair.This is also the beginning of the Microsoft empireo What was the problem with IBMs decision making process?It took too long to make decisionsIt would take 9 months just to ship an empty boxo How long did it take IBM to develop a PC and how did they do it?It took them 1 year to develop a PCThey used components from off the shelf using an open architecture.o What 2 essential software does a computer need?It needed a computer language and an operating systemo Why did IBM approach Microsoft? And what was Microsofts response?IBM needed an operating system and a computer language for their PCMicrosoft didnt have an operating system at the time and referred IBM to Digital Research which had the CPM.o What was Digital Researchs response to IBM?Gary Kildall, the president of Digital Research was not enthusiastic about meeting IBMThey did not want to sign the non-disclosure agreement with IBM and so no deals were madeo Why did IBM want to get into the PC business and what approach did they use?IBM began to realize that they are loosing the hearts and minds of their customers to PC and so wanted their own PC to win back the customers.IBM used an open architecture, using hardware and software developed by other companies.o How did Microsoft end up with IBMs OS business?Microsoft initially didnt have an operating system to sell to IBMThey referred them to another company that had an operating system.Digital Research wasnt interested in working with IBM.Microsoft then acquire another operating system Q-DOS and packaged it to IBM What was the killer app for IBMs PC?It was Lotus 123, a clone of Visicalc What is reverse engineering?Reverse engineering is the process of taking something apart, understand how it works and make something that works exactly like it. Where did Microsoft hire their workers? Why?They hired straight from college because they wanted to build their own culture. What is OS/2? Why was it created?OS/2 is IBMs own proprietary operating system. It was created to try to take back the PC market. Explain who was the first user of Microsoft DOS? How and why did Microsoft made money from DOS?IBM PCs was the first user of DOSMicrosoft made money with DOS because there were many PC clones in the market that needed a operating system. How did IBM lose the PC Market?IBM lost the PC market because the created an open architecture that anybody can copy.There were many companies selling cheaper computers that could run IBM software.IBM chose to develop their own OS/2 operating system instead of working with Microsoft on Windows.n What is a “Gooey”?Graphical User Interfacen What is an “Alto”?It is a concept machine, a prototype, built by Xerox PARC in the 70s to demonstrate the future of the electronic computer officen What where the 3 things shown to Steve Jobs at PARC?Object oriented programmingNetworkingGraphical User Interfacen What where the 3 things shown to Steve Jobs at PARC?Object oriented programmingNetworkingGraphical User Interfacen Why did Steve Jobs decide to work with Bill Gates and Microsoft?Because in order for the Mac to do well in the marketplace, it needed software to compete with the IBM PC.He contracted Microsoft to write applications for the Macn What was the significance of the Mac?It was the first affordable commercial graphical user interface PC in the worldn Why are there no “Xerox” computers today?It is because Xerox executives did not understand the ideas and research at PARC and therefore did not take advantage of these ideas which they ownedn What was Lisa and what happened to it?Lisa was Apples first attempt at creating a GUI machine. Lisa did not sell well because it was too expensive.n Why did Steve Jobs push to develop a GUI machine?Because IBMs PC was dominating the PC industry and taking market share away from Apple.Steve believed that if they didnt develop a better machine, Apple would eventually disappear.n Why couldnt the Mac compete with the IBM PC?It was a thousand dollars more expensiveThere was a lack of applicationsn What is the problem with the printing?It is difficult to print onto paper exactly what you saw on the screen.n What saved the Mac?Desktop PublishingPrecision laser printingGUIn Why did Apple sue Microsoft?Because Apple felt Microsoft was copying their Macintoshn Why is the internet a threat to Microsoft?Because Microsofts operating system sets the industry standard f