Input Devices

Mouse
A mouse is a small device that a computer user pushes across a desk surface in order to
point to a place on a display screen and to select one or more actions to take from that
position. The mouse first became a widely-used computer tool when Apple Computer
made it a standard part of the Apple Macintosh. Today, the mouse is an integral part of
the graphical user interface (GUI) of any personal computer. The mouse apparently got
its name by being about the same size and color as a toy mouse.
Keyboard
On most computers, a keyboard is the primary text input device. A keyboard on a
computer is almost identical to a keyboard  on a typewriter. Computer keyboards will
typically have extra keys, however. Some of these keys (common examples include
Control, Alt, and Meta) are meant to be used in conjunction with other keys just like
shift on a regular typewriter. Other keys (common examples include Insert, Delete,
Home, End, Help, function keys, etc.) are meant to be used independently and often
perform editing tasks.
Joystick
In computers, a joystick is a cursor control device used in computer games. The joystick,
which got its name from the control stick used by a pilot to control the ailerons and
elevators of an airplane, is a hand-held lever that pivots on one end and transmits its
coordinates to a computer. It often has one or more push-buttons, called switches,
whose position can also be read by the computer.
Digital Camera
A digital camera records and stores photographic images in digital form that can be fed
to a computer as the impressions are recorded or stored in the camera for later loading
into a computer or printer. Currently, Kodak, Canon, and several other companies make
digital cameras.
Microphone
A device that converts sound waves into audio signals. These could be used for sound
recording as well as voice chatting through internet.
Scanner
A scanner is a device that captures images from photographic prints, posters, magazine
pages, and similar sources for computer editing and display. Scanners come in hand-held,
feed-in, and flatbed types and for scanning black-and-white only, or color. Very high
resolution scanners are used for scanning for high-resolution printing, but lower
resolution scanners are adequate for capturing images for computer display. Scanners
usually come with software, such as Adobe's Photoshop product, that lets you resize and
otherwise modify a captured image 

All computers have the following essential hardware components

Input
The devices used to give the computer data or commands are called Input devices.
Includes keyboard, mouse, scanner, etc
Processor
A processor is the logic circuitry that responds to and processes the basic instructions
that drive a computer. 
The term processor has generally replaced the term central processing unit (CPU). The
processor in a personal computer or embedded in small devices is often called a
microprocessor. 
Short for microprocessor, the central processing unit in a computer. The processor is the
logic of a computer and functions comparably to a human central nervous system,
directing signals from one component to another and enabling everything to happen
Memory 
Memory is the electronic holding place for instructions and data that your computer's
microprocessor can reach quickly. When your computer is in normal operation, its
memory usually contains the main parts of the operating system and some or all of the
application programs and related data that  are being used. Memory is often used as a
shorter synonym for random access memory (RAM). This kind of memory is located on
one or more microchips that are physically close to the microprocessor in your
computer. Most desktop and notebook computers sold today include at least 16
megabytes of RAM, and are upgradeable to include more. The more RAM you have, the
less frequently the computer has to access instructions and data from the more slowly
accessed hard disk form of storage.
Memory is also called primary or main memory.
Storage
Computer storage is the holding of data in an electromagnetic form for access by a
computer processor. It is also called secondary storage. In secondary storage data resides
on hard disks, tapes, and other external devices.
Primary storage is much faster to access than secondary storage because of the proximity
of the storage to the processor or because of the nature of the storage devices. On the
other hand, secondary storage can hold much more data than primary storage.
Output
The devices to which the computer writes data are called Output devices. Often converts
the data into a human readable form. Monitor and printer are output devices.

At the highest level, two things are required for computing

 Hardware
 Computer equipment such as a CPU, disk drives, CRT, or printer
 Software
A computer program, which provides the  instructions which enable the computer
hardware to work

Ranking w.r.t. installed number

PC’s
PDA’s
Workstations
Servers
Wearable (picture is provided)
Mainframes
Supercomputers

Portables

Portable computer is a personal computer that is designed to be easily transported and
relocated, but is larger and less convenient to transport than a notebook computer. The
earliest PCs designed for easy transport were called portables. As the size and weight of
most portables decreased, they became known as laptop computer and later as notebook
computer. Today, larger transportable computers continue to be called portable computers.
Most of these are special-purpose computers - for example, those for use in industrial
environments where they need to be moved about frequently.
 PDA (personal digital assistant) is a term for any small mobile hand-held device that
provides computing and information storage and retrieval capabilities for personal or
business use, often for keeping schedule calendars and address book information handy.
The term handheld is a synonym. Many people use the name of one of the popular PDA
products as a generic term. These include Hewlett-Packard's Palmtop and 3Com's
PalmPilot.
Most PDAs have a small keyboard. Some PDAs have an electronically sensitive pad on
which handwriting can be received. Apple's Newton, which has been withdrawn from
the market, was the first widely-sold PDA that accepted handwriting. Typical uses
include schedule and address book storage  and retrieval and note-entering. However,
many applications have been written for PDAs. Increasingly, PDAs are combined with
telephones and paging systems.
Some PDAs offer a variation of the Microsoft Windows operating system called
Windows CE. Other products have their own or another operating system.  

Desktops

These are also called microcomputers. Low-end desktops are called PC’s and high-end
ones “Workstations”. These are generally consisting of a single processor only, some
times 2, along with MB’s of memory, and GB’s of storage. PC’s are used for running
productivity applications, Web surfing, messaging. Workstations are used for more
demanding tasks like low-end 3-D simulations and other engineering & scientific apps.
These are not as reliable and fault-tolerant as servers. Workstations cost a few thousand
dollars; PC around a $1000. 

Servers / Minicomputers

A midsized computer. In size and power, minicomputers lie between  workstations and
mainframes. In the past decade, the distinction  between large minicomputers and small
mainframes has blurred, however, as has the distinction between small minicomputers
and workstations. But in general, a minicomputer is a multiprocessing system capable of
supporting from 4 to about 200 users simultaneously.

Mainframe Computers

 A very large and expensive computer capable of supporting hundreds, or even
thousands, of users simultaneously. In the hierarchy that starts with a simple
microprocessor (in watches, for example) at the bottom and moves to supercomputers at
the top, mainframes are just below supercomputers. In some ways, mainframes are more
powerful than supercomputers because they support more simultaneous programs. But
supercomputers can execute a single program faster than a mainframe. The distinction
between small mainframes and minicomputers is vague (not clearly expressed),
depending really on how the manufacturer wants to market its machines.

Computer Types

Supercomputers 
A supercomputer is a computer that performs at or near the currently highest
operational rate for computers. A supercomputer is typically used for scientific and
engineering applications that must handle very large databases or do a great amount of
computation (or both). At any given time,  there are usually a few well-publicized
supercomputers that operate at the very latest and always incredible speeds.
Perhaps the best-known builder of supercomputers has been Cray Research, now a part
of Silicon Graphics. Some supercomputers are at "supercomputer center," usually
university research centers, some of which, in the United States, are interconnected on
an Internet backbone (A backbone is a larger transmission line that carries data gathered
from smaller lines that interconnect with it) known as vBNS or NSFNet.
At the high end of supercomputing are computers like IBM's "Blue Pacific," announced
on October 29, 1998. Built in partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
in California, Blue Pacific is reported to operated at 3.9 teraflop (trillion floating point
operations per second), 15,000 times faster than the average personal computer. It
consists of 5,800 processors containing a total of 2.6 trillion bytes of memory and
interconnected with five miles of cable. 

Course developed and delivered

Course developed and delivered by: Dr. Altaf Hamid Khan

 Education:

PhD in Engineering - 1997

University of Warwick, Coventry, England
Thesis: Feedforward neural networks with constrained weights

    Commonwealth Scholarship - 1993-96

MS in Electrical Engineering - 1987

Moore School of Electrical Engineering,
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Thesis: MOCVD reactor for growing epitaxial germanium films

    Research Assistantship - 1985-87

BS in Electrical Engineering (Honors), Magna Cum Laude - 1985

Wilkes College, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Project: Liquid crystal optical switch for use in fiber-optics

    Senior project published in IEEE 1985 Student Papers, IEEE Press, New York, NY
    Sigma Xi Research Recognition Award - 1985
    Nada Vujica Memorial International Student Award - 1985
    Electrical Engineering Achievement Award - 1985
    Walter S. Carpenter Merit Scholarship - 1982-85

 Professor’s Work Experience:

Professor - College of Computer Science & Engineering, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia
February 2007 - Present

Professor of Computer Science, University of Management and Technology, Lahore
April 2003 - September 2005

Offices of Admissions, Alumni/Placements, Media/Advertisement/Promotion
May 2005 - August 2005
Developed a new positioning strategy and implemented it through a Web/print-media campaign that established UMT as a provider of high-quality education and resulted in significant improvements in the quality as well as the quantity of the student intake for Fall 2005 as compared with that for Fall 2004.

Founding Dean - School of Science and Technology
May 2003 - January 2005
played a key role in reorienting the university that resulted in a move away from a teaching-only model to a more conventional research/teaching one; a new school-based structure; a shift from a trimester-based academic calendar to a semester-based one. Managed all areas of the new school, including four academic departments, computer center, academic support unit, and alumni and placement affairs, following are the key events/activities that took place during the 1 3/4 year tenure:

    A new, unified undergraduate program offering majors in five areas was launched
    Graduate degrees that required both coursework and research were started
    New laboratories in Computer Networking, Chemistry, Garments, and Knitting/Weaving were developed
    A Garment Productivity Center came into operation
    Groundwork for a Center for Software Usability was completed for a February 2005 launch
    Collaborative research proposals with peer universities were submitted to funding agencies
    Cross-registration of graduate courses with NU-FAST starting in Spring 2005
    Four senior and six junior faculty members joined the school, one of which has since become the Pro-Rector of the University and the other the successor Dean of the School of Science and Technology.

All this resulted in an appreciable increase in the stature of the school as indicated by the significant increase in the quality of the incoming students at the undergraduate as well as graduate level.

Consultant - Virtual University, Lahore
December 2001 - June 2002

Developed the very first course that was offered by the Virtual University - a unique institution that offers four-year degrees throughout Pakistan and the Middle East through television and the Web, that course - rated the best by a wide margin during its first offering - is currently in its tenth run.

Visiting Lecturer in Computer Science - Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore
August 2001 - November 2001

Taught an introductory course in computing, the video recordings of that course were later used in an on-line version of the course - probably the first offering of its kind in Pakistan. Led the effort that reviewed, renewed and streamlined the undergraduate curriculum for Computer Science majors

 CTO - KASB & Company Limited, Lahore
June 2000 - June 2001

KASB - one of the largest corporate finance and equity players in Pakistan - is currently assisting over 500 institutional and individual clients from outside of Pakistan in making investments in the local markets. They have had almost a decade-long relationship with Merrill Lynch and have worked on many joint-ventures with them. I played a multifaceted role there that consisted mainly of launching and monitoring new IT-related businesses.

I was the founding CEO of KASB TechVentures (Private) Limited - an independent company that assisted entrepreneurs in transforming their innovative Internet ideas into world-class businesses by accelerating growth, reducing risk, and enhancing value. I also founded SenSync Media (Private) Limited - a multimedia development studio - to support the operations of TechVentures portfolio companies. Both companies folded in June 2001 due to adverse industry conditions.

 Founder - Innofy
May 2000

Conceived the idea and implementation strategy for a new offshore software development company-Innofy, wrote a compelling business plan and presented it to two of the most successful business groups in Pakistan and gained promises of US$4 million investment from both. Later, abandoned the Innofy project (immediately after receiving the second offer of investment!) for a more challenging opportunity - an IT business incubator

Senior Manager - Techlogix, Lahore
April 1999 - April 2000

Techlogix - then a 55-person software company with offices in Boston, San Jose, and Lahore - was focused on the rapid development of innovative eBiz solutions for American clients. I played a multifaceted role there:

Technical & Managerial Process Development
Restructured the roles and responsibilities for technical team members. Developed a corporate methodology for rapidly developing Internet applications, institutionalized various processes to improve the software development process and the management of the organization

Quality Function Development
Initiated, assembled, and managed the corporate quality function. Trained the team in developing and maintaining software quality assurance processes

Quality Management System
devised a long term plan, based on ISO9001, CMM, and People-CMM, for continuously improving the quality of products developed at Techlogix. Initiated the development of an Intranet application for developing and maintaining processes and collecting the data generated by those processes

Human Resource Development & Knowledge Management
managed the human resource development function. Instituted a performance management system and a process for supervisor evaluations established the corporate Intranet and organized a series of internal seminars to institutionalize the sharing of knowledge. Established a library

Relationship and Project Management
managed the development of eCommerce and other projects Whiteflash.com, a diamond and jewelry eBoutique; UniPakStocks.com, an online stock trading site; Techlogix.com, the corporate marketing site; QuikCash Plus, a web-based commerce application.

Technical Consulting for an Expert System
Acted as the technical consultant for a team building a vehicle occupancy detection system, this system initially used neural networks, but now uses automatically generated decision trees.

Operations Management
managed the computing services team. Reorganized the work environment to improve productivity, performed the day to day administrative and managerial tasks

Assistant Professor - University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore
March 1990 - April 1999

Taught courses in circuit analysis, computing, control systems, electronics, and engineering mathematics, coordinated the modernization of the decade-old undergraduate curriculum in electrical engineering (1997-98), prepared the first draft of the curriculum for the new computer engineering option (1998), in addition, provided consulting services to the local software industry in designing expert systems and in establishing quality improvement programs Details of consulting assignments are as follows:

Improvement of the Software Development Operation. Systems, Lahore
November 1998 - February 1999
proposed a long-term strategy and outlined a staged-plan for improving the software development operation of the organization. Following were the main contributions:

    Initiated stage-1 by first helping in the selection of a scaled-down version of the Personal Software Process, and then piloting it in a small team.
    Guided a team in developing a proposal for an organizational improvement initiative based on the CMM and the People-CMM models.

Quality Management System Plan CresSoft - Corporate Office, Lahore
July - August 1997
created a 5-year plan for the company-wide installation of TickIT (ISO 9001), the CMM, and the People-CMM models. Following were the main contributions:

    Identified the roles and skill profiles for the personnel required for the standards installation teams, assisted in their recruitment, and organized a program for their training, both as a team and as individuals.
    Created a company-wide information resource on quality standards, and initiated the development of a web-based data-collection mechanism for the use of the standards effort.

Preference Card Predictor CresSoft - Business Systems, Lahore
November 1996 - April 1998
developed an expert system for predicting the future preferences of the pilots of a major American airline. This system is to be used by the airline for forecasting its staffing and training requirements. Following were the main contributions:

    Defined achievable goals, selected the appropriate prediction technology, and outlined an evolutionary procedure for empirically synthesizing the system.
    Defined the component-based architecture and designed the components.
    Proposed the high level design and provided guidance in the prototyping of two new products based on the Preference Card Predictor technology:
        Training Resource Forecaster for forecasting the training resources required at any point in time over a 9-18 month future horizon.
        Preference Card Assistant for assisting the pilots in filling preference cards in such a fashion that their career growth is optimized.
    Proposed the high level design of a related product, the Long Term Forecaster, for forecasting the hiring schedule for pilots over a 10 year period.

Assistant Engineer - Descon Electro Systems, Lahore
May 1989 - March 1990

Designed and commissioned instrument systems for chemical plants. Specialized in the installation of Programmable Logic Controllers and also developed microcomputer based annunciators, data loggers, and PID controllers.

Project Engineer - IC Sensors, Milpitas, California
May 1988 - February 1989

Developed acceleration and pressure sensing systems for automotive and general-purpose usage, responsibilities ranged from requirements analysis to design and prototyping to planning of testing strategy and training of production personnel.

Research Fellow - Center for Sensor Technologies, University of Pennsylvania
September 1985 - February 1988

Designed and constructed an MOCVD (Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition) reactor for the growth of epitaxial germanium films for use in photo-detectors. Did extensive characterization of these germanium films with X-ray diffraction

Research Associate - Wilkes College
May 1985 - August 1985

Developed logic gates based on liquid crystal devices. Also explored phased array optical antennas, optical amplifiers and modulators - all employing LCD technology

Engineering Assistant - RCA New Products Division, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
May 1984 - August 1984

Evaluated SPICE simulation software and related CAD/CAE tools. Also developed specifications and testing procedures for components used in CCD cameras.

Teaching Assistant - Wilkes College & Universities of Pennsylvania & Warwick
September 1983 - May 1986, January 1995 - May 1996  (part-time throughout)

Provided laboratory instruction, developed computer programs, and graded assignments etc. for various engineering courses.

Live-in Counselor - Project Upward Bound, Wilkes College
May 1983 - July 1983

Counseled disadvantaged high school students in personal and academic matters, and organized various activities for them.

 Professor’s Email address:
altaf@altafkhan.com
Course Instructor’s email address: cs101@vu.edu.pk
http://www.altafkhan.com/resume.htm