Chapter 2 Projects

Calculating Storage Requirements
How much storage space would be needed to store this textbook? To calculate approximately how many bytes of storage space this text (not including pictures) requires:

1. Count the number of lines on a typical page.
2. Count the number of characters (including blanks) in the longest line of text on the page. 
3. Multiply the number of lines by the number of characters in the longest line to calculate the number of characters (bytes) per page. 
4. Multiply this figure by the number of pages in the book. 

What do you estimate is the computer storage space required for this text?

Sizing Up Future Storage Technologies
Ten years ago, the idea of 10GB of storage on a personal computer seemed incredible. But technology turned that dream into reality. What storage technologies might we use in the future? Will optical storage cubes the size of a nine-volt battery hold gigabytes of data? Will smart credit cards hold all our financial data? Will magneto-optical devices combine the flexibility of magnetic media with the permanence of optical media? Will data be stored as holograms?

Use recent computer magazines and journals to research trends and projections for computer storage technology. You might want to write a paragraph or two about each new technology, or you might want to take an in-depth look at a single technology that you find most interesting. The paper you write as the result of your research can be as short as 3 pages or as long as 25 pages, depending on the scope of the project specified by your instructor.

Can a Computer Make Errors?
In 1994, Intel released the Pentium microprocessor. Within a matter of weeks, rumors began to circulate that the Pentium chip had a bug that caused errors in some calculations. As the rumors spread, corporate computer users became nervous about the numbers that appeared on spreadsheets which had been calculated on computers with the Pentium processor. How can a computer make such mistakes? What caused the Pentium bug? Do similar bugs exist in the current crop of microcomputer microprocessors? Use your library and Internet resources to gather information on microprocessor flaws, or "bugs." Write a summary of your findings, including any recommendations you have to help consumers identify a flawed microprocessor in a new or used computer, and then replace it.