Computer hardware technologies selection

Based on the identification of operational functions and design, computer hardware technologies can be selected. Depending on available technology and cost, automated functions can be assign to the computer hardware or software. Computer hardware can be further decomposed into a number of subelements. Processor, memory, I/O and networks are some examples. 

Due to the recent progress in hardware technologies, the processing capacity of a personal computer has become almost equal to that of a workstation. Therefore, there are too many choices among various technologies to allow appropriate system components to be selected. The system configuration has become more complex because of a combination of distributed components as weU as heterogeneity. 

Technology-based AAC systems have taken two forms hardware designed specifically for this application and software that runs on mass market computer hardware. Three basic components comprise AAC systems. These are the language representation method (including acceleration techniques), the user interface, and the outputs. Generally, a multidisciplinary team evaluates the current and projected skills and needs of the individual, determines the most effective language representation method(s) and physical access technique (s), and then selects a system with characteristics that are a good match. 

The computer system specification includes information on how the operation can be controlled using the features in the selected application package. A review of the process must be conducted to familiarize the computer technology supplier and/or developer (external or in-house) with the requirements defined in the requirements specification deliverable. This system view is essential, particularly when the software must interface with other elements such as hardware, people, and databases. The review of the process includes the further gathering of requirements at the system level, and top-level design. 

In the last 10 years, large advances in computer technology, including those in hardware and software, have made it possible for scientists to carry out computational studies on quite large systems with a reasonable investment of money and time. Chemists have carried out computational studies in order to clarify or support experimental results with respect to structure, energetics, and mechanism, for example. They have also used computation in a predictive sense to discover the properties of molecules that are unknown or so short-lived as to make experimental study ver f difficult. The section that follows includes both purely computational results and computational results used to support conclusions based on experimental work. The selection as to which computational papers should appear in this section and which should appear in another section is somewhat arbitrary. 

The term hardware applies to the physical units making up the computer system, i.e., the apparatus. In choosing a computer it is generally not too difficult, with the guidance provided by technical specifications and manufacturers tenders, to select the hardware suitable for the intended duties. However, under present conditions, the hardware accounts for less than 50% of the capital expenditure on a process computer system, and this cost proportion is likely to decrease still further in relation to the cost of the software. The latter comprises the technological engineering and, especially, the programs that can be used on the computer system in question. 

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