1. Vocabulary
A mainframe - высокопроизводительный компьютер со значительным объемом оперативной и внешней памяти, предназначенный для выполнения интенсивных вычислительных работ
A desktop PC - настольный компьютер
A laptop - портативный компьютер
TFT (thin film transistor – тонкопленочный транзистор) screen - экран тонкопленочной технологии
A touchpad - сенсорная панель
USB (Universal Serial Bus) - интерфейс передачи данных периферийных устройств) port - USB-порт
A battery pack - батарея
A tablet PC - планшетный компьютер
A handheld device - портативное устройство
PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) - персональный цифровой секретарь, карманный компьютер
A stylus - стилус, компьютерное перо
A touch screen - сенсорный экран
Handwriting recognition - распознавание почерка
Voice recognition - распознавание голоса
A wearable computer - носимый компьютер
2. Translate from Russian into English:
Ноутбук — это переносной персональный компьютер, который весит несколько килограммов. Время работы ноутбуков от аккумулятора находится в пределах от 1 часа до 4 часов. Портативные компьютеры выполняют те же задачи, что и настольные компьютеры, хотя производительность ноутбука существенно ниже. Портативные компьютеры имеют жидкокристаллический дисплей. В добавление ко встроенной клавиатуре, они могут содержать сенсорную панель или иное устройство для ввода, хотя к нему может подключаться внешний компьютерный манипулятор типа мыши или клавиатуры.
Планшетный компьютер — класс ноутбуков, оборудованных сенсорным экраном, которые позволяют работать при помощи стилуса или пальцев, как с использованием, так и без использования клавиатуры и мыши. Планшетный ПК удобен для чтения электронных книг и редактирования документов.
Карманный персональный компьютер - портативное вычислительное устройство, обладающее широкими функциональными возможностями. Изначально КПК предназначались для использования в качестве электронных органайзеров. В настоящее время КПК используются для доступа к офисным приложениям, чтения книг, проигрывания аудио и видео, выхода в Интернет.
Надеваемый компьютер можно носить на теле. Предоставляет возможность работать, общаться, развлекаться при помощи компьютера постоянно и иметь при этом полную свободу передвижения.
Мейнфрейм — высокопроизводительный компьютер со значительным объёмом оперативной и внешней памяти, предназначенный для организации централизованных хранилищ данных большой ёмкости и выполнения интенсивных вычислительных работ.
Настольный компьютер — стационарный персональный компьютер, предназначенный для работы в офисе или в домашних условиях. Термин обычно используется для того, чтобы обозначить вид компьютера и отличить его от компьютеров других типов, например, портативного компьютера, карманного компьютера, встроенного компьютера или сервера.
3.1. Read the text
THE LIQUEFACTION OF HARDWARE
Imagine a personal computer that has two souls. One moment it is your work machine, complete with a set of corporate applications and tight security settings. Then it becomes an entertainment centre, allowing you to watch any video and download any program.
Thanks to a process called "virtualisation", such computers are now being created. Ever more processing power and clever software are allowing devices of all kinds to separate from their hardware vessels and move to new homes. If this process continues as some expect, it will change computing radically. And more than one IT company will have to rethink how it does business.
Virtualisation dates back to the age of mainframe computers. To make better use of them they were sometimes split into smaller "virtual machines", each of which could run its own operating system and application.
The success of server virtualisation has inspired IT firms and their customers to do the same thing with other types of hardware, such as devices to store data. Software now pools their capacity and allocates "virtual disks" as needed. Even large files can take only seconds to upload if they already exist somewhere on one of these firms' disks.
The virtualisation of PCs is now under way. Many company computers can already work with applications that run on a central server. But start-ups are pushing the concept further. Desktone offers virtual desktops as an online service. NComputing, a maker of computer terminals, virtualises PCs so they can be shared by up to 30 users. It has already sold more than 2.5m devices, mostly to developing countries and schools. And technology from MokaFive can send an entire virtual machine—complete with operating systems, applications and data—over the network and install it on any PC. Eventually people may no longer need to carry laptops at all. Virtual computers, including data and applications, will follow them everywhere.
In the long run, smartphones and other mobile devices may also become shells to be filled as needed. Open Kernel Labs already lets smartphones run applications, multimedia and radio functions on a single processor, cutting manufacturing costs. Software from Citrix turns the iPad, Apple's tablet computer, into a terminal for applications that run in a corporate data centre.
There is certainly no lack of demand in virtualization. Virtualisation lowers costs by enabling firms to make better use of their servers and buy fewer new ones. The technology also allows PCs to be maintained remotely, which is much cheaper. But improved reliability and security are even more of an attraction. Users, for instance, can relaunch their virtual machine should a computer virus infect it. And it can be shut down if a laptop is lost or stolen.
Yet the technology also has to overcome a few hurdles. The virtualisation of servers is well understood, but for PCs and mobile devices the technique has yet to mature. In the longer run institutional barriers will prove more of a problem. Virtualising IT systems is only the first step to automating the management. This is seen as a threat to existing workers and makes many IT departments hesitant to embrace the technology.
Still, analysts believe virtualisation will win out. Its impact will be felt through the industry. The technology not only makes IT systems more flexible, but allows firms to switch vendors more easily—which will weigh on the vendors' profits.
Moreover, virtualisation makes it much easier to add new servers or storage devices. Alternatively, firms can simply rent extra capacity from operators of what are called "computing clouds", such as Amazon Web Services. That outfit has built a network of data centres in which virtual machines and disks can be launched in seconds. As a result, IT systems will increasingly no longer be a capital expense, but an operational cost, like electricity.
Yet the most noticeable change for computer users will be that more employees will be allowed to bring their own PC or smartphone to work. Companies can install a secure virtual heart on private machines, doing away with the need for a separate corporate device. A "bring your own computer" or "BYOC" movement has already emerged in America. Companies pay their employees a stipend, which they can use to buy any PC they want—even an Apple Mac.
Such innovations may help to ease growing tensions between workers and IT departments. New privacy regulations and rampant cybercrime are pushing firms to tighten control of company PCs and smartphones. At the same time more and more "digital natives" enter the workforce. They have grown up with the freewheeling internet and do not suffer boring black corporate laptops gladly. Giving workers more freedom while helping firms keep control may prove to be the biggest benefit of virtualisation.
Economist 18 November 2010
3.2. Comprehension tasks
3.2.1. Answer the questions to the text
What is the origin of virtualization?
What are the recent developments of start-up companies?
What are the benefits of virtualization?
What are the hurdles that virtualization has to overcome?
3.2.2. Match the following statements as True or False:
Virtualization dates back to the age of transistors. Is it true?
Virtualization allows PCs to be maintained remotely, which is much cheaper. Is it true?
The complete automation of the IT management is a threat to existing workers. Is it true?
4. Discussion
Security and reliability are the greatest concerns that slow down virtualization.
Virtualization not only makes IT systems more flexible, but allows firms to rethink how they do business.
One of the primary goals of virtualization is making the most efficient use of available system resources which contributes to green computing.
