15.561 | Spring 2005 | Graduate

Information Technology Essentials

Readings

There are three optional textbooks, as well as a set of readings and Web references by lecture listed in the table below.

Optional Textbooks

White, Ron, et. al. How Computers Work. 7th ed. Indianapolis, IN: Que Publishing. ISBN: 0789730332.

Gralla, Preston, et. al. How the Internet Works. 7th ed. Indianapolis, IN: Que Publishing. ISBN: 0789729733. 
Good introductory texts on the internals of computer hardware, system software and the Internet. Recommended if you don’t have a background in science or engineering.

Viescas, John L. Running Microsoft® Access 2000. Redmond, WA: Microsoft® Press, 1999. ISBN: 1572319348. 
One of the best and most detailed “bibles” on Microsoft® Access. The coverage is way beyond what will be covered in this course. This is an excellent reference book for students who are interested in becoming Microsoft® Access experts.

Lec # TOPICS READINGS
1 Introduction: Fundamentals of Computing I  
The Technology
2 Fundamentals of Computing II

Optional

Laudon, K. C., and J. P. Laudon. “Computer Hardware and Information Technology Infrastructure.” Section 6.1 in Management Information Systems: Organization and Technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2004, pp. 182-190. ISBN: 0131538411.

Mossberg, Walter S. “Do you really need a DDR SDRAM and 802.11b?” Wall Street Journal, December 4, 2002, D5.

———. “The Fall Buyer’s Guide: Things to Keep In Mind When Choosing a PC.” Wall Street Journal, September 30, 2004.

3 Networks I

Recommended

Tutorial on How the Internet Works.

Gralla, Preston, et. al. How the Internet Works. Illustrated by Mina Reimer, and Stephen Adams. 7th ed. Indianapolis, IN: Que Publishing. ISBN: 0789729733. 

4 Networks II

Optional

Mossberg, Walter S. “Deciphering Cellphone Geek-Speak.” Wall Street Journal, July 9, 2003, D5.

5 Programming Languages  
6 Relational Databases Peterson, John. Chapters 1, and 2 in Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Databases. Indianapolis, IN: Que Publishing, 2002. pp. 7-16, and 19-41. ISBN: 078972569X.
7 Introduction to Microsoft® Access

Peterson, John. Chapters 8-10 in Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Databases. Indianapolis, IN: Que Publishing, 2002. pp. 159-234. ISBN: 078972569X.

Optional

Viescas, John L. Running Microsoft® Access 2000. Redmond, WA: Microsoft® Press, 1999. ISBN: 1572319348.

8 Web Technologies Fundamentals

Comer, Douglas E. Chapter 24 in The Internet Book. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000. pp. 223-242. ISBN: 0130308528.

Berners-Lee, Tim, James Hendler, and Ora Lassila. “The Semantic Web.” Scientific American (May 2001).

Recommended

PC Webopedia - World Wide Web Category Page.

9 Computer Security I: Encryption and Digital Signatures

Turban, E., D. King, J. Lee, and D. Viehland. Chapter 12 in Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. pp. 462-490. ISBN: 0130094935.

Optional

Zimmerman, Phil. Chapter 1 in An Introduction to Cryptography.

PC Webopedia - Encryption Category Page
Terms to look up: symmetric-key cryptography, DES, public-key encryption, RSA, Pretty Good Privacy, authentication, digital signature, digital certificate, PKI, SSL, smart card.

10 Computer Security II: Network Security

Turban, E., D. King, J. Lee, and D. Viehland. Chapter 12 in Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. pp. 462-490. ISBN: 0130094935.

Optional

Zimmerman, Phil. Chapter 1 in An Introduction to Cryptography.

PC Webopedia - Encryption Category Page
Terms to look up: symmetric-key cryptography, DES, public-key encryption, RSA, Pretty Good Privacy, authentication, digital signature, digital certificate, PKI, SSL, smart card.

Applications of Technology
11 “Under the Hood” of a Commercial Website Treese, G. Winfield, and Lawrence C. Stewart. Chapter 19 in Designing Systems for Internet Commerce. 2nd ed. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley 2003. pp. 375-387. ISBN: 0201760355.
12 Managing Software Development  
13 Enterprise Systems

Davenport, T. H. “Putting the Enterprise into the Enterprise System.” Harvard Business Review (August 1998): 121-131.

Optional

“An Eagle Eye on Customers.” Business Week, February 21, 2000, 66-76.

14 Systems that Span Multiple Enterprises Hagel III, John, and John Seely Brown. “Your Next IT Strategy.” Harvard Business Review (October 2001).
15 Business Intelligence: Data Mining and Data Warehousing

Berry, Michael J. A., and Gordon Linoff. Chapters 2, and 3 in Data Mining Techniques: For Marketing, Sales, and Customer Support. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 1997. pp. 17-50. ISBN: 0471179809.

Optional

Berson, Alex, Stephen Smith, and Kurt Thearling. “An Overview of Data Mining Techniques.” Excerpted from Building Data Mining Applications for CRM.

16

Emerging Technologies

Course Wrap-up

 
17 Final Exam  

Course Info

Instructor
As Taught In
Spring 2005
Level
Learning Resource Types
Exams
Lecture Notes
Problem Sets