Computers Are Your Future Tenth Edition Application Software: Tools for Productivity Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall1

Computers Are Your FutureTenth Edition

Application Software: Tools for Productivity

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1

Application Software: Tools for Productivity


Application Programs Summary

• APPLICATIONS PROGRAMS• Applications programs are what a computer user needs to run to do productive work. When personal computers first went mass-market in the 1980s, the most

widely used applications programs were "office software" packages comprising word processors, spreadsheets and databases. Whilst word processors are still the most widely used of these applications, early spreadsheets (such as VisiCalc and Lotus 1-2-3) initially had the greatest impact as they quite literally allowed computational tasks that used to take days or weeks to be completed in minutes.

• Next on the scene came desktop publishing (DTP) packages that revolutionized publishing by allowing the electronic rather than manual layout of words and images. It is worth remembering that the computer terminology "cut" and "paste" derive from the ways in which the layout of published documents used to involve the physical cutting out and pasting together with glue of text and images that were only combined for press via photographic processes.

• With the rise of the Internet, two of the most critical applications programs have become e-mail packages (such as Outlook Express) and web browsers (such as Internet Explorer, Chrome, Opera or Firefox). Indeed, as cloud computing takes hold -- as detailed in the section after next -- the only software many computers may ever run could be an operating system and a web browser.

• Graphics packages are today also a major category of applications programs, and come in a very wide range of guises. For a start there are presentation packages (such as PowerPoint) used to create slides and give lectures. Then there are photo editing packages that manipulate the tiny rectangles or "pixels" that make up the "bitmapped" images created by digital cameras or scanners. The dominant professional photo editing software is Adobe PhotoShop (so much so that the verb "to photoshop" has entered the language). However, even if they are using the new verb, most people manipulate images in less sophisticated -- and far less costly! -- photo editing packages such as PaintShop Pro or PhotoShop Elements.

• Another category of graphics packages are used to create and manipulate vector-based images. Whereas a bitmapped image created by a digital camera and edited in a package like PhotoShop can only be enlarged so far before a loss of detail (because the individual pixels that make up the image become too big), vector-based images (sometimes called structured graphics) are defined mathematically and can be re-scalled to any size with no loss of detail. Vector-based graphics software includes Adobe Illustrator (used for illustrations in publishing) and computer-aided design (CAD) software such as AutoCAD (used for creating engineering designs and other forms of technical plans).

• Finally on the graphics side there are 3D modelling and animation applications. Here, packages including 3D Studio Max, Maya, SoftImage and LightWave are used build 3D computer models that are then textured with bitmap images (often created or manipulated in PhotoShop) and which are then rendered as bitmapped "photographic" output.

• Next in common usage there are applications packages that work with multimedia content. These comprise software for playing and editing audio and video. As with still graphics packages (and the two types of software are already converging!), the variety of software available is extremely diverse, ranging from free software like Windows Media Player, Realplayer and Adobe's Quicktime Player, to high-end video editing and manipulation software costing hundreds or thousands of pounds, and including Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro and Avid.

• Those people needing to create web pages will probably also be using a web authoring package such as FrontPage or Dreamweaver (although many web programmers write raw code directly into a text editor).

• A final set of applications packages are those dedicated to business activities such as accounting (eg Sage Accounts) and project management (such a Microsoft Project).

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

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http://www.explainingcomputers.com/internet.html

http://www.google.com/chrome

http://www.opera.com/products/desktop/

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

http://www.explainingcomputers.com/cloud.html

General-Purpose Applications

Application software is any program that gives the user the ability to complete work on the computer.

General-purpose applications are the programs that enable users to complete common tasks.

4Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall


General-purpose applications include: Personal productivity programs Multimedia and graphics software Internet programs Home and education programs





Personal productivity program Makes it easier to do

work Examples

Word processing software Spreadsheet or database

software Presentation software



Multimedia and graphics software is any software that includes the use of two or more media, such as graphics plus video or audio.



Multimedia and graphics software include: Professional desktop publishing

programs Multimedia authoring programs Paint, drawing, and animation

programs Image editing programs 3-D rendering programs Audio and video editing softwareCopyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 9


Codecs, compression/decompression algorithms, are included in most multimedia software to reduce space required by multimedia documents. Compressing files enables better use

of disk space and faster Internet transfer speeds.



Compressing files enables better use of disk space and faster Internet transfer speeds. Lossless compression does not delete

any information needed to reproduce the image without flaw.

Lossy compression removes some information, but the loss is typically not noticeable.




Paint programs give the user the ability to create pictures as a bit-mapped image. Bit-mapped

images (raster graphics) are made up of tiny dots known as pixels.


Standard formats in which paint programs save files include: Graphics Interchange Format

(GIF) Lossless compression of simple images Often used for Web pages

Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG)

Lossy compression of complex images Also used for Web pages



Standard formats in which paint programs save files include: Portable Network Graphics (PNG)

Patent-free alternative to a GIF Lossless compression Suitable for Web use only

Windows Bitmap (BMP) Compression optional Files tend to be large



Drawing programs create on-screen objects stored as intricate descriptions known as vector graphics.

Vector graphics allow individualized editing and resizing without distortion.



Three-dimensional rendering programs Provide graphic objects with 3-D effects Image editors

Are advanced types of paint programs Can change complicated bit-mapped objects,

including photographs Can edit, but not create, bit-mapped images



Animation programs give the user the ability to create animation from images, as well as run the animation.



Audio software is used to capture and process sound used in multimedia presentations.

Sound files can be saved in a number of standard formats and contain digitized data.

Standard sound file formats include: MP3 Windows Media

Audio (WMA) WAV Ogg Vorbis Musical Instrument

Digital Interface (MIDI)


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Video editors enable the user to: Modify digitized videos Save those videos in at least one of

the following video file formats: Moving Picture Experts Group

(MPEG) QuickTime Video for Windows



Multimedia authoring systems Used to create

multimedia presentations

Require a large amount of disk space and memory to run properly


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Internet programs Help users communicate, learn, and interact through

the Internet Examples include:

E-mail Instant messaging software Web browsers Video conferencing programs Google apps

http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/group/index.html





Home and educational programs Computerized reference software Personal finance software Computer-aid tutorials Computer games


Tailor-Made Applications

Software designed for specific businesses or users is known as a tailor-made application.

Tailor-made applications normally cost more than general-purpose applications because of their development costs.


Tailor-Made Applications

When an application is not available, custom software, software developed for a user’s specific needs, may be necessary.

Packaged software is developed for the mass market. Gradequick


Standalone Programs, Integrated Programs, & Software Suites

A fully self-contained program is called a standalone program.

Advantages: Users can purchase and install

standalone programs separately. Standalone programs function by

themselves. Disadvantages:

Standalones take up a lot of storage space.

Standalones do not share resources.Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 25


Integrated programs provide all the leading productivity programs in one package.

Advantages: Integrated programs are easy to learn. Integrated programs share the same

interface.



Disadvantages: The individual modules of integrated

programs usually have fewer features than are found in standalone programs or software suites.



A software suite is an interconnected bundle of programs.

Advantages: The programs within a suite share

resources. The programs within a suite are

designed to work together. These applications share common

program code, interfaces, and drivers.



Software suites, also called office suites, usually include:

Word processing programs Spreadsheet programs Presentation graphics programs Database programs Personal information managers (PIMs)


Standalone Programs, Integrated Programs & Software Suites



Web-hosted technology is a new variety of office suite that enables users to upload files online for viewing, editing, and collaboration purposes.

Advantages: Web-hosted technology is usually free. It makes sharing files and collaboration

easier. Web-hosted technology helps avoid file-

sharing problems.Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 31

System Requirements & Software Versions

System requirements outline the minimal level of resources that a program requires.

Releases of programs are cited by a year or version number. In a version number, a decimal

number indicates a maintenance release.



Time-limited trial versions are occasionally offered for commercial programs by software companies.

Beta versions of software are sometimes available to users. Software is in the final testing stages

and may contain bugs. Access is free.Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 33


Software is kept current through software upgrading. Small fixes to software are called

patches. Large or major fixes to software are

called service packs or service releases.

Software can be distributed through the Internet, not just purchased in stores.Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice

Hall 34


Documentation can be in print or downloaded from the Internet. Brief tutorials Read Me files Help files


Software Licenses & Registration

The contract included with purchased software, which permits the user to install the program on one computer, is known as a software license.

The contract that gives organizations the right to install copies of programs on a precise number of computers is known as a site license.



Commercial Software Users must purchase before using Examples:

Microsoft Office Adobe Acrobat Apple iLife

Shareware You may try software before purchasing If you like it, pay for it and continue use



Freeware Free to users as long as users do not sell it to

others

Public domain software Copyright-free software Can modify or sell

Copy-protected software Internal process prohibits making

unauthorized copiesCopyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 38

Installing & Managing Application Software

Installing software on a computer includes moving the software to the hard disk and properly configuring the software.

Uninstalling software takes the program off the hard disk.

Launching software moves the software to memory from the hard disk.Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice

Hall 39

Installing & Managing Application Software

Users can choose Options to identify how they want a program to run.

Defaults are software settings that are used by the program unless overridden by the user.

Quitting or closing down an application is known as exiting.


What You’ve Learned System software supports

application software, the programs that give the user the ability to complete work on the computer.

General-purpose software includes personal productivity programs, multimedia and graphics software, Internet programs, and home and education software.


What You’ve Learned

Types of programs available to users include standalone programs, integrated programs, and suites of personal productivity software.

Office suites, which incorporate Web-hosted technology, are gaining popularity with today’s users.Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice

Hall 42


New or updated versions of software are usually cited with a version number.

Small changes to software are defined as patches, and larger changes or fixes are known as service packs or service releases.



Software can be categorized as commercial, shareware, freeware, and public domain software.

Users should learn to install applications, start applications, select options, and exit the applications to use their computers effectively.


THE FUTURE…..


http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/08/ff_webrip/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RMWO9JxZjA&feature=fvw Cloud computing



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RMWO9JxZjA&feature=fvw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RMWO9JxZjA&feature=fvw

Cloud Computing• CLOUD COMPUTING: AN INTRODUCTION• Cloud computing is where software applications, processing power, data and potentially even artificial intelligence are

accessed over the Internet. Many private individuals now regularly use an online e-mail application such as Gmail, Yahoo! Mail or Hotmail. Exchanging messages and sharing photos and video on social networking sites like Facebook is now also very common. However, these types of cloud computing activities are just the beginning. Indeed, it is likely that within a decade the vast majority of personal and business computing will be Internet based.

• Already over two million businesses have adopted the Google Apps online e-mail and office suite. Twenty per cent of companies now also report at least some use of the Google Docs online word processor. In February 2010, IBM signed a contract with the US Airforce to design a cloud computing infrastructure capable of supporting around 100 bases and 700,000 active personnel. In the same month, Microsoft's Azure cloud computing platform also became commercially available. Mobile computers like Apple's iPad, as well as netbooks and tablets running Google's new Chrome OS operating system, are additionally very much intended as cloud access devices for a new computing age.

• Like it or loathe it, cloud computing is now more than hype. Technology analysts Gartner even recently signalled cloud computing as one of 2010's most strategic technologies. In fact, I would suggest that cloud computing has now become such an unstoppable force that the only real choice for any of us is whether we want to be part of the cloud computing steamroller or the traditional computing road.

• This section of ExplainingComputers.com provides an overview of cloud computing. In particular it focuses on the phenomenon's characteristics, how it works in practice, and the key factors that are driving its uptake. You can learn even more by watching my cloud computing videos or by reading my book A Brief Guide to Cloud Computing. By accessing the Cloud Computing Directory you can also gain access to a great many cloud computing applications and other resources, many of which are free to use straight away. So come on in, dare to be radical, and become a part of the Cloud Computing Revolution!


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http://mail.google.com/

http://www.mail.yahoo.com/

http://www.mail.live.com/

http://www.facebook.com/


http://apps.google.com/

http://docs.google.com/

http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/29326.wss

http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/29326.wss

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsazure

http://www.apple.com/ipad/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QRO3gKj3qw

http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1210613

http://www.explainingcomputers.com/index.html

http://www.explainingcomputers.com/cloud_computing_videos.html

http://www.explainingcomputers.com/bgcc.html

http://www.explainingcomputers.com/clouddir.html

Documents

Computers Are Your Future Tenth Edition Application Software: Tools for Productivity Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall1