Computers Are Your Future Eleventh Edition Chapter 5: Application Software: Tools for Productivity Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing

Computers Are Your FutureEleventh Edition

Chapter 5: Application Software: Tools for Productivity

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1

2

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,

mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Application Software: Tools for Productivity


Objectives

Understand how system software supports application software.

List the most popular types of general-purpose applications.

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of standalone programs, integrated programs, and software suites.

4Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Objectives

Discuss the advantages of Web-hosted technology and file compatibility.

Explain the concept of software versions and software upgrades.

Understand how commercial software, shareware, freeware, and public domain software differ.


Objectives

Describe the essential concepts of application software and the skills needed to use it.


General-Purpose Applications

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

General-purpose applications, such as word-processing or spreadsheet programs, enable users to complete common tasks.

7Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Types of general-purpose application software Personal productivity programs Multimedia and graphics software Applications that work through and

run from the Internet Home and education programs



Personal productivity programs Make it easier to do

work Examples

Word-processing software

Spreadsheet or database software

Presentation software



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



Multimedia and graphics software programs Professional desktop publishing Multimedia authoring Paint, drawing, and animation Image editing 3D rendering Audio Video editing



Codecs are algorithms that reduce file size and allow 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.




Use paint programs to create bitmapped images (raster graphics), which are made up of tiny dots known as pixels.


Paint program standard file formats 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



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

Tag Image File Format (TIFF) Includes descriptive information with the

image Used in publishingCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 15


Drawing programs create vector graphics that can be edited and resized without distortion.



Three-dimensional rendering programs provide graphic objects with 3D effects.

Image editors Are advanced types of paint programs Can change complicated bitmapped

objects, including photographs Can edit, but not create, bitmapped

imagesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 17


Animation programs give the user the ability to create animation from images and run the animation.



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



Standard sound file formats MP3 Windows Media Audio (WMA) WAV Ogg Vorbis Musical Instrument Digital Interface

(MIDI)



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

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

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Applications that work through the Internet Examples

E-mail Instant messaging software Web browsers Video conferencing programs



Web-hosted technology Share files and collaborate.

Windows Office Live Google Docs

Help avoid file incompatibility. Undesirable Internet software

Spyware monitors your activity. Adware targets products to your

interests.Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 24


Home and educational programs Computerized reference software

Multimedia dictionaries Encyclopedias How-to guides

Personal finance software Computer games


Tailor-Made Applications

Software designed for specific businesses or users are known as tailor-made applications.

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


Tailor-Made Applications

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

Packaged software is developed for the mass market.


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

Advantages Purchased and installed separately Function by themselves

Disadvantages Take a lot of storage space Do not share resources


Standalone Programs, Integrated Programs, & Software Suites

Integrated programs provide leading productivity programs in one package. Easy to learn and share the same

interface Example: Microsoft Works

Have fewer features than standalone programs and software suitesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice

Hall 29



A software suite (office suite) is a bundle of standalone programs.

Word processing Spreadsheet Presentation graphics Database Personal information

Share common code, drivers, and graphic libraries.Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 30

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 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 32


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 and purchased in stores.Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice

Hall 33


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


Software Licenses & Registration

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

A 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

it. If you like it, pay for it and continue

using it.Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 36


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

others

Public domain software Copyright-free software Users can modify or sell

Copy-protected software Internal process prohibits making

unauthorized copiesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 37

Installing & Managing Application Software

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

Uninstalling software takes the program off the hard disk.

Launching software moves it from the hard disk to memory.


Installing & Managing Application Software

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

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

Quitting or closing down an application is known as exiting.


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.


Summary

Summary

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

Office suites that incorporate Web-hosted technology are gaining popularity with today’s users.


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.


Summary

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

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


Summary

Documents

Computers Are Your Future Eleventh Edition Chapter 5: Application Software: Tools for Productivity Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing