Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8th Edition

Slides:



Advertisements
Similar presentations
Word Processing and Desktop Publishing Software
Advertisements

Standard Grade Notes General Purpose Packages. These are Software packages which allow the user to solve a range of problems.
To facilitate communications To support household activities, for personal business, or for education To serve as a productivity/ business tool To assist.
Chapter 3 Application Software p. 6.
Your Interactive Guide to the Digital World Discovering Computers 2012.
Calculations, Visualization, and Simulation 6.  2001 Prentice Hall6.2 Chapter Outline The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Statistical.
Great Ideas in Computer Science Basic Office and Scientific Applications COMP 41 – Feb 15.
Slide 1 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Productivity Applications © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Lecture 5 Word Processing. ©1999 Addison Wesley Longman5.2 Text Editors Utility program for creating and modifying text files. Do not embed control characters,
Living in a Digital World Discovering Computers 2010.
Introduction to Information Technology v Session : 07 v Source : Shelly, Gary B. Discovering Computers (2004/2005/2006). Thomson Course Technology. Chapter.
Digital Planet: Tomorrow’s Technology and You
W rking with W rds Word Processing and Digital Publishing o o 5.
Tomorrow’s Technology and You 9/e Chapter 5 Productivity Applications  Slide 1.
Living in a Digital World Discovering Computers 2011.
Discovering Computers Fundamentals, 2011 Edition Living in a Digital World.
Application Software Productivity Tools for Educators
Chapter 5 Application Software.
Slide 1 © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.. Chapter 5 Productivity Applications Slide 2 © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 1 Computer Confluence 7/e © 2006 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Your Interactive Guide to the Digital World Discovering Computers 2012 Chapter 3 Software for Systems Chapter 4 – Application Software.
W rking with W rds Word Processing and Desktop Publishing o o.
Basic Application Software Chapter 3. CE06_PP03-2 Basic Applications Called general-purpose or productivity applications Common types Word processors.
 2002 Prentice Hall Revolution in Writing From Word Processing to Paperless Publishing.
Slide 1 Tomorrow's Technology & You © 2006 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Slide 1 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8 th Edition © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Applications Software. Applications software is designed to perform specific tasks. There are three main types of application software: Applications packages.
CSCI 1101 Intro to Computers 3. Common Productivity Software.
Warranty buyer beware. software manufacturers limit their liability for software problems by selling their software “as is”. can’t guarantee error free.
Discovering Computers 2008 Chapter 3 Application Software.
Revolution in Writing From Word Processing to Paperless Publishing.
Software Applications for Education for Education Lecture 6 Lectured by Prof. Jese UEAB 2008.
Software. Generic Software  e.g. word processing, spreadsheet and database. – This simply implies that any of the dozens of spreadsheet packages, for.
Spreadsheet Applications Calculations, Visualization, and Simulation.
Slide 1 Tim Penyusun Materi KU1072/Pengantar Teknologi Informasi B Productivity Applications.
Chapter 6 Calculations, Visualization, and Simulation.
Teachers Discovering Computers Integrating Technology and Digital Media in the Classroom 5 th Edition Let’s Review Lesson 2! Who Wants to Be a Computer.
© Paradigm Publishing Inc. 5-1 Chapter 5 Application Software.
Productivity Software. Why use technology support tools? Improved productivity Improved appearance Improved accuracy More support for interaction.
Chapter Six Calculation, Visualization, and Simulation.
C OMPUTING E SSENTIALS Timothy J. O’Leary Linda I. O’Leary Presentations by: Fred Bounds.
Chapter Six Calculation, Visualization, and Simulation.
Chapter 10 Writing and Printing Documents. 2Practical PC 5 th Edition Chapter 10 Getting Started In this Chapter, you will learn: − How word processing.
Chapter Five Working with Words ©1999 Addison Wesley Longman5.2 Chapter Outline The Word Processing Process The Wordsmith’s Toolbox The Desktop Publishing.
Software AS Module Heathcote Ch. 22. Importance of Information  Information technology is fundamental to the success of any business  The information.
Discovering Computers Fundamentals, 2010 Edition Living in a Digital World.
4.2 Microsoft Word.
Discovering Computers 2011: Living in a Digital World Chapter 3
Objectives Overview Identify the four categories of application software Describe characteristics of a user interface Identify the key features of widely.
Microsoft Excel.
Application Software Chapter 6.
Objectives Overview Identify the four categories of application software Differentiate among the seven forms through which software is available Explain.
CHAPTER 2 Computer Software.
Word Processing.
Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8th Edition
Computer Confluence 7/e
Word for Mac 2011 One of the most important skills a working professional possesses is the ability to express ideas, opinions, and research findings in.
Application Software Productivity Tools for Educators
4.2 Microsoft Word.
Chapter 4 Application Software
Microsoft Excel All editions of Microsoft office.
Application Software Productivity Tools for Educators
Unit# 6: ICT Applications
Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8th Edition
Not long ago, trained specialists were required to perform many of the operations you can now do with a microcomputer. Competent end users need to understand.
Word Processing and Desktop Publishing Software
ICT Word Processing Lesson 1: Introduction to Word Processing
SDLC Phases Systems Design.
Calculations, Visualization, and Simulation
Presentation transcript:

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8th Edition © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Productivity Applications © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Objectives Describe how word processing and desktop publishing software have revolutionized writing and publishing. Discuss the potential impact of desktop publishing and Web publishing on the concept of freedom of the press. Speculate about future developments in word processing and digital publishing. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Objectives (continued) Describe the basic functions and applications of spreadsheets and other types of statistical and simulation programs. Explain how computers can be used to answer “What if?” questions. Explain how computers are used as tools for simulating mechanical, biological, and social systems. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Doug Engelbart Explores Hyperspace One of the pioneers of the computer hardware and software In 1968, he demonstrated his Augment system: Mouse Video display editing Mixed text and graphics, windowing Outlining Shared-screen video conferencing Computer conferencing Groupware Hypermedia © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Wordsmith’s Toolbox Working with a word processor involves several steps: Entering text Editing text Formatting the document Proofreading the document Saving the document on disk Printing the document © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Wordsmith’s Toolbox Entering, Editing, and Formatting Text Entering text Text is displayed on the screen and stored in the computer’s RAM. Save your work periodically because RAM is not permanent memory. Editing text Navigate to different parts of a document. Insert or delete text at any point. Move and copy text. Search and replace words or phrases. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Word Processors and Other Word Tools Formatting commands Formatting characters Characters are measured by point size (one point = 1/72 inch). A font is a size and style of typeface. Serif fonts have serifs or fine lines at the ends of each character. You can use monospaced fonts and proportionally-spaced fonts. Arial Bradley Hand ITC A 200 pts 120 pts A 80 pts A 20 pts 40 pts A A © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Wordsmith’s Toolbox Formatting paragraphs involves: Margin settings Line spacing Indents Tabs Justification © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Wordsmith’s Toolbox Formatting the document Stylesheets Headers and footers Multiple variable-width columns Graphics Automatic editing features Hidden comments Table of contents and indexes Coaching and help features (sometimes called wizards) Conversion to HTML for Web publishing © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Rules of Thumb: Word Processing Is Not Typing Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Word Processors and Other Word Tools Rules of Thumb: Word Processing Is Not Typing Use the Return or Enter key only when you must. Word wrap moves text to the next line. Use tabs and margin guides, not the spacebar, to align columns. WYSIWYG is a matter of degree. Text that looks perfectly aligned onscreen may not line up on paper. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Word Processors and Other Word Tools Don’t underline. Use italics and boldface for emphasis; italicize book and journal titles. Use only one space after a period. Proportionally-spaced fonts look better without double spaces. Take advantage of special characters. Bullets (•), em dashes (—), and curly or smart quotes (“ ”) make your work look more professional. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Wordsmith’s Toolbox Outliners and Idea Processors are effective at: Arranging information into levels Rearranging ideas and levels Hiding and revealing levels of detail as needed © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Wordsmith’s Toolbox Digital References Dictionaries, quotation books, encyclopedias, atlases, almanacs, and other references are now available in digital form. The biggest advantage of the electronic form is speed. The biggest drawback is that quick and easy copying might tempt writers to plagiarize. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Wordsmith’s Toolbox Synonym Finders A computerized thesaurus can provide instantaneous feedback for synonyms © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Wordsmith’s Toolbox Spelling Checkers Compare words in your document with words in a disk-based dictionary Words might be flagged, but you make the decision to ignore or change the spelling. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow's Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Wordsmith’s Toolbox Grammar and Style Checkers Analyze each word in context, checking for errors of content Check spelling Point out possible errors and suggest improvements Analyze prose complexity using measurements such as sentence length and paragraph length © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Wordsmith’s Toolbox Form Letter Generators Mail merge capabilities produce personalized form letters. Create a database with names. Create a form letter. Merge the database with the form letter to create a personalized letter. You can incorporate custom paragraphs based on the recipient’s personal data. Each letter looks as if it were individually written. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Wordsmith’s Toolbox Collaborative Writing Tools Groupware: software designed to be used by a workgroup Provides for collaborative writing and editing Tracks changes and identifies them by the originator’s name Compares document versions and highlights differences in documents © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Emerging Word Tools Processing handwritten words Processing words with software that can reliably recognize human speech Anticipating a writer’s needs, acting as an electronic editor or co-author © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

What Is Desktop Publishing? Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Desktop Publishing Story What Is Desktop Publishing? The process of producing a book, magazine, or other publication includes several steps: Writing text Editing text © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Desktop Publishing Story Producing drawings, photographs, and other graphics to accompany the text Designing a basic format for the publication Typesetting text Arranging text and graphics on pages Typesetting and printing pages Binding pages into a finished publication © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Desktop Publishing Story With modern desktop publishing technology (DTP), the production process can be accomplished with sophisticated tools that are affordable and easy to use. A desktop publishing system generally includes: One or more Macs or PCs A scanner Transforms photographs and hand-drawn images into computer-readable documents A high-resolution printer Software (see next slide) © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Desktop Publishing Story Desktop publishing software: Image-editing software Page-layout software combines the various source documents into a coherent, visually appealing publication QuarkXpress PageMaker Adobe InDesign © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Creating Professional-looking Documents Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Desktop Publishing Story Creating Professional-looking Documents Rules of Thumb: Plan before you publish. Use appropriate fonts. Don’t go style-crazy. View your document through your reader’s eyes. Learn from the masters. Know your limitations. Remember the message: “The purpose of publishing is communication; don’t try to use technology to disguise the lack of something to communicate.” © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Why Desktop Publishing? Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Desktop Publishing Story Why Desktop Publishing? Saves money Saves time Can reduce the number of publication errors Offers new hope for every individual’s right to publish © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Beyond the Printed Page Paperless Publishing and the Web A common prediction is that desktop publishing—and paper publishing in general—will be replaced by paperless electronic media. Electronic Books and Digital Paper The electronic book, or ebook, is a handheld device that can contain anything from today’s top news stories to lengthy novels. Digital paper, or epaper, is a flexible, portable, paper-like material that can dynamically display black-and-white text and images on its surface. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation The Malleable Matrix The spreadsheet consists of: Cells (the intersection of a row and column) Addresses (column letter and row number, e.g., A1, C12) Cell A1 Cell C12 © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Spreadsheets can contain: Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Spreadsheets can contain: Values, such as numbers and dates Labels, such as column and report headings, that explain what the values mean © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

+ (plus) - (minus) *(multiplication) / (division) Sum Average Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Formulas allow you to create instructions using mathematical expressions and commands. + (plus) - (minus) *(multiplication) / (division) Sum Average © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Creating a Worksheet with Microsoft Excel Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Screen Test: Creating a Worksheet with Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet programs work in much the same way and share most of these features: Spreadsheets offer many automatic features such as replication of data. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Formulas can be: Relative, so they refer to different cells when they are copied Absolute, so the formula references never change when they are copied When the formula in column B is copied to column C, it changes relative to the new column. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Automatic recalculation Any time a change is entered into the spreadsheet, all data related to the change automatically updates. When a value is entered in column E or F the value of the related formula in column G is automatically updated. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Functions (e.g., SUM, AVG, SQRT) automate complex calculations. Macros store keystrokes and commands so they can be played back automatically. Templates offer ready-to-use worksheets with labels and formulas already entered. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Linking spreadsheets together When the values change in one spreadsheet, the data is automatically updated in all linked spreadsheets. Database capabilities Search for information Sort the data by a specific criteria Merge the data with a word processor Generate reports © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Rules of Thumb: Avoiding Spreadsheet Pitfalls Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Rules of Thumb: Avoiding Spreadsheet Pitfalls Plan the worksheet before you start entering values and formulas. Make your assumptions as accurate as possible. Double-check every formula and value. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Rules of Thumb (continued) Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Rules of Thumb (continued) Make formulas readable. Check your output against other systems. Build in cross-checks. Change the input data values and study the results. Take advantage of pre-programmed functions, templates, and macros.. Use a spreadsheet as a decision-making aid, not as a decision-maker. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation “What If?” Questions Spreadsheets allow you to change numbers and instantly see the effects of those changes. “What if I enter this value?” Equation solvers Some spreadsheets generate data needed to fit a given equation and target value. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Spreadsheet Graphics: From Digits to Drawings Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Spreadsheet Graphics: From Digits to Drawings Charts allow you to turn numbers into visual data. Pie charts show proportions relative to the whole. Line charts show trends or relationships over time. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Use bar charts if data falls into a few categories. Use scatter charts to discover, rather than to display, a relationship between two variables. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Rules of Thumb: Making Smart Charts Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Rules of Thumb: Making Smart Charts Choose the right chart for the job. Think about the message you’re trying to convey. Pie charts, bar charts, line charts, and scatter charts are not interchangeable. Keep it simple, familiar, and understandable. Use charts in magazines, books, and newspapers as models. Strive to reveal the truth, not hide it. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Statistical Software: Beyond Spreadsheets Money Managers Accounting and Financial Management software allows you to electronically handle routine transactions such as: Writing checks Balancing accounts Creating budgets Using online banking services Preparing taxes © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Automatic Mathematics Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Statistical Software: Beyond Spreadsheets Automatic Mathematics Mathematics processing software Software turns abstract mathematical relationships into visual objects (Example: Mathematica by Wolfram). Generally, they include an interactive, wizard-like question-and-answer mode, a programming language, and tools for creating interactive documents that combine text, numerical expressions, and graphics. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Statistics and Data Analysis Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Statistical Software: Beyond Spreadsheets Statistics and Data Analysis Statistical and data analysis software Collects and analyzes data that tests the strength of data relationships Can produce graphs showing how two or more variables relate to each other Can often uncover trends by browsing through two- and three-dimensional graphs of data, looking for unusual patterns in the dots and lines that appear on the screen © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Scientific Visualization Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Statistical Software: Beyond Spreadsheets Scientific Visualization Scientific visualization software uses shape, location in space, color, brightness, and motion to help us visualize data. Visualization helps researchers see relationships that might have been obscure or even impossible to grasp without computer-aided visualization tools. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Calculated Risks: Computer Modeling and Simulation Computer modeling uses computers to create abstract models of objects, organisms, organizations, and processes. Examples of popular computer models: Games (chess boards, sports arenas, and mythological societies) Models of organisms, objects, and organizations Flight simulators and simulations of science lab activities Business, city, or nation management simulations © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Computer Simulations: The Rewards Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Calculated Risks: Computer Modeling and Simulation Computer Simulations: The Rewards Computer simulations are widely used. There are many reasons: Safety Economy Projection Visualization Replication © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Computer Simulations: The Risk Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Calculated Risks: Computer Modeling and Simulation Computer Simulations: The Risk GIGO Revisited The accuracy of a simulation depends on how closely its mathematical model corresponds to the system being simulated. Some models suffer from faulty assumptions. Some models contain hidden assumptions that may not even be obvious to their creators. Some models go astray simply because of clerical or human errors. Still, garbage in, garbage out is a basic rule of simulation. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Calculated Risks: Computer Modeling and Simulation Making Reality Fit the Machine Some simulations are so complex that researchers need to simplify models and streamline calculations to get them to run on the best hardware available. Sometimes this simplification of reality is deliberate; more often it’s unconscious. Either way, information can be lost, and the loss may compromise the integrity of the simulation and call the results into question. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Jedi Master in Star Wars Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Calculated Risks: Computer Modeling and Simulation The Illusion of Infallibility A computer simulation, whether generated by a PC spreadsheet or churned out by a supercomputer, can be an invaluable decision-making aid. The risk is that the people who make decisions with computers will turn over too much of their decision-making power to the computer. Risks can be magnified because people take computers seriously. “Trust your feelings.” Jedi Master in Star Wars © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Inventing the Future: Truly Intelligent Agents Future user interfaces will be based on agents rather than on tools. Agents are software programs designed to be managed rather than manipulated. An intelligent software agent can: Ask questions as well as respond to commands Pay attention to its user’s work patterns Serve as a guide and a coach Take on its owner’s goals Use reasoning to fabricate goals of its own © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Inventing the Future: Truly Intelligent Agents Tomorrow’s agents will be better able to compete with human assistants. Future agents may possess a degree of sensitivity. A well-trained software agent in the future might accomplish these tasks: Remind you that it’s time to get the tires rotated on your car and make an appointment for the rotation Distribute notes to the other members of your study group or work group and tell you which members opened those notes © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Inventing the Future: Truly Intelligent Agents I don’t want to sit and move stuff around on my screen all day and look at figures and have it recognize my gestures and listen to my voice. I want to tell it what to do and then go away; I don’t want to babysit this computer. I want it to act for me, not with me. —Esther Dyson, computer industry analyst and publisher Keep you posted on new articles on subjects that interest you and know enough about those subjects to be selective without being rigid Manage your appointments and keep track of your communications Teach you new applications and answer reference questions Defend your system and your home from viruses, intruders, and other security breaches Help protect your privacy on and off the Net © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Lesson Summary Even though the computer was designed to work with numbers, it can be an important tool for working with words as well. Word processing software enables you to use commands to edit text on screen, without having to retype messages. Outlining software, spell checkers, and online references can be very helpful. Desktop publishing produces professional-quality text-and-graphics documents. Spreadsheets can be used for tracking, calculating, forecasting, and almost any other task that involves repetitive numeric calculations. Most spreadsheet programs have charting capabilities. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Lesson Summary (continued) Specialized software allows you to perform accounting tasks, tax preparation, and a variety of business functions without the aid of spreadsheets. Symbolic mathematic and statistical-analysis software can help present data in meaningful ways. Scientific visualization software can help us understand relationships that are invisible to the naked eye. Computer modeling and simulation can be powerful tools for understanding the world and making better decisions. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.