Warranty buyer beware. software manufacturers limit their liability for software problems by selling their software “as is”. can’t guarantee error free software.
Ownership you don’t buy the software – license. End User License Agreement terms of use - including the warranty disclaimer.
Ownership Shareware – try before you buy. Freeware – free to use, don’t own. Open Source - code available. Public Domain - no copyright protection. Copyright / Copy protection
Documentation hardcopy manuals. help files. online help. context sensitive help.
Upgrade updating. new features, corrections, etc. version numbering. cheaper than a new license.
Kinds of Software System Software: Operating systems (Wiindows, UNIX,etc) “talk” to the hardware Application Software : use operating system and hardware to do something, MS Word, netscape etc.
Integrated & Bundled Apps Integrated packages. suites / bundles. multipurpose software, like MSOffice Word processing Database Spreadsheet Graphics Internet access
Integrated & Bundled Apps costs less than buying the applications individually. data is transferable between modules. commands are usually the same.
Custom Applications more specific. Vertical Market software : Medical billings. Library cataloging. Banner for universities.
Computer Interfaces Text Based Interfaces: typing commands character based display MS DOS, Unix, Linux Shell – between user and the OS Multi-user operating systems
Computer Interfaces Graphical Interfaces : using a pointing device (e.g. a mouse) 1984, Macintosh™ Win 3.1 & Windows 95™ Windows, Icons, Menus, and Pointing devices GUI
Word Processing entering editing formatting proofreading saving
Terminology WYSIWYG word wrap cut & paste clipboard
Fonts & Formatting Font Face Point Size : 72 pts = 1 inch Serif vs. Sans Serif Monospaced vs. proportional Soft fonts vs. Printer fonts
Formatting Paragraphs Justification Widow / Orphan Tabs & Indents Paragraph spacing
Formatting Documents Headers & Footers Page Numbering Style Sheets Auto format, hyphenate, correct.
Writing Tools Outline Thesaurus Digital Reference Spelling Checkers Grammar and Style Checkers
More Writing Tools Collaboration Handwriting Speech Other tools?
Desktop Publishing high quality printed documents. books, magazines, brochures, etc. Word processors – limited DTP, specialized tools are more power. advantages : cost, speed, control, accessibility.
Paperless Publishing web publishing. ebooks. digital paper.
modeled after accounting ledgers: dynamic ledgers : VisiCalc. software sells hardware. Apple Computers. today - still using many of the same principles as 20 yrs ago Spreadsheets
Basic features include : automatic updating of calculations, graphing results, built-in functions for common computations. Spreadsheets
Cell : intersection of a column and row. cell address : A3 or GG567 Cell Range - denotes a contiguous group of cells, identified by the cell address of the top left corner followed by the cell address of the bottom right corner. worksheet / pages Spreadsheets
Cell Range C2:D5 Cell - D11 Column A Row 8 Spreadsheets
Data that can be entered in a cell Text / Labels Numbers : actual numerical values (including dates and times) Formulas. Spreadsheets
Formulas : start with a special character to indicate calculation. can reference other cells = B4 + C1 dynamic : change as dependant values change. can use built in functions. Spreadsheets
depict information using spatial or graphical representations. facilitate comparison, pattern recognition, change detection. cognitive skills that make use of the visual system. Information Visualization
Problem : How can we understand large datasets? Solution : the human perceptual system, convert information into a graphical representation. Information Visualization