Software suite

A software suite or application suite is a collection of computer programs, usually application software and programming software of related functionality, often sharing a more-or-less commonuser interface and some ability to smoothly exchange data with each other.

Sometimes software makers introduce "suites" that are little more than repackaged versions of older programs offered at a lower price.

Examples

• Office suite
• Internet suite
• Graphics suite
• Integrated development environment

GroupWare

What is GroupWare?

Groupware (Collaborative Software) is any software, application, or device that allows two or more persons to communicate and solve technological problems collaboratively without being together physically. The development of the Internet, video conferencing, other communication technologies, and Collaborative Software has spiraled, thus allowing information sharing among employees in different locations.

GroupWare Categories

Most experts categorize GroupWare in the following ways:

1. Related to time – When employees use the same application at different times it is called asynchronous GroupWare, when used at the same time it is called synchronous GroupWare.
2. Related to Place – When employees use GroupWare in the same place it is called Collocated, when used in different places it is called Distance.

Some experts divide Collaborative Software into three categories:

1. Conferencing tools – These basically include chat rooms, message boards, data, voice, and video conferencing.
2. Communication tools – These include basic e-mail, voicemail, and FAX.
3. Collaborative management tools – These include project management systems, electronic calendars, and workflow systems.

Examples of GroupWare

There are many examples of commonly used GroupWare. Both AOL and Microsoft have instant messaging programs for computer-to-computer communication. These programs allow two persons or a group to talk to each other. Wikis are another GroupWare device that allow collaborative work. Wikis allow users to make changes and edits to another person’s work. There are a number of fail-safes installed to prevent important data that has been previously entered from being lost. Even e-mails are an example of GroupWare. Most do not consider social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook GroupWare. Facebook, MySpace, and other social networking sites are rarely used in the workspace for any productive reason. The sites are predominantly used for entertainment, so it is rare for anyone to use these websites to work collaboratively.

The Benefits of GroupWare

1. GroupWare enables new communication methods, thus allowing problem solving.
2. GroupWare helps provide faster and clearer communication and also enables communication in remote areas where it would not have been possible otherwise.
3. It helps to create common interest groups that would be difficult to create in person.
4. Collaborative software also enables telecommunication and decreases travel costs.
5. GroupWare allows all users to access identical information, thus increasing their problem solving capabilities. Quick access to accurate information and quick communication with other users simplify the decision making process, consequently increasing the decision making process’s efficiency.
6. There is a central location for data storage. Since many people have access to the data at the same time, GroupWare is designed to store and manage all the data that is relevant to the project, thus providing easy access to everyone. Moreover, GroupWare also records user modifications and the modifier’s identity.
7. GroupWare improves the communication between users by providing different communication methods such as Instant messaging, web conferencing, database access, and document versioning. As a result, communication intensifies and becomes clearer, faster, and more efficient.

Meeting physically wastes time and money and constrains production. By using electronic devices such as e-mail and wikis, an employee can work from the comfort of his/her own space anytime. The added convenience leads to more productivity and better overall results.

Freeware

Like shareware, freeware is software you can download, pass around, and distribute without any initial payment. However, the great part about freeware is that you never have to pay for it. No 30 day limit, no demo versions, no disabled features -- it's totally free. Things like minor program updates and small games are commonly distributed as freeware. Though freeware does not cost anything, it is still copyrighted, so other people can't market the software as their own.


Examples of freewere:

1. Mozilla Firefox
2. Opera web browser
3. Google Chrome
4. MAME
5. VLC
6. MPlayer
7. Jnes
8. Nestopia
9. OpenOffice.org
10. PuTTY
11. Frostwire
12. Kega Fusion
13. ImgBurn
14. Adobe Flash Player
15. Apache web server

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_some_examples_of_freeware#ixzz1cUw6dYEC

Shareware

These days, you think about a task and you find a software program designed to accomplish it. Thankfully, they haven't yet come up with a program that can 'think' for you (yes, I am referring to AI), which would make us lazier than ever. Software must of course be used to make our jobs easier, so that we can give more time to think about tasks which require a lot of thought!

The launch of the Internet has made software substantially easier and almost all the utility programs that you need can be downloaded and bought online. One type of software that can be freely downloaded from the Internet or freely distributed through many other channels is the 'Shareware', which is often confused to be same as 'Freeware', which it is not.


What is a Shareware?

All the kinds of software programs can be divided into three types primarily, which are freeware, paid programs and shareware. Freeware programs can be downloaded and used for free, although they may be copyrighted or licensed in some cases. Example of freeware are the Mozilla web browser and torrent clients like BitTorrent. Example of paid or proprietary programs are Windows operating system versions like Windows 7 and Windows Vista.

You must buy these programs to be able to use them. The third category is shareware, which are paid programs in actuality, that are made available for free by the software developer, for a limited period of time, after which they need to be bought to continue usage. Such programs are marketed in a 'trial' version form, which can be downloaded for free and used for a short period of time, which could be 30 or 60 days. Let's just say that a program is a freeware for a limited period of time (although it may not have the full features), after which it must be purchased.

A shareware program is thus offered as a trial version of the original program with full or limited features provided. These 'Evaluation' versions of the program help the user to test drive the software before actually buying it. Most of these programs can be downloaded directly from websites on the Internet. Some are also provided for free with DVDs sold with magazines and other periodicals. This is one of the easiest ways of marketing a software to the end user.

Examples

There are literally millions of shareware programs on the Internet. Some of the prime examples are 'Winzip' and antivirus programs like 'Spyware Doctor with Antivirus'. Many other antivirus programs are marketed through free trial versions, which can be downloaded directly from their websites. Here are some more popular examples that you could check out.

• DVD-Cloner VI
• Registry Mechanic
• Blue-Cloner
• Total Privacy
• Easy Movie Splitter 2.5.3
• UltraISO 7.6
• Wondershare YouTube Downloader
• Internet Download Accelerator 3.1
• CloneDVD 4.3
• PHP Debugger 2.1.3.3
• BadCopy Pro 3.61
• System Mechanic 8.0
• IVOS - Intelligent Voice Operating System 1.02
• WinAVI Video Converter 7.1
• Xilisoft Video Converter Ultimate 5.1.26
• SnapTouch
• Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional

The best thing about shareware programs is the fact that you get to try them out, before buying them. In case you are unhappy with its performance during evaluation or trial phase, you can simply refuse to buy it. It is a clever software marketing tactic of hooking up people to the software during the trial period, after which they are bound to be ready to pay a price for using further. From the buyer's and seller's point of view, these programs create a win-win situation.

Software Copyright

1. Introduction

Software copyright law is something that affects anyone who uses a computer, and most particularly businesses - it is not uncommon for a business to face civil or even criminal proceedings for software copyright infringement. Yet at the same time, it is a complex area of law that is not widely understood.

The purpose of this briefing paper is to provide an explanation of the law that is comprehensible to a non-lawyer and non-programmer. It should be noted that this briefing paper should be taken only as general guidance: it is impossible to explain all the technicalities of the law, or to cover every possible set of circumstances, in a document of this kind. In any case, the details of the law can vary from country to country.

If you are in any doubt as to your legal rights, you should consult a specialist lawyer.

1.1. THE SCOPE OF THIS BRIEFING PAPER

This briefing paper concentrates on the law of software copyright in the European Union, with particular reference to theCommunity Directive 2009/24/EC. It does not cover the laws of countries outside the European Union.

Also, it does not deal with intellectual property rights in things other than software. If, for example, there is a computer program that allows you to access a database, then the computer program will be subject to software copyright (covered here), while the database will be subject to the different legal provisions governing databases (not covered here).

This briefing paper contains a general introduction to software copyright law: there is other briefing paper, entitledSoftware Copyright and the Computer Programmer , that cover more specialised aspects of the subject.

Please note that this briefing paper does not cover so-called "moral rights". These are certain special rights retained by each individual computer programmer. Although an intrinsic part of copyright law, the law of moral rights is not likely to be relevant to ordinary users of software, but only to programmers and their employers. This topic is therefore considered in section H of the briefing paper entitled Software Copyright and the Computer Programmer .

1.2. "SOFTWARE" DEFINED

Before proceeding any further, it is important to ask: what exactly do we mean by "software"?

For a computer to work, it has to be programmed, i.e. given a set of instructions in a language that computers understand. These programs are referred to as "software", to distinguish them from "hardware" (the physical objects that make up a computer system, such as microchips, processors, the keyboard, etc.).

In this briefing paper, the terms "software" and "computer program" will be treated as synonyms.

Here are some examples of software:

• Operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, and Linux. The operating system is the computer program that organises all of the other computer programs.
  
• Software for general, everyday use, such Web browsers, word processors, spreadsheets, software for making presentations, etc.
  
• More specialised software, such as computer-aided design software, software for statisticians, software for accountants, etc.
  
• The software that makes the Internet work, such as Web server software (which sends Web pages to your Web browser on demand)-
  

In order to understand the law of software copyright, it is necessary to understand two technical terms: "source code" and "object code".

" Source code" is a computer program in the form written by a programmer (in a language such as Perl or C).

" Object code" is a computer program converted into the form in which a computer would run it (in "machine language", i.e. ones and zeros). To convert source code into object code, you use a special computer program called a "compiler".

Note that a computer program will (generally speaking) exist in two forms: the source code form (the form in which it was written by human beings), and the object code form (the form in which a computer runs it). These are two different forms of one and the same computer program. So far as copyright law is concerned, both of these forms are covered by the definition of "computer program". Furthermore, the two forms are regarded as equivalent, in the sense that whoever owns the copyright in the source code will automatically own the copyright in the object code.

The Directive also states that a computer program incorporated into the design of a silicon chip is nonetheless considered to be software for legal purposes. This makes sense: any computer program could theoretically be build into the design of a silicon chip, and it seems only reasonable that doing this has no effect on copyright.

Note that computer languages are not themselves pieces of software. For example, no one owns a copyright in the computer language C, or in the individual words that make up that language.

Also note that the manuals, etc., that document a piece of software do not themselves count as software. Such manuals will copyrighted, but the rules may not be exactly the same as for software copyright (for example, in relation to employees' rights).

2. What is software copyright?

Software copyright is not essentially different from any other sort of copyright. However, there are certain aspects of copyright law that are specific to software, because there are practical differences between software and other things that can be copyrighted (books, poems, drawings, sculptures, etc.).

Copyright law gives a programmer (or in the case of an employed programmer, that programmer's employer) a high degree of control over the program that he or she creates.

Specifically, it is (with a few very limited exceptions) unlawful for anyone other than the owner of the rights to run the program, copy the program, modify the program or distribute the program, except with the permission of the rights owner. 

Let us consider this point by point:

• The permission of the rights owner is necessary if you want to run the program (although this rule is qualified by the exceptions to software copyright - see subsection C.3 of this briefing paper for details).
  
• The permission of the rights owner is necessary if you want to make a copy of the program for any reason. (There is an exception for the making of a "back-up" copy - that is, a spare copy, in case the original is erased or damaged by accident. See subsection C.3 of this briefing paper for details.)
  
  Even copying the program from a disk into your computer's memory is considered as "copying", and requires permission.
  
• Converting a computer program from source code to object code (" compiling" the program) counts as copying, and requires permission. The same applies to converting a computer program from object code to source code (" decompiling" the program). In practice, this is not important for ordinary computer users, but only for programmers.
  
• The permission of the rights owner is necessary if you want to modify the program. Once again, this is not important for ordinary computer users, but only for programmers.
  
• The permission of the rights owner is necessary if you want to distribute the program. This would include, for example, distributing the program over the Internet.
  
• However, copyright law does permit certain very limited exceptions, such as the exception for back-up copies described above. (See subsection C.3 of this briefing paper for more details of the exceptions to copyright.)
  

It should be noted that (as under general copyright law) no registration, copyright notice, or other such formality is needed to establish copyright. Copyright protection is automatic.

utility program

Ultility program A program that performs a specific task related to the management of computer functions, resources, or files, as password protection, memory management, virus protection, and file compression.

A program that supports using the computer, an application or a development environment. Also called "utilities," utility software is programmed like any other software, except that it plays a supporting role. Usually relatively small programs, they typically perform a limited number of tasks.

Utility programs include file management (creating, moving and renaming folders, copying and deleting files), file search, comparing file contents as well as performing diagnostic routines to check the performance and current health of the hardware.

Custom Utilities

Utilities that support a development environment can perform myriad tasks. For example, at the end of each update cycle of this encyclopedia, custom-programmed utilities are run that make sure all "See this term" references and all picture references are valid.

Utility software is system software designed to help analyze, configure, optimize or maintain a computer. A single piece of utility software is usually called a utility or tool.

Utility software usually focuses on how the computer infrastructure (including the computer hardware, operating system, application software and data storage) operates. Due to this focus, utilities are often rather technical and targeted at people with an advanced level of computer knowledge - in contrast to application software, which allows users to do things like creating text documents, playing games, listening to music or viewing websites.

Utility software categories

• Anti-virus utilities scan for computer viruses.
• Backup utilities can make a copy of all information stored on a disk, and restore either the entire disk (e.g. in an event of disk failure) or selected files (e.g. in an event of accidental deletion).
• Data compression utilities output a shorter stream or a smaller file when provided with a stream or file.
• Disk checkers can scan operating hard drive.
• Disk cleaners can find files that are unnecessary to computer operation, or take up considerable amounts of space. Disk cleaner helps the user to decide what to delete when their hard disk is full.
• Disk compression utilities can transparently compress/uncompress the contents of a disk, increasing the capacity of the disk.
• Disk defragmenters can detect computer files whose contents are broken across several locations on the hard disk, and move the fragments to one location to increase efficiency.
• Disk partitions can divide an individual drive into multiple logical drives, each with its own file system which can be mounted by the operating system and treated as an individual drive.
• Disk space analyzers for the visualization of disk space usage by getting the size for each folder (including sub folders) & files in folder or drive. showing the distribution of the used space.
• Disk storage utilities
• Archive utilities output a stream or a single file when provided with a directory or a set of files. Archive utilities, unlike archive suites, usually do not include compression or encryption capabilities. Some archive utilities may even have a separate un-archive utility for the reverse operation.
• File managers provide a convenient method of performing routine data management tasks, such as deleting, renaming, cataloging, uncataloging, moving, copying, merging, generating and modifying data sets.
• Cryptographic utilities encrypt and decrypt streams and files.
• Hex editors directly modify the text or data of a file. These files could be data or an actual program.
• Memory testers check for memory failures.
• Network utilities analyze the computer's network connectivity, configure network settings, check data transfer or log events.
• Registry cleaners clean and optimize the Windows registry by removing old registry keys that are no longer in use.
• Screensavers were desired to prevent phosphor burn-in on CRT and plasma computer monitors by blanking the screen or filling it with moving images or patterns when the computer is not in use. Contemporary screensavers are used primarily for entertainment or security.
• System monitors for monitoring resources and performance in a computer system.
• System profilers provide detailed information about the software installed and hardware attached to the computer.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/utility-program#ixzz1cUysQag5

Operating System Functions

What is an Operating System

The operating system is the core software component of your computer. It performs many functions and is, in very basic terms, an interface between your computer and the outside world. In the section about hardware, a computer is described as consisting of several component parts including your monitor, keyboard, mouse, and other parts. The operating system provides an interface to these parts using what is referred to as "drivers". This is why sometimes when you install a new printer or other piece of hardware, your system will ask you to install more software called a driver.

What does a driver do?

A driver is a specially written program which understands the operation of the device it interfaces to, such as a printer, video card, sound card or CD ROM drive. It translates commands from the operating system or user into commands understood by the the component computer part it interfaces with. It also translates responses from the component computer part back to responses that can be understood by the operating system, application program, or user. The below diagram gives a graphical depiction of the interfaces between the operating system and the computer component.

Other Operating System Functions

The operating system provides for several other functions including:

• System tools (programs) used to monitor computer performance, debug problems, or maintain parts of the system.
• A set of libraries or functions which programs may use to perform specific tasks especially relating to interfacing with computer system components.

The operating system makes these interfacing functions along with its other functions operate smoothly and these functions are mostly transparent to the user.

Operating System Concerns

As mentioned previously, an operating system is a computer program. Operating systems are written by human programmers who make mistakes. Therefore there can be errors in the code even though there may be some testing before the product is released. Some companies have better software quality control and testing than others so you may notice varying levels of quality from operating system to operating system. Errors in operating systems cause three main types of problems:

• System crashes and instabilities - These can happen due to a software bug typically in the operating system, although computer programs being run on the operating system can make the system more unstable or may even crash the system by themselves. This varies depending on the type of operating system. A system crash is the act of a system freezing and becoming unresponsive which would cause the user to need to reboot.
• Security flaws - Some software errors leave a door open for the system to be broken into by unauthorized intruders. As these flaws are discovered, unauthorized intruders may try to use these to gain illegal access to your system. Patching these flaws often will help keep your computer system secure. How this is done will be explained later.
• Sometimes errors in the operating system will cause the computer not to work correctly with some peripheral devices such as printers.

Operating System Types

There are many types of operating systems. The most common is the Microsoft suite of operating systems. They include from most recent to the oldest:

• Windows XP Professional Edition - A version used by many businesses on workstations. It has the ability to become a member of a corporate domain.
• Windows XP Home Edition - A lower cost version of Windows XP which is for home use only and should not be used at a business.
• Windows 2000 - A better version of the Windows NT operating system which works well both at home and as a workstation at a business. It includes technologies which allow hardware to be automatically detected and other enhancements over Windows NT.
• Windows ME - A upgraded version from windows 98 but it has been historically plagued with programming errors which may be frustrating for home users.
• Windows 98 - This was produced in two main versions. The first Windows 98 version was plagued with programming errors but the Windows 98 Second Edition which came out later was much better with many errors resolved.
• Windows NT - A version of Windows made specifically for businesses offering better control over workstation capabilities to help network administrators.
• Windows 95 - The first version of Windows after the older Windows 3.x versions offering a better interface and better library functions for programs.

There are other worthwhile types of operating systems not made by Microsoft. The greatest problem with these operating systems lies in the fact that not as many application programs are written for them. However if you can get the type of application programs you are looking for, one of the systems listed below may be a good choice.

• Unix - A system that has been around for many years and it is very stable. It is primary used to be a server rather than a workstation and should not be used by anyone who does not understand the system. It can be difficult to learn. Unix must normally run an a computer made by the same company that produces the software.
• Linux - Linux is similar to Unix in operation but it is free. It also should not be used by anyone who does not understand the system and can be difficult to learn.
• Apple MacIntosh - Most recent versions are based on Unix but it has a good graphical interface so it is both stable (does not crash often or have as many software problems as other systems may have) and easy to learn. One drawback to this system is that it can only be run on Apple produced hardware.