Topic43

Topic 43
Key terms by Ronald and Wilanth Software (application), shareware, public domain, freeware, commercial software, integrated software, user manual, registration card, serial number, warranty, copyright, licence (multi-user, single user, site licence), compression/decompression, back-up, back door (trapdoor), upload/download, wizard, template by Wilanth James and Ronald Chu

Software (application) A software is any written coded commands that tell a computer what tasks to perform. Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop, and Photo Deluxe are all software applications.

Shareware Shareware is a computer software developed for the public domain, which can be used or copied without infringing copyright. Programmers typically get paid a small one time fee from users who find the software useful.

Public domain Public domain is any material that is not copyrighted or anything that is not copyrightable

Freeware Freeware is any software that is available for free for personal use.

Commercial software Commercial software that is sold for commercial purposes.

Integrated software Integrated software is a group of applications designed to work together and share data easily.

User manual A user manual is a document for novice users that explains how to use or operate something, such as a software program. Usually organized topically or by task.

Serial number A manufacturer's identification number consisting of three alpha characters plus a six-digit numeric code. The first alpha character is 'X' followed by a two-character dealer code. A serial number appears as XDDnnnnnn, where nnnnnn is a unique number allocated by the dealer.

Warranty There are two general types of warrantees: One is provided by the manufacturer of a product such as roofing material or an appliance. The second is a warrantee for the labor. For example, a roofing contract may include a 30 year material warrantee and a 5 year labor warrantee. Many (but not all ) new homes come with a one-year warranty. Any major issues found during the first year should be communicated the builder at once. Small items can be saved up and presented to the builder in a letter on the 11 month anniversary of the closing. This gives the builder one month to make the necessary corrections.

Copyright A copyright a set of special and exclusive rights regulating the use of a particular use of an idea or information. In a way, it is a “right to copy” certain things. Most of the time, these rights are have an expiration date. The symbol for copyright is © (Unicode U+00A9). A copyright are in books, internet websites, and any other sources of information provided by others. It is a type of “intellectual” property. To use information from a website or book that has a copyright is called plagiarizing; unless you source the site or book then it is not.

License (multi user, single user, site license) To license means to give permission. A license is the document that proves that permission. A multi-user license is a license that is granted to many different people. A single user license is granted to a single person or user. A site license is a software license often required by software makers to use software with any kind of commercial charge. For example, a site license may be purchased by operators of a video game center, after buying a certain game. The license gives them the right to install many copies on their computers.

Compression/Decompression Compression (also known as data compression or source coding) is the process of encoding information using fewer and less complicated “bits” in terms of computer science and information technology. One popular example of compression that many computer users are familiar with is the ZIP file format, which, as well as providing compression, acts as an archiver, which is a program that stores many files in a single output file. Decompression is just the act of reversing compression.

Back-up In terms of information technology, back-up refers to the copying of data so that these extra copies may be restored after that data may have been lost. The main reasons people use a back-up are for two reasons: to restore a computer back to a safe state after a crash down and loss of data (also known as disaster recovery); and to restore small numbers of files after they have been accidentally deleted. Back-ups are the last defense against data loss since it is less efficient and convenient to use, unlike archives and fault-tolerant systems.

Back door (trapdoor) Again, in terms of information technology, back door is a method of bypassing normal authentication or securing remote access to a computer, while not getting caught. Back door may take the form of an installed program on your computer or may be a modification to a legitimate program.

Upload/Download Uploading and downloading are terms with similar meanings that are used to describe the transfer of data (electronic) between computers or other electronic systems. To download something is to receive data from a remote system, such as a website, and put it on your computer’s hard disk. To upload is to load a file that is already on your computer.

Wizard A wizard (also known as a druid) is a computer program that leads the user by giving step by step instructions to do a task. The most commonly used wizard was the Internet Connection Wizard. The wizard guides the user by creating a connection to the internet.

Template There are many meanings for a template in the areas of information technology. First of all, template metaprogramming is a programming technique used by a compiler to generate temporary source code. In computer programming, templates are a feature of the C++ programming language that allow codes to be written without consideration of the data type with which it will eventually be used. A template (file format) is any of various standardized file types used by computer software as a pre-formatted example on which to base other documents or files.