Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Personal Application Software
Hundreds of computer applications can help people at school, home, and work. New com-
puter software under development and existing GPS technology, for example, will allow
people to see 3-D views of where they are, along with directions and 3-D maps to where they
would like to go. The features of personal application software are summarized in Table 4.5.
In addition to these general-purpose programs, thousands of other personal computer
applications perform specialized tasks: to help you do your taxes, get in shape, lose weight,
get medical advice, write wills and other legal documents, repair your computer, fix your car,
write music, and edit your pictures and videos. This type of software, often called
user soft-
ware
or
personal productivity software
, includes the general-purpose tools and programs that
support individual needs.
Table 4.5
Examples of Personal Produc-
tivity Software
Type of Software
Explanation
Example
Vendor
Word processing
Create, edit, and print text documents
Word
WordPerfect
Google Docs
Pages
Writer
Microsoft
Corel
Google
Apple
Sun
Spreadsheet
Provide a wide range of built-in functions
for statistical, financial, logical, database,
graphics, and date and time calculations
Excel
Lotus 1-2-3
Spreadsheet
Numbers
Calc
Microsoft
Lotus/IBM
Google
Apple
Sun
Database
Store, manipulate, and retrieve data
Access
Approach
dBASE
Base
Microsoft
Lotus/IBM
Borland
Sun
Graphics
Develop graphs, illustrations, and
drawings
Illustrator
FreeHand
Adobe
Macromedia
Project
management
Plan, schedule, allocate, and control
people and resources (money, time, and
technology) needed to complete a project
according to schedule
Project for Windows
On Target
Project Schedule
Time Line
Microsoft
Symantec
Scitor
Symantec
Financial
management
Provide income and expense tracking
and reporting to monitor and plan budg-
ets (some programs have investment
portfolio management features)
Quicken
Money
Intuit
Microsoft
Desktop publishing
(DTP)
Use with personal computers and
high-resolution printers to create
high-quality printed output, including text
and graphics; various styles of pages can
be laid out; art and text files from other
programs can also be integrated into
“
published
”
pages
QuarkXPress
Publisher
PageMaker
Ventura Publisher
Pages
Quark
Microsoft
Adobe
Corel
Apple
Creativity
Generate innovative and creative
ideas and problem solutions. The soft-
ware does not propose solutions, but
provides a framework conducive to cre-
ative thought. The software takes users
through a routine, first naming a prob-
lem, then organizing ideas and
“
wishes,
”
and offering new information to suggest
different ideas or solutions
Organizer
Notes
Macromedia
Lotus
