Hazel Ann M.

Orteza BSMA 2-5

Living in the IT Era July 6, 2019

1. What are the categories of Application Software and their examples?

Productivity software is a category of application programs that help users

produce things such as documents, databases, graphs, worksheets and presentations.
Many productivity applications are intended for business use. Examples of office
productivity software include word processors, database management systems (DBMS),
graphic software and spreadsheet applications. This software is becoming more popular
and more in demand to learn for employment. Word processing is widely used to create
or edit a typed document. In this program you can change the format of your work like
color, text size etc. This program also allows you to add clip art, change margins, spell
check, header and footer etc. A spreadsheet is used to organize data in rows and columns
in a worksheet. Data is stored in cells that are divided in columns and rows. More than 15
million cells can hold data. Cells can hold numbers, formula or functions. When data in
one cell is changed all of them that are affected will change automatically. Most
spreadsheets allow you to create macros, which hold a series of keystrokes and
instructions. Most programs have the ability to create charts, which is a huge advantage
A database is a system that collects data and allows access, retrieval and use of the data.
Data is stored in tables, which consists of rows and columns. Data could contain text,
numbers, dates or hyperlinks. When data is entered the program can validate it by
comparing a set value or it may have established rules. Once the data is stored, you can
sort it, query it, and generate reports from it. This is sometimes referred to as a database
management system. It is far easier to use instead of writing all the information down.
Productivity software, like most types of applications, is increasingly available for
mobile devices. However, mobile productivity apps are generally for basic tasks like e-
mail, note-taking and calendar functions, rather than more substantial tasks, such as word
processing.
 Multimedia refers to a combination of text, graphics, sound, animation and video.
Multimedia is an essential element in many of the other software applications. For
example, word processing and desktop publishing documents can be enhanced with
graphics, photos and charts. Presentations can be more exciting when they include sound
and animation. Reference and tutorial applications are more significant when they include
pictures, sounds, animation and video information in addition to text. Multimedia software
can be entertaining as well as useful. You can play music on your computer, listen to the
sound an animal makes while browsing a disk about the zoo, hear actual recordings of
famous speeches, view a video clip of a historic event, watch an animation about how a
car engine works, hear the correct pronunciation of a word or phrase, view full color
photographs of famous works of art or scenes from nature, listen to the sounds of different
musical instruments, hear works of music by renowned composers, or watch a movie on
your computer.
There is a large selection of
multimedia software available for
your enjoyment. Multimedia subjects
include children's learning, the arts,
reference works, health and
medicine, science, history,
geography, hobbies and sports,
games, and much more. Because of
the large storage requirements of this
type of media, most multimedia
software comes on a compact disk
(CD-ROM) format. Since much of the
software purchased today contains
multimedia content, we are now
referring to multimedia software as the software used to create multimedia content.
Examples incluse authoring software, which is used to create interactive multimedia
courseware which is distributed on CD or available over the Internet. A teacher could use
such a program to create interesting interactive lessons for the students which are viewed
on the computer. A business could create programs to teach job skills or orient new
employees. Another category of multimedia involves the recreational use of music. Songs
can be copied from CDs or downloaded from the Internet and stored on the hard drive.
The music can then be burned onto a CD or transferred to a walk-man-like device called
a MP3 player or a "jukebox."
There is also software for the creation, arranging, performance and recording of
music and video. Through the use of a MIDI (Music Instrument Digital Interface) connector
installed in the computer, the computer can be connected to musical instruments such as
electronic keyboards. A music student or musician could then create a multiple track
recording, arrange it, play it back, change the key or tempo, and print out the sheet music.
Another type of software which is recently gaining popularity is digital audio recording
software, which allows the computer to be connected to a digital audio mixer, usually
through USB or "Fire-wire" connectors, and record live music onto the hard drive. The
"tracks" can then be mixed, effects added, and music CDs can then be made from the
master recording.
 A large amount of application software is designed specifically for home,
personal, and educational use. Most of the programs in this category are relatively
inexpensive. Let us discuss the features and functions of this application software.
Personal finance software is a simplified accounting program that helps home users and
small office/home office users balance their checkbooks, pay bills, track personal income
and expenses, set up budgets, manage home inventory, track investments, and evaluate
financial plans. Legal software assists in the preparation of legal documents and provides
legal information to individuals, families, and small business. Legal software provides
standard contracts and documents
associated with buying, selling, and
renting property; estate planning;
marriage and divorce; and preparing a
will or living trust. By answering a
series of questions or completing a
form, the legal software tailors the
legal document to specific needs. Tax
preparation software, which is
available both as packaged software
and as Web applications, can guide
individuals, families, or small
businesses through the process of
filling taxes. These program forecast
tax liability and offer money-saving tips, designed to lower your tax bill. Personal
paint/image editing software provides an easy-to-use interface, usually with more
simplified capabilities than its professional counterpart, including functions tailored to meet
the needs of the home and small business user. As with the professional versions,
personal paint software includes various simplified tools that allow you to draw pictures,
shapes, and other images. Personal image editing software provides the capabilities of
paint software and the ability to modify existing graphics and photos. The programs also
include many templates to assist you in adding images to documents such as greeting
cards, banners, calendars, signs, labels, business cards, and letterhead. Some operating
systems include a basic/image editing program. Reference software provides valuable
and thorough information for all individuals. Popular reference software includes
encyclopedias, dictionaries, and health/medical guides. Educational software is software
that teaches a particular skill. Educational software exists for just about any subject, from
learning how to type to learning how to cook. Preschool to high-school learners use
educational software to assist them with subjects such as reading and math or to prepare
them for class or college entrance exams. Educational software often includes games and
other content to make the learning experience more fun. Many educational programs use
a computer-based training approach. Computer-based training (CBT), also called
computer-aided instruction (CAI), is a type of education in which students learn by using
and completing exercises with instructional software. CBT typically consists of self-
directed, self-paced instruction about a topic. Beginning athletes, for example, use CBT
programs to learn the intricacies of baseball, football, soccer, tennis, and golf. The military
and airlines use CBT simulations to train pilots to fly in various conditions and
environments. Entertainment software for personal computers, game consoles, and
mobile devices includes interactive games, videos, and other programs designed to
support a hobby or provide amusement and enjoyment. For example, you might use
entertainment software to play games individually or with others online, make a family
tree, or fly an aircraft. Many games are available as Web applications, allowing you to play
individually or with other online players.
 Communication software is an application or program designed to pass
information from one system to another. Such software provides remote access to
systems and transmits files in a multitude of formats between computers. Communication
software forms a part of communication systems with software components classified
according to functions within the Open Systems Interconnection Model (OSI Model). The
best defined examples of communication software are file transfer protocol (FTP),
messaging software and email.

2. What are the categories of Program Utility and their examples?

 File Viewer—used for viewing and managing files in a computer system. All operating
systems provide file viewers.
Example:
Windows Explorer

 File Compressor—used to shrink the size of files. Its smaller size of a file is easy to
copy. A large volume of data can be transferred by using file compressors.
Example:
WinZip

 Diagnostic Utilities—used to detect problems of hardware and also of the software. All
operating systems provide different diagnostic utilities to manage the computer
system.

 Disk Scanner—used to detect physical and logical problems of a disk. All operating
systems provide disk scanners to manage computer disks.

 Antivirus—used to identify and eliminate viruses is called antivirus software. Antivirus

programs enclose information about different identified viruses. They can identify
viruses and also get rid of them. Furthermore, Antivirus program not only detects
 viruses from a computer but also prevent new viruses from entering into the
computer.
Examples:
McAfee Norton Antivirus
Doctor Solomon’s Antivirus

 Disk defragmenter software—is used to recognize the files on the disk. It also manages
the unused space on the disk so that the operating system may use data more
quickly.

 Backup utility—is used to make the backup of data and files. This utility program is used
when data is lost or deleted unexpectedly. The backup utility program also
provides an easy way to take backup. Some operating systems also provide this
facility.

 Data recovery utility—is used to restore the data that has been damaged or corrupted
also. The data can be damaged by hardware failure, power fluctuation, viruses,
and the bad software also.

3. What is Data?
According to the internet, data is any set of characters that is gathered and
translated for some purpose, usually analysis. It can be any character, including text and
numbers, pictures, sound, or video. If data is not put into context, it doesn't do anything
to a human or computer.
4. What is Information?
According to the internet, information is data that has been processed in such a
way as to be meaningful to the person who receives it. It is anything that is
communicated.
5. What are the different categories of computer?

When people think “computers,” usually it’s something like a laptop or your office
computer that comes to mind. Computers are actually all around us, and can be broken
down into separate categories depending on their size and processing power. Certain
definitions have changed over time with the speedy advances in technology – we have
computers that can fit in the palm of our hands now that have as much processing power
as a computer that was the size of a whole room half a century ago! Still, most of the
general qualifications for each category are the same, along with the many subcategories
that might fit into each one.

The different categories of computer are:

 Super Computer— is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. It’s a term used to
describe computers that have the most capable processing power of its time. Early
supercomputers in the 60s and 70s used just a couple processors, while the 90s
saw supercomputers with thousands of processors at a time. Today, modern
supercomputers run hundreds of thousands of processors, capable of computing
quadrillions of calculations in just a few nanoseconds.
 Mainframe Computer— like supercomputers, mainframe computers are huge,
towering machines with lots of processing power. Mainframe computers are mostly
used by corporations, government agencies, and banks – organizations that need
a way to store large quantities of information. They are not the same as
supercomputers. The processing capabilities of mainframe computers are
measured in MIPS, or millions of instructions per second. Supercomputers, on the
other hand, are measured in FLOPS, or floating point operations per seconds.
 Mini Computer— is a multiprocessing machine that can support up to about 200
users at the same time. It’s like a less powerful mainframe computer, and is about
the size of a refrigerator. A server can be an example of a minicomputer, but not
all servers are minicomputers. Despite their name, a minicomputer is not a
personal computer like the desktop machine you might have at home or work. They
are much larger than that. Because of the ways microcomputers – which we’ll
 cover next – have excelled in processing power even beyond minicomputers, and
at a much smaller size, minicomputers have become pretty much obsolete.
 Micro Computers— the ones people are most familiar with on a daily, non-
professional basis, but of course that doesn’t mean they’re exclusive to the home.
Microcomputers are smaller computers that run on microprocessors in their central
processing units. They are much, much cheaper than supercomputers, mainframe
computers and even minicomputers, because they’re meant for everyday uses that
are more practical than professional. The range of capabilities for microcomputers
are still vast, though.
 Mobile Computers— these are exactly what they sound like – computers that are
super small and mobile. You could argue that a desktop computer is mobile if you
need it to be, but mobile computers usually describe computers that are meant to
be carried around and taken from place to place. If a desktop computer is a
microcomputer, then a laptop is a mobile computer. There are so many different
types of mobile computers though, even beyond laptop-like devices. Below is a list
of devices that could be categorized as mobile computers.

6. What are advantages and disadvantages of a computer?

Advantages:
o Speed of work. More work can be
done at a faster rate.
o Communicate globally quickly.
o Accuracy. Programs can make
sure work is more accurate than if
done manually.
o Connection to internet. Ability to
research, ask questions
o Date stored. Data can be saved
and manipulated and retrieved in
vast amounts and at a very rate
rate.
o Natural resources saved. By using computers it vastly reduces our use of paper.
o Reduces work load. Information can be accessed by more than one person with
the need for work to be duplicated.

Disadvantages:
o Thinking ability. Stops us from thinking about solving problems.
o Computers break down. When they don't work it stops companies and people
working.
o Addiction. Playing games or social networks can lead to an addiction.
o Conversation. People are spending less time communicating with the people face
to face.
o Lack of exercise. Children and adults spend too much time sat at a computer or
on a laptop.
 o Virus. Many virus can cause computers to stop working and lose valuable data
because of them.
o Scams, People around the world trying to get money from you.
o Harmful to the environment. Compute equipment needs to be deposed of properly.
o Lack of work for people. Computers have reduce the need for people to do the
same job as a computer can do the job of several people.

References:
https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/productivity-software
https://www.applicationperformancemanagement.org/software/productivity-software/
http://digitlalwise.blogspot.com/2012/03/software-for-home-personal-and.html
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/25706/communication-software
https://blog.udemy.com/categories-of-computer/