ITGS Application Software pt 3 ITGS Business Software

ITGS Application Software, pt. 3

ITGS • Business Software Alliance (BSA) and Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) – Represent software companies and work to reduce illegal copying • Lobby the government for stricter copyright enforcement • Rewards given for people who turn in copyright infringement cases

ITGS • Custom, or “bespoke” software – If off-the shelf software from a store doesn’t meet an organization’s requirements, they can hire a software development company to produce software tailored to their specific needs • This is most useful to organizations with very specific needs not catered to by mainstream software • Very expensive

ITGS • Reasons companies and people still pay for commercial software (vs. Open Source): – Better technical support – Ability to integrate software with other products (MS databases with Office) – Easier to find staff with relevant experience and training

ITGS • Open source vs. closed source – Source code: the instructions that make up the program – Programmers write source code in languages such as C, Java, or Basic, which are readable to humans – A translator program then converts the source code into binary code, which can be executed by the computer • Commercial software companies consider their source code to be hugely valuable business assets • Free (FOSS) and open source programmers openly encourage users to download, view and change their source code

ITGS • FOSS isn’t always free – Some companies sell FOSS along with hardware, installation, documentation and technical support services. • Red Hat enterprises sells Linux to mainframe users, offering technical support and software updates for paid subscriptions

ITGS • Commercial software companies make money by selling upgrades and new versions • Security in Open Source – Because the code is examined by so many people, security problems are spotted, then fixed – Security bugs in commercial software only known to the developers – Because the code is available, malicious users can use it to spot and exploit security problems • Transparency in Open Source – Because all can examine the software, the way it works can be verified • For example, source code could prove that voting software counts votes correctly

• ITGS • Cloud computing – Applications are web-based, stored on a server of on the internet (‘in the cloud’) • The system is accessed via a web browser • No data is stored on the user’s computer, but on a remote Internet server – Advantages: • Software and data are available from any location with internet access • Upgrades to cloud software automatically available on all computers immediately – Disadvantages: • Users rely on the cloud computing provider having adequate security to prevent data from falling into the hands of unauthorized users • Users rely on the cloud computing provider to have adequate backup procedures to prevent loss of data

ITGS • User interfaces – Graphical user interface (GUI) - used by most modern operating systems • Uses visual buttons, menus, icons and windows to represent different parts of the computer, including the hardware, software and data – Usually controlled by a mouse or another type of pointing device

ITGS • User interfaces – Command Line Interface (CLI) • The user interacts with the computer solely by typing commands – Some of the earliest interfaces – Most modern operating systems have a command prompt (also called a terminal) built in » PC: type ‘cmd’, press enter » Mac: Applications>Utilities

ITGS • User interfaces – Menu driven Interface (MDI) • Let the user make decisions from a series of predetermined options that may be spread across multiple screens or menus – ATMs, restaurants, etc.

ITGS • Ways to get help – Read-me files • Included with software files, these detail last minute changes or known problems which have not been included in the printed documentation. – Web: • FAQ’s (frequently asked questions) • Tutorials – Wizards: • Can guide users through a complex task by breaking it into steps and asking a series of questions