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CAT Grade 12 Theory
Software – Module 1.4
Please read pages 51 to 68 and summarise. Answer the questions at the end of the worksheet on folio paper which will be marked upon your return to school.
Web-based vs Installed applications
Web-based Installed
Can be used from ANY device anywhere in the world, as long as you have an Internet connection.
Is only on YOUR device
Always up-to-date Have to update manually
No need to install it so it saves you storage space Takes up storage space on your device Disadvantage – might NOT have all the features of an
installed version
Fully functioning software if purchased Examples:
Google Maps / Google Calendar Office 365
Google Drive Facebook apps
Adobe Photoshop Express
Compatibility
- Refers to the ability of your software to work with hardware and other software installed on your device.
- Needs to be compatible with your OS
- Needs to be compatible with your current Office type programs (compatibility mode)
System Requirements
Can your computer run
that game? Does your computer meet or exceed the system requirements? All specifications are listed as MINIMUM or RECOMMENDED requirements.
Whenever you purchase software or hardware for your computer, you should first make sure your computer supports the system requirements. These are the necessary specifications your computer must have in order to use the software or hardware. For example, a
computer game may require your computer to have Windows 10 or later, a 2.0 GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, a 64 MB graphics card, and 500 MB or hard drive space. If your computer does not meet all of these requirements, the game will not run very well or might not run at all.
It is just as important to check system requirements for hardware devices. For example, if you buy a printer, it may require either Windows XP or Mac OS X 10.3 or later. It may also require a USB port and 80 MB of available hard drive space. If your computer does not have any USB ports, you will not be able to physically connect the printer. If your machine does not have Windows XP or Mac OS X 10.3 or later, the printer drivers may be incompatible with your operating system. This means your computer will be unable to recognize the printer.
If so m eo n e sent yo u a d o cum ent in Co m p atib ility M o d e, yo u should n 't u p d ate it b efo re se n d in g it b ac k to them . They m ay n ee d it in t h e o ld er fo rm at.
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Most hardware and software products have the system requirements printed on the side or bottom of the product packaging. When you are shopping for computer software or hardware, it is a good idea to first find out exactly what your system's specifications are and write them down on a piece of paper.
Application Software
Common applications
Office suites - An Office Suite is a collection of office related software programs that are all bundled together. For example, the Microsoft Office Suite includes Word, Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, Visio, and Access.
Productivity Software for the mobile user – Lightweight versions of productivity software are being developed for mobile devices. This means that people can view and do basic editing of documents on their mobile devices instead of having to carry a laptop around with them. Some examples include: Quickoffice, Numbers, Pages, Documents To Go.
Reference software – Reference software has become very unpopular on desktops and laptops, but it is making a re-appearance on mobile devices. Some examples include: Dictionaries, Cookbooks, Anatomy references, etc.
Web browsers – A web browser allows you to navigate and view content on the Web. Most web browsers have plug-in components installed to view multimedia content such as images, sound and video.
E-mail software – provides you with a place to receive, read, reply and create email messages.
Document management software (using the PDF) – PDF readers allow people to see documents with the layout and formatting of the documents intact, even if you do not own the software used to create the document.
Voice recognition software – gives you the ability to talk to the computer and for it to ‘understand’ you. Some advantages include: is of great use for disabled users, saves time by dictating instead of typing, can be used in situations where you can’t afford a distraction such as a GPS in a car. Some disadvantages include: it takes time and effort to train the software to recognise your voice as well as background noise and a poor quality microphone can impact the effectiveness of voice recognition. Some examples include: Dragon Dictate, Siri and Dragon Mobile Assist.
Note-taking software – allows you to mix text images, links to web pages and sound bites, etc.
You can even record a session that you are taking notes in and it will sync the notes that you write with the recording. OneNote by Microsoft is a good example of note-taking software.
Education or training software – this software offers training for people that is always available, self-paced and automatically assess to improve skills. These are available in video tutorials, online courses and even specific software. Typing Tutor is a common example. Some advantages include: working at your own pace and immediate feedback on assessments.
Fixing software problems
Basic troubleshooting
Freezing – software seems to freeze and become non-responsive. You should close the ‘frozen’ program by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Delete to force it to shut down.
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Software ‘crash’ – If your software crashes or causes the computer to reboot, you can try a combination of the following steps:
Reboot your system and try again.
Run the problem software with no other programs running to prevent conflicts.
Make sure your software is up to date.
Read-only files – A file may appear as read-only when you load it. This may be because you loaded it from a read-only medium. Copy to a different location and do a Save As. In a networked environment, a read-only file may be in use by another user.
Bugs – Any software that is
written will initially have bugs in it. These are NOT viruses, but are ‘mistakes’ or errors that were inadvertently introduced when the system was created. Companies often release a “Beta” version of their software for users to test, find errors and report them before the software is released for sale. The TWO common ways of fixing bugs is through Patches and Service Packs.
User-centred design – Another form of flawed
software is when the user interface is poorly designed and difficult to use. Some basic guidelines for a user friendly GUI are: Group related items together, don’t put too much on one form, balance is key, use clear labels and headings, be consistent with font, navigation systems, etc.
A patch is an update
that can be downloaded to fix a
specific bug in your software A service pack is a release of
corrections and new features since the release of the original software. These are released by software companies at
fixed intervals. They are therefore much larger than patches and contain
all the content from previous service packs as well.
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Complete the following questions on folio paper (to be marked at school):
1. Your mother wants to edit some of the family’s holiday photos by cropping them and reducing them in size. One person told her she can just use Paint, while another said she should use Photoshop.
Give her some advice in terms of which product she should use under these circumstances. Give two reasons to support your choice of program.
2. Gmail is an example of a web-based application.
Explain what a web-based application is and how it is typically used. 3. Give three advantages of using web-based applications.
4. Why do you think web-based applications such as Gmail are becoming more and more popular (besides any general advantages that you gave in the previous question)?
5. What is the biggest potential disadvantage of using web-based software (besides the fact that the software might not have all the features or capabilities of traditional desktop versions)?
6. Which of the following are examples of web-based software?
Windows 10, Office 365, Microsoft Edge, Google Docs and Adobe Photoshop Express. 7. Office 365 is an example of the growing trend in subscription-based software.
Explain what ‘subscription-based’ means compared to traditional licensing models.
8. Does it matter if you get your apps from the Google Play Store or from the Apple App Store, or can you just get the cheapest one?
9. A software program was advertised as being Android and Microsoft compatible. What does this mean?
10. Your father’s company wants to upgrade to a newer version of their accounting software.
Explain why it would be important for the new version of the software to be backward or downward compatible by explaining what this means.
11. Your word processing program uses a different format to save its files in the newer 2019 version compared to the older 2018 version of the program.
Explain what you could do to give a user, who only has access to the older 2018 version of the program, a file created in the newer version so that the user can open and edit the document.
12. Why is it more important for your hardware to satisfy the recommended requirements of a new software program that you want to install, as opposed to the minimum requirements of the software?
13. Give three common hardware requirements for software, besides the graphics card.
14. What is the most common example of a software requirement that a new program might specify in order for it to be loaded and run properly?
15. A friend was installing a new game when the installation program prompted her to connect to the internet. Give a reason why it may be necessary to connect to the internet when installing software.
16. Why do you think reference works such as encyclopaedias and atlases on CD or DVD have been largely discontinued?
17. You were sent the following message in French from a friend overseas: ‘Bien fait – vous apprenez vite’. Name the popular application from Google that you could use to see what she said.
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18. A web browser allows you to navigate and view content (web pages) on the web. In addition, there are many add-ons or extensions that can be downloaded to add extra functionality to your browser.
Give two examples of this extra functionality.
19. All email software allows you to receive mail, read it, reply to it and create your own messages. Give three examples of additional functionality offered by some email software.
20. Which free software from Adobe can you use to open and read PDF documents? 21. Give two benefits of sending a document to someone in a PDF format?
22. You have created an invoice in Excel and want to send it to a client. Describe two ways to save the invoice in a PDF format.
23. Voice recognition is the ability for you to talk to the computer and for it to ‘understand’ you. Which two basic categories does voice recognition fall into?
24. Voice recognition technology is of great use to users with disabilities.
Describe two different categories of disabilities or situations where disabled users would benefit from using voice recognition software.
25. Give three examples of voice recognition apps.
26. Give two potential stumbling blocks with regard to using voice recognition software effectively, besides any hardware requirements.
27. Explain what we mean when we say ‘virtual assistants are intelligent’ by referring to a suitable example. 28. List four other features that modern note-taking software provides, besides just ‘taking notes’.
29. Explain what a MOOC is in the context of e-learning.
30. Computers can also offer training to people to help them to improve their skills. Give four general advantages of using computer-based training, besides any cost-related issues.
31. You are busy typing a task in a word processor when the software ‘freezes’ and becomes non-responsive. The rest of the system works fine and you can switch to other applications that work well.
Describe what you can do to solve this problem.
32. Explain why a file may appear as read-only when you open it and outline two solutions for this problem. 33. Outline some procedures or steps you can follow if your software ‘crashes’ or causes the computer to reboot. 34. A friend advised you not to download the beta version of a new program as it is still full of ‘bugs’.
a) Is a software bug the same as a virus? Briefly explain your answer. b) What is a beta version of a program?
35. Software with bugs could end up killing someone! Explain what this statement means by referring to a suitable example.