1. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.1 Technology in Action

2. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.2 Technology in Action Technology in Focus: Computing Alternatives

3. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.3 Application Software Alternatives Open-source softwareOpen-source software –Freely distributed –Contains the source code (the actual lines of instructional code that make the program work) –Can be distributed to others

4. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.4 Productivity Software Alternatives OpenOfficeOpenOffice –Comparable to MS Office Writer is likeWriter is like MS Word MS Word Calc is likeCalc is like MS Excel Impress is likeImpress is like MS PowerPoint Draw is a graphicsDraw is a graphicsprogram Base is a database program like AccessBase is a database program like Access Allows you to open files created in Office applicationsAllows you to open files created in Office applications Documents created with OpenOffice can be opened by other programsDocuments created with OpenOffice can be opened by other programs

5. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.5 Database Software Alternatives BaseBase –Part of OpenOffice MySQLMySQL –Comparable to SQL Server and Oracle Database 10g –Many books and online tutorials are available

6. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.6 Drawing Software Alternatives OpenOffice DrawOpenOffice Draw DIADIA –Comparable to MS Visio –Allows you to create diagrams, graphs, and charts

7. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.7 Web Page Authoring Software Alternatives NVUNVU –Comparable to Adobe Dreamweaver –Don’t need to know HTML to generate a Web page

8. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.8 E-mail Client Alternatives EudoraEudora –popular e-mail client –free, but feature-limited version Mozilla ThunderbirdMozilla Thunderbird –Open-source e-mail client –add-ons available CalendarCalendar CalculatorCalculator Search toolsSearch tools

9. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.9 Image-Editing Software Alternatives The GIMPThe GIMP –Comparable to Adobe PhotoShop –Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and UNIX versions available

10. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.10 Operating System Alternatives LinuxLinux –Linux versions called “distros” –Knoppix and PC Linux run from a CD so do not replace your current OS –Other distros (such as Mandriva Linux) install Linux permanently

11. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.11 Hardware Alternatives AppleApple –Mac OS X –Intel platform –Open-source software for Macs –Special software lets you run Windows-based software on a Mac

12. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.12 Hardware Alternatives Do-it-yourselfDo-it-yourself Case Power Supply Processor Motherboard RAM Hard Drive Video card Sound card Removable Storage

13. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.13 Hardware Alternatives Do It Yourself AdvantagesAdvantages –Exact configuration desired –Choice of quality components –Satisfaction Disadvantages –No technical support if there is a problem –Multiple considerations in matching components –Often more expensive