Transcript Computing Alternative

Technology in Action
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
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Technology in Action
Technology in Focus:
Computing Alternatives
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
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Application Software Alternatives
• Open-source software
– Freely distributed
– Contains the source code (the actual
lines of instructional code that make
the program work)
– Can be distributed to others
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
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Productivity Software Alternatives
• OpenOffice
– Comparable to MS Office
• Writer is like
MS Word
• Calc is like
MS Excel
• Impress is like
MS PowerPoint
• Draw is a graphics
program
• Base is a database
program like Access
• Allows you to open files created
in Office applications
• Documents created with
OpenOffice can be opened by
other programs
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
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Database Software Alternatives
• Base
– Part of OpenOffice
• MySQL
– Comparable to
SQL Server and
Oracle Database
10g
– Many books and
online tutorials are
available
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
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Drawing Software Alternatives
• OpenOffice
Draw
• DIA
– Comparable
to MS Visio
– Allows you
to create
diagrams,
graphs, and
charts
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
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Web Page Authoring Software
Alternatives
• NVU
– Comparable
to Adobe
Dreamweaver
– Don’t need to
know HTML
to generate a
Web page
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E-mail Client Alternatives
• Eudora
– popular e-mail client
– free, but feature-limited version
• Mozilla Thunderbird
– Open-source e-mail client
– add-ons available
• Calendar
• Calculator
• Search tools
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Image-Editing Software
Alternatives
• The GIMP
– Comparable
to Adobe
PhotoShop
– Windows,
Mac OS X,
Linux, and
UNIX
versions
available
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
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Operating System Alternatives
• Linux
– 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
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
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Hardware Alternatives
• Apple
– Mac OS X
– Intel platform
– Open-source
software for
Macs
– Special
software lets
you run
Windows-based
software on a
Mac
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
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Hardware Alternatives
• Do-it-yourself
Processor
Video card
Hard Drive
Power Supply
Sound card
Case
RAM
Motherboard
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Removable
Storage
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Hardware Alternatives
Do It Yourself
• Advantages
– Exact configuration
desired
– Choice of quality
components
– Satisfaction
© 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
• Disadvantages
– No technical support if
there is a problem
– Multiple considerations
in matching
components
– Often more expensive
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