Computing Essentials 2008

Chapter 4: Specialized Application Software

• Specialized Application software features (94)
o The focus of this chapter will center on the following categories of specialized
applications.

Graphics programs

Audio and video software

Multimedia software

Web authoring tools and programs

Artificial intelligence
• Graphics (94)
o Desktop publishing

Used to create publications of professional quality

Focus on page design and layout

Used to create newsletters, brochures, and textbooks.

Popular programs are Adobe PageMaker, Microsoft Publisher, and
QuarkXPress.
o Image editors

Used to edit and modify digital photos

Used with bitmap or raster images

Popular programs are MicrosoftPaint, Adobe Photoshop, Corel
PhotoPaint, and Paint Shop Pro.
o Illustration programs

Used to create and/or edit vector images

Popular programs are Adobe Illustrator, Corel-Draw, Macromedia
FreeHand, and Micrografx Designer.
o Image galleries

Libraries of electronic images

Used to help with added pictures to documents

Either stock photographs or clip art
o Graphic suites

Companies combining their graphics software

It is better because users can buy a variety of packages at a lower cost

The most popular suite is CorelDraw Graphics Suite, others are Adobe’s
Creative Suites and Macromedia’s Studio.
• Audio and Video (97)
o User can create their own movies and compilations without a professional being
involved.
o Video editing software

Allows users to reorganize, add effects, and more to digital video footage.

Designed to allow users to assemble and edit new home videos and
movies from raw digital video footage.

Popular programs are Apple’s iMovie and Windows Movie Maker.
o Audio editing software

Allows users to create and edit audio clips.

Most audio editing software has features that allow users to add audio
effects, like filters, to tracks.

Use this software to create MP3s.

Popular programs are Ableton’s Live and Sony’s ACID.

Chapter Outline 1
Computing Essentials 2008
Chapter 4: Specialized Application Software
• Making it work for you (98)
o Digital video editing
o How to capture video
o Editing video once it has been captured
o Creating a DVD
• Multimedia (100)
o The integration of all sorts of media into one presentation
o May include video, music, voice, graphics, and text.
o Effective multimedia presentations incorporate user participation or interactivity
o Figures 4-10 and 4-11 on page 101 illustrate the difference between linear
multimedia and interactive multimedia.
o Links and buttons

An interactive multimedia presentation is typically organized as a series of
related pages.

Links are connections to related material

Buttons can link you to related material and/or navigate you through the
presentation or program.
o Developing multimedia presentations

Plan and analyze - Determine the overall objective of the project,

Design - The creation of a story board is essential to the development of
the project.

Create - Use a multimedia authoring program to create the interactive
multimedia presentation

Support - Evaluate effectiveness, identify errors, and revise as needed.
o Multimedia Authoring programs(102)

Bring together all the video, audio, graphics, and text elements into an
interactive framework.

Popular programs Macromedia Director, Authorware, and Toolbook.
o
• Web Authoring(103)
o The process of creating a web site
o Web site design

Begins with determining the site’s overall content.

Then breaks the content down into a series of related pieces of
information.

Graphical map - The overall site design

Figure 4- 16 on page 105 is an excellent illustration of a graphical map
and the structure of a web site.
o Animations - moving graphics which can be simple moving text or complicated
interactive features.
o Flash by Macromedia is usually full-screen, highly dynamic, and interactive
animation.
o Morphing is a special effect in which one image seems to melt into another.
o Web authoring programs are used to create more sophisticated sites and create the
HTML code for you.
o Popular programs are Macromedia Dreamweaver, NetObjects Fusion, and
Microsoft FrontPage.

Chapter Outline 2
Computing Essentials 2008
Chapter 4: Specialized Application Software
• Artificial Intelligence (106)
o Attempts to develop computer systems that can mimic or simulate human senses,
thought processes, and actions.
o Artificial intelligence that corresponds to human intelligence is still a long way
off.
o Several tools that emulate human senses, problem solving, and information
processing have been developed.

Helps to solve unstructured problems
o Virtual Reality (106)

An artificial, or simulated, reality generated in 3-D by a computer.

Figure 4-17 on page 106 illustrates that the virtual reality hardware
including headgear and gloves.

The headgear has earphones and three-dimensional stereoscopic screens

The gloves have sensors that collect data about your hand movements

Virtual reality modeling language (VRML) is used to create real-time
animated 3-D scenes.

Recently, several lower-cost yet powerful authoring programs have been
introduced.
o Knowledge-based (Expert) Systems (107)

A type of artificial intelligence that uses a database that contains specific
facts, rules to relate these facts, and user input to formulate
recommendations and decisions.

The sequence of processing is determined by the interaction of the user
and the knowledge base.

Some current expert systems: Oil Spill Advisor, Bird Species
Identification, and Midwives Assistant.
o Robotics (107)

The field of study concerned with developing and using robots, computer-
controlled machines that mimic the motor activities of living things.

Some robots can even solve unstructured problems using artificial
intelligence.

Robots are used in factories, manufacturing, home security, the military,
and many other fields of human endeavor.

Three types of robots:
• Perception system robots - imitate some of the human senses.
• Industrial robots - used to perform a variety of tasks.
• Mobile robots - act as transports and are widely used for a variety
of different tasks.
• Careers in IT (108)
o Desktop Publishers
o use computers to format and create publication-ready material.
o They may create books, magazines, newsletters, and newspapers on home
computers using special application software.
o Desktop publishing positions usually require completion of a program at a
vocational school or a university.
o Desktop publishers can expect to earn an annual salary of $25,000 to $42,000.

Chapter Outline 3
Computing Essentials 2008
Chapter 4: Specialized Application Software
• A Look to the Future (109)
o Robots can look, act, and think
o Researchers are currently at work on robots with the artificial intelligence needed
to perform tasks and more.
o The Saya robot, with its artificial skin and muscles, is currently under
development in Tokyo.
o Other research is being conducted that will give robots a sense of values, so that
they will be able to make decisions independently based on this set of values.
o All of these projects are designed to move beyond simple computing and into a
decidedly human realm of emotional intelligence.

Chapter Outline 4