3.2 Software

1. 3.2 Software Fundamentals

2. Data Transfer Data can be transferred in various formats. For e.g. “A tab delimited text file” it is a especial kind of plain text file with a tab between each column in the text. When data is transferred from one program to another program in this format, we will lose our formatting but we will have our text. ASCII: American Standard for Information Interchange, represents each character as a unique 8-bit code. Most computers use ASCII codes to represent text, which makes it possible ro transfer data from one computer to another. Zipped file: data can be transferred as zip file which contains one or more files that have been compressed to reduce file size, or stored as-is.

3. Defragmentatio/optimization and disk utility software. A defragmentation utility eliminates fragmented files by changing the assignment of clusters to files. As a file is created or modified, it can be broken into pieces when written to the disk. Each piece is referred to as a file fragment. Fragmented files can slow system performance by causing the system to seek and find each piece of a file when it's loaded. Some operating system will automatically defragment some files in the background. Optimization moves frequently used files to sections of the hard drive that can be accessed faster than other parts. A PC optimization utility will optimize our computer so it performs at its peak performance.

4. Defragmentatio/optimization and disk utility software. Disk utility software is a kind of system software designed to help analyze, configure, optimize and maintain the computer. Disk checkers can scan the contents of a hard disk to find files or areas that are corrupted in some way, or were not correctly saved, and eliminate them for a more efficiently operating hard drive. Disk cleaners can find files that are unnecessary to computer operation, or take up considerable amounts of space. Disk cleaner helps the user to decide what to delete when their hard disk is full. Disk space analyzers for the visualization of disk space usage by getting the size for each folder (including sub folders) & files in folder or drive. showing the distribution of the used space. Disk partitions can divide an individual drive into multiple logical drives, each with its own file system which can be mounted by the operating system and treated as an individual drive. Disk compression utilities can transparently compress/uncompress the contents of a disk, increasing the capacity of the disk.

5. Backup A backup or the process of backing up refers to making copies of data so that these additional copies may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. Backup copies can be made using CD-Rs, DVD-Rs, external drive, magnetic tape and many other backup media. Account and accessibility management Account and accessibility management can be setup to grant authorized users the right to use a service, while preventing access to non-authorized users. User account can be set up to improve the security of Microsoft Windows by limiting application software to standard user privileges until an administrator authorizes an increase or elevation.

6. File Management File management describes the fundamental methods for naming, storing and handling files. To stop this file clutter we can manage files more effectively. Hierarchicalfile system

7. File management software A file manageris a computer program that provides a user interface to work with file systems. We can perform lots of operation on files such as; create, open, edit, view, print, play, rename, move, copy, delete, search/find, and modify attributes, properties and permissions. An example of Navigational file manager is windows explorer.

8. Folder and file management Importance of file and folder naming Adopt consistent methods for file and folder naming. Develop a naming scheme for the kinds of files you create most often and then stick to it. Give specific name to each files. • Keep files separate from programs. By separating document files and program files you reduce the risk of accidentally deleting your documents when you install or upgrade programs. • Keep names short; simply because of long names are hard to read.

9. Appropriate folder structures Organize by file types.Make applications easier to find by creating a folder called Program Files on your drive and keeping all your applications there. For instance, the executable for Word, PowerPoint and Simply Accounting would all reside in the Program Files folder. Create folders in My Documents.Use plain language to name your folders.

10. Appropriate folder structures 3. Nest folders within folders.Create other folders within these main folders as need arises. For instance, a folder called “Invoices” might contain folders called “2010”, “2009” and “2008”. The goal is to have every file in a folder rather than having a bunch of orphan files listed. 4. Avoid large folder structures. If you need to put so many subfolders in a folder that you can't see all of them at a glance, consider creating an alphabetic menu Alphabetized folders can help you stay organized.

11. Monitor and keyboard settings Switching to the international keyboard layout allows you to use keyboard shortcuts when creating accented and international characters. You can change the layout of your keyboard by going to the Control Panel • You can change the settings on your monitor to make the screen easier to read.The quality of the picture on the monitor depends on three things, 1: The Monitor itself   2: The Graphics card that drives it, and   3: The way Windows handles communications between them.

12. Virus scan, malware detectors and removers Virus scan is a computer program installed in a computer to recognize the types of changes a virus has made to the computer's program files. If a virus is detected in a system, the virus scan program can be used to remove the virus. Malware detectors are software is used to prevent, detect, and remove malware.

13. Compression and Decompression Compression is reducing data out of a movie, image so they can be stored in smaller spaces. General data compression software can be used to reduce the size of almost any kind of file. Decompression is the process of restoring the file to its original state. Files can be compressed by many applications and software such as; JPEG compression, Through winamp and itunes, winzip, winwar etc. Lossless compression systems allows a file ro be compressed and later decompressed without any loss of data. The decompressed file will be an identical copy of the original file. Lossy compression systems can usually achieve better compression than a lossless one, but it may lose some information in the process. The decompressed file isn’t always identical to the original one.

14. Colour synchronization It is Generaly a colour management system which uses ICC profile that characterizes a color input or output device. Operating system in mac includes as application "ColorSync Utility.app“ which repairs colorSync issues on the Mac. Applications such as Adobe Photoshop uses ICC profile to define and manage source, Monitor and Destination target profiles. The Color Management System reads the embedded Source Profile and CONVERTS it to Monitor RGB and PROOFs the color accurately on the display monitor. Some browsers are color managed which have embedded ICC profile and display the correct color photos through computer’s monitor. Here is link that contain all the details on Colour synchronization http://www.gballard.net/psd/colorsync.html