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Software

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Software
Sometimes abbreviated as SW and S/W, software is a collection of instructions that enable the user to interact with a computer, its hardware, or perform tasks. Without software, computers would be useless. For example, without your Internet browser, you could not surf the Internet or read this page and without an operating system, the browser could not run on your computer. The picture to the right shows a Microsoft Excel box, an example of a spreadsheet software program.
Examples and types of software
Below is a list of the different kinds of software a computer may have installed with examples of related programs. Click any of the links below for additional information.
It should be noted that although software is thought of as a program, it can be anything that runs on a computer. The table below also includes a program column to clarify any software that is not a program.
Software
Examples
Program?
Antivirus
AVG, Housecall, McAfee
Yes
Audio / Music program
iTunes, WinAmp
Yes
Database
Access, MySQL, SQL
Yes
Device drivers
Computer drivers
No
E-mail
Outlook, Thunderbird
Yes
Game
Madden NFL Football, Quake, World of Warcraft
Yes
Internet browser
Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer
Yes
Movie player
VLC, Windows Media Player
Yes
Operating system
Mac OS X 10, Windows XP, Windows 7
No
Photo / Graphics program
Adobe PhotoShop, CorelDRAW
Yes
Presentation
PowerPoint
Yes
Programming language
C++, HTML, Java, Perl, Visual Basic (VB)
Yes
Simulation
Flight simulator, SimCity
Yes
Spreadsheet
Excel
Yes
Utility
Compression, Disk Cleanup, Encryption, Registry cleaner, Screensaver
No
Word processor
Word
Yes
  • Shareware or trial software is software that gives you a few days to try the software before you have to buy the program. After the trial time expires, you'll be asked to enter a code or to register the product before you can continue to use it.
  • Freeware is completely free software that never requires payment, as long as it is not modified.
  • Open source software is similar to freeware. Not only is the program given away for free, but the source code used to make the program is as well, allowing anyone to modify the program or view how it was created.

How do you get software?
Software can be purchased at a retail computer store or online and come in a box containing all the disks (floppy diskette, CD, DVD, or Blu-ray), manuals, warranty, and other documentation.
Software can also be downloaded to a computer over the Internet. Once downloaded, setup files are run to start the installation process on your computer.
Free software
There are also millions of free software programs available that are separated into different categories.
How do you use computer software?
Once the software is installed on the computer hard drive, the program can be used anytime by finding the program on the computer. On a Windows computer, a program icon is added to the Start Menu or Start Screen, depending on your version of Windows.
How to maintain software
After the software is installed on your computer, it may need to be updated to fix any found errors. Updating a program can be done using software patches. Once updates are installed any problems that may have been experienced in the program will no longer occur.
What was the first piece of computer software?
The first software program that was held in electronic memory was written by Tom Kilburn. The program calculated the highest factor of the integer 2^18 = 262,144 and was successfully executed on June 21st of 1948 at the University of Manchester. The computer that held that program was called the Small Scale Experimental Machine, otherwise known as the "Baby" computer. This "Manchester Baby" is widely celebrated as the birth of software.


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