Lesson 5 chapter 4

Specialized Applications
In the previous chapter, we discussed basic applications that are widely
used in nearly every profession. This chapter focuses on specialized
applications that are widely used within specifc professions. See !i"ure 4#$ .%
Specifcally, we will e&a'ine
(raphics pro"ra's for creatin" professional#loo)in" published
docu'ents, for creatin" and editin" 'a"es, and for locatin" and insertin"
"raphics.
Audio and video software to create, edit, and play 'usic and videos.
*ulti'edia pro"ra's to create dyna'ic interactive presentations.
+eb authorin" pro"ra's to create, edit, and desi"n +eb sites.
Artifcial intelli"ence, includin" virtual reality, )nowled"e#based
syste's, and robotics.
(raphics
In ,hapter -, we discussed analytical and presentation "raphics, which
are widely used to analyze data and to create professional#loo)in"
presentations. .ere we focus on 'ore specialized "raphics pro"ra's used by
professionals in
the "raphic arts profession.
Desktop Publishing
Desktop publishing programs, or page layout programs, allow you to
'i& te&t and "raphics to create publications of professional /uality. +hile
word processors focus on creatin" te&t and have the ability to co'bine te&t
and "raphics, des)top publishers focus on pa"e desi"n and layout and
provide "reater 0e&ibility. 1rofessional "raphic artists use des)top publishin"
pro"ra's to create docu'ents such as brochures, newsletters, newspapers,
and te&tboo)s.
1opular des)top publishin" pro"ra's include Adobe In2esi"n,
*icrosoft 1ublisher, and 3uar)41ress. +hile these pro"ra's provide the capability
to create te&t and "raphics, typically "raphic artists i'port these ele'ents
fro' other sources, includin" word processors, di"ital ca'eras, scanners,
i'a"e editors, illustration pro"ra's, and i'a"e "alleries.
Image Editors
5ne of the 'ost co''on types of "raphic fles is bit'ap. Bitmap images, also
)nown as raster i'a"es, use thousands of dots or pi&els to represent i'a"es.
6ach dot has a specifc location, color, and shade. 5ne li'itation of bit'ap
i'a"es, however, is that when they are e&panded, the i'a"es can
beco'e pi&ilated, or 7a""ed on the ed"es. !or e&a'ple, when the letter A
in !i"ure 4#8 is e&panded, the borders of the letter appear 7a""ed, as indicated
by the e&panded view.
I'a"e editors, also )nown as photo editors, are specialized "raphics pro"ra's
for editin" or
'odifyin" di"ital photo"raphs. 1opular i'a"e editors include Adobe
1hotoshop, ,orel 1aint Shop 1ro, and 1aint.96T. See !i"ure 4#- .%
Image Galleries
Image galleries are libraries of electronic i'a"es. These i'a"es are used
for a wide variety of applications fro' illustratin" te&tboo)s to providin"
visual interest to presentations. There are two basic types of electronic i'a"es
in these "alleries:
Stock photographs ;photo"raphs on a variety of sub7ect 'aterial fro'
people to landscapes.
Clip art ;"raphic illustrations representin" a wide ran"e of topics. *ost
applications provide access to a li'ited selection of free clip art. !or
e&a'ple, in *icrosoft +ord, you can "ain access to several pieces of clip
There are nu'erous +eb i'a"e "alleries. See !i"ure 4#< .% So'e of these
sites o=er free i'a"es and clip art while others char"e a fee.
Graphics Suites
So'e co'panies have co'bined or bundled their separate "raphics
pro"ra's in "roups called "raphics suites. The advanta"e of the "raphics suites is
that you can buy a lar"er variety of "raphics pro"ra's at a lower cost than if
purchased
separately.
Two popular suites are ,orel2>A+ (raphics Suite and Adobe ,reative Suite.
,orel2>A+ (raphics Suite includes fve individual "raphics pro"ra's plus a lar"e
library of clip art, 'edia clips, and fonts.
Audio and ?ideo
In the past, professional#/uality editin" of ho'e audio and video was a 7ob
for professional photo labs or studios. !or e&a'ple, if you wanted to
asse'ble foota"e fro' all your !ourth of @uly picnics, you sent all the tapes to a
lab and waited for a co'pilation tape. 9ow, usin" audio and video editin"
software, you can create your own co'pilation 'ovies.
Video editing softare allows you to reor"anize, add e=ects, and 'ore to
your di"ital video foota"e. Two co''only used video editin"
software pro"ra's are Apple i*ovie and +indows *ovie *a)er. See !i"ure
4#A .% These pro"ra's are desi"ned to allow you to asse'ble and edit new
ho'e videos and 'ovies fro' raw di"ital video foota"e. To see how di"ital
video editors wor), visit our +eb site at www. co'putin"#8B$8.co' and
enter the )eyword video. To learn how to use a di"ital video editor, see
*a)in" IT +or) for Cou: 2i"ital ?ideo 6ditin" on pa"es$B< and $BD.
Audio editin" software allows you to create and edit audio clips. *ost
audio editin" software also has features that allow you to add audio e=ects, li)e
flters, to your trac)s. !or e&a'ple, you can use this type of software to flter
out pops or scratches in an old recordin". Cou can even use this software to create
your own *1-s. So'e co''only used audio editin" software pro"ra's are Apple
(ara"eEand and Sony A,I2. See !i"ure 4#F .%
*ulti'edia
!ultimedia is the inte"ration of all sorts of 'edia into one presentation.
!or e&a'ple, a 'ulti'edia presentation 'ay include video, 'usic, voice,
"raphics, and te&t. Cou 'ay have seen 'ulti'edia applied in video "a'es, +eb
presentations, or even a word processin" docu'ent. *any of the basic application
software pro"ra's you learned about in ,hapter - include features that 'a)e the
incorporation of 'ulti'edia in docu'ents easy. Althou"h these
applications include 'ulti'edia features, they create docu'ents that are
"enerally accessed in a linear fashion and provide very li'ited user interaction.
6=ective 'ulti'edia presentations incorporate user participation or
interactivity. Interacti"ity allows the user to choose the infor'ation to view,
to control the pace and 0ow of infor'ation, and to respond to ite's and
receive feedbac). +hen e&periencin" an interactive 'ulti'edia presentation,
users custo'ize the presentation to their needs. !or e&a'ple, !i"ure 4#$B
presents an openin" pa"e of a 'ulti'edia resentation. Gsers are able to select
the lan"ua"e to be used and decide whether to include sound.
5nce used al'ost e&clusively for co'puter "a'es, interactive 'ulti'edia
is now widely used in business, education, and the ho'e. Eusiness uses
include hi"h#/uality interactive presentations, product de'onstrations, and +eb
pa"e desi"n. In education, interactive 'ulti'edia is used for in#class
resentations and de'onstrations, distance education, and online testin". In the
ho'e, 'ulti'edia is fre/uently used for entertain'ent.
#inks and Buttons
An interactive 'ulti'edia presentation is typically or"anized as a series
of related pa"es. 6ach pa"e presents infor'ation and provides lin)s, or
connections, to related infor'ation. These links can be to video, sound, "raphics,
and te&t fles, and to other pa"es and resources. Ey clic)in" special areas called
buttons on a pa"e, you can 'a)e appropriate lin)s and navi"ate throu"h
a presentation to locate and discover infor'ation. Typically, there are
several buttons on a pa"e. Cou can select one, several, or none of the'. Cou are
in control. Cou direct the 0ow and content of the presentation. See !i"ure 4#$$ .%
!ultimedia $uthoring Programs
*ulti'edia authorin" pro"ra's are special pro"ra's used to create
'ulti'edia presentations. They brin" to"ether all the video, audio, "raphics,
and te&t ele'ents into an interactive fra'ewor). +idely used authorin"
pro"ra's include Adobe 2irector and Toolboo).
+eb Authorin"
There are over a billion +eb sites on the Internet, and 'ore are bein"
added every day. ,orporations use the +eb to reach new custo'ers and to
pro'ote their products. See !i"ure 4#$8 .% Individuals create their own personal
sites, called blogs. ,reatin" a site is called %eb authoring. It be"ins with site
desi"n
followed by creation of a docu'ent fle that displays the +eb siteHs content.
%eb Site Design
A +eb site is an interactive 'ulti'edia for' of co''unication. 2esi"nin" a
+eb site be"ins with deter'inin" the siteHs overall content. The content
is then bro)en down into a series of related pieces of infor'ation. The overall site
desi"n is co''only represented in a graphical map. See !i"ure 4#$- .%
9otice that in the "raphical 'ap shown in !i"ure 4#$- each bloc) in the 'ap
represents a +eb pa"e. Lines 7oinin" the bloc)s represent lin)s to related pa"es of
infor'ation that 'a)e up the +eb site.
The frst pa"e, or ho'e pa"e, typically serves as an introduction and supplies a
table of contents. The followin" pa"es present the specifc pieces or bloc)s
of infor'ation.
*ulti'edia ele'ents are added to individual pa"es to enhance interest and
interactivity. 5ne 'ulti'edia ele'ent
found on 'any +eb sites is 'ovin" "raphics called ani'ations. These ani'ations
can be si'ple 'ovin" te&t or co'plicated interactive features. There are 'any
specialized pro"ra's available to aid in the creation of ani'ation. 5ne
type of interactive ani'ation is produced usin" software called Adobe !lash. !lash
'ovies can be inserted as a part
of the pa"e or enco'pass the entire screen.
%eb $uthoring Programs
As we 'entioned in ,hapter 8, +eb pa"es are typically .T*L docu'ents. +ith
)nowled"e of .T*L and a si'ple te&t editor, you can create +eb pa"es. 6ven
without )nowled"e of .T*L, you can create si'ple +eb pa"es usin" a word
processin" pac)a"e li)e *icrosoft +ord.
*ore specialized and powerful pro"ra's, called %eb authoring programs,
are typically used to create sophisticated co''ercial sites. Also )nown as %eb
page editors and .T*L editors, these pro"ra's provide support for +eb site
desi"n and .T*L codin". So'e +eb authorin" pro"ra's are %&SI%&G what
you see
is what you "et % editors, which 'eans you can build a pa"e without
interactin" directly with .T*L code. +CSI+C( editors preview the pa"e
described by .T*L code. +idely used +eb authorin" pro"ra's include Adobe
2rea'weaver, 9et5b7ects !usion, and *icrosoft 6&pression. The +eb site
depicted in !i"ure 4#$8 was created usin" Adobe 2rea'weaver. See !i"ure 4#
$4 .%
Artifcial Intelli"ence
The feld of co'puter science )nown as arti'cial intelligence AI%
atte'pts to develop co'puter syste's that can 'i'ic or si'ulate hu'an
senses, thou"ht processes, and actions. These include reasonin", learnin" fro'
past actions, and usin" senses such as vision and touch. Artifcial intelli"ence
that corresponds to hu'an intelli"ence is still a lon" way o=. .owever,
several tools that e'ulate hu'an senses, proble' solvin", and infor'ation
processin" have been developed.
These 'odern applications of artifcial intelli"ence are desi"ned to help people
and or"anizations beco'e 'ore productive. *any of these tools have practical
applications for business, 'edicine, law, and so on. In the past, co'puters used
calculatin" power to solve structured proble's, which can be bro)en down into a
series of well#defned steps. 1eople;usin" intuition, reasonin", and 'e'ory;
were better at solvin" unstructured proble's, whether buildin" a product or
approvin" a loan. 5r"anizations have lon" been able to co'puterize the tas)s
once perfor'ed by cler)s. 9ow )nowled"e#intensive wor) and unstructured
proble's, such as activities perfor'ed by 'any 'ana"ers, are bein" auto'ated.
Let us now consider three areas in which hu'an talents and abilities have been
enhanced with Ico'puterized intelli"enceJ: virtual reality, )nowled"e#based
syste's, and robotics.
Virtual (eality
Suppose you could create and virtually e&perience any new for' of reality
you wished. Cou could see the world throu"h the eyes of a child, a robot;or even
a lobster. Cou could e&plore faraway resorts, the 'oon, or inside a nuclear
waste du'p without leavin" your chair. This si'ulated e&perience is possible
with virtual reality.
?irtual reality is an artifcial, or si'ulated, reality "enerated in -#2 by a
co'puter. ?irtual reality is also co''only )nown as ?>, artifcial reality, or virtual
environ'ents. In so'e cases, to navi"ate in a virtual space, you use virtual reality
hardware includin" head"ear and "loves. The head"ear has earphones and three#
di'ensional stereoscopic screens one type is called 6yephones%. The "loves have
sensors that collect data about your hand 'ove'ents one type is called
2ata(love%. ,oupled with software, this interactive sensory e/uip'ent lets you
i''erse yourself in a co'puter#"enerated world. See !i"ure 4#$5 .%
,reatin" virtual reality pro"ra's once re/uired veryhi"h#end software costin"
several thousands of dollars. >ecently, several lower#cost yet powerful authorin"
pro"ra's have been introduced. 5ne of the best )nown is Second Life
fro' Linden Labs, which allows users to create ani'ated characters to
represent the'selves and to develop their own environ'ent. There are any
nu'ber of possible applications for virtual reality. The ulti'aterecreational use
'i"ht be so'ethin" rese'blin" a "iant virtual a'use'ent par). *ore serious
applications can si'ulate i'portant e&periences or trainin" environ'ents such as
in aviation, sur"ical operations, spaceship repair, or nuclear disaster cleanup.
So'e virtual reality strives to be an i''ersive e&perience, allowin" a user to wal)
into a virtual reality
)noledge*Based +E,pert- Systems
1eople who are e&pert in a particular area;certain )inds of 'edicine,
accountin", en"ineerin", and so on;are "enerally
well paid for their specialized )nowled"e. Gnfortunately for their clients and
custo'ers, these e&perts are e&pensive, not always available, and hard to replace
when they 'ove on.
+hat if you were to so'ehow capture the )nowled"e of a hu'an e&pert and
'a)e it accessible to everyone throu"h a co'puter pro"ra'K This is e&actly what
is bein" done with so#called )nowled"e#based or e&pert syste's. )noledge*
based systems, also )nown as e,pert systems, are a type of artifcial
intelli"ence that uses a database to provide assistance to users. These syste's
use a database or )nowled"e base that contains specifc facts, rules to
relate these facts, and user input to for'ulate reco''endations and decisions.
The se/uence of processin" is deter'ined by the interaction of the user and the
)nowled"e base. *any e&pert syste's use so#called fuzzy lo"ic, which allows
users to respond to /uestions in a very hu'anli)e way. !or e&a'ple, if an e&pert
syste' as)ed how your classes were "oin", you could respond, I"reat,J I5L,J
Iterrible,J and so on. 5ver the past decade, e&pert syste's have been developed
in areas such as 'edicine, "eolo"y, architecture, and nature. There are e&pert
syste's with such na'es as 5il Spill Advisor, Eird Species Identifcation, and even
*idwives Assistant. A syste' called (rain *ar)etin" Advisor helps far'ers
select the best way to 'ar)et their "rain.
(obotics
(obotics is the feld of study concerned with developin" and usin"
robots.>obots are co'puter#controlled 'achines that 'i'ic the 'otor activities
of livin" thin"s. !or e&a'ple, .ondaHs Asi'o robot rese'bles a hu'an and
is capable of wal)in" upstairs, dancin", sha)in" hands, and 'uch 'ore.
See !i"ure 4#$D .% So'e robots can even solve unstructured proble's usin"
artifcial intelli"ence.
(obots are used in factories, 'anufacturin", ho'e security, the 'ilitary, and
'any other felds of hu'an endeavor. They di=er fro' other
asse'blyline 'achines because they can be repro"ra''ed to do 'ore than one
tas). >obots often are used to handle dan"erous, repetitive tas)s. There are
four types of robots.
Perception systems. Perception system robots i'itate so'e of
the hu'an senses. !or e&a'ple, robots with television#ca'era vision
syste's are particularly useful. They can "uide 'achine tools, inspect
products, and secure ho'es.
Industrial robots. Industrial robots are used to perfor' a variety of
tas)s. 6&a'ples are 'achines used in auto'obile plants to do weldin",
polishin", and paintin". So'e types of robots have claws for pic)in" up
ob7ects and handlin" dan"erous 'aterials. See !i"ure 4#$A .%
!obile robots. !obile robots act as transports and are widely used for a
variety of di=erent tas)s. !or e&a'ple, the police and 'ilitary use the' to
locate and disar' e&plosive devices. In the early 8BBBs, 'obile
robots entered the world of entertain'ent with their own television
pro"ra', called Eattlebots. Cou can even build your own 'obile robot fro' a
)it.
/ousehold robots. /ousehold robots are now widely available and
are desi"ned to vacuu' or scrub 0oors, 'ow lawns, patrol the house, or
si'ply provide entertain'ent.
,ell 1hone Apps
,ell phone apps or cell phone applications are add#on features to a cell phone
that allow users to perfor' a variety of tas)s not typically associated with cell
phone use. ,ell phone apps have been widely used for years. The traditional
applications include address boo)s, to#do lists, alar's, and 'essa"e lists. +ith
the introduction of s'artphones and wireless connections to the Internet, cell
phone capabilities have e&ploded. 9ow, any nu'ber of specialized applications
are available.
$pps
The breadth and scope of available specialized applications for s'artphones is
ever e&pandin". There are over $B,BBB apps 7ust for AppleHs i1hone alone. So'e
of the 'ost widely used cell phone apps are te&t 'essa"in", Internet browsin",
and connectin" to social networ)s. See !i"ure 4#$F for a list of so'e specialized
apps.
*any apps are written for a particular type of cell phone and will not run on
other types. !or e&a'ple, a cell phone app desi"ned for AppleHs i1hone 'ay not
wor) with (oo"leHs Android. So, before obtainin" or installin" a cell phone app, be
sure that it is intended to wor) with your particular cell phone and that your cell
phone has the capability to support the app.
$pp Stores
An app store is typically a +eb site that provides access to specifc cell phone
apps that can be downloaded either for a no'inal fee or free of char"e. Two of the
best#)nown stores are AppleHs App Store and Android *ar)et. See !i"ure 4#
8B.% Althou"h 'ost of the best#)nown app stores specialize in applications for a
particular line of cell phones, other less#well)nown stores provide apps for a
wide variety of cell phones. !or a list of so'e 'ore widely used app stores, see
!i"ure 4#8$.