SOME BASIC ESSENTIALS FOR COMPUTERS

              There is no better place to begin, than the beginning

This chapter is designed to accomplish two things:

1. Provide a basic understanding of how to work with a personal computer.

2. Serve .is guidelines for materials to include in personal computer training programs.

The information in this chapter assumes no prior knowledge of or experience with a personal computer. Anyone who has a comfortable working relationship with a personal computer may wish to skim over this section to get ideas of how to structure an introductory training course. For others starting from scratch, however, the chapter will focus on building a working knowledge of:

The keyboard

The operating system

Working with diskettes

Security and backups

GETTING STARTED

As noted earlier, the two most common types of personal computers that will be encountered in most organizations are machines containing two diskette drives, and those with one diskette drive and a hard disk.

Diskette drives refer to the number of slots on the microprocessor for inserting diskettes. Two-drive systems have one slot for the program diskette and one for working on and storing the results (see Figure 30).

Since hard disks offer the storage equivalent of 30 diskettes, they require only one diskette drive for entering information (see Figure 31), although they may be configured with two drives for more sophisticated applications. In either case, the loading process is the same. The diskette drive(s) has an opening through which diskettes are inserted into the computer. Each opening has a device similar to a door that can be opened and closed using what is called a lift load lever. Once a diskette is inserted, the door is closed behind it by pushing the load lever down. While the system reads your program, a small red light on the front of your disk drive will come on. Do not open the drive door while this light is on. Doing so may permanently damage the program, and under some circumstances the system unit itself.

 

 

 

 

FIGURE 31. Proper way of loading a diskette. Courtesy of International Business Machines.

To make things more comfortable, it is possible to make minor adjustments to the height of the keyboard and the brightness and contrast of the display monitor. If the display monitor is near a source of bright light, such as a window, or has a high degree of glare, an anti glare screen might be appropriate.

Depending on the model, most keyboards have two to three possible positions. These range from, flat to a five-degree to 15 degree angle. To adjust the height, pick up the keyboard and, make the  necessary adjustment using the knobs at each end.

Brightness and contrast can be adjusted using the control knobs generally found on the front of the monitor. On systems that share multiple users, this will probably have to be done every time a person sits down to work. Everything a computer does is governed by operating sys tern, which is a software program that manages many of the computer’s basic functions. It acts as an intermediary between hardware and software and performs such tasks as controlling the input output devices, assigning spaces in memory to programs and data, and controlling how the system processes information. -

For IBM and IBM-compatible machines the operating system is called DOS (Disk Operating System), MS-DOS, or PC-DOS. They all perform the same basic functions.

The operating system must be present whenever a system is on in order for anything to be accomplished. In addition, it must be copied to all software before that software can be installed or used. Most software is generic in nature and written to be run on more than one brand of machine. Copying the operating system onto a software program allows it to become compatible with a particular system. Instructions accompany most software programs.

Booting is the process of actually loading DOS into a system. Booting clears the memory, loads the operating system, and gets the computer ready to process its work. If this is done when a machine is first turned on, it is called a cold boot. If the operating system is loaded after a system is already up and running, it is called a warm boot.

To perform a cold boot, simply put a copy of DOS or its equivalent in Drive A, and turn the computer on. The on—off switch that controls the system unit or microprocessor is located at the rear of the unit. On IBM machines, the switch will always be on the right-hand side (see Figure 32).

This is the recommended way to activate an entire system:

First, turn on the printer

Second, turn on the monitor

Third, turn on the CPU

Follow this sequence because one of the first things a system unit does is to check what is connected to it, and whether or not they are working properly. Turning the system on as described

 

 

FIGURE 32. Locations of on/off switch on IBM system unit. Courtesy of International Business Machines.

is the most effective way to accomplish this. If a unit is connected to multisocket electrical power strip or surge suppressors check to see that it is turned on as well. Many people control the power to all their system components through such devices, using them to turn everything on simultaneously.

When the power is switched on, the first sound heard will be the motor humming as the computer checks to see how much memory it has  take from 3 to 90 seconds, depending on how much memory has been installed. Memory will be counted in units   which can be seen blinking by at the top left—hand corner of a monitor.

When the memory check is completed, the computer will emit a short beep, and then display the following message:

Current date is 01-01-1980

Enter new date:

At this point, a person may simply hit the “enter” key, or may provide the current date. If he or she is working with file materials, or materials that may require future reference, a date should be entered. To enter a date, the computer must be given the month, 1-12, day, 1-31, and year, 80-99. A correct entry might be: 10-14-1986.

The operating system will then ask for the time. Again, the choice is to simply hit “enter,” or supply the current time. Since a 24-hour clock is used, any time past noon should carry one of the following values:

1:00 = 1300 hr

2:00 = 1400 hr

7:00 = 1900 hr

8:00 = 2000 hr

3:00 = 1500 hr 9:00 = 2100 hr

4:00 1600 hr

5:00 1700 hr

6:00 = 1800 hr

10:00 = 2200 hr

11:00 = 2300 hr

12:00 = 2400 hr

The time is expressed in hours: minutes: seconds: and hundredths. Colons (:) must be used between• hours, minutes, and seconds. Any value that is omitted will be assumed to be a zero. For example, if it is 2:30 in the afternoon, you would enter 14:30 hrs. And the system would record 14:30:00.

To perform a warm boot, the system must be restarted by using the “Cntrl,”“Alt,” and “Del” keys simultaneously. The operating system disk should be in drive A, unless the system has a hard disk on which it has already been installed. As in a cold boot, the operating system will again ask to have the date and time entered.

 

Before we finish : If you need more help or have an opinion or suggestion Please leave a comment Below. This is a Do-Follow Blog leaving a comment will also help your blogs Google rank.

 

WORD GUIDE TO CHAPTER THREE

Bootstrap:

 A program that starts a computer.   

Cursor:

A patch of light or other visual indicator that shows where a person is working in a body of text.

DOS:

Disk Operating System. This is IBM’s version of the operating system1 which controls many of the functions of the computer.

Directory:

Tables of contents that lists programs and files that are stored sequentially on a diskette or hard disk. In short, a directory that describes the layout of records within a file.

Operating System:

A program or collection of programs that manages the hardware, output devices, logic operations and a number of other management functions. it provides a link between software and the computer’s internal language.

Security:

 The protection of information against disclosure, transfer, modifications, or destruction.

Write Protect:

 The process of protecting information stored on a diskette by sealing off the read/write notch with a tab or special tape. Some diskettes, such as those containing the operating systems, are  permanently sealed to prevent writing over their contents.

 

Before we finish : If you need more help or have an opinion or suggestion Please leave a comment Below. This is a Do-Follow Blog leaving a comment will also help your blogs Google rank.

SUMMARY OF COMPUTERS

While computers trace their lineage back several hundred years, most of the advances that led to modern computers have taken place since the late 1940s.

Most people think of computers as large cabinets with spinning tapes and blinking lights, which are locked behind security doors. This describes mainframe units—the large machines that process high volumes of information for businesses and governments. Since the invention of the microchip (very small transistors), a new generation of computers has become available. Known as personal or microcomputers, these machines have taken the same computing power that once required an entire room, and placed it in units that can sit on top of a desk or in a person’s lap.

Whether large mainframe units or the small micros, all computers operate in basically the same fashion. Computers are composed of the following functional sections:

Input

Central processing unit

Memory

Output

Input consists of the data to be processed, and the software program that provides the instructions and commands necessary for the computer to perform a specific job. These programs may be written by the computer’s operator, using a programming language that translates human instructions into a machine language the computer understands. Software programs that perform just about any task imaginable can also be purchased off the shelf.

The CPU is where the computer performs its arithmetic and logic functions, and where the operation of all the hardware is controlled.

Memory is where information (data) and instructions are stored. These are transferred between memory and the CPU by means of electrical conduits called registers.

There are two kinds of memory:

1. ROM

2. RAM

Read Only Memory can be read only by the computer itself. The computer operator has no control over it. It is the computer’s own software program, imprinted at the factory, to tell the computer how to work its own system.

Random Access Memory is under the operator’s control and is used to store information and instructions. The amount of RAM available (i.e., 64K, 256K, 640K), signifies the amount of filing-. cabinet space the computer has built into it, in which data can be filed, retrieved, and manipulated on a random basis. When the computer finishes processing the information it has been given, it returns it in the form of output. Output is made available through a printer, the video display unit, or by communicating it to another computer system. How does it all come together? The process starts by identifying a job that the computer can perform. A program is then chosen or created that will accomplish the tasks desired. The program will be written in a language the computer can understand, and that it converts to binary codes to actually carry out its assignment. All of this is governed by an operating system that tells the computer how to best perform the job, manages the filing system for storing the information, and operates the hardware needed to produce the work.

 

Before we finish : If you need more help or have an opinion or suggestion Please leave a comment Below. This is a Do-Follow Blog leaving a comment will also help your blogs Google rank.

Records and files OF Programs

Computers store and process information in records and flies (see Figure 19). A record is a collection of related items that are stored in memory. A file is a collection of related records that are treated as a single unit. For example, you have sent a group of letters to a company called Jim’s Shoes and PC Emporium. Within the computer, the file becomes “Jim’s Shoes.” Each letter sent (and stored) represents one record of that file, as can be seen in Figure 20.

When you create a file, you may tall it almost anything you like, as long as it does not exceed eight characters in length. There

 

FIGURE 19. Computers manage data much the same as you handle files. Drawing courtesy of International Business Machines.

FIGURE 20. Drawing by Gina Bean.

are, however, certain characters that cannot be used in file names because the operating system reserves them to refer to system components. These include:

CON

AUX

COMI

LPT1

PRN

NUL

A complete list of all file names in either the program you are using, or the files you create, are available in a directory. A directory shows the file name, how much space (in bytes) it takes up. And the date it was created. Diskettes are capable of holding up 1e 112 files each.

When setting tip a file, try to make the file name as descriptive of a file's contents as the eight character limitation will allow (see Figiure28).

EXAMPLES OF FILE NAMES

Good                                                                                           Bad

Inventory                                                     Inventory (has more than eight characters)

Table                                                             (contains a space that isn’t allowed)

 

FIGURE 21. Courtesy of International Business Machines.

File name extensions

A file name extension is a brief three-character addition to a file name used to help identify or categorize the type of file it is. Extensions appear after the file name and are separated from them by a (.). One example might be book.fic, which would identify a series of sub files within the main file. In this case, the primary file identifies books, and the file name extension further breaks that down to works of fiction.

Before we finish : If you need more help or have an opinion or suggestion Please leave a comment Below. This is a Do-Follow Blog leaving a comment will also help your blogs Google rank.

WHAT IS A COMPUTER?

Thanks to Madison Avenue, Hollywood, and a horde of science fiction writers, some people have come to believe that computers have minds of their own and are capable of thinking for themselves. While there is some interest and developmental research in the field of artificial intelligence (the so-called fifth generation of computers, which would be able to learn from experience and improve their own performance on any given task), computers. We know them today are basically stupid.

This is an important point to remember, particularly when dealing with someone who has a fear of computers. Essentially, a computer can be thought of as a very fast, very large calculator that can manipulate or process a lot of information, under its own control. It will execute any command it is given with precision and speed, but won’t go beyond that point. In short, it will do exactly what it is told, and no more. It has no way of telling 4vliether the information it is working on is good or bad, unless it receives further instructions and is given some basis for comparison. The intelligence and control belong entirely to the person who is working with it. Turn it off and its memory can be wiped clean. It is important to think about computers as one of many tools (such as telephone, calculators, and electric typewriters and pencil sharpeners) that people have at their disposal to help make life a little easier. Like a calculator, a computer can add and subtract quickly and with a high degree of accuracy. When a person uses a calculator, however, a button has to be pushed for each function to be performed. A computer has the capacity to store a series of instructions that, in effect, tell it what buttons to push, and in what order to push them. Most of what computers can do is based on their ability to:

Add two numbers together

Subtract one number from another

Compare numbers or symbols to see if they are the same

The power computers possess comes from their ability to perform multiple functions simultaneously and process tremendous amounts of information in what amounts to the blink of an eye. They are at their best when used for large volume, highly defined tasks.

In order to function effectively; a computer requires:

An input device, so that information can be given to it Information (or data)

A program to tell it what to do, or how to work, with that data An output device so that it can display or print out whatever is requested of it

These computer concepts can be found at work in any number of things with which most of us have daily contact. For example:

Scanners such as that pictured in Figure 11, used in the checkout stands at the supermarket (including some that have voice synthesizers)

FIGURE 11. Computerized scanner at a grocery store. Photo by author.

Cash registers at fast-food and other restaurants that not only keep track of cash and sales but that also tie into inventory control and reordering. Automatic tellers programmed to transfer money from your account on demand, or perform other services (see Figure 12) Household appliances, such as microwave ovens and televisions. Automatic gasoline pumps (pictured in Figure 13), that record a purchase, turn on the pump and keep track of how many total gallons a station is using Automobile systems that calculate miles per gallon, trip times, and distance. Computers are able to do all these things because they make no distinction between numbers and symbols. Rather, they translate everything into electrical impulses, which form patterns that have meaning for the computer. These patterns form the basis of the computer’s numbering system by taking the electrical pulses and converting them to a binary system. Binary consists of exactly two numbers: 1 (a pulse of electricity) and 0 (no pulse). By stringing is and Os together, the computer converts whatever data it is given into terms it can understand. For example, the binary equivalent of the number 10 is 1010. Binary codes are also assigned to the characters on the keyboard, so that letters, symbols, and spaces are treated the same way numbers are. This is accomplished through an international conversion code called the American Standard Code for International Interchange (ASCU). Under this code for example, the letter “B” on a keyboard is given the numeric value 66, which the computer can convert to its binary equivalent of 01000010. When the computer is finished processing the information it is given, it translates everything back into numbers and symbols that we understand. For most of us, there is no reason to ever use binary in communicating with a computer because this is already on the software. The decoding instruction the computer needs to interpret everything is programmed into it by the manufacturer.

FIGURE 12. Computers help make breaking more convenient  through the automated tellers.

FIGURE 13. Computerized gas pumps calculate sales customer’s account. 

 

Before we finish : If you need more help or have an opinion or suggestion Please leave a comment Below. This is a Do-Follow Blog leaving a comment will also help your blogs Google rank.

Comparison of Computers Then and Now

 

Figure 8. Comparison of computers then and now. Courtesy of International Business Machines

This process has spanned three generations of growth:

The First Generation: The 1950s. Marked by the arrival of the UNI VAC, first-generation machines are identified by their use of electronic tubes. They were generally capable of executing about 1000 instructions per second and could store no more than 20,000 characters of information. It was during this time that Admiral Grace Hopper, a pioneer of the modern computer age, began what is generally considered the first career as a computer programmer. Hopper also pioneered the development of COBOL; perhaps the most common of all computer languages. The Second Generation: 1960 to 1965. First-generation computers were considered obsolete by 1960, as transistors replaced tubes. The second-generation computers were considerably smaller than their predecessors and handled in the range of one million instructions per second. The solid state technology ad these systems increased their storage capabilities and reliability, making them more attractive to business and industry. Computer concepts, such as operating systems, time sharing, and data communications, were -refined and gained a greater use. The Third Generation: 1965 to the Present. Advances in integrated and printed circuits have spawned the current generation of computers, which are smaller, faster, have more storage capacity, and are more affordable than ever before. There are, of course, many different types of computers available for modern use.

Before we finish : If you need more help or have an opinion or suggestion Please leave a comment Below. This is a Do-Follow Blog leaving a comment will also help your blogs Google rank.

THE WORLD OF PERSONAL COMPUTERS

                               Clearly, the machine no longer belonged to its makers.

            

 TRACY KIDDER,

                                                                                                            

  The Soul of a New Machine

Computers have been around a lot longer than most of us would like to believe. As a matter of fact, the computer’s lineage can be traced back to 1642 when Blaise Pascal, a French mathematical genius, invented the first real calculating machine. Pascal’s machine used a combination of rotating wheels and gears to perform simple problems of addition and subtraction.

In 1833 Charles Babbage, an English inventor, designed the great-grandfather of modern computers with the introduction of his analytical engine a forerunner of which is pictured below in Figure 3. The engine was composed of five parts:

(1) A calculating unit (the mill),

(2) The store (memory),

(3) An input device,

(4) A control section, and

(5) A printer, the system was driven by punched cards that fed the basic information into the engine, where it could be processed. Babbage also fathered the basic principles on which the first adding machine was constructed.

In 1842, Lady Augusta Ada Lovelace, a friend of Babbage, wrote the first computer documentation in her paper ‘‘Observations of Mr. Babbage Analytical Machine.' A mathematical prodigy,

FIGURE 3.  Babbage’s differential machine, a forerunner of his analytical engine, marked a major step towards the future development of computers. Smithsonian Institution photo number 53190.

Ada established herself as the world’s first computer programmer and provided the software for Babbage’s engine. In recognition of her contributions, the U.S. Department of Defense named its so-called super language after her and Ada became a registered trademark of the U.S. government. The 1840s saw the publication of several papers and theses by the English mathematician George Boole. Boole’s theories detailed how logical problems can be solved like algebraic equations. Boolean logic set the stage for the advent of computer science. In 1890, the first electronic calculating machine was invented Known as the Hollerith tabulator, it used punched cards for the first time. The United States used the Hollerith tabulator (Figure 4) to compute the census, and completed the job in a mere six weeks. Up to that time, it had taken as long as 10 years to prepare the census calculations. The era of modern computing began in 1925 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. There, a team of engineers led by Vannevar Bush developed a large-scale analog calculator since it was capable of storing number values electronically; this is considered the advent of-all that was to follow.

Figure 4 .Hollerith's tabulator provided a taste of future computing power when first used in figuring the results at the 1890 United States Census. Smithsonian Institution photo number 64563.

The 1930s and 1940s saw a number of advances in computer development, with the development of two of the more famous systems: ENIAC (electronic numerical integrator and computer) in the United States, and Colossus, the world’s first electronic computer, in England. Colossus was placed into operation to decipher the signals of Enigma, the German code machine. Colossus was credited with breaking Enigma’s code, which provided the necessary information to help the allies win the war. Colossus was SO secret that it was dismantled at the end of the war and only one piece is known to survive today. At the end of 1945 ENIAC arrived on the scene and solved its first problem in December of that year. The problem dealt with the hydrogen bomb, and is still considered a classified secret. The ENIAC, a portion of which is shown in Figure 5, was composed of 40 panels, each two feet wide and four feet deep, and housed some 18,000 vacuum tubes. It was capable of handling more than

FIGURE 5. ENIAC, one of the world’s first computers. Courtesy of International Business Machines.

One problem, although it had to be manually programmed by resetting switches, a process that could take up to two days.

Perhaps as a harbinger of things to come, ENIAC was obsolete almost as soon as it was running. A newer generation of stored program computers, which could be programmed electronically (instead of by recabling everything by hand), arrived in 1946 and quickly replaced ENIAC. For all its importance as one of the world’s first electronic computers, ENIAC had neither the power nor the speed of many of today’s hand-held calculators.

At that time, however, the sheer number of vacuum tubes needed to operate these early computers limited their use. Vacuum tubes were always burning out, so only short programs could be run. These machines literally filled entire rooms and were programmed at very low levels, often by a person setting and resetting row after row of switches and by recabling the system. Little wonder that a post-war government report saw little use for such machines and predicted that there might be a need for no more than three or four in the entire country. That might have been true, if the vacuum tube had remained the standard electronic core of a computer. The invention of the transistor in 1947 by Bell Laboratory scientists superseded the vacuum tube. The transistor was compact, used low voltages, and small amounts of power. It freed computers from the need be vacuum tubes and revolutionized the computer industry, setting the stage for today’s smaller computer systems. In 1951, the world’s first commercial computer, UNIVAC (Figure 6), was delivered to the Census Bureau. The UNIVAC set the trends for years to come and laid down standards that are followed even today. The original UNIVAC still blinks away at the Smithsonian Institute. Throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, improvements in the construction of transistors opened new doors for computer man- manufacturing. The first transistors gave way to the integrated circuit, in which a number of transistors and the wiring that connects them were constructed in a single piece. Integrated circuits, turn, led to the development of wafer—thin silicon chips on which thousands of transistors can be packed into an area about one quarter of an inch square as in Fig7.

FIGURE 6. UNIVAC, the world’s first commercial computer. Smithsonian Institution photo number 72-2616.

The development of transistors and microchips led to the creation of bigger and more powerful computers. It also allowed smaller and cheaper machines to come into existence... In short, these developments led to the evolution of several distinct families of computers, as well as to a continuing decrease in the cost of computing power. In fact, since the mid-1970s, the cost of computing power has dropped by an average of 50 percent per year. A comparison of computing power then and now can be seen in Figure 8.

FIGURE 7 .  Line drawing of a microchip. Illustration by Gina Bean .

 

Before we finish : If you need more help or have an opinion or suggestion Please leave a comment Below. This is a Do-Follow Blog leaving a comment will also help your blogs Google rank.

THE SPREAD OF APPLICATIONS DEVELOPMENT

One chief advantage of personal computers is the improved productivity they bring to the applications development process. As anyone who has worked in, or with, data processing knows, the shortage of experienced programmers has led to large backlogs of computer applications. Simply put, people are thinking up more things for the computer to do than there are people to write the programs. The arrival of the personal computer extends the computing power necessary to achieve a lot of these applications and places it directly in the hands of those who are generating the requests,. What these people are looking for is instant productivity as a way to get around all those data processing backlogs. What some of them and their organizations are discovering is that there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
The problems fall into several categories:
People are creating programs without really thinking them through, and without giving consideration as to how their actions may be affecting others. There are a lot of duplicate programs being created, and an explosion in the number of private files and databases that are being created. People are not documenting their programs so that others can use them. Few pay attention to the need for backup and security. There is not much concern over maintaining programs once they have been created. Few people double-check their work to make sure they are doing the right things. Many- people believe that they can handle all their data processing needs simply by plugging some easy to use software into a personal computer and having at it. They tend to see personal computers as a way to avoid the long delays and other headaches of getting what they want from “those people up in data processing.” It is an unfortunate point of view to take, because it almost guarantees that they will have to learn the lessons of computers the same way all those folks in data processing did, by getting burned a few times. For example, a spreadsheet can be used to develop a budget or financial forecast with a fair degree of certainty that the columns and rows will be added correctly. Who checks to make sure that the right numbers were used, or the right formulas were applied? In data processing, people are taught to test the programs before they trust the results. A lot of computer users go with the first thing produced, or make last-minute adjustments just to see what effect they might have. The more complex the database becomes (calculate the commissions of all salespeople in the state, except those in . . .), the greater the probability of a mistake. This is particularly true of spreadsheets, which are almost seductive in nature. Information can look so good on a spreadsheet, and so authoritative, that people tend not to question it. After all, Computers rarely miscalculate anything. This same thought process contributes to other problems, such as not taking the time to prepare the documentation that tells others what the program Is and how it can be used. Employees who are trying to do nothing similar are left in a position of having to tie’ another program from scratch. It also means that when the author, leaves the organization there’s nothing to explain the program to his or her replacement. The problem is compounded as Joe creates something he’ thinks is great and shares it with Jane, who adds something and shares it with Pete, who modifies it for use with something developed by Pat. If all of this occurs without any controls or written guidelines or procedures, a major business failure could occur because of uncontrolled application development. This potential for disaster is enhanced because all too often people are not thinking about such issues as creating backups and security. In fact, most probably never will until they suffer a disaster. What data processing has learned over the past 20 years is about to be relearned by whole new groups of people. For some, learning is going to get expensive. The message won’t really be driven home, however, until someone spills coffee on the diskette containing the budget and discovers there isn’t another usable copy to be found. Maintaining programs once they have been created may also prove to be a bone of contention. A lot of people believe that what they are doing is unique, so they don’t give too much thought to what they are creating beyond producing one or two reports. A lot of people are writing what they believe are one- shot programs, and their organizations will end up living with them for years to come. Professional programmers and systems analysts learned long ago that the one-shot program that will only be used once and then forgotten doesn’t really exist. Once created, such things usually take on a life of their own. Someone has to maintain the program and the information it contains. Perhaps what data processing fears the most, and with some justification, is the creation of hundreds of new data centers throughout an organization. Since it took the data processing community some 20 years to realize the high costs and dangers of having duplicate files, duplicate data centers will remain a potential powder keg for personal computer users for some time to come. Private files and databases are being created every place a personal computer is available. Often the programs and files created exist only on a floppy disk laying on the user’s desk. No one else may know about it because there is no documentation, or they might not have access to it. If something happens to either the person or the diskette, well. One important point that everyone working with a personal computer will have to learn is that none of their actions occur in a vacuum. Everything they do has a potential consequence for someone else. In this regard, the lessons already learned by data.

 

Before we finish : If you need more help or have an opinion or suggestion Please leave a comment Below. This is a Do-Follow Blog leaving a comment will also help your blogs Google rank.

COPYRIGHT VERSUS COPYING

No issue is as confusing, perplexing, or as potentially explosive as copying software. Since the inception of the Xerox machine our society has grown increasingly copy oriented. From making photocopies of books and magazines to taping record albums, live broadcasts, and movies, people have come to believe they have a right to reproduce things whenever they choose to. This same belief carries over to computer software, and personal computers make copying such materials an easy task. The copying of software is a gray area for Marty people and organizations, particularly for those just getting started. People sometimes confuse legal rulings that uphold the right to copy things in the public domain for private use with the right to copy and use software. The software industry itself adds to this uncertainty by pushing products that may or may not be copy-protected, and by the marketing of site licenses. The copyright law governing software is specific. Unless otherwise specified or agreed to by the developer or manufacturer, the purchaser is entitled to make one backup copy, or to copy the program onto a hard disk. While that might seem straightforward enough, illegal copying of software has developed into a problem of major proportions that is costing software manufacturers millions of dollars of lost revenues. The biggest culprits? Individual users in business, industry, and government. Copying software Is a fairly simple thing to do, particularly when using a dual disk-drive system. Just turn the system on, put the diskette containing the software to he copied in one drive, a blank formatted diskette in 11w other, and when the prompt appears (a>) type: ‘‘disk copy a: h:’’ and press the enter key. A few moments later you have an exact duplicate of the original. This is such an easy process that in half an hour one employee can probably make enough copies of a software package to meet the needs of 20 or 30 other people. In fact,, this is exactly what is happening in a lot of organizations. In many cases, employees are also making copies for their own private use. A study conducted by Future Computing and reported in the August 1965 Information Center Magazine suggests that there is one pirated copy of business software in use for every one authorized by the software developer. The study estimates that this cost manufacturers $1.3 billion in lost sales between 1981 and 1984. Other industry analysts believe this to be a conservative estimate, and set the rate of piracy considerably higher. Issues in Personal Computing, As might be expected, software companies are reacting strongly to this illegal use of their products, and rhetoric is giving way to action both in the courts and sometimes through the merchandise itself. In the latter case, some manufacturers are threatening to program “worms” into their software that would be activated if the original program diskette is copied more than once. When transferred to a pirated version, these worms randomly destroy whatever data they come into contact with. This is a very controversial step, and has drawn fire from many business and government quarters. These groups point out that a lot of things can happen to affect the original copy. It can, for example, be erased from a hard disk, copied over if stored on a diskette, or destroyed if the diskette isn’t properly handled. The prospect of not having a ready and reliable backup source doesn’t appeal to many of them. This leaves litigation as the most viable source of action, and many software companies are taking full advantage of the legal options afforded them.
For example:
Lotus Development Corporation sued the Rixon Corporation for $10 million in damages. Lotus charged Rixon with making at least 13 copies of their popular spreadsheet package and distributing them to branch offices. The case was settled out of court. Since this case, Lotus has brought suit against numerous other organizations, with several additional settlements. The Association for Data Processing Service Organizations (ADAPSO) brought suit on behalf of several software manufacturers against American Brands and Wilson Jones Company for unauthorized copying. The tough stance taken by Lotus and ADAPSO can be expected to spread throughout the industry, and could cost offending companies a lot of money if their employees get caught making illegal copies. Ignorance of such activities is not holding up well as a defense either, as several courts have held management responsible for illegal copies made by employees, even though the companies had no knowledge of their employees’ activities. A number of civil penalties can be imposed in these cases, including judgments for lost sales, royalties, or profits. Additional damages, as well as court costs and attorney’s fees, can be added on top of the original judgment, and some states have enacted fines and penalties that can also be imposed. Criminal penalties may also be imposed for those making illegal copies for profit.
 Essentially, the courts are being asked to answer two questions:
I. What rights, and responsibilities do users have?
2. To what extent do users; have to follow the terms of the licensing agreements that come with most software packages?
As software developers push their cases in the courts, the general trend seems to be holding for allowing only one backup copy. The landmark Supreme Court case of Sony Corporation of America vs. Universal City Studios (457 U.S. 116), is often held up as a defense against litigation brought by developers. In that 1984 ruling, the court held that copying television programs for private home use was legal because it made “fair use” of copyrights. Lower courts have tended to discount this in cases involving Computer Software, because companies that make copies for their own internal use are generally involved in profit making activities, which could have an adverse effect on the overall market of liar software. The other words, it wouldn’t be a fair use of the software program. This places companies in a rather awkward situation as more and more personal computers are brought into the American workplace. Increased numbers means a greater risk of increased copying. One Houston-based company discovered that 80 of 120 systems it owned had software installed that wasn’t authorized for use. Their internal audit uncovered some 18 different software packages that had been purchased, installed, and copied by employees. By and large, however, most of these suits and other actions have don't little to curl’ software piracy. This has led to another approach by some developers, the use of site licenses. Essentially, a site license authorizes a user to make as many copies of a particular software product as are needed in return for one large copyright payment.
Employee education about the copyright protections extended to computer software is generally conceded to be an important starting place in the fight against piracy, and should certainly be included in training programs for every level of employee.
Many companies also require employees to sign statements that they are aware of the copyright provisions for software, and promise not to violate them. While these statements have yet to be tested in the courts, their use has been cited as evidence that companies are becoming more responsive to the problem.

 

Before we finish : If you need more help or have an opinion or suggestion Please leave a comment Below. This is a Do-Follow Blog leaving a comment will also help your blogs Google rank.