Here are a list of just a few of the computer programs I use on my computer. I have provided a little bit of information about each so you know what they are.
Microsoft Office
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Microsoft Office
Maintainer: Microsoft
Stable release: 2003 Service Pack 2 (11.0.6568.6568) (Windows)
2004 Service Pack 2 (11.2.5) (Mac OS X) [+/-]
Preview release: Office 2007 Beta 2 Technical Refresh (12.0.4407.1005) (Windows) [+/-]
OS: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Mac OS X
Use: Office suite
License: Proprietary
Website:
www.office.microsoft.com
Microsoft Office is a suite of productivity programs created or purchased by Microsoft and developed for Microsoft Windows, and Apple Computer's Mac OS and Mac OS X operating systems. As well as the core office applications, the Microsoft Office brand includes associated servers and Web-based services. Recent versions of Office are now called the "Office system" rather than the "Office suite" to reflect the fact that they include servers as well.
Office made its first appearance in 1989 on the Macintosh, with a version for Windows following it in 1990 [1]. It was initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications that were previously marketed and sold separately. The main selling point was that buying the bundle was substantially cheaper than buying each of the individual applications on their own. The first version of Office contained Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Additionally, a "Pro" version of Office included Microsoft Access and Schedule Plus. Over the years the Office applications have grown substantially closer together from a technical standpoint, sharing features such as a common spell checker, OLE data integration, and the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications scripting language. Microsoft also positions Office as a development platform for line-of-business software.
The current versions are Office 2003 for Windows, released November 13, 2003, and Office 2004 for Macintosh, released May 11, 2004. Office 2007, the next version for Windows, was announced on February 16, 2006 and is planned for release by the end of the year. It features a radically different user interface and a new XML-based primary file format.
As of 2006, Office is the most popular office suite on the Windows and Macintosh operating systems and considered to be the de facto standard for word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation documents. It competes with other commercial software Office suites from IBM and Corel, as well as free open-source alternatives, such as OpenOffice.org.
Contents
[hide]
1 Common Office programs
1.1 Word
1.2 Excel
1.3 Outlook/Entourage
1.4 PowerPoint
2 Other programs included in the Windows versions
3 Other programs included in the Mac versions
4 Web services associated with Microsoft Office
5 Older programs no longer included
6 Older Suites No Longer Supported
7 Other related companion servers
8 Editions
9 Cross-platform use
10 Versions
10.1 Versions for Microsoft Windows OS
10.2 Versions for Apple Macintosh OS
11 Add-ins
12 Trivia
13 See also
14 External links
[edit]
Common Office programs
These programs are included in all editions of Microsoft Office 2003, except Microsoft Office Basic Edition 2003. Microsoft Office Basic Edition includes Word, Excel and Outlook only.
[edit]
Word
Microsoft Word is a word processor and is considered to be the main program of Office. It possesses a dominant market share in the word processor market. Its proprietary DOC format is considered a de facto standard, although its most recent version, Word 11.0/2003, also supports an XML-based format. Word is also available in some editions of Microsoft Works. It is available for the Windows and Macintosh platforms.
[edit]
Excel
Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program. Like Microsoft Word, it possesses a dominant market share. It was originally a competitor to the dominant Lotus 1-2-3, but it eventually outsold it and became the de facto standard. It is available for the Windows and Macintosh platforms.
[edit]
Outlook/Entourage
Microsoft Outlook, not to be confused with Outlook Express, is a personal information manager and e-mail communication software. The replacement for Microsoft Mail and Schedule + (Plus) starting in the 1997 version of Office, it includes an e-mail client, calendar, task manager and address book. Although historically it has been offered for the Macintosh, the closest to an equivalent for Mac OS X is Microsoft Entourage, which offers a slightly different feature set.
[edit]
PowerPoint
Microsoft PowerPoint is a popular presentation program for Windows and Macintosh. It is used to create slideshows, composed of text, graphics, movies and other objects, which can be displayed on-screen and navigated through by the presenter or printed out on transparencies or slides. Windows Mobile 2005 (Magneto) will have a version of this program. It possesses a dominant market share.
[edit]
Other programs included in the Windows versions
Microsoft Access – Database manager. For the 2003 version, included in Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003, and Microsoft Office Professional Enterprise Edition 2003.
Microsoft InfoPath – Application that enables users to design rich XML-based forms. Included in Microsoft Office Professional, and Microsoft Office Enterprise Edition 2003.
Microsoft FrontPage – Web design software (also requires its own server program for some functionality). Offered only as a stand-alone program for the 2003 version (not part of the pre-2003 office suites, was sold separately). Now known as Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer in the 2007 suite.
Microsoft Visio – Diagram software with many functions included.
Microsoft Office Picture Manager – Basic photo management software (similar to a basic version of Google's Picasa or Adobe's Photoshop Elements).
Microsoft Photo Editor – Photo-editing/raster-graphics software in older Office versions, and again in XP. It was temporarily supplemented by Microsoft PhotoDraw in Office 2000 Premium edition.
Microsoft Project – Project-management software that allows users to keep track of events and other PM related items. Microsoft Project allows users to create network charts and Gantt charts as well.
Microsoft Publisher – software for creating newsletters, business cards, flyers, greeting cards or even postcards. It has built in templates to help users professionally design and make publications. Also, Publisher 2003 has support for commercial printing and large quantity ink jobs. Unlike its more popular brethren (save, perhaps, Outlook), Publisher has a negligible market share in a field dominated by Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress.
Microsoft Office OneNote – Note-taking software for use with tablet PCs or regular PCs.
Microsoft Office Communicator 2005 – Integrated communications client, enabling information workers to communicate in real time. Communicator is used effectively world wide for conferences and meetings.
Microsoft Office InterConnect – Business-relationship database available only in Japan. [2]
Developer Tools – (included only with developer editions)
[edit]
Other programs included in the Mac versions
Virtual PC – Emulates a standard PC and its hardware. Included with Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2004.
[edit]
Web services associated with Microsoft Office
Microsoft Update – Web site.
Microsoft Office Live – Web hosting services and online collaboration tools for small businesses.
Microsoft Office Online – Web site. Included in all versions of Microsoft Office 2003.
Microsoft Office Update – Web site. Patch detection and installation service for Office 2000, XP, and 2003. [3]
[edit]
Older programs no longer included
Word 97 running on Windows NT 3.51.
Microsoft Binder – Incorporates several documents into one file.
Binder was originally designed as a container system for storing related documents in a single file. The complexity of use, combined with Binder being "yet another application to learn", meant it received little usage. It was removed from releases after Office 2000 to save the effort of ongoing maintenance.
Microsoft Schedule Plus – Released with Office 95. It featured a Planner, to do list, and contact information. Its functions were incorporated into Microsoft Outlook.
Microsoft Mail – Mail client (in old versions of Office, later replaced by Microsoft Schedule Plus subsequently Microsoft Outlook).
Microsoft Outlook Express – Mail client (in Office 98 Macintosh Edition, later replaced by Microsoft Entourage).
Microsoft Vizact 2000 – A program that "activated" documents using HTML, adding effects such as animation. The main reason for its unpopularity was because many people had no idea what it did by looking at its box alone, and therefore did not buy it.
Microsoft PhotoDraw – A graphics program that was first released in 1998 and later repackaged as PhotoDraw 2000 v2 as part of the Office 2000 Premium Edition. The program was discontinued in 2001, reasons given by Microsoft were that their consumer graphics program Microsoft Picture It! offered richer capabilities.
Since 1997, Office has included Office Assistant, a system that uses animated characters to offer unrequested context-sensitive suggestions to users and access to relevant parts of the help system. Intended to make the software less intimidating to new users, it is typically disabled by experienced users. The Assistant is often dubbed "Clippy" or "Clippit," due to its default to a paperclip character, coded as CLIPPIT.ACS. The Assistant is the main use of Microsoft Agent technology. The Office Agent is now hidden by default in Windows versions since Office XP, following mixed public response, and will be removed entirely in Office 2007.
Also, beginning with Macintosh Office 4.2, the Macintosh and Windows versions of Office share the same file format. Consequently, any Macintosh with Office 4.2 or later can read documents created with Windows Office 4.2 or later, and vice-versa.
Office 11.0/2003 introduced a new, optional file format for the entire suite, based on XML. Office X for Mac is also built to handle this file format.
[edit]
Older Suites No Longer Supported
Beginning in 2003, Microsoft instituted a policy of "Support Lifecycles" for older versions of their office suites. [4] [5].
Office 97 – support ended January 16, 2004.
Office 2000 – support ended June 30, 2004. Additional security-only support is available through July 14, 2009.
Office XP – support ended July 11, 2006. Additional security-only support will be provided until July 12, 2011.
[edit]
Other related companion servers
Microsoft Office Live Communications Server - real time communications server
Microsoft Office Project Server - project management server
Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server collaboration server
[edit]
Editions
Word 2003 running on Windows XP.
The Windows version of Microsoft Office 11.0/2003 is available in six editions: (Please note that for the most part, pricing reflects installation on only a single computer.)
Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition 11.0/2003 (MSRP New User Price $149 US)
Microsoft Office Basic Edition 11.0/2003 (bundled with new computers only)
Microsoft Office Standard Edition 11.0/2003 (MSRP New User Price $399 US; Upgrade Price $239 US)
Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 11.0/2003 (MSRP New User Price $449 US; Upgrade Price $279 US)
Microsoft Office Professional Edition 11.0/2003 (MSRP New User Price $499 US; Upgrade Price $329 US)
Microsoft Office Professional Enterprise Edition 11.0/2003 (volume licensing only)
The Macintosh version, Microsoft Office for Mac 2004, is available in three editions. All include Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Entourage. They are identical except for pricing and the inclusion of Virtual PC in the Professional Edition. Microsoft notes that Virtual PC is incompatible with Intel Macs and recommends that Intel Mac users purchase the standard edition.
Office for Mac 2004 Student and Teacher Edition (MSRP New User Price $149 US)
Office for Mac 2004 Standard Edition (MSRP New User Price $399 US; Upgrade Price $239 US)
Office for Mac 2004 Professional Edition (MSRP New User Price $499 US; Upgrade Price $329 US)
Pricing as of April 9, 2005 [6] [7]
[edit]
Cross-platform use
Microsoft develops Office for Windows and Macintosh platforms. Recently, Microsoft announced that it will discontinue Visual Basic for Applications support in future versions of Office for Macintosh. In addition, Microsoft's MacBU has also ceased development on a universal version of Virtual PC, stating that "developing a high-quality virtualization solution, such as Virtual PC, for the Intel-based Mac is similar to creating a version 1.0 release due to how closely the product integrates with Mac hardware." [8].
Most versions of Office can also be run on Unix-like operating systems through the use of a compatibility layer such as CrossOver Office or WINE. The older versions are said to run better in WINE than newer ones, while all versions are known to work to some extent.[citation needed]
There were efforts in the mid 1990s to port Office to RISC processors such as NEC / MIPS and IBM / PowerPC, however one of the problems was that memory access was hampered by data structure alignment requirements. Difficulties in porting Office may have been a factor in discontinuing Windows NT on non-Intel platforms.
[edit]
Versions
[edit]
Versions for Microsoft Windows OS
Office 3.0 (CD-ROM version: Word 2.0c, Excel 4.0a, PowerPoint 3.0, Mail) - Released August 30, 1992 (repackaged as Office 92).
Office 4.0 (Word 6.0, Excel 4.0, PowerPoint 3.0) - Released January 17, 1994.
Office for NT 4.2 (Word 6.0 [32-bit, i386 and Alpha], Excel 5.0 [32-bit, i386 and Alpha], PowerPoint 4.0 [16-bit], "Microsoft Office Manager") - Released July 3, 1994.
Office 4.3 (the last 16-bit version; Word 6.0, Excel 5.0, PowerPoint 4.0 and in the pro version, Access 2.0 - Released June 2, 1994.
Office 7.0/'95 (Word '95, etc.) - Released August 30, 1995.
Office 8.0/'97 (Word '97, etc.) - Released December 30, 1996 (was published on CD-ROM as well as on a set of 45 3½-inch floppy disks).
Office 9.0/2000 (Word 2000, etc.) - Released January 27, 1999. Last version to support Windows 95.
Office 10.0/2002/XP (Word 2002, etc.) - Released May 31, 2001.
Office 11.0/2003 (Word 2003, etc.) - Released November 17, 2003.
Office 12.0/2007 - Due to be released in October 2006, shortly before Windows Vista, Microsoft's next major consumer operating system.
There are variants of more recent versions such as Small Business Edition, Student and Teacher Edition, Professional Edition and Developer Edition with different collections of applications and pricing points.
[edit]
Versions for Apple Macintosh OS
The Microsoft Office 2004 logo.
Office 1 (Word 3, etc.) - Released 1990.
Office 2 (Word 4, etc.) - Released 1992.
Office 3 (Word 5, Excel 4, PowerPoint 3, etc.) - Released 1993.
Office 4.2 (The last 68K version; Word 6.0, Excel 5, PowerPoint 4, etc.) - Released 1994.
Office 4.2.1 (The first Power Mac-aware version; Word 6.0.1, Excel 5, etc.) - Released June 2, 1994.
Office 98 (Word/Excel/PowerPoint 98(v8.0), etc.) - Released March 15, 1998.
Office 2001 (Word 2001, etc.) - Released October 11, 2000.
Office v. X (The first Mac OS X/Aqua edition; Word X, etc.) - Released November 19, 2001.
Office 2004 (Word 2004, etc.) - Released May 11, 2004.
Both Office v. X and 2004 Standard Edition run non-natively on Intel Macs through the Rosetta Emulation layer. Microsoft does not intend to update Office 2004 for Intel Macs, but has announced that the next version of Office for Mac will have universal binaries capable of running natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs.
[edit]
Add-ins
A major feature of applications in the Office suite is the ability for users and third party companies to write Office COM add-ins. Component Object Model (COM) add-ins are supplemental programs that extend the capabilities of an application by adding custom commands and specialized features that can accommodate specific tasks.
[edit]
Trivia
Most versions of Microsoft Office (including 97 and later, and possibly 4.3) use their own widget set, and as a result do not exactly match the native operating system. This is more apparent in the 2002 or XP release of Microsoft Office where standard menus were replaced with a coloured flat looking, shadowed menu style. Similarly, Microsoft Office 2007 introduces a whole new widget system, dubbed "Ribbon."
The same widget used in Microsoft Office is also used in the Visual Studio product line, though the "Ribbon" system was not announced to be included in future versions of Visual Studio.
Whereas Windows uses "Service Packs", Office used to release "Service Releases". However, after Office 2000 Service Release 1, Office releases only Service Packs. Service Releases are not cumulative (i.e. it is necessary to install each release in turn) whereas Service Packs are. This means that any copy of the original Office 2000 ("RTM" or "Gold" in Microsoft documentation) requires Service Release 1 to be installed before a Service Pack can be installed.
On versions of Microsoft Office before 2003, the Save Icon's floppy disk had the shutter on the wrong way around.
Office programs have contained sometimes substantial easter eggs. For example, Excel 97 contained a reasonably functional flight-simulator.
[edit]
See also
List of office suites
Comparison of office suites
Open format
Microsoft Dynamics
[edit]
External links
Microsoft Office (for Windows) Official Website
Microsoft Office 2004 (for Mac OS X) Official Website
MSDN Office Developer Center
Microsoft Office X (for Mac OS X) Official Website
Microsoft Office 2001 (for Mac OS 8-9) Home Page
Microsoft Office Converters and Viewers - Free programs for Windows by Microsoft which mainly enables one to view previously saved Microsoft Office documents.
Office Blog (in French)
Microsoft Office 2003 Editions - Quick Reference Matrix
Trace - Freeware privacy utility that looks for server names, macros, email addresses, track changes and comments. It works on Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
17 MS Office Killers
Microsoft Office
Access • Entourage • Excel • FrontPage • InfoPath • InterConnect • Live Meeting • MapPoint • OneNote • Outlook • PowerPoint • Project • Publisher • Student • Visio • Word
This box: v·d·e
Microsoft Corporation
Software: Windows • Office • Server System • Dynamics • Visual Studio • Money • Encarta • Defender • more...
Technology: Active Directory • DirectX • .NET • Internet Explorer • Windows Media • PlaysForSure • more...
Web properties: Windows Live • Office Live • MSNBC • MSN • Hotmail • Messenger • Spaces • Groups • Passport
Gaming: Microsoft Game Studios • Zone • Xbox • Xbox 360 • Xbox Live (Marketplace • Arcade)
Hardware: Zune • MSN TV • Natural Keyboard • Mouse • Sidewinder • Ultra-Mobile PC • Fingerprint
Education and Recognition: MCPs • MSDN • MSDNAA • MSCA • Microsoft Press • Microsoft MVP
Board of directors: Ballmer • Cash • Dublon • Gates • Gilmartin • Korologos • Marquardt • Noski • Panke • Shirley
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office"
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements | Office suites | Microsoft software | Microsoft Office | Windows software | Mac OS software
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Adobe Acrobat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Adobe Reader)
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat Professional 7 running on Mac OS X
Maintainer: Adobe Systems
Latest release: 7.0.8 / June 2, 2006
OS: Cross-platform
Use: PDF writer
License: Proprietary
Website:
www.adobe.com/acrobat/
Adobe Acrobat was the first software to support Adobe Systems' Portable Document Format (PDF). It is a family of software, some commercial and some free of charge. The Acrobat Reader program (now just called Adobe Reader) is available as a no-charge download from Adobe's web site, and allows the viewing and printing of PDF files. It is a major component of the Adobe Engagement Platform, and is widely used as a standard format to display text with a clean visual appeal.
Several other commercial PDF-editing programs allow some minimal editing and adding of features to documents, and come with other modules including a printer driver to create PDF files from Macintosh or Microsoft Windows applications.
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Product names
2.1 Acrobat product history
2.1.1 Version 1 (Released 15 June 1993)
2.1.2 Version 2 (Released September 1994)
2.1.3 Version 3 (Released 1996)
2.1.4 Version 4 (Released April 1999)
2.1.5 Version 5 (Released May 2001)
2.1.6 Version 6 (Released April 2003)
2.1.7 Version 7 (Released January 2005)
2.1.8 Version 8 (Announced 18 September 2006 - available November 2006)
3 Controversy
4 Alternative PDF software
5 References
6 External links
[edit]
History
Since the early 1990s, the Acrobat product had several competitors who each used their own document formats, such as:
AnyView from Binar Graphics
Common Ground from No Hands Software
Envoy from WordPerfect Corporation
Folio from NextPage
Microsoft Reader from Microsoft
Replica from Farallon Computing
WorldView from Interleaf
By the late 1990s PDF had become the de facto standard, and the others had become largely historical footnotes. This in turn has led to many more competitors for Adobe Acrobat, both free and commercial.
Today, there are a host of third-party programs that create or manipulate PDF, such as Ghostscript and Nitro PDF. Adobe also allows Acrobat plug-ins to be developed, which can add extra functions within the Acrobat program; popular ones include Enfocus PitStop, ARTS PDF Aerialist and Quite A Box Of Tricks.
[edit]
Product names
Adobe has changed the names of the products in the Acrobat family regularly, also splitting products up, joining them together, or discontinuing members. This causes much confusion, not only about what product to obtain, but even about what product people have.
As of 2006, the current main members of the Adobe Acrobat family are
Adobe Reader 7 (previously Adobe Acrobat Reader); no-charge software to read or print PDF files.
Adobe Acrobat Standard 7 and Adobe Acrobat Professional 7; commercial (paid for) software to create PDFs and to manipulate them in various ways. Between version 3 and 5 these were one product simply called Adobe Acrobat.
A growing collection of server and specialist products
Adobe Acrobat Reader running on Debian
Adobe has never created a product called either Adobe Writer or Acrobat Writer, although these names seem a natural opposite to the Reader product. Purists and pedants dislike these made-up names. To add more confusion, Acrobat used to include a printer driver called PDFWriter.
[edit]
Acrobat product history
[edit]
Version 1 (Released 15 June 1993)
Acrobat Reader 1.0 for DOS, Windows 3.1 and Macintosh. This was not available in single copies and was not initially free. After a while the IRS purchased a right to distribute Reader 1.0, effectively making it seem free to those who obtained it that way.
PDF version 1.0 supported.
Acrobat Exchange 1.0 (included PDFWriter printer driver and Acrobat Exchange application).
Acrobat Distiller 1.0. Created PDF from PostScript (no printer driver at this stage).
[edit]
Version 2 (Released September 1994)
Acrobat Reader 2.0 for Windows and Macintosh. Now free.
PDF version 1.1 (and prior) supported.
Acrobat Exchange 2.0, package as 1.0.
Acrobat Professional 2.0, which included the contents of Acrobat Exchange, plus Distiller.
There were 2.1 updates.
Acrobat Catalog was introduced, using Verity, Inc. technology to create searchable indexes to PDF files. Searching required a special version of Acrobat Reader, not free, or Acrobat Exchange.
[edit]
Version 3 (Released 1996)
Acrobat Reader 3.0. The first to display PDF files in-browser, and the first to support form filling.
PDF version 1.2 (and prior) supported.
A free Reader to allow searching was made available, but was not part of the default download.
Acrobat 3.0 – replaced Acrobat Professional 2.1. Included Acrobat Catalog, and a Distiller printer driver.
Updates to 3.01 and 3.02; 3.02 introduced extended forms capabilities and JavaScript.
First release with support for Windows 95 and later. Last release with support for Windows 3.1.
[edit]
Version 4 (Released April 1999)
Acrobat Reader 4.0.
PDF version 1.3 (and prior) supported.
Acrobat 4.0.
Updates to 4.05.
Introduced Distiller Server 4.0, identical to the regular Distiller but with a multi-user license (Windows, Linux, Solaris).
Acrobat Business Tools 4.0 – a limited version of Acrobat.
[edit]
Version 5 (Released May 2001)
Acrobat Reader 5.0.
PDF version 1.4 (and prior) supported.
Acrobat 5.0. PDFWriter removed from Macintosh application[1]
Updates to 5.0.5. Acrobat 5.0.5 was the first to be able to run native in Mac OS X, but also ran in Mac OS 9.
Distiller Server 5.0.
Acrobat Approval 5.0 – a limited version of Acrobat, mainly sold to people who wanted to digitally sign or save fill in forms.
Acrobat Reader 5.1 – supported the Adobe LiveCycle Reader Extensions (e.g. forms saving) (which was then under a different name).
[edit]
Version 6 (Released April 2003)
Adobe Reader 6.0 (no Linux or Unix versions)
PDF version 1.5 (and prior) supported.
Acrobat Professional 6.0 – replacement for Acrobat 5.0, with new features. Distiller printer driver renamed Adobe PDF. PDFWriter now gone for good. New version of Catalog integrated and not compatible with earlier products for searching.
Acrobat Standard 6.0 – limited version of Acrobat Professional, including Distiller but lacking features including Catalog, form design, prepress support.
Updates to 6.0.1, 6.0.2, 6.0.3, 6.0.4 and 6.0.5
Dropped support for Windows 95 and Windows 98 First Edition. Acrobat Professional was Windows NT, 2000, XP only. Dropped support for Mac OS 9 and earlier. First release for Mac OS X.
Distiller Server 6.0.
Acrobat Elements 6.0 – PDF creation only, aimed at the corporate market (minimum 1000 licenses, Windows only)
Acrobat Elements Server 6.0 – client/server version of Acrobat Elements
Technology for "Reader enabling", allowing Reader to save, sign or annotate PDF files if the licensee had enabled the files.
[edit]
Version 7 (Released January 2005)
Adobe Announces Acrobat 7.0 Software Availability
Adobe Reader 7.0
Updates to 7.0.1, 7.0.2, 7.0.3, 7.0.5, 7.0.7, and 7.0.8.
PDF version 1.6 (and prior) supported.
Acrobat Professional 7.0 – now includes Adobe LiveCycle Designer 7.0 (Windows only) for XML form design (different and incompatible with previous form support) – Ability to embed 3D object information from the .u3d Universal 3D format. First version to include controversial mandatory product activation.
Acrobat Standard 7.0
Acrobat Elements 7.0 (now minimum 100 licenses)
Acrobat 3D (Windows only) – includes all of the functionality of Acrobat Professional 7.0 as well as updated support for embedded 3D, tools for capturing 3D content from OpenGL applications, and the Adobe Acrobat 3D Toolkit for converting CAD documents to PDF objects. Also included is a version of the capture tool for installation on Unix.
Windows 2000, XP, Mac OS X only for Acrobat. Although Linux, Solaris (SPARC only), HP-UX and AIX versions of Adobe Reader have been released.
Other LiveCycle products include LiveCycle Barcoded Forms, LiveCycle Document Security, LiveCycle Reader Extensions (previously Document Server for Reader Extensions and other names), LiveCycle Forms (previously Form Server), LiveCycle Form Manager, LiveCycle Policy Server and LiveCycle Workflow. Some of these are server solutions intended for large businesses. Only LiveCycle Designer is bundled with Acrobat Professional.
[edit]
Version 8 (Announced 18 September 2006 - available November 2006)
Adobe Announces Acrobat 8.0 Software
Adobe Reader 8.0
Acrobat 8 Elements (available mid-2007)
Acrobat 8 Standard
Acrobat 8 Professional
Acrobat 3D Version 8 (available early 2007)
Acrobat Connect *NEW* (formerly Macromedia Breeze) – online personal meeting rooms to collaborate in real time for up to 15 participants.
Acrobat Connect Professional *NEW* (formerly Macromedia Breeze) – Scalable, interactive web conferencing and multiple personal meeting rooms for everyone across an enterprise.
Mac OS X versions will be Universal Binary.
[edit]
Controversy
From Version 3.02 onwards, Acrobat Reader (now Adobe Reader) has included support for Javascript. This functionality allows the document creator to include code which executes when the document is read. As this may occur without the reader's knowledge or consent, the potential exists for abuses such as distributing Spyware or other forms of malicious code through Acrobat. [2] On September 13, 2006, David Kierznowski provided sample PDF files illustrating these vulnerabilities. [3]
[edit]
Alternative PDF software
For a list of other software related to PDF which have articles in Wikipedia, see List of PDF software.
[edit]
References
This article or section does not cite its references or sources.
You can help Wikipedia by introducing appropriate citations.
^ Adobe Systems Inc., Help file for Acrobat 5.0 wrote "Note: PDFWriter is a custom install option and is supported for Windows only".
^ "http://lwn.net/Articles/129729/" Unexpected features in Acrobat 7
^ "http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2016606,00.asp" Hacker Discovers Adobe PDF Back Doors
[edit]
External links
Adobe Acrobat Standard
Adobe Acrobat Professional
Comparison of features across Acrobat 7 line (in PDF format)
Adobe Reader Download Page
Old Versions of Acrobat Reader
How to repair Adobe Reader 6
Acrobat user tips and learning centers
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MIRC
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Mirc)
The correct title of this article is mIRC. The initial letter is capitalized due to technical restrictions.
mIRC
Screenshot of mIRC
Maintainer: mIRC Co. Ltd. (Khaled Mardam-Bey)
Latest release: 6.2 / July 28, 2006
OS: Microsoft Windows
Use: IRC client
License: Proprietary
Website: mIRC Website
mIRC is a shareware Internet Relay Chat client for Windows, created in 1995 and developed by Khaled Mardam-Bey. This was originally its only use, but it has evolved into a highly configurable tool that can be used for many purposes due to its integrated scripting language. Other uses may include:
IRC bot / channel management
MP3 music player
DCC (a peer-to-peer IP-based chat or file send), and IRC server
Web page parser (usually for retrieving search results or headlines)
Game platform (these games are called mIRC games)
mIRC is highly popular, having been downloaded nearly eight million times from CNET's download.com service as of August 2005. Nielsen Net Rankings also rated mIRC as among one of the top 10 most popular Internet applications in 2003. Its popularity may explain why many mIRC users mistakenly believe that the name of their client is also the name of the protocol it uses, thinking they are "connecting to a mIRC server" or "joining a mIRC channel".
It is currently unexplained what the "m" stands for in the name - Khaled's personal FAQ says "It quite possibly stands for 'moo', or perhaps even MU". [1]
Contents [hide]
1 Main features
2 Common criticisms
3 Slap! function
4 mIRC Scripting
4.1 Connecting to Multiple Servers on Startup
5 Easter Eggs
6 See also
7 External links
[edit]
Main features
Advanced integrated event-based and command-based scripting language
Ability to connect to multiple servers simultaneously
CTCP support
DCC file transfer and DCC chat support
Protection against malicious file downloads
DCC file server (fserve) that allows a user to browse a specified folder and download files
ANSI-style and mIRC-style text decoration support
Speech recognition and synthesis via 3rd party products
SSL and firewall support
Support for UTF-8 (For full support, "Multibyte editbox" must be enabled)
Monochrome look supported. Screenshot
[edit]
Common criticisms
mIRC scripting allows troublemakers to dupe naive users into running malicious code merely by typing things in the chat window (for example, entering lines beginning with //write $decode(). Since version 6.17 this is disabled by default, and various other commands considered dangerous can be locked in mIRC options.
mIRC-style text decorations and colors are not part of the IRC standard, but because of the program's popularity, competing IRC clients have been forced to include them in their program, although support sometimes ranges only to dumping the formatting entirely. Furthermore, mIRC's method of formatting colors is ambiguous. Due to these ambiguities, coloring numbers could mess up the format, although this has been fixed in newer versions [2]. Still, other ambiguities exist in the format. Problems could occur when coloring a string which starts with a comma, because the format uses the same character to start a color as to end it, colors which end immediately before a number could potentially start a new color. Although these are not common occurrences, they are still problems with the format. This has frustrated authors of other IRC clients who argue that since there is no De facto standard format for colors in IRC, a format with no ambiguities should be created and adopted [3].
mIRC supports bold and underline text formatting, but lacks support for italic formatting. Reasons for this remain unknown.
mIRC does not support native IPv6.
Due to mIRCs popularity many new users assume that mIRC and IRC are the same thing, and not that mIRC is a client with which to connect to an IRC network/server. This is especially annoying to experienced IRC users (who often use other clients).
There is very little communication from mIRC's developers regarding new releases. This often results in a great deal of speculation about upcoming features and when, or even if, future versions will be released.
[edit]
Slap! function
A famous feature associated with mIRC even though it predates it is the ability to "slap" another user by right-clicking the target's nickname. This results in the line of text "A slaps B around a bit with a large trout". It serves no other function than to send the message, which is merely an execution of the "/action" ("/me") command in IRC.
The sentence "A slaps B around a bit with a large trout" is thought to be a reference to Monty Python's sketch The Fish-Slapping Dance.
This function can be removed by editing mIRC's built-in script.
[edit]
mIRC Scripting
For novice users this function may be a bit overwhelming, but it is an ingenious addition to the program. With mIRC Scripting (also referred to as "remote") you can make your client do specific tasks on specific events. For instance: You can make your client answer "I'm here!" when someone writes your nick suffixed with a question mark; "yournick?", in either all, or just some specific channels. Here's how you can do it for a specific channel: Say your nick is "wiki" and the channel you're in is "#wiki" (channels in IRC are prefixed with a hash sign)
on *:TEXT:*anyone saw wiki*:#wiki:{
msg $chan I'm here!
}
If you now change your nick without editing the script manually, the script will not work. Fortunately mIRC provides several functions that makes this no problem at all. To list some from the examples:
$me (your current nick)
$nick (the one who triggered your event)
$chan (the channel the triggered event occurred in)
$active (the mIRC window currently in focus, being channel, status, query, etc)
$+ (a function to concatenate two strings; "a $+ b" produces "ab")
$1 (the first token (word) in a sentence; "a b c d e" a = $1, b = $2, c = $3 etc)
$1-2 (the first and second token (word) in a sentence; "a b c d e" a b = $1-2, b c = $2-3, c d = $3-4 etc)
$1- (all the tokens (words) in a sentence)
on *:TEXT:*:#:{
if ($1 == $me $+ ?) {
msg $chan I'm here, $nick $+ !
}
}
Now mIRC's if/else operators are being used. These are logical operators that you find in most scripting/programming languages. In addition we use an asterisk instead of a specific string to indicate that the event shall trigger on ALL text. #wiki has been changed with '#', this has the effect of triggering the event from ANY channel you're in, instead of just '#wiki'. If you use an asterisk '*' instead of a hash sign '#' you'll allow the event to be triggered by queries as well. To allow the event from triggering only by queries, you can use a question mark '?'.
So for queries:
on *:TEXT:*:?:{
if ($1 == $me $+ ?) {
msg $nick I'm here, $nick $+ !
}
}
But what if you want the event only to trigger in specific channels? Then we'll use the logical AND operator '&&', and the logical OR operator '||'.
on *:TEXT:*:#:{
if ($1 == $me $+ ?) && ( ($chan == #wiki) || ($chan == #wiki.en) ) {
msg $chan I'm here, $nick $+ !
}
}
The extra parentheses are necessary to ensure that the logical AND operator "AND" the correct conditions. The rest is hopefully self-explanatory.
If you want to know more about mIRC Scripting, all you have to do is download mIRC, and type "/help" in any window. As an example, if you want to know more about '$1' function, type:
/help $1
For information regarding the events f.i the TEXT event: /help on text
mIRC scripting is not limited to IRC related events and commands. There is also support for COM objects, calling DLLs, sockets and dialogs (for GUIs), amongst other things.
[edit]
Connecting to Multiple Servers on Startup
mIRC does not have native support for connecting to multiple servers on startup, but this can be emulated with a simple remote script.
on 1:START:{
/server irc.freenode.net
/server -m us.quakenet.org [-i yournick alternatenick email name] [-j #channel]
}
[edit]
Easter Eggs
mIRC has many eggs hidden in it, including:
Clicking on Khaled's nose in the about dialog will play a squeaking sound.
In versions above and including 6.16, Clicking on Khaled's picture in the about dialog will load your web browser to Khaled's personal webpage.
Typing "Arnie" in the about dialog will display a green stuffed dinosaur.
Clicking the mIRC logo in the about dialog will swap it for the old logo, and clicking again will swap back.
Right-clicking the last button in the toolbar makes the button change to a smiley.
Typing the command "/xyzzy" will echo "Nothing happens." in red (or in some other color, depending on the user settings).
Right click anywhere in the About dialog and a very small, one pixel dot will begin to bounce above the "I" on the word "mIRC" on the top left.
[edit]
See also
List of IRC clients
Comparison of IRC clients
mIRC script
[edit]
External links
Official website
mirc.net
beirutscripts.org
mircscripts.com
mircscripts.org
hawkee.com
AntiUTF8-script for mIRC (obsolete since mIRC 6.17)
UTF-8 conversion support for mIRC (obsolete since mIRC 6.17)
team-clanx.org
mircv6loader REAL IPV6 support for mIRC
picwin.tk Games and demos
Malaysian Open Source Community
DOSBox
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Dosbox)
DOSBox
The interface of DOSBox is designed to simulate a DOS-like environment
Maintainer: DOSBox Team
Latest release: 0.65 / March 30, 2006
OS: Cross-platform
Use: Emulator
License: GPL
Website: dosbox.sourceforge.net/
DOSBox is an emulator which creates a DOS-like environment intended for running MS-DOS-based IBM PC compatible programs, especially computer games, which may not run properly on newer PCs and may not run at all on non-IBM PC compatibles (e.g. PowerPC Macintosh). It also allows such games to be run on other operating systems that do not normally support DOS programs or run them too fast with normal compatibility layers. DOSBox is open source and available for many operating systems, such as Linux, FreeBSD, Windows, Mac OS X, OS/2 and BeOS. Recently, it has even been ported to the GP2X [1] device.
Contents [hide]
1 Features
2 Issues
3 See also
4 External links
[edit]
Features
DOSBox is a full CPU emulator, not just a compatibility layer like dosemu or the VDMs of Windows and OS/2, which rely on virtualization capabilities of the 386 family processors. It requires neither an x86 CPU nor a copy of MS-DOS or any other DOS to run, and it can run games that require the CPU to be in real mode or protected mode.
Dynamic CPU core: On systems which have the i386 instruction set, dynamic instruction translation is used. On systems which are not x86 compatible, full emulation occurs, resulting in a significant slowdown. A 1.6 GHz PowerPC G4 system is capable of coming close to emulating a 50 MHz 486 system with the standard emulated hardware; whereas this same speed can be achieved on a "slower" Pentium II era x86 system.
Graphics emulation: Text mode, Hercules, CGA (including composite and 160x100x16 tweaked modes), EGA, VGA (including Mode X and other tweaks), VESA and full S3 Trio 64 emulation.
Sound emulation: Adlib, PC speaker, Tandy, Sound Blaster, Creative CMS/GameBlaster, Disney Soundsource, Gravis Ultrasound, and MPU-401.
Network emulation: Modem simulation over TCP/IP, allowing for DOS modem games to be played over the internet. IPX network tunneling, which allows for old IPX Dos multiplayer games to be played over the internet. Win32 specific builds support direct serial port access.
Shell: It contains its own internal DOS-like shell, rather than being a fully virtual PC emulator like Bochs.
Bootable images: In addition to its internal shell, DOSBox also supports running image files of games and software originally intended to start without any operating system.
[edit]
Issues
As with most programs that emulate systems, DOSBox requires substantially more computing (particularly processor) power than the original systems, greatly affected by what software the user is running in the emulated system at the time. Moreover, DOS programs that run in protected mode, which include most games released after 1995, may not perform as well as in other emulators such as VMware or Virtual PC, since those programs mostly virtualize the processor instead of emulating it like DOSBox. Even simple programs run slowly on the current version of the GP2X port of DOSBox.
[edit]
See also
Category
OS games
cmd.exe
[edit]
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
DOSBox
Wikibooks has more on the topic of
DOSBox
Official website
DOSBox wiki – With FAQs and more
Official DosBox Forum
D-Fend - DOSBox frontend for Windows
DOSBoxGui - Multiplatform DOSBox frontend
DOSBOX Universal Binaries for Mac OSX
DAEMON Tools
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Daemon tools)
This article is about the disk image emulator. For the collection of tools for managing Unix services, see daemontools.
DAEMON Tools
Maintainer: VeNoM386
Latest release: 4.0.6 / September 26, 2006
OS: MS Windows (x64 support since 4.0)
Use: Emulator
License: Freeware/Adware
Website:
www.daemon-tools.cc
DAEMON Tools is a proprietary disk image emulator for Microsoft Windows that mounts images of DVD and CD media on virtual drives. The program is able to defeat most copy protection schemes such as SafeDisc and SecuROM.
DAEMON Tools was originally a furtherance in the development of another program, Generic Safedisc emulator, and incorporated all of its features. It is currently being developed and distributed by DAEMON's Home and is free for non-commercial purposes.
Contents [hide]
1 Adware included
2 Uses
3 Potential for copyright infringement
4 Supported filetypes
5 Blacklisting
6 Products
7 External links
[edit]
Adware included
The latest version of DAEMON Tools (4.06) is bundled with SaveNow, a product of WhenU. The installation is optional, however, and can be deselected during the install process. Uninstallation is easily done through the add/remove programs option in the Windows Control Panel.
[edit]
Uses
Like other disk image emulators, using DAEMON Tools means a user does not have to swap discs to run different programs, which also reduces scratching of the disc. It is useful for those who purchased software, but either lost or damaged the disc, to still be able to use that program. On a more quotidian level, DAEMON Tools enables business travellers to run games and other programs on their laptop computers without requiring them to bring an entire library of CD/DVD media around with them, which is safer and more convenient.
It can also be used to access software distributed as a disk image (drivers, support files, archives, etc) without the need to burn a physical CD/DVD. This is somewhat similar to how .dmg files are used in Mac OS X.
Several disk images can be loaded at once, which can be useful for installing or using software that ships on multiple discs and requires shuffling between them during use.
It is also useful for networking applications, where a program requires a CD to be operated, and it is impossible to distribute the requisite CDs to all users.
[edit]
Potential for copyright infringement
Though they have many legitimate uses, a potential use of emulation tools such as this one is to copy closed-source copyrighted material (copyright infringement). To curb the act of copyright infringement, which is illegal in many countries, the authors of emulation tools usually state that they do not endorse copyright infringement and that their tools should not be used for that purpose. Authors are quick to put up such statements because of the current attack by content creators on 'unauthorized' free flow in the copyright social conflict, as well as the in the case MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. held by the United States Supreme Court that authors could be held liable if they endorse or encourage infringement. However, Daemon Tools is produced in a country where there are no such laws to force Daemon Tools to stop.
[edit]
Supported filetypes
b5t (Blindwrite 5)
b6t (Blindwrite 6)
bwt (Blindwrite, older versions)
ccd (CloneCD)
cdi (Discjuggler)
cue/bin
img (not on supported filetype list but may be used through "All files (*.*)")
iso
mds/mdf (Media Descriptor File) (Commonly used by Alcohol 120%)
nrg (Nero Burning ROM)
pdi (Instant CD/DVD)
dmg (PowerISO)
[edit]
Blacklisting
Some software publishers, particularly game publishers, go to great lengths to try to disable or frustrate DAEMON Tools. For example, some games will check to see if the driver for DAEMON Tools is loaded, and if so will take some action, such as refusing to run, or uninstalling the toolset. Typically, as such copy protections are deployed, new versions of DAEMON Tools are released. For example, the most recent revision randomizes the name of the virtual driver installed by the software.
[edit]
Products
Currently DAEMON Tools Team is working on DaemonTools Professional. This version of the product is not Freeware, it is Shareware.
[edit]
External links
The Official DAEMON Tools site.
DAEMON Tools 5/5 award and review at Softpedia.
Skype
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Skype
Skype on Windows XP
Maintainer: Skype Technologies S.A.
Stable release: 2.5.0.146 (Windows),
1.2.0.18 (Linux),
1.5.0.79 (Mac OS X),
2.0.0.51 (Pocket PC) (September 13, 2006) [+/-]
Preview release: 2.6.0.81 (Windows),
1.3.0.37 (Linux),
2.0.0.2 (Mac) (September 13, 2006) [+/-]
OS: Cross-platform
Use: P2P/VoIP/instant messaging/
video call/videophone
License: Freeware
Website:
www.skype.com
Skype (IPA pronunciation: [skɑɪp], i.e. "skipe", rhymes with type) is a proprietary peer-to-peer Internet telephony (VoIP) network founded by the entrepreneurs Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, also founders of the file sharing application Kazaa. It competes against existing open VoIP protocols such as SIP, IAX, and H.323. The Skype Group, acquired by eBay in October 2005, is headquartered in Luxembourg, with offices in London and Tallinn. It has experienced rapid growth in both popular usage and software development since launch, both of its free and its paid services.
The Skype communications system is notable for its broad range of features, including free voice and video conferencing, and its ability to use peer to peer (decentralized) technology to overcome common firewall and NAT problems.
The use of end-user bandwidth in the form of supernodes, the use of closed source software in general, the use of closed source software for encryption of network traffic in particular as well as security of the software, have caused concern. Independent analyses of the software has addressed the latter to some degree.
Contents [hide]
1 System and software
1.1 Technology
1.2 Security
1.2.1 General
1.2.2 Resource usage
1.2.3 Confidentiality of data
1.2.4 Integrity/authenticity of data
1.2.5 Authenticity of user identity
1.2.6 Traffic analysis
1.2.7 Prank program
1.3 Milestones and releases
2 Features
2.1 SkypeOut
2.2 SkypeIn
2.3 Skype voicemail
2.4 Skype chat
2.5 Skype video calling
2.6 Skypecasts
2.7 Skype SMS
2.8 Skype web toolbar
2.9 Skype zones
2.10 Skype history logs
3 Usage
4 Criticisms
5 Legal and political aspects
5.1 Legal challenges
5.1.1 Streamcast lawsuit
5.1.2 IDT lawsuit
5.2 Political issues
5.2.1 China 2005
5.2.2 France 2006
6 Skype group (corporate)
7 Competition and alternatives
7.1 Open source alternatives
7.2 Closed source alternatives
8 See also
9 References
10 External links
[edit]
System and software
[edit]
Technology
The caller ID information is masked when a SkypeOut call is placed.
A typical early version of Skype 1.0, running on a Windows XP desktop
Skype users will have the chance to talk to other people while on the internet. Each Skype user must have the Skype software running on his/her computer. This software is currently available free of charge and can be downloaded from the company website, but the software is proprietary.
The main difference between Skype and other VoIP clients is that Skype operates on a peer-to-peer model, rather than the more traditional server-client model. The Skype user directory is entirely decentralised and distributed among the nodes in the network, which means the network can scale very easily to large sizes (currently just over 100 million users) without a complex and costly centralised infrastructure.
Skype also routes calls through other Skype peers on the network to ease the traversal of Symmetric NATs and firewalls. This, however, puts an extra burden on those who connect to the Internet without NAT, as their computers and network bandwidth may be used to route the calls of other users.
The selection of intermediary computers is fully automatic, with individual users having no option to disable such use of their resources.
This fact is not clearly communicated however and seems to contradict the license agreement, which limits Skype's usage of the user's "processor and bandwidth [to the] purpose of facilitating the communication between [the user] and other Skype Software users" (section 4.1).
The Skype code is closed source, and the protocol is not standardized but proprietary; this has raised suspicion and drawn some criticism from software developers and users.[citation needed]
The Skype client's application programming interface (API) opens the network to software developers. The Skype API allows other programs to use the Skype network to get "white pages" information and manage calls.
The Windows user interface was developed in Pascal using Delphi, the Linux version is written in C++ with Qt, and the Mac OS X version is written in Objective-C with Cocoa.[1] Parts of the client use Internet Direct (Indy), an open source socket communication library.
[edit]
Security
Skype generates a significant amount of discussion on how secure its traffic really is. It has had an impact upon the security and culture of VoIP telephony because of this discussion and several design principles:
All Skype traffic is encrypted by default and the user cannot turn it off.
Skype reportedly uses openly available, strong encryption algorithms.
The user is not involved in the encryption process and therefore does not have to deal with the issues of Public key infrastructure.
This has had an effect upon the rest of the market as they seek to offer competitive products. The security of internet communication has become an issue of which people are more aware and secure communication a feature they want to see in the products they use.
[edit]
Here are just some of my favourite programs ^^; Please letting me know if you want more informations about the programs I am posting about that I run on my computer! If you want also I can take screenshots of the programs!