IdeaWazaWiki - User contributions [en]

Software industry

2010-08-23T16:21:30Z

68.149.38.186: /* Leading companies: mindshare and marketshare */

{{globalize}}

The '''software industry''' includes businesses involved in the [[software development|development]], [[software maintenance|maintenance]] and [[software publisher|publication]] of [[computer software]] using any business model. The industry also includes software [[Service (economics)|service]]s, such as [[training]], [[software documentation|documentation]], and [[consultancy|consulting]].

== Oversight ==
The word "software" had been coined as a prank by at least 1953, but did not appear in print until the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web |author= Paul Niquette |title= Softword: Provenance for the Word 'Software' |year= 1995 |url= http://www.niquette.com/books/softword/tocsoft.html }} adapted from ''Sophisticated: The Magazine'' ISBN 1-58922-233-4 </ref>
Before this time, computers were programmed either by customers, or the few commercial computer vendors of the time, such as [[UNIVAC]] and [[IBM]].
The first company founded to provide software products and services was [[Computer Usage Company]] in 1955.<ref>{{cite article |title= Recollections of the first software company |author= Elmer C. Kubie |work= Annals of the History of Computing |volume= 16 |issue= 2 |publisher= IEEE Computer Society |date= Summer 1994 |pages= 65–71 |doi= 10.1109/85.279238 }}</ref>
The software industry expanded in the early 1960s, almost immediately after computers were first sold in mass-produced quantities. Universities, government, and business customers created a demand for software. Many of these programs were written in-house by full-time staff programmers. Some were distributed freely between users of a particular machine for no charge. Others were done on a commercial basis, and other firms such as [[Computer Sciences Corporation]] (founded in 1959) started to grow. The computer-makers started bundling [[operating systems]] software and programming environments with their machines.

When [[Digital Equipment Corporation]] brought a relatively low-priced micro-computer to market, it brought computing within reach of many more companies and universities worldwide, and it spawned great innovation in terms of new, powerful programming languages and methodologies. New software was built for micro-computers, and others, including IBM, followed DECs example quickly, resulting in the IBM AS400 amongst others.

The industry expanded greatly with the rise of the personal computer in the mid-1970s, which brought computing to the desktop of the office worker. In subsequent years, it also created a growing market for games, applications, and utilities. DOS, [[Microsoft]]'s first product, was the dominant operating system at the time.

In the early years of the 21st century, another successful business model has arisen for hosted software, called software as a service, or [[SaaS]]; this was at least the third time this model had been attempted. SaaS reduces the concerns about software piracy, since it can only be accessed through the Web, and by definition no client software is loaded onto the end user's PC.

== Software sectors ==
There are several types of businesses in the software industry. Infrastructure software, including operating systems, middleware and databases, is made by companies such as [[Microsoft]], [[IBM]], [[Sybase]], [[EMC Corporation|EMC]], [[Oracle Corporation|Oracle]] and [[VMWare]]. Enterprise software, the software that automates business processes in finance, production, logistics, sales and marketing, is made by [[Oracle Corporation|Oracle]], [[SAP AG]] , [[Sage]] and [[Infor]]. Security software is made by the likes of [[Symantec]], [[Trend Micro]] and [[Kaspersky]]. Several industry-specific software makers are also among the largest software companies in the world: [[SunGard]], making software for banks, [[BlackBoard]] making software for schools, and companies like [[Qualcomm]] or [[CyberVision]] making software for telecom companies.
Other companies do contract programming to develop unique software for one particular client company, or focus on configuring and customizing suites from large vendors such as SAP or Oracle.

== Leading companies: mindshare and marketshare ==
In terms of technology leadership, the software industry has long been led by IBM. However, Microsoft became the dominant PC operating system supplier. Other companies that have substantial mindshare (not: marketshare) in the software industry are SUN Microsystems, the developer of the Java platform (purchased by Oracle in 2009), Red Hat, for its open source momentum, and Google for its Google Docs. However in terms of revenues coming from software sales, the software industry is clearly dominated by Microsoft, since inception.Microsoft products are still sold in largest number across the globe.

== Size of the industry ==
According to market researcher DataMonitor, the size of the worldwide software industry in 2008 was US$ 303.8 billion, an increase of 6.5% compared to 2007. Americas account for 42.6% of the global software market's value. DataMonitor forecasts that in 2013, the global software market will have a value of US$ 457 billion, an increase of 50.5% since 2008. <ref>[http://www.infoedge.com/product_type.asp?product=DO-4959 DataMonitor - Abstract from Global Software Industry Guide - 2008]</ref>

== Business models the software industry ==

Business models of software companies have been widely discussed<ref name="cusumano"> Cusumano M. (2003) Finding Your balance in the Products and Service Debate, Communications of the ACM. Vol. 46:3</ref><ref>{{cite book
| authors = Karl M. Popp and Ralf Meyer
| title = Profit from Software Ecosystems: Business Models, Ecosystems and Partnerships in the Software Industry
| date = 2010
| publisher = BOD
| location = Norderstedt, Germany
| isbn = 3839169836}}</ref>. Network effects in [[software ecosystems]] networks of companies and their customers are an important element in the strategy of software companies.<ref>{{cite book
| authors = David G. Messerschmitt and Clemens Szyperski
| title = Software Ecosystem: Understanding an Indispensable Technology and Industry
| date = 2003
| publisher = MIT Press
| location = Cambridge, MA, USA
| isbn = 0262134322}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
| authors = Karl M. Popp and Ralf Meyer
| title = Profit from Software Ecosystems: Business Models, Ecosystems and Partnerships in the Software Industry
| date = 2010
| publisher = BOD
| location = Norderstedt, Germany
| isbn = 3839169836}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Computer software]]
* [[Software development]]
* [[Software publisher]]
* [[Software engineering]]
* [[World's largest software companies]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary}}
* [http://www.siia.net/ Software and Information Industry Association website]
* [http://www.softwareceo.com/ SoftwareCEO] the largest online community of software executives in the world
* [http://www.softwaremag.com/ Software Magazine website]
* [http://www.siprofessionals.org/ Software Industry Professionals website]
* [http://www.sao.org/ Software Association of Oregon website]

[[Category:Software industry|*]]

[[ar:صناعة البرمجيات]]
[[es:Industria del software]]
[[it:Industria del software]]
[[pt:Indústria de software]]
[[ru:Индустрия программного обеспечения]]
[[simple:Software company]]
[[sv:Programvaruföretag]]
[[th:ซอฟต์แวร์เชิงพาณิชย์]]

Introduction to Art History

2008-05-13T03:32:13Z

68.149.184.191: minor edits: cleaned up a typo and made the group names consistent (some had "and", some had &)... just making everything look a little neater :)

'''Assignment for 20 August 2007'''

In-class library assignment. With a partner, find and explore a museum website. Compose a 25-word description about the site and about what its collections tell you about the museum and its priorities.

'''Emma-Tate Modern'''

'''Elizabeth & Alek: The Louvre'''
Le Louvre consists of 19th century decorative arts, but some of the paintings date back as early as the 13th century. Le Louvre is known for holding the Mona Lisa and many other famous paintings.

'''Alison: Metropolitan Museum of Art'''
This collection features some of our countries’ most famous artists. There are paintings by Winslow Homer, John Fredrick Kensett, and Charles Winslow Peale. There are lots of paintings of landscapes and portraits. There are multiple sculptures too. Some of the collection’s sculptures include Hiram Powers and Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

'''Rawson: The Metropolitan Museum of Art'''
The Metropolitan Museum of art contains over two million pieces of art in the permanent collection. Most of the art is arranged into categories by the region of the earth where it was created. This overwhelming verity of art from all over the globe shows the Metropolitan Museum has a priority of obtaining and displaying art from all different cultures attracting a large and diverse group of visitors.

'''Anna & Sona: The Louvre'''
The Louvre holds over 35,000 pieces featuring works from Egypt, Rome, Greece and Islamic countries. However, the Louvre prides itself on containing an ancient collection, instaed of a modern collection.

'''Yeswanth & Connor: The Getty Museum'''
The Getty Museum has two branches: the Getty Museum, with all types of European artwork, paintings, sculpture, and photographs; and the Villa, with mostly Greek antiquities.

'''Kristen: The Philedelphia Museum of Art'''
The Philedelphia Museum of Art is a musuem with quite a few collections ranging from Japan all the way to South India. It prides itself with almost 225,000 pieces of art with each culture represented by their own specially designed rooms. Its collections span the times; the Asian pieces in the museum are thought to be at least 6,000 years of age. The museum is reputable for a reason; it's priorities are definately centered on culture and an understanding of the history that comes with the piece than anything else.

[[Category:Introduction to Art History-- M. Davis]]

Archive:Fanboy

2007-03-04T04:44:25Z

68.149.170.223: /* History of fanboys and the term */

{{Otheruses3|Fanboys}}

{{Mergeto|Fan (person)|date=March 2007}}

'''Fanboy''' or '''fanboi''' is a term used to describe an individual (usually male, though the feminine version ''[[fangirl]]'' may be used for females) who is utterly devoted to a single fannish subject, or to a single point of view within that subject, often to the point where it is considered an [[obsession]]. ''Fanboys'' remain loyal to their particular obsession, disregarding any factors that differ from their point of view. The Moronic kind of fanboys are also typically hateful to the opposing brand or competition of their obsession regardless of its merits or achievements. Not to to be confused with the good kind of fanboys.

==History of fanboys and the term==
The term originated in [[comic book]] circles, to describe someone who immersed himself in the fictional worlds of comics and the culture of comics fandom. The term is often used in a derogatory manner by other less obsessed fans. In the songs of the fannish [[parody]] [[musician]] [[Luke Ski]], many characters proudly consider themselves ''fanboys''. The term is most commonly associated with adolescent and teen males but can be applicable to any age or sex. Common subjects of reverence by fanboys are [[TV show]]s, [[film|movie]]s, [[music]], [[anime]], [[comic books]], [[car]]s, [[video game console]]s, [[video games]], [[operating system]]s, [[MMORPG]]s, [[Computer Hardware|hardware]] and [[software]] companies.

The stereotypical image of the fanboy is as an unkempt, socially awkward, young man who may be perceived as a loud mouthed [[pseudo-intellectual]]. Popular depictions of this stereotype include the [[Comic Book Guy]] on ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and columnist [[Larry Groznic]] from the satirical newspaper ''[[The Onion]]''.

The earliest published uses of the word "fanboy" have been dated to 1982. One reference is to the cover of the "Official Underground and Newave Comix Price Guide". On this cover page are sketched overweight, overzealous comic book collectors wearing T-shirts that state "Fanboys of America," and are describing the extreme measures they would go to, including moving to San Francisco, to preserve their comics. Also published in 1982, a comic strip appeared in Jim Engel and Chuck Fiala's "Fandom Confidential" comic. In the strip, Jim and Chuck met comic artist/writer [[John Byrne]] and collapsed into "mindless paroxysms of adoration." The John Byrne character responded that they were "a couple of fanboys in bondage" which was a play on words referring to a [[List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes#8. Archaeology Today|Monty Python skit]] in which an Elizabethan era character reads what she claims to be "'Gayboys in Bondage' by William Shakespeare".[http://www.byrnerobotics.com/FAQ/listing.asp?ID=7&T1=Miscellaneous+Questions#154] Another early use is in a smart-alec editorial reply by "[[Ambush Bug]]" to a letter in his comic in [[1985]].

==Subjects of obsession==
Some current examples of brands and products which have fanboy supporters:
*[[Apple Inc.|Apple Computers]].
*The [[graphics processing unit]]s produced by [[ATI Technologies|ATI]] and [[NVIDIA]].
*The [[computer]] [[microprocessor]] companies [[Advanced Micro Devices|AMD]] and [[Intel Corporation|Intel]].
*The various [[automobile]] manufacturers, such as [[General Motors]] and [[Ford]].
*The competing video game consoles [[Xbox 360]], [[Wii]] and [[Playstation 3]]
*The competing handheld video game consoles the [[Nintendo DS]] and the [[PlayStation Portable]].
*The competing [[DVD]] successor formats [[Blu-ray Disc|Blu-ray]] and [[HD DVD]].
*The competing computer hardware and software produced by [[Apple Inc.|Apple]], [[Microsoft]], and [[Linux|GNU/Linux]]. See [[Operating system advocacy]].
*The long running [[science-fiction]] franchises [[Star Trek]], [[Star Wars]], [[Doctor Who]] and [[Babylon 5]].
*[[The Matrix]] trilogy of movies.
*The comic book brands [[DC Comics]] and [[Marvel Comics]].
*The MP3 player [[iPod]].
*The [[web browser]]s [[Mozilla Firefox|Firefox]] and [[Opera (internet suite)|Opera]].
*Manga (Japanese comics)
*[[Final Fantasy VII]]
*FPS [[First Person Shooter]] games [[Quake]] vs [[Unreal Tournament]] vs [[Counter Strike]]
*[[Console Gaming]] Versus [[PC Gaming]]
*[[Creative Labs soundcards]] Versus [[other soundcards]]

==Media==
===Comic Book===
*[[Sergio Aragonés]]' ''Fanboy''

===Television===
*''[[The Simpsons]]'''s [[Comic Book Guy]] refers to himself as a fanboy.
*''[[Freakazoid!|Freakazoid]]'''s [[freakazoid!#Other characters|Fan Boy]]

===Radio/Podcasts===
*[[Fanboy Radio]] - [http://fanboyradio.com]
*Drooling FanBoy - [http://droolingfanboy.com]
*ifanboy - [http://www.ifanboy.com]
*[[The Fanboy Smackdown Podcast]] - [http://www.fanboysmackdown.com]
*[[The Opie and Anthony Show]] - [http://www.opieandanthony.com]

===Webcomics===
*Fanboy Almanac (webcomic) - [http://fanboyalmanac.com Fanboy Almanac]
*[http://www.ngeb.net/fanboys Fanboys web comic]
*[http://www.fogclub.net Fanboy Otaku Gamers Club web comic]
*[http://www.fanboysonline.com Fanboys!! Beyond Geekdom!!! (webcomic)]
*[http://www.fanboys-online.com Fanboys-Online]

==See also==
* [[Addiction]]
* [[Computer zealotry]]
* [[Editor war]]
* [[Anorak (slang)|Anorak]]
* [[Astroturfing]]
* [[Otaku]]

== External links ==
* [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fanboy Urban dictionary: fanboy]
* [http://www.netjak.com/review.php/1013 Dissecting the Fanboy Mind] - A discussion of the fanboy behavior in regards to video games.
* [http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=6463 The trial of the Fanboy] - A criticism of the fanboy concept and overusage of the term.

[[Category:Fandom]]
[[Category:Anime and manga terminology]]

[[de:Fanboy]]