IdeaWazaWiki - User contributions [en]

Software industry

2008-11-08T09:10:12Z

70.52.230.12:

{{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]].

The largest and most profitable of software companies are located in the [[United States]]. As of 2008, the client software industry is dominated by [[Microsoft]]{{Fact|date=March 2008}}. [[Software Magazine]]'s 500 list in 2005 shows the total amount of revenue brought in by software companies per locale, with the highest being [[California]] due to [[Silicon Valley]] and the number of [[Fortune 500]] software companies residing in that area. <ref>[http://www.softwaremag.com/SW500/index.cfm?StartRow=1&RowsPer=50&BusCat_Search=&PrimBus_Search=&PrimBusCat_Search=&RankSort=ASC&CompSort=&trk=n&id=5 Software Magazine 500] (2005)</ref>

== Overview ==
There are several types of businesses in the software industry. The largest and most profitable publish horizontal [[proprietary software]] such as [[Microsoft]], [[SAP]], [[Oracle]], and [[Adobe]]. Others develop vertical-market software intended for a particular sector or niche in the economy such as finance, health care, insurance, retail, automotive manufacturing, and so on. A great deal of specialized software is produced for various niches. 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. A

nd a few companies publish or support [[open source software]].

Developing proprietary software involves [[software licensing]] and the need to protect the software from [[Software cracking|cracking]] and [[Software piracy|piracy]].

== History ==
The software industry started in the early 1960s when universities and businesses first began to use computers and to seek out programs to do certain computing tasks. 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. But others were done on a commercial basis, and the very first standalone software firms started in the United States in 1959-1960.

The industry expanded greatly with the rise of the personal computer in the mid-1970s, which created a growing market for games, applications, and utilities. And gradually the concept that software should be bought and paid for took hold. One of the earliest proponents of this view was [[Bill Gates]], founder of [[Microsoft]].

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.

== Size of the industry ==
[[Software Magazine]]s' ''Software 500 survey'' can be used to gauge the value of the commercial software industry. The ''Software 500 survey'' consists of data from the largest 500 public and private software companies, as ranked by [[Software Magazine]]. Total worldwide revenues in 2007 for companies in the ''Software 500'' list were $451.8 billion, up 14.7% from 2006, when total Software 500 revenue was $394 billion.<ref>[http://www.softwaremag.com/L.cfm?Doc=1175-10/2008 Software Magazine - 2008 Software 500: Innovation Alive and Well</ref>

== Open source software ==
Ironically, the financial return on open source software comes from selling services, such as training and support, rather than the software itself.

Much of the Internet runs on open source software tools and utilities such as [[Linux]], [[Apache HTTP Server|Apache]], [[MySQL]], and [[PHP]], known as the LAMP stack for web servers. Using open source appeals to software developers for three main reasons: low or no cost, access to [[source code]] they can tailor themselves, and a shared community that ensures a generally robust code base, with quick fixes for any new issues that surface.

Despite doing much business in proprietary software, some companies like [[Sun Microsystems]] and [[IBM]] participate in developing free and open source software to deter from [[monopoly|monopolies]] and take a portion of [[market share]] for themselves. [[Netscape]]'s actions are an example of this, and thus [[Firefox]] has become more popular, stealing market share from Internet Explorer.<ref>[[Netscape_Navigator#Fall_of_Netscape]]</ref> But in general, it remains difficult to base a successful business on the open source model.

== See also ==
* [[Professional open-source| Professional Open Source Business Model]]
* [[Computer software]]
* [[Software development]]
* [[Software publisher]]
* [[Software engineering]]
* [[World's largest software companies]]
* [[China Software Industry Association]] (CSIA)

== References ==
<div class="references-small"><references/></div>

== 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]
* [http://software.computerdictionaries.org/ Software Terms] A collection of software dictionaries

[[Category:Industries]]
[[Category:Software industry|*]]

[[ar:صناعة البرمجيات]]
[[es:Industria del software]]
[[th:ซอฟต์แวร์เชิงพาณิชย์]]

Software industry

2008-11-08T09:09:22Z

70.52.230.12:

{{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]].

The largest and most profitable of software companies are located in the [[United States]]. As of 2008, the client software industry is dominated by [[Microsoft]]{{Fact|date=March 2008}}. [[Software Magazine]]'s 500 list in 2005 shows the total amount of revenue brought in by software companies per locale, with the highest being [[California]] due to [[Silicon Valley]] and the number of [[Fortune 500]] software companies residing in that area. <ref>[http://www.softwaremag.com/SW500/index.cfm?StartRow=1&RowsPer=50&BusCat_Search=&PrimBus_Search=&PrimBusCat_Search=&RankSort=ASC&CompSort=&trk=n&id=5 Software Magazine 500] (2005)</ref>

== Overview ==
There are several types of businesses in the software industry. The largest and most profitable publish horizontal [[proprietary software]] such as [[Microsoft]], [[SAP]], [[Oracle]], and [[Adobe]]. Others develop vertical-market software intended for a particular sector or niche in the economy such as finance, health care, insurance, retail, automotive manufacturing, and so on. A great deal of specialized software is produced for various niches. 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. A

nd a few companies publish or support [[open source software]].

Developing proprietary software involves [[software licensing]] and the need to protect the software from [[Software cracking|cracking]] and [[Software piracy|piracy]].

== History ==
The software industry started in the early 1960s when universities and businesses first began to use computers and to seek out programs to do certain computing tasks. 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. But others were done on a commercial basis, and the very first standalone software firms started in the United States in 1959-1960.

The industry expanded greatly with the rise of the personal computer in the mid-1970s, which created a growing market for games, applications, and utilities. And gradually the concept that software should be bought and paid for took hold. One of the earliest proponents of this view was [[Bill Gates]], founder of [[Microsoft]].

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.

== Size of the industry ==
[[Software Magazine]]s' ''Software 500 survey'' can be used to gauge the value of the commercial software industry. The ''Software 500 survey'' consists of data from the largest 500 public and private software companies, as ranked by [[Software Magazine]]. Total worldwide revenues in 2007 for companies in the ''Software 500'' list were $451.8 billion, up 14.7% from 2006, when total Software 500 revenue was $394 billion.<ref>[http://www.softwaremag.com/L.cfm?Doc=1175-10/2008 Software Magazine - 2008 Software 500: Innovation Alive and Well</ref>

== Open source software ==
Ironically, the financial return on open source software comes from selling services, such as training and support, rather than the software itself.

Much of the Internet runs on open source software tools and utilities such as [[Linux]], [[Apache HTTP Server|Apache]], [[MySQL]], and [[PHP]], known as the LAMP stack for web servers. Using open source appeals to software developers for three main reasons: low or no cost, access to [[source code]] they can tailor themselves, and a shared communities that ensures a generally robust code base, with quick fixes for any new issues that surface.

Despite doing much business in proprietary software, some companies like [[Sun Microsystems]] and [[IBM]] participate in developing free and open source software to deter from [[monopoly|monopolies]] and take a portion of [[market share]] for themselves. [[Netscape]]'s actions are an example of this, and thus [[Firefox]] has become more popular, stealing market share from Internet Explorer.<ref>[[Netscape_Navigator#Fall_of_Netscape]]</ref> But in general, it remains difficult to base a successful business on the open source model.

== See also ==
* [[Professional open-source| Professional Open Source Business Model]]
* [[Computer software]]
* [[Software development]]
* [[Software publisher]]
* [[Software engineering]]
* [[World's largest software companies]]
* [[China Software Industry Association]] (CSIA)

== References ==
<div class="references-small"><references/></div>

== 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]
* [http://software.computerdictionaries.org/ Software Terms] A collection of software dictionaries

[[Category:Industries]]
[[Category:Software industry|*]]

[[ar:صناعة البرمجيات]]
[[es:Industria del software]]
[[th:ซอฟต์แวร์เชิงพาณิชย์]]

Software industry

2008-11-08T09:07:58Z

70.52.230.12:

{{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]].

The largest and most profitable of software companies are located in the [[United States]]. As of 2008, the client software industry is dominated by [[Microsoft]]{{Fact|date=March 2008}}. [[Software Magazine]]'s 500 list in 2005 shows the total amount of revenue brought in by software companies per locale, with the highest being [[California]] due to [[Silicon Valley]] and the number of [[Fortune 500]] software companies residing in that area. <ref>[http://www.softwaremag.com/SW500/index.cfm?StartRow=1&RowsPer=50&BusCat_Search=&PrimBus_Search=&PrimBusCat_Search=&RankSort=ASC&CompSort=&trk=n&id=5 Software Magazine 500] (2005)</ref>

== Overview ==
There are several types of businesses in the software industry. The largest and most profitable publish horizontal [[proprietary software]] such as [[Microsoft]], [[SAP]], [[Oracle]], and [[Adobe]]. Others develop vertical-market software intended for a particular sector or niche in the economy such as finance, health care, insurance, retail, automotive manufacturing, and so on. A great deal of specialized software is produced for various niches. 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. A

nd a few companies publish or support [[open source software]].

Developing proprietary software involves [[software licensing]] and the need to protect the software from [[Software cracking|cracking]] and [[Software piracy|piracy]].

== History ==
The software industry started in the early 1960s when universities and businesses first began to use computers and to seek out programs to do certain computing tasks. 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. But others were done on a commercial basis, and the very first standalone software firms started in the United States in 1959-1960.

The industry expanded greatly with the rise of the personal computer in the mid-1970s, which created a growing market for games, applications, and utilities. And gradually the concept that software should be bought and paid for took hold. One of the earliest proponents of this view was [[Bill Gates]], founder of [[Microsoft]].

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.

== Size of the Industry ==
[[Software Magazine]]s' ''Software 500 survey'' can be used to gauge the value of the commercial software industry. The ''Software 500 survey'' consists of data from the largest 500 public and private software companies, as ranked by [[Software Magazine]]. Total worldwide revenues in 2007 for companies in the ''Software 500'' list were $451.8 billion, up 14.7% from 2006, when total Software 500 revenue was $394 billion.<ref>[http://www.softwaremag.com/L.cfm?Doc=1175-10/2008 Software Magazine - 2008 Software 500: Innovation Alive and Well</ref>

== Open Source Software ==
Ironically, the financial return on open source software comes from selling services, such as training and support, rather than the software itself.

Much of the Internet runs on open source software tools and utilities such as [[Linux]], [[Apache HTTP Server|Apache]], [[MySQL]], and [[PHP]], known as the LAMP stack for web servers. Using open source appeals to software developers for three main reasons: low or no cost, access to [[source code]] they can tailor themselves, and a shared communities that ensures a generally robust code base, with quick fixes for any new issues that surface.

Despite doing much business in proprietary software, some companies like [[Sun Microsystems]] and [[IBM]] participate in developing free and open source software to deter from [[monopoly|monopolies]] and take a portion of [[market share]] for themselves. [[Netscape]]'s actions are an example of this, and thus [[Firefox]] has become more popular, stealing market share from Internet Explorer.<ref>[[Netscape_Navigator#Fall_of_Netscape]]</ref> But in general, it remains difficult to base a successful business on the open source model.

== See also ==
* [[Professional open-source| Professional Open Source Business Model]]
* [[Computer software]]
* [[Software development]]
* [[Software publisher]]
* [[Software engineering]]
* [[World's largest software companies]]
* [[China Software Industry Association]] (CSIA)

== References ==
<div class="references-small"><references/></div>

== 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]
* [http://software.computerdictionaries.org/ Software Terms] A collection of software dictionaries

[[Category:Industries]]
[[Category:Software industry|*]]

[[ar:صناعة البرمجيات]]
[[es:Industria del software]]
[[th:ซอฟต์แวร์เชิงพาณิชย์]]

Software industry

2008-11-08T09:04:03Z

70.52.230.12:

{{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]].

The software industry started in the early 1960s when universities and businesses first began to use computers and to seek out programs to do certain computing tasks. 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. But others were done on a commercial basis, and the very first standalone software firms started in the United States in 1959-1960.

The industry expanded greatly with the rise of the personal computer in the mid-1970s, which created a growing market for games, applications, and utilities. And gradually the concept that software should be bought and paid for took hold. One of the earliest proponents of this view was [[Bill Gates]], founder of [[Microsoft]].

The largest and most profitable of software companies are located in the [[United States]]. As of 2008, the client software industry is dominated by [[Microsoft]]{{Fact|date=March 2008}}. [[Software Magazine]]'s 500 list in 2005 shows the total amount of revenue brought in by software companies per locale, with the highest being [[California]] due to [[Silicon Valley]] and the number of [[Fortune 500]] software companies residing in that area. <ref>[http://www.softwaremag.com/SW500/index.cfm?StartRow=1&RowsPer=50&BusCat_Search=&PrimBus_Search=&PrimBusCat_Search=&RankSort=ASC&CompSort=&trk=n&id=5 Software Magazine 500] (2005)</ref>

== Overview ==
There are several types of businesses in the software industry. The largest and most profitable publish horizontal [[proprietary software]] such as [[Microsoft]], [[SAP]], [[Oracle]], and [[Adobe]]. Others develop vertical-market software intended for a particular sector or niche in the economy such as finance, health care, insurance, retail, automotive manufacturing, and so on. A great deal of specialized software is produced for various niches. 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. And a few companies publish or support [[open source software]].

Developing proprietary software involves [[software licensing]] and the need to protect the software from [[Software cracking|cracking]] and [[Software piracy|piracy]].

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.

== Open Source Software ==
The financial return on open source comes from selling services, such as training and support, rather than the software itself. Much of the Internet runs on open source software tools and utilities such as [[Linux]], [[Apache HTTP Server|Apache]], [[MySQL]], and [[PHP]], known as the LAMP stack for web servers. Open source appeals to software developers for three main reasons: low or no cost, access to [[source code]] they can tailor themselves, and a shared communities that ensures a generally robust code base, with quick fixes for new issues that surface.

Despite doing much business in proprietary software, some companies like [[Sun Microsystems]] and [[IBM]] participate in developing free and open source software to deter from [[monopoly|monopolies]] and take a portion of [[market share]] for themselves. [[Netscape]]'s actions are an example of this, and thus [[Firefox]] has become more popular <ref>[[Netscape_Navigator#Fall_of_Netscape]]</ref>

== Size of the Industry ==

[[Software Magazine]]s' ''Software 500 survey'' can be used to gauge the value of the commercial software industry. The ''Software 500 survey'' consists of data from the largest 500 public and private software companies, as ranked by [[Software Magazine]]. Total worldwide revenues in 2007 for companies in the ''Software 500'' list were $451.8 billion, up 14.7% from 2006, when total Software 500 revenue was $394 billion.<ref>[http://www.softwaremag.com/L.cfm?Doc=1175-10/2008 Software Magazine - 2008 Software 500: Innovation Alive and Well</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Professional open-source| Professional Open Source Business Model]]
* [[Computer software]]
* [[Software development]]
* [[Software publisher]]
* [[Software engineering]]
* [[World's largest software companies]]
* [[China Software Industry Association]] (CSIA)

== References ==
<div class="references-small"><references/></div>

== 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]
* [http://software.computerdictionaries.org/ Software Terms] A collection of software dictionaries

[[Category:Industries]]
[[Category:Software industry|*]]

[[ar:صناعة البرمجيات]]
[[es:Industria del software]]
[[th:ซอฟต์แวร์เชิงพาณิชย์]]

Software industry

2008-11-08T09:01:18Z

70.52.230.12: updated reference to Software 500 list to current values

{{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]].

The software industry started in the early 1960s when universities and businesses first began to use computers and to seek out programs to do certain computing tasks. 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. But others were done on a commercial basis, and the very first standalone software firms started in the United States in 1959-1960.

The industry expanded greatly with the rise of the personal computer in the mid-1970s, which created a growing market for games, applications, and utilities. And gradually the concept that software should be bought and paid for took hold. One of the earliest proponents of this view was [[Bill Gates]], founder of [[Microsoft]].

The largest and most profitable of software companies are located in the [[United States]]. As of 2008, the client software industry is dominated by [[Microsoft]]{{Fact|date=March 2008}}. [[Software Magazine]]'s 500 list in 2005 shows the total amount of revenue brought in by software companies per locale, with the highest being [[California]] due to [[Silicon Valley]] and the number of [[Fortune 500]] software companies residing in that area. <ref>[http://www.softwaremag.com/SW500/index.cfm?StartRow=1&RowsPer=50&BusCat_Search=&PrimBus_Search=&PrimBusCat_Search=&RankSort=ASC&CompSort=&trk=n&id=5 Software Magazine 500] (2005)</ref>

== Overview ==
There are several types of businesses in the software industry. The largest and most profitable publish horizontal [[proprietary software]] such as [[Microsoft]], [[SAP]], [[Oracle]], and [[Adobe]]. Others develop vertical-market software intended for a particular sector or niche in the economy such as finance, health care, insurance, retail, automotive manufacturing, and so on. A great deal of specialized software is produced for various niches. 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. And a few companies publish or support [[open source software]].

Developing proprietary software involves [[software licensing]] and the need to protect the software from [[Software cracking|cracking]] and [[Software piracy|piracy]].

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.

The financial return on open source comes from selling services, such as training and support, rather than the software itself. Much of the Internet runs on open source software tools and utilities such as [[Linux]], [[Apache HTTP Server|Apache]], [[MySQL]], and [[PHP]], known as the LAMP stack for web servers. Open source appeals to software developers for three main reasons: low or no cost, access to [[source code]] they can tailor themselves, and a shared communities of debuggers who ensure a generally well-debugged and robust code base, with quick fixes for new issues.

Despite doing much business in proprietary software, some companies like [[Sun Microsystems]] and [[IBM]] participate in developing free and open source software to deter from [[monopoly|monopolies]] and take a portion of [[market share]] for themselves. [[Netscape]]'s actions are an example of this, and thus [[Firefox]] has become more popular <ref>[[Netscape_Navigator#Fall_of_Netscape]]</ref>

== Size of the Industry ==

[[Software Magazine]]s' ''Software 500 survey'' can be used to gauge the value of the commercial software industry. The ''Software 500 survey'' consists of data from the largest 500 public and private software companies, as ranked by [[Software Magazine]]. Total worldwide revenues in 2007 for companies in the ''Software 500'' list were $451.8 billion, up 14.7% from 2006, when total Software 500 revenue was $394 billion.<ref>[http://www.softwaremag.com/L.cfm?Doc=1175-10/2008 Software Magazine - 2008 Software 500: Innovation Alive and Well</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Professional open-source| Professional Open Source Business Model]]
* [[Computer software]]
* [[Software development]]
* [[Software publisher]]
* [[Software engineering]]
* [[World's largest software companies]]
* [[China Software Industry Association]] (CSIA)

== References ==
<div class="references-small"><references/></div>

== 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]
* [http://software.computerdictionaries.org/ Software Terms] A collection of software dictionaries

[[Category:Industries]]
[[Category:Software industry|*]]

[[ar:صناعة البرمجيات]]
[[es:Industria del software]]
[[th:ซอฟต์แวร์เชิงพาณิชย์]]

Software industry

2008-11-08T08:55:44Z

70.52.230.12: Removed external link to "Software Development News" which linked to one company in India. There are far better software industry websites and blogs than this.

{{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]].

The software industry started in the early 1960s when universities and businesses first began to use computers and to seek out programs to do certain computing tasks. 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. But others were done on a commercial basis, and the very first standalone software firms started in the United States in 1959-1960.

The industry expanded greatly with the rise of the personal computer in the mid-1970s, which created a growing market for games, applications, and utilities. And gradually the concept that software should be bought and paid for took hold. One of the earliest proponents of this view was [[Bill Gates]], founder of [[Microsoft]].

The largest and most profitable of software companies are located in the [[United States]]. As of 2008, the client software industry is dominated by [[Microsoft]]{{Fact|date=March 2008}}. [[Software Magazine]]'s 500 list in 2005 shows the total amount of revenue brought in by software companies per locale, with the highest being [[California]] due to [[Silicon Valley]] and the number of [[Fortune 500]] software companies residing in that area. <ref>[http://www.softwaremag.com/SW500/index.cfm?StartRow=1&RowsPer=50&BusCat_Search=&PrimBus_Search=&PrimBusCat_Search=&RankSort=ASC&CompSort=&trk=n&id=5 Software Magazine 500] (2005)</ref>

== Overview ==
There are several types of businesses in the software industry. The largest and most profitable publish horizontal [[proprietary software]] such as [[Microsoft]], [[SAP]], [[Oracle]], and [[Adobe]]. Others develop vertical-market software intended for a particular sector or niche in the economy such as finance, health care, insurance, retail, automotive manufacturing, and so on. A great deal of specialized software is produced for various niches. 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. And a few companies publish or support [[open source software]].

Developing proprietary software involves [[software licensing]] and the need to protect the software from [[Software cracking|cracking]] and [[Software piracy|piracy]].

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.

The financial return on open source comes from selling services, such as training and support, rather than the software itself. Much of the Internet runs on open source software tools and utilities such as [[Linux]], [[Apache HTTP Server|Apache]], [[MySQL]], and [[PHP]], known as the LAMP stack for web servers. Open source appeals to software developers for three main reasons: low or no cost, access to [[source code]] they can tailor themselves, and a shared communities of debuggers who ensure a generally well-debugged and robust code base, with quick fixes for new issues.

Despite doing much business in proprietary software, some companies like [[Sun Microsystems]] and [[IBM]] participate in developing free and open source software to deter from [[monopoly|monopolies]] and take a portion of [[market share]] for themselves. [[Netscape]]'s actions are an example of this, and thus [[Firefox]] has become more popular <ref>[[Netscape_Navigator#Fall_of_Netscape]]</ref>

== Size of the Industry ==

[[Software Magazine]]s' ''Software 500 survey'' can be used to gauge the value of the commercial software industry. The ''Software 500 survey'' consists of data of the top 500 software companies, as ranked by [[Software Magazine]]. Total worldwide revenues in 2006 for companies in the ''Software 500'' list were $394 billion, representing a growth of 3.5% from 2005, when total Software 500 revenue was $381 billion.<ref>[http://www.softwaremag.com/L.cfm?Doc=984-10/2006 Software Magazine - 2006 Software 500: Deep Concerns Over Security]</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Professional open-source| Professional Open Source Business Model]]
* [[Computer software]]
* [[Software development]]
* [[Software publisher]]
* [[Software engineering]]
* [[World's largest software companies]]
* [[China Software Industry Association]] (CSIA)

== References ==
<div class="references-small"><references/></div>

== 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]
* [http://software.computerdictionaries.org/ Software Terms] A collection of software dictionaries

[[Category:Industries]]
[[Category:Software industry|*]]

[[ar:صناعة البرمجيات]]
[[es:Industria del software]]
[[th:ซอฟต์แวร์เชิงพาณิชย์]]

Software industry

2008-11-08T08:53:44Z

70.52.230.12:

{{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]].

The software industry started in the early 1960s when universities and businesses first began to use computers and to seek out programs to do certain computing tasks. 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. But others were done on a commercial basis, and the very first standalone software firms started in the United States in 1959-1960.

The industry expanded greatly with the rise of the personal computer in the mid-1970s, which created a growing market for games, applications, and utilities. And gradually the concept that software should be bought and paid for took hold. One of the earliest proponents of this view was [[Bill Gates]], founder of [[Microsoft]].

The largest and most profitable of software companies are located in the [[United States]]. As of 2008, the client software industry is dominated by [[Microsoft]]{{Fact|date=March 2008}}. [[Software Magazine]]'s 500 list in 2005 shows the total amount of revenue brought in by software companies per locale, with the highest being [[California]] due to [[Silicon Valley]] and the number of [[Fortune 500]] software companies residing in that area. <ref>[http://www.softwaremag.com/SW500/index.cfm?StartRow=1&RowsPer=50&BusCat_Search=&PrimBus_Search=&PrimBusCat_Search=&RankSort=ASC&CompSort=&trk=n&id=5 Software Magazine 500] (2005)</ref>

== Overview ==
There are several types of businesses in the software industry. The largest and most profitable publish horizontal [[proprietary software]] such as [[Microsoft]], [[SAP]], [[Oracle]], and [[Adobe]]. Others develop vertical-market software intended for a particular sector or niche in the economy such as finance, health care, insurance, retail, automotive manufacturing, and so on. A great deal of specialized software is produced for various niches. 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. And a few companies publish or support [[open source software]].

Developing proprietary software involves [[software licensing]] and the need to protect the software from [[Software cracking|cracking]] and [[Software piracy|piracy]].

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.

The financial return on open source comes from selling services, such as training and support, rather than the software itself. Much of the Internet runs on open source software tools and utilities such as [[Linux]], [[Apache HTTP Server|Apache]], [[MySQL]], and [[PHP]], known as the LAMP stack for web servers. Open source appeals to software developers for three main reasons: low or no cost, access to [[source code]] they can tailor themselves, and a shared communities of debuggers who ensure a generally well-debugged and robust code base, with quick fixes for new issues.

Despite doing much business in proprietary software, some companies like [[Sun Microsystems]] and [[IBM]] participate in developing free and open source software to deter from [[monopoly|monopolies]] and take a portion of [[market share]] for themselves. [[Netscape]]'s actions are an example of this, and thus [[Firefox]] has become more popular <ref>[[Netscape_Navigator#Fall_of_Netscape]]</ref>

== Size of the Industry ==

[[Software Magazine]]s' ''Software 500 survey'' can be used to gauge the value of the commercial software industry. The ''Software 500 survey'' consists of data of the top 500 software companies, as ranked by [[Software Magazine]]. Total worldwide revenues in 2006 for companies in the ''Software 500'' list were $394 billion, representing a growth of 3.5% from 2005, when total Software 500 revenue was $381 billion.<ref>[http://www.softwaremag.com/L.cfm?Doc=984-10/2006 Software Magazine - 2006 Software 500: Deep Concerns Over Security]</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Professional open-source| Professional Open Source Business Model]]
* [[Computer software]]
* [[Software development]]
* [[Software publisher]]
* [[Software engineering]]
* [[World's largest software companies]]
* [[China Software Industry Association]] (CSIA)

== References ==
<div class="references-small"><references/></div>

== 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://unisoft-technologies.blogspot.com/ Software Development News]
* [http://www.sao.org/ Software Association of Oregon website]
* [http://software.computerdictionaries.org/ Software Terms] A collection of software dictionaries

[[Category:Industries]]
[[Category:Software industry|*]]

[[ar:صناعة البرمجيات]]
[[es:Industria del software]]
[[th:ซอฟต์แวร์เชิงพาณิชย์]]

Software industry

2008-11-08T08:46:44Z

70.52.230.12: Amplified and created more balance between open source and commercial software; reorganized external links and added one

{{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]].

The software industry started in the early 1960s when universities and businesses first began to use computers and to seek out programs to do certain computing tasks. 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. But others were done on a commercial basis, and the very first standalone software firms started in the United States in 1959-1960.

The industry expanded greatly with the rise of the personal computer in the mid-1970s, which created a growing market for games, applications, and utilities. And gradually the concept that software should be bought and paid for took hold. One of the earliest proponents of this view was [[Bill Gates]], founder of [[Microsoft]].

The largest and most profitable of software companies are located in the [[United States]]. As of 2008, the client software industry is dominated by [[Microsoft]]{{Fact|date=March 2008}}. [[Software Magazine]]'s 500 list in 2005 shows the total amount of revenue brought in by software companies per locale, with the highest being [[California]] due to [[Silicon Valley]] and the number of [[Fortune 500]] software companies residing in that area. <ref>[http://www.softwaremag.com/SW500/index.cfm?StartRow=1&RowsPer=50&BusCat_Search=&PrimBus_Search=&PrimBusCat_Search=&RankSort=ASC&CompSort=&trk=n&id=5 Software Magazine 500] (2005)</ref>

== Overview ==
There are several types of businesses in the software industry. The largest and most profitable publish horizontal [[proprietary software]] such as [[Microsoft]], [[SAP]], [[Oracle]], and [[Adobe]]. Others develop vertical-market software intended for a particular sector or niche in the economy such as finance, health care, insurance, retail, automotive manufacturing, and so on. A great deal of specialized software is produced for various niches. 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. And a few companies publish or support [[open source software]].

Developing proprietary software involves [[software licensing]] and the need to protect the software from [[Software cracking|cracking]] and [[Software piracy|piracy]].

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.

The financial return on open source comes from selling services, such as training and support, rather than the software itself. Much of the Internet runs on open source software tools and utilities such as [[Linux]], [[Apache HTTP Server|Apache]], [[MySQL]], and [[PHP]], known as the LAMP stack for web servers. Open source appeals to software developers for three main reasons: low or no cost, access to [[source code]] they can tailor themselves, and a shared communities of debuggers who ensure a generally well-debugged and robust code base, with quick fixes for new issues.

Despite doing much business in proprietary software, some companies like [[Sun Microsystems]] and [[IBM]] participate in developing free and open source software to deter from [[monopoly|monopolies]] and take a portion of [[market share]] for themselves. [[Netscape]]'s actions are an example of this, and thus [[Firefox]] has become more popular <ref>[[Netscape_Navigator#Fall_of_Netscape]]</ref>

== Size of the Industry ==

[[Software Magazine]]s' ''Software 500 survey'' can be used to gauge the value of the commercial software industry. The ''Software 500 survey'' consists of data of the top 500 software companies, as ranked by [[Software Magazine]]. Total worldwide revenues in 2006 for companies in the ''Software 500'' list were $394 billion, representing a growth of 3.5% from 2005, when total Software 500 revenue was $381 billion.<ref>[http://www.softwaremag.com/L.cfm?Doc=984-10/2006 Software Magazine - 2006 Software 500: Deep Concerns Over Security]</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Professional open-source| Professional Open Source Business Model]]
* [[Computer software]]
* [[Software development]]
* [[Software publisher]]
* [[Software engineering]]
* [[World's largest software companies]]
* [[China Software Industry Association]] (CSIA)

== References ==
<div class="references-small"><references/></div>

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary}}
* [http://www.siia.net/ Software and Information Industry Association website]
* [http://www.softwareceo.com/ 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://unisoft-technologies.blogspot.com/ Software Development News]
* [http://www.sao.org/ Software Association of Oregon website]
* [http://software.computerdictionaries.org/ Software Terms] A collection of software dictionaries

[[Category:Industries]]
[[Category:Software industry|*]]

[[ar:صناعة البرمجيات]]
[[es:Industria del software]]
[[th:ซอฟต์แวร์เชิงพาณิชย์]]

Archive:Fanboy

2006-12-25T21:40:44Z

70.52.9.37:

{{Otheruses3|Fanboys}}

'' '''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. They are also typically hateful to the opposing brand or competition of their obsession regardless of its merits or achievements. An appropriate example of a fanboy is Fady K.

==History of fanboys and the term==
The term originated from a crackhead and 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 ha ha ha ha ha beet the t
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]], [[car]]s, [[video game console]]s, [[video games]], [[operating system]]s, [[MMORPG]]s, 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]]. A popular depiction of this stereotype is the [[Comic Book Guy]] on ''[[The Simpsons]]''.

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%27s_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]].

In talks among fans of the [[video game industry]], fanboys disproportionately praise one [[video game console]] manufacturer over its competitors. They often attempt to mitigate bad press or unpopular decisions by listing the company's achievements or turning the discussion towards popular decisions. Sometimes they go after the credibility or motivations of the purveyor of bad press. For example, a person reporting that 10% of the controllers produced by Company A are defective might be accused by fanboys as being a supporter of Company B who is simply trying to create [[fear, uncertainty, and doubt]] in Company A. Other topics of discussion are likely to involve long-winded rants about the failures of Company A's competitors, the acceptable defective rates of electronics, and even the meaning of the word "defective." Because of their actions, fanboys are often described as unrealistic, willfully ignorant, accusatory, defensive, and paranoid. One major hallmark of fanboys is to call other people fanboys in order to distract from meaningful conversation that is not going the way they would like it to.

==Subjects of obsession==
Some brands and products, which have fanboy supporters:
*The [[graphics processing unit|graphics processing units]] 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 [[cola]] products [[Coca-Cola|Coke]] and [[Pepsi]].
*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 Computer|Apple]], [[Microsoft]], and [[Linux|GNU/Linux]]. See [[Operating system advocacy]].
*The [[science-fiction]] movie series [[Star Wars]] and [[Star Trek]].
*The comic book brands [[DC Comics]] and [[Marvel Comics]].
*The MP3 players [[iPod]] and [[Zune]]
*The Internet browsers [[Internet Explorer]], [[Mozilla Firefox|Firefox]] and [[Opera (Internet suite)|Opera]].

==Media==
===Comic Book===
*[[Sergio Aragonés]]' ''Fanboy''
*Doug Holverson's "Fanboy" (anthropomorphized rotary fan obsessed with comics, who uses his electrical plug for a hand). Dates from the prolific minicomic wave of the 1980s.

===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]

===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.

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