a. No; Actually, it was the first major commercial application of microcomputers.





 

b. No; no more so than did earlier mechanical ones.





 

c. No; Eventually, this was true, but certainly not with early ones.





 

d. Yes; the calculator was the first widely accepted and purchased piece of home and desktop computer technology.





 

a. No; a printing press is a typesetting system: early word processors didn't allow sophisticated typesetting like they do today.





 

b. No; a book is a text display system, early word processors weren't WYSIWYG, that is, you didn't see what would appear on the printed page.





 

c. Yes; early word processors were really ways of storing and, if desired, modifying typed documents.





 

d. No; it's only recently that voice communication with computers has become feasible, so it's impossible for this to have been used as a model for word processors.





 

a. Yes; calculations, formatted text, and graphics are all available to the modern spreadsheet user.





 

b. No; They allow text and graphics to be incorporated into numerical calculations for a complete presentation.





 

c. No; calculations, formatted text, and graphics are all available to the modern spreadsheet user.





 

d. No; calculations, formatted text, and graphics are all available to the modern spreadsheet user.





 

a. No; This WAS an early application.





 

b. No; This WAS an early application.





 

c. Yes; image processing by computer predates Virtual Reality by decades.





 

d. No; This WAS an early application.





 

a. No; Embedded means more than just "on the machine."





 

b. No; You can "attach" files to messages, but these aren't necessarily applications.





 

c. No; These are "expert systems" as discussed in more detail in Module 9.





 

d. Yes; these cover all sorts of useful tools that we don't think of as computers running programs, like microwave ovens, thermostats, and cruise control.





 

a. No; so can hard disks and CDs.





 

b. No; this is a feature, but doesn't make it unique.





 

c. No; as can most modern programs.





 

d. Yes; a database allows us to sort through data arranged and cross referenced in ways we, the users, define.





 

a. No; Not so.





 

b. No; Many modern calculators come loaded with software.





 

c. No; No program can really do this --at least so far.





 

d. Yes; the software package can perform many higher level symbolic computations, which a calculator would be hard pressed to keep up with, both in terms of computing speed and power, and in terms of screen size for the results.





 

a. No; most of us do this, and few of us are "power users."





 

b. Yes; being versatile with a program will often encourage users to stick with it and try to make it do too much, rather than switching to a more appropriate app.





 

c. No; this would be "Luddite Syndrome."





 

d. No; this does happen, but not only for power users.





 

a. No; this helps, but isn't the determining factor.





 

b. Yes; this is what is meant by the "killer app": a piece of software that everyone buys and practically cannot do without, like a telephone.





 

c. No; this helps, but isn't the determining factor.





 

d. No; this helps, but isn't the determining factor.





 

a. Yes; it features a modern, user-friendly interface, which doesn't require the user to know a great deal about how the computer works, only about what the user wants to do.





 

b. No; it's true: browsers use modern interface and computing paradigms.





 

c. No; browsers, and other programs, are state-of-the-art if they employ modern interface conventions, rendering them a "black box" from the users perspective.





 

d. No; browsers are a type of application: they are software that runs on your computer and performs a specific function. They are just different from word processors and spreadsheets.