Software Requirements
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A-1 Worksheets - Software Requirements

Fill out the minimum requirements for programs fitting the descriptions below:

Program:

Program Name:

CPU:

RAM:

Hard Disk Space:
Word Processor:
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Spreadsheet
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Database
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Desktop Publisher
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Graphic Art
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Image Editor
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Communications
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
CAD
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Entertainment
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Educational
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Music
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Video/Camera
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Web Browser
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Web Development
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Virus Checker
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Utilities
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Other
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Other
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Other
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Other
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________

Although they are fairly expensive, I choose to use generally select the best of a given class... the following are some of the choices I have made:

Program:

Program Name:

CPU:

RAM:

Hard Disk Space:
Word Processor:
 MS Word 2000 _____ ______ ________________
Spreadsheet
 MS Excel 2000 _____ ______ ________________
Database
 MS Access 2000 _____ ______ ________________
Desktop Publisher
 MS Publisher &
Quark Xpress v4		 _____ ______ ________________
Graphic Arts
 Photo Shop v4 _____ ______ ________________
Image viewer
 Acdsee 32 _____ ______ ________________
Communications
 Procomm Plus _____ ______ ________________
Entertainment
 I chose games themes I like: Typing Tutor, ChessMaster, Novalogic's helicopter games, RedAlert, StarGate, Carnivores, and Hot Wheels Stunt Driver.
Educational
 If you want information, Zane Publishing and Cambrix are two of the best. Business: PSI Research & Dearborne Publishing. Children's: The Learning Company
Music/Sound
 Voyetra &
Sound Studio		 _____ ______ ________________
Video/Camera
 Miro DC 30 _____ ______ ________________
Web Browser
 MS Explorer v5.1 _____ ______ ________________
Web Development
 MS Front Page 2000 _____ ______ ________________
Virus Checker
 McAfee's _____ ______ ________________
Utilities
 Norton's Utilities _____ ______ ________________
Email Program
 MS Outlook Express _____ ______ ________________
Home Accounting
 Quicken 2000 _____ ______ ________________
SB Accounting
 Quick books Pro 2K _____ ______ ________________
CAD/CAM
 Autocad v14 _____ ______ ________________
Bar Codes & 
Fluid Graphics
 Corel Draw v9 _____ ______ ________________
Other
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Other
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Other
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Other
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________
Other
 ________________ _____ ______ ________________

For over twenty years I was paid to play with, learn, try, debug, improve, and deal with an extremely wide variety of programs. I was an Apple Developer, a Lotus, and Word Perfect Developer. I was also a Unix Administrator for a few years. Over the years, I have personally worked more than 10,000 different programs... and usually assorted versions of many of these. 

There are good companies to work with, and bad companies. Some software developers care about what they are putting out, while others only care about the money they are getting (surprisingly a few of the companies that primarily care about money more than quality, up-to-date programs are still in business, finding new suckers every day). 

The basic rule of thumb is: if you care about your money, then spend most of the software money on what you need to help your job or income (what the boss requires at the office or business)... and with large companies that are likely to be around for a while. If the program is less than $20 dollars, it is probably either an old version, a crippled or broken version, doesn't have any technical support, may not work with the latest operating system (or even the one prior to that)... and can easily cause (and cost) you much more than the cost of stepping up to the next level of a program from a different company. There are a few companies that readily sell software in the $0.99 to $19.99 range... be careful! KNOW WHAT YOU ARE BUYING... and remember that you usually get what you are paying for!!!

 

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