Pc News

[Raiden]

Wow...I never thaught Businesses would actually use illigal software...

[Rasputin]

Kazaa, Recording Industry Reach a Deal

In a dramatic close to the legal battle between file-sharing software developer Kazaa and the entertainment industry, Kazaa said today that it has agreed to pay at least $100 million to four record companies and an additional amount to motion picture companies to settle two lawsuits.


Kazaa will pay Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, EMI, and Warner Music Group, said Alex Jacob, a spokesman for the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. He could not specify the exact amount of the payment or the distribution to each company.

Kazaa will make a separate payout to motion picture companies, he said. Jacob could not say how much that payment would be or which companies would receive it.

The settlement marks an end to U.S. and Australian lawsuits filed by major recording labels and motion picture companies in an attempt to stop copyright infringement over the Kazaa file sharing network. The U.S. suit was filed by a group of movie studies lead by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios against Grokster, the file sharing network that closed late last year to settle the legal battle. Sharman Networks, which owns and distributes the Kazaa software, was named as a defendant in the suit.

The Australian suit was filed by the a group of record companies including those receiving the payout from Kazaa.

Making Changes
As part of the agreement, Kazaa said it would implement filtering technologies that would help prevent its software from being used to share copyright-infringing files. Kazaa and the record and movie industries also said they will work together to develop a legal model for distributing digital music and movies.

The parties were vague about Kazaa's future model. Kazaa plans to work with the music and motion picture companies to make peer-to-peer file sharing a part of future online digital entertainment, Kazaa said. Kazaa will make more announcements about its new business model in the near future but it's too early now to say how exactly that will pan out, said Felicity Campbell, a spokeswoman for a firm that represents Kazaa.

The settlement follows an Australian ruling last year in which a judge found that Kazaa authorized the widespread violation of copyright works, ordering Kazaa to make changes to the way its system works.

The U.S. Supreme Court last year said that file sharing software developers can be held liable for copyright infringements by their users. At the time Kazaa said that ruling wouldn't apply to it because Kazaa requires users to agree not to use the software to infringe on intellectual property.

[Rasputin]

New Build of Windows Vista Released

SAN FRANCISCO -- Microsoft continues to make changes to Windows Vista as the OS creeps along until its scheduled release later this year. The company today released an interim build of the OS that improves its overall performance and makes specific tweaks recommended by beta testers.

The release, build number 5472, is now available to Windows Vista Technical Beta program participants, select Technology Adoption Program (TAP) customers, and Microsoft Developer Network subscribers. About 500,000 users should receive the build, said Mike Burk, a Microsoft product manager for Windows Client.

Specifics
The build makes setting up and controlling a user account on the OS "less chatty," Burk said. "Testers said there were too many prompts and dialogs, so we reduced the number of those," he said.

The build also improves the Windows Media Center feature in the OS so it more quickly shuts down and starts up, Burk said.

In conjunction with the build, Microsoft also released an updated SDK (software development kit) so developers and software vendors can develop applications on top of the new release, he added.

Vista Release Date Update
Overall, build 5472 of Vista shows some of the final tweaking Microsoft is making for performance and quality as it prepares to finish Release Candidate 1 of Vista, which is due out by Aug. 31, Burk said. Microsoft is still targeting a final release of Windows Vista for business customers in November, with general availability of the OS on PCs in January 2007.

However, Burk echoed similar sentiments expressed by top Microsoft executives that these release dates are only targets, and the "actual and final dates will be based on quality of the product." It's this kind of talk that has led many to believe the release of Windows Vista will be delayed even further.

To add fuel to that belief, Microsoft recently announced that business customers will have to wait until the end of the year for Office 2007, which has been on a similar release track to Vista and was scheduled to reach business customers in October. The company also pushed the consumer release of Office 2007 a few months beyond its scheduled January 2007 release.

[Raiden]

Tnx for the info redwine..May I say that Microsoft has Released a new Beta for Windows Vista which can be downloaded, however its still open source so microsoft will not accept responsibility for any damage done to your PC. The download servers are also xtremely slow as there are millions of ppl downloading it and microsoft says it will not add anymore servers so if you wanna get The Beta all you can do is wait...However you might be interested in this:

Windows Vista Transformation Pack

Tnx again RedWine.

[Rasputin]

Making Movies: The New HD Camcorder Format Explained

Some would say that we need another camcorder format like we need a hole in the head--enough different formats out there confuse buyers already. Camcorder manufacturers seem to disagree, though: Panasonic, Sony, and others have recently announced a new format for high-definition camcorders called AVCHD.

So what does this new format mean?

High Definition in Small Spaces
The new AVCHD format (the acronym doesn't seem to stand for anything) records high-definition 1080i or 720p video to a DVD, a hard drive, or a flash memory card (the manufacturer chooses which media type it wants to use for each different model).

Sony was the first company to announce actual products supporting AVCHD. The company just released details of two new camcorders that record high-definition video in the new format. One camcorder (the $1400 HDR-UX1) records to DVDs, while the other (the $1500 HDR-SR1) records video to a 30GB hard drive.

The video is compressed using the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 standard, which greatly compresses the video without losing much in the way of quality. The audio is compressed using the Dolby Digital AC-3 or the Linear PCM (Pulse Coded Modulation) standard--each standard allows for up to eight channels of surround sound, while also keeping the file size small.

Sharp-eyed readers will notice that these are the same compression methods used for movies on Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD; it's obvious that the designers have decided to share technologies. You'll find more technical details about the format on the AVCHD Web site.

What's the Catch?
This all sounds good so far: We've got high-def video and high-quality sound in a format that doesn't take up much space. But it does take more space than standard-definition video. According to Sony, the maximum amount of sound and video you'll be able to fit on a single-layer DVD using the DCR-UX1 at the maximum quality setting is a meager 15 minutes. Standard-def DVD camcorders can hold around 20 minutes at their maximum quality. You'll be able to increase that to an hour on the Sony HDR-UX1 by lowering the quality and using the recently announced double-layer 8cm DVD discs, but how well the quality holds up at the lower-quality settings remains to be seen.

Another wrinkle comes when you want to do something with the video: The new format is incompatible with existing high-definition camcorders and editing systems. At the moment, most software will be unable to read the discs or files that the new camcorders produce.

That limitation will ease, though: A number of video software companies have signed up to support the AVCHD format, including Adobe, Sonic, and Ulead. They will offer programs that support the new format (and will perhaps update their existing products to do the same), though none have released details about when this will happen. Sony Japan will include a basic video editing program with the new camcorders, and one hopes Sony US will do the same.

So for the first generation of products, the video editing choices are going to be limited; however, options will appear down the line.

Sony also claims that you'll be able to watch footage recorded on an AVCHD camcorder to DVD on both Blu-ray Disc players and the forthcoming PlayStation 3. The discs won't be compatible with older DVD players, though--most won't have the processing power to decompress the MPEG-4 video. Both Panasonic and Sony are planning to license the technology, however; so we will probably see AVCHD-compatible DVD players from them and other manufacturers shortly.

One major advantage of the new format is that you won't need an expensive Blu-ray Disc or HD DVD burner to use it: Because you can store the video on the same standard DVDs you already use, you can use the same DVD burner. All you'll need is the new software to write the video out in the correct format and an AVCHD-compatible player.

Future Features
So what does the future hold for AVCHD? Well, it depends on how widespread the support is for the new format. People won't buy the new camcorders if they can't watch and edit the video they shoot, so the companies behind AVCHD have to make sure that the players and software are available, as well as the camcorders.

Sony's two new models are scheduled to arrive this fall--September for the DVD-based UX1, and October for the hard-drive-based SR1--which doesn't leave much time for the pieces to fall into place. Until they do, the new AVCHD camcorders will be for early adopters only.

[Raiden]

I dunno about hard drives, but I got a DVD 7.0 MegaPixel Cmcorder 2 month ago for $1700

[Rasputin]

کازا (Kazaa)، سايت مبادله فايل های رايانه ای، پس از پشت سر گذاشتن چندين دعوای حقوقی پر سر و صدا، قرار است به عرضه قانونی آثار موسيقی اقدام کند.
کازا همچنين توافق کرده تا مبلغ ۱۰۰ ميليون دلار به عنوان خسارت به صنعت ضبط و پخش موسيقی بپردازد. اين سايت از طريق اينترنت امکان مبادله فايل های صوتی، تصويری را ميان دارندگان آنها فراهم می کند.

اين خبر همزمان با انتشار گزارشی از صنعت موسيقی منتشر شده که می گويد طی سال گذشته بيش از ۲۰ ميليون قطعه آهنگ به صورت غير قانونی از اينترنت پياده شده اند.

به گفته متخصصان امور تجاری صنعت موسيقی، مبادله فايل ها و تکثير غير قانونی، مهمترين عوامل کاهش اخير در فروش آثار موسيقی به حساب می آيند.

جان کندی، رئيس و مدير عامل فدراسيون بين المللی صنايع فونوگرافيک (International Federation of the Phonographic Industries) می گويد: "بار ديگر در نبرد جاری پيروز شديم".

پيش از اين سايت های مشابهی نظير نپستر (Napster) نيز امکان پياده کردن قانونی قطعات موسيقی را فراهم کرده بودند.

مارک موليگان، تحليلگر موسسه مطالعاتی ژوپيتر معتقد است ميزان خسارتی که کازا حاضر به پرداخت آن شده، حاکی از گسترش فوق العاده اين گونه خدمات است.

او افزوده است: "۱۰۰ ميليون دلار، نيمی از درآمد بازار قانونی فروش آثار موسيقی از طريق اينترنت در اروپاست".

[Rasputin]

Perfect Storm Brews for PC Buyers

As Intel and AMD cut chip prices, buyers can expect to see big bargains.

Users should soon see the best bargains in years for a new desktop thanks to falling prices on the two most expensive components in a PC.

A battle between the world's two biggest processor makers and oversupply in the LCD panel industry have sent prices tumbling. Users should see the mark downs showing up in stores any time.

"Over the next few months buyers can expect to continue to see PC bargains as the industry clears stock of older inventory," said Charles Smulders, managing vice president of Gartner's client computing group. He said the fourth quarter might also offer good buying opportunities as PC makers try to keep up sales prior to the launch of Windows Vista early next year.

Longer term, price declines and performance improvements will return to a more normal rate, meaning users should take advantage of the current window of opportunity.

AMD, Intel Cut Prices
Intel and Advanced Micro Devices both halved prices on some desktop PC microprocessors this week, part of a price war between the two chip makers.

The cuts included some top-end chips. For example, Intel pared its Intel Pentium D processor, the 960 that runs at 3.6 GHz, to $316, from $530, while AMD reduced the price of its dual-core Athlon 64 X2 5000+ to $301 from $696.

Price competition is the latest weapon the two companies have turned to in their fight for microprocessor market share. AMD has gained on Intel over the past few quarters due to the launch of some advanced processors, but Intel has come back recently with new offerings of its own.

Since the processor is the most expensive component inside a PC, the mark downs should translate into value for desktop PC buyers in a combination of better prices and technology.

LCD Prices Fall, Too
A bonus for users is the falling price of LCD panels. Several huge companies churn out the screen part of a monitor or notebook, ensuring cutthroat competition and low prices almost all the time. But recently, flagging demand for desktop monitors and LCD TVs has caused inventories to rise and prices to drop.

Many PC buyers even put off purchases last month in anticipation of the microprocessor fire sale. The stall in demand caused inventories to rise further, cutting into company profits.

AU Optronics, one of the largest LCD panel makers in the world, blamed falling panel prices for its profit shortfall in the second quarter. It expects prices to continue to decline during the third quarter.

A price rebound could come sometime in September, said Hui Hsiung, an executive vice president at AU, during its second quarter investors' conference early this week.

The price of larger sized panels fell by around a fifth during the three months ended June 30, compared to the previous quarter, according to market researcher WitsView Technology. The company noted the price declines on most larger sized screens continued to decline or remained flat in July.

Falling prices for panel makers should lead to more bargains for users looking for nice, sleek LCD monitors for their desktops. It's a buyers market for desktop PCs and monitors right now, and it should remain so for the next few months.

[Rasputin]

An Elegant Player for High-Def Movies

HD DVD movie players are no longer your only high-def DVD living-room option: Samsung has shipped its $1000 BD-P1000, the first living-room player that uses rival format Blu-ray, and Sony Pictures and Lions Gate have released high-def Blu-ray movies to complement it.

Which type is better? We found little difference in image quality, but you'll get a more elegant player with the Samsung Blu-ray device. However, it costs twice as much as one of Toshiba's HD DVD players.

High-Def Views
We put the Samsung player through its paces and compared it with two HD DVD models from Toshiba, the $499 HD-A1 and the $799 HD-XA1. (For further details on the HD DVD players and on a Blu-ray burner for PCs, read "DVD Goes High-Def.")

We can't directly compare movies played in the two HD formats because, as yet, none have come out in both Blu-ray and HD DVD. But both formats use the same video codecs (MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC, and VC1), and the disc formats should have no effect on how they play movies. In informal tests, each approach showed itself capable of producing stunning images, with far greater detail and depth than standard-definition versions of the same movies offer. The players differed very little in SD playback quality, but the Toshiba models delivered a slightly crisper image.

A word of warning: Though high-def yields far better image quality than standard-def, HD movies aren't perfect. In the Blu-ray films I've watched thus far, some scenes exhibited more noise than I expected from HD; on the other hand, some titles, like Ultraviolet
, were sharp and eye-catching throughout. My experience with HD DVD was similarly mixed, with more artifacts cropping up in certain movie scenes than I had anticipated.

Such visual hiccups probably won't go away. A slew of variables influence how any HD movie looks, including the condition of the original film, the codec used to encode the video, the quality of the encoding process, the bit rate of the encoding, and the player's decoder chip set. Also relevant are the intentions of the director and cinematographer. Some films are purposely shot soft, others dark and grainy, and others ultrasharp and vibrant. If you're concerned about these issues, read user reviews of specific HD titles before buying.

Stylish Finishes
Even after you remove the Blu-ray versus HD DVD factor from the equation, these players differ significantly in usability and performance.

The tapered Samsung unit has a comfortable remote control; an easy-to-read LCD display; and a ten-in-two media card reader for viewing photos or listening to MP3s. In contrast, both Toshiba models are a bit bulky; the LCD display recalls a dot-matrix printer; and there's no media reader. The Samsung is quieter, too, though if you have Pirates of the Caribbean
blasting over your five-channel surround-sound system, you won't hear any of these players whirring.

The Samsung was generally faster than either Toshiba model at navigating discs (the Toshibas were tested without the maker's June firmware update), and its remote responded quickly. It even resumes playback where you left off, whether you press stop or power it down--a nice touch. But sometimes the Sony Blu-ray discs were a bit sluggish at accessing chapters, prompting a pesky Windows-like hourglass to appear.

The Toshiba models may be a bit more future-proof than the Samsung. Both Toshibas have two USB ports, plus an ethernet jack for access to advanced interactive features when titles offer it and for downloading firmware updates. Samsung's player lacks both USB and ethernet.

Wait to Buy
The high-def DVD format war is far from over, and a slew of new hardware is due in the fall and winter.

Living-room recorders, however, won't arrive until next year. And both LG Electronics and Samsung have discussed producing multi-format players; Ricoh recently demonstrated optical technology that would make such players possible (see this month's Plugged In for more). If you can wait to see HD movies at home, hold off purchasing until you have more choices.

[donsaeid]

توليد نرم افزار و فناوري اطلاعات

در اين مقاله ضمن اشاره به آماري در مورد وضعيت توليد نرم افزار در جهان و وضعيت ايران در اين زمينه، به اهميت مهندسي نرم افزار و ويژگي هاي توليد نرم افزار پرداخته شده است. همچنين وظايف مديريت منابع فناوري اطلاعات و سيستم هاي توسعه فناوري مورد بررسي قرار گرفته است.


چكيده:

هر روزه در جهان سرمايه هاي بزرگي در راه توليد نرم افزار و براي پاسخگويي به نيازهاي مختلف كاري صرف مي شود و در اين رابطه با توجه به آمارهاي موجود سالانه ميليون ها فرصت شغلي ايجاد مي گردد. اين آمار ضرورت ايجاد اشتغال در بخش آي سي تي را اجتناب ناپذير مي كند.دراين راستا وجود سازمانهايي به عنوان مركز تفكر و ارائه دهنده استراتژي هاي سيستم هاي توليد نرم افزار و توسعه فناوري هاي مرتبط با آن لازم است، كه اين مركز تفكر مي تواند با مشاركت مجموعه ي نهادهاي دانشگاه ، صنعت ، مراكز تحقيقاتي ، آزمايشگاه هاي عمومي ودولتي شكل گيرد.
توجه به اين نكته مهم است كه در شرايط فعلي جهان ، هر شركتي كه تنها با اتكا به دانش اكتسابي وفضايل گذشته خود توليد كند محكوم به نابودي است ، منابع فناوري سازمان ها در اين رابطه يك عامل اساسي در توليد و فرآيند نوآوري و همچنين اساس رقابت پذيري بين المللي است.
در اين مقاله ضمن اشاره به آماري در مورد وضعيت توليد نرم افزار در جهان و وضعيت ايران در اين زمينه، به اهميت مهندسي نرم افزار و ويژگي هاي توليد نرم افزار پرداخته شده است. همچنين وظايف مديريت منابع فناوري اطلاعات و سيستم هاي توسعه فناوري مورد بررسي قرار گرفته است. در خاتمه راهكارهايي براي توسعه فناوري اطلاعات وفرآيند توليد نرم افزار ارائه شده است.

واژگان كليدي : نرم افزار ، فناوري اطلاعات ، سيستم توسعه .

مقدمه

در دنياي الكترونيك هزينه رايانه در حال كاهش ،اما هزينه ساير خدمات رو به افزايش است و اين در حالي است كه نيروي كارآزموده به حد كافي براي پاسخگويي به در خواست ها وجود ندارد. كشور ما به تازگي وارد عصر سوم يعني عصر اطلاعات شده است و اگر فن آوري به درستي درك نشود وبه آن نظم داده نشود خطري بزرگ پيش رو قرار خواهد داشت. پيش بيني مي شود تا سال 2005 ميلادي 85 درصد اقتصاد جهان وابسته به آي سي تي خواهد بود. در ايران نيز، مي بايد تا سال 2005 تمامي دانشگاه هاي كشور به اينترنت وصل شوند وتا سال 2010 درمانگاه ها و بيمارستان ها اطلاعات خود را بر روي اينرنت انتقال دهند و همچنين تا سال 2015 تمامي روستا ها به اينترنت متصل باشند.[6]
طبق اعلام موسسه interactive درآمدزايي شركت ها از محل تبليغات اينترنتي در سال 2003 ميلادي بالغ بر دوميليارد يورو برآورد شده است. طي سه ماهه اول سال 2004 ميزان درآمدزايي گوگل از محل تبليغات اينترنتي بيش از 375 ميليون دلار و ياهو در همين مدت بيش از 635 ميليون دلار بوده است.[6]

نرم افزار و مفهوم آن

منظوراز نرم افزار همان برنامه هاي رايانه اي است كه قابل استفاده براي ماشينها ويا دستگاه هاي ديگر نيز مي باشد. در ابتدا توليد كنندگان نرم افزار را ،خود توليد كنندگان سخت افزار تشكيل مي دادند واز بابت نرم افزاري كه همراه با دستگاه فروخته شده عرضه مي گرديد ، هزينه اي دريافت نمي شد. در اوايل دهه 1970 شركت آي بي ام براي نرم افزار هاي عرضه شده از سوي آن شركت هزينه اي در نظر گرفت. از اين زمان به بعد در كنار توليد كنندگان سخت افزار هاي كامپيوتري ، به تدريج شركت هاي نرم افزاري نيز بوجود آمدند. با عرضه ريز كامپيوتر ها صنعت سخت افزار دچار تحولاتي گرديد وبايد گفت اگر در گذشته براي فروش سخت افزار مجبور بودند تعدادي نرم افزار به صورت رايگان در اختيار استفاده كننده قرار دهند ، امروز وضع تقريبا معكوس شده ودر بسياري از موارد اين نرم افزار ها هستند كه باعث فروش سخت افزار مي گردند . يك بررسي اجمالي نشان مي دهد كه در طول دهه هاي گذشته قيمت سخت افزار به صورت روزافزون كاهش يافته و در عوض هزينه هاي نرم افزار نسبت به پيش افزايش يافته است.
آمار نشان مي دهد كه در سال 1990 ميلادي در حدود 360 هزار ميليون دلار صرف نرم افزار شده است.[3] اين صرف هزينه و روند رو به رشد آن به خوبي اهميت نرم افزار را نشان مي دهد. صنعت نرم افزار در اقتصاد كشور هاي پيشرفته به تدريج اهميت زيادي را پيدا كرده است ، به طوريكه از امكان انتقال ، از اقتصاد مبتني بر توليد به اقتصاد مبتني برخدمات سخن مي رود.درحال حاضرهدف عمده درصنعت رايانه اين است كه هزينه راه حل هاي رايانه اي و يا به بيان ديگر هزينه هاي توليد نرم افزار كاهش يابد. تحقيقات موسسه Forrester نشان مي دهد با ادامه روند كنوني انتقال مشاغل به ويژه در بخش آي تي به خارج از ايالات متحده تا سال 2015 ميلادي بيش از سه ميليون و چهارصد هزار فرصت شغلي به كشور هايي با نيروي كار ارزان قيمت منتقل مي شود. اين موسسه همچنين اعلام كرده است تا پايان سال 2005 ميلادي نيز بيش از 830 هزارفرصت شغلي دراين زمينه به كشورهايي نظير هند و چين منتقل خواهد شد.[6]
آمار فوق ضرورت ايجاد شغل در بخش آي سي تي را اجتناب ناپذير مي سازد. موسسه هاي آموزش رايانه اي در سطح كشور بايد به دنبال ايجاد زمينه و سيستم هاي جديدي براي بالا بردن كمي و كيفي سطح توليد محصولات نرم افزاري باشند. در اين راستا وجود سازمان هايي به عنوان مركز تفكر ، زمينه هاي توليد سيستم را ايجاد خواهد كرد تا افرادي كه به اين سيستم ها نياز دارند بتوانند به راحتي كار كنند.لازمه اين كارآن است كه آماري در خصوص تعداد كاربران ، شركت هاي فعال ، نيروي انساني و مديران اين دانش تهيه گردد. در حالت كلي مي توان گفت اشتغال در بخش آي سي تي تابعي از متغيرهاي توليد ناخالص داخلي ، رشد سرمايه گذاري ، كل رشد اشتغال ، ارزش افزوده در رشد توليد آي سي تي ، ارزش افزوده در رشد سرويس هاي آي سي تي و رشد صادرات آي سي تي مي باشد.

وضعيت كلي فناوري اطلاعات در ايران

تعداد كاركنان تمام وقت و پاره وقت شاغل در شركت هاي تحت پوشش شوراي عالي انفورماتيك ،تا پايان سال 1376 حدود يازده هزار نفر بوده است. بهطور متوسط 53 درصد كاركنان اين شركت ها داراي تحصيلات دانشگاهي در مقاطع فوق ديپلم تا دكتري در رشته هاي مرتبط با رايانه بوده اند. 10 درصد كاركنان نيز داراي تحصيلات دانشگاهي در ساير رشته هاي دانشگاهي بوده اند. جدول 1 توزيع كاركنان با تحصيلات عاليه كه شامل 63 درصد كاركنان است را در سال 1376 نشان مي دهد.[5]

مقطع تحصيلي توزيع
دكتري يا فوق ليسانس 10 درصد

ليسانس 44 درصد

فوق ديپلم 9 درصد

مجموع 63 درصد
جدول 1
طبق آمارهاي موجود تنها پنج درصد از كاركنان دولت دررشته هاي فناوري اطلاعات مشغول كار بوده اند. با توجه به تعدد پروژه هاي انفورماتيكي كشور و نيز تخصيص بودجه براي افزايش ميزان اشتغال از طريق فناوري اطلاعات، پيش بيني مي شود اشتغال درفناوري اطلاعات در سال هاي آتي از رشد خوبي برخوردار باشد.
بهطور كلي تعداد فارغ التحصيلان رشته هاي رايانه اي (شامل علوم كامپيوتر، كاربرد كامپيوتر، مهندسي كامپيوتر، هوش مصنوعي و روباتيك) در كليه مقاطع تحصيلي دانشگاه هاي دولتي تا پايان سال 1377 بالغ بر 8557 نفر بوده است كه توزيع مدرك تحصيلي آنها به شرح جدول 2 مي باشد.[5]
با توجه به اينكه بخشي از نيروي انساني در صنعت فناوري اطلاعات از فارغ التحصيلان رشته هاي تحصيلي ديگر از قبيل رياضي كاربردي، صنايع با گرايش هاي توليد صنعتي، برنامه ريزي و تحليل سيستم ها تامين مي شود، تعداد كل فارغ التحصيلان رشته هاي انفورماتيك و رشته هاي مرتبط با آن در سال 1377 حدود 14 هزار نفر بوده است.مجموع كل اين افراد طي سال هاي 1370 الي 1377 حدود 38 هزار نفر مي باشد.[5]

مقطع تحصيلي درصد
دكتري كمتر از نيم درصد
كارشناسي ارشد نزديك 4 درصد
كارشناسي 68 درصد
كارداني 28 درصد

مجموع 100 درصد

جدول 2

دانشگاه هاي كشور طي چند سال گذشته بهطور مستمر سهميه پذيرش خود را در رشته هاي مرتبط با فناوري اطلاعات افزايش داده اند. تعداد دانشجويان شاغل به تحصيل در رشته هاي رايانه اي در دانشگاه هاي دولتي وآزاد در سال 1377 حدود 76 هزار نفر بوده است.[5]

مفهوم واهميت مهندسي نرم افزار
اكنون در جهان هر روزه سرمايه هاي بزرگي در راه توليد نرم افزار و براي پاسخگويي به نيازهاي مختلف كاري صرف مي شود. لازمه به ثمر رسيدن اين سرمايه ها و قابليت كاربري نرم افزارهاي توليد شده براي مدت طولاني كه سرمايه گذاري ها را معقول ومقرون به صرفه نمايد، آن است كه دركارتوليدو نگهداري نرم افزار،اصول،مقررات و ظوابط كاري معيني پذيرفته شده وبهكار رود. آنچه تحت عنوان مهندسي نرم افزار مطرح مي شود، مي تواند از اين نقطه نظر حائز اهميت باشد.

بر اساس يك تعريف اوليه ،مهندسي نرم افزار عبارت از بهكاربندي واستفاده از اصول مهندسي در ايجاد نرم افزار است، بهطوريكه از نظر اقتصادي مقرون به صرفه بوده و بصورت كارآيي ، روي ماشين هاي حقيقي عمل كند. مهندسي نرم افزار شامل روش ها وابزارهايي است كه اولا ايجاد نرم افزارهاي با كيفيت بالا را بصورت يك جريان توليدي منسجم، ممكن سازد وثانيا به شخصي به عنوان مدير توليد نرم افزار اين اجازه را مي دهد تا بتواند جريان توليد را نظارت كرده وكنترل نمايد. براي توليد نرم افزار، مجموعه اي از مراحل توليد مبني بر روش و ابزار وجود دارد. كه سه مجموعه شامل روش سنتي توليد نرم افزار، روش نمونه سازي و روش هاي نسل چهارم مورد استفاده قرار مي گيرند.

روش سنتي توليد نرم افزار شامل مهندسي سيستم، تجزيه تحليل،طراحي، برنامه نويسي، آزمايش ونگهداري است. از آنجا كه هر نرم افزار بخشي از يك سيستم بزرگ است، بنابراين لازم است كه كاربا توجه به تمامي عناصر سيستم كه در واقع انسان ها،روش ها وتجهيزات است،انجام شود. مرحله مهندسي سيستم وتجزيه تحليل وتعيين نيازها به قصد تبيين دقيق آنچه كه بايد ساخته شود،انجام مي گيرد وبنابراين لازم است شرح كاملي از وضع موجود،مشكلات ونيازها و بالاخره راه حل هاي ممكن تنظيم شده و به تاييد و تصويب سفارش دهنده سيستم برسد. روش سنتي توليد نرم افزار قديمي ترين وپراستفاده ترين روش است و بصورت گسترده اي در تمام جهان رايج است ومورد استفاده طراحان سيستم هاي نرم افزار قرار مي گيرد.

روش نمونه سازي هنگامي مناسب است كه طراح نسبت به كارا بودن روش ها و ابزارهاي مورد استفاده مطمئن نباشد،در اين صورت ارائه نمونه اي كلي از آنچه كه مي خواهد پياده شود ،مي تواند كارساز باشد. نمونه سازي فرآيندي است كه به طراح اجازه ارائه نمونه اي از نرم افزاري كه قرار است ساخته شود را مي دهد.نمونه سازي مي تواند به سه صورت مختلف انجام شود. نمونه مي تواند روي كاغذ پياده شود وبه اصطلاح نمونه كاغذي بوجود آيد، طوري كه استفاده كننده بتواند آنرا درك كند. نوع ديگر، نمونه كاري است ،كه در آن بخشي از اعمال و وظايف سيستم مورد نظر پياده مي شود تا بتواند به استفاده كننده ايده اي از آنچه مي خواهد پياده شود را بدهد. نوع سوم ، استفاده از برنامه هاي مشابه قبلا آماده شده اي است كه تنها بخشي از اعمال و وظايف سيستم مورد نظر را نمونه سازي مي كند.سيستم واقعي مي تواند حول اين ايده اوليه شكل بگيرد.

[donsaeid]

[Rasputin]

LCD TV Price Declines May Not Last

Users looking for a new LCD TV might want to consider a purchase over the next few months because rapid price declines could be over.

The price of large-sized LCD panels used in LCD TVs fell by over a fourth in the second quarter, compared to the first, according to market researcher WitsView Technology.

The mark-downs create potential bargains for users over the next few months because the LCD panel is by far the most expensive part of the TV.

Trouble in the industry started with the World Cup soccer tournament, according to WitsView. LCD panel makers hiked production in anticipation of strong demand for LCD TVs ahead of the popular tournament, but it appears users simply didn't do as much shopping as anticipated.

3M, of St. Paul, Minnesota, blamed LCD price declines for part of its earnings shortfall in the second quarter. The company supplies LCD makers with optical film.

Supply and Demand
Instead of strong demand, LCD TV sales sputtered during the tournament, flooding the market with excess products and driving down prices. Prices of LCD TVs are actually almost always falling as makers improve efficiency at factories and pass on savings to users, but rapid declines such as what the industry saw over the previous three months don't come often. The rapid decline sank panels makers' earnings, prompting some to pare production.

While slowing production lines can help avoid a serious glut, it didn't stabilize prices in the second quarter. But continued vigilance among panel makers and anticipated greater demand among consumers in the third quarter are expected to firm prices and could send them slightly higher.

LG.Philips LCD, one of the world's largest LCD panel makers, said it expects to see LCD prices begin to stabilize and LCD TV sales grow throughout the second half of the year, particularly in the fourth quarter.

LCD prices fell off so sharply during the second quarter that the company posted a loss of $343 million.

One of LG.Philips' top rivals, AU Optronics even predicted a further downside to LCD panel prices in the third quarter.

The company said the price of LCD panels used in TVs would likely fall by a few percentage points during the three months ended September 31, due to high inventories in the market.

"Prices are falling faster than we can reduce costs," Hui Hsiung, an executive vice president at AU, said at a news conference, adding that a rebound wasn't likely until September.

[Rasputin]

Vista's Voice Recognition Stammers

If its performance during a demonstration last week at Microsoft's annual Financial Analyst Meeting is any indication, a voice-recognition feature in Windows Vista is not quite ready for prime time.

Glitches Amuse Analysts
An interactive voice response (IVR) system in Vista that is supposed to allow a user to dictate text into a Microsoft Word document did not work as expected at the event last Thursday. It failed to correctly recognize what the Microsoft team member was saying on several occasions, the results inspiring laughter from the crowd of analysts and journalists attending the day-long meeting.

When the Microsoft employee told the software to type, "Dear mom," it typed "Dear aunt" instead. When he told the software to "fix aunt," it typed "let's set" instead, and then failed to respond to several prompts of "delete that" in an effort to fix the error. The software experienced several other glitches before the demonstration ended.

Matt Rosoff, an analyst with ***kland, Washington, research firm Directions on Microsoft, said he was "surprised" Microsoft would demonstrate the IVR feature of Vista there.

"It's not something they made a big deal about, and not something we're following as a big reason to upgrade to Vista," he said. "If it had worked perfectly, it would have been great. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way."

Rosoff said the feature is the result of new voice-recognition application programming interfaces (APIs) Microsoft is building into Vista that will allow users to dictate instead of type content into Office applications such as Word and PowerPoint.

January Still Target
Microsoft's public relations firm said Monday that the company would not comment on the failed demo.

IVR is just one of a host of enhancements that will be available in Windows Vista, which Microsoft executives said at the briefing is still on track to be available to business customers in November, and consumers in January 2007. However, the company seemed to hint that Vista's release could slip again, as Kevin Johnson, co-president of Microsoft's Platforms & Services Division, said at the meeting that the OS will not ship until "it's ready," even if that means it does not meet the current targets for release.

[Rasputin]

Microsoft to Charge for Office 2007 Beta 2

Microsoft says that it will begin charging $1.50 for users to download a copy of the Office 2007 beta 2.

"In just the past two months since its launch, more than 3 million people have downloaded the 2007 Microsoft Office system beta 2," the company said in a statement sent via e-mail.

"Given how dramatically the beta 2 downloads have exceeded our goals, we have made the business decision to implement a cost-recovery measure for downloading the beta."

Microsoft will begin charging users starting Wednesday, it said. The company released beta 2 of Office 2007 in May.

Online Test Drive
Though users will be charged for downloads of the actual Office 2007 beta 2 software, Microsoft will continue to offer an online test drive of Office 2007 it launched In late June that users can access through a Web browser.

Users can visit Microsoft's Web site to access the online test version of Office 2007.

Microsoft plans to release Office 2007 to business customers before the end of the year, and to consumers in early 2007.

Both of those releases have been delayed from their originally scheduled ship dates.

[Raiden]

Looks like Blu-ray technolodgy has arrived in movies...And soon it will also be available in games...PS3 launch in 3 month Estimate...