Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

marketing of software 293advocates are concerned that actual images of identifiablepersons show up in the street-level imagery.Google has responded to security concerns by blurringthe imagery of some U.S. locations, presumably at governmentrequest. They have also argued that pictures of peoplewho are in public places months or years earlier are not areal privacy concern.Mobile Navigation SystemsMobile navigation systems can provide maps, driving directions,and sometimes additional information such as trafficconditions and advisories. The system can be either builtinto the dashboard (as with many higher-end vehicles) oravailable as a mounted unit such as those from Garmin,Tom Tom, and Magellan (see cars and computing).Mobile navigation systems link the user’s current location(obtained through the GPS system) to the unit’s storeddatabase of maps and other information, such as localpoints of interest. (Some units have backup dead-reckoningsystems based on the car’s motion, for use when GPSsignals are lost or distorted because of buildings or otherobstacles.)An alternative to in-car systems is the smartphone orPDA equipped with GPS and navigation software. Thesehave the advantage of also being useful for pedestrians orhikers.Users should look for navigation systems that have featuressuch as:• large, clear, readable display• overhead display and display from driver’s point ofview• uncluttered user interface to avoid distracting thedriver• voice announcements of driving directions and otherinformation• comprehensive maps and database including the abilityto load supplemental coverage for other areasAn important and sometimes overlooked issue withmobile navigation systems is the need to design the displayand user interface so as to minimize distraction. A combinationof large displays without unnecessary complexityand the use of spoken driving directions can help. A morecontroversial approach is to disable many functions of thesystem (such as entering new destinations) while the car isin motion.Further ReadingCar GPS (Navigation) Reviews. CNET. Available online. URL:http://reviews.cnet.com/4566-3430_7-0.html. Accessed September30, 2007.Crowder, David A. Google Earth for Dummies. Hoboken, N.J.:Wiley, 2007.Google Maps. Available online. URL: http://maps.google.com.Accessed September 29, 2007.Hofmann-Wellenhof, Bernhard, Klaus Legat, and Manfred Wieser.Navigation: Principles of Positioning and Guidance. New York:Springer, 2003.“Introduction to In-Car Navigation.” Crutchfield Advisor. Availableonline. URL: http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/ISEOrgbtcspd/learningcenter/car/navigation.html.Accessed September30, 2007.Mapquest. Available online. URL: http://www.mapquest.com/.Accessed September 29, 2007.Purvis, Michael, Jeffrey Sambells, and Cameron Turner. BeginningGoogle Maps Applications with PHP and Ajax: From Novice toProfessional. Berkeley, Calif.: APress, 2006.marketing of softwareThe way software has been produced and marketed haschanged considerably in the past five decades. In the nascentcomputer industry of the 1950s, commercial software wasdeveloped and marketed by the manufacturers of computersystems—firms such as Univac (later Sperry-Univac), Burroughs,and of course, IBM (see mainframe). However, aseparate (third-party) software industry emerged as earlyas 1955 with the founding of Computer Usage Corporation(CUC) by two former IBM employees. Nevertheless, the primarycompetition was between hardware manufacturers,with software seen as part of the overall package.By the early 1960s, larger software companies emergedsuch as Computer Science Corporation (CSC) and ElectronicData Systems (EDS), which became an empire underthe energetic, albeit often controversial leadership of H.Ross Perot, as well as the European giant SAP. These companiesspecialized in providing customized software solutionsfor users who could not meet their needs with thesoftware library offered by the maker of their computer system(see also business applications of computers).By the 1970s, however, vendor-supplied and contractedcustom software alternatives were being increasinglyaccompanied by “off the shelf” software packages. By 1976,100 software products from 64 software companies hadreached the $1 million mark in sales.The 1980s saw the emergence of a completely new sector:desktop computer (PC) users. Traditionally, softwarehad been marketed to programmers or managers, but nowindividual users or office managers could buy and installword processing programs, spreadsheets, database, andother programs. At the same time, a market for software foruse in the home and schools, particularly education, personalcreativity, and game programs required new methodsof marketing. For the first time ads for software began toappear on TV and in general-interest magazines.While large businesses still required custom-made software,most small to medium businesses looked for powerfuland integrated office software solutions (see applicationsuite, office automation, and Gates, William). By themid-1990s, Microsoft’s Office suite had dominated thismarket, although that dominance began to be threatened tosome extent by software written in Java or hosted on Linuxsystems (see also open source movement).The growth in the Internet (see e-commerce) has alsooffered new venues for the marketing and distributionof software. Sites such as ZDNet and CNet have to someextent displaced computer magazines as sources for productreviews. These sites also offer extensive libraries of “try