Apple IIgs - Manual (Page 33)

Page 33 of 84 II gs
Printed: Thursday, July 25, 2002 12:14:50 PM
By adding a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) card to your computer system and by
using applications designed for the purpose, the Apple IIgs can control electronic keyboards
and drum machines or function as a music synthesizer. As a music synthesizer, the Apple IIgs
can generate the sounds of drums, guitars, flutes, horns, and all sorts of other musical
instruments. This lets you compose for a band or an orchestra and hear how each part will
sound.
Special Interest
Special-interest applications, also called vertical-market software, are applications that
cater to a particular audience or profession. They're more expensive than general-purpose
software, but much cheaper than hiring a programmer to write software from scratch.
Lawyers can find applications that handle billing, help with research, and keep track of court
appearances and filing dates. Medical offices can get data base applications customized to deal
with patient histories, help diagnose illnesses, and match allergy symptoms to causes. Other
medical software handles billing and appointments, and helps process insurance claims. Teachers
can find applications that keep track of attendance, record test scores, and help prepare
tests.
Farmers can get applications dedicated to herd management and crop rotation, as well as more
general record-keeping software.
You can find applications for manufacturing control, for scientific measurement and analysis,
and for virtually any area where a specialized need for calculating or sorting exists.
Vertical-market software isn't always listed in software catalogs, but you can find out what's
available by reading the software ads in professional journals and by attending computer
seminars sponsored by your professional organization. The American Bar Association, for
example, has a Committee for Computers that sponsors user groups for lawyers and promotes
conferences and seminars on the use of computers in the legal profession.
Free Software
Software that hasn't been copyrighted is called public-domain software. It's free. It's legal.
And you can get it for the asking from your local users group or by downloading it from a
computer bulletin board. The only cost to you is the cost of the disk you copy it onto.
But beware! The money you save may be insignificant compared to the time it takes you to learn
a program that doesn't come with a manual. Also, free programs aren't always debugged as
thoroughly as published applications and may not have such niceties as menus, user-friendly
prompts, or help screens.
More Applications
In addition to general-purpose applications like data base, spreadsheet, and word processing
applications, you can get very, very specialized applications. Here's a sampler of subjects for
which there are applications. You can find out more about these and other specialty
applications by looking through computer magazines or a computer catalog.
Education
English
vocabulary
sentence diagramming
synonyms and antonyms