ITPEC IP April 2023 Question 94

Groupware — software that supports joint work in a group through e-mail and chat, information sharing and video conferencing.

Groupware gives the members of a team or company a shared environment: e-mail, chat and electronic bulletin boards for communication, shared schedules, documents and address books for information sharing, workflow for routing approvals, and video conferences for meeting without travel. The name says what the software is for: work done together.

Answer (a)

Why not others:

• •(b) — shareware can be tried free of charge and must be paid for to keep using it; the name describes how it is distributed
• •(c) — firmware is software stored in ROM or flash memory inside a device to control its hardware
• •(d) — freeware can be used free of charge, while the author keeps the copyright; again a distribution term

Key rule: Groupware is named by its purpose, group work; shareware and freeware are named by how they are paid for, and firmware by where it lives.

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