Wares?
While you look at technology, lots of wares are encountered.
What are these wares?
Why are there so many of them?
Well, wares, as per the dictionary, could simply be translated to products.
Technology is filled with them, and to segregate them into different types.
And, we humans like to name everything we see or create. And, now there is a valid reason too, so we can identify which is what and does what.
So, let’s get our brains dirty with the words.
Hardware
The most common of them could be, and the word is used in other works too.
In Technology, it is the collaboration of multiple electronic devices to work as a single unit system.
It is the only one that can be physically seen and touched, within this list.
Software
First of all, it is “soft” than its counterpart hardware. Which means it can be changed easily.
It is a program that can run on a wide variety of hardware systems.
They are also called Applications.
More importantly, it can be subdivided into other wares within the list.
Firmware
Now, this first software that runs on any hardware and is specific to each hardware.
The name is kept as “firm” because it is not “easy”/”soft” to change, and neither is it “hard” but needs a good amount of effort.
This is the one that is not changed as often as other software but doesn’t get updated with some feature that hardware can perform but didn’t do previously.
Middleware
As the name suggests, this ware sits between any two “wares”. Its purpose is to connect the ways they can work together to make a bigger ware.
The firmware above can be taken as an example of it. It is the one that provides the Operating System (OS) for your tech to communicate with the hardware.
The Middleware is used a lot in software to create bigger ones and then classified into other wares or just plain applications, with classification not ending in -ware.
Adware
These are applications that are meant for advertising, providing an application creator to show adverts with their software.
Now, the thing is, everyone wants something for their work in some form or other, and money talks a lot.
They do get irritating sometimes, a lot. And, there have been some other programs to get rid of, in many cases called widely as AdBlockers. They do take away a source of income for creators, and on diminishing returns, they look for other means.
Fatware
Fatware is a program that is inefficient and takes up lots of resources.
Bloatware
These are software that are shipped or installed with your operating systems by default, and with no option to remove them from the system. These are called “bloat” as they occupy space and resources while adding no value to the users, hence increasing the overall size of the basic operating system.
Vaporware
Malware
Ransomware
These wares are used to hold systems captive so that ransom can be asked for to regain access.
They usually restrict access to the system by encrypting files on the hard disk.
Scareware
These wares are software that are fictional malware, which are non-functional as such from the point of view of what they say they do.
They trick users by making them believe the computer has been infected and suggesting that they download fake applications or pay for a service or software.