Glossary

Cell Phone Glossary

# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

I originally created this in 2001. I have since learned, that I have elements that are not supposed to work inside the Data List(s) (dl) that I have created, however, they do. Have been and still are. I am not sure ... yet ... on what to do to correct it. So if any of you purists happen upon this page and have any valid suggestions, please drop me a line. Unless I have finally gotten around to fixing it.( which I did)

#

802.11a: - A wireless networking standard that specifies a maximum data transfer rate of 54Mbps and an operating frequency of 5GHz.
802.11b: - A wireless networking standard that specifies a maximum data transfer rate of 11Mbps and an operating frequency of 2.4GHz.
802.11g: - A wireless networking standard that specifies a maximum data transfer rate of 54Mbps, an operating frequency of 2.4GHz, and backward compatibility with 802.11b devices.
802.11n: - A wireless networking standard that specifies a maximum data transfer rate of 300Mbps to support more users, devices, and mission-critical, bandwidth-intensive applications. New multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) technology provide predictable WLAN coverage and reliable connectivity. Uses the 2.4-GHz frequency to deliver network access to users in hard-to-reach areas, and use the 5-GHz band to backhaul traffic to traditional access points connected to Ethernet ports. 802.11n networks will be backward compatible with clients built under previous 802.11a/b/g wireless standards.

A

Thought of, or stated, without reference to a specific instance.

ABI

Application Binary Interface - describes the low-level interface between an application (or any type of) program and the operating system or another application.
Also See:Webopedia

ACE

ACE (Assured Computing Environment)

ACPI

Advanced Configuration and Power Interface - A power management specification developed by Intel, Microsoft, and Toshiba. With ACPI, the operating system can turn off peripheral devices, such as a CD-ROM players, when they're not in use.

AGP

Accelerated Graphics Port - AGP is based on a set of performance extensions or enhancements to the PCI bus. PCI and AGP boards are not mechanically interchangeable.

                Modes
            * 1x (266Mbps) (8 bytes per two clock cycles)
            * 2x (533Mbps) (8 bytes per clock cycle)
            * 4x (1.07Gbps) (16 bytes per clock cycle)
            * 8x (2.1Gbps) (32 bytes per clock cycle)
                Connectors
            * AGP 3.3v keyed
            * AGP 1.5v keyed
            * AGP UNIVERSAL (supports both 3.3v and 1.5v cards)

Also See: AGP
And: Webopedia
and: Understanding Video Adapter

AIM

AOL Instant Messenger - This is a messaging program from AOL (America OnLine). With it you can "instantly" connect with, and talk with any of your friends or aquaintences who happen to be online -or- have Facebook on their phone or some other hand held device.

A simulation of movement created by displaying a series of pictures, or frames.
Also see: Webopedia

The Apache HTTP Server Project is an effort to develop and maintain an open-source HTTP server for modern operating systems including UNIX and Windows NT.

APM

Advanced Power Management - is an Application Program Interface, or API, developed by Microsoft and Intel which allows computer and BIOS manufacturers to include Power Management into their BIOSes.

A simple program or utility designed to be executed from within another application. Java applets, for example, are executed within Web browsers to add increased functionality.

Application

A program or group of programs designed for end users. Common applications include database programs, word processors, and spreadsheets.

The original pattern, or model, of which all things of the same tpe are representations or copies: prototype

ASDL

Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line - a technology that allows data to be sent over existing copper telephone lines at data rates of from 1.5 to 9 Mbps when receiving data (known as the downstream rate) and from 16 to 640 Kbps when sending data (known as the upstream rate). ADSL requires a special ADSL modem. ADSL is growing in popularity as more areas around the world gain access.

ASIC

Application Specific Integrated Circuit - An IC that contains blocks of standardized support circuitry

associativity

Combining elements such that when the order of the elements is preserved the result is independent of the grouping... (a+b)+c = a+(b+c)

asynchronous

Not synchronized; that is, not occurring at predetermined or regular intervals. The term asynchronous is usually used to describe communications in which data can be transmitted intermittently rather than in a steady stream. For example, a telephone conversation is asynchronous because both parties can talk whenever they like. If the communication were synchronous, each party would be required to wait a specified interval before speaking.
Also see: WebOpedia - asynchronous and Wikipedia - asynchronous

ATA

Stands for Advanced Technology Attachment - a disk drive implementation that integrates the controller on the disk drive itself. Developed by the Small Form Factor (SFF) Committee.
Also see: Webopedia and/or FOLDOC

Stands for ATA Packet Interface - Part of the EIDE interface that provides additional commands to control a CD-ROM drive or magnetic tape.

ATM

Asynchronous Transfer Mode A network protocol (like Ethernet) for communicating over a wire between two machines. Supposed to be designed for streaming, it consists of small cells (like ethernet packets).
Also see: WLUG

ATSC

Advanced Television Systems Committee, it is an international, non-profit organization developing voluntary standards for digital television.
Also see: Webopedia

(1) A virtual representation of the player in a game.
(2) A common name for the superuser account on UNIX systems. The other common name is root.

Awry

Not functioning properly; "something is amiss"; "has gone completely haywire";
Also see: The Free Dictionary

B

BA: buses available
Bandwidth: The amount of data that can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time. For digital devices, bandwidth is usually expressed in bits per second (bps) or bytes per second (Bps). For analog devices, bandwidth is expressed in cycles per second, or hertz (Hz).
bashrc: Bourne Again SHell - Steve Bourne wrote the first Unix shell back in 1974 at Bell Labs. It was/is the model for many others that followed. This version, bash, is used in Linux for the most part as the default. It is the interface between you and the system.
Also See: DaemonNews
Believe: 1 a : to have a firm religious faith b : to accept as true, genuine, or real
2 : to have a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability of something
faith (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust
Also See: Websters WordNet
bio layer: The bio layer (bio = Block I/O) is the part of the kernel that sends the requests to the I/O scheduler allowing performance and scalability to improve.
BIOS: Basic Input/Output System
BLOG: Short for Web log, a blog is a Web page that serves as a publicly accessible personal journal for an individual. Typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the author.
Note: Technically I swiped this def from Webopedia and I find it really interesting how they came up with the name. Never would have dreamed it. If you are really interested, go to the Webopedia page and read the history.
BMU: Bus Manager Unit -
bonified: It's "bona fide", actually - Latin for "good faith", often used in English as a synonym for "genuine" or "authentic".
Brick -or- Bricked: A console (Wii, PSP, Router, Cell Phone) that is no longer working due to damaged hardware or an error with the internal software/filesystem. Usually the fault of the owner. Sometimes recoverable through special means.
Also See: WiiBrew Glossary
Bridge: A device that connects two local-area networks (LANs), or two segments of the same LAN that use the same protocol, such as Ethernet or Token-Ring.
Now then, I use Bridged Mode in my VMware setup. Each Virtual machine is like having another computer. Therefore, I have a LAN right here on my one(1) PC. Think about it...
Also See: Netgear
Broadband: Typically used to describe high-speed data transmission over T1 lines (1,544 Mbps) and above. Broadband also more generally describes any type of data transmission in which a single wire can carry several channels at once. Cable TV, for example, uses broadband transmission.

C

CD: Compact Disc - A polycarbonate with one or more metal layers capable of storing digital information.
CD-R (compact disc recordable): A type of CD that can be recorded to. With proper formatting, it can used to create a disc that will play in most CD players.
CD-RW (compact disc rewritable): A type of CD that can be recorded, erased, and rewritten to by the user. A CD-RW disc cannot be placed in a conventional CD player.
Also see: Compact Disc and Multisession
CDE: Common Desktop Environment - The Common Desktop Environment (CDE) is an integrated graphical user interface for open systems desktop computing. It delivers a single, standard graphical interface for the management of data and files (the graphical desktop) and applications. CDE's primary benefits -- deriving from ease-of-use, consistency, configurability, portability, distributed design, and protection of investment in today's applications -- make open systems desktop computers as easy to use as PCs, but with the added power of local and network resources available at the click of a mouse.
Also see: Open Group
CDMA: CDMA (code-division multiple access) refers to any of several protocols used in so-called second-generation (2G) and third-generation (3G) wireless communications. As the term implies, CDMA is a form of multiplexing, which allows numerous signals to occupy a single transmission channel, optimizing the use of available bandwidth. The technology is used in ultra-high-frequency (UHF) cellular telephone systems in the 800-MHz and 1.9-GHz bands.
Also see: CDMA2000 - Wikipedia and CDMA - Wikipedia
CDPD: Cellular Digital Packet Data, a data transmission technology developed for use on cellular phone frequencies.
Also see: CDPD - Webopedia
Cell Phones: A mobile or cellular telephone is a long-range, portable electronic device for personal telecommunications over long distances. Most current mobile phones connect to a cellular network of base stations (cell sites), which is in turn interconnected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) (the exception are satellite phones).
Mobile phones and the network they operate under vary significantly from provider to provider, and nation to nation. However, all of them communicate through electromagnetic microwaves with a cell site base station, the antennas of which are usually mounted on a tower, pole, or building.

The phones have a low-power transceiver that transmits voice and data to the nearest cell sites, usually 5 to 8 miles (approximately 8 to 13 kilometres) away. When the cellular phone or data device is turned on, it registers with the mobile telephone exchange, or switch, with its unique identifiers, and will then be alerted by the mobile switch when there is an incoming telephone call. The handset constantly listens for the strongest signal being received from the surrounding base stations. As the user moves around the network, the mobile device will "handoff" to various cell sites during calls, or while waiting (idle) between calls it will reselect cell sites.

Cell sites have relatively low-power (often only one or two watts) radio transmitters which broadcast their presence and relay communications between the mobile handsets and the switch. The switch in turn connects the call to another subscriber of the same wireless service provider or to the public telephone network, which includes the networks of other wireless carriers. Many of these sites are camouflaged to blend with existing environments, particularly in high-scenery areas.

The dialogue between the handset and the cell site is a stream of digital data that includes digitized audio (except for the first generation analog networks). The technology that achieves this depends on the system which the mobile phone operator has adopted. Some technologies include AMPS for analog, and D-AMPS, CDMA2000, GSM, GPRS, EV-DO, and UMTS for digital communications. Each network operator has a unique radio frequency band.

I subscribe to Alltel so naturally I am including info about them. Alltel networks consist of analog and digital systems operating primarily on the 800 MHz cellular band, much like Verizon Wireless. Alltel has recently added a few 1900 MHz PCS sites in various places, such as Jacksonville, Florida and Wichita, Kansas for greater system capacity. Native Alltel markets consist of both analog (AMPS) and digital (CDMA) technologies. Select markets have been outfitted with 3G 1xEV-DO digital technology, which allows for additional battery life and faster download times when using Internet or BREW-based applications. AMPS is still in place and in use in most places, but the company acknowledges that it is aggressively converting analog customers to digital technology. In 2005, an Alltel spokesman stated that only 15% of its customer base still uses analog. Alltel has yet to release official plans in response to the FCC decision stating that by March 1, 2008 A and B side carriers are no longer required to support analog.
Also see: Cell Phones - Wikipedia CDMA - TDMA - GSM
CFML: A proprietary markup language developed by Allaire for use with ColdFusion. CFML is a tag-based Web scripting language supporting dynamic Web page creation and database access in a Web server environment. In the language, ColdFusion tags are embedded in HTML files. The HTML tags determine the page's layout while the CFML tags import content based on user input or the results of a database query. Files created with CFML have the file extension .cfm.
Also see: Wikipedia
CGI: Common Gateway Interface - a specification for transferring information between a World Wide Web server and a CGI program. A CGI program is any program designed to accept and return data that conforms to the CGI specification. The program could be written in any programming language, including C, Perl, Java, or Visual Basic.
CGI is a mechanism for safely transporting data from a client (a browser like Netscape Navigator) to a server. It is typically used to transfer data from an HTML form to the server.
Also See: CGI for more info.
ChiralScroll: Allows the user to scroll continuously with one, smooth, circular motion. Scrolling speed is controlled by finger speed. Linear scrolling works with most scrollable windows such as documents, spreadsheets, large digital images, and other scrollable items such as file lists and font lists. (Chiral - draw a circle)
Circle Right, move down. Circle Left, move up.
Also see: Synaptics Gesture Suite
CIFS: Common Internet File System - a protocol suite. This name was introduced by Microsoft. At the heart of CIFS is the latest incarnation of the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol, which has a long and tedious history. Samba is an open source CIFS implementation, and is available for free from the http://samba.org/ mirror sites.
Class: Class consists of variables and methods. (program)
Client Side: A client is an application that runs on a personal computer or workstation and relies on a server to perform some operations. Client-side code executes on the end-user's computer, usually within a web browser and many times via plugins.
Also see: Client Side
CMOS: Complimentary Metal Oxide Silicon. CMOS
CMTS: Cable Modem Termination System -
codec: A.) coder / decoder - An integrated circuit or other electronic device combining the circuits needed to convert digital signals to and from analog (Pulse Code Modulation) form.
B.) Short for compressor/decompressor; a way by which to encode and/or decode data. For example, MP3 and WMA are CODECs.
Also see: CODEC
coerced: To compel to an act or choice.
cohesive: Exhibiting the act or process of sticking together.
Color: A phenomenon of light (as red, brown, pink, or gray) or visual perception that enables one to differentiate otherwise identical objects. Also See: FOLDOC
context: The verbal or written environment in which a word or group of words occurs. The overall situation in which an event occurs.
CPU: Central Processing Unit.
CSS: Cascading Style Sheets

D

DACK: DMA acknowledge
daemon: /day'mn/ or /dee'mn/ (From the mythological meaning, later rationalised as the acronym "Disk And Execution MONitor") A program that is not invoked explicitly, but lies dormant waiting for some condition(s) to occur. The idea is that the perpetrator of the condition need not be aware that a daemon is lurking (though often a program will commit an action only because it knows that it will implicitly invoke a daemon).
Also see: daemon
data abstraction: The ability to describe new data types in terms of their format and the processess that act upon them.
Dalvik: Dalvik is the process virtual machine (VM) in Google's Android operating system. It is the software that runs the apps on Android devices.
Also see: Wikipedia
DDR2: Double Data Rate - Like DDR, DDR2 is a type of SDRAM in which data is sent on both the rising and falling edges of clock cycles in a data burst. DDR2 is the next evolutionary step in the DDR infrastructure whose improved design increases memory bandwidth. Since DDR2 runs more efficiently than standard DDR memory, it actually uses less power. DDR2 memory is NOT compatible with DDR memory, DDR2 modules having 240 contacts, compared with DDR modules' 184.
DDR3: Double Data Rate - DDR3 SDRAM is neither forward nor backward compatible with any earlier type of random access memory (RAM) due to different signaling voltages, timings, and other factors. The primary benefit of DDR3 SDRAM over its immediate predecessor, DDR2 SDRAM, is its ability to transfer data at twice the rate (eight times the speed of its internal memory arrays), enabling higher bandwidth or peak data rates.
Also see: Wikipedia
DHCP: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol - it is used to allow individual computers on an IP network to extract their configurations from a server (the 'DHCP server') or servers, in particular, servers that have no exact information about the individual computers until they request the information. The most significant piece of information distributed in this manner is the IP address.
Also see: OSS / CIT
DHTML: Dynamic HyperText Markup Language, or DHTML, is an umbrella term for a collection of technologies used together to create interactive and animated web sites[1] by using a combination of a static markup language (such as HTML), a client-side scripting language (such as JavaScript), a presentation definition language (such as CSS), and the Document Object Model.
Also See: DHTML - Wikipedia
DIMM: Dual In-line Memory Module - Please see the excellent Documentation on Wikipedia.
Also see so-DIMM .
DLL: DLL is short for Dynamic Link Library, a library of executable functions or data that can be used by a Windows application. A DLL provides one or more particular functions and a program accesses the functions by creating either a static or dynamic link to the DLL. A static link remains constant during program execution while a dynamic link is created by the program as needed. DLLs can also contain just data. DLL files usually end with the extension .dll,.exe., drv, or .fon.
Also See: DLL-Downloads.com
DMA: Direct MemoryAccess - (DMA) A facility of some architectures which allows a peripheral to read and write memory without intervention by the CPU. DMA is a limited form of bus mastering.
Data transfers in a computer are simple but time-consuming tasks. It's a waste of resources to use the processor to do these simple tasks. Therefore the DMA controller has been introduced. DMA stands for direct memory access.
Also see: DMA Controller and FOLDOC
DNS: Domain Name System - An Internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses.
DOCSIS: Data Over Cable System Interface Specification -
Domain: A group of computers and devices on a network that are administered as a unit with common rules and procedures.
A collection of computers on a network that share a common user database and security policy. A domain is administered as a unit with common rules and procedures by the domain administrator. Each domain has a unique name. (Microsoft Definition)
Also see: WebOpedia and/or Domain FAQs
When you speak of "your" domain, you are usually speaking of your home and the land that it sits on. With the computer age has come a new use for this term. You need a 'domain', or a hunk of computer real estate, to set up your Web Pages. You will then have your real domain, your house, and your computer domain. Both of which require registration and monthly payments. Another look at this is: Your Computer Domain is actually a folder or directory on a remote computer. It becomes your 'root' directory. Under this root directory you can have subdomains or subdirectories. Its all relative and just a bunch of new uses of old words.
Domain Name: A name that identifies one or more IP addresses. It is a textual address, for a location on the Internet, which corresponds to the actual numeric address, that the Internet computers can read.
Also see: Domain Name
Domain Search: DOMAIN SEARCH allows you to limit results to certain domains. It is also the starting point of your search for other websites.
Also See: Search Engines
and/or Virtual Domains
DRAM: Dynamic Random Access Memory - is a type of memory that needs to be refreshed thousands of times per second or it will loose its contents. These are essentially capacitive circuits that need to be recharged or refilled.
Also see: Webopedia
DREQ: DMA request - Signal names on a board. example: DREQ 5 (DMA request) controlled by jumper 2.
DRM: Digital Rights Management - is an umbrella term that refers to access control technologies used by publishers and copyright holders to limit usage of digital media or devices. It may also refer to restrictions associated with specific instances of digital works or devices.
Also See: Wikipedia
DRV - Drivers: A driver (DRV), a Device Driver, is a program that interacts with a particular device or special (frequently optional) kind of software. The driver contains the special knowledge, of the device or special software interface, that programs using the driver do not. In personal computers, a driver is often packaged as a dynamic link library (DLL) file.
Drivers are specialized pieces of software that allow Windows, or Linux, to communicate with other software programs and hardware. Without drivers, the hardware you connect to your computer - for example, a video card or a webcam - would not work properly.
Also See: DLL-Downloads.com
DSL: Digital Subscriber Line - A high-speed Internet-access connection that works over telephone networks and is available from 600Kbps to 26Mbps. Your maximum speed depends on your distance from the telephone provider's central office.
DSO: Dynamic Shared Object - aka shared library.
Dweeb: A young excitable persone who may mature into a Nerd or a Geek.
DTD: Document Type Definition - The definition of a document type in SGML or XML, consisting of a set of mark-up tags and their interpretation.
Also see: W3C definitions and Webopedia and Wikipedia
DVD: Digital Versatile Disk - An optical disc that holds a minimum of 4.7GB, enough for most full-length movies. DVDs can store significantly more data than ordinary CD-ROMs can, and can play high-quality videos.
Also see: FOLDOC and / or Webopedia
DVI: Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is the standard interface for a high-performance connection between PCs and flat panel displays, digital CRT displays, projectors, and HDTV.
DVR: Digital Video Recorders - DVD based digital video recorder or one step up, a personal video recorder (PVR). PVR and DVR are both used to describe hard drive based digital video recorders. A digital video recorder (DVR) or personal video recorder (PVR) is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device. The term includes set-top boxes with recording facility, portable media players (PMP) with recording facility, recorders (PMR as camcorders that record onto memory cards) and software for personal computers which enables video capture and playback to and from disk.
Also see: Wikipedia

E

EDO: Extended Data-Out - is a DRAM chip technology which improves memory performance 10 to 15% over equivalent Fast Page Mode devices. Unlike conventional DRAM, which can only access one block of data at a time, EDO RAM can start fetching the next block of memory at the same time that it sends the previous block to the CPU.
Also see: The PC Guide
ECC: Error-Correcting Code - a type of memory that includes special circuitry for testing the accuracy of data as it passes in and out of memory.
Also see: PCTechGuide
EDID: Extended Display Identification Data - This is a chunk of information sent from your display to your graphics card, and normally contains information such as your screen's model and manufacturer, resolution timings and display size. X then uses this data to create appropriate resolutions and bit depths that make optimal use of your hardware.
EIDE: Enhanced Integrated Device Electronics - (ATA-2, Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics, EIDE) A proposed (May 1996 or earlier?) standard from X3T10 (document 948D rev 3) which extends the Advanced Technology Attachment interface while maintaining compatibility with current IBM PC BIOS designs.
Also see: FOLDOC
encapsulation - object oriented - C++: Combining a data structure with the functions (actions or methods) dedicated to manipulating the data. This is achieved by means of a new struturing and data typing mechanism - the class.
EtherNet
EVDO: Evolution-Data Optimized, abbreviated as EV-DO or EVDO and often EV, is a wireless radio broadband data standard adopted by many CDMA mobile phone service providers in United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia, Russia, Brazil, and Australia. It is standardized by 3GPP2, as part of the CDMA2000 family of standards.
Also see: Wikipedia

F

File: An element of data storage in a computer filing system. Also see:File size Conversion Table.
FireWalls: A system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network.
firmware: In electronics and computing, firmware is a term often used to denote the fixed, usually rather small, programs and/or data structures that internally control various electronic devices. Also See: Wiki firmware
FOSP: Forced Organized Structured Programming
My own little pet term for all this C++ Object Oriented Programming. Reasons?? I'll let you draw your own.
FQDN: Fully Qualified Domain Name - WorkGroup.Hostname example; TRComputing.dusty-tr2

Top

G

gateway: a device that enables data to flow between different networks (forming an internet).
Giga Byte: Giga means billion. So, if you have a 20GB Hard Disk, you will be able to store 20 billion bytes of information on it.
Also See: Disk vs RAM
gif: Graphics Interchange Format - (GIF, GIF 89A) A standard for digitised images compressed with the LZW algorithm, defined in 1987 by CompuServe (CIS). Interlaced comes from the 89A format and lets the images build in layers. This lets you see the image quicker. It won't be the final view at first, but enough so that you can see what is there. This helps primarily in the slower telephone connections. Broadband hookups may or may not see the effect.
Also see: GIF
Geeko: The name chosen for the SuSE chameleon, which is their mascot.
GM: General MIDI is a specification for synthesizers which imposes several requirements beyond the more abstract MIDI standard.
Also see: Wikipedia
GPU: Graphics Processing Unit - Please refer: Webopedia
GSM: GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) is a digital mobile telephone system that is widely used in Europe and other parts of the world. GSM uses a variation of time division multiple access (TDMA) and is the most widely used of the three digital wireless telephone technologies (TDMA, GSM, and CDMA). GSM digitizes and compresses data, then sends it down a channel with two other streams of user data, each in its own time slot. It operates at either the 900 MHz or 1800 MHz frequency band.
GUI: Graphical User Interface - A picture-based system of interaction between people and computers. A GUI lets you interact by using a mouse rather than by having to type in keyboard commands.

H

HLDA: hold acknowledge
Hacker: A clever Programmer
Host: Another computer to which one connects. A computer system that is accessed by a user working at a remote location. Typically, the term is used when there are two computer systems connected by modems and telephone lines. The system that contains the data is called the host, while the computer at which the user sits is called the remote terminal.
HTML: HyperText Markup Language - the authoring language used to create documents on the World Wide Web. HTML is similar to SGML, although it is not a strict subset.
It is also used as a tag. As such, it defines the entire document with <HTML> and </HTML>
Also See: HTML
or HTML Tutorial
HTTP: HyperText Transfer Protocol - The client-server TCP/IP protocol used on the World-Wide Web for the exchange of HTML documents. It conventionally uses port 80.
Also see: HTTP
HUB: A common connection point for devices in a network. Hubs are essentially repeaters with multiple ports.
Also See: Hub vs Switch
Hyperlink: An icon or text element in a document that serves as a connection to another place in the same document or to an entirely different document. Hyperlinks are the foundation of hypertext systems, including the World Wide Web.
Hyper Threading: A technology developed by Intel that enables multithreaded software applications to execute threads in parallel on a single multi-core processor instead of processing threads in a linear fashion.
Also see: Wikipedia OR Webopedia

I

IDE: Integrated Device Electronics - A hard drive-interface specification that integrates all the drive control electronics on the drive itself, rather than on the adapter connecting the drive to the expansion bus.
OR
Integrated Development Environment - A programming environment integrated into an application.
Also see: FOLDOC
IIS: Internet Information Services - Microsoft's Web server.
IMAP: Internet Message Access Protocol - A protocol allowing a client to access and manipulate electronic mail messages on a server. It permits manipulation of remote message folders (mailboxes), in a way that is functionally equivalent to local mailboxes.
Unlike POP, IMAP keeps your messages on the server.
Also see: FOLDOC
IMHO: In My Humble Opinion - Used to clarify that the statement being made should not be quoted as a fact, but only as an opinion.
integrated: A popular computer buzzword that refers to two or more components merged together into a single system.
instance: A step in a series of events: occasion. An individual object of a certain class.
    An abstract data type, called a "class" in C++, is thus a
    collection of other data items and functions.
    An instance of an abstract data type is called an "object".
IP: Internet Protocol -
Internet = a global system of interconnected computer networks
Protocol = A set of guidelines or rules.
IP Address: The identifying address of a computer or device attached to a TCP/IP network. TCP/IP networks use IP addresses to route messages to their proper destinations. The IP address is written as four sets of numbers separated by periods.
Also see: WebOpedia
IPC: Inter-Process Communication - A capability supported by some operating systems that allows one process to communicate with another process. The processes can be running on the same computer or on different computers connected through a network.
Also see: FOLDOC and WebOpedia
OR
Integrated Peripheral Controller - The device controller is built into the chipset on the mother board. An integrated single chip I/O solution containing a floppy disk controller (82078), 2 serial ports (16550 compliant), a multi-function parallel port (supports all IEEE Standard 1284 protocols (ECP, EPP, Byte, Compatibility, and Nibble)), an IDE interface (8- or 16-bit programmed I/O and 16 bit DMA), and a Game Port (a chip select port).
IRC: Internet Relay Chat - An Internet service accessed through software programs that features real-time communication on channels devoted to specific topics.
IS-95: Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), is the first CDMA-based digital cellular standard pioneered by Qualcomm. The brand name for IS-95 is cdmaOne. IS-95 is also known as TIA-EIA-95.
Also see: Wikipedia
ISP: Internet Service Provider - An organization that supplies you with access the Internet for a fee.

J

jpeg: Joint Photographic Experts Group The original name of the committee that designed the standard image compression algorithm. JPEG is designed for compressing either full-colour or grey-scale digital images of "natural", real-world scenes. It does not work so well on non-realistic images, such as cartoons or line drawings. JPEG does not handle compression of black-and-white (1 bit-per-pixel) images or moving pictures. Standards for compressing those types of images are being worked on by other committees, named JBIG and MPEG.
Also see: JPEG
JSP: JavaServer Pages - A freely available specification for extending the Java Servlet API to generate dynamic web pages on a web server.
Also see: Wikipedia

K

Kilo Byte: In decimal systems, kilo stands for 1,000, but in binary systems, a kilo is 1,024 (2 to the 10th power). Technically, a kilobyte is 1,024 bytes, but it is often used loosely as a synonym for 1,000 bytes. This is why you can have discrepancies between what you think you have and what you really have. There is a minor 24 byte difference here that can add up.
KMS: KernelModeSetting - means that the kernel is responsible for setting up and changing the display mode: resolution, frequencies and color depth. KMS as a Linux feature was introduced in 2.6.29. KMS in Nouveau is supported and actually the only way to go. It automatically offers nouveaufb, an integrated (into the DRM driver) framebuffer driver for the virtual console.
KMS and nouveaufb are inseparable.
Refer: http://nouveau.freedesktop.org/wiki/KernelModeSetting

L

LAMP: Linux Apache MySQL and PHP - The web server world, where Linux is de facto standard because these things just work!
LCD: Liquid Crystal Display - a type of display used in digital watches and many portable computers. LCD displays utilize two sheets of polarizing material with a liquid crystal solution between them.
Also See: Webopedia
LAN: Local Area Network - A computer network that spans a relatively small area. Most LANs are confined to a single building or group of buildings.
Also see: LANs and WAN
Latency: ((computer science) the time it takes for a specific block of data on a data track to rotate around to the read/write head). (the state of being not yet evident or active)
LDAP: Lightweight Directory Access Protocol: is a protocol for accessing online directory services.
Local Variables: A Local Variable contains a value available only to the method in which it is defined. (local)
Love: 1 a : unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another as :
       (1) : the fatherly concern of God for humankind
       (2) : brotherly concern for others
   b : a person's adoration of God
Luminance: (Or "tone", "luminance", "value", "luminosity", "lightness") The coordinate in the HSB colour model that determines the total amount of light in the colour. Zero brightness is black and 100% is white, intermediate values are "light" or "dark" colours.
Also See: FOLDOC

M

MAC: Media Access Control - is a sublayer of the Data Link Layer specified in the seven-layer OSI model (layer 2).
Also see: Wikipedia
Mega Byte: Mega means million. So if you have 32MB of memory you will be able to place 32 million bytes of data in it. Now realize, that in a PC, some of this memory is used for the computer program instructions. Therefore, it won't all be available for your data or text info. This is where people run into problems with there PCs.
Technically, a megabyte is 1,024,000 bytes, but it is often used loosely as a synonym for 1,000,000 bytes. This is why you can have discrepancies between what you think you have and what you really have. We have a whopping 24,000 byte difference here.
Also See: Disk vs RAM
MDI: (Medium Dependent Interface port) Also called an "uplink port," it is a port on a network hub or switch used to connect to other hubs or switches without requiring a crossover cable. The MDI port does not cross the transmit and receive lines, which is done by the regular MDI-X ports that connect to end stations (the X stands for "crossed"). The MDI port connects to the MDI-X port on the other device. There are typically one or two ports on a device that can be toggled between MDI (not crossed) and MDI-X (crossed).
Also See: thefreedictionary.com
Member Variables: A Member Variable contains a value for a class that is available to all methods in the class.(common)
Merchant Account: A "bank account" established with a payment processor for the settlement of credit card transactions. Any merchant who wants to take credit card orders must establish a merchant account. Internet merchants need a "Card Not Present Merchant Account."
Method: A Method is a group of statements that perform activities in a class.(subroutine)
methodology: An organised, documented set of procedures and guidelines for one or more phases of the software life cycle, such as analysis or design. Many methodologies include a diagramming notation for documenting the results of the procedure; a step-by-step "cookbook" approach for carrying out the procedure; and an objective (ideally quantified) set of criteria for determining whether the results of the procedure are of acceptable quality.
MIDI: Musical Instrument Digital Interface is an industry-standard electronic communications protocol that enables electronic musical instruments, computers and other equipment to communicate, control and synchronize with each other in real time. MIDI does not transmit audio it simply transmits digital data such as the pitch and intensity of musical notes to play, control signals for parameters such as volume, vibrato and panning, and clock signals to set the tempo.
Also See: MIDI Protocol
and: Wiki Def
Modem: See: Modem for an excellent explaination and description.
MTRR: Memory Type Range Register -
Multi-Core: A multi-core processor combines two or more independent cores (normally a CPU) into a single package composed of a single integrated circuit (IC), called a die, or more dies packaged together.
multisession: A feature of many CD-R drives and discs that enables you to add data to a CD-ROM on different occasions. This is an improvement over older CD-Rs, which required you to burn all your data onto the disc at once. Also called multisession recording.
Pay attention! Music disc's are not multisession. Not all DVD drives are multisession either. This is strange, since the DVD writer will do a multisession CD, but not a DVD! Also see: Multisession-CD
MultiThreading: The ability of an operating system to execute different parts of a program, called threads, simultaneously.
Also see: Webopedia OR Wikipedia
MySQL: MySQL is an open source RDBMS that relies on SQL for processing the data in the database.
Also see: MySQL for more detailed info.

N

Name Server: A program that translates names from one form into another. How They Work.
NAT: Network Address Translator is the translation of an Internet Protocol address (IP address) used within one network to a different IP address known within another network. One network is designated the inside network and the other is the outside.
In computer networking, the process of Network Address Translation (NAT) involves re-writing the source and/or destination address of IP packets as they pass through a router. NAT allows multiple hosts on a private network to access the Internet using a single public IP address.
There are whole ranges of IP address that are specified to be "internal only"; the 192.168.x.y range is the most common example. Many routers simply translate one external IP address to several internal IP addresses, so that many PC's can now share one Internet connection. In general, this is called "NAT"; in Windows it's called "ICS"; in Linux it often goes by "IP Masquerading".
Also see: Wikipedia and GoToMyVNC
ncurses: A set of subroutines in Unix for handling navigation on a terminal screen using the cursor. Displays and updates text on text-only terminals.
Nerd: A technically bright but socially inept person.
NetBIOS: Network Basic Input Output System was/is a chunk of software that was loaded into memory to provide an interface between programs and the network hardware.
NetBEUI: NetBIOS Enhanced User Interface introduced by IBM, provided a mechanism for passing NetBIOS packets over Token Ring and Ethernet.
nits: The brightness rating for a monitor. The higher the nits, the brighter the display. LCD brightness is calculated by measuring the greatest amount of light that comes from the screen when displaying pure white. The measure is expressed in candelas per square meter, also called nits. (from latin "nitere" = "to shine")
Also see: Lighting Design Glossary
NTSC: National Television System Committee. The NTSC is responsible for setting television and video standards in the United States.
Also see: Webopedia

O

Object: An Object is an instance or occurrence of a class.
OCX: OCX is Short for OLE Custom control, an independent program module that can be accessed by other programs in a Windows environment. OCX controls end with a .ocx extension. OCX controls represent Microsoft's second generation of control architecture, the first being VBX controls written in Visual Basic.
Both VBX and OCX controls have now been superseded by ActiveX controls. However, ActiveX is backward compatible with OCX controls, which means that ActiveX containers, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer, can execute OCX components.
Also See: DLL-Downloads.com
OLE: Object Linking and Embedding - A distributed object system and protocol from Microsoft. OLE allows an editor to "farm out" part of a document to another editor and then reimport it. It enables you to create objects with one application and then link or embed them in a second application. Embedded objects retain their original format and links to the application that created them.
Online: Connected to another computer and using the connection interactively.
OOP: object-oriented programming - An object is a data type that allows for the storage of not only data but also information on how to process that data. The data elements stored within an object are referred to as its properties, also sometimes called the attributes of the object. The information, or code, describing how to process the data compromises what are called the methods of the object.
Operating System: Your computer is a hunk of electronic hardware and it is dumb. Yep, that's what I said, the computer is dumb. Even a newborn baby is smarter than a computer. It must be told what to do, or in computer terms, programmed, before it can do anything. Now I know that you are saying that is the same for a child. Yep. But the child will remember what he or she has learned (for the most part). Whereas the computer won't.
Hold on you say, my computer remembers. Does it? What if you loose the power before you hit save? What if you damage or loose that floppy? Many items can screw up and the computer will forget everything and you will have to re-enter the information. (Yeah I know some kids can be like that.)
All seriousness aside, and back to the subject, the Operating System is a collection of things it has been told how to do. These are called programs. It., the Operating system, is not just one program. There is a program to instruct the PC on how to read the keyboard, another to read/write to the hard disk, another to display the information on the monitor...etc. So you see, there are lots of invisible items in a computer that affect its operation. They are all needed, so make sure you know what you are doing before you remove any files on your PC.

Top

P

PAE: Physical Address Extension - refers to a feature of x86 and x86-64 processors that allows more than 4 gigabytes (GB) of physical memory to be used in 32-bit systems, given appropriate operating system support.
Also see: Wikipedia
paradigm: example, pattern: an outstandingly clear or typical example or archetype.
PCI: Periperal Component Interconnect - A local bus architecture that is widely used in Pentium-based PCs that provides a high-bandwidth data channel between system-board components such as the CPU and devices such as hard disks and video adapters.
Also see: Webopedia
PCM: Pulse-Code Modulation - is a method used to digitally represent sampled analog signals.
Also see: Wikipedia
PCMCIA: Originally stood for Peripheral Component MicroChannel Interconnect Architecture. Because of the difficulties with the acronym, it has been changed to PC Card.
All PC cards use same connecting interface with 68 pins. All are 85.6 mm long and 54.0 mm wide. The form factor is also used by the Common Interface form of Conditional Access Modules for DVB broadcasts. The 16 mm thick "Type IV" card, introduced by Toshiba, was not officially sanctioned by the PCMCIA.
The original standard was defined for both 5 volt and 3.3 volt cards. The 3.3V cards have a key on the side to protect them from being damaged by being put into a 5V-only slot. Some cards and some slots operate at both voltages as needed. If your card will not go into the slot, this means you have a 3.3V card and a 5V slot. CardBus cards are 3.3V only.
PCS: Personal Communications Service or PCS is the name for the 1900-MHz radio band used for digital mobile phone services in Canada and the United States. Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), GSM, and D-AMPS systems can be used on PCS frequencies.
Also see: Wikipedia
PDC: Primary Domain Controller - is a server computer in a Windows domain. A domain is a group of computers (technically named a "forest"), where access to a variety of computer resources is controlled by the PDC. Various account types exist in the domain, the most basic is the "guest" or "anonymous login" account. The PDC has an administration account which has overall total control of the domain resources.
On Windows Server Systems, a domain controller (DC) is a server that responds to security authentication requests (logging in, checking permissions, etc.) within the Windows Server domain. A domain is a concept introduced in Windows NT whereby a user may be granted access to a number of computer resources with the use of a single username and password combination.

Big companies around the world don't install domain controllers because of it's major security issues.
Also see: Wiki PDC and Wiki DC
PDF: Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format used to present documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. Each PDF file encapsulates a complete description of a fixed-layout flat document, including the text, fonts, graphics, and other information needed to display it.
Refer: WiKi PDF
Peer to Peer: More or less Buddy to Buddy, Friend to Friend, Chum to Chum ... etc; This is a means of transferring data from one location, or computer, to another if you are members of the same group. It is a type of network in which each workstation has equivalent capabilities and responsibilities.
Also see: Peer-to-Peer
peripheral: Any part of a computer other than the CPU or working memory.
Also See: FOLDOC Def
Perl: Short for Practical Extraction and Report Language, Perl is a programming language developed by Larry Wall, especially designed for processing text.
Also see: Perl for more info.
PHP: Self-referentially short for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor.
PHP is a widely-used general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML. PHP Home
Pitch: In graphics, dot pitch refers to the spacing between pixels on a monitor. The smaller the dot pitch, the sharper the image.
Also See: Webopedia
Pixel: Picture Element - a single point in a graphic image. The quality of a display depends largely on how many pixels it can display. In CRT Monitors, each pixel is composed of three dots, red, green and blue (RGB). Three light guns will target these pixels. The various intensities of these guns produce the colors. The closer the pixels, the better the quality of the picture.
In LCD Monitors, a pixel or picture element, is composed of three sub-pixels in the primary colors of red, green, and blue. At each pixel position in an AMLCD (active matrix liquid crystal display) flat screen monitor, three cells of liquid crystal material form the red, green and blue sub-pixels that together allow the full range of colors to be displayed.
Also See: Webopedia and ViewSonic
Plasma " Plasmoids: Plasma, KDE 4's new shell for the desktop. Plasma provides krunner, an application to directly launch programs and start other tasks. Plasmoids are applets that display information such as the time, information about hardware devices and also provide access to online resources, for example showing RSS feeds, images or providing dictionary lookup.
polymorphism: From the Greek: having many shapes. Giving an action one name or symbol that is shared up and down a class hierachy, with each class in the hierachy implementing the action in a way appropriate to itself.
POP3: Post Office Protocol 3 - POP3 is one method used by e-mail programs to retrieve e-mail from the server. The important feature of POP3 is that, by default, when you retrieve your mail, the messages are moved from the server, to the computer you use to check the mail. Unless you have configured it otherwise. Some servers allow you to keep the POP3 messages on the server. This way you can read the same email from more than one machine.
Ports: A port is a special number present in the header of a data packet. Ports are typically used to map data to a particular process running on a computer.
Also see: Wikipedia
protocol: An agreed-upon format for transmitting data between two devices. WebOpedia
prototype: an original model on which something is patterned
PPC: Pay Per Click Search Engines. These search engines work exactly like the normal search engines but instead of listing a website for free, they charge a certain amount of money each time a visitor clicks on an advertiser's website.
PPP: Point-to-Point Protocol - A protocol allowing a computer using TCP/IP to connect directly to the Internet.
PPPoE: Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet.
Please see: Wikipedia
PPTP: Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol
Please see: Wikipedia
PPPoA: Point-to-Point Protocol over ATM
Please see: Wikipedia
public_html: This is the default directory/folder in your home area for your WebPages. In Linux/Unix, all valid users are assigned their own area on the computer. This separates the users from the Operating System files. By convention, the primary file inside this directory is named index.html and it is your home page. From it all other operations spawn. It is the starting point for access to your Web pages. The Uniform Resource Locator is resolved to, for example; http://203.197.102.78:80/index.html
(or index.htm, index.asp ,default.asp, index.jsp, default.jsp, index.php, default.php -or- whatever is configured as the index page in the webserver). These are set at the DirectoryIndex in the httpd.conf file by your administrator -or- you. They are looked for in the order that you list them. Example: (from my httpd.conf)
# List of resources to look for when the client requests a directory
DirectoryIndex index.html index.htm index.php index.jsp
PVR: Personal Video Recorder - Please see DVR.
Also see: Wikipedia
PWM: Pulse-Width Modulation - is a commonly used technique for controlling power to inertial electrical devices, made practical by modern electronic power switches.
Also see: Wikipedia

Q

QoS: Microsoft's Quality-of-Service support built-in to WinSock 2.0.
Also See: MS QoS
and MS Docs
and Wrtiting code
QAM: Quadrature Amplitude Modulation, the format by which digital cable channels are encoded and transmitted via cable.
Also see: Wikipedia
Quanta: Quanta is a Linux Web Page development tool.
VPL (Visual Page Layout) WYSIWYG.

R

RAM: Random Access Memory RAM
rc: (By the way, rc stands for ``Run Commands'', since that's what it does...)
From: Here
Red Letter Day: It is a day that you need to pay attention to. A day that you have previously picked to realize something. It is then remembered. Comes from marking a day on the calendar in red.
Repeater: A network device used to regenerate or replicate a signal. Repeaters are used in transmission systems to regenerate analog or digital signals distorted by transmission loss.
resolution: Maximum number of pixels that can be displayed on the monitor's screen.
   15 in.--1024 x 768
   17 in.--1600 x 1200
   19 in.--1600 x 1200
   21 in.--1800 x 1440
Repent: We rarely hear the word repent anymore. Few understand what it really means. In both Greek and Hebrew repent refers to a change of heart, a significant shift in our thinking, a transformation of purpose with emphasis on modifying one's conduct.
To repent we must recognize that at least some of the pulls of human nature are at work in our minds, influencing or even controlling our thinking. Not every human constantly yields to every trait of human nature. But we all sin. We all have weaknesses. One person may succumb more often to greed, another to self-righteousness or pride. Yet another may have difficulty being truthful and honest. But in some way we all exhibit self-centered and self-serving thinking and behavior.
Repentance means we must examine ourselves and recognize our own particular weaknesses--the areas where we sin in thought or action. We must ask God to reveal what we need to change.
RFB protocol: RFB (ï¿½remote framebufferï¿½) is a simple protocol for remote access to graphical user interfaces. Because it works at the framebuffer level it is applicable to all windowing systems and applications, including X11, Windows and Macintosh. RFB is the protocol used in Virtual Network Computing (VNC).
Also see: Wikipedia
ROM: Read Only Memory ROM
RPC: Remote Procedure Call - <networking, programming> (RPC) A protocol which allows a program running on one host to cause code to be executed on another host without the programmer needing to explicitly code for this. RPC is an easy and popular paradigm for implementing the client-server model of distributed computing.
Also see: FOLDOC
RSS: Rich Site Summary - A family of document types (generally based on RDF) for listing updates to a site.
While it can be used in different ways for content distribution, its most widespread usage is in distributing news headlines on the Web.
Also See: FOLDOC and/or Webopedia

S

SATA: Serial Advanced Technology Attachment - A computer bus technology primarily designed for transfer of data to and from a hard disk. SATA is the successor to Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA), which was given the retronym Parallel ATA (PATA) to distinguish it from Serial ATA.
Also See: FOLDOC and Wikipedia
SDRAM: Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory - A form of DRAM which adds a separate clock signal to the control signals.
Also See: FOLDOC and Wikipedia
Semi-Brick: A console (Wii, PSP, Router, Cell Phone) that is no longer working normally but still has some useful functionality which may be used to restore full functionality. Usually, a semi-brick is the fault of the owner.
Also See: WiiBrew Glossary
Server Name: The name of the Web server. If name resolving works (using DNS or /etc/hosts) you should not have to enter anything here. However, if Apache is unable to determine the hostname at startup, or if the hostname is not the same as the official name of the Web server, you need to provide it yourself.
Server-Side: Processing or content generation that is done on the web server or other server, as opposed to on the client computer where the web browser is running.
Also see: Sever-Side
SSID: Service Set IDentifier - is a name that identifies a particular 802.11 wireless LAN. A client device receives broadcast messages from all access points within range advertising their SSIDs. The client device can then either manually or automatically - based on configuration - select the network with which to associate. The SSID can be up to 32 characters long. As the SSID displays to users, it normally consists of human-readable characters.
Also see: Wikipedia
SGML: Standard Generalized Markup Language - A generic markup language for representing documents. SGML is an International Standard that describes the relationship between a document's content and its structure. SGML allows document-based information to be shared and re-used across applications and computer platforms in an open, vendor-neutral format. SGML is sometimes compared to SQL, in that it enables companies to structure information in documents in an open fashion, so that it can be accessed or re-used by any SGML-aware application across multiple platforms.
Also see: SGML
SIN: Transgression of the law of God; disobedience of the divine command; any violation of God's will, either in purpose or conduct; moral deficiency in the character; iniquity; as, sins of omission and sins of commission.
Also see: Sin
SIMs Card: Subscriber Information Module - A GSM phone is not directly linked to you. Instead, it has a removable account card, called a SIM (subscriber information module) and this SIM has a unique serial number on it. This is what identifies you to the wireless provider.
Also see: Unlocking Your Cell Phone
SLI: NVIDIA SLI^TM (Scalable Link Interface) technology is a revolutionary approach to scalability and increased performance. NVIDIA SLI takes advantage of the increased bandwidth of the PCI Express^TM bus architecture, and features hardware and software innovations within NVIDIA GPUs (graphics processing units) and NVIDIA nForce4 MCPs (media and communications processors).
More Info
SMB: Server Message Block - a protocol.
SMP: Symmetric Multi-Processor - A multiprocessing architecture in which multiple CPUs, residing in one cabinet, share the same memory. SMP systems provide scalability. As business increases, additional CPUs can be added to absorb the increased transaction volume.
SMS: Short Message Service - The transmission of short alphanumeric text-messages to and from a mobile phone, fax machine and/or IP address. Messages must be no longer than 160 alphanumeric characters and contain no images or graphics. Once a message is sent, it is received by a Short Message Service Center (SMSC), which must then get it to the appropriate mobile device.
SMT: Simultaneous MultiThreading - A technique for improving the overall efficiency of superscalar CPUs with hardware multithreading. SMT permits multiple independent threads of execution to better utilize the resources provided by modern processor architectures.
Also see: Wikipedfia
SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) - This is an outgoing mail server that handles the sending of your e-mail messages to the Internet. An SMTP server handles only the outgoing e-mail, and is used in conjunction with a POP3 or IMAP incoming e-mail server.
SNR: Signal-to-Noise Ratio - is a measure used in science and engineering that compares the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise.
Also see: Wikipedia
SOAP: Simple Object Access Protocol - See: SOAP on Webopedia.
so-DIMM: small outline-Dual In-line Memory Module - Please see the Excellent Docs on Wikipedia.
Also see DIMM
Software: The instructions executed by a computer, as opposed to the physical device on which they run. Also See FOLDOC
SOHO: Small Office / Home Office - a term that refers to the small or home office environment and the business culture that surrounds it.
Also See: SOHO Router
software engineering: (SE) A systematic approach to the analysis, design, implementation and maintenance of software. It often involves the use of CASE tools. There are various models of the software life-cycle, and many methodologies for the different phases.
software life-cycle: The phases a software product goes through between when it is conceived and when it is no longer available for use. The software life-cycle typically includes the following: requirements analysis, design, construction, testing (validation), installation, operation, maintenance, and retirement.
The development process tends to run iteratively through these phases rather than linearly; several models (spiral, waterfall etc.) have been proposed to describe this process.
Other processes associated with a software product are: quality assurance, marketing, sales and support.
SoundFont: SoundFont is a brand name that collectively refers to a file format and associated technology designed to bridge the gap between recorded and synthesized audio, especially for the purposes of computer music composition. SoundFont is also a registered trademark of E-mu Systems, Inc..
Also see: Wikipedia
S/PDIF: Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format - is a digital audio interconnect used in consumer audio equipment over relatively short distances. The signal is transmitted over either a coaxial cable with RCA connectors or a fibre optic cable with TOSLINK connectors.
For further info: Wikipedia
Sponsorware: Another one of those new Computer/Web terms... Software is "free.", but sponsored -- you'll see the sponsoring company's name, logo and URL in the About box, and their URL will appear from time to time. Click through to take a look at their site and the URL will disappear -- the more often you visit, the less frequently the URL will appear in future! But bear in mind that that URL could take you to useful pages with special information or offers.
SSH: In computing, Secure Shell or SSH is a set of standards and an associated network protocol that allows establishing a secure channel between a local and a remote computer. It uses public-key cryptography to authenticate the remote computer and (optionally) to allow the remote computer to authenticate the user. SSH provides confidentiality and integrity of data exchanged between the two computers using encryption and message authentication codes (MACs). SSH is typically used to log into a remote machine and execute commands, but it also supports tunneling, forwarding arbitrary TCP ports and X11 connections; it can transfer files using the associated SFTP or SCP protocols. An SSH server, by default, listens on the standard TCP port 22.
structured design: (SD) One of a number of systematic top-down design techniques used in software engineering, usually after structured analysis.
Switch: A switch maintains a table of the Addresses and Ports of the PC's connected to the Network and therefore can send, or receive from them individually. This eliminates Network collisions and re-transmissions of data packets.
Also See: Switch vs Hub

T

TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol - is the basic communication language or protocol of the Internet.
TDMA: TDMA (time division multiple access) is a technology used in digital cellular telephone communication that divides each cellular channel into three time slots in order to increase the amount of data that can be carried.
TFT: Thin Film Transistor - a type of LCD flat-panel display screen, in which each pixel is controlled by from one to four transistors.
Also See: Webopedia
Threads: In programming, a part of a program that can execute independently of other parts.
thread-safe: A description of code which is either re-entrant or protected from multiple simultaneous execution by some form of mutual exclusion.
Topology: The shape of a local-area network (LAN) or other communications system. Topologies are either physical or logical. (Bus, Ring, Star or Mixed)
Also See: Topology
tribulation: trial, tribulation, visitation (an annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event) "his mother-in-law's visits were a great trial for him"; "life is full of tribulations"; "a visitation of the plague"

U

udev

udev is the device manager for the Linux kernel.
Also See: wiki udev and udev rules

URI

Universal Resource Identifier - comes in two forms either a URL or a URN.

URL

Universal Resourse Locator - A URL can be thought of as the "address" of a web page... in human readable format... such as, HostRocket.com. The actual address is in IP format which is numbers; i.e. 192.168.0.101

Computers not connected to the Internet, such as factory machines that communicate only with each other via TCP/IP, need not have globally-unique IP addresses. Three ranges of IPv4 addresses for private networks were reserved in RFC 1918. These addresses are not routed on the Internet and thus their use need not be coordinated with an IP address registry.
Today, when needed, such private networks typically connect to the Internet through network address translation (NAT).
Now pay attention here to these numbers. Notice that they are in a limited range. These CAN NOT be used on the Global Internet. I bring this up here to emphasize an aid in security. A Router. Even IF you only have one machine.

IANA-reserved private IPv4 network ranges
	Start	End	No. of addresses
24-bit Block (/8 prefix, 1 × A)	10.0.0.0	10.255.255.255	16777216
20-bit Block (/12 prefix, 16 × B)	172.16.0.0	172.31.255.255	1048576
16-bit Block (/16 prefix, 256 × C)	192.168.0.0	192.168.255.255	65536

Any user may use any of the reserved blocks. Typically, a network administrator will divide a block into subnets; for example, many home routers automatically use a default address range of
192.168.0.0 - 192.168.0.255 (192.168.0.0/24).
Also see: IP Address - Wikipedia From which I "borrowed" the above table and comments.

URN

Uniform Resourse Name - The idea with a URN is that a document has a unique name, for instance "rfc777", and you look up "rfc777" and it goes and fetches it from the "best" location (or, in fact, any location, but best is preferable).
Refer to: waikato linux users group

USB

Universal Serial Bus - This is a Bus with which peripherals such as mice, keyboards, scanners, KeyDrives, Scanners, Printers, and DigitalCameras etc can be to attached to a computer. USB provides power from the host computer. It also allows devices to be "chained". One advantage USB has over some Legacy protocols such as PS/2 is the ability to plug devices in while the system is powered on.
Refer to: waikato linux users group

V

Video Resolution: A screen's maximum resolution measured in pixels.
   VGA:    640 X 480 Pixels
   SVGA: 800 X 600 Pixels
   XGA:   1024 X 768 Pixels
   SXGA: 1280 X 1024 Pixels
   UXGA: 1600 X 1200 Pixels
   QXGA: 2048 X 1536 Pixels
Virtual: Not real; Simulated; performing the functions of something that isn't really there. An imaginative child's doll may be a virtual playmate.
In general, it distinguishes something that is merely conceptual from something that has physical reality. For example, virtual memory refers to an imaginary set of locations, or addresses, where you can store data. It is imaginary in the sense that the memory area is not the same as the real physical memory composed of transistors. It is a section of the Hard disk that is set aside to pretend it is memory.
Virtual Domains: An excellent write up can be found at Virtual Domains
VLC: VideoLAN Client - a free MPEG, MPEG2 and DVD player.
Also see: Wikipedia
VLS: VideoLAN Server - has been discontinued.
Also see: Wikipedia
VNC: Virtual Network Computing (VNC) is a graphical (GUI) desktop sharing system which uses the RFB (Remote FrameBuffer) protocol to remotely control another computer. It transmits the keyboard and mouse events from one computer to another, relaying the graphical screen updates back in the other direction, over a network.
VNC is platform-independent ï¿½ a VNC viewer on any operating system can usually connect to a VNC server on any other operating system. There are clients and servers for almost all GUI operating systems and for Java. Multiple clients may connect to a VNC server at the same time. This technology's popular uses include remote technical support, and accessing files on one's work computer from one's home computer.
VNC was originally developed at AT&T. The original VNC source code and many modern derivatives are open source under the GNU General Public License.
VPN: Virtual Private Network - is a private data network that makes use of the public telecommunication infrastructure, maintaining privacy through the use of a tunneling protocol and security procedures. The idea of the VPN is to give the company the same capabilities at much lower cost by using the shared public infrastructure rather than a private one.
Also see: Netgear
VTML: Visual Tools Markup Language - One of the tag-based languages that are used internally by HomeSite, ColdFusion Studio, and JRun Studio.

W

WAN: Wide Area Network - A network, usually constructed with serial lines, extending over distances greater than one kilometre.
Also see: LAN
WAAS: Wide Area Augmentation System - Basically, it's a system of satellites and ground stations that provide GPS signal corrections, giving you even better position accuracy. Also See: Garmin GPS
WAP: In computer networking, a Wireless Access Point (WAP or AP) is a device that allows wireless communication devices to connect to a wireless network using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or related standards. The WAP usually connects to a wired network, and can relay data between the wireless devices (such as computers or printers) and wired devices on the network.
Also See: Wikipedia
WebDAV: Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning
An IETF standard set of platform-independent extensions to HTTP that allows users to collaboratively edit and manage files on remote Web servers. Also See: Webopedia
Web Server: Web servers are the computers that actually run the web sites.
Also See: Web Server
WEP: Wired Equivalent Privacy - is an easily broken security algorithm for IEEE 802.11 wireless networks. Introduced as part of the original 802.11 standard ratified in September 1999, its intention was to provide data confidentiality comparable to that of a traditional wired network. WEP, recognizable by the key of 10 or 26 hexadecimal digits, was at one time widely in use and was often the first security choice presented to users by router configuration tools.
Also See: Wikipedia
Wi-Fi: The term was invented by the marketing departments of wi-fi equipment manufacturers. It is, notationally, short for "wireless fidelity", on the analogy of hi-fi for "high fidelity" audio.
Based on the IEEE 802.11 standards (also called Wireless LAN (WLAN) and Wi-Fi)
Wi-Fi certification is provided for technology used in home networks, mobile phones, video games, and other devices that require wireless networking. It covers IEEE 802.11 standards, including 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n.
Also See: FOLDOC and Wikipedia
Widgets: In computer programming, a widget (or control) is an element of a graphical user interface (GUI) that displays an information arrangement changeable by the user, such as a window or a text box. The defining characteristic of a widget is to provide a single interaction point for the direct manipulation of a given kind of data. In other words, widgets are basic visual building blocks which, combined in an application, hold all the data processed by the application and the available interactions on this data.
Also See: Wikipedia
WLAN: Wireless Local Area Network - A communication system that transmits and receives data using modulated electromagnetic waves, implemented as an extension to, or as an alternative for, a wired LAN.
Also see: FOLDOC
WML: based on XML, is a markup language intended for devices that implement the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) specification, such as mobile phones. It provides navigational support, data input, hyperlinks, text and image presentation, and forms, much like HTML (HyperText Markup Language). It preceded the use of other markup languages now used with WAP, such as HTML itself, and XHTML (which are gaining in popularity as processing power in mobile devices increases).
Also see: Wikipedia
WorkGroup: A group of computers connected to each other over a network and sharing computer files, printers, and other resources. All computers on a network that wish to share resources must be members of the same workgroup.
WPS: WiFi Protected Setup - is a standard for easy and secure establishment of a wireless home network, created by the Wi-Fi Alliance and officially launched on January 8, 2007.
Also see: Wikipedia
wxWidgets: a widget toolkit for creating graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for cross-platform applications. wxWidgets enables a program's GUI code to compile and run on several computer platforms with minimal or no code changes.
Also See: Wikipedia
WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get -

X

XHTML: Short for eXtensible HyperText Markup Language, a hybrid between HTML and XML specifically designed for Net device displays.
Elements of HTML have been combined with XML 1.0 to make a single language.
The main goal of XHTML is to get your documents to the point where they are XML compliant, then XML tools such as XSL can be used.
Also See: XHTML for more info.
and: WebMonkey
XML: eXtensible Markup Language - An initiative from the W3C defining an "extremely simple" dialect of SGML suitable for use on the World-Wide Web.
Also see: XML
and XML FAQ

Y

YAST: Yet Another Setup Tool - This is the nice "all-in-one" configuration tool that comes with a SuSE distribution. This is a GUI tool that has a full Xwindows mode and a ncurses mode.

Z

Zeal: fervent or enthusiastic devotion, often extreme or fanatical in nature, as to a religious movement, political cause, ideal, or aspiration

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