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n. Apple Computer's open-source operating system built from the core of Mac OS X. Darwin 1.0 was released in early 2000, is processor independent, and is built to run on both PowerPC and Intel platforms.
n. See time stamp.
n. See time stamp.
n. Short for Driver Development Kit. A set of tools used to create software that enables an operating system to work with hardware devices. With a DDK, a software developer can build drivers to support network, storage, print, sound, video, input, and other devices. Also called Device Driver Kit, Device Driver Developer Kit. See also driver.
n. Short for distributed denial of service attack. A form of denial of service attack (DoS) originating from several computers that seeks to disrupt Web access by overwhelming a target with connection requests that cannot be completed. A DDoS attack involves cracking into a number of computers and planting programs that lie dormant until sent a signal to attack. At that point the computers send a steady stream of data packets to the targeted Web site, overwhelming the ability of the Web server to respond. Because the attack is coming from many computers, security features that might otherwise recognize the attack and stop accepting data packets from a single source are unable to shut down connections to all the attackers. See also DoS, packet, zombie.
n. Short for Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM). A form of SDRAM that essentially doubles memory throughput to 200 megahertz or better. DDR SDRAM gets a boost in data transfer rates by producing output on both the rising and falling of the system clock-that is, twice for each clock cycle. See also SDRAM.
n. See DoS.
n. See DDK.
n. See DDK.
n. A customized user interface developed by Microsoft and designed to centralize, filter, and focus a user's essential information. The digital dashboard works with Microsoft Office 2000 and provides a central location for accessing and analyzing personal, team, corporate, and other data. It works as a portal interface through which a user can link to various knowledge management applications and data.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
n. An update of the United States copyright act extending specific protection to digital properties. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act also signals United States acceptance of the online copyright provisions agreed to by the World Intellectual Property Organization in 1996.
n. 1. A communications device that acts as the intermediary between a digital device such as a computer or terminal and a digital communications channel, such as a high-speed network line, an ISDN circuit, or a cable TV system. Although a digital modem supports standard (analog) modem protocols, it is not a "typical" modem in the sense of being a device whose primary function is to modulate (convert digital to analog) before transmission and demodulate (convert analog to digital) after transmission. It uses advanced digital modulation techniques for changing data frames into a format suitable for transmission over a digital line. See also terminal adapter. Compare modem (definition 1). 2. A 56 Kbps modem. Such a modem is not purely digital but does eliminate the traditional digital-to-analog conversion for downstream transmissions-that is, transmissions moving from the Internet to the end user. A 56 Kbps modem is also digital in that it requires a digital connection, such as T1, between the telephone company and the user's Internet Service Provider (ISP) in order to achieve its highest speed. See also 56-Kbps modem. 3. A term used to distinguish all-digital communications devices, such as ISDN and cable "modems" from the more traditional analog-to-digital, phone-based modems.
n. See DPOF.
n. A technology providing the ability to embed identifying information in digital files. The digital watermark is added to computer files as a pattern of bits that appear to be part of the file; it is not noticeable to the user. When digital watermarks are used with online tracking services, which can search for and recognize the watermark data, copyright holders can monitor the distribution of their audio, video, graphic, or other creative content and detect unauthorized copies.
n. See DirectX.
n. See DirectX.
n. See DirectX.
n. See DirectX.
n. Memory access that does not involve the microprocessor and is frequently used for data transfer directly between memory and an "intelligent" peripheral device, such as a disk drive. Acronym DMA. Compare PIO.
n. See DirectX.
n. See DirectX.
n. See DirectX.
n. See DirectX.
n. A set of Microsoft technologies that provide developers with the tools needed to create sophisticated multimedia applications on Windows-based computers. Built into Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Internet Explorer, DirectX consists of components making up two integrated layers. The Foundation layer provides low-level functions, such as support for input devices, designed to ensure that applications can run on—and take full advantage of—Windows-based hardware. The Media layer, above the Foundation layer, provides high-level services, such as support for media streaming and animation, that are needed in creating applications incorporating such features as surround sound, video, and 3-D animation. DirectAnimation, DirectSound, and other similarly named application programming interfaces (APIs) are members of the DirectX family. See the table. See also application programming interface.
Table: APIs in the DirectX Family
| DirectX Component | Part of: | Supports: |
| Direct3D Immediate Mode | Foundation layer | Access to 3-D video hardware |
| Direct3D Retained Mode | Media layer | Creation and animation of onscreen 3-D worlds |
| DirectAnimation | Media layer | Interactive animation and integration of different multimedia types |
| DirectDraw | Foundation layer | Access to display memory and hardware capabilities |
| DirectInput | Foundation layer | Direct access to various input devices, including force-feedback joysticks |
| DirectMusic | Foundation layer | Real-time music composition |
| DirectPlay | Foundation layer | Multiplayer online gaming and other networked applications |
| DirectShow | Media layer | Capture and playback of streaming multimedia |
| DirectSound | Foundation layer | Direct access to sound cards; wave sound capture and playback |
| DirectSound3D | Foundation layer | 3-D sound positioning |
| DirectX Transform | Media layer | Extensibility of the DirectX platform to include value-added products |
n. See DirectX.
n. A number of disk drives in a single location used together to store or process vast quantities of information, such as scientific data, years' worth of corporate sales figures, large numbers of graphic images, or telephone company billing records. Current disk farms consist of magnetic or optical disks and can hold terabytes of information. In older usage, disk farms were sometimes known as "Laundromats" because they contained large drives referred to in jargon as "washing machines." See also server farm.
distributed denial of service attack
n. See DDoS.
distro1
n. 1. A distribution of software (usually a version of Linux), digital music, or an online magazine or e-zine. See also e-zine, Linux. 2. A company or individual that sells items, typically software, music CDs, or books, via the Web.
distro2
vb. To distribute or sell software releases,digital music, or text items via the Web.
n. A problem occurring in Microsoft Windows environments in which a newly installed application overwrites shared dynamic-link library (DLL) files with the (older or newer) versions it needs in order to run. If the replaced files are incompatible with those needed by other applications, those applications may exhibit buggy behavior or crash when they access the incompatible DLL files. The latest version of the Windows operating system, Windows 2000, incorporates a feature called Windows File Protection that eliminates this situation by monitoring and correcting installation and replacement of DLL files. See also dynamic-link library.
n. 1. See hardware key. 2. An adapter device or cable enabling a nonstandard interface between a computer and a peripheral device or between two disparate items of computer hardware.
n. Short for denial of service attack. A computerized assault, usually planned, that seeks to disrupt Web access. A denial of service attack can occur in a number of forms. The most common form of attack is to overwhelm an Internet server with connection requests that cannot be completed. This causes the server to become so busy attempting to respond to the attack that it ignores legitimate requests for connections. One example of this type of attack, known as a SYN flood, inundates the server's entry ports with false connection messages. Another, known as the Ping of Death, sends a ping command with an oversized IP packet that causes the server to freeze, crash, or restart. Other forms of denial of service attacks include the destruction or alteration of a server's configuration data, such as router information; unauthorized access to physical components of a system; and the sending of large or invalid data that causes a system to crash or freeze. See also packet (definition 2), Ping of Death, SYN flood.
n. 1. Acronym for disk operating system. A generic term describing any operating system that is loaded from disk devices when the system is started or rebooted. The term originally differentiated between disk-based systems and primitive microcomputer operating systems that were memory-based or that supported only magnetic or paper tape. 2. See MS-DOS.
dot-com or dotcom or dot com or dot.com
n. A company doing business primarily or entirely on the Internet. The term is derived from the top-level domain, .com, at the end of the Web addresses of commercial Web sites.
n. See DDR SDRAM.
Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic RAM
n. See DDR SDRAM.
n. Short for Digital Print Order Format. A printing specification developed by Canon Computer Systems, Inc., Eastman Kodak Company, Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd., and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. DPOF is intended to ease the process of printing images stored on digital camera memory cards by enabling users to select the images to print, as well as specify the number of copies desired, on the card. The images ordered can then be printed by a professional photofinishing service or on a home printer.
n. See DDK.
n. Short for Enterprise Application Integration. The process of coordinating the operation of the various programs, databases, and existing technologies of a business or enterprise so that they function as an efficient, business-wide system.
n. See lurker.
n. Short for electronic commerce. Commercial activity that takes place by means of computers connected through a network. Electronic commerce can occur between a user and a vendor through the Internet, an online information service, or a BBS, or between vendor and customer computers through electronic data interchange (EDI). Also called e-tail. See also EDI.
n. See exterior gateway protocol.
n. See enterprise information portal.
n. See e-commerce.
Electronic Privacy Information Center
n. See EPIC (definition 2).
n. A special-purpose computer system, consisting of hardware and software, that is part of another device, such as an office machine, an automobile, or a household appliance. An embedded system is often built onto a single chip or board and is used to control or monitor the host device-usually with little or no human intervention and often in real time. See also microcontroller.
n. 1. In general, any hardware or software that encodes information-that is, converts the information to a particular form or format. For example, the Windows Media Encoder converts audio and video to a form that can be streamed to clients over a network. 2. In reference to MP3 digital audio in particular, technology that converts a WAV audio file into an MP3 file. An MP3 encoder compresses a sound file to a much smaller size—about one-twelfth as large as the original—without a perceptible drop in quality. Also called MP3 encoder. See also MP3, WAV. Compare rip, ripper.
Enterprise Application Integration
n. See EAI.
n. A portal or gateway that allows internal and external users in a business or enterprise to access information from intranets, extranets, and the Internet for business needs. An enterprise information portal provides a simple Web interface that is designed to help users sift through large amounts of data quickly to find the information they need. By organizing all internal information from company servers, databases, e-mail, and legacy systems, the enterprise information portal exercises control over the company's information availability and presentation. Acronym: EIP. See also portal.
n. 1. Short for Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing. A technology developed jointly by Intel and Hewlett-Packard as the foundation of the 64-bit instruction set architecture incorporated in IA-64, the basis of the Merced chip due in 2000. EPIC technology is designed to enable IA-64 processors to execute instructions efficiently and extremely quickly. Core elements include explicit parallelism based on software identification of instructions that the processor can execute concurrently; improved execution of branch paths; and earlier loads from memory. See also IA-64, Merced. 2. Short for Electronic Privacy Information Center. A public-interest research center based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to directing public attention toward civil liberties and online privacy related to electronic communication, cryptography, and related technologies.
n. See e-commerce.
n. Microsoft's spreadsheet software for Windows PCs and Macintosh computers. Excel is part of the family of Office products. The most recent version, part of Office 2000, includes the ability to personalize toolbars and menus, as well as support for posting HTML documents to intranets and the Internet. The first version of Excel was introduced for the Macintosh in 1985. Excel for Windows was released in 1987.
n. See card (definition 1).
Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing
n. See EPIC (definition 1).
n. A software security vulnerability that can be used by a malicious user to infiltrate or attack a network or Internet host.
n. A destructive virus that attacks computers running Windows, where it first appears as an e-mail attachment named zipped_files.exe. ExploreZip affects local drives, mapped drives, and accessible network machines and destroys both document and source-code files by opening and immediately closing them, leaving a zero-byte file. Described as both a Trojan horse (because it requires the victim to open the attachment) and a worm (because it can propagate itself in certain instances), ExploreZip spreads by mailing itself to the return address of every unread e-mail in the inbox of the computer's e-mail program, as well as by searching for-and copying itself to-the Windows directory on mapped drives and networked machines. See also Trojan horse, virus, worm.
Extensible Hypertext Markup Language
n. See XHTML.
Extensible Stylesheets Language-Transformations
n. See XSLT.
n. A protocol used by routers (gateways) on separate, independent networks for distributing routing information between and among themselves-for example, between hosts on the Internet. Acronym: EGP. Also called external gateway protocol. Compare interior gateway protocol.
n. See exterior gateway protocol.
n. A monitor with a cathode ray tube and a flat viewing surface, rather than the curved surface of traditional cathode ray tube monitors. The flat surface improves viewing quality and display accuracy. See also CRT.
n. A round piece of flexible plastic film coated with ferric oxide particles that can hold a magnetic field. When placed inside a disk drive, the floppy disk rotates to bring different areas, or sectors, of the disk surface under the drive's read/write head, which can detect and alter the orientation of the particles' magnetic fields to represent binary 1s and 0s. A floppy disk 5.25 inches in diameter is encased in a flexible plastic jacket and has a large hole in the center, which fits around a spindle in the disk drive; such a disk can hold from a few hundred thousand to over one million bytes of data. A 3.5-inch disk encased in rigid plastic is also called a floppy disk or a microfloppy disk. In addition, 8-inch floppy disks were common in DEC and other minicomputer systems. See also microfloppy disk.
n. A technology that generates push or resistance in an input/output device. Force feedback enables an input/output device, such as a joystick or a steering wheel, to react to the user's action in appropriate response to events displayed on the screen. For example, force feedback can be used with a computer game to react to a plane rising in a steep ascent or a race car turning a tight corner. See also input/output device.
G4
n. See Power Macintosh.
n. A special-purpose computer designed for playing video games. A game console typically includes a CPU, one or more game controllers, audio output, and a video output that connects to a television set. Individual games and memory cards are supplied on plug-in cartridges or on compact discs. The most recent versions may also include a modem for multiplayer gaming over the Internet. Popular game consoles include the 32-bit Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn and the 64-bit Nintendo 64. Next-generation game consoles, such as the Sega Dreamcast and Sony PlayStation 2, are (or will be) 128-bit systems. Also called console.
n. A cross-platform Web browsing engine introduced by Netscape in 1998, distributed and developed as open-source software through Mozilla.org. Designed to be small, fast, and modular, the Gecko engine supports Internet standards including HTML, cascading style sheets (CSS), XML, and the Document Object Model (DOM). Gecko is the layout engine in Netscape's Communicator software.
n. An operating system developed by Geoworks Corporation used in some handheld devices. GEOS is designed to provide broad functionality in resource-constrained environments that have limited storage or memory capability such as enhanced phones, some Internet access devices, and PDAs and other handheld computers.
n. See GPS.
n. Short for Global Positioning System. A radio navigation system developed by the United States Department of Defense that uses a constellation of 24 earth satellites, which are monitored by ground-based control stations, to provide precise, continuous worldwide positioning and timing information. GPS offers two services: a public Standard Positioning Service that provides positioning data accurate to within 100 meters horizontally and 156 meters vertically and times accurate to within 340 nanoseconds; and a Precise Positioning Service, principally for government and military use, with positioning data accurate to within 22 meters horizontally and 27.7 meters vertically and time accurate to within 100 nanoseconds. See also GPS receiver.
n. A device that includes an antenna, a radio receiver, and a processor for use with the worldwide GPS (Global Positioning System). A GPS receiver uses position and time information from four GPS satellites to calculate precise information about its current location, its speed of travel, and the current time. A portable GPS receiver may be a stand-alone device or a plug-in unit for use with a portable computer. GPS receivers are used for scientific work, such as surveying, mapping, and studies of volcanoes, as well as for land, sea, and air navigation. On the consumer front, they are used in outdoor activities such as hiking and sailing and in cars to provide location, destination, and traffic information. See also GPS.
n. A hacker whose activities might include criminal acts, though without malicious intent. A gray hat might break into a system as a challenge or to alert others to security issues. Compare black hat, white hat.
n. Resellers and other sources for hardware and software that obtain their inventory from distributors other than those authorized by the manufacturer. Gray market transactions may involve items that wholesalers purchase at discount and resell at higher prices, or they may refer to purchases made when sudden spikes in demand cannot be satisfied through normal distribution channels. On a more unsavory front, gray market transactions can also illegally involve stolen or counterfeit hardware, such as CPU chips and software packages.
n. 1. A pointer to a pointer; that is, a variable that contains the address of another variable, which in turn contains the address of the desired object. In certain operating systems, the handle points to a pointer stored in a fixed location in memory, whereas that pointer points to a movable block. If programs start from the handle whenever they access the block, the operating system can perform memory-management tasks such as garbage collection without affecting the programs. See also pointer (definition 1). 2. Any token that a program can use to identify and access an object such as a device, a file, a window, or a dialog box. 3. One of several small squares displayed around a graphical object in a drawing program. The user can move or reshape the object by clicking on a handle and dragging. 4. In online communication, such as chats and bulletin boards, the name a person uses to identify himself or herself. A handle is comparable to an alias or nickname and is like those used with CB radio. 5. A unique alphanumeric identifier of up to 10 characters assigned by InterNIC to the domain names, contacts, and network records in its domain name database. The NIC handle is used as a shorthand means of finding records and ensuring accuracy in the database. Also called NIC handle.
n. Hardware designed to handle the cryptographic functions necessary for data security. For example, a hardware cryptographic module, or HCM, can be used in an SSL-enabled Web server to reduce CPU processing time and improve overall performance by working to secure data during online transactions. Using an HCM allows the Web server to continue processing customer requests. Acronym: HCM. See also SSL.
n. See hardware cryptographic module.
n. A headset or helmet used with virtual reality systems ranging from gaming to military, medical, educational, and industrial applications. A head-mounted device contains small screens that display images in such a way that the headset allows the wearer to view and move about in a three-dimensional, virtual world. The simulated environment is generated by a controlling computer, which adjusts the images in accordance with the wearer's head and body movements. A head-mounted device can include audio capability and is often used with an interactive input device, such as a joystick or glove. Acronym: HMD. See also virtual reality, wearable computer.
Hierarchical Storage Management
n. See HSM.
Home Phoneline Networking Alliance
n. See HomePNA.
n. Short for Home Phoneline Networking Alliance. An association of more than 100 companies working toward the adoption of a unified technology for setting up home networks over existing telephone wiring. Phoneline networking allows multiple PCs, printers, and peripheral devices to be connected for such purposes as multiplayer gaming, sharing printers and other peripherals, and rapid downloads over the Internet. The alliance was founded by a number of companies including IBM, Intel, AT&T, and Lucent Technologies.
n. Software that is used by many different industries or businesses, such as a word processor or spreadsheet application. Compare vertical application.
n. The practice of providing computer and communication facilities to businesses or individuals, especially for use in creating Web and electronic commerce sites. A hosting service can provide high-speed access to the Internet, redundant power and data storage, and 24-hour maintenance at lower cost than implementing the same services independently. See also host (definition 2), virtual hosting.
n. A Web-based e-mail service launched in 1996 and owned and operated by Microsoft since December 1997. Hotmail provides free e-mail accounts and can be used by anyone with Internet access and Web browsing software.
n. Short for Hierarchical Storage Management. A technology for managing online data and data storage in which the medium on which the information resides is linked to the frequency with which the information is accessed. By migrating data to and from primary (rapidly accessed but expensive) and secondary (slower but less expensive) storage, HSM maintains often-used information on primary storage media and less frequently used data on secondary storage such as tape or an optical jukebox. Although information resides on different storage media, all of it appears to be on line and remains accessible to the user. When users request data residing on secondary storage, HSM moves the information back to the primary storage medium.
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Last Updated: Saturday, July 7, 2001