GOOGLE

Doesn’t everyone use this now? Check it our for yourself !   

http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/about.html

GIF FILE

A standard computer file format for graphic images. GIF files use data compression to reduce the file size. The original version of the format was developed by CompuServe in 1987.  GIF and JPEG are the most commonly used graphics formats on the internet. GIF images display up to 256 colors. It supports animation and allows an individual palette of 256 color for each frame. The color limitation makes the GIF format inappropriate for reproducing color photographs and other images with consistent color. GIF images are compressed using the LZW lossless data compression method to decrease the size of the file without corrupting the visual quality.

GAUSSIAN BLUR

Gaussian blur, named after Carl Gauss, describes blurring an image by a Gaussian function. It is a widely used effect in graphics software, typically to reduce image noise and reduce detail. The visual effect of this blurring technique is a smooth blur resembling that of viewing the image through a translucent screen, distinctly different from the bokeh effect produced by an out-of-focus lens or the shadow of an object under usual illumination. Gaussian smoothing is also used as a pre-processing stage in computer vision algorithms in order to enhance image structures at different scales. Examples of gaussian blur below - Image 1 with no gaussian blur, image 2 with radius 1 pixel and image 3 with radius 2 pixel. 

GRAYSCALE

A bitmap image format that containing shades of grey values as opposed to only pure black and pure white. This format is used for single colour usually black photographs and images. There are 256 possible values of grey from white to pure black.

GIGABYTE

A gigabyte (GB) is a measure of computer data storage capacity and is “roughly” a billion bytes. A gigabyte is two to the 30th power, or 1,073,741,824 in decimal notation. The prefix, “giga” comes from a Greek word meaning “giant.”

HYPERLINK

HTML programming which redirects the user to a new URL when the individual clicks on hypertext.
A reference link from some point in one hypertext document to a point in another document or another place in the same document.  A browser usually displays a hyperlink in some distinguishing way, e.g. in a different colour, font or style.  When the user activates the link (e.g. by clicking on it with the mouse) the browser will display the target of the link.

HELPER APPLICATIONS

Small software programs linked to your browser that help you watch video and listen to audio.

HALO EFFECT

GIF files support a feature called transparency, in which one color out of the 256 colors is set to be transparent. If your GIF has a background that is much different from where it will appear on your page, making the background transparent after anti-aliasing will leave what is known as a “halo effect” around the object. The halo itself is called the fringe.

H.264 VIDEO

H.264 is a standard for video compression. It is also known as MPEG-4 Part 10, or MPEG-4 AVC (for Advanced Video Coding).

HARD DRIVE

The hard drive is what stores all your data. It houses the hard disk, where all your files and folders are physically located. A typical hard drive is only slightly larger than your hand, yet can hold over 100 GB of data. The data is stored on a stack of disks that are mounted inside a solid encasement. These disks spin extremely fast (typically at either 5400 or 7200 RPM) so that data can be accessed immediately from anywhere on the drive. The data is stored on the hard drive magnetically, so it stays on the drive even after the power supply is turned off. The term “hard drive” is actually short for “hard disk drive.” The term “hard disk” refers to the actual disks inside the drive. However, all three of these terms are usually seen as referring to the same thing - the place where your data is stored.

HISTOGRAM

A graphic representation of the distribution of tones within an image. The horizontal axis represents each pixel value possible from black to white. The vertical values indicate the number of pixels in the image that occur at each value level.

HUE

If only my excellent teacher knew how much we (tamtafe 16 and 17) like this Hugh!

Oh well… maybe it’s just this hue . . . .

The dominant wavelength of a color. A color system, or model, measures color by hue, saturation and luminance. The hue is the predominant color, the saturation is the color intensity, and the luminance is the brightness.

HOSTNAME

A name is the identifier of your computer on the network. A hostname is the Domain Name System (DNS) name of a computer on a network. Hostnames can be used for locating computers on the network. For the computer to contact another computer by using a hostname, the hostname will either appear in the DNS server or in the hosts file.

ENCRYPTION

Encryption is the conversion of data into a form, called a cipher text, that cannot be easily understood by unauthorized people. Simple ciphers include the substitution of letters for numbers, the rotation of letters in the alphabet, and the “scrambling” of voice signals by inverting the sideband  frequencies. More complex ciphers work according to sophisticated computer algorithms that rearrange the data bits in digital signals.Decryption is the process of converting encrypted data back into its original form, so it can be understood.

EMAIL

An application or program that runs on a personal computer or workstation and enables you to send, receive and organise electronic mail. Email systems are based on a client-server architecture. Mail is sent from many clients to a central server, which re-routes the mail to its intended destination. Microsft’s Outlook is one example.  Send me an email. lynwebster@optusnet.com.au  

HOME PAGE

This is the the main or first page of a Web site. 

eCOMMERCE

Business transactions that take place by computers, generally used to refer to transactions via the Internet. When you purchase or sell goods on a site, you are using e-commerce.
 

EDITABLE TEXT

Text and other text object components (including pictures and other attachments) that may be edited under program control. An interface is provided to the layout engine so that editable text can be displayed on screen, and commands and selections made from the screen. The two most important forms of editable text are rich text and global text.

ENCODING

To format (electronic data) according to a standard format.

FACEBOOK

Facebook is a social networking wesite. Mark  Zuckenberg first launched Facebook  in February 2004. The site was initially built only for the students of Harvard who where genuinely interested in keeping track of their friends and sharing their photos, views and news with them.
Though initially the site was for Harvard people only, within a month, more than half of the Harvard was a member of Facebook. Then Zuckenberg was joined by Dustin and Moscovitz and Chris Hughes and the site expanded to Stanford, Columbia and Yale Universities too. Gradually more universities and schools started coming under its umbrella. It started accepting all users who have a university e-mail id.
Finally, the overwhelming response to Facebook forced its founders to open up the forum to all. And from September 2006, Facebook opened registration to everyone with a valid e-mail address.

In May 2007, Facebook allowed free posting of classified ads by its users. This feature is known as Facebook marketplace, users can post ads on lease, rent, vehicles, property etc. in ‘Available’ or ‘Wanted’ format. In the year 2007, Facebook has already added certain other features, that of Facebook platform being a unique one. Here users are encouraged to develop applications to be used on Facebook.

FIXED WIRELESS

Fixed wireless refers to the operation of wireless devices or systems in fixed locations such as homes and offices. Fixed wireless devices usually derive their electrical power from the utility mains, unlike mobile wireless or portable wireless which tend to be battery-powered.

FORMS

An electronically composed arrangement of predefined lines, boxes, text, logos, and embedded text that may be printed as is or merged with data during the printing process.

FTP APPLICATIONS

Acroynm for File Transfer Protocol. This is a standard way of transferring files from one computer to another on the Internet.  It is also used for uploading pages to a web site.

FTP ANONYMOUS SERVER

Using the Internet’s File Transfer Protocol (FTP), anonymous FTP is a method for giving users access to files so that they don’t need to identify themselves to the server. Using an FTP program or the FTP command interface, the user enters “anonymous” as a user ID. Usually, the password is defaulted or furnished by the FTP server. Anonymous FTP is a common way to get access to a server in order to view or download files that are publicly available.

FILE SIZE

The digital size of an image, measured in kilobytes (K), megabytes (MB), or gigabytes (GB). File size is proportional to the pixel dimensions of the image. Images with more pixels may produce more detail at a given printed size, but they require more disk space to store and may be slower to edit and print. For instance, a 1-by-1-inch, 200-ppi image contains four times as many pixels as a 1-by-1-inch, 100-ppi image and so has four times the file size. Image resolution thus becomes a compromise between image quality (capturing all the data you need) and file size.

FREEZE

What one does when my excellent teacher enquires if my blog is completed?

An unexpected halt of a computer while running an application program. A frozen or “hung” machine is characterised by a total lack of response from the mouse and keyboard. The user can almost never effect a recovery except by turning the computer off and restarting it. Control/alt/delete is always worth a try.Usually a good time for coffee before recreating what you’ve just lost!

FEATHER

A feather is one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on a bird.

OR

it would more likely be the process of blurring the edges of an image by building a transition boundary between the selection and it’s surrounding pixels.  The Photoshop feather tool is seen below,where you choose the radius of the feather effect that you require.

FILE EXTENSION

A file extension is the set of characters following the right-most period in a filename. It is  used to determine a file’s format which in turn assists the operating system in determining which application to use to open file.

FIREWALL

A firewall prevents unauthorised access to or from a private network.  A firewall can be installed either via hardware or software or a combination of both and it is designed to prevent and filter unauthorised access via the internet to a private network.

FORMAT

The structure that defines how data is organized in a software file used to store information about a particular file. A standardized file format makes it possible for different software programs to share the same information

CONVERGENCE

The ability of the three electron beams (red, blue and green) in a CRT monitor to meet at a single point and produce one dot.  If a monitor is mis-converging, the viewer will notice shadows of blue or red around any white images.

CONNECTIVITY

The ability to use an electronic network to send and receive information between any locations, devices or busness services.

CD

Acronym for compact disc - a flat, round optical medium made from polycarbonate, with one or more metal layers, capable of storing digital information. Developed by Philips and Sony in 1982, the CD remains the standard physical medium for commercial audio recordings. It is capable of storing up to 700 megabyte of digital data or 80 minutes of audio.  Once data is burnt to a CD, data cannot changed or erased and further data cannot be added.  CD’s are read by laser. 

CODECS

Codecs are any type of device or program capable of performing encoding and decoding on a digital data stream or signal. MP3 and WMA are examples of codecs.

CATV LINES

A broadband communications technology in which multiple television channels, as well as audio and data signals may be transmitted either one way or bidirectionally through a fibre/coaxial distribution system to a single or multiple specific locations.

CSS

An acronym for Cascading Style Sheets - an open standard developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) which allows designers to describe how documents are presented on screen. The rules defined in a style sheet are read in sequence, cascading like a waterfall from the top down (first to last).   www.w3.org/Style/CSS

CONTENT WRITER/EDITOR

Someone who is responsible for the text, images, sounds, and videos that are found on a website.

CMYK

Short for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Key (Black), commonly referred to as process colour or four colour. The CMYK model works by partially or entirely masking certain colours on the typically white background. Such a model is called subtractive because inks “subtract” brightness from white.  CMYK should always be used for printing.

COMPUTER OPERATING SYSTEMS

The purpose of an operating system is to organise and control hardware and software so that the device it lives in behaves in a flexible but predictable way. All desktop computers have operating systems. The most common are the Windows family of operating systems developed by Microsoft, the Macintosh operating systems developed by Apple and the UNIX family of operating systems (developed by a whole history of individuals, corporations and collaborators). There are many other operating systems available for special-purpose applications, including specialisations for mainframes, robotics, manufacturing and real-time control systems.

CALIBRATION

The aim of colour calibration is to measure or adjust the colour response of a device (input or output) to establish a known relationship to a standard colour space. The device that is to be calibrated is sometimes known as calibration source; the colour space that serves as a standard is sometimes known as calibration target.

DESKTOP

A desktop computer is a personal computer (PC) in a form intended for regular use at a single location, as opposed to a laptop which is considerably smaller and designed to be mobile.

DEFAULT

A default refers to a setting or assigned to a device,  computer program or software application outside of user intervention. Such settings are also called presets, especially for electronic devices. Default values are generally intended to make a device  usable “out of the box”. A common setting, or at least a usable setting, is typically assigned.

DVD

Acronym for Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc - the DVD is an optical disc storage media format. Úsed for the storage of video and data and offers more than six times the storage of a CD.                                                                               The variations of the DVD describes the way data is stored on the discs:

• DVD-ROM (can only be read and not written)
• DVD-R & DVD+R (can be written to once and then function as a DVD-ROM)
• DVD-RAM, DVD-RW and DVD+RW (hold data that can be erased and re-written multiple times)
• DVD-Video and DVD-Audio (properly formatted and structured for video and audio respectively)

DOWNLOAD

To transfer (data or programs) from a server or host computer to one’s own computer or device.

DOMAIN NAME

A unique address identifying each site on the Internet, usually of two or more segments separated by full stops.
 

DNS SERVER

The Domain Name Server resolves the name of the Web site typed into the location field of the browser with the IP address of the server that will send the requested information from that Web site.

DIGITAL MEDIA

Refers to any type of information in digital format including computer-generated text, graphics and animations, as well as photographic images.  The following are examples of digital media:

DREAMWEAVER

Adobe Dreamweaver is a web development application originally created by Macromedia and now owned by Adobe Systems.

DSL

The term domain-specific language (DSL) is a programming language or specific language dedicated to a particular problem domain, a particular problem representation technique, and/or a particular solution technique. The concept isn’t new - special-purpose programming language and all kinds of modelling/specification languages have always existed, but the term has become more popular due to the rise of domain-specific modelling. Domain-specific languages are 4GL (fourth generation programming language) programming languages.

DATABASE DEVELOPER

Database developers are responsible for planning, implementing, and configuring database systems, including the design of the structures used to store and relate data, as well as the forms and queries used as part of the overall system. Database developers are usually proficient with one or more database software tools, such as Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server, and with one or more database query languages, such as SQL or MySQL. Database developers should be able to communicate effectively with other technical personnel, as well as with users or other staff who may have little or no technical background.

DYNAMICALLY GENERATED CONTENT

Website content that is generated by various script including:   

-  asp (Active Server Page). This is an HTML page that includes one or more scripts processed on a Microsoft Web server before the page is sent to the user. 

-  php (hypertext preprocessor)

ANIMATION

The creation, recording and retrieving of individual phases of motion. [genedeitch.awn.com]

ADSL-2

Acronym for “Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line”.  Broadband communication technology for use on conventional telephone lines, which reserves more bandwidth for receiving data than for sending data.  [answers.com]

AOL

Acronym for America Online. An American corporation headquartered in Virginia, who own and operate an on line and interactive computer service. [english-test.net]

 AVI

Acronym for Audio Video Interleave. A container format developed for Windows 3.1 in 1992 and used by Microsoft’s Video for Windows Multimedia framework. Although still widely used by consumers, it lacks some features found in newer containers like MPEG or MP4. [afterdawn.com]

ADOBE

Founded in 1982 by Charles Geschke and John Warnock. Adobe was named after Adobe Creek which ran behind Warnock’s home in San Altos, California. Adobe is a provider of business, creative and mobile software solutions.  More than half of Adobe’s revenue is generated outside of the USA.  http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pdfs/fastfacts.pdf

APPLE 

An American multinational corporation marketing computer hardware, computer software and consumer electronics.  Apple Computer, Inc. was founded on 1 April 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. [wikipedia.org]

ANALOGUE

Analogue is a conventional method of transmitting data.  It is aa continuous flow of data. eg a radio frequency.  Digital on the other hand transmits in pieces or samples and provides for greater quality and speed of transmission.

ACTIVE SERVER PAGES

 (ASP) is a technology pioneered by the Micorsoft Corporation and is a type of HTML page (denoted by an .asp file name) that includes script (small programs) that is processed on a web server before the web page is served to the user’s web browser.  This allows the www application to be more interactive. [highbeam.com] 

ALT TAG

HTML tag that provides alternative text when non-textual elements, typically images, cannot be displayed. This is helpful for those who view web pages in text-only mode or the visual impaired.

BLU-RAY

Blu-ray is an optical disc format such as CD and DVD.  It was developed for recording and playing back high definition (HD) video and for storing large amounts of data. While a CD can hold 700 MB of data and a basic DVD can hold 4.7 GB a single Blu-ray disc can hold up to 25 GB.    Blu-ray discs can hold more data than other optical media because of the blue lasers the drivers use. The blue laser has a shorter wavelength than red lasers used for CDs and DVDs, which allows the laser to focus on a smaller area, therefore allowing significantly more data to be saved into the same area 

BLACKBERRY

The BlackBerry is an all-in-one wireless data and voice device developed by Research in Motion, Ltd, Ontario. (www.blackberry.net).  Available in mobile and PDS sizes, the devises provide email, phone, text messaging, web browsing as well as Yahoo instant messaging and corporate data access. [techweb.com]

BLUE TOOTH

A wireless personal area network (WPAN) standard for short-range transmission of digital voice and data. Using omnidirectional radio waves, Bluetooth transmits through walls and other non-metal barriers.  It is widely used for handsfree conversations where mobiles are connected to Bluetooth headsets and vehicles contain Bluetooth enabled audio equipment. 

BLOG

Short for web log, a blog is a specialised site that allows an individual or group of individuals to share a running log/diary with online audiences. Blog entries mostly apear in reverse chronological order.

BROADBAND

Broadband comes from the words “broad bandwidth”.  Multiple signals share the bandwidth of a single medium, which allows the transmission of voice, data and video signals.  Cable television (or Austar locally) are examples of broadband technology delivering multiple channels over one cable.

BANDWIDTH

Bandwidth is the measure of the amount of information or data that can be sent over a network connection in a given period of time. Bandwidth is measured in thousands of bits per second (kbps) or millions of bits per second(Mbps)

BITMAP

Bitmaps are grids of tiny dots or pixels, each of which has it’s own colour and brightness value.   Common bitmap filetypes include bmp, jpeg, giff and tiff.  Bitmaps are raster images and become quite pixelated when enlarged. 

BRACKET <HTML>

Brackets ie < and > are used to enclose HTML code /tags.  The opening bracket (<) is followed by an element which is browser command, and ending with the closing bracket (>).

BROWSER

Short for web browser, a browser is the software used to view, manage and access web pages by interpreting hypertext and hyperlinks.  Two examples are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.