SEARCH ENGINE

An application that seraches for and retrieves data based on selected criteria,  that’s stored on a computer system. 

The list of items that meet the criteria specified by the query is sorted, or ranked. Ranking items by relevance (from highest to lowest) reduces the time required to find the desired information. Probabilistic search engines rank items based on measures of similarity (between each item and the query, typically on a scale of 1 to 0, 1 being most similar) and sometimes popularity or authority (see Bibliometrics) or use relevant feedback. Boolean search engines typically only return items which match exactly without regard to order, although the term boolean search engine may simply refer to the use of boolean-style syntax (the use of operators AND, OR, NOT, and XOR) in a probabilistic context.To provide a set of matching items that are sorted according to some criteria quickly, a search engine will typically collect metadata the group of items under consideration beforehand through a process referred to as indexing. The index requires a smaller amount of computer storage, which is why some search engines only store the indexed information and not the full content of each item, and instead provide a method of navigating to the items in the  search enging result paage. Alternatively, the search engine may store a copy of each item in a cache so that users can see the state of the item at the time it was indexed or for archive purposes or to make repetitive processes work more efficiently and quickly.

Other types of search engines do not store an index. Crawler, or spider type search engines (a.k.a. real-time search engines) may collect and assess items at the time of the search query, dynamically considering additional items based on the contents of a starting item (known as a seed, or seed URL in the case of an Internet crawler). Meta search engines do not store an index nor a cache and instead simply reuse the index or results of one or more other search engines to provide an aggregated, final set of results.

The most popular web search engine is Google.

SCRIPTING LANGUAGES

Scripting languages are a type of programming language designed to increase the speed of coding by making code less difficult to use, for example, allowing loosely typed variables. Example scripting languages include PHP, Perl, and Ruby.

Types of scripting languages are:  Job control languages and shells, appliation-specific languages, web browsers, web servers, text processing lanugages, general-purpose dynamic languages, extension/embeddable languages, Linden scripting language (used in Second Life).

SPAM (stupid pointless annoyng messages)

Monty Python’s verson of spam on YouTube  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anwy2MPT5RE

Spamming is the abuse of electronic messaging systems to indiscriminately send unsolicited bulk messages. While the most widely recognized form of spam is email spam, the term is applied to similar abuses in other media: instant messaging spam, Usenet newsgroup spam, Web search engine spam, spam in blogs, wiki spam, mobile phone messaging spam, Internet forum spam and junk fax transmissions.

SSL (SECURE SOCKETS LAYER)

The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a commonly-used protocol for managing the security of a message transmission on the Internet. SSL has been succeeded by Transport Layer Security (TLS) which is based on SSL. SSL uses a program layer located between the Internet’s Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Transport Control Protocol (TCP) layers. SSL is included as part of both the Microsoft and Netscape browsers and most Web server products. Developed by Netscape, SSL also gained the support of Microsoft and other Internet client/server developers as well and became the de facto standard until evolving into Transport Layer Security. The “sockets” part of the term refers to the sockets method of passing data back and forth between a client and a server program in a network or between program layers in the same computer. SSL uses the public-and-private key encryption system from RSA, which also includes the use of a digital cedrtificate. TLS and SSL are an integral part of most Web browsers (clients) and Web servers. If a web site is on a server that supports SSL, SSL can be enabled and specific Web pages can be identified as requiring SSL access. Any Web server can be enabled by using Netscape’s SSLRef program library which can be downloaded for noncommercial use or licensed for commercial use.

STREAMING MEDIA

A method of delivering digital media across a network in a continuous flow.  The digital media is played by client software as it is received.  Typically, streaming makeds it unnecessary for users to download a file before playing it.  RealNetworks and QuickTime are currently the most popular streaming platforms.

SCANNER TYPES

There are many different types of scanners - handheld, flatbed, transparency, video digitizers, photo, drum, stand-alone oversize digitizers and a couple of miscellaneous scanners.  To find out more, check out this site –>

http://cui.unige.ch/db-research/pedsi/scanners/www.hsdesign.com/scanning/types/types.html

STOP FRAME ANIMATIONS

Stop-motion animation is animation produced by arranging real objects, taking a picture of them, repositioning the objects minutely, then taking another picture of them to create a sequence of consecutive images that create the illusion of motion. One of the most common forms of stop-motion animation is claymation (think Gumby). http://www.mediaspin.com/gumbymovie.html

STOCK PHOTOS

Stock photos are used by creative professionals in their designs. A stock photo isn’t shot for a particular ad or design - it’s purchased from an existing collection because it happens to suit the designer’s need. There are 2 types of images - Rights Managed (RM) and Royalty Free (RF).  Refer to Royalty Free earlier in my blogged. 

Rights-managed images (sometimes called “licensed images”  - The buyer must pay each time the image is used with a time limit on how long a buyer has exclusive use of an image. Fee is based on such things as exclusivity, distribution, length of time used, geographic location of use.  A Rights-managed image usually allows a much larger print run per image than a Royalty-free license.

Some stock photography sites offer low-resolution photography free for the purpose of preparing advertising comps to demonstrate a design. If the advertiser decides to use the image, the rights to use the high-resolution image then can be negotiated. 

My favourite site is gettyimages.com.au, however, there are many more stock photo sites available on the web.

SOFTWARE CALIBRATION

Calibration refers to the process of determining the relation between the output (or response) of a measuring instrument and the value fo the input quantity or attribute, a measurement standard.  In non-specialised use, calibration is often regarded as including the process of adjusting the output or indication on a measurement instrument to agree with value of the applied standard, within a specified accuracy.

Adobe Gamma is colour calibration software and installs with Photoshop. Pantone Huey is another program among many others that calibrates the RBG colours displayed on monitors to the CMYK colours used in printing.  The matching of colour to a base colour, such as Pantone colour is necessary to provide acccurate representation of colours within the printing and digital media industry.

SCRATCH DISC MEMORY

A scratch disk is any space set aside for temporary storage. This could be in the form of a single temporary file, (called a scratch file), a certain portion of a hard disk (called a scratch disk), or an entire hard disk (also called a scratch disk, or sometimes a scratch drive).The duration of storage can vary. Programs like Photoshop might use the storage for only a few seconds while performing a complex operation, and then clear the space again.When engineers repair important computer systems however, sometimes entire systems will be backed-up on a separate hard disk, in case anything goes wrong, and restored at the end if necessary. The main thing to remember is that scratch space is never used to permanently store files. The actual location of the space used is often different each time a program is run.

SATURATION

Saturation is the amount of grey in a particular colour. A colour with more grey is considered less saturated, while a bright colour, one with very little grey in it, is considered highly saturated. The amount of saturation does not affect the basic hue of a colour and it also is unrelated to the value (amount of light or darkness in a colour.) For example, if we take away the colours in an image, the tonal values will remain. However, taking away the colours themselves will make the image completely unsaturated. A more saturated colour is also called a more ‘pure’ colour because it is undisturbed by grey.

The four images below are the same watercolor of a frog reproduced at different saturations. The image on the left is fully sick oops I mean fully saturated, and the one on the right is completely unsaturated.

SLR CAMERA (Single lens reflex)

Single lens reflex camers uses an automatic moving mirror system which permits the photographer to see exactly what will be captured by the film or digital imaging system, as opposed to non-SLR cameras where the view through the viewfinder could be significantly different from what was captured on film.

A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that uses an automatic mirror system and pentaprism or pentamirror to direct light from the lens through the viewfinder eyepiece.

The basic operation of a DSLR is as follows: for viewing purposes, the mirror reflects the light coming through the attached lens upwards at an approximately 90 degree angle. It is then reflected by the pentaprism to the photographer’s eye. During exposure (when the photograph is taken), the mirror swings upward, and a shutter opens, allowing the lens to project light onto the image sensor.

I’ve asked Santa on numerous occasions for a Nikon D3 DSLR . . . . maybe I’ve been too naughty . . .  as it’s never arrived.

SCROLLING

How cool is this scroll bar!   http://www.theledge.com/micromoments/html/scrollbar.htm

Scrolling is the act of sliding a horizontal or vertical presentation of content, such as text, drawings or images across a screen or display window. Scrolling is oftern used to show large amounts of data that could not fit on the viewport all at the same time.  This is commonly used in window-based computer displays.  Smooth scrolling refers to a scrolling display where text appears smoothly, rather than appearing as a whole line at a time.  I still prefer the scroll bar above !   

THUMB NAIL

Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of images, used to make it easier to scan and recognise them, serving the same role for images as a normal text index does for words. Visual search engines and image-organising programs normally use them, as do most modern operating systems or desktop environments, such as Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, KDE, and GNOME.   

A thumbnail image is usually defined as one having 80 to 200 pixels in the long dimension like a thumb’s nail.

TIFF FILE

Tagged Image file Format (TIFF) is a variable-resolution bitmpapped image format.  TIFF is very common for transporting colour or grey-scale images into page layout applications, but is less suited to delivering web content.

TIFF files are large and of very high quality. Baseline TIFF images are highly portable; most graphics, desktop publishing and word processing applications understand them.  A number of methods may be used to compress TIFF files, including the Huffman and LZW algorithms.  (Even though these are my initials, surprisingly LZW is not named after me).  When compressed, TIFF files are usually much larger than similar GIF or JPEG files.  Because the files are so large and because there are so many possible variations of eaach TIFF file type, few web browsers can display them without plug-ins.

TONE

Just like me - his friends call him Tone.

 anyhooo …….

The darkness or lightness of a colour when placed into the greyscale.  How light or dark a tone or value appears also depends on what other tones are near it. The two vertical bands of tone in the image below are of a consistent tone, yet seem to get darker or lighter depending on how light or dark the background is.

TYPOGRAPHY  . . . .  . it’s everywhere !

Typography is the design and use of typefaces as a means of visual communication from calligraphy to the ever-developing use of digital type.  Typography is sometimes seen as encompassing many separate fields from the type designer who creates letterforms to the graphic designer who selects typefaces and arranged them on the page. 

Typography really is huge - my favourite font is Helvetica, however, check out this site for fabulous typography like Ryan Katrina’s design below.

TCP/IP

The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is one of the core protocols of the Internet protocal suite. TCP provides reliable, in-order delivery of a stream of bytes, making it suitable for applications like file transfer and email. It is so important in the Internet protocol suite that sometimes the entire suite is referred to as “TCP/IP.” TCP manages a large fraction of the individual conversations between Internet hosts, for example between web servers and web clients. It is also responsible for controlling the size and rate at which messages are exchanged between the server and the client.

TEXT FILE

A text file is a computer file that is structured as a sequence of lines. A text file exists within a computer file system. The end of a text file is often denoted by placing one or more special characters, known as an end-of-file marker, after the last line in a text file.

“Text file” refers to a type of container, while plain text refers to a type of content. Text files can contain plain text, but they are not limited to such. At a generic level of description, there are two kinds of computer files: text files and binary files.