Internet Word of the Day Archive

May 01, 2011

Bend Over Here It Comes Again

Business jargon for a product (or company) acquisition that fits naturally within the buyer's existing business lines or strategy.

A dynamic, object-oriented, open-source programming language, many consider Ruby a programmer's best friend. Usage has spread quickly thanks to its focus on simplicity, balance and productivity.

May 02, 2011

A term that describes a Web site that organizes a vast amount of data and allows information to be retrieved on demand. As opposed to "flat HTML," where you must code each new piece of information before displaying it on a Web site, a database-driven Web site is written in a programming language that refreshes it dynamically when data fields in a database are updated. Most e-commerce and B2B Web sites are database-driven in that they are integrated with other databases. For example, when you try to order a product online, an inventory database will check to see if a particular item is in stock and will return the results to you.

The semi-scrambled transmissions from adult cable channels that can sometimes be seen (and heard) by nonsubscribers.

Brazil, Russia, India, China

May 03, 2011

I Love You

A commonly heard phrase used to describe the act of moving your mouse arrow (or cursor) on top a menu button, for example, and then clicking on that selection to activate a program or utility.

Term coined by electronic music composer Morton Subotnick (creator of the CD-ROM art piece All My Hummingbirds Have Alibis) to refer to the intimate, one-on-one relationship that an artist can have with a viewer/ listener through computer-based art.

May 04, 2011

An optical technology used to increase bandwidth over existing fiber-optic backbones, it works by sending numerous, unrelated light signals down the same fiber, each identified by a unique color or wavelength.

Son Of a B*tch

May 05, 2011

No Problem -or- Nosy Parents

An authentication and authorization scheme developed by InterNIC to help protect domain name records, contact records, and host records from unauthorized updates. Guardian is available free of charge and helps support secure registration transactions in an automated environment. It also provides flexible security mechanisms that can accommodate changes in organizations, personnel, and security needs.

The act of collecting personal information from computers, cell phones, and set-top boxes so as to track the users' online behavior, shopping habits, and demographics. It is the equivalent of your "digital fingerprint" and this information is sold to online advertisers who are willing to pay top dollar for granular data about people's interests and activities.

A typical computer broadcasts hundreds of details about itself when a Web browser connects to the Internet. Companies tracking people online can use those details to "fingerprint" browsers and follow their users. Computers need to broadcast certain details about their configuration in order to interact smoothly with websites and with other computers. For example, computers announce which specific Web browsers they use, along with their screen resolution, to help websites display content correctly.

Considered the next-generation of online advertising because advertisers no longer want to just buy ads but rather buy access to specific people, tracking companies are now embracing fingerprinting primarily because it is tougher to block than other common tools used to monitor people online, such as cookies (which can be deleted).

Also known as "device fingerprinting" it is legal, however there are experts who advocate that such "fingerprinting companies" who use "persistent identifiers" must let people opt-out of being tracked online. It is difficult for even sophisticated Web surfers to tell if their devices are being fingerprinted. Even if people modify their machines --adding or deleting fonts, or updating software and apps-- fingerprinters can still recognize them. There's not a method for people to delete fingerprints that have been collected which makes fingerprinting largely invisible (behind-the-screens), tough to avoid, and semi-permanent.

The intent of fingerprinting companies is that it will replace the use of cookies.

May 06, 2011

A network that connects computers in a relatively small, predetermined area (such as a room, a building, or a set of buildings). LANs can be connected to each other over telephone lines and radio waves. Workstations and personal computers in an office are commonly connected in a LAN. This allows individual users to send or receive files and to share access to files and data. Each computer connected to a LAN is called a node.

You Tell Me

A digital asset is any kind of online account or content that you use or own.

Do you have an email account? Or two? Or three? Do you buy or sell stuff with eBay, Amazon, PayPal, Yahoo! Stores, or elsewhere? Do you blog, or use Twitter, or put up videos on YouTube? Do you share or backup photos with Flickr, Photobucket, Snapfish, Kodak Gallery, or Shutterfly? Do you have credits in the iTunes store, or at PartyPoker.com? Do you maintain your identity at LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, or Plaxo?

When you think about all of the time you spend online, and how important these sites and services are to you, you realize that in the event of your death in the real world, most of these companies and services have no provision for passing your account onto your loved ones (sometimes even a will doesn't help). As such, digital estate management service firms now exist to protect your digital assets so you can pass on your content even after you die, and maybe achieve cyberimmortality.

May 07, 2011

Somebody sufficiently opinionated-with plenty of time on his or her hands-to regularly post in dozens of Usenet newsgroups. A Net personality is known to thousands of people by his or her online presence (and not because of their work in the industry).

A person who designs, codes, tests and documents a computer program or Web site. Professional programmers often hold college degrees in computer science, but a great deal of programming is done by individuals who are self-taught, with little or no formal training.

I'm So Sure You Get The Idea

May 08, 2011

A protocol that provides a means to allocate IP address dynamically to computers on a LAN. It eliminates the need to assign permanent IP addresses manually. DHCP software runs on servers and can be found in network devices (such as routers) that allow multiple users to access the Internet. Microsoft introduced DHCP on their Windows NT server in 1994. Newer DHCP servers will dynamically update DNS servers after assigning the addresses.

Goodbye (in Dutch)

Collaborative robots designed to work alongside human operators. Prototype cobots are being used on automobile assembly lines to help guide heavy components like seats and dashboards into cars so they don't damage auto body parts as workers install them.

May 09, 2011

Total Quality Management

Slang for an extra dose of courage and the tendency to go beyond one's usual physical limits when being filmed or photographed (from action sports such as skateboarding, snowboarding, and extreme skiing).

In terms of "data loss prevention" DLP is a computer security term referring to systems that identify, monitor, and protect data in use (e.g., endpoint actions), data in motion (e.g., network actions), and data at rest (e.g., data storage). DLP systems are designed to detect and prevent the unauthorized use and transmission of confidential information.�

In regards to "digital light processing" DLP refers to microprojections that are tiny but at a short range they give you a nearly cinematic experience. Digital Light Processing (DLP) is a trademark owned by Texas Instruments, representing a technology used in some TVs and video projectors. It was originally developed in 1987 by Dr. Larry Hornbeck of Texas Instruments, and became one of the leading technologies used in digital cinema projection.

May 10, 2011

When you type in a URL and hit "enter" but notice that the browser automatically sends you to another URL, you are experiencing a redirect. For example, if a Web site changes its domain name, instead of simply taking down the old site, it may leave a page on the server that says something like "Our name has changed. Please update your bookmarks. If the new homepage doesn't appear within the next ten seconds, click here." If your browser is fairly recent, it will automatically redirect you to the new page. (If you don't have an updated browser, it's time to download a new one.)

Influencing traffic so it spikes a particular site to get a better rating on Google.

forever

May 11, 2011

Synonymous with spider, this is a program that searches the Internet in order to locate new, publicly accessible resources, such as Web pages, files available in public FTP archives, and Gopher documents. Also called wanderers or bots, crawlers contribute their discoveries to a database that Internet users can search by using a search engine. This type of technology is necessary because the rate at which people create new Internet documents greatly exceeds any manual indexing capacity (which is how it's done with search directories).

What In The World

Mobile artificial agents that can sense a simulated environment, interact (signal, mate, find food) with other biots, and learn and evolve over time. Fresh from BioLand, at the University of California, Los Angeles, an experiment to develop distributed forms of intelligence using massively parallel computing.

May 12, 2011

A product that is considered "the answer to someone's need" for an application server. The word "solution" is usually tagged onto a computer term when the product or software is suggested to meet the needs and address the "problems" of the moment. Usually, the solution involves a software upgrade.

Quite simply, it means reading content on a computer screen, an electronic book reader, or some other electronic device.

world

May 13, 2011

This word is considered by many users to be a catchall term for software which includes firmware, freeware, everyware, groupware, malware, shareware, shovelware, vaporware, wankware, and wetware.

This term is also widely used in cracker subcultures to denote cracked versions of commercial software; that is, versions in which the copyright-protection has been stripped out. Hackers recognize this term but don't use it themselves. When seen as w4r3z, it refers to illegally copied software available for download.

A method of identifying species, based on the analysis of a standard region of the genome. Specifically it is a technique that uses DNA sequencing to determine the order of nucleotides in a standard region of the genome present in all living organisms. Coined by evolutionary biologist Paul Hebert in 2002, this idea has led to an ambitious project which aims to classify the world's 10- to 100-million species by bar codes.

Crack Me Up

May 14, 2011

A private network, within a company or organization, that serves shared applications intended for internal use only (although some may be found on the public Internet). As the Internet continues to become more popular, many of the tools used on it are also used in private networks. For example, companies now have Web servers that are available only to employees.

Personal Digital Assistant -or- Public Display of Affection

In her 1999 book, The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace, Margaret Wertheim contextualized such speculations as attempts to, in effect, “construct a technological substitute for the Christian space of heaven.” Wertheim wrote. “This is the belief that our essence lies not in our matter but in a pattern of data.” She called this idea the “cybersoul."

If that's not enough, the Carnegie Mellon robotics expert Hans Moravec, the artificial intelligence pioneer Marvin Minsky, the computer scientist Rudy Rucker, and others articulated visions of a future in which technology might truly free us from “the bloody mess of organic matter,” to use a phrase of Minsky’s.

May 15, 2011

In traditional computer applications, it is a small screen that holds a set of navigation tools (or programming commands) for use in moving and changing things on your screen. These tools are arranged on a bar, often thought of as another window, which can be "dragged" with your mouse pointer anywhere on the screen. On the Web, the toolbar is your browser, that screen you interact with when you're online. A floating toolbar sometimes appears when you click on something; it contains a link or something for you to do and has the appearance of "floating in cyberspace." On Web sites, this is generally accomplished using JavaScript or DHTML.

The NetLingo Pocket Dictionary on NetLingo.com is one example of a floating toolbar.

The politically correct term for having your job outsourced to another country.

Process Too Complicated Too Explain

May 16, 2011

An e-mail message sent to a large number of people without consent, also known as Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (UCE) or junk e-mail. Spam is usually sent to promote a product or service. It is also found in newsgroups, where people post identical and irrelevant messages to many different newsgroups that have nothing to do with the content of the posting. Some newsgroup users distinguish spam from velveeta (which is to cross-post to an excessive number of newsgroups), and consider spam to be worse because posting messages separately drains more disk space and network bandwidth.

As a broadcast, spam is characterized by its large volume. Spammers (people who spam) follow the traditional direct-marketing ploy of saturating the intended audience, hoping for a tiny return-from less than 1 percent up to 5 percent. Spammers don't care about the large number of people they irritate or offend, because there always seems to be those few people who visit their advertised Web site or order their product.

The term comes from "a Monty Python television show in which one particular episode made so many references to the canned meat product that the rest of the show was overshadowed by the spam motif." It is considered to be a serious violation of netiquette and many ISPs are utilizing anti-spam tools and methods fight and pursue spammers.

The most common forms of e-mail spam are:

• Chain letters;
• Pyramid schemes (including Multilevel Marketing, or MLM);
• Other "Get Rich Quick" or "Make Money Fast" (MMF) schemes;
• Offers of phone sex lines and ads for pornographic Web sites;
• Offers of software for collecting e-mail addresses and sending spam;
• Offers of bulk e-mailing services for sending spam;
• Stock offerings for unknown start-up corporations;
• Quack health products and remedies; and
• Illegally pirated software (warez).

Contrary to popular belief, "spam is not protected by national Free Speech laws because free speech guarantees you the right to say what you want (within reason), it does not guarantee you a platform to make yourself heard in." For example, your "daily newspaper will take any commercial advertisement subject to two constraints: (a) it must fit within their advertising guidelines, and (b) the advertiser must pay for the costs of distribution. Spam fails on both of these counts." Also contrary to popular belief, "anti-spam is not censorship because censorship is blocking information based on its content whereas spam-blocking attempts to keep the content in its proper place." Another example, your "local public library has a bulletin board where people can post for-sale ads and business cards; they would be rightfully upset at someone who inserted an advertising flyer inside every book on the shelves, which is the equivalent of posting a notice to every Usenet group."

FYI: Canter and Siegel's seminal spam was propagated through Usenet and not email. The amount of spam that "spam king" Robert Alan Soloway, indicted under the CAN-SPAM Act, is accused of sending over a period of four years is now (in 2007) pumped out about every 30 seconds, around the clock, around the world. And, the U.S.'s first felony prosecution for sending spam involved Jeremy Jaynes, who received a 9 year prison sentence for sending junk e-mail. Jaynes was convicted of pumping out at least 10 million e-mails a day with the help of 16 high-speed lines.

Spam continues to proliferate our online world: In addition to e-mail spam, there is messaging spam, newsgroup spam, search engine spam (spamdexing), blog spam, and mobile phone spam. Shame on them!

Note: You should NEVER respond to a spam message, it only reinforcees the fact that they now have you as a valid e-dress. Click "more info" below to read some spam do's and don'ts!

A relationship in which one computer program (the client) requests information from another computer program (the server), whereby the server responds in fulfilling the request. In terms of "client/server architecture," it is the design model for applications running on a network. The bulk of the back end processing, such as performing a physical search of a database, takes place on a server. The front end processing, which involves communicating with the user, is handled by smaller programs distributed to client workstations. In terms of a "client/server network," LAN resources are allocated so that computing power is distributed among the computers in the network, but some shared resources are centralized in a file server. With the advent of powerful individual workstations, most computers can act as both client and server in different situations; this is often described as "n-tier computing," where "n" refers to the multiple levels of clients and servers that exist. For security reasons, the client/server model requires user authentication.

Blackberry

May 17, 2011

E-mail messages that arrive with no text in the message body.

High Five

Derived from the word spyware, "apyware" is an intentional typo used to describe anti-spyware. The reason why it is intentional is that many people type the "a" instead of the "s" when searching for "spyware" and when they do, site owners who have included "apyware" in the meta tag will appear in the search results. Many anti-spyware product reviews in blogs and forums are� tagged with the term "apyware" so that these Web pages will also appear in organic search results.

May 18, 2011

Slang for "in the past." For example, "That technology is history, dude. Where have you been hiding?"

Either a Web site that runs off of more than one server or an ISP that provides Web hosting services using multiple servers.

Eating at Keyboard

May 19, 2011

Slang for the people you have programmed on your cell phone to be automatically dialed with the press of a button.

People

In addition to plasma and LCD television sets (which have an expensive digital panel at the front) there is a third screen called a "microdisplay." This is actually a rear-projection television and is skinnier than other television sets.

There are three main microdisplay types, each uses a different small digital circuit in the rear to generate the picture which is then projected onto the large screen at the front:

• DLP (Digital Light Processing) - uses a special chip loaded with minuscule mirrors;
• LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) - uses a tiny LCD chip;
• LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) - is a hybrid of the two using both liquid crystals and mirrors.

May 20, 2011

The name for a unit of data sent across a network. Information is sent over the Internet (and many other networks) in packets.

Persons of the Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters

A term used on a popular social networking site called Facebook, it means to reach out and virtually touch someone. Basically when you poke a friend on Facebook, all it means is that person receives a message saying you poked them. However, while "poking" is a popular way to interact with your friends on Facebook, it can mean different things to different people and it can have a sexual connotation. (If you think there's room for misinterpretation, it's safer not to poke at all.) For those of you not clear Facebook's unwritten social rules, read on.

Here are the most important things to keep in mind when interacting on Facebook:

• Choose your friends wisely because it is considered rude to delete someone as a friend. If you're unsure, it's more acceptable to not accept the initial invitation.
• Poke carefully because this interactive features means different things to different people. It depends on what your relationship is with the person originally. It can be used as a business tool to build rapport with colleagues and clients, but it is more famous for having a sexual connotation.
• Respect people's privacy, especially if you are a parent and your teenager is on Fcebook. Instead of asking to be your teenager's friend using Facebook (which could be perceived as an invasion of privacy), instead tell them you set up an account and let them decide whether to become your Facebook friend.
• Be aware of what you post because a message posted on the "wall" section at the bottom of a profile page can be read by anyone. A general rule is that if it's not appropriate for someone's boss to read, then don't post it. (FYI: If someone posts something questionable on YOUR wall, you can delete it.)
• Be sure and upload a photo of yourself as this really helps people to connect a face with a name. Also, it's much more appealing to look at a photo than the default blue question mark used for those who don't post a picture.
• Take advantage of the high degree of control over what people see. For example, you can adjust your privacy settings if you want to limit who can and cannot see certain photos.
• Don't overdo friend requests. Even though Facebook makes it easy to upload your contacts (and automatically issue friend requests to a whole address list) it's not meant to be misused.
• Another no-no is flooding your network with status updates. Each new update you post appears on your friends' news feeds so it's best to show a little restraint (as in no more than two updates per day).
• Finally, don't be creepy in the sense that even if you share similar music interests with a nice 20-year-old, it doesn't mean she wants to be your friend. The best rule of thumb is to not make friend requests of strangers (especially ones who are significantly younger than you). Even if you know them, it's a better idea to wait and let young people take the lead.

People also use a lot of acronyms and text message shorthand on Facebook. In case you don't know what this jargon means, click on "more info" below for the NetLingo list of acronyms and text messaging shorthand!

May 21, 2011

A well-known acronym for a software front end. A GUI should provide an attractive and easy-to-use interface between a computer user and an application (generally featuring graphical elements such as icons). Basically, a GUI is what you see on your computer screen.

The amount of space set aside on a server for a Web site. Most ISPs allocate free Web space for their users. The minimum amount offered is usually 10 to 12 megabytes, which is ample space for most people's needs. Check with your ISP: some ISPs offer unlimited Web space; some specify that you can't use the space for commercial purposes; some aren't set up to allow for certain kinds of programs (such as e-commerce applications); and some do not allow content that is copyrighted by a third-party or could be considered offensive.

Employee -or- Employees

May 22, 2011

This refers to any computer that has an Intel microprocessor and uses the Microsoft Windows operating system (which happens to include an estimated 80 percent of PCs in use today).

An expression that refers to the way technology now pervades everyone's lives, your "digital footprint" specifically describes the trail you leave in cyberspace and on any form of digital communication.

For example, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned after being caught on a federal wiretap arranging to pay a high-priced prostitute. Detroit's mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick forgot the depth of his digital footprint when he sent romantic text messages to a staffer. The mayor of Arlington, Oregon, Carmen Kontur-Gronquist was voted out of office after she left unrestricted lingerie-clad images of herself on her MySpace page.

It is now widely accepted that in this era of e-mail, texting, blogging, and social networking, trying to hide one's digital footprint is practically futile. In fact, it's been reported that the FBI can hear your conversation via your cell phone even when it is turned off (the only thing to thwart this is take out the battery).

Unlike paper trails, which can ultimately be destroyed or eliminated, "digital paper trails" are recorded and stored at remote locations that you may not even be aware of, and to that degree, there is nothing you can do to erase these records. An example is when Google's search results were subpoenad as evidence in court to help convict a man of murder because they revealed his past Internet searches, which included information on the murder weapon and learning how to murder someone in exactly the same manner as his wife was killed. (Click on the link below to watch the "Big Brother" video for more on that story.)

Most people don't need to worry about murder or re-election, but improper activities can also cost you your job (see: dooce). The message is to be careful when you open the drapes because any kind of digital dirt could get you in trouble. The advice is to either not engage in improper activites or only communicate about such activites in person, in real time, F2F.

At Plus

May 23, 2011

A Yiddish expression often seen on the Net and heard in the industry, it is used with more dread than surprise. It roughly translates to "Oh my gosh" or "Can you believe it?"

"Kapeesh" is another adopted Yiddish term (and a variation on an Italian word), often said as a question to mean "Understand?"

Are We Having Fun Yet?

With the advent of scanners, desktop publishing, page layout programs, and advanced printing options, the hobby of scrapbooking has gone digital. Computers make it relatively easy to create professional-looking layouts in digital form, and the Internet allows "scrapbookers" to self-publish their work.

Because the images are all digital, there can be a greater diversity of materials, and you can manipulate page elements using editing software without making permanent adjustments. Some Web-based digital scrapbooks include a variety of wallpapers and skins to help users create a rich visual experience.

There is also less environmental impact, major cost savings, and the ability to share finished pages more readily on the Internet, via blogs, Web pages, and social networking sites.

Digital scrapbooking has advanced to the point where digital scrapbook layouts may be made entirely online using Web-based software. Users upload their photos, create a digital scrapbook layout using a Web page and digital scrapbook graphics. The layout can then be downloaded as a low-resolution JPG file for sharing on the Web or as a high-resolution JPG file for printing.

May 24, 2011

The name for a person who attacks network traffic by modifying the contents of other peoples' messages.

The science of using biological property, such as fingerprints, to identify individuals. Popular in sci-fi movies, it refers to voice, fingerprint, skin, or retinal identification. It is increasingly used in the real world, for example, Erin's laptop has a biometric fingerprint password protection.

U.S. law enforcement also uses biometrics to identify criminals. Since it is no longer necessary to use ink, biometrics make it easy and affordable to "fingerprint" people. In fact, fingerprint and facial recognition technology is becoming an everyday occurence especially at the Department of Motor Vehicles, arrival gates at airports, in schools, and in corporate America (especially in the banking and securities industries). Facial recognition is even in some police patrol cars because it searches databases very quickly. Future uses may include e-commerce transaction signatures identified by biometric means.

Of historical note: Remember January, 2001 when fans attending the Superbowl in Tampa were surprised to learn their faces had been captured by camera and then scanned against the database of suspected felons? That is an example of facial recognition biometrics.

what's up?

May 25, 2011

An optical storage technology that stores and plays back data. "Read only" means the information on the disc may be capable of being displayed or used but not deleted. CD-ROMs are commonly used for encyclopedias, dictionaries, and software libraries, and they are also used for multimedia applications. One CD-ROM can hold around 650 megabytes, or the equivalent of 700 floppy disks.

CD-ROMs have become a favorite medium for installing programs, since they cost only slightly more to manufacture than floppy disks and most major software applications would require at least five floppies. Most computers now have a CD-ROM drive. Don't sound hopelessly out of touch with technology-be sure to use the term "CD-ROM" to refer to the technology or the discs, but not to the hardware you play the discs on; that's a "CD-ROM drive."

Where You From

A repetitive strain injury acquired after extended play of addictive puzzle games like Tetris.

May 26, 2011

A technical term that describes the portion of the total domain name space that is represented by the data stored on a particular name server. The name server has authority over the zone (or the particular portion of the domain name space) described by that data. A "zone file" is a file that contains data that describes a portion of the domain name space. Zone files contain the information needed to resolve domain names to Internet Protocol (IP) numbers.

A play on the phrase critical mass, this refers to an unstable stage in a software project's life when any single change or bug fix can result in two or more new bugs.

No F***ing Excuses

A white label item is a product or service that is packaged plainly, allowing you to repackage it with your own brand in order to re-sell it. Buying wholesale and selling retail is considered the backbone of business. Now the world of white label has moved to the Internet as an opportunity for entrepreneurs.

Here are a few examples of different types of white label businesses that are popular online:

• Web host reselling - you buy the web host space and re-sell it to others as if you are the provider.
• E-books with reseller rights - you buy e-books and re-sell it to others.
• Cafepress.com type sites - you apply your brand to various products and promote them, keeping the mark-up for yourself.
• Getestore.com - you create a store and promote name-brand products, keeping the mark-up for yourself.

May 27, 2011

Cheap Redundant Assorted Products

To make changes or specifications to a program or Web site so that it meets your individual needs. Similar to personalize, customize generally refers to the process of selecting the files you want to include in a software installation on your computer. On the Web, you can customize a Web site in order to personalize it. For example, you can often choose from a series of features (such as weather, news, and stock quotes) to set up a portal site.

Based on the popular website Napster, you've been "Napsterized" when you get caught giving away another person's products for free.

An online method of buying and receiving a "coupon" or voucher, users can print the coupon and use it to save on a variety of products and services such as whitewater rafting, spa packages, and restaurants. New deeply discounted deals are offered on a daily basis through free members sites (such as Groupon, LivingSocial and Scoutmob) and generally last for one day.

It is called "social couponing" because customers can share their deal with friends on Facebook, Twitter or e-mail, and if three friends buy the same deal, they get it free.

Some of the major social couponing companies are:

Groupon - launched: 2008
Services: One daily deal that requires a certain number of people to buy before reaching its "tipping point," plus other local deals at restaurants, spas/salons, activities and others.
Advantage: First to the market, claims more than a million NYC members

LivingSocial - launched: Daily deals in 2009, but founded in 2007
Services: Daily deal plus other local deals; "family edition" focused on family oriented deals; mobile "instant deals"
Advantage: No "tipping point," and deals become free if you get three friends to buy it

Scoutmob - launched: 2010
Services: Local deals that are instantly redeemable via your mobile phone; more culinary-focused; daily deals
Advantage: Mobile- and location-based, sends deals right to your phone wherever you are

May 28, 2011

In the computing world, it describes the age of a hacker.

First-generation hackers were born between 1950 and 1969 and normally have one-word handles (such as Neo, Mask, or Bite).

Second-generation hackers were born between 1970 and 1989 and normally have two-word handles (such as Snake Eyes, Acid Lord, or Burn Night).

Third-generation hackers were born after 1989 and use phrases for handles (such as Making a Wave, Bearing a Brunt, or Lie to the Right).

The term "generation" also describes a line of computer products based on when they were developed, as in, "This new generation of laser printers is the company's best yet."

Did I Tell You I'm Distressed

A significant other who hardly ever sees his or her mate because he or she is so busy creating .WAD scenario files for use in the games Doom, Doom II, or Heretic.

May 29, 2011

The technology that lets people to speak a computer command instead of typing it. The computer understands it and implements the task. Voice recognition is in use on some telephone and computer systems. Algorithm-based programming enables computers to recognize the words of human speech and to record them into memory, where they can be saved into files or used to command and interact with an IVR system. Software programs transform recognized words into digitized text. Discrete-speech systems require the user to speak slowly and distinctly. Continuous-speech systems allow a user to speak naturally.

Business slang, it is an expression that refers to the 8th floor at the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), where the commissioners' offices and meeting rooms are located. Decisions made on the 8th floor have a profound effect on the Internet and new communication services.

Looks Like Trouble

May 30, 2011

A method of developing a system incrementally instead of implementing it all at once after the entire project has been programmed. In the past, information-based projects often failed because by the time they were implemented, the business had changed; but with RAD, programmers deliver components every three to four months and use a variety of automated design and development tools to create prototypes quickly. The term was coined by James Martin, and the method emphasizes personnel management and user involvement.

Joint Application Development (JAD) is another RAD concept. In general, RAD can refer to any number of features that make programming easier.

Cyber "grass-roots campaign" assisted by fiber optics and computer networking.

What 'Bout You?

May 31, 2011

When you sign up with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and pay a monthly fee, you establish an "account" and receive an account name (or a username) as well as a password. This information allows you to access the Internet and your e-mail account when you dial the telephone number provided by the ISP. Account is a common term, and you can easily have more than one online account. For e-mail, you may have a local account and a Webmail account (such as Hotmail). For Net access, you may have a dial-up account you use at home and another account you use at school or work. see also: access number

Just One Of Those Things

Slang for good old-fashioned printed mail (as opposed to e-mail).