Internet Word of the Day Archive

June 01, 2012

The classic definition is that of a colloquialism to mean short-tempered, snappish, or irritable. It is also a word used by author Lewis Carroll that refers to an imaginary beast. "Snarky" is making it's way onto the Web, primarily used by gamers, to mean a sort of "unknown" type of occurence, or unknown thing, (which in this case, ironically is the word itself). You may hear it in mainstream usage like this, "Who knows what Dick Cheney 's doing, snarking around in his undisclosed location?" or for example, "The GOP hit men such as the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth were snarking John Kerry prior to the election."

Cool Sweet Awesome

June 02, 2012

In short, it is a hotel staffer who helps guests with software and hardware problems. More specifically, this title refers to a job position at the Ritz-Carlton hotels, where guests can call upon the "technology butler" to help them with any computer problems they may face while traveling.

The first American technology butler on record is Mr. Michael D'Anthony, who also developed the companywide program. He says "Everyone's on the Internet now, and everyone needs their e-mail. When they travel they run into problems. Either they can't plug in their computer, or they don't know how to change the settings on their computer, or they can't figure out how to get their e-mail, or whatever." People have even called him "Jeeves" in reference to the butler icon on the Web site "Ask Jeeves."

Your Loving Husband

June 03, 2012

Games that can be played over the Internet, with multiple players located anywhere in the world. Popular MMORPGS include The Sims Online and Star Wars Galaxies.

Good Night Sweet Dreams

June 04, 2012

Trust Me

A standard protocol that handles a PC's connection with a broadband service. Basically, PPPoE identifies a user to the ISP.

June 05, 2012

A protocol that delivers server authentication, data encryption, and message integrity. SSL is layered beneath application protocols, such as HTTP, SMTP, Telnet, FTP, Gopher, and NNTP, and layered above the connection protocol TCP/IP.

This strategy allows SSL to operate without depending on the Internet application protocols. With SSL implemented on both the client and server, your Internet communications are transmitted in encrypted form. Information you send can be trusted to arrive privately and unaltered to the server you specify (and no other). In short, it is a form of channel encryption developed by Netscape.

Bloody Hell, I Must Be Getting Old

June 06, 2012

The inability of homes or businesses to access superfast fiber-optic cables, due to the high cost of building such a network.

Falling Off My Chair Laughing

June 07, 2012

One who is immersed in the new culture of the World Wide Web, which emphasizes the freedom of information and of access to that information, technology and its effect on the future of our culture, and individual freedom and the freedom of expression.

Email Me Later

June 08, 2012

For Anyone Who Cares

Connecting with folks on a business issue and letting things happen, then going back to them after a few days or after things evolve. For example, "I will circle back with you in a few days on that compensation memo."

June 09, 2012

The amount of time you spend connected to an online service provider (OSP) or an Internet service provider (ISP).

The End Of The World As We Know It

June 10, 2012

Bald Headed Old Fart

The practice of spending time unproductively on social networking sites, especially when one should be working.

June 11, 2012

A programming error that causes a software application or computer system to perform erratically, produce incorrect results, or crash altogether.

The term "bug" came from the world's first computer --the ENIAC, more specifically the Mark 1-- which was a room-size maze of electromechanical circuits built in 1944 in a lab at Harvard University. The computer developed a glitch one day, and no one was able to locate the cause. After hours of searching, a lab assistant finally spotted the problem: A moth had landed on one of the computer's circuit boards and shorted it out. From that moment on, computer glitches were referred to as bugs, even though in modern usage, "bug" refers to a software problem and "glitch" refers to a hardware problem.

You'd Hate To Be Me

June 12, 2012

Over My Dead Body

In the venture capital world, allocation refers to the amount of securities assigned to an investor, broker, or underwriter in an offering. An allocation can be equal to or less than the amount indicated by the investor during the subscription process depending on market demand for the securities.

June 13, 2012

Jargon used expressively by hackers. The best source of "hacker jargon" is Eric Raymond's The New Hacker's Dictionary.

Buy Abroad but Rent in Britain

June 14, 2012

Fuzzy logic combined with object-oriented programming. Conventional software objects have their own functional methodology incorporated within them, but it is usually based on "fixed" logic. So, although objects can be adjusted as the functionality requirements are revised, they are usually not flexible enough to accommodate a range of calculations. By incorporating fuzzy logic, "fuzzy objects" are much more flexible and can accommodate both approximations and extensions.

Spank The Monkey

June 15, 2012

A network of Web sites and services that enable a user to go beyond shopping to completing a task, such as getting a mortgage loan, booking a trip, or buying a car. Most people go to a portal to begin a task-specific search, but it can be difficult to navigate and complete these kinds of transactions from start to finish on one Web site. A scenario net is a group of Web sites linked together to provide similar yet distinct functions associated with a particular task or scenario. More scenario nets would be a good thing because they provide the user with organized, pertinent information and may help eliminate non-related ad banners from content-rich Web sites.

Chuckly and Grin

June 16, 2012

The original analog cellular network, it is the world's largest cellular standard.

Yeah That's Right, Now What?

June 17, 2012

A term coined by William Gibson in his novel Neuromancer, it is the digital world constructed by computer networks, and in particular, the Internet. Whenever you hear the term "cyberspace," it generally refers to the online world, which is a place that actually exists, albeit as a communications medium rather than another galaxy.

Perceived as an immaterial realm of data or some kind of virtual world, it is actually a physical infrastructure made up of the wires above our head, the cable beneath our feet, and the satellite dishes in the sky. Some people don't like this term because it's become commercialized, but at the same time, it represents the attitude of people who consider themselves wired or connected.

Return To Keyboard

June 18, 2012

As Far As I Can Tell

A way of blocking access to a part of a Web site that is only available to paying subscribers. A paywall (or pay wall) blocks access to a specific Web page by displaying a window requiring payment instead of the online content.

For example, The New York Times had a subscription program, TimesSelect, which charged $49.95 a year, or $7.95 a month, for online access to the newspaper's archives. In 2007 paid subscriptions were earning $10 million, but if every reader who reached the paywall had entered the site, ad revenue would have been higher. In 2007 The New York Times dropped the paywall to its post 1980 archive. Pre-1980 articles in PDF are still behind the paywall, and an abstract of most articles is available for free. See also: freemium

June 19, 2012

If I Remember Correctly -or- If I Recall Correctly

In response to the popularity of online search, Google launched a "desktop search" toolbar that indexes the content on a user's local hard disk and then blends Web search results with local user information (such as e-mail, text documents and other files).

June 20, 2012

A mobile telephone that uses wireless technology, it is considered indispensable for road warriors, modern mothers, teenagers, and those who work in the industry. Also known as a handy (short for handheld), many cell phones are capable of receiving text-based messages (such as texting and e-mail) in addition to incoming calls. A friend may say to you, "Call me on my cell." Note: A pager is not the same as a cell phone ;-)

Figuring out all of the specific jargon as it relates to the cell phone carriers can be baffling! For example, Verizon and Sprint refer to their high-speed capability as "EVDO" and Cingular calles their "HSDPA." T-Mobile doesn't have a network in this speed class so instead you will hear about "EDGE."

Cell phone technology continues to get cheaper, faster, better. The first commercial cell phone service was activated on October 13th, 1983. In 1987, the monthly average of a U.S. cell phone bill was $96.85; in 1998, it was $39.43. In honor of the 25th anniversary of the cell phone, CTIA-The Wireless Association in conjunction with Harris Interactive released a study on cell phone use by teenagers called "Teenagers: A Generation Unplugged." The survey polled U.S. teenagers aged 13-19 about cell phones, texting, perceptions, and attitudes. The full study is below, here are a few highlights:

• 57% agree or somewhat agree that the cell phone has improved their quality of life.
• 18% agree or somewhat agree that the cell phone has positively influenced their education.
• 35% have used their cell phone to reach out to someone in need (good Samaritan)
• 41% are concerned about privacy and security issues when using my mobile.
• 57% of Smartphone users and 29% of regular cell phone users said they carry their cell phone because it is how they stay connected to their "world".
• 59% of Smartphone users and 37% of regular cell phone users said they carry their cell phone because it is an indicator of their personal style.
• Overall a teenagers cell phone ranked 2nd only to clothing, in determining their social status.
• 42% of teenagers said they could text message blindfolded!
• The younger the teen, the more likely they are to choose text messaging over talking on the phone to someone.
• The #1 reason why teens liked text messaging was because it allowed them to multitask.
• Teens are not selecting text messaging to save money.
• Females are much more likely to text messaging than males, and find the ability to text message to be more significant in their lives than males.
• 66% want cell phones to provide the freedom to get an education from any location on earth.
• 63% want cell phones to bring the world closer by better understanding global issues.
• 28% of teens are browsing the web on their cell phones.
• 59% of teens are willing to provide their profile information to businesses that advertise on cell phones!
• The ideal cell phone for teenagers would include; mp3 player, GPS, Desktop/Laptop computer, portable video player, and access to your desktop/laptop computer files from anywhere!

Historical perspective: In the U.S. there were 255.4 million total cell phone users (Dec. 2007) or 84% of all Americans. Worldwide there were 1.2 billion cell phone users (Dec. 2007) and that number is projected to reach 3.6 billion by 2010.

For the largest list of Internet acronyms and text message jargon, click on "more info" below!

From The Bottom Of My Heart

June 21, 2012

A picture or still image generated on a computer. There are two basic types of computer-generated graphics: object-oriented graphics (vector graphics) and bitmapped graphics (raster graphics). "Graphics" may be short for "graphic arts," including the creation, modification, and printing of visual works.

Not To Worry

June 22, 2012

I Am, Are You?

The act of rating a person's level of influence based on evaluating one's followers, friends, and postings on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook.

Companies like Klout, PeerIndex and Twitter Grader are in the process of scoring millions, eventually billions, of people on their level of influence but they are not simply looking at the number of followers or friends you’ve amassed. They also measure influence in more nuanced ways, and post their judgments — in the form of a score — online. The increasing adoption of "social scoring" in mainstream culture can help build a personal brand and your rating could help determine how well you are treated by everyone with whom you interact. Critics, however, are concerned that we are moving closer to creating social media caste systems, where people with high scores get preferential treatment by retailers, prospective employers, even prospective dates. It is important to note that "social scoring" is subjective and imperfect. Most analytics companies rely heavily on a user’s Twitter and Facebook profiles, leaving out other online activities, like blogging or posting YouTube videos. As for influence in the offline world — it doesn’t count.

June 23, 2012

To transfer data by copying it onto a USB drive, CD-ROM, (or floppy) and walking it over to the intended recipient (instead of using the internal network).

Just A Second

June 24, 2012

A very slow Internet connection due to a large amount of Internet traffic or some other type of technical glitch between your computer and your ISP.

Tomorrow

June 25, 2012

Please

An e-mail server intended to attract and trap spammers.

June 26, 2012

The hardware device that prints text or graphics on paper. There are several kinds, including LCD, LED, thermal, line, ink-jet, and dot-matrix, but we recommend getting a laser printer. Some Web pages offer a "printer-friendly version," and this means they've developed a page that contains the same information but doesn't have all the extra graphics or ad banners (to save you some toner-the ink inside the printer).

If you want to print a Web page, always choose the printer-friendly version, if it's available. Also, if the Web page you are viewing is relatively short, try selecting "Print Page 1 of 1" in your printer menu so you don't waste a second sheet of paper by only printing the bottom nav bar on it. You can always print "page 2 of 2" later, if necessary.

Most of the time, users are pretty good about using the word "printer" to refer to printers. Be aware however, that the word is sometimes used to describe anything with paper in it, such as photocopiers or fax machines.

Too Many Acronyms

June 27, 2012

One of several top-level domains assigned to URLs owned by the U.S. federal government (for example, www.whitehouse.gov is the URL for the White House).

Other domains include .com, .edu, .net, .mil, .org, and a long list of country codes. For a list of new suffixes, read the domain name definition.

Owing To A Slight Oversight In Construction

June 28, 2012

Are You There?

The practice of taking the Bieb’s name in vain to drive traffic to your Twitter handle, blog, or Web site. In reference to Justin Bieber, "bieber baiting" is considered an Internet crime just as much as black hatting.

June 29, 2012

The act of connecting to or accessing a remote computer system, network, server, or Web site. To login, you must provide a username and a password. For example, if you call your ISP's tech support, they may ask if you're currently logged in to the server; if you are not, they may ask you to try and log on.

FWIW: Login is spelled as one word, whereas "log on" or "log off" is two words.

The Phone Company

June 30, 2012

When two modems are trying to connect, they handshake first to agree on how to transfer data.

All Of A Sudden