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 Glossary of Terms |
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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0.13-Micron Technology
0.13 micron is a manufacturing term that refers to the feature size of the poly-silicon gate in the microprocessor. This feature size has a direct correlation to the speed and power requirements of the microprocessor. As feature sizes are reduced, the process speed (MHz) increases while the power requirements decrease correspondingly. 0.13 micron is currently the smallest feature size available in high volume manufacturing, and is used for the highest end desktop Pentium® 4 processors and for the Mobile Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor – M and Mobile Intel® Pentium® III Processor – M. This technology allows for greater speeds than ever before with lower power consumption, resulting in greater performance and longer battery life in thinner, lighter notebooks.
10BaseT
10BaseT is an IEEE standard (802.3) for operating 10 Mbps (megabit per second) Ethernet networks (LANs) with twisted pair cabling and a wiring hub.
2.5G
2.5 generation cellular technology enables increases in data bandwidth available over current 2G cellular networks. 2.5 G technology can be implemented by cellular operators thru software updates to their network, whereas 3 G requires new hardware installations. The most common 2.5 G deployment to-date is General Packet Radio Service, or GPRS.
3G
Analog cellular is a first generation mobile communications technology. Digital PCS is the current and second generation. The emerging third generation (3G) will provide increased bandwidth, up to 384 Kbps when a device is stationary or pedestrian speed, 128 Kbps in a car, and 2 Mbps in fixed applications. 3G will work with wireless air interfaces such as EDGE and GSM.
802.11
An over-the-air interface between a wireless client and a base station, 802.11 is a family of specifications developed by the IEEE for wireless LAN technology. 802.11b provides 11 Mbps transmissions in the 2.4GHz bandwidth. The emerging 802.11a standard uses the less crowded 5 GHz bandwidth and transmits wireless data at 54 Mbps.
802.11a
802.11a describes the wireless networking standard for a WLAN that operates in the 5 GHz radio band (ISM--Industrial Scientific Medical frequency band). 802.11a-based WLANs can achieve a maximum speed of 54 Mbps, providing nearly five-times faster networking data rate than 802.11b, and can handle more traffic than 802.11b-based networks.
802.11b
802.11b (commonly known as "Wi-Fi") describes the IEEE wireless networking standard for a WLAN that operates in the 2.4 GHz radio band (ISM--Industrial Scientific Medical frequency band). 802.11b-based WLANs are far more common than 802.11a or 802.11g networks and can achieve a maximum data rate of 11 Mbps per second at distances up to approximately 300 feet. 802.11b was the first WLAN technology offered to consumers and enabled the creation of instant wireless networks in offices and homes. Devices certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance bear the official Wi-Fi logo.
802.11g
802.11g is a proposed standard, describing a wireless networking method for a WLAN that operates in the 2.4 GHz radio band (ISM--Industrial Scientific Medical frequency band). By using OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) technology, 802.11g-based WLANs will be able to achieve a maximum speed of 54 Mbps. 802.11g-compliant equipment, such as wireless Access Points, will be able to provide simultaneous WLAN connectivity for both 802.11g and 802.11b equipment.
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ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface)
Located on the System Manageability Bus, the ACPI enables low-power sleep mode and conserves energy when a system is idle.
AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port)
Located on the motherboard, an accelerated graphics port (AGP) is a dedicated high-speed port for moving large blocks of data between a PC graphics controller and the system memory.
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used in games for everything from making a computer opponent behave believably like a human opponent to having automated units perform tasks in a realistic manner.
ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit)
The part of the CPU that performs all arithmetic computations, such as addition and multiplication, and all comparison operations, is known as the Arithmetic Logic Unit.
AP (Access Point)
A wireless Access Point is a hub that connects many wireless clients to a LAN or to the Internet. An Access Point can be a standalone hardware device or a computer with a wireless network adapter and appropriate software. Wireless Access Points are available for 802.11a, 802.11b, and Dual band 802.11 a/b (Access Points with both 802.11a and 802.11b capability).
Acoustic Pressure
Acoustics refers to the transmission of sound. Sound is produced when the air is disturbed in some way, for example by a vibrating object. Acoustic pressure refers to the fluctuation in air pressure caused by a sound. Alternating high and low, air or acoustic pressure is shown as a sound wave.
Advanced Dynamic Execution
Part of the Pentium® 4 processor's Intel® NetBurst® micro-architecture. Improved branch prediction algorithm accelerates the flow of work to the processor and helps overcome the deeper pipeline. Very deep, out-of-order speculative execution allows the processor to view 126 instructions in flight and handle up to 48 loads and 24 stores in the pipeline. A 4 KB branch target buffer stores more detail on the history of past branches, reducing inaccurate branch predictions by roughly 33% (when compared to P6 micro-architecture).
Algorithm
A procedure, rule or formula for solving a problem is known as an algorithm. A computer program is essentially an elaborate algorithm that goes through a series of steps to arrive at a specific outcome.
Artifacts
A distortion in a signal — whether video or audio — is known as an artifact.
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BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)
An integral part of the PC, the BIOS is the program a microprocessor uses to get the computer started after you turn it on. It also manages the data flow between the computer's operating system and attached peripheral devices.
BPS (Bits Per Second)
Bits per second is a measure of data transmission speed over communication lines. It indicates the number of bits that can be sent or received per second. Bits per second—bps—-is often confused with bytes per second—Bps. While "bits" is a measure of transmission speed, "bytes" is a measure of storage capability. Eight bits of data equal one byte. Thus, if a wireless network is operating at a bandwidth of 11 megabits per second (11 Mbps or 11 Mbits/sec), it is sending data at 1.375 megabytes per second (1.375 MBps).
Backbone
A backbone is the central part of a large network that links two or more subnetworks and is the primary path for data transmission for a large business or corporation. A network can have a wired backbone or a wireless backbone.
Bandwidth
Bandwidth refers to the transmission capacity of a network. Available bandwidth depends on several variables, such as the rate of data transmission between networked devices, network overhead, number of users, and the type of device connecting PCs to a network. Bandwidth is analogous to the diameter of a pipeline: the wider the pipe, the more water can flow through it per second. Similarly, the wider a network's bandwidth, the more data can pass over it per second. Standard 802.11b specifies a bandwidth of 11 Mbps (megabits per second); 802.11a and 802.11g provide a bandwidth of 54 Mbps. (See Bits Per Second.)
Bit Rate
The number of bits that "pass" a given point in a telecommunication network usually within a second is referred to as a bit rate. Thus, a bit rate is usually measured in some multiple of bits per second — for example, kilobits, or thousands of bits per second (kbps). The term bit rate is also a synonym for data transfer rate (or simply data rate).
Bluetooth* Wireless Technology
Bluetooth is a short-range (2.4 GHz) radio technology that simplifies communications among Net devices and between devices and the Internet. It also simplifies data synchronization between Net devices and other computers. Because Bluetooth isn't designed to carry heavy traffic loads, it is not a suitable technology for replacing LAN or WLAN.
Bridge
A bridge is a product that connects one local area network (LAN) to another local area network that uses the same communications protocol (for example, wireless, Ethernet or token ring). Wireless bridges are commonly used to link buildings in campuses.
Broadband
Broadband is the term applied to high-speed data transmission, such as cable, ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), and DSL (Digital Subscriber Line). Broadband technologies provide faster connections to the Internet than traditional dial-up services. Broadband services deliver high-speed Internet access to households and businesses while freeing telephone lines for simultaneous traditional (voice) use. Using a broadband service with laptop or desktop PCs, users have high-speed access to the Internet, e-mail and more.
Bus Adapter
A bus adapter is a special card that enables the use of PC Card radios in desktop computers. It installs in a PC's PCI or ISA slot. Some companies offer one-piece PCI or ISA Card radios that install directly into an open PC or ISA slot.
Byte
A byte is a unit of storage that can hold a single character. The smallest unit of information on a computer is bit. A byte consists of 8 consecutive bits of information. Memory is indicated in terms of kilobytes (1,024 bytes), megabytes (1,048,576 bytes) and gigabytes (1,073,741,824 bytes).
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CD/DVD (Compact Disc/Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc)
A CD is used to store digital information such as digital music or computer data. Read-only CDs already have information stored on them so they can only be read or played. Whereas read-write CDs can be erased and new data recorded onto them.
A DVD holds considerably more data than a CD, a minimum of 4.7 gigabytes, the size of a full-length movie. Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG-2) is used to compress and produce high-quality (720 x 480 and 1280 x 760 at 60 frames per second) video data that is saved onto DVDs.
CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access)
CDMA is digital cellular technology that uses spread-spectrum techniques. Unlike competing systems, such as GSM, that use TDMA, CDMA does not assign a specific frequency to each user. Instead, every channel uses the full available spectrum. Individual conversations are encoded with a pseudo-random digital sequence.
CODEC (COmpressor/DECompressor)
Codec is any technology that compresses or decompresses data. Popular codecs include MPEG, Indeo and Cinepak for digital video and MP3 and mp3PRO for digital music.
CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance)
CSMA/CA is the principle medium access method employed by 802.11 WLANs. It is a "listen-before-talk" method of minimizing (but not eliminating) collisions caused by simultaneous transmission by multiple radios. 802.11 mandates collision avoidance rather than collision detection, because the standard employs half duplex radios (radios capable of transmission or reception, but not both simultaneously). Unlike conventionally wired Ethernet nodes, a WLAN station cannot detect a collision while transmitting. If a collision occurs, the transmitting station will not receive an ACKnowledge packet from the intended receive station. For this reason, ACK packets have a higher priority than all other network traffic. After completion of a data transmission, the receive station starts transmitting the ACK packet before any other node can start transmitting a new data packet. All other stations must wait a longer, pseudo- randomized period of time before transmitting. If the transmitting station does not receive an ACK packet, it waits for a subsequent opportunity to retry transmission.
CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection)
CSMA/CD is a method of managing traffic and reducing noise on an Ethernet network. A network device transmits data after detecting a channel is available. However, if two devices transmit data simultaneously, the sending devices detect a collision and retransmit after a random time delay.
Cache
Cache is a block of high speed memory where data is copied when it is retrieved from the RAM. This storage of key instructions enables a performance improvement in the processor. Intel® processors incorporate level 1 (L1) and level 2 (L2) caches. The L2 cache is an area of high-speed memory that improves performance by reducing the average memory access time. See also: Level 1 Execution Trace Cache and Level 2 Advanced Transfer Cache.
Cable Modem
A cable modem is a conversion device for connecting a computer to a cable TV service that provides Internet access. Most cable modems have an Ethernet out-cable that attaches to the user's Wi-Fi gateway. (See Wireless Gateway.)
Chipset
The chipset controls the system and its capabilities. All components communicate with the processor through the chipset - it is the hub of all data transfer. The chipset uses the DMA controller and the bus controller to organize the steady flow of data that it controls. The chipset is a series of chips attached directly to the motherboard, and is usually second in size only to the processor. Chipsets are integrated (soldered onto the motherboard) and are not upgradeable without a new motherboard.
Client Devices
Client devices are end-use devices. Wi-Fi client devices include PC Cards that slide into laptop computers, mini-PCI modules embedded in laptop computers and mobile computing devices, as well as USB radios and PCI/ISA bus Wi-Fi radios. Client devices usually communicate with hub devices like Access Points and gateways. (See Access Point.)
Clock Cycle
The speed at which a processor can execute instructions is known as the clock cycle or clock rate. This rate is expressed in gigahertz (GHz) with 1 GHz being equal to 1 billion cycles per second. The faster the clock, the more instructions the CPU can execute per second.
Collision Avoidance
Collision avoidance is a network node characteristic for proactively determining whether that node can transmit a signal without risking collision with other network traffic. (See CSMA/CA.)
Compiler
A compiler is a software tool that takes raw source code and converts (or compiles) it into a machine language a computer can understand. Intel® compilers have additional features that make code run more efficiently and take advantage of Intel® NetBurst® architecture.
Crossover Cable
A crossover cable is used to network two computers without using a hub. Crossover cables may also be required for connecting a cable or DSL modem to a wireless gateway or Access Point. Instead of traversing the cable in parallel paths between the plugs, the signals "crossover." For example, in an eight-wire cable, the signal entering on pin one at one end of the cable would exit on pin eight at the other end.
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DCT (Discrete Cosine Transformation)
DCT is a process that converts images from three-dimensions (3D) to two-dimensions (2D) by using the Discrete Cosine (DC) coefficient to examine the luminance of each block of pixels used to form an image. This process is typically used in MPEG and JPEG image compression.
DDR SDRAM (Double Data Rate Synchronous DRAM)
DDR SDRAM is a type of memory that supports data transfers on both edges of each clock cycle, thereby doubling the memory chip’s data throughput. DDR SDRAM also consumes less power, which makes it ideal for notebook computers.
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)
DHCP is a software utility that enables a server to dynamically assign IP addresses from a predefined list to devices on a network and limit the usage period of those addresses so they can be reassigned. Without DHCP, an IT manager would have to manually enter all the IP addresses of all the computers on the network. But if DHCP is used, whenever a computer logs onto the network, an IP address is automatically assigned to it.
DNS (Domain Name System)
DNS is a software program that translates Internet URLs to IP addresses by accessing a database maintained on a collection of Internet servers. Every Web site has its own IP address on the Internet. But IP addresses are specified in a numeric format. The DNS program works in the background to facilitate surfing the Web with meaningful alpha character sequences, rather than numeric addresses. So, for example, a DNS server converts a name like "mywebsite.com" to an IP address 107.22.55.26.
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line)
DSL is a broadband technology that enables high-speed Internet access to a home or business over a standard telephone line. DSL is an always-on connection to the Internet that allows for simultaneous PC and telephone use.
Data Prefetch Logic
This functionality anticipates the data needed by an application and pre-loads it into the Advanced Transfer Cache, further increasing processor and application performance.
Datagram
Datagram is the term often used in IP networks for a packet, which is a portion of a message transmitted over a packet-switching network.
Deep Sleep
See Deeper Sleep
Deeper Sleep
Works along with QuickStart technology on Intel mobile processors. Deeper Sleep is a dynamic power management mode that delivers longer battery life. Deeper Sleep minimizes the power consumption of the CPU when it senses an extended period of inactivity by the user, reducing power when idle and quickly restoring the CPU to an active state as soon as the user resumes use of the PC. It reduces processor voltage below the minimum operating voltage while preserving the processor state. Deeper Sleep is functionally identical to the Deep Sleep State but at a 66% lower voltage.
Deinterlacing
Deinterlacing is a method of combining the odd and even fields of a video to make a progressive-scan video. Progressive scan delivers entire frames sequentially and is the process used by computers and HDTV.
Dial-up
A dial-up is a communication connection between devices via the standard telephone network, also called Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS).
Digital Media Adapter
A device that enables a PC in the home to wirelessly distribute digital content such as photos and music to networked consumer electronic devices such as TVs or stereos.
Digital Media Hub
A powerful, flexible, feature-rich PC used within the home to store digital content such as digital photos, digital audio and personal video, and to distribute it to networked devices such as TVs and stereos.
Digitizing Pad
A peripheral device that can be designed to allow users to use a stylus (electronic pencil) or even fingers to interact with an operating system and software, as well as type, write and draw.
Diversity Antenna
A diversity antenna is a system that uses two antennas to maximize reception and transmission quality while also reducing interference.
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EDGE (Enhanced Data GSM Environment)
EDGE is a faster version of GSM wireless service. It enables data to be delivered at rates up to 384 Kbps on a broadband.
ESSID (Extended Service Set Identifier)
An ESSID is the identifying name of an 802.11 wireless network. When you specify your correct ESSID in your client setup, you ensure that you connect to your wireless network rather than another network in range. (See SSID.) The ESSID can be called by different terms, such as Network Name, Preferred Network, SSID or Wireless LAN Service Area.
Encryption key
An encryption key is an alphanumeric (letters and/or numbers) series that enables data to be encrypted and then decrypted so it can be safely shared among members of a network. WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) uses an encryption key that automatically encrypts outgoing wireless data. On the receiving side, the same encryption key enables the computer to automatically decrypt the information so it can be read.
Enhanced Floating Point and Multimedia Unit
Part of the Pentium® 4 processor's Intel® NetBurst® micro-architecture. An expanded 128-bit floating point register and an additional register for data movement improves performance on floating-point and multimedia applications.
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology enables real-time dynamic switching of the voltage and frequency between two performance modes based on processor demand. This occurs by switching the system bus ratios, core operating voltage, and core processor speeds without resetting the system. The Mobile Pentium® III Processor – M is available at the following frequencies and voltages (Maximum Performance mode/Battery Optimized mode): 1133/733 MHz, 1066/733 MHz, 1000/733 MHz, 933/733 MHz and 866/667 MHz at 1.40V/1.15V.
Ethernet
The Ethernet is the international standard networking technology for wired implementations. Basic 10BaseT networks offer a bandwidth of about 10 Mbps. Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps) and Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps) are also available.
Ethnography
A form of anthropology where a variety of anthropological practices and field research techniques are used to study people in their daily lives and activities.
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FCBGA (Flip Chip Ball Grid Array)
Micro-FCBGA package for surface mount boards consists of a die placed face-down on an organic substrate. Instead of using pins, the packages use small balls, which acts as contacts for the processor. The advantage of using balls instead of pins is that there are no leads that bend. The package uses 479 balls, which are .78 mm in diameter.
FCPGA (Flip Chip Plastic Grid Array)
A micro-FCPGA package, for socketable boards, consists of a die placed face-down on an organic substrate. The package uses 478 pins, which are 2.03 mm long and .32 mm in diameter.
FFT (Fast Fourier Transformation)
The computer implementation of Fourier Transforms produces a finite series of sine and cosine waves.
Fiber Optics
Consisting of bundles of glass or plastic threads, a fiber optic cable transmits data using light. While expensive to install and more fragile and difficult to split than traditional metal (usually copper) communication lines, fiber optics have several advantages. First, they can transmit more data because they have a great bandwidth. They're also thinner, lighter and less susceptible than metal cables to interference. And they can transmit data digitally rather than analogically.
Firewall
A firewall is a system that secures a network, shielding it from access by unauthorized users. Firewalls can be implemented in software, hardware or a combination of both. In addition to preventing unrestricted access into a network, a firewall can also restrict data from flowing out of a network.
FireWire*
FireWire is a high-speed serial bus system. It is the IEEE1394 standard for I/O technology that connects multimedia and storage peripherals to a PC. FireWire (Apple), 1394* (Linux) and iLink* (Sony) are different names for products that perform the same function. FireWire can provide a bandwidth of about 400 Mbps.
Floating Point
Calculations that use an exponent with numbers to indicate the location of the decimal "floating" point is known as Floating Point Arithmetic. These numbers have two parts: a mantissa and an exponent. The mantissa designates the digits in the number and the exponent designates the position of the decimal point.
Frequency
Usually measured in Hertz (Hz), frequency is the rate at which an electrical current alternates. Sound waves travel in cycles with upper and lower frequency limits.
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GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)
GPRS is a standard for wireless communications that allows packets of data, such as e-mail and Web content, to travel across a wireless telephone network and to the Internet. GPRS is often referred to as "2.5G" technology (in comparison to first- generation (1G) wireless technology which is used for analog cell phones, and second-generation (2G) wireless technology which is used for digital cell phones). In addition to the GPRS cell phone, laptops can be enabled by adding a GPRS adapter to connect to the Internet.
GPS (Global Positioning System)
GPS is the satellite-based positioning technology that allows a GPS receiver to identify its location anywhere on Earth. GPS receivers can be found as handheld devices, installed in automobiles for navigational aids, and as modules that attach to Personal Data Assistants (PDAs), such as a PalmPilot*.
GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications)
GSM is a world standard for digital cellular communications using narrowband Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) for voice and Short Messaging Service (SMS). With 65% of the world's cellular subscriptions on GSM technology, this currently represents the most commonly used cellular technology worldwide. (Source: Gartner Dataquest - Top 20 Mobile Network Operators Worldwide, 2001)
Game Engine
A game engine is the program that runs all the components that comprise a game, including graphics, audio, collision detection, physics, and artificial intelligence.
Gateway
See Wireless gateway.
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HTML (HyperText Markup Language)
The lingua franca (common language) for creating documents on the World Wide Web, HyperText Markup Language (HTML) defines the structure and layout of a Web document by using a variety of tags and attributes (a field or characteristic).
HZ (Hertz)
Hz is an abbreviation for the international unit for measuring frequency, equivalent to the older unit of cycles per second. One megahertz (MHz) is one million hertz. One gigahertz (GHz) is one billion hertz. The standard US electrical power frequency is 60 Hz. The AM broadcast radio frequency band is 535 to 1605 kHz and the FM broadcast radio frequency band is 88 to 108 MHz. Wireless 802.11b LANs operate at 2.4 GHz.
Hard Drive
Most computers can read and write data to either a hard or floppy disk. The mechanism that reads and writes to hard disk is called a hard drive. Hard disks hold more data and are faster than floppy disks. In addition, hard drives and associated hard disks are generally components within computers; whereas, floppy disk are removable and portable.
High-speed Cable Internet
High-speed cable Internet is a broadband technology from cable service operators (also known as multi-service operators - MSOs). This technology enables high-speed Internet access to the home over the standard television cable connection. Users can experience data transmission rates from a few hundred kbps to up to 30 Mbps, however, bandwidth significantly varies on a cable network since it is a shared medium. High-speed cable Internet is an open network, offering little security to users who connect directly to the cable connection without a cable/DSL firewall/router device.
Hotspot
A hotspot is a public location such as an airport, shopping mall or conference center that has readily accessible wireless networks, usually 802.11b or 802.11a.
Hub
A hub is a network device that connects multiple computers on a LAN so they can communicate with one another, the rest of the network, and the Internet. All users connected to a hub share the available network bandwidth (unlike a switch, which provides full bandwidth to each computer).
Hufmann Encoding
Hufmann encoding is a compression algorithm that replaces frequently occurring characters and data strings with shorter codes. Each piece of information is read twice, the first time to determine the frequency with which each data character appears in the text and the second time to accomplish the actual encoding process.
Hyper-Pipelined Technology
Part of the Pentium® 4 processor's Intel® NetBurst® micro-architecture. Hyper-pipelined technology doubles the pipeline depth of the Pentium® III processor's P6 micro-architecture, increasing the branch prediction and recovery pipeline to 20 stages. The deeper pipeline enables instructions to be queued and executed at the fastest-possible rate, increasing performance, frequency, and scalability.
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IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
The IEEE ( www.ieee.org) is a membership organization based in New York that includes engineers, scientists and students in electronics and allied fields. It has more than 300,000 members and is involved with setting standards for computers and communications.
IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force)
IETF is a large open international community of manufacturers, network designers, operators, and researchers that develop and monitor the standards for the Internet, its architecture and operation.
I/O (input/output)
I/O describes any program, operation or device that transfers data to or from a computer and to or from a peripheral device. For every input, there's an output. Some devices such as a keyboard or mouse are input-only devices while others like printers are output-only. The transfer of data to and from the processor to memory, expansions slots and the motherboard is also known as I/O.
IP (Internet Protocol)
An Internet Protocol (IP) is the rules and encoding specifications for sending data. It also determines whether the network uses a peer-to-peer or client/server architecture. The current version of IP is IPv4. A new version, called IPv6 is under development.
IP Address
An IP address is a 32-bit number that identifies each sender or receiver of information across the Internet. An IP address has two parts: an identifier of a particular network on the Internet and an identifier of the particular device (which can be a server or a workstation) within that network.
IP Telephony
IP (Internet Protocol) telephony is a technology that supports voice, data and video transmission via IP-based LANs, WANs, and the Internet. This includes VoIP (Voice over IP).
IPX-SPX/IPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange - Internetwork Packet Exchange/Sequenced Packet Exchange)
IPX is a networking protocol used by Novell NetWare* operating systems. Like UDP/IP, IPX is a datagram protocol used for connectionless communications. Higher-level protocols, such as SPX (Sequenced Packet Exchange) and NCP (Netware Core Protocol), are used for additional error recovery services.
IrDA (Infrared Data Association)
The IrDA is a group of device manufacturers that developed a standard for transmitting data via infrared light waves.
ISA (Industry Standard Architecture)
ISA is the Industry Standard Architecture for system buses. In the early 1990's, ISA PCI local bus architecture started replacing ISA. Most computers today do not include the ISA bus.
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)
ISDN is a type of bandwidth Internet connection that provides digital service from the customer's premises to the dial-up telephone network. ISDN uses standard telephone service copper wiring to deliver voice, data or video.
ISO (International Standards Organization) Network Model
Developed by the International Standards Organization, the ISO network model specifies seven layers of communications protocol. Standardizing these layers and the interfaces in between them makes it possible to modify different portions of a given protocol as technologies advance or systems requirements change while maintaining a stable general protocol model. The seven layers are:
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Physical
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Data Link
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Network
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Transport
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Session
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Presentation
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Application
The 802.11 standard encompasses the physical layer (PHY) and the lower portion of the data link layer. The lower portion of the data link layer is often referred to as the Media Access Control (MAC) sublayer.
ISS (Internet Security Systems)
ISS is a software application that allows all the PCs on a network simultaneous access to the Internet through a single connection and ISP (Internet Service Provider) account.
iLink*
iLink is Sony's term for IEEE1394 technology, (originally called Firewire* by Apple). This high-speed communication technology provides a bandwidth of about 400 Mbps. New versions of IEEE1394 will greatly broaden the bandwidth.
Infrastructure Mode
A wireless network can be set up as an ad hoc network or as infrastructure. In infrastructure mode, the wireless network uses an Access Point (AP) to connect wireless-enabled PCs to the wired LAN and to each other. The AP is a hub for all wireless network adapters it communicates with.
Intel® MMX™ Technology
Intel® MMX™ technology is designed to accelerate multimedia and communications applications. The technology includes new instructions and data types that allow applications to achieve a new level of performance. It exploits the parallelism inherent in many multimedia and communications algorithms, yet maintains full compatibility with existing operating systems and applications.
Intel® NetBurst® micro-architecture
The NetBurst® micro-architecture delivers a number of new and innovative features including Hyper Pipelined Technology, 400 MHz System Bus, Execution Trace Cache, and Rapid Execution Engine. It also delivers a number of enhanced features, including Advanced Transfer Cache, Advanced Dynamic Execution, Enhanced Floating Point and Multimedia Unit, and Streaming SIMD Extensions 2.
Intel SpeedStep® Technology
Intel SpeedStep® technology lets you customize high performance computing on your mobile PC. When the notebook computer is connected to the AC outlet, the mobile PC runs the most complex business and Internet applications with speed virtually identical to a desktop system. When powered by a battery, the processor drops to a lower frequency (by changing the bus ratios) and voltage, conserving battery life while maintaining a high level of performance. Manual override lets you boost the frequency back to the high frequency when on battery.
Intel® XScale™ technology-based processors
A line of Intel® processors designed to optimize low-power consumption and high-performance processing for a wide range of wireless and networking applications and rich services.
Internet Streaming SIMD Extensions
Consists of 70 instructions and includes single instruction, multiple data for floating-point, additional SIMD-integer and cacheability control instructions. Benefits include higher resolution image viewing and manipulation, high quality audio, MPEG2 video, and simultaneous MPEG2 encoding and decoding, reduced CPU utilization for speech recognition, and higher accuracy and faster response times.
Internet Appliance
An Internet appliance is computer that is intended primarily for Internet access, is simple to set up and usually does not support installation of third-party software. These computers generally offer customized Web browsing, touch-screen navigation, e-mail services, entertainment and personal information management applications. An Internet appliance can be Wi-Fi enabled or it can be connected via a cable to the local network.
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LAN (Local Area Network)
A LAN is a computer network that spans a relatively small area and usually connects workstations and personal computers so users can communicate with each other, share data or access devices such as laser printers. When several LANs are connected together via telephone lines or radio waves, they're known as a wide-area network (WAN). The emerging wireless networking standard for LAN is 802.11a with data rates up to 54 Mbps versus 11 Mbps for the 802.11b standard. 802.11a enables more simultaneous wireless users and enhanced mobile multimedia applications such as streaming video. In addition, the 802.11a standard operates in the 5 GHz band which is free of congestion, reducing interference with cordless phones.
LAN Party
Local Area Network (LAN) party consist of gamers meeting in a central location - a private home, office building, conference center, etc. - to play or compute using PC games. Everyone brings their own computer (mobile or desktop), which are networked together then connected, to a local server using a LAN rather than modems linked to the Internet. Gameplay is extremely fast and interactive because players are within close proximity of each other.
Level 1 Execution Trace Cache
Part of the Pentium® 4 processor's Intel® NetBurst® micro-architecture. In addition to the 8 KB data cache, the Pentium 4 processor includes an Execution Trace Cache that stores up to 12 K decoded micro-ops in the order of program execution. This increases performance by removing the decoder from the main execution loop and makes more efficient usage of the cache storage space since instructions that are branched around are not stored. As a result, a high volume of instructions are delivered to the processor's execution units and the overall time required to recover from erroneous branch predictions is decreased.
Level 2 Advance Transfer Cache
The 256 KB Level 2 Advance Transfer Cache (ATC) delivers a much higher data throughput channel between the Level 2 cache and the processor core. 512 KB L2 Advance Transfer Cache is available on 0.13 micron technology Pentium® 4 processors, while 0.18 micron technology Pentium 4 processors utilize a 256 KB L2 Advance Transfer Cache. Features of the ATC include: Non-Blocking, full speed, on-die level 2 cache, 8-way set association, 512-bit or 256-bit data bus to the level 2 cache, data clocked into and out of the cache every clock cycle.
Levels of Trust
Level 1 - Harden the base platform and system software
Level 2 - Trusted operating system, applications and solution stack.
Level 3 - Trusted I/O and communications
Level 4 - Trusted enterprise Level "X" - WAN, appliances, peripheral devices and beyond
Look-up Table
A look-up table can either be a translation table that determines the routing 'instructions' for a call or it can also be a set of addresses (source and destination) used by a bridge or router to determine where to send a packet of data, which may be video, audio, etc.
Low Volt
Processors that bring Intel performance and extended battery life to a new class of super-thin and light mini-notebooks.
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MAC (Media Access Control)
A MAC is a unique identifier used to provide security for wireless networks. Every wireless 802.11 device has its own MAC address hard-coded into it. When a network uses a MAC table, only those 802.11a radios whose MAC addresses are entered in that table can operate over the network.
MAN (Metropolitan Area Network)
The MAN is a high-speed network used within a town or city. A MAN typically provides very high-speed connections, using fiber-optic cable or other digital media, between LANs in the same area. An example is AbMAN, the Aberdeen Metropolitan Area Network (www.abman.ent.uk). More recently, in a growing number of communities, 802.11b-based WLANs have interconnected to form wireless MANs using inexpensive antenna systems and consumer-level 802.11b and 802.11a wireless equipment. An example is Personal Telco (www.personaltelco.net).
MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games)
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games are played online over a network or the Internet by more than one player. Today's MMORPG can support several thousands players at once.
MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group)
MPEG is the name of a family of standards used for coding audio-visual information (e.g., movies, video, music) in a digital compressed format. The major advantage of MPEG compared to other video and audio coding formats is that MPEG files are much smaller for the same quality. This is because MPEG uses very sophisticated compression techniques.
Masking
Masking means to "cover up," which is what occurs when a loud sound is overlaid off a softer one. The latter is masked.
Micro-architecture
The architecture of a processor refers to the instruction set, registers, and memory-resident data structures that are public to a programmer and are maintained and enhanced from one generation of architecture to the next.
The micro-architecture of a processor refers to implementation of a processor architecture in silicon. Within a family of processors, like the Intel IA-32 processors, the micro-architecture typically changes from one processor generation to the next, while implementing the same public processor architecture. Intel's IA-32 architecture is based on the x86 instruction set and registers. It has been enhanced and extended through generations of IA-32 processors, while maintaining backwards compatibility for code written to run on the earliest IA-32 processors.
Mobile IP
IETF-defined protocol that allows mobile devices to maintain persistent IP sessions and IP address as the user moves the device from subnet to subnet within a network or changes networks.
Motherboard
Sometimes called the system board or main board, the motherboard is the main circuit board of a PC. The motherboard typically contains the processor (or CPU), BIOS (basic input/output system), memory, mass storage interfaces, serial and parallel ports, expansion slots, and all the controllers required to communicate with standard peripheral devices, such as the display screen, mouse, keyboard and disk drive. Collectively, some of the chips which reside on the motherboard are known as the motherboard's chipset.
MP3
The file extension for the audio layer (layer 3) of a MPEG file is MP3. This layer uses perceptual (what can be heard) audio coding and psychoacoustic compression to remove redundant or irrelevant sound signals. It then adds a filter bank known as a Modified Discrete Cosine Transform (MDCT), which increases the resolution of the frequency. The resulting file is shrunk by a factor of 12 (from 1411.2 kbps to 112-128 kbps) without sacrificing sound quality. MP3 files are small enough to easily transfer across the Internet.
mp3PRO
The generation of MP3 compression, mp3PRO files are smaller with higher fidelity or sound quality. They are also backward compatible with the standard MP3 format.
Multimodal
Multimodal technology allows users to utilize multiple forms of input and output – including voice, keypads and stylus – interchangeably in the same interaction.
Multithreaded
A multithreaded program allows different parts of a program to run concurrently. Operating systems like Windows .Net* and Windows XP* are multithreaded as are many scientific applications. When creating an application, developers must create code so that the threads can run independently and will not interfere with each other.
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NAT (Network Address Translation)
NAT is a network capability that enables a houseful of computers to dynamically share a single incoming IP address from a dial-up, cable or DSL connection. NAT takes the single incoming IP address and creates a new IP address for each client computer on the network.
NIC (Network Interface Card)
A NIC is a type of PC adapter card that either works without wires (Wi-Fi) or attaches to a network cable to provide two-way communication between a computer and network devices such as a hub or switch. Most office-wired NICs operate at 10 Mbps (Ethernet), 100 Mbps (Fast Ethernet) or 10/100 Mbps dual speed. High-speed Gigabit and 10 Gigabit NIC cards are also available. (See PC Card.)
Network Name
A network name identifies a wireless network to all its shared components. During installation of most wireless networks, you must enter the network name or SSID. Different network names are used when setting up your individual computer, a wired network, or a workgroup.
Non-blocking Level 1 Cache
Level 1 (L1) cache is a high-speed storage mechanism that is built into the architecture of a microprocessor. Non-blocking consists of two separate 16 KB L1 caches, one for instruction and one for data to provide fast access to recently used data and instructions.
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Open Source
When the source code of a computer program is made available free of charge to the general public, it's known as open source. The basis of open source software is to produce more useful and bug-free products for everyone to use. The concept relies on peer review to find and eliminate bugs in the program code, a process which commercially developed and packaged programs do not utilize. The Open Source Initiative (OSI) reviews then certifies open source programs. They have a stringent list of criteria that include making sure no one collects a royalty on the software and no person, group or field of endeavor can be denied access to the program.
Optimization
Optimization consists of analyzing and tuning software code to make it perform faster and more efficiently on Intel processor architecture.
Optoelectronics
Optoelectronics involves the manufacture of hardware devices that convert electrical signals into photon (or light) signals and vice versa. Examples of optoelectronic technologies are fiber optic communications, laser systems, electric eyes, remote sensing systems, medical diagnostic systems and optical information systems.
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P6 micro-architecture
Internal chip architecture of the Pentium® III processors and Celeron® D processors. It's features include: multiple branch prediction, which predicts program execution through multiple branches and accelerates the flow of work to the processor; dataflow analysis, which creates an optimized, reordered schedule of instructions by analyzing data dependencies between instructions; and speculative execution, which carries out instruction execution speculatively and based upon this optimized schedule, ensures that the processor's superscalar execution units remain busy, boosting overall performance.
PAN (Personal Area Network)
The PAN is a wireless LAN with a very short range (up to 10 meters). PANs are used to connect devices, such as a PDA, keyboard, mouse, printer, etc. that a single person uses with their computer. PANs enable easier interconnection between devices by eliminating cables. Bluetooth* is a technology commonly used to form a PAN.
PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect)
Developed by Intel, PCI is a local bus standard. A bus is a channel used to transfer data to (input) and from (output) a computer and to or from a peripheral device. Most PCs have a PCI bus usually implemented at 32-bits providing a 33 MHz clock speed with a throughput rate of 133 MBps.
PCI Express
PCI Express is a 3rd generation I/O architecture where ISA and PCI were respectively the 1st and 2nd generations. A high-speed, general-purpose serial I/O interconnect, PCI Express will initially offers speeds of 2.5 Gigabits per second, support multiple widths ("lanes" of data that range from 1 to 32), and scale to the limits of copper. PCI Express will unify I/O architecture for desktop, mobile, server, communications platforms, workstations and embedded devices while also coexisting with PCI and USB connection types.
PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association)
PCMCIA is an organization of about 500 companies that developed the standard for small, credit card-sized devices, commonly referred to as PC Cards.
PHY (PHYsical Transport Medium)
PHY designates the lowest protocol layer specified by the OSI Network Model. It deals primarily with transmission of the raw bit stream over the PHYsical transport medium. In the case of wireless LANs, the transport medium is free space. The PHY defines such parameters as data rates, modulation method, signaling parameters and transmitter/receiver synchronization. Within an actual radio implementation, the PHY corresponds to the radio front end and baseband signal processing sections.
Package
An enclosure for a single element, integrated circuit, or hybrid circuit. It provides hermetic or nonhermetic protection, determines the form factor, and serves as the first-level interconnection externally for the device by means of package terminals.
Packet
A portion of a message transmitted over a packet-switching network. One of the key features of a packet is that it contains the destination address in addition to the data.
Peer-to-Peer Network
A peer-to-peer network is a wireless or wired computer network that has no server, central hub or router. All the networked PCs are equally able to act as a network server or client. Each client computer can talk to all the other wireless computers without going through an Access Point or hub. However, since there is no central base station to monitor traffic or provide Internet access, the various signals can collide, reducing overall performance.
Performance Analyzer
A performance analyzer is used to pinpoint areas in software code that are using excess CPU cycles. Once identified, these areas can be optimized to run more efficiently. The Intel® VTune™ Performance Analyzer enhances the performance of applications running on the latest Intel processors.
PC Card
A PC card is a removable, credit-card-sized memory or I/O device that fits into a Type II PCMCIA standard slot. PC Cards are used primarily in notebook computers and PDAs. PC Card peripherals include Wi-Fi cards, memory cards, modems, NICs, hard drives, and so on.
Physics
Physics are the mathematical calculations designed to create realism that mimics the real world in graphically-intensive applications like PC games, animation and simulation such as car crashes.
Pixel
Pixel is an abbreviation of Picture Element, which is a single point of a graphic image. The number of bits needed to represent each pixel determines how many colors or shades of gray can be displayed. For example, in 8-bit color mode, the color monitor uses 8 bits for each pixel, making it possible to display 2 to the 8th power (256) different colors or shades of gray.
Power Management
Refers to how power is efficiently directed to different components of a system. Power management is especially important for portable devices that rely on battery power. By reducing power to components that aren't being used, a good power management system can double or triple the lifetime of a battery.
Processor
The processor (aka CPU or microprocessor) is the brain of your computer. It reads instructions from your software and tells your computer what to do. The speed at which the CPU processes information internally is measured in MegaHertz (MHz) and GigaHertz (GHz). 1 GHz is equal to 1,000 MHz. Generally, processors with higher MHz or GHz enhance your ability to run creative, entertainment, communication, and productivity applications.
Processor core speed
Processor core speed is a measurement, in millions, of the number of times the processor cycles in one second. Generally, processors with higher MHz or GHz enhance your ability to run creative, entertainment, communication, and productivity applications.
Proxy Server
A proxy server is used in larger companies and organizations to improve network operations and security. It can be used to prevent direct communication between two or more networks. The proxy server forwards allowable data requests to remote servers and/or responds to data requests directly from stored remote server data.
Psychoacoustics
A branch of science dealing with hearing, the sensations produced by sounds, and the problems of communication.
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QuickStart Technology
Extends battery life by entering a low-power state during the briefest pauses in user activity, such as between key strokes, and returning instantly to full-power state when prompted.
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RAM (Random Access Memory)
Memory available for storing data and programs currently being processed. It is automatically erased when the power is turned off. Can be accessed without touching preceding bytes. Intel desktop processors are extensively tested with RDRAM, PC SDRAM or DDR SDRAM, depending on which Intel® chipset is the basis for the system's motherboard.
RDRAM (Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory)
Developed by Rambus Corporation,* with architecture and protocol designed to achieve high effective bandwidth and single-device upgrade granularity. The narrow, high-performance channel also offers performance and capacity scalability through the use of multiple channels in parallel. Capable of providing up to 1.600 GB/sec bandwidth per channel. The Intel® 850 chipset implements dual RDRAM memory channels to offer 3.2-gigabytes-per-second of peak memory bandwidth. Other Intel chipsets support PC133 SDRAM or DDR SDRAM.
Rendering
Refers to the process of adding realism to computer graphics by adding three-dimensional qualities such as shadows and variations in color and shade. One technique for rendering graphics is called ray tracing. Another type of rendering is scanline rendering, which renders images one vertical line at a time instead of object-by-object as in ray tracing. In general, scanline rendering doesn't produce as good results as ray tracing, but it is used frequently in animation packages where the image quality of each individual frame isn't so important.
RF (Radio Frequency)
RF covers a range of high-frequency, electromagnetic frequencies used for radio transmissions. In communications, RF signals transmit data using various methods, such as TDMA, CDMA, DSSS (direct-sequence spread spectrum), and others. WLANs, PANs, Bluetooth,* and other wireless technologies use RF signals to transmit data.
RJ-45 (Registered Jack - 45)
RJ-45 designates a standard connector used in Ethernet networks. Although it closely resembles a standard RJ-11 telephone connector, an RJ-45 connector can have up to eight wires, whereas telephone connectors have only four.
Range
Range refers to the physical distance over which a wireless network operates reliably. Most Wi-Fi systems support a range of a hundred feet or more. Depending on the environment and the type of antenna used, Wi-Fi signals can have a range of up to one mile.
Rapid Execution Engine
Part of the Pentium® 4 processor's Intel® NetBurst® micro-architecture. Two Arithmetic Logic Units (ALUs) are clocked at twice the core processor frequency, allowing basic integer instructions such as Add, Subtract, Logical AND, and Logical OR to execute in half of a clock cycle. For example, the Rapid Execution Engine on a 1.50 GHz Pentium 4 processor runs at 3 GHz.
Residential Gateway
A residential gateway is a wireless device that connects multiple PCs, peripherals and the Internet on a home network. Most Wi-Fi residential gateways provide DHCP and NAT services, as well.
Roaming
In a wireless network, roaming refers to moving from one Access Point to another without losing service or a loss in connectivity. Roaming lets users move about freely and continue to access the Internet and e-mail.
Router
A router is a device that forwards data packets from one local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN) to another. Based on routing tables and routing protocols, routers can read the network address in each transmitted frame and choose the most efficient transmission route, depending on current traffic, line costs, speed, bad connections, and other factors. (See Wireless Router.)
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SBR (Spectral Band Replication)
SBR is used to enhance the audio quality of highly compressed sound files, Spectral Band Replication (SBR) reconstructs the highest part of the frequency spectrum. For instance, around 60 kbps of a 64 kbps mp3PRO are encoded as conventional MP3 data. The high frequency part of the file — 8 to 16 kHz — is then reconstructed using Spectral Band Replication.
SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory)
SDRAM synchronizes itself with the processors bus and is capable of running at 133 MHz. The Intel® 845 chipset couples the power of the Pentium® 4 processor with PC133 SDRAM memory to provide various levels of price and performance. Other Intel chipsets use RDRAM.
SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language)
Adopted by the International Standards Organization in 1986, SGML is a text-based language for describing the content and structure of digital documents. HTML evolved from SMGL.
SPX (Sequenced Packet Exchange)
SPX is a transport layer protocol (layer 4 of the OSI — Open System Interconnection — used in Novell Netware* networks. The SPX layer sits on top of the IPX layer (layer 3) and provides connection-oriented services between two nodes on the network. SPX is used primarily by client/server applications. Whereas the IPX protocol is similar to IP, SPX is similar to TCP. Together, therefore, IPX/SPX provides connection services similar to TCP/IP.
SSE (Streaming SIMD Extensions)
Internet Streaming SIMD (Single Instruction Multiple Data) Extensions are instructions that reduce the overall number of instructions required to execute a particular program task. As a result, they can boost performance by accelerating a broad range of applications, including video, speech, and image, photo processing, encryption, financial, engineering and scientific applications. NetBurst® micro-architecture adds 144 new SSE instructions, which are known as SSE2.
SSID (Service Set Identifier)
An SSID is the name that uniquely identifies a wireless network. Wireless Access Points broadcast the SSID so that end-users can identify the WLAN they want to connect to. Different SSIDs enable different WLANs to exist in the same physical space, and SSIDs must be identical between the wireless Access Point and the wireless network adapter to allow access to the wireless network. To enhance security in a WLAN, an administrator can turn off the broadcast function of some wireless Access Points to prevent broadcasting across the SSID. For a client to connect to the network, the end-user would have to manually enter the SSID. (See ESSID.)
SSL (Secure Socket Layer)
SSL is a common encryption scheme used by many online retail and banking sites to protect the financial integrity of transactions. When an SSL session begins, the server sends its public key to the browser. The browser then sends a randomly generated secret key back to the server in order to have a secret key exchange for that session.
Satellite Broadband
Satellite broadband is a wireless high-speed Internet connection provided by satellites. Some satellite broadband connections are two-way: up and down. Others are one-way: the satellite provides a high-speed downlink and a dial-up telephone connection or other land-based system provides the uplink to the Internet.
Site Survey
A site survey is the process whereby a wireless network installer inspects a location prior to setting up a wireless network. Site surveys are used to identify the radio- and client-use characteristics of a facility to ensure optimal placement of Access Points.
Smart Display
A wireless, pen-enabled LCD monitor that through integrated wireless capabilities extends the use of your home PC to anywhere in the house (within 100 feet).
Sound Card
Most computers contain sound cards, an expansion board that enables a computer to manipulate and output sounds from a CD player or through speakers. Most sound cards support Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI,) a standard for representing music electronically. In addition, most sound cards are Sound Blaster-compatible, which means that they can process commands written for a Sound Blaster card, the de facto standard for PC sound.
The two basic methods used by sound cards to translate digital data into analog sounds are FM Synthesis (mimics different musical instruments according to built-in formulas) and Wavetable Synthesis (produces more accurate sound by using recordings from actual instruments.
Subnetwork or Subnet
Found in larger networks, these smaller networks are used to simplify addressing between numerous computers. Subnets connect to the central network through a router, hub or gateway. Typically, each wireless LAN is set up to use the same subnet for all the local computers it communicates with.
Switch
A switch is a network device that connects multiple computers on a LAN so they can communicate with one another, the rest of the network, and the Internet. Unlike a hub, users connected to a switch do not share the available bandwidth; each switch port runs at the full bandwidth of the switch port. Switches allow multiple PCs to be connected to the same network without losing bandwidth speed.
System Bus
Connects the processor with the main memory, managing transfer of data and instructions between the two components. The Pentium® 4 processor supports Intel's highest performance desktop system bus by delivering 3.2 GB of data per second into and out of the processor - three times the bandwidth of previous processors. This is accomplished through a physical signaling scheme of quad pumping the data transfers over a 100-MHz clocked system bus and a buffering scheme allowing for sustained 533-MHz data transfers.
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TCP (Transmission Communications Protocol)
TCP is a communications protocol used along with the Internet Protocol (IP) to send data in the form of individual units (called packets) between computers over the Internet. While the IP protocol handles the actual delivery of the data, TCP keeps track of the packets that a message is divided into for efficient routing through the Internet. For example, when a Web page downloads from a Web server, the TCP program layer in that server divides the file into packets, numbers the packets, and then forwards them individually to the IP program layer. Although each packet has the same destination IP address, it may get routed differently through the network. At the other end of the transmission, TCP reassembles the individual packets and waits until they have all arrived to forward them as a single file.
TCP/IP (Transmission Communications Protocol/Internet Protocol)
TCP/IP is the communications protocol that undergirds the Internet and communications between computers in a network. The first part, TCP, is the transport part, which matches the size of the messages on either end of a transmission and guarantees that the correct message has been received. The IP part is the user's computer address on a network. Every computer in a TCP/IP network has its own IP address that is either dynamically assigned at startup or permanently assigned. All TCP/IP messages contain the address of the destination network as well as the address of the destination station. This makes it possible to transmit TCP/IP messages to multiple networks (subnets) within an organization or worldwide.
TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access)
TDMA is a technology for delivering digital wireless service using time-division multiplexing (TDM). TDMA works by dividing a radio frequency into time slots and then allocating slots to multiple calls. In this way, a single frequency can support multiple, simultaneous data channels. TDMA is used by the GSM digital cellular system.
TPM (Trusted Platform Module)
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