Appendix A. Glossary

This appendix contains a list of all the buzzwords and acronyms used throughout the book. You can use this glossary while reading the book or keep it as a future reference. You can also find an electronic version of this glossary on the book's home page. ^[1]

^[1] http://www.radicalsimplicity.com/

3G

The acronym stands for third (or next ) generation of wireless technology beyond personal communications services. The World Administrative Radio Conference assigned 230 megahertz of spectrum at 2 GHz for multimedia 3G networks. These networks must be able to transmit wireless data at 144 kilobits per second for mobile user speeds, 384 kbps for pedestrian user speeds, and 2 megabits per second for fixed locations.

See also [UMTS]

802.11

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers standard for wireless local area network interoperability.

AAA

See [Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting]

Abstraction

A concept in a person's mind that relates to a machine. A high-level abstraction is one in which a machine or part of a machine is thought about in a way that is quite distant from the detail of the actual machine. A low-level abstraction concerns the detail of some aspect of a machine.

ACID

An acronym and mnemonic device for learning and remembering the four primary attributes ensured to any transaction by a transaction manager (also called a transaction monitor). These attributes are: Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability.

Active X

Software technology developed by Microsoft that helps designers include applications in HTML pages. Its lack of security causes many people to prefer Java over Active X.

Address

An address on the Internet is described as a URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, which can be used for any type of addressing, such as email (mailto: info @gallery-net.com), Web pages (http://www.news.com/), and FTP sites (ftp://ftp.netscape.com/pub/). Instead of using domain names , it is also possible to use IP addresses.

See also [Electronic Mail]

See also [File Transfer Protocol]

See also [Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol]

See also [Uniform Resource Locator]

Address Resolution Protocol

(ARP) Used primarily with the Internet Protocol. A network layer to resolve addresses.

Advanced Research Projects Agency Network

(ARPANet) A network that was developed in the late 1960s by the U.S. Department of Defense to allow communication in a postnuclear war age. Predecessor of the Internet.

See also [Internet]

AFK

Net language for "away from keyboard."

Air Interface

The standard operating system of a wireless network; technologies include AMPS, TDMA, CDMA, and GSM.

Agent

A piece of code with some autonomy and purpose.

See also [ Intelligent Agent]

Agent-to-Agent Negotiation

In the me-centric world, agents can execute processes autonomously, so they need to be able to negotiate with other agents on prices, for example. First, the agent requests a bid or contract, and then it starts the contracting phase with one or multiple parties. Once a party has been selected for a particular purpose, the agent needs to monitor that it gets the expected result. If this is not the case, it needs to renegotiate the contract.

AI

See [Artificial Intelligence]

American Standard Code for Information Interchange

(ASCII) A standard for the representation of upper- and lowercase Latin letters , numbers , and punctuation on computers. There are 128 standard ASCII codes that are represented by a 7-digit binary code (2 ⁷ = 128). The other 128 bit codes are used differently on most computers. To display non-Latin codes, Unicode is used in most cases.

See also [Unicode]

American National Standards Institute

(ANSI) The primary organization for fostering the development of technology standards in the United States. Computer standards from ANSI include ASCII and SCSI. See also SCSI.

See also [ASCII]

ANSI

See [American National Standards Institute]

API

See [Application Program Interface]

Applet

Java programs that are embedded into HTML pages. Applets are restricted in such a way that they are, for example, not allowed to read and write to the user's hard disk without explicit permission.

See also [HyperText Markup Language]

See also [Java]

See also [Servlet]

Appliance

An appliance or "network appliance" is a term used to denote a relatively low-cost PC designed for network access and specialized business use.

Appliance Computing

An Internet-based computing architecture where software applications reside on a Web server rather than on the end-user's workstation. The workstation, or appliance, is a thin client. The appliance typically has only an operating system and a connectivity program, such as a Web browser, which allows the appliance to connect to the server in order to access applications that the end-user needs. The purpose of appliance computing is to make remote management easier and more cost effective.

Application

A program that is self-contained and that executes a set of well-defined tasks under user control.

Application Program Interface

(API) Interface that allows the communication between programs, networks, and databases.

Application Service Provider

(ASP) A service provider that makes applications available on a pay-per-use basis. ASPs manage and maintain the applications at their own data center and make the applications available via the Internet to subscribing businesses.

Archie

Software for finding files on anonymous FTP sites. It searches only for filenames, and has been replaced by more powerful Web-based search engines.

See also [File Transfer Protocol]

Architecture

In terms of data processing or information technology, a general term for the structure of all parts of a computer system (hardware and software).

ARPANet

See [Advanced Research Projects Agency Network]

Articulatory Distance

The gap between the semantic representations used at an interface and the physical form of the expressions used in an interaction.

Artificial Intelligence

(AI) A branch of computer science that studies how to endow computers with capabilities of human intelligence.

ASCII

See [American Standard Code for Information Interchange]

Asimov's Laws of Robotics

Science- fiction author Isaac Asimov is often given credit for being the first person to use the term "robotics" in a short story composed in the 1940s. In the story, Asimov suggested three principles to guide the behavior of robots and smart machines. Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics, as they are called, have survived to the present: 1) Robots must never harm human beings. 2) Robots must follow instructions from humans without violating rule 1. 3) Robots must protect themselves without violating the other rules.

Assistant

(also referred to as "Expert" or "Wizard") A tool designed to help users create programs (e.g., databases).

Associative Learning

The second stage of learning a skill in which connections between the various elements of the skill are strengthened . See also Cognitive Learning.

Asynchronous Transfer Mode

(ATM) A dedicated-connection switching technology that organizes digital data into cell units and transmits them over a physical medium using digital signal technology.

@

The commercial aalso referred to as the "at" sign. It has become a symbol recognized the world over as a separator in email addresses.

ATM

See [Asynchronous Transfer Mode]

Authentication

The process of verifying that a person is who he or she claims to be.

Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting

A framework for intelligently controlling access to computer resources, enforcing policies, auditing usage, and providing the information necessary to bill for services. These combined processes are considered important for effective network management and security.

Authorization

The process of allowing system access to a person.

Auto PC

An in-vehicle combination AM/FM radio, Windows CE-based computer, compact disc and CD-ROM player, wireless phone, and navigational system. The units are about the size of a typical car stereo.

Automatic Vehicle Location

(AVL) Combining a location-sensing device (such as a GPS receiver) with a wireless communications link to provide a home office or dispatcher with the location of a vehicle or mobile asset (such as a trailer or heavy machinery).

Avatar

2D or 3D representation or digital actor of a customer in a Web shop or chat room.

AVL

See [Automatic Vehicle Location]

Backbone

The top level of a hierarchical network. Major pathway within a network offering the highest possible speed and connecting all major nodes. The main pipes along which data is transferred.

See also [Network]

See also [Node]

Back-end

The "side" of a client/server program that supplies data (typically, a database server).

See also [Front-end]

Bandwidth

The maximum amount of information that can be sent through a connection at a given time. Usually measured in bits per second (bps). See also T-1.

See also [Binary Digit]

See also [Bits Per Second]

BASIC

See [Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instructional Code]

Baud

Commonly used in the same way as bits per second.

See also [Binary Digit]

See also [Bits Per Second]

See also [ Modulator /Demodulator]

Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instructional Code

(BASIC) Invented at Dartmouth University, a computer language that is easy to learn and highly flexible.

Benchmark

A point of reference by which something can be measured. For example, in a Web site usability evaluation, a benchmark can be the measurement of a participant's performance on a set of predetermined tasks, such as time to complete task. See also Benchmark Completion Time.

Beta

A pre-release of an application that is made available for the purposes of testing.

Binary

Mathematical base 2, or numbers composed of a series of zeros and ones. Because zeros and ones can easily be represented by two voltage levels on an electronic device, the binary number system is widely used in digital computing.

Binary Digit

(Bit) A single digit number in base 2 (therefore 0 or 1). The smallest unit for computerized data.

See also [Byte]

See also [Kilobyte]

See also [Megabyte]

Biometrics

The science and technology of measuring and statistically analyzing biological data.

Bit

See [Binary Digit]

Bits Per Inch

(BPI) Describes the data density on magnetic media in bits per inch.

Bits Per Second

(BPS) A unit for measuring the data transmission rate, for example, the transmission path of a modem. The fastest modems operate today at 56 KBPS. An ASCII letter consists of 8 bits; theoretically speaking, a 56 K modem can transfer 7,000 characters (nearly 2.5 pages of standard letter-size pages) per second.

See also [Bandwidth]

See also [Binary Digit]

Bluetooth

The Bluetooth consortium introduced the open Bluetooth standard 1.0 (available as a PDF file from www.bluetooth.com) in 1999, led by the founding companies Ericsson, Nokia, Toshiba, IBM, and Intel. Bluetooth was developed especially for economical, short-range, wireless links between PDAs, laptops, cellular phones, and other (mobile) devices. Bluetooth devices are capable of detecting each other automatically and setting up a network connection. Using a modulation frequency of 2.4 GHz, data is transferred from one adapter to another, whereby the signals do not have a predefined direction and can, in principle, be received from any other device. Bluetooth functions with spread-spectrum modulation, combined with frequency hopping (1600 frequency hops per second). There are 79 usable hopping frequencies available between 2.402 GHz and 2.480 GHz spaced at 1 MHz. A unique ID plus data encryption ensures that only "authorized" devices can communicate with each other. The maximum data rate is 750 Kbps, and the range is limited to 10 meters . However, the standard also permits 100 meters with increased transmission power. Bluetooth also enables devices to communicate with each other on the basis of JINI technology without being connected by cable. Many of the typical Bluetooth fields of application overlap with those of the IrDA standard for infrared data transmission. The first hardware and software products equipped with Bluetooth were introduced at the end of 1999. Experts predict that by 2005, nearly 700 million of these devices will be in use.

Bookmark

A file that contains references to Web pages that you have already visited, which then can be organized and used to return to a particular page.

Boolean Search

A search allowing the inclusion or exclusion of documents containing certain words through the use of operators such as "AND," "NOT," and "OR."

Boot

To startup or reset a computer. When a computer is booted , the operating system is loaded. There are two different ways of booting a computer. A cold boot means that the computer needs to be powered up from an off state, and a warm boot means that all data in the memory is erased and the operating system is loaded from start.

See also [Operating System]

Bot

Net language for "robot." A piece of software, usually run from a shell account. Most bots are harmless and simply keep channels open for their owners while they are not on IRC. There are some malicious bots, however, made to take over channels, etc. A popular and usually friendly bot series is called "Eggdrop."

See also [IRC]

BPI

See [Bits Per Inch]

BPS

See [Bits Per Second]

Broadband

Describes a communications medium capable of transmitting a relatively large amount of data over a given period of time. A communications channel of high bandwidth.

Brokering

The general act of mediating between buyers and sellers. In the universal network world of the future, brokering technologies, such as E-Speak, will enable universal service-to-service interaction, negotiation, bidding, and selection.

See also [E-Speak]

Browser

Client application that is able to display various kinds of Internet resources.

See also [Client]

See also [Home Page]

See also [Uniform Resource Locator]

See also [World Wide Web]

BSIG

Bluetooth Special Interest Group , with over 1,500 member companies and organizations.

BTW

Net language for "by the way."

Bug

A programming error that causes a malfunction of the computer software or hardware. Not synonymous with Virus .

Building Automation

Describes the sum of all automating measures in buildings (including rented housing and private homes ). Building automation makes it possible to control and regulate technical systems to ensure efficiency, primary energy savings, productivity, and comfort .

Business-to-Me-Commerce

(B2Me) The trillion-dollar shift from e-commerce to a second-generation "me-centric" intelligent and personalized commerce via any media: store, phone, browser, personal digital device, or Web.

BWOTD

Net language for "bad word of the day."

Byte

There are eight bits in a byte, which is used to represent a single ASCII character, for example.

See also [Binary Digit]

Cache

A small, intermediate memory area for exchanging or transferring data, for example, between the hard disk and central processing unit. A cache accelerates hard disk access. A cache is typically used to reduce latency.

Capture Error

A type of error that occurs when a sequence of less familiar actions is "captured" by another, more frequent or better learned sequence, for example driving to work on the weekend when one intended to go somewhere else.

CBT

See [Computer-Based Training]

CEBus

See [Consumer Electronics Bus]

Central Processing Unit

(CPU) The main chip inside every computer that is used to run the operating system and the application software.

CERN

European Laboratory for Particle Physics in Geneva, Switzerland, the birthplace of the World Wide Web.

Certificate Authority

(CA) Issuer of digital certificates; used for encrypting communication and signing documents.

See also [Digital Certificate]

CGI

See [Common Gateway Interface]

Chai

A product-family name for a group of HP products supporting intelligent interaction among embedded devices through the use of the Java programming language and today's Web standards.

Chat

Direct communication over the Internet with multiple persons. Unlike e-mail, responses are made in real time.

See also [Internet Relay Chat]

Checksum

A special calculation applied to validate the transmission of a piece of information. If the information is transmitted and the calculation achieves the same result, then the transmission was successful.

Chip

Term for complex, integrated circuits that can contain several hundred thousand semi-conductor circuits ( transistors or diodes, for example). By creating structures as small as one thousandth of a millimeter, higher levels of integration can be achieved.

Class

In object-oriented programming, a category of objects, or the applet file itself. For example, there might be a class called shape that contains objects that are circles, rectangles, and triangles .

Client

Application that resides on the customer's computer and contacts a server to communicate, such as IRC clients or Web clients .

See also [Internet Relay Chat]

See also [World Wide Web]

Client/Server

Databases in a network often administered from a central location by a server. Client software installed on the user's computer retrieves required data from the server.

Clipboard

A piece of memory that stores information temporarily.

CODEC

Program or device that COmpresses/DECompresses digital video.

Code Division Multiple Access

(CDMA) A spread-spectrum air interface technology used in some digital cellular, personal communications services, and other wireless networks.

Cognitive Complexity

A measure of the demands made on the user's cognitive system, in terms of, for example, complexity of information presented to the user in the interface, complexity of layout, demands made on short-term (working) memory, variability of the interface, pace of interaction, etc. This is one of the most important criteria measured in a usability test.

See also [Cognitive Overload]

See also [Usability Testing]

Cognitive Overload

Excessive demands made on the cognitive processes, in particular, memory.

Cognitive System

The mental apparatus that translates inputs from the perceptual system into outputs to the motor system through the use of memory processes.

Cognitive Walkthrough

An evaluation method, similar to a heuristic evaluation, whereby an expert evaluates the usability of a design. The evaluator constructs task scenarios from a specification, and then role-plays the part of a user. Potential problems are evaluated against psychological criteria.

Collaborative Filtering

A filter is applied to information from different sites to select relevant data that may apply to the specific e-commerce experience of a customer or specific group of customers.

Common Gateway Interface

(CGI) A standard that describes how a Web browser passes information to a Web server. CGI programs read the information, process it, and pass the results back to the Web browser.

Common Object Request Broker Architecture

(CORBA) An architecture and specification for creating, distributing, and managing distributed program objects in a network. It allows programs at different locations and developed by different vendors to communicate in a network through an "interface broker."

Compiler

A program that translates a programming language into machine code.

Compression

Technology to reduce the size of files and save bandwidth.

See also [Bandwidth]

Computer-Based Training

(CBT) A way of learning that uses a computer and a software package as the delivery mechanism, offering information on a certain subject and a test for the pupil .

Concept Search

Instead of searching for documents that contain a given keyword, a concept search will search for documents related conceptually to a given keyword.

Conceptual Model

Refers to the knowledge that a person has about the system and the way it should work.

Constraints

A Boolean relation, often an equality or inequality relation, between the values of one or more variables (often two). These relations check certain conditions at the table level, for example, whether a particular range of values was violated for numerical fields. e.g., x 3 is a constraint on x.

Constraint Satisfaction

The process of assigning values to variables so that all constraints are true.

Consumer Electronics Bus

(CEB) A communications standard for home networks developed by the Electronics Industry Association (EIA) and the Consumer Electronics Manufacturer Association (CEMA).

Content

Information that has a tangible aspect because it has been collected and contained in a content object. Content can be unstructured (usually text) or structured (in a database). Content can be collected at differing levels of granularity.

Content Management

The process of developing, maintaining, organizing, and deploying Web content to efficiently support the collaborative activities of content creators , site administrators, and users.

Context

Environmental information that is part of an application's operating environment and that can be sensed by the application.

Context of Use

A description of the actual conditions of which the system is under assessment, or will be used in a normal day-to-day working situation. Examples of conditions include: the users, tasks, equipment, and the physical, social, and organizational environments in which the system is used.

Continuous Speech Recognition

A computer-based speech system that can recognize a string of spoken words.

Control Prog/Monitor

(CP/M) Operating system created by Gary Kildall in the 1970s.

Controlled Vocabulary

A predetermined list that specifies the acceptable terms that can be used to describe a particular information resource. Control of these terms is necessary to solve two common problems: (1) Users employ different terms to describe the same resource (oil, petrol, petroleum, gas), or (2) a term can have multiple meanings (musical pitch, pitch the ball, sales pitch, etc.).

Cookie

Piece of information that is stored in the browser and can be retrieved by the server that placed the information there. This piece of information can be used to identify a user.

CORBA

See [Common Object Request Broker Architecture]

CP/M

See [Control Prog/Monitor]

CPU

See [Central Processing Unit]

CRC

See [Cyclical Redundancy Check]

Credentials

What must be presented to an agent, service or system that accepts your requests to delegate, and what you might need to show others down the line.

Credit Card Processor

Service provider for electronic and non-electronic businesses to process credit card transactions and verify credibility of customers.

Cross-post

A message that is sent simultaneously to several newsgroups.

See also [Newsgroups]

Cyberculture

A collection of cultures and cultural products that exist on and are made possible by the Internet, along with the stories told about these cultures and cultural products.

Cyberspace

First used in the book Neuromancer , by William Gibson, published in 1984. It is used to describe the Internet.

See also [Internet]

Cyclical Redundancy Check

(CRC) Checksum for correcting errors that occur during data transmission.

Daemon

A background process waiting for a client to start up the service, such as the POP3 daemon, which runs continually, but is activated only when people retrieve e-mail using an e-mail client.

Data Dictionary

Area of memory in which all information on a database and the accompanying programs are stored and managed. This includes information on tables, triggers, constraints, relations, and indices.

Database

A term with several meanings: refers to a DBMS (Database Management System) as well as a file that contains, for example, customer addresses or other data. A database can combine several tables into one file. Often, only one table is allowed per database file for PC databases. In this case, the user can still create a link to other tables from various files (see Referential Integrity ).

Data Encryption Key

(DEK) A string used to mathematically encode a message so that it can be decrypted only by someone with the same key.

Data Encryption Standard

(DES) Encryption scheme developed by IBM in the 1970s.

Data Header

Data structure at the beginning of a data packet header.

Data Packet

Data is generally transmitted within networks in the form of data packets. These packets contain the header, the actual data (user data), and redundant data (CRC) for error correction on the receiving end.

Data Rate

Also known as data transfer rate. Indicates the number of data units per specified time interval in bps (bits per second).

Data Record

Combines all the data for a specific table entry into a logical entity. Using a file-card box as an analogy, a record would be the equivalent of one file card.

Data Throughput

Transmission rate of the actual user data (excluding redundant data for error correction or data for delimiting individual data blocks, e.g., header). Specified in cps (characters per second).

DCOM

See [Distributed Component Object Model]

Decryption

The reconstruction of encrypted data.

Delegation

In a me-centric world, tasks can be completely delegated to intelligent agents and appliances that will work autonomously to get the desired result.

See also [Intelligent Agent]

See also [Intelligent Appliance]

Demilitarized Zone

Zone in multilayered firewalls that contains public Internet services.

DES

See [Data Encryption Standard]

Descrambling

See [Decryption]

Description Error

A type of slip that occurs when information is misinterpreted, resulting in an incorrect action. These errors tend to occur when different actions have similar descriptions.

Device

A machine designed for a purpose. In a general context, a computer can be considered a device.

DHCP

See [Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol]

DHTML

See [Dynamic HyperText Markup Language]

Digerati

The digital elite; invented by Wired magazine. Derived from the word literati .

Digital Certificate

File containing information about its owner that can be used to identify the owner.

See also [Certificate Authority]

See also [Secure Sockets Layer]

Distributed Component Object Model

(DCOM) A set of Microsoft concepts and program interfaces in which client program objects can request services from server program objects on other computers in a network.

Distributed Model

The theory that people have neither purely functional nor purely structural models of devices, but, in fact, have knowledge that is distributed between the mind (where such knowledge may be functional, structural, or a combination of the two) and the world.

DMZ

See [Demilitarized Zone]

DNS

See [Domain Name System]

Domain

In an Internet address (or URL), the domain names separated by dots are listed according to the protocol and service (such as "http://www"). An example is "ebusinessrevolution" (second level domain) and "com" (top-level domain). The top-level domain can contain a country code ("fr" for France) or an abbreviation indicating the type of server (for example, "com" for commercial companies, "org" for organizations, or "edu" for educational institutions).

Domain Name

The name of a computer connected to the Internet. The domain name is used to form a URL.

See also [Uniform Resource Locator]

Domain Name System

(DNS) Database that links IP addresses and domain names.

See also [Domain Name]

See also [Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol]

Domotik

Widespread industry solution designed to connect products such as security, telecommunications, household appliances, and heating systems by means of an integrated residential wiring system. All electrically controlled devices are networked via the European Installation Bus (EIB) and controlled by a multimedia PC. Domotik can also be operated with the HomeAssistant multimedia program used for entering the various functions. HomeAssistant runs on standard multimedia PCs. The user-friendly graphical interface is, to a large extent, self-explanatory.

Download

Information (e.g., PDF files) or programs can be copied from a server (e.g., the Internet) to the computer's hard disk or other data media. Common examples of downloaded data include drivers for hardware components or updates for software applications.

DWIM

Net language for "do what I mean."

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

(DHCP) Internet standard, based on RFC 1541, for the automatic allocation of IP addresses.

Dynamic HyperText Markup Language

(DHTML) An extension to HTML that allows for better user interaction and introduces dynamic Web page creation.

E911

911 service becomes E911 when automatic number identification and automatic location information is provided to the 911 operator.

EBCDIC

See [Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code]

E-Cash

See [Electronic Cash]

ECC

See [Error Correction Code]

ECMA

See [European Computer Manufacturers Association]

EDGE

See [Enhanced Data GSM Environment]

EDI

See [Electronic Data Interchange]

EHS

See [European Home System]

EIB

See [European Installation Bus]

EIBA

See [European Installations Bus Association]

EIDE

See [Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics]

E-mail

See [Electronic Mail]

Electronic Cash

Electronic money that can be exchanged on the Internet for goods, information, and services. It is mostly used for micropayment solutions.

See also [Micropayments]

Electronic Data Interchange

(EDI) A standard for the interorganizational computer-to-computer exchange of structured information.

Electronic Mail

Exchange of digital documents via the Internet.

Emoticon

Sideways "face" that expresses emotions without words on the Internet using special characters on the keyboard. The bestknown emoticon is the smiley :-). If you can't see the face, turn your head to the left and look again. Other emoticons include the smiling pirate .-) and the sad person :-(.

Encryption

Procedure to render a message illegible to anyone who is not authorized to read it.

Enhanced Data GSM Environment

(EDGE) A faster version of the Global System for Mobile (GSM) wireless service designed to deliver data at rates up to 384 Kbps and enable the delivery of multimedia and other broadband applications to mobile phone and computer users.

Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics

(EIDE) An advanced development of the IDE standard offering higher data transfer rates and support for newer drives .

Episodic Memory

The storage of autobiographical experience, for example, the objects, events, and people who have been personally encountered . In psychological experiments, episodic memory is tested using sets of words and pictures.

EPOC

Operating system designed for small, portable computer-telephones with wireless access to phone and other information services. EPOC is based on a well-known operating system from Psion, the first major manufacturer of personal digital assistants (PDAs).

Error Correction Code

(ECC) Redundant data that helps detect errors and eliminate them through recalculation. ECC on-the-fly means that hardware error correction for hard disks takes place while the data is being transferred.

E-service

An electronic service available via the Internet that completes tasks, solves problems, or conducts transactions. E-services can be used by people, businesses, and other e-services, and can be accessed via a wide range of information appliances.

E-Speak

The universal language of e-services. To accelerate the creation of an open e-services world, HP has engineered E-Speak technology. The E-Speak platform provides a common services interface, making it easier and faster to create, deploy, manage, and connect e-services. Through the process of dynamic brokering, E-Speak lets an e-service discover other e-services anywhere on the Internet and link with them on the flyeven if they were built using different technology.

See also [Brokering]

ESPRIT

European Strategic Program for Research and Development of Information Technology.

Ethernet

Networking standard for connecting computers on an intranet, also known as IEEE 802.3.

See also [Bandwidth]

See also [Intranet]

European Computer Manufacturers Association

(ECMA) The European Association of computer manufacturers with the goal of defining common standards.

European Home System

(EHS) Created under the auspices of the EU project ESPRIT (European Strategic Program for Research and Development of Information Technology). It uses electrical wiring as the installation bus and offers a data throughput of up to 2.4 Kbps. A separate two-wired cable can also be used instead of an electrical cable. This increases the potential data throughput to a maximum of 48 Kbps. EHS and EIB are to be united into a common standard.

European Installation Bus

(EIB) Network technology for residential wiring. EIB is designed for two-wire cable only. EIB versions for electrical cables as well as wireless systems for radio and infrared (as a functional prototype) have recently become available. The Siemens "Instabus" complies with the guidelines of the EIB standard, as well as Domotik developed by Bosch. The version EIB.net can also use normal data networks in accordance with IEEE 802.2, with transfer rates of up to Ethernet 10 Mbps. The extension EIB.net "i" allows forwarding, for example, via the normal IP router and thus the EIB connection via the Internet. Maximum EIB data transfer rate is 9.6 Kbps.

European Installations Bus Association

(EIBA) The EIB Association is a widespread manufacturer association dedicated to establishing the EIB standard. Over 100 manufacturers and more than 8,000 licensers throughout Europe offer nearly 5,000 EIB components.

Expert System

A database of knowledge in a particular scientific or technical speciality, maintained by speciality experts and capable of reasoning according to predefined rules.

Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code

IBM's 8-bit extension of the 4-bit Binary Coded Decimal encoding of digits 0-9 (0000-1001).

eXtensible Markup Language

(XML) A flexible way to create common information formats and share both the format and the data on the Internet.

Extranet

Extended intranets used to share information with business partners over the Internet in a very secure way.

See also [Intranet]

Familiarity

The degree of correlation between the user's existing knowledge and the knowledge required for effective interaction with a system.

FAQ

See [Frequently Asked Question]

Fast-SCSI

Transmission protocol compliant with SCSI-2 that allows data transmission of up to 10 Mbyte/s on a 8-bit bus.

FDDI

See [Fibre Distributed Data Interface]

Fibre Channel

A technology for transmitting data between computer devices at a data rate of up to 1 Gbps (one billion bits per second). (A data rate of 4 Gbps is proposed.) Fibre Channel is especially suited for connecting computer servers to shared storage devices and for interconnecting storage controllers and drives.

Fibre Distributed Data Interface

(FDDI) Standard for computer connections on optical fibre cables at a rate of 100 Mbit. See also T-1, T-3.

See also [Bandwidth]

See also [Ethernet]

Field

The smallest unit in a record in a database. Each field has a specific data type that contains, for example, text, dates, currencies, etc.

File Transfer Protocol

(FTP) Internet protocol that allows the movement of files from one Internet site to another one. Public FTP servers allow the upload and download of files, creating public file archives.

Finger

Tool to locate people on other UNIX servers. It helps to see if a certain person is online.

Firehunter

A comprehensive solution for measuring, monitoring, and reporting on Internet services.

Firewall

A tool to separate an intranet from the Internet by disallowing connections on certain ports, keeping the intranet very secure.

See also [Intranet]

See also [Network]

FireWire

See [IEEE 1394]

Firmware

Commands stored in a ROM chip for controlling the hard disk. This data can usually be updated (known as flashing the ROM).

Flame

A crude or witless comment on a newsgroup posting or e-mail.

See also [Flame War]

Flame War

Instead of discussing positions in an online discussion, personal attacks (or flames) against the debators are exchanged.

See also [Flame]

Flat File

A database in ASCII format that separates records by a special character.

See also [American Standard Code for Information Interchange]

See also [Database]

Flooding

On IRC, when a person sends many messages in a very short period of time. You are normally limited to one line every second. So if you send 10 lines in three seconds, you are flooding. Bots in channels have the authority to remove users from the channel for flooding.

See also [Bot]

Font

Typographic style, such as Times New Roman or Helvetica.

Forward

Sending an e-mail on to a third person.

See also [Electronic Mail]

Frame

Frames make it possible to divide the browser window into several sections and independently configure and control their contents. Thus, a fixed menu can be shown in one frame while scrolling text, images, or animations can be displayed in another.

See also [Browser]

See also [HyperText Markup Language]

Frame Relay

A broadband, packet-based interface used to transmit bursts of data over a wide area network. Seldom used for voice.

Freenet

Internet access provided on a nonprofit basis.

Freeware

Software that is available to anyone without paying a fee, while the author retains the copyright.

Frequently Asked Question

(FAQ) Many home pages and nearly all newsgroups offer FAQ lists to answer questions frequently asked by users. To save time, it is often sufficient to refer to the list of FAQs to determine whether specific questions have already been answered .

Front-end

Refers to a part of a program that allows user to access the database.

See also [Back-end]

FTP

See [File Transfer Protocol]

Full-Duplex

Transmission protocol for the simultaneous transfer of data and signals in both directions.

Full-Text Index

Database containing every word of every document, including stop words.

See also [Stop Words]

Functional Model

A user's mental model that consists of the "how to use it" knowledge about an object.

See also [Distributed Model]

See also [Structural Model]

Fuzzy Search

Finds matches even if the keyword is misspelled or only partially spelled.

FWIW

Net language meaning "for what it's worth."

FYI

Net language meaning "for your information."

Gateway

Architecture for bridging between two networks that work with different protocols.

General Packet Radio Service

(GPRS) Packet-based wireless communication service that promises data rates from 56 up to 114 Kbps and continuous connection to the Internet for mobile phone and computer users.

Geographic Information System

(GIS) Enables you to envision the geographic aspects of a body of data. Basically, it lets you query or analyze a relational database and receive the results in the form of some kind of map.

Gigabyte

1,024 Megabytes, but some round it off to 1,000 Megabytes, because it is easier to calculate with.

See also [Byte]

See also [Megabyte]

GIS

See [Geographic Information System]

Glitch

Small malfunction in the hardware or software that does not cause an interruption.

Global Positioning System

(GPS) A series of 24 geosynchronous satellites that continuously transmit their position. Used in personal tracking, navigation, and automatic vehicle location technologies.

Global System for Mobile Communication

(GSM) A digital mobile telephone system that is widely used in Europe and other parts of the world. GSM uses a variation of time division multiple access (TDMA) and is the most widely used of the three digital wireless telephone technologies (TDMA, GSM, and CDMA).

Glyph

From a Greek word for "carving," a glyph is a graphic symbol that provides the appearance or form for a character. A glyph can be an alphabetic or numeric font or some other symbol that pictures an encoded character.

GPRS

See [General Packet Radio Service]

GPS

See [Global Positioning System]

Granularity

The level of complexity of a content object. There are coarsely grained content objects (e.g., sites, databases, applications, collections) and finely grained content objects (e.g., documents, audio clips, drawings). More coarsely grained content objects contain more different types of content objects. Examples: (towards finer granularity) bookchapterpageparagraphsentencewordletter; videostoryeventshotframe.

Graphical User Interface

(GUI) Allows users to navigate and interact with information on their computer screen by using a mouse to point, click, and drag icons and other data around on the screen, instead of typing words and phrases. The Windows and Macintosh operating systems are examples of GUIs. The World Wide Web is an example of a GUI designed to enhance navigation of the Internet, once done exclusively via terminal-based (typed command line) functions.

Grep

UNIX command to scan files for patterns; also used as a synonym for fast manual searching.

GSM

See [Global System for Mobile Communication]

GUI

See [Graphical User Interface]

Guru

Synonym for expert.

Hacker

Skilled computer programmer or engineer who loves a challenge. Not synonymous with "computer criminal" or "security breaker."

Handheld Device Markup Language

(HDML) Written to allow Internet access from wireless devices such as handheld personal computers and smart phones. Derived from HyperText Markup Language .

See also [Wireless Markup Language]

HCI

See [Human-Computer Interaction]

HDML

See [Handheld Device Markup Language]

HDSL

See [High-data-rate DSL]

Header

Contains information about the type and/or meaning and/or structure of the subsequent data packet. The header forms the beginning of a data packet, so it can also be used to mark the end of the previous data structure.

Hello World!

The program that every computer student learns first; program outputs "Hello World!"

Heuristic

Usability principles or "rules of thumb", with which a system should be guided.

See also [Heuristic Evaluation]

Heuristic Evaluation

A method for evaluating a design if certain heuristics or usability criteria are violated. It is similar to the cognitive walkthrough in that it is carried out by an expert but is less structured.

See also [Heuristic]

See also [Cognitive Walkthrough]

High-data-rate DSL

Transmission procedure capable of a transmission rate of 1,544 Kbps (T1) or with 2,048 Kbps (E1) with pulsecode modulation via dual copper wires.

Hit

The download of an element on a Web page. If a Web page consists of HTML text, two images, and a sound file, then there have been four hits on the Web server. It is a way to measure the load of the server.

See also [HyperText Markup Language]

Home Page

Starting page, i.e., page 1 of a Web site (WWW). It usually contains a table of contents and links to other areas or pages on the site.

Host

See [Server]

HTML

See [HyperText Markup Language]

HTTP

See [HyperText Transfer Protocol]

Human-Computer Interaction

The study of how humans interact with computers, used to design computers that are easy for humans to use. A user interface, such as a GUI, is how a human interacts with a computer. HCI goes beyond designing screens and menus that are easier to use and studies the reasoning behind building specific functionality into computers and the long-term effects that systems will have on humans.

See also [GUI]

Human Factors

The field that studies the role of humans in manmachine systems and how systems can be designed to work well with people, particularly in regard to safety and efficiency.

Hypertext

Web documents that contain links to other documents.

HyperText Markup Language

(HTML) The language for developing documents for the World Wide Web.

See also [Client]

See also [Server]

See also [World Wide Web]

Hypertext Taxonomy

A taxonomy composed of hyperlinks that enable the non-sequential retrieval of related information, allowing users to follow associative trails within or between taxonomies in order to quickly locate specific resources.

HyperText Transfer Protocol

(HTTP) The protocol for transporting files from a Web server to a Web browser.

See also [Client]

See also [Server]

See also [World Wide Web]

IBT

See [Internet-Based Training]

Icon

Mnemonic convention to replace functional names by images. An icon can be a metaphor when such a metaphor is appropriate. When a metaphor cannot be found for an icon, the design of such an icon will take special effort in terms of user testing.

See also [Metaphor]

IDL

See [Interface Definition Language]

IEEE 1394

The P-1394 bus technology originally developed by Apple became the industry standard IEEE 1394/1995 in 1995, also known as "FireWire." The IEEE 1394 technology describes a serial interface for computer and video devices for transmitting digital data up 400 Mbps. In 1997, Sony introduced its "i.Link" logo for identifying standardized IEEE-1394 interfaces.

IMAP

See [Internet Mail Access Protocol]

IMHO

Net language for "in my humble opinion."

Implementation

The process of actually programming and testing a software system.

Incremental Prototyping

An extensive form of prototyping in which the prototype is gradually developed into the product. Also known as evolutionary prototyping.

Index

A searchable database of documents created automatically or manually by a search engine.

Information Architecture

The design of information organization, labeling, navigation, and indexing systems to support both browsing and searching in order to minimize the time that users spend looking for information.

Information Management

The application of information science principles to the administration of corporate information to ensure that information is captured, formatted, maintained, and disseminated across the organization to support decision-making and future use.

See also [Information Science]

Information Science

Generally refers to the study of the production, collection, classification, storage, manipulation, retrieval, dissemination , use, and measurement of information. Distinct from Computer Science and Information Systems, which focus primarily on the study of technology and the design of hardware and software, Information Science examines the interaction among people, technology, and information.

Infranet

Communication structure for networking equipment in the household or in other applications such as gas stations , restaurants , medical technology, or agriculture (a supplement to Internet and intranet).

Infrared Data Association

(IrDA) An industry-sponsored organization set up in 1993 to create international standards for the hardware and software used in infrared communication links. In this special form of radio transmission, a focused ray of light in the infrared frequency spectrum, measured in terahertz, or trillions of hertz (cycles per second), is modulated with information and sent from a transmitter to a receiver over a relatively short distance.

Intelligent Agent

A responsibility-accepting performer to whom you delegate and from whom you get desired results or exception reporting, usually possessing context, task knowledge, and knowledge-based means to bring about desired results under given constraints, e.g., an application that helps a customer by completing transactions, seeking information or prices, or communicating with other agents and customers.

Intelligent Appliance

Any type of equipment, instrument, or machine that has its own computing capability. As computing technology becomes more advanced and less expensive, it can be built into an increasing number of devices of all kinds. In addition to personal and handheld computers, the almost infinite list of possible intelligent appliances includes cars , medical instruments, geological equipment, and home appliances. In the me-centric world, it is a device that uses intelligent agents to perform the work that needs to be done.

See also [Intelligent Agent]

Intelligent Home

Control signals for building automation or transmitting multimedia signals. The forerunners of today's modern concepts: Professor Ken Sakamura's Tron house in Tokyo in the 1980s and Chriet Titulaer's Huis van de Toekomst in Rosmalen (Holland).

Interaction

Reciprocal action between a human and a computer.

Interaction Design

A systematic and iterative process for designing highly interactive user interfaces. Methodology includes research and discovery techniques such as requirements analysis, stakeholder analysis, task analysis, as well as prototyping, inspection, and evaluation methods .

Interface Definition Language

(IDL) The prevalent language used for defining how components connect together. Beyond its use in CORBA systems, it has proven a popular way to describe platform and language-neutral connection interfaces, including the core API for XMLthe Document Object Model (DOM). Even variations on IDL, such as that used by Component Object Model (COM), tend to be similar to IDL. Understanding IDL helps to bring about key insights to many of the techniques of component programming.

International Standards Organization

(ISO) A federation of national standards bodies such as BSI and ANSI.

Internet

Worldwide conglomeration of data networks. Initially intended for military use, the Internet was increasingly used for exchanging research data among universities and institutes. Today, online service providers and network providers have made the Internet available to everyone. It is the computer network for business and leisure based on the TCP/IP protocol. All other computer networks have become irrelevant. Evolved from ARPAnet.

See also [Advanced Research Projects Agency Network]

See also [Network]

See also [Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol]

Internet-Based Training

(IBT) Evolution of computer-based training; offers real-time learning over the Internet with a teacher.

See also [Computer-Based Training]

Internet Mail Access Protocol

(IMAP) RFC 1730[-33] The IMAP4 protocol allows a client to access and manipulate electronic mail messages on a server. This should be viewed as a superset of the POP3. The IMAP4 server listens on TCP port 143. IMAP is definitely an emerging technology, and it completely outperforms the older POP environment functionally.

Internet Protocol

(IP)

See also [Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol]

Internet Protocol Number

Unique address for every computer connected to the Internet. Currently, each is composed of a series of four (IPv4) or six (IPv6) numbers, separated by dots. Example: 127.0.0.1. Domain names refer to IP numbers.

See also [Domain Name]

See also [Internet]

See also [Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol]

Internet Relay Chat

(IRC) Multiuser chat facility on the Internet. Many servers around the world are interconnected to allow hundreds of thousands of users to chat at the same time. Special IRC clients are necessary to connect.

Internet Service Provider

(ISP) A company that provides individuals and other companies access to the Internet and other related services such as personal mail boxes. An ISP has the equipment and the telecommunication line access required to have points-of-presence on the Internet for the geographic area served .

Internet Society

(ISOC) Nongovernmental international organization for global cooperation and coordination of the Internet and its technologies and applications.

Intranet

Private network that is based on the same technologies as the Internet, but is restricted to a certain user group.

See also [Internet]

See also [Network]

IP

See also [Internet Protocol]

See also [TCP/IP]

IP Address

Address of a single computer in the Internet. The IP address consists of four numbers from 0 to 255, each separated by dots (example: 123.27.1.155). To make this system more practical for users, IP addresses are converted into alphanumeric names. IPv6 will extend the range from four numbers to six numbers, thus making many more IP addresses available for appliances.

IPv6

The latest level of the Internet protocol (IP), now included as part of IP support in many products, including the major computer operating systems.

IRC

See [Internet Relay Chat]

IRC-Op

IRC operators who administrate the IRC servers on an international level. These operators have access to additional commands unavailable to normal users.

ISO

See [International Standards Organization]

ISOC

See [Internet Society]

ISP

See [Internet Service Provider]

JAR

See [Java Archive]

Java

Programming language developed by Sun with cross-platform neutrality, object-orientation, and networking in mind.

See also [Applet]

See also [Java Development Kit]

Java Archive

(JAR) A file format used to bundle all components required by a Java applet. JAR files simplify the downloading of applets because all the components (class files, images, sounds, etc.) can be packaged into a single file.

Java Development Kit

(JDK) Basic development package from Sun distributed for free in order to write, test, and debug Java programs.

See also [Applet]

See also [Java]

Java Intelligent Network Infrastructure

(JINI) Sun introduced JINI technology in the summer of 1998. It is based on Java and can "spontaneously" network connected devices. In other words, devices that are dynamically connected to the network are immediately detected throughout the entire network. JINI regulates the communication between computers and other devices in the network and allows peripherals to be connected to the network without special configurations and used immediately. The self-identifying devices transmit their technical specifications and eliminate the need the for "manual" driver selection. In contrast to Ethernet systems, JINI automatically allocates resources.

JavaScript

Scripting language developed by Netscape that allows interaction within HTML pages.

See also [HyperText Markup Language]

JDK

See [Java Development Kit]

JetSend

A device-to-device communications protocol that allows devices to intelligently negotiate information exchange. The protocol allows two devices to connect, negotiate the best possible data type, provide device status, and exchange information, without user intervention.

JINI

See [Java Intelligent Network Infrastructure]

JIT

See [Just-In-Time]

Jitter

The deviation in or displacement of some aspect of the pulses in a high-frequency digital signal. As the name suggests, jitter can be thought of as shaky pulses . The deviation can be in terms of amplitude, phase timing, or the width of the signal pulse.

Joint Photographic Experts Group

(JPEG) One of the most popular graphic formats. The JPEG format frequently used in digital photography compresses large or color - intensive pictures to a fraction of their original size. This reduces storage requirements and file transfer time (i.e., on the Internet).

JPEG

Image format for the Internet using lossy compression algorithms.

See also [Joint Photographic Experts Group]

Just-In-Time

(JIT) The concept of reducing inventories by working closely with suppliers to coordinate delivery of materials just before their use in the manufacturing or supply process.

Kilobyte

1,024 bytes, or sometimes 1,000 bytes.

See also [Binary Digit]

See also [Byte]

Knowbie

Expert in computer networking.

Knowledge

Facts or ideas acquired by study, investigation, observation, or experience. Within the framework of Information Science, knowledge results from the contextual analysis of information, which can be used repeatedly to inform decision making.

Knowledge Management

The discipline of gathering, organizing, managing, and disseminating a corporation's structured and unstructured information resources in order to improve corporate decision making and maximize staff productivity.

See also [Structured Information]

See also [Unstructured Information]

Lag

The delay caused by high traffic congestion or other overloading between IRC servers or Internet provider sites, resulting in slow communications.

LAN

See [Local Area Network]

Last-Mile Technology

Any telecommunications technology, such as wireless radio, that carries signals from the broad telecommunication infrastructure along the relatively short distance (hence, the "last mile") to and from the home or business.

LDAP

See [Lightweight Directory Access Protocol]

Learning

This refers to acquiring new concepts, new skills, and new knowledge to perform a job. In the HCI context, it refers to how users learn new interfaces in order to solve problems. The theory is that once an adult reaches a certain age, learning becomes very difficult. The HCI course offers several solutions to minimize learning difficulties.

Learning through Analogy

The invoking of prior knowledge of an apparently similar object or system as a basis for interpreting new information.

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol

A technology that provides access to X.500 for PCs.

Likert Scale

A rating scale designed to measure user attitudes or reactions by quantifying subjective information. Participants indicate where along a continuum their attitude or reaction resides.

Link

Allows the user to branch from one Web page to another. Links are usually displayed as underlined text on HTML pages. Clicking these links makes it possible to "surf" the World Wide Web.

Local Area Network

(LAN) Computer network limited to a certain location.

See also [Ethernet]

See also [Wide Area Network]

Login

Account name to gain access to a system.

See also [Password]

LOL

Net language for "laughing out loud."

Look-up Service

Also known as " spontaneous networking" because each device is detected immediately (as soon as it is connected to the network). A component of the JINI system architecture that registers every active JINI device in the network, together with its technical characteristics in a table, and makes it available to authorized users. Example: A handheld computer that has been registered in the look-up service detects available printers, free memory space on a hard disk in a desktop computer, or an Internet connection.

Mailing List

A system to redistribute mail from one person to many other people who are interested in that mail. Mailing lists are used to create online discussions, similar to newsgroups; however, the mail is sent automatically, while newsgroups require the user to actively retrieve the information.

See also [Electronic Mail]

See also [Newsgroups]

Management by Exception

A principle of management in which a management decision that cannot be made at one level is passed up to the next level for a decision; i.e., exceptional decisions are passed up the management tree.

Megabyte

1,024 Kilobytes, or sometimes 1,000 Kilobytes.

See also [Binary Digit]

See also [Byte]

See also [Kilobyte]

Man-Machine Interface

(MMI) An old term for human-computer interface. It used to include automatic and semi-automatic machinery that is not necessarily a computer or is computer-controlled.

Me-centric

Approach in computing that puts the human needs in the focus of the design. Instead of creating tools that help people doing their tasks, me-centric computing does the tasks on behalf of the people.

Mental model

Humans establish mental models of how things work, or how they would behave in a particular situation. For example, having been a student at a university for a while, a student can establish a "mental model" of attending a university. That is, he goes to classes, talks to his classmates about how to accomplish certain homework assignments, knows how to interact with his professors, etc. Suppose now a virtual university is being offered to students for online courses, and a Web site is to be constructed for the virtual university. This Web site should understand and respect the "mental models" of targeted students in order to avoid confusion for the students in finding their way around at the virtual university.

Message

Messages or private messages refer to messages sent to one or more IRC participants. These messages can only be read by the recipient and the sender.

Message Handling System

X.400 series of recommendations of abstract services and protocols used to provide electronic mail services in an OSI networking environment. X.500 is a series of recommendations that provide a distributed, user-friendly subscriber directory to help users address X.400 messages. These services are called simply "the directory."

Message Transfer Agents

(MTA) Part of the X.400 OSI stack. Responsible for the actual transport of the message between user agents. MTAs typically reside on separate machines.

Metadata

Assigned information "tags" or key words that help index documents or resources by providing background information, such as creation date, author, and date of last update. Metadata is not necessarily visible to the user, but rather works in the background to ensure that documents are properly indexed for searching. It can be stored in fields in the document itself or in a relational database, which "fills" document fields with associated metadata when a particular document or resource is retrieved by a user.

Metaphor

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them. Designers of graphical user interfaces often use well-known objects as interface metaphors to give users an indication of how interface objects will behave. For example, an image of a trash can has been adopted to indicate the operation of deleting files.

Micropayments

Payments that have a value between a fraction of a cent and roughly 10 dollars/euros.

Mirror Site

Site that contains an exact copy of the original site. They are used to spread the load over several sites and to speed up the download for customers by placing the server nearer to them.

MMI

See [Man-Machine Interface]

Mobility

The ability to use a device in any location and at any time.

Mock-up

Another term for prototypes, usually referring to low-fidelity prototypes , such as paper illustrations, screenshots, or simple configurations of screens with limited interaction.

Modem

See [Modulator/Demodulator]

Modulator/Demodulator

(Modem) Device between computer and phone line that converts computer signals to a form that can be used to transport the data over telephone networks.

Motion Picture Experts Group

(MPEG) A common workgroup (Working Group 11, also known as the International MPEG Laboratory) of the International Standards Organization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). MPEG was founded in 1988 by over 100 companies to negotiate proposals and define standards in specific expert groups (requirement or system groups).

Motivation

The presence of some degree of necessity between the signified and signifier of a sign. Makes the sign proper, and complete motivation makes the sign lawful. For example, a painting may resemble its subject, making it a proper sign.

MPEG

See [Motion Picture Experts Group]

Multi-Mode Interfaces

Use of multiple modes, such as voice and images, at the same time, to communicate with the user. A typical example is a car navigation system, which provides a map of the route and a voice that tells which is the next turn to take.

Netiquette

Code of behavior on the Internet.

Netizen

Responsible citizen on the Internet.

Network

The connection of two or more computers in order to share resources.

Networked House

House or apartment with a cabled or wireless intelligent network used to support the inhabitants.

See also [Intelligent Home]

Network News Transport Protocol

(NNTP) Standard protocol for exchanging postings and newsgroups over the Internet.

Newsgroups

The " blackboards " of the Internet. Includes thousands of public information and discussion forums sorted according to topic. Participants can read and submit messages. Discussion group on USENET.

See also [USENET]

Node

A device connected to a network.

NNTP

See [Network News Transport Protocol]

Object-Oriented Programming

(OOP) Art of programming independent pieces of code, which are then able to interact with each other. This program philosophy was made popular through Smalltalk, Object Pascal, and C++.

ODBC

See [Open Database Connectivity]

Offline

Not connected to the Internet.

Online

Connected to the Internet.

On-Screen Display

(OSD) A screen menu providing user instructions and simplifying operation.

OOP

See [Object-Oriented Programming]

Open Database Connectivity

(ODBC) Interface defined by Microsoft for database systems. With an ODBC driver installed on a PC, the user can access other formats such as dBase, Oracle, Paradox, or Access.

Operating System

(OS) Software that is loaded right after the boot time. It provides the basic functionality to run applications, based on a single set of instructions. An operating system manages , for example, the resources and processes, input/output controls, file system, and the user interface.

Opportunistic Behavior

Tendency for users to generate and pursue goals suggested by objects presented by the user interface (e.g., icons, menu choices, prompts, and error messages).

OS

See [Operating System]

OSD

See [On-Screen Display]

Output Device

A device that converts information coming from an electronic, internal representation in a computer system into a form that can be perceived by users or used by actuators.

Packet

The smallest unit for transmitting data over the Internet. Data is broken up into packets, sent over the network, and then reassembled at the other end.

Participatory Design

A democratic approach to design that encourages participation in the design process by a wide variety of stakeholders, such as designers, developers, management, users, customers, salespeople, distributors , etc. The approach stresses making users not simply the subjects of user testing, but actually empowering them to be a part of the design and decision-making process.

See also [Stakeholder Analysis]

Password

Secret code to identify a user when logging onto a system.

PCMCIA

See [Personal Computer Memory Card Industry Association]

Perception

The process of becoming aware of objects by way of the sense organs.

Peer-to-Peer

A communications model in which each party has the same capabilities and either party can initiate a communication session. Other models with which it might be contrasted include the client/server model and the master/slave model. In some cases, peer-to-peer communication is implemented by giving each communication node both server and client capabilities. In recent usage, peer-to-peer has come to describe applications in which users can use the Internet to exchange files with each other directly or through a mediating server.

Permission

The ability to access (read, write, execute, traverse, etc.) a file, directory, service, or agent. The privileges are very important in a me-centric world, as everyone will interact with a great number of appliances that will require different types of information and services that can be pulled automatically by having the right permissions. This makes sure that privacy can be guaranteed .

Perl

Powerful scripting language, often used to write CGI scripts.

Personal Computer Memory Card Industry Association

(PCMCIA) Originally designed as a memory expansion card for laptop computers, this interface is used today for miniature modems or for digital TV descrambling systems.

Personalization

Personalization is the process of tailoring services to individual users' characteristics or preferences. Commonly used to enhance customer service or e-commerce sales, personalization is sometimes referred to as one-to-one marketing, because the enterprise's Web page is tailored to specifically target each individual consumer. Personalization is a means of meeting the customer's needs more effectively and efficiently, making interactions faster and easier and, consequently, increasing customer satisfaction and the likelihood of repeat visits .

PGP

See [Pretty Good Privacy]

Phidgets

Short for "physical widget." A tangible interface platform that connects to a computer through a USB cable. They are building blocks for creating physical user interfaces or tangible interfaces, just as graphical widgets are building blocks for creating graphical user interfaces. Phidgets are wired devices that simplify the controlling of servomotors and other actuators and the reading of sensor data such as light/force feedback/sound/etc.

Phrase Search

A search for documents on the Internet containing an exact sentence or phrase specified by a user.

Plug-ins

Software that adds functionality to commercial applications, such as the Netscape browser or Adobe's Photoshop.

Plug and Play

Procedure for automatically configuring computer expansion devices or cards.

Pluralistic Walkthrough

A pluralistic walkthrough is a specialized usability group inspection method where users, developers, and usability specialists step through a scenario discussing each page element of the system/site.

Point of Presence

(POP) Local access to the services of an ISP.

See also [Internet Service Provider]

POP

See [Point of Presence]

POP3

See [Post Office Protocol]

Port

Interface for accessing services on a server.

Portal

Point of entry; Web site to the Internet.

Postmaster

Administrator of the mail server. In case of problems, you can contact the postmaster. The postmaster of [e-mail] is [e-mail], for example.

Post Office Protocol

Protocol for receiving mail via a client.

Pretty Good Privacy

Encryption algorithm developed by Phil Zimmerman.

Problem Solving

Consists of setting up the objectives of a problem-solving act, planning a sequence of steps to achieve that objective, executing the actions in each of the steps as planned, and evaluating what has been achieved against the objective.

Process

The sequence of activities, people, and systems involved in carrying out some business or achieving some desired result. e.g., software development process, project management process, configuration management process.

Procedural Knowledge

Stored information that consists of knowledge of how to do things.

Process

An instance of a program running in a computer. It is close in meaning to "task", a term used in some operating systems. In UNIX and some other operating systems, a process is started when a program is initiated (either by a user entering a shell command or by another program). Like a task, a process is a running program with which a particular set of data is associated so that the process can be tracked.

See also [Task]

Proof of Concept

A prototype that shows that something can be implemented, but is not necessarily robust enough for a usable system. For example, a dull knife would prove that you can cut vegetables, but it is not something you would use in normal practice. The difference between a proof of concept and its more complete incarnation is context-dependent.

Protocol

Rules controlling how computers and applications interact.

Prototype

An experimental design of the whole or part of a product used for illustration or testing purposes.

Proxy Server

A proxy server retrieves documents on demand from a server and passes them to a client. The advantage with a proxy server is that it normally caches documents. It is considerably faster to retrieve documents from the proxy than directly from a Web server, especially if someone else has already downloaded that particular document.

PSTN

See [Public Switched Telephone Network]

Public Switched Telephone Network

(PSTN) The worldwide voice telephone system, also called the Bell System in the US.

Push Technology

Also referred to as "Web-casting" or "channel-casting," this technology broadcasts personalized information to subscribers.

Qualitative Data

Data that can be categorized in some way but cannot be reduced to numerical measurements.

Quality of Service

(QoS) The idea that transmission rates, error rates, and other characteristics can be measured, improved, and, to some extent, guaranteed in advance.

Quantitative Data

Data that consists of numerical values.

Query

Request for information from a database.

Query-by-Example

Find search results similar to a search result the user finds particularly useful.

Queue

Sequence of objects.

QoS

See [Quality of Service]

RAM

See [Random Access Memory]

Random Access Memory

(RAM) Memory that is used for executing applications and storing documents while working on them.

Rapid Prototyping

A form of simple, rapidly produced prototyping in which the prototype is used to collect information about both the requirements and the adequacy of possible designs; it is not developed into a final product.

Rational Unified Processes

(RUP) An online mentor that provides guidelines, templates, and examples for all aspects and stages of program development. It is a comprehensive software engineering tool that combines the procedural aspects of development (such as defined stages, techniques, and practices) with other components of development (such as documents, models, manuals, code, and so on) within a unifying framework.

Readme

A text file containing information on how to use the file you want to access.

RealAudio

Software tool that supports transmissions of real-time, live, or prerecorded audio.

Relational Database

A database that does not have a predefined link structure. This allows the user to create new relationships between tables dynamically, i.e., during the course of operation. For example, you can link customer names with invoices using the customer ID number.

Remote Login

Logging into a computer system from a remote location, meaning from another system on the network.

Request for Comments

(RFC) The process for creating an Internet standard. New standards are proposed and published in the form of a request for comments document. When a new standard has been established, it retains the acronym RFC and a number is added, such as RFC1029.

Requirements Analysis

The investigation of a problem that focuses on what functionality is required but not on how to provide that functionality.

Requirements Animation

A software prototype used to explore possible functions and elicit from users their requirements for functions in a system.

RFC

See [Request for Comments]

Robotics

A branch of engineering that involves the conception , design, manufacture, and operation of robots. This field overlaps with electronics, computer science, artificial intelligence, mechatronics, nanotechnology, and bioengineering.

Root

The administrator account that has super-user rights on a system.

See also [Sysop]

ROTFL

Net language for "rolling on the floor laughing."

Router

A device to handle the connection between two or more networks.

See also [Network]

RTFM

Net language for "read the f*cking manual." Answer to a question that users could have answered themselves by reading the manual.

RUP

See [Rational Unified Processes]

Safety-Critical Systems

Specialized systems, such as those used in power plants, aircraft cockpits, and air traffic control, in which human or environmental safety is of paramount concern. Also called "Mission-Critical Systems."

Scenario

A narrative describing one or more users' interactions with a computer, including information about goals, expectations, actions, and reactions.

Search Engine

Databases containing information about documents available on the world wide Web, i.e., the "reference works" or "indices" of the Internet. Search engines are created manually or automatically by computers.

Searching

A method for finding information using keyword location systems (search engines) that index resources in an information repository. Common search types include known-item, exploratory, and comprehensive searches.

Secure Electronic Transaction

(SET) Payments are encrypted and sent via a (trusted) third partya bank, for example. Then they are checked, and the customer identity is verified .

Secure Sockets Layer

(SSL) Protocol invented by Netscape to encrypt communication between Web browsers and servers. It provides privacy, authentication, and integrity.

Sensor

An electronic device used to measure a physical quantity such as temperature, pressure, or loudness, and convert it into an electronic signal of some kind (e.g., a voltage). Sensors are normally components of some larger electronic system such as a computer control and/or measurement system.

Server

A device that provides one or more services to several clients over a network.

See also [Client]

See also [Network]

Servlet

A Java application that runs on a server. The term usually refers to a Java applet that runs within a Web server environment. This is analogous to a Java applet that runs within a Web browser environment.

SET

See [Secure Electronic Transaction]

Shareware

Programs that can be copied for testing purposes. Users who decide to use the program are required to register the software and pay a fee to the author. Shareware programs can often be used without restrictionbased on the presumption that users are honest. Sometimes, however, they are limited in function or expire after a certain period of time.

Shopping Cart

Keeps track of all the items that a customer wants to buy, allowing the shopper to pay for the whole order at once.

Short Message Service

(SMS) A feature of GSM phones that allows users to receive and sometimes transmit short text messages using their wireless phones.

Sign

A deterministic, functional regularity or stability in a system, also sometimes called a sign-function. Something, the signifier, stands for something else, the signified, in virtue of the signfunction. May be either lawful, proper, or symbolic depending on the presence or absence of motivation.

Signified

The part of a sign that is stood for by the signifier. Sometimes thought of as the meaning of the signifier.

Signifier

The part of a sign that stands for the signified, for example, a word or DNA code.

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

(SMTP) The protocol to send electronic mail over the Internet.

See also [Electronic Mail]

Simple Network Management Protocol

(SNMP) Protocol to manage and monitor devices connected to a network.

Simple Object Access Protocol

(SOAP) A way for a program running in one kind of operating system (such as Windows NT) to communicate with a program in the same or another kind of an operating system (such as Linux) by using HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and eXtensible Markup Language (XML) as the mechanisms for information exchange.

Smart Card

Plastic card of credit-card size with an embedded microchip. The chip can contain digital money and personal information about the owner.

Smiley

See [Emoticon]

SMS

See [Short Message Service]

SMTP

See [Simple Mail Transfer Protocol]

SNMP

See [Simple Network Management Protocol]

SOAP

See [Simple Object Access Protocol]

Spam

Inappropriate use of e-mail and postings by sending information and advertising to people who did not request them.

Spider

See [Web Crawler]

Speech Recognition

Transformation of the spoken word into a computer-readable form, such as dictation software. Depending on the type of use, speech recognition should be either speaker independent (e.g., mail dictation) or speaker dependent (e.g., password entry).

SQL

See [Structured Query Language]

SSL

See [Secure Sockets Layer]

Stakeholder Analysis

A technique used to identify and assess the priority, needs, goals, and requirements of key people that may significantly influence the success of the project. Common examples of stakeholders in Internet projects include the user, the site administrator, the site support employees , the business directors, etc.

Stop Words

Conjunctions, prepositions, articles, and other words that appear often in documents yet alone may contain little meaning.

Stored Procedure

A set of Structured Query Language (SQL) statements with an assigned name that's stored in the database in compiled form so that it can be shared by a number of programs. The use of stored procedures can be helpful in controlling access to data, preserving data integrity, and improving productivity.

Structured Information

Pieces of information that are created and maintained in distinct and inflexible formats. Common examples include financial transaction records and operational databases.

Structured Query Language

(SQL) One of the preferred programming languages for communication with databases.

Structural Model

A user's mental model that represents the structure of an object and allows the user to reason about and to predict the object's actions in novel situations.

See also [Functional Model]

See also [Distributed Model]

See also [Surrogate Model]

Successive Approximation

Also known as "Iteration to Agreement", describes the process to run a two-way dialog to get to understanding.

Surrogate Model

A user's mental model that appears to act like a replica of the physical object or world, using simulations that can be run in the mind.

See also [Structural Model]

Symbian

Joint venture between Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia, and Psion to develop new operating systems based on Psion's EPOC32 platform for small mobile devices including wireless phones or handheld personal computers.

See also [EPOC]

Symbol

A data block consisting of a defined number of bits (the most well-known example of a symbol is a byte consisting of eight bits).

Synchronization

Update of two systems to the same level. This is often required for mobile devices that were untethered for a while.

Sysop

See [System Operator]

System Operator

(Sysop) Person who is responsible for the operations of a computer system or network resource.

Table

Combines identical records together in columns (fields) and rows (records).

Task

A basic unit of programming that an operating system controls. Depending on how the operating system defines a task in its design, this unit of programming may be an entire program or each successive invocation of a program.

Task Analysis

The process of investigating a problem by breaking down the tasks that potential users of a system would do; this provides information about how functionality should be provided.

Task-Action Mapping

The functional mapping between a task arena and an action arena. Mapping refers to the association of one element from one set to another element from another set. In terms of the task-action mapping model, it refers to the mapping of existing knowledge about how to carry out a task onto the physical devices.

TCP/IP

See [Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol]

Telematics

The integration of wireless communications, vehicle monitoring systems, and location devices.

Telnet

Program to perform a remote login to another computer.

Terabyte

1,024 or 1,000 Gigabytes.

See also [Byte]

See also [Kilobyte]

See also [Megabyte]

See also [Gigabyte]

Tethered

Connected to a network.

Thick Client

A high-end terminal with lots of processing power that enables the client to run all applications locally.

Thin Client

A cut-down network terminal with no local processing power.

Tool

Until today computers and computing devices have been built as tools, meaning that people use them. Computers in the future will not be used anymore like tools to support a process; they will be used to delegate work.

Transaction

Ensures that any modification to a database is carried out either completely (i.e., for all records) or not at all.

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol

(TCP/IP) A set of protocols that are the foundation of the Internet and that enable the communication between computers. Technical basis for transmitting data on the Internet. It divides the contents of a Web page into small packets and sends them along different paths, if necessary, to the receiver where TCP/IP then reassembles the packets in their original order.

Triggers

A set of Structured Query Language (SQL) statements that automatically "fires off" an action when a specific operation, such as changing data in a table, occurs. A trigger consists of an event (an INSERT, DELETE, or UPDATE statement issued against an associated table) and an action (the related procedure).

Triple-dub

Net language for "WWW."

Trojan Horse

A program that seems to be harmless, but starts harmful functions after it has been installed.

Ubu Roi

French for King Ubu, fictional hero in a drama of the same name by Alfred Jarry. This narrative predated and inspired the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. Ubu Roi is an inverted human being, carrying his deepest motives on the outside, and any semblance of civilized behavior on the inside. He is useful for imaginary user-testing , because he is extremely incautious, quickly bored, rude, infantile, and completely self-obsessed. In other words, he presents a reasonable average user.

UMTS

See [Universal Mobile Telecommunications System]

Unicode

Text encoding scheme including international characters and alphabets.

Uniform Resource Locator

(URL) Addressing scheme on the Internet to locate Internet resources. A URL consists of a server name, possibly a directory name or full pathname, and the document title (example: http://www.ebusinessrevolution.com/blgarski/).

Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

(UMTS) Europe's approach to standardization for the third generation of cellular systems. Although not yet implemented, it has already received lots of publicity due to the high costs that telecommunication companies have setting up the networks.

Universal Plug and Play

(UPnP) Windows 9x and Windows 2000 offer so-called "plug-and-play" technology for automatically detecting all compatible devices within a PC. Universal Plug and Play is designed to expand this technology to include devices in an external network. After devices are connected to a network supporting Universal Plug and Play, they automatically configure themselves, which eliminates the need for setup and configuration. UPnP detects the devices along with the relevant product characteristics including communication protocols. For example, a camera can automatically detect a printer in the network, determine its ability to print in color, and print a photo.

UNIX

Operating system that was developed in the early 1970s.

Unstructured Information

Information that is produced and stored in multiple, non-specified formats. Common examples include email documents, memos, and reports .

Untethered

Not connected to a network. This ability is important in a me-centric world where intelligent appliances should be able to work autonomously for a given time even if they cannot find a network.

UPnP

See [Universal Plug and Play]

URL

See [Uniform Resource Locator]

Usability

The broad discipline of applying scientific principles to ensure that the system designed is easy to learn, easy to use, easy to remember, error tolerant, and subjectively pleasing. A figure of merit or qualitative judgment of ease of use or learning. Some methods of assessing usability may also express usability as a quantitative index. There is a set of international (ISO) standards on usability defining it as "the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specific goals with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in a specified context of use."

Usability Engineering

An engineering approach to design in which the system's usability is specified quantitatively.

Usability Specification

A specification quantifying target levels of usability for a system in terms of: learnability, effectiveness, efficiency, flexibility, and the positive attitude to be engendered in users. International standards (e.g., ISO 9241-11) attempt to formalize the process and format of usability specifications.

Usability Testing

Testing whether a system meets a predetermined, quantifiable level of usability for specific types of users carrying out specific tasks. Several quantitative and qualitative usability testing methods exist and can include comprehensive video and audio protocols and statistical analysis.

USENET

A decentralized worldwide system for newsgroups.

See also [Newsgroups]

User-Centered Approach

An approach that views the interface of a system as a central concern. Users are not merely components of a system, but are valued in their own right with their capabilities and limitations viewed as the main criteria for design of an interface.

User-Centered Design

A design approach in which the emphasis is on the user and through which a high level of usability can be achieved.

User-Friendly

An over-worked term intended to imply a high degree of usability.

User Profiling

Using data collected from a number of different sites, which can result in the creation a personalized Web page before the user has been formally registered.

Virtual Memory System

(VMS) A multiuser, multitasking, virtual memory operating system for the VAX series from Digital Equipment.

Virtual Reality Modeling Language

(VRML) A programming language for displaying 3-D spaces on the Internet. VRML allows the user to design virtual landscapes or 3-D games . Current browsers are capable of displaying such data. Numerous browser plug-ins offer 3-D functions.

Virus

Malicious piece of code that can be hidden in programs to destroy data on a computer.

Visit

A complete session of accesses to a certain Web site conducted by one person. A visit is concluded when the customer hasn't viewed any page for a certain period of time (60 seconds in most cases).

Visual Mapping

Mapping is the relationship between controls and their movements and the results in the problem solving process. Visual mapping can be achieved via the use of metaphors (trash can, sliders, windows, etc.) and controls that have good affordances . Natural mapping use constraints and correspondences in the physical world.

Voice Mail

Similar to e-mail, voice mail is a message sent or received within a network as audio data.

Voice Recognition

The task of identifying the speaker. This authentication method is becoming more dominant in combination with a password. As voice can be easily recorded, it is important not to use it as the only authentication mechanism.

VoIP

A term used in IP telephony for a set of facilities for managing the delivery of voice information using Internet Protocol (IP).

VoxML

Voice Markup Language. A technology from Motorola for creating a voice dialog with a Web site in which a user can call a Web site by phone and interact with it through speech recognition and Web site responses.

VRML

See [Virtual Reality Modeling Language]

WAIS

See [Wide Area Information Servers]

WAN

See [Wide Area Network]

WAP

See [Wireless Application Protocol]

W-CDMA

See [Wideband CDMA]

Web

See [World Wide Web]

Web Crawler

Service that scans Web documents and adds them to a database. After having indexed one page, it follows all links and indexes them as well.

See also [Search Engine]

Webmaster

The person in charge of a Web server. Most Web servers will allow mail to be sent to the Webmaster. The Webmaster of http://www.foobar.org/ can be reached at [e-mail], for example.

See also [Postmaster]

WebQoS

See [Web Quality of Service]

Web Quality of Service

(WebQoS) A product that assures consistent quality of service on shared systems by preventing surges in online customer demand from overloading the server. It also allows service providers to safely host multiple sites on a single system by preventing busy sites from impacting each other's performance.

Web Server

A computer that provides World Wide Web services on the Internet (or intranet). It includes the hardware, operating system, Web server software, TCP/IP protocols, and the Web site content. The term may refer to just the software that performs this service, which accepts requests from Web browsers to download HTML pages, other document, images, etc. It can also execute related server-side scripts that automate functions such as searching a database.

Web Service

A software application identified by a URI, whose interfaces and binding are capable of being defined, described, and discovered by XML artifacts, and supports direct interactions with other software applications using XML-based messages via Internet-based protocols.

What You See Is What You Get

(WYSIWYG) The promise that what you see on screen will also be what you get when you print out the document. Few software packages are able to fulfill this promise.

Wide Area Information Servers

(WAIS) Software package that allows the indexing of large quantities of information. Uses a separate protocol from HTTP and is not used very much anymore.

See also [HyperText Transfer Protocol]

See also [Search Engine]

Wide Area Network

(WAN) A network that is distributed over several locations.

See also [Local Area Network]

Wideband CDMA

The third-generation standard offered to the International Telecommunication Union by GSM proponents.

Wide-SCSI

Transmission protocol compliant with SCSI-2 that defines an extension of the bus width to 16 bit and thus requires special cables and plugs. Wide-SCSI is normally used with Fast-SCSI and is capable of data transmission of up to 20 Mbps.

Wintel

The majority of computers today run the Wintel combination: the Windows operating system and an Intel processor.

Wireless

Using the radio-frequency spectrum for transmitting and receiving voice, data, and video signals for communications.

Wireless Application Protocol

(WAP) A specification for a set of communication protocols to standardize the way that wireless devices, such as cellular telephones and radio transceivers, can be used for Internet access, including e-mail, the World Wide Web, newsgroups, and Internet Relay Chat (IRC).

Wireless IP

The packet data protocol standard for sending wireless data over the Internet.

Wireless LAN

(WLAN) Local area network using wireless transmissions, such as radio or infrared instead of phone lines or fiber- optic cable to connect data devices.

Wireless Markup Language

(WML) Formerly called HDML (Handheld Devices Markup Language), a language that allows the text portions of Web pages to be presented on cellular phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) via wireless access.

WML

See [Wireless Markup Language]

World Wide Web

(WWW) The part of the Internet that is accessible through a Web browser. The Web is not the Internet, but a subset.

Worm

A program that is designed to replicate itself over a network. Although not all worms are designed to destroy, most of them will try to attack your resources.

WRT

Net language for "with respect to."

WWW

See [World Wide Web]

WYSIWYG

See [What You See Is What You Get]

Xanadu

Bill Gates's networked home uses a variety of methods for electronic house control. According to press reports, the house has over 100 PCs connected to thousands of sensors and activators used to regulate lighting, air, and temperature. They also use chip cards to identify the whereabouts of people in each room. After the person has been identified, his preselected music and video preferences can be played .

xDSL

Designation for digital subscriber line technology enabling simultaneous two-way transmission of voice and high-speed data over ordinary copper phone lines.

XML

See [eXtensible Markup Language]

Yahoo!

The original and most famous Web directory. The name Yahoo! is an acronym for "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle."

YMMV

Net language for "your mileage may vary." A warning that not everything described in a manual will work exactly the way it is promised to.

Zooming

Viewing a display at different levels of granularity by moving in and out of various aspects of a display. An important interface technique to hide complexity or to allow the user to reveal varying levels of information.