Friday, May 22, 2009

Information Design Definitions - 10

POP3 - is an application-layer Internet standard protocol used by local e-mail clients to retrieve e-mail from a remote server over a TCP/IP connection.

Shareware -
trial based or limited copyrighted commercial software that is distributed without payment.

Wiki - a collection of Web pages designed to enable anyone with access to contribute or modify content.

Social Networking - can be defined as a community of people/users with similar interests/activities or interested in exploring those of others.

Cloud Computing -
is where dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources are provided as a service over the Internet.

Source: Wikipedia.org, Dictionary

Information Design Definitions - 9

Spyware - software used to collect information on a computer user and their browsing habits without their known consent.

SiteMap - is a list of pages usually used to breakdown the structure of a website and is usually accessible to crawlers or users.

CNAME - a record in the Domain Name System (DNS) that specifies that the domain name is an alias of another, canonical domain name.

VoIP (Voice over IP)- a family of transmission technologies for delivery of voice communications over IP networks such as the Internet or other packet-switched networks.

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) - protocols that provide security and data integrity for communications over networks such as the Internet.

Source: Wikipedia.org, Dictionary

Information Design Definitions - 8

E-commerce (electronic marketing) - consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems.

Open source (software) - computer software for which the source code and some other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that meets the Open Source Definition or that is in the public domain.

Phishing - a fraudulent attempt to collect sensitive information and is against the law.

Wireframe (for web) - is used to show the layout or structure of a web page and also used to observe information among related content/pages.

Algorithm - is a complex sequence of instructions, that provides step-by-step procedures for solving a problem and may be used for data processing and calculations.

Source: Wikipedia.org, Dictionary

Information Design Definitions - 7

Bandwidth - a rate of data transfer, throughput or bit rate, measured in bits per second.

Spam - unsolicited or undesired bulk email messages.

Meta element - are HTML or XHTML elements used to provide structured metadata about a Web page.

CGI (Common Gateway Interface) - is a standard protocol for interfacing external application software with an information server, commonly a web server.

Intranet - a private computer network that uses Internet technologies to securely share any part of an organization's information or operational systems with its employees.

Source: Wikipedia.org, Dictionary

Information Design Definitions - 6

PPI (Pixels per inch) - a measurement of the resolution of devices in various contexts.

SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) - is an ISO Standard metalanguage in which one can define markup languages for documents.

SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language) - a W3C-recommended XML markup language for describing multimedia presentations.

XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language) - a set of language technologies for defining XML document transformation and presentation.

Malware - is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the user's informed consent.

Source: Wikipedia.org, Dictionary

Information Design Definitions - 5

DPI (Dots per inch) - measurement used for print resolution.

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) - a bitmap image format that uses the lossless data compression technique to reduce the file size without degrading the visual quality.

GUI (graphical user interface) - a type of user interface which allows people to interact with electronic devices.

Linux - is a generic term referring to Unix-like computer operating systems based on the Linux kernel.

MySQL - a database management system which runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases.

Source: Wikipedia.org, Dictionary

Information Design Definitions - 4

DNS (Domain Name System) - Internet system used to translate names into IP addresses.

WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) - this is used mostly on mobile/PDA devices for internet access using a WAP browser.

LAN (Local Area Network) - a computer network for covering small physical areas.

ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) - A non-profit organization that oversees internet related tasks.

RGB - a color model comprising of 3 primary colors (red, green, blue) which are added together to produce an array of colors.

Source: Wikipedia.org, Dictionary

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Bundled data services grow

Source:
http://blogs.ft.com/techblog/2009/05/ms-word-paste-bundled-data-services-grow/

Wireless data services are now being offered now more than ever due to the growth in portable/mobile personal technologies being developed recently.
These include the Dell Mini which runs on the AT&T network via a branded data card, Amazon's Kindle also took a piece of this action by allowing their trend-setting e-book reader to run off Sprint's wireless data network. Verizon also has stakes in this area as they offer the HP Mini to run off of their wireless data network.
The "Mini" computers refer to netbooks, which are light weight computers that doesn't require as much as a regular laptop (some have no removable disc drives to make it more lightweight and portable).

Jakob Nielsen Critiques Twitter

Source:
http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/may2009/ca2009058_037210.htm

Summary:

The latest microblogging application, Twitter, is being debated as the hottest social medium thus far. It's basically used to post short messages and has the capability to allow others to follow your "tweets" and respond to them as well. Though the applicaton is very basic and limited feature wise it carries a large community of users, Jakob debates that it maybe a hazad when it comes to productivity at jobs, as many users use it during their work hours.

Social Networks Eclipse E-Mail

Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/technology/internet/18drill.html?ref=technology

Summary:

The article is in regards to the fact that social networks, which has become one of the new online/tech trend has caused a lower use of e-mail accounts (existing/new), as compared with usage in the past. Indirectly because of social network growth, advertisers are slowly going from print ads and making major moves towards online ads. This may have to do a lot with the fact that websites are way more interactive than in the past especially websites such as YouTube, which now even displays ads just below the videos and also caries a large community of users that upload video content daily.

Google's Rich Snippets and the Semantic Web

Source:
http://radar.oreilly.com

Summary:

Google has introduced a feature called Rich Snippets, it enhances search results, when you mark up pages with certain microformats, it also enhances click through rates. One of the debated downfalls of this feature is that for SEO purposes microformats and RDFa would need to be appied.

Free Panda Antivirus Beta Draws on Cloud Servers

Source:
http://news.yahoo.com

Summary:

Panda has released a public beta of their cloud-based antivirus recently. Its currently being distributed free of charge, it uses a lightweight AV that is based on the PC of the user and in turn connects to the company's cloud-based servers.
It requires only about 17MB of RAM, which makes it compatible with much older machines. The cloud servers scans the PC of the user which collects the malware data and runs it against its database, unrecgonized or new malware are in turn identified and classified to keep the system upto date with threats to end users. The initial goal of the company is to clear the malware problem on the users end which would then enhance ther experience.

Facebook Boosts Security After Dual Phishing Attacks

Source:
http://news.yahoo.com

Summary:

The popular Facebook social-networking site had to take measures to boost its security because of recent malware and phishing scams. This caused great concern as Facebook has one of the largest user communities, 200 million users were attacked in the scheme; which initially took over the accounts of users by sending messages to friends to visit malicious websites.
To resolve their problem Facebook added MarkMonitor's antifraud services to help boost the security measures, though the problem has been resolved for now; many users would remain very skeptical for their security.

Hackers taking advantage of Windows 7: Microsoft

Source:
http://news.yahoo.com

Summary:

The following article is in regards to Microsoft new OS, Windows 7, which was officially distributed for users to test and give their opinions on the new-generation Operating System that would be the replacement for the current, Vista.

In the article it's said that it has been hacked by cybercriminals to be redistributed to users as genuine copies, which in turn infects a customers PC with malware. Windows 7 uses similar technology that is built into, Vista; one of its key features is tht it warns users when unauthorized copies of software are spied on computers. Software piracy has also been a known issue as it leads to identity theft, system crashes and loss of valuable data.
According to research a third of Microsoft customers could be using counterfeit copies of Windows, which causes a great issue since Windows operating system is used on about 90 percent of computers worldwide.

In China, $700 Puts a Spammer in Business

Source:
http://tech.yahoo.com/

Summary:

The title pretty much explains the article, it's in regards to how cheap it is for a spammer to be up and running for business using a bulletproof server. Spamming is well known to be the doing of cybercriminals for junk e-mailing in masses, some use the server for attacks on internet users. What makes this situation worse is that they can register for an account to carry out these actions
anonymously.
One company (Tecom) stated its services, which are hosted in "major cities in China," cannot be used for online gambling or pornographic material, which actually carries some restriction to an extent.
The author also stated "..when a domain is being used for spam or to spread malicious software, security researchers usually use an established protocol to report the domain to its registrar, who can then remove it from the Internet."
For some reason it would seem that China has less restrictions when it comes to security and web hosting laws/guides.

Google uncloaks once-secret server

Source:
http://news.cnet.com/

Summary:

The articles discusses Google releasing information on a server they once kept secret. Basically, it uses a 12volt battery for each server/mainboard (in case of power loss); according to the author this help in keeping the data more efficient as well as saving on energy and costs less than using the standardized UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) system. the system also provides better all round performance.
While the article doesn't deal directly with Information Design per say, efficient data is required for smooth running of systems, especially in the case of a company as big as Google.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Information Design Definitions - 3

Wikipedia a free online encyclopedia, that is editable by almost anyone.

VPN (virtual private network), used for remote hosting or networking access.

Malware a harmful file or computer program, which can collect information from an unknowing computer user.

Joomla an open source content management system, it also allows you to place various add-ons/plugins allowing functionality depending on your need.

ActionScript - an object-oriented programming designed specifically for Web site animation (used with Adobe Flash).

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Summary based on "The incredible shrinking operating system"

Source:
http://www.infoworld.com

Summary:

The article basically discusses/mentions the shrinking of Operating systems and what effects/benefits it has. The author also gives a brief breakdown of the past methods while building these Operating Systems.

Why it maybe of interest:

I think that it’s an interesting article mostly because it would affect initially how people use computers in general. It also grasped my attention as well since some of the things mentioned were discussed briefly in class e.g. netbooks and the loading time of OS just to name a few.
Some aspects mentioned are well explained so that even someone not in the field may have a better understanding of what the general idea is. More importantly as students into this concentration it’s good to keep up with technology and knowing ‘what is hot and what’s not’ if to so put it.
While not really related, this information maybe useful as well as a customer, since new technology means older technology would become cheaper.

Information Design Definitions - 1 & 2

AJAX- (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), is used for development of web based applications by using various web development techniques; incliding XHTML, CSS, XML and XSLT just to name a few.

Google Maps – is an application (web/API) developed by google which can be used for navigation/general map exploration purposes.

Web application – is usually a software or application developed to be used in a browser.

Javascript – is a scripting language used for client-side web based development and allows the creation of dynamic content.

Database management – it basically defines itself, it’s used to control/manage a database. It’s also used to store and retrieve information both on the back and front-end.

BitTorrent – is a peer-to peer open source application used for file sharing e.g. software and general media files.

API – (Application Programming Interface), it can be defined as part of the foundation/support used for building applications (mostly used for web based apps). It’s function is determined by the routines used to carry out its process.

RSS – (Really Simple Syndication), can be defined as a feed used for updated information e.g. for a newspaper the headlines of each updated article would be published in the feed, making it somewhat a table of content.

Blog – based from a web log, is a web site used by most for news or as an online diary/journal and contain various types of media. Most blogs have a CMS so it’s easily manageable for most.

Ruby (Ruby Rails) - is a programming language used for dynamic content, it’s inspired/based by Perl and Smalltalk Eiffe, Ada and Lisp.


Method of collecting information:

With “Google Maps”, I used 4 sources for information. Wikipedia, Google Maps itself in the about section and two web developer websites. I also used my personal knowledge being a regular user of the application.
I took all the sources of information and cross referenced things that were similar to each other before coming up with a final definition for the web based application. This is how I would usually collect information in general, though Wikipedia is a useful source on a rare occasion the information may or may not be accurate.