Denver DataMan Computer Glossary

These words have been defined because they have been used in Denver DataMan publications or because they are commonly misunderstood.

Algorithm

A computer term used to describe a series of mathematical steps that a computer does to process something. A computer has an algorithm for adding effects to a picture or for how Google ranks a site once its content has been indexed.

Bandwidth

The amount of information that a connection to the Internet can process at any one time. You can think of bandwidth as the size of a pipe. If you have a small pipe, less water can pass through. If you have a larger diameter pipe, than more water gets through. If you have more bandwidth (a faster Internet connection) than more data gets through and the inverse is also true.

DSL and Cable have relatively large pipes where dial-up is a very small pipe. The bandwidth for a large site might be equivalent to a water main.

Blog

A web site designed to share information that is updated often. A blog is often used like a journal to share thoughts and feelings on issues or on happenings in a company or organization. Blogs can be silly and not have much value but they can also be a key advertising and marketing technique.

Contact Relationship Management Database

A Contact Relationship Management Database is designed for tracking information and clients and others that organizations interact with. CRM databases are designed to show the relationships between contacts, their organizations and the actions that they take. For example, one might buy widgets and attend trainings on how to use their new widgets. This help you sell more of these things or other projects.

Content Management System (CMS)

A CMS is a website that uses a database to deliver content to viewers. CMSs make it possible to easily to change content on a page without having to make changes to the code of the page. A good CMS will also make it so that you can change the content independently of how that content is displayed.

Cyber crime

Crimes committed using the Internet. Cyber crimes usually involve identity theft or malisons use of content on a computer for activates like corporate espionage. Some hackers /cyber criminals use their skills just to stop computers systems from functioning properly.

Development Framework

A development framework is used as a generic starting point for creating software or Internet applications that can accomplish many specific tasks. It is like being able to build a very specific type of factory in a space that was designed for any type of factory.

Email Service Provider (ESP)

Services like Constant Contact that help you do mass emailing. These services will help you follow the Can SPAM law, maintain your list, and design emails that will work for your email recipients.

Firewall

A firewall is a security tool to keeps other users and malicious code off of your computer. You can think of it as a gate keeper for your computer - the good data is allowed to come in and the bad data is not.

Hard Drive

The Hard Drive or Hard Disk Drive is the primary long term storage for most computers. When you start your computer the information needed to open Windows or another operating system is loaded from the hard drive. Software like Word or QuickBooks as well as your files are also saved on the hard drive.

Indexing

When files are added to the computer their key contents like their file name, tags , other attributes and in some cases their content are added to an index. It is far quicker to search an index of the information than it is to search each file when you want to find information. Windows Vista was the first Windows operating system to include full indexing of files and that is why searching for information in Vista is so much faster.

Google and other search engines work on the same principal but on a broader scale for the Internet. A person adds content to their website and then Google is always looking, using software called bots, and when it finds new content it adds it to its index. Once again it is significantly faster to search an index than to search every word of the file. Imagine if Google did not use indexes and each time you wanted to find something every page on the Internet had to be searched - it would take weeks.

Open Source

Refers to software that makes it code open to the public. Generally open source projects are free and have many people contributing to them.

Some of the popular open source projects are becoming well known. For example OpenOffice.org Linux and Drupal (the platform that this site is created in.)You can also go to the The Open Source Initiative website.

Operating System

An operating system is an application like Windows or Mac OS which allows the user to access the computer's functions. In today's world, operating systems provide graphical user interfaces with icons to computer functions so users do not need learn all of the commands necessary to interface with the computer.

Pay-Per-Click

Advertising used on the Internet by Google and others wear the advertiser only pays for the numbers of users who click on their ad not the numbers of impressions (times the ad appears on a page).

Phishing

A type of attack when malicious website developers try to emulate a site that they are not. For example Chase uses chase.com but their is a phishing site called chasebank.com. Phishing can also be when a site looks for you to put too much information like your social security number.

RAM (Random Access Memory)

Short term memory that your computer uses to process the information that you are currently using on your computer. New software needs more RAM then some older applications in order to run well .

Router

A device used to share an Internet connection with other computers. Often a router will also have a firewall included in it as well as other tools for managing and securing an Internet connection.

RSS

Relay Simple Syndication is a tool for aggregating (gathering) information from around the Internet. Read this FAQ for more information.

RSS Reader

A tool for gathering RSS content from providers on the Internet. Also known as an aggregator.

Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization, often called SEO is the steps necessary to optimize your site so that it will be found on the Internet. Because search results are determined by patterns, SEO is about guessing, predicting, and building websites that match the patterns.

Social Bookmarking

Services that provide a way to share the links that you think are worth bookmarking for your readers. Social bookmarking sites also help you keep track of the sites that you like because they provide access to bookmarks away from your home or office computer.

This video from the Commoncraft Show that explains the use of social bookmarking using a popular tool called Del.icio.us.

Social Networking

Websites that connect people online based on existing friendships/relationships, similar interests, creative communities or for businesses networking. Examples include Facebook, LinkedIn, You Tube, and countless others. Social networks encourage open interaction about any topic including reviews of companies, sharing pictures and videos, answering questions (on any topic) and keeping lines of communication. Social networks expose the connections that others have to the people they are connected to. This You Tube video explains much of social networking very well.

SPAM

Unsolicited and unwanted e-mail, often of a commercial nature, sent indiscriminately to multiple mailing lists, individuals, or newsgroups; junk e-mail. SPAM is often to sell explicit products or for refinancing scams. The Federal Trade Commission provides lots of valuable information.

Spyware

Software that covertly gathers information about a user and their Internet usage while he/she navigates the Internet. There is also spyware that harms the users computer by jamming up Internet performance, running applications, sending SPAM, sending large amounts of data over the Internet, and many other negative tasks. Spyware is like a virus but not all anti-virus software can find and remove/protect you from spyware.

Streaming

Technology used to efficiently send videos or other large files over the Internet.