Infolific » Computer Dictionary

Utility Computing Definition

Marios Alexandrou — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:05:49 +0000

Utility computing refers to the ability of companies to access computing services, business processes, and applications from a utility-like service over a network. The idea being that if a company has to pay only for what it is using then it will be able to save money. While the company [...]

TQM Definition

Marios Alexandrou — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:54:47 +0000

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management approach that aims for long-term success by focusing on customer satisfaction. TQM is based on the participation of all members of an organization in improving processes, products, services, and the culture in which they work. Other Definitions Biotechnology Bluetooth Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) [...]

Definition of Software

Marios Alexandrou — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:20:16 +0000

Software refers to something intangible. Although often of great value, software can't be picked up or weighed. However, software is the required to make hardware do anything. Likewise, software needs hardware to be of any value. Typical examples of software include the web browser you're using to read this page, [...]

SOA

Marios Alexandrou — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:56:03 +0000

SOA (service oriented architecture) is not a product, although several vendors offer products which can form the basis of a SOA. Rather, SOA is an architecture for building software whose goal is to achieve loose coupling among interacting software agents. In less technical terms, your DVD player is an example [...]

Six Sigma Definition

Marios Alexandrou — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 01:51:15 +0000

Six Sigma is a methodology developed by Motorola that describes how the management of product and service delivery should be implemented. The management processes emphasize setting extremely high objectives, collecting data, and analyzing results to a fine degree. Once you determine where the defects are in a process, you can [...]

Definition of Supply Chain Management

Marios Alexandrou — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 01:31:00 +0000

Supply chain management (SCM) is the oversight of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer. Supply chain management involves coordinating and integrating these flows both within and among companies. It is said that the ultimate goal of [...]

Definition of Sarbanes Oxley

Marios Alexandrou — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 13:24:33 +0000

The Sarbanes Oxley Act is a set of rules put together by the US government in an effort to improve a company's audit. These rules came about primarily due to the many corporate scandals that plagued the US not too long ago including some very high-profile cases such as Enron. [...]

Definition of ROM

Marios Alexandrou — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 01:15:05 +0000

Read-only memory (ROM) refers to a storage technology that allows you to write data only once. After the data has been written, you can read it an unlimited number of times. Contrast this with random-access memory (RAM) that allows you to read and write data as many times as needed. [...]

Radio Frequency ID (RFID) Definition

Marios Alexandrou — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 12:48:23 +0000

Radio frequency ID also known more commonly as RFID is a relatively new technology that promises to change the way inventories are managed. An RFID device can vary in size depending on what it is being attached to. Small, individual products would have small devices whereas large items such as [...]

Definition of RAM

Marios Alexandrou — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 12:15:40 +0000

Random-access memory (RAM) refers to a storage technology that allows you to read and write data as many times as needed. Contrast this to ROM which allows data to be written once after which it permits only reading. RAM is typically erased when a computer is shut down, though some [...]

Definition of Outsourcing

Marios Alexandrou — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 10:36:53 +0000

Outsourcing is usually the term used when a company takes a part of its business and gives that part to another company. In recent times, the terms has been most commonly used for technology related initiatives such as handing over the IT help-desk to a third-party. But it can also [...]

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Definition

Marios Alexandrou — Fri, 31 May 2013 22:22:29 +0000

Optical character recognition (OCR) refers to the software used to convert letters and numbers that are non-editable into a format that can be edited. For example, a magazine article is something that can't be edited. Using OCR software, you could convert this article into a Microsoft Word document and then [...]

Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Definition

Marios Alexandrou — Fri, 31 May 2013 10:08:13 +0000

The manufacturer of equipment that is used by another vendor as part of a larger product being marketed and sold by that vendor. Typical examples include hard drives, CD-ROMs, and RAM that are each manufactured by different companies, but are bundled together by a company like Dell or HP and [...]

Definition of Modem

Marios Alexandrou — Thu, 30 May 2013 09:51:57 +0000

Modem is actually an odd acronym for Modulator-Demodulator. A modem takes a digital signal from your computer and converts to an analog signal so that it can be transferred through a phone line. This conversion is necessary because modems make use of regular phone lines which are analog. Newer technologies [...]

JPEG Definition

Marios Alexandrou — Tue, 28 May 2013 21:22:08 +0000

JPEG (pronounced jay-peg) is a commonly used method of compressing photographic images. The compression algorithm is "lossy" in that information is removed from the image to assist with decreasing the file size. The greater the compression, the more information is discarded. Files that have undergone jpeg compression usually have extensions [...]

iPod Definition

Marios Alexandrou — Mon, 27 May 2013 20:54:11 +0000

An iPod is a palm-sized, electronic device primarily created to play music. Unlike a traditional Walkman or portable CD-player, the iPod is capable of storing a large number of tracks and playing for many, many hours on a single battery charge. The iPod owes much of its success not in [...]

Definition of Information Technology

Marios Alexandrou — Sun, 26 May 2013 08:35:49 +0000

In the broadest sense, information technology refers to both the hardware and software that are used to store, retrieve, and manipulate information. At the lowest level you have the servers with an operating system. Installed on these servers are things like database and web serving software. The servers are connected [...]

Definition of Hardware

Marios Alexandrou — Sat, 25 May 2013 07:56:54 +0000

Hardware refers to a physical piece of a computer. This could be a hard drive, monitor, memory chip, or CPU. The key idea is that the item is something you can touch. This compares to software which is not tangible in any way. You can't pick it up or weigh [...]

GIF Definition

Marios Alexandrou — Tue, 21 May 2013 07:42:04 +0000

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is a bitmap image format for pictures with up to 256 distinct colors. The format was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web. GIFs are compressed files, and were adopted to reduce the amount of time [...]

Ethernet Definition

Marios Alexandrou — Sat, 11 May 2013 06:52:32 +0000

Ethernet is a network standard for data transmission using either coaxial or twisted pair cable. In the LAN (local area network) world, Ethernet is the most widely used standard. Until recently, Ethernet ran at 10 megabits per second, but it is just as common now for Ethernet-based systems to run [...]

Definition of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)

Marios Alexandrou — Thu, 09 May 2013 06:47:50 +0000

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is the industry term used to describe a broad set of activities supported by multi-module application software that helps a manufacturer or other business manage the important parts of its business. These parts can include product planning, parts purchasing, maintaining inventories, interacting with suppliers, providing customer [...]

CRM Definition

Marios Alexandrou — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 05:45:55 +0000

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is an information industry term for methodologies, software, and usually Internet capabilities that help an enterprise manage customer relationships in an organized and efficient manner. In many cases, an enterprise builds a database about its customers. This database describes relationships in sufficient detail so that management, [...]

Definition of CPU

Marios Alexandrou — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 05:37:12 +0000

The CPU (central processing unit) is the part of a computer controls the interpretation and execution of instructions. Generally, the CPU is a single microchip, but that doesn't necessarily have to be the case. In the consumer desktop and laptop market, the CPU market is dominated by Intel, AMD, and [...]

Computer Crime Definition

Marios Alexandrou — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 04:45:48 +0000

A computer crime is any illegal action where the data on a computer is accessed without permission. This access doesn't have to result in loss of data or even data modifications. Arguably the worst computer crime occurs when there are no indications that data was accessed. Computer crime is often [...]

Client/Server Definition

Marios Alexandrou — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 04:39:54 +0000

The term client/server describes one possible relationship between two software applications in which the client makes a service request from the server. The client/server relationship can apply to two programs running on a single computer or two programs running over a network. In the case of a network, the client/server [...]