What is WAIS?
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Stands for "Wide Area Information Server." This is a program that can index enormous amounts of information and make it searchable across large networks (including the Internet). People can search the WAIS index and it will return results by relevance. Searches can then be narrowed down by subsequent searches on the original results. Search engines are a new and improved version of WAIS, specifically for the Web.
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What is WAN?
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Stands for "Wide Area Network." It is similar to a Local Area Network (LAN), but it's a lot bigger. Unlike LANs, WANs are not limited to a single location. Many wide area networks span long distances via telephone lines, fiber-optic cables, or satellite links. They can also be composed of smaller LANs that are interconnected. The Internet could be described as the biggest WAN in the world. You could even call the Internet a Super WAN BAM if you wanted to. Or maybe not.
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What is Waveform?
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A waveform is an image that represents an audio signal or recording. It shows the changes in amplitude over a certain amount of time. The amplitude of the signal is measured on the y-axis (vertically), while time is measured on the x-axis (horizontally).
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What is Web Host?
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In order to publish a website online, you need a Web host. The Web host stores all the pages of your website and makes them available to computers connected to the Internet. The domain name, such as "sony.com," is actually linked to an IP address that points to a specific computer. When somebody enters your domain name into their browser's address field, the IP address is located and Web site is loaded from your Web host.
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What is Web Hosting?
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Web hosting is a service that provides Internet users with online systems for storing information, images, video, or any content accessible via the web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own for use by their clients.
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What is Web Page?
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Web pages are what make up the World Wide Web. These documents are written in HTML (hypertext markup language) and are translated by your Web browser. Web pages can either be static or dynamic. Static pages show the same content each time they are viewed. Dynamic pages have content that can change each time they are accessed. These pages are typically written in scripting languages such as PHP, Perl, ASP, or JSP. The scripts in the pages run functions on the server that return things like the date and time, and database information. All the information is returned as HTML code, so when the page gets to your browser, all the browser has to do is translate the HTML.
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What is Web Ring?
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A Web ring is a way of interlinking related Web sites so that people can visit many similar Web sites by just following the "Web ring" link on each page. Most Web rings allow people to browse backwards or forwards through the sites in the ring, or choose to visit individual sites from a list. The rings are typically run from a main site which uses a Web scripting application to select random sites and keep the ring up to date. This includes getting rid of outdated pages and links, and adding new ones. There are tens of thousands of Web rings for topics like football, cars, celebrities, computers, TV shows, etc. You can tell if a Web page is part of Web ring if on the bottom of the page it has some huge, obtrusive, off-color, button linking to other sites in the ring.
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What is Web Server?
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A Web Server is a computer on the World Wide Web (connected to the Internet Backbone) that stores HTML documents that can be retrieved via a Web browser.
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What is Webmaster?
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The webmaster is the person in charge of maintaining a Web site. The jobs of a webmaster include writing HTML for Web pages, organizing the Web site's structure, responding to e-mails about the Web site, and keeping the site up-to-date. On some Web sites you might see a phrase that says, "send dead links and other Web site problems to webmaster@domainame.com." At times, being a webmaster can be a rather arduous job. I received some dead links in the mail one time, and let me tell you, it wasn't pretty.
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What is Website?
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A website, or Web site, is not the same thing as a Web page. Though the two terms are often used interchangeably, they should not be. So what's the difference? To put it simply, a Web site is a collection of Web pages. For example, Amazon.com is a Web site, but there are millions of Web pages that make up the site. Knowing the difference between these two terms can save you a lot of embarrassment.
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What is WEP?
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Stands for "Wired Equivalent Privacy." WEP is a security protocol for Wi-Fi networks. Since wireless networks transmit data over radio waves, it is easy to intercept data or "eavesdrop" on wireless data transmissions. The goal of WEP is to make wireless networks as secure as wired networks, such as those connected by Ethernet cables.
The wired equivalent privacy protocol adds security to a wireless network by encrypting the data. If the data is intercepted, it will be unrecognizable to system that intercepted the data, since it is encrypted. However, authorized systems on the network will be able to recognize the data because they all use the same encryption algorithm. Systems on a WEP-secured network can typically be authorized by entering a network password.
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What is White Paper?
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This term has historically been used to describe a report that states the social or political position of an organization. In recent years, however, the IT industry has adopted the term to describe articles that explain a certain technology or product. For example, a company may release a white paper to the public in order to educate consumers about one of their products. The terminology used may be somewhat technical, but the goal of a white paper is usually to describe the technology or product in terms most people can understand. That way nerds don't get to have all the fun each time a new technology is invented.
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What is Whois?
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Whois is a protocol for submitting a query to a database for determining the owner of a domain name, an IP network, or an autonomous system number.
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What is Wi-Fi?
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Short for "Wireless Fidelity." (Yes, it is pretty much a rip-off of the term "Hi-Fi," or High Fidelity, which refers to high-quality audio or surround sound.) Wi-Fi refers to wireless network components that are based on one of the Wi-Fi Alliance's 802.11 standards.
The Wi-Fi Alliance created the 802.11 standard so that manufacturers can make wireless products that work with other manufacturers' equipment. So, if you have a "Wi-Fi Certified" wireless network card, it should be recognized by any "Wi-Fi Certified" access point, and vice-versa. Why there is a Wi-Fi Alliance and why they named the wireless standard 802.11, I am not sure.
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What is Widget?
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A widget is a small program run by the Mac OS X Dashboard or the Yahoo! Widget Engine. Dashboard is only available on Macintosh computers, while the Yahoo! Widget Engine is available for both Windows and Macintosh platforms. Dashboard and Yahoo! widgets are not compatible with each other, so similar widgets must be created separately for each widget engine.
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What is Wiki?
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A wiki is a Web site that allows users to add and update content on the site using their own Web browser. This is made possible by Wiki software that runs on the Web server. Wikis end up being created mainly by a collaborative effort of the site visitors. A great example of a large wiki is the Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia in many languages that anyone can edit. The term "wiki" comes from the Hawaiian phrase, "wiki wiki," which means "super fast." I guess if you have thousands of users adding content to a Web site on a regular basis, the site could grow "super fast."
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What is Win32?
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This is the Windows application programming interface (API) for developing 32-bit applications. It has been used for Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, and newer Windows operating systems. This means that if you use Windows 95 or later, you can run 32-bit applications on your computer. Win32 is a term that is important to programmers, but is not crucial for the average user to know. Just know that if you have Windows 95 or later, you can run Win32 applications.
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What is Windows?
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Microsoft Windows is the most popular operating system for personal computers. There are several versions of the Windows operating system, including Windows XP (for home users) and Windows 2000 (for professional users). Earlier versions of Windows include Windows 3.1, 95, 98, ME, and NT. All Windows platforms use a graphical user interface (GUI), like the Mac OS, and also offer a command-line interface for typing text commands.
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What is Windows XP?
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Microsoft Windows XP was introduced in 2001 and is the most significant upgrade to the Windows operating system since Windows 95. The previous version of Windows, called Windows Me (or Millennium Edition) still had the look and feel of Windows 95 and was known to have stability issues and incompatibilities with certain hardware.
Windows XP addressed many issues of its predecessor and added a number of other improvements as well. It is a stable operating system since it is built on the Windows 2000 kernel, which is known for its reliability. XP also has a new, more modern look, and an interface that is more easy to navigate than previous versions of Windows. While not written from the ground up, like Mac OS X, Windows XP is a substantial system update. The letters "XP" stand for "eXPerience," meaning the operating system is meant to be a new type of user experience.
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What is Winsock?
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Winsock is actually short "Windows sockets," which are files that allow Windows programs to connect to the Internet and other computers. Technically, Winsock is an "Application Programming Interface (API)," that developers use to make their programs network-enabled. 16-bit applications use a file called WINSOCK.DLL and 32-bit applications use a file called WSOCK32.DLL. Both of these files are libraries of networking functions (based on TCP/IP), but they can differ from computer to computer, depending on the vendor. If you use Windows, you probably use Winsock on a regular basis. Fortunately, unless you're a Windows programmer, you don't have to understand exactly how it works.
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What is Wireless?
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In the computing world, the term "wireless" can be rather ambiguous, since it may refer to several different wireless technologies. The two most common types of wireless capabilities computers have are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Wi-Fi is the technology used for wireless networking. If your computer has a wireless card, it is most likely Wi-Fi compatible. The wireless card transmits to a wireless router, which is also based on the Wi-Fi standard. Wireless routers are often connected to a network, cable modem, or DSL modem, which provides Internet access to anyone connected to the wireless network.
Bluetooth is the technology often used for wireless keyboards and mice, wireless printing, and wireless cell phone headsets. In order to use a device such as a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse, your computer must be Bluetooth-enabled or have a Bluetooth adapter installed.
Computers may also use other wireless technologies aside from Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Products such as remote controls and wireless mice may use infrared or other proprietary wireless technologies. Because of the many wireless options available, it is a good idea to check the system requirements of any wireless device you are considering buying.
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What is Wizard?
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When most people think of a wizard, they think of an old man with magical powers. This, as with many other computer definitions, has no correlation with the technical term. In computer terminology, a wizard is a part of a program that guides you through certain steps. For example, a wizard in Microsoft Word would help you create and format a new document according to your needs. This is helpful when creating a résumé, outline, invoice, etc. Some other examples of wizards are the Finale 2000 wizard, which helps you create a new music composition with your desired instruments, and the PowerPoint wizard, which helps you set up a presentation using a certain theme.
Basically, a wizard acts as a guide for creating a new document in a software program. Though wizards can be helpful, sometimes they can be more of a hassle than a help for experienced users. Some users would rather just create a new document from scratch, without using a wizard. This is because wizards typically don't offer as much customization as an experienced user may want. Finally, be sure not to confuse a "wizard" with a "template." A template is a pre-formatted document that has already been created, whereas a wizard is a step-by-step guide that helps you create your own document.
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What is WML?
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Wireless Markup Language is the primary content format for devices that implement the WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) specification based on XML, such as mobile phones.
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What is Word Wrap?
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Word wrapping is when a line of text automatically "wraps" to the next line when it gets to the end of a page or text field. This is different than a "word rap," which involves rhyming words to a rhythmic beat, though that may be more fun than typing. Most word processing programs use word wrap to keep the text within the default margins of the page. Without the word wrap feature, text would continue on one line until the user pressed "Enter" or "Return" to insert a line break.
Most programs that incorporate word wrap take the first word that does not fit on a line of text and move it to the beginning of the next line. Advanced word processing programs can hyphenate long words at appropriate places. While it is uncommon, sometimes a word, or string of characters ,will take up more than one line. In this case, the word wrap feature will simply continue the string of characters onto the next line.
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What is Worm?
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Worm has two widely different definitions. One refers to a computer virus and the other is an optical storage technology:
1) A type of computer virus
Just like regular worms tunnel through dirt and soil, computer worms tunnel through your computer's memory and hard drive. A computer worm is a type of virus that replicates itself, but does not alter any files on your machine. However, worms can still cause havoc by multiplying so many times that they take up all your computer's available memory or hard disk space. If a worm consumes your memory, your computer will run very slowly and possibly even crash. If the worm affects your hard disk space, your computer will take a long time to access files and you will not be able to save or create new files until the worm has been eradicated.
Worms are hard to detect because they are typically invisible files. They often go unnoticed until your computer begins to slow down or starts having other problems. Unlike viruses and Trojan horses, worms can replicate themselves and travel between systems without any action from the user. For these reasons, it is good to have an antivirus program installed on your system that can detect and remove worms before they have a chance to replicate or spread to other computers. Security updates such as Windows Update also patch security holes that allow worms to infect your computer. So keep your security updates and virus definitions up-to-date and you should be able to keep your computer worm-free.
2) An optical storage technology
WORM can also mean "Write Once, Read Many." It is an optical storage technology that allows a disc to be written only once but read an unlimited number of times. WORM devices were introduced in the 1970's and gained popularity as a way of archiving data. The storage capacity of WORM discs began around 140MB, but increased to more than 3.0GB over the past few decades. Yet the WORM technology has no standard format, so WORM discs are only compatible w
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What is WPA?
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Stands for "Wi-Fi Protected Access." WPA is a security protocol designed to create secure wireless (Wi-Fi) networks. It is similar to the WEP protocol, but offers improvements in the way it handles security keys and the way users are authorized.
For an encrypted data transfer to work, both systems on the beginning and end of a data transfer must use the same encryption/decryption key. While WEP provides each authorized system with the same key, WPA uses the temporal key integrity protocol (TKIP), which dynamically changes the key that the systems use. This prevents intruders from creating their own encryption key to match the one used by the secure network.
WPA also implements something called the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) for authorizing users. Instead of authorizing computers based soley on their MAC address, WPA can use several other methods to verify each computer's identity. This makes it more difficult for unauthorized systems to gain access to the wireless network.
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What is WWW?
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Stands for "World Wide Web." It is important to know that this is not a synonym for the Internet. The World Wide Web, or just "the Web," as ordinary people call it, is a subset of the Internet. The Web consists of pages that can be accessed using a Web browser. The Internet is the actual network of networks where all the information resides. Things like Telnet, FTP, Internet gaming, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), and e-mail are all part of the Internet, but are not part of the World Wide Web. The Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the method used to transfer Web pages to your computer. With hypertext, a word or phrase can contain a link to another Web site. All Web pages are written in the hyper-text markup language (HTML), which works in conjunction with HTTP.
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What is WYSIWYG?
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WYSIWYG is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get, and is used in computing to refer to the technology that makes sure the image seen on the screen corresponds to what is printed out on paper. Today this is expected for word processors but in other situations, like web (HTML) authoring, this is not always the case.
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