Glossary - I

Information

In information technology, “information” is coded data that can be sent, received, stored and processed by engineering resources. The amount of information is the difference between uncertain information before and after the report. The carrier of the information is the signal. Information is important and will have to be distinguished from its physical medium - whether it is a voice, sound, image, font, or disk. The essence of information well reflects a definition of the American anthropologist Gregory Bateson. According to him, information means "the difference which makes difference.” The growing importance of information in connection to knowledge and news changed the attention of scientists at the late of 19th century, especially linguists. Historically, information was spread by language and writing that was encoded by using words, sounds and letters. With the development of electrical and electronic communications, information has become a technical term, although with a slightly different meaning. However, the new meaning focuses on the coding information and not on content. The basic model for transmission of the information is a system (transmitter (encoder) - channel - receiver [decoder]). The amount of information on the medium can even be measured. The library is used for measuring the pages. Journalists count words or characters and in a computer, information is measured in bytes or bits. Information in a theoretic view is now also developing in physics, biology and social sciences.

Installation

In computer science, the installation process occurs when a new operating system, computer program, or driver is copied onto a computer so that immediately after completion, a component can be installed. Software makers are continuously seeking to simply the installation process, which usually includes configuration (setting) and other necessary activities. Programs are usually supplied in the form of a package containing a set of files that are compressed into a single file to facilitate manipulation, distribution, and sales. Before the necessary files can be used, the package must be decompressed. Files must be placed in their proper locations and ​​other necessary settings must be made. Universal installers have been developed to simplify the installation process. In order for these to work, they must be set using the configuration file, so the programmer does not have to change the setup program. Installers on CD / DVDs are often designed so that the installer will run automatically after you insert the disc, which includes a special file located in the root medium. Some software and operating systems do not require installation. For these, simply copy the executable file or directory with files to any location on your computer. This procedure was often used in older operating systems such as MS-DOS®, Atari® TOS, Amiga® OS, Mac OS® and others. Today, this is typical for the Mac® OS X® and also for some simpler Microsoft Windows® programs.

Instant messaging

Instant messaging (IM) is an Internet service that enables users to see who among their contacts is currently connected to the Internet and instantly communicate with them. Users can chat, send messages, send and share files with each other and communicate in real time.  It is this feature that gives IM an advantage over email because messages and files are sent and received almost instantaneously—usually within hundreds of milliseconds. Instant messaging speeds communication and allows easy collaboration among multiple people, and unlike email or telephone communications, the originator of the communication knows whether or not the intended recipient is available. Most IM systems allow users to set up a message to inform contacts as to their current availability to engage in conversation. IM communication can also be less distracting than phone and email communication. This is one of the reasons why IM is becoming more and more popular in the business environment. Another reason why instant messaging is gaining popularity in business environments is because it is ideal for the rapid exchange of Internet addresses, snippets of source code and other information that is generally difficult to transmit via the telephone.

The protocol for real-time Internet text-messaging, IRC (Internet Relay Chat), was developed in 1988. The first instant messaging computer program, ICQ®, was introduced in 1996 by an Israeli company, Mirabilis©, which was then bought by America Online® and is now owned by mail.ru Group©. The rapid growth of IM led to the development of many alternative IM clients such as Yahoo!® Messenger, MSN® Messenger, Excite®, Ubique©, and Sametime® from IBM®. Since each IM client has its own protocol that is obviously incompatible with the others, users must run multiple clients simultaneously. Multiprotocol clients like Digsby®, Pidgin© (formerly Gaim©), Miranda©, Trillian®, Kopete© and Sim-IM© have since been introduced to fill the gap. ICQ® is now also compatible with QIP©, a Russian client that supports only the network. Differences between the protocols opened the XMPP protocol for IM, which can communicate with other networks using “transports.”

Intel

Based on the vision of Andrew Grove, Intel® Corporation was founded as Integrated Electronics Corporation on July 18, 1968 by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore. The company is headquartered in the Silicon Valley city of Santa Clara, California, United States and is the world's largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. Intel® Corporation invented the x86 series of microprocessors that are used in the majority of personal computers. Intel® became widely known for inventing the highly successful Pentium® processor which was promoted via the “Intel Inside” advertising campaign in the 1990s. Intel also makes motherboard chipsets, network interface controllers and integrated circuits, flash memory, graphic chips, embedded processors and other devices related to communications and computing.

Internet

The Internet is a worldwide system of interconnected computer networks (a "network of networks") in which computers communicate with each other through a family of TCP/IP protocols. The Internet contains interconnected computer networks that connect to the individual network nodes. A node can be a computer, as well as specialized equipment (e.g., router). Every computer connected to the Internet has an assigned IP address within the family TCP / IP. Instead of IP addresses, we used domain names to make the address easier to remember, for example www.google.com. Internet users can use many services, and these services are provided by computer programs. The computer programs communicate with each other using protocols. Protocols are usually defined in the RFC, and are not standards, but recommendations that are all trying to achieve smooth communication. Voluntary compliance with these documents corresponds to the free functioning of the Internet itself.
Some of the basic Internet services:

• Web - Web sites display a system using a web browser
           Commonly used protocol - HTTP
           For a secure transmission, use HTTPS
• E-mail - Electronic mail
           For transmission of messages, use SMTP
           For communicating with email programs, use POP3, IMAP
• Instant messaging - Online (direct, live) communication between users using various protocols
           Applications are sometimes the same names as the protocol (ICQ®, Jabber®, ...)
• VoIP - Internet telephones
           SIP™
           Skype® - proprietary protocol
• FTP - File transfer
           Service with the same name as the protocol to transfer files using HTTP protocol
• DNS - Domain name (system host names easier to remember)
           Protocol uses the same name
• Social Networks - Social networking has become a new communication channel. Using social networks allows communication between people who could not physically meet together via the Internet. Social networks are currently experiencing rapid development accelerated by new technologies.

International long-distance services on the Internet reach very high data rates, but these high-speed connections usually do not have end users. The actual user connections are realized by different technologies. Users sometimes combine in groups to save costs or achieve more expensive and faster connections. The Internet service provider is usually shortened as “ISP.”

Currently, there are several options for connecting computers to the Internet:

• Telephone line (the line is the owner from the telephone operator)
• Cable connection
• Wireless Data Network 
• Using grids
• And more…

The quality of the connection determines:

• Aggregation (how many users share one line)
• Response time (long response times can have a negative impact e.g. internet phoning)
• The connection technology used

To summarize the usage of Internet we can say that many people use the World Wide Web to access news, weather, and sports reports, to plan and book vacations, and to find out more about their interests. People use chat, messaging and email to stay in touch with friends worldwide, sometimes in the same way as some of us previously had pen pals. The Internet has seen a growing number of Web desktops, where users can access their files and settings via the Internet. One popular form of leisure activity on the Internet is multiplayer gaming. This form of recreation creates communities, where people of all ages and origins enjoy the fast-paced world of multiplayer games. These range from MMORPGs to first-person shooters and from strategy to online gambling. The Internet in general and the World Wide Web are also important enablers of both formal and informal education.

Internet Browser

An Internet browser is a software application used to locate and display information on the World Wide Web. A web browser enables users to access, retrieve and view documents and other resources on the Internet. To utilize an Internet browser, the user types a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), into the browser’s address field. The entered address is called “information resource” and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content. The most commonly used kind of URL starts with “http:” and identifies a resource to be retrieved over the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Although browsers are primarily intended to access the World Wide Web, they can also be used to access information provided by web servers in private networks or files in file systems. The most popular web browsers are Internet Explorer®, Firefox®, Google Chrome, Safari®, and Opera®. 

Internet Explorer®

Internet Explorer® (Windows® Internet Explorer®, previously Microsoft® Internet Explorer®, abbreviated as IE, MSIE) is a proprietary web browser developed by Microsoft® Corporation. Internet Explorer® is a component of the Windows® operating system. The direct predecessor of the Internet Explorer® web browser is NCSA® Mosaic©, whose source code has been partially used in the Spyglass® Mosaic© browser developed ​​by Spyglass®. Spyglass® licensed this browser to Microsoft® in 1995, in exchange for a percentage of the profits generated. Internet Explorer® version 3 had already been developed without the licensed source code.

 Internet Explorer® (especially version 6 or earlier) is often criticized for its security policy. The browser has gained a reputation for enabling the spread of viruses, spyware and adware, and weak points in the browser are often exploited by attackers in order to gain control over the system or obtain sensitive user information. The browser is also criticized for a lack of support for web standards and their implementation, however this is often incorrect. In addition, many developers claim that Microsoft® slowed the development of web technologies, but later versions of its browser show a trend towards improvements in this area.

Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP)

IMAP is an Internet protocol for remote access to an email box. Unlike POP3, IMAP can work in online and offline mode, and offers advanced remote management like working with folders, moving messages, server-side search, etc. This makes it possible to work with a mailbox from any location. All messages and folders are stored on the mail server and the computer downloads only the necessary information to view a folder consisting of message headers, and message content is only displayed if the user wants to read it. Each message retains its status (unread, replied to, important), the user can move messages between folders, create folders, delete folders, search on server-side, etc. The protocol allows connection of multiple clients simultaneously. Currently, the IMAP4 protocol is used (IMAP version 4 revision 1 - IMAP4rev1), as defined in RFC 3501.

Internet radio

Internet radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio) is an online audio service that enables users to tune in and listen to radio stations on the Internet via special software. It is a system in which sound is distributed in digital form. Music streaming on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted broadly through wireless means. Many internet radio stations exist in parallel with their conventional terrestrial versions. There are, of course, pure Internet radio stations that do not have terrestrial siblings. Listeners with Internet access can tune into Internet radio stations located anywhere in the world. This means that you can listen to an Australian radio station while in Europe, and vice-versa without any restrictions. It is because of this that Internet radio has become a popular service for those who like a specific type of music that they are unable to listen to on traditional local channels (such as world music, jazz, metal, electronic music, etc.). Some Internet radio stations offer nonstop radio news, sports, politics, comedy, and much more from various other genres.

Internet service provider

An Internet service provider (ISP) or Internet access provider (IAP) is the company or organization arranging and providing access to the Internet. In the past, most ISPs were  telephone companies or infrastructure renting companies. Today, they are independent companies with their own specific infrastructures focused mainly on data transfer and the integration of telephone and other services.

An ISP has a portfolio of technologies that allow consumers to connect to their network. For home users, the most popular options include dial-up, Digital Subscriber Line (mostly ADSL), wireless access via Wi-Fi service, cable television provider, fiber optic cable (FTTH) and ISDN or satellite connections.

IP Address

An IP address is the number in a computer that uniquely identifies a network interface in a computer network that uses IP (Internet Protocol). Currently, the most common version of IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses for each registered decimal octet (eights of bits), for example, 192.168.0.1. Due to the lack of IP addresses it will be replaced by IPv6, which uses 128-bit IP addresses. An IP address is used to distinguish network interfaces connected to a computer network. A network interface can be a network interface card (Ethernet, Wi-Fi), IrDA port, or virtual device as well. For ordinary users of computer networks it was very difficult to remember the numeric addresses, so the DNS (Domain Name System) server was invented. This allows easier-to-remember domain names of the computers that are automatically converted to IP addresses. IP addresses may either be assigned permanently (static IP address) for an Email server/Business server or a permanent home resident or temporarily (dynamic IP address) from a pool of available addresses (first come first serve) from your Internet Service Provider. A permanent IP address typically costs extra money, so be sure to ask your ISP.

ISO Image

An ISO image is a file containing digital copies of data on an optical disc. The ISO image file is not stored in a container file but rather an uncompressed format. Unlike a physical optical disc, an ISO image can be transferred over any data link or removable storage medium and contains data files along with all the metadata of the file system, including boot sectors, structures and attributes. These features make the format attractive as an alternative to physical media for transmitting many different kinds of data, such as software.

ISO images can be archived in a CD-ROM or DVD as a true digital copy of the original, or mounted with special software that creates a virtual optical drive, using the ISO file directly as a data source. Files can be transferred over the Internet without a physical transfer medium and easily distributed. This is beneficial in distributing software, but often leads to software piracy.