November Vocab

Internet Protocols - The set of standards responsible for ensuring that data packets transmitted over the Internet are routed to their intended destinations. Abbreviated IP.

HTTP - A protocol used to request and transmit files, especially webpages and webpage components, over the Internet or other computer network.

FTP - A communications protocol governing the transfer of files from one computer to another over a network.

TCP/IP - The rules about transmission; i.e. speed and routing

Cookie - A data file written to a hard drive by some Web sites, contains information the site can use to track such things as passwords, login, registration or identification, user preferences, online shopping cart information, and lists of pages visited.

Listserv - The software (server) used to maintain an electronic mailing list. Also known as list server.

Web Cam - A digital camera capable of downloading images to a computer for transmission over the Internet or other network.

Internet Languages - A system of symbols and rules used for communication with or between computers.

Netiquette - The set of rules or "etiquette" that should be followed when moving about the web

Intranet - A privately maintained computer network that can be accessed only by authorized persons, especially members or employees of the organization that owns it.

URL - An Internet address (for example, http://www.hmco.com/trade/), usually consisting of the access protocol (http), the domain name (www.hmco.com), and optionally the path to a file or resource residing on that server (trade).

hyperlink - A segment of text or a graphical item that serves as a cross-reference between parts of a hypertext document or between files or hypertext documents. Also called hotlink, hyperlink.

Bandwidth - The amount of data that can be passed along a communications channel in a given period of time.

WWW - a system of extensively interlinked hypertext documents: a branch of the Internet. Abbreviation: WWW

Browser - a software program that allows the user to find and read encoded documents in a form suitable for display, esp. such a program for use on the World Wide Web.

Search Engine - A software program that searches a database and gathers and reports information that contains or is related to specified terms.

E-mail - A system for sending and receiving messages electronically over a computer network, as between personal computers

Convergence -

Teleconferencing - A conference held among people in different locations by means of telecommunications equipment, such as closed-circuit television.

Videoconferencing - A teleconference using video technology, such as closed-circuit television.

Telecommuting - Performing job-related requirements using Telecommunications to transmit data and textual messages to the central organizational office without being physically present. Many of the job requirements of today's organizations involve information processing, which is the primary capability of telecommunications. Telecommuting utilizes telecommunications to accomplish these job requirements while avoiding all of the inconvenience and expense of physically commuting to work as well as requiring less organizational Overhead.

Digital Television - Television in which picture information is encoded into digital signals on the transmitter, and decoded at the receiver.

Push-Pull Technologies - A data distribution technology in which selected data are automatically delivered into the user's computer at prescribed intervals or based on some event that occurs. Although no longer in service, PointCast was the first Internet product to become popular for pushing selected news and stock quotes into a user's machine at prescribed intervals.

GOF 4.8 and 4.10

4.8 Consider the case described in Section 4.1.2, in which a boy was assumed to be a drug abuser because two schools used different disciplinary codes in their computerized records.

a) Is this kind of problem more likely to occur with computerized record than with paper records? Why. or why not?

Yes. Paper records would probably be reviewed by a person and then filed away; however, a computer file sent via internet can just be dragged and dropped into a a file with all the student records.

b) Describe some policies or practices that can help prevent such problems.

Each school could send their key of acronyms to the other schools when records are sent. This would ensure the abbreviations would be checked and information would be verified.

4.10 Consider the standardized-test score-reporting error discussed in the box in Section 4.1.3. Suppose the scores had been reported to the schools as significantly higher, rather than lower, than the correct scores. Do you think the schools would have questions the scores? Do you think the error would have been discovered? If so, how? Give a few examples of situations where you think computer errors would not be reported. for each example, give your reason (e.g., optimism, ignorance, gullibility, dishonesty.)

Yes, I think they would have questioned the scores. Yes the error probably would have been found. They could have checked the class' scores from the previous years and based on scores from the previous class they could have estimated the correct range of scores and back checked it these scores.