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Glossary

I hate definitions.
Benjamin Disraeli (1826)

BBS
noun. abr. Bulletin Board Service; accessible through telephone modem, computer and communications software.
CD-ROM
noun. Compact disk, read-only memory. Information stored in digital form to be read, viewed or used by a computer, but which may not be changed or deleted.
Communications systems
noun. Voice, data and video. Telephones (wired and cellular), computers, television, facsimile (fax) machines, pagers.
Compression
noun. Reduction of data for transmission or storage purposes.
Digital
adjective. Electronic information is passed and received in binary (off/on) codes.
Fiber optics
noun. Molded bundles of glass fiber that allow transmission of signals using light waves rather than electrical impulses; can carry many more pieces of voice, data and video than networks of similar amounts of traditional wiring.
Information resources
noun. Collections of knowledge (acquired or derived) which are accessible to the learner. Oral traditions, books, magazines, newspapers, film, audio and video recordings - data stored in computer memory, on magnetic tape, on fixed, moveable or compact disks.
Infrastructure
noun. The network of interconnected computers and communications systems. The essential elements of the structure: standard twisted pair wiring, copper coaxial cable, fiber optics, radio, video and/or cellular broadcast signals.
Interactive
adjective. Promoting action between or among. Allowing users to achieve activity or results that are determined by previous actions.
Interoperable
adjective. Capable of acting, working or functioning while connected to a variety of machines having different requirements and abilities.
Local Area Network (LAN)
noun. Computers, interconnected with the same wiring standards, usually within a single room or building, to a server that controls access and storage on the system.
Mission
noun. A specific description of the purpose of the organization.
Modem
noun. A device that converts/reconverts computer signals to/from telephone signals.
Multimedia
noun. A collection of different forms of communication, such as television, computer, printer, modem and video disk recorder, connected to allow information to be presented in any combination of media, such as textual, audio, video, or electronically.
Network
noun. A fabric, a system, an arrangement of interconnected circuits.
verb. To connect, to link together.
Net
abr. ie. Internet - A worldwide system of communication networks.
Platform
noun. The specific brand of computer and/or operating system, i.e. Amiga, Apple IIe, IBM PC, Macintosh, UNIX.
Objective
noun. The results necessary to achieve the mission, accomplish the vision.
Server
noun. A computer that shares its resources, such as printers and files, with other computers on a network.
Strategy
noun. Means to achieve an objective.
Technology
noun. The application of science to the arts. The advances in theoretical knowledge, tools and equipment that drive industry.
Technology literacy
noun. Knowledge of.
Telecommunity
noun. A collection of neighborhoods, services, businesses, institutions, activities and individuals connected through telecommunications technology.
Vision
noun. The dream. A description of what the organization would like to be.
Wide Area Network (WAN)
noun. A collection between sites of Local Area Networks; accessible to LAN servers and stations, capable of handing the requirements of many simultaneous users.
World Wide Web
noun. Software that allows users to browse both local and worldwide information resources; interoperable, multiplatform, and able to connect multiple sources

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