There are a few terms that we come across in our daily lives but might not know what they actually stand for or mean. Here are a few commonly used terms and their explanations
KDE:
Set up on the free open source software ideology, it's a set of applications that run on various plateforms. KDE is best known for its Plasma desktop enviornment. A number of Linux distributions such as openSUSE and Kubuntu have this desktop enviornment as their default. The term KDE is sort of a scrambled version of a common desktop enviornment that was available for UNIX systems. Much like KDE is GNOME which was much preferred because of KISS ideology till 2.x.x then from much anticipated version 3 which actually moved away from it.
KDE was much criticized for using QT toolkit which was proprietary in beginning days but was open source later and currently owned by Nokia which provides two versions one open source and one proprietary.
It was created as a replacement of CDE (Common Desktop Environment) to provide a full fledged DE and make it as open source as possible. It was not until late 90s that GNOME (GNU Network Object Model Environment) came in existence and replaced it as a most open source DE.
It has got some of the best apps written for Linux such as AmaroK and Konqueror and even has its own office suite.
PING: You might have used the term "ping" while sending a message to somebody, however, traditionally ping is a utility which is used to test the host's reachability on an IP(internet protocol). Ping is used to measure the round trip time for messages which are sent from the host to the destination computer. This works by sending a packet to a specified address and waiting for a reply.
CLOUD COMPUTING: This has been quiet the buzzword in the industry for some time now, and everyone seems to be yapping about the strength and potential of it. Companies use cloud computing to provide data computation, access and storage services. The idea of everything's on the cloud and accessible everywhere has manifested in today's world. Cloud computing is more of a service than product where shared resources and information is given to computers.
3G: Despite all the hoopla around the 3G services thanks to the mobile operators' advertising, you still might not understand what the 3G mania is all about. The third generation of mobile telecommunications is a standard set by IMT (International Mobile Telecommunications). The service provided under the 3G umbrella includes voice telephone, mobile internet, video calling and mobile T.V. Minimum data rate which needs to maintained is 2Mbit/s.
BANDWIDTH: Expressed in bits/s, this is a measure of consumed or available data communication reesources. Its essentially the difference between two frequencies and the amount of information tha can flow through a channel. There can be data, network or digital bandwidth. Textual information states bandwidth as an analog signal bandwidth measured in Hz (Hertz).
VIRTUALISATION: A method of dividing the resources of a computer so that it can be used in various execution environments. Virtualisation is divided into hardware, software, partial or complete machine simulation. It's a common practice in enterprise IT where the computer processing power is percieved as a utility for which clients can pay for as and when it's needed.
MIDDLEWARE: Can be understood as a set of software services which allows the interaction of multiple processes on different machines to come together. In other words, middleware sits between different application software that may be working on various operating systems.
HOT SPOT: The next you head out to a coffee shop which has a hot spot don't be alarmed, for it simply provides an internet access over wireless LAN through a router connected to an ISP (Internet Service Provider). You can use a hot-spot using your Wi-Fi enabled laptop or phone. Hot spots can be both, free or commercially available.
ROUTER: Responsible for forwarding data packets between computer networks. A router joins two networks like LAN or an ISP network and directs traffic functions on the internet. Routers simply pass data between the computer and the model or internet cable.
Taken From: Digit magazine, issue:- January 2012, page- 118.
KDE:
KDE was much criticized for using QT toolkit which was proprietary in beginning days but was open source later and currently owned by Nokia which provides two versions one open source and one proprietary.
It was created as a replacement of CDE (Common Desktop Environment) to provide a full fledged DE and make it as open source as possible. It was not until late 90s that GNOME (GNU Network Object Model Environment) came in existence and replaced it as a most open source DE.
It has got some of the best apps written for Linux such as AmaroK and Konqueror and even has its own office suite.
PING: You might have used the term "ping" while sending a message to somebody, however, traditionally ping is a utility which is used to test the host's reachability on an IP(internet protocol). Ping is used to measure the round trip time for messages which are sent from the host to the destination computer. This works by sending a packet to a specified address and waiting for a reply.
CLOUD COMPUTING: This has been quiet the buzzword in the industry for some time now, and everyone seems to be yapping about the strength and potential of it. Companies use cloud computing to provide data computation, access and storage services. The idea of everything's on the cloud and accessible everywhere has manifested in today's world. Cloud computing is more of a service than product where shared resources and information is given to computers.
3G: Despite all the hoopla around the 3G services thanks to the mobile operators' advertising, you still might not understand what the 3G mania is all about. The third generation of mobile telecommunications is a standard set by IMT (International Mobile Telecommunications). The service provided under the 3G umbrella includes voice telephone, mobile internet, video calling and mobile T.V. Minimum data rate which needs to maintained is 2Mbit/s.
BANDWIDTH: Expressed in bits/s, this is a measure of consumed or available data communication reesources. Its essentially the difference between two frequencies and the amount of information tha can flow through a channel. There can be data, network or digital bandwidth. Textual information states bandwidth as an analog signal bandwidth measured in Hz (Hertz).
VIRTUALISATION: A method of dividing the resources of a computer so that it can be used in various execution environments. Virtualisation is divided into hardware, software, partial or complete machine simulation. It's a common practice in enterprise IT where the computer processing power is percieved as a utility for which clients can pay for as and when it's needed.
MIDDLEWARE: Can be understood as a set of software services which allows the interaction of multiple processes on different machines to come together. In other words, middleware sits between different application software that may be working on various operating systems.
HOT SPOT: The next you head out to a coffee shop which has a hot spot don't be alarmed, for it simply provides an internet access over wireless LAN through a router connected to an ISP (Internet Service Provider). You can use a hot-spot using your Wi-Fi enabled laptop or phone. Hot spots can be both, free or commercially available.
ROUTER: Responsible for forwarding data packets between computer networks. A router joins two networks like LAN or an ISP network and directs traffic functions on the internet. Routers simply pass data between the computer and the model or internet cable.
Taken From: Digit magazine, issue:- January 2012, page- 118.
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