AMR lets manufacturers create motherboards without analog I/O functions. Instead, these functions are placed on a separate card--with the codec chip--which plugs in perpendicular to the motherboard so that the motherboard and "riser" card form a right angle.

Separating the analog I/O functions from the motherboard means higher audio quality and reduced production delays. Prior to the AMR specification, motherboard analog I/O functions went through a lengthy FCC and international telecom certification process.

BWTP
Short for business Web transaction processing. Compared to OLTP, which describes an individual's business activities on the Internet, BWTP defines how businesses interact and coordinate their services over the Web.

CIFS
Short for Common Internet File System, a protocol that defines a standard for remote file access using millions of computers at a time. With CIFS, users with different platforms and computers can share files without having to install new software.

CIFS runs over TCP/IP but uses the SMB (Server Message Block) protocol found in Microsoft Windows for file and printer access; therefore, CIFS will allow all applications, not just Web browsers, to open and share files across the Internet.

With CIFS, changes made to a file are simultaneously saved on both the client and server side.

De Facto Standard
A format, language, or protocol that has become a standard not because it has been approved by a standards organization but because it is widely used and recognized by the industry as being standard.

DOCSIS
Developed by CableLabs and approved by the ITU in March 1998, Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification defines interface standards for cable modems and supporting equipment.

With certification from CableLabs, manufacturers will be able to produce cable modems for retail, so consumers no longer have to depend on leased cable modems from their cable providers.

Other devices that recognize and support the DOCSIS standard include HDTVs and Web enabled set-top boxes for regular televisions.

DOCSIS specifies downstream traffic tranfer rates between 27 and 36 Mbps over a radio frequency (RF) path in the 50 MHz to 750+ MHz range, and upstream traffic tranfer rates between 320 Kbps and 10 Mbps over a RF path between 5 and 42 MHz. But, because data over cable travels on a shared loop, individuals will see tranfer rates drop as more users gain access.

In 1998, there were 1.2 million cable modems installed across the United States with an average price of $245 per unit, and by 2004, research reports predict there will be 24.3 million units installed across the US with an average price of $50 per unit.

EDID
Extended Display Identification Data is a VESA standard data format that contains basic information about a monitor and its capabilities, including vendor information, maximum image size, color characteristics, factory pre-set timings, frequency range limits, and character strings for the monitor name and serial number.

The information is stored in the display and is used to communicate with the system through a Display Data Channel (DDC ), which sites between the monitor and the PC graphics adapter. The system uses this information for configuration purposes, so the monitor and system can work together.

The latest version of EDID (version 1.3) can be used in CRT displays, LCD displays, and future display types because EDID offers general descriptions of almost all display parameters.

G.SHDSL
Also known as G.991.2, G.SHDSL is an international standard for symmetric DSL developed by the ITU. G.SHDSL provides for sending and receiving high-speed symmetrical data streams over a single pair of copper wires at rates between 192 kbps and 2.31 Mbps. G.SHDSL was developed to incorporate the features of other DSL technologies, such as ADSL and SDSL and will transport T1,E1, ISDN, ATM and IP signals. This is the first DSL technology to be developed from the ground up as an international standard.

GPRS
Short for General Packet Radio Service, a standard for wireless communications which runs at speeds up to 150 kilobits per second, compared with current GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) systems' 9.6 kilobits.

GPRS, which supports a wide range of bandwidths, is an efficient use of limited bandwidth and is particularly suited for sending and receiving small bursts of data, such as e-mail and Web browsing, as well as large volumes of data.

HPNA
Also referred to as HomePNA. A de facto home networking standard developed by the Home Phoneline Networking Alliance. This technology, building on Ethernets, allows all the components of a home network to interact over the home's existing telephone wiring without disturbing the existing voice or fax services. In the same way a LAN operates, home networking processes, manages, transports and stores information, which enables the disparate devices in a home network such as telephones, fax machines, desktops, laptops, printers, scanners and Web cameras to connect and integrate over a home's unpredictable wiring topology.

HPNA technology must coexist with telephone service and comply with FCC Part 68.

IPP
The Internet Printing Protocol was first drafted between Novell and Xerox with necessary support from Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The idea behind the IPP is to define a protocol for end users' most common printing situations over the Internet.

IPP will be transferred using the HTTP/1.1 protocol because HTTP/1.1 has the ability to perform multiple transfers over a single TCP connection and because it is the most widely accepted protocol in the Internet marketplace.

MGCP
The Media Gateway Control Protocol, developed by Telcordia and Level 3 Communications, is one of a few proposed control and signal standards to compete with the older H.323 standard for the conversion of audio signals carried on telephone circuits (PSTN ) to data packets carried over the Internet or other packet networks.

The reason new standards are being developed is because of the growing popularity of Voice over IP (VoIP ). Regular phones are relatively inexpensive because they don't need to be complex; they are fixed to a specific switch at a central switching location. IP phones and devices, on the other hand, are not fixed to a specific switch, so they must contain processors that enable them to function and be intelligent on their own, independent from a central switching location. This makes the terminal (phone or device) more complex, and therefore, more expensive. The MGCP is meant to simplify standards for this new technology by eliminating the need for complex, processor-intense IP telephony devices, thus simplifying and lowering the cost of these terminals.

NDMP
Pioneered by Intelliguard and Network Appliance, Network Data Management Protocol defines a common architecture for the way heterogeneous file servers on a network are backed up.

The new protocol will allow the creation of a common agent used by the central back-up application to back up different file servers running different platforms and platform versions.

With NDMP, network congestion is minimized because the data path and control path are separated. Back up can occur locally--from file servers direct to tape drives, while management can occur from a central location.

NDMP is an open standard protocol promoted and supported by server vendors, back-up software vendors, and back-up device vendors.

Open
To make an object accessible. Whenever you access a file (that is, you edit a text file or run a program file), the operating system opens the file. Opening a file can be simple or complex depending on the operating system. For example, in a multiprocessing operating system, in which different users can share the same resources, the operating system must decide whether the file can be accessed simultaneously by more than one user, and if so, it must ensure that different users do not try to modify the file's contents at the same time.

Accessible. When used to describe designs or architectures, open means public.

Open Architecture
An architecture whose specifications are public. This includes officially approved standards as well as privately designed architectures whose specifications are made public by the designers. The opposite of open is closed or proprietary.

The great advantage of open architectures is that anyone can design add-on products for it. By making an architecture public, however, a manufacturer allows others to duplicate its product. Linux, for example, is considered open architecture because its source code is available to the public for free. In contrast, DOS, Windows, and the Macintosh architecture and operating system have been predominantly closed. Many lawsuits have been filed over the use of these architectures in clone machines. For example, IBM issued a Cease and Desist order, followed by a battery of lawsuits, when COMPAQ built its first computers.

Proprietary
Privately owned and controlled. In the computer industry, proprietary is the opposite of open. A proprietary design or technique is one that is owned by a company. It also implies that the company has not divulged specifications that would allow other companies to duplicate the product.

Increasingly, proprietary architectures are seen as a disadvantage. Consumers prefer open and standardized architectures, which allow them to mix and match products from different manufacturers.

Protocol
An agreed-upon format for transmitting data between two devices.

There are a variety of standard protocols from which programmers can choose. Each has particular advantages and disadvantages; for example, some are simpler than others, some are more reliable, and some are faster.

From a user's point of view, the only interesting aspect about protocols is that your computer or device must support the right ones if you want to communicate with other computers. The protocol can be implemented either in hardware or in software.

RFC
Short for Request for Comments, a series of notes about the Internet, started in 1969 (when the Internet was the ARPANET). An Internet Document can be submitted to the IETF by anyone, but the IETF decides if the document becomes an RFC. Eventually, if it gains enough interest, it may evolve into an Internet standard.

Each RFC is designated by an RFC number. Once published, an RFC never changes. Modifications to an original RFC are assigned a new RFC number.

Standard
A definition or format that has been approved by a recognized standards organization or is accepted as a de facto standard by the industry. Standards exist for programming languages, operating systems, data formats, communications protocols, and electrical interfaces.

From a user's standpoint, standards are extremely important in the computer industry because they allow the combination of products from different manufacturers to create a customized system. Without standards, only hardware and software from the same company could be used together. In addition, standard user interfaces can make it much easier to learn how to use new applications.

IEEE sets standards for most types of electrical interfaces. Its most famous standard is probably RS-232C, which defines an interface for serial communication. This is the interface used by most modems, and a number of other devices, including display screens and mice. IEEE is also responsible for designing floating-point data formats.

While IEEE is generally concerned with hardware, ANSI is primarily concerned with software. ANSI has defined standards for a number of programming languages, including C, COBOL, and FORTRAN.

ITU defines international standards, particularly communications protocols. It has defined a number of standards, including V.22, V.32, V.34 and V.42, that specify protocols for transmitting data over telephone lines.

In addition to standards approved by organizations, there are also de facto standards. These are formats that have become standard simply because a large number of companies have agreed to use them. They have not been formally approved as standards, but they are standards nonetheless. PostScript is a good example of a de facto standard.

Transaction Authority Markup Language
Shortened as XAML. XAML is a vendor-neutral standard developed jointly by Bowstreet, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Oracle and Sun that is used to coordinate and process online business transactions. Based on XML, XAML uses a set of XML message formats and interaction models that Web services can use to provide business-level transactions that span multiple parties across the Internet.

XAML distinguishes traditional online transaction processing (OLTP), such as making banking transactions online or purchasing a product from a consumer Web site, from business Web transaction processing (BWTP), which involves Web services from multiple organizations on the Internet and must coordinate the low-level operations of commit, cancel, retry, and compensate (undo or reverse) in order to ensure business-level transaction integrity.

The following example illustrates a business-level transaction involving a set of Web services that would utilize XAML: Consider a lumber company that needs to purchase a large quantity of a chemical it uses to treat its lumber before it is sold. In order for the buyer to purchase the chemical, the company requires additional value-added services provided by third parties, such as shipping with specific delivery terms, government compliance for safe transport, payment financing and casualty insurance. The purchase cannot take place until all these services are coordinated and the buyer is satisfied. XAML will allow the different parties involved to process the transactions over the Web.

UTC
Coordinated Universal Time is a time scale that couples Greenwich Mean Time, which is based solely on the Earth's inconsistent rotation rate, with highly accurate atomic time. When atomic time and Earth time approach a one second difference, a leap second is calculated into UTC.

UTC was devised on January 1, 1972 and is coordinated in Paris by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures.

UTC, like Greenwich Mean Time, is set at 0 degrees longitude on the prime meridian.

VSB
1. Short for vestigial side band, a method for modulating -- or converting for transmission -- digital data over coaxial cable. Created by Zenith, VSB has been chosen by the FCC as a standard for digital TV.

2. Short for VME Subsystem Bus, an auxiliary bus used with a primary 32-bit bus called a VME (VersaModule Eurocard), made for commercial, industrial, and military uses. The VSB helps speed transfers between devices.

Vt100
Introduced by DEC in August 1978, Video Terminal 100 was the first terminal to use a general-purpose processor for interpreting the newly published (1977) ANSI control codes (ANSI X3.64).

Quickly, the vt100 become popular, and the ANSI control codes embodied in the vt100 became a de facto standard. Eventually, IBM adopted them for its line of PCs.

Today, most terminal-emulation programs commonly use the vt100 setting.

WfM
Short for Wired for Management, an open-industry specification developed by Intel that lets IT professionals automate client-PC management over a network

WfM technology is used in client-side hardware (such as circuitry, memory, power supply and NIC ) and management software applications (such as LDCM ). IT managers will use the software to interact with PCs through their (PCs) hardware. From there, managers can monitor, update, and configure PCs. As long as they have the software -- let's say on their laptops -- they can access PCs from anywhere, even through a dial-up connection.

WfM biggest asset comes when managers have to access mobile computers from remote locations. For many critical tasks, users only need to dial-up through an analog modem, and the management application will take care of the rest.