FAQ =
This is the acronym for Frequently Asked
Questions. A common feature on the Internet,
FAQs are files of answers to commonly asked questions.
Read FAQs before wasting electrons asking obvious
questions. Saves you from receiving flames.
FC-AL = (See
SSA.)
Fax = Devices
for transmitting and receiving photocopies over
telephone lines. Text and graphics may be printed
on paper or stored in computer files. Text is received
as a graphic and must be translated by specialized
software to be stored as text files for word processors.
(See also PDA)
FDMA= (See
Wireless
Glossary of Terms)
Fiber optic = Cable that carries light pulses instead of electrical
current. A cable comprised of a multitude of fine
glass fibers has much more capacity than the previously
popular copper cable. (See also Information
highway, Networks,
and Sonet)
Fiero Online = The Princeton University online art class on Fiero del Fancesca, an Italian
15th century Renaissance artist. This is an Iris
Silicon Graphics high-end database library with
scanned images of frescoes and a three-dimensional
walking tour on computer for students. Students
also construct their own models. This is considered
one of the most successful CAL applications in universities.
File attributes = Access rights attached
to each file.
File server = A computer running a
network operating system that enables other computers
to access its files.
File transfer = The ability to transfer text, graphics, software, spreadsheets, audio files,
and video files over vast distances on computer
networks such as the Internet. For example, the
entire works of Shakespeare can be downloaded from
Dartmouth
College and government
documents may be transferred from the Library of
Congress. (See also FTP, Internet,
and SLIP)
Finger = An Internet protocol
used to find out more information about an Internet
user. (See also Cookies)
Finger gateway = A source listing of graphics images that have been placed around the world
on the Internet. (See also Mosaic)
Firewall = Go to http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/firewall.htm
Also see security.
FireWire = (See Bus.)
Flash = the name of a software
product from Macromedia that is intended for more
efficient Internet delivery of graphics and other
media.
Neil Balthaser writes
"Kill HTML Before It Kills Us," in NewMedia,
September 1999. pg. 22. The online version
is at http://newmedia.com/NewMedia/99/09/architects/Kill_HTML.html.
In his own words, Neil Balthaser asserts the following:
Recently
I was on a keynote panel addressing the future of
the Web. The crowning moment came when the moderator
displayed an HTML page before a crowd of hundreds,
on 15-foot über-screens, and praised its "creative"
use of fields! To emphasize her point, she changed the title from "The Art
Center College of Design" to "The Fart
Center College of Design."
This is
how we're supposed to captivate the world and grab
the attention of the masses? I don't think so.
Right now,
raging all around us, is an enormous battle for
mindshare. The movie studios are creating bigger
blockbusters; stores are re-creating themselves
as "community centers"; and gyms are adding
translucent shower room walls so fitness buffs can
watch anonymous figures lather up as they're working
out. Yet among these distractions, do any stunning
HTML pages spring to mind? How can we expect to
survive this battle with HTML as our only weapon?
The simple
answer is, we can't. Yet we continue to try.
I can hear
your HTML programmers now: "But being creative
using the simplest of tools shows the greatest creativity
of all!" While this may be true, it's beside
the point. If simple is best, how many master ASCII
artists have you hired? Etching on film may be the
simplest method of creating special effects, but
that doesn't mean the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park were etched on film. People
are demanding better, hotter, and sexier forms of
entertainment, and we're not going to give it to
them with HTML. As an industry, we have to find
and support other solutions.
Currently,
Flash is our best weapon. Drop HTML, pick up Flash,
and really learn it -- then push it. It offers the
most robust authoring environment around, and it's
backed by a single company that is focused on creating
great tools. If Java had this kind of dedication
behind it, I'd recommend it as well. But for all
Java's strengths, it lacks a great, nontechnical
authoring environment -- and that's what unleashes
creativity and gives a new medium a life of its
own.
Mr. Balthaser makes some
good points, especially with respect to graphics,
animation, and multimedia. However, it seems
unlikely that Flash will ever replace HTML.
At Macromedia's http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/productinfo/features/
you read the following:
Easily design
and reliably deliver high-impact, low-bandwidth
Web sites to all browsers. Flash is the only solution
that lets you produce sites with vector and bitmap
graphics, motion, MP3 audio, form input, and interactivity.
Leading high-traffic consumer and portal sites use
Flash to deliver engaging experiences that attract
and excite Web users everywhere.
Be that as it may, text
has many advantages over other forms of media.
For example, text is the most efficient form of
communication for search engines (at least until
we really get serious about metadata, RDF, and XML).
Flash cannot hold a candle to text formatting in
FrontPage and Microsoft Office products such as
PowerPoint and Word. Excel 2000 documents
can now be saved in dynamic HTML (see http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/dhtml/excel01.htm
). Microsoft Access 2000 documents can be
saved in dynamic HTML. Macromedia has never
suggested that its Flash software can replace its
own Macromedia Dreamweaver. My point here
is that HTML is not even close to dying. The
frustration at the moment is that for web authoring,
we need an entire tool box filled with FrontPage,
Dreamweaver, PowerPoint, and a host of other products
including (possibly) Flash.
Now that PowerPoint reads
so well in Internet Explorer and has audio capabilities
via RealPresenter (http://www.real.com/products/tools/presenter/index.html
), perhaps some of you can help me with the question
of whether Flash really can or should replace FrontPage
and PowerPoint. I think not. I do think HTML
will shrink in importance as networked databases
grow in popularity, but it would seem that Flash
will remain a small niche in a very large market.
Flash memory = An erasable memory used as an alternative to hard disk and laser disc storage.
The term is used most often in conjunction with
PCMCIA cards. (See also Hard drive,
RAM
and PCMCIA)
Flash Player =
"Before Going to Buy High-Tech Devices, Learn the New
Terms," by Walter S. Mossberg, The Wall Street
Journal, November 16, 2006; Page B1 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/personal_technology.html
Flash Player: A small-capacity digital music player, like Apple's iPod
Nano and Shuffle. These players use flash memory,
a type of memory chip that behaves like a small
hard disk to store music, photos and videos. Larger
players, such as the full-size iPod and the new
Microsoft Zune, use actual hard disks, like the
ones in computers. Flash memory is also what's inside
the small memory cards used in digital cameras.
Flatbed = (See Scanner)
flc/fli = File extensions for
animations conforming to Autodesk formats. With
appropriate changes in the win.ini file, most PC
computers will play back these animations without
having Autodesk software installed. (See also Animation)
FM synthesis = The least-expensive method for producing synthesized sound. FM synthesis uses
one sine wave to control the frequency of another.
Most synthesizers built into PC audio boards and
sound modules use more sophisticated synthesis techniques
for greater accuracy in reproducing the sounds of
different instruments.
FMV = Full Motion
Video depicting video at 30 or more fps.
(See also Video)
Fouth Generation Database Languages = (See 4GL Database Languages.)
fps = frames per
second in video. Typical "full-motion"
video in television and movies is 30 fps, but in
digitized video such high fps rates are not yet
common. Apple's QuickTime and Microsoft's Video
for Windows typically run at 12 to 18 fps. (See
also Video)
Freenets = Bulletin board services
that are funded by individuals and organizations
dedicated to making information freely available
on networks. They operate much like public libraries
through the National Public Telecommunication Network
(NPTN.). Users can connect through modems or through
Internet terminals. An example of a freenet is the
"campus look-alike" Cleveland Freenet
operated by Case Western Reserve University. (See
also CWIS and BBS)
FTP = File Transfer
Protocol used for downloading files on the
Internet. Listings of ftp sites are available from
Mosaic. (See also File transfer,
Remote
login, Mosaic,
and Protocol)
File Transfers Across
the Internet: The following article reviews
the history and FTP options:
"FTP: For The People," by Michael Calore,
Webmonkey, August 30, 2002 --- http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/02/36/index4a.html
Full-duplex = In full duplex communication,
the terminal transmits and receives data simultaneously.
Function = An instruction to the
application that performs operations or returns
a value, or both.
Fullerenes =
Fullerenes,
those soccer ball-shaped carbon molecules also known
as "buckyballs," have generated outsized expectations
ever since their discovery in 1985. Scientists think
they could eventually be used in chemical sensors,
fuel cells, drug delivery, cancer medicines, and
smart materials. Yet while commercial demand for
fullerenes is gradually emerging, so are fears that
these molecules, which measure only a few billionths
of a meter across, pose serious health and environmental
hazards.
"Mitsubishi: Out Front in Nanotech," by
Stephen Herrera, MIT's Technology Review,
January 2005 --- http://www.technologyreview.com/.../herrera0105.asp?trk=nl
Also see UbiquitousComputing.
Bob Jensen's threads
on ubiquitous computing are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ubiquit.htm
Funding = The raising of funds
for hardware, software, and development. Grants
are available from a variety of sources as noted
in Chapter 3. Funding grants are available from
a variety of sources tracked in the newsletters
listed in Appendix 4.
A directory of some funding sources is given by
Eckstein
(1991). Summaries of grants and assistance in
writing grant proposals can be found in Columns,
Spring 1994, p. 3. The CETA Newsletter tracks funding
sources for accounting educators. Summer fellowships
are also available from Teletraining Institute (405-744-7510).
Apple Corporation offers a variety of funding sources
for Mac and PowerPC users. (See also Delta Project)