Jan 29 2009 6:57PM GMT
Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
Tech Trivia,
Audio,
Ogg Vorbis,
CIO,
quiz,
open source,
compression,
codecs
Our WhatIs.com Tech Term is Ogg Vorbis
Vorbis is an open source patent-free audio compression format, developed as a replacement for proprietary digital audio encoding formats, such as MP3, VQF, and AAC. Vorbis files compress to a smaller size than MP3 files, which reduces bandwidth and storage requirements. According to many reports, a Vorbis file provides better sound quality than an MP3 file of the same size.
Are you a Know-IT-All? Test your knowledge of tech vocabulary!
Secret Word of the Day
This word describes sound in the range that’s audible to humans. What’s the secret word?
Answer
Tech Trivia
Does sound move more quickly through air or a solid?
Answer (Scroll to the second paragraph.)
Word Scramble
Unscramble the letters to see the name of the pattern created by audible energy:
undos avwe
Answer
Acronym Challenge
Vorbis is an audio codec. What does “codec” stand for?
Answer
Learn Something New Every Day
USB audio glitches
Serdar Yegualp explains how to deal with USB audio problems, such as stuttering and glitching.
Jan 27 2009 11:54AM GMT
Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
Ubuntu,
Linux,
Tech Trivia,
CIO,
open source,
operating systems
Our WhatIs.com Tech Term is Ubuntu
Ubuntu is an open source Debian-based Linux distribution that is considered suitable for users without extensive technical knowledge. Ubuntu distributions include Edubuntu (for educational users), Xubuntu (for users with limited processing power) and JeOS (for “just enough operating system,” a lightweight version for virtual appliances).
Are you a Know-IT-All? Test your knowledge of tech vocabulary!
Secret Word of the Day
Ubuntu is often run from this type of distribution — an operating system on some bootable medium. What’s the secret word?
Answer
Acronym Challenge
GIMP is a freely available open source application for creating and manipulating graphic images. What does GIMP stand for?
Answer
Tech Trivia
Fill in the missing Ubuntu codename: _____ _____; Intrepid Ibex; Jaunty Jackalope
Answer
Acronym Challenge
GIMP is a freely available open source application for creating and manipulating graphic images. What does GIMP stand for?
Answer
Word Scramble
Unscramble these letters to see a software distribution model that allows code to be copied, modified and distributed along with the same stipulation:
pycflote
Answer
Learn Something New Every Day
Pam Derringer reports on the release of Ubuntu 8.10.
The Enterprise Linux Log blog covers Ubuntu.
Dec 19 2008 9:44PM GMT
Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
Security,
Microsoft Windows,
browsers,
operating systems,
CIO,
antivirus,
malware,
network administration,
Tech Trivia,
personal computing
Our WhatIs.com Tech Term is scareware
Scareware is a type of malware designed to trick victims into purchasing and downloading useless and potentially dangerous software. A scareware program usually generates pop-ups that resemble Windows system messages and warn the user that viruses or other problems have been detected.
Are you a Know-IT-All?
Secret Word of the Day
This controversial rootkit program gets its name from a play on words mocking a Microsoft product. What’s the secret word?
Answer
Acronym Challenge
Scareware preys on users’ FUD. What does FUD stand for?
Answer
Tech Trivia
What browser was #1 on Bit9’s 2008 list of the most vulnerable applications? (Hint: It might not be the one you think it is.)
Answer
Learn Something New Every Day
John Strand explains how to prevent clickjacking with security policies.
Ken Harthun writes about malware and vulnerabilities in his ITKE Security Corner blog.
Dec 10 2008 3:31PM GMT
Posted by: Margaret Rouse
SLA,
service level agreement
Our WhatIs.com Tech Term is service level agreement.
A service-level agreement (SLA) is a contract between a service provider and a customer that specifies in measurable terms what services the provider will furnish. The best service-level agreements are very detailed and address every aspect of the business relationship, including rewards and penalties for good and bad performance.
Are you a Know-IT-All?
Secret Word of the Day
This is an arrangement in which one company hires another company to do work that has previously been performed in-house. What’s the secret word?
Answer
Acronym Challenge
ITIL is a globally recognized collection of best practice s for information technology service management. What does ITIL stand for?
Answer
Tech Trivia
According to the ITIL framework for best practices, what do you call a contract that defines how various IT groups within the same company plan to deliver a service or set of services?
Answer
Learn Something New Every Day
How to write an IT service-level agreement
Outsourcing backup: Get the right service level agreement
Get up to speed on service-level agreements for IT
Use SLAs to assign help desk incident priorities
Dec 3 2008 12:07PM GMT
Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
hardware,
Storage,
CIO,
USB,
network administration,
electronics,
Tech Trivia,
connections,
personal computing
The WhatIs.com Word of the Day is port interface card.
Tech Trivia
A computer has a motherboard. Which of the following might it also have:
a. a fatherboard
b. a daughterboard
c. a sonboard
Answer
Secret Word of the Day
In a computer or on a network, this is a transmission path on which signals are dropped off or picked up at every device attached to the line. What’s the secret word?
Answer
IT Acronym Challenge
MPP is the coordinated processing of a program by multiple processors that work on different parts of the program, with each processor using its own operating system and memory. What does MPP stand for?
Answer
Dec 2 2008 3:03PM GMT
Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
wireless,
browsers,
telecommunications,
CIO,
instant messaging,
open source,
email,
electronics,
communications,
Tech Trivia
The WhatIs.com Word of the Day is Fennec.
Tech Trivia
What was the first mobile phone virus?
Answer
Secret Word of the Day
This wireless technology was named for a 10th century Danish king. What’s the secret word?
Answer
IT Acronym Challenge
COO is a mobile positioning technique for finding a caller’s cell location. What does COO stand for?
Answer
Nov 20 2008 7:38PM GMT
Posted by: Alex Howard
IBM,
Microsoft Windows,
SOA,
operating systems,
SOAP,
CIO,
DataCenter,
open source,
programming,
Web 2.0,
Amazon,
cloud computing,
Web services,
Microsoft,
Tech Trivia
The WhatIs.com Word of the Day is Windows Azure.
Tech Trivia
What computer code did President Lyndon Johnson approve as a national standard in 1968?
Answer
Secret Word of the Day
This approach to cloud computing developed by IBM shares a similar hue with Azure. What’s the secret word?
Answer
IT Acronym Challenge
EC2 is a Web-based service that allows subscribers to run applications in Amazon’s cloud computing environment. What does EC2 stand for?
Answer
Get your IT Trivia on Twitter!
Nov 19 2008 7:24PM GMT
Posted by: Alex Howard
Networking,
USB,
USB 3.0,
Tech Trivia,
connections,
personal computing
The WhatIs.com Word of the Day is USB 3.0, also known as SuperSpeed USB.
Tech Trivia
What was the first personal computer to provide USB ports but no “legacy” ports?
Answer
Secret Word of the Day
Two popular implementations of this high speed electronics standard are Apple’s FireWire and Sony’s i.LINK. What’s the secret word?
Answer
IT Acronym Challenge
This ’skuzzy’ interface, developed by Apple, was one of the first parallel interfaces for high speed data transfer to and from peripherals. SCSI continues to be in wide use today. What does SCSI stand for?
Answer
Get your IT Trivia on Twitter!
Nov 13 2008 11:42AM GMT
Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
Microsoft Windows,
operating systems,
programming,
Business continuity,
Microsoft,
Tech Trivia,
business model,
personal computing,
Business software
The WhatIs.com Word of the Day is Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF).
Tech Trivia
What year was the first version of Windows released?
a. 1985
b. 1990
c. 1995
Answer
Secret Word of the Day
Bill Gates and Paul Allen started out by writing a program for this, the first commercially available PC to attract a substantial user base. What’s the secret word?
Answer
IT Acronym Challenge
Gates and Allen adapted BASIC, a mainframe programming language, for the new computer. What does BASIC stand for?
Answer
Learn Something New Every Day
