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Computer, Telephony & Electronics
Industry Glossary

W2000

The unofficial abbreviation for Windows 2000, usually referring to the station version. See Windows 2000.

W2K

The unofficial abbreviation for Windows 2000 server version. See Windows 2000.

W3C

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) develops interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential. W3C is a forum for information, commerce, communication, and collective understanding. Find them at HTTP://WWW.W3C.ORG.

WAAS

An acronym for the Wide Area Augmentation System. This system is a series of satellites and ground station antennae that correct or augment data transmitted between Satellite and GPS devices. This system allows for routes to be more accurate, to within a range of roughly three meters, horizontal and vertical. This enhancement to the GPS satellite system hits the three meter accuracy range about 96% of the time.

WAIS

Pronounced "ways", an abbreviation for Wide Area Information Server. A system which allows you to search over 400 WAIS databases located throughout the Internet for information. By today's standards, this is rather primitive in capability.

wake on LAN

One of few situations where the term is more recognized than the acronym, WOL. Often, corporate IT personnel must maintain client systems after employees have gone home. Even if these tasks are automated, client machines must be left powered on. In the past, if they weren't left powered on, someone had to take the time and effort to manually turn them on. But, with wake on LAN, client systems can be remotely and automatically powered up with a network "wake up call". Wake on LAN technology resides in a PC's managed network adapter and motherboard combination. The two are attached via a wake on LAN cable terminated by a 3-pin connector on each side. When the system is turned off, the managed network adapter uses an alternate power source to monitor the network and watch for a "wake up call" packet from the server. Once it receives a packet, it alerts the system to power up, prepare for maintenance or normal operation and subsequently accept any maintenance task it is given. Wake on LAN is a part of Intel's Wired for Management System and is a result of the Intel and IBM Advanced Manageability Alliance. The action and result are still young and may need refinement but it is a step toward central IT management.

Wide Area Network - WAN

A private long distance network that uses leased lines to connect computers or LANs. A wide area network is a linking of computers not physically attached through conventional network connectivity. Usually the WAN connection is a dedicated or high grade dial up phone link. It is often done with T1 or T3 connections but can also be through satellite or other technologies.

wannabe

A generally lack luster sort of character that desires to be someone he is not. More often than not, he wants to be a hacker, though he possesses no worthwhile knowledge or talents. That is not to say that a hacker does, but people really interested in technology for the right reasons usually do something to acquire that knowledge.

WAP

1. The Wireless Application Protocol is a secure specification that allows users to access information instantly via handheld wireless devices such as mobile phones, pagers, two-way radios, smartphones and communicators. WAP supports most wireless networks. These include CDPD, CDMA, GSM, PDC, PHS, TDMA, FLEX, ReFLEX, iDEN, TETRA, DECT, DataTAC, and Mobitex. WAP is supported by all operating systems. Ones specifically engineered for handheld devices include PalmOS, EPOC, Windows CE, FLEXOS, OS/9, and JavaOS. WAPs that use displays and access the Internet run what are called microbrowsers, browsers with small file sizes that can accommodate the low memory constraints of handheld devices and the the low-bandwidth constraints of a wireless-handheld network. Although WAP supports HTML and XML, the WML language (an XML application) is specifically devised for small screens and one-hand navigation without a keyboard. WML is scalable from two-line text displays up through graphic screens found on items such as smart phones and communicators. WAP also supports WMLScript. It is similar to JavaScript, but makes minimal demands on memory and CPU power because it does not contain many of the unnecessary functions found in other scripting languages. Because WAP is fairly new, it is not a formal standard yet. It is still an initiative that was started by Unwired Planet, Motorola, Nokia, and Ericsson.
2. An acronym for Wireless Access Point, a device that is both a transmitter and receiver for wireless computer communications. A WAP often is housed in a router or hub to further enable communication with non-wireless devices and the outside world.
3. The sound made when you really smack your malfunctioning computer.

watt

A unit of power. A watt is a measure of how much power a device uses when turned on, or how much power a device can supply. A watt is a watt. There is no such thing as "watts per hour", or "watts per day". If a something uses 120 watts, that measure of 120 watts is the voltage times the amps. If it pulls 10 amps at 12 volts, or 1 amp at 120 volts, either situation is still 120 watts. One watt is equal to one ampere of current under the pressure of one volt; therefore, it is obvious to the most casual observer that YOUR computer needs at least a 150 watt power supply! Right. (What?) For those that want to know, the formula for power is P=IxE. In corporate America, it is become the President or it is "Who has the fastest computer?" and "Who can I step on next?".

watthour

An amount of energy used to continuously supply power to an electric circuit for one hour. For example, a lamp rated at 100 watts that was on for 3 hours would consume 300 watts of power.

wavelength

Wavelength is the measured distance of a cycle from beginning to end. It is the distance between two points of corresponding phase and is equal to waveform velocity divided by frequency. See hertz, frequency and our Frequency Wavelength Calculator. You might also want to see our Communications Calculators, Converters and Tables and our Electronics Calculators, Converters and Tables for much more information.

WBMP

Wireless BitMaP is a graphic format optimized for mobile computing devices. A WBMP image is identified using a TypeField value, which describes encoding information (such as pixel and palette organization, compression, and animation) and determines image characteristics according to WAP documentation. TypeField values are represented by an Image Type Identifier. Currently, there is only one type of WMBP specified; the Image Type Identifier label for this is 0. 0 has the following characteristics:
- No compression
- One bit color (white=1, black=0)
- One bit deep (monochrome)

Any WAP device that supports WBMPs can only support type 0. WBMP is part of the Wireless Application Protocol, Wireless Application Environment Specification Version 1.1.

WCS

An acronym for Wireless Communication Service.

WD

The industry abbreviation for Western Digital.

WDDX

Created by Allaire, Web Distributed Data Exchange is an XML based technology that facilitates complex data exchange between Web programming languages (ColdFusion, Perl, ASP, Java, JavaScript, PHP, and others). For example, a Web site based in ColdFusion can share data with a Web site based in ASP. Data in ColdFusion would be translated into XML, sent to an ASP server, translated out of XML and into VBScript. WDDX assigns a specific module for each supported language. The module will translate (or serialize) the native data structures into an abstract form represented as XML, or deserialize the WDDX XML into a native data structure. WDDX supports Boolean, number, date-time, and string data types, as well as, arrays, structures, and recordsets. Browser support for WDDX includes version 3.0 and higher Web browsers (I.E. and Netscape) for Windows, Unix and Macintosh platforms. WDDX can be used with HTTP, SMTP, POP, and FTP.

WebCrawler

A search service that helps you find personally relevant information on the World Wide Web; also termed a search engine. WebCrawler also contains reviews of sites and features. This very useful site can be accessed through HTTP://WWW.WEBCRAWLER.COM

webliography

A listing of sources of World Wide Web sites. It is antiquated every day by growth.

Webmaster

1. The person in charge of a website, often called Spider Man. No implication of gender should be assumed. In early Internet days, the Webmaster usually created and maintained the site; that is seldom the case now. Now some sites are so complex that it takes many individuals in full time jobs to design, program and maintain them. He is usually credited somewhere on the site and E-Mail should be directed to him if there is a reason to inquire of the functionality of the site. By convention, the webmaster of Internet domain your.com can be reached at the E-Mail address webmaster@your.com. Contact our and let him know that you found an error or two in our site. Be sure to tell him where and what it is.
2. The ruler of HTML and JAVA (maybe even Borneo) in his or her own mind.

web page

A single document or page on a website.

website

A location on the Internet that contains information; a website is made up of one or more often, many web pages. Websites can be personal, informational, static, dynamic, business, reference, entertainment or based on some other reason for being created. Websites are housed or hosted on a server. One or more sites can be on one server. Many sites can be on more than one physical server in more than one physical location. Websites run programs to provide access to whatever the host would like the user to see or do. Those programs are accessed and utilized through a browser. Current browsers can see video, HTML, access sound and music and can be interactive. A single website on the WWW could be equated to a single street address in the world, each web page being a room within the building at that address.

WebSource

An ISP forum that provides access to the best technical support web sites.

welcome screen

The first screen you see when you log on, generally to an ISP. It tells you if you have E-Mail, and promotes a changing list of new and hot features.

WEP

An acronym in the wireless technology sector of the computer industry for Wired Equivalent Privacy, a security protocol for wireless local area networks (WLANs) defined in the 802.11b standard, part of the original 802.11 specification. WEP is designed to provide the same level of security as that of a wired LAN; however, it falls short of it by the very nature of what it is. LANs are inherently more secure than WLANs because LANs are somewhat protected by the physical barriers of their structure, having some or all part of the network inside a building that can be protected from unauthorized access. WLANs, which are over radio waves, do not have the same physical limitations and therefore are obviously more vulnerable to attempts of tampering. WEP aims to provide security by encrypting data over radio waves so that it is protected as it is transmitted from one end point to another. However, it has been found that WEP is not as secure as once believed. WEP is used at the two lowest layers of the OSI model - the data link and physical layers; it therefore does not offer end-to-end security. WEP is at best, like a password on a system. Most devices offering WEP have several different levels of encryption, from 8 bits (1 byte) to 256 bits (32 bytes). Some allow the automatic preparation of an encryption key, always based on the same generation source. Others allow the alternative of allowing the user to set a key trigger, or string of ASCII characters, as the base for encryption. We have created a WEP Encryption Key Calculator that generates and creates keys based on random factors.

Western Digital

An industry leader in the disk drive and drive controller industry. HTTP://WWW.WESTERNDIGITAL.COM is where you can get more details.

wetware

Hacker slang for the human central nervous system, especially the brain. Most computing systems have three essential components: software, hardware, and wetware.

whois

A very useful "free for public use" program located at HTTP://WWW.WHOIS.NET that queries several databases of domain names. Want to put a home page up at www.insertyournamehere.com? Better check whois to make sure that the name is not taken. If it is taken, the utility will return information about the owner.

WI-FI

This is the industry term, an acronym abbreviation for WIreless FIdelity, that relates to the current wireless networking technology standard of 802.11, currently in three "flavors", A, B and G. As of January 2006, the N version is well on its way to adoption. Originally, WI-FI certification was applicable only to products using the 802.11b standard. Today, WI-FI can apply to products that use any 802.11 standard. The 802.11 specifications are part of an evolving set of wireless network standards known as simply the 802.11 family. The particular specification under which a WI-FI network operates is called the "flavor" of the network. Though it is termed a standard, it is accepted that in WI-FI and many other technologies, there really isn't a total standard (TANS). Though much different from and generally accepted as better than an alternative low-powered alternative wireless technology called Bluetooth (used frequently in cell phone adaptations), WI-FI is still a security risk, with a very loose protection scheme known as WEP. Nonetheless, WI-FI has gained acceptance in many businesses, agencies, schools, and homes as an alternative to a wired LAN. Many airports, hotels, and fast-food facilities offer public access to WI-FI networks. These locations are known as wireless hot spots. Many suppliers charge a daily or hourly rate for access, but some are free as a magnet for business, either by design or by poor security. Unless adequately protected, a WI-FI network and any of the users on it can be susceptible to access by unauthorized users who use the access as a free Internet connection, or to obtain information for questionable purposes. An interconnected area of hot spots and network access points is known as a hot zone.

window

1. An old term for a framed active area displayed on a bit-mapped computer display.
2. An "action area" in current operating systems allowing a program to run in that area. A window can be optimized or minimized when open, and it can be closed. A browser viewing the Internet runs in a window. More than one window can be open at once and more than one can be visible at once. Windows can be tiled or cascaded to allow that.

Windows

A series of operating systems that run on top of DOS, providing a GUI environment. Microsoft Corporation claims this term as a trademark. The DOS based graphical operating system by Microsoft, originally released in the mid-80's to mixed reviews. A series of operating system programs that run on top of DOS, providing a GUI environment. Microsoft Corporation claims this term as a trademark. The predecessor to Windows 95, 98, NT and 2000, regarded to be the most popular operating systems ever. While there were 2.x revisions, the 3.x versions were really the only releases that had any validity. 3.11 was the last release of the stand alone, single user version. 3.11 Windows for WorkGroups is the network release. Both of those remain under Microsoft support for a while longer but are dead for all practical purposes. The only reason to use a pre-9X release is for hardware that is not strong enough to run 95, 98, 2000 or NT. See Windows 95 and NT Also see Windows 98 and Windows 2000.

Windows 2000

The next player in the Windows versions. It is touted to be the joining product of Windows 98 and Windows NT, using the best of both worlds but leaning heavier toward the NT capabilities and compatibilities. Microsoft has targeted businesses for this product.

Windows 95

Evolved from previous Windows versions. The first generation GUI operating system by Microsoft, regarded to be the second most popular operating system ever, just behind Windows 98. It also has a powerhouse brother OS called Windows NT that will probably merge within the product in the next two or three releases. W95 popularity provided Bill's retirement fund, not that he really needed it. This is also the name of a particularly helpful site, not a part of Microsoft (let's hear it for the little guys that out did Bill...), for Windows 95 users. (That site can no longer be accessed through the Internet. Windows 95 is no longer in production but is still supported. It needs it. There were four major releases of W95.)

Windows 98

Do you believe in evolution? Yes in the computer industry. This evolved from previous Windows 95 and previous versions. The most popular operating system by Microsoft, regarded to be the band aids for Windows 95 and the direction for the future. It is currently in the second release called version 2 or SE. The next version of this series is dubbed Millenium (Windows ME). It also has a powerhouse brother OS called Windows NT that will merge within the product in the next two or three releases; see Windows 2000. Though no loner supported as of 2004, you can still update either your W98 or W98SE system to as close to current as possible at HTTP://WINDOWSUPDATE.MICROSOFT.COM with the most recent released and compatible Microsoft current patches.

Windows ME

Microsoft's upgrade to and product enhancement for Windows 98 in all versions and releases, Windows Millenium Edition (ME). Windows ME was released for commercial use on September 14, 2000 to at best a casual response. It is available in a full product (new installation), an upgrade to any Windows products or an upgrade to Windows 98 only. ME has not been widely accepted by the press or beta users as having much value since most of the upgrade features are currently available as patches for free online! Get the details now! The next release, code named Whistler, is due for release in late October 2002 and also merges the worlds of NT and the 9x kernel; how much of each, we don't know yet. It targets users that Windows 2000 did not and is supposed to address the software compatibility issues better than W2000 did. XP is the release name of the OS. According to Microsoft, ME is the last release based totally on the 9X platform.

Windows NT

See NT.

Windows XP

See XP.

WINS

Windows Internet Naming Service. Software that matches IP addresses, such as 123.234.101.232 to the name that uses it, such as anyname.com. These computer names, called NetBIOS names in the Windows OS, are much easier for users to remember than the numbering scheme of IP addresses.

Winsock

Winsock is nothing more than a small library file (WINSOCK.DLL) that lets you run third-party Internet applications such as Netscape and Real Audio over your Internet connection.

Wintel

Contraction of Windows and Intel. The hardware and software combination of an Intel CPU running Microsoft Windows. Often used with the word "platform" in opposition to the UNIX or Macintosh platforms. Sometimes used in a derogatory sense to connote the monopoly powers that Intel and Microsoft yield.

wire

1. The medium for being connected. See wired.
2. A piece of conductive material (a conductor), usually copper or aluminum, that allows electrons to flow from one point to another. Wire is usually covered with an insulator jacket and comes in various sizes (gauges) and capabilities. Here is a wire table to show some of them.
3. An older form of communication; an alternative to the telephone. Correctly termed, a telegraph message, subsequently a teletype, roughly the equivalent of our FAX of this time period.

wired

1. The state of being connected. See wire.
2. As a proper noun in all caps, a popular magazine that caters to the digerati.
3. Too much coffee, tea or soft drinks.
4. A seldom used term that is slang for E-Mail being sent.

wireless

The term wireless refers to telecommunication in which electromagnetic waves, such as radio or television, (rather than some form of point to point wiring) to carry any communications signal from one section of a communications path to another. Some devices that use sound waves rather than RF, such as intrusion alarms, utilize acoustic waves at frequencies above the range of human hearing; these are also sometimes classified as wireless. So are IR forms of communications. In today's slang terms, wireless is a PDA or cellular phone.

wiring closet

A location in large installations where concentrators, network cables, routers, network switches, punch panels and other network devices are located for security and ease of maintenance. Strangely enough, there is also wire there. Usually where the Sysop hides his latest copy of PLAYWIRE.

wizard

1. A software routine that allows for easy "yes or no" answers to configuration, installation, and set-up questions. A software program, add-in or applet that assists the user within the actual application.
2. A program helper.
3. Someone who is adept at making computers perform their "magic".
4. The host for MUDs.
5. CSG and CSGNetwork employees.

wizzywig

See WYSIWYG.

WLAN

An acronym for Wireless Local Area Network. A local area network (LAN) that transmits over the air typically in an unlicensed frequency such as the 2.4GHz band. While there are other technologies in use, the vast majority of wireless technology is based on the 802.11 IEEE specifications for wireless LAN technology. A wireless LAN does not require lining up devices for line of sight transmission like IrDA. Range and ultimate speed is however restricted by signal strength. Wireless access points (base stations), commonly known as WAPs, are connected to an Ethernet hub or server and transmit a radio frequency over an area that varies from several hundred to about a maximum under ideal conditions of about a thousand feet. These signals can penetrate walls and other non-metal barriers. At present, ideal conditions of the specification and real world everyday operations differ vastly. Mobile users can be moved from one access point to another like a cellular phone system. Laptops use wireless modems that plug into an existing Ethernet port or that are self contained on PC cards or motherboards, while stand alone desktops and servers use plug in cards (ISA, PCI, etc.). Operating in the 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz unlicensed ISM bands and using spread spectrum technology, several enhancements to the original specifications are presently under development. It is expected that current data potential rates of 1 Mbps, 10 Mbps and 54 Mbps can be eventually achieved at 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz, and other frequencies. A WLAN standard operating at 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.11 is being defined (with four different versions, be sure to see TANS), while European countries are developing an alternative standard (HIPERLAN) for 10 Mbps and higher transmission, using the 5.8 GHz band.

WLL

An abbreviation in telephony for Wireless Local Loops. Any method of using wireless communication in place of a wired connection to provide subscribers with standard telephone service. See local loop.

WMF

An acronym for Windows Metafile Format. A Windows 3.1 (primarily) graphics file format used to exchange graphics information between Microsoft Windows applications. WMF files can hold both vector and bit-mapped images.

WML

An acronym for Wireless Markup Language. WML is an XML language used to specify content and user interface for WAP devices; the WAP forum provides a DTD for WML. WML is supported by almost every mobile phone browser around the world. WML pages are requested and served in the same way as HDML pages. For Web servers to serve WML pages, they must contain the text/vnd.wap.wml mime type. See WAP. Also see HDML.

WMP

No, this is not short for WiMP or an acronym for Women's Military Police; it is (surprise!) an acronym for Windows Media Player, now in version release 10 for XP (not all operating systems are at that level). It is Microsoft's answer to Real and other video and audio industry creators.

WMTS

An abbreviation for Wireless Medical Telemetry Service. See our frequency table and additional information and our Citizens Band Radio (CB) Frequency Table.

WOL

See wake on LAN.

workgroup

A group of individuals that usually have things in common, such as job, connectivity to the same network, physical locality, common printer and common files. They are often joined by a common workgroup name on each computer so that messaging can be done to all the members of that group as a broadcast. It is also the default name for the Microsoft networking groups.

workstation

A computer, usually used on a network or a scientific computer used for scientific application. Often used to describe CAD/CAM stations. These machines are generally very high power and high speed units with very high resolution graphic capability.

WorldCom

The worldwide name for MCI's international phone organization, and for one of the largest frauds in the last 2 centuries. See MCI.

Worldnet

The worldwide name for AT&T's international Internet service. See AT&T Worldnet.

worm

1. An insidious and usually illegal computer program that is designed to replicate itself over a network for the purpose of causing harm and/or destruction. While a virus is designed to invade a single computer's hard drive, a worm is designed to invade a network. The most infamous early example of a worm was created by Robert Tappan Morris in November 1988; it infiltrated over 6,000 network systems around the globe. One of the most recent was the LOVE virus, damaging over a million units worldwide.
2. Acronym for "Write Once Read Many". Used to describe optical disk drives that can only be written once, usually for archival purposes.
3. A nerd; derived from the pre-computer days of book-worms.
4. Something you find in rotten Apples.

WPBX

An acronym for Wireless Public Branch Exchange, a telephony term. See PBX.

WQUXGA

An acronym for Wide Quad Ultra eXtended Graphics Array, a display standard referring to a video adapter capable of a resolution of up to 3840 by 2400 pixels.

World Wide Web (WWW)

The backbone routing to millions of pages of information available to the general public. A graphical method of exploring the Internet. A World Wide Web browser allows you to view, download and execute files coded for the WWW. The Internet was started in 1969 but the WWW as we know it began in 1993. The protocol of the WWW is TCP/IP; other standards are currently HTTP, HTTPS, FTP and various flavors of HTML.

wrapper

This is a multi-meaning term that usually means software that encases resources, appends code or other software for the purposes of improving user convenience, hardware or software compatibility, or enhanced security. For example, a software wrapper (often called a digital wrapper) is used to compress and encrypt fully usable software that is being sold over the Internet. It is also used to make EDI, a fairly old but still used electronic commerce standard, compatible with the current standards of the Internet.

1. On the Internet, "http://" and "ftp://" are sometimes described as wrappers for Internet addresses or for the Uniform Resource Locator (Uniform Resource Locators) that follow. A set of bracketing symbols (such as < and >, used here to wrap the word "and") are also sometimes referred to as wrappers.
2. The term can also apply to hardware; such as the casing around a Pentium II CPU. That casing or housing is called a wrapper.
3. In data transmission, a wrapper is the data that is put in front of, behind or totally around a transmission that provides information about it and may also encapsulate it from view to anyone other than the intended recipient. A wrapper often consists of a header that precedes the encapsulated data and the trailer that follows it. It may also contain data-sync fillers.
4. In programming, a wrapper is a program, logical code or script that prefaces and initiates the running of another, more important program or main program.
5. In database technology, a wrapper can be used to determine who has access to look at or change the data that is wrapped. It is the same sort of technology used in word processing software to determine who made changes and what they were in a group editable document.
6. It has also come to mean the small foil sticker on the back of most new computers that validates a warranty.

WRT

Abbreviation for With Respect To.

WS_FTP

Industry leading software program for FTP operations. The industry leader and generally industry wide regarded "good guys" in the FTP software field, is IPSwitch, Inc.; they produced the exceptionally good WS_FTP software. See them at HTTP://WWW.IPSWITCH.COM.

WTG

Way To Go. An example of online shorthand used in chatrooms, E-Mail and instant messages.

WUXGA

An acronym for Wide Ultra eXtended Graphics Array, a display standard referring to a video adapter capable of a resolution of up to 1920 by 1200 pixels.

WWW

See World Wide Web.

wrapper

1. Pronounced the same as rapper but has a different intellect level in mind.
2. An envelope placed around a data packet, which typically provides new header information including destination and source address information. Wrappers are often used to transport one type of packet through a different network protocol.

Write lock

The process of controlling a field so that the ability to change information held within it is maintained. In almost all computer languages, a type of table is used. The information held within the table is called a field. For you the user or administrator to have write lock over the field gives you the ability to read and write to the field, while all other users can simply read the field.

WXGA

An acronym for Wide eXtended Graphics Array, a display standard referring to a video adapter capable of a resolution of up to 1366 by 768 pixels.

WYSIWYG

What You See Is What You Get. The act of trying to make the printed output EXACTLY the same as the image on the screen.

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