Sonet (Synchronous Optical Network) is a high-speed, physical layer network designed to carry large volumes of traffic over relatively long distances on fiber optic cabling using lasers or light-emitting diodes (LEDs). It provides a standard interface for communications carriers to connect networks based on fiber optic cable to handle multiple data types (voice, video, and so on). Sonet defines a …

The tendency, over time, for software to become difficult and costly to maintain is known as software entropy. A software system that undergoes continuous change, like new functionality added to its original design, will eventually become more complex, losing its original design structure, and may even become disorganized as it grows. In theory, it may be better to redesign the …

It’s a movement that emphasizes blogging after thoughtful consideration instead of hammering out posts in a surge of emotion. While successful bloggers are known to update their blog regularly and in a quick manner, slow blogging urges bloggers to slow down. In its manifesto, Todd Sieling, a Canadian technology consultant, writes that slow blogging is “a rejection of immediacy… an …

Slacktivism is used to describe activism which does not require a person to put in any great effort. Slacktivists join causes on the internet and get a feeling of satisfaction without even moving out of their chairs. It is a slightly derogatory term for meaningless causes, as opposed to activism as a crusade. A slacktivist is rarely identified with the …

Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) is an online system for settling transactions of financial institutions, especially banks. RTGS systems are push payment systems with transactions initiated by the paying bank. If Bank A or one of its customers needs to pay $1,000 to Bank B or one of its customers, Bank A initiates the transaction and Bank B is immediately …

Ratware is the colourful name for any mass email software that generates, sends, and automates spam email sending.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that uses communication via radio waves to exchange data between a reader and an electronic tag attached to an object or a human being, for the purpose of identification and tracking. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader. The application of bulk reading …

Psiphon is a censorship circumvention solution that allows users to access blocked sites in countries where the internet is censored. Psiphon turns a regular home computer into a personal, encrypted server capable of retrieving and displaying web pages anywhere. Psiphon is a human rights software project developed by the Citizen Lab.

Pop culture, with television and radio as entertainment, has evolved into peep culture, with reality TV and internet. Entertainment is all about going through people’s private lives on blogs and social networking sites. These are tell all, show-all times. Peep culture is a vent for social isolation, ironically, a result of an increasingly virtual world.

PayPal is a safe and easy way to pay and get paid online. The service allows anyone to pay in any way they prefer, including through credit cards, bank accounts, buyer credit or account balances, without sharing financial information. Available in 190 markets and 24 currencies around the world, PayPal enables local e-commerce by making payments possible across different locations, …