Computer & IT Questions & Answers

History sniffing is a term used to describe how websites snoop into visitor’s website history to trace the sites where they have been. A study released by researchers with the University of California, San Diego, showed that many websites were ‘sniffing’ the browsing history of visitors. Browsers display color codes indicating sites one has visited and those that have not …

Grid computing is a parallel processing architecture in which CPU resources are shared across a network, and all machines function as one large supercomputer. A well known example of grid computing in the public domain is the ongoing Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) in which thousands of people share the unused processor cycles of their PCs in the vast search …

Email apnea is the stress caused by the inability to process emails and connect even as mails flood the inbox. It is marked by a suspension of breathing, shallow breathing or hyperventilating while checking mail. Researcher Linda Stone coined this term after realizing that many people go through this process every morning, the mind whirling from mail to mail, filing, …

Direct Market Access (DMA) is a facility which allows brokers to offer clients direct access to the exchange trading system through the brokers’ infrastructure without manual intervention by the broker. Some of the advantages offered by DMA are direct control of clients over orders, faster execution of client orders, reduced risk of errors associated with manual order entry, greater transparency, …

Digital cleanse is a term mooted by John Mayer, musician and avid blogger and tweeter, as a resolution and challenge for the first week of 2010. It means keeping off all digital contraptions – a stop to emailing, texting, social networking, blogging and surfing sites. It is seen as a new health craze, considered good for the body and mind. …

Cybersquatting is registering a website in the names of popular brands. The word squatting in this context means unauthorised occupation of someone else’s property. In the internet domain, techsavvy entrepreneurs register websites in the names of popular brands, whose owners do not have websites of their own. This can lead to misrepresentation in the internet media about the products or …

Crowd mining is a new business concept where solutions can come from crowds, and marketers are turning to them as a database. They are a handy source of information, especially with online advances and wireless technology. The changing economy brought in this concept to tap expensive or even unavailable information and it goes beyond surveys and crowd sourcing. Scientists are …

Couch surfing is getting to know about other parts of the world through the internet. Couch Surfing is an international, non-profit network site that connects travelers with locals in over 230 countries around the world. Since 2004, members have been using the system for cultural exchange. Today, there are over a million couch surfers.

Social networking has brought about a new trend called contact scraping, where an online company with access to a person’s mail account goes through the contact list and sends out an invitation to all to join the site. Once a person enters his / her credentials, like user name or password, the company sweeps through the contact list. The company …

The term cloud computing with reference to IT is a service offered by a third party – typically a Technology Services Provider – and offered on subscription basis by leveraging the internet. The key proposition is to move away from expensive, capex heavy, on-premises options to affordable, cost-efficient arrangements that are offered on a one-to-many basis. It is a misperception …