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FAT --- Forms
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Pages 97 --- 101
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FAT --- File
allocation table. One of several file systems and the most popular amongst DOS and windows users.It stores information
about all the files in a dedicated region of the hard drove. There can be as many as 64 FAT's on a single hard
drive.
FAT32 --- An
improvement upon the standard FAT which was only 16 bit.
Fat binary --- When you see a download or another program labeled "fat binary,"
it means that the program is a little larger than a regular application. This is because a fat binary program can
take full advantage of two hardware platforms: the Macintosh and the Power Mac.
FAQ
--- (Frequently Asked Questions) -- FAQs are documents that list
and answer the most common questions on a particular subject. There are hundreds of FAQs on subjects as diverse
as Pet Grooming and Cryptography. FAQs are usually written by people who have tired of answering the same question
over and over.
Feedback form --- sometimes called a feedback form or interactive form - Sections of
Web pages that accept user input. You can usually input comments, order products, or search for information with
these forms. For example:
Fire off ---
An expression used around the office meaning to send out an e-mail. For example: "I've got
to fire off an e-mail to New York by noon!"
FastCGI ---
An open extension to CGI that provides higher performance by reusing processes to handle multiple
requests.
FDDI
--- Fiber Distributed Data Interchange is a network type that requires
fiber optic cable (see fiber optic). Although expensive, it is immune to electrical interference and can
achieve speeds of 100 Mb/s.
FDDI
--- (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) -- A standard for transmitting data
on optical fiber cables at a rate of around 100,000,000 bits-per-second (10 times as fast as Ethernet, about
twice as fast as T-3).
See Also: Bandwidth , Ethernet , T-1 , T-3
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Fetch --- File allocation table (FAT)
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Fetch
--- A Macintosh program that uses FTP (file transfer protocol) to transfer
files from your computer onto a server, or vice versa. This allows you to write files on your local computer in
whatever editor you like, and then place the files on the server when finished. NOTE: Windows users see FTP for more information.
Fiber
optic --- A type of cable which transmits information via light
signals. Although both the cable and the decoders are expensive, such cabling is immune to electrical noise, and
capable of much higher transmissions rates than electrical (coaxial or twisted pair) cables.
Fiber-optics --- A method of transmitting light beams along optical fibers. A light beam, such
as that produced by a laser, can be modulated to carry information.
FiDO --- Framework for Interdisciplinary Design Optimization
- A general programming environment for automating the distribution of complex computing tasks over a networked
system of heterogeneous computers.
Fidonet --- An older system, where BBS's shared files and
e-mail via telephone. Slower and slightly more expensive than the
Internet, it is still very popular outside the US. There are other, smaller BBS networks, too.
FiFO
buffers --- First in, first out buffers. In communications programs
that use FIFO buffers, the first information added to the buffer is the also the first information transmitted
when the transmission restarts.
File allocation table (FAT) --- The native DOS file
system that uses a table, called the file allocation table, to store information about the sizes, locations, and
properties of files stored on the disk.
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File compression ---
File name
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File compression --- This makes computer data smaller so less is needed to represent the same
information and, consequently, the information takes up less disk or file space and may be transmitted in less
time. Files which contain more sophisticated data such as those to produce audio, video, JAVA, VRML, Shockwave
and other multimedia are usually compressed quite thoroughly before made accessible over the Internet.
Many shareware or freeware programs found on the Internet come compressed in one of many different formats like
.ZIP, .HQX, .BIN or in a self-extracting EXE form. Programs such as StuffIt are available to make the decompression
of a compressed file easy and fast.
File
converter --- File converters take the file format and transform
it to a format that the application can read. During a file conversion, text enhancements, font selections, and
other elements are usually preserved. Sometimes, however, these elements are converted to a similar format, and
then converted to ASCII format.
File extension --- The group of letters after a period or "dot" in a file name, is called
the file extension. This extension refers to the type of file it is, for example, if the filename is readme.txt,
the extension txt denotes this is a text file and can be viewed using a text editor such as notepad or simple text.
Operating systems such as MAC OS or Windows 95 will refer to a file's extension when choosing which application
to launch when a user clicks on a particular file name. film at 11 One reaction to an overwrought
argument: "Imminent death of the Net predicted. Film at 11."
File
name --- The name that a file system or operating system gives to
a file when its stored on disk. File names in Windows 95's file system can be 256 characters long. Additionally,
Windows 95 assigns a file name compatible with older DOS (8 characters with a 3 character extension) naming conventions.
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File name
extension --- Flame War
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File
name extension --- The 3 character extension that you can add to
a filename - either the standard 8 characters of DOS and Windows 3.1, or the long filenames of Windows 95. The
file name extension is only visible in Explorer if you enable the appropriate option. Otherwise, the extension
is hidden. Nevertheless, the extension is still part of the filename, even when you can't see it--it is this extension
that Windows 95 (as well as earlier Windows) uses to associate a document with the application that created it.
File
set --- In the Windows 95 Backup program, a collection of files
to back up and the destination to back them up to. By saving a file set in Backup, you won't have to reselect the
files to back up the next time.
File
utility --- A program that can directly manipulate the information
available on the disk that defines where files are found, sized, and other attributes. It is important to NOT use
file utilities that were designed for earlier version of Windows, as Windows 95 stores some file information in
different places--and earlier file utilities could scramble the file information, destroying the file.
Finger
--- An Internet software tool for locating people on other Internet sites.
Finger is also sometimes used to give access to non-personal information, but
the most common use is to see if a person has an account at a particular Internet site. Many sites do not allow
incoming Finger requests, but many do.
Fire
Wall --- A combination of hardware
and software that separates a LAN into two or more parts for security purposes.
See Also: Network , LAN
Flame bait --- An intentionally
inflammatory posting in a newsgroup or discussion group designed to elicit a strong reaction thereby creating a
flame war.
Flame
War --- When an online discussion degenerates into a series of personal
attacks against the debators, rather than discussion of their positions. A heated exchange.
See Also: Flame
Flame
--- Originally, flame meant to carry forth in a passionate manner in the
spirit of honorable debate. Flames most often involved the use of flowery language and flaming well was an art
form. More recently flame has come to refer to any kind of derogatory comment no matter how witless or crude.
See Also: FlameWar
Fixed
space font --- Fonts that have a fixed amount
of space between the characters in the font.
Folder
--- Folders represent directories on your drives. Folders can contain files,
programs, and even other folders.
Folder
window --- A window in Explorer that displays the contents of a
folder.
Follow up ---
A Usenet posting that is a response to an earlier message.
Font
--- A description of how to display a set of characters. The description
includes the shape of the characters, spacing between characters, effects (for example, bold, italics, and underline)
and the size of the characters.
Foreground
operation --- The program in the active window.
Forms
--- An HTML page which passes variables back to the server. These pages
are used to gather information from users. |
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