SomeBackup – Technology Blog

Wireless Internet Terminology, like many things in life, especially those that have anything to do with computers is filled with terminology. But like most things, once you learn a few of the basic terms, understanding will come quickly. So don’t be confused get informed and to help clarify, I’ve put together a basic wireless “internet-to-english” guide to help you along.

IEEE – The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The IEEE is in charge of the wireless networking standard, as well as many other computer-related standards – including the Ethernet standard. They ensure that computer equipment made by different manufacturers can work together.

PCMCIA – Personal Computer Memory Card International Association
Simply another standard for how to plug credit card size devices into a laptop computer to boost it’s capabilities. It’s been suggested by some that it should stand for “People Can’t Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms”. PCMCIA is a great way of adding wireless networking to your laptop as easily as inserting a disk.

PCI – Peripheral Component Interconnect
Used to install devices like graphics cards and network devices inside your computer. You would be using a PCI, if you wanted to install a wireless card inside your computer.

802.11
Set by the IEEE, it’s the current wireless networking standard. It helps ensure that wireless devices can communicate with one another or in other words – they are interoperable.

Interoperable
Simply means that two different pieces of equipment have the ability to speak to each other or another way to put it – they are compatible. They can use them together because they were designed using the same standards. Because of the IEEE and the principle of interoperability, all wireless equipment you purchase should be compatible.

Driver
Not a piece of golf equipment but computer software that informs a computer how to talk to devices that plug into it. Most wireless networking drivers come on a CD-ROM. You then download the drivers from the CD onto your computer.

Ethernet
Currently, the most common way of connecting to a LAN or Local Area Network. Most wires connected to your computer today are ethernet and if you have a cable internet connection an ethernet wire is in all likely-hood, what is being used to connect to your modem.

USB – Universal Serial Bus
A port used for connecting all sorts of devices to a computer, including keyboards, a mouse, printers, external hard-drives and basically anything else you can think of. If you don’t have a laptop or want to open up your computer you can get a USB wireless device.

WEP – Wired Equivalent Privacy
No longer used because in 2001 it was found to have security issues. As a result, it is now the old standard for encrypting wireless networks.

WPA – WiFi Protected Access
The new standard for encrypting wireless networks. An upgrade of WEP to fix security issues. To avoid becoming vulnerable, a WPA encrypted network changes encryption methods often. In addition, if an attack is detected, it has the ability to shut itself down for thirty seconds.

PAN – Personal Area Network
A network of devices connected together in one small area. A simple example of a PAN would be your computer, USB keyboard and mouse. Using a technology called Bluetooth, a PAN can be wireless.

LAN – Local Area Network
Briefly mentioned above, LAN is a computer network that… generally speaking is confined to one building, such as a home or office. A wireless LAN is also known as a WLAN.

MAN – Metropolitan Area Network
A network that covers a larger area, like a city or town. They are expensive but a wireless MAN has the capacity to spread Internet access across a wide area. Many college universities set-up a MAN to connect the entire campus.

WAN – Wide Area Network
A network that covers or connects to more than one physical site. A simple example would be a business that has locations in different cities, states or countries and they need them each location connected on the same network. The Internet itself is a WAN… the biggest WAN in the world.

Mbps – Megabits Per Second
Not to be confused with MBps, megabytes per second. Mbps is measurement of connection speed. There are eight megabits in a megabyte.

GHz – Gigahertz
One gigahertz is one billion cycles per second… it’s a measurement of frequency. If the term sounds familiar it’s probably because it’s also used to measure the processing speed of the CPU on your computer, which is also measured in gigahertz.

Linux
A popular and growing alternative operating system to Windows. Linux is a less bulky, more efficient operating system in many ways than Windows and not to mention – it’s free. Many servers run Linux for this reason. Computers running Linux can run many programs and connect to the Internet without needing Windows. Many wireless devices run Linux or are compatible with it.

Get your confidential data secured with the help of fully automated back up. Such automated back ups can eliminate the need for traditional tape based back up solutions. Data is stored in remote mirrored locations for resilience. If the back-up is too large to transfer over the available bandwidth, a snapshot is created and saved to a physical device, which is then uploaded to the back-up platform.

Data back up and Recovery!

The backup process starts after the installation and registration of backup software on the user’s system. The backup process automatically detects important data files that are located anywhere on your hard disk and creates a backup set. You can fine-tune your backup set by adding and deselecting files and folders.

Back ups are quick and efficient, even over a dial up connection!
After the file selection is made you can initiate the backup process at any time. The initial backup will be the most time consuming since you must transfer all of your files to the data center. Online backup process has features such as Send-Once technology and file compression to perform this transfer as efficiently as possible. Easy backup utility unlike the conventional back up makes your backup process quick and very easy to perform. The Backup Solution software can store multiple versions of each file backed up during the last three months. This backup restore utility allows you to quickly restore a prior version of a file if an accident occurs overwriting a file template without changing the name.

Our scheduled, unattended backup process assures that backup occurs regularly and with certainty. Our backup software is smart enough to tune the backup process, it can happen automatically on a schedule, can be initiated by the users, or can be configured to occur in the background whenever a traveling computer is connected to the Internet.

What happens in case of emergency?
If data from your computer, laptop, PDA or mobile phone is ever lost, stolen or corrupted, Data back up and recovery ensures that there is always a current copy available for immediate retrieval. All you have to do is simply select the data you want to restore, be it a single document, digital photos, music files or your entire hard drive, then select OK and watch a copy instantly return to your computer. It’s that easy. Such data back up services automatically archives 30 previous copies of your data, so if you ever get a virus, you can go back in time and retrieve a clean copy that was made before the attack. Try online to find out how you can get your data recovered on time.

In both science and in technology, a battery is used as a type of device that is used to store energy, making it available for use in an electrical form. They consist of electrochemical devices, including one or even more galvanic cells.

Baghdad Batteries are thought to be the first known in history, dating back from sometime between the years of 250 BCE and 640 BCE. The modern battery began with the Voltaic pile, which was developed by Alessandro Volta, an Italian physicist, in 1800. As of a 2005 estimate, the battery industry generates, no pun intended, around 48 billion dollars in annual sales.

Batteries can be divided into two main categories, rechargeable batteries and non-rechargeable, or disposable, batteries.

Disposable batteries are also known as primary cells. They are intended for a one time use only, to be used until the chemical changes used to induce its electrical current supply have been finished. Their common usages include smaller, more portable devices that have either a low current drain or are used away from any alternative power source.

Rechargeable batteries, also known as secondary cells, have a longer usage life since they can be recharged after their power has been drained. You can do so by applying an externally supplied electrical current. This causes a reversal in the chemical changes that occur during the battery’s use. These devices used to do this are commonly known as rechargers or chargers.

The ‘wet cell,’ or lead-acid, battery is the oldest form of the rechargeable battery that is still in today’s use. This battery contains a liquid found in an unsealed container that requires the battery to be kept in an upright position. The area in which it is used must be well-ventilated so as not to cause the ventilated, hydrogen gas to display its explosive qualities.

The lead-acid battery is quite heavy, although its cost to manufacture is low and the high surge content levels allow it to be a commonly used battery in places where its weight and handling ease are not of any concern.

The most common form of a lead-acid battery is the car battery.

A gel battery is known to be an expensive lead-acid battery type, containing a semi-solid electrolyte that is used to prevent spillage.

The portable types are considered to be ‘dry cells.’ They are sealed units that are useful in appliances such as cell phones and laptop computers. These types of cells also include, nickel-cadmium or NiCd, nickel metal hydride or NiMH, and lithium-ion or Li-Ion, listed in the order of their increasing power density and also their cost.

Both disposable batteries and rechargeable batteries come in various standard sizes. This is so they can easily be used in a wider amount of appliances. The most commonly known types of batteries are the A-series, including A, AA, AAA, and AAAA. Also known are B, C, D, F, G, J, and N. Other variants include 3R12, 4R25, PP3, PP9, and the 996 and PC926 that are used in lanterns. There are many, many more less common battery types, and their usages vary greatly.

Having a baby can be a nerve wracking experience for new parents – not the nine months of pregnancy, I’m talking about after the infant is brought home from the hospital. It’s always the same thing, by the time they have their third child they have it all figured out, but with number one it’s a learning thing.

Baby monitors help you hear your baby’s needs without you having to be in the room with the baby. Some baby monitors are portable, or “mobile” and are small enough that you can carry it in your pocket as you do your daily chores around the house. Depending on your price range it’s best to have a base unit that plugs into the wall. The receiving unit can be like your portable phone, you can carry it around with you, and plug it back into the base unit to be recharged.

Some people find that their baby monitor can be interrupted by cell phones, mobile phones, computer networks and even your neighbors baby monitors. Be aware of any potential interruptions before you put the monitor into official use. Also, make sure you get a monitor with a receiving unit that emits a tone when the battery is going low so you won’t be caught with a dead battery.

Another consideration before purchasing a baby monitor is the range the monitors have. If you have a more regular sized home say 1,800 you probably won’t have any problem with a conventional baby monitor. If you live in a home that has square footage of 4,000 or more, or if you live in a multi level home you may need a specific type of unit.

There are baby monitors available that actually feature what is called a “sensor pad”. The pad is placed underneath the crib sheet and picks up any movement the baby may make. Some physicians recommend these types of monitors for premature babies.

FILE FORMATS There are several audio file formats in common use. There are fewer video file formats, but audio video file extensions can be confusing. This is just a brief description of what the more commonly used audio and video file formats and systems are.

AAC:Advanced Audio Coding This is the audio file format used by Apple for the iTunes Music Store, and it may appear with the M4A filename extension. It is better than MP3 for sound quality. It was developed as part of the MPEG4 group owned by Dolby (see below).

AU: This audio file format is the standard used by Java, Sun and Unix.

MPEG: Moving Pictures Expert Group There are a number of MPEG types now, described below.

MPEG-1: This is used in digital cameras and camcorders for small video clips. VHS quality playback can be expected from MPEG-1.

MPEG-2: Used for digital satellite TV, professional movie recording and recording of home DVD recordings. Provides provision for multi-channel surround sound recordings.

MPEG-3: MPEG-3 was propose as an entity, but eventually merged into MPEG-2.

MPEG-4: This is the newest MPEG system and is used for streaming internet content. It is also used in portable video recorders and for internet downloads. Required for DivX. It improves digital broadcasting and interactive graphics and multimedia.

MP3: Digital audio files, most commonly used to store and playback music. It compresses the files to about 10% of a normal audio file, and a normal music track will be about 5 -6 MB in size. MP3 stands for MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, not MPEG-3 as many people think. A typical MP3 audio file is near CD quality.

OGG: An audio file format supporting a variety of codecs, the most popular of which is the audio codec Vorbis. However, MP3 files are much more broadly supported than Vorbis.

RA: Real Audio This format is designed for streaming audio over the Internet. It is a self-contained file format with all the audio information stored within the file itself.

WAV: The simplest of the audio file formats, developed by Microsoft and IBM, and built into Windows 95. It is an uncompressed audio file format with large file sizes (10 x MP3), and does not need further processing to play. The WAV file consists of three blocks of information: The RIFF block which identifies the file as a WAV file, The FORMAT block which identifies parameters such as sample rate and the DATA block which contains the actual data, or music sample.

WMA: Windows Media Audio A digital system invented by Microsoft, and is used in portable digital audio players. Using WMA, a file can be programmed so that it cannot be copied, and can be used to protect copyright.

WMF: Windows Media Format These are audio-video files comprising WMA and video codecs. They provide high quality and media security for streaming and download and play applications on computers.

WMV: Windows Media Video Used in the Windows media Player, this is used to stream and download and play audio and video content.

When dealing with audio and video file formats, you will sometimes notice the term ‘codec’. A codec is simply short for encoder-decoder (or compressor – decompressor). A main function of a codec is to compress audio or video data streams so that transmission of digital audio samples and video frames can be speeded up and storage space reduced.

The objective of all codecs is to reduce the file size to a minimum while maintaining audio and video quality. A quick indication of the codec’s place in the path of transmission and reception is:

Video device (e.g. camcorder) – video capture card – video digitized – codec (compresses digital info) – result (MPEG2, AVI, WMV etc) – codec (decompress) – video frames – display device.

Between the two codecs the compressed result is transferred to the display device transmitted, stored on file, etc). So to condense the flow even further, we could basically describe it as:

raw data – codec – transmit – codec – play

This is simplistic, but it shows where the codecs are used. Therefore, in order to play a movie, video or piece of music of a certain format, you need a codec in your computer to allow you to decompress the file and play it.