28-letter words containing i, n, e, r, t
- moving picture experts group — (compression, standard, algorithm, file format, body) (MPEG, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29 WG11) An ISO committee that generates standards for digital video compression and audio. Also the name of their algorithms.
- multimedia personal computer — (multimedia) (MPC) A specification published by the Multimedia PC Marketing Council in 1990 to encourage the adoption of a standard multimedia computing platform. In May 1993, the MPC Marketing Council published a new specification called MPC Level 2 Specification as an enhanced multimedia computer standard. The original MPC specification, now also known as the MPC Level 1 Specification, continues in full effect. The appearance of the MPC or MPC2 certification mark on a computer system or upgrade kit indicates that the hardware meets the corresponding (Level 1 or Level 2) MPC Marketing Council specification. Software bearing the Multimedia PC mark has been designed to work on Multimedia PC licensed hardware. By establishing a standard platform, certifying hardware compliance and providing inter-operability between software and hardware for the consumer, the MPC Marketing Council is encouraging widespread use of multimedia applications and hardware.
- national bureau of standards — National Institute of Standards and Technology
- national labor relations act — an act of Congress (1935) that forbade any interference by employers with the formation and operation of labor unions.
- national savings certificate — (in Britain) a certificate bought from the National Savings department which can be redeemed tax-free with accrued interest, usually after 5 years
- national semiconductor 32000 — (processor) (NS32000)
The first of a series of microprocessors from National Semiconductor. The 320xx processors have an interface which allows coprocessors such as FPUs and MMUs to be attached in a chain. The 320xx was the predecessor of the Swordfish processor. - network interface controller — (hardware, networking) (NIC or "network interface card") An adapter circuit board installed in a computer to provide a physical connection to a network.
- new revised standard version — a thorough revision of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible sponsored by the National Council of Churches in the U.S. and published in 1989
- newly industrialized country — a country that has recently become, or is now in the process of becoming, industrialized
- none the wiser/any the wiser — If you say that someone is none the wiser after an event or an explanation, or that nobody is any the wiser after it, you mean that they have failed to understand it, or are not fully aware of what happened.
- nongovernmental organization — A nongovernmental organization is the same as an NGO.
- north-west frontier province — a province in Pakistan, bordering Punjab and Kashmir on the west: a former province of British India. 28,773 sq. mi. (77,516 sq. km). Capital: Peshawar.
- not have room to swing a cat — to have very little space
- numerical weather prediction — a method of predicting weather through the use of high-speed computers, specifically by the time integration of the fundamental equations of hydrodynamics in a mathematically modeled atmosphere.
- object persistence framework — (programming) (OPF) Any system for storing objects so they can be reloaded into a future session. Typically this will use a relational database along with some kind of object relational mapping. Another typical solution would store objects in XML files (a form of serialisation). One of the trickier problems to solve is how to maintain references between objects, e.g. replacing memory pointers with unique names or identifiers. Virtually identical considerations apply to transferring objects, or indeed any kind of data structure, from one process to another via some communications channel, e.g. a TCP/IP connection.
- object-oriented polymorphism — (programming) The kind of polymorphism found in object-oriented programming languages where a variable can refer to an object whose class is not known exactly until run time. A method can use a variable of a given class - call other methods on it, pass it as an argument, etc. - without needing to know to which subclass it refers, as long as its actual class is compatible with those uses.
- open systems interconnection — (networking) (OSI-RM, OSI Reference Model, seven layer model) A model of network architecture and a suite of protocols (a protocol stack) to implement it, developed by ISO in 1978 as a framework for international standards in heterogeneous computer network architecture. The OSI architecture is split between seven layers, from lowest to highest: 1 physical layer, 2 data link layer, 3 network layer, 4 transport layer, 5 session layer, 6 presentation layer, 7 application layer. Each layer uses the layer immediately below it and provides a service to the layer above. In some implementations a layer may itself be composed of sub-layers. OSI is the umbrella name for a series of non-proprietary protocols and specifications, comprising, among others, the OSI Reference Model, ASN.1 (Abstract Syntax Notation 1), BER (Basic Encoding Rules), CMIP and CMIS (Common Management Information Protocol and Services), X.400 (Message Handling System, or MHS), X.500 (Directory Service), Z39.50 (search and retrieval protocol used by WAIS), and many others. Apart from its actual application to real protocols, it also serves as a useful teaching model.
- organic light-emitting diode — a cell that emits light when voltage is applied: used as a display device replacing LCD technology in handheld devices such as mobile phones because it is brighter, thinner, faster,and cheaper
- osborne computer corporation — (company) The unsucessful computer manufacturer founded by Adam Osborne that produced one of the first laptop computers, the Osborne 1.
- packet in plastic grid array — (integrated circuit) (PPGA) The package used for Intel's Celeron Socket 370 CPU.
- paged memory management unit — Memory Management Unit
- palestinian autonomous areas — the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in Israel: these areas were granted autonomous status under the control of the Palestinian National Authority following the 1993 peace agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization
- paradox application language — (PAL) The programming language for Paradox, Borland's relational database.
- partial equivalence relation — (PER) A relation R on a set S where R is symmetric (x R y => y R x) and transitive (x R y R z => x R z) and where there may exist elements in S for which the relation is not defined. A PER is an equivalence relation on the subset for which it is defined, i.e. it is also reflexive (x R x).
- pentaerythritol tetranitrate — a white, crystalline, water-insoluble, explosive solid, C 5 H 8 N 4 O 1 2 , used chiefly as a high explosive and as a vasodilator in treating angina pectoris.
- permanent virtual connection — Permanent Virtual Circuit
- persistent organic pollutant — a toxin resulting from a manufacturing process, which remains in the environment for many years
- personal liability insurance — Personal liability insurance protects the insured if they are sued for claims that are covered by the insurance policy.
- phenylmethylcarbinyl acetate — methylphenylcarbinyl acetate.
- plug compatible manufacturer — (company) (PCM) A manufacturer of equipment that some other manufacturer's system can identify and work with. The PCM's device replaces the original manufacturer's. Most PCMs competed with IBM. PCM devices normally offer a cost-performance benefit over the original device. For example, several PCM versions of the Direct-Access Storage Device IBM 3350 offered twice the storage and improved data access (dual port). Plug compatible devices include replacement CPUs, such as the Hitachi 7/90 series (which could be substituted for IBM 3090 series processors), I/O subsystems, and dumb terminals like the IBM 3270.
- positron emission tomography — the process of producing a PET scan.
- potassium antimonyl tartrate — a white, water-soluble, sweet and metallic-tasting, poisonous powder or granules, C 4 H 4 KO 7 Sb, used as a mordant for dyeing textiles and leather, and in medicine as an expectorant, for inducing vomiting, and for infections by schistosomes.
- principle of complementarity — complementarity principle.
- probability density function — a function of a continuous variable whose integral over a region gives the probability that a random variable falls within the region.
- quaternary ammonium compound — any of a class of salts derived from ammonium in which the nitrogen atom is attached to four organic groups, as in benzalkonium chloride; the salts are cationic surface-active compounds used as antiseptics and disinfectants.
- quick mail queueing protocol — (communications) (QMQP) A protocol that provides a central e-mail queue for a cluster of hosts. QMOP is supposed to provide fast transfers of messages with many recipients as it can batch them up as a single transaction. It listens on port 628.
- quick mail transfer protocol — (communications) (QMTP) An SMTP replacement that works better over high latency links as it doesn't require as much interaction as SMTP. QMTP listens on port 209 and is used by qmail.
- radio frequency interference — (hardware, testing) (RFI) Electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by electrical circuits carrying rapidly changing signals, as a by-product of their normal operation, and which causes unwanted signals (interference or noise) to be induced in other circuits. The most important means of reducing RFI are: use of bypass or "decoupling" capacitors on each active device (connected across the power supply, as close to the device as possible), risetime control of high speed signals using series resistors and VCC filtering. Shielding is usually a last resort after other techniques have failed because of the added expense of RF gaskets and the like. The efficiency of the radiation is dependent on the height above the ground or power plane (at RF one is as good as the other) and the length of the conductor in relationship to the wavelength of the signal component (fundamental, harmonic or transient (overshoot, undershoot or ringing)). At lower frequencies, such as 133 MHz, radiation is almost exclusively via I/O cables; RF noise gets onto the power planes and is coupled to the line drivers via the VCC and ground pins. The Rf is then coupled to the cable through the line driver as common node noise. Since the noise is common mode, shielding has very little effect, even with differential pairs. The RF energy is capacitively coupled from the signal pair to the shield and the shield itself does the radiating. At higher frequencies, usually above 500 Mhz, traces get electrically longer and higher above the plane. Two techniques are used at these frequencies: wave shaping with series resistors and embedding the traces between the two planes. If all these measures still leave too much RFI, sheilding such as RF gaskets and copper tape can be used. Most digital equipment is designed with metal, or coated plastic, cases. Switching power supplies can be a source of RFI, but have become less of a problem as design techniques have improved. Most countries have legal requirements that electronic and electrical hardware must still work correctly when subjected to certain amounts of RFI, and should not emit RFI which could interfere with other equipment (such as radios). See also Electrostatic Discharge, Electromagnetic Compatibility.
- raise specification language — (language) (RSL) (RAISE = Rigorous Approach to Industrial Software Engineering). A wide-spectrum specification and design language developed by ESPRIT Project 315 at CRI A/S, Denmark. Systems may be modular, concurrent and nondeterministic. Specifications may be applicative or imperative, explicit or implicit, abstract or concrete.
- read the riot act to someone — to warn or reprimand someone severely
- real time streaming protocol — (multimedia, networking, protocol) (RTSP) An application layer protocol for controlling delivery of a stream of real-time multimedia content. RTSP allows users to start playing from a certain position. It does not actually deliver the data, but works alongside existing delivery channels such as UDP, TCP, or IP multicast. RTSP was developed by RealNetworks, Netscape Communications, and Columbia University, and is described in RFC 2326, April 1998. RTSP is an IETF proposed standard.
- real-estate investment trust — an unincorporated trust created for the purpose of investing in real property or to extend credit to those engaged in construction. Abbreviation: REIT.
- real-time transport protocol — (protocol) (RTP) An Internet protocol for transmitting real-time data such as audio and video. RTP itself does not guarantee real-time delivery of data, but it does provide mechanisms for the sending and receiving applications to support streaming data. Typically, RTP runs on top of the UDP protocol, although the specification is general enough to support other transport protocols. RTP has received wide industry support. Netscape intends to base its LiveMedia technology on RTP, and Microsoft claims that its NetMeeting product supports RTP.
- reflexive transitive closure — Two elements, x and y, are related by the reflexive transitive closure, R+, of a relation, R, if they are related by the transitive closure, R*, or they are the same element.
- regular expression converter — CONVERT
- relative index of refraction — a number indicating the speed of light in a given medium as either the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to that in the given medium (absolute index of refraction) or the ratio of the speed of light in a specified medium to that in the given medium (relative index of refraction) Symbol: n.
- religious society of friends — a sect founded by George Fox in England about 1650, opposed to oath-taking and war.
- revised version of the bible — a recension of the Authorized Version, prepared by British and American scholars, the Old Testament being published in 1885, and the New Testament in 1881.
- robert william andrew feller — Robert William Andrew ("Bob"; "Bullet Bob") 1918–2010, U.S. baseball player.
- rocky mountain spotted fever — an infectious disease characterized by high fever, pains in joints, bones, and muscles, and a cutaneous eruption, caused by rickettsii and transmitted by ticks: first reported in the Rocky Mountain area, but now more widely distributed.