E-Book Overview
My first impression of this book was not good. When I opened it the first time, it was to page 233, which is the start of the N section. The first entry is the definition of a nanosecond, which reads
A billionth of a metre.
Obviously, it should have been a billionth of a second, but is such an obvious error that it immediately calls into question the overall quality of the dictionary. The second entry of the N section is about Napster, which reads
A on-line audio file resource.
While this is slightly better, it says very little about what Napster really was and mentions nothing about the file-sharing aspects and legal ramifications about data posted on the Internet. As I read other entries, my attitude improved a bit, although I still was not overly impressed with many of the definitions. For example, consider the following definition
Visual Java++ - A Microsoft development environment for writing, compiling and debugging Java applications and applets. Visual J++ may be used to integrate JDK packages into Java programs, and to create multithreaded Internet and intranet applications. InterDev is included in Microsoft Visual Studio 97.
In this definition, the name is changed to Visual J++. If you are not familiar with the package, this would be enormously confusing. Also, the reference to InterDev in the last sentence makes no sense in this context.
The definition of Bluetooth is as follows:
A wireless connection technology for home appliances.
Which is false, as the majority of Bluetooth applications are for business and industry.
Finally, the definition of the Apache web server mentions only that it is used with Unix. Given that 63% of all servers on the web run Apache and not all are on Unix, this will come as a shock to many people. There are many other examples of definitions that are inaccurate or inappropriate. From my perspective, this is inexcusable and the author and editors should be much more careful when they check their work. Since the book is copyrighted 2003, they cannot appeal to the advance of technology to explain their errors.
E-Book Information
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Year: 2,003
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Edition: 2
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Pages: 380
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Pages In File: 380
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Language: English
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Topic: 1
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Identifier: 9780470844700,0470844701
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Ddc: 658.8/4
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Lcc: HF5548.32 .B67 2003
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Org File Size: 2,545,290
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Extension: pdf
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Toc: TeamLiB......Page 1Cover......Page 2NUMBERALS AND SYMBOLS......Page 13Accelerator 1. A graphics card offering high- speed operation and optimised......Page 35Account number A unique number that identi . es an account held at a......Page 36Acquiring processor A company specialising in card processing, offering......Page 37Active Desktop A term used to describe the client side of an Active......Page 38Active Web Architecture An architecture which provides bi- directional......Page 39ActiveX control An object or component that adds functionality to an......Page 40ActiveX scripting A process where ActiveX Controls and Java Applets......Page 41ADC ( Analogue to Digital Converter) A device or electronic assembly......Page 42ADO ( ActiveX Data Object.) A client/ server technology that is used