Return to List of Terms

C-RIMM
Continuity-RIMM. Since there cannot be any unused RIMM slots on a motherboard, a C-RIMM is a special module used to fill any unused RIMM slots. It is basically a RIMM module without any memory chips.

Cache
A store of easily accessible memory in your computer containing downloads, bookmarks and other data.

CAD
Computer-Aided Design.

CAD/CAM
Computer-Aided Design / Computer-Aided Manufacturing.

CADD
Computer-Aided Design and Drafting.

CAE
Computer-Aided Engineering.

CAN
Campus-Area Network. An interconnection of local-area networks within a limited geographical space, such as a school campus or a military base.

CAS
Column Address Strobe, a signal, or strobe, sent by the processor to a DRAM circuit to activate a column address.

CASE
Computer-Aided Software Engineering.

CBDPTA
Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act.

CCITT
Comité Consultatif International Téléphonique et Télégraphique, an organisation that sets international communications standards. CCITT, now known as ITU (the parent organisation) has defined many important standards for data communications.

CDDI
Copper Data Distribution Interface, is a network technology capable of carrying data at 100 Mbps over UTP cable. CDDI cable lengths are limited to 100 meters.

CDF
Channel Definition Format, a specification that allows Web publishers to push content at users. Once a user subscribes to a CDF channel, any software that supports the CDF format will automatically receive new content posted on the channel's Web server.

CDFS
CD-ROM File System, the Windows 95 driver for CD-ROM players. CDFS replaces MSCDEX, which was used for DOS and Windows 3.x systems. Unlike MSCDEX, which is a 16-bit program that runs only in real mode, CDFS is a 32-bit program that runs in protected mode. In addition, it uses the VCACHE driver to control the CD-ROM disk cache, which results in much smoother playback.

CDMA
Code-Division Multiple Access, a digital cellular technology that uses spread-spectrum techniques. Unlike competing systems, such as GSM, that use TDMA, CDMA does not assign a specific frequency to each user. Instead, every channel uses the full available spectrum. Individual conversations are encoded with a pseudo-random digital sequence.

CERN
Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire. A particle physics laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland where pioneering work in developing the www part of the Internet took place.

CERT
(1) Computer Emergency Response Team.

(2) Computer Emergency Readiness Team.

CFML
Cold Fusion Markup Language. An extension of HTML this is a markup language designed to be used with Cold Fusion Application Servers. Pages with extension .cfm are recognised by it.

CGI
Common Gateway Interface, a specification for transferring information between a World Wide Web server and a CGI program. A CGI program is any program designed to accept and return data that conforms to the CGI specification. The program could be written in any programming language, including C, Perl, Java, or Visual Basic. CGI programs are the most common way for Web servers to interact dynamically with users. Many HTML pages that contain forms, for example, use a CGI program to process the form's data once it's submitted. Another increasingly common way to provide dynamic feedback for Web users is to include scripts or programs that run on the user's machine rather than the Web server. These programs can be Java applets, Java scripts, or ActiveX controls. These technologies are known collectively as client-side solutions, while the use of CGI is a server-side solution because the processing occurs on the Web server. One problem with CGI is that each time a CGI script is executed, a new process is started. For busy Web sites, this can slow down the server noticeably. A more efficient solution, but one that it is also more difficult to implement, is to use the server's API, such as ISAPI or NSAPI.

Channel
1) In communications, the term channel refers to a communications path between two computers or devices.  It can refer to the physical medium (the wires) or to a set of properties that distinguishes one channel from another. For example, TV channels refer to particular frequencies at which radio waves are transmitted. IRC channels refer to specific discussions.

(2) For IBM PS/2 computers, a channel is the same as an expansion bus.

(3) In sales and marketing, the way in which a vendor communicates with and sells products to consumers.

CHAP
Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol. Supported on lines using PPP encapsulation, it is a security feature that identifies the remote end, helping keep out unauthorised users. It is a newer, more secure protocol than PAP.

Chat Room
A virtual room where a chat session takes place. Technically, a chat room is really a channel, but the term room is used to promote the chat metaphor.

Chatter's Block A type of mental block that can affect some people in chat rooms. The chatter feels that their message needs to be perfect and will often keep editing and rewording, perhaps without ever sending it.

Checkpoints
A certain part or time to allow for a restart at the last point that the data was saved.

Checksum
A simple error-detection scheme in which each transmitted message is accompanied by a numerical value based on the number of set bits in the message. The receiving end then applies the same formula to the message and checks to make sure the accompanying numerical value is the same. If not, it assumes that the message has been corrupted.

CICS
Customer Information Control System, a TP monitor from IBM that was originally developed to provide transaction processing for IBM mainframes. It controls the interaction between applications and users and lets programmers develop screen displays without detailed knowledge of the terminals being used.
CICS is also available on non-mainframe platforms including the RS/6000, AS/400 and OS/2 -based PCs.

CIDR
Classless InterDomain Routing. A method supported by classless routing protocols, such as OSPF.

CIR
Committed Information Rate, is a specified amount of guaranteed bandwidth on a Frame Relay service. More frames can be delivered than the rate agreed, but that level is not guaranteed.

CISC
Complex Instruction Set Computer. Most personal computers, use a CISC architecture.

CIW
Certified Internet Webmaster.

Click Rate
A Web marketing term that describes the number of clicks on a Web ad against the number of views or downloads of the ad.

Clicks And Mortar
A company that has a business on the internet and on the high street.

Client
A programme which retrieves and displays or stores data from a server.

Cloaking
(1) Also known as stealth, a technique used by some Web sites to deliver one page to a search engine for indexing while serving an entirely different page to everyone else. There are opposing views as to whether or not cloaking is ethical. Opponents see it as a bait-and-switch, where a Web server is scripted to look out for search engines that are spidering in order to create an index of search results. The search engine thinks it is selecting a prime match to its request based on the meta tags that the site administrator has input. However, the search result is misleading because the meta tags do not correspond to what actually exists on the page. Some search engines, such as Lycos, Hotbot and Excite, even ban cloaked Web sites. Proponents of cloaking assert that cloaking is necessary in order to protect the meta data, as only the spider is supplied with the meta tags.
(2) In e-mail distribution, cloaking is the act of masking the name and address of the sender so that the recipient does not know who sent the e-mail.

Cluster
A group of two or more sectors on a computer disk, also known as an allocation unit.

Clustering
In computers, clustering is the use of multiple computers, typically PCs or UNIX workstations, multiple storage devices, and redundant interconnections, to form what appears to users as a single highly available system. Clustering can be used for load balancing as well as for high availability. One of the main ideas of clustering is that, to the outside world, the cluster appears to be a single system. A common use of clustering is to load balance traffic on high-traffic Web sites. Clustering can also be used as a relatively low-cost form of parallel processing for scientific and other applications that lend themselves to parallel operations.

CMC
Computer-Mediated Communication. CMC refers to human communication via computers and includes many different forms of synchronous, asynchronous or real-time interaction that humans have with each other using computers as tools to exchange text, images, audio and video. CMC includes e-mail, network communication, instant messaging, text messaging, hypertext, distance learning, Internet forums, USENET newsgroup, Bulletin Boards, online shopping, distribution lists and videoconferencing.

CMIP
Common Management Information Protocol. An OSI standard protocol used with the Common Management Information Services (CMIS). CMIS defines a system of network management information services. CMIP was proposed as a replacement for the less sophisticated SNMP but has not been widely adopted.

CMS
Colour Management System. A system for ensuring that colours remain the same regardless of the device or medium used to display the colours. This is extremely difficult because different devices use different technologies and models to produce colours. In addition, colour is highly subjective. The same colours look different to different people.

CMYK
Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-BlacK. CMYK is a colour model in which all colours are described as a mixture of these four process colours. CMYK is the standard colour model used in offset printing for full-colour documents. Because such printing uses inks of these four basic colours, it is often called four-colour printing. In contrast, display device generally use a different colour model called RGB, which stands for Red-Green-Blue. One of the most difficult aspects of desktop publishing in colour is colour matching -- properly converting the RGB colours into CMYK colours so that what gets printed looks the same as what appears on the monitor.

CNR
Communication and Networking Riser, developed by Intel, is a riser card for ATX family Motherboards. SIZE="2">  It was developed in order to reduce the cost to OEMs of implementing LAN, home networking, audio and modem subsystems widely used in modern connected PCs. The CNR Specification is an open industry specification that defines a scalable motherboard riser card and interface that support the audio, modem, and network interfaces of core logic chipsets.

COBRA Site
See CORBA.

Cobweb Site
A website that has not been updated for a very long time.

CODEC
(1) Short for compressor/decompressor, a codec is any technology for compressing and decompressing data. Codecs can be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of both. A popular codec for computer video is MPEG.
(2) In telecommunications, (short for coder/decoder) a device that encodes or decodes a signal. For example, telephone companies use codecs to convert binary signals transmitted on their digital networks to analog signals converted on their analog networks.
(3) The translation of a binary value into a voltage that can be transmitted over a wire.

COLD
Computer Output to Laser Disk.

Cold Fusion
A Web application development tool  by Macromedia that enables the creation of dynamic-page applications and interactive Websites. Cold Fusion Web pages include tags written in CFML that simplify integration with databases and avoid the use of more complex languages like C++ to create translating programs.

COM
A model for binary code developed by Microsoft. The Component Object Model (COM) enables programmers to develop objects that can be accessed by any COM-compliant application. Both OLE and ActiveX are based on COM.

Command
An instruction to a computer or device to perform a specific task. Commands come in different forms. They can be:

• special words (keyword) that a program understands.
• function keys
• choices in a menu
• button or other graphical object on your screen

Every program that interacts with people responds to a specific set of commands. The set of commands and the syntax for entering them is called the user interface and varies from one program to another. The DOS operating system makes a distinction between internal and external commands. Internal commands are commands, such as COPY and DIR, that can be handled by the COMMAND.COM program. External commands include the name of all other COM files, as well as EXE and BAT files.

Compiler
A program that translates source code into object code. The compiler derives its name from the way it works, looking at the entire piece of source code and collecting and reorganising the instructions. Thus, a compiler differs from an interpreter, which analyzes and executes each line of source code in succession, without looking at the entire program. The advantage of interpreters is that they can execute a program immediately. Compilers require some time before an executable program emerges. However, programs produced by compilers run much faster than the same programs executed by an interpreter. Every high-level programming language (except strictly interpretive languages) comes with a compiler. In effect, the compiler is the language, because it defines which instructions are acceptable.

Configuration Item
Hardware or software, or an aggregate of both, which is designated by the project configuration manager for configuration management.

Confiruration Management
A discipline applying technical and administrative controls to :
1. Identification and documentation of physical and functional characteristics of confiruration items.
2. Any changes to charactistics of those configuration items.
3. Recording and reporting of change processing and implementation of the system.

Console
(1) The combination of display monitor and keyboard (or other device that allows input). Another term for console is terminal. The term console usually refers to a terminal attached to a minicomputer or mainframe and used to monitor the status of the system.

(2) Another term for monitor or display screen.

(3) A bank of meters and lights indicating a computer's status, and switches that allow an operator to control the computer in some way.

Cookie
A small amount of data which a web page can store with the web browser and retrieve on request. Usually used to record information about the user across a number of pages of a site, e.g. the number of items in your 'shopping cart', or for gathering visitor statistics.

CORBA
Common Object Request Broker Architechiture enables pieces of programs, called objects, to communicate with one another regardless of what programming language they were written in or what operating system they were running on.  It was developed by OMG.

Cornea Gumbo
A badly designed web page, unpleasant to the eye.

CPA
Cost per Action. This is the charge made to an advertiser when a visitor performs a specified action in response to one of their ads.

CPAN
Comprehensive Perl Archive Network, a collection of Internet archives that is a resource for material related to the Perl programming language.

CPC
Cost-per-click is an Internet marketing formula used to price ad banners. Advertisers will pay Internet publishers based on the number of clicks a specific ad banner gets.

CPM
Cost per thousand (M in Roman is thousand) is used by Internet marketers to price ad banners. Sites that sell advertising will guarantee an advertiser a certain number of impressions (number of times an ad banner is downloaded and presumably seen by visitors.), then set a rate based on that guarantee times the CPM rate.

CPS
Cost per Sale. Another way of measuring the effectiveness of online advertising. It is a calculation of the actual advertising cost for each resulting sale.

Cracker
1. To break into a computer system. The term was coined in the mid-80s by hackers who wanted to differentiate themselves from individuals whose sole purpose is to sneak through security systems. Whereas crackers sole aim is to break into secure systems, hackers are more interested in gaining knowledge about computer systems and possibly using this knowledge for playful pranks. Although hackers still argue that there's a big difference between what they do and what crackers do, the mass media has failed to understand the distinction, so the two terms --
hack and crack -- are often used interchangeably. See also hacker.
2. To copy commercial software illegally by breaking (cracking) the various copy-protection and registration techniques being used.

Crapplet
A poorly written or worthless Java applet.

CRC
Cyclic Redundancy Check is a common techique for detecting data transmission errors.

CRM
Customer Relationship Management. CRM entails all aspects of interaction a company has with its customer, whether it be sales or service related. Computerisation has changed the way companies are approaching their CRM strategies because it has also changed consumer buying behavior. With each new advance in technology, especially the proliferation of self-service channels like the Web and WAP phones, more of the relationship is being managed electronically. Organisations are therefore looking for ways to personalise online experiences through tools such as help-desk software, e-mail organisers and Web development.

Cross-posting
Considered rude, this is the posting of a single message across a number of newsgroups, message boards or e-mail distribution lists.

CRT
Cathode-Ray Tube.

CSMA/CA
Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collition Avoidance.

CSMA/CD
Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collition Detection.

CSP
Commerce Server Provider. A company that provides an individual or business with the ability to perform online transactions.

CSS
Cascading Style Sheets, a new feature being added to HTML that gives both Web site developers and users more control over how pages are displayed. With CSS, designers and users can create style sheets that define how different elements, such as headers and links, appear. These style sheets can then be applied to any Web page. The term cascading derives from the fact that multiple style sheets can be applied to the same Web page. CSS was developed by the W3C. The specification is still evolving and is not fully supported by any current Web browsers.

CSTN
Colour Super-Twist Nematic, an LCD technology. Unlike TFT, CSTN is based on a passive matrix, which is less expensive to produce. The original CSTN displays developed in the early 90's suffered from slow response times and ghosting.

CSU/DSU
Channel Service Unit/Data Service Unit. The CSU is a device that connects a terminal to a digital line. Typically, the two devices are packaged as a single unit. The DSU is a device that performs protective and diagnostic functions for a telecommunications line. You can think of it as a very high-powered and expensive modem. Such a device is required for both ends of a T-1 or T-3 connection, and the units at both ends must be set to the same communications standard.

CSV
Comma Separated Values.

CTI
Computer-Telephony-Integration, which refers to systems that enable a computer to act as a call center, accepting incoming calls and routing them to the appropriate device or person. Today's CTI systems are quite sophisticated and can handle all sorts of incoming and outgoing communications, including phone calls, faxes, and Internet messages.

CTS
Clear To Send. One of the wires in a serial port used in modem communications, this allows the modem to inform the computer that it is ready for instructions.

Cuckoo Egg
An MP3 file that "pretends" to be the one wanted. They are ideally the same length as the wanted file but instead contain only part of its content, the rest being made up of other sounds.

Cyber Squatting
Speculatively buying a domain name and keeping it with the hope of selling it on for a higher price.

Cyberslacking
Using an employer's time and internet access to surf the web for personal use.

d-channel
Short for Delta-channel, the channel in an ISDN connection that carries control and signaling information. Basic Rate ISDN (BRI) service consists of two 64 Kbps B-channels, and one D-channel for transmitting control information. Primary ISDN service consists of 23 B-channels (in the U.S.) or 30 B-channels (in Europe).

DAA
Data Access Arrangement, part of a modems system for interfacing with a telephone network. The DAA provides the analog circuits that electrically isolate the modem from the phone line, separating the modem from the telephone line’s higher voltage.

DARPA
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

DAS
(1) Device Access Software.

(2) Direct Attached Storage.

(3) Dual Attachment Station.

(4) Dynamically Assigned Socket.

Data Flow Model
A graphical representation produced by data flow modeling. Also referred to as a data flow diagram.

Data Mart
A database or collection of databases, designed to help managers make strategic decisions about their business.  It is usually small and focused on a particular subject or department compared to data warehousing.

Data Mining
A hot buzzword for a class of database applications that look for hidden patterns in a group of data. For example, data mining software can help retail companies find customers with common interests. The term is commonly misused to describe software that presents data in new ways. True data mining software doesn't just change the presentation, but actually discovers previously unknown relationships among the data.

Data Warehouse
A collection of data designed to support management decision making. It contains a wide variety of data that present a coherent picture of business conditions at a single point in time.

Datagram
A self-contained, independent entity of data carrying sufficient information to be routed from source to destination without reliance on earlier exchanges between this source and destination and the transporting network.
The term has generally been replaced by the term packet.

DCOM
Distributed Component Object Model.

DDoS
Distributed Denial of Service is when a program, controlled by the attacker, is run from many computers to prevent legitimate users from accessing that service.  This is done by making the program flood the service with requests, so making it unusable.

DDR
Dial-on-Demand Routing, is a routing technique developed by Cisco that allows a user to utilise existing telephone lines to form a WAN instead of lines that are dedicated specifically to the WAN.  It can work out cheaper than a dedicated WAN link if the data volume is low and periodic compared to continuous.

DDR-SDRAM
Double Data Rate-Synchronous DRAM, a type of SDRAM that supports data transfers on both edges of each clock cycle (the rising and falling edges), effectively doubling the memory chip's data throughput. DDR-SDRAM also consumes less power, which makes it well-suited to laptops. DDR-SDRAM is also called SDRAM II.

DDWG
Digital Display Working Group is an open industry group lead by Intel, Compaq, Fujitsu, Hewlett Packard, IBM, NEC and Silicon Image. The objective of the Digital Display Working Group is to address the industry's requirements for a digital connectivity specification for high-performance PCs and digital displays.

Deadlock
A condition that occurs when two processes are each waiting for the other to complete before proceeding. The result is that both processes hang. Deadlocks occur most commonly in multitasking and client/server environments.

DECT
Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications.

DES
Data Encryption Standard. An American Standard Algorithm used to encrypt and decrypt files.

DFD
Data Flow Diagram, another name for a data flow model.

DHCP
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, is a communications protocol that lets network administrators manage centrally and automate the assignment of IP addresses in an organisation's network. Using the Internet Protocol, each machine that can connect to the Internet needs a unique IP address.

DHTML
1. Refers to Web content that changes each time it is viewed. For example, the same URL could result in a different page depending on any number of parameters, such as: Geographic location of the reader , Time of day , Previous pages viewed by the reader and Profile of the reader. There are many technologies for producing dynamic HTML, including CGI scripts, Server-Side Includes (SSI), cookies, Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX.

2. When capitalized, Dynamic HTML refers to new HTML extensions that will enable a Web page to react to user input without sending requests to the Web server.

Digerati
Group of people considered well-informed on the digital revolution.

DIMM
Dual In-line Memory Module, a small circuit board that holds memory chips. A single in-line memory module (SIMM) has a 32-bit path to the memory chips whereas a DIMM has 64-bit path. Because the Pentium processor requires a 64-bit path to memory, you need to install SIMMs two at a time. With DIMMs, you can install memory one DIMM at a time.

DIP
Dual In-line Package. A type of chip housed in a rectangular casing with two rows of connecting pins on either side.

Distance Learning
A type of education where students work on their own at home or at the office and communicate with faculty and other students via e-mail, electronic forums, videoconferencing and other forms of computer-based communication. Distance learning is becoming especially popular with companies that need to regularly re-train their employees because it is less expensive than bringing all the students together in a traditional classroom setting. Most distance learning programs include a computer-based training (CBT) system and communications tools to produce a virtual classroom. Because the Internet and World Wide Web are accessible from virtually all computer platforms, they serve as the foundation for many distance learning systems.

DIX
The other name for a 15-pin AUI connector or a DB-15 connector. Named after Digital, Intel and Xerox who worked on the format.

DLC address
Data Link Control, the second lowest layer in the OSI Reference Model. Every network interface card (NIC) has a DLC address or DLC identifier (DLCI) that uniquely identifies the node on the network. Some network protocols, such as Ethernet and Token-Ring use the DLC addresses exclusively. Other protocols, such as TCP/IP, use a logical address at the Network Layer to identify nodes. Ultimately, however, all network addresses must be translated to DLC addresses. In TCP/IP networks, this translation is performed with the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP).

DLT
Digital Linear Tape, is a form of magnetic tape and drive system used for computer data storage and archiving.

DMCA
Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

DMZ
DeMilitarised Zone, is a computer host or small network inserted as a "neutral zone" between a company's private network and the outside public network. It prevents outside users from getting direct access to a server that has company data.

DNS
Domain Name System. Distributed Database used by TCP/IP hosts to resolve FQDNs to IP addresses.

DOM
Document Object Model, the specification for how objects in a Web page (text, images, headers, links, etc.) are represented. The DOM defines what attributes are associated with each object, and how the objects and attributes can be manipulated. Dynamic HTML (DHTML) relies on the DOM to dynamically change the appearance of Web pages after they have been downloaded to a user's browser.
Unfortunately, the two leading browsers -- Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer -- use different DOMs. This is one reason why their respective implementations of DHTML are so different. Both companies have submitted their DOMs to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) for standardization, which now has the daunting task of specifying a standard DOM without alienating either of the browser giants. The W3C's DOM specification will support both HTML and XML.

Domain
The name of an internet site, equivalent to a geographical address. Used as a more user-friendly reference to a server's IP address.

Dongle
A device that attaches to a computer to control access to a particular application. Dongles provide the most effective means of copy protection. Typically, the dongle attaches to a PC's parallel port. On Macintoshes, the dongle sometimes attaches to the ADB port. The dongle passes through all data coming through the port so it does not prevent the port from being used for other purposes. In fact, it's possible to attach several dongles to the same port.

Dot-Bomb
A poor choice of investment in a dot-com business.

Dot-Com
Company or business that is established on/for the internet.

Dot-Corp
An internet business established by a 'bricks and mortar' company, e.g. Egg from the Prudential.

Dot-Hon
A well established dot-com executive.

Downloading
Transferring data or files from another computer onto your own.

DPI
Dots per Inch, is a measure of the sharpness of the display of the image on the monitor, printer or scanner. The dot pitch determines the absolute limit of the possible dots per inch. However, the displayed resolution of pixels (picture elements) that is set up for the display is usually not as fine as the dot pitch. The dots per inch for a given picture resolution will differ based on the overall screen size since the same number of pixels are being spread out over a different space. Some users prefer the term "pixels per inch (PPI)" as a measure of display image sharpness, reserving dpi for use with the print medium.

DRAM
Dynamic Random Access Memory, a type of memory used in most personal computers.

DRM
Digital Rights Management, is systems that restrict the use of digital files in order to protect the interests of copyright holders.

DSDM
Dynamic Systems Development Method, a software application development methodology.

DSL
Digital Subscriber Line.

DSRC
Dedicated Short Range Communication.

DSSS
Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum. DSSS is one of two types of spread spectrum radio, the other being FHSS. DSSS is a transmission technology used in LAWN transmissions where a data signal at the sending station is combined with a higher data rate bit sequence, or chipping code, that divides the user data according to a spreading ratio. The chipping code is a redundant bit pattern for each bit that is transmitted, which increases the signal's resistance to interference. If one or more bits in the pattern are damaged during transmission, the original data can be recovered due to the redundancy of the transmission.

DSTN
Double-layer SuperTwist Nematic, a passive-matrix LCD technology that uses two display layers to counteract the colour shifting that occurs with conventional supertwist displays.

DTD
Document Type Definition. A DTD states what tag and attribute are used to describe content in an SGML document, where each tag is allowed, and which tags can appear within other tags.

DTV
Digital Television, a means of broadcasting TV pictures and sound digitally, that as well as the potential for enhanced picture and sound will allow internet access and interactive features.

DVI
(1) Short for Digital Visual Interface, a digital interface standard created by the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG) to convert analog signals into digital signals to accommodate both analog and digital monitors. Data is transmitted using the transition minimised differential signalling (TMDS) protocol, providing a digital signal from the PC's graphics subsystem to the display.

(2) Short for Digital Video Interactive, a now-defunct technology developed by General Electric that enables a computer to store and display moving video images like those on television. DVI is a hardware-only codec (compression/decompression) technology. A competing hardware codec, which has become much more popular, is MPEG. Intel has developed a software version of the DVI algorithm, which it markets under the name Indeo.

(3) Short for Device Independent, a file format used by the TeX typography system.

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