IANA:  Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, an organization responsible for assigning Internet-wide IP addresses, TCP ports and the like.

IARPA:  Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity.  A part of the office of the Director of National Intelligence.  See also, DARPA.

IBM:  International Business Machines.  (Sometimes, due to the sheer size of the organization, insiders joked that it stands for “I’ve Been Moved”.)  The world’s largest information technology company (about $100 billion a year) for the past 50 years.  Originally founded by Thomas J. Watson, Sr. after he joined Herman Hollerith, inventor of the punch card, in 1911, and merged four corporations into the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation, which was renamed IBM in 1924.  Involved in hardware, software, servers, business software, etc. in over 170 countries, IBM has been responsible for its contributions to such milestones as social security, census tabluating, and the invention of the floppy disk.

IC:  Integrated Circuit.  A printed circuit board onto which are printed electronic circuits and onto which components like transistors and capacitors are attached.  For more, see SoC.

ICANN:  Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.  This non-profit entity, created in 1998, is headquartered in Marina Del Rey, California, and is responsible for managing the Domain Name System (“DNS”) to make sure that every address is unique and that all users of the Internet can find valid addresses.  Every domain name must map to the correct IP address.  It is Icann which manages the assignment (“registration”) of Internet domain names.  Icann took over the duties previously performed by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (“IANA”) on behalf of the U.S. Government, taking the management of Internet-related tasks away from the Government and placing them with an independent authority. See WWW.

IC CHIP:  Integrated Circuit Chip.  A general description of any chip which is a miniaturized integrated circuit consisting of semiconductor devices and other more passive components, all manufactured on the surface of a very thin semiconductor substrate.  See also (processor) chip.

iCLOUD:  Apple’s 2011 entry into the cloud computing market.   Click HERE for more information.

ICO:  Initial Cost of Ownership.  Refers to the “up front” cost of acquiring new hardware and/or software.  As in “the initial cost of ownership for a Mac is higher than for a PC.”

IC3:  Internet Crime Complaint Center.  A partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center (“NW3C”). a place to report crimes taking place over the Internet, such as where a purchaser paid for goods over the Internet but did not get them.

ICMP:  Short for Internet Control Message Protocol.  This is an extension to the Internet Protocol as defined by RFC 792.  It supports packets containing error, control and informational messages.  The Ping command uses ICMP to test an Internet connection.

ICON:  A small picture (graphic), usually on a computer’s desktop screen, onto which one clicks the mouse in order to start a program installed on that computer.  For example, the icon   starts Internet Explorer, the Microsoft browser.  The basic rule is that usually one double (left) clicks the mouse on an icon to open a program, but single (left) clicks on text to open a menu. Apple’s icons were designed by Susan Kare, who used a sketchbook because such graphics didn’t exist in 1982.  She also designed the first proportional fonts for Macs.  After leaving Apple, she designed icons for Windows, later NY’s MoMa and Facebooks Gifts program where users sent each other gifts, flowers and treats.

ICSG:  Industry Connections Security Group, an assembly of six security companies:  McAfee, Sophos, Symantec, Microsoft, AVG, and Trend Micro (later expect banks and ISPs to be added) with the goal of creating best practices for computer security.

IDE:  Stands for “Integrated Drive Electronics”.  This is one of the standard ways that hard drives and CD-ROMs are connected to the computer mother- board, using a flat 40 connector gray “ribbon” cable.  There is also EIDE, which is enhanced-IDE, a slightly faster connection.  Sometimes called ATA or PATA (Parallel ATA), prior to introduction of SATA (Serial ATA) (see below and Link).

IEEE: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.  Founded in 1884 as the AIEE, this organization develops standards for the computer and electronics industry, in particular the IEEE 802 standards for local-area computer networks. See, ETHERNET, above.

IETF: Internet Engineering Task Force.  This is the body that defines standard Internet operating protocols, such as TCP/IP.  The IETF is supervised by, and its members are drawn from, the IAB (Internet Society Internet Architecture Board).  Standards are expressed in the form of Requests for Comments (“RFCs”).

IIS:  Internet Information Server.  A component on Windows XP Pro, NT and other operating systems that is a group of server programs for building and administering web sies, a search engine and support for web based data bases such as SQL.

I LOVE YOU:  A computer worm (virus) that became famous when it attached tens of millions of Windows computers in starting on May 4, 2000 when it was sent as an attachment to an e-mail message bearing the subject line “I Love You” as well as an attachment with a .txt designation which, when opened, sent a copy of itself to everyone in the user’s Windows Address Book and also made a number of other malicious changes to the user’s operating system. See, Spyware.

IM:  “Instant Messaging”.  Sending text messages over the internet with a small program (such as AOL IM) using the computer.  When used with a cell phone, it’s called “Texting”.  See IM Acronyms to decipher what your kids may be IMing.  For more info, see SMS, in this Glossary.

IMAP:  Stands for Internet Message (sometimes Mail) Access Protocol.  Like POP3, this is a mail protocol that provides management of received e-mail messages on a remote server.  It can include more functions than standard POP3 protocol, such as reviewing headers, creating and deleting mailboxes and folders and messages, and searching of contents remotely without downloading the message.

iMESSAGE:  Apple’s text app, introduced in iOS5.  In addition to text, you can also exchange images, videos, contacts and locations.  Moreover, you can do group messaging, get delivery & read receipts, and see the recipient typing a reply.

INFOGRAPHIC:  As it sounds, this is a graphic (picture, video, cartoon, etc.) that actually contains sales or other information within a graphic format.  For example:  Google introduced its new browser using an infographic cartoon describing the browser’s use and features.  [See this LINK for the cartoon.}

INFOSEC:  Information Security. If this sounds like a military contraction, it was.  Now it’s used to mean the security for protecting any type of information from unauthorized access, use, disclosure and the like.

INFOSEEK:  Infoseek was a very popular search engine started in 1994 by Steven Kirsch.  It was originally operated by the Infoseek Corporation, headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, and was purchased in 1998 by Walt Disney, which used the technology to form go.com.  It was later replaced by Yahoo and is no longer in business.

INFORMATION SYSTEMS (“IS”):  A Western discipline primarily involving the explanation of how IT functions and is accepted in society and organizations.

INFRASTRUCTURE: A building or campus of several buildings subject to structured cabling, which is designed and installed according to a specific set of standards for data centers, offices, apartment buildings and the like for data and/or voice communications over various types of cable, commonly CAT 5 or 6.

INGRESS: Distortion caused by improper or deteriorating cables and connections.  Can be in the form of vertical lines, horizontal dash lines or “beats” (little white random dots).  For more, see HERE.

INITIALIZATION STRING:  A series (“string”) of commands, often so-called “Hayes” commands (named after an early popular modem) which “initializes” a telephone modem so that it can connect over the Internet.  These commands include such things as error correction, data compression, flow control and other similar parameters.  The incorrect string may prevent connecting at all (or from hanging up after session completion), and sometimes has to be customized.   If a modem driver is readily available, it’s usually preferable.  A string may look like this: “AT&F+MS=56S202=32” and it’s usually put in the Windows hardware folder.  See Modem for more, plus links to the actual commands.

INKTOMI:  One of the early (circa 1996) Internet search engines, developed  at UC Berkeley.  It grew by making several acquisitions, its stock rising to $241/share in 2000, before crashing during the dot.com bust and being acquired by Yahoo in 2002 for $1.63/share. The name is said to be derived from a Lakota Indian legend about a trickster spider character, known for his ability to defeat larger adversaries through wit and cunning.  The 5 vector logo was created by Tom Lamar in 1996.

INPUT:  The process of putting something (data, for example) into a system (such as a computer) in order to achieve a defined result (an address list).

INSTAGRAM:  A popular program, acquired by FaceBook in 2012, for posting photos taken with cellular phones with others on the Internet.

INTEGRATED CIRCUIT BOARD:  A complete electronic circuit, consisting of numerous components, such as transistors and other semiconductors, formed on a single silicon semiconductor chip.

INTELLIGENT DEVICE:  A device which is more than a dumb pass-through (like a hub) and has some memory (like a switch) or computing ability.

INTERACTIVE:  A two way (“bi-directional”) communication.  Used for such electronic communication mediums as telephones, cable television and computers, where both parties can speak, text, make selections and transmit data back and forth.

INTERFACE:  Generically refers to the point at which the user interacts with a computer or other device, through the use of a mouse, keyboard, touch screen or the like.  More technically, a connection between two subsystems or devices.  Example:  An electrical connector built into a computer into which another external connector (like a serial or parallel connector to a printer) can be easily inserted by a user to allow the connection between the two devices.

INTERNALNET:  A term connoting a computer network composed of devices inside or on the human body. 

INTERNET:  The “Internet” (a/k/a/ the “net”) is simply the worldwide system of computer networks through which users at any one computer can, with permission, obtain information from other computers on the network.  It is, quite literally, a “network of networks”!  Originally developed by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA or DARPA) of the U.S. Defense Department in 1969, then known as ARPANET, its original aim was to create a network that would allow users of a research computer at one university to be able to “talk to” other research computers.  Because messages could be routed or re-routed in more than one direction, using a technology known as “packet switching” (dividing messages into multiple “packets” which can then be individually “routed”) the network could continue to function even if parts of it were destroyed in the event of military attack or other (nuclear) disaster.  Packet Switching was originally created by Paul Baran, while working at the Rand Corporation about 1960. See also, WWW, created by Tim Berners-Lee, which provides the most popular way to find information on Internet computers; also, browser.  So who actually “invented” the Internet?  In order to answer this question, you have to resolve the disconnect between those visionaries who conceived the idea of the Internet (such as Vint Cerf, Al Gore, J.C.R. Licklider and other “Fathers of the Internet”) and the actual creators of the Internet (such as DARPA).  Click HERE for a more detailed history of the Internet.

INTERNET EXPLORER:  Microsoft Windows built-in web browser.  See Browser.

INTEROPERABILITY:  The ability “to work with each other.”  The ability of software, data and hardware on multiple machines from multiple vendors to communicate (“inter-operate”) with each other without special effort on the part of the customer.

INTERROBANG:  A non-standard english language punction mark intended to combine the functions of a question mark with an exclamation point by superimposing one onto the other.  It as invented in 1962 by Martin K. Speckter and, although it was included within the American typeface, and even came standard on some 1968 Remington typewriters, it never amounted to much more than a fad.  Here’s an example of what it looked like:

INTRANET:  Essentially  an internal internet, i.e. a mini in-house internet, usually within an organization, which uses the same concepts, technologies and protocols as the Internet, but operates on an organization’s private, secure LAN.  For more, see Public vs. Private.

IOD:  Information On Demand - This acronym may be primarily the creation of IBM, which uses it to promote software tools and industry-specific data models, blueprints and consulting services to help enterprises draw more value from business data.

iOS:  Apple’s mobile operating system, iPhone OS, used in the iPhone and iPod touch.

IoS:  Stands for Internet Over Satellite, a system that allows users to access the Internet via geosynchronous satellite.

IOS:  Stands for Internet Operating System, Cisco’s router control program.

IP: Means “Internet Protocol”.  IP specifies the formation of packets (also known as datagrams) to be sent over the Internet as well as an addressing scheme.  IP is usually combined with another higher-level protocol such as TCP (“Transfer Control Protocol”) which establishes a connection between the sender and the receiver.  It’s like the postal system:  IP lets you address mail and drop it off in the mail system, TCP delivers it to the right address. For further discussion, see Public vs. Private, Icann.

IPSec: Internet Protocol Security is a protocol suite for end-to-end securing of Internet Protocol (“IP”) communications, which is done by authenticating and encrypting each IP packet of a TCP/IP communication session.  Other IP security systems include SSL (“Secure Sockets Layer”), TLS (“Transport Layer Security”) and SSH (“Secure Shell”).  IPsec was the successor to the earlier NSO standard known as NLSP (“Network Layer Security Protocol’).

IPTV: Internet Protocol Television.  A system where digital television service is received by the viewed through the technologies used for computer networks rather than through traditional broadcast and cable formats.

IPV: Internet Protocol Version:  The collection of IP addresses assigned by IANA (see above) .  Usually followed by a 4 (“IPv4”) or a 6 (“IPv6”). IPv4, which has been in use since 1981, is the current version of IPV, which provides 4,294,967,296 (4.3 billion 32-bit) possible IP addresses for Internet use.  Unbelievably, that number reached its saturation point (known as “address depletion” in February, 2011), so a new IPV, IPv6, had to be established. (IANA foresaw this, issuing RFC 2460 a decade earlier, back in 1998.) Because IPv6 will has 2128 128-bit addresses instead of the 232 addresses assigned IPv4, it equates to 340,282,366,920,938,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 possible addresses (that’s 340 undecillion, 2 to the 128th power, with 36 zeros).  The move to IPv6 will not only provide some additional speed and security enhancements, but will increase the number of unique addresses to the equivalent of about 128-bits.  This is partly because, while the IPv4 addresses are formatted in the familiar “dotted decimal” notation (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx), the IPv6 addresses will now use hexadecimal notation, so that they will include numbers and characters such as 0-9 and A-F (looking more like this:  3FFE:F200:0234:AB00:0123:4567:8901:ABCD.  Not to worry:  The display will still show as human-friendly domain names, (i.e. TheComputerCoach.net)  A localhost address in IPv4 like “127.0.0.1” will now look like “::1” in IPv6.  All of this was accomplished by changing the way of assigning the addresses to use what is called CIDR (Classless Inter-Domain Routing).  Under IPv4, addresses had been assigned in “blocks”; the smallest block - C class - contained 256 addresses.  The new CIDR scheme now lets class size vary, down to just one address. 

The problem is that IPv4 and IPv6 addresses aren’t compatible; until everything eventually transfers to IPv6, they’ll actually be running on, in effect, two “parallel” internets that will never be able to connect to each other.  This will cause a problem for some:  While the desktops and servers may be capable of automatic upgrading, a few networks and custom applications may have to be manually configured and some equipment possibly replaced.  There are three options currently available for the switchover: First, Using a protocol translator such Network Address Translation (“NAT64”) that will allow an IPv6-only device to talk to an IPv4-only device.  Second, Tunneling, which encapsulates packets of one protocol into packets of the other, so that v6 packets can run over the v4 network.  Third, either NAT444 or DS-Lite, which will enable ISPs to “dual stack” new customers with a public iPV6 address and a private IPv4 address so that equipment can run both v4 and v6 simultaneously and independently, perhaps as an overall v6 network with some v4 “islands” for specific equipment or software.  v4 will be around for years to come; very few entities will run exclusive v6 for a very long time.

Also, for most of us, we’ll never know about the change, although our ISPs will.  Comcast began working on the problem nearly six years ago and is already distributing dual-mode cable modems that support both the original and new IP versions.  All current versions of Windows since XP SP1 already have IPv6 support built in. You already probably have an IPv6 address and don’t even know it, although your ISP does.  [So why is there no IPv5 you might ask?  There was one, but only briefly:  It briefly appeared as an experimental Internet Stream Protocol, but was never widely adopted and consequently disappeared.]  NOTE:  June 6, 2011 was named “World IPv6 Day” on which such sites as FaceBook, Yahoo and Google  agreed to participate to test IPv6 to make sure it is compatible.  And it went off without a hitch.

IPX:  Internet Packet Exchange.  The network protocol in the old NetWare operating system, similar to the IP layer in TCP/IP, containing network addresses and allowing messages to be routed to different networks or subnets.

IR:  Short for “infrared”. A part of the invisible wavelength spectrum just past the red end of the visible spectrum.  Sometimes used to connect devices.

IRC:  Internet Relay Chat, a protocol created in August 1988 by a Finn, Jarkko Oikarinen (a/k/a/ The WiZ), enabling people to text chat each other over the Internet, in real time, in groups called discussion channels, or individually, usually over special dedicated servers.  Unfortunately, C & C servers can also use IRC for botnet infections. There are still thousands of networks running IRC in the world.  See also, SMS, MMS.

IRQ:  Interrupt Request.  The IRQ is a number (usually 1 through 16)  set in  the computer assigned to each hardware device (e.g. modem, CD) allowing it to “interrupt” or send a signal to the CPU to be recognized so it can perform its work.  Older computers had to manually set IRQs - click HERE for the assignment list; newer ones are PnP.

ISA:  Industry Standard Architecture (See, PCI).  A motherboard expansion slot (bus) commonly used in earlier PCs that accepted plug-in boards for sound, video and peripherals.  Originally called the “AT bus” because it was introduced with the IBM PC AT in 1984, the AT/ISA bus extended the PC bus from 8 to 16 bits.    Later, in 1988, a PC bus standard known as EISA (Extended ISA) was developed.  EISA extended the 16-bit ISA (AT bus) to 32 bits and provided bus mastering.  Both run at the relatively slow 8Mhz speed. Both have been pretty much phased out by PCI architecture. 

ALSO:  Instruction Set Architecture, the part of the computer related to programming and software (such as instructions, registers, addresses, memory, interrupts, exceptions, etc.).  Distinguish this from Microarchitecture, which applies the instruction set to the processor itself.

ISO:  An .ISO image is a disk image of an ISO 9660 file system.  (I know: That doesn’t help much.  Read on...) This is an international standard (devised by the International Standards Organization, also ISO) originally devised for storing data on a CD-ROM.  An ISO file is basically an entire CD or DVD (with all files and directories) all packed up into a single file called an “image”.  You can then use a CD/DVD burning program (Nero, Roxio, etc.) to “burn” the image file onto a CD/DVD, thereby extracting the ISO file into its original file & folder structure.

ISV:  Stands for “Independent Software Vendor”.  A person or company that develops software, usually application rather than system software.  Usually an ISV specializes in software only and not hardware or computer systems.

ISDN:  Stands for “Integrated Services Digital Network”.  This type of telephone line is composed entirely of digital signals (i.e. Os and 1s), offering speeds up to 128,000 Kbps, twice as fast as POTS (56,000kpbs)

ISP:  Stands for “Internet Service Provider”.  That would be providers such as AOL, Verizon or Comcast which provide local users and networks with access to the Internet for purposes of browsing and e-mail.

IT:  Means, of course, “Information Technology,” that is, both the hardware and the software that are used to store, retrieve and manipulate information.

ITU:  Stands for International Telecommunications Union, the group that, among other things, provides precise definitions for 3G and 4G.

iTUNES:  The Apple website from which owners of Apple products such as iPods, iPhones and iPads can download music, video &, books and sync their devices, among other things. It is a “closed” system - a “walled garden” - the only way to sync and update Apple products.

iTUNES PLUS:  An audio standard introduced in iTunes in 2007 which provides tracks of higher quality and free of copy protection.  As a result, you can burn music to a CD as often as you like or play songs on multiple devices without restriction.  It costs, at present, 30 cents per song or $3 per album.

ITERATION:  Technospeak for “version” or “revision”.  Engineers use this term to denote a step-by-step refinement process for designs

ITIL:  Means Information Technology Infrastructure Library.   This is a globally recognized collection of “best practices” for information service management. (A “best practice” is a technique or methodology that, through experience and research, has been proven to reliably lead to a desired result.)  Created by the U.K.’s Central Computer & Telecommunications Agency (“CCTA”) in response to a growing dependence on IT for meeting business needs, ITIL provides businesses with a customizable framework to achieve quality service.  It does this through services, products, training, qualification, software tools and user groups.  ITIL is organized into “sets” of books which are defined by related functions: Service strategy, service design, managerial, service transition, service operation and continual service improvement.  HP and Microsoft are just two businesses that use ITIL as part of their best practices frameworks. 

IVR:  Stands for “Interactive Voice Response”.  This is the telephone software that enables a computer to interpret human speech into useable input to the system.  You get this when you call a telephone help line (say “1” or “PC” for PC computers; say “2” or “Mac” for Apple computers...)

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