Glossary Items

U

  1. The concept of embedding microprocessors in everyday things so they can communicate information continuously. Ubiquitous devices are expected to be constantly connected.
    Ubiquitous devices are expected to be constantly connected. Utility smart meters are an example of ubiquitous computing, replacing manual meter-readers with devices that can report usage and modify power settings on ubiquitous appliances. High-bandwidth, wired, and wireless communications are now ubiquitous in most markets. Traffic from wireless and mobile devices will be 54 percent of all traffic, exceeding traffic from wired devices by 2016. By 2018, global fixed broadband speeds will reach an average of 42 Mbps, up from 16 Mbps in 2013.
  2. An emerging technology in the IoT domain that transmits signals across a much larger frequency range than conventional systems. A “spark gap” transmitter that emits a very weak, very wide (in frequency) pulse of RF energy.
    This signal is used mostly for localizing signals. Wide signal bandwidths are good for measuring distance.
  3. A universal asynchronous receiver (UART) is a computer hardware device that translates data between parallel and serial forms. UARTs are commonly used in conjunction with communication standards such as TIA (formerly EIA) RS-232, RS-422 or RS-485.
    A universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter is a computer hardware device that translates data between parallel and serial forms. UARTs are commonly used in conjunction with communication standards such as TIA (formerly EIA) RS-232, RS-422 or RS-485. The universal designation indicates that the data format and transmission speeds are configurable. The electric signaling levels and methods (such as differential signaling etc.) are handled by a driver circuit external to the UART. The universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART) takes bytes of data and transmits the individual bits in a sequential fashion. At the destination, a second UART re-assembles the bits into complete bytes. Each UART contains a shift register, which is the fundamental method of conversion between serial and parallel forms. Serial transmission of digital information (bits) through a single wire or other medium is less costly than parallel transmission through multiple wires.
  4. A network identity-verification method that allows users to move from site to site securely without having to enter identifying information multiple times.
    Universal authentication, also known as single sign-on (SSO), is a network identity-verification method that allows users to move from site to site securely without having to enter identifying information multiple times. Authentication (in contrast to authorization) is the process of determining whether or not an entity attempting to access a network or site is actually who or what it claims to be. With universal authentication, a subscriber enters one set of parameters (such as a username and password) at the start of every network session. The authentication data for any site visited thereafter is automatically generated for the duration of that session. One of the biggest problems with Internet security is the fact that every Web site has its own authentication system. A typical Internet user, who has two or three Web-based e-mail addresses and frequents half a dozen online vendors to buy or sell things, must memorize several usernames and passwords. This can be difficult unless the authentication data is written down or stored as a text file, which then becomes a security issue. Universal authentication can eliminate this problem without compromising security or privacy.
  5. Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) is a set of networking protocols that allows networked devices, such as computers, Internet gateways, Wi-Fi access points and mobile devices to seamlessly discover each other's presence on the network and establish functional network services for data sharing.
    UPnP is intended primarily for residential networks without enterprise-class devices. The UPnP technology was promoted by the UPnP Forum, a computer industry initiative to enable simple and robust connectivity to stand-alone devices and personal computers from many different vendors. The Forum consisted of over eight hundred vendors involved in everything from consumer electronics to network computing.
  6. The phrase unstructured data usually refers to information that doesn't reside in a traditional row-column database. Information that either does not have a pre-defined data model or is not organized in a pre-defined manner (e.g., pictures or video).
    The phrase unstructured data usually refers to information that doesn't reside in a traditional row-column database. As you might expect, it's the opposite of structured data - the data stored in fields in a database. Unstructured data files often include text and multimedia content. Examples include e-mail messages, word processing documents, videos, photos, audio files, presentations, webpages and many other kinds of business documents. Note that while these sorts of files may have an internal structure, they are still considered "unstructured" because the data they contain doesn't fit neatly in a database. Experts estimate that 80 to 90 percent of the data in any organization is unstructured. And the amount of unstructured data in enterprises is growing significantly - often many times faster than structured databases are growing.
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