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Glossary F
What are shareware, freeware, and public domain programs? Shareware, freeware, and public domain are categories of software distinguished by different rules about how programs may be distributed, copied, used, and modified. Shareware The term "shareware" refers to software that is distributed at low cost (sometimes at no cost), but which requires a payment (usually) and registration for full legal use. Copies distributed in this manner are offered on a trial basis. You are free to test the software, see if it matches your needs, and decide whether or not it's a good value. Usually there are order forms or advertisements included in the program or on the distribution disk that tell you how to register the program and what fee is required. Registered users of a shareware program will typically receive a printed manual, an updated copy of the software, often with additional features, and the legal right to use the program in their home or business. Shareware is not free software, since authors of shareware programs expect payment from those who intend to use the programs regularly. However, it does have the advantage over standard commercial software that you may thoroughly test a program to see if it's useful before making a purchase. Shareware is generally written by individuals or small companies, and its quality and level of support vary widely. In some cases, however, shareware packages are actually more capable than corresponding commercial software, and some commercial programs got their start being marketed as shareware. While shareware may be freely copied, companies may not charge fees for copies that significantly exceed their duplication and handling costs. The authors of shareware programs also retain their copyright on the contents, and you may not modify such programs or distribute modified copies. Freeware Freeware is also distributed at minimal cost, but in this case the authors do not expect payment for their work. Typically, freeware programs are small utilities or incomplete programs that are released by authors for their potential benefit to others, but without support. The author of a freeware program may still retain a copyright on its contents and stipulate that others not modify the program or charge significant fees for its use or distribution. Public domain software Public domain software is released without any conditions upon its use. It may be copied, modified, and distributed as you please. This type of software generally has the smallest level of support available. Related software Other programs may fall in between or overlap these categories. Some authors may ask for charitable donations in return for the use of their software. Still others may distribute free software as a form of advertising, sometimes called "bannerware". Personal computer users who purchase diskettes or CD-ROM disks of large volumes of low cost software should carefully study the accompanying license agreements and terms of use. Such software generally falls into these categories, and programs whose authors expect payment for their use should not be mistaken for free software. Also see:
What is a FAQ? The term "FAQ" (when pronounced, it rhymes with "back") is an acronym for Frequently Asked Question. A Frequently Asked Question is an inquiry or point of discussion that commonly arises when people first encounter a particular subject or online forum. The term "FAQ" can be used to describe either an individual Frequently Asked Question or a list of such questions. These FAQ lists are posted regularly on many Usenet newsgroups and mailing lists to reduce discussions of topics that have already been thoroughly covered. You may also find FAQs associated with Web sites, software applications, and protocols. It's a good idea to look at any existing FAQ list for a newsgroup or mailing list before participating in discussion. Failure to do so may make a bad first impression, and possibly even provoke flames. For more information about how to find specific Usenet FAQs, see the Knowledge Base document Where can I find a repository of Usenet FAQ files? Also refer to the Internet FAQ Consortium's Web site at: The FAQs for most newsgroups are cross-posted to news.answers. Also see: What is a fully qualified domain name (FQDN)? The complete domain name for a specific computer, or host, on the Internet is referred to as the fully qualified domain name (FQDN). The FQDN consists of two parts: the hostname and the domain name. For example, kate.ucs.indiana.edu is the FQDN for the e-mail server Kate on the Shakespeare systems at Indiana University Bloomington. The hostname is kate, and that host is located within the domain ucs.indiana.edu. In this example, .edu is the top-level domain (TLD). This is similar to the root directory on a typical workstation, where all other directories (or folders) originate. Within the .edu TLD, IUB has been assigned the indiana.edu subdomain, and has authority to create other subdomains within it. Hence, ucs is a subdomain of indiana.edu, and kate is a host located in the ucs.indiana.edu domain. World Wide Web addresses are essentially the same. For example, www.indiana.edu is the FQDN on the Web for Indiana University. In this case, www is the host in the indiana.edu domain. When connecting to a host, such as Kate, using a telnet client or some other program, you must specify the FQDN. The DNS server then resolves the hostname to its IP address by looking at its DNS table. The server (Kate in this case) would be contacted and you would receive a login prompt. If you are using only the hostname (without the domain information) to connect to a server, you may not be able to resolve the hostname. This can happen if either the DNS suffix search order in your computer's TCP/IP properties is incorrect, or the DNS table is corrupted. In these cases, entering the host's FQDN will allow DNS to locate the server. Also, if you are trying to connect to a remote host that is not local to your Internet service provider (ISP), you will most likely have to use the FQDN. For example, a DNS server at IU would be quite unlikely to have a listing for a remote host at another university or an unrelated ISP. Also see:
What is FAT32? FAT32 is the file system that is included in some of the more recent versions of Microsoft Windows. It was introduced with OEM Service Release 2 of Windows 95 (also know as OSR2 and Windows 95B). FAT32 is the default file system on Windows 98 (all versions: OEM, retail, and SE). You may install the FAT32 file system on Windows 2000 (Server and Professional only; Advanced Server and Data Center do not support FAT32). Advantages of FAT32
Disadvantages of FAT32
For more information about FAT32, refer to: http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/usingwindows/Maintaining/articles/901Jan/fat32.asp Also see:
What is FireWire or IEEE 1394? FireWire is a new high-speed serial bus, developed by Apple and Texas Instruments, that allows for the connection of up to 63 external devices. FireWire is also commonly know as the IEEE 1394 standard. FireWire, which Apple originally developed and trademarked, may appear under different names (such as iLink or Lynx) depending on what platform or company implements the technology. The original IEEE 1394 specifications allowed for speeds of 100, 200, and 400Mbps (million bits per second). IEEE 1394b provides speeds of 800, 1600, and 3200Mbps. This makes IEEE 1394 a very high-speed bus design that is ideal for high-bandwidth applications like multimedia. In addition to providing high-speed access, IEEE 1394 supports plug-and-play connections, hot swapping, multiple speeds on the same bus, and isochronous data transfer, as well as providing power to peripheral devices. Hot swapping is the ability to add and remove devices to a computer while the computer is running and have the operating system automatically recognize the change. Isochronous data transfer is a means of transferring data at a guaranteed transfer rate. This is especially useful for devices that require transferring large amounts of data in real time, such as video cameras or digital cameras. Advantages of IEEE 1394
This information was adapted from Texas Instruments' IEEE 1394 High Performance Serial Bus site at: http://www.ti.com/sc/docs/products/msp/intrface/1394/index.htm While IEEE 1394 is very fast, it is also expensive to add to computer systems. Typically it costs between ten and twenty dollars to add FireWire controllers and physical links to a system or peripheral. For comparison, adding a USB microcontroller costs less than one dollar. You can think of IEEE 1394 as a high-speed, very flexible, peer-to-peer, enhanced version of USB. While the new Windows Driver Model (WDM), which Windows 98 uses, supports drivers for IEEE 1394, it was not fully supported until Windows 2000. Currently, few PC systems support IEEE 1394 or have IEEE 1394 ports. Apple Macintosh computers, starting with the blue and white G3s, support FireWire. Interestingly, both Microsoft and Intel are investigating using IEEE 1394 as a replacement for the IDE drive interface. For additional information on the IEEE 1394 standard, please see: http://www.apple.com/firewire/
http://www.ti.com/sc/docs/products/msp/intrface/1394/tech.htm
http://www.embedded.com/1999/9906/9906feat2.htm Also see: What is firmware? Firmware consists of programs installed semi-permanently into memory, using various types of programmable ROM chips, such as PROMS, EPROMs, EEPROMs, and flash chips. Firmware is non-volatile, and will remain in memory after you turn the system off. Often, the term firmware is used to refer specifically to boot firmware, which controls a computer from the time that it is turned on until the primary operating system has taken over. Boot firmware's main function is to initialize the hardware and then to boot (load and execute) the primary operating system. On PCs, the boot firmware is usually referred to as the BIOS. Also see: What is FIS? FIS is an acronym for Financial Information System. FIS provides an efficient way of managing the financial resources of Indiana University. For more information on FIS, please visit: http://www.fms.indiana.edu/fis/fis_info.asp What is FTP, and how do I use it to transfer files? FTP is an acronym for File Transfer Protocol. As the name implies, FTP is used to transfer files between computers on a network, such as the Internet. You can use FTP to exchange files between computer accounts, to transfer files between an account and a desktop computer, or to access software archives on the Internet. For information on secure FTP (SFTP), see the Knowledge Base document What is SFTP, and how do I use it? Note: As of May 3, 2002, you need to use a secure FTP client (e.g., SSH Secure Shell for Windows or MacSFTP for Mac OS) to transfer files to and from Steel. For more information, see the Knowledge Base document If I have a Steel or Ships account, what do I need to know about secure FTP? How to use FTP
Note: Due to a security issue, UITS does not recommend using Internet Explorer to connect via FTP. For more information, see the ITSO bulletin at: http://www.itso.iu.edu/bulletins/ie5ftp.epl To use your Web browser to connect to an FTP site such as ftp.empire.gov , where you normally enter a URL, you would enter: ftp://username@ftp.empire.gov/
ftp ftp.empire.gov
Keep track of the files Even if you are using a desktop computer to log into a Unix shell account , the files you transfer in an FTP session started from your Unix shell account will be stored in the directory of your account, and not on the hard drive of your desktop computer. If you connect via Ethernet or PPP and run an FTP program (e.g., Transmit or Hummingbird) from your desktop computer, the files will usually transfer to your hard drive. Anonymous FTP Many universities, government agencies, companies, and private individuals have set up publicly accessible archives on the Internet. There are thousands of these sites that contain a myriad of programs, data files, and informational text. At these sites, public directories and files that may be read by the rest of the world via FTP are set aside. These directories are usually named /pub. Specific directions and information about the site are contained in greeting messages or files with names like README. Remember that anonymous FTP is a privilege granted by the organization that owns the computer to which you are connecting. Some general guidelines for using anonymous FTP are:
Many FTP sites are heavily used and require several attempts before connecting. Related online NETg tutorials (IU only)
Internet and WWW Introduction If you haven't used NETg before, see the Knowledge Base document What do I need to know about accessing NETg from the Knowledge Base? Also see:
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