P-T: Glossary of Terms and Recommended Usage

PageMaker page layout application; by Adobe

PalmPilot brand of handheld computer by Palm, Inc.
This is an older model; current naming scheme is Palm III, Palm V, Palm VII.

palmtop "handheld computer" (or just "handheld") is more widely used

PC personal computer. Refers to any type, but some may interpret as Windows or IBM.

PC card Ethernet interface for laptops; also called PCMCIA (not preferred)

PDA personal digital assistant. Acronym is not widely know -- "palmtop" or "handheld computer" are alternatives.

PDF Portable Document Format. Don't spell out.

PEDL Position and Employee Data Lookup (an application developed at Cornell)

PeopleSoft

phone numbers -- for readers who are only in Ithaca or on campus: 255-8990
-- for readers who are only on campus: 5-8990
-- for readers who may be outside of Ithaca/Tompkins County: 607 255-8990
-- for international readers: +1 607 255-8990
-- 800/888 numbers: 800 367-8683

Photoshop photo manipulation application; by Adobe

PIN personal identification number. "PIN number" is redundant and should be avoided.

Pine software used to run Travelers Mail

Pocket PC general name for models of handheld computers manufactured by Casio, Hewlett Packard, and Compaq. Operating software is by Microsoft.

PoP point of presence; provides local access to a network

POP postoffice protocol

pop-up menu avoid using ("pop-up" has negative connotations. Use "drop-down" list or menu where possible

postoffice refers in a general way to Cornell's two e-mail servers
-- Each person is assigned an e-mail account on one of the servers. An account is identified as being on postoffice6, postoffice7, postoffice8, postoffice9, or postoffice10.

PowerPC

PowerPoint presentation application; by Microsoft

PPP point-to-point protocol. Don't spell out.

preferred supplier agreement, preferred suppliers discounted pricing arrangement made by the Office of Purchasing Services

printout (n.), print (v.)

program OR application "application" is preferred

Project 2000 (P2K)

Project CLUE Cornell Linux Users Education; university committee under the oversight of the Office of Information Technologies

Public AppleShare Server

Public NT Server

pulldown menu rarely used. Drop-down is more common

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QI interface to Cornell Electronic Directory. Avoid using this generally unfamiliar term. By summer 2002, this will be replaced by LDAP.

QoS quality of service (relates to networks)

Qualcomm company that makes Eudora

quit OR close OR exit
-- "close" for windows and boxes
-- "quit" for Macintosh applications and as a general term
-- "exit" for Windows applications

quotation marks & punctuation punctuation goes inside quote marks, except for the colon and semicolon

[A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P]
[Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] [Z] [numbers]

radio button

RAM random access memory; also simply called "memory." Don't spell out.

RealPlayer Internet audio and video player by RealNetworks, Inc.

RedRover wireless service offered by CIT

research computing Don't use "RSRCH."

ResNet Residence Hall Network Service

ResPhone university phone system in residence halls

right, rightmost, upper/lower right Not "right-hand"

right-click

Rights & Responsibilities web page

Road Runner cable modem service offered by Time Warner

RoamAbout wireless card recommended by CIT; manufactured by Enterasys

ROM read-only memory

Runway current interface for Bear Access. "Viewer" and "Launch Pad" are old interfaces.

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SALSA Service and License Software Acquisition; technology used by Bear Access to update a user's software

screenshot

scroll bar

SCSI small computer system interface. Pronounced "scuzzy." Don't spell out.

seasons for example, winter, spring, summer, fall. Don't capitalize.

select OR highlight "select" is preferred (use "highlight" in context of text editing)

shortcut OR alias "shortcut" is for Windows; "alias" is for Macintosh

shrink-wrap refers to software that comes in a box (used in the context of licenses or pricing)

SideCar Cornell's authentication application, used in conjunction with Kerberos

SLIP serial line Internet protocol. Outdated technology that has been replaced by PPP.

smartcard

SmartForce web-based training offered by the company formerly known as CBT

smiley(s) symbols used in text to indicate emotions
-- also called "emoticons"

SMTP simple mail transfer protocol. Don't spell out.

software license Not "site license."

spam junk e-mail. Not all caps.

special mailbox NetID assigned to a university group for the purpose of conducting business by e-mail

spellchecker (n.), spellcheck (v.)

SPG single port gateway (plural is SPGs)

spring Don't capitalize; for example, "spring semester," "spring 2001."

SSL secure sockets layer; web technology used to encrypt data

Steltor CorporateTime developer. obsolete term

StuffIt file decompression utility

summer Don't capitalize; for example, "summer 2001."

Sun Sun Microsystems Inc.

support provider not preferred; use "technology support provider" instead

switchhook the "hang up" button on a phone

Systems and Operations (S&O) division of CIT that provides infrastructure, services, and operational support to other parts of CIT and to the campus

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TCP/IP transmission control protocol/Internet protocol. Don't spell out.

Technology Connection

technology support provider

Technology Training Services (TTS) obsolete

teh1, teh2, etc. fake NetIDs used in Travelers of the Electronic Highway training

teleconferencing

telephone numbers -- for readers who are only in Ithaca or on campus: 255-8990
-- for readers who are only on campus: 5-8990
-- for readers who may be outside of Ithaca: 607 255-8990
-- for international readers: +1 607 255-8990
-- 800/888 numbers: 800 367-8683

telnet

that OR which
-- "that" if the information is essential to understanding the point of the sentence (it restricts the scope of the noun)
-- "which" if the information provides additional but nonessential detail in the sense of "by the way"; put a comma before "which"

Here's an illustration that might make this clearer. Let's say we're looking at a bunch of piglets. I want to direct your attention to a specific piglet. I might say, "Look at the piglet that has brown spots." In this case, "brown spots" helps you find the piglet I'm talking about -- it restricts the noun (piglet). Next I might say, "This bin, which I got at a farm sale, lets all the piglets eat together." In this case, it doesn't really matter where I got the bin -- that information is not necessary to understanding that the piglets enjoy communal dining.

Theory Center Center for Theory and Simulation in Science and Engineering

Thunderbird e-mail client from Mozilla. No intercap.

time Use the 12-hour time system (a.m. and p.m.) unless the product/service you are documenting only uses 24-hour (military) time.
-- standard format is 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
-- abbreviated format is 11am and 2:30pm (limit this use to cases where space is very tight; for example, e-mail subject lines)
-- 24-hour format is 1100 and 1430
-- noon and midnight: use those words wherever possible to eliminate confusion. If numbers are required, noon is generally agreed to be 12:00 p.m. and midnight 12:00 a.m. (for 24-hour time, these would be 1200 and 2400).
Within a printed or web document, be consistent by using only one format. In e-mail, it is OK to use the abbreviated format in the subject line, and then use the standard format in the body.

Time Warner Cable

TN3270 Windows telnet application provided through Bear Access

toolbar

touchpad laptop's mouse equivalent (some laptops use trackballs)

Touch-Tone phone

Travelers of the Electronic Highway (TEH) 50-minute, hands-on orientation to the computing environment at Cornell; required for undergraduates & strongly encouraged for grad students. A version for faculty & staff is now offered, too.

Travelers Mail No apostrophe. obsolete

troubleshoot

TTY/TDD teletype/telecommunication device for the deaf

type OR enter "type" is preferred

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