Provides overviews of hundreds of applications of computer technology and the fundamental design, economics and social impacts of the information society.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• A
• 3D printing
• acceptable use policy
• Active Server Pages (ASP)
• Ada
• addressing
• Adobe Systems
• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
• agent-based programming
• Agile software development
• Aiken, Howard (b. 1900–d. 1973)
• ALGOL
• algorithms in computer science
• Amazon.com
• Amdahl, Gene M. (b. 1922–)
• America Online (AOL)
• analog and digital
• analog computer
• Andreessen, Marc (b. 1971–)
• Android (operating system)
• anonymity and the Internet
• APL
• app
• Apple Corporation
• applet
• application programming interface (API)
• application service provider (ASP)
• application software
• application suite
• Arduino
• arithmetic logic unit (ALU)
• array
• art and the computer
• artificial intelligence (AI)
• artificial life (AL)
• assembler
• Association for Computing Machinery
• Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (Ajax)
• AT&T
• auditing in data processing
• augmented reality
• authentication
• authoring systems
• automatic programming
• awk
• B
• backup and archive systems
• Backus-Naur form (BNF)
• banking and computers
• BASIC
• Basic Input-Output System (BIOS)
• Bayesian analysis
• Bell, C. Gordon (b. 1934–)
• Bell Laboratories
• Bezos, Jeffrey P. (b. 1964–)
• big data
• binding (computer science)
• bioinformatics
• biometrics
• bitmapped image
• bits and bytes
• BitTorrent
• bitwise operations
• blockchain
• blogs and blogging
• Bluetooth
• Boolean operators
• boot sequence
• botnet
• branching statements
• Breazeal, Cynthia (b. 1968–)
• Brin, Sergey (b. 1973–)
• broadband
• Brooks, Rodney (b. 1954–)
• buffering
• bugs and debugging
• bulletin board systems (BBS)
• business applications of computers
• C
• C
• C++
• C#
• cable modem
• cache
• calculator
• cars and computing
• cascading style sheets (CSS)
• CD-ROM and DVD-ROM
• cellular automata
• censorship and the Internet
• central processing unit (CPU)
• Cerf, Vinton D. (b. 1943–)
• certification of computer professionals
• characters and strings
• chatterbots
• chess and computers
• chipset
• Chrome OS and Chromebooks
• Chrome (web browser)
• Cisco Systems
• class
• client-server computing
• clock speed
• cloud computing
• codec
• cognitive science and computers
• color in computing
• Comcast
• Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL)
• common gateway interface (CGI)
• Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA)
• compatibility and portability
• compiler
• computability and complexity
• computer animation
• computer bus
• computer chip
• computer crime and security
• computer engineering
• computer forensics
• computer games
• computer graphics
• computer industry
• computer industry benchmarks
• computer industry in Asia
• computer industry in Europe
• computer literacy
• computer music
• computer science
• computer terminal
• computer virus
• computer vision
• computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM)
• computer-aided instruction (CAI)
• computer-aided software engineering (CASE)
• computerized typography
• computers and disaster planning and recovery
• concurrent programming
• conferencing systems
• constants and literals
• container (software)
• content management
• cooperative processing
• copy protection
• counterterrorism and computers
• Craigslist
• crowdfunding
• crowdsourcing
• CRT monitor
• Cunningham, Howard (b. 1949–)
• customer relationship management (CRM)
• cyberlaw
• cybernetics
• cyberspace advocacy groups
• cyberspace and cyber culture
• cyberstalking and harassment
• cyberterrorism
• D
• data
• data abstraction
• data acquisition
• data breach
• data communications
• data compression
• data conversion
• data dictionary
• data mining
• information security
• data structures
• data types
• data warehouse
• database administration
• database management system (DBMS)
• decision support system
• Dell, Inc.
• demon (computer science)
• design patterns
• desktop publishing (DTP)
• developing nations and computing
• device driver
• Diffie, Bailey Whitfield (b. 1944–)
• digital bandwidth
• digital cash and cryptocurrency
• digital certificate
• digital convergence
• digital dashboard
• digital divide
• digital music and video players
• digital photography
• digital rights management (DRM)
• digital subscriber line (DSL)
• digital video editing
• digital video recorder (DVR)
• disabled persons and computing
• distance education
• distributed computing
• Doctorow, Cory (b. 1971–)
• document model
• Document Object Model (DOM)
• documentation of program code
• domain name system (DNS)
• Dreyfus, Hubert (b. 1929–)
• drone
• Drupal
• E
• e-readers
• eBay
• e-books and digital libraries
• e-commerce
• education and computers
• education in the computer field
• e-government
• Eiffel
• Electronic Arts
• electronic voting systems
• email
• embedded computer system
• emoticons and emoji
• employment in the computer field
• emulation
• encryption
• Engelberger, Joseph (b. 1925–)
• enterprise computing
• entrepreneurs in computing
• enumerations and sets
• ergonomics of computing
• error correction
• error handling
• ethics of computing
• expert systems
• extensible markup language (XML)
• F
• Facebook
• facial recognition
• fault tolerance
• Feigenbaum, Edward (b. 1936–)
• fiber optics
• file (computer science)
• file server
• file transfer protocols
• file-sharing and P2P networks
• motion picture industry and computing
• financial software
• finite-state machine
• Firefox
• firewall
• FireWire
• flag (computer science)
• flash and smart mobs
• USB flash drive
• flat-panel display
• floppy disk
• flowchart (computer science)
• font
• Forth
• Fortran
• fractals in computing
• functional languages
• fuzzy logic in computer science
• G
• game consoles
• gamification
• Gates, Bill (b. 1955–)
• genetic algorithms
• geographic information system (GIS)
• Gibson, William (b. 1948–)
• Global Positioning System (GPS)
• globalization and the computer industry
• Go (Golang)
• Google
• Google Drive
• government funding of computer research
• graphics card
• graphics formats
• graphics tablet
• green computing
• grid computing
• groupware
• Grove, Andrew S. (b. 1936–)
• H
• hackers and hacking
• Hadoop
• handwriting recognition
• haptic interfaces
• hard disk
• hashing
• Haskell
• heap
• help systems
• hexadecimal system
• history of computing
• Hollerith, Herman (b. 1860–d. 1929)
• home media center
• home office
• Hopper, Grace Murray (b. 1906–d. 1992)
• HTML, DHTML, and XHTML
• hypertext and hypermedia
• I
• IBM PC
• IBM Watson computer
• identity in the online world
• identity theft
• IEEE Computer Society
• image processing
• information design
• information retrieval
• information warfare
• input/output (I/O)
• installation of software
• Intel Corporation
• intellectual property and computing
• International Business Machines (IBM)
• internationalization and localization
• Internet
• Internet applications programming
• Internet cafés and “hot spots”
• Internet hosting service
• Internet of Things
• Internet organization and governance
• Internet radio
• Internet service provider (ISP)
• interpreter
• iOS
• iPhone
• iRobot Corporation
• iTunes
• J
• Java
• JavaScript
• job control language (JCL)
• Jobs, Steve (b. 1955–d. 2011)
• journalism and computers
• journalism and the computer industry
• Joy, Bill (b. 1954–)
• K
• Kay, Alan (b. 1940–)
• kernel
• keyboard
• Kleinrock, Leonard (b. 1934–)
• knowledge base
• knowledge representation
• Knuth, Donald (b. 1938–)
• Kurzweil, Ray (b. 1948–)
• L
• language translation software
• Lanier, Jaron (b. 1960–)
• laptop computer
• law enforcement and computers
• legal software
• Lessig, Lawrence (b. 1961–)
• libraries and computing
• Licklider, J. C. R. (b. 1915–d. 1990)
• light emitting diode (LED)
• linguistics and computing
• Linux
• LISP
• list processing
• local area network (LAN)
• Logo
• loop (computer science)
• Lua
• M
• Macintosh
• macro
• Maes, Pattie (b. 1961–)
• mainframe
• maker movement
• management information system (MIS)
• map information and navigation systems
• marketing of software
• markup languages
• mashups
• mathematics of computing
• mathematics software
• Mauchly, John William (b. 1907–d. 1980)
• McCarthy, John (b. 1927–d. 2011)
• measurement units used in computing
• medical applications of computers
• memory (computer science)
• memory management
• memristor
• message passing
• metadata
• microprocessor
• Microsoft Corporation
• Microsoft .NET
• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Windows
• middleware
• military applications of computers
• mind-mapping software
• minicomputer
• Minsky, Marvin Lee (b. 1927–)
• MIT Media Lab
• Mitnick, Kevin D. (b. 1963–)
• mobile communications
• modeling languages
• modem
• molecular computing
• Moore, Gordon Earle (b. 1929–)
• motherboard
• motion picture industry and computing
• Motorola Corporation
• mouse (computer)
• MS-DOS
• multimedia
• multiprocessing
• multitasking (computer science)
• N
• nanotechnology
• natural language processing
• near field communication (NFC)
• Negroponte, Nicholas (b. 1943–)
• net neutrality
• etiquette in the digital world
• netnews and newsgroups
• network (computer science)
• networked storage
• Neumann, John von (b. 1903–d. 1957)
• neural interfaces
• neural network
• nonprocedural languages
• numeric data
• O
• object-oriented programming (OOP)
• office automation
• office suites (software)
• Omidyar, Pierre (b. 1967–)
• online advertising
• online auctions
• online chat
• online frauds and scams
• online gambling
• online games
• online investing
• online job searching and recruiting
• online music and video distribution
• online reputation
• online research
• online services
• online trust and reputation systems
• ontologies and data models
• open-source movement
• operating system (OS)
• operators and expressions
• optical character recognition (OCR)
• optical computing
• Oracle Corporation
• OS X
• P
• Page, Larry (b. 1973–)
• Papert, Seymour (b. 1928–)
• parallel port
• parsing
• Pascal
• pattern recognition
• penetration testing
• Perl
• personal computer (PC)
• personal digital assistant (PDA)
• personal health information management
• personal information manager (PIM)
• philosophical and spiritual aspects of computing
• phishing and spoofing
• PHP
• PL/I
• plug and play
• plug-in
• podcasting
• pointers and indirection
• political activism and the Internet
• popular culture and computing
• portable document format (PDF)
• Posthumanism and Transhumanism
• PostScript
• presentation software
• printers
• privacy in the digital age
• privacy policy
• procedures and functions
• program library
• programming as a profession
• programming environment
• programming languages
• project management software
• projector, digital
• Prolog
• pseudocode
• psychology of computing
• punched cards and paper tape
• Python
• Q
• quantum computing
• queue
• R
• radio frequency identification (RFID)
• random number generation
• Raspberry Pi
• Raymond, Eric (b. 1957–)
• real-time processing
• recursion
• reduced instruction set computer (RISC)
• redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID)
• regular expression
• representational state transfer (REST)
• research laboratories in computing
• reverse engineering
• Rheingold, Howard (b. 1947–)
• Rich Text Format (RTF)
• risks of computing
• Ritchie, Dennis (b. 1941– d. 2011)
• robotics
• RPG
• RSS
• Ruby
• S
• SAP
• satellite Internet service
• scanner
• scheduling and prioritization in computing
• science fiction and computing
• scientific computing applications
• scripting languages
• search engine
• semantic web
• senior citizens and computing
• serial port
• service-oriented architecture (SOA)
• Shannon, Claude E. (b. 1916–d. 2001)
• shareware and freeware
• sharing economy
• shell (computer science)
• Simonyi, Charles (b. 1948–)
• Simula
• simulation
• Smalltalk
• smart buildings and homes
• smart card
• smart TV
• smartphone
• Snowden, Edward (b. 1983–)
• SOAP
• social impact of computing
• social networking
• social network games
• social sciences and computing
• software agent
• software engineering
• software piracy and counterfeiting
• software quality assurance
• solid state drive
• Sony
• sorting and searching
• sound file formats
• space exploration and computers
• Spafford, Eugene H. (b. 1956–)
• spam
• speech recognition and synthesis
• spreadsheet
• spyware and adware
• stack
• Stallman, Richard (b. 1953–)
• standards in computing
• statistics and computing
• Stoll, Clifford (b. 1950–)
• streaming (computer science)
• Stroustrup, Bjarne (b. 1950–)
• structured programming
• structured query language (SQL)
• Sun Microsystems
• supercomputer
• supply chain management
• surveillance technologies
• Sutherland, Ivan Edward (b. 1938–)
• Swartz, Aaron (b. 1986–d. 2013)
• Swift (programming language)
• system administrator
• systems analyst
• systems programming
• tablet (computer)
• tape drives
• T
• Tcl
• technical support
• technical writing in the computer industry
• technological singularity
• technology policy
• telecommunications and computers
• telecommuting
• telepresence
• template (computer science)
• text editor
• texting and instant messaging
• Thunderbolt
• Torvalds, Linus (b. 1969–)
• touchscreen
• transaction processing
• transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP)
• transportation network companies
• tree
• trends in computer science and emerging technologies
• Turing, Alan Mathison (b. 1912–d. 1954)
• Turkle, Sherry (b. 1948–)
• Twitter
• Internet of Things
• T
• universal serial bus (USB)
• UNIX
• user documentation
• user groups
• user interface (UI)
• user-created content
• V
• variable (computer science)
• version control
• videoconferencing
• virtual community
• virtual organization
• virtual reality
• virtualization
• Visual Basic
• Visual Basic Scripting (VBScript)
• voice over Internet protocol (VoIP)
• W
• Wales, Jimmy (b. 1966–)
• wearable computers
• Web 2.0 and beyond
• Web analytics
• web browser
• web cookies
• web filter
• web portal
• web server
• web services
• webcam
• webmaster
• web design
• Weizenbaum, Joseph (b. 1923–d. 2008)
• Wiener, Norbert (b. 1894–d. 1964)
• wikis and Wikipedia
• wireless computing
• Wirth, Niklaus (b. 1934–)
• wizard
• Wolfram, Stephen (b. 1959–)
• women and minorities in computing
• word processing
• WordPress
• workstation
• World Wide Web (WWW)
• Wozniak, Steve (b. 1950–)
• Y
• Y2K problem
• Yahoo! Inc.
• Yelp
• young people and computing
• YouTube
• Z
• Zuckerberg, Mark (b. 1984–)
• Further Resources