Glossary
A
Allison Voice - A female voice used by Cepstral Voice for voice synthesis.
API - Application Programming Interface - An interface employed by a software application to enable interaction between itself and other software.
Archive - A file, usually compressed, containing multiple files.
B
Backend Sweeper - A service that runs behind the scenes to remove caller records and logs from the system at regular intervals.
BIOS - Basic Input Output System, provides low-level computer configuration.
Bug - Program behaviour other than expected or desired.
Bug Report - Usually an e-mail or an entry in a bug database asking for help with a specific bug. Good bug reports state what software was used (Linux distribution and version, application name and version), what the user tried to do and what was the expected result, what happened instead, and what the user tried in order to fix it. It is particularly helpful to explain how to reproduce the problem, if it is repeatable. Log files of the incident should be attached.
C
Cache - A cache is a part of an information-processing system used to store recently used or frequently used data to speed up repeated access to it. A Web cache holds copies of Web page files.
CDR - Call Data Records
Cepstral Voice - A voice synthesis service to convert text into audio.
Command - Executable file or shell builtin.
Cron or cronjob - A command to be executed automatically on a schedule set with the cron command or one of its variants, such as anacron.
Crossover Cable - A computer network cable that is used to connect two network devices directly to each other without the need for a network router.
CSV - Coma Separated Value - A simple format for a spreadsheet. CSV files are text files where each cell is separated by a comma, and each row is separated with a return. This very simple format is understandable by many different programmes.
D
Default - A value that is used when an input has not been provided.
Demo site - A website that allows you to test and explore the functionality of a piece of software.
DTMF - Dial Tone Modulation Frequency. The tone that is made when a key is pressed on a telephone during a call.
F
Firefox - Firefox is the most popular free and open source Web browser, developed by the Mozilla Foundation.
FLOSS - Free/Libre Open Source Software, licensed so as to guarantee the essential freedoms of software users to source code and reuse. A combination of Free Software and Open Source Software, with Libre added in to emphasize that software freedom is essentially a matter of rights, not price.
Forum - A web-based online discussion tool.
Freedom Fone Service - Describes the information service an organisation is providing for a target audience using Freedom Fone.
FreeSWITCH - The technology used to handle incoming calls and direct them to the appropriate destination.
Frontend Sweeper - A panic button that is used to replace all caller identity information with arbitrary values.
Functionality - The set of tasks that a piece of software can perform.
G
GBV - Gender Based Violence
Gedit - A simple and easy text editor for GNOME. It is UTF-8 compatible, provides tools for editing source code and can be extended using plugins.
GSM - A technology used behind mobile communication
GUI - Graphical User Interface - User interface offering windows, icons, mouse control, multiple fonts, and so on.
I
ICT - Information Communication Technology
IMEI - An unique identification number used in all GSM devices, similar to a serial number.
IP Address - Internet Protocol Address - An IP address is a number identifying a particular computer on the Internet. In the previous version 4 of the Internet Protocol an IP address consisted of four bytes (32 bits), often represented as four integers in the range 0-255 separated by dots, such as 74.54.30.85. In IPv6, which the Net is currently switching to, an IP address is four times longer, and consists of 16 bytes (128 bits). It can be written as 8 groups of 4 hex digits separated by colons, such as 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334.
ISO - A copy of the contents of a media (typically a CD or DVD) for downloadable purposes, and is then used to create copies.
ISP - (Internet service provider) is a business or organization that provides access to the Internet for its customers.
IVR - "press 1 to access your account, press 2 to speak to a representative ..." The term IVR refers to phone systems we all have to deal with when we dial in to for example top up our mobile account, or talk to tech support. The letters in the acronym stand for Interactive Voice Response. An Interactive Voice Response System is therefore a voice menu structure using dial tones to make selections.
K
Kernel - The Linux kernel, core of the GNU/Linux operating system. kernel.org
L
LED - Light Emitting Diode is a small indicator light.
LHS - left-hand side
Linux - A type of operating system (other common operating systems are Windows and Mac OS). Linux has been popular as a web server for a long time and is now gaining popularity on personal laptops and desktop computers. Linux is free software and open source.
Localisation - The process of translating a product into different languages or adapting a language for a specific country or region. This is done by translators with no need for technical wizardry.
M
MAC - A unique code that is assigned to a network device.
MobiGater - A USB GSM device that accepts a SIM card and allows Freedom Fone to communicate over the mobile channel
MSDSIN - Mobile Number
N
Newfies - A dialler platform that is used to trigger outbound calls.
NGO - A legally constituted non-business organisation with no participation or representation from government. In the United States, this type of organisation is more often referred to as a Non-profit. They may be also called civil society organisations or not-for-profits.
NIC - Network Interface Card allows a device to be connected to a computer network.
O
OfficeRoute - A SIP GSM device that accepts 4 SIM cards and allows Freedom Fone to communicate over the mobile channel
P
PO - Portable Object file extension
POedit - software recommended for the translation/localisation of the Freedom Fone GUI (produces the PO file extension)
POP3 - Post Office Protocol 3, sometimes referred to as just "POP", is a simple, standardized method of delivering e-mail messages. A POP3 mail server receives e-mails and filters them into the appropriate user folders. When a user connects to the mail server to retrieve his mail, the messages are downloaded from mail server to the user's hard disk.
Prompt - a prompt is short sentence you use in your voice menu "to get information on HIV/AIDS, press 1" is a prompt.
S
Screenshot - An image of the current display on a computer screen highlighting a specific scenario.
Script - A script is a program, usually written in an interpreted, non-compiled language such as JavaScript, Java, or a command interpreter language such as bash. Many Web pages include scripts to manage user interaction with a Web page, so that the server does not have to send a new page for each change.
SIM Card - A small chip that sits inside the mobile phone that holds your mobile subscriber identity.
SIP - Session Initiation Protocol
SMS - Short text messages limited to 160 characters sent by mobile phone to mobile phone
SNMP - Simple Network Monitoring Protocol
T
Toggle - In computing, a key or command that is operated the same way but with opposite effect on successive occasions.
U
Ubuntu - A variant of Linux
UI - User Interface
URL - The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of a Web site. For example, the URL for the World News section of the NY Times is http://www.nytimes.com/pages/world/index.html. Many censoring systems can block a single URL. Sometimes an easy way to bypass the block is to obscure the URL. It is for example possible to add a dot after the site name, so the URL http://en.cship.org/wiki/URL becomes http://en.cship.org./wiki/URL. If you are lucky with this little trick you can access blocked Web sites.
USB - universal serial bus, a standardized technology for attaching peripheral devices to a computer.
V
Version - Updates to software are released periodically, and these releases are referred to as a version of the software. There are different types of version, for example the most recent release of a software which has been tested and is intended for general use is referred to as the stable version, while a very new untested version is the alpha version.
W
Wiki - A web-based software that enables anyone to edit content via a web browser. Wikipedia is the best known example of a wiki.