Managing Interactive Media Glossary: U

Glossary: U (13 entries found)

UDF: Universal Disc Format, a standard for computer storage directory structure (etc.) defining the dataspace on a DVD disc but which can also be used with other media. Optimized for large files.
UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications Services, a plan for mobile telephony that includes high data rates and the use of multimedia. Better known as 3G.
uncompressed: Describes the original form of an image, sound or other data.
UNIX: A computer operating system used extensively in tertiary education, industry and for web servers. Linux and Mac OS X are versions of Unix.
URL: Uniform Resource Locator, the full string that both defines the path to a remote service on the Internet and also says which kind of transaction is requested. The most common is to start the URL with http:// which means that the user wants a web page, but there are alternatives. A URL is a special case of the more general Uniform Resource Identifier (URI).
usability: The measuring of the facility for using online products according to recognized criteria including ease of use, layout considerations, readability, accessibility, consistency and integrity among others.
usability laboratories: Specially constructed rooms where people are observed using applications and their actions are recorded on video, through the computer and on paper by the observers. The information is analysed to indicate the effectiveness of the program and to make recommendations for improvements.
usability testing: The recording and subsequent interpretation of people's usage of a computer-based system through a combination of methods that can include observation, electronic records and video taping. See also usability laboratories.
use stories: The documentation and interpretation of projected use scenarios of a project that form the basis of capturing requirements of a system.
UseNet groups: A long established system of bulletin boards distributed around the Internet. Sometimes called news groups.
user profile: Information about the way a typical user would interact with the program.
user requirements: The needs of the users; studied to determine how the application should be structured and how it should operate. Similarly user specification.
user trials: Try-outs of a system by the users to test certain features and record the results so that the system can be refined according to its use.