Facebook:

A popular free social media site that allows registered users to create profiles, upload photos and video, send instant messages (IMs) and keep in touch with friends, family, classmates and work colleagues. Facebook is available in almost 40 different languages and includes several public & local features such as Facebook Business pages, Fan pages, Games, Groups, Local Events and even a Facebook Marketplace, which allows members to post, read and respond to classified ads. Facebook is available online and as a mobile app.

Facetime:

A system that allows you to make video calls on an iPhone or other Apple mobile communications device. The application enables people to speak to each other while simultaneously observing each other on a video display.

Favicon:

Short for “favorites icon” favicons are saved with any bookmarks or “favorites” you create in your web browser. Also known as a shortcut icon, website icon, tab icon, URL icon or bookmark icon, a favicon is a file containing one or more small icons associated with a particular website or web page. Browsers that support a tabbed document interface typically show a page’s favicon next to the page’s title on the tab and in the browser’s address bar to the left of the URL, while other browsers display the favicon in the window tab, next to the page title. Site-specific browsers use the favicon as a desktop icon. Additionally, web browsers that provide favicon support typically display a page’s favicon in your browser’s history and next to the page’s name in your list of bookmarks or favorites.

A graphic designer can create a favicon and upload it to a website. The format for the favicon image must be 16×16 pixels or 32×32 pixels, using either 8-bit or 24-bit colors using a .PNG (W3C standard), .GIF or .ICO file extension.

Fast-Twitch Gaming:

Also known as “twitch gameplay” fast-twitch gaming is a type of video gameplay scenario that tests a player’s response time.  Live-action games such as first-person shooters, sports and fighting games often contain elements of twitch gameplay. For example, first-person shooters (see “FPS” below) such as Halo & Call of Duty require fast-twitch quick reaction times for a player to shoot enemies, and fighting games such as Street Fighter require fast-twitch to attack or counter an opponent. Other video game genres may also involve twitch gameplay. For example, the puzzle video game Tetris gradually speeds up as the player makes progress.

FCC:

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the government agency in charge of regulating communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. In the FCC’s annual Measuring Broadband America report, Viasat has been recognized as #1 two years in a row for delivering at or above advertised speeds.

Fiber Optic Cable:

A cable made up of super-thin filaments of glass or other transparent materials that can carry beams of light. Fiber-optic cable is light-based, so data can be sent through it at the speed of light. Using a laser transmitter that encodes frequency signals into pulses of light, ones and zeros are sent through the cable. The receiving end of the transmission translates the light signals back into data which can be read by a computer. Because fiber optics are based entirely on beams of light, they are less susceptible to noise and interference than other data-transfer mediums such as copper wires or telephone lines. However, the cables are fragile and usually placed underground, which makes them difficult and expensive to install. Some fiber-optic cables are installed above ground, but if they break, they often need to be completely replaced, which is costly. While copper wires can be spliced and mended as many times as needed, it is much harder to fix glass fiber-optic cables.

Examples of Fiber-optic cable providers include Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse, CenturyLink, FiOS from Frontier and Google Fiber.

File Extension:

A file extension is the last part of a filename, after the dot (e.g. “.doc” and “.pdf”). Most file extensions are three characters long, but they can be shorter or longer as well. File extensions are used to define the file type of each file. The operating system uses this information to select which application will open the file and choose the appropriate icon for the file. Common file extensions include “.doc” for word documents, “.jpg” for JPEG image files. and “.txt” for text files.

FileZilla:

A free open-source FTP solution for both client and server with a vast list of features, which supports Windows, macOS, Linux, and more. Filezilla allows users to move files between a local OC or device and your website’s server effortlessly. For example, Filezilla lets you compare your files with in-directory server files to manage file syncing. You can also tab browse between servers and transfer files simultaneously, as well as edit server files on the go. Filezilla software is available for download free of charge and consists of FileZilla Client and FileZilla Server.

FiOS:

Fiber Optic Service (FiOS) is a data communications service provided by Verizon that uses fiber optic cables to transfer data. FiOS is called a “Fiber to the Premises” or FTTP service, since it brings fiber optic data transmission to residential homes as well as businesses. Fiber optic technology sends data via pulses of light and is one of the fastest method of transferring data. FiOS supports data transfer rates of 940 Mbps downstream and 880 Mbps upstream. It is also known for its high reliability.

While Verizon FiOS is currently used primarily for internet access, it can also be used for digital cable and voice over IP (VoIP) services. However, FiOS is only available in specific areas of the United States that are connected to Verizon’s fiber optic network.

Fire Stick:

The Amazon Fire Stick is a digital media player and its micro-console remote that enables any TV to stream content over WiFi such as Crackle, HBO go, Hulu, Netflix, Pandora & YouTube. The player is a small network appliance entertainment device that streams digital audio/video content to a high-definition television from the home (internet) network. The player also allows users to play video games with the included remote, via a mobile app, or with an optional game controller. The device comes in two form factors: Fire TV, a set top box, and Fire TV Stick a cut-down version presented as an HDMI plug-in stick.

The player is a small network appliance entertainment device that streams digital audio/video content to a high-definition television from the home (internet) network. The player also allows users to play video games with the included remote, via a mobile app, or with an optional game controller. The device comes in two form factors: Fire TV, a set top box, and Fire TV Stick a cut-down version presented as a small HDMI plug-in device, which is the size of a flash drive that plugs into a TV’s HDMI port.

Firefox:
A free and open-source web browser developed by Mozilla. Firefox is available for Windows, macOS, Linux and BSD operating systems. Its sibling, Firefox for Android, is available for Android. Compared to Internet Explorer, Firefox is smaller, faster and gives users a cleaner interface and faster download speeds.

Firewall:

A system that keeps unwanted users out of a network. Firewalls also restrict certain types of data and IP addresses for security. The term “firewall” originally referred to fireproof walls that were designed to prevent the spread of fire from one room or building to the next. They were typically made of brick, steel or another type of inflammable material that would effectively limit the spread of the fire. In the IT world, firewalls serve a similar purpose, limiting the data that can pass through it and protecting a networked server or client machine from damage by unauthorized users.

Firewalls can be either hardware or software-based and are typically included in your computer’s operating system (OS) and your router. A router is a good example of a hardware device that has a built-in firewall. Most routers can be configured to limit traffic from certain IP addresses or block requests based on other criteria. Software programs that monitor and restrict external access to a computer or network can also serve as firewalls. A network firewall only allows authorized traffic from the internet to flow in and out of your network.

First-Person Shooter (FPS):

A video game genre centered around gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective where the gamer typically only sees the character’s hands holding a weapon on the screen. The player as the first-person shooter experiences the action through the eyes of the protagonist. Games like Battlefield, Call of Duty and Halo are FPS games.

Flash:

Multimedia technology used for creating animations and interactive websites. Web developers often use Flash to add dynamic content that is not possible with HTML or other scripting languages. Some examples include splash screen animations, YouTube videos and interactive song playlists. In order to view Flash content in your Web browser, the Flash plug-in must be installed. Since so many websites now incorporate Flash, the plug-in is included with nearly all web browsers today. The standalone Flash Player is also available as a free download from Adobe.com.

Flash Drive:

Small data storage device that uses flash memory and has a built-in USB connection. Flash drives have many names, including jump drives, thumb drives, pen drives and USB keychain drives. Flash drives are typically no more than two to three inches in length and less than an inch in width. Their size and shape may resemble a thumb or a small pen (which is where the names “thumb drive” and “pen drive” come from). Because of their small form factor, they are highly portable and can easily fit in a pocket or on a keychain (hence the name “keychain drive”). Since they are small in size but have large storage capacities, flash drives have replaced most previous portable data storage mediums such as floppy disks and removable hard disks like Zip disks. Because they have a built-in USB connection, flash drives also don’t require a special disk drive to be used. Instead, they can be used on any computer with a USB port, which nearly all modern computers have.

FPS:

First-person shooter (FPS) video games are a type of video gaming genre centered around gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective where the gamer can only see the character’s hands holding a weapon on the screen. The player as the first-person shooter experiences the action through the eyes of the protagonist. Games like Battlefield, Call of Duty and Halo are FPS games.

Freeware:

Like shareware, freeware is free software you can download, share and distribute without any payment. No 30 day limit, no demo versions, no disabled features. Freeware is totally FREE. You never have to pay for it.  Program updates and many mobile games and apps are commonly distributed as freeware. Though freeware does not cost anything, it is still copyrighted, so other companies cannot market the software as their own.

FTP:

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard network protocol used for uploading and transferring computer files via the internet between a client and server on a computer network. Files stored on an FTP server can be accessed using an FTP client, such as a web browser, FTP software program or a command line interface. The standard FTP protocol is not encrypted, therefore, the FTPS and SFTP protocols were developed to provide secure FTP connections. FTPS (FTP with SSL security) provides SSL encryption for all FTP communication. SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) is a secure version of FTP that uses SSH to encrypt all data transfers.

FTP is built on a client-server model architecture using separate control and data connections between the client and the server. To connect to the FTP server, you first need to enter the server name and port number. The server name often starts with “ftp,” such as “ftp.example.com.” If you connect via FTPS, you might be required to enter a custom port number, but the most common one is 990. In order to access an SFTP or FTPS server, you will also need to enter a username and password.