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Potential energy, expressed in science as U, is energy that is stored within an object, not in motion but capable of becoming active. When at rest, every object has rest mass potential energy; if the object is in a position to be affected by gravity and to fall, it has gravitational potential energy. Once an object is in motion, potential energy is converted to kinetic energy, which is the energy of motion.

There are a number of kinds of potential energy. The pendulum of a clock, at the top of its swing, has gravitational potential energy which is converted to kinetic energy as it falls. Elastic potential energy is... More...

Many IT pros have trouble building a virtual desktop environment using XenDesktop, and Citrix says problems are... More...

SearchCIO-Midmarket.com recently spoke with Chris Larsen, principal analyst at IT Evolution Inc. in Camden, N.J., to find... More...

SearchCIO.in: HCC has undertaken a new initiative in terms of reaching IT to the industry. Could you elaborate a little more on this initiative?

Although HCC has been a leader in terms of leveraging IT in the construction industry, the IT industry, on its part, lacks domain knowledge of the infrastructure industry. We saw an opportunity, and decided to explore it. With 70 people in our company, we will be based out of the HCC campus in Mumbai. The new organization will extend its offerings internally within the group, as well as external clients.

Putting across the idea of a new business model needed a lot of convincing. But in the last 18 months, we have managed to gain 23 customers. Now we will formulate a full-fledged IT company, which predominantly services the infrastructure industry.

While the global infrastructure industry will be our major clientele, we might also look at other verticals. At the moment, we are operating as a division of HCC, but the new company will be a separate business entity from the financial year 2010-'11. The company's name is yet to be decided.

SearchCIO.in: What will be the business objectives of this new initiative?

Our aim is to be an end-to-end service provider for the infrastructure industry. These services will be provided through internal technical experts, as well as through alliances. We will be the one point contact for all IT services, and will work as a structured partner for our clients.

The services we plan to provide are SAP implementation, GPS-based tracking devices, multiple-packaged application implementations, and end-to-end services going forward.

SearchCIO.in: Can you tell us about the initial challenges?

It took us some time to get across the potential of this business to our seniors. The infrastructure industry is a growing industry, and we have several expansion plans in the pipeline at HCC. With expansions happening on all sides, there was a need to enter new businesses—one in which we have no experience.
SearchCIO: Where do you see this venture going in the near future?

Our plans are ambitious. We wish to go global, because I believe that IT business should not be confined to just India. As far as creating a brand name is concerned, we have already tied up with a leading branding company.
Identifying the potential of IT in construction industry, Satish Pendse, the CIO of Hindustan Construction Company Ltd. along with his IT team is set to initiate a new venture under the HCC brand name. Pendse details the planning process. More...

If you were part of a small software development team, how would you apply some of these programming errors?

I think there's two ways to apply the top 25. When you are doing the testing, before you deliver the software or before you deploy it, you can make sure you have a testing process that can check for all the defects or bugs that are in the top 25. Make sure you have software development tools, a manual process or other technologies that can test for those. Automation is always better. On the developer side, both the architects designing the software and the developers building the software should look at that Monster Mitigation list and make sure they are using those techniques because they will prevent many different flaws from getting into the software. You have to be preventative and you have to test to see if anything got in.
Does the issue of speed and getting a project completed on time make it difficult to apply both preventative techniques and testing?

The biggest roadblock to secure software is actually just doing the work in the process. We have these lists, we have the information of what not to do, we have the mitigation list to prevent security errors. There are good static and dynamic testing tools out there. The challenge has been trying not to disrupt the development process and not to make it take longer or more people to do the job. To me, the challenge is, how can we insert, in a lightweight way, this information and testing into the development process and still have the software done on time. That's really the challenge that the industry is faced with right now.
Software development tools are getting better at detecting vulnerabilities, but as they get better, do they put too much pressure on development teams to correct the errors and cause problems?

Asking them to eliminate all 25 programming errors is going to be a challenge. Veracode Inc. doesn't have a black and white rating system for our software. Only for the highest assurance software, which we call level-five business critical software, we say you need to eliminate all 25. Certainly there's a need for lesser standards for software that is not business critical. It's not running the stock exchange or flying a plane. You can't have a one-size-fits-all list. So I recommend that it gets increasingly easier for vendors to hit the target for software that is not as critical as life or limb.
A few years back when Hewlett-Packard Co. acquired SPI Dynamics Inc., IBM Internet Security Systems acquired Watchfire Corp. and Microsoft began really pushing secure software development, did the environment change at all?

When I started at Veracode three and a half years ago we told potential customers that you need to do static analysis in your software development lifecycle; a lot of people didn't know what that was. They didn't understand why they needed to be thinking of security as they were building the software. Some companies got it, like Microsoft and some of the other large product companies, but 95% of the people building software looked at me like I had two heads; that has changed a lot. I think the OWASP Top 10, the top 25 and other ways of describing the problem that focused on talking to developers has made them aware that if they don't do something as part of the software development process, they're going to end up with these vulnerabilities in their products. I also think it has made customers aware so they can ask developers do something about it.
Has that awareness gone up the ladder to the business side of the house?

It has in certain verticals. We've seen it in financials and in government. When those organizations are building the software internally, they're outsourcing it or buying some sort of custom software; they're really aware that they need to put some requirements on the development teams to put some focus on security because if they don't they just know it won't be [secure].
Is there another issue where older legacy software is the cause of many major problems; the development teams are forced to go back and take a look at the software and some of them don't have the source code?

That is a major problem. Michael Howard at Microsoft said the highest correlation to how many security bugs are in a piece of software is how old it is. The older the software, the more likely it is problematic because it was built in a way that people didn't understand, either at the platform level, at the language level or the libraries used; no one was thinking about security. So the older the software gets, the worse it is. That is a big challenge because the way we build software is to reuse old code. No one builds software from scratch. It's pretty rare unless it's for a completely new platform or doing something new. In most businesses there's a lot of reuse. Shared libraries or just reused routines that have been around for a while. If you put in a process to secure your application you can't ignore the fact that it's not just the new code. You can't put something in a developer's hands and say whenever you write a line of code you're going to make sure it's secure, because that's only going to solve half the problem. You have to solve the problem of all the old code that's being reused. The other part of it is that there's whole packages of software that haven't been touched in years that are running in organizations. That is a ticking time bomb that is going to become a problem that companies are going to have to address eventually.
The SANS Institute and MITRE Corp. issued an update to the CWE/SANS Top 25 Programming Errors List last week, focusing mitigation techniques that could be adopted into the security development lifecycle to help avoid multiple security bugs. But one expert says that while the programming error list helps contribute to improving software development, actually getting companies to implement a more secure software development process is a different story. Developers can become overloaded, said Chris Wysopal, co-founder and chief technology officer of Veracode Inc. Still, many companies can take smaller steps to introduce security into the software building process, said Wysopal, a secure software coder who helped create the first security research think tank known as L0pht Heavy Industries, which later became part of @stake, a consulting and research boutique that was acquired by Symantec Corp. in 2005. More...

What is JeOS?

JeOS (just enough operating system) is a highly customized operating system built for a specific application. The acronym is pronounced "juice."

JeOS builds are popular with software vendors and developers who are creating test systems or virtual appliances. ?A virtual appliance is simply a virtual machine (VM) image file that has a preconfigured operating system (OS) and a single application. (The preconfigured OS is the JeOS.)?

A JeOS only includes the bits of a full-blown operating system that are required to support the application and any other third-party components that are packaged in the appliance. ?Configuring the JeOS and the application together in a single package helps avoid installation issues and errors.

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Learn More About IT:

Ubuntu JeOS is a lightweight version of the Ubuntu Server operating system.

Learn how to configure Ubuntu JeOS as a Secure Shell (SSH) server.

Wikipedia has an entry about JeOS.

See also: skinny Linux lightweight

JeOS (just enough operating system) is a customized operating system built for a virtual appliance. More...

Percent change -- also known as percent difference.

function PercentIncrease(form) { var num1 = form.num1.value; var num2 = form.num2.value; return ((num2 - num1) / num1 * 100 + "%"); }

Percent Increase Calculator

Enter the two numbers to find percent difference (increase or decrease):

to

RESULT: Percentage increase or decrease is:

Percent increase and percent decrease are measures of percent change, which is the extent to which a variable gains or loses intensity, magnitude, extent, or value. The figures are arrived at by comparing the initial (or before) and final (or after) quantities according to a specific formula. It is assumed that both the initial and the final quantities are positive (larger than 0).

Suppose a quantity has an initial value of x1, and then increases or decreases to a final value of x2. The percent change, D%, is calculated by finding the difference x2 - x1 (subtracting the initial value from the final value), then dividing the result of this subtraction by x1 (the initial value), and finally multiplying by 100. Expressed as a formula:

D% = 100 (x2 - x1) / x1

If x2 > x1 (the final value is larger than the initial value, representing an increase in the variable quantity), then D% is a positive number. If x2 < x1 (the final value is smaller than the initial value, representing a decrease), then D% is a negative number.

As an example, suppose you buy stock in two companies A and B, both at a price of USD $1.25 per share in January of a given year. Suppose that by July, stock A has risen in value to USD $3.35 per share. Then for stock A:

DA% = 100 ($3.35 - $1.25) / $1.25 = +168%
Percent change is +168%, also expressed as a percent increase of 168%.

Imagine that stock B has fallen to USD $1.00 per share in the same time period. Then for stock B:

DB% = 100 ($1.00 - $1.25) / $1.25 = -20%
Percent change is -20%, also expressed as a percent decrease of 20%.

percent increase / percent decrease (also known as percent difference) More...

3-point edit - Marking three of the four points needed to place a source clip into a program and allowing the editing software to calculate the fourth point. For example, an editor identifies an In and Out point in the source clip and an In point in the program and allows the editing software to calculate the Out point in the program. This technique allows for complex multi-track synchronized video/audio editing.

4-point edit - Marking all four points to place a source clip into a program. The speed of the source clip is adjusted (speeded up or slowed down) to fit the space allowed for it in the program.

A/B Roll Editing - Editing is performed using two video sources, A & B, and a video switcher or mixer that allows for a variety of transitions between them as they are output to a video recorder.

action safe area - Approximately 90% of a the video frame, where action will be visible on a standard display.

alpha channel - Information attached to each pixel that represents how that pixel is to be blended with background.

analog media - The term used to refer to the media found on traditional videotape recordings.

animation - Any change of a parameter over time. Generally refers to a change in position of the video frame, moving the video over a background while it plays.

anti-aliasing - The process of smoothing the edges of graphics and text to prevent flicker and jagged edges.

aspect ratio - Proportional height and width of a video image. The NTSC standard for is 4:3 for convential monitors such as home television sets, and 16:9 for HDTV.

assemble edit - A method for building a videotape in which a series of clips are placed one after the other to create, or assemble, a program.

audio dub - Recording audio over an existing video program without affecting the video images.

AVI - Audio -Video Interleave, which is a video format for Windows.

back-timing - Using a 3-point edit to mark two out points and one in point, allowing the computer to match up the two out points and calculate the remaining in point. For example, marking an in and out point on a source clip and an out point in a program and allowing the editing software to calculate the in point in the program.

band wipe - Transition that produces the effect of displaying an incoming clip as alternating bands that eventually cover the outgoing clip.

barn door wipe - A transition that opens or closes the first frame of an incoming clip over the outgoing clip as if it were two sliding doors.

bin - A location for storing and organizing clips in the Project window.

character generator (CG) - The equipment used in a linear editing suite to create titles or other text on video.

chrominance - Portion of video signal that carries hue and saturation color information. Also see luminence.

chroma Key filter - A filter that allows for a selected color in a clip to be made transparent. It is generally used to superimpose one clip on another.

clip - A set of contiguous frames beginning at a designated In point and ending at a designated Out point.

component - Video signal the keeps luminance and chrominance separate for better picture quality.

composite - Video signal the combines luminance and chrominance in a single signal. Less expensive than component video, but lower picture quality.

compression - The digital representation of media in an efficient storage format. For video, motion-JPEG is often used. Compression may be lossy in that the original picture cannot be reconstructed exactly.

color adjust filter - A the editing software filter that produces a change in the color aspects of a clip by allowing adjustment of individual channels.

color replace filter - A filter that produces a change in the color of objects or areas within a clip based on their hue values.

crawl - The gradual movement of text across a clip.

cross fade audio transition - A transition that causes the end of one audio clip to fade out, while the beginning of the next clip fades in.

cut - An abrupt transition between two clips. The first frame of the incoming clip immediately follows the last frame of the outgoing clip.

cutaway - Transitional footage normally inserted between cuts containing the same subject in slightly different screen positions to avoid a 'jump cut'.

cut point - The position of a cut relative to an overlying transition.

depth of field - The area between the nearest object in focus and the furthest object in focus.

device control software - A software module that controls a video deck to allow the capture of source clips to the hard drive of a computer.

Digital8 - Sony's proprietary digital camcorder format, which records digital video onto standard 8mm and Hi8 tapes.

digitize - To convert an analog video or audio signal into a digital signal that can be used by a computer.

dissolve transition - A transition in which the end of one clip gradually blends with the beginning of the next.

dropout - Videotape signal 'voids', which are visible as white specks or streaks. Normally the result of tiny bare spots on a tape's magnetic particle coating, or tape debris covering particles and blocking signals.

drop frame timecode - Timecode that is accurate relative to actual video running time. The numerical reference drops two numbers every minute to allow for the fact that there are actually 29.97 frames of video per second, rather than 30 frames per second.

drop shadow - A shadow that is offset from an object or text in a video.

DVE effects - A digital video effect (DVE) is created by taking any existing video source and manipulating its position within the video frame.

EDL - Edit Decision List

Edit Decision List - . A computer generated list containing information about a specific program, the SMPTE timecodes and options chosen during production. It is used to inform an editing system of all the parameters involved in the creation of that program. An EDL is generally used to assemble a program in a traditional video editing suite.

eyedropper - A cursor symbol used to match colors.

eliminate - A procedure for removing media from a video program and also removing the space that the media occupied in the program. Using Eliminate forces the remainder of the program to adjust accordingly and shortens the length of the entire program. Sometimes called a ripple edit.

erase - A procedure for removing media from a video program, leaving black space (called filler) in its place to maintain the spacing and length of the entire program. Sometimes called a non-ripple edit.

fade filter - The filter that raises or lowers video levels in clips. With the Fade filter a clip will change over time to all one color or black (fade out); or will gradually develop from a color or black (fade in).

field - Half of a video frame, either the even or odd scan lines.

filler - Blank space added to the time line in the course of editing a program.

filter - A computer software module used to process and modify digital video for adding special effects to a program.

fps - Frames per second.

focal length - The distance from a camera lens's focal point to its CCD imaging chips with the lens focus set to infinity. Wide angle views use short focal length; narrow field of view (telephoto) use longer focal lengths. Zoom lenses have a variable focal length.

force an edit - To insert a cut at a desired point in a clip.

frame - One complete still image of video media. Video media is made up of a series of frames. Each video frame has two interlaced fields.

full field - A complete video image consisting of two fields of video per frame.

FX track - A separate track on the time line used strictly for creating special video effects with filters and/or transitions.

generation - Original recorded footage is called "first generation." A copy of the original is second-generation video. A copy of a copy is called third generation, and so forth.

headroom - Space between the top of the subject and a monitor's upper screen edge. Leaving space for "headroom" is common practice.

hold - An interpolation setting that maintains settings from one key frame until the next key frame and uses the space of only one frame to jump to the next setting.

identifier - Name or number given to a clip or segment of a video to allow for easy recognition of the segment and its contents.

image resolution - A measurement of the quality of a video image based on the number of pixels that make up the image.

In point - The SMPTE time code of the specific frame at which a clip begins.

Insert edit - Placing a section of a source clip in the time line with the media currently to the right of the insertion point is moved farther to the right to accommodate the insertion of the new clip.

insertion cursor - Double triangles that appear on the FX tracks showing where a filter will be inserted.

interesting time - A place in a video program where an editorial event occurs, such as the beginning of a filter or transition, new clip, or key frame.

interpolation - The progressive calculation of a parameter between key frames.

iris transition - A EditDV Unplugged transition that creates the appearance of an enlarging opening revealing a incoming clip underneath. It is made to look like the iris of the eye opening, or enlarging.

jog - To move forward or backward in video or audio media at slow speed, often frame by frame. (Alt-arrow or Ctrl-arrow)

JPEG - Joint Photographic Experts Group. An international standard for still picture data compression.

jump cut - An instantaneous transition between two scenes that have identical subjects in slightly different screen locations, which makes the subject appear to jump within the screen. A cutaway shot remedies the distracting jump appearance.

kerning - The amount of space between text characters. Kerning varies between fonts.

keyframe - A frame at which a set of specific parameters is assigned. EditDV Unplugged automatically calculates differences between key frames in a clip and adjusts the frames accordingly.

key out - Removing a section of video by making it transparent by creating an alpha channel based on color (Chroma Key) or on brightness (Luma Key). Chroma and Luma are filters in EditDV.

leading - The space between lines of text.

linear - A setting in the EditDV Unplugged Interpolation pop-up that allows the creation of movement between key frame settings along straight lines.

linear editing - The traditional form of tape based video editing.

log - The numbers, either SMPTE or computer generated (for video that doesn?t contain SMPTE timecodes), that EditDV uses to identify media. The log also includes additional information, such as tape identifiers and clip duration.

Luma Key filter - EditDV filter that allows the areas of light or dark in a clip to be made transparent, revealing the background clips in those regions.

luminance - Black and white portion of a video signal representing picture contrast and brightness.

Mirror filter - EditDV Unplugged filter that flips frames horizontally to create an opposite but identical image.

non-drop frame timecode - Timecode that does not compensate for the 29.97 frames of video per second of NTSC video, rather than 30 frames per second. Each frame is assigned a unique, consecutive SMPTE time code.

NTSC - The National Television Standards Committee.

NTSC signal - The standard composite video signal adopted by the NTSC that has 525 interlaced lines at a frame rate of 29.97 frames per second.

off line - When no disk file exists for a reference to a clip in a program, the file is said to be off line.

on disk - The media file for a clip is stored on a hard drive and referenced from within a program.

opacity - The degree to which an image is transparent, allowing images behind to visually show through.

out point - The SMPTE time code defining the end of a clip. The frame with this time code is not included in the clip.

overwrite edit - Placing a section of a source clip on the time line in the Sequencer and replacing or "overwriting" that program section.

PAL - Phase Alternating Line.

PAL signal - The most common composite video signal used in Europe. It has a frame rate of 25 fps.

pan - When used in reference to video, it is the sweeping movement of a camera across a scene or the appearance of such movement in a video as created by EditDV's PZR filter.

pan setting - When used in reference to audio, the setting that determines how audio output is divided between left and right speakers.

patch Matrix - The display in the Monitors window that identifies the video and audio tracks in the current source clip and the available tracks in the Sequencer window. Allows the user to direct the flow of the source clip tracks into Sequencer tracks.

picture view - A mode of appearance for EditDV's Project window. The picture view contains small thumbnails of the clips stored in the bins in the Project window.

PIP - Abbreviation for Picture in a Picture, a video effect which places several complete images on the screen at the same time. EditDV provides the PIP filter for creating a picture in a picture.

PIP box - The graphic image you manipulate in the FX monitor when creating a Picture in a Picture effect. Video in the video track immediately above the PIP effect will show in the PIP box once the effect is rendered.

pixel - A single picture element. The smallest element in a graphic image. Pixels are combined with other pixels to make up a graphic image. Picture quality increases as the number of pixels increase in a measured area of an image.

point - A standard measurement unit for type sizes. One point equals approximately 1/72 of an inch.

primary source clip - A source clip that has media attached to it. The original source clip from which secondary source clips and reference clips are created.

program - A sequence of reference clips arranged in a meaningful order. The final result of production with a video program.

project - Organizational unit containing the media units that when incorporated and edited will constitute a program.

project preset - Options that define the parameters for the production of a program, such as audio sampling rate that are established before beginning production.

PZR filter - A filter that enables the rotation of clip frames around any of three axes, the positioning of a frame in any of three dimensions and the control of the point of view through perspective adjustments.

QuickTime - System software from Apple Computer, Inc. that enables the storage, editing, and playing of digitized video and audio media on a computer.

radial wipe transition - A transition that sweeps away the outgoing clip with a circular or semi-circular motion to reveal the incoming clip.

reference clip - A clip created from a source clip when the source clip is placed on the time line in the Sequencer. A reference clip does not contain any digitized media but refers to the digitized source clip. A reference clip only exists in a sequence and is the only kind of clip that a sequence contains.

render - The processing of a series of individual clips, transitions and filters into a single playable track.

roll edit - An editing process where both outgoing and incoming clips are trimmed at a cut point to shorten one while lengthening the other to maintain the overall length of a program.

rotate - A function of EditDV's PZR filter that allows clip frames to be turned on any of three axes.

rule of thirds - This is the basic principle that is the most valuable to a new photographer. This rule takes our rectangular shape and divides it into thirds. The key elements or objects in a composition should fall on one of these thirds lines. The one point on our photograph where the viewers' eye comes to rest should fall on one of these lines where both a horizontal and a vertical line come to rest.

scroll - Moving text from the bottom to top and continuing off the visual boundaries.

scrub - To play through an audio or video clip interactively (under manual control) to evaluate it or locate a specific event. EditDV provides a display for observation of the audio waveform as it is scrubbed.

secondary source clip - A source clip created from a primary source clip, a subclip. It contains no media, it only refers to the primary clip.

shuttle - To move smoothly, forward or backward, through video or audio media at a constant rate.

SkyView - A graphic overview of the program in the time line. Visually relates the current view of the time line to the complete program.

SMPTE - Abbreviation for the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.

SMPTE timecode - The timecode used by the SMPTE to identify frames in a videotape. Each frame has a unique address in an hours:minutes:seconds:frames format.

source clip - A clip that refers directly to physical media.

splice - The physical act of cutting a medium, such as film or audio tape, to add new tape to it or take out portions of it.

spline - A setting in the EditDV Unplugged Interpolation pop-up that produces movement between key frame settings along curved lines; creating a smooth, flowing motion.

split edit (L-cut or J-cut) - Adjusting synchronized audio or video clips so that one starts slightly before or after the other.

step - To move forward or backward one frame at a time.

stereo - Audio split on two physical tracks, one on the right and one on the left.

text box - A box surrounding text created by the Titling filter. Allows for the text to be moved or adjusted in one piece.

text object - EditDV Unplugged provides this option that allows you to work with text produced by the Titling filter as one unit, instead of individual text characters.

text view - A mode of appearance for EditDV Unplugged?s Project window. The text view contains names, descriptions, and numbers of clips stored in the Project window bins.

time line - The graphic representation of a program displayed in the Sequencer window.

tint filter - A filter that produces the appearance of viewing video through colored glass.

title safe area - The standard area of a video in which text can be seen on a television screen.

titling filter - A filter that produces text in a video in various fonts, sizes, and colors. Text can also be enhanced by using the filter?s ability to create different color and opacity gradients, borders, shadows, and backgrounds.

track - A horizontal band across the time line window that graphically represents a series of clips in your program. The time line window has multiple tracks containing different types of media.

transition - The change from one clip to another in a video program.

trim handles - The frames before and after the In and Out points for a source clip to allow for trimming and transitions.

venetian blind wipe - A transition that produces the effect of having an outgoing clip displayed in strips over the incoming clip. The strips open, like a Venetian blind, to reveal the incoming clip.

white balance - An electronic process that calibrates the picture for accurate color display in different lighting conditions by determining what is "white." White balancing should be performed prior to any recording. The easiest way to calibrate is to focus in on a piece of white paper where you will be filming.

wipe - A type of transition that uses a moving edge to replace the current clip to reveal the next clip.

zoom - On a camera, to change the focal length to/from wide-angle and telephoto. In post-production, an editing filter that simulates the effect of having a camera move in very close to the subject, objects, or areas in a frame; or move away from the subject and display a wide view of the entire frame.

This glossary was originally compiled by Digital Origin Inc. Reprinted with permission.

Digital video glossary More...

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