public carrier


A government-regulated organization that provides telecommunications services to the public. This includes AT&T, MCI, and Western Union. Most public carriers provide electronic- mail services that enable you to send messages and documents over a telephone line to other computer users.

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  • public-domain software

    Refers to any program that is not copyrighted. Public-domain software is free and can be used without restrictions. The term public-domain software is often used incorrectly to include freeware, free software that is nevertheless copyrighted.

  • Public-Eey Encryption

    A cryptographic system that uses two keys — a public key known to everyone and a private or secret key known only to the recipient of the message. When John wants to send a secure message to Jane, he uses Jane’s public key to encrypt the message. Jane then uses her private key to decryptit. […]

  • puck

    A pointing device used with digitizing tablets. See under digitizing tablet.

  • pull

    To request data from another program or computer. The opposite of pull is push, where data is sent without a request being made. The terms push and pull are used frequently to describe data sent over the Internet. The World Wide Web is based on pull technologies, where a page isn’t delivered until a browser […]

  • pull-down menu

    (n.) Also called a drop-down menu, a menu of commands or options that appears when you select an item with a mouse. The item you select is generally at the top of the display screen, and the menu appears just below it, as if you had pulled it down.


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