Gavin James Wright

Wappingers Falls

Freelance Technical Writer at Tech Target

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Articles

What is Short Message Service Center (SMSC)?| Definition from TechTarget

1 month ago | techtarget.com | Mary Shacklett |Gavin James Wright

The short message service center (SMSC) is the portion of a mobile phone network that handles text message operations. It is responsible for receiving, storing, routing and forwarding SMS messages from mobile handsets. It is also called a short message service-service center (SMS-SC). All text or SMS messages involve one or more SMSCs. In a typical message flow, the handset sends the message to the SMSC, which responds with a message indicating it accepted the SMS.
What is modeling and simulation (M&S)?

1 month ago | techtarget.com | Gavin James Wright

Modeling and simulation (M&S) involves creating a digital representation of a given system to gather data and help inform decisions or predictions about it. M&S is widely used in the social and physical sciences, engineering, manufacturing and product development, among many other areas. Benefits of modeling and simulation Creating models to simulate phenomena is extremely valuable.
What is Universal 2nd Factor (U2F)?

1 month ago | techtarget.com | Gavin James Wright

Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) is a physical device that can act as an account authentication method. It is usually a small USB, near-field communication or Bluetooth device. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a method to protect accounts or information. Two-factor authentication requires the user to pass two different forms of authentication. Usually, it is something the user knows, e.g., a password, and something they have, e.g., a physical device.
What is an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and how does it work?

1 month ago | techtarget.com | Gavin James Wright |Katie Hanna

An arithmetic logic unit (ALU) is a part of a central processing unit (CPU) that carries out arithmetic and logic operations. The ALU takes the input operands and an instruction and outputs the result. In some processors, the ALU is divided into two units: an arithmetic unit (AU) and a logic unit (LU). Some processors contain more than one AU -- for example, one for fixed-point operations and another for floating-point operations.
What is YAGNI principle (You Aren't Gonna Need It)?

1 month ago | techtarget.com | Gavin James Wright

YAGNI principle ("you aren't gonna need it") is a practice in software development that states that features should only be added when required. As a part of the extreme programming (XP) philosophy, YAGNI trims away excess and inefficiency in development to increase the frequency of releases and deliver value faster. The principle helps developers avoid wasted effort on features that they assume will be needed at some point. The idea is that this assumption often ends up being incorrect.
What is shielded twisted pair and does it work?| Definition from TechTarget

1 month ago | techtarget.com | Gavin James Wright

Shielded twisted pair (STP) is a kind of cable made up of smaller wires where each small pair of wires is twisted together and has an outer coating to electrically shield it. STP is used for telephone and local area network (LAN) wiring. Shielded means it has an outer covering or shield that functions as a ground to ordinary twisted-pair wiring. Twisted pair is the ordinary copper wire that is used in many computer networks for low speed and short runs of wires.
What is a capacitor (capacitance)?

1 month ago | techtarget.com | Gavin James Wright

A capacitor is a passive electronic component that stores electrical charge. The amount of energy that a capacitor can store is called capacitance. Capacitance is measured in farads. Capacitors are used in almost every electronic circuit. Most capacitors are rated in microfarads, nanofarads or picofarads. Capacitors can store small amounts of electrical energy. In this way, they can be thought of as working like a rechargeable battery.
What is Microsoft Outlook?

Mar 24, 2025 | techtarget.com | Gavin James Wright |Alexander Gillis |Matt Gervais

Microsoft Outlook is an email, contacts and calendar program from Microsoft. The application also provides access to task management features. Outlook is the preferred email client for Microsoft Exchange Server. Several versions of Outlook exist, with varying features and capabilities. Outlook for Microsoft 365 is the premier tool offered as part of a paid Office or Microsoft 365 license.
What is Alphabet, Inc.?

Mar 10, 2025 | techtarget.com | Rahul Awati |Gavin James Wright

Alphabet Incorporated (also known as Alphabet Inc. or simply Alphabet) is a conglomerate of numerous companies, including the search engine giant Google. In 2015, Alphabet became Google's holding company. As of 2025, Google, along with many other companies like Fitbit, Waymo and Mandiant, remains a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphabet. History of Alphabet Inc. Google Inc. co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page created Alphabet Inc. on Oct. 2, 2015.
What are port numbers and how do they work?

Mar 5, 2025 | techtarget.com | Gavin James Wright

A port number is a way to identify a specific process to which an internet or other network message is to be forwarded when it arrives at a server. All network-connected devices have standardized ports with assigned numbers. These numbers are reserved for certain protocols and their associated functions. HTTP messages, for example, go to port 80 -- one of the most commonly used ports.