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information

Information is the summarization of data. Technically, data are raw facts and figures that are processed into information, such as summaries and totals. But since information can also be the raw...

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Dictionary

Definition: information

Information is the summarization of data. Technically, data are raw facts and figures that are processed into information, such as summaries and totals. But since information can also be the raw data for the next job or person, the two terms cannot be precisely defined, and both are used interchangeably.

It may be helpful to view information the way it is structured and used, namely: data, text, spreadsheets, pictures, voice and video. Data are discretely defined fields. Text is a collection of words. Spreadsheets are data in matrix (row and column) form. Pictures are lists of vectors or frames of bits. Voice is a continuous stream of sound waves. Video is a sequence of image frames. See universal server.


information

Information Structures
When information is stored electronically, it is structured according to the way it is used. Databases support all kinds of information.



information

Information Has \"Meaning\"
This excerpt from an R&R Report Writer ad exemplifies the idea that information is more usable for the manager than raw data. (Image courtesy of Concentric Data Systems, a subsidiary of Wall Data, Inc.)





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  • Google CEO's social media warning; Impending information armageddon?

    Google CEO Eric Schmidt warns of the consequences of social media and networks, and the vast amount of personal data that users put out there on the Web. Is privacy dead?

    Blog posts | August 18, 2010 9:21am PDT

  • The new disclosure debate and the evil Mr Moore

    Sourcefire's Matthew Olney examines vendor response to security issues and highlights the value of exploit code as part of defending computer systems.

    Blog posts | March 17, 2010 1:49pm PDT

  • Gallery: EMC World 2009

    This year's edition of EMC's annual conference for customers and partners was held in Orlando, Florida.

    Image galleries | May 20, 2009 3:58am PDT

  • Information Agenda: A strategy shift from applications to information

    Stuck between business challenges on the one hand, and information management systems on the other hand which simply limit your ability to respond. IBM's Tom Inman wants an easy way to spread your...

    News items | December 4, 2008 11:28am PST

  • Mumbai Attacks : Knowledge is Power

    There is a huge difference between verified information, speculation, incorrect information and disinformation. The net is buzzing about the communication enabled by Twitter, Flickr, youtube,...

    Blog posts | November 28, 2008 2:14am PST

  • Web 2.0 acts as accelerant in pending corporate Darwinian shake-out, says Palladium Group CEO

    For those companies that, by culture and tradition, act as dictatorships, with decisions that emanate from the top and which punish countervailing information from reaching decision makers, they...

    Blog posts | October 24, 2008 11:07am PDT

  • Why people use cloud computing applications

      Major reason Minor reason Not a reason at all Don’t know / refused It is just easy and convenient. 51% 23% 23% 3% I can access this information from whatever computer I am using. 41...

    Blog posts | October 20, 2008 4:59am PDT

  • Attitudes towards cloud computing among various ages

    Why people use cloud computing 18-29 30-49 50-64 65+ It is just easy and convenient. 56% 52% 50% 37% I can access this information from whatever computer I am using. 51 42 34 19 I can easily...

    Blog posts | October 19, 2008 5:06am PDT

  • Are you suffering from information filter failure?

    Clay Shirky, an author and an instructor at New York University's Interactive  Telecommunications Program, says personal lives are a thing of the past, privacy is an  information management...

    Blog posts | September 18, 2008 7:34am PDT

  • Systems log analytics offers operators performance insights that set stage for IT transformation

    When technologies get started, they tend to start in a disaggregated way, but as technology -- and certainly data centers -- have matured, you see that you have to be able to not only address the...

    Blog posts | September 11, 2008 6:49am PDT

  • 411 and DNS: A Global SPAMbase?

    Tired of managing a bazillion phone numbers and email addresses? Try storing them in DNS. This December, new .tel domains will let individuals store all of their contact information within...

    Blog posts | September 8, 2008 6:52am PDT

  • Next generation of business intelligence

    Data warehouses collect gigabytes of data everyday but the information is not always meaningful. Why? Angela Shen-Hsieh, President and CEO of Visual I/O, says it's because the tools are not user...

    Videos | August 28, 2008 12:39pm PDT

  • SEC introduces IDEA

    Earlier today, Christopher Cox, SEC chairman introduced IDEA - Interactive Data and Electronic Applications, an XBRL framework for surfacing information used by investors. In prepared remarks, Cox...

    Blog posts | August 19, 2008 9:21am PDT

  • The Future of the Web

    The semantic web can be quite a hard concept to grasp when discussed in an abstract way: the above video is a particularly useful, clear exposition of the enormous promise and power the future of...

    Blog posts | August 12, 2008 9:29pm PDT

  • Software to improve AIDS survival?

    As you all know, there are more than 33 million people living with AIDS worldwide. No cure or vaccine has been unveiled this week in Mexico during the International AIDS Conference. Still,...

    Blog posts | August 8, 2008 10:37am PDT

  • The evolution of search over traditional BI

    Today's business intelligence tools are great at tracking tradional numbers but fail to quench business's thirst for more information says

    News items | July 22, 2008 12:00am PDT

  • The perils of information overload

    Employees from technology companies including Intel, Microsoft, IBM, and Google have banded together to combat information overload, which they call "the world's greatest challenge to...

    Videos | July 18, 2008 12:45pm PDT

  • 29% of new house buyers believe online information helped them get a better price on their house or apartment

    Among those who used the internet to do research on a place to live, 29% said they believe online information helped them get a better price on their house or apartment, according to Pew Internet...

    Blog posts | July 15, 2008 11:57am PDT

  • Introduction to dynamic documents

    Q&A Jake Sorofman, senior VP of marketing and business development for JustSystems, says ynamic documents can transform how organizations create, share and deliver information.

    News items | June 25, 2008 11:15am PDT

  • Stanford University data breach leaks sensitive information of approximately 62,000 employees

    A data breach resulting from a stolen laptop has leaked sensitive information including Social Security Numbers of approximately 62,000 (as reported by Stanford University) former and current...

    Blog posts | June 23, 2008 9:28pm PDT

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