E. coli: The abbreviated name of the bacterium in the family
Enterobacteriaceae named Escherichia (genus) coli (species). It is also a
dangerous bacteria found naturally to occur only in cattle. This bacteria
is most frequently acquired through consumption of undercooked ground beef
and unpasteurized milk.
EAX: Environmental Audio. Creative Labs' proprietary 3D
sound algorithm based on reverb.
editor: A tool or set of tools for modifying the elements of a game world
or file.
EDO: Extended Data Out Random Access Memory. Low-cost memory
that loses data if it's not recharged regularly (known as refreshing).
EDO DRAM: Extended Data Out Dynamic Random Access Memory.
A low-cost memory that loses data if it's not recharged regularly quickly
(a process known as refreshing). This refresh process is what makes DRAM slower
when compared to memory that doesn't require this refresh, such as SRAM.
EIDE: Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics. A motherboard
interface for connecting hard drives, CD/DVD-ROM drives, and removable storage
devices.
eighth-order interpolation: When pitch shifting or changing
the sample rate of digital audio, the signal is being "re-sampled." In other
words, the value of the continuous audio waveform is needed at points in time
other than those originally recorded. The mathematical process of finding
an intermediate value of a curve between known data points is called "interpolation."
The "order" of the interpolation is the number of known points on the curve
that are taken into account in the calculation, and obviously the more data
taken in, the more complex the math and the more accurate the result. The
majority of wavetable synthesizers interpolate the curve by drawing a straight
line between the two nearest neighbor points, this second order or "linear"
interpolation is far inferior to the mathematically complex eighth order.
electro-planar: A flat-panel speaker technology that uses
a magnetic field to vibrate a diaphragm, creating sound.
electromigration: The combination of heat and electric
fields in a CPU can cause the metal atoms to wander off connectors and wreak
havoc. The connectors grow "little whiskers" at sharp corners that can grow
toward each other and eventually short circuit the chip.
embedded software: A computer program that runs inside a
non-PC device, such as an appliance, an industrial machine, or a vehicle.
Usually the device stores the program in a ROM or Flash ROM chip.
engine: The underlying programming code that drives a game.
Enhanced Adaptive Battery Life Extender: An IBM technology
that dynamically selects the appropriate power-management idle mode when the
disk drive is idle to minimize power usage and help preserve battery life.
The idle-mode selection is based on the disk drive access patterns of the
machine so disk response times can be significantly improved.
environment-mapped bump-mapping: Adds detail to a polygon
surface by laying down a third texture map, or bump map, in addition to the
base texture and the environment map.
environment-mapping: A texture effect that applies a reflection
of the surrounding game environment on the texture itself. This is useful
for giving textures a highly reflective appearance, such as simulating chrome.
Ethernet: A networking protocol that supports 1,024 nodes
at 10Mbps throughput via twisted-pair, coaxial, and optical fiber cabling.
The Fast Ethernet protocol increases throughput speed to 100Mbps.
extended partition: The secondary DOS partition on a drive.
The extended partition is not formatted, it only contains information about
the logical drives it supports.
Extensible Markup Language: Also known as XML. An extention
to the HTML spec that allows designers to customize their own tags.
external flash sync port: Jack for attaching a flash unit
to a camera that synchronizes the camera's shutter to the burst of light.
extruding: Drawing out the contour of a two-dimensional path or shape into 3D space by extending it in a plane perpendicular to that of the 2D path.