FAQ is an abbreviation for "Frequently Asked Question(s)". The term refers to listed questions and answers, all supposed to be frequently asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic. Since the acronym originated in textual media, its pronunciation varies; both "fak" and "F.A.Q." are commonly heard (and therefore, when used with an indefinite article, it is either "a FAQ" or "an FAQ"). Depending on usage, the term may refer specifically to a single frequently-asked question, or to an assembled list of many questions and their answers. An alternative suggestion is that FAQ is actually a clumsily-constructed three letter acronym purported to have come from computer IT specialists, frustrated with answering over and over again the same, perceived stupid questions from computer users, and which secretly stands for the pronunciation "fah-queue". For example: "Please read the FAQ list to ensure your question has not already been answered before bothering the overworked IT department".

Origins

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While the name may be recent, the FAQ format itself is quite old. For instance, Matthew Hopkins wrote The Discovery of Witches in 1647 in FAQ format. He introduces it as "Certaine Queries answered," ... Many old catechisms are in a question and answer format.

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Intel backs Microsoft's concurrent-computing play
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:10:50 -0700
On August 20, Intel rolled out new parallel-processing tools that support Microsoft's concurrent runtime environment that is expected to become a central component of Redmond's next-generation computing model. by Mary Jo Foley
10 reasons to love Silverlight and 10 reasons to hate it
Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:59:24 -0700
I won't add much commentary to Tim's excellent post up on the Register because I work for Adobe and I don't want to get into a bunch of nonsensical arguments about Flash versus Silverlight. But I will say that Tim Anderson is one of the very few tech journalists who...
Microsoft investigating NSlookup.exe flaw, reported attacks
Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:54:29 -0700
Microsoft is investigating new public reports of a zero-day Windows vulnerability that's being exploited in the wild. According to a this SecurityFocus alert, the attacks are exploiting a remote code-execution vulnerability due to an unspecified error in NSlookup.exe, the command-line administrative tool used for testing and troubleshooting...
LWUIT vs. JavaFX Mobile
Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:26:21 -0700
The light-weight user interface toolkit for Java ME LWUIT has been released as open source under the GPLv2+classpath exception license. LWUIT is a library that helps content developers in creating rich and consistent Java ME applications. LWUIT supports visual components, theming, transitions, animation, and more. Sounds similar to JavaFX doesn't...
Countering an Apple-favoring .NET critic
Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:17:50 -0700
I've been investigating Apple Cocoa API as I plan to complement my Windows and UNIX development skills with skills in Mac development. That doesn't mean I am willing to accept weak attacks what I consider to be a superior development platform: .NET. by John Carroll
Google releases open-source crypto toolkit
Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:15:34 -0700
Google's security team has released an open-source cryptographic toolkit aimed at making it easier and safer for developers to use cryptography in their applications. The toolkit, called KeyCzar, was originally developed by Steve Weis Google and Arkajit Dey MIT and is available under an Apache 2.0...

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