M
- Mail Server
- A server that processes and stores email.
- Major IT Project
- A major IT project is a new initiative, an ongoing development or acquisition project, an operational system, or other type of IT project (including studies against existing contracts) that meets any one or more of the criteria available here.
- MB (megabyte)
- Approximately one million bits of computer data.
- Metadata
- A description of a resource, either online or offline, and where to find it. Metadata can include attributes such as description, length and location.
- Metadata author
- The person inside an agency that creates a metadata record.
- Metalogue
- An electronic catalogue of metadata records that agencies create and maintain about their services and resources. Metalogue supplies information to the government portal.
- Metatags
- A way of putting metadata into a web document. Metadata is not normally displayed in the browser.
- Modem
- A conversion device that allows a computer to transmit information over analog communication lines (for example, traditional phone lines) by converting information that is digitally stored on the computer into transmission signals. The transmitting-end modem modulates digital signals received locally from a computer or terminal and sends analog signals over the line. The receiving-end modem demodulates the incoming signal, converting it back to its original (i.e., digital) format and passes it to the destination business machine.
- Moderation
- Moderation is the process of assessing the suitability of an entity to hold an Internet website name (the URL address), the suitability of the name itself, and determining whether the proposed name is appropriate in relationship to other websites and the purpose of the website itself. Moderation of the govt.nz domain name protects the credibility of government websites and email addresses. It ensures that only government agencies (central and local) use websites with the govt.nz domain, and that agencies have logical and relevant website addresses. Moderation of .govt.nz is the joint responsibility of the State Services Commission (SSC) and the Association of Local Government Information Managers (ALGIM).
- Multi-factor Authentication
- Combining two or more authentication techniques together to form a stronger or more reliable level of authentication. This usually involves combining two or more of the following types: secret- something the person knows, token- something the person has, biometric- something the person is.
