Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Finder

Definitions: Finder

Finder

Noun

1. Someone who is the first to observe something.

2. Optical device that helps a user to find the target of interest.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "finder" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1600. (references)

Specialty Definitions: Finder

DomainDefinitions

Electrical Engineering

A selector that locates a subscriber line requesting service and connects it to the next switching stage or to common-control equipment. Source: European Union. (references)

Post & Telecom

Selector, associated with a line which connects this line, after searching, to one calling line of a group of lines. Source: European Union. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Specialty Definition: Macintosh Finder

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Finder is the default application program run by the Macintosh operating system that is responsible for the overall user-management of files, disks, network volumes and the launching of other applications. As such the Finder acts like the shell on other operating systems, but using a GUI. It was introduced with the very first Macintosh computer, and also existed as part of GS/OS on the Apple IIgs. It underwent a complete rewrite with Apple's switch to a UNIX-based OS in Mac OS X.

The Finder is the first program a user interacts with after booting a Mac, and as such it is responsible for the general look and feel of the machine. One should be careful though to distinguish this from being the actual GUI of the machine, which is really provided by particular services within the Mac OS; The Finder is just another application, albeit the default one.

The Finder maintains a view of the file system that is rendered using the desktop metaphor - that is, the files and folders are represented as appropriate icons, volumes are displayed on the desktop, and there is a trash can to which files can be dragged to mark them for deletion.

Finder 1.0 to 6.1

The original Finder always included a blank folder at the root level of every disk. A new blank folder would be created whenever that folder was renamed and used. Folders could not be placed inside of folders in Finder 1.0. Such functionality was not available until the Macintosh File System was replaced with Apple's Hierarchal File System in 1985, as part of Finder 4.1.

The original Finder was also the cause of much early user frustration due to slow speed of file copying, which would lead to dozens of disk-swaps on the single-drive original Macintosh. Though much of this problem could be attributed to the small amount of memory available on the 128k Macintosh, Apple attempted to address the issue with Finder 1.1 in May 1984.

There was no publicly released version of Finder 2.x or 3.x. The next version of the Finder was 4.1, which added HFS support, an "Eject" option in the File menu and several cosmetic changes to the look of the system's icons.

Early versions of the Finder would shut down whenever another program was launched, due to the single-tasking nature of the Mac OS prior to System 6. System 6 introduced the MultiFinder (Finder 6.1), which would continue to run even while other programs were running. Under System 6, the Multi-Finder was an option that could be set with a control panel whose setting took effect with the next restart.

The original Mac OS Finder featured a "universal Desktop," which showed the compilation of the contents of the invisible "Desktop Folder" on the root level of every mounted disk. This meant that files dragged from a disk to the Desktop did not always copy to the Mac's hard drive, and would often disappear when the disk in question was later ejected (which in the Finder was achieved by dragging the icon of the disk to the trash).

Finder 7.0 to 9.2

In 1991 Apple released System 7, a significant rewrite of their operating system. Like every other component of the OS, the Finder received a major overhaul. MultiFinder was no longer an option, but was instead always active. Finder windows were colorized, and the list view was expanded to include "disclosure triangles" which allowed the user to drill down further into the file system without opening more windows. The Finder's trash icon took on a more refined appearance, and the Labels feature premiered, which allowed the user to assign metadata labels to different files. Labeled files were colorized and the system's search function could locate files based on their labels.

A "Put Away" command premiered in System 7 which allowed users to drag icons from anywhere on their computer to the Desktop, use the file from the Desktop, and then scoot the file back to its original location with a single command. However, such a feature was somewhat unnecessary, since Finder 7.0 also unveiled an "alias" functionality which allowed files to be represented in multiple locations by simple pointer files. The Put Away command could also be used as an alternate means to eject mounted floppy disks and CD-ROMs.

Though the Macintosh System itself would undergo major changes in the intervening years, the Finder remained relatively unchanged until the release of Mac OS 8 in 1997. Finder 8.0 was the first version to be multithreaded. For the first time copying a file or emptying the trash did not block other uses of the Finder. Like the rest of the system, Finder 8.0 took on a metallic "Platinum" appearance. It also features several new features, including Pop Up windows, which appeared as tabs on the bottom of the Mac's screen until clicked on, at which point they displayed their contents. Spring-loaded folders were also introduced in Finder 8.0, which allowed a user to drag and drop files deep into the system's folder hierarchy with a simple drill-down mechanism.

Finder 8.1, released in early 1998, introduced support for the more efficient HFS+ file system, and was the last major update to the classic Mac OS Finder.

Finder 10.0 to 10.2.1

The Mac OS X Finder was not an update of the previous Finder, but was instead based upon the file manager from the NextStep operating system. As such, it was a major departure from the original Finder and was poorly received by many longtime Macintosh users.

Finder 10.0 lacked many features found in it's Classic predecessor. The universal Desktop was gone, replaced by a Desktop that presented only the contents of the user's own Desktop folder. Support for Labels -- and, indeed, almost any form of metadata -- was gone, as were pop up windows, desktop printers, the "Put Away" command and spring-loaded folders. In Finder 10.0 the Trash was also removed from the Desktop and was no longer part of the Finder, having instead been integrated into the system's Dock.

Finder 10.0 also eschewed the classic Finder's "spatial" orientation -- where each location on the hard drive opened in its own window, and only one window -- for a Windows 98-style browser system.

Finder 10.0 introduced a highly-customizable toolbar which could be displayed at the top of every Finder window, and the NeXT-derived Column View, which displayed the hierarchy of the file system in a series of left-to-right panes. Users were also able to determine which, if any, of the mounted disks on their system appeared on the Desktop.

Finder 10.2 reintroduced spring-loaded folders, but they did not feature all of the functions of their Finder 8.0 predecessors.

Finder 10.3

Mac OS X 10.3 introduced a significantly upgraded version of the Finder which restored several classic features while also introducing a new GUI.

Finder 10.3 took on a brushed-metal appearance similar to that of Apple's iTunes jukebox application. Users could customize both the toolbar at the top of the window, which was based off of that of Apple's Safari web browser, and an iTunes-esque panel to the left of the Finder window. Folders selected in the leftmost panel would appear as the top of the filesystem in the right hand pane of the file browser. The left hand pane also listed and allowed the ejection of mounted removable storage disks.

Finder 10.3 also integrated support for uploading and downloading to and from FTP sites from within the Finder. An optional search pane allowed for live searching of any selected folder or volume.

Labels and the ability to search by Type and Creator metadata were restored in Finder 10.3, as was an option to switch the Finder to a "spatial" mode. This spatial mode was differentiated from the standard mode by the use of an Aqua window in the place of brushed-metal and the lack of the default mode's customizable toolbars. In spatial mode, Finder 10.3 operates nearly-identically to Finder 9.2, and only opens one window per folder, and each folder in its own window.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Macintosh Finder."

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Synonyms: Finder

Synonyms: discoverer (n), spotter (n), view finder (n), viewfinder (n). (additional references)

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Crosswords: Finder

English words defined with "finder": depth finder, direction finderfathometerGold finder, goniometerPosition finderradio compass, Range findersonic depth finder, stud finder, synonym finderTreasure-troveview finderwater finder, word finder. (references)
Specialty definitions using "finder": A/UX, ADF, aerial spacing, antenna effect, antenna spacing, automatic direction finder, automatic direction finder letdown, AUXBellini-Tosi direction finderCAPTAIN, FISHING VESSEL, comet finder, commercial photographer, crossed-loop direction finder with goniometer, cyclone overflowdesktop manager, DFELECTRONIC INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS SPECIALIST, END FINDER, FORMING DEPARTMENT, END FINDER, ROVING DEPARTMENTfinder switch, FOOL FINDERGUN SYNCHRONIZERinstrumental errorKevoLarson ledge finder, line finder, LOOSE-END FINDER, BOBBINMacBinary, Macintosh file system, Macintosh Operating Systemobserved bearingPHOTOGRAPHER, STILLradio direction finder, radio goniometer, radio theodolite, Robinson direction finderTUGBOAT CAPTAINvertical effect, vortex finder. (references)
Non-English Usage: "Finder" is also a word in the following language with English translations in parentheses.

German (finder, finders).

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Modern Usage: Finder

DomainUsage

Movie/TV Titles

Tre finder en kro (1955)

Der Ehrliche Finder (1911)

Wanna Be a Dino Finder (1995)

Mary Lou - The Stud Finder (1990)

Finder of Lost Loves (1984)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Finder

DomainTitle

Books

  

Periodicals

  

Music

  

High Tech

  

Consumer Goods

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Image Slideshow: Finder

Illustrations:
Finder

More images...

Computer Images:
Finder

More images...

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Photo Album: Finder

ThumbnailDescription & CreditThumbnailDescription & Credit

First track of sonic range finder on USS STEWART Crossed north Atlantic with sonic sounding device Made approximately 900 soundings from United States to Gibraltar.Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.

Top instrument is omni sounder - bottom instrument is depth finder.Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth.

Figure 49. Dial of a Marconi radiogoniometer. This instrument was the reading device of a radio direction finder that would allow a ship or aircraft to home in on a radio signal and determine the direction to the transmitter.Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now.

View of the ship's forward superstructure, looking up from the port side during her shakedown period, circa December 1942. Note: Signal flags; Mk.8 fire control radar on Mk.38 main battery gun director (at top); Mk.4 fire control radar on Mk.37 secondary battery gun director at right; radio direction finder "loop" at left.Credit: NAVY.

Photographed circa 1924-30, while operating to support the enforcement of Prohibition laws as a unit of the U.S. Coast Guard. She was originally USS Porter (DD-59). Note what appears to be a large radio direction finder amidships.Credit: NAVY.

Photographed circa 1924-30, while operating to support the enforcement of Prohibition laws as a unit of the U.S. Coast Guard. She was originally USS Porter (DD-59). Note what appears to be a large radio direction finder amidships.Credit: NAVY.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Use in Literature: Finder

TitleAuthorQuote

Les Miserables

Hugo, Victor

He carried the purse to the Commissary of Police of the quartier, as a lost article, placed by the finder at the disposition of claimants.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Non-Fiction Usage: Finder

SubjectTopicQuote

Business

Its main defense products include radar and missiles (surveillance and tracking radar for K-SAM), Fire Control System (for K-1 tank, M-48, and Naval Command and Fire Control System), Electro-Optical Devices (Night Vision, Laser Range Finder, and Thermal Imaging System) and tactical communication equipment. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

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Usage Frequency: Finder

"Finder" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Finder" is used about 58 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words
Rank in English
Noun (singular)100%5844,427

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Name Usage Frequency: Finder

The following table summarizes the usage of "finder" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified.
NameUsage/GenderUsage per 100
million Persons
Rank in USA
FinderLast name20032,028
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Expressions: Finder

Expressions using "finder": automatic direction finder letdown comet finder depth finder direction finder fault finder finder scope finder switch finder telescope Gold finder height finder line finder path finder position finder range finder range finder for sound reward for the finder Robinson direction finder rotating aerial direction finder sonic depth finder stud finder synonym finder view finder water finder word finder. Additional references.

Hypenated Usage

Ending with "finder": direction-finder, route-finder, witch-finder.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Finder

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day
  ExpressionFrequency
per Day

  adult friend finder

20,793

  car finder

599

  people finder

14,042

  auto finder

515

  zip code finder

3,753

  book finder

482

  apartment finder

3,555

  bargain finder calgary

459

  email finder

2,782

  hotel finder

441

  friend finder

2,753

  humming bird fish finder

434

  address finder

2,709

  adult finder

429

  free people finder

2,299

  finder route

419

  person finder

1,770

  lyrics finder

392

  porn star finder

1,436

  career finder

385

  e mail finder

1,413

  edmonton bargain finder

373

  area code finder

1,399

  spa finder

368

  job finder

1,277

  mp3 finder

360

  bargain finder

1,248

  adult friend finder.com

357

  fish finder

1,190

  adultfriend finder

347

  map finder

1,057

  eagle fish finder

337

  pet finder

947

  song finder

300

  home finder

815

  doctor finder

297

  email address finder

711

  phone number finder

288

  street finder

654

  roommate finder

276
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translations: Finder

Language Translations for "finder"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Albanian

  

syze jashtë kamerës, gjetës. (various references)

   

Arabic 

  

‏المعينة عدسة إضافية, ‏المعين تلسكوب صغير. (various references)

   

Bulgarian 

  

търсач (prospector, seeker), визор, приемник (incomer, receiver, successor). (various references)

   

Chinese 

  

探测器 (Detector). (various references)

   

Czech

  

nálezce. (various references)

   

Danish

  

linjesøger (finder switch, linefinder, linefinder selector, linefinder switch), liniesøger (finder switch, linefinder, linefinder selector, linefinder switch), liniefinder (line finder). (various references)

   

Dutch

  

oproepzoeker (finder switch, line finder, linefinder, linefinder selector, linefinder switch), lijnkiezer (finder switch, line finder, linefinder, linefinder selector, linefinder switch). (various references)

   

Finnish

  

tilaajanhakija (line finder), linjavalitsin (finder switch, linefinder, linefinder selector, linefinder switch), kutsunhakija (line finder). (various references)

   

French

  

tâteur, CL (finder switch), chercheur primaire d'abonné (finder switch), chercheur de ligne d'abonné (finder switch), chercheur de ligne appelante (finder switch, line finder), chercheur de ligne (finder switch, line finder), chercheur d'appel (finder switch), chercheur, bloc viseur, bloc visée. (various references)

   

German

  

finder (discoverer, finders). (various references)

   

Greek 

  

κλησιθήρας (finder switch, line finder, linefinder, linefinder selector, linefinder switch), ερευνητής κλήσεων (line finder), ευρίσκων. (various references)

   

Hebrew 

  

מוצא (exported, taken out), מ'ל" (detector, discoverer, path finder). (various references)

   

Hungarian

  

keresõ (Hunter). (various references)

   

Indonesian

  

penduga (depth finder, gauge), pencerca (caviler, critic, fault finder), pencela (critic, detractor, fault finder), pencacat (critic, fault finder). (various references)

   

Italian

  

ritrovatore, mirino (corn, gunsight, sight, view, viewfinder, view-finder), cercatore di linea (line finder), cercatore di chiamata (line finder). (various references)

   

Japanese Kanji 

  

ファイル分離キャラクタ (bassoon, facade, facility, FACOM, facsimile, fact, faction, factor, factoring, factory, factory automation, factory team, fagot-stitch, fagotting stitch, fascism, fascist, fax, Feynman, file separator, fine, fine ceramics, fine chemical, fine food, fine play, foul, foul line, foul tip, foundation, fuzzy, fuzzy computer, fuzzy logic). (various references)

   

Japanese Katakana 

  

ファインダー , ファインダ . (various references)

   

Korean 

  

측 기. (various references)

   

Manx

  

fowder (getter, recipient), feddynagh (acquisitive, beneficiary, inventive, inventor, locating). (various references)

   

Norwegian

  

søker. (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

inderfay

   

Portuguese

  

selector de linhas (finder switch, linefinder, linefinder selector, linefinder switch), ocular (eyepiece, eye-piece, ocular, oculist), inventor (author, contriver, designer, deviser, discovert, inventor, manufacturer), determinador de linha de chamada (line finder), descobridor (discoverer, pathfinder, tracer), achar um tempo. (various references)

   

Romanian

  

gãsitor, descoperitor (discoverer, inventor), cãutãtor (Hunter, searcher, seeker), aflãtor (be found). (various references)

   

Russian 

  

искатель (searcher, seeker, selector). (various references)

   

Serbo-Croatian

  

nalazač (object-finder). (various references)

   

Spanish

  

descubridor (discoverer), conmutador buscador (finder switch, linefinder, linefinder selector, linefinder switch), buscador de líneas (finder switch, linefinder, linefinder selector, linefinder switch), buscador de línea de llamada (line finder), buscador (finder switch, hunter, hunting switch, investigator, linefinder, linefinder selector, linefinder switch, prospector, searcher, seeker, whisker). (various references)

   

Swedish

  

sökare (line finder, probe, spotlight, view finder). (various references)

   

Turkish

  

bulan kimse (inventor, procurer). (various references)

   

Ukranian 

  

шукач (bloodhound, sleuth, sweeper). (various references)

   

Vietnamese 

  

người tìm ra (detector, discoverer). (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Derivations & Misspellings: Finder

Derivations

Words beginning with "finder": finders. (additional references)

Words ending with "finder": faultfinder, pathfinder, viewfinder. (additional references)

Words containing "finder": faultfinders, pathfinders, viewfinders. (additional references)


Misspellings

"Finder" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Fandeo, Fanderl, fanser, fenden, fenderi, fendre, fenter, fidar, fidrer, Finberg, finda, finde, finden, Findern, findi, findo, Findum, finert, finker, Finler, flinder, fuder, funder, fynde, zinder. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Finder"

# of Phoneme MatchesPronunciationWord(s) rhyming with "finder" (pronounced fī"nder)
4-ī" n d erbinder, blinder, grinder, kinder, minder, Pinder, reminder.
3-n d erAlexander, asunder, attainder, auslander, Bander, bartender, bender, blander, blender, blonder, blunder, bookbinder, bounder, brander, bystander, calamander, calendar, candor, cinder, cofounder, commander, Condor, contender, coriander, cylinder, defender, Ender, engender, extender, Fender, flounder, fonder, founder, gander, gender, gerrymander, grander, highlander, hinder, islander, Lander, launder, lavender, lender, mainlander, meander, offender, oleander, pander, pathfinder, plunder, ponder, pounder, pretender, rejoinder, remainder, render, responder, rounder, salamander, sander, sender, Sidewinder, slander, slender, sounder, Spender, splendor, squander, Stander, sunder, surrender, suspender, tender, thunder, tinder, transponder, under, vendor, viewfinder, wander, weekender, winder, wonder, yonder, Zander.

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

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Anagrams: Finder

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: friend, redfin, refind.

Words within the letters "d-e-f-i-n-r"

-1 letter: diner, fiend, fined, finer, fired, fried, infer.

-2 letters: defi, deni, dine, dire, fend, fern, find, fine, fire, firn, ired, neif, nerd, nide, reif, rein, rend, ride, rife, rind.

-3 letters: den, die, din, end, ern, fed, fen, fer, fid, fie, fin, fir, ire, red, ref, rei, rid, rif, rin.

-4 letters: de, ed, ef, en, er.

 Words containing the letters "d-e-f-i-n-r"
 

+1 letter: definer, finders, flinder, friends, fringed, redfins, refinds, refined, unfired.

 

+2 letters: befriend, confider, definers, fingered, flinders, frenzied, friended, friendly, inferred, infirmed, infolder, informed, infrared, niffered, panfried, redefine, unrifled.

 

+3 letters: archfiend, befriends, befringed, boyfriend, carnified, confiders, confirmed, cornfield, deferring, deforcing, deforming, defraying, denitrify, dentiform, different, differing, drawknife, firebrand, foddering, forbidden, foredoing, foundries, friending, furnished, infarcted, infielder, infolders, infracted, infrareds, infringed, ingrafted, interfold, introfied, nigrified, nitrified, pinafored, predefine, prefading, redefined, redefines, redefying, refeeding, refinding, refolding, refrained, refunding, reinfused, remindful, reunified, threadfin, unbriefed, uniformed, unrefined.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

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Alternative Orthography: Finder


Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)

46 69 6E 64 65 72

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)

American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)

=

Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)

Braille (1829, in France) (references)

Morse Code (1836) (references)

..-.    ..    -.    -..    .    .-.

Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)

Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)

01000110 01101001 01101110 01100100 01100101 01110010

HTML Code (1990) (references)

&#70 &#105 &#110 &#100 &#101 &#114

ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)

0046 0069 006E 0064 0065 0072

British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)

Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)

407580707184

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INDEX

1. Definition
2. Synonyms
3. Crosswords
4. Usage: Modern
5. Usage: Commercial
6. Images: Slideshow
7. Images: Photo Album
8. Quotations: Fiction
9. Quotations: Non-fiction
10. Usage Frequency
11. Names: Frequency
12. Expressions
13. Expressions: Internet
14. Translations: Modern
15. Derivations
16. Rhymes
17. Anagrams
18. Orthography
19. Bibliography


  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.