What is "hotspot"

n. 1 (alternative spelling of hot spot English) 2 A small device that acts like a high-speed modem and router to provide access to the internet through a cellular signal (aka: MiFi)

1. n. a place of political unrest and potential violence; "the United States cannot police all of the world's hot spots" [syn: hot spot]

2. a point of intense heat or radiation [syn: hot spot]

3. a lively entertainment spot [syn: hot spot]

HotSpot, released as the "Java HotSpot Performance Engine" is a Java virtual machine for desktops and servers, maintained and distributed by Oracle Corporation. It features techniques such as just-in-time compilation and adaptive optimization designed to improve performance.

In geology, the places known as hotspots or hot spots are volcanic regions thought to be fed by underlying mantle that is anomalously hot compared with the surrounding mantle. They may be on, near to, or far from tectonic plate boundaries. Currently, there are two hypotheses that attempt to explain their origins. One suggests that hotspots are due to mantle plumes that rise as thermal diapirs from the core–mantle boundary. The other hypothesis is that lithospheric extension permits the passive rising of melt from shallow depths. This hypothesis considers the term "hotspot" to be a misnomer, asserting that the mantle source beneath them is, in fact, not anomalously hot at all. Well known examples include Hawaii and Yellowstone.

A hotspot is a physical location where people may obtain Internet access, typically using Wi-Fi technology, via a wireless local area network (WLAN) using a router connected to an internet service provider.

Public hotspots may be found in an increasing number of businesses for use of customers in many developed urban areas throughout the world, such as coffee shops. Many hotels offer wifi access to guests, either in guest rooms or in the lobby. Hotspots differ from wireless access points, which are the hardware devices used to provide a wireless network service. Private hotspots allow Internet access to a device (such as a tablet) via another device which may have data access via say a mobile device.