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A
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ADSL
- Asymmetric Digital
Subscriber Line is a
technology for transmitting
digital information on existing phone lines.
AGP
- Accelerated Graphics
Port. An advanced graphics card
interface enabling super fast 3D visuals.
AVI
- Audio Video Standard designed by Microsoft. Files created in AVI format can be
easily read by anybody using Windows 98, ME and XP.
B
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Backups
- A second, safe, copy of a file, letter or data. You should always do regular
backups of documents in case something goes wrong and you loose them.
BIOS
- Basic Input
Output System.
Controls the basic features of a PC and tells the Operating System things like
the time and size of your HDD. It is located on a chip on the motherboard.
(also see CMOS)
Bitmap
(.bmp) - A type of graphic image made up of pixels (or tiny dots).
Differs from other image formats in terms of image quality and colours.
bps
- Bits Per
Second - a measurement of data transmission speed.
BUS
- Data is transmitted to and from the different components of a PC via a BUS.
C
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CD-ROM
Drive - Used for installing software (on CD-ROM's) and playing
multimedia audio and video. Audio CD's can also be inserted, played and listened
to with the correct software.
CD-ROM Disk -
A disk which can store up to 700Mb of data or 80 minutes of audio. The same as a
music CD, but can
store data or data and audio files. Computer Software such as Microsoft Windows
Operating System is usually sold to you on CD-ROM Disks.
CD-RW
(Read/Write) Drive - Used for recording data and audio files on
to blank CD-R and CD-RW Disks. Can also be used as an ordinary
CD-ROM Drive for reading CD Disks.
CD-R Disk -
A blank CD Disk which can be recorded on to with up to 700Mb of data or 80
minutes of audio or a mix of the two. Data is recorded using a CD-RW
Drive. (Sometimes referred to as "Write Once" disks it is
possible to record several sessions separately until full)
CD-R Audio
Disk -
A blank CD Disk specifically made to have audio files recorded on to it
of up to 700Mb or 80 minutes of audio. Data is recorded using a CD-RW
Drive.
CD-RW Disk -
A blank CD Disk which can be recorded on to with up to 700Mb of data or 80
minutes of audio or a mix of the two. Data is recorded using a CD-RW
Drive. A CD-RW Disk differs from a CD-R Disk in that once data is written
to the disk data can also then be erased and data re-written to the disk
in this way repeatedly.
CD-RW Audio
Disk -
A blank CD Disk specifically made to have audio files recorded on to it
of up to 700Mb or 80 minutes of audio. Data is recorded using a CD-RW
Drive. A CD-RW
Audio Disk differs from a CD-R Audio Disk in that once data audio files
are written to the disk the files can also then be erased and more files
re-written to the disk in this way repeatedly.
Celeron
- Budget version of Intel's standard range Pentium CPU.
CMOS
- Complimentary Metal
Oxide Semiconductor.
The most visible part of the BIOS. Named after the process used for special
memory chips with extra-low power consumption.
COM
Port - Serial ports on the PC, usually, but
not always used for data communications, are referred to by system designators
COM1, COM2, COM3...etc.
cps
- Characters Per
Second - characters usually referring to a single 8-bit byte of
data. With start and stop bits, a total transmission of 10 data bits is usually
required to transmit a single character or data byte. Also used to indicate the
speed of a Dot-Matrix or Laser Printer.
CPU - Central
Processor(ing) Unit
(see Processor below)
Crash(ed)
- when your computer goes wrong and freezes up. A crash can be caused by either
software or hardware problems.
D
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Digital
Camera
- A camera that takes images digitally and stores them in its memory, as opposed
to traditional film.
Driver
- Software that sits between Windows and a peripheral and translates the
instructions from Windows into a form that the peripheral can understand.
DTP - Desk
Top Publisher(ing)
- A PC Term that describes a programme that enables you to design, create and
print a variety of projects such as letterheads, birthday cards, calendars,
business cards, invitations etc. that would have previously only been possible
by using the services of an outside printers business.
DVD
- Digital Versatile (or
Video)
Disc. This medium can store huge amounts of data
on one disk including full length movies or multi-media, with excellent quality sound and
pictures.
E
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Expansion
Slot - An electrical connector fitted to the
motherboard of your computer. It allows an expansion card to connect to the
expansion BUS of the PC.
F
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FAQ
- Frequently Asked
Questions - a list of frequently asked questions and
their answers. Specific topic
FAQ sections can also now be found in Magazines, User Guides, PC Manuals and on
the Internet on many Web-Sites.
Firewire
- High speed interface for connecting peripherals such as digital cameras and
camcorders.
G
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GPS
- Global Positioning
System. Network of Satellites used to pinpoint and track
your exact position on the planet.
Gb - Gigabyte:
A unit of measure consisting of one billion bytes or 1 thousand megabytes is the equivalent of 1Gb.
It can be the measurement of HDD's or that of computer memory.
H
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HDD
- Hard Disk Drive
- A
high-capacity storage device a PC uses for programs and data, measured these
days in gigabytes. Data held on a hard disk is safe when the power is turned
off.
I
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ICON
- A picture, or symbol, displayed to identify a command or file.
ISDN
- Integrated Services
Digital Network, an all-digital telephone system
specification. Basic Rate Interface (BRI) consists of two 64 Kbps bearers or
"B" data channels and one 16 Kbps supervisory "D" channel,
leading to the designation "2B+D." BRI ISDN can deliver data to the
home at speeds up to 128 Kbps by combining the two B channels. A popular choice
for a digital telephone solution capable of using existing copper wire to the home.
Infrared
- By aligning two infrared ports you can exchange data using nothing but a beam
of infrared light.
J
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JPEG
- Joint Photographic
Experts Group - a standard for compressing digital
photographic images.
K
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Kb
- Kilobyte - 1024 bytes - often generically applied to 1000 bytes as well.
Kbps
- Kilo Bits
Per Second - a measure of data transmission speed indicating 1024
bits transmitting in one second.
L
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LCD
- Liquid Crystal
Display. Flat screens used in notebook/laptop computers, and
becoming more popular now, as monitors with desktop PCs.
M
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Memory
- (see RAM below)
MIDI
- Musical Instrument
Digital Interface.
A standardised set of digital messages that specify which musical note you have
pressed, how long it is and how long you hold it down.
MHz
- Short for Megahertz. A measure of the frequency of a timing signal that's
equal to 1,000,000 cycles per second. More importantly, it is a measure of how
fast the processor in your PC is working.
MMX
- MMX is not an acronym for anything, although it has been thought that the name
evolved from either 'Multimedia
Extensions' or
'Matrix
Math
Extensions' during
development. MMX did however, mean that when you saw this
designation, it meant that the processor
inside the computer had been equipped to handle multimedia
tasks more efficiently. This resulted in smoother and more realistic video
and audio effects. One important
catch was that the software you were using must have been specially programmed to take
advantage of the MMX technology for you to see a significant performance boost.
Modem -
(or Fax/Modem or Voice/Fax/Modem or sometimes Voice/Fax/Data/Modem) A device that converts electronic signals from your PC into sound signals that
can be transmitted over a phone line. You need a modem to connect to the
internet or to send and receive emails and faxes on your PC. If a modem is
"Voice" compatible it means that via software on your PC, the modem
acts as a telephone answering machine as well. The "Data" part refers
to the ability to transmit and receive files, although every modern modem
whether "Voice" compatible or not should have this ability.
Motherboard
- The main circuit board in your computer. It has the main components and
connectors soldered to it.
MP3
- MPEG Layer 3. A standard for digitally compressing music, meaning music
files created using MP3 aren't nearly as big as other types pf music files. CD
Audio can be compressed by a factor of 10 for example.
Mbps
- Mega Bits
Per Second - a measurement of data transmission speed indicating
1024 kilobits per second or 1048576 bits per second.
Mb
- Megabyte - technically 1024 kilobytes or 1,048,576 bytes - but often applied
to the more rounded term of one million bytes as well.
MPEG
- Motion Picture
Experts Group - a standard for compressing digital video
images.
MPEG
2
- A compression standard which is used to shrink the size of video files, thus
making them quicker to copy and load.
N
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Null
modem cable - a cable whose connectors are wired so as to permit
serial port transfers of data between computers as if they were communicating
via modems. Data transfer speeds may reach 115 Kbps
over null modem cables between IBM compatible PCs.
O
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OCR
- Optical Character
Recognition. Software that can convert text stored in an
image file - that is, the result of scanning text from the page - in to words
that can then be edited by you on your computer, using word-processing software.
Operating
System - Software that controls actions of the
different parts of your PC. In modern PC's it is Windows XP that manages the
whole PC, including the disks, printers, monitors, and so on. Examples:
DOS; UNIX; LINUX; Microsoft - Windows 3.1 / 3.11 / 95 / 98 / ME / NT /
2000 and XP - Home or Professional Edition.
P
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Partition
- When a large HDD is divided into several smaller sections. Each division
behaves as if it were a separate HDD.
PC
- Personal Computer.
Generally speaking a PC is considered as a stand alone computer capable of
working without the need to be linked (networked) with other PCs, although two
PCs networked together are still PC's in their own right. (MPC - (term not
often used much now) stands for Multimedia PC
which means that a PC has a CD-ROM Drive, a Sound-Card and Speakers as part of
it components).
Processor
- Heart of the computer. Also known as CPU. It does most of the hard work and
the faster the processor, the better the system is likely to be. (Intel &
AMD manufacture CPU's.)
PS/2
- A small, round six pin connector, for plugging a keyboard and/or mouse into a
PC. The alternative to plugging in a Mouse via a PS/2 connector is via a
Serial or a USB connector. The alternative to plugging in a keyboard via a PS/2
connector is via a "AT" or sometimes referred to as a "Din
Plug" or becoming more popular now, via a USB connector.
Q
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QWERTY
- (Keyboard) - Refers to the first six letters of the modern, standard
keyboard's layout. Underneath the row of numbers, these six letters in
succession begin the letter sequence.
R
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RAM
- Random Access
Memory. This is the "working" memory of your computer,
which is measured in megabytes or, sometimes in gigabytes. (Memory Types and
Terms: SIMM; EDO; SDRAM; DIMM) The speed of Memory is measured in "ns"
nano-seconds such 60ns or 70ns.
Resolution
- Number of pixels on the screen. The more pixels the sharper the image and the
higher the resolution.
S
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Scanner
- A device that can convert photos and text into an electronic format, which can
be manipulated on your PC. Early scanner devices were small and were low
resolution scanners that fitted into the palm of the hand, known as
"Hand-Held Scanners". Most modern scanners that are bought now are
called "Flatbed" Scanners that allow you to place a sheet of A4 paper
down, flat on the scanner glass although there are larger scanners available at
higher prices. You can also get specialist scanners, such as dedicated
photo scanners and scanners that scan camera negatives, slides and film reels.
There are even scanners built in to a single device such as combination units
that give you a printer, a fax/modem, a telephone answering machine and a
scanner all-in-one unit.
SCSI
- Small Computer
Systems Interface.
A high-speed parallel interface sometimes used to connect PCs to peripheral
devices such as disk drives and scanners.
Server
- a computer dedicated to providing specific services to client computers. Print servers, for example, do nothing but accept,
store, and print out jobs sent to them by other computers. An FTP server is
dedicated to file-users everywhere.
Shareware
- computer software which users are encouraged to copy and distribute to others,
and to evaluate for a specified or indefinite period of time. The author gives
the user a license to "try before you buy," and requires voluntary
payment of a specific sum of money if the user continues to use the software.
Failure to pay the requested fee is a legal violation of the author's copyright
rights. Another version of this type of software is called
"Freeware" and as the name suggests, differs because no payment is
required at any time.
T
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Thumbnail
- Miniature graphical representation of an image. Used as a quick and handy way
of viewing the contents of graphics or DTP (Desk Top Publishing) files before
they are opened fully by an application. As space and time saving, thumbnails on
websites are often used.
Twain
- A standard way for scanners, and other devices, to talk to your PC. It really
does stand for Technology Without
An Important
Name.
U
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USB
- Universal Serial
Bus. Connectors are a recent standard for connecting
peripherals, such as scanners, modems and printers, to PCs quickly and simply.
V
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V.90/V.92
(56k) - Speed at which a standard PC modem will run.
56 kilobits per second is the latest speed standard for modems. V.90 and now
V.92 replaces
the previous situation, where there were two conflicting modem standards -
K56Flex and X2.
Virus
- A malicious programme that can harm your PC. They spread via shared resources,
like floppy disks or by email.
W
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WAP
- Wireless Access
Protocol. A system for sending condensed, simplified internet
pages to the screen of a mobile phone.
Wizard -
A wizard is a specific step-by-step help guide to enable you to easily create or
perform a certain task. Such as creating a newsletter in a publishing package.
WYSIWYG
- What You
See Is What
You Get
- A PC Term that means what it says. An example would be a DTP Programme that
works in a WYSIWYG way, that is to say that what you see on the screen is what
you will get on the paper when you print the letter, birthday card etc. out. An
example of WYSIWYG Programmes in use would be that of a website
creation/design programme where you create your web-page by inserting
pictures or typing text on the screen without having to know how to write
the necessary HTML code for it.
The WYSIWYG programme writes the HTML code for you in the background
automatically.
X
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-
Suggestions Please
Y
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- Suggestions
Please
Z
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ZIF
SOCKET - the Zero
Insertion Force
Socket allows you to easily replace a CPU
on a system motherboard. It clamps
down on the microprocessor pins using a small lever located to the side of the
socket.
ZIP
- File extension for files catalogued and compressed using "PKZIP"
or "WinZip" compression utilities.
ZIP
DRIVE
- A high capacity disk drive designed by Iomega, capable of storing 100Mbs, 250Mbs
or 750Mbs of information on sturdy pocket sized disks. Drives can be connected
externally either by a Parallel, SCSI, Firewire or USB Cable or internally by IDE or
SCSI.
Zip Drives are often used as a way to back-up files on to removable disks for
safety.
