Computer Terminology
Internet:
3G: 3G is a collection of third generation cellular data technologies. The first generation (1G) was introduced in 1982, while the second generation of cellular data technologies (2G) became standardized in the early 1990s. 3G technologies were introduced in 2001.
Adware: Adware is free software that is supported by advertisements. Common adware programs are tool bars that sit on your desktop or work in your Web browser.
Bcc: "Blind Carbon Copy." When you send an e-mail to only one person, you type the recipient's address in the "To:" field. "Cc" stands for "Carbon Copy," while "Bcc" stands for "Blind Carbon Copy."
Blog: Short for "Web Log". This term refers to a list of journal entries posted on a Web page. Anybody who knows how to create and publish a Web page can publish his own blog.
Captcha: A captcha is program used to verify that the user is a human, rather than a computer. Captchas are commonly seen at the end of online forms and ask the user to enter text from a distorted image.
Certificate: An SSL certificate, or secure certificate, is a file installed on a secure Web server that identifies a website.
Cloud computing: Cloud computing refers to applications and services offered over the Internet. These services are offered from data centers all over the world, which collectively are referred to as the "cloud."
Cookie: A cookie is a small amount of data generated by a website and saved by your web browser.
DNS: Stands for "Domain Name System."
Firewall: A computer firewall prevents the data that can pass through it and protects a networked server or client machine from damage by unauthorized users.
Flash: When you see Flash on the Web, it most likely refers to Adobe Flash, a multimedia technology. Flash allows Web developers to incorporate animations and interactive content in their websites.
FTP: Stands for "File Transfer Protocol." It is a common method of transferring files via the Internet from one computer to another.
HTML: Stands for "Hyper-Text Markup Language." This is the language that Web pages are written in. Also known as hypertext documents, Web pages must conform to the rules of HTML in order to be displayed correctly in a Web browser.
HTTP: Stands for "HyperText Transfer Protocol." This is the protocol used to transfer data over the World Wide Web. That's why all Web site addresses begin with "http://". Similarly, HTTPS Stands for "Hypertext Transport Protocol Secure."
Hyperlink: A hyperlink is a word, phrase, or image that you can click on to jump to a new document or a new section within the current document.
IP Address: Also known as an "IP number" or just "IP," this is a code made up of numbers separated by three dots that identifies a particular computer on the Internet.
TCP/IP: Stands for "Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol." These two protocols were developed in the early days of the Internet by U. S. A.
URL: Stands for "Uniform Resource Locator." A URL is the address of a specific Web site or file on the Internet.
VPN: Stands for "Virtual Private Network". A virtual private network is "tunneled" through a wide area network WAN such as the Internet. This means the network does not have to be located in one physical location like a LAN.
LAN: It’s a Local Area Network. It is network of couple of computers located in one premises, like an office.
Hardware:
ADSL: Stands for "Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line." ADSL is a type of DSL, which is a method of transferring data over copper telephone lines. While symmetrical DSL (SDSL) uploads and downloads data at the same speed, ADSL has different maximum data transfer rates for uploading and downloading data.
Blu-ray: Blu-ray is an optical disc format such as CD and DVD. It was developed for recording and playing back high-definition (HD) video and for storing large amounts of data. While a CD can hold 700 MB of data and a basic DVD can hold 4.7 GB of data, a single Blu-ray disc can hold up to 25 GB of data.
Bridge: In computer networking, a bridge serves purpose of connecting two or more local area networks (LANs) together.
Chip: A computer chip is a piece of silicon with an electronic circuit embedded in it. However, the word "chip" is often used as a slang term that refers to various components inside a computer.
Client/server computing: A network of computers that consists of a file server (a computer that runs a database management system) and individual clients (computers that request and process data obtained from the file server).
CMOS: Stands for "Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor." This technology is typically used in making transistors.
DDR: Stands for "Double Data Rate." It is an advanced version of SDRAM, a type of computer memory. DDR2 and DDR3 are their improved versions.
Duel Core: A dual-core processor is a CPU with two processors or "execution cores" in the same integrated circuit. Each processor has its own cache and controller, which enables it to function as efficiently as a single processor. However, because the two processors are linked together, they can perform operations up to twice as fast as a single processor can.
Jumper: This is a small metal connector that acts as an on/off switch and is used to alter hardware configurations. When the wires are connected by the metal piece, the jumper is turned on, completing the circuit. When the wires are disconnected, the jumper is turned off.
Kindle: The Kindle is a portable e-reader developed by Amazon.com. It allows you to download and read digital books, newspapers, magazines, and other electronic publications.
LCD: Stands for "Liquid Crystal Display." LCDs are super-thin displays that are used in laptop computer screens and flat panel monitors.
LED: Stands for "Light-Emitting Diode." An LED is an electronic device that emits light when an electrical current is passed through it.
Quad-core: A quad-core CPU has four processing cores in a single chip. It is similar to a dual-core CPU, but has four separate processors (rather than two), which can process instructions at the same time.
RAM: Stands for "Random Access Memory". RAM is made up of small memory chips that form a memory module. These modules are installed in the RAM slots on the motherboard of your computer.
Serial port: The serial port is a type of connection on PCs that is used for peripherals such as mice, gaming controllers, modems, and older printers. It is sometimes called a COM port.
SATA: Stands for "Serial Advanced Technology Attachment," or "Serial ATA." It is an interface used to connect ATA hard drives to a computer's motherboard.
Switch: A switch is used to network multiple computers together. Switches made for the consumer market are typically small, flat boxes with 4 to 8 Ethernet ports.
Server: A computer that delivers data to other computers (clients) linked on the same network.
TFT: Stands for "Thin Film Transistor." These transistors are used in high-quality flat panel liquid-crystal displays (LCDs). TFT-based displays have a transistor for each pixel on the screen.
X86: x86 is the generic name for Intel processors released after the original 8086 processor. These include the 286, 386, 486, and 586 processors.
Software:
Archive: A file compressed for more efficient use of storage space.
Artificial intelligence (AI): Computer systems that attempt to imitate human processes for analyzing and solving problems.
Add-on: An add-on is a software extension that adds extra features to a program. It may extend certain functions within the program, add new items to the program's interface, or give the program additional capabilities.
Android: Android is a mobile operating system developed by Google. It is used by several smart phones, such as Samsung Galaxy.
Beta: Before a commercial software program is released to the public, it usually goes through a "beta" phase. During this stage, the software is tested for bugs, crashes, errors, inconsistencies, and any other problems.
Bloat ware: A program that uses an excessive amount of disk space and memory.
BIOS: Stands for "Basic Input/Output System." Most people don't need to ever mess with the BIOS on a computer, but it can be helpful to know what it is.
Buffer: A holding area in memory that stores information temporarily. Also called cache.
Checksum: A checksum is a value used to verify the integrity of a file or a data transfer. It is a sum that checks the validity of data.
Clipboard: The clipboard is a section of RAM where your computer stores copied data.
Command: An instruction that causes a program or computer to perform a function. A command may be given by means of a special keystroke (or series of keystrokes), or the command may be chosen from a menu.
Compatibility: The ability of one type of computer, device, data file, or program to share information or to communicate with another.
Desktop publishing (DTP): A system that processes the text and graphics and, by means of page layout software and a laser printer, produces high-quality pages suitable for printing.
Daemon: A computer daemon is a constantly running program that triggers actions when it receives certain input.
Debug: The programs they write programs which sometimes have small errors, called "bugs," in them. Before releasing their software to the public, programmers "debug" their programs, eliminating as many errors as possible.
Digital Signature: Signatures are commonly used to authenticate documents. When you sign a physical document, you are authenticating its contents. Similarly, digital signatures are used to authenticate the contents of electronic documents.
E-book: A small reading device that displays downloaded digital text.
Executable file: An executable file is a type of computer file that runs a program when it is opened. This means it executes code or a series of instructions contained in the file.
File association: A file association is a relationship between a file type and a supporting application. For example, a Word document may be associated with Microsoft Word.
File extension: A file extension (or simply "extension") is the suffix at the end of a filename that indicates what type of file it is.
GNU: GNU (pronounced "g-new") is a free Unix-like operating system distributed by the Free Software Foundation. It is available in several different versions, but the most popular is the GNU/Linux system, which uses the Linux kernel.
Hacker: A dedicated computer programmer. The term hacker is sometimes used erroneously to refer to a computer criminal that penetrates and tampers with computer programs or systems. The term for a computer criminal is cracker.
Indexing: The ability of a program to accumulate a list of words or phrases that appear in a document (along with their corresponding page numbers) and to print or display the list in alphabetic order.
Java: Java is a high-level programming language developed by Sun Micro systems.
Mail merge: The process of taking information from a database and inserting it into a form letter or other document in order to customize the document for an individual recipient. It can be used to create the inside address and the salutation for a form letter.
Portable Document Format (PDF): A format that makes it possible—with the help of Adobe Acrobat—to view documents that employ different fonts, various types of graphics, and complex layouts.
Registry: This is a database used by Microsoft Windows to store configuration information about the software installed on a computer. This information includes things like the desktop background, program settings, and file extension associations.
Root: "Root" refers to the top-level directory of a file system.
Spy ware: Software that enables a user to track someone’s computer activities without that person’s consent.
Source code: Every computer program is written in a programming language, these programs include anywhere from a few lines to millions of lines of text, called source code.
Uninterrupted power supply (UPS): A battery-powered backup system that provides enough electricity to a computer during a power outage (or, in most cases, a brownout or power surge) so that the user can save their work before shutting down the computer.
Universal Serial Bus (USB): A common standard for connecting multiple peripherals to a computer as needed.
Thumbnail: A thumbnail image is a small image that represents a larger one. Thumbnails are often used to provide snapshots of several images in a single space.
Virus: A piece of computer code designed as a prank or malicious act to spread from one computer to another by attaching itself to other programs. Some viruses simply cause a humorous message to appear on the screen. Some cause minor glitches, but others cause serious damage to a computer’s memory or disks. Some virus flood an organization’s Web site, interrupting or entirely preventing access to the organization’s customers.
Webmaster: The person who maintains a specific Web site and is responsible for what appears there.