|
80211a, 80211b, 80211g, 80211i |
Different standards for operating wireless networks
(Wi-Fi). Loosely the higher
the letter, the faster the speed. So far they are mostly incompatible
with each other. |
| 80286,
80386, 80486 (or 286, 386, 486) |
Three generations of PC processor,
now pretty much obsolete, the ancestors of the Pentium.
The 286 was the earliest processor able to run (just about)
a version of Windows, although the 386
was really the minimum to run it properly. The 486 was the earliest
processor able to run Windows 95 -
just about. Machines of this vintage cannot run modern versions
of Windows at all, but many are still in use as basic word-processors
or where a dedicated machine is required which doesn't need
to be powerful. |
|
ActiveX |
A powerful Windows technology which allows
programmers to do all kinds of good things with your computer.
Unfortunately it also allows hackers
do all kinds of bad things to your computer, particularly
via webpages in Internet Explorer, and
is safest switched off. (In Internet Explorer go to Tools/Internet
Options/Security and set the Security Zone slider for Internet
to High). A few websites won't display properly, but most bad
ones won't be able to hijack you. |
|
ADSL |
(Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) A method of connecting
a computer to the internet over an ordinary
phone line using ethernet office networking
technology instead of an ordinary modem,
which produces a much faster (broadband)
connection. Asymmetric because it is faster from internet to
PC than the other way (also true of a 56K modem). |
|
Adware |
Software which displays advertisements
on your computer. Sometimes installed
as part of a "free" application,
sometimes by stealth. See also Malware,
Spyware. |
|
AFAICS, AFAIK, AFAIR |
(As
Far As I Can See/Know/Recall) Internet
slang. |
|
AGP |
(Advanced
Graphics Port) A special slot on the PC motherboard
for graphics cards, and the format
of the cards themselves. Standard on new PCs from 1998. "AGP
x 2" runs at twice the speed of the original AGP. Now gradually
being supplanted by PCI Express. |
|
AI |
(Artificial
Intelligence) A program designed
to respond "intelligently" to various situations,
for example the computer opponent(s) in a game. |
|
AIUI |
(As
I Understand It) Internet slang. |
|
always-on |
An internet connection which remains
on 24/7 such as ADSL or
cable, rather than only
connecting on demand like a dialup. |
|
AMD |
AMD is a leading manufacturer of processor
chips for PCs, including the Athlon
and Duron chips. |
|
Antivirus |
Software which protects computers from
viruses and suchlike. Has to be updated
frequently to keep up with the latest threats, so is usually
sold with a subscription which enables you to download
updates from the internet. |
|
AOL |
(America
On Line) An Internet Service Provider,
or ISP. AOL were in business as a
large commercial bulletin board
before the internet really took off. Now they are an ISP
specialising in family-friendly internet access. |
|
Applet |
A small program used to carry out a particular
task, often on a web page. See Java. |
|
Application |
Software used to carry out a particular
task, such as word processing or desktop
publishing. Essentially another word for program. |
|
Architecture |
The basic design of a computer's hardware. Computers with different
architecture, such as the PC and the Mac, cannot run each others'
programs. |
|
ASCII |
(American
Standard Code for Information Interchange) An early and
very basic format for text files, standard
across pretty much all computers and mail systems. It only includes
upper and lower case letters, numbers, and standard punctuation
marks, but more sophisticated text formats still tend to be
based on it. An ASCII file is a basic text-only file generated
by a program like Notepad. |
|
ATAPI |
(ATtachment
PAcket Interface) An upgrade to EIDE
which allows the hard disk controller
to control CD drives as well. Almost all CD
drives are controlled this way. |
|
Athlon |
A PC processor - AMD, the other
leading chip manufacturer's equivalent to Intel's Pentium.
Like the Pentium, constantly being upgraded. You will often
see a number such as 2700 following the word Athlon, which is
a rough measure of the processor's speed - the higher the number,
the faster the chip. |
|
ATM |
(At
The Moment) Internet slang. |
|
Attachment |
A file sent by email
is "attached" to the email. An attachment can be a picture,
a word processor document, a program
or any other type of file. You should never open an attachment
if you are not sure what it is, because some viruses
propagate as email attachments; but they can't infect your machine
if you don't open the attachment. |
|
AUP |
(Acceptable
Use Policy) A document setting out what an Internet
Service Provider deems an acceptable use of their services,
usually published on their website. Typically it will forbid
the publication of obscene or defamatory material, and sending
email or newsgroup spam.
If you violate your ISP's AUP, they will
usually close your account down immediately. |
|
Autocorrect |
A feature in MS Word and other programs
which automatically corrects your spelling, and even your grammar,
as you type. Better switched off if you use obscure technical
terms, or prefer your own interpretation of the rules of grammar,
or else you are likely to find that it's "corrected"
your text to something you didn't intend. |
|
|
|
Backup, back up |
An extra copy of your work, eg documents, pictures etc, saved
onto a removable storage medium such
as CD, DVD or magnetic
tape, so that if your computer is stolen or breaks down you
don't lose everything. |
|
Backwards-compatible |
A program (or system) designed to work
with data generated by earlier versions of itself, even though
the format may since have changed completely. |
|
Bandwidth |
A measure of total amount of data transferred over a period
of time, often used to measure how busy a website is. A webhost
will usually base its charges on the bandwidth a website uses,
ie how much data per month is requested from it. |
|
beat-'em-up |
A computer game in which you control one or more characters
fighting onscreen using karate, kung-fu and so forth. Derives
from shoot-'em-up. |
|
BIOS |
(Basic
Input/Output System; pr. "by-oss") A program
built into every PC for setting up very basic things, like how
many hard and floppy disks you have
and what type they are; the first thing that loads when you
start your PC. You usually only need to access the BIOS if you
are upgrading your hardware, eg adding more RAM
or an extra disk drive, or setting
a power-on password. BIOS settings are stored in a special type
of memory called CMOS. |
|
Bit |
The smallest unit of information in a computer, can either equal
0 or 1. Eight bits equal one byte. |
|
Bitmap |
See bmp. |
|
blog |
(weBLOG)
A website documenting someone's life and/or thoughts. |
|
Bluetooth |
A wireless communication system for PCs and other computing
devices. However Bluetooth devices from different manufacturers
won't always communicate with each other reliably, so it hasn't
really taken off as the industry had hoped, and is now under
threat from faster wireless technologies (see Wi-Fi).
|
|
bmp |
(BitMaP)
A standard type of graphics file. An uncompressed
format, so the files tend to be fairly big. |
|
Boot, boot up |
Usually used to mean "start up the computer". Literally, the
process of loading up the operating
system and getting the computer ready for use. See Reboot.
A "boot password" is a password you have to give to
start up the computer. |
|
Boot disk |
A floppy disk which holds a copy of
the operating system, or enough
of it to start the computer, useful if the computer won't start
up properly from the hard disk. Because
modern operating systems are so large, these days it is often
a boot CD rather than a floppy. |
|
Bot |
(roBOT)
A semi-automated program, usually performing
a function on the internet such as indexing
webpages or sorting email. |
|
bps |
(Bits
Per Second) A measure of how quickly information is being
transferred, usually via a modem or network.
Divide by ten to get an approximation of the number of characters
per second (cps). See also Kbps,
Mbps. |
|
BRB |
(Be
Right Back) Internet slang. |
|
Broadband |
Internet access over a connection much
faster than an ordinary modem, such as
ADSL or cable. |
|
Browser |
A program used for viewing World
Wide Web pages on the Internet.
The most widely used is Microsoft's Internet Explorer, because
it is built-in to Windows. |
|
BTW |
(By
The Way) Internet slang. |
|
Buffer |
A temporary storage area for data, often
used to "smooth out" incoming audio or video streams. Several
seconds worth of material is stored in the buffer and it is
then played back from there, so that if there is a brief interruption
in the stream your music or video doesn't stop. |
|
Bug |
Error, especially in a program, that
has been missed in testing. The story goes that the original
bug was an insect that got itself cremated inside an electrical
circuit in an early computer, causing it to fail (and I don't
suppose the insect enjoyed it much, either). It took them ages
to figure out what was causing the problem, and when they eventually
found the bug the story passed into legend. |
|
Bulletin Board |
A semi-public area which computer users can connect to using
a modem, to read and post messages and/or
exchange files. Now largely replaced by
websites. |
| Burn |
Create
a CD or DVD. |
|
Byte |
A basic unit of measurement for pieces of information; the space
required to store one character. See also Bit,
Kilobyte, Megabyte,
Gigabyte, Terabyte. |
|
|
|
Cable |
An always-on high speed internet connection
similar to ADSL but capable
of higher speeds, which uses cable TV technology instead of
a phoneline. |
|
Cache |
A temporary storage area for frequently
or recently used data, either in memory,
on your hard disk or the internet.
For example, if you go back to a webpage you have recently visited,
your PC will usually be able to display it from the internet
cache on your hard disk, so it won't need to download
it from the internet again. |
|
CAD |
(Computer
Aided Design) Software used
to produce complex technical drawings by designers and engineers. |
|
CCD |
(Charge
Coupled Device) The component of a scanner
or digital camera which actually takes the pictures. The quality
of image it is capable of is usually measured in Megapixels
- the higher the number, the more detailed the image. |
| CD
Burner |
A
CD drive that can create ("burn")
CDs. |
|
CD-ROM,
CD-R |
(Compact
Disk-Read Only Memory) A misnomer,
as strictly speaking it is not memory but storage.
Identical to standard music CDs. Currently the most popular
medium for releasing programs on, as
it can hold literally hundreds of times as much information
as a standard floppy disk, about 650
Megabytes in total. Once a CD-ROM has
been created its contents cannot be changed. Now starting to
be replaced by DVD. |
|
CD-RW |
(Compact
Disk-ReWriter) A CD drive which can create CDs, either audio
or data, using special rewriteable CDs which are also often
called CD-RWs. A CD-RW drive can also create ordinary CDs, though
not rewrite them. |
|
Celeron |
A PC processor - Intel's budget chip,
cheaper than the Pentium, but
also less powerful. |
|
Character |
A letter of the alphabet, number, space or punctuation mark
is a character. |
|
Chatroom |
A website where you can meet and chat live (via the keyboard)
with other internet users. Most such
websites have multiple "rooms", each dedicated to
a particular topic or theme. |
|
Chip |
A silicon wafer with millions of tiny circuits engraved on it
- what computers are made of.. |
|
Clipboard |
A temporary storage area in Windows.
When you cut (Ctrl-X) or copy (Ctrl-C) highlighted text, documents
or whatever in Windows they are sent to the clipboard; when
you paste (Ctrl-V) they are copied from the clipboard to the
cursor position. Sending something to the clipboard automatically
overwrites its previous contents. |
|
Cluster |
Data stored on a disk is spread across a number of clusters,
small physical areas on the disk. How big they are depends on
the way the disk is formatted - generally a few kilobytes
each. |
|
CMOS |
(Complementary
Metal Oxide Semiconductor; pr. "see-moss") A special type
of memory which retains its data when
the PC is switched off, used to store settings for things like
what type of hard disk you have, and
how much memory. The settings are accessed via the BIOS. |
|
CMYK |
(Cyan,
Magenta, Yellow, Keystone black ) The standard four colours
used by most printers - almost any colour can be created out
of these. See also RGB. |
|
codec |
(COmpressor/DECompressor)
A small piece of computer code that tells the computer how to
decode particular types of information, usually video files.
If your video player won't play a particular format, you can
usually download and install a codec
which will tell it how from the internet. |
|
Compatible |
Compatible pieces of equipment can work together; incompatible
ones can't. |
|
Compression |
A way of making files smaller, either to
fit into restricted storage space or
to speed up transmission over the Internet.
Popular compression standards include JPEG
and GIF for pictures, MP3
for music files, and zip for just
about everything else. |
|
Console |
Nowadays usually refers to a dedicated gaming computer such
as the Playstation or X-Box. Originally meant a terminal connected
to a mainframe computer. |
|
Cookie |
A small data file stored on your computer
by a website, in theory to allow it to "remember" your preferences,
but in practise mostly used to track which adverts you have
seen. You can set most browsers to reject
all cookies, or to ask your permission before storing them,
but this can generate multiple error messages on some websites
and is generally more hassle than it's worth - they are pretty
harmless. |
|
CPS |
(Characters
Per Second) A measure of how quickly information, particularly
text, is being transferred over a modem
link or network. See also bps. |
|
CPU |
(Central
Processing Unit) The nerve centre of the computer : everything
flows through it. Often just called "the processor".
The best known PC processors are Intel's Pentium
and AMD's Athlon. |
|
Crack, cracked |
A crack is a small program intended to
defeat software's copy protection, thus
allowing unlicensed copies to be made - stealing it, in effect.
Software that is distributed with its copy protection disabled
or bypassed has been "cracked". |
|
Crash |
When a computer program or operating
system stops working completely or almost completely it
(or the computer) is said to have "crashed". When a computer
crashes it usually needs to be rebooted
before it can be used again. See also lockup. |
|
Crawler |
A program that indexes pages on the World
Wide Web for search engines. |
|
CRT |
(Cathode
Ray Tube) The imaging technology used in most desktop
monitors. Provides an excellent colour display, but is extremely
bulky and is now being gradually supplanted by TFT. |
|
CSS |
(Cascading
Style Sheets) A set of HTML commands
used to control the style of web pages, much more complex than
the <FONT> tag-set it is intended to replace, but also
more powerful and particularly useful for retaining a uniform
style across a large website. Generally only used by professional
web designers. |
|
|
|
Data |
Any information created by a user, such as documents, pictures
or sound recordings. |
|
Database |
A program used for organising
any kind of information on a computer into a searchable form,
anything from a list of contacts to a complex stock control
and accounts system. |
|
DDR |
(Double
Data Rate) A fast type of RAM
for a PC, originally only used on high performance graphics
cards but now being used for general memory
in most high-end PCs. DDR2 is a yet faster version. |
|
Default |
A default setting is one you haven't changed - what a program
will do (or use) if you don’t tell it any different. "Accept
the defaults" means leave any settings as they are. |
|
Desktop |
A computer designed to sit on a desk (as opposed to a laptop).
In Windows, it also
means the screen you see when you aren't running any programs,
with "My Computer", the Recycle Bin and so on. |
|
Digital |
Literally "to do with numbers". Often used to describe a device
using computer technology to replace older, traditional technologies.
For example, a digital camera is one that stores images electronically
rather than on chemical film. |
|
DIMM |
(Dual
In-line Memory Module; pr. "dim")
A module of RAM (memory) for a PC,
replacing the older SIMM specification. |
|
Directory |
An area on a disk for storing files, particularly
in DOS. Usually called a folder
in Windows. |
|
Disk |
Generic term for a type of storage device,
such as a hard disk or a floppy
disk (diskette). So called
because the important part, where the information is actually
stored, is circular, although you can't see it because it is
hidden away inside a protective shell. |
| Disk
Drive |
A
device for storing information. See also; hard
disk, floppy disk |
|
Diskette |
Also
known as a floppy disk. Called a diskette
because it was smaller than the original huge floppy
disks, now long obsolete. |
|
DNS |
(Domain
Name Service/System) An internet
service that converts a human web address such as www.jonstorm.com
into the numeric address that computers use, called the IP
address. "Can't resolve DNS" usually
means that this conversion has failed and therefore the website
can't be found. |
|
Domain |
An internet address owned by a company,
organisation or individual, such as mikegold.info, itv.com or
bbc.co.uk. |
|
Dongle |
A small hardware device used for copy protection with some software.
The dongle must be plugged in to a port on the computer, often
the printer port, or the software won't function. They are unpopular
with users because if the dongle gets lost or broken, the software
won't function. |
|
DOS |
(Disk
Operating System; pr. "doss")
Usually refers to MS-DOS, which was the standard operating system
for PCs until Windows 95 came
out, now pretty much obsolete. Controlled by typing in text
commands and has several serious limitations, but requires a
much less powerful computer than Windows 95. |
|
DoS |
(Denial
of Service) A form of attack on (usually) an internet
service, which aims to prevent the service from operating properly,
often by bombarding it with more information than it can process.
See also Mailbomb. |
|
Download |
To transfer information (files) from a network
(such as the Internet) onto a user PC.
See also upload. |
|
dpi |
(Dots
Per Inch) A measure of picture quality, often used to measure
printer capabilities. The higher the number, the better
the quality. |
|
Driver |
A small program used by the operating
system to control hardware such as a sound or video card.
Often downloading the latest driver
for a device from the manufacturer's website will improve its
functionality. |
| Duron |
Advanced
Micro Devices (AMD) launched its Duron chip in an attempt to
take back market share in the budget-PC market. |
| DVD |
(Digital
Versatile Disk) A more advanced version of the standard
CD which can hold far more information, now
standard on most new PCs. Widely used for high-quality digital
movies. DVD drives can usually also read ordinary CDs. |
|
DVD RW, DVD Writer |
(Digital
Versatile Disk ReWriter) A DVD
drive that can create ("write") rewriteable DVDs.
There are several competing formats at the moment, but most
recent drives support more than one format. It is likely that
one of these formats will become standard in time, but at the
moment it is not clear which. To add to the confusion, they
tend to have very similar names : for example DVD+RW and DVD-RW
are completely different formats, and incompatible with each
other. |
|
DVI |
(Direct
Video Interface) A special type of connector for computer
monitors, particularly flat panels. |
|
|
|
E-commerce |
Conducting business over the internet,
and particularly the World Wide Web. |
|
EIDE |
(Enhanced
Integrated Drive Electronics) An extremely popular hard
disk format. As its name implies, an upgraded version
of IDE. |
|
EISA |
(Extended
Industry Standard Architecture; pr. "ee-icer") An upgraded
version of ISA, now obsolete; usually
used with reference to expansion cards. |
|
Email (or e-mail) |
(Electronic
mail ; pr. "ee-mail") A way to send messages between computers,
or more to the point their users, either over a network
or the Internet. E-mail is usually just
text. Although it is possible to send pictures, sounds or even
programs as e-mail, you should check
with the person you are sending to first, as some e-mail systems
don't accept messages over a certain size (even the longest
text message is tiny compared to a picture). |
|
Emoticon |
(EMOTion
ICON) A group of symbols used to indicate
emotions in email or newsgroups.
The most popular is the smiley
:-) or :) (look at it sideways), but there are lots of variations
including the sad face :-( , the wink ;-) , and the astonished
face :-0 . |
|
Encrypt, encryption |
Coding data so that it can't be read by hackers
etc when transmitted over the internet.
For example, any reputable website selling goods by credit card
will encrypt your credit card number and personal details. |
|
Ethernet |
The most popular system used to connect a computer to a network,
including most broadband internet
connections. The computer needs to be fitted with a suitable
expansion card, usually
called an Ethernet card. |
|
Excel |
The most popular spreadsheet
program for PCs, part of the Microsoft
Office suite. |
|
exe (or .exe) |
(EXEcutable; pr. "exie", "dot exie" ) A file
which is usually the main part of a program.
A program may consist of just an exe
file and nothing else, or there may be dozens of files, including
more exes. |
|
Expansion card (or board) |
A circuitboard which can be inserted into an expansion
slot on the PC's motherboard,
to give the PC extra capabilities. Common examples are sound
cards, graphics cards and network
cards. |
|
Expansion slot |
A socket on a PC motherboard into
which you can insert expansion cards
to increase the PC's capabilities. Most PCs have several PCI
slots, plus an AGP slot for a graphics
card. |
|
Extension |
The part of a PC filename after the dot (.), often used to tell
Windows what type of file
it is. For example, files ending in .exe are programs,
and files ending .jpg or .gif
are pictures. Note that Windows is sometimes set up not to display
the extension in Windows Explorer or My Computer, another helpful
idea to confuse beginners from our friends at Microsoft. |
|
|
|
FAQ |
(Frequently Asked Questions). A document on a website
or in a newsgroup which gives answers to common problems and
questions. Look for an FAQ if you have a problem with something,
before you email or phone support. |
|
FAT |
(File
Allocation Table; pr. "fat") A sort of index of where data
is stored on a hard disk, used by
the operating system. |
|
FDD |
(Fixed Disk Drive, Floppy
Disk Drive). The slot on the PC which accepts floppy
disks, almost always referred to as "Drive A:" by the
computer. |
|
File |
All information on a computer is stored in files, whether it
is part of a program, a document created
by a user, a picture, or anything else. Most software
is made up of dozens, sometimes hundreds, of different files. |
|
File server |
A type of computer used on networks
to provide files and other services to other
computers. Often just called a server. |
|
Filter |
A device which allows you to use an ordinary phone over a telephone
line set up for an ADSL internet
connection. Also called a micro-filter. |
|
Firefox |
An alternative browser,
available free from Mozilla,
which you can use instead of Internet
Explorer. Works pretty well. It has a number of useful extra
features, but perhaps the best is that it doesn't support Windows
ActiveX, thus preventing
rogue websites from using it to hijack your computer. |
|
Firewall |
Originally a dedicated computer between you and the internet,
preventing hackers, spammers and similar
undesirables from taking over your PC. Now often just a program
running on your PC, performing the same task. Absolutely essential
if you have an always-on internet connection such as ADSL
or cable. |
|
Firewire |
A standard for very fast data transfer, popular for applications
that use very large files, particularly
video editing. Requires special hardware, generally added to
a computer as an expansion card. |
|
Flame |
Internet slang for an email
or newsgroup post insulting or telling someone off. They range
from elegant rapier wit to obscene profanity. |
|
Flamewar |
A public trading of insults in a newsgroup
or forum. Sometimes flamewars get so out
of hand that there are hundreds of flames in the newsgroup and
almost nothing else. |
|
Floppy disk |
Also known as a diskette. Originally
called floppy disks because they were round and non-rigid, but
modern floppies might as well be called rigid squares, as the
actual floppy disk is enclosed inside a rigid, almost square
protective casing. Most programs used
to be released on floppy disks, but modern programs are so large
that they are now released on CD ROM instead.
Standard floppy disks have a capacity of only 1.44 Megabytes,
but a floppy drive is still standard on almost all PCs. |
|
FOAD |
(<bleep>
Off And Die) Internet slang. Pretty
self-explanatory really. |
|
Folder |
An area on a disk for storing files
in. Folders can also contain other folders, which in turn can
contain more folders, and so on almost to infinity. Also called
a directory, especially by people used to DOS. |
|
Forum |
A public or semi-public area on a website or bulletin
board where you can read and post messages on a particular
topic, allowing public debate. See also Usenet,
newsgroups. |
| FPS |
(First
Person Shooter) A computer game where you shoot things,
played from a first person perspective, ie with you standing
behind the gun(s). Also known as a shoot-'em-up. |
|
frag |
Shoot someone in a computer game. |
|
FTP |
(File Transfer Protocol).
A way of transferring files to or from an internet
server. Often how you upload
webpages to the internet. |
|
|
|
GB |
See Gigabyte. |
|
GHz |
Gigahertz - billions of cycles per second. Often used
as a measurement of a PC processor
chip's speed and power, with bigger numbers meaning a bit
more speed, and a higher price. 1000 MHz
= 1.0 GigaHertz. |
|
GIF |
(Graphics
Interchange Format) A popular type of compressed graphics
(picture) file, widely used on the WWW.
Best for artwork with 256 colours or less. See also jpg,
compression. |
|
Gigabyte (or Gig) |
Unit of measurement for pieces of information : approximately
1 billion bytes, 1 million kilobytes,
or 1000 megabytes. Hard
disk sizes are usually measured in gigabytes. Often shortened
to "GB", "Gig" or just G. |
|
GPF |
(General
Protection Fault) An common error message in early versions
of Windows, seen when a program
tried to do something Windows thought it shouldn't, often locking
up the PC. |
|
Graphics |
A catch-all term for anything involving drawing images on a
PC screen. A game with great graphics is one that is visually
spectacular. |
|
Graphics card (or controller) |
An expansion card which
the PC uses to control the monitor's graphics. Modern PCs have
a dedicated slot for graphics cards called AGP,
but you can also still get PCI format
cards. |
|
GUI |
(Graphical
User Interface; pr. "gooey") means that a program's
controls are represented pictorially, with symbols, buttons
and so forth, and mostly controlled by pointing and clicking
with a mouse rather than having to type
in text commands. Almost all modern software
is GUI controlled. (see also Windows,
WYSIWYG). |
|
|
| Hacker |
Person
who uses computers to access ("hack") systems they
are not supposed to have access to, eg other people's financial
details, personnel files, military secrets
etc. Hacking can get you arrested. |
|
HAND |
(Have
A Nice Day) Internet slang, often
used ironically. |
|
Hard disk |
A computer's main (and fastest and most convenient) storage
for programs and data. Originally named
to distinguish it from floppy disks.
All PCs are fitted with hard disks, sometimes more than one.
The first (or only) hard disk is usually called C: by the computer.
The most popular hard disk format is called EIDE. |
|
Hardware |
The physical parts of a computer. |
|
HD, HDD |
(Hard
Disk Drive) The main data storage
unit in a computer. See hard disk. |
|
Homepage |
A page on the World Wide Web. Confusingly
"homepage" is used indiscriminately to describe several slightly
different things : an amateur's hobby site; the front or main
page of any website; or the page which your browser
first goes to when you start it up. |
|
Hotspot |
A location where a computer can connect to a wireless network
(see Wi-Fi). |
|
HTH |
(Hope
This Helps) Internet slang, often
added at the end of an email or newsgroup
post answering a question. |
|
HTML |
(HyperText
Markup Language) The system used for creating World
Wide Web pages, ordinary text with commands for special
effects like pictures, colour and links enclosed between <
> symbols. You can add the various HTML commands to ordinary
text by hand - or have it generated for you by software,
either one of the many specialist editors or even a word processing
program like Microsoft Word (although
Word isn't very good at it). |
|
http |
(HyperText
Transfer Protocol) The protocol
or "language" computers use to send web pages over the internet.
Almost every WWW address starts "http://", though many browsers
understand if you omit it. |
| Hub |
A
basic device for connecting computers together to form a network. |
|
Hung |
If a computer (or sometimes just a program)
gets completely stuck and refuses to do anything, it has hung.
See also lockup. |
| Hyperlink |
Any
kind of link on a webpage. Unless you typed this page's URL
in by hand, you got here by clicking on a hyperlink. |
|
Hypertext |
A way of presenting text so that you can click on a link within
it, say a cross-reference, and instantly be transported to the
relevant text, whether it is elsewhere in the current document
or in another document entirely. The most obvious examples are
World Wide Web pages and Windows
helpfiles. |
|
|
|
IANAL |
(I
Am Not A Lawyer) Internet slang.
Amazing how often this one comes up. |
|
IBM |
(International
Business Machines) The company that designed and built the
first PCs, and still a giant of the industry. Standard PCs were
originally referred to as "IBM compatible", although IBM no
longer controls the PC standard. |
|
Icon |
Small pictogram either representing a file,
or providing shortcuts for carrying out common tasks such as
saving and printing inside an application. |
|
IDE |
(Integrated
Drive Electronics ) A type of PC hard
disk, now obsolete, the foreunner of EIDE. |
|
IE |
(Internet
Explorer) Microsoft's web browser,
included free in Windows. If followed
by a number (IE6, IE5 etc) it refers to a particular version
of that browser. |
|
IIRC |
(If
I Recall Correctly) Internet slang. |
|
IMO, IMHO |
(In
My (Honest) Opinion) Internet slang. |
|
Inkjet |
A very popular colour printer technology, which works by squirting
tiny jets of ink onto paper with great precision. |
|
Install |
To transfer a program or programs from
floppy disk or CD
ROM onto a PC's hard disk. Most
programs need to be installed before
they can be used, though a few can be run directly from the
floppy or CD. |
|
Intel |
The Intel Corporation is the leading manufacturer of processor
chips for PCs, most famously the Pentium. |
|
Internet |
A
vast worldwide network of computers,
accessible to anyone with a computer, a modem,
and a phone line. Provides access to e-mail and the World
Wide Web. The Internet grew out of the need of academics
to swap information with colleagues all over the world, and
of the US military's need for a computer and communications
network that couldn't easily be knocked out. As a result it
is very difficult to censor, since anything placed on the
World Wide Web from anywhere is instantly available everywhere
in the world.
|
|
Intranet |
A private miniature internet which allows
no or only limited access to the internet proper, for example
to allow easy sharing of confidential files within a company
or corporation. |
|
IP |
(Internet
Protocol ) A protocol
(computer language) which computers use to communicate with
and over the internet. |
|
IP address |
(Internet
Protocol address) A unique number
assigned to any computer connected to the internet, including
yours, in the format 255.255.255.255. Each of the four blocks
of numbers can be any value from 0 to 255. They can either be
assigned permanently ("static IP") or per session
("dynamic IP"). Most ISPs assign
them dynamically, ie when you connect to the internet. |
|
ISA |
(Industry
Standard Architecture; pr."icer") A once-common type of
PC expansion card, now obsolete;
see also EISA, PCI. |
|
ISDN
|
(Integrated
Services Digital Network ) An early
high speed (for its time) internet connection
system mainly aimed at business, now largely obsolete. Requires
a special type of modem called a
Terminal Adaptor. |
|
ISP |
(Internet
Service Provider) A company which provides a connection
to the internet, or internet services. |
|
ISTM |
(It
Seems To Me) Internet slang. |
|
ISTR |
(I
Seem To Recall) Internet slang. |
|
IT |
(Information
Technology) What computers are all about - using technology
to manage information. The computer industry is often called
the IT industry, and computer departments often refer to themselves
as the IT department. |
|
|
|
Java |
A programming language used to create small programs
called applets, often to produce special effects on web pages. |
|
Javascript |
A set of program instructions, vaguely
similar to Java but not actually
related, written straight into the HTML
of a webpage instead of as an applet. |
|
Joe job, joe-job |
Spam email
apparently promoting a website that actually has nothing to
do with it, intended to get the owner of the website in trouble.
|
|
JPEG, jpg |
(Joint
Picture [Experts] Group; pr. "jay-peg") A standard type
of compressed graphics file, widely used
on the WWW. Particularly good for photographs. See also compression. |
|
|
|
Killer app |
(Killer
application) A program
that is so obviously massively useful to someone that they will
rush out and buy it immediately, and a computer to run it on. |
|
Kbps |
(KiloBits
Per Second) A measure of speed of information flow, usually
over a modem. A Kilobit is a thousand bits.
See also bps, Mbps. |
|
Kilobyte |
Unit of measurement for pieces of information : actually 1024
Bytes (characters), but in practice almost
always rounded down to 1000. Often written as just K, eg 250
K is 250 Kilobytes (250,000 bytes/characters - well not exactly,
but close enough). See also Megabyte,
Gigabyte. |
|
|
|
LAN |
(Local
Area Network; pr."lan") A network
of computers connected together, usually in a single department
or building. See also WAN. |
|
Laptop |
A portable PC, with system unit, screen and keyboard crammed
into one small package. They can do pretty much everything a
desktop PC can do, but are substantially
more expensive because of the extra miniaturisation required.
Also called a notebook. |
|
Linux |
A rival PC operating system
to Microsoft Windows, but unlike Windows
it is "open source", which means that anyone can create their
own version of it without having to pay royalties, and requires
a much less powerful computer. Initially required a lot of technical
knowledge, but is rapidly being made much more user-friendly
and may soon start to challenge Windows' dominance. |
|
LMAO |
(Laughing
My Ass Off) Internet slang. |
|
Lockup, locked up |
An event which causes a computer to get stuck and refuse to
do anything is a lockup. The computer is then said to be hung
or locked up. |
|
LOL |
(Laughing
Out Loud) Internet slang. |
|
|
|
Mac, Macintosh |
The Apple Corporation's alternative to the PC, much loved by
its devotees but completely incompatible with PCs, though some
popular software is also released in
Mac format. |
|
Mac address |
The unique serial number of an Ethernet
card, required for connecting a PC to a network.
(Nothing to do with Apple Macs, despite the name). |
|
Macro |
A small program used to automate repetitive
or complex tasks. The Windows equivalent
is a wizard. |
|
Mailbomb |
One or more very large emails, sent to
someone maliciously to stop them being able to use their mailbox
and/or internet connection, because
all the available bandwidth
is being used up downloading the mailbomb(s).
Most ISPs will close down any account
responsible for mailbombing. See also DoS
(Denial of Service). |
|
Malware |
A catch-all term for software installed
by stealth onto a PC for malevolent purposes (hence the name).
These may include displaying unwanted ads (adware),
installing software you didn't ask for, or spying on your activities
(spyware) and reporting
them back to the culprit so that he can steal your bank account,
address book etc. |
|
Mbps |
(MegaBits
Per Second) A measure of speed of information flow over
a network (and if it's measured in Mbps,
it's reasonably quick.) A Megabit is one million bits.
See also bps, Kbps. |
|
Megabyte |
Unit of measurement for pieces of information : approximately
1 million bytes or a thousand kilobytes. Often shortened to
Meg or just M. See also Gigabyte,
Kilobyte, Byte. |
|
MegaHertz |
See MHz. |
|
Megapixel |
A million pixels.
Often used to measure the quality of digital cameras : the higher
the number the better the camera. |
|
Memory |
Also known as RAM. Where the computer
holds whatever you are currently working on. The contents of
memory are lost when the computer is switched off. |
|
MFD |
(Multi
Function Device). A combined printer, scanner,
photocopier and fax machine. |
|
MHz |
(Megahertz).
Millions of cycles per second. Most often used as a measurement
of a PC processor chip's speed and
power, with bigger numbers meaning more speed and a higher price.
See also GHz. |
|
Micro
|
(Microcomputer)
When desktop computers first appeared
in the 1970's, they were often called microcomputers, later
shortened to micro, to distinguish them from the so-called minicomputers
of the day, which far from sitting on a desk were a good deal
bigger than it! There was also a popular home computer called
the BBC Micro, now long obsolete. |
|
Micro-filter |
A device which allows you to use an ordinary phone over a telephone
line set up for an ADSL internet
connection. Sometimes just called a filter. |
|
Microsoft
|
By
far the largest software provider
for PCs, they created Windows, Microsoft
Office (which includes Word, Excel, Access and Powerpoint),
Internet Explorer, Outlook and many
other widely used programs.
|
|
MIDI |
(Musical
Instrument Digital Interface; pr. "middy") A very popular
standard for controlling musical instruments connected to computers.
Many soundcards have a built-in
synthesizer which can play back MIDI files, though if it's a
cheap one they probably won't sound very good. A MIDI file
is a set of instructions to play particular notes at particular
intervals in particular styles, not a recording. |
|
MIME |
(Multipurpose
Internet Mail Extension; pr. "mime")
An encoding system used in email,
mainly for sending attachments. Email
was originally designed to just use plain text, so programs,
graphics etc have to be sort of disguised as text for email
systems to be able to handle them. MIME is more powerful than
its predecessor, UUENCODE (pr. you-you-encode), but not all
systems accept it. |
|
MLM |
(Multi-Level
Marketing) A scam similar to pyramid selling, much in evidence
on the internet, particularly in spam. |
|
Modem |
(MOdulator/DEModulator)
A device for allowing computers to communicate over a phone
line. May be either an expansion
card, or an external device plugged into one of the
serial ports. |
|
Monitor |
The screen of a PC. |
|
Motherboard |
The main circuitboard in the computer - all the other bits
and pieces are plugged into it. |
|
Mouse |
A device used to move a pointer around on the computer screen.
Essential to get the most out of Windows,
though it is not quite impossible to use Windows without one. |
|
MP3 |
(MPeg-1
audio layer 3). A very popular standard for compressing
audio and particularly music files down
to a reasonable size with little or no perceptible loss of quality,
and the files created using it - "an MP3" is an audio file.
See MPEG, Compression. |
|
MPEG |
(Motion
Picture Experts Group; pr. "em-peg") A set of standards
for compressing video and audio files, and
the committee that came up with them. Also, often used to mean
movie files created to the MPEG standard. |
|
|
|
Network |
A way of linking several computers together so that their users
can share resources such as printers and documents, often via
a central computer called a server.
See also LAN, WAN,
Ethernet. |
|
Network card, Network Interface Card |
An Expansion card which
lets a PC communicate with a network,
required for broadband Internet
access. See also Ethernet. |
|
Newbie |
(New
beginner) Internet slang for someone
who hasn't been using computers or the internet long. |
|
Newsgroup (or just News) |
A public area where you can read and post messages on a particular
topic or theme, allowing public discussion, either on the Internet
or a Bulletin Board. Similar to
a forum. Most newsgroups cover a
specific topic, and newsgroup users get very annoyed if people
post messages which are off-topic, ie not relevant to the topic
under discussion. See also Usenet. |
|
NIC |
(Network
Interface Card) An Expansion
card which lets a PC communicate with a network
or use a broadband internet
connection. Almost all modern NICs are Ethernet
cards. |
|
Notebook |
A portable PC, with system unit, screen and keyboard crammed
into one small package. They can do absolutely anything a desktop
PC can do, but are substantially more expensive because of the
extra miniaturisation required. Also called a laptop. |
|
|
|
OCR |
(Optical
Character Recognition) A program
which attempts to convert a scanned image (ie a picture) of
text into text that can be edited in a word
processor. The result is rarely 100% accurate and must be
carefully proofread, but it can save a lot of retyping. |
|
OEM |
(Original
Equipment Manufacturer) A company that actually builds computers,
as opposed to just retailing them. "OEM software"
is ordinary software bought in bulk at a discount by the OEM
and pre-installed on a new machines,
usually without printed manuals. "OEM software" offered
for sale at huge discounts in spam is almost
certain to be pirated. |
|
Off-topic |
A message which is not relevant to a particular newsgroup
or forum on the Internet
is said to be "off-topic". Posting off-topic messages in newsgroups
annoys people intensely, as they make it harder to follow the
discussion properly. |
|
Online |
Connected to the internet. |
|
Operating System |
Every computer has an operating system, which is a sort of master
program that runs automatically when
you switch the computer on, and continues running till you switch
off. It is responsible for the many routine tasks required to
keep a computer running : moving the pointer when you move the
mouse, providing icons
and menus, running other programs such as a word
processor or a game which you may request, controlling the
various disk drives, the screen and
so on. The most widely used PC operating system is Microsoft
Windows. |
|
OS/2
|
(Operating
System 2) A rival PC operating
system to Microsoft Windows,
produced by IBM in the 1990s. It still has a small, dedicated
core of supporters, but didn't catch on and for most purposes
is obsolete. |
|
Overwrite |
Replace a computer file such as a document
or picture with a newer version, destroying the earlier version.
If you make changes to a document and save
it with the same filename, the previous version is overwritten
and usually cannot be restored. |
|
|
|
Palmtop |
A small computer which fits into the palm of your hand. They
run similar software to conventional
PCs, but (unlike notebook PCs)
are more limited in what they can do than desktop
PCs, because of the constraints of miniaturisation. See PDA.
|
|
Parallel Port |
A special socket for plugging a printer into a computer. The
computer usually refers to the parallel port as LPT1. |
|
Patch |
A program which makes updates to computer
software, usually to fix bugs which
had not been detected when the software went on sale. The best
place to look for a patch is on the software manufacturer's
website. |
|
PC |
(Personal
Computer) Originally just short for "personal computer",
PC is now an industry standard, partly evolved in the marketplace,
partly agreed by a committee of the major players in the computer
industry. |
|
PC 2005 (2004, 2003 etc) |
An agreed standard for new PCs, set each year by a committee
of the major players in the computer industry. |
|
PCI |
(Peripheral Component Interconnect) A standard for PC
expansion cards, currently
the most popular. A "PCI slot" is a socket on the
motherboard for
such cards. |
|
PCI Express |
A special type of PCI slot for the latest graphics
cards, now beginning to supplant AGP.
|
|
PCMCIA |
(Personal Computer Memory Card International
Association) A type of PC expansion
card, the size of an ordinary credit card, mainly intended
for use with notebooks. |
| PDA |
(Personal
Digital Assistant) A small handheld computer used for taking
notes on the move, keeping contact information and so on. See
also palmtop. |
| PDF |
(Portable
Document Format) A popular document format, used mainly
for online computer manuals, which retains the look of a printed
book onscreen. PDFs are created using Adobe Acrobat, but can
be read and displayed by many different programs
including Internet Explorer. |
|
Peer-to-peer |
A type of network where computers
are connected together directly, rather than via a server,
allowing them to access each other's hard
disk etc. |
|
Pentium |
The best known PC processor
(or CPU), manufactured by Intel. |
|
Peripheral |
Anything that plugs into the computer, such as keyboard, printer
etc. |
|
Phishing |
An internet scam in which a forged message
from a bank provides a link for you to go to their website and
"confirm your details" - but the website is a fake,
and if you do enter your details they will be used to steal
all your money. Note that a legitimate email
from your bank should be addressed to you personally rather
than "Dear customer" etc, and will never
ask you to enter your PIN. |
|
Pixel |
(picture
cell) All computer screen or printed images are made up
of pixels, small square dots - the smaller the pixels, the higher
the image quality. |
|
Plasma |
A type of very large screen, either TV or computer monitor.
At present plasma screens aren't very suitable for computing
because the images, although bright and colourful, aren't very
sharp, especially when depicting motion. |
|
Platform-independent |
If something is platform-independent, you don't need a particular
type of computer or particular software
to use it. Perhaps the best example is the internet,
which you can access from a PC, Mac or just about any other
type of computer, and using a huge range of different software. |
|
Plug'n'play
|
(Plug
and Play) A system where Windows
automatically detects any new hardware that is plugged into
the PC and adjusts to it without human intervention. |
|
POP3 |
(Post
Office Protocol version 3; pr. "pop 3") A protocol
for transmitting and receiving email, but
mostly used just for receiving. (Transmitting is still mostly
handled by it's less powerful predecessor, SMTP). |
|
Port |
A socket on the back (usually) of a computer which allows you
to plug in extra hardware such as a printer or modem. |
|
Portal |
A virtual gateway between computer systems, or a website that
provides links to lots of useful sites on a particular theme,
eg shopping or news. |
|
POST |
(Power
On Self Test; pr. "post") A routine PCs go through when
first switched on, before loading the operating
system, to make sure the hardware is working properly. |
|
Power-on password |
A password which the computer will prompt you for whenever the
computer is switched on, a good security measure provided you
don't forget the password. Power-on passwords can usually only
be bypassed by taking the computer to bits. |
|
Processor |
The nerve centre of the computer : everything flows through
it. Also called the CPU. The best
known are Intel's Pentium and
AMD's Athlon. The most important
single specification on any PC is the speed of its processor,
usually measured in megahertz (MHz), or gigahertz
(GHz). |
|
Program |
A program is essentially a list of instructions that tell a
computer how to do something. Any word
processor, spreadsheet,
database, game or any other tool
you may use on a computer is a program (often a group of programs).
Also referred to as software. |
|
Protocol |
Any "language" used by computers to communicate with each other
for particular tasks. |
|
Proxy server |
A computer used to store copies of popular webpages at an ISP
and provide them on request, to save having
to fetch them from the website each time. |
|
PS/2 |
The type of connector used to plug in mouse
and keyboard on most modern PCs, now gradually being superseded
by USB. PS/2 was originally
the name of a PC from IBM with a number of innovative but non-standard
features, including special connectors for mouse and keyboard.
The PC didn't catch on particularly well, mainly because its
unusual architecture meant that it could not accept standard
expansion cards, but its mouse
and keyboard connectors proved popular and were widely adopted.
PS2 (without the /) is often used to refer to Sony's PlayStation
2, a popular games console. |
|
|
|
Quicktime |
A video compression standard created
by Apple for use on both Macs and PCs, and the program
which displays such movies. |
|
|
|
RAID |
(Redundant
Array of Inexpensive Disks; pr. "raid") A way of connecting
multiple hard disks together so that
a computer sees them as one very large, very fast disk instead
of many smaller ones. Often called a "RAID array", even though
the acronym already contains the word array. Mostly used on
network servers. |
|
RAM |
(Random
Access Memory; pr. "ram") The computer's
main memory, which it uses to hold
whatever you are currently working on. The contents of RAM are
lost when the computer is switched off. Adding more RAM is often
the most cost-effective upgrade for an ageing computer. |
|
Read-only |
A
read-only file has been set so that it cannot
be altered or deleted. Also called write-protected.
You can make a file read-only in Windows
by right-clicking on it and checking the "read-only"
box under attributes. Floppy disks
can be write-protected by moving a small plastic square in the
top left corner. Files on CD ROM are always
read-only because you can't change the contents of a CD ROM.
|
|
Real Audio, Real Media, Real Video |
An audio and video compression system
from RealMedia Inc which produces files
small enough to play back in real time over an ordinary modem. |
|
Reboot |
Restart the computer, either by shutting it down properly and
restarting it (a soft reboot), or just switching it off and
on again (a hard reboot - should only be used as a last resort). |
|
Registrar
|
An
organisation which retains a register of internet
domain names, who owns them,
and where they can be found. Domains under the most popular
TLDs such as .com, .net and .org
can be registered with a number of different competing registrars,
but you only need to register with one of them. National domains
such as .uk usually have only one registrar.
|
|
Registry |
A file on Windows
PCs which contains all the settings for the PC and its software.
Can be edited by the user, but this should only be done as absolutely
a last resort, as it is possible to trash the operating
system completely if you don't know what you are doing. |
|
Resolution |
Loosely speaking, the quality of an image. When printing or
working with images, the resolution is usually measured in Dots
Per Inch (dpi) - the more dots per inch, the higher the quality
of the image but the larger the file needed
to store it. In Windows, the screen resolution
is how many pixels fit
on the desktop, the most popular being
800 x 600 and 1024 x 768 - the former makes images, icons
etc look bigger, but the latter means you can fit more of them
on the screen. |
| Rewriteable |
A
special type of reuseable CD
or DVD which you can write
to, delete the contents, and write to again, theoretically forever.
(A conventional CD or DVD's contents can't be changed once they
have been written). However, rewriteable CDs are less reliable
and more expensive than write-once CDs, and there are presently
several different incompatible formats for rewriteable DVDs. |
|
RGB |
(Red,
Green, Blue) The three colours used by a computer screen
- all the other colours can be made up by mixing red, blue and
green. A few printers use this system as well, though most use
the alternative CMYK system instead. |
| Ripper |
Program
which copies ("rips") tracks from music CDs
onto a computer, often as an MP3. |
|
ROFL (or ROTFL) |
(Rolling
On the Floor Laughing) Internet
slang indicating laughter. |
|
ROM |
(Read
Only Memory; pr. "rom") Memory whose
contents are preset and cannot (usually) be changed by the user.
See also CD-ROM. |
| Router |
A
device used to connect networks together,
for example so that several PCs can share one internet
connection. A relative of the hub,
but more powerful. |
|
RPG |
(Role
Playing Game) A computer game in which you control a character
and interact with other characters, explore virtual worlds,
undertake quests etc, often involving swords and sorcery. |
| RTFM |
(Read
The Flipping Manual) Internet slang,
usually fired at people asking basic questions to which they
would know the answers if they had looked at the manual. There
are several different translations of the letter F... :-) |
|
RTS |
(Real
Time Strategy) A computer game where you command armies
(usually) of animated figures, direct their development, fight
their battles and so on. "Real Time" because the game
runs continuously rather than waiting for your orders, though
in practise you can usually pause the game as much as you like
unless you are playing against a human opponent. |
|
|
|
Safe Mode |
A cut-down version of Windows
which you can launch instead of the full version for troubleshooting
purposes. |
|
Save |
Copy whatever you are working on from memory,
which is lost when you switch off the computer, to permanent
storage, usually the hard
disk. It is a good idea to save frequently when you are
working on something important, in case there is a sudden power
cut or you make some awful mistake that trashes your document.
|
|
S/B Compatible |
(SoundBlaster
compatible) A common Soundcard
format. In practice anything which is described as "S/B compatible"
should work with almost all sound cards. |
|
Scanner |
A device which makes high-resolution copies of printed images
and text to use on a computer. |
|
Screensaver |
A program that blanks the computer screen
or displays images if you don't do anything for a few minutes,
in Windows for example. Early screens
could have images literally burned permanently onto the tube
if left displaying the same thing all day. Much less of a problem
with modern screens, and these days screensavers are mostly
used for security (with a password to return to normal mode),
or just for fun. |
|
Scroll, scroll-bar |
To scroll something is to move it up or down the screen, so
you can see what is above or below the current position, for
example at a website. A scroll-bar is a bar on the right-hand
side (usually) of a window which allows you to move the text
etc up and down the screen with a mouse.
If the window is too wide to fit the screen there will be a
scroll-bar at the bottom, so you can scroll the text left and
right too. |
|
SCSI |
(Small
Computer Systems Interface; pr. "scuzzy") A fast system
for controlling hard disks, tape drives,
and various other add-ons. Sometimes used for a PC's main hard
disk, but more often the main hard disk is controlled by an
IDE or EIDE
controller built into the motherboard.
A SCSI controller would usually be installed
as an expansion board. SCSI is a bit faster than EIDE, but more
expensive. |
|
Search engine |
A website directory which indexes as many websites as it can
and allows you to search its database
for sites on particular subjects. Because of the immense size
and rate of growth of the world wide web,
no-one has a complete directory of all sites which exist. |
|
Serial Port |
A socket for plugging devices into the computer (not the same
as USB). Most PCs have two, called
COM1 and COM2. Most often used to plug in a modem
or mouse; however, on many modern computers
a modem is built into the computer as an expansion
card, and the mouse has its own separate port. |
|
Server |
A computer at the centre of most networks
which provides files and other services
to other computers. Also known as a file server. |
|
Shockwave |
A very impressive technology from Macromedia Inc for making
animations, games, sound and all kinds of special effects on
a webpage. |
|
shoot-'em-up |
A computer game in which you control a character, vehicle etc
and shoot lots of onscreen enemies. Also called an FPS
(First Person Shooter). |
|
Shortcut |
In Windows (from 95 on), a type
of icon which lets you launch a program
quickly, without having to search for it. Often placed on the
Windows desktop for
convenience. Usually has a small arrow in the bottom lefthand
corner, to show it is a shortcut rather than the program itself.
|
|
SIMM |
(Single
In-line Memory Module; pr."sim") A
module of RAM for older PCs. Replaced
by DIMMs on newer computers. |
|
SIR |
(Serial
InfraRed). A wireless communication system for PCs and peripherals,
especially laptops. Only works when the
devices are in line-of-sight of each other. |
|
SMTP |
(Simple
Mail Transfer Protocol). The original
method of transmitting and receiving email
on the internet. Still often used for
transmitting, but has been widely replaced by POP3
for receiving. |
|
Smiley |
:-) or :) A group of symbols used to indicate a smile
or laughter in an email or newsgroup
message (look at it sideways). There are all sorts of variants
including :-( for sadness, ;-) for a smile with a wink, and
:-o for astonishment. Collectively they are often called emoticons. |
|
Software |
The programs that run on a computer.
Without software, a computer can't do anything. |
|
SoundBlaster |
The best known type of Soundcard,
made by Creative Labs. Most modern soundcards are described
as "SoundBlaster compatible" (or S/B
compatible), meaning that they understand the same commands
as the popular SoundBlaster range, and should therefore work
with almost all programs. |
|
Soundcard |
An expansion card which
enables the PC to make sounds more sophisticated than a simple
"beep!". Almost all modern PCs are fitted with soundcards; nowadays
they are often built into the motherboard
instead of being added as an expansion card. |
|
SP2 |
(Service
Pack 2). A major enhancement to Windows
XP, particularly its security vulnerabilites, downloadable
as a free patch from Microsoft's website. |
|
Spam |
Originally a name for mass postings to Usenet
newsgroups advertising products
or services, regardless of their relevance to the newsgroup.
(The name comes from a famous Monty Python sketch in which every
conversation is interrupted every few seconds by people shouting
"spam spam spam" at the top of their voices). Now generally
used to describe bulk commercial advertising emails
(UCE). Sending spam is a violation
of most ISPs' AUP. |
|
Spreadsheet |
A program used for doing calculations
and setting up financial balance sheets, indispensable for accountants
and managers. The best known are Microsoft Excel and Lotus 1-2-3. |
|
Spyware |
Programs, typically installed
by stealth, which record what you do on your PC and send reports
to criminals, allowing them to steal your bank details, passwords
and so on. See also Malware.
|
|
Standalone |
A computer not connected to any kind of network. |
|
Start Button |
A button on the lefthand end (usually) of the Taskbar
in most versions of Windows,
which you click on to display the Start
Menu. |
|
Start Menu |
A set of menus which appear when you click on the Start
Button in Windows, which you
can customise to suit your own preferences. Most programs
will automatically add themselves to the Start Menu when you
install them. |
|
StartUp Folder |
An area under Programs in the Windows
Start Menu. Any programs placed
in this folder will launch themselves
automatically whenever you start up Windows. |
|
Storage |
The generic term for any method of storing information which
is not lost when the computer is switched off; the most common
types are hard disks, CD
ROMs, and floppy disks. |
| Suite |
A
group of programs which carry out different
tasks but are intended to work together, such as Microsoft Office. |
|
Surfing |
In a computer context, wandering around the World
Wide Web (which really annoys the guys with the boards
and the big waves). Also called websurfing. |
|
System Tray |
An area on the righthand end of the Windows
Taskbar which displays icons
representing TSRs presently running,
usually at least a loudspeaker which represents the volume control
for the soundcard, and a clock.
Programs in the Sytem Tray are often
but not always launched from the StartUp
folder. |
|
System unit (or box) |
The unit with the disk drives which
the keyboard, monitor etc are plugged into. In other words,
the actual computer. |
|
|
|
Taskbar |
In Windows, a bar across the bottom of
the screen (usually - you can move it to the top or side if
you want to) which contains the Start
Button, the System Tray,
and icons which represent all the
applications currently running. You
can switch between applications by calling up the taskbar and
clicking on the relevant icon. The taskbar
can be set to remain visible all the time (the default), or
only to appear when you press the Windows
key. |
|
TCP/IP |
(Transfer
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)
A common protocol (language)
which a computer can use to communicate with other computers,
particularly on the internet. |
|
Terabyte |
Unit of measurement for pieces of information : approximately
1 trillion bytes, 1 billion kilobytes,
1 million megabytes or 1000 gigabytes. |
|
Terminal Adaptor |
A piece of hardware similar to a modem,
required to operate an ISDN internet
connection. |
|
TIFF, Tif |
(Tagged
Image File Format) A type of graphics
(picture) file, often used for photographs. The files are usually
huge, as the data is not significantly compressed. Files in
this format usually have names ending .tif . |
|
TFT |
(Thin
Film Transistor) A technology used mainly in laptop
screens for giving a sharp and vibrant colour display. Much
less bulky than the CRT system used
in most desktop monitors, which it is
now slowly beginning to replace, but also more expensive. |
|
TLD |
(Top
Level Domain). The part of an internet
address between the last . and the end of the address, excluding
the path/address of a specific page if present. TLDs include
.com, .org, .net, and all the national domains such as .uk for
the UK and .es for Spain. See also domain,
registrar. |
|
Toolbar |
An extra set of controls that can be added to many programs
to provide extra functionality not present in the standard version,
such as the Google toolbar, which lets you do Google searches
from your browser without having to go
to the website. |
|
Touchpad |
A pressure-sensitive pad which replaces the mouse
on most laptop computers. |
|
Trojan |
A program similar to a virus
which is disguised as something harmless like a game, but when
launched actually sabotages the computer on which it is running. |
|
TSR |
(Terminate
and Stay Resident) A program, usually
loaded automatically on startup, which remains in memory
to provide particular functions such as connection to a network
or protection against viruses. In Windows
95/98 TSRs presently running are usually represented by
icons in the System
tray, such as the small loudspeaker which represents
the volume control for the soundcard.
A few TSRs are essential, but many are installed
automatically by a particular application
just to improve its own performance, with no thought for anything
else you may be doing, and may actually have a negative impact
on everything else. Usually (but not always) launched from the
StartUp folder in the Windows
Start Menu. |
|
TWAIN |
(Technology
Without An Interesting Name) A standard "language" or protocol
which computers use to communicate with scanners. |
|
|
|
UBE, UCE |
(Unsolicited
Bulk Email, Unsolicited Commercial Email)
Email sent out in bulk to addresses harvested from web pages,
newsgroups etc, advertising products
or services - mostly scams or pornography. Also known as spam.
Sending UCE is a violation of most ISP's
Acceptable Use Policies, and will often get your account terminated
immediately. |
|
Ultra DMA, UDMA |
(Direct
Memory Access) A standard for EIDE
disk controllers relating to how fast they can transfer data.
Often followed by a number representing the transfer rate in
Mbps, eg UDMA100 operates at up to
100 Mbps. |
| Uninstall |
Remove
a program from your system. You can't
just delete its folder, because almost
all programs make changes to various parts of Windows.
Many programs come with a special uninstaller, which you should
use if it exists. Otherwise, you can uninstall programs (in
Windows) from the Control Panel. |
|
Upload |
To transfer information (files) from a user
PC to a network or the Internet.
See also download. |
|
URL |
(Universal
Resource Locator) An address used to locate something on
the internet, most often a web page.
All web addresses are URLs. |
|
USB |
(Universal
Serial Bus) A type of serial port
(or connector), used to attach extra devices such as a scanner
to a PC. Standard on new PCs from around 1998. USB 2.0 is a
faster version of the same thing. Many PCs now use USB to connect
the mouse and keyboard. |
|
Usenet |
An enormous collection of public newsgroups
on the Internet, well over 25,000
at last count, which allow users to post messages discussing
particular issues. |
|
User interface |
A program's controls, with which the
user "interfaces" with the program. |
|
|
|
Vaporware |
Derogatory term for software
which is announced but fails to materialise. |
|
VGA |
(Video
Graphics Array) An early colour graphics standard for PCs,
now used as a sort of lowest common denominator which all monitors
and graphics cards understand. |
|
Virus |
A program that has been deliberately
created to cause computer problems, usually minor ones as a
prank, but occasionally very nasty ones indeed, such as erasing
your entire hard disk. Viruses were
originally designed to attach themselves to programs on a disk,
and then "hide" in the computer's memory
once the host program is executed, and "infect" every disk they
come across. Some types of virus (such as the famous "I love
you") propagate by email, disguised as
an attachment, which is why
you should never open an attachment you are unsure of. |
|
Virus protector |
A program which guards against computer
viruses, either by lurking in memory
as a TSR and checking everything you
run for viruses as you go along, or by scanning some or all
of the files on either hard or floppy
disk at a time you specify. Virus protectors need to be
updated frequently to guard against new types of virus. |
|
Voicemail |
A voice message recorded on a computer and sent to a specific
person by the computer or telephone system. In effect a more
sophisticated telephone answering machine. |
|
VOIP |
(Voice
Over Internet Protocol)
A system for making cheap phonecalls over the internet instead
of via the telephone system. |
|
|
|
W3C |
(World
Wide Web Consortium) An influential group of interested
parties who agree what is and isn't official HTML.
Originally WWWC, but W3C is a lot easier to say. |
|
Wallpaper |
A picture or motif on your Windows desktop.
To change the Windows wallpaper right-click anywhere on the
desktop, select Properties from the pop-up menu, choose the
Desktop tab and select a new entry from the list under Background.
To add pictures of your own to the list, save
them as .bmp (bitmap) files
and put them in your Windows folder. |
|
WAN |
(Wide
Area Network) A sort of group of
networks, or more properly LANs,
connected together. |
|
WAP |
(Wireless
Application Protocol;
pr. "wapp" or "wopp") A system to enable mobile phones to browse
the World Wide Web. In practise the site
has to be specially designed and text only, and only a very
few sites have bothered to set up a WAP version. |
|
WAV file, Wave |
A computer sound recording. WAV files tend
to be very large, so sound recordings are often compressed into
MP3s on the internet,
giving a slightly lower quality but much smaller files.
|
|
Webcam |
(WEB
CAMera) a kind of cheap TV camera which you can use for
videoconferencing over the internet,
or just showing off. The picture quality usually isn't all that
great but it doesn't need to be, because high quality real time
video won't fit down an ordinary internet connection anyway. |
|
Webhost |
A company which makes webpages available on the World
Wide Web, usually as a commercial venture. |
|
Weblog |
A
website documenting someone's life and/or thoughts, also known
as a blog. |
|
Webmail |
Email
controlled from a website such as Hotmail or Yahoo instead of
with a dedicated mail program like Outlook
Express or Eudora. Many ISPs allow you to
access your email both with a mail program and via the Web,
so that you can access your email while travelling. |
|
Webserver |
A computer which fetches or stores World Wide
Web pages and provides them over the internet
on request. |
|
Website |
A page or group of pages on the World Wide
Web. |
|
Webspace |
The storage on an internet
server where websites are kept. Webspace
can be hired from a commercial provider, or is sometimes provided
free with an internet dialup account, though usually with constraints
on what you can use it for. |
|
Websurfing |
Looking at pages on the World Wide Web.
Often just called surfing. |
|
Wi-Fi |
(WIreless
FIdelity) A method of connecting computers together in a
network without cables, using small transmitter/receivers
connected to ordinary PCs, printers, broadband
modems etc. See 80211
etc. |
|
Win95 |
Windows 95. See Windows. |
|
Win98 |
Windows 98. See Windows. |
|
Win9x |
Compatible with or pertaining to both Windows 95 and Windows
98. See Windows. |
|
Windows |
A family of operating systems
from the Microsoft Corporation, standard on most PCs. Windows
95, 98 and ME (Millenium Edition) are three generations
of the version intended mainly for home use; Windows
NT and 2000, developed and released in parallel with the
9x family, were intended more for use in office and network
environments, supposedly more robust but usually requiring a
more powerful computer. The latest version is Windows
XP, intended to bring the two different "flavours" together
in a unified whole. |
| Windows
2000 |
A
version of Windows intended
for business users, the successor to Windows
NT. Now theoretically superseded by Windows
XP, but many businesses are still using it. |
|
Windows 3.1 / 3.11 |
Microsoft's standard PC operating environment before the release
of Windows 95. Not strictly speaking
an operating system in its own
right, more an add-on which provides DOS
with a GUI. Windows 3.11 was officially
called "Windows for Workgroups" because it was purportedly designed
for use with networks, but in practice
is no different to 3.1. |
|
Windows 98SE |
(Second Edition) An upgrade to Microsoft's Windows
98. Generally agreed to be the best of the Win9x
bunch. |
|
Windows Key |
An extra key on keyboards made after 1995, located between Ctrl
and Alt and bearing the Microsoft Windows
logo. Pressing this key in any Win95/98 application
should immediately call up the Taskbar
with the Start Menu open. (If your
keyboard doesn't have a Windows key you can perform the same
task by pressing Ctrl-Esc). |
| Windows
ME |
(Millenium
Edition) The successor to Windows
98, but not widely taken up and now replaced by
Windows XP. See Windows. |
| Windows
NT |
A
version of Windows intended
for business use, more stable for networking
but less game-friendly than its Win9x
cousins. Superseded first by Windows 2000 and now by Windows
XP. |
| Windows
XP |
The
latest version of Windows and generally agreed to be the most
stable. Intended to bring together and replace the different
9x and NT versions of Windows (see Windows)
- but Microsoft have released two versions, "Home"
and "Professional". |
|
Winsock |
A program required by Windows
to communicate with the internet, usually
installed automatically along with internet
connection software. |
|
Winzip |
The most popular program for compressing
files, either for storage
or transmission via the internet, widely
available as a free download. The compressed
files it creates have the extension .zip. |
|
Wireless network |
A computer network which uses radio transmitters
(usually) to move information between computers without the
need for physical cables. See Wi-Fi.
|
| Wizard |
A
Windows feature which
presents a user with simple menus or options for what would
otherwise be a complex task, and carries them out automatically.
Almost all Windows programs are installed
via Wizards, and they are also widely used inside Windows programs. |
|
Word Processor |
A program used for creating documents,
letters etc. By far the best known is Microsoft Word. |
|
World Wide Web (WWW or just "the Web") |
The easiest part of the Internet
to understand and use, the World Wide Web consists of many millions
of pages of text and images published by anyone and everyone,
from governments and large corporations down to the humblest
home user, in a standardised hypertext
format. A particular person or company's area is called a website.
Viewed with a program called a browser.
Wandering around the World Wide Web is often called Websurfing
or just surfing. |
| Worm |
A
malicious program introduced into computers
by stealth, similar to a virus. |
|
Write-protected |
A
write-protected file has been set so that
it cannot be altered or deleted without first removing the write
protection. Also called read-only.
You can write-protect a file in windows
by right-clicking on it and checking the "read-only"
box under attributes. Floppy disks
can be write-protected by moving the small plastic square in
the top right corner.
|
|
WYSIWYG |
(What
You See Is What You Get; pr. "whizzy-wig") Mainly refers
to word-processors, desktop publishers
and the like. Means that all typeface changes, pictures and
so on are drawn on the computer screen exactly as they will
appear on the printed page, often not the case with older software. |
|
|
| XML |
Extensible
Markup Language (XML) is a simple, very flexible text format
derived from SGML (ISO 8879). Originally designed to meet the
challenges of large-scale electronic publishing, XML is also
playing an increasingly important role in the exchange of a
wide variety of data on the Web and elsewhere.
|
|
|
|
YMMV |
(Your
Mileage May Vary) Internet slang,
meaning "your experience may be different". Derives from a disclaimer
in US car ads. |
|
|
|
Zip |
A
popular standard for file compression
developed by the PKWare corporation. Files thus compressed usually
have the extension .zip. See Winzip. |
|
Zip drive |
A special drive for removable data cartridges, often used for
making backups as the cartridges
can hold a lot more data than a floppy
disk. Now pretty much obsolete, as almost all PCs have CD
or DVD writers fitted as standard. |
