AGP
Slot Accelerated Graphics Port. A PC interface
used for super-fast 3D graphics facilities. Ideal for
handling 3D depicted in many games. |
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ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. A technology that
converts an ordinary household telephone line into an
extremely fast internet connection - around 10 times
faster than a regular 56k modem. |
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Anti-virus
Software An application designed to protect
PCs from malicious computer code. |
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Avatar A graphic or icon used to represent a person in an online
chatroom or game. |
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Bandwidth In computer terms, a measure of the maximum amout of
data that can be transfered over a connection at any
one time |
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Boot The process a PC goes through after it is switched on
- performing a quick self-test, loading Windows, and
so on. |
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Broadband Refers to high-bandwidth internet connection, such as
ADSL. |
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Burn-Proof Technology used by some CD-RW drives to ensure error-free
and foolproof disk creation. |
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CD-RW Compact Disk Rewritable format. Blank CDs which can
be recorded on over and over again, great for storing
files and folders that change alot of times, as in publishing
etc. |
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Cells A spreadsheet page uses rows and columns to divide it
into cells. They are identified with letters and numbers,
so each cell has a unique co-ordinate, such as D15. |
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CD-R Compact Disk Recordable format. Blank CDs onto which
information (such as music or data) can be recorded
- but only once. |
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CD-ROM A version of the CD, which can store a lot more than
just music. This small disk can hold up to 650Mb of
data. |
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Clipart A library of drawings or photos that you can use in
presentations, reports or in desktop publishing documents.
You must check whether there are copyright restrictions
if you intend using them commercially. |
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Compression Reducing the size of a file by encoding the data. One
of the most used forms of compression utilities is Winzip
that you use to compress a file etc before sending over
the net or storing. |
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DDR Double Data Rate memory. A type of memory that's twice
as fast as ordinary memory. |
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Desktop What you see when you start up a Windows-based computer.
The Desktop will display your Taskbar and a selection
of icons such as My Computer and Recycle Bin. |
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Defragmenting Also known as 'defragging', this means reorganising
the data stored on a hard disk so that it can be accessed
as quickly as possible by the computer. A fragmented
disk can adversely affect system performance. |
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Dialogue
Box A small window that pops up to display
or request information. In Windows, Menu options that
end with an '....' always open a dialogue box. |
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Dial-up
Networking A component of Windows that allows
PCs to connect to the internet using a modem and a telephone
line. |
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Digital Digital Information consists of discrete parts. Computers
only recognise digital information, so must convert
analogue signals. A sound card for example, converts
the sound of a recording into a series of numbers the
PC can process. |
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DirectX Windows feature that ensures that all progrmas work
with all the different types of hardware available. |
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Dots
Per Inch (dpi) Printed and scanned images are made up of dots. The
more dots there are per square inch, the sharper the
picture looks. |
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Download Transferring files onto your PC directly from another
computer. |
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Domain
Name The name used to identify a site on
the internet, such as our site computers-internet.co.uk
or e-shopmall.co.uk |
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Driver Software needed to allow operating systems to communicate
with peripherals. |
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DVD A type of disk able to store huge amounts of data, including
full-length movies, with excellent quality sound and
pictures. |
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DVD-ROM These drives will play both CD-ROM AND DVD disks. Huge
amounts of data can be stored on one DVD disc including
full length movies. |
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Emails Short for Electronic Mail, a system of sending notes
and memos between computers via the internet. |
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Extension The three-letter code at the end of a filename that
indicates the type or format of the file. For example,
.BMP is a bitmap, .EXE is an executable progrma file.
These enable Windows to recognise what type of file
it's dealing with. |
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FAT File Allocation Table. This is a system used by Windows
to organise files stored on a hard disk. Windows95 used
a system called FAT16, Windows98 and ME use FAT32 that
allows, among other things, long file names. |
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Footer A special area at the bottom of a word-processor document:
type in something here and it will appear at the base
of every page. |
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Floppy
Disk A small, rigid quare bit of plastic
used to store data. Inside the case is a circular magnetic
disk (the floppy bit). |
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Firewall A system that prevents unauthorised access to a computer
over a network, such as the internet. |
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Firewire A super-fast data link between your PC and devices such
as digital camcorders. |
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Gb Gigabyte. A measurement of storage capacity. 1Gb is
equal to 1,024Mb (megabytes). |
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GHz Gigahertz. A measure of how fast the processor in your
PC works. |
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GPRS General Packet Radio Service. A mobile phone standard
that provides an 'always on' connection. |
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Graphics
Card The part of the PC that displays the
image you see on the monitor. Some are more advanced
than others, featuring connections for video recorders. |
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Hard
Disk A high-capacity disk drive fitted in
almost all PCs and used to store both applications and
the documents and files they create. |
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Hyperlink A clickable link on a web page or document that takes
you to elsewhere, like to another website or page. |
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IDE Integrated Drive Electronics. A standard interface for
connecting devices such as hard disks and CD-ROM drives
to a PC. |
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Interconnect The cable that connects your audio source to the amplifier. |
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ISP Internet Service Provider. A company that provides you
with access to the internet, usually for a fee. |
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Icon A small image used by Windows to identify a file or
application. |
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Image-Editing
Program Software used to manipulate digital
images, either created from scratch or obtained via
a scanner or digital camera. |
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Kbit/s Kilobits Per Second. A measure of data transfer or modem
speed. |
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Master
Boot Record Part of a hard disk read by a
computer as soon as it is switched on and contains information
about which hard disk to boot from. |
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Mb A measurement of storage capacity. Usually for computer
memory. 1Mb is equal to 1,024Kb. |
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Mb/s Short for Megabytes per second, which is a measure of
data transfer speed. |
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Message
Board An internet-based equivalent of an
actual message board, where people can post and reply
to messages 'posted' by other people. |
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Memory The computer's temporary storage area, measured in megabytes
(Mb). Anything written to memory will be lost when the
power is switched off. |
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Memory
Card Small cards that can store many megabytes
of data or documents. |
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Memory
Stick A type of proprietary memory card designed
by Sony. Used to provide slot in, removable storage. |
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MHz A measure of how fast the processor in your PC works.
As a rule of thumb, the higher the number the faster
the PC will be. |
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MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface. A standard for
controlling electronic musical instruments by computer.
One MIDI instrument can be used to control and communicate
with another. |
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Modem A device that enables two computers to communicate with
each other over a telephone line. A modem is usually
needed to connect to the internet. |
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Motherboard The main circuit board inside any PC into which every
other component connects to and communicates through. |
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MP3 A standard for compressing digital audio. The sound
quality is close to that CD audio but requires only
a fraction of the storage space. |
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Multimedia Implies that either hardware (such as your PC) or software
is capable of handling both video and sound. |
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My
Computer You will usually find an icon labelled
'My Computer' in the top-left hand corner of your Windows
desktop. Double-Click on this, and a window will appear,
containing icons for any disk drives you have connected
to your PC etc. |
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Operating
System A crucial piece of software that governs
the way the components in a PC work together. |
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Optical
Zoom A telephoto lens that allows the user
to effectively magnify the image and narrow the field
of vision like a pair of binoculars does. |
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Partitions A large hard disk can be divided into partitions or
'virtual' drives. Once partitioned, each section is
treated by Windows as though it were a completely seperate
hard disk. |
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PC
Card A credit card-size device for adding
anything from a modem to a hard disk to a notebook PC. |
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PCI Peripheral Component Interconnect. A high-performance
expansion slot for desktop PCs. Usually you will have
two to three slots on your motherboard to add extra
cards for various things like a network. |
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PDA Personal Digital Assistant. A palmtop computer about
the size of a pocket calculator. Usually without a keyboard
and with a touch-sensitive screen, it will use text
recognition for data entry. Most PDAs are supplied with
diary and memo software. |
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PIN A four-digit code used as a password for such things
as cashpoint machines and mobile phones. |
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Pointer What you see on a screen when you move your mouse. It
usually looks like an arrow. |
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Portal A website that offers a variety of services, such as
news, weather reports, stock information, email and
so on. The information on offer may be personalised
for your interests if you have registered with the portal. |
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Plug-in A small program that adds extra features such as streaming
video to your web browser, and is loaded only when it's
needed to display information. |
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PS/2 A set of standards for such things as mouse and keyboard
interfaces, originally used by IBM. |
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Rambus A design of memory claimed to offer very high performance,
albeit at a high price. |
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Registry A database integrated into Windows which stores information
on all hardware and software installed on your PC. This
includes user preferences, settings and licence information. |
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Resolution The amount of detail shown in an image, whether on screen
or printed. For a monitor, scanner or digital camera,
it is the number of pixels it can display (typically
1024 x 768 pixels for a 17in monitor). |
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Scanner A device which uses a light sensor to convert a drawing,
photograph or document into data which can be interpreted
by software on your PC. |
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Server A computer on a network that stores shared information.
Servers can also manage shared resources, such as printers. |
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SCART A standardised 21-pin connector for two-way traffic
of video/audio signals. |
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Streaming When data flows to your PC as needed. Broadcasts over
the net are often streamed so you don't have to download
a whole file to start listening or watching. |
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Search
Engines A site on the net that indexes the
names and addresses of other sites. It enables you to
search for sites containing certain keywords, or sometimes
even ask a question in normal language. |
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SIM Subscriber Identity Module. The smart card used inside
all digital mobile phones. The SIM card carries the
user's identity and phone number for accessing the network.
It is also used for storing the user's personal phonebook
and text messages. |
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Sound
Card An expansion card that lets a PC create
sounds - game sound effects, music and so on. |
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Spam Junk email sent to large groups of people offering such
things as money-spinning ideas, holidays, and so on. |
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S/PDIF Sony/Philips Digital Interface. A standard for transferring
digital audio information between devices. |
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Tag Part of the syntax of HTML, the language used to define
web pages, tags assign attributes - such as position
and colour - to each of the elements of a web page. |
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Template A document or spreadsheet that contains all the required
formatting for a particular style or type of document. |
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Text
Message Also known as SMS. Most mobile phones
can send and text messages of up to 160 characters to
other mobile phones, generally regardless of network
or model of phone. |
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TFT Technology used to create thin, flat colour screens
for such things as computer monitors and digital cameras.
TFT displays are high quality and will show clear and
bright images. |
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Thumbnail A small image used to give a quick preview of a much
larger image. |
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Toolbar A strip of icons that runs across the top of most Windows
applications. Used to provide quick access to certain
important features, such as saving and printing. |
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USB/USB2 Universal Serial Bus. A standard which allows quick
and easy connection of external peripherals such as
printers and scanners to your PC. USB2 is a faster standard
that is backwardly-compatible. |
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VGA Video Graphics Array. A basic standard for graphics
output, specifying the monitor and graphics card should
be able to display 16 colours at a resolution of 640x480
pixels. |
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Virus A malicious computer program designed to cause at best
annoyance and at worse, damage to computer data. |
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WAP Wireless Application Protocol. A specification for transmitting
data, particularly to mobile phones and handheld computers. |
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Webcam A video camera designed to connect to your PC. It can
be used to record video clips which you can send by
email, or to transmit images directly over the internet
for video conferencing. |
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Windows
Explorer The graphic interface to the Windows
filing system. Using images to represent files and folders,
it lets you manage documents by moving them between
folders and deleting, copying or renaming them. |
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Wizard An automated online 'assistant' designed to guide you,
step-by-step, through a potentially complex process,
making things alot easier to use or setup. |
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Word
Processor A software application for preparing
largely text-based documents. Most word processors allow
you to add pictures and text effects, link to other
documents, and check your spelling and grammar automatically.
Word processors include Microsoft Word and Lotus Word
Pro. |
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Worm A program that transmits and copies itself over a network.
Worms can't attach themselves to other files like viruses
can. |
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Slow computer? Think you may have a virus or spyware? 
