it glossary

3G 3G refers to the third generation of cellular data standards. Cell phone companies often market mobile phones as "3G...

4G 4G is the fourth generation of cellular data standards. Like 3G, there is no single 4G technology. Instead, 4G an...

802.11a 802.11a is a Wi-Fi standard developed by the IEEE for transmitting data over a wireless network. It uses a 5 GHz band...

802.11b 802.11b is a Wi-Fi standard developed by the IEEE for transmitting data over wireless network. It operates on a...

802.11g 802.11g is a Wi-Fi standard developed by the IEEE for transmitting data over a wireless network. It operates on a...

802.11n 802.11n is a wireless ((Wi-Fi|wi-fi)) standard that was introduced in 2007. It supports a longer range and higher...

Abend Short for "Abnormal end." An abend is an unexpected or abnormal end to a process. In computer software, it typically...

Access Microsoft Access, often abbreviated "MS Access," is a popular database application for Windows. Access allows users to...

Access Point An access point provides wireless access to a network. Devices connected to an access point can communicate with other...

ACL Stands for "Access Control List." An ACL is a list of user permissions for a file, folder, or other object. It...

Active-Matrix Active-matrix technology is used in high-quality flat-panel displays, such as laptop screens and thin computer...

ActiveX This Microsoft-based technology was built to link desktop applications to the World Wide Web. Using ActiveX...

Ad Hoc Network "Ad Hoc" is actually a Latin phrase that means "for this purpose." It is often used to describe solutions that are...

ADC Stands for "Analog-to-Digital Converter." Since computers only process digital information, they require digital...

Add-on An add-on is a software extension that adds extra features to a program. It may extend certain functions within the...

ADF Stands for "Automatic Document Feeder." An ADF is used in copiers and scanners to feed pages into the machine. It...

ADSL Stands for "Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line." ADSL is a type of DSL, which is a method of transferring data over...

Adware Adware is free software that is supported by advertisements. Common adware programs are toolbars that sit on your...

Affiliate Website affiliates are what drive Internet marketing. Companies run affiliate programs to generate leads and sales...

AGP Stands for "Accelerated Graphics Port." This is a graphics card expansion port designed by Intel that resides on the...

AIFF Stands for "Audio Interchange File Format." AIFF is an audio format originally developed by Apple Computer for storing...

AIX Stands for "Advanced Interactive Executive," though some Linux fans have been known to refer to it as "Ain't UNIX...

Alert Box An alert box, sometimes called a message box, is a small window that pops up on your screen to warn you that your...

Algorithm An algorithm is a set of instructions, sometimes called a procedure or a function, that is used to perform a certain...

Analog As humans, we perceive the world in analog. Everything we see and hear is a continuous transmission of information to...

Android Android is Google's mobile (operating system|operating_system) (OS) that is used by several smartphones, such as the...

ANSI Stands for "American National Standards Institute." ANSI's primary goal is to enhance the global competitiveness of...

Antivirus Antivirus (also written "anti-virus" or simply "AV") is software designed to prevent, detect, and remove viruses from a...

API Stands for "Application Program Interface," though it is sometimes referred to as an "Application Programming...

Apple Apple is the company that makes Macintosh computers, such as the iMac, Mac mini, MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and...

Applet This a Java program that can be embedded in a Web page. The difference between a

standard Java application and a Java...Application An application, or application program, is a

software program that runs on your computer. Web browsers, e-mail...

Archie Archie is a program used for finding files stored on FTP (File Transfer Protocol) servers. Archie is not used very...

Archive An archive contains multiple files and/or folders within a single file. Archives can be saved in several different...

ARP Stands for "Address Resolution Protocol." ARP is a protocol used for mapping an IP address to a computer connected to...

Array An array is a data structure that contains a group of elements. Typically these elements are all of the same data...

ASCII Stands for "American Standard Code for Information Interchange." ASCII is the universal standard for the numerical...

ASP Just to confuse ordinary people like you and me, there are two equally important definitions of ASP. The term can...

ASP.NET ASP.NET is a set of Web development tools offered by Microsoft. Programs like Visual Studio .NET and Visual Web...

ATA Stands for "Advanced Technology Attachment." It is a type of disk drive that integrates the drive controller directly...

ATM Stands for "Asynchronous Transfer Mode." Most people know of ATMs as automated teller machines -- those friendly boxes...

Autoresponder An autoresponder is a program or script on a mail server that automatically replies to e-mails. Though it is run from...

Avatar An avatar is an online character that represents a person. For example, games like World of Warcraft and the Sims...

Backbone Just like the human backbone carries signals to many smaller nerves in the body, a network backbone carries data to...

Backside Bus There are two types of buses that carry data to and from a computer's CPU. They are the frontside bus and backside...

Backup Backup is the most important computer term you should know. A backup is a copy of one or more files created as an...

Bandwidth Bandwidth refers to how much data you can

send through a network or modem connection. It is usually measured in bits...

Banner Ad Whether you like it or not, much of the Web is run by advertising. Just like television or radio, websites can offer...

Base Station The term "base station" was first used to refer to the towers you see on the side of the road that relay cell phone...

Baseband A baseband signal is an original transmission signal that has not be modulated, or has been demodulated to its original...

BASIC Stands for "Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code." BASIC is a computer programming language that was...

Batch File A batch file is a type of script that contains a list of commands. These commands are executed in sequence and can be...

Batch Process As most computer users know, some computing tasks can be tedious and repetitive. Fortunately, if a task is indeed...

Baud Contrary to popular belief, baud is not a direct measurement of data transfer speed, but instead it measures how many...

Bcc Stands for "Blind Carbon Copy." When you send an e-mail to only one person, you type the recipient's address in the...

Bespoke The term "bespoke" comes from England where it originally referred to custom or tailor-made clothing. In recent years...

Beta Software Before a commercial software program is released to the public, it usually goes through a "beta" phase. During this...

Binary Binary is a two-digit (Base-2) numerical system, which computers use to store data and compute functions. The reason...

Bing Bing is a search engine created by Microsoft. It evolved from "MSN Search," which was later renamed "Windows Live...

Biometrics Biometrics refers to technologies used to detect and recognize human physical characteristics. In the IT world...

BIOS Stands for "Basic Input/Output System." Most people don't need to ever mess with the BIOS on a computer, but it can be...

Bit The computer term "bit" comes from the phrase "Binary DigIT," which is different than that thing you put around a...

Bitmap Most images you see on your computer are composed of bitmaps. A bitmap is a map of dots, or bits (hence the name...

Bitrate Bitrate, as the name implies, describes the rate at which bits are transferred from one location to another. In other...

BitTorrent BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing protocol designed to reduce the quibandwidth rered to transfer files...

Blob If you're like me, you picture a blob as a enigmatic green object that lacks a defined shape or size. In the computer...

Blog Short for "Web Log," this term refers to a list of journal entries posted on a Web page. Anybody who knows how to...

Blu-ray Blu-ray is an optical disc format such as CD and DVD. It was developed for recording and playing back high-definition...

Bluetooth This wireless technology enables communication between Bluetooth-compatible devices. It is used for short-range...

BMP Short for "Bitmap." It can be pronounced as "bump," "B-M-P," or simply a "bitmap image." The BMP format is a commonly...

Bookmark Similar to a real-life bookmark, an Internet bookmark acts as a marker for a Web site. (In Internet Explorer, they're...

Boolean This is the logic that computers use to determine if a statement is true or false. There are 4 main boolean operators...

Boot When you boot a football, you kick it really far. When you boot a computer, you simply turn it on. Kicking your...

Boot Disk A boot disk is actually not a computer disk in the shape of a boot. If it was, most disk drives would have a difficult...

Boot Sector A boot sector is the first section of a hard drive or other data storage media. It contains the master boot record...

Boot Sequence Each time a computer boots up, it goes through an initial series of processes. This sequence of events is aptly named...

Bot This is an automated software program that can execute certain commands when it receives a specific input (like a...

Botnet A botnet is a network of computers that are

controlled from a single source. While some botnets are used for...

Bounce The term "bounce" has several different IT related meanings, yet none of them include bouncy balls. The most common...

bps Stands for "Bits Per Second." (The "b" is lowercase because it stands for bits, not bytes.) Bits per second is the...

Bridge When a road needs to extend across a river or valley, a bridge is built to connect the two land masses. Since the...

Broadband This refers to high-speed data transmission in which a single cable can carry a large amount of data at once. The most...

Buffer A buffer contains data that is stored for a short amount of time, typically in the computer's memory (RAM). The...

Bug In the computer world, a bug is an error in a software program. It may cause a program to unexpectedly quit or behave...

Burn When you "burn a disc," you write data on it. If you were taking an SAT test, the analogy would look something like...

Bus While the wheels on the bus may go "round and round," data on a computer's bus goes up and down. Each bus inside a...

Byte A byte is a set of 8 bits that represent a single character in the computer's memory. Do not confuse this term with...

C/C++ C is a high-level programming language that was developed in the mid-1970s. It was originally used for writing Unix...

Cable Modem A cable modem is used for connecting to the Internet and is much faster than a typical dial-up modem. While a 56K...

Cache This term is pronounced like "cash" -- not "catch," and definitely not "cashé." There are many different types...

CAD Stands for "Computer-Aided Design." Also known by engineers and architects as the best invention of all time. Today...

Camera RAW Most digital cameras process and

compress the pictures you take immediately after capturing the image. This can be...

Caps Lock Caps lock is a feature nearly all keyboards have that, when active, capitalizes each letter typed on the keyboard...

Captcha A captcha is a challenge-response test that determines whether a user is human or an automated bot. A typical captcha...

Card Reader "Card reader" is the generic term for an input device that reads flash memory cards. It can be a standalone device...

Cc Stands for "Carbon Copy." The term comes from carbon copying, in which a piece of carbon paper copies writing from one...

CCD Stands for "Charged Coupled Device." CCDs are sensors used in digital cameras and video cameras to record still and...

CD Stands for "Compact Disc." CDs are circular discs that are 4.75 in (12 cm) in diameter. The CD standard was proposed...

CD-R Stands for "Compact Disc Recordable." CD-R discs are blank CDs that can record data written by a CD burner. The word...

CD-ROM Stands for "Compact Disc Read-Only Memory." A CD-ROM is a CD that can be read by a computer with an optical drive...

CD-RW Stands for "Compact Disc Re-Writable." A CD-RW is a blank CD that can be written to by a CD burner. Unlike a CD-R...

CDMA Stands for "Code Division Multiple Access." CDMA is a wireless transmission technology that was developed during World...

Cell A cell is a location in a spreadsheet defined by the intersection of a row and column. For example, cell C7 is the...

Certificate An SSL certificate, or secure certificate, is a file installed on a secure Web server that identifies a website. This...

CGI CGI stands for "Common Gateway Interface" and is a standard set of rules that define how scripts and programs can be...

Character A character is any letter, number, space, punctuation mark, or symbol that can be typed on a computer. The word...

Checksum A checksum is a calculated sum used to check the integrity of a file. It can be generated from one of many algorithms...

Chip Technically speaking, a computer chip is a piece of silicon with an electronic circuit embedded in it. However, the...

Chipset A chipset describes the architecture of an integrated circuit. This includes the layout of the circuitry, the...

CISC Stands for "Complex Instruction Set Computing." This is a type of microprocessor design. The CISC architecture...

Clean Install A clean install is an (operating system|operating_system) (OS) installation that overwrites all other content on the...

Clean Room A simple definition of this would be "the opposite of my bedroom." But technically speaking, a clean room is a highly...

Client In the real world, businesses have clients. In the computer world, servers have clients. The "client-server...

Clip Art Clip art is a collection of pictures or images that can be imported into a document or another program. The images may...

Clipboard The clipboard is a section of RAM where your computer stores copied data. This can be a selection of text, an image, a...

CLOB CLOB is short for "Character Large Object." It is a data type used to store large amounts of character data. CLOBs...

Clock Cycle A clock cycle, or clock tick, is one increment of the CPU clock, during which the smallest unit of processor activity...

Clock Speed Clock speed is the rate at which a processor can complete a processing cycle. It is typically measured in megahertz or...

Clone What do sheep, droids, and computers all have in common? They can all be cloned! Of the three, computer clones are by...

Cloud Computing Cloud computing is a general term used to describe Internet services. These include social networking services like...

Cluster In the computer world, a cluster can refer to two different things: 1) A group of sectors on a disk. While a sector...

CMOS Stands for "Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor." This technology is typically used in making transistors. The...

CMYK Stands for "Cyan Magenta Yellow Black." These are the four basic colors used for printing color images. Unlike RGB...

Codec No, this is not just a cheap rip-off of Kodak. The name "codec" is short for "coder-decoder," which is pretty much...

Command Prompt A command prompt is used in a text-based or "command-line" interface, such as a Unix terminal or a DOS shell. It is a...

Commercial Software Computer software comes in three different flavors: freeware, shareware, and commercial software. Freeware is free to...

Compact Flash Often abbreviated as simply "CF," Compact Flash is a type of flash memory. Compact flash cards are

most commonly used...Compile When programmers create software

programs, they first write the program in source code, which is written in a specific...

Compiler A compiler is a software program that compiles program source code files into an executable program. It is included as...

Component Computers are made up of many different parts, such as a motherboard, CPU, RAM, and hard drive. Each of these parts...

Computer Technically, a computer is a programmable machine. This means it can execute a programmed list of instructions and...

Computer Ethics Ethics is a set of moral principles that govern the behavior of a group or individual. Therefore, computer ethics is...

Configuration In the computing world, when people talk about their computer configuration, they are referring to the technical...

Contextual Menu A contextual menu is a pop-up menu that appears when you right-click on a certain area of the screen. It is...

Control Panel The Control Panel is a feature of the Windows operating system that allows the user to modify system settings and...

Controller Card The controller card, or simply "controller," is a piece of hardware that acts as the interface between the motherboard...

Cookie It seems like everyone who tries to explain what a cookie is just has to make a joke out of it (because of the name...

Copy Many software programs allow you to copy data, such as text in Microsoft Word or an image in Adobe Photoshop. To copy...

Copyright Copyright protects an author's original work from being copied and republished by others. It gives the

author...CPA Stands for "Cost Per Action," and is

used in online advertising. CPA defines how much revenue a publisher receives...

CPC Stands for "Cost Per Click," and is used in online advertising. CPC defines how much revenue a publisher receives each...

CPL Stands for "Cost Per Lead," and is used in online advertising. CPL defines how much revenue a publisher receives when...

CPM Stands for "Cost Per 1,000 Impressions," and is used in online advertising. CPM defines the cost an advertiser pays...

CPS Stands for "Classroom Performance System." CPS refers to a technology system that is used for educational purposes...

CPU Stands for "Central Processing Unit." This is the pretty much the brain of your computer. It processes everything...

CRM Stands for "Customer Relationship Management." This is a business term that started somewhere in the deep abyss of the...

Cron Also known as a "cron job," a cron is a process or task that runs periodically on a Unix system. Some examples of...

Crop When you crop an image or photo, you remove part of the image. This may involve cutting some of the image from the...

Cross-Browser Cross-browser means that a website is compatible with multiple (Web browsers|web_browser). This means the Web pages...

Crossplatform Software that can run on multiple types of computer systems. For example, the graphics program Adobe Photoshop and the...

CRT Stands for "Cathode Ray Tube." CRT is the technology used in traditional

computer monitors and televisions. The image...

CSS Stands for "Cascading Style Sheet." Cascading style sheets are used to format the layout of Web pages. They can be...

CTP Stands for "Composite Theoretical Performance." CTP is used to measure the performance of computer processors. The...

CTR Stands for "Click-Through Rate," and is used in online advertising. Web publishers typically generate revenue from...

Cursor The cursor on your screen can indicate two things: 1) where your mouse pointer is, or 2) where the next character typed...

Cut The Cut command removes a selected object and copies it to the clipboard. It performs both a Delete and Copy operation...

Cyberbullying Cyberbullying involves harassing, embarrassing, or threatening a young person via cyberspace. It encompasses several...

Cybercrime Cybercrime is criminal activity done using computers and the Internet. This includes anything from downloading illegal...

Cyberspace Unlike most computer terms, "cyberspace" does not have a standard, objective definition. Instead, it is used to...

Cybersquatter A cybersquatter, or "domainer," is someone who registers a (domain name|domain_name) without intending to create a...

DAC Stands for "Digital-to-Analog Converter" and is often pronounced "dac." Since computers only recognize digital...

Daemon The word "daemon" actually comes from the Greek language, meaning an "inner or attendant spirit" (Oxford American...

Dashboard Dashboard is a user-interface feature Apple introduced with the release of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. It allows access to...

Data Computer data is information processed or stored by a computer. This information may be in the form of text documents...

Data Management Data management refers to the way individuals, companies, and organizations manage computer data. It includes micro...

Data Transfer Rate The data transfer rate is commonly used to measure how fast data is transferred from one location to another. For...

Data Type A data type is a type of data. Of course, that is rather circular definition, and also not very helpful. Therefore, a...

Database A database contains data stored in a structured format. It includes one or more tables, which each contain multiple...

DBMS Stands for "Database Management System." In short, a DBMS is a database program. Technically speaking, it is a...

DDL DDL is short for "Data Definition Language." It is used to define the structure of a database, including the tables...

DDR Stands for "Double Data Rate." It is an advanced version of SDRAM, a type of computer memory. DDR-SDRAM, sometimes...

DDR2 Stands for "Double Data Rate 2." DDR2 RAM is an improved version of DDR memory that is faster and more efficient. Like...

DDR3 Stands for "Double Data Rate Type 3." DDR3 is an SDRAM specification introduced in 2007. Compared to previous DDR...

Debug Computer programmers, like everybody else, are not perfect. This means the programs they write

sometimes have small...Debugger Even the most experienced software

programmers usually don't get it right on their first try. Certain errors, often...

Default This term is used to describe a preset value for some option in a computer program. It is the value used when a...

Defragment Defragmenting your hard disk is a great way to boost the performance of your computer. Though the term "defragment...

Degauss Ever wonder what that "degauss" button on your monitor does besides make a buzzing noise and cause the screen to go...

Del.icio.us Del.icio.us, pronounced simply "delicious," is a community bookmarking website in which users can save Web pages they...

Delete Delete is computer terminology for remove or erase. You can delete text from a document of delete entire files or...

Desktop Your computer's desktop is much like a physical desktop. You probably keep a number of commonly used items on your...

Desktop Computer A desktop computer is a computer system designed to be used at a table or desk. Some desktop computers have a separate...

Desktop Publishing When documents and images are printed, they are "published." Before computers became commonplace, the publishing...

DHCP Stands for "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol." A network server uses this protocol to dynamically assign IP...

Dial-up A dial-up connection uses a modem to connect to an ISP or another computer. It uses standard analog phone lines to...

Dialog Box As the name implies, a dialog box serves to initiate a dialog with the

user. It is a window that pops up on the screen...

Digital Digital information is stored using a series of ones and zeros. Computers are digital machines because they can only...

Digital Camera A digital camera is an electronic device that captures images in a digital format. It works in a similar way to a...

Digital Signature A digital signature is a block of data that can be attached to h as PDFs, word processing files, and...

Digitize When you "digitize" something, you convert it from analog to digital. For documents sucexample, if you import a VHS tape from a VCR...

DIMM Stands for "Dual In-Line Memory Module." It is a type of computer memory. A DIMM is a small circuit board that holds...

Direct Digital Marketing Direct Digital Marketing, or DDM, is a type of marketing that is done through a digital medium. Common DDM mediums...

Direct3D Direct3D is an application program interface (API) developed by Microsoft that provides a set of commands and functions...

Directory A directory is another name for a folder. Files on your hard disk are organized into various folders, or directories...

DirectX DirectX is a set of standard commands and functions that software developers can use when creating their programs...

Disk Drive The term "disk drive" is a general term that describes a device that reads and/or writes data to a disk. It is often...

Disk Image A disk image is a software copy of a physical disk. It saves the entire data from the disk, including the file...

Dithering Dithering is a process that can be applied to both digital images and audio files. For digital images,

dithering adds...DLL Stands for "Dynamic Link Library." A

DLL (.dll) file contains a library of functions and other information that can be...

DMA Stands for "Direct Memory Access." DMA is a method of transferring data from the computer's RAM to another part of the...

DNS Stands for "Domain Name System." The primary purpose of DNS is to keep Web surfers sane. Without DNS, we would have...

DNS Record DNS records are stored in zone files and are used for translating domain names to IP addresses. They also contain...

Dock The Dock is a feature of the Mac OS X Finder that provides quick access to programs, files, and folders. By default...

Document A document is a type of file that has been created or saved by an application. For example, a text file saved with...

Domain While the term "domain" is often used synonymously with "domain name," it also has a definition specific to local...

Domain Name A domain name is used to identify a website. Businesses commonly have a domain name that is their name with the ".com...

Domain Suffix A domain suffix is the last part of a (domain name|domain_name). Common examples include ".com," ".net," and ".org...

Dongle This funny-sounding computer term has two widely different definitions that are completely unrelated: 1. A security...

DOS Stands for "Disk Operating System." DOS was the first (operating system|operating_system) used by IBM-compatible...

Dot Matrix A dot matrix is a 2D matrix of dots that can represent images, symbols,

or characters. They are used for electronic...

Dot Pitch This is the measurement used to determine how sharp the display of a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitor is. It is measured...

Double Click Double clicking involves clicking your mouse button quickly two times. To perform a double click, and not just two...

Download This is the process in which data is sent to your computer. Whenever you receive information from the Internet, you...

DPI Stands for "Dots Per Inch." DPI is used to measure the resolution of an image both on screen and in print. As the...

Drag You can use your mouse to drag icons and other objects on your computer screen. Dragging icons from your desktop or an...

DRAM Stands for "Dynamic Random Access Memory." DRAM is a type of RAM that stores each bit of data on a separate capacitor...

Driver This term usually refers to the person behind the wheel of a moving car. In the computer world, however, a driver is a...

DRM Stands for "Digital Rights Management." DRM refers to a collection of systems used to protect the copyrights of...

Drop Down Menu A drop down menu is a horizontal menu that displays a list of options when one of the primary menu items is selected...

DSL Stands for "Digital Subscriber Line." It is a medium for transferring data over regular phone lines and can be used to...

DSLAM Stands for "Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer." A DSLAM is a device used by Internet Service Providers (ISPs...

DTD Stands for "Document Type

Definition." A DTD defines the tags and attributes used in an XML or HTML document. Any...

Dual-Core A dual-core processor is a CPU with two processors or "execution cores" in the same integrated circuit. Each processor...

DV Stands for "Digital Video." Unlike traditional analog video, which is captured frame by frame on a tape, digital video...

DVD Stands for "Digital Versatile Disc." It can also stand for "Digital Video Disc," but with the multiple uses of DVDs...

DVD+R Stands for "Digital Versatile Disc Recordable." DVD+R discs look the same as regular DVDs, but can be used to record...

DVD+RW Stands for "Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable." A DVD+RW is like a DVD+R, but can be erased and rewritten. DVD+RWs...

DVD-R Stands for "Digital Versatile Disc Recordable." A DVD-R looks the same as a regular DVD, but like a CD-R, it can be...

DVD-RAM DVD-RAM stands for "Digital Versatile Disc - Random Access Memory." It is one of three rewriteable DVD formats, along...

DVD-RW Stands for "Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable." A DVD-RW is like a DVD-R but can be erased and written to again. Like...

DVI Stands for "Digital Video Interface." DVI is a video connection standard created by the Digital Display Working Group...

DVR Stands for "Digital Video Recorder." A DVR is basically a VCR that uses a hard drive instead of video tapes. It can...

Dynamic Website A dynamic website contains Web pages that are generated dynamically. Each time a user accesses a page within a dynamic...

E-commerce E-commerce (electronic-commerce) refers to business over the Internet. Web sites such as Amazon.com, Buy.com, and eBay...

E-mail Bankruptcy In this day and age, most of us receive several e-mails a day. Depending on your job, you may even receive dozens of...

ECC Stands for "Error Correction Code." ECC is used to verify data transmissions by locating and correcting transmission...

EDI Stands for "Electronic Data Interchange." EDI is a standardized method for transferring data between different...

Edutainment Edutainment is one of those combo words, like "guesstimate," that combines two regular words into one term that really...

EIDE EIDE is short for "Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics" and is an improved version of the IDE drive controller...

Email It's hard to remember what our lives were like without e-mail. Ranking up there with the Web as one of the most useful...

Emoticon These are the little text-based faces and objects that you often see in e-mail and online chat. They help give the...

Emulation The term "emulation" comes from the verb "emulate," which means to imitate or reproduce. Therefore, computer emulation...

Encryption Encryption is the coding or scrambling of information so that it can only be decoded and read by someone who has the...

End User An end user is the person that a software program or hardware device is designed for. The term is based on the idea...

EPS Stands for "Encapsulated PostScript." EPS is a PostScript image file format that is compatible with PostScript...

Ethernet Just to be clear, the first syllable is pronounced "eath" as in "Heath Bar," not like "eth" as in Bethany. Some people...

EUP Stands for "Enterprise Unified Process." EUP is a software development methodology that helps companies create...

Exabyte An exabyte is 2 to the 60th power, or 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 bytes. It can be estimated as 10 to the 18th power...

Exbibyte A exbibyte is a unit of data storage that equals 2 to the 60th power, or 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 bytes. While a...

Excel Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program for Windows and Macintosh computers. It is part of the Microsoft Office...

Expansion Card An expansion card is a printed circuit board that can be installed in computer to add functionality to it. For...

External Hard Drive Nearly all personal computers come with an internal hard drive. This drive stores the computer's operating system...

Extranet If you know the difference between the Internet and an intranet, you have an above average understanding of computer...

E-commerce E-commerce (electronic-commerce) refers to business over the Internet. Web sites such as Amazon.com, Buy.com, and eBay...

E-mail Bankruptcy In this day and age, most of us receive several e-mails a day. Depending on your job, you may even receive dozens of...

ECC Stands for "Error Correction Code." ECC is used to verify data transmissions by locating and correcting transmission...

EDI Stands for "Electronic Data Interchange." EDI is a standardized method for transferring data

between different...Edutainment Edutainment is one of those combo

words, like "guesstimate," that combines two regular words into one term that really...

EIDE EIDE is short for "Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics" and is an improved version of the IDE drive controller...

Email It's hard to remember what our lives were like without e-mail. Ranking up there with the Web as one of the most useful...

Emoticon These are the little text-based faces and objects that you often see in e-mail and online chat. They help give the...

Emulation The term "emulation" comes from the verb "emulate," which means to imitate or reproduce. Therefore, computer emulation...

Encryption Encryption is the coding or scrambling of information so that it can only be decoded and read by someone who has the...

End User An end user is the person that a software program or hardware device is designed for. The term is based on the idea...

EPS Stands for "Encapsulated PostScript." EPS is a PostScript image file format that is compatible with PostScript...

Ethernet Just to be clear, the first syllable is pronounced "eath" as in "Heath Bar," not like "eth" as in Bethany. Some people...

EUP Stands for "Enterprise Unified Process." EUP is a software development methodology that helps companies create...

Exabyte An exabyte is 2 to the 60th power, or 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 bytes. It can be estimated as 10 to the 18th power...

Exbibyte A exbibyte is a unit of data storage that equals 2 to the 60th power, or 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 bytes.

While a...Excel Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet

program for Windows and Macintosh computers. It is part of the Microsoft Office...

Expansion Card An expansion card is a printed circuit board that can be installed in computer to add functionality to it. For...

External Hard Drive Nearly all personal computers come with an internal hard drive. This drive stores the computer's operating system...

Extranet If you know the difference between the Internet and an intranet, you have an above average understanding of computer...

Facebook Facebook is a social networking website that was originally designed for college students, but is now open to anyone...

FAQ Stands for "Frequently Asked Questions," and can be pronounced "fak" or simply "F-A-Q." An FAQ is a text file that is...

FAT32 This strange term refers to the way Windows stores data on your hard drive. "FAT" stands for "File Allocation Table...

Favicon A favicon is a small website icon. Just like software programs can have custom file icons, websites can have custom...

Fiber Optic Cable This is a cable made up of super-thin filaments of glass or other transparent materials that can carry beams of light...

FIFO Stands for "First In, First Out." FIFO is a method of processing and retrieving data. In a FIFO system, the first...

File A file is a collection of data stored in one unit, identified by a filename. It can be a document, picture, audio or...

File Extension A file extension is the last part of a filename, after the dot (e.g. ".pdf"). Most file extensions are three...

File Format A file format describes the way data is stored in a file. It defines the data structure (how the data is organized in...

File System Most people have several thousand files on their computer's hard disk, so imagine how hard it would be to find anything...

File Type A file type, as the name implies, is a specific type of file. Some file types are associated with a single...

Filename A filename is a text string that identifies a file. Every file stored on a computer's hard disk has a filename that...

Finder The Finder serves as the primary graphical user interface (GUI) for Macintosh computers. It includes the desktop...

FiOS Stands for "Fiber Optic Service." FiOS is a data communications service provided by Verizon that uses fiber optic...

Firewall The term "firewall" originally referred to fireproof walls that were designed to prevent the spread of fire from one...

Firewire This high-speed interface has become a hot new standard for connecting peripherals (no pun intended). Created by Apple...

Firmware Firmware is a software program or set of instructions programmed on a hardware device. It provides the necessary...

Flaming Flaming is the act of posting or sending offensive messages over the Internet. These messages, called "flames," may be...

Flash Flash is a multimedia technology used for creating animations and interactive websites. Web developers often use Flash...

Flash Drive Flash drives have many names —

jump drives, thumb drives, pen drives, and USB keychain drives. Regardless of...

Flash Memory Flash memory is a type of electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). Whew, that's a mouthful. The...

Flat File A flat file database is a database that stores data in a plain text file. Each line of the text file holds one record...

Flatbed A flatbed is a type of scanner or copier that uses a flat, glass surface for scanning documents or other objects. Most...

Floating Point As the name implies, floating point numbers are numbers that contain floating decimal points. For example, the numbers...

Floppy Disk Floppy disks have an interesting name, considering they do not appear to be "floppy." However, if you take the actual...

FLOPS FLOPS is an acronym that means "Floating Point Operations Per Second." FLOPS is a measurement unit that defines the...

Flowchart A flowchart is a diagram that describes a process or operation. It includes multiple steps, which the process "flows...

Folder Just like real world folders, folders on your hard drive store files. These files can be documents, programs, scripts...

Font A font is a specific typeface of a certain size and style. For example, one font may be Arial 12 pt bold, while...

Format Formatting a disk involves rewriting the directory structure, or file system, of a disk. All disks must be formatted...

Formula A formula is a calculation performed on one or more variables. It may be a simple operation, such as the addition of...

FPU Stands for "Floating Point Unit." The

first computer processors were far better at dealing with integers than with...

Frame In the computer world, a frame can be many different things. The different definitions of "frame" are listed below: ...

Freeware Like shareware, freeware is software you can download, pass around, and distribute without any initial payment...

Frequency Frequency is the number times something occurs in a specific amount of time. In computing, frequency is used to...

Friend An online friend is a person added to your list of friends on a social networking website, such as Facebook or MySpace...

Frozen While "frozen" describes the state of Minnesota from November to March, it also refers to an unresponsive computer...

FSB Stands for "frontside bus." The FSB connects the computer's processor to the system memory (RAM) and other components...

FTP Stands for "File Transfer Protocol." It is a common method of transferring files via the Internet from one computer to...

Facebook Facebook is a social networking website that was originally designed for college students, but is now open to anyone...

FAQ Stands for "Frequently Asked Questions," and can be pronounced "fak" or simply "F-A-Q." An FAQ is a text file that is...

FAT32 This strange term refers to the way Windows stores data on your hard drive. "FAT" stands for "File Allocation Table...

Favicon A favicon is a small website icon. Just like software programs can have custom file icons, websites can have custom...

Fiber Optic Cable This is a cable made up of super-thin filaments of glass or other transparent materials that can carry beams of light...

FIFO Stands for "First In, First Out." FIFO is a method of processing and retrieving data. In a FIFO system, the first...

File A file is a collection of data stored in one unit, identified by a filename. It can be a document, picture, audio or...

File Extension A file extension is the last part of a filename, after the dot (e.g. ".pdf"). Most file extensions are three...

File Format A file format describes the way data is stored in a file. It defines the data structure (how the data is organized in...

File System Most people have several thousand files on their computer's hard disk, so imagine how hard it would be to find anything...

File Type A file type, as the name implies, is a specific type of file. Some file types are associated with a single...

Filename A filename is a text string that identifies a file. Every file stored on a computer's hard disk has a filename that...

Finder The Finder serves as the primary graphical user interface (GUI) for Macintosh computers. It includes the desktop...

FiOS Stands for "Fiber Optic Service." FiOS is a data communications service provided by Verizon that uses fiber optic...

Firewall The term "firewall" originally referred to fireproof walls that were designed to prevent the spread of fire from one...

Firewire This high-speed interface has become a hot new standard for connecting peripherals (no pun intended). Created by Apple...

Firmware Firmware is a software program or

set of instructions programmed on a hardware device. It provides the necessary...

Flaming Flaming is the act of posting or sending offensive messages over the Internet. These messages, called "flames," may be...

Flash Flash is a multimedia technology used for creating animations and interactive websites. Web developers often use Flash...

Flash Drive Flash drives have many names — jump drives, thumb drives, pen drives, and USB keychain drives. Regardless of...

Flash Memory Flash memory is a type of electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). Whew, that's a mouthful. The...

Flat File A flat file database is a database that stores data in a plain text file. Each line of the text file holds one record...

Flatbed A flatbed is a type of scanner or copier that uses a flat, glass surface for scanning documents or other objects. Most...

Floating Point As the name implies, floating point numbers are numbers that contain floating decimal points. For example, the numbers...

Floppy Disk Floppy disks have an interesting name, considering they do not appear to be "floppy." However, if you take the actual...

FLOPS FLOPS is an acronym that means "Floating Point Operations Per Second." FLOPS is a measurement unit that defines the...

Flowchart A flowchart is a diagram that describes a process or operation. It includes multiple steps, which the process "flows...

Folder Just like real world folders, folders on your hard drive store files. These files can be documents, programs, scripts...

Font A font is a specific typeface of a

certain size and style. For example, one font may be Arial 12 pt bold, while...

Format Formatting a disk involves rewriting the directory structure, or file system, of a disk. All disks must be formatted...

Formula A formula is a calculation performed on one or more variables. It may be a simple operation, such as the addition of...

FPU Stands for "Floating Point Unit." The first computer processors were far better at dealing with integers than with...

Frame In the computer world, a frame can be many different things. The different definitions of "frame" are listed below: ...

Freeware Like shareware, freeware is software you can download, pass around, and distribute without any initial payment...

Frequency Frequency is the number times something occurs in a specific amount of time. In computing, frequency is used to...

Friend An online friend is a person added to your list of friends on a social networking website, such as Facebook or MySpace...

Frozen While "frozen" describes the state of Minnesota from November to March, it also refers to an unresponsive computer...

FSB Stands for "frontside bus." The FSB connects the computer's processor to the system memory (RAM) and other components...

FTP Stands for "File Transfer Protocol." It is a common method of transferring files via the Internet from one computer to...

Gamma Correction Gamma correction is used to alter

the output levels of a display. Since the standard input signal (or voltage level...

Gateway A gateway is either hardware or software that acts as a bridge between two networks so that data can be transferred...

Gibibyte A gibibyte is a unit of data storage that equals 2 to the 30th power, or 1,073,741,824 bytes. While a gigabyte can...

GIF The letters "GIF" actually stand for "Graphics Interchange Format," but you don't need to remember that. What you...

Gigabyte A gigabyte is 2 to the 30th power, or 1,073,741,824 bytes. It can be estimated as 10 to the 9th power, or one...

Gigaflops Gigaflops is a unit of measurement that measures the processing power of a processor's floating point unit, or FPU...

Gigahertz One gigahertz is equal to 1,000 megahertz (MHz) or 1,000,000,000 Hz. It is commonly used to measure computer...

GIGO Stands for "Garbage In, Garbage Out." It means that if invalid data is entered in a computer program, the resulting...

GIS Stands for "Geographic Information Systems." GIS tools are used to gather and analyze data about the surface of the...

GNU GNU (a recursive acronym for "GNU's Not Unix") is a Unix-like (operating system|operating_system) that is available in...

Gnutella Gnutella is a file sharing network that allows users to send and receive files over the Internet. The first part of...

Golden Master Golden master is the final stage of the software development process. It describes the "Release to Manufacturing" or...

Goodput Goodput sounds like a golf term that

describes sinking a 20 foot birdie putt. However, in the computer world, goodput...

Google Google is the world's most popular search engine. It began as a search project in 1996 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin...

Google Drive Google Drive is a service offered by Google that allows you to store and share files online. The service was launched...

Gopher The Gopher technology was invented at the University of Minnesota, whose mascot is, not surprisingly, the Golden...

GPS Stands for "Global Positioning System." GPS is a satellite navigation system used to determine ground position and...

GPU Stands for "Graphics Processing Unit." Like the CPU (Central Processing Unit), it is a single-chip processor...

Graphics Computer graphics are images displayed on a computer screen. They can be either two or three-dimensional...

GUI Stands for "Graphical User Interface," and is pronounced "gooey." It refers to the graphical interface of a computer...

GUID Stands for "Globally Unique Identifier." A GUID is a 128-bit (16 byte) number used by software programs to uniquely...

Gamma Correction Gamma correction is used to alter the output levels of a display. Since the standard input signal (or voltage level...





Gigaflops Gigaflops is a unit of measurement that measures the processing power of a processor's floating point unit, or FPU...

Gigahertz One gigahertz is equal to 1,000 megahertz (MHz) or 1,000,000,000 Hz. It is commonly used to measure computer...






Goodput Goodput sounds like a golf term that describes sinking a 20 foot birdie putt. However, in the computer world, goodput...





GPU Stands for "Graphics Processing Unit." Like the CPU (Central Processing Unit), it is a single-chip processor...

Graphics Computer graphics are images displayed on a computer screen. They can be either two or three-dimensional...



Gamma Correction Gamma correction is used to alter the output levels of a display. Since the standard input signal (or voltage level...





Gigaflops Gigaflops is a unit of measurement that measures the processing power of a processor's floating point unit, or

FPU...Gigahertz One gigahertz is equal to 1,000

megahertz (MHz) or 1,000,000,000 Hz. It is commonly used to measure computer...






Goodput Goodput sounds like a golf term that describes sinking a 20 foot birdie putt. However, in the computer world, goodput...





GPU Stands for "Graphics Processing Unit." Like the CPU (Central Processing Unit), it is a single-chip

processor...Graphics Computer graphics are images

displayed on a computer screen. They can be either two or three-dimensional...



Hacker While this term originally referred to a clever or expert programmer, it is now more commonly used to refer to someone...

Halftone A halftone image is made up of a series of dots rather than a continuous tone. These dots can be different sizes...

Handle In online chat, the name you use is often referred to as your screen name, or handle. So if you decided to name...

Hard Copy A hard copy is a printed document. It may be a text file, photograph, drawing, or any other type of printable file...

Hard Disk When you save data or install programs on your computer, the information is typically written to your hard disk. The...

Hard Drive The hard drive is what stores all your data. It houses the hard disk, where all your files and folders are physically...

Hard Token A hard token, sometimes called an "authentication token," is a hardware security device that is used to authorize a...

Hardware Computer hardware refers to the physical parts of a computer and related devices. Internal hardware devices include...

HDD HDD is short for "hard disk drive." An

HDD is a storage device used to store data. Unlike RAM, which requires...

HDMI Stands for "High-Definition Multimedia Interface." HDMI is a digital interface for transmitting audio and video data...

HDTV Stands for "High Definition Televsion." HDTV is a high-quality video standard developed to replace older video formats...

HDV Stands for "High-Definition Video." According to a consortium of manufacturers including Sony, JVC, Canon, and Sharp...

Heat Sink A computer's CPU may perform millions of calculations every second. As the processor continues to work at a rapid...

Hertz Hertz (abbreviated: Hz) is the standard unit of measurement used for measuring frequency. Since frequency is...

Heuristic Generally speaking, a heuristic is a "rule of thumb," or a good guide to follow when making decisions. In computer...

Hexadecimal Hexadecimal is a base-16 number system. It is a different method of representing numbers than the base-10 system we...

HFS Stands for "Hierarchical File System." HFS is the file system used for organizing files on a Macintosh hard disk...

Hibernate If you are not going to use your computer for a few hours, it is a good idea to put it to sleep (also known as standby...

Hit Technically, a hit is a request made to a Web server. It is a popular misconception that the term refers to the number...

Home Page This is the starting point or front page of a Web site. This page usually has some sort of table of contents on it and...

Horizontal Market Software A horizontal market is one that

supplies goods to a variety of industries instead of just one. Therefore, horizontal...

Host This is a computer that acts as a server for other computers on a network. It can be a Web server, an e-mail server...

Hover When you roll the cursor over a link on a Web page, it is often referred to as "hovering" over the link. This is...

HSF Stands for "Heat Sink and Fan." Nearly all computers have heat sinks, which help keep the CPU cool and prevent it from...

HTML Stands for "Hyper-Text Markup Language." This is the language that Web pages are written in. Also known as hypertext...

HTTP Stands for "HyperText Transfer Protocol." This is the protocol used to transfer data over the World Wide Web. That's...

HTTPS Stands for "HyperText Transport Protocol Secure." HTTPS is the same thing as HTTP, but uses a secure socket layer...

Hub This is a hardware device that is used to network multiple computers together. It is a central connection for all the...

Hyper-Threading Hyper-threading is a technology developed by Intel Corporation. It is used in certain Pentium 4 processors and all...

Hyperlink A hyperlink is a word, phrase, or image that you can click on to jump to a new document or a new section within the...

Hypermedia Most Web navigation is done by clicking text-based links that open new pages in a (Web browser|web_browser). These...

Hypertext Hypertext is text that links to other information. By clicking on a link in a hypertext document, a user can quickly...

Hacker While this term originally referred to

a clever or expert programmer, it is now more commonly used to refer to someone...

Halftone A halftone image is made up of a series of dots rather than a continuous tone. These dots can be different sizes...

Handle In online chat, the name you use is often referred to as your screen name, or handle. So if you decided to name...

Hard Copy A hard copy is a printed document. It may be a text file, photograph, drawing, or any other type of printable file...

Hard Disk When you save data or install programs on your computer, the information is typically written to your hard disk. The...

Hard Drive The hard drive is what stores all your data. It houses the hard disk, where all your files and folders are physically...

Hard Token A hard token, sometimes called an "authentication token," is a hardware security device that is used to authorize a...

Hardware Computer hardware refers to the physical parts of a computer and related devices. Internal hardware devices include...

HDD HDD is short for "hard disk drive." An HDD is a storage device used to store data. Unlike RAM, which requires...

HDMI Stands for "High-Definition Multimedia Interface." HDMI is a digital interface for transmitting audio and video data...

HDTV Stands for "High Definition Televsion." HDTV is a high-quality video standard developed to replace older video formats...

HDV Stands for "High-Definition Video." According to a consortium of manufacturers including Sony, JVC, Canon, and Sharp...

Heat Sink A computer's CPU may perform

millions of calculations every second. As the processor continues to work at a rapid...

Hertz Hertz (abbreviated: Hz) is the standard unit of measurement used for measuring frequency. Since frequency is...

Heuristic Generally speaking, a heuristic is a "rule of thumb," or a good guide to follow when making decisions. In computer...

Hexadecimal Hexadecimal is a base-16 number system. It is a different method of representing numbers than the base-10 system we...

HFS Stands for "Hierarchical File System." HFS is the file system used for organizing files on a Macintosh hard disk...

Hibernate If you are not going to use your computer for a few hours, it is a good idea to put it to sleep (also known as standby...

Hit Technically, a hit is a request made to a Web server. It is a popular misconception that the term refers to the number...

Home Page This is the starting point or front page of a Web site. This page usually has some sort of table of contents on it and...

Horizontal Market Software A horizontal market is one that supplies goods to a variety of industries instead of just one. Therefore, horizontal...

Host This is a computer that acts as a server for other computers on a network. It can be a Web server, an e-mail server...

Hover When you roll the cursor over a link on a Web page, it is often referred to as "hovering" over the link. This is...

HSF Stands for "Heat Sink and Fan." Nearly all computers have heat sinks, which help keep the CPU cool and prevent it from...

HTML Stands for "Hyper-Text Markup

Language." This is the language that Web pages are written in. Also known as hypertext...

HTTP Stands for "HyperText Transfer Protocol." This is the protocol used to transfer data over the World Wide Web. That's...

HTTPS Stands for "HyperText Transport Protocol Secure." HTTPS is the same thing as HTTP, but uses a secure socket layer...

Hub This is a hardware device that is used to network multiple computers together. It is a central connection for all the...

Hyper-Threading Hyper-threading is a technology developed by Intel Corporation. It is used in certain Pentium 4 processors and all...

Hyperlink A hyperlink is a word, phrase, or image that you can click on to jump to a new document or a new section within the...

Hypermedia Most Web navigation is done by clicking text-based links that open new pages in a (Web browser|web_browser). These...

Hypertext Hypertext is text that links to other information. By clicking on a link in a hypertext document, a user can quickly...

I/O Stands for "Input/Output" and is pronounced simply "eye-oh." Computers are based on the fundamental idea that every...

I/O Address Each I/O device connected to your computer is mapped to a unique I/O (Input/Output) address. These addresses are...

IBM Compatible The personal computer market in the early 1980's consisted primarily of Apple and IBM computers. Apple's systems ran a...

ICANN Stands for "Internet Corporation For

Assigned Names and Numbers." The ICANN is an non-profit corporation that is...

ICF Stands for "Internet Connection Firewall." ICF is a Windows XP feature that protects computers connected to the...

ICMP Stands for "Internet Control Message Protocol." When information is transferred over the Internet, computer systems...

Icon Ever since the Macintosh was introduced in 1984, icons have been the way we view files on computers. An icon on your...

ICQ ICQ is a popular online chat program that allows users to communicate with each other over the Internet. It is similar...

ICS Stands for "Internet Connection Sharing." ICS allows multiple computers to connect to the Internet using the same...

ICT ICT is short for "Information and Communication Technologies." It is similar to IT (Information Technology), but...

IDE IDE may either stand for "Integrated Device Electronics" or "Integrated Development Environment." The first is a...

IEEE Stands for the "Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers." This is a non-profit organization that develops...

IGP Stands for "Integrated Graphics Processor." An IGP is a graphics chip that is integrated into a computer's...

Illegal Operation When a program on your computer has an error, you may see a message pop up on the screen saying, "Illegal Operation...

IM Stands for "Instant Message." Instant messaging, or "IMing," as frequent users call it, has become a popular way to...

IMAP Stands for "Internet Message Access

Protocol" and is pronounced "eye-map." It is a method of accessing e-mail messages...

Impact Printer An impact printer is a printer that strikes a print head against an ink ribbon to mark the paper. Common examples...

Impression It is said that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Well, in the wonderful world of the World...

Inbox An inbox is the main folder that your incoming mail gets stored in. Whether you check your mail through a webmail...

Index An index is a list of data, such as group of files or database entries. It is typically saved in a plain text format...

Infotainment Infotainment is a combo word, like "fantabulous," that combines two words into one. It refers to television shows...

Inkjet Inkjet printers are the most common type of consumer printers. The inkjet technology works by spraying very fine drops...

Input Whenever you enter data into your computer, it is referred to as input. This can be text typed in a word processing...

Input Device An input device is any device that provides input to a computer. There are dozens of possible input devices, but the...

Install Most software programs require that you first install them on your computer before using them. For example, if you buy...

Installer In order to install new software on your computer, you often need to run an installer program. This program unpacks...

Integer An integer is a whole number (not a fraction) that can be positive, negative, or zero. Therefore, the numbers...

Integrated Circuit An integrated circuit, or IC, is small chip that can function as an amplifier, oscillator, timer, microprocessor, or...

Intellectual Property Intellectual property refers to the ownership of intangible and non-physical goods. This includes ideas, names...

Interface An interface is a port on a hardware device that allows it to connect to another device. Common hardware interfaces...

Interlaced A common way to compress video is to interlace it. Each frame of an interlaced video signal shows every other...

Internal Hard Drive As the name implies, an internal hard drive is a hard drive located inside a computer. Nearly all computers come with...

Internet Believe it or not, the Internet was created way back in 1969, during the Cold War, by the United States military. It...

InterNIC Stands for "Internet Network Information Center." The InterNIC is an organization created by the National Science...

Intranet Contrary to popular belief, this is not simply a misspelling of "Internet." "Intra" means "internal" or "within," so...

iOS iOS (pronounced "eye-oh-es") is Apple's mobile (operating system|operating_system) that runs on the iPhone, iPad, and...

IP Stands for "Internet Protocol." It provides a standard set of rules for sending and receiving data through the...

IP Address Also known as an "IP number" or simply an "IP," this is a code made up of numbers separated by three dots that...

iPad The iPad is a lightweight tablet PC developed by Apple. It looks similar to an iPhone, but has a much larger...

iPhone Apple's iPhone is a smartphone that

functions as a mobile phone, an iPod, and can run third-party apps. It runs the...

iPod The iPod is a portable music player developed by Apple Computer. Though it is an Apple product, the iPod can be used...

IPv4 IPv4 is the fourth revision of the Internet Protocol and is the most common version used today. It uses 32-bit...

IPv6 Every computer system and device connected to the Internet is located by an IP address. The current system of...

IPX Stands for "Internetwork Packet Exchange." (I didn't know "exchange" started with an "x" either.) It is a networking...

IRC Stands for "Internet Relay Chat." IRC makes it possible for people using the Internet to converse with each other in...

IRQ Stands for "Interrupt Request." PCs use interrupt requests to manage various hardware operations. Devices such as...

ISA Stands for "Industry Standard Architecture." ISA is a type of bus used in PCs for adding expansion cards. For example...

iSCSI Stands for "Internet Small Computer Systems Interface." iSCSI is an extension of the standard SCSI storage interface...

ISDN Stands for "Integrated Services Digital Network." No, it's not the same thing as the ISBN you see in books. ISDN is a...

ISO Stands for "International Organization for Standardization." Yes, technically the acronym should be "IOFS," but I...

ISP Stands for "Internet Service Provider." In order to connect to the Internet, you need an ISP. It is the company that...

IT Stands for "Information Technology," and is pronounced "I.T." It refers to anything related to computing technology...

Iteration Iteration is the repetition of a function or process in a computer program. Iterations of functions are common in...

iTunes iTunes is an audio playback program developed by Apple Computer. You can use iTunes to import songs from CDs as well...

IVR Stands for "Interactive Voice Response." IVR is a telephony technology that can read a combination of touch tone and...

Java While most of the world uses "Java" as another term for coffee, the computer science world uses it to refer to a...

JavaScript Like Java, this is a programming language designed by Sun Microsystems, in conjunction with Netscape, that can be...

Joystick A joystick is an input device commonly used to control video games. Joysticks consist of a base and a stick that can...

JPEG The term actually stands for "Joint Photographic Experts Group," because that is the name of the committee that...

JRE Stands for "Java Runtime Environment" and may also be written "Java RTE." Java is a programming language, similar to...

JSP Stands for "Java Server Page." This standard was developed by Sun Microsystems as an alternative to Microsoft's active...

Jumper This is a small metal connector that acts as an on/off switch and is used to alter hardware configurations. A jumper...

Kbps Stands for "Kilobits Per Second." Don't confuse this with Kilobytes per second (which is 8 times more data per...

KDE Stands for "K Desktop Environment." KDE is a contemporary desktop environment for Unix systems. It is a Free Software...

Kernel This is a term for the computing elite, so proceed at your own risk. To understand what a kernel is, you first need to...

Kerning Kerning refers to the spacing between the characters of a font. Without kerning, each character takes up a block of...

Keyboard As the name implies, a keyboard is basically a board of keys. Along with the mouse, the keyboard is one of the primary...

Keyboard Shortcut A keyboard shortcut is a key combination that performs a certain command, such as closing a window or saving a file...

Keylogger A keylogger is a program that records the keystrokes on a computer. It does this by monitoring a user's input and...

Keystroke A keystroke is typing one character on a keyboard (not stroking your keyboard like a cat). Every time you hit a key...

Keywords Keywords are words or phrases that describe content. They can be used as metadata to describe images, text documents...

Kibibyte A kibibyte is a unit of data storage that equals 2 to the 10th power, or 1,024 bytes. While a kilobyte can be...

Kilobyte A kilobyte is 2 to the 10th power, or 1,024 bytes. "But doesn't 'kilo' mean one thousand?" you ask. Well yes, but...

KOffice KOffice (pronounced "K-office") is an

integrated office suite for the K Desktop Environment (KDE), a desktop interface...

KVM Switch Stands for "Keyboard, Video, and Mouse switch." As the name implies, a KVM switch allows you to used multiple...

LAN Stands for "Local Area Network," and is pronounced like "land" without the "d". (Computer people will think you're...

Laptop Laptop computers, also known as notebooks, are portable computers that you can take with you and use in different...

Laser Printer A laser printer is a printer that uses a focused beam or light to transfer text and images onto paper. Though contrary...

Latency This is the amount of time it takes a packet of data to move across a network connection. When a packet is being sent...

LCD Stands for "Liquid Crystal Display." LCDs are super-thin displays that are used in laptop computer screens and flat...

LDAP Stands for "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol." If you want to make directory information available over the...

Leaderboard As the average computer screen size has grown larger, the size of online advertisements as grown as well. The...

Leaf What does a computer's hard disk have in common with a tall oak? While it may not look like a tree on the outside, the...

LED LED is short for "Light-Emitting Diode." It is a type of electronic light source that is activated by an electrical...

LIFO Stands for "Last In, First Out." LIFO is a method of processing data in which the last items entered are the first to...

Link When you are browsing the Web and you see a highlighted and underlined word or phrase on a page, there is a good chance...

LinkedIn LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking website. It allows you to create a custom profile and add other...

Linux Linux is a free, open source, Unix-like (operating system|operating_system). It is available in several different...

Listserv This term looks like it's missing an "e", but that's how it's spelled. A listserv, or list server, is a small program...

Load Balancing Computer networks are complex systems, often routing hundreds, thousands, or even millions of data packets every...

Localhost "Localhost" refers to the local computer that a program is running on. For example, if you are running a Web browser...

Log File A log file contains a record of events generated by a software program or output by a hardware device. Most log files...

Logic Gate Logic gates perform basic logical functions and are the fundamental building blocks of digital integrated circuits...

Login If you are ever asked to enter your username and password, you are being asked to enter your login information. A...

Lossless Lossless compression reduces a file's size with no loss of quality. This seemingly magical method of reducing file...

Lossy Lossy file compression results in lost data and quality from the original version. Lossy compression is

typically...LPI Stands for "Lines Per Inch." LPI is

used to measure the resolution of images printed in halftones. Because halftone...

LUN Stands for "Logical Unit Number." LUNs are used to identify SCSI devices, such as external hard drives, connected to a...










LIFO Stands for "Last In, First Out." LIFO is a method of processing data in which

the last items entered are the first to...











Lossy Lossy file compression results in lost data and quality from the original version. Lossy compression is typically...

LPI Stands for "Lines Per Inch." LPI is

used to measure the resolution of images printed in halftones. Because halftone...

LUN Stands for "Logical Unit Number." LUNs are used to identify SCSI devices, such as external hard drives, connected to a...






















LPI Stands for "Lines Per Inch." LPI is used to measure the resolution of images printed in halftones. Because

halftone...LUN Stands for "Logical Unit Number."

LUNs are used to identify SCSI devices, such as external hard drives, connected to a...











Link When you are browsing the Web and you see a highlighted and underlined

word or phrase on a page, there is a good chance...











LPI Stands for "Lines Per Inch." LPI is used to measure the resolution of images printed in halftones. Because halftone...

LUN Stands for "Logical Unit Number."

LUNs are used to identify SCSI devices, such as external hard drives, connected to a...

MAC Address Stands for "Media Access Control Address," and no, it is not related Apple Macintosh computers. A MAC address is a...

Mac OS This is the operating system that runs on Macintosh computers. It is pronounced, "mack-oh-es." The Mac OS has been...

Macintosh This is the name of the computers that are made by Apple Computer. The first Macintosh was introduced in 1984 and was...

Macro Macro has two computer-related definitions, both of which involve making your computer experience more efficient. ...

Mainframe A mainframe is an ultra high-performance computer made for high-volume, processor-intensive computing. They are...

Malware Short for "malicious software," malware refers to software programs designed to damage or do other unwanted actions on...

MANET Stands for "Mobile Ad Hoc Network." A MANET is a type of ad hoc network that can change locations and configure itself...

Markup Language A markup language is a type of syntax used for defining elements within a document, such as a webpage or data file. It...

Mashup The term "mashup" has several meanings. It was originally used to describe songs that meshed two different styles of...

Maximize Maximizing a window makes it larger. In Windows, a maximized window fills the entire screen, while on a Mac, it takes...

Mbps Stands for "Megabits Per Second."

One megabit is equal to one million bits or 1,000 kilobits. While "megabit" sounds...

MBR An MBR, or "master boot record," is a special section on a hard disk that defines the disk partitions and contains the...

MCA Stands for "Micro Channel Architecture." It is an expansion bus created by IBM that was used in the company's PS...

Mebibyte A mebibyte is a unit of data storage that equals 2 to the 20th power, or 1,048,576 bytes. While a megabyte can be...

Media In general, "media" refers to various means of communication. For example, television, radio, and the newspaper are...

Megabyte A megabyte is 2 to the 20th power, or 1,048,576 bytes. It can be estimated as 10 to the 6th power, or one million...

Megahertz One megahertz is equal to one million cycles per second. It is used to measure transmission speeds of electronic...

Megapixel A megapixel is one million pixels. It is commonly used to describe the resolution of digital cameras. For example, a...

Memory Just like humans, computers rely a lot on memory. They need to process and store data, just like we do. However...

Memory Bank A memory bank is an individual section of data stored in a computer's memory. It typically contains data that only...

Memory Leak A memory leak is like a virtual oil leak in your computer. It slowly drains the available memory, reducing the amount...

Memory Module A memory module is another name for a RAM chip. It is often used as a general term used to describe SIMM, DIMM, and...

Memory Stick Memory Stick is a type of flash memory developed by Sony. It is used to store data for digital cameras, camcorders...

Menu Bar A menu bar is a horizontal strip that contains lists of available menus for a certain program. In Windows programs...

Meta Search Engine Meta search engines are search engines that search other search engines. Confused? To put it simply, a meta search...

Meta Tag This is a special HTML tag that is used to store information about a Web page but is not displayed in a Web browser...

Metadata Metadata describes other data. It provides information about a certain item's content. For example, an image may...

Metafile A metafile can refer to two different types of computer files. The first is a file that describes the contents of...

MIDI Stands for "Musical Instrument Digital Interface." It is a connectivity standard that musicians use to hook together...

Mini DV Most digital camcorders record video and audio on a Mini DV tape. The cassettes measure 2.6 x 1.9 x 0.5 inches (L x W...

Minimize Minimizing a window temporarily hides it from view without closing it. In Windows, a button for the minimized window...

MIPS Stands for "Million Instructions Per Second." It is a method of measuring the raw speed of a computer's processor...

Mirror A mirror is something that you can see your reflection in. Most mirrors consist of a sheet of glass with a sheet of...

Mirrored Volume A mirrored volume is a hard drive or other form of storage media that stores an exact copy of the data from another...

Mnemonic A mnemonic (pronounced "nemonic") is a pattern that can be used as an aid for memorizing information. Most often, this...

Modem The word modem is actually short for Modulator/Demodulator. (There's something you can really impress your friends...

Modifier Key A modifier key is a key that modifies the action of another key when the two are pressed together. Common modifier...

Monitor The term "monitor" is often used synonymously with "computer screen" or "display." The monitor displays the computer's...

Moodle Stands for "Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment." Moodle is an open source course management system...

Motherboard The motherboard is the main circuit board of your computer and is also known as the mainboard or logic board. If you...

Mount In order for a hard disk or disk partition to be accessible by a computer, it must first be mounted. This is a...

Mouse A mouse, along with the keyboard, is one of the two main input devices used by computers. It is a small handheld...

MP3 Stands for "MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3." MP3 is a popular compressed audio file format that helped popularize digital music...

MPEG Stands for "Moving Picture Experts Group." The MPEG organization, which works with the International Organization for...

MTU Stands for "Maximum Transmission Unit." MTU is a networking term that defines the largest packet size that can be sent...

Multimedia As the name implies, multimedia is the integration of multiple forms of media. This includes text, graphics,

audio...Multiplatform If a software program is developed

for mulitple operating systems, it is considered to be "multiplatform." Since...

Multiprocessing For many years, the speed of computer processors increased through improvements in the architecture and clock speed of...

Multitasking Multitasking is processing multiple tasks at one time. For example, when you see someone in the car next to you eating...

Multithreading Multithreading is similar to multitasking, but enables the processing of multiple threads at one time, rather than...

MySpace MySpace is an online community that allows friends to keep in touch and meet new people as well. It started out as a...

MySQL MySQL, pronounced either "My S-Q-L" or "My Sequel," is an open source relational database management system. It is...

it glossary

Documents

wireless access

access microsoft access

access point

g technology

wireless network

transmitting data

access control list

abbreviated ms access