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Applet
AsmallJavaapplicationthatisdownloadedbyanActiveXorJavaenabledwebbrowser.Onceithasbeendownloaded,theappletwillrunon
theuser'scomputer.Commonappletsincludefinancialcalculatorsandwebdrawingprograms.

Application
Computersoftwarethatperformsataskorsetoftasks,suchaswordprocessingordrawing.Applicationsarealsoreferredtoasprograms.

ASCII
AmericanStandardCodeforInformationInterchange,anencodingsystemforconvertingkeyboardcharactersandinstructionsintothebinary
numbercodethatthecomputerunderstands.

Bandwidth
The capacity of a networked connection. Bandwidth determines how much data can be sent along the networked wires. Bandwidth is
particularlyimportantforInternetconnections,sincegreaterbandwidthalsomeansfasterdownloads.

Binarycode
The most basic language a computer understands, it is composed of a series of 0s and 1s. The computer interprets the code to form
numbers,letters,punctuationmarks,andsymbols.

Bit
Thesmallestpieceofcomputerinformation,eitherthenumber0or1.Inshorttheyarecalledbinarydigits.

Boot
Tostartupacomputer.Coldbootmeansrestartingcomputerafterthepoweristurnedoff.Warmbootmeansrestartingcomputerwithout
turningoffthepower.

Browser
SoftwareusedtonavigatetheInternet.GoogleChrome,Firefox,NetscapeNavigatorandMicrosoftInternetExploreraretoday'smostpopular
browsersforaccessingtheWorldWideWeb.

Bug
Amalfunctionduetoanerrorintheprogramoradefectintheequipment.
Byte
Mostcomputersusecombinationsofeightbits,calledbytes,torepresentonecharacterofdataorinstructions.Forexample,thewordcat
hasthreecharacters,anditwouldberepresentedbythreebytes.

Cache
A small datamemory storage area that a computer can use to instantly reaccess data instead of rereading the data from the original
source,suchasaharddrive.Browsersuseacachetostorewebpagessothattheusermayviewthemagainwithoutreconnectingtothe
Web.

CADCAM
ComputerAidedDrawingComputerAidedManufacturing.Theinstructionsstoredinacomputerthatwillbetranslatedtoveryprecise
operatinginstructionstoarobot,suchasforassemblingcarsorlasercuttingsignage.

CDROM
Compact Disc ReadOnly Memory, an optically read disc designed to hold information such as music, reference materials, or computer
software. A single CDROM can hold around 640 megabytes of data, enough for several encyclopaedias. Most software programs are now
deliveredonCDROMs.

CGI
CommonGatewayInterface,aprogrammingstandardthatallowsvisitorstofilloutformfieldsonaWebpageandhavethatinformation
interactwithadatabase,possiblycomingbacktotheuserasanotherWebpage.CGImayalsorefertoComputerGeneratedImaging,the
processinwhichsophisticatedcomputerprogramscreatestillandanimatedgraphics,suchasspecialeffectsformovies.

Chat
TypingtextintoamessageboxonascreentoengageindialoguewithoneormorepeopleviatheInternetorothernetwork.

Chip
Atinywaferofsiliconcontainingminiatureelectriccircuitsthatcanstoremillionsofbitsofinformation.

Client
Asingleuserofanetworkapplicationthatisoperatedfromaserver.Aclient/serverarchitectureallowsmanypeopletousethesamedata
simultaneously.Theprogram'smaincomponent(thedata)residesonacentralizedserver,withsmallercomponents(userinterface)oneach
client.

Cookie
AtextfilesentbyaWebserverthatisstoredontheharddriveofacomputerandrelaysbacktotheWebserverthingsabouttheuser,hisor
hercomputer,and/orhisorhercomputeractivities.

CPU
CentralProcessingUnit.Thebrainofthecomputer.

Cracker
Apersonwhobreaksintoacomputerthroughanetwork,withoutauthorizationandwithmischievousordestructiveintent.

Crash
Ahardwareorsoftwareproblemthatcausesinformationtobelostorthecomputertomalfunction.Sometimesacrashcancausepermanent
damagetoacomputer.

Cursor
Amovingpositionindicatordisplayedonacomputermonitorthatshowsacomputeroperatorwherethenextactionoroperationwilltake
place.

Cyberspace
Slangforinternetie.Aninternationalconglomerationofinterconnectedcomputernetworks.Beguninthelate1960s,itwasdevelopedinthe
1970s to allow government and university researchers to share information. The Internet is not controlled by any single group or
organization.Itsoriginalfocuswasresearchandcommunications,butitcontinuestoexpand,offeringawidearrayofresourcesforbusiness
andhomeusers.

Database
Acollectionofsimilarinformationstoredinafile,suchasadatabaseofaddresses.Thisinformationmaybecreatedandstoredinadatabase
managementsystem(DBMS).

Debug
Slang.Tofindandcorrectequipmentdefectsorprogrammalfunctions.

Default
Thepredefinedconfigurationofasystemoranapplication.Inmostprograms,thedefaultscanbechangedtoreflectpersonalpreferences.

Desktop
Themaindirectoryoftheuserinterface.Desktopsusuallycontainiconsthatrepresentlinkstotheharddrive,anetwork(ifthereisone),and
atrashorrecyclingcanforfilestobedeleted.Itcanalsodisplayiconsoffrequentlyusedapplications,asrequestedbytheuser.

Desktoppublishing
Theproductionofpublicationqualitydocumentsusingapersonalcomputerincombinationwithtext,graphics,andpagelayoutprograms.

Directory
Arepositorywhereallfilesarekeptoncomputer.

Disk
Twodistincttypes.Thenamesrefertothemediainsidethecontainer:

Aharddiscstoresvastamountsofdata.Itisusuallyinsidethecomputerbutcanbeaseparateperipheralontheoutside.Harddiscsare
madeupofseveralrigidcoatedmetaldiscs.Currently,harddiscscanstore15to30Gb(gigabytes).

Afloppydisc,3.5"square,usuallyinsertedintothecomputerandcanstoreabout1.4megabytesofdata.The3.5"squarefloppieshavea
verythin,flexiblediscinside.Thereisalsoanintermediatesizedfloppydisc,trademarkedZipdiscs,whichcanstore250megabytesofdata.

Diskdrive
Theequipmentthatoperatesahardorfloppydisc.

Domain
RepresentsanIP(InternetProtocol)addressorsetofIPaddressesthatcompriseadomain.ThedomainnameappearsinURLstoidentify
webpagesorinemailaddresses.Forexample,theemailaddressfortheFirstLadyisfirst.lady@whitehouse.gov,whitehouse.gov,beingthe
domainname.Eachdomainnameendswithasuffixthatindicateswhattopleveldomainitbelongsto.Theseare:.comforcommercial,.gov
forgovernment,.orgfororganization,.eduforeducationalinstitution,.bizforbusiness,.infoforinformation,.tvfortelevision,.wsforwebsite.
Domainsuffixesmayalsoindicatethecountryinwhichthedomainisregistered.Notwopartiescaneverholdthesamedomainname.

Domainname
The name of a network or computer linked to the Internet. Domains are defined by a common IP address or set of similar IP (Internet
Protocol)addresses.

Download
Theprocessoftransferringinformationfromawebsite(orotherremotelocationonanetwork)tothecomputer.Itispossibletodownloada
filewhichincludetext,image,audio,videoandmanyothers.

DOS
DiskOperatingSystem.AnoperatingsystemdesignedforearlyIBMcompatiblePCs.

Dropdownmenu
Amenuwindowthatopensverticallyonscreentodisplaycontextrelatedoptions.Alsocalledpopupmenuorpulldownmenu.

DSL
DigitalSubscriberLine,amethodofconnectingtotheInternetviaaphoneline.ADSLconnectionusescoppertelephonelinesbutisable
torelaydataatmuchhigherspeedsthanmodemsanddoesnotinterferewithtelephoneuse.

DVD
DigitalVideoDisc.SimilartoaCDROM,itstoresandplaysbothaudioandvideo.

Ebook
Anelectronic(usuallyhandheld)readingdevicethatallowsapersontoviewdigitallystoredreadingmaterials.

Email
Electronic mail messages, including memos or letters, sent electronically between networked computers that may be across the office or
aroundtheworld.

Emoticon
AtextbasedexpressionofemotioncreatedfromASCIIcharactersthatmimicsafacialexpressionwhenviewedwithyourheadtiltedtothe
left.Herearesomeexamples:

Smiling

Frowning

Winking

Crying

Encryption
Theprocessoftransmittingscrambleddatasothatonlyauthorizedrecipientscanunscrambleit.Forinstance,encryptionisusedtoscramble
creditcardinformationwhenpurchasesaremadeovertheInternet.

Ethernet
Atypeofnetwork.

Ethernetcard
Aboardinsideacomputertowhichanetworkcablecanbeattached.

File
Asetofdatathatisstoredinthecomputer.

Firewall
AsetofsecurityprogramsthatprotectacomputerfromoutsideinterferenceoraccessviatheInternet.

Folder
Astructureforcontainingelectronicfiles.Insomeoperatingsystems,itiscalledadirectory.
Fonts
Setsoftypefaces(orcharacters)thatcomeindifferentstylesandsizes.

Freeware
Softwarecreatedbypeoplewhoarewillingtogiveitawayforthesatisfactionofsharingorknowingtheyhelpedtosimplifyotherpeople's
lives.Itmaybefreestandingsoftware,oritmayaddfunctionalitytoexistingsoftware.

FTP
FileTransferProtocol,aformatandsetofrulesfortransferringfilesfromahosttoaremotecomputer.

Gigabyte(GB)
1024megabytes.Alsocalledgig.

Glitch
Thecauseofanunexpectedmalfunction.

Gopher
AnInternetsearchtoolthatallowsuserstoaccesstextualinformationthroughaseriesofmenus,orifusingFTP,throughdownloads.

GUI
GraphicalUserInterface,asystemthatsimplifiesselectingcomputercommandsbyenablingtheusertopointtosymbolsorillustrations
(calledicons)onthecomputerscreenwithamouse.

Groupware
Softwarethatallowsnetworkedindividualstoformgroupsandcollaborateondocuments,programs,ordatabases.

Hacker
A person with technical expertise who experiments with computer systems to determine how to develop additional features. Hackers are
occasionallyrequestedbysystemadministratorstotryandbreakintosystemsviaanetworktotestsecurity.Thetermhackerissometimes
incorrectlyusedinterchangeablywithcracker.Ahackeriscalledawhitehatandacrackerablackhat.

Hardcopy
Apaperprintoutofwhatyouhavepreparedonthecomputer.

Harddrive
Anothernamefortheharddiscthatstoresinformationinacomputer.

Hardware
Thephysicalandmechanicalcomponentsofacomputersystem,suchastheelectroniccircuitry,chips,monitor,disks,diskdrives,keyboard,
modem,andprinter.

Homepage
ThemainpageofaWebsiteusedtogreetvisitors,provideinformationaboutthesite,ortodirecttheviewertootherpagesonthesite.

HTML
HypertextMarkupLanguage,astandardoftextmarkupconventionsusedfordocumentsontheWorldWideWeb.Browsersinterpretthe
codestogivethetextstructureandformatting(suchasbold,blue,oritalic).

HTTP
HypertextTransferProtocol,acommonsystemusedtorequestandsendHTMLdocumentsontheWorldWideWeb.Itisthefirstportion
ofallURLaddressesontheWorldWideWeb.

HTTPS
HypertextTransferProtocolSecure,oftenusedinintracompanyinternetsites.Passwordsarerequiredtogainaccess.

Hyperlink
Textoranimagethatisconnectedbyhypertextcodingtoadifferentlocation.Byselectingthetextorimagewithamouse,thecomputer
jumpsto(ordisplays)thelinkedtext.

Hypermedia
Integratesaudio,graphics,and/orvideothroughlinksembeddedinthemainprogram.

Hypertext
Asystemfororganizingtextthroughlinks,asopposedtoamenudrivenhierarchysuchasGopher.MostWebpagesincludehypertextlinksto
otherpagesatthatsite,ortoothersitesontheWorldWideWeb.

Icons
Symbolsorillustrationsappearingonthecomputerscreenthatindicateprogramfilesorothercomputerfunctions.

Input
Datathatgoesintoacomputerdevice.

Inputdevice
A device, such as a keyboard, stylus and tablet, mouse, puck, or microphone, that allows input of information (letters, numbers, sound,
video)toacomputer.

Instantmessaging(IM)
AchatapplicationthatallowstwoormorepeopletocommunicateovertheInternetviarealtimekeyedinmessages.

Interface
Theinterconnectionsthatallowadevice,aprogram,orapersontointeract.Hardwareinterfacesarethecablesthatconnectthedevicetoits
power source and to other devices. Software interfaces allow the program to communicate with other programs (such as the operating
system),anduserinterfacesallowtheusertocommunicatewiththeprogram(e.g.,viamouse,menucommands,icons,voicecommands,
etc.).

Internet
An international conglomeration of interconnected computer networks. Begun in the late 1960s, it was developed in the 1970s to allow
governmentanduniversityresearcherstoshareinformation.TheInternetisnotcontrolledbyanysinglegroupororganization.Itsoriginal
focuswasresearchandcommunications,butitcontinuestoexpand,offeringawidearrayofresourcesforbusinessandhomeusers.

IP(InternetProtocol)address
AnInternetProtocoladdressisauniquesetofnumbersusedtolocateanothercomputeronanetwork.TheformatofanIPaddressisa32
bit string of four numbers separated by periods. Each number can be from 0 to 255 (i.e., 1.154.10.266). Within a closed network IP
addressesmaybeassignedatrandom,however,IPaddressesofwebserversmustberegisteredtoavoidduplicates.

Java
An objectoriented programming language designed specifically for programs (particularly multimedia) to be used over the Internet. Java
allowsprogrammerstocreatesmallprogramsorapplications(applets)toenhanceWebsites.

JavaScript/ECMAscript
A programming language used almost exclusively to manipulate content on a web page. Common JavaScript functions include validating
formsonawebpage,creatingdynamicpagenavigationmenus,andimagerollovers.

Kilobyte(KorKB)
Equalto1,024bytes.

Linux
AUNIXlike,opensourceoperatingsystemdevelopedprimarilybyLinusTorvalds.Linuxisfreeandrunsonmanyplatforms,includingboth
PCsandMacintoshes.Linuxisanopensourceoperatingsystem,meaningthatthesourcecodeoftheoperatingsystemisfreelyavailableto
thepublic.Programmersmayredistributeandmodifythecode,aslongastheydon'tcollectroyaltiesontheirworkordenyaccesstotheir
code.Sincedevelopmentisnotrestrictedtoasinglecorporationmoreprogrammerscandebugandimprovethesourcecodefaster.

Laptopandnotebook
Small,lightweight,portablebatterypoweredcomputersthatcanfitontoyourlap.Theyeachhaveathin,flat,liquidcrystaldisplayscreen.

Macro
Ascriptthatoperatesaseriesofcommandstoperformafunction.Itissetuptoautomaterepetitivetasks.

MacOS
An operating system with a graphical user interface, developed by Apple for Macintosh computers. Current System X.1.(10) combines the
traditionalMacinterfacewithastrongunderlyingUNIX.Operatingsystemforincreasedperformanceandstability.

Megabyte(MB)
Equalto1,048,576bytes,usuallyroundedofftoonemillionbytes(alsocalledameg).

Memory
Temporarystorageforinformation,includingapplicationsanddocuments.Theinformationmustbestoredtoapermanentdevice,suchasa
harddiscorCDROMbeforethepoweristurnedoff,ortheinformationwillbelost.Computermemoryismeasuredintermsoftheamountof
informationitcanstore,commonlyinmegabytesorgigabytes.

Menu
Acontextrelatedlistofoptionsthatuserscanchoosefrom.

Menubar
The horizontal strip across the top of an application's window. Each word on the strip has a context sensitive dropdown menu containing
featuresandactionsthatareavailablefortheapplicationinuse.

Merge
Tocombinetwoormorefilesintoasinglefile.

MHz
An abbreviation for Megahertz, or one million hertz. One MHz represents one million clock cycles per second and is the measure of a
computer microprocessor's speed. For example, a microprocessor that runs at 300 MHz executes 300 million cycles per second. Each
instruction a computer receives takes a fixed number of clock cycles to carry out, therefore the more cycles a computer can execute per
second,thefasteritsprogramsrun.Megahertzisalsoaunitofmeasureforbandwidth.

Microprocessor
Acompletecentralprocessingunit(CPU)containedonasinglesiliconchip.

Minimize
AtermusedinaGUIoperatingsystemthatuseswindows.Itreferstoreducingawindowtoanicon,oralabelatthebottomofthescreen,
allowinganotherwindowtobeviewed.

Modem
Adevicethatconnectstwocomputerstogetheroveratelephoneorcablelinebyconvertingthecomputer'sdataintoanaudiosignal.Modem
isacontractionfortheprocessitperforms:modulatedemodulate.

Monitor
Avideodisplayterminal.

Mouse
Asmallhandhelddevice,similartoatrackball,usedtocontrolthepositionofthecursoronthevideodisplaymovementsofthemouseona
desktopcorrespondtomovementsofthecursoronthescreen.

MP3
Compactaudioandvideofileformat.Thesmallsizeofthefilesmakesthemeasytodownloadandemail.Formatusedinportableplayback
devices.

Multimedia
Softwareprogramsthatcombinetextandgraphicswithsound,video,andanimation.AmultimediaPCcontainsthehardwaretosupportthese
capabilities.

MSDOS
AnearlyoperatingsystemdevelopedbyMicrosoftCorporation(MicrosoftDiscOperatingSystem).

Network
Asystemofinterconnectedcomputers.

Opensource
Computerprogramswhoseoriginalsourcecodewasrevealedtothegeneralpublicsothatitcouldbedevelopedopenly.Softwarelicensedas
opensourcecanbefreelychangedoradaptedtonewuses,meaningthatthesourcecodeoftheoperatingsystemisfreelyavailabletothe
public.Programmersmayredistributeandmodifythecode,aslongastheydon'tcollectroyaltiesontheirworkordenyaccesstotheircode.
Sincedevelopmentisnotrestrictedtoasinglecorporationmoreprogrammerscandebugandimprovethesourcecodefaster.

Operatingsystem
Asetofinstructionsthattellacomputeronhowtooperatewhenitisturnedon.Itsetsupafilingsystemtostorefilesandtellsthecomputer
howtodisplayinformationonavideodisplay.MostPCoperatingsystemsareDOS(discoperatedsystem)systems,meaningtheinstructions
are stored on a disc (as opposed to being originally stored in the microprocessors of the computer). Other wellknown operating systems
includeUNIX,Linux,Macintosh,andWindows.

Output
Data that come out of a computer device. For example, information displayed on the monitor, sound from the speakers, and information
printedtopaper.

Palm
Ahandheldcomputer.

PC
Personalcomputer.GenerallyreferstocomputersrunningWindowswithaPentiumprocessor.

PCboard
PrintedCircuitboard,aboardprintedoretchedwithacircuitandprocessors.Powersupplies,informationstoragedevices,orchangersare
attached.

PDA
Personal Digital Assistant, a handheld computer that can store daily appointments, phone numbers, addresses, and other important
information.MostPDAslinktoadesktoporlaptopcomputertodownloadoruploadinformation.

PDF
Portable Document Format, a format presented by Adobe Acrobat that allows documents to be shared over a variety of operating
systems.Documentscancontainwordsandpicturesandbeformattedtohaveelectroniclinkstootherpartsofthedocumentortoplaceson
theweb.

Pentiumchip
Intel'sfifthgenerationofsophisticatedhighspeedmicroprocessors.Pentiummeansthefifthelement.

Peripheral
Any external device attached to a computer to enhance operation. Examples include external hard drive, scanner, printer, speakers,
keyboard,mouse,trackball,stylusandtablet,andjoystick.

Personalcomputer(PC)
Asingleusercomputercontainingacentralprocessingunit(CPU)andoneormorememorycircuits.

Petabyte
Ameasureofmemoryorstoragecapacityandisapproximatelyathousandterabytes.

Petaflop
Atheoreticalmeasureofacomputer'sspeedandcanbeexpressedasathousandtrillionfloatingpointoperationspersecond.

Platform
Theoperatingsystem,suchasUNIX,Macintosh,Windows,onwhichacomputerisbased.

Plugandplay
Computerhardwareorperipheralsthatcomesetupwithnecessarysoftwaresothatwhenattachedtoacomputer,theyarerecognizedby
thecomputerandarereadytouse.

Popupmenu
Amenuwindowthatopensverticallyorhorizontallyonscreentodisplaycontextrelatedoptions.Alsocalleddropdownmenuorpulldown
menu.

PowerPC
A competitor of the Pentium chip. It is a new generation of powerful sophisticated microprocessors produced from an AppleIBMMotorola
alliance.

Printer
Amechanicaldeviceforprintingacomputer'soutputonpaper.Therearethreemajortypesofprinter:

Dotmatrixcreatesindividualletters,madeupofaseriesoftinyinkdots,bypunchingaribbonwiththeendsoftinywires.(This
typeofprinterismostoftenusedinindustrialsettings,suchasdirectmailforlabelling.)

Inkjetspraystinydropletsofinkparticlesontopaper.

Laserusesabeamoflighttoreproducetheimageofeachpageusingamagneticchargethatattractsdrytonerthatistransferred
 topaperandsealedwithheat.

Program
Apreciseseriesofinstructionswritteninacomputerlanguagethattellsthecomputerwhattodoandhowtodoit.Programsarealsocalled
softwareorapplications.

Programminglanguage
Aseriesofinstructionswrittenbyaprogrammeraccordingtoagivensetofrulesorconventions(syntax).Highlevelprogramminglanguages
areindependentofthedeviceonwhichtheapplication(orprogram)willeventuallyrunlowlevellanguagesarespecifictoeachprogramor
platform.Programminglanguageinstructionsareconvertedintoprogramsinlanguagespecifictoaparticularmachineoroperatingsystem
(machinelanguage).Sothatthecomputercaninterpretandcarryouttheinstructions.SomecommonprogramminglanguagesareBASIC,C,
C++,dBASE,FORTRAN,andPerl.

Puck
Aninputdevice,likeamouse.Ithasamagnifyingglasswithcrosshairsonthefrontofitthatallowstheoperatortopositionitpreciselywhen
tracingadrawingforusewithCADCAMsoftware.

Pulldownmenu
Amenuwindowthatopensverticallyonscreentodisplaycontextrelatedoptions.Alsocalleddropdownmenuorpopupmenu.

Pushtechnology
Internettoolthatdeliversspecificinformationdirectlytoauser'sdesktop,eliminatingtheneedtosurfforit.PointCast,whichdeliversnewsin
userdefinedcategories,isapopularexampleofthistechnology.

QuickTime
AudiovisualsoftwarethatallowsmoviedeliveryviatheInternetandemail.QuickTimeimagesareviewedonamonitor.

RAID
Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks, a method of spreading information across several disks set up to act as a unit, using two
differenttechniques:

Diskstripingstoringabitofinformationacrossseveraldiscs(insteadofstoringitallononediscandhopingthatthediscdoesn't
crash).

Diskmirroringsimultaneouslystoringacopyofinformationonanotherdiscsothattheinformationcanberecoveredifthemain
disccrashes.

RAM
RandomAccessMemory,oneoftwobasictypesofmemory.PortionsofprogramsarestoredinRAMwhentheprogramislaunchedsothat
theprogramwillrunfaster.ThoughaPChasafixedamountofRAM,onlyportionsofitwillbeaccessedbythecomputeratanygiventime.
Alsocalledmemory.

Rightclick
Usingtherightmousebuttontoopencontextsensitivedropdownmenus.

ROM
ReadOnly Memory, one of two basic types of memory. ROM contains only permanent information put there by the manufacturer.
InformationinROMcannotbealtered,norcanthememorybedynamicallyallocatedbythecomputeroritsoperator.

Scanner
Anelectronicdevicethatuseslightsensingequipmenttoscanpaperimagessuchastext,photos,andillustrationsandtranslatetheimages
intosignalsthatthecomputercanthenstore,modify,ordistribute.
Searchengine
SoftwarethatmakesitpossibletolookforandretrievematerialontheInternet,particularlytheWeb.SomepopularsearchenginesareAlta
Vista,Google,HotBot,Yahoo!,WebCrawler,andLycos.

Server
Acomputerthatsharesitsresourcesandinformationwithothercomputers,calledclients,onanetwork.

Shareware
Softwarecreatedbypeoplewhoarewillingtosellitatlowcostornocostforthegratificationofsharing.Itmaybefreestandingsoftware,or
itmayaddfunctionalitytoexistingsoftware.

Software
Computerprogramsalsocalledapplications.

Spider
Aprocesssearchenginesusetoinvestigatenewpagesonawebsiteandcollecttheinformationthatneedstobeputintheirindices.

Spreadsheet
Softwarethatallowsonetocalculatenumbersinaformatthatissimilartopagesinaconventionalledger.

Storage
Devicesusedtostoremassiveamountsofinformationsothatitcanbereadilyretrieved.DevicesincludeRAIDs,CDROMs,DVDs.

Streaming
Takingpacketsofinformation(soundorvisual)fromtheInternetandstoringitintemporaryfilestoallowittoplayincontinuousflow.

Stylusandtablet
Aninputdevicesimilartoamouse.Thestylusispenshaped.Itisusedtodrawonatablet(likedrawingonpaper)andthetablettransfers
theinformationtothecomputer.Thetabletrespondstopressure.Thefirmerthepressureusedtodraw,thethickerthelineappears.

Surfing
ExploringtheInternet.

Surgeprotector
Acontrollertoprotectthecomputerandmakeupforvariancesinvoltage.

Telnet
Awaytocommunicatewitharemotecomputeroveranetwork.

Trackball
Inputdevicethatcontrolsthepositionofthecursoronthescreentheunitismountednearthekeyboard,andmovementiscontrolledby
movingaball.

Terabytes(TB)
Athousandgigabytes.

Teraflop
Ameasureofacomputer'sspeed.Itcanbeexpressedasatrillionfloatingpointoperationspersecond.
TrojanHorse
Seevirus.

UNIX
Averypowerfuloperatingsystemusedasthebasisofmanyhighendcomputerapplications.

Upload
Theprocessoftransferringinformationfromacomputertoawebsite(orotherremotelocationonanetwork).Totransferinformationfroma
computertoawebsite(orotherremotelocationonanetwork).

URL
UniformResourceLocator.

TheprotocolforidentifyingadocumentontheWeb.

AWebaddress(e.g.,www.tutorialspoint.com).AURLisuniquetoeachuser.Seealsodomain.

UPS
Universal Power Supply or Uninterruptible Power Supply. An electrical power supply that includes a battery to provide enough power to a
computerduringanoutagetobackupdataandproperlyshutdown.

USB
AmultiplesocketUSBconnectorthatallowsseveralUSBcompatibledevicestobeconnectedtoacomputer.

USENET
A large unmoderated and unedited bulletin board on the Internet that offers thousands of forums, called newsgroups. These range from
newsgroupsexchanginginformationonscientificadvancestocelebrityfanclubs.

Userfriendly
Aprogramordevicewhoseuseisintuitivetopeoplewithanontechnicalbackground.

Videoteleconferencing
A remote "facetoface chat," when two or more people using a webcam and an Internet telephone connection chat online. The webcam
enablesbothlivevoiceandvideo.

Virtualreality(VR)
Atechnologythatallowsonetoexperienceandinteractwithimagesinasimulatedthreedimensionalenvironment.Forexample,youcould
designaroominahouseonyourcomputerandactuallyfeelthatyouarewalkingaroundiniteventhoughitwasneverbuilt.(TheHolodeck
in the sciencefiction TV series Star Trek : Voyager would be the ultimate virtual reality.) Current technology requires the user to wear a
specialhelmet,viewinggoggles,gloves,andotherequipmentthattransmitsandreceivesinformationfromthecomputer.

Virus
Anunauthorizedpieceofcomputercodeattachedtoacomputerprogramorportionsofacomputersystemthatsecretlycopiesitselffrom
one computer to another by shared discs and over telephone and cable lines. It can destroy information stored on the computer, and in
extremecases,candestroyoperability.Computerscanbeprotectedfromvirusesiftheoperatorutilizesgoodviruspreventionsoftwareand
keepsthevirusdefinitionsuptodate.Mostvirusesarenotprogrammedtospreadthemselves.Theyhavetobesenttoanothercomputerby
email,sharing,orapplications.Thewormisanexception,becauseitisprogrammedtoreplicateitselfbysendingcopiestoothercomputers
listedintheemailaddressbookinthecomputer.Therearemanykindsofviruses,forexample:

Bootvirusesplacesomeoftheircodeinthestartupdisksectortoautomaticallyexecutewhenbooting.Therefore,whenaninfected
machineboots,thevirusloadsandruns.

Filevirusesattachedtoprogramfiles(fileswiththeextension.exe).Whenyouruntheinfectedprogram,theviruscodeexecutes.
 Macrovirusescopytheirmacrostotemplatesand/orotherapplicationdocumentfiles.

TrojanHorseisamalicious,securitybreakingprogramthatisdisguisedassomethingbeingsuchasascreensaverorgame.

Worm launches an application that destroys information on your hard drive. It also sends a copy of the virus to everyone in the
computer'semailaddressbook.

WAV
Asoundformat(pronouncedwave)usedtoreproducesoundsonacomputer.

Webcam
Avideocamera/computersetupthattakesliveimagesandsendsthemtoaWebbrowser.

Window
Aportionofacomputerdisplayusedinagraphicalinterfacethatenablesuserstoselectcommandsbypointingtoillustrationsorsymbols
withamouse."Windows"isalsothenameMicrosoftadoptedforitspopularoperatingsystem.

WorldWideWeb("WWW"or"theWeb")
AnetworkofserversontheInternetthatusehypertextlinkeddatabasesandfiles.Itwasdevelopedin1989byTimBernersLee,aBritish
computerscientist,andisnowtheprimaryplatformoftheInternet.ThefeaturethatdistinguishestheWebfromotherInternetapplicationsis
itsabilitytodisplaygraphicsinadditiontotext.

Wordprocessor
Acomputersystemorprogramforsetting,editing,revising,correcting,storing,andprintingtext.

Worm
Seevirus.

WYSIWYG
WhatYouSeeIsWhatYouGet.Whenusingmostwordprocessors,pagelayoutprograms(Seedesktoppublishing),andwebpagedesign
programs,wordsandimageswillbedisplayedonthemonitorastheywilllookontheprintedpageorwebpage.

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