N Top of Page
netiquette A set of unwritten rules which constitute the so-called proper way to behave when communicating on the Net.
Netscape Company that provides various programs for PCs, notably a Browser. Now part of AOL.
Neural Network A computer program which can recognise complex petterns. Neural Network technology gives a computer system an amazing capacity to actually learn from input data and provide solutions to problems normally requiring human observation.
newsgroups message areas od discussion groups organised by subject.
notebook small, portable 'mini-computer', smaller than a laptop.
O Top of Page
offline When you are not connected to the Net, and (in the UK) therefore not running up your phone bill.
online When you are connected to the Net and of course (in the UK), running up your phone bill.
operating system The basic program in every computer. The Most common is DOS (in various forms).
Outlook Express Microsoft's e-mail program. It is both a part of Internet Explorer and a stand-alone program.
P Top of Page
parallel port a fast port for transferring data over several wires simultaneously.
PC Card A credit card-sized device for adding anything from a modem to a hard disk to a notebook PC.
PCI-bus (Peripheral Component Interconnect) a way of connecting hardware to your PC so it connects directly to the processor chip (CPU) which means that information is transferred between the hardware and the heart of your PC as quickly as possible. Most new hardware is PCI compatible.
Pentium a fast processor type manufactured by the Intel company.
pipeline allows fast access to the electronic components.
pixel a single point in a picture.
Playlist A list of music tracks that are played in a certain order.
plug-in Software that enhances the capabilities of your Web browser to enable it to do things like play animations (e.g. Shockwave), video clips and sound (e.g. RealPlayer)..
Port A certain type of Internet connection within TCP/IP - Web browsers have their own port, for example, as does e-mail and ICQ.
Postscript Printing standard from the Adobe company, used for professional output.
Primary Key One or more fields that ensure each line (record) in a database is unique.
processor See CPU.
protocol An agreed way for two or more networks/computers to communicate
Provider normally Internet Service Provider (ISP). A firm offering connection to the Internet and e-mail.
PS/2 connection standard developed by IBM (PS/2 mouse, PS/2 RAM block).
Public domain The virtual realm where shareware and freeware programs exist. If something is in the public domain, you should be able to use it without infringing copyright.
Q Top of Page
QBASIC A version of BASIC supplied with all modern PCs (relegated to 'Old DOS@ folder on Windows 95 CD). Great for dabbling, but not much use as a serious programming language.
Quick Basic The full product similar to QBASIC but allows Compiling of the source code into a DOS .exe or .com program. A lot better than it's little freebie brother.
QWERTY Pronounced 'KWERtee', the name sometimes given to the standard typewriter keyboard layout. Not many people know the Qwerty layout was designed to stop enthusiastic typists from jamming the mechanism of the first mechanical typewriters, and is in fact a superbly inefficient design.
R Top of Page
RAM (Random Access Memory) is the computers working memory.
Red-eye A photographic effect where a flash reflects from the back ot the subject's retinas, giving eyes a red glow. Can now be editted out by most top image handling programs.
refresh rate The image on your screen is constantantly being redrawn from top to bottom. This process happens many times a second and is mearured in Hertz (Hz).
reset button button for warm (sometimes cold) booting of a computer.
resolution The amount of detail in a picture, or the size of the display on a computer's monitor. The higher the resolution, the more information can be seen.
Rip To digitally extract the music data from a CD-ROM. Ripping a track from an audio CD is the first stage of compressing it as an MP3 file.
ROM (Read Only Memory) the memory that comtains the fixed instructions needed by the computer to run.
router A self-contained unit or computer that makes decisions about which path Internet traffic will take to reach its destination. A router can also filter network packets in order to restrict traffic in or out of its local network.
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scanner an input device that reads a document and converts it to a digital format for the computer to use. In the flatbed form, it looks a bit like a small photo-copy machine.
screen frequency tells how many times a second the picture is built up on the screen. Values under about 65 appear to flicker.
scroll moving of the screen contents, normally up or down, but also applies to sideways movement.
SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) very fast port for adding accessories to a computer (hard drive, scanner etc).
search engine A special Web site that hols a huge database of other Web sites which can then be searched in order for you to find what you want; search engines unlock the Web for many people.
sequencer 'word processing' for musical notes.
serial port slow port, transfers data in a series, one part after another.
server A host computer that distributes information on a network and stores data on behalf of the clients directly attached to it. It performs such services as resourse allocation and sharing, file printing and downloading.
shareware A program you can try out for free - though often for a limited period only, or with certain features disabled - before paying the author a registration fee to continue using it.
SIMM (Single Inline Memory Module) type of RAM Board, that requires special connections on the motherboard.
Skin The look of the main player console or an application.Skins are usually created by users and reflect their own style and are usually downloadable from their Web site.
slash URL dividers as in <a href="http://www.oocities.org/Axiom43/index.html">.
software All the programs that you install and run on a computer.
sound card An expansion card that lets a PC create sounds - game sound effects, music and so on. Almost all PCs have a sound card as standard but more sound cards can be bought separately and fitted.
spam unwanted (junk) e-mail or the posting of multi-messages of the same wording in a chat room.
Streaming When data flows to your PC as needed. Broadcasts over the Internet are often streamed so that you don't have to download a whole file before you start listening or watching. You cannot usually download files to disc though.
SVGA (Super Graphics Video Array) A widely used and fairly modern display system.
Swap file A file used by Windows to expand the apparent amount of memory it has access to. The contents of memory that aren't currently in use arre copied to the hard disk until they're needed again.
Syntax error Your PC's way of telling you that it's too stupid to understand what you're trying to do.
system crash is when the computer stops responding to commands/input.
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tab Dialogue boxes often combine settings for different, associated, functions. Each 'page' of settings is separated by a tab, as though it were sheets of paper filed away iand separated by tabbed dividers.
table Is a rectangular area of a Web page which is divided into rows and columns to produce cells rather like a spreadsheet. Text and graphics can be placed in the cells and borders defined. It is a common way of specifying the layout of a Web page.
tag An HTML instruction enclosed by angled brackets (< tag name >). Tags define the position, style and size of elements that make up a Web page. The angled brackets are used to separate the HTML from the rest of the text on the Web page.
Tag editor A feature that provides the user with the power to edit the information in a tag.
Taskbar The bar that runs along the bottom of the screen (default position) in Windows. It includes the Start button and System Tray, and contains icons for programs that are running.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) transmission method (protocol) for sending data in a network.
TFT (Thin Film Transistor) Technology used to create thin, flat colour screensfor such things as monitors and digital cameras.
Thumbnail A small (usually postage stamp size) image used to give a quick preview of a much larger image.
TIFF (Tagged File Image Format) An incredibly inefficient and cumbersome way of representing a picture as a bitmap that's still used for historical reasons.
Token Ring A standard for cables and wires related to the communications protocol of a network.
TWAIN (Technology Without An Important Name) Way for scanners and devices to talk to your PC.
Tweakui A Microsoft program that allow you to'tweak' the User Interface.
U Top of Page
UI (User Interface) The bits added to a computer that the user has to view output and effect input. Usually the Screen, keyboard and mouse.
upload sending a file to another computer. Opposite of download.
UPS (Uninteruptable Power Supply) An optional extra that sirs between your PC and the mains socket in the wall and keeps it running for a while if mains power fails.
URL (Universal Resource Locator) The addres system on the Web, the bit with the dots and dashes.
USB (Universal Serial Bus) A socket found on all new PCs for connecting USB devices.
Usenet A network reachable through the Internet that consists of several thousand discussion groups (called Newsgroups), ranging from forums for computer programmers to people who can quote Monty Python or Star Trek verbatim.
user The idiot that's reading this list and creator of most errors a computer encounters.
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VGA (Video Graphics Array) Older screen array that restricted resolution and colour use.
virus sabotage programs designed to replicate themselves and cause problems. (see also 'user')
VLB-bus Old, fast transmission systen for the IBM PC, now replaced by the PCI-bus.
VRML (Virtual Reality Mark-up Language). Used to create 3D Web pages/sites.
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WAN(Wide Area Network) A communication network that covers a wide geographic area, such as a company-wide network that stretches throughout the world.
warm boot the restarting of the computer using the 'Ctrl/Alt/Delete keys press.
WAV Also known as Wave File and saved with the .WAV extension. An audio file, used for recording music and other sounds to disk. Because they are uncompressed, WAV files can be very large.
wave table the part of a midi card which saves the sound picture of natural instruments.
Webcam A video camera designed to connect to your PC.
Web page A single viewable document on the Internet.
Web server A computer connected to the Internet that holds a Web site. It runs special software called Web server and contains one or momre collections of pages making up a site. It has an address like www.computers.com and it responds to requests from Web browsers.
Web Site A collection of interrelated Web pages all at the same address (URL).
Web space The space on a Web server allocated for hosting a Web site. Many ISPs give away free Web space so you can build your own Web site and get it on the Web for nothing.
Windows Well known Graphical User Interface (GUI) from Microsoft.
WMA (Windows Media Audio) A compressed digital music format developed by Microsoft and played back through the latest versions of Windows Media Player. It allows secure encoding of music but is less widely used than MP3.
WWW (World Wide Web) the Internet under another name only. It brings us text and multimedia content.
WYSIWYG Short for What You See Is What You Get and is pronounced 'wizziwig'. The term is used to indicate that what you see on the screen is exactly the same as you will get if you print it out. A WYSIWYG Web page editor's display is identical to the view that will be shown in a Web browser
X Top of Page
XGA A display system developed by IBM. Bassically an interlaced version of SVGA and accordingly ignored and derided by anyone not directly involved with IBM..
XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Mark-up Language). It is a combination of HTML and XML languages.
Xmodem A system used by modems to make sure they don't choke on information from another computer - the modem sends a message that says 'Stop! Wait"' and then another that says 'Ok - you may continue...' some time later.
Y Top of Page
Yahoo! One of a collection of special sites on the World Wide Web which include a listing of other sites, arranged alphabetically and by sublect. complete with a search system. Yahoo! makes it easy to find sites devoted to any subject quickly and easily. They also run a series of Chat Rooms on several topics from Computers to General.
Ymodem Successor to the Ymodem and predecessor of Zmodem.
Z Top of Page
ZIF socket Zero Insertion Force socket - a special socket on a motherboard that makes it easy to change the processor chip without needing to use undue force or take out an insurance policy.
ZIP Drive One of the new generation of storage products. Zip drives are rather like floppy drives but hold nearly 100 or 250 times the amount of information. They are particulary useful for back-ups.
zip file A file compressed using the WinZip program.
Zmodem Now the standard way to connect one computer directly to another over the phone lines when copying information from place to place.
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Available Capacity and its Name
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The amount of Capacity Available
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Corresponds to
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1 bit
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0 or 1
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8 bit
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1 byte
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a character
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8,192 bit
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1,024byte
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1 Kbyte
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some lines
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8,338,608
bit
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1,048,576 byte
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1,024 Kbyte
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1 Mbyte
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approxinately 350 pages (1,000,000 chars).
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Broke calculator
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1,073,741,824
bytes
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1,048,576 Kbytes
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1,024 Mbytes
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1 Gbyte
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a small library (700 books x 500 pages /book)
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Get your own
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