Motherboard: The main circuit board of a microcomputer. The motherboard contains the connectors for attaching additional boards. Typically, the motherboard contains the CPU, BIOS, memory, mass storage interfaces, serial and parallel ports, expansion slots, and all the controllers required to control standard peripheral devices, such as the display screen, keyboard, and disk drive. Collectively, all these chips that reside on the motherboard are known as the motherboard's chipset.
BIOS: Pronounced "bye-ose," an acronym for basic input/output system. The BIOS is built-in software that determines what a computer can do without accessing programs from a disk. On PCs, the BIOS contains all the code required to control the keyboard, display screen, disk drives, serial communications, and a number of miscellaneous functions.
CPU: Abbreviation of central processing unit, and pronounced as separate letters. The CPU is the brains of the computer. Sometimes referred to simply as the processor or central processor, the CPU is where most calculations take place. In terms of computing power, the CPU is the most important element of a computer system.
RAM: random-access memory: the most common computer memory which can be used by programs to perform necessary tasks while the computer is on; an integrated circuit memory chip allows information to be stored or accessed in any order and all storage locations are equally accessible
Monitor: display produced by a device that takes signals and displays them on a television screen or a computer monitor.
Graphics Card (GFX): A peripheral device that attaches to the PCI or AGP slot in your computer to enable the computer to process and deliver video. Once installed in the computer, a cable is used to attach the graphics card to a computer monitor.
Hard Drive: A rigid non-removable disk in a computer and the drive that houses it. Hard disks store more data and can be accessed quicker than floppy disks.
SATA: Often abbreviated SATA or S-ATA, an evolution of the Parallel ATA physical storage interface. Serial ATA is a serial link -- a single cable with a minimum of four wires creates a point-to-point connection between devices. Transfer rates for Serial ATA begin at 150 MBps and SATA II 300MBps. One of the main design advantages of Serial ATA is that the thinner serial cables facilitate more efficient airflow inside a form factor and also allow for smaller chassis designs.
Heatsink: This is a device that is used to conduct heat away from its source and "spread" the heat over a larger surface area. This will help to dissipate the energy faster, ensuring that the source of the heat is kept cooler.
FTP (For Tash): File Transfer Protocol. This is the language used for file transfer from computer to computer across the WWW. An anonymous FTP is a file transfer between locations that does not require users to identify themselves with a password or log-in. An anonymous FTP is not secure, because it can be accessed by any other user of the WWW.
Ghz: A unit of frequency equal to one billion cycles per second.
IP Address: Each machine connected to the Internet has an address known as an Internet Protocol address (IP address). The IP address takes the form of four numbers separated by dots, for example: 123.45.67.890
DNS: The Domain Name System is the system that translates Internet domain names into IP numbers. A "DNS Server" is a server that performs this kind of translation.
ISP: ISP stands for Internet Service Provider. An ISP provides access to the Internet for others via some connectivity service(s). Examples of ISPs include BT, Virgin, and NTL to name a few.
Local IP: Private IP address space has been allocated via RFC 1918. This means the addresses are available for any use by anyone and therefore the same private IP addresses can be reused. However they are defined as not routable on the public Internet. They are used extensively in private networks due to the shortage of publicly registerable IP addresses and therefore network address translation is required to connect those networks to the Internet.
WI-FI: Short for ‘wireless fidelity’. A term for certain types of wireless local area networks (WLAN) that use specifications conforming to IEEE 802.11b. WiFi has gained acceptance in many environments as an alternative to a wired LAN. Many airports, hotels, and other services offer public access to WiFi networks so people can log onto the Internet and receive emails on the move. These locations are known as hotspots.
Ethernet (LAN): A local-area network (LAN) protocol developed by Xerox Corporation in cooperation with DEC and Intel in 1976. It is one of the most widely implemented LAN standards.
WLAN: A wireless LAN is one in which a mobile user can connect to a local area network (LAN) through a wireless (radio) connection. A standard, IEEE 802.11, specifies the technologies for wireless LANs. The standard includes an encryption method, the Wired Equivalent Privacy algorithm.
Network: A connection of two or more computers so that they can share resources.
BIOS: Pronounced "bye-ose," an acronym for basic input/output system. The BIOS is built-in software that determines what a computer can do without accessing programs from a disk. On PCs, the BIOS contains all the code required to control the keyboard, display screen, disk drives, serial communications, and a number of miscellaneous functions.
CPU: Abbreviation of central processing unit, and pronounced as separate letters. The CPU is the brains of the computer. Sometimes referred to simply as the processor or central processor, the CPU is where most calculations take place. In terms of computing power, the CPU is the most important element of a computer system.
RAM: random-access memory: the most common computer memory which can be used by programs to perform necessary tasks while the computer is on; an integrated circuit memory chip allows information to be stored or accessed in any order and all storage locations are equally accessible
Monitor: display produced by a device that takes signals and displays them on a television screen or a computer monitor.
Graphics Card (GFX): A peripheral device that attaches to the PCI or AGP slot in your computer to enable the computer to process and deliver video. Once installed in the computer, a cable is used to attach the graphics card to a computer monitor.
Hard Drive: A rigid non-removable disk in a computer and the drive that houses it. Hard disks store more data and can be accessed quicker than floppy disks.
SATA: Often abbreviated SATA or S-ATA, an evolution of the Parallel ATA physical storage interface. Serial ATA is a serial link -- a single cable with a minimum of four wires creates a point-to-point connection between devices. Transfer rates for Serial ATA begin at 150 MBps and SATA II 300MBps. One of the main design advantages of Serial ATA is that the thinner serial cables facilitate more efficient airflow inside a form factor and also allow for smaller chassis designs.
Heatsink: This is a device that is used to conduct heat away from its source and "spread" the heat over a larger surface area. This will help to dissipate the energy faster, ensuring that the source of the heat is kept cooler.
FTP (For Tash): File Transfer Protocol. This is the language used for file transfer from computer to computer across the WWW. An anonymous FTP is a file transfer between locations that does not require users to identify themselves with a password or log-in. An anonymous FTP is not secure, because it can be accessed by any other user of the WWW.
Ghz: A unit of frequency equal to one billion cycles per second.
IP Address: Each machine connected to the Internet has an address known as an Internet Protocol address (IP address). The IP address takes the form of four numbers separated by dots, for example: 123.45.67.890
DNS: The Domain Name System is the system that translates Internet domain names into IP numbers. A "DNS Server" is a server that performs this kind of translation.
ISP: ISP stands for Internet Service Provider. An ISP provides access to the Internet for others via some connectivity service(s). Examples of ISPs include BT, Virgin, and NTL to name a few.
Local IP: Private IP address space has been allocated via RFC 1918. This means the addresses are available for any use by anyone and therefore the same private IP addresses can be reused. However they are defined as not routable on the public Internet. They are used extensively in private networks due to the shortage of publicly registerable IP addresses and therefore network address translation is required to connect those networks to the Internet.
WI-FI: Short for ‘wireless fidelity’. A term for certain types of wireless local area networks (WLAN) that use specifications conforming to IEEE 802.11b. WiFi has gained acceptance in many environments as an alternative to a wired LAN. Many airports, hotels, and other services offer public access to WiFi networks so people can log onto the Internet and receive emails on the move. These locations are known as hotspots.
Ethernet (LAN): A local-area network (LAN) protocol developed by Xerox Corporation in cooperation with DEC and Intel in 1976. It is one of the most widely implemented LAN standards.
WLAN: A wireless LAN is one in which a mobile user can connect to a local area network (LAN) through a wireless (radio) connection. A standard, IEEE 802.11, specifies the technologies for wireless LANs. The standard includes an encryption method, the Wired Equivalent Privacy algorithm.
Network: A connection of two or more computers so that they can share resources.