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application & app
An application (often called "app" for short) is simply a
program with a GUI. Note that it is different from an
applet.
boot
Starting up an OS is booting it. If the computer is already
running, it is more often called rebooting.
browser
A browser is a program used to browse the web. Some common
browsers include Netscape, MSIE (Microsoft Internet
Explorer), Safari, Lynx, Mosaic, Amaya, Arena, Chimera,
Opera, Cyberdog, HotJava, etc.
bug
A bug is a mistake in the design of something, especially
software. A really severe bug can cause something to crash.
chat
Chatting is like e-mail, only it is done instantaneously and
can directly involve multiple people at once. While e-mail
now relies on one more or less standard protocol, chatting
still has a couple competing ones. Of particular note are
IRC and Instant Messenger. One step beyond chatting is
called MUDding.
click
To press a mouse button. When done twice in rapid
succession, it is referred to as a double-click.
cursor
A point of attention on the computer screen, often marked
with a flashing line or block. Text typed into the computer
will usually appear at the cursor.
database
A database is a collection of data, typically organized to
make common retrievals easy and efficient. Some common
database programs include Oracle, Sybase, Postgres,
Informix, Filemaker, Adabas, etc.
desktop
A desktop system is a computer designed to sit in one
position on a desk somewhere and not move around. Most
general purpose computers are desktop systems. Calling a
system a desktop implies nothing about its platform. The
fastest desktop system at any given time is typically either
an Alpha or PowerPC based system, but the SPARC and PA-RISC
based systems are also often in the running. Industrial
strength desktops are typically called workstations.
directory
Also called "folder", a directory is a collection of files
typically created for organizational purposes. Note that a
directory is itself a file, so a directory can generally
contain other directories. It differs in this way from a
partition.
disk
A disk is a physical object used for storing data. It will
not forget its data when it loses power. It is always used
in conjunction with a disk drive. Some disks can be removed
from their drives, some cannot. Generally it is possible to
write new information to a disk in addition to reading data
from it, but this is not always the case.
drive
A device for storing and/or retrieving data. Some drives
(such as disk drives, zip drives, and tape drives) are
typically capable of having new data written to them, but
some others (like CD-ROMs or DVD-ROMs) are not. Some drives
have random access (like disk drives, zip drives, CD-ROMs,
and DVD-ROMs), while others only have sequential access
(like tape drives).
e-book
The concept behind an e-book is that it should provide all
the functionality of an ordinary book but in a manner that
is (overall) less expensive and more environmentally
friendly. The actual term e-book is somewhat confusingly
used to refer to a variety of things: custom software to
play e-book titles, dedicated hardware to play e-book
titles, and the e-book titles themselves. Individual e-book
titles can be free or commercial (but will always be less
expensive than their printed counterparts) and have to be
loaded into a player to be read. Players vary wildly in
capability level. Basic ones allow simple reading and
bookmarking; better ones include various features like
hypertext, illustrations, audio, and even limited video.
Other optional features allow the user to mark-up sections
of text, leave notes, circle or diagram things, highlight
passages, program or customize settings, and even use
interactive fiction. There are many types of e-book; a
couple popular ones include the Newton book and Palm DOC.
e-mail
E-mail is short for electronic mail. It allows for the
transfer of information from one computer to another,
provided that they are hooked up via some sort of network
(often the Internet. E-mail works similarly to FAXing, but
its contents typically get printed out on the other end only
on demand, not immediately and automatically as with FAX. A
machine receiving e-mail will also not reject other incoming
mail messages as a busy FAX machine will; rather they will
instead be queued up to be received after the current batch
has been completed. E-mail is only seven-bit clean, meaning
that you should not expect anything other than ASCII data to
go through uncorrupted without prior conversion via
something like uucode or bcode. Some mailers will do some
conversion automatically, but unless you know your mailer is
one of them, you may want to do the encoding manually.
file
A file is a unit of (usually named) information stored on a
computer.
firmware
Sort of in-between hardware and software, firmware consists
of modifiable programs embedded in hardware. Firmware
updates should be treated with care since they can literally
destroy the underlying hardare if done improperly. There are
also cases where neglecting to apply a firmware update can
destroy the underlying hardware, so user beware.
floppy
An extremely common type of removable disk. Floppies do not
hold too much data, but most computers are capable of
reading them. Note though that there are different competing
format used for floppies, so that a floppy written by one
type of computer might not directly work on another. Also
sometimes called "diskette".
format
The manner in which data is stored; its organization. For
example, VHS, SVHS, and Beta are three different formats of
video tape. They are not 100% compatible with each other,
but information can be transferred from one to the other
with the proper equipment (but not always without loss; SVHS
contains more information than either of the other two).
Computer information can be stored in literally hundreds of
different formats, and can represent text, sounds, graphics,
animations, etc. Computer information can be exchanged via
different computer types provided both computers can
interpret the format used.
function keys
On a computer keyboard, the keys that start with an "F" that
are usually (but not always) found on the top row. They are
meant to perform user-defined tasks.
graphics
Anything visually displayed on a computer that is not text.
hardware
The physical portion of the computer.
hypertext
A hypertext document is like a text document with the
ability to contain pointers to other regions of (possibly
other) hypertext documents.
Internet
The Internet is the world-wide network of computers. There
is only one Internet, and thus it is typically capitalized
(although it is sometimes referred to as "the 'net"). It is
different from an intranet.
keyboard
A keyboard on a computer is almost identical to a keyboard
on a typewriter. Computer keyboards will typically have
extra keys, however. Some of these keys (common examples
include Control, Alt, and Meta) are meant to be used in
conjunction with other keys just like shift on a regular
typewriter. Other keys (common examples include Insert,
Delete, Home, End, Help, function keys,etc.) are meant to be
used independently and often perform editing tasks.
Keyboards on different platforms will often look slightly
different and have somewhat different collections of keys.
Some keyboards even have independent shift lock and caps
lock keys. Smaller keyboards with only math-related keys are
typically called "keypads".
language
Computer programs can be written in a variety of different
languages. Different languages are optimized for different
tasks. Common languages include Java, C, C++, ForTran,
Pascal, Lisp, and BASIC. Some people classify languages into
two categories, higher-level and lower-level. These people
would consider assembly language and machine language
lower-level languages and all other languages higher-level.
In general, higher-level languages can be either interpreted
or compiled; many languages allow both, but some are
restricted to one or the other. Many people do not consider
machine language and assembly language at all when talking
about programming languages.
laptop
A laptop is any computer designed to do pretty much anything
a desktop system can do but run for a short time (usually
two to five hours) on batteries. They are designed to be
carried around but are not particularly convenient to carry
around. They are significantly more expensive than desktop
systems and have far worse battery life than PDAs. Calling a
system a laptop implies nothing about its platform. By far
the fastest laptops are the PowerPC based Macintoshes.
memory
Computer memory is used to temporarily store data. In
reality, computer memory is only capable of remembering
sequences of zeros and ones, but by utilizing the binary
number system it is possible to produce arbitrary rational
numbers and through clever formatting all manner of
representations of pictures, sounds, and animations. The
most common types of memory are RAM, ROM, and flash.
modem
A modem allows two computers to communicate over ordinary
phone lines. It derives its name from modulate / demodulate,
the process by which it converts digital computer data back
and forth for use with an analog phone line.
monitor
The screen for viewing computer information is called a
monitor.
mouse
In computer parlance a mouse can be both the physical object
moved around to control a pointer on the screen, and the
pointer itself. Unlike the animal, the proper plural of
computer mouse is "mouses".
multimedia
This originally indicated a capability to work with and
integrate various types of things including audio, still
graphics, and especially video. Now it is more of a
marketing term and has little real meaning. Historically the
Amiga was the first multimedia machine. Today in addition to
AmigaOS, IRIX and Solaris are popular choices for high-end
multimedia work.
NC
The term network computer refers to any (usually desktop)
computer system that is designed to work as part of a
network rather than as a stand-alone machine. This saves
money on hardware, software, and maintenance by taking
advantage of facilities already available on the network.
The term "Internet appliance" is often used interchangeably
with NC.
network
A network (as applied to computers) typically means a group
of computers working together. It can also refer to the
physical wire etc. connecting the computers.
notebook
A notebook is a small laptop with similar price,
performance, and battery life.
organizer
An organizer is a tiny computer used primarily to store
names, addresses, phone numbers, and date book information.
They usually have some ability to exchange information with
desktop systems. They boast even better battery life than
PDAs but are far less capable. They are extremely
inexpensive but are typically incapable of running any
special purpose applications and are thus of limited use.
OS
The operating system is the program that manages a
computer's resources. Common OSes include Windows '95, MacOS,
Linux, Solaris, AmigaOS, AIX, Windows NT, etc.
PC
The term personal computer properly refers to any desktop,
laptop, or notebook computer system. Its use is
inconsistent, though, and some use it to specifically refer
to x86 based systems running MS-DOS, MS-Windows, GEOS, or
OS/2. This latter use is similar to what is meant by a
WinTel system.
PDA
A personal digital assistant is a small battery-powered
computer intended to be carried around by the user rather
than left on a desk. This means that the processor used
ought to be power-efficient as well as fast, and the OS
ought to be optimized for hand-held use. PDAs typically have
an instant-on feature (they would be useless without it) and
most are grayscale rather than color because of battery life
issues. Most have a pen interface and come with a detachable
stylus. None use mouses. All have some ability to exchange
data with desktop systems. In terms of raw capabilities, a
PDA is more capable than an organizer and less capable than
a laptop (although some high-end PDAs beat out some low-end
laptops). By far the most popular PDA is the Pilot, but
other common types include Newtons, Psions, Zauri, Zoomers,
and Windows CE hand-helds. By far the fastest current PDA is
the Newton (based around a StrongARM RISC processor). Other
PDAs are optimized for other tasks; few computers are as
personal as PDAs and care must be taken in their purchase.
Feneric's PDA / Handheld Comparison Page is perhaps the most
detailed comparison of PDAs and handheld computers to be
found anywhere on the web.
platform
Roughly speaking, a platform represents a computer's family.
It is defined by both the processor type on the hardware
side and the OS type on the software side. Computers
belonging to different platforms cannot typically run each
other's programs (unless the programs are written in a
language like Java).
portable
If something is portable it can be easily moved from one
type of computer to another. The verb "to port" indicates
the moving itself.
printer
A printer is a piece of hardware that will print computer
information onto paper.
processor
The processor (also called central processing unit, or CPU)
is the part of the computer that actually works with the
data and runs the programs. There are two main processor
types in common usage today: CISC and RISC. Some computers
have more than one processor and are thus called
"multiprocessor". This is distinct from multitasking.
Advertisers often use megahertz numbers as a means of
showing a processor's speed. This is often extremely
misleading; megahertz numbers are more or less meaningless
when compared across different types of processors.
program
A program is a series of instructions for a computer,
telling it what to do or how to behave. The terms
"application" and "app" mean almost the same thing (albeit
applications generally have GUIs). It is however different
from an applet. Program is also the verb that means to
create a program, and a programmer is one who programs.
run
Running a program is how it is made to do something. The
term "execute" means the same thing.
software
The non-physical portion of the computer; the part that
exists only as data; the programs. Another term meaning much
the same is "code".
spreadsheet
An program used to perform various calculations. It is
especially popular for financial applications. Some common
spreadsheets include Lotus 123, Excel, OpenOffice
Spreadsheet, Octave, Gnumeric, AppleWorks Spreadsheet, Oleo,
and GeoCalc.
user
The operator of a computer.
word processor
A program designed to help with the production of textual
documents, like letters and memos. Heavier duty work can be
done with a desktop publisher. Some common word processors
include MS-Word, OpenOffice Write, WordPerfect, AbiWord,
AppleWorks Write, and GeoWrite.
www
The World-Wide-Web refers more or less to all the publically
accessable documents on the Internet. It is used quite
loosely, and sometimes indicates only HTML files and
sometimes FTP and Gopher files, too. It is also sometimes
just referred to as "the web". |
