Computer Peripherals Glossary and terms

AGP Accelerated Graphics Port.
As graphics cards create more and more complex images, more data has to be moved between the card and your CPU at faster rates. Most modern motherboards have a special AGP slot that moves data faster than PCI or ISA slots.
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AMD Advanced Micro Devices.
Makers of the K range of processors, including the K6 and the K7(Athlon), Duron and Thunderbird.
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ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange.
ASCII is the most common format for text files on computers and the internet.
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ASPI Advanced SCSI Programming Interface.
A language that communicates between a SCSI scanner, and a SCSI interface card inside the PC.
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ATA Advanced Technology Attachment.
ATA is a disk drive execution that integrates the controller on the disk drive itself. ATA is also known as IDE.
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AT / ATX Type of Case and Motherboard.
AT was the standard, but now most motherboards and cases are ATX. ATX comes in 4 sizes, Baby, Micro, Flex and Full.
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Athlon
AMD's rival to the Pentium III processor. Both are single edge cartridges, the Athlon is Slot A.
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AVR
Address Verification Request. Method used by mail order businesses to confirm card registered addresses of potential customers. This process may delay the despatch of an order.
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Beenz
Beenz is a type of currency used for buying over the internet. Beenz is a relatvely new concept, only a handful of web sites can handle this type of currency.
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BIOS Basic Input Output System.
The BIOS chip on any motherboard contains a small amount of software that tells the computer what the separate parts are and what they should do.
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Bits
A bit can have only 2 values 0 and 1. Graphics are described by bit depths.
1 bit - Monochrome
8 bit - 256 Colour or Greyscale
24 and 32 bit - True colour
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Blue Screen Blue Screen of Death.
This is a screen that appears and means most probably that Windows has crashed. The computer will most probably need restarting.
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Boot
The procedure that any PC will go through when the computer is switched on. Not to different to when a human wakes up in the morning (mid afternoon if you're a student).
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Bus
Bus is a data pathway and is available in different widths and speeds. The bus is connected to the CPU and memory. Just like the average bus route (apart from the fact that these buses arrive on time.) Data is picked up from one place and taken to another, along the route.
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Bytes
1 single byte is equal to 8 bits. Bytes are used to measure hard drive and RAM sizes.
Kilobytes - 1,024 Bytes
Megabytes - 104,857,6 Bytes
Gigabytes - 1,073,741,824 bytes
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Cache
A small amount of memory attached to a device like your hard drive, CPU or motherboard . This holds the most recent data used so that it can be called for again at a later date.
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CD-R Compact Disc Recordable.
A CD that can be written to only once.
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CD-ROM Compact Disc Read Only Memory or Media.
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CD-RW Compact Disc ReWritable.
A CD that can be written on numerous times.
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Celeron
The budget range of Socket 370 CPU's that are basically the same as the Pentium III but with a lower spec.
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CGI Common Gateway Interface.
CGI a specification for transferring information between a WWW server and a CGI program. A CGI program can be written in any programming language.
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Chipset
These are two chips that handle the data traffic passing along the buses between all components on the PC. The chipsets have to be able to support various amounts of hardware, otherwise the PC won't recognise them.
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Client
A client is an application that runs on a PC or workstation and relies on a server to perform some opertaions.
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Client/server architecture
A network architecture in which each computer or process on the network is either a client or a server. Servers are powerful computers or processes dedicated to managing disk drives (file servers), printers (print servers), or network traffic (network servers ). Clients are PCs or workstations on which users run applications. Clients rely on servers for resources, such as files, devices, and even processing power.
Another type of network architecture is known as a peer-to-peer architecture because each node has equivalent responsibilities. Both client/server and peer-to-peer architectures are widely used, and each has unique advantages and disadvantages.
Client-server architectures are sometimes called two-tier architectures.
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Coppermine
The Coppermine chip is an enhancment of the Pentium III, the chip is Slot 1 or FCPGA.
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CPU Central Processing Unit.
The processing chip has to handle millions of calculations a second, every calculation is essential, whether it is how you kill a grunt in Quake, or how many telephone numbers in your address book.
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CRT Cathode Ray Tube.
Technology used in most modern TV and computer display monitors. A CRT works by moving an electron beam back and forth across the back of the monitor/TV screen. Each time the beam makes a pass across the screen, it lights up phosphor dots on the inside of the glass tube. This illuminates the active portions of the screen. By drawing many such lines from the top to the bottom of the screen, it creates an entire screenful of images. Dot-trio shadow masks - place a thin sheet of perforated metal in front of the screen. Since electrons can pass only through the holes in the sheet, each hole represents a single pixel. Aperture-grille CRTs - place a grid of wires between the screen and the electron guns. Slot-mask CRTs - uses a shadow mask but the holes are long and thin. It's sort of a cross between the dot-trio shadow mask and aperture-grill techniques.
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Cyrix
Cyrix are makers of low cost processors. Both they and AMD undercut Intel on the cost of their processors.
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DDR Double Data Rate.
A type of SDRAM that supports data transfer on both edges of each clock cycle. In basic terms doubles the memory chips data throughput.
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DIMM Dual Inline Memory Module.
The new standard in memory, it has 168 pins with signal and power pins on both sides of the board.
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Direct 3D Microsoft's API for 3D graphics. It is also one of the components of DirectX and supported by all gaming-oriented 3D accelerators so far.
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DirectX
A Microsoft Windows API designed to provide software developers with direct access to low-level functions on PC periferals. Before DirectX, programmers usually opted for the DOS environment, which was free of the imited multimedia feature set that characterized Windows for many years.
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DLL Dynamic Link Library.
A DLL is a collection of small programs that can be called upon when a larger program is running. The DLL will allow the larger application to comunicate with peripheral devices such as printers or scanners.
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Dot Pitch
A measurement that indicates the diagonal distance between like-colored phosphor dots on a display screen. Measured in millimeters, the dot pitch is one of the principal characteristics that determines the quality of display monitors. The lower the number, the crisper the image. The dot pitch of color monitors for personal computers ranges from about 0.15 mm to 0.30 mm.
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DPI Dots Per Inch.
The measurement of resolution for scanners and printers, the amount of detail a device can capture.
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Driver
Software that allows your OS to communicate with your hardware. The driver information is usually stored in a .DLL file.
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DOS Disk Operating System.
The first operating system widely used on personal computers.
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Domain Name
A domain name locates an organisation on the internet. For example www.staktrading.com locates the internet address for "staktrading.com" at internet point 199.11.11.11.
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Duron
Socket A Processor from AMD.
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DVD Digital Versatile Disk.
DVD can hold upto 17Gig of data in audio, data and movie formats. DVD used to be called Digital Video Disk.
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EDO RAM Extended Data Output.
A type of Random Access Memory.
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E-Mail Electronic Mail.
E-mail is basically a digital letter sent by computers and now mobile phones as well.
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EPP/ECP Enhanced Parallel Port/Enhanced Capability Port.
This port is a standard for bi-directional parallel comunication between a computer and perpheral devices. Printers and scanners use a parallel interface.
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Ethernet
Ethernet is a LAN protocol, ethernet uses bus or star topology and supports and supports data transfer of 10 Mbps. 100base-T (Fast Ethernet) supports 100 mbps. Gigabit Ethernet supports 1 gigabit (100 megabits) a second.
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Expansion Cards
AGP, PCI and ISA cards are installed on to the motherboard. Modems, Sound Cards, Graphics Cards are all types of expansion cards.
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Firewall
A system designed to prevent unauthorised access to or from a private network. Firewall can be implemented in both hardware and software togetheror seperatly.
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Flash BIOS
The BIOS is programmed when the motherboard is first built, but due to updates by hardware manufacturers the BIOS will need to be reprogrammed to accept the latest hardware devices, for example new processor speeds etc.
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Floppy Disk
The first removable storage method. One floppy diskette will hold 1.44 Mb of data.
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Flip Chip
Flip Chip or FC-PGA (Flip Chip-Pin Grid Array) is a chip designed by Intel for the faster Pen III's and Celeron processors.
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FPM RAM
Fast Page Mode Random Access Memory.
A type of Dynamic RAM.
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Geek
A person who knows all the terms listed here and many more. Normally wears a tanktop, thick rimmed glasses and a bow-tie. Due their vast knowledge of computer termanology, they don't have a social life. They also live at home with their mothers.
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Graphics Card
An expansion card that controls the monitor and produces the picture that is shown on the monitor. The standard in graphics card is at the moment in AGP, where as the old standard used to be PCI.
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HTML HyperText Markup Language.
Internet sites are created using HTML.
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HTTP HyperText Transfer Protocol.
HTTP is the underlying protocol used by the world wide web. HTTP defines how messages are transmitted and formatted, and also what actions the web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands.
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Hard Disk
The permanent data storage device inside the PC.
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IBM International Business Machines.
IBM created the orginal computers, big machines that took up big warehouses, to calculate scientific calculations, they also created the original home computers. IBM also created the HAL computer for the film 2001:Space Odessey.
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IDE Integrated Drive Electronics or Intelleigent Drive Electronics.
The standard interface between the motherboard, CD drives and hard drives. The IDE controller is actually built onto the device, rather than the Motherboard.
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Intel
Intel are the makers of Pentium Pro, 1, 2, 3, Celeron and Flip Chip processors. They also created the MMX technology.
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Internet
A global network connecting millions of computers, see WAN. As of 1999, the Internet has more than 200 million users worldwide, and that number is growing rapidly. More than 100 countries are linked into exchanges of data, news and opinions. Unlike online services, which are centrally controlled, the Internet is decentralized by design. Each Internet computer, called a host, is independent. Its operators can choose which Internet services to use and which local services to make available to the global Internet community. Remarkably, this anarchy by design works exceedingly well. There are a variety of ways to access the Internet. Most online services, such as America Online, offer access to some Internet services. It is also possible to gain access through a commercial Internet Service Provider(ISP).
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Intranet
A network based on TCP/IP protocols belonging to an organisation. The intranet is usually only accessible by the organisations members, employees and other people with authorisation. An intranet web works like a normal internet web site. The only difference is that a intranet web site has a firewall protection system, which fends off unauthorised access.
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IP Internet Protocol.
IP takes care of handling data delivery, from computers over the internet. The TCP has the job of placing all the data in the right order. Each computer has one IP address that identifies it uniquely from all other computers on the internet.
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ISA Industry Standard Architecture.
Contrary to its name, this bus is no longer the standard.
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ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network.
An alternative to modem line. An ISDN adapter is needed at both ends of the transmission. The service provider needs to have an adaptor as well.
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LAN Local Area Network.
A network in a library or a hospital over a small area like a office block.
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LCD Monitor Liquid Crystal Display.
A monitor that uses LCD technologies rather than the conventional CRT technologies used by most desktop monitors. Until recently, LCD panels were used exclusively on notebook computers and other portable devices. In 1997, however, several manufacturers began offering full-size LCD monitors as alternatives to CRT monitors. The main advantage of LCD displays is that they take up less desk space and are lighter.
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MHz Megahertz.
The measurement of clock cycles in millions of cycles per second.
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MMX MultiMedia eXtensions.
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MP3
MP3 is the file extension for MPEG audio layer 3. You can listen to MP3's through special MP3 players, like WinAmp, the new Windows Media player can also read the file format. New hand held MP3 players can hold up to an hour of music files.
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MPEG Moving Pictures Experts Group.
MPEG refers to a family of digital video compression standards and file formats.
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Modem Modulator-demodulator.
A modem allows you to connect to the internet and recieve e-mails and faxes through your computer.
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Monitor
A monitor displays graphics and text on a screen, not that different to a TV screen.
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Motherboard
The place where expansion cards and processors are installed, they come in AT or ATX format. Sometimes referred to as mainboard.
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Napster
Created by 19-year-old Shawn Fanning in 1999, Napster is an application that gives individuals access to one another's MP3 files by creating a unique file-sharing system via the Internet.
Napster lets users view and download the contents of MP3 directories from other Napster users' hard drives. Type in the artist and/or song to receive a list, compiled by Napster's servers, of all the files currently available. Double click on a song to download from user's hard drive.
Because Napster searches individual hard drives, the number and variety of MP3 files vary. Not all Napster users are online at the same time; therefore, what you may not find one day, may, in fact, be there the next.
Macintosh faithful who want to benefit from Napster can download Macster, which works the exact same way as Napster.
Napster has been under fire from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), who interprets Napster as copyright-infringement software.
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Network
A group of two or more computer systems linked together.
There are many types of computer networks, including: LAN, WAN.
In addition to these types, the following characteristics are also used to categorize different types of networks:
Topology : The geometric arrangement of a computer system. Common topologies include a bus, star, and ring.
Protocol : The protocol defines a common set of rules and signals that computers on the network use to communicate. One of the most popular protocols for LANs is called Ethernet. Another popular LAN protocol for PCs is the IBM token-ring network.
Architecture : Networks can be broadly classified as using either a peer-to-peer or client/server architecture. Computers on a network are sometimes called nodes. Computers and devices that allocate resources for a network are called servers.
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OCR Optical Character Recognition.
OCR software allows the scanner to recognise text characters instead of seeing them as black shapes.
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OEM
Orignal Equipment Manufacturer.
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On-Board Graphics/Sound
Rather than having to purchase a separate expansion card, a motherboard can directly handle graphics or sound, and sometimes modems.
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OpenGL A set of specifications for a cross-platform 3D graphics API, developed initially by Silicon Graphics Inc. There are several implementations of Open GL, provided by different vendors. A Win32 version is provided by Microsoft. Open GL includes routines for shading, texture mapping, texture filtering, anti-aliasing, lighting, geometry transformations, etc. Most of these functions can be hardware-accelerated.
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OS Operating System.
DOS, Windows 3.1, 95, 98, 2000 or NT are all operating systems. Operating systems control applications like Microsoft Word etc.
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Parallel
Parallel refers to the way in which information is sent, when information is sent through a parallel port its is split up at one end, sent simultaneously down a number of routes and then gathered together at the end of the wire to create a single message. This is an alternative to a serial connection.
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PC
Personal Computer.
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PCI Peripheral Component Interconnect.
PCI is an interconnection system between the processor and attached peripheral devices in which expansion slots are spaced closely for high-speed operation.
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Peer-to-peer architecture
A type of network in which each workstation has equivalent capabilities and responsibilities. This differs from client/server architectures, in which some computers are dedicated to serving the others. Peer-to-peer networks are generally simpler and less expensive, but they usually do not offer the same performance under heavy loads.
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Pixel
A single square containing a colour. The combination of pixels displayed together creates a visual image on the monitor.
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Plug And Play
A Windows semiautomatic system of allocating internal resources to new hardware devices.
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PPP Point To Point Protocol.
PPP is a method of connecting a computer to the Internet. PPP is more stable than the older SLIP protocol and provides error checking features.
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PS/2
A type of port developed by IBM for connecting a mouse or keyboard to a PC. PS/2 is a mini DIN plug containing 6 pins.
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RAM Random Access Memory.
The more RAM a computer has, the less frequently the PC will need to access the Hard drive or CD-ROM.
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Resolution
The level of detail captured in a scan is determined by the resolution, and is measured in DPI.
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RJ11
Registered Jack 11. A 4 or 6 wire connector used for American telephone equipment.
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RJ45
Registered Jack 45. An 8 wire connector used for ethernet networking.
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SCSI Small Computer System Interface.
This is an alternative connection to IDE for storage devices. A controller card is required to for a SCSI device. Their are many varities of SCSI.
SCSI 1 - 25pin 8 bit bus 4mbps.
SCSI 2 - 50 pin 8 bit bus 4mbps.
Wide SCSI - 68 pin 16 bit bus.
Fast SCSI - 8 bit bus 10mbps.
Fast Wide SCSI - 16 bit bus 20mbps.
Ultra SCSI - 8 bit bus 20mbps.
SCSI 3 - Also called Ultra Wide SCSI 16 bit bus 40mbps.
Ultra 2 SCSI - 8 bit bus 40mbps.
Wide Ultra 2 SCSI - 16 bit bus 80mbps.
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SDRAM
Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory.
SDRAM is a type of Memory used at higher speeds on newer computer systems. It can run at 66, 100 or 133 MHz.
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Serial
Modems, mice and printers are connected to serial ports on the Motherboard.
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Server
A computer or device on a network that manages network resources. A file server is a storage device dedicated to storing files. A printer server is one computer that manages one or more printers. A network server is a computer that manages the network traffic. A database server is a computer system that processes database queries.
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SIMM
Single Inline Memory Module.
The old standard in RAM memory. SIMMs are 72 pin connectors, the usually come in memory chips of 4 megabytes. SIMM RAM must be placed in sets of 2 in to the motherboard.
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Slot 1
The interface for Intel's Pentium 2 and 3 processors. The Slot 1 processor can not be put in a Slot A board. Looks alot like a Games Console cartridge.
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Slot A
The interface for AMD's Athlon Processors. The Slot A processor can not be put in a Pentium III board. Looks alot like a Games Console cartridge.
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Socket 370
The motherboard CPU interface for Intel Pentium Celeron PPGA processors. They have 370 pins as their name suggests.
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Socket 7
The motherboard CPU interface for Intel Pentium 1, AMD K6 and Cryix Processors. They don't have 7 pins, but have 370 pins.
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Socket A
The motherboard CPU interface for the new AMD Duron and Thunderbird Processors. They have 462 pins.
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Sound Card
An expansion card that allows the computer to produce sound, when linked up to speakers or headphones.
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SQL Structured Query Language.
SQL is a standardized query language for requesting information from a database. The original version called SEQUEL (structured English query language) was designed by an IBM research center in 1974 and 1975. SQL was first introduced as a commercial database system in 1979 by Oracle Corporation.
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SPECIAL ORDER
Special Order Items
Goods which are not held as a standard stock item at Stak Trading but are available from our suppliers stocks. These items are ordered especially for the customer in question and are therefore subject to variable restocking charges if cancelled.
SVGA
Super VGA.
A set of grpahics standards designed to give greater resolution than normal VGA. There are different varieties for SVGA each providing a different res.
800 x 600 pixels
1024 x 768 pixels
1280 x 1024 pixels
1600 x 1200 pixels
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Thunderbird
The AMD internal codename for the new Athlon processors. The are Socket A based, and have 256Kb L2 cache.
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TCP Transmission Control Protocol.
Along with IP, TCP is used to send data in the form of message units between computers over the internet. TCP takes care of keeping track of the individual units of data.
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TFT
Abbreviation of thin film transistor, a type of LCD flat-panel display screen, in which each pixel is controlled by from one to four transistors. The TFT technology provides the best resolution of all the flat-panel techniques, but it is also the most expensive. TFT screens are sometimes called active-matrix LCDs.
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UDMA Ultra Direct Memory Access.
UDMA is a way of transferring data from main memory to a device without passing it through the CPU.Back To Top
UPS Uninterruptible Power Supply.
A power supply with a battery to maintain power in the event of a power surge or black out.
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URL Uniform Resource Locator
Abbreviation of Uniform Resource Locator, the global address of documents and other resources on the World Wide Web. The first part of the address indicates what protocol to use, and the second part specifies the IP address or the domain name where the resource is located.
For example, the two URLs below point to two different files at the domain pcwebopedia.com. The first specifies an executable file that should be fetched using the FTP protocol; the second specifies a Web page that should be fetched using the HTTP protocol:
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USB Universal Serial Bus.
Most modern PC's have a pair of USB ports to allow the PC to connect to external devices like scanners and printers.
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V.90
The standard for 56k modems approved by the ITU (International Telecommunication Union). The V.90 standard resolves the battle between 3com with their X2 and Rockwell K56flex, the 2 main companies competing for 56kbps technology.
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VDU Visual Display Unit.
A fancy name for a monitor.
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VGA Video Graphics Array.
A graphics display system for PCs developed by IBM. A VGA system provides a resolution of 720 x 400 pixels. In graphics mode the res is either 640 x 480 (with 16 colours) or 320 200 (with 256 colours).
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WAN Wide Area Network.
The internet/intranet is a WAN. A computer network that spans a relatively large geographical area.
Typically, a WAN consists of two or more LANs. Computers connected to a wide-area network are often connected through public networks, such as the telephone system. They can also be connected through leased lines or satellites. The largest WAN in existence is the Internet.
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WAP Wireless Application Protocol.
WAP is a seccure speci that allows users to access information instantly via a hendheld wireless device like a phone, pager, two-way radios and such like. These operating systems engineered specially for handheld devices PalmOS, EPOC, Windows CE, FLEXOS, OS/9 and JavaOS. WAP is a a failry new technology, but not yet a standard. It was started Unwired Planet, Motorola, Nokia and Ericsson.
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WWW World Wide Web.
Where Internet sites are located.
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