Think And Do - Glossary of Computer Terms

Application	Program having a specific user function or set of functions. Adobe Photoshop and the calculator are both applications. Despite the fact that they are so different, the properties that they share are that they interface with a human being and have a specific set of functions.
Background	Term used to define a program not visible to the user. It operates with no user interface. Area behind icons on the desktop.
Backup	To make an external copy of the contents of your internal drive. For small files, use floppy disks; for entire folders, applications, and large amounts of data, use tapes or zip drives.
Boot / Reboot	Start / restart the computer. When the computer is initially powered on, the system will go through a boot sequence. Very often, something will go wrong while you are working on the computer, and you will have to re-boot it.
BPS	Bits per second. The speed of your MODEM.
Browser	Program used to view Web pages. Internet Explorer is a browser. It is not the Internet.
Burn (CD)	To record information onto a CD
Byte	Computer representation of a letter, number, space, special symbol (like the question mark or colon or asterisk).
Cache	Temporary storage area. For example, when you load a webpage, a copy of it is stored in a directory managed by the browser software.
Character	The letter, number, space, whatever you can type at the keyboard. In addition, there are many invisible characters used for special functions. For example, there are characters that define and control the transmission of information via the Internet.
Chassis	Hardware - all internal components to the computer are plugged into this chassis. (When you look at your computer, you are not actually seeing the computer; you are seeing the cover)
Directory	A designated place to store groups of information. You are familiar with a phone directory - organized alphabetically, thereby making it easy for you to scan through in order to find a particular entry. The Yellow Pages is a categorized directory. Here, we look up, for example, "Restaurant", and then begin searching from there to find something of interest to us. Directories on the computer work in much the same way. In Windows systems, directories are indicated by a an icon of a manila folder. We create directories to hold information so that it is both organized and easily accessible. We might have a folder (directory) called "Spreadsheets" and another called "Cards".
Diskette	Storage device - Removable - holds 1.44M of information
Download	To bring a file from a server to your computer
Floppy Drive	Located in the front of your computer-Holds diskettes
Foreground	Program visible to the user - When you start Word, or Internet Explorer, or PhotoShop, they are all running in the foreground.
Giga	One billion. A gigabytes is one billion bytes
Hard Drive	Storage device - Non-removable Internal disk drive - can store larger amounts of data than a diskette
Hardware	The physical components of the system - what you can see, touch, pick up Examples are your printer, mouse, keyboard, monitor.
Kilo	One thousand. A kilobyte is 1,000 bytes.
Mega	One million. A megabyte is 1,000,000 bytes.
Memory	Amount of information that your computer can hold and access at any one time. This information is available only while the computer is powered on.
Modem	The device that allows you to transfer information to and from your computer. 33.6KBPS means that you have a transfer rate of 33,000 bits per second. Initially, telephone lines were used for the transmission of data. Now, we have DSL modems and cable modems. They use significantly higher speed transmission lines.
Pixel	The teeny dots on your screen which, put together, create the characters and images. For hi-resolution monitors, there are at least 1024 dots going across the screen and 768 going down. By contrast, a low-res monitor has 600 across by 300 down.
Program	Unified set of computer instructions. Windows is a program, Word is a program. Internet Explorer is a program. There are also many programs that may actually be invisible to the user. For example, a system could have a date validation program built in. The user enters the date in the application visible on the screen, but a program running in the background validates the date.
Resolution	The quality of the image. The higher the numbers, the crisper and sharper your picture will be. Many people are used to hi-res (that’s the shortened term) monitors. 1024x768 or better. Resolution also applies to images and printers. But the rule is always the same - the higher the number, the better the quality of the output.
Search Engine	Web page specifically intended to look up information that has been typed into a Search Window, and return the list of matching items. Internet Explorer is not a search engine. AOL is not a search engine. Google is a search engine.
Software	Programs and data
Storage	Repository for all data and programs that you own. Think of this as the tape, videotape, CD, DVD, or even record which holds the song or the movie. Normally, your storage device is your hard disk, which you cannot see because it’s under the cover mounted on the chassis. As a general rule, your hard disk is Drive C:
Upload	To send a copy of your file to a server
Win Zip	Program used to compress information. NOTE: WinZip has nothing to do with Zip Disks!!
Zip Disk	High-capacity removable disk used for backups

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