A
access To gain entry to or connect to.

AGP Accelerated graphics port. An enhancement of the system bus designed to boost graphics performance.

alphanumeric Consisting of letters, numbers and special characters such as punctuation marks or spaces.

applications See software

B
back slash The \ character. On most computer keyboards the back slash key is located near the top-right corner of the main section of the keyboard, although this is not always the case. The back slash character is frequently used when describing the location of a file, as in: C:\My Documents\Correspondence
Some computing old-timers use the terms slosh and slash for the forward slash (/) and the back slash (\) respectively. The slosh is used in Web addresses.

backup A duplicate copy of a file. You should back up your data files regularly so you have a spare copy if the original is accidentally damaged or lost.

bandwidth The amount of data that can be transmitted over a network connection at any one time. A standard modem connection to the Internet provides a relatively low bandwidth, making it unsuitable to download high-bandwidth media such as video; a cable modem provides considerably higher bandwidth.

BIOS Basic input/output system, pronounced buy-oss. Software built into your computer which controls basic communications, screen, keyboard and other functions. When your computer first starts up, it loads the BIOS before loading the operating system.

bit Binary digit. The smallest piece of information that can be stored by a computer. A bit can have a value of 0 or 1. There are 8 bits in a byte.

boot To start up a computer.

bps Bits per second, the standard measure of data transmission speeds.

browser See Web Browser

bug An error in a computer program or in computer hardware.

bus A set of wires used to transfer data between the main components on a computer?s motherboard.

byte A measurement of memory. One byte can contain a single character ? a letter, number, punctuation mark or other symbol. A byte contains eight bits.

C
cable modem A modem which operates over cable TV lines, providing high transmission rates.

CD-R Compact Disc Recordable. A drive that can create and read CD-ROMs and audio CDs. Also refers to the writeable compact disc media you place in a CD-R drive.

CD-ROM Compact Disc Read-Only Memory. A data version of the familiar audio CD. It has a fairly high capacity and is frequently used for program installations. The?read-only? indicated that while you can read information from CD-ROMs you cannot write information to them.

CD-RW Compact Disc Rewriteable. A type of CD that lets you write to it in multiple sessions (unlike a CD-R disc which can be written to only once).

central processing unit Also known as the CPU or microprocessor. The?brains? of your computer. The CPU handles all the central logic and operations for your computer, assisted by other computer chips.

chip Short for ?microchip?. A small piece of silicon (or another semi-conducting material) which contains electronic components such as transistors and resistors organised into a circuit. Your computer contains many chips, including the central processing unit, memory chips, and other support chips.

clipboard A special temporary storage space in memory. Whenever you use the cut or copy commands in a program, the information is stored on the clipboard. It may be inserted into the current document using the paste command. The clipboard can contain only one item at a time, so each copy or cut command will replace the current contents of the clipboard.

configure To set up a computer system or computer program so that it functions well.

cookie A small file placed on your hard disk by a Web site in order to identify you when you visit again.

CPU See central processing unit

crash A serious computer problem that causes a program to halt or the whole computer to stop working.

cursor The small pointer that moves about the screen in a direct relationship to the movements of your mouse.

cyberspace The non-physical world created within computer systems. When you?re connected to the Internet, for example, you are ?in cyberspace?.

D
data Any type of information. A letter you create with your word processor is data, as is a picture you draw using a graphics program. Data is stored on your computer in files.

default A standard or recommended setting which you may alter if you wish. For instance, the Windows Taskbar appears at the bottom of your screen by default; you can move it to another position by dragging-and-dropping it.

Desktop The full-screen display where all Windows activity takes place. Analogous to a real desktop, where you place everything you?re currently working on.

device driver A piece of software which tells a piece of hardware how to work with the rest of a computer system. Your printer, for instance, requires a printer driver to make sure it works correctly.

device Any computer sub-system or peripheral, such as a printer, USB port or disk drive.

dialog box, dialog An onscreen box which lets you adjust settings or provide information needed to run a program, or which is used to alert you to some event. Dialog boxes require some form of interaction between the user and the computer, hence the name.

dial-up connection A widely-used method of connecting to the Internet. A dial-up connection uses regular phone lines to connect one computer to another via modem.

directory See Folder

disable To prevent a feature or component from operating.

disc A storage medium using optical technology. The term includes CD-ROMs, digital video discs and laser discs.

disk A computer storage medium (using non-optical technology).

diskette See floppy disk.

document Any self-contained piece of work created using a program. A letter you create with your word processor is a document; so, too, is a picture you create with a graphics editor or a Web page you design with a Web page editor.

download To copy information from a remote computer to your computer. When you connect to the Web, you?re constantly downloading Web pages and files to your computer system.

drop-down menu Sub-menus which drop down from another menu. Also known as pop-up or cascading menus.

DSL Digital Subscriber Line. A technology that supports high-speed data connections.

DVD Digital Video Disc. A high-capacity CD-ROM storage disc
E
e-mail Electronic mail. Messages exchanged between users on a network.

e-mail address A unique name that identifies an e-mail recipient. E-mail addresses take the form username@hostname. An example is johndoe@morgue.com.au, which is pronounced ?johndoe at morgue dot com dot a-u?. Note that e-mail addresses, unlike URLs (Internet addresses), are not case sensitive.

enable To allow a program feature or a computer device to function.

ergonomic Designed to enhance human comfort and performance.

execute To run a computer program.

F
FAQ Frequently Asked Questions (pronounced fak). Documents which give the answers to commonly asked questions about a particular topic.

file A collection of related information stored on a computer. Each document you create is stored in a file with its own filename, so you (and the computer) can identify it. Programs, too, are stored in files.
flame A vicious e-mail message or newsgroup posting in which the author attacks another online participant.

floppy disk A small, removable storage medium. Floppies are so-called because inside the rigid protective case is a flexible, brown plastic disk on which data can be stored. To use a floppy, you insert it in a floppy disk drive.
folder A file container on a disk. Like a folder in a filing cabinet, you can store related files in the same folder to help organise your information.

FTP File Transfer Protocol. A commonly used method for transmitting files across the Internet.

G

GIF Graphics Interchange Format. A graphics file format used extensively on the Internet because it uses compression to minimise the size, and hence the download time, of the images. The format was originally developed by the online service provider, CompuServe. The letters gif are used as a file extension (the characters after the full stop/period in a filename) for files in the Graphics Interchange Format.

gigabyte A measurement of memory. One gigabyte is equivalent to 2 to the 30th power (1,073,741,824) bytes or 1024 megabytes.
GUI Graphical User Interface, pronounced gooey. Windows is a GUI. That is, it is made up of graphical elements (windows, icons, menus). Contrast this with earlier operating systems such as DOS, which were purely textual, with commands entered by typing.

H
hang See Crash

hard disk A high-capacity, long-term storage medium.
hard disk A device where you permanently store programs and data. Hard disks are usually connected permanently with the main computer housing. Also called a hard drive, hard disk drive or HDD.

hardware The physical equipment that makes up a computer system. Hardware is essentially the parts of a computer you can touch ? the monitor, keyboard, disk drives, and so on.

home page The main page of a Web site.

HTML Hypertext Markup Language, the authoring language used to create documents on the World Wide Web.
HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol. The set of rules governing the transmission of documents on the World Wide Web.

hyperlink An element (piece of text, graphic image) in a document that links to another place in the same document or to an entirely different document. When you click a hyperlink, the link?s destination is fetched and displayed. The World Wide Web is composed of documents which use hyperlinks for interconnection. Text-based hyperlinks are often displayed in a different colour or underlined, so they stand out from the rest of the document.

I
icon A small on-screen picture which represents something: a program, a folder, a data file, a command shortcut.

input Information entered into a computer, or the act of entering such information. You can input information using input devices such as the keyboard, mouse or a scanner.

interface A term most often used to describe the ?user interface?, which is the way a computer system or program is designed to work with its human operator.

Internet A global network of computer networks, allowing communication and information exchange.

Internet address See URL.

ISP Internet Service Provider. ISPs maintain a dedicated communication line to the Internet; users dial in to the ISP, which then connects them to the Internet via a (hopefully) high-speed dedicated communications line.

J
JPG Pronounced jay-peg. A graphics file format which can compress graphics to a fraction of their size. JPG uses ?lossy compression?, which means that the higher the degree of compression, the more detail is lost from the image. JPG images are frequently used on Web pages because their small size reduces download time, and they have the file extension .jpg (or, occasionally, .jpeg).

K

Kbps Kilobits per second. A measure of data transfer speed. One kilobit is 1000 bits. A 56Kbps modem (ideally) transfers information at 56,000 bits per second. If you divide the Kbps rate by 10, you?ll get the approximate number of characters transferred in one second.

kilobyte A measurement of memory. One kilobyte holds 1024 bytes.

L
LAN Local Area Network. A group of computers connected together within a fairly small geographical space, usually within one building.

link A dynamic reference to another document (or another part of the current document). Clicking a link will connect you to the destination document.

Linux An operating system which runs on a variety of computer hardware, including PCs. Linux has a very strong following due to its efficient design and because it?s offered free of charge under a system called open source. However, despite attempts to make a user friendly version of Linux, it is far more difficult to use than either Windows or Mac OS and is not suitable for beginners.

log off, log out See sign off

log on See sign On