FREE Independent advice on buying and maintaining a home computer - PCAdviceNow
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A to Z
| Name | What is it? | Full Description |
| ATX | Form Factor ATX | The most common size of Desktop PC |
| BIOS | Basic Input Ouput system | A program stored in the computer that allows it to boot up amongst other functions |
| BYTE | Data | One character of Data e.g. a |
| CD-ROM | Compact Disc - Read Only Memory |
Disc for storing documents and digital output e.g. photos |
| CPU | Central Processing Unit | The brain of your computer, the faster the better! |
| DDR | Double Data Rate Memory | Memory where your computer stores what it's currently working on, the more memory the better it works! DDR II or 2 is better than 1 etc |
| DVD | Digital Versatile Disc | Storage media for video, can hold up to 17GB which is 24 x more than a standard CD-ROM |
| FAT | File Allocation Table | A table that contains the location of files on a disk, FAT 32 was used by Windows 98 / ME |
| FTP | File Transfer Protocol | The protocal for moving files over the internet from one location to another |
| GB | Gigabyte | 1,000,000,000 bytes of data or 1,000 MB |
| GUI | Graphical User Interface | Windows XP is a good example |
| HTML | Hyper Text Mark Up Language | Commonly used programming language for displaying content on web sites |
| HTTP | Hyper Text Transfer Protocol | This protocal determines how we view web pages, virtually all websites start with http:// |
| ISP | Internet Service Provider | BT, PlusNet etc. |
| LAN | Local Area Network | A group of local computers and peripherals that are connected to each other |
| LCD | Liquid Crystal Display | Commonly used display technology, often used on Laptops |
| MB | Megabyte | 1,000,000 bytes of data or 1,000 KB |
| MHz | MegaHertz | A measure of speed often used for CPU's |
| NTFS | NT File System | File system used by Windows NT, 2000, XP - replaced FAT |
| OCR | Optical Character Recognition | A technology that allows computers to read text |
| OEM | Original Equipment Manufacture | The orginal equipment supplied by the manufacturer |
| OS | Operating System | Windows XP |
| PCI | Peripheral Component Interconnect |
Expansion slots on the motherboard for adding sound cards and other upgrades |
| PCI- Express |
As above | Dedicated for the latest Graphics Cards |
| Printable Document Format | Universal Document Format - See Adobe on the internet |
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| PNP | Plug and Play | Universal standard allowing peripherals to be plugged into a computer without the need to install seperate drivers. |
| POP3 | Post Office Protocol 3 | Email retrieval method used by many ISP's |
| RAM | Random Access Memory | See DDR |
| ROM | Read Only Memory | Memory that can only be written to once, used on some CD's |
| TB | Terabyte | 1,000,000,000,000 bytes of data or 1,000 GB's |
| TCP/IP | Transmission Control Protocal / Internet Protocol |
Transmission protocal for data packets being sent across the internet |
| UPS | Uninterruptible Power Supply | Used as a failsafe in some computers if the power is shut off unexpectedly |
| URL | Uniform Resource Locator | The internet "address" of a website |
| USB | Universal Serial Bus | Most Common protocal for connecting peripheral devices to a computer e.g. Printer. USB 2.0 is faster than 1.1 |
| WAN | Wide Area Network | Computers connected in different locations via the internet or more secure link |