A whole language exists around the description and use of computer technology. Those who know the language of course would explain that it is necessary so that things can be described accurately and with precision. Those who don't of course would explain that it so the computer geeks can sound impressive to each other when they talk. Who's right? Well they both are really.
This page attempts to define in plain English the words and terms you will encounter in the world of computers. Some words are unique to computers, like "Internet" or "modem" and such words have no meaning outside of the computer world. Some words such a "mouse" and "Windows" have a special meaning in the computer world which is quite different from their ordinary meaning. Then there are words such as "keyboard" and "highlight" that have relatively similar meanings both in and outside of the world of computers (those are the easy ones). And final there are words like "RAM" and "CPU" that are not really words at all but contractions of longer expressions (those are the ones the computer geeks love the best because their so confusing and incomprehensible). This page attempts to describe them all.
| bit | A binary number. A number that can have only two possible values, such as on or off (in contrast to a normal decimal digit that can have 10 possible values). All information stored in a processed by a computer is reduced to and handled as bits. |
| byte | Eight contiguous bits providing a computer's means of encoding a single character. |
| com port: | A access point defined by the operating system where serial communications can enter or leave the computer. In DOS and Windows the operating system defines four com port called com1, com2, com3, and com4. |
| DOS | An obsolete operating system made by Microsoft which required the user to work on only one program at a time in a text oriented environment. |
| desk top | Meaning 1: The initial display screen in windows which shows your
icons Meaning 2: A computer that is designed to be set up at a desk or work station and is not intended to be portable. See lap top. |
| Internet: | A network of computers throughout the world used for exchange of information of all types through inter-communication between computers. |
| gigabyte | One billion bytes |
| hard drive | A component inside a computer that stores information even when the computer is turned off. Hard drives can be measured in terms of the amount of information they store and in terms of how quickly they access that information. For example a three gigabyte hard drive can store 3 billion bytes of information. Lap tops can have only one physical hard drive while desk tops can have two. Physical hard drives can be partitioned by the operating system into two or more logical hard drives. |
| kilobyte | One thousand bytes. |
| lap top | A computer that is designed to be portable. |
| megabyte | One million bytes. |
| modem | A computer component that enables computers to communicate with each other by telephone by converting computer signals to audio signals that can be transmitted on telephone lines. Modems are measured by the speed referred to as "K". K in this context stands for kilo-baud which means a 56K modem can send or receive 56,000 bits of information per second. Generally the faster the modem, the better. Modems are connected to a computer through a com port. |
| network | A means of interconnecting computers to facilitate exchange of information and sometimes to facilitate sharing of devices such as hard drives or printers. |
| operating system | Special software that runs the components of your computer and creates a base upon which other software can operate. Well know operating systems include Windows and DOS. |
| program | An executable set of instructions that can be loaded into a computer to make it do something useful . INTERFACE™ is a program. |
| serial communications | Communications between a computer and something external (such as another computer or a printer for example) where information must be transmitted one bit at a time. |
| Windows | A multitasking operating system made by Microsoft that works with the user in a graphically oriented environment or as techies would say, uses a GUI. |