Tech Terms- Technology Glossary

1394 Ad Hoc Network- Ad Hoc is a latin word meaning, "for this purpose". The phrase means to setup a temporary network usually for the purpose of transfering data between two devices and then returning them to their normal operating manner.

ABI- Application Binary Interface is the most basic programming that checks the compatability of an application with the hardware.

ACPI- Advanced Configuration and Power Interface is a consortium of HP, Intel, Phoenix, Toshiba and Microsoft who all codeveloped the open industry specification. ACPI ensures that mobile, desktop and server platforms interface with OS- direct configuration, power management and thermal management.

Admin- short for administrator or administration.

AGP- tech term that is an acronym for Accelerated Graphics Port.

AlphaNumeric- a character string having both numerals and letters of the alphabet.

Apple- a major computer manufacturer that has its own operating system and variety of devices such as iPods, iTouch, iPad and iPhone.

Android- the Google open source operating systems for cell phones and other "smart devices".

ANSI- acronym for American National Standards Institute.

API- Application Program Interface.

ARM-

ASCII- American Standard Code for Information Interchange.

ATA- acronym for Advanced Technology Attachment such as a hard drive.

Binary- a numerical, base-system of two characters, 0 (zero) and 1.

BIOS- the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) that is embedded within chips located on motherboards that is also updateable by a technique called "flashing". The BIOS communicates between itself and the other peripheral hardware providing the Power On Self Test (POST) and and gives instructions to the computer telling it what hardware is present and working, then loads the boot files and other needed operating system files into RAM in order to boot or start the machine.

Bit- tech term that stands for "binary digit" and is either a one (1) or zero (0), known as binary code. Eight bits equals a byte, for example, 01010101.

Blu-Ray or Blu-Ray Disk (BD)- an optical disk format that is a physical size of a dvd or cd but can hold 25 gigabytes of data on a single layer or 50 gigabytes on a double layer disk. This high-definition format offer playback, write and rewrite capabilities.

Bluetooth- a propietary open source operating system that operates on Ghz.

Bytes- are eight bits in succession representing 0's or 1's. These bytes represent all types of data from visual, text, database, programming and internet.

Kilobyte= 1,000 bytes
Megabyte= 1,000 kilobytes
Gigabyte= 1,000 megabytes
Terabyte= 1,000 gigabytes
Petabyte= 1,000 terabytes
Exabyte= 1,000 petabytes
Zettabyte= 1,000 exabytes

Boolean- most generally known to computer users in an internet context.

Boot- tech terminology given when a computer starts originating from the word, boot straps, denoting, 'pulling on boots'. Computers may be booted from internal hard drives, external drives, networks, USB thumb drives, DVD's, etc.

Boot Disk- a cd or dvd that has a bootable operating system. These disks can be used to diagnose or troubleshoot issues or install software or operating systems.

Boot Sector- the first physical portion/sector on a drive that contains the short code/instructions for starting the programs/operating systems and booting hard drives, floppy disks, usb devices, etc. The boot sector, an important tech term, also contains the Master Boot Record or partition table.

Cache- there are several "caches" in technology such as memory caches, hardware caches, software caches, page caches, etc. The cache holds data that is accessed much faster than from the main memory when involving hardware and instructions.

CAD- acronym for Computer-Aided Design.

Cat-5- cable with 4-twisted pair leading to an RJ-45 connector. The network cable can handle frequencies up to 100Mhz and speeds up to 1000Mbps and is used on 10Base-T, 100Base-T and 1000Base-T networking.

Cat-6- acronym for Category 6 cable.

CCFL- tech term denoting Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp.

CD- acronym for Compact Disk.

CD-R- acronym for Compact Disk Recordable.

CD-ROM- acronym for Compact Disk Read-Only-Memory.

CD-RW- acronym for Compact Disk ReWritable.

CDM-A- acronym for Code Division Multiple Access.

CERT- CERT.org; acronym is Computer Emergency Response Team.

Checksum- .

Chip- short for microchip, it is composed of circuits and devices, usually made of silicon and is included in memory sticks/RAM, motherboards, phones and other devices.

Chipset- multiple microchips that work together to perform single or multiple tasks as needed.

CGI- Computer-Generated Imagery.

Clean Room- a tech term that denotes a room free of contaminents where hard drive data recovery and forensics may be performed and where hardware is made and repaired without environmental interference.

Clock Speed- A tech term that refers to the Central Processing Unit (CPU) in bits per second or the frequency of the clock measured in hertz (hz).

Clone, Cloning or HDD Cloning-Hard disk drive cloning is producing an "image" of the original drive onto an external drive. The results may produced a new bootable drive with all data that is then replaced with the original old drive most often because the drive needs to be replaced and is a good application versus installing a new operating system, drivers and other client datal; a.k.a. Ghost Imaging.

Cloud Computing- refers to applications and data spread across networks and using resources from a variety of hardware and software sources if needed.

CMYK- Acronym for colors- cyan, magenta, yellow, black.

Computer Worms- malware that spreads to other computers and nodes on a system while replicating itself.

Configuration- tech term that means arranging tasks, information and procedures to manipulate software and/or software to perform in the manner desired.

Copyright- a form of protection by law to protect original works.

CPU- Acronym for Central Processing Unit.

CPU Cache- the storage capability of a C.P.U., central processing unit, in order to reduce using memory if not needed.

CPU Fan- a fan that is seated directly on top of a CPU to keep the temperature as cool as possible.

Crossplatform- a tech term which means compatability among different operating systems, web browsers hardware etc.

CRC- acronym for Cyclical Redundancy Check.

CRT- tech term for Cathode Ray Tube used in older style large monitors.

Cybercrime- crimes committed from the internet or within computers digitally.

DAT- Digital Audio Tape that is a cassette tape slightly larger than a credit card and can hold approximately 1 Gb of data stored diagonally across a 3.81mm wide tape.

Data- plural of the word datum. Data can be statistics, facts or other information that can be useful in analysis.

Database- a collection of data that is stored which can be accessed, manipulated and added to.

Data Recovery- the process of restoring lost data from hard drives, USB drives, CDs, DVDs, tapes and other media storage.

DC Jack, Laptop- a female Direct Current connector located insided the laptop that the power supply connects to giving direct current in from the alternating current (AC current) in the wall plug.

DDRSD RAM- acronym for Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Rapid Access Memory.

Default- setting a predetermined value for software or hardware by the manufacturer or the user.

Defragment- tech term to organize data on hard drives that are organized in the fastest way to access data versus fragmented data from a single program scattered across the drive taking longer retrieval time.

Delete- removing data from documents and/or drives or programs and other media; although "deleted" the information remains on the drive unseen with three numbers or letters changed from the original file name.

Digital- a tech term that means data represented in bits and bytes.

Digitize- the process of moving physical data into digitized media; for example copying printed text into digital Word documents or moving film into a digitized format.

DIMM- acronym for Dual Inline Memory Module.

DLL- Windows operating system acronym for Dynamic Link Library.

Domain- the address that computers, networks, websites, etc. are assigned.

Dongle- a device that secures internet connections.

Dot Matrix- a printer that keys strike a cloth ribbon to create letters, including different fonts and printed at one line at a time, by a pen jet, one dot at a time.

Double Click- to hit the "left" mouse button twice in quick succession.

Download- to receive information from another computer or device to one's own computer or device.

DPI- Dots Per Inch that constitutes the quality of monitors, graphs, pictures, etc.

Drag- to press the left mouse key down and move the mouse in the direction of the display that a user needs to move data or instruction(s).

Drivers- software that interacts with the operating system and particular hardware devices.

DVD- Digital Video Disk.

DVD Drive- Digital Video Disk Drive.

DVI- acronym for Digital Video Interface.

Dynamic IP- dynamic IP addresses change frequently due to the limitations on fixed IP addresses that are not finite. Dynamic IP addresses are opposite of stat IP adresses that are permanent.

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)- an online internet privacy advocate group.

Emulation- a tech term meaning the ability to duplicate the functions of software and/or hardware.

Encryption- a tech term where data is scrambled and unreadable without proper software and/or hardware and passwords.

End User- end user is the person who uses a product.

E-Readers- devices that are designed to view text and also view graphics. Big vendors and devices in the business of providing eReaders are Kindle by Amazon.com, Nook by Barnes and Noble, iPad from Apple and many other readers are available.

Ethernet- a local area network card that connects two computers together or a computer on a network or a single computer connected to an internet modem.

EULA- acronym for End User License Agreement.

Export- .

Extended Partition-

FAT- acronym for File Allocation Table.

Fn- stands for "Function" key mostly seen on compact keyboards such as on laptops. This funtion key is used in combination of other keys for tasks involving keyboards without those individual keys.

FAQ- acronym for Frequently Asked Questions.

File System- stored structures of organized data.

Font- the physical appearance of a letter-type.

Forced Shutdown- a tech term meaning to hold down the power button to turn off the power.

Floppy Disk Drive- .

Frame- in graphics it refers to the rectangular form represented in different media forms, webpages, printed/physical media, individal film frames, etc.

GPS- Acronym for Global Positioning System.

Graphics- in tech terms is a way to display art using different techniques and software.

GUI- acronym for Graphic User Interface.

Hacker- one who breaks into computers, systems, networks or software to achieve often times criminal behavior.

Hard Copy- in tech terms denotes paper copies of data versus digital data.

Hard Drive- the physical device that holds most of the bulk of the information on the computer except for the memory chips that are a small fraction of data the hard drive can hold which is now measured in units up to terabytes and unlike RAM or memory chips it can hold infor without electrical current applied.

Hard Drive Recovery- the process of restoring data from damaged drives; damaged physically or damaged by (lack of) data integrity.

HCFL- terch term for Hot Cathode Fluorescent Lamp.

HDMI- ancronym for High-Definition Multimedia Interface.

HDTV- acronym for High Definition Television.

Hexadecimal- tech term meaning a base-16 number.

Hibernate- a tech term meaning when the computer stores the information running from RAM onto the hard drive and it can be totally shutdown and when restarted it is in the same state without boot procedures.

HFS- a tech term for Hierarchical File System.

Hibernate- the ability of a system to save memory to hardware and shutdown until restarted.

Hover- to move the PC mouse over text or graphics that may revail information or instruction or if users are prompted to hover over a section and perform given tasks.

Hyper-threading- Intel's technology where two or more sets of instructions may be sent simultaneously.

I/O- Symbol for Input/Output.

ICT- a global term for Information and Communication Technology that can include any device or application.

IDE Hard Drive- Integrated Drive Electronics, Parallel ATA or PATA.

IEEE- Acronym for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Import- the ability or process of moving data from one application to another or a computer or system to another computer or system.

Input- data that goes into a system versus output that leaves and travels out of a system.

Intellectual Property- digital property or concepts that is owned by the original creator without duplication from other sources.

Internet- a world-wide-web or world networks of computers that are interconnected to each other via TCP/IP for communications.

Intranet- a system of communicating devices such as computers that are within a controlled environment.

iPad- a device introduced by Apple in Jan. 2010 that is about the size of notebook paper in dimension weighing about one and a half pounds.

iPhone- an Apple phone with thousands of applications that may be installed.

iPod- an Apple product that plays mp3's and/or videos and may store contacts and other personal information.

ISO- A group known as the International Organization for Standardization.

IT- Acronym for Information Technology.

Keystroke- the action of hitting a key on a keyboard or pad or the physical key on media, paper, webpages, documents, etc.

Kindle- an ereader manufactured by Amazon.

LAN- Acronym for Local Area Network.

LCD- tech term for for Liquid Crystal Display.

LED- tech term for Light Emitting Diode.

Login- the process of identifying oneself to a computer or program usually through both a login username and password.

LoopBack Test- tech term for a test procedure where a signal is send from a particular device and the signal passes through all relevant circuits and procedures and returns the signal to the same devices.

Low Memory- the first 640k of memory in DOS that is reserved for device drivers, applications and memory-resident programs.

LPI- Lines Per Inch; terminology used in printer quality.

Malware- means bad ware or bad software.

Memory Bank- logical units of memory determined by the CPU and can be one or more memory modules.

Microsoft- the corporation that has written and owns Microsoft Operating Systems such as Windows 9x, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 and other application software.

MIDI- Musical Instrument Digital Interface.

Mnemonic- a technique in memorizing information.

Mobo- tech slang for motherboard.

Moore's Law- the number of transistors that can be mounted on integrated circuits doubling every two years.

Morse Code- letters represented by "dits" and "dahs" in this written formate: '. and -'.

Mp3- a music file that may have different file extensions that identify it as an audio file.

Mp3 Player- a small device that plays music files.

Multiplatform- where computing is done with multiple platforms or operating systems and also refers to the ability of software to run across multiple platforms.

Nanotechnology- tech term referring to data transfers and hardware designed molecule by molecule at molecular level.

Netbook- a small laptop designed for portability and primarily for internet access.

Network- a connected group of things or people. In computer terminology it is an interconnected group of computer and operating systems.

Network Monitoring- the process of watching a networked system where administrators are messaged with information such as bottle-necking or outages.

Network Topology- the layout or arrangement of communication devices.

Newbie- a person new to knowledge, software and/or hardware.

NIC- acronym for Network Internet Controller.

NOOK- an ereader by Barnes and Noble.

NTFS- Acronym for New Technology File System.

Null- in tech terms means an object has no value.

Num Lock- refers to the "Numbers Lock".

OASIS- An organization called Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards.

OCR- tech acronym for Optical Character Recognition. Software that has the ability to read scanned documents and convert them to text, MS Work, Excel, html, pdf documents, etc.

OEM- An acronym for Original Equipment Manufacturer. The name is misleading as the OEM is actually rebranding, reselling and offering warranties on another companies monufactured devices or software.

OLAP- OnLine Analytical Processing.

Output- in computer terminology means the signal coming out of a device.

PAN- Personal Area Network;

Parse- syntactic analysis where tokens or for example words are used to determine its grammatical structure in relation to grammar.

Partition- the portion of the hard drive that is reserved for organization of operating systems or data and is accessed as a single unit.

Password- a private, secret word or string of characters used to access secured data or programs.

PCI- Peripheral Component Interconnect. PCI is an Intel-developed local bus standard slot

PCIe- Peripheral Component Interconnect Express. A newer standard that has an extended slot to accompany the PCIe card.

PCI Simple Communication Controller- .

Peripheral- a device connected to a laptop or desktop usually by cable or connected directly into the USB port. Examples are printers, keyboard and mouse, USB hub, flash drive, etc.

Piconet- a network using Blue Tooth to communicate.

pg dn- short-cut key for paging down the viewable screen.

pg up- short-cut key for paging up the viewable screen.

Phreaking- a term meaning to "hack" into a phone system to establish free long-distance phone calls.

Pixel- the smallest visible lit unit on a computer display/monitor.

Platform- the computing environment that operates particular software or methods to deliver and execute programs and data.

Podcast- an audio recording or video/audio recording that can be played back on an iPod device.

Port- a communication channel or endpoint where data passes back and forth.

PPI- Acronym for Pixels Per Inch.

PPM- Acronym for Pages Per Minute.

Primary Partition-

PS/2 Connector- a 6-pin connector used for a keyboard or mouse. Now most keyboard and mouse connectors use USB ports.

PSU- Power Supply Unit.

Queue- the process of ordering, numerating tasks/jobs.

QWERTY- Denotes a standard keyboard designed for ease of typing.

RAID- An acronym for Redundant Array of Independent/Inexpensive Disks.

RAM- Acronym for Rapid Access Memory. The memory is held in chips by electrical current and will be deleted when the current drops.

RC- acronym for a software Release Candidate. RC refers to software that has the potential to become a full release of the final software that is distributed to the public or released to users that have purchased the software.

Recertified Hard Drives- hard drives that have been repaired to original manufacturer's specifications.

Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC)-

Refresh Rate- the amount over time that a monitor or screen is refreshed, meaning the signal is sent back to the monitor from the hardware and software system. Refresh rates were mostly referenced to CRT monitors.

Registry- a hierarchical database that stores operating system and software options in a Windows environment.

Registry Hive- a logical set of keys, sub keys and values in the registry that are attributed to each user.

Remote Access- the ability to access a machine that may not be physically accessible and could be located half-way around the globe.

Reset Button- when activated or pushed in will reset either an operating system and/or physical device.

Resolution- referers to the monitor's dpi or digital pixels/inch.

Restore- taking an operating system back in time to a previous state or to a state of "out of the box", referring to the state a machine or device is taken out of the manufacturer's sealed box.

RGB- tech term for Red, Green, Blue.

RJ45- a connector on the end of a cable with a 4-twisted pair design; similar in appearance to a telephone jack except slightly larger.

RMA- acronym for Return Merchandise Authorization.

Rogue Antivirus- fake antimalware that is designed to bribe users into purchasing the worthless software.

S-Video- acoronym for Separate Video.

SaaS- acronym for "Software as a Service".

Safe Mode- an operating system mode in which minimal drivers are loaded in order to boot and perform tasks such as diagnostics, repairs, etc.

SAN- acronym for Storage Area Network.

SATA Hard Drive- Serial Adavanced Technology Attachment hard drive that has serial signal sending instead of parallel technology used in IDE devices.

Scanner- in relation to personal computers it scans analog data, most often paper documents, and turns it into a digital file for viewing, storing and sending files over digital communications.

Scroll- to move the viewable information area on the computer screen up or down.

SCSI- technical acronym for Small Computer System Interface.

SCHC Card- Secure Digital High-Capacity; a memory card that can hold 4 gigabytes of data up to 32 gigabytes.

SDSC Card- Secure Digital Standard-Capacity; a memory card that can hold up to 2 gigabytes of data and some cards up to 4 gigabytes.

SDXC Card- Secure Digital Extended-Capacity; a memory card that can hold up to 32 gigabytes of data and some cards up to 2 terabytes.

SIMM- acronym for Single Inline Memory Module.

SMART Devices- a rechargeable, portable device that has capabilities of audio, video, geo-location abilities, maybe GPS and can maintain some self-autonomy.

SSD- tech acronym for Solid State Drive.

SKU- acronym for Stock Keeping Unit.

SPI Interface- the interface on Secure Digital(SD) cards.

Spreadsheet- a means to organize data into rows and columns with relational values.

SQL- acronym for Structured Query Language.

Static IP/Connection- a permanent IP address on the internet in the form of numbers and periods. Static IP is opposite of a Dynamic IP that can change often.

TF Socket- known now as MicroSD is compatible with the SPI Interface found on SD (Secure Digital) cards.

TFT- tech term for Thin Film Technology that is utilized on laptop lcd screens.

Trojans- malware that will download other pieces of malware or entire malware programs.

Upload- to send data from a computer or device to another computer or device.

USB Ports- Universal Serial Bus Port; a physical input port to attach a device to a computer:

USB 1.0 transfers data at maximum 12 Mbits/second
USB 2.0 transfers data at maximum 480 Mbits/second
USB 3.0 transfers data at maximum 4.8 Gbits/second

VAR- acronym for Value-Added-Reseller.

Vector Graphics-

VGA- acronym for Video Graphics Array.

Video Memory-

Virtual- a tech term that means something that is conceptualized versus a physical device or product.

Virus- in technical terms it means malware that spreads by replicating itself.

VM- acronym for Virtual Machine, an independent operating environment that can be configured to simulate hardware and software duplication and execution.

VMWare- Virtual Machine software running virtual machines.

WLAN- acronym for Wireless Local Area Network.

WOL- acronym for Wake On LAN (Local Area Network).

Word Processor- .

Workstation- and individual computer setup that is typically networked with other computers and servers.

ZIF- acronym for Zero Insertion Force that refers to the amount of pressure to insert or remove a cable usually attached to the motherboard, logic board or similar device.

Computer Manufacturers Repaired: Acer, Apple, Asus, Compaq, Dell, eMachines, Fujitsu, Gateway, HP, Lenovo, Sony and Toshiba.