Glossary Of Computing 

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Whether you are a computer novice or a computer expert there will be times when you will not have a clue what some new word means. If you don't know your Bluetooth from your Wi-Fi and your MP3 from your Midi music you may find the answer here

Hint: In Internet Explorer use Edit, Find to search this page for words
Can't find it here ?  Try www.acronymfinder.com  or  www.computeractive.co.uk

• 1080p TV scans the screen at 1080 lines per second (HD or High definition) 720p is obviously 720 lines per second.  Still HD but not as high.  The ' p' means the scanning is progressive as opposed to 'i', which is an interlaced method (scanning each alternate line)
• 3D TVs, PCs. cameras and video cameras are now available but still require special glasses to view the special broadcasts.
• 4G 4th generation mobile phone connections will be available late 2012. Five times faster connections bringing streaming video to mobile devices.
• 64 bit computer architecture. Not possible to describe briefly. See  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64-bit
• 802.11 etc. The current popular standard for wireless (Wi-fi) computing is called 802.1ac. The next is 802.11ax but will be called Wi-fi 6..Simpler!
• ADSL. Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line.  Broadband internet connection (3-200 times faster).  Asymetic because the download speed is fater than upload. See also RADSL
• ADSL2+ is the latest incarnation of ADSL.  It doubles the frequency of signals over a phone line. It depends on the ISP installing its own equipment in telephone exchanges (or paying for the use of someone else's) making speeds up to 24mbps theoretically attainable, depending on the quality of lines, whether it is copper or fibre and your distance from a digital exchange.
• ADVANCED FORMAT From 2011 hard disks will be made to accept larger 'sectors' (8x) than hitherto, increasing capacity and performance
• ADWARE Advertising software that causes adverts to appear on your screen, either by invitation or (more likely) without your permission.
• AGP. Accelerated Graphics Port. A more rapid connection (slot on the motherboard) for the (AGP) card which drives a monitor. Usually brown.
• AI. Artificial Intelligence. Using a computer to mimic human intelligence e.g. to play chess (or decide what disease you have!)
  
• ANDROID This is an operating system from Google, which is being used in mobile devices such as mobile phones. In the year 2010-2011 it has gained market share over the ones used in Blackberry, Windows and Apple gadgets.
• ANTIVIRUS program.  Something that can spot a virus attached to an email or already on your computer and deal with it.
• APPLET. A small prgram often within a web page software
• APPLICATION.(App) An additional program such as Word or Facebook or a game.
  
• ASP. Application Service Provider. Computer companies which provide you with programs and or data storage over the net for a rental, rather than buying them outright.
• ATA drives. Merely means Advanced Technology Attachment. Older versions were Parallel ATA. Later versions are Serial ATA (SATA)
• AVATAR. A cartoon representation of someone in a chat room. Origin : A Hindu spirit in human form.
• BACKUP. Keeping copies or programs or work in a separate place in case of corruption of the first version.  There are various methods.  See Help, Backup in Windows. See Floppy disk, CDR, ZIP drive
• BANDWIDTH. A measure of the maximum amount of data that can be transferred over the Internet or phone system at any one time
• BETA TESTING. A program which is being tested, which is given out to users to find any problems.  or as they say..."Foolproof software doesn't take into account the ingenuity of fools".
• BING  Microsoft's browser offering
• BIOMETRICS. Using biological input for security e.g fingerprints, iris or facial recognition.
• BIOS. Basic Input and Output system. The software permanently held by a computer which 'remembers' its characteristics.
  
• BIT. Smallest unit of computer data. There are 8 bits to a byte (which is what usually makes a character, number or space) There are 1024 bytes in a KILOBYTE, 1024 Kilobytes in a Megabyte, 1024 Megabytes in a Terabyte, 1024 Terabytes in a Petabyte
  
• BITMAP. A graphic image which is made up of many tiny dots.
• BLOG, BLOGGER. A Weblog or person who writes a website about the boring things they do each day.
• BLU-RAY  A high capacity (Up to 50Gb) drive suitable for HD TV videos.  Blu-Ray drives (and disks) may be BD-Rom (Just play Blu-Ray disks), BD-R (writeable) and BD-RE (re-writeable) The latest will read and write Dual Layer or Double Layer.
• BLUE SCREEN 'of death'. (BSOD) The screen that used to come up in Windows 95 and 98 when your computer couldn'tt cope with something.  It suggests you press a key to continue.  Called the 'Blue Screen of Death' because pressing a key doesn't help at all !  And the technical details shown are no help.  Restarting the computer was the only answer.
• BLUETOOTH technology.  Using radio transmission from your PC for controlling everything from printers to lights to the washing machine anywhere within a building. See also WI-FI.
• BOOT Start a PC from cold. Reboot : Restart
• BOT.  Short for robot. A program that works automatically e.g. to index the Internet.
• BOTNET A group of PCs that have been commandeered by a Spammer or other evil doer and used by them without the knowledge of the owners to spread mayhem around the Internet.
• BROADBAND. High bandwidth Internet connections such as Cable or ADSL for faster connections
• BROWSER. Program for browsing the Internet. e.g. Internet Explorer. Netscape Navigator
• BSOD Blue Screen Of Death (see above)
• BYTE A number of bits which make up a character, number or space on a hard, floppy disk or CD. 8 bits equal one byte, so a download at 56k bits per second is only around 7k characters a second. And dialup modems often achieve only 40k. See also Kilobyte - below
  
• CAB file. A compressed file. In Windows they contain all the files necessary to create the Windows Operating System
• CABLE MODEM. Cable companies such as NTL and Telewest can pipe fast Internet connections to you providing you have a special modem fitted to your PC.
• CACHE This is a general term meaning and section of memory.  See Webopedia HERE for detailed information.
• CELLPHONE The American term for a mobile phone. Refers to moving from one 'cell' area to the next.
• CENTRINO. Intel's name for its technology which gives notebook computers longer battery life and have built in Wi-Fi capabilities
• CHAT. Text messaging to others on line using messaging software such as MSN, Yahoo, AOL and others
• CHAT ROOM. An area on the Internet where people chat (usually written) to each other in 'real time'.
• CLIPBOARD. A temporary memory facility which remembers items which have been CUT or COPIED - can be PASTED later
• CLOUD COMPUTING means Internet based programs and storage. The software may be free or may be charged by the owners. The Cloud enables you to synchronise what you do across your various equipment or cooperate with other on a project. It is also used to automatically back up your data.
  
• CMOS. Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor. A special type of memory chip which retains data. See also BIOS
• COOKIE. A small text file which is downloaded to your computer without you knowing anything about it. Mainly they are used to trace your activities for marketing purposes. See C:\windows\cookies and C:\windows\temporary internet files. Can be deleted by using Windows Explorer or prevented by Browser security. But this may prevent you from accessing certain sites, including your bank.  In Europe it is illegal to sell your PERSONAL data but companies will try to accumulate as much as is legally allowed.
  
• CD/CDROM/CD-R/CDRW Compact Disk Read Only Memory. Not really memory like RAM. They are the familiar disk on which programs arrive. They are Read Only because the tracks are 'burnt in and cannot be changed. The RW type can be rewritten to many times but cannot be read on another machine, so less useful for safe backup.
• CHIP. Silicon chip. The silicon base used to mount the millions of components that go to make up a computer processor.
• CLIPART. Ready made picture on disk
• CLOUD COMPUTING Using the Internet to access programs and store your data, instead of having the programs on your own PC. See http://askbobrankin.com/cloud_computing.html
• CODEC : A method of COmpressing and DECompressing files such as video.  Each compressed file type must have a suitable associated CODEC program.
• CONTROL PANEL. An important set of icons which allow you to configure the basic functions of your computer.
• CONTROL KEY  Marked Ctrl on the keyboard.  Like Alt and Function keys its use can vary from program to program.
• CSV. Comma Separated Variable. A format used to export and import data (to/from databases, spreadsheets, e-mail address books etc) Each field is separated by a comma e.g.  Name, address1, address2, Town, County
• CUT or COPY & PASTE. Most programs allow you to cut or copy a selected item (text or picture) and paste it into another place or even another program. So you can copy a picture from one program and paste it into another.  In Windows use Ctrl with X, C and V for shortcuts
• CYBERCAFE or INTERNET CAFE. Cafes where you can get access to the Internet. They are all over the world and is a major method of communication for travellers
• DAB Radio. Digital Audio Broadcasting
• DATABASE. A list of items of data kept on a computer disk so it can be amended, searched or printed.
• DDR Double Data Rate memory.  See also SDRAM Memories based on Double Data Rate technology such as DDR-SDRAM, DDR2-SDRAM and DDR3-SDRAM transfer two data per clock cycle. Because of that they achieve double the transfer rate compared to traditional memories (such as the original SDRAM) running at the same clock rate.
• DECT. Phone.  Digitally Enhanced Cordless Telephone. Clearer sounding cordless phones
• DESKTOP. The main, first or 'home'  page in Windows or other operating systems
  
• DIGITAL. The method of storing or transmitting things as a series of numbers. Surprisingly these numbers never get past 1. So they are made up of Noughts (zeros) and Ones. The speed and accuracy with which these can be stored has enabled most information to be stored in this way - from Television, photography, all computing and - of course - the Internet.
• DIMMS. Dual Inline Memory Modules. Newer memory type. Have chips both sides of the memory module.See also SIMMS
• DIRECTX A free downloadable Windows program that ensures that graphics programs work with all the different types of graphics hardware
• DIVX is a video format that will compress to 100th the size of the current ones, thus enabling you to put films onto CDs
• DONGLE. A small piece of hardware which is attached to a socket on a computer. Originally as a security device.
• DOS. Disk Operating System. The original Operating System used on PC's without which the machine would be a just a collection of useless electronic parts. Gradually being superseded by Windows  
• DOS EXPLOIT. This is a very different DOS, meaning Denial Of Service. The term is used when your anti spyware software finds something on your PC that indicates your PC is infected by a virus which will make your PC, along with millions of others, contact a major computer, causing that computer to seize up.
• DOWNLOAD. The process of transferring files from the Web to your machine's hard drive. You can download pictures, text and programs.
• DPI Dots per inch. Used in connection with printers, scanners and monitors.
• DRAG AND DROP. The facility in most programs to select text or a file and drag it to another position
• DRIVER. Software which enables certain peripherals to work e.g. printer, sound card, camera
• DROP DOWN MENU. When you click a menu item at the top a series of sub menus is revealed
• DTP Desktop Publishing. Creating print ready documents on a computer.
• DUAL CORE Processor. Like two computers on one silicon chip, thus able to take on more jobs at the same time
• DVD-ROM.  Digital Versatile Disk Read Only Memory. A disk capable of containing much more than a CD. Used for music, films and BIG programs.
• DVD-RW. A rewriteable DVD
• DVD Player. Special disk player for DVD disks.  Capable of playing CD's as well. Applies to music disk players, too.
  
• E-BOOK. Electronic book
• E-BAY. A popular selling and buying site, like Amazon.  See also 'Flipping' below
• E-COMMERCE.  Business conducted over the Internet.
• EZINE. On line magazine
• EMAIL. Messages sent to people over the internet. Email addresses always contain the symbol @ somewhere.
• EMAIL CLIENT. Program you use to send and receive emails. Gmail, AOL, Outlook
  
• EXABYTE A thousand million GIGABYTES.  That's a lot of bytes
• EXIF The information that is kept with photograph files (date, camera, size etc) Right click a picture and Properties.
• FAT, FAT32. File Allocation Table. This is the file system used on a disk and stands for File Allocation Table.  It is a form of index which is constantly updated to keep track of everything on the disk.  FAT is limited to 4Mb per partition. FAT32 is almost unlimited but cannot cope with files more than 4Gb. See also NTFS.
• FAVORITES. Or bookmarks.  All Web Browsers enable you to add favourite sites to a list for easy retrieval.
• FIREWALL. A program that ensures that your PC has no open 'ports' which allow hackers to access it
• FIREWIRE. A socket on some PC's that enable 50Mb/second transfer of data than via Serial, Parallel and 30 times faster than a USB 1.1 port. Preferred if you are transferring large amounts of data e.g. from a digital  video camera for editing purposes. An add-on card can be purchased. XP recognises most firewire attachments automatically (like USB) However it is only marginally faster than the more common USB2
• FIXED PITCH. Sometimes it is better to use a typewriter style of character which has the same width whatever the letter. Courier is like this
• FLIPPING. A term used for buying something popular and immediately selling it on E-bay and a greatly increased price
• FLOPPY DISK : Hardly floppy these days. 3.5" disks that used to be used to save data so you can copy it to and from your hard disk.  See also Hard disk
• FLV FORMAT Stands for Flash Video.  This is a highly compressed video format and there commonly used by the BBC and Youtube sites.
• FONT. A collection of characters of a predefined style such as Times or Arial
• FTTP Fibre to premises. The roll out of faster wi-fi connection to 20 million premises
  
• FUNCTION KEYS. Programmable keys F1 to F12, which may vary in their use.
• GEEK. Someone obsessed with computers.  I didn't hear that !
• GIGABYTE A thousand million bytes
• GIGAHERTZ A thousand megahertz
• GPRS. General Packet Radio Service. Facilities for transmitting data to phones, pages, handheld computers. Under development by Vodaphone and Cellnet. It's the future.
• GPS. Global Positioning System. Use of satellites to tell you where you are. Used by boats; now used by cars and mobile phones. Works from a number of satellites. It is Isurprisingly) free to use and does not depend on Wi-fi. Any sort of smartphone or tablet can pick it up.
  
• GRAPHICS The general term used for pictures and drawings.
• GRAPHICS CARD. The part of the PC that sends signals to the monitor or display
• GSM. Global System for Mobile Communication.  A standard whereby you can use your telephone abroad.
• HACKER. A person who delights in breaking into other people's computers.
• HARD DISK. A set of spinning disks coated with recording material. Can retain details of programs and data indefinitely.
• HARDWARE. Any piece of equipment such as the computer or a printer.
• HD-DVD One of two new DVD standards which use blue lasers. See also Blu-ray
• HD READY Televisions (or projectors) must have the appropriate input sockets, have a resolution of at least 720 lines and accept HD signals of 1280 x 720 (called 720p) and 1920 x 1080 (called 1080i)
• FIREWALL. A program that can detect intrusion onto your computer and check whether you mind.
• FLOPS an acronym for FLoating point Operations Per Second. A calculator works at around 10 FLOPS. The IBM super computer called Blue Gene delivers 280.6 trillion FLOPS (280 TERAFLOPS)
• GRAPHIC. Any picture.
• HACKER. A person who breaks into other computers in an attempt to steal sensitive data
• HEURISTIC This refers to a method used by anti virus programs to spot viruses even before they have been found by the AV companies.  It is done by spotting their virus - like BEHAVIOUR
• HOME PAGE. The first page of a website, usually Index.htm.
• HOTMAIL. It is possible to get an e-mail address before you get a computer and pick up mail at a cybercafe. It might take the form of Yourname@hotmail.com. Being replaced by Outlook.com. It is Microsoft based.
  
• HOTSPOT an area  (cafe, airport, hotel etc) enabled for connection to the internet by Wi-Fi enabled laptops, Smartphones or PDA's. 
• HTML or HTM. Hypertext Markup Language. The agreed language that Websites are built from.Your BROWSER interprets the language to show you intelligible pages.DHTML stands for Dynamic HTML, which is and advanced form which can make web pages more animated. See also XML
• HYPERTEXT links. These are the addresses of web sites or pages, which can be anywhere in the world. They always are coloured blue and are underlined. When the cursor arrow hovers over one it will change its shape to show it is a link. Mostly you will see Hypertext when connected to the 'net' but you may also find them in things like encyclopaedia CD's. When clicked your computer may go ONLINE then access the site.
• ICON. A graphic representation of something such as a shortcut to a program or a religious picture or other form of representation.
• ICSTIS The Premium rate call watchdog now called PSA
• IDE. The standard interface (connection) used to attach hard disks and CD players.INKJET PRINTER. The commonest type of printer which shoots spots of ink at the paper to create an image.
• IM. Instant Messaging. Text based messages to people on - line, using Microsoft or AOL Instant Messenger
• INKJET or BUBBLEJET r. A common form of printer which squirts ink onto the paper.  Normally colour + black.
• INTERNET. A conglomeration of linked computers which can be accessed by people who are connected to the 'Web'
• INTERNET EXPLORER. The main web browser, issued free by Microsoft.  Now largely superceded by other browsers.
  
• iPad. Apple's touch screen portable (tablet) computer.
• iPod. Apple's tiny, popular, music player. Comes in various formats, some with colour screen to play videos or show your photos
• IrDA Infrared adapter. A USB device that enables your PC or laptop to interact with infrared devices 
  
• ISDN. Integrated Services Digital Network. A faster (than standard) internet connection, requiring a special cable.
• ISP. Internet Service Provider. A company which provides you with access to the Internet.
• IPTV Internet Protocol Television. A standard way to broadst TV over the internet
• JAVA and JAVASCRIPT.  A programming language used on some web pages.
• JPG or JPEG. Joint Photographic Expert Group. The most commonly used compressed graphic format.
• JUMPER. Apart form a sweater it is a small connector used to change the working of certain PC equipment.
• KEYLOGGER A program on your computer which keeps a record of your keystrokes and sends the information to someone else!
• KILOBIT. (kb) A thousand bits 
  
• KILOBYTE. (KB) A thousand bytes.. Confused?  Me too !  Actually, a kilobyte can be 1000 bytes or 1024 bytes. If it is listed as kB (lowercase k), it is a decimal kilobyte and is 1000 bytes. If it is listed as KB (uppercase k), it is a binary kilobyte and is 1024 bytes. 1 KB = 1KiB (kibobyte) = 1024 bytes. Clear ?
• LAN. Local Area Network. Computers connected 'locally' e.g. within a company or home, so they can communicate and share programs and data..
• LASER PRINTER. A printer which uses a laser to create an image on a light sensitive drum, which then loads toner powder onto paper. Often just black printing. Faster and more economical than inkjets.
• LED. Light Emitting Diode.  Some 'laser printers' use this type instead of a laser
• LIDE. Light Indirect Exposure.  A new type of light for scanners
• LINUX. An operating system (OS), like Windows but FREE and stable. It requires software written especially for it. Originally developed by a Finn, Linus Benedict Torvalds. Current version 11 (Nov 2011)
• LLU  Local Loop Unbundling.  The process whereby BT allows other ISP's to install their own (e.g. fibre)  equipment in their exchanges. This is encouraged by the government to improve internet speeds.
  
• MACRO A small program within another program which, at the touch of a couple of keys performs a series of actions
• MALWARE. Software which arrives on your computer which is considered to be damaging or have evil intent e.g. viruses, spyware or keyloggers
• MATRIX PRINTER. Similar to the inkjet but uses a 'matrix' of pins pushing against an inked ribbon to make an impression on paper. These days superceded by the ink jet and laser printers.
  
• MEGABIT (mb) A million bits
• MEGABYTE (MB) A million bytes.  See  also BIT, BYTE, KILOBYTE, GIGABYTE, EXABYTE
• MEGAHERTZ A measure of how fast your PC processor works. Basically a million vibrations a second. One instruction takes place each vibration.
• MIDORI Initial name for a Microsoft project which might eventually replace Windows. It would be Cloud Computing based i.e. purely on the net. In the even they appear to have settled for Windows 10.
  
• MMS. Mobile Media Service ?? Well, the ability to send and receive pictures using a mobile phone.
• MINI NOTEBOOK. A new breed of PC, weighing a couple pounds, with a smaller screen and no CD/DVD drive.  When used with the free Operating System, Linux can be as little as £100.
• MOBILE BROADBAND Getting broadband via the mobile phone system rather than via telephone lines or even WiFi hotspots or your own router.
• MONITOR. The computer screen. Also called a VDU - Visual Display Unit
• MOORE'S LAW. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_Law  .. That the number of components on a printed circuit board would double every year.  This has largely held true since1975.
• MOTHERBOARD. The main circuit board of a computer, to which other components are attached. 
  
• MP3. A highly compressed form of music, which can be downloaded from the 'net and played on a computer or a portable MP3 player.
• MPEG Motion Picture Expert Group A method of compressing digital video. There are various developments such as MPEG2 and MPEG3
• MSN. Microsoft Network
• NETSCAPE COMMUNICATOR. Netscape's e-mail client program originall an alternative to Outlook Express. Both now supeeceded)
• NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR. Netscape's Browser. An alternative to Internet Explorer.  Lost out the Microsoft and Google
  
• NETWORK. General term for connected computers. See also WAN and LAN
• NTSC National TV Standards ? The American TV standard. Sometimes called Never Twice the Same Colour !
• OCR Optical Character Recognition. Some software can convert scanned text into word processable documents
• OFFLINE. Not connected to the Internet. Some things, like writing emails, can be done before going ONLINE.
• OLEDs. Organic, Light Emitting Diodes. TOLED. The transparent version. FOLED. The flexible version. A roll up screen.
• OMR. Optical Mark Recognition.  The technique used to input your Lottery choices.
• ONLINE. Connected to the Internet.
• OS. Operation System, such as Windows, Linux, Android, Chrome OS
• OUTLOOK EXPRESS.  Now superceded..
• PAL Phase Alternating Line. The British, Australian and New Zealand TV standard
• PARALLEL PORT. Almost always a 25 pin 'female' socket on the back of a computer which is used for printing but also to attach things like scanners and other external equipment. See also USB Port
• PATCH A software fix for an existing program
• PATH. The location of a file or program on a disk. e.g. On a PC Word is at C:\program files\microsoftOffice\office\winword.exe
• PCI slot. Peripheral Component Interface (or Interconnect). A type of connector (slot on the motherboard) - usually white - which enables you to add components to your PC.
• PCIe or PCI-E The latest type of PCI slot which works on a Serial rather than a a Parallel basis and is therefore faster
• PCMCIA or PC CARD. Various pieces of miniaturised equipment which fit into a slot on a laptop computer
• PDA. Personal Digital Assistant. A small, hand held computer.
• PHISHING This is the name give to a scam where you get an e-mail supposedly from your bank, requesting that you confirm your password and account number.  If you give your details you can expect  your account to be robbed shortly afterwards! Millions of these e-mails are sent out and some people fall for it.. This has now been joined by Mishing and Vishing, which are the same thing but via Messages or Voice calls
• PICTBRIDGE A standard whereby a Pictbridge compatible camera can talk directly to a Pictbridge compatible printer, so enabling you to select and print photos without the aid of a computer
• PIM Personal Information Manager. Software which acts as a diary - even an alarm clock.
• PIMP  Not what you might expect but an adopted word that means 'jazz up' or improve the look of, be it a PC, a mobile phone, an iPod or a Web page on Facebook
• PIXEL. Picture element. A small element on a screen or in photograph. Cameras are sometimes referred to in Megapixels. A megapixel is a million pixels. The more pixels the better the quality of the picture and the more memory is used up.
• PLUG AND PLAY Modern machines and hardware (printers, sound cards, Cd players etc) are able to recognise when they are connected, so enabling easy installation or use.
• POINT SIZE. The height of a printed character. Correspondence is usually around 12 point.
• PODCASTING : Allowing people to download sounds (news) they can hear on their computer, Ipod or MP3 player
• PORT. Either a socket on your computer, such USB, parallel (printer) or Serial (communications) OR part of the system which allows communication with your computer (the latter are numbered e.g. Port 110) See also Hacker
• PSA  The Premium Rate Authority phone service regulator. PSA  Contact them if you have a problem with premium rate phone calls
  
• PS/2 The smaller type of socket used for modern keyboard and mouse connections. A PS2 can also be Sony's Playstation2 games console
• PVR Personal Video Recorder.  A hard disk based box attached to your video source and TV that can record videos for temporary use.
• PROPORTIONAL FONT. Some fonts use much less space (width)  e.g. for a small L (l) than for a capital W.
• QUARANTINE. When using anti virus software you may be given the option to do this or delete the offending files. Quarantine allows you to put the item back if your machine starts playing up badly.
• QUICKTIME. A program from Apple which enables you to view moving pictures.
• RADSL. Rate Adaptive ADSL. A system used by BT to increase the range of Broadband availability. It has a slower upload ability.
• RAM Random Access Memory. Chips in your PC which work on programs temporarily
• RANSOMWARE Bad software that appears mysteriously on your PC displaying what appears to be viruses and demanding a fee to get rid of them. One of the biggest scams at the moment
• RASTER image. Not a picture of someone in a big, multicoloured, wooly hat and dreadlocks. It is a picture made up of tiny dots as opposed to VECTOR image. But similar to BITMAP.
• RAW A photo file type which is completely unchanged. Not compressed etc. Some photo image s/w can view them
• REAL TIME. Immediate contact (messages, music, video) rather than via e-mail
• REGISTER. A most important file used in Windows 95 onwards.  Contains details of everything within Windows.
• RENDERING. In the computer world this is not boiling fat but refers to how close the colour of pictures appear on screen when accessing websites
• ROOTKIT. Software that hides itself or other objects, such as files, processes, and Registry keys, from view of standard diagnostic, administrative, and security software.  They are one  of the most difficult viruses to eliminate.  For a full explanation (and what to do) see the Bob Rankin page HERE
• ROUTER. A gadget which connects more than one computer to the Internet and sorts out the priorities.
• RSS. Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication. A news feed that is seen at the top of some websites. You need an RSS reader in order to 'syndicate' or aggregate the news which is fed to you in one place. Further details ? Please e-mail me
• SAFE MODE. This is when you start Windows in its most basic form with no background programs in operation. As a result the screen changes to its very basic (large) layout. Safe Mode is used to cure various problems including Virus and Defrag. difficulties. To get into Safe Mode (on most PC's) press F8 as Windows begins to load.
• SANDBOX is a security mechanism for safely running programs. It is often used to execute untested code, or untrusted programs from unverified third-parties, suppliers and untrusted users. It is possible to obtain software which will run the operating system in a 'virtual' (memory) of the computer. 
• SCANNER. A piece of equipment capable of digitally recording a picture or some text for saving on the computer
• SCAREWARE. There are many 'free' programs that claim to remove threats from your PC. When you scan your PC they pick up every single 'cookie' on the machine and classify it as a threat.  They then suggest you buy the full program to clear these 'threats'.  See also Ransomware
• S-VIDEO A higher quality video connection. It carries brightness and colour information separately.
• SCSI. Small Computer System Interface.  A fast interface (connection) for attaching peripherals to your computer.  See also IDE.
• SD cards.  One of a number of memory card formats that can be used in cameras or other devices.  Capacities vary from 500kb to 64Gb.  There are three sizes: standard, mini and micro. The latter  maybe be used with an adapter. There are also SDHC (high capacity) and SDXC (extended capacity)
• SDRAM . Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory. The most common type of memory chip. See also DDR
• SEARCH ENGINE. A program, usually accessed through the 'net, which enables you to search for what you want by entering a few words.
• SECAM. French video standard. Sequential Couleur avec Memoire. See also PAL and NTSC
• SERIAL PORT. A 9 or 25 pin (male) socket on the back of a computer, which can be used to attach a mouse, a modem or a printer. Referred to as a COM (Communication) port. Most PC's have two built in.
• SIMMS. Single Inline Memory Modules. Older type sets of memory chips.  See also DIMMS
• SMS Short Message system. Text messages between PC and mobile phone or mobile to mobile
• SIRI Apple's 'personal assistant ' on their i series equipment.(iPads etc)  You can ask it a question and get a good response audibly and in text.
• SITE or WEBSITE is an area on the Internet that has its own unique web address (URL) It has a HOME PAGE followed by other pages linked to the Home Page
• SMARTPHONE Part of the converging technology scene.  A telephone that can transmit pictures and or receive emails and more besides, either by WiFi, satellite or the mobile telephone network.
• SOC chips. Company ARM have developed System On a Chip, incorporating many parts of a computer on a single chip. Used in phones.
• SODIMM Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Module.  Smaller memory used in laptops. See also DIMMS
• SOFTWARE. Programs of all kinds which make the computer act in a particular way.
• SSD. Solid State Drive. A hard 'disk' with no moving parts, like a memory  key.
• SUROUND SOUND. A pair of front and rear speakers plus a centre speaker and a sub woofer
• SUB WOOFER. A loudspeaker dedicated to the reproduction of bass audio frequencies, typically from 150 Hz down to 20 Hz. See also Tweeter
• SPAM : Unsolicited advertising that usually arrives as e-mails
• SPIM : Spam which occurs when you are Instant Messaging
• SPYWARE. Software which is installed on your computer without your knowledge to monitor and report back what you are doing.  Scary.
• SPREADSHEET. A mathematical program which contains formulae to automatically work on the figures that are entered.
• SSD Solid State Drive. A hard disk with no moving parts - just pure memory. The future of computing, video and a lot more besides.
• STREAMING. Receiving sound or pictures continuously over the Internet (rather than downloading first)
• STYLE sheet. A previously arranged document with specific type styles, weights and sizes. See also Template.
• SURFING the Web means using HYPERTEXT links to jump from one site or page to another
• SVGA. Super VGA. The later type of screen (and video card) capable of displaying more colours and higher definition.
• SYSTEM TRAY See Taskbar below
• TAB key. The key on the left of the keyboard which allows you to jump certain fixed distances across the page when using a word processor (or even a steam age typewriter).
• TABLET PC. A powerful Windows PC which has a touch sensitive flat screen but no attached keyboard. Can be written on with a stylus.
• TASKBAR/SYSTEM TRAY. The bar at the bottom of the screen which shows the items which are preloaded
• TEMPORARY FILES. The internet, some installation programs and even your own programs may use a part of your hard disk to enable them to work. They often end in TMP. They can be deleted later.
• TEMPLATE. A standard letter or spreadsheet which can be amended to suit your needs
• TERABYTE. 1 terabyte (TB) equals 1,000,000,000,000 bytes. Some new hard disks now are able to store that much
• TEXT MESSAGING language is becoming popular on PC's and phones.  e.g. Happy :-)  Sad :-(  Winks ;-)  Grins :-} Hello  LO  Planned  Pl&   Great Gr8, ILBL8, CUL8R, LOL (lots of laughs, lots of love, depending...)  
• THE CLOUD. See Cloud
• TFT Thin film transistor. The technology used to create those popular flat screens
• TOOLBAR. A list of icons often found at the top of a program such as a wordprocessor
• TRIM. Software that enables Solid State Disks (SSD) to keep their speed up to scratch.
• TROJAN. A virus program that is disguised as something else. It invades your PC and can be accessed by a hacker
• TWAIN. A generally agreed standard by which PC's can communicate with Twain compatible equipment, mainly scanners.  TWAIN is not a mnemonic
• TWEETER a loudspeaker designed to produce high frequencies, typically from around 2,000 hertz to 20,000 hertz
• UBUNTU a variation of the Linux operating system. See HERE for the origin of the name
• UMPC. Ultra Mobile PC.  They are about 7" across and use Windows XP tablet edition, touch screen and interprets your scribbling.
• URL Universal (or Unique) Resource Locator or Web address. It always starts with http:// and is usually followed by www. And then other parts of the address.
• USB PORT. Universal Serial Bus. A more recent versatile communication port, which can transfer data faster and also enables equipment to be 'hot swapped', whilst the machine is on. The sockets are about half an inch long.  It also contains a power supply so so equipment such as webcams do not need  a transformer. An add-on card is available for older machines but early Windows 95 did not support this connection.
• USB2. At 480 Mb/s is even faster than USB. Looks the same as USB and the slower devices can also be attached to it.  
• USB3 Much faster than USB2. Unless built in it will be difficult to install as the card will require a PCIe (PCI-E) slot, not available on machines prior to 2009
• VCD. Video Compact Disc. Stores very compressed videos onto CDs rather than DVDs
• VDU. Visual Display Unit. The screen.
• VECTOR image. A graphic which is made up of instructions to the computer e.g. To draw a curve or a straight line.
• VGA. Video Graphics Array. The older type of colour screen
• VIDEOCONFERENCING. Using the PC as a video phone
• VIDEO-PHONE. Using a microphone, speakers and a Webcam to see and hear others over the Internet.
• VIRTUAL MEMORY (VM). When Windows does not find enough RAM it uses the hard disk rather than failing altogether. This makes the machine seem slower, so more RAM is preferable.
• VoIP Voice Over Internet Protocol.  The future of cheaper telephone communication ?  Even BT are into it.
• VIRUS. A malicious program which can harm your computer. It is spread through programs - either from disks or from the Internet. It is the graffiti of the Internet. They may also be called Trojans or Worms.
• WAN. Wider Area Network. Computers connected to others over a wide area, so they can communicate and share programs and data.
• WAP. Wireless Application Protocol. A system of sending internet pages to the screen of a mobile phone.  See HERE
• WAP enabled phone. A mobile phone which can receive internet pages.
• WARCHALKING. The art of marking building walls  with a ) ( sign, to show that they are using a wireless network so you can steal time from their connection.
• WEB BROWSER. A program to help you navigate the Internet e.g. Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator
• WEBCAM.  A small camera which is attached to a computer
• WiDi Intel's Wireless Display technology that enables wireless transmission to speakers.
• WI-FI  A wireless interface, using radio to link computers and other devices. A snappier name than the 802.11b standard. See also Bluetooth. Eventually WiFi sites will be commonplace and free. See HERE for London
• WIMAX Delivering even faster internet via radio signals. (Sounds better than digging up roads)
• WINDOWS 95 The 1995 version of the Windows system, which replaced version 3.11.  It did not support the USB sockets 
• WINDOWS 98 The 1998 version of the Windows system, which replaced Windows 95. Only the Second Edition (SE) had USB support.
• WINDOWS ME. Windows Millennium Edition. A half way house between Windows 98 and Windows XP
• WINDOWS XP. Microsoft's latest operating system, intended to replace all previous Windows formats. There are Home and Professional versions.
• WIZARD. A program which helps you through a process such as installing new Software or Hardware.
• WMA. Windows Media Audio. A compressed Audio format
• WMV. Windows Media Video. A compressed Video format
• WORD PROCESSING. Creating documents on a computer that can easily be amended (processed)
• WORM. A virus program that spreads by sending itself to people in your Email address book
• WWW  World Wide Web. The Internet
• XML.  Extensible Markup Language. A development of HTML
• ZIP DRIVE/ZIP DISK. A proprietary disk drive (Iomega) which can hold 100mb or 250mb on a disk. Used for backup.
• ZIP file. Compressed file that ends in ZIP or CAB. To see their contents they must be viewed using a special program such as Winzip or Enzip.
• ZOMBIE A computer that has been infiltrated by a virus, leaving it open to attacks which 'waken it from the dead'. These can then be used to send thousands of searches to a particular site, thus bringing it to a standstill.  This has happened to Microsoft, Google and Yahoo. Zombies are also used to circulate phishing emails and viruses.  Make sure your computer is not a zombie !