Network Chico Computer
terms glossary
Some definitions from the Sharpened Glossary
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Mac OS: This is the operating
system that runs on Macintosh computers. It is pronounced, "mack-oh-es."
The Mac OS has been around since the first Macintosh was introduced
in 1984. Since then it has been continually updated and many
new features have been added to it. Each major OS release is
signified by a new number (i.e. Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9). Since the
core of the Mac OS was nearly decades old Apple decided to completely
revamp the operating system. In March of 2001 Apple introduced
a completely new version of the Mac OS that was written from
the ground up. The company dubbed it "Mac OS X," correctly
pronounced "Mac OS 10." Unlike earlier versions of
the Mac OS, Mac OS X is based on the same kernel as BSD Unix
and has many advanced administrative features and utilities.
Though the operating system is much more advanced than earlier
versions of the Mac OS it still has the same ease-of-use that
people have come to expect from Apple software.
Macintosh: This is the
name of the computers that are made by Apple Computer. The first
Macintosh was introduced in 1984 and was seen as a major innovation
in computing ease-of-use. The Macintosh was one of the first
personal computers to use a graphical user interface (GUI), which
allowed the user to interact with the operating system by using
a mouse to click and drag objects. Since 1984 Apple has continually
revised and upgraded the Macintosh product line and now makes
both laptop and desktop versions of the Macintosh. The Macintosh
product line includes the following five different models.
- Power Mac: the high-performance desktop computer for professionals
- PowerBook: the high-performance laptop computer for professionals
- iMac: the creatively designed consumer desktop computer
- iBook: the laptop computer for students and home users
- eMac: the all-in-one desktop computer for educators and entry-level
consumers
Apple also makes other equipment such as displays, MP3 players,
and networking hardware, but the Macintosh is the heart and soul
of the company. Macintosh computers run the Macintosh operating
system, creatively named the "Mac OS."
Mainframe: This is an
ultra-high-performance computer made for high-volume, processor-intensive
computing. They are typically used by large businesses and for
scientific purposes. You probably won't find a mainframe in any
household. In the hierarchy of computers mainframes are right
below supercomputers, the most powerful computers in the world.
(Which is why they are aptly named "supercomputers.")
Yet a mainframe can usually execute many programs simultaneously
at a high speed, whereas supercomputers are designed for a single
process. Currently the largest manufacturers of mainframes are
IBM and Unisys.
Malware: Short for "malicious
software," malware refers to software programs designed
to damage or do other unwanted actions on a computer system.
In Spanish, "mal" means "bad," making the
term "badware," which is a good way to remember it
(even if you're not Spanish). Common examples of malware include
viruses, worms, trojan horses, and spyware. Viruses, for example,
can cause havoc on a computer's hard drive by deleting files
or directory information. Spyware can gather data from a user's
system without the user knowing it. This can include anything
from the web pages a user visits to personal information, such
as credit card numbers. It is unfortunate that there are software
programmers out there with malicious intent but it is good to
be aware of the fact. You can install anti-virus
and anti-spyware utilities
on your computer that will seek and destroy the malicious programs
they find on your computer.
Megabyte: Like the kilobyte,
the megabyte doesn't contain a nice even number of bytes. By
name a megabyte should contain 1,000,000 bytes, it actually contains
1,048,576 bytes (or 1,024 x 1,024). This is because 2^10 equals
1024 and not 1000. Abbreviation: "MB"
Megahertz: One megahertz
equals one million cycles per second and is used to measure operating
speeds of electronic devices. The most common area you'll see
Megahertz used is in measuring processor clock speed (i.e. an
800 Mhz Pentium III). However megahertz only measures the clock
speed of the processor (how many cycles it can handle per second)
and not the overall performance. Because megahertz measures only
a single aspect of a processor it is possible that a 500 MHz
PowerPC G4 is faster overall than an 800 Mhz Pentium III. Mac
users love to stress this point. Abbreviation: "Mhz"
Meta Tag: This is a special
HTML tag that is used to store information about a web page but
is not displayed in a web browser. For example meta tags provide
information such as what application was used to create the page,
a description of the page, and keywords that are relevant to
the page. Many search engines use the information stored in meta
tags when they index web pages.
Microprocessor: This little
chip is the heart of a computer. Often referred to as just the
"processor," the microprocessor does all the computations
like adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. In PCs the
most popular microprocessor used is the Intel Pentium chip, whereas
Macintosh computers use the PowerPC chip (developed by Motorola,
IBM, and Apple). The speed of a microprocessor is measured in
megahertz or gigahertz, or cycles per second. But higher megahertz
doesn't always mean better performance. Though a 600-MHz chip
has a clock speed that is twice as fast as a 300-Mhz chip it
doesn't mean that the computer with the 600-Mhz chip will run
twice as fast. This is because the speed of a computer is also
influenced by other factors such as the efficiency of the processor,
the bus architecture, the amount of memory available, and the
software that is running on the computer. Some processors can
complete more operations per clock cycle than other processors
making them more efficient than other processors with higher
clock speeds. This is why the PowerPC chip is typically faster
than Pentium chips at that are clocked at higher megahertz.
MIDI: "Musical Instrument
Digital Interface" It is a connectivity standard that musicians
use to hook together musical instruments (such as keyboards and
synthesizers) and computer equipment. Using MIDI a musician can
easily create and edit digital music tracks. The MIDI system
records the notes played, the length of the notes, the dynamics
(volume alterations), the tempo, the instrument being played,
and hundreds of other parameters, called control changes. Because
MIDI records each note digitally,editing a track of MIDI music
is much easier and more accurate than editing a track of audio.
The musician can change the notes, dynamics, tempo, and even
the instrument being played with the click of button. Because
MIDI files are basically text documents they take up very little
disk space. The only catch is that you need MIDI-compatible hardware
and/or software to record and playback MIDI files.
MIPS: "Million Instructions
Per Second" It is a method of measuring the raw speed of
a computer's processor. Since the MIPS measurement doesn't take
into account other factors such as the computer's I/O speed or
processor architecture it isn't always a fair way to measure
the performance of a computer. For example a computer rated at
100 MIPS may be able to computer certain functions faster than
another computer rated at 120 MIPS. The MIPS measurement has
been used by computer manufacturers like IBM to measure the "cost
of computing." The value of computers is determined in MIPS
per dollar. Interestingly, the value of computers in MIPS per
dollar has steadily doubled on an annual basis for the last couple
of decades.
Mirror: In the computer
world a mirror is a web or FTP server that has the same files
on it as another server. Its purpose is to provide an alternate
way to access files when the main server is so swamped with people
connecting and downloading files that other people can't get
through.
Modem: The word modem
is actually short for Modulator/Demodulator. A modem is a communications
device that can be either internal or external to your computer.
It allows one computer to connect another computer and transfer
data over telephone lines. The original dial-up modems are becoming
obsolete because of their slow speeds and are being replaced
by the much faster cable and DSL modems.
Motherboard: Also known
as the main board or logic board this is the main circuit board
of your computer. If you ever open your computer up the biggest
piece of silicon you see is the motherboard. This is where you'll
find the CPU, the ROM, memory expansion slots, PCI slots, serial
ports, USB ports, and all the controllers for things like the
hard drive, DVD drive, keyboard, and mouse. Basically, the motherboard
is what makes everything in your computer work together. Each
motherboard has a collection of chips and controllers that is
known as the "chipset". When new motherboards are developed
they often use new chipsets. The good news is that these boards
are typically more efficient and faster than their predecessors.
The bad news is that you may not be able to add certain memory
and CPU upgrades to older motherboards.
MP3: "MPEG-1 Audio
Layer-3" It is the most popular compressed audio file format.
An MP3 file is about one tenth the size of the original audio
file but the sound is nearly CD-quality. Because of their small
size and good fidelity MP3 files have become a popular way to
store music files on both computers and portable devices. There
are also many web sites, like MP3.com and RioPort.com, that maintain
huge archives of audio files in MP3 format. To listen to MP3s
on your computer you'll need an MP3 player like Musicmatch (for
Windows) or iTunes (for the Mac). To create an MP3 file from
a CD audio track you'll need an encoder program to convert the
audio track to an MP3 file. Once you have converted your favorite
songs to MP3 files you can listen to them on a portable MP3 player,
like the Apple iPod or the SonicBlue Rio.
MPEG: "Moving Picture
Experts Group" The MPEG organization, which works with the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO), develops
standards for digital audio and video compression. The group
constantly works to develop more efficient ways to digitally
compress and store audio and video files. The term MPEG also
refers to a type of multimedia file which is denoted by the file
extension ".mpg" or ".mpeg." These files
are compressed movies that can contain both audio and video.
Though they are compressed MPEG files maintain most of the original
quality of the uncompressed movie. This is why many videos on
the web, such as movie trailers and music videos, are available
in the MPEG format.
Multimedia: As the name
implies multimedia is the integration of multiple forms of media.
This includes text, graphics, audio, video, etc. For example
a presentation involving audio and video clips would be considered
a "multimedia presentation." Educational software that
involves animations, sound, and text is called "multimedia
software." CDs and DVDs are often considered to be "multimedia
formats" since they can store a lot of data and most forms
of multimedia require a lot of disk space. Due to the advancements
in computer speeds and storage space, multimedia is commonplace
today.
Multiplatform: If a software
program is developed for multiple operating systems it is considered
to be "multiplatform." Since Microsoft Word runs on
both the Windows and Macintosh platform it is a mutliplatform
application. In the consumer gaming market mutliplatform games
run on more than one gaming machine. For example, a sports game
developed for Xbox, Playstation, GameCube, and PC would be a
multiplatform game. If a game is developed exclusively for one
system, i.e. "The Legend of Zelda," for Nintendo, it
is not multiplatform. Gaming hardware manufacturers use exclusive
software as a reason for consumers to buy their system.
Network Chico Computer
terms glossary
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