•             Some Basic Terminology

It is necessary to cover some terminology. Hopefully, much of it will be familiar – you will hear many of the terms used throughout the course

• Active program or window− The application or window at the front (foreground) on the monitor.

• Access time the performance of a hard drive or other storage device     how long it takes to locate a file.

• ASCII (pronounced ask-key)  American Standard Code for Information Interchange. a commonly used data format for exchanging information between computers or programs.
• Boot− to start up a computer.
• Bug −A programming error that causes a program to behave in an unexpected way.
• Bus      An electronic pathway through which data is transmitted between components in a com- puter
• Card− a printed circuit board that adds some feature to a computer.
• CD-ROM− An acronym for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory.
• Clock Rate (MHz)     The instruction processing speed of a computer measured in millions of cycles per second (i.e., 200 MHz)
• Compiler− a program the converts programming code into a form that can be used by a computer.
• Compression    a technique that reduces the size of a saved file by elimination or encoding redun- dancies (i.e., JPEG, MPEG, LZW, etc.)
• Control panel  a program that allows you to change settings in a program or change the way a Mac looks and/or behaves
•   CPU− the Central Processing Unit. The processing chip that is the” brains” of a computer.
• Crash− a system malfunction in which the computer stops working and has to be restarted.
•   Cursor− The pointer, usually arrow or cross shaped, which is controlled by the mouse.
• Daisy chaining − the act of stringing devices together in a series (such as SCSI).
•  Windows:
• i.     The most widely used operating system for personal computers from Microsoft. (Software only. Other companies manufacture the hardware that runs the Windows Operating System.) Compare Macintosh. (Windows with a large” W”.
• ii.    The thing you see on screen that contains a directory listing or the contents of a document. (Window with a small” w”.)
• Trash: Place where you put files and folders that you want to delete or get rid of.
• System files: Allows our computer to work
• Software: Instructions that tell the computer what to do.
• Shut down: To quit all applications and turn off the computer.
•  Scroll bar: Allows you to move around through your document.
• Save As: Give the file a name and/or store the file in a certain place.
• Save: Tell the computer to create a file on disk that has the information you’ve put into the document (usually typing).
• Right click: To press the right button on the mouse. (This is Windows specific. On a Mac running System 8 or higher, you hold down the Control key and then click to get the same effect.)
• Recycle Bin: Place where you put files and folders that you may later want to delete or get rid of Compare Trash.
• Random Access Memory (RAM): This stands for Random Access Memory. You can think of this as the” space” where your computer does its processing. The more space you have the more processes you can run at the same time. More RAM is always better than less. You can never have much RAM
• Pointer (Cursor): The name of the arrow (or other shape) that tracks across the screen as you move the mouse (or another pointing device) around.
• Operating System (OS): System software that allows your computer to work.
• Mouse: Pointing device that allows you to tell the computer what to do.
• MegaHertz (Mhz): This stands for MegaHertz. A hertz is an electronics term. 1 hz = one cycle (or wavelength) per second. 1 megahertz = 1,000,000 cycles per second. In computer jargon, Mhz measures how *fast* your CPU chip runs. Although it’s more important to know the chip than the speed, if you’re comparing the same kind of CPU chip then a higher / faster CPU speed (measured in MHz) is better than a slower speed.
• Macintosh: The brand name of a family of personal computers (hardware) and an operating system (software) from Apple, introduced in 1984.
• Keyboard:  This if the primary text input device.  It also contains certain standard function keys, such as the Escape key, tab, and arrow keys, shift and control keys, and sometimes other manufacturer-customized keys.
• Icons: In a graphical user interface (GUI), a small, pictorial, on screen representation of an object, such as a document, program, folder or disk drive.
• Folder (Directory, Sub-Directory): Allows you to organize files and other folders. 
• Folder Icons: Collections of documents and other folders.
• Edit: To make a change to existing data.
• Drag: To move an object on screen in which its complete movement is visible from starting location to destination.
• Double Click: To press the mouse button twice in rapid succession without moving the mouse between clicks.
• ∙   Documents: Files you create and edit.
• Disk Space: This is the place where your files live. The greater the disk space the more files you  can keep. More disk space is always better than less. You can never have much disk space.
• Desktop: An on-screen representation of a desktop such as used in the Macintosh and Windows operating systems.
• Delete: To remove an item of data from a file or to remove a file from the disk.
• Creating A File: Storing data as a file with an assigned file name that is unique within the directory it resides in.
• Crash: Your computer or application no longer works correctly and so you” loose” all the work you’ve done since the last time you saved.
• ∙   Central Processor Unit (CPU): This term has two meanings

1. Central Processor Unit−the main chip on the computer that makes everything go.
2. The box that holds the guts of the computer.

•  A faster CPU is always better than a slower one. You can never have too fast of a CPU.
• Compute: A general-purpose machine that processes data according to a set of instructions that are stored internally either temporarily or permanently.
• WORM: Acronym for Write Once-Read Many; an optical disk that can only be written to once (like a CD-ROM).
• ∙   vaporware:” software” advertised, and sometimes sold, that does not yet exist in a releasable for.
• UPS: acronym for ”Uninterruptible Power Source”, a constantly charging battery pack which powers the computer. A UPS should have enough charge to power your computer for several minutes in the event of a total power failure, giving you time to save your work and safely shut down.
• Upload: To send a file from one computer to another through a network. 
• Title Bar: The horizontal bar at the top of a window which has the name of the file or folder it represents.
• ∙   System folder: an all-important folder that contains at least the System file.
• System file: a file in the System folder that allows your Mac to start and run.
• Startup disk: the disk containing system software and is designated to be used to start the computer.
• spreadsheet: a program designed to look like an electronic ledger as in Excel.
• server: a central computer dedicated to sending and receiving data from other computers (on a network).
• serial port: a port that allows data to be transmitted in a series (one after the other), such as the printer and modem ports on a Mac.
• SCSI: acronym for Small Computer System Interface.
• SCSI address: a number between zero and seven that must be unique to each device in a SCSI chain. Fast and Wide SCSI devices will allow up to 15 SCSI Ids (hexadecimal); however, the length restriction (3 meters) is such that it is virtually impossible to link 15 devices together.
• SCSI port: a 25-pin connector on the back of a Mac (native SCSI port); used to connect SCSI devices to the CPU.
• root directory: The main hard drive window. 
• ROM: acronym for Read Only Memory; memory that can only be read from and not written to.
• RISC: acronym for Reduced Instruction Set Computing; the smaller set of commands used by the PowerPC and Power Mac.
• RAM: Acronym for Random-Access Memory. 
• QuickTime: The Apple system extension that gives one the ability to compress, edit and play animation, movies and sound on the Mac.
• print spooler: a program that stores documents to be printed on the hard drive, thereby freeing the memory up and allowing other functions to be performed while printing goes on in the background.
•  PCI: acronym for Peripheral Component Interchange - the newer, faster bus architecture.
• paste: to insert text, or other material, from the clipboard or copy buffer.
• partition: a subdivision of a hard drives surface that is defined and used as a separate drive.
• optical disk: a high-capacity storage medium that is read by a laser light.
• nanosecond: one billionth of a second.
• multi-tasking: running more than one application in memory at the same time.
• download: to transfer data from one computer to another. (If you are on the receiving end, you are downloading. If you are on the sending end, you are uploading).
• Ethernet: a protocol for fast communication and file transfer across a network.
• font: a typeface that contains the characters of an alphabet or some other letterforms.
• fragmentation: The breaking up of a file into many separate locations in memory or on a disk.
• freeze: a system error which causes the cursor to lock in place.
• hard drive: a large capacity storage device made of multiple disks housed in a rigid case.
• head crash: a hard disk crash caused by the heads coming in contact with the spinning disk(s).
• icon: a graphic symbol for an application, file or folder.

• ∙   Measurements:

  *    1024 bytes =one kilobyte
  *    K= kilobyte
  *    Kb = kilobit
  *    MB= megabyte
  *    Mb= megabit
  *    MB/s = megabytes per second
  *    Mb/s= megabits per second *  bps= bits per second 155 Mb/s = 19.38 MB/s