A Glossary of PC and Computer Terms

Technical Terms Unless you are a technician or have a keen interest in IT then you may find some of the jargon in computer manuals hard to get to grips with. To help you learn more about your PC we have provided a brief glossary of terms.

ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. ASCII is a code which contains the English language and punctuation characters for computer systems to use.
The Boot Drive is the drive which is host to your PCs operating system.
CPU stands for central processing unit and is commonly known as the processor. The CPU is one of the most vital components of your PC.
DAC stands for digital to analogue converter. The DAC is used for converting signals from digital to analogue, allowing different hardware devices to communicate with each other.
An Ethernet is a system which is used to link local area networks.
A Firewall is a device used to prevent unauthorized users from accessing your computer system. Firewalls are available in hardware and software forms.
GB is shorthand for gigabyte. A gigabyte is equal to 1000 MB of storage.
HTML stands for hyper text mark up language. HTML language is used to write websites.
An Interface is a device which can be hardware or software that allows parts of a system to interact. For example a graphical user interface (GUI) allows the user to interact with buttons and links on the screen.
JPEG is a compressed file format for pictures and photographers.
KBps stands for kilobytes per second. KBps is a unit of measurement used to measure the performance rate of systems.
LAN stands for Local Area Network. LANs allow computers (usually in a single location) to communicate with each other.
Media in computing means a device used to store information such as CD, DVD or a server tape.
NFS stands for network file system. NFSs allow people to gain remote access to files stored on a host computer.
The Operating System is the main program used to control all aspects of your PC.
Plug and Play is a system that allows new hardware to be installed to a PC without having to install new drivers.
RAM stands for random access memory. RAM is a method of storing data which allows it to be viewed in any order.
The System Bus is a form of data bus which connects other buses and allows communication from the CPUs memory to other parts of the system.
TFT stands for Thin Film Transistor. TFT monitors are one of the best types of screen to use with your PC offering high resolution.
URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. A URL is the address of a specific page on the internet.
Volatile Memory is a term used to describe kinds of memory including RAM. Volatile memory is information which is lost as soon as the PCs power supply is turned off.
Wi-Fi is another name for a wireless internet connection.
Windows XP is Microsoft's latest operating system.
Zip drives are an effective form of data compression used for backing up files externally.