AirPort

A type of network. It is wireless and allows you to share files, to access network servers and printers, and surf the Internet without any physical connection or cable between your computer or any device on the network.

Applications

Software Programs(such as a game or word Processor)that you use with your computer. They usually require a minimum amount of RAM memory and hard disk space storage.

Binary Data

A computer stores information, be it data or instructions, as binary data, which is a series of 1s and 0s. Each 1 or 0 is known as a bit.

Bitmap Images

Technically called raster images- use a grid of colors known as pixels to represent images. Each pixel is assigned a specific location and color value. Bitmapped images are the most common electronic medium for continuous-tone images, such as photographs or digital paintings, because they can represent subtle gradations of shades and color. They are resolution-dependent-that is,they contain a fixed number of pixels. As a result, they can lose detail and appear jagged if they are scaled on-screen or if they are printed at a lower resolution than they were created for.

BUS

A term used in describing processors. It is the pathway that is used for data to get from one place to another. Several types of buses are used in a computer, and they can be internal to a processor, extend across the entire motherboard of a computer, or used only between specific components. Wherever data is being moved around or worked with inside a computer, a bus is being used. Two important factors need to be considered. Speed and how quickly information can be transmitted along the bus. And the Width, or how much data can be sent along the bus in a single block. The wider the bus the more information can be transmitted along it at a given time.

Bytes

8-bit segments of data storage. Each represents a single character typed from the keyboard.

Cache

A special type of RAM memory called static RAM or SRAM. It is a place where the processor can access data faster than it would be able to somewhere else. Two places are Level1 and Level2 caches. Level1 is usually stored right onto the processor itself and Level2 was stored on the motherboard. The new G3 and G4 processor place it on the processor card, which makes it much faster.

CD-R Drive

CD-R stands for Compact Disk Recordable, you can record onto the disk

CD

Compact Disks are a storage media capable of holding up to 640 megabytes of data.

Documents

Files that you create with your applications such as a word processor.

DVD

Similar to Compact Disks except they are double sided and can store twice as much data.

FireWire Port

Is a high speed digital interface capable of transfer rates as high as 50MB/second. It is a powered bus. This means that devices can receive the poser that they require in order to operate directly from the Mac's FireWIre ports without needing an external power supply.

Floppy Disc

Floppy disks are 3.5 inches in size and they can record up to 1.44 megabytes of data onto their magnetic media.

Hard Disk

A hardware component in your computer. It holds the programs and data that you have resident in your computer until someone deletes them.

ISDN

ISDN, Integrated Services Digital Network, a technology that relies on copper wires similar to those used for traditional phone lines to transmit data digitally. Used by some digital phone systems.

Keyboard

An input mechanism to enter data into your computer. Usually 104 keys.

Modem

A device that connects your computer via a telephone line to the outside world.

Monitor

A hardware component that displays information to you. Monitors vary in size and resolution(how many pixels can be displayed on the screen). Newer monitors utilize flat screen technology and take up very little room.

Mouse

Utilized to navigate and provide input to your computer. Some operate with a wheel and others are light sensoring or optical.

Motherboard

The main circuitboard of your computer. It contains the system information and many electronic chips that are needed for your computer to operate.

MP3

MP3 stands for MPEG-1 layer 3 meaning it uses a compression scheme similar to that of the MPEG video file format. MP3 files deliver near-CD quality but they are one-tenth the size of an equivalent uncompressed Audio Interchange File Format(AIFF)(used on a CD).

Operating System

The Software program that communicates with you machine to input instructions, print out data and manage all of your system resources. Examples are Windows 98, Macintosh, and UNIX.

Plug-Ins

Software Modules that add functionality to other software programs.

RAM Memory

Random Access Memory is responsible for storing your live information and keeping programs open while your computer is on. The more RAM you have installed the more software programs you can run at once.

Real Audio

Real Audio is the format used for streaming audio files using the Real Audio or real Video format, and the RealPlayer application.

Software

The portable set of instructions that you can install on your computer. It can be transported via disk, CD, or downloaded from the internet. Once installed the program can run independently from the installer disk or CD.

System BUS

The central pipeline for data that connects all the internal components of a MAC. It includes the drive controllers(hard drive,CD/DVD-ROM drives,Zip),the RAM memory, the processor,any ports, the ROM chips the computer boots off and any other internal components. Its speed controls how fast the various components of the MAC can exchange information.

USB Ports

Connections on your computer to attach external components such as printers, and scanners.

Vector Graphics

Vector graphics are made up of lines and curves defined by mathematical objects called vectors. Vectors describe an image according to its geometric characteristics. For example a bicycle tire in a vector graphic is made up of a mathematical definition of a circle drawn with a certain radius, set at a specific location, and filled with a specific color. Vector graphics are resolution-independent-they can be scaled to any size and printed at any resolution without losing detail or clarity.

WAV

WAV files are the Windows equivalent of MAC System Sounds. If you want a file to be easily playable on a PC, the WAV format is probably the best one you can use.

Zip Drive

A external or internal media a little larger that a floppy disk that stores data. They can hold up to 250 megabytes of data.

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Some definitions obtained from TroubleShooting, Maintaining and Repairing MACS by Ryan J. Faas with Stuart Brown and Kim Foglia.