Technical Terminology

Question 1

auxiliary storage

Answer 1

a data storage device that is not the main memory of a computer

Question 2

backup (n/adj)

Answer 2

a copy of a program or file that is stored separately from the original

Question 3

back up (v)

Answer 3

to make a backup of a program or file

Question 4

binary

Answer 4

1. characterized by or consisting of two parts of components; twofold
2. of or relating to a system of numeration having 2 as its base

Question 5

bit

Answer 5

the smallest unit of computer memory. A bit holds one of two possible values, either of the binary digits 0 or 1. The term comes from the phrase binary digit

Question 6

byte

Answer 6

a sequence of adjacent bits operated on as a unit by a computer. A byte usually consists of eight bits. Amounts of computer memory are often expressed in terms of megabytes or gigabytes

Question 7

boot up

Answer 7

causing the computer to start executing instructions. PCs and Macs contain built-in instructions in a ROM or flash memory chip that are automatically executed on startup. These instructions search for the operating system, load it and pass control to it. Starting up a large computer may require more button pushing and keyboard input

Question 8

CAT

Answer 8

Computer-Aided Transcription is the foundation of realtime in which a computer translates machine shorthand outlies into English

Question 9

chip

Answer 9

a small piece of semiconducting material (usually silicon) on which an integrated circuit is embedded.

Question 10

hardware

Answer 10

major items of equipment or their components used for a particular purpose

Question 11

operating system

Answer 11

the most important program that runs on a computer. Every general-purpose computer must have an operating system to run other programs. Operating systems perform basic tasks, such as recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen, keeping track of files and directories on the disk, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers

Question 12

modem

Answer 12

short for modular-demodulator. A modem is a device or program that enables a computer to transmit data over, for example, telephone or cable lines. Computer information is stored digitally, whereas information transmitted over telephone lines is transmitted in the form of analog waves. A modem coverts between these two forms

Question 13

peripheral

Answer 13

a computer device, such as a CD-ROM drive or printer, that is not part of the essential computer, i.e., the memory and microprocessor. Peripheral devices can be external – such as a mouse, keyboard, printer, monitor, external zip drive or scanner

Question 14

RAM

Answer 14

pronounced ramm, acronym for Random Access Memory, a type of computer memory that can be accessed randomly; that is, by any byte of memory can be assessed without touching the proceeding bytes. RAM is the most common type of memory found in computers and other devices, such as printers

Question 15

software

Answer 15

computer instructions or date. Anything that can be stored electronically is software. The storage devices and display devices are hardware. Computer software is a general term that describes computer programs

Question 16

ASCII

Answer 16

a code for information exchange between computers made by different companies; a string of 7 binary digits represents each character; used in most microcomputers. American Standard Code for Information Interchange a.k.a. binary file

Question 17

byte

Answer 17

a sequence of 8 bits (enough to represent one character of alphanumeric data) processed as a single unit of information such as a letter or number. Abbreviation for binary term. A megabyte equals 1 million bytes

Question 18

CPU

Answer 18

Central Processing Unit. It is the brains of the computer. It is where most calculations take place. It is the most important element of a computer system

Question 19

defragment

Answer 19

to optimize a disk by unfragmenting files

Question 20

fragmentation

Answer 20

refers to the condition of a disk in which files are divided into pieces scattered around the disk. Fragmentation occurs naturally when you use a disk frequently, creating, deleting, and modifying files. At some point, the operating system needs to store parts of a file in noncontiguous clusters. Can slow down a computer

Question 21

MPEG file

Answer 21

short for Moving Picture Experts Group, it is a working group of the ISO. The term also refers to the family of digital video compression standards and file formats developed by the group. MPEG generally produces better-quality video than competing formats. MPEG files are compressed files that allow for ease of emailing video and audio files

Question 22

PDF

Answer 22

short for Portable Document Format, a file format developed by Adobe Systems. PDF captures formatting information from a variety of desktop publishing applications, making it possible to send formatted documents and have them appear on the recipient’s monitor or printer as they were intended

Question 23

RAM

Answer 23

an acronym for Random Access Memory, a type of computer memory that can be accessed randomly; that is, any byte of memory can be assessed without touching the preceding bytes. RAM is the most common type of memory found in computers and other devices, such as printers

Question 24

ROM

Answer 24

an acronym for Read-Only Memory, computer memory on which data has been prerecorded. Once data has been written onto a ROM chip, it cannot be removed and can only be read. Unlike main memory (RAM), ROM retains its contents when the computer is turned off. ROM is referred to as nonvolatile, whereas RAM is volatile. Most personal computers contain a small amount of ROM that stores critical programs such as the program that boots the computer