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- AC Adaptor
- An electrical device that allows battery-operated
to be plugged in and run from a wall outlet.
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- Alias (shortcut)
- 1. An icon located on the computer desktop, which
provides a shortcut to an application, cutting through layers of containing
folders.
- 2. A connector/term used in searching databases
which indicates that for two statements/rules/criteria only records
satisfying both statements/rules/criteria should be selected.
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- Anonymous FTP
- An FTP site on the internet that allows anyone to
retrieve files or programs but it can only be updated by the owner.
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- Animation
- The design or making of an object in such a way as
to make it appear to have motion.
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- Appletalk
- A protocol (language) by which an Apple or
Macintosh computer or peripheral device like a printer "talks" or
communicates with other computers on a network.
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- Application/program
- Thematic software, installed on a workstation, that
performs a specific function as directed by a user.
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- Arrange (sort)
- A process of organizing the records in a database
in a specific order, either alphabetically (from A to Z or reverse
alphabetically from Z to A) or numerically (from 0 to 9 or reverse
numerically from 9 to 0).
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- Arrow keys
- Keys on a keyboard that move the cursor left or
right, up or down.
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- Backspace/Delete key
- Key on a keyboard that moves the cursor to the left
one space at a time and, on some keyboards and with most word processing
software, deletes characters. (Kybdy, Gr. 1)
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- Booting
- The process of loading the operating system
software into memory to start up a computer. Also called starting.
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- Bulletin board service (BBS)
- A place on the network where public messages can be
left and one message can reach all users. Users dial into the BBS and
exchange information between users such as news, computer programs and
games. Users can "talk" to other users who are on the BBS at the
same time. Some BBS's allow internet access (AOL,
CompuServe, Prodigy
).
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- Button
- In hypermedia programs, an object or feature used
to create links between different cards, to initiate other actions, or to
reproduce sound. For example, a button can be created to send a message to a
laserdisc player to run a video segment. Most often, the button reacts to a
single-click with the mouse (as opposed to an icon which requires a
double-click)
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- Cache
- Cache, not cash ... but pronounced the same way, is
a special type of computer memory that operates at a very high speed. It is
similar to RAM but is much faster. It is usually used by the CPU as a
storage place for processing instructions. When the computer is shut down
any information held in the cache memory is lost.
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- Camcorder
- A hand-held video camera.
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- Caps Lock key
- Key on a keyboard that is used to key all capital
letters.
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- Card
- In hypermedia programs, an electronic card that is
used to store some type of data. Cards have different components used for
information storage or actions. For example, a card might have a picture of
a tiger, a button to press to hear sound, and text describing a tiger. Cards
of information form a hypermedia stack.
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- CD-ROM
- Stands for Compact Disk Read Only Memory. An
optical disk that can only be read from and not written to.
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- Cell
- The intersection of a row and a column on a
spreadsheet in which data can be entered. Cells are designated by their
column letter and row number &emdash; B4.
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- Centering
- To place text horizontally or vertically in the
middle of a page.
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- Central Processing Unit (CPU)
- The main component, or "brain," of a
computer. It is the chip that performs all of the information processing.
The piece of hardware that contains the CPU is often called the CPU.
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- Claris Home Page
- A software package and application
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- Claris Impact
- A software program for devising presentations
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- Claris Works Investment Tracker
- An, "assistant," within the Claris
Works application program (home assistant)
which allows the suer to track personal investments.
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- Client/Server
- Network architecture incorporating distributed
processing (i.e. a task is divided between a back end (server), which stores
and distributes data, and a front end (client), which requests specific data
from the server).
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- Clip art
- A series of picture files that are stored on a disk
that can be "clipped" and pasted into a document.
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- Clipboard
- The invisible place on the computer where copied or
cut images and text are stored for pasting in another document or
application. The clipboard is a "temporary" storage place.
Information stored there is lost when the computer is shut down.
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- Column
- The vertical divisions of a spreadsheet that
intersect the horizontal divisions (rows) to form cells in which data can be
entered. Columns are labeled alphabetically (A,B,C,...AB,AC,AD...).
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- Computer
- An electronic machine that can perform calculations
and can process a large amount of information accurately and much more
rapidly than the human brain.
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- Computer-Accessible News Sources
- A computer database of news and information which
is updated frequently, usually daily, and available to be searched by dates
and keywords.
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- Computer-generated effects
- The use of a computer in making a film to create
certain effects.
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- Computer graphics
- The creation, display, and storage of pictures with
a computer.
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- Computer-related vandalism
- Act of damaging, altering, or destroying a
computer, computer peripherals, computer software, or computer service.
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- Connectors
- A term used in searching databases which indicates
which records satisfying one statement/rule/criterion or both should be
selected. The
- two most common connectors are "and" and
"or."
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- Copy
- To highlight a section or whole document and leave
it unaffected but make a duplicate and put it in another place.
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- Copyright law
- A law granting to a copyright holder, exclusive
legal rights to the sale, distribution or duplication of his copyrighted
product.
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- CPU
- CPU stands for Central Processing Unit and is
often, simply called, the processor. It is your computer's brain and is
located in "the box" ... that boxy part of your computer system
that looks like an ugly stereo component. In a PC the CPU is a
microprocessor chip ... you know those "Intel Inside" TV
commercials where a computer opens up and you see a computer chip? ...
that's the CPU. Many people also refer to "the box" as the CPU.
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- Cursor
- A highlighted or bright (sometimes blinking) line
or other mark that shows where information is being input; that is, where
the next letter or character will appear. Sometimes the cursor is a special
picture or icon.
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- Data
- A general term for pieces of information that a
computer processes.
-
- Database (computer, current, print)
- A collection of data organized for search and
retrieval. Computer databases are accessed by computer; print databases are
available in printed format. A current database is a collection of data
updated frequently (hourly, daily, weekly, etc.) and is usually a computer
database.
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- Database records
- A collection of field information in a database.
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- Default directory
- Programs that are required to save information to
the hard drive or disk drives such as word processor documents or spread
sheets usually have what is called a default directory. This is the location
the program will save the files to when required. Usually the default
directory can be set by the user in the program options menu.
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- Delete/Backspace key
- Key on a keyboard that moves the cursor to the left
one space at a time and, on some keyboards and with most word processing
software, deletes characters.
-
- Desktop
- The, "blotter," on the monitor where
icons for the computer's hard drive, external drives, trashcan or recycle
bin, and aliases appear.
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- Desktop publishing
- A computerized layout program that integrates
graphics and text to produce a professional looking document.
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- Digital
- Coded information in numerical format.
-
- Digital camera
- (QuickTake, etc.)
A device which records images in numerical format (see digital) and saves
the images on disk (rather than on film). The images can then be downloaded
into a computer and converted to viewable and printable formats (QuickTake
is the brand name of the Apple digital
camera).
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- Digitized effects
- To change analog information into digital
information that the computer can use to produce certain effects. For
example, when a picture is scanned, the picture image is digitized. This
means that the picture image is converted to a digital or numerical format.
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- Directory
- A catalogue for filenames and other directories
stored on a disk; a way of organizing and grouping files on a disk so that
the user is not overwhelmed by a long list of files. All the filenames
belonging to a particular project, for example, might be kept together in
one directory. The topmost directory is called the Root Directory; the
directories within a directory are called Sub-Directories.
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- Disk drive
- The device that reads from and writes to a floppy
disk or hard disk.
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- Diskette
- The most common storage device used with
microcomputers. 1. (also floppy disk) A flexible disk, made of thin plastic
and magnetically coated. It is protected by a jacket that has openings to
allow the disk drive to read or write information. 2. (also rigid disk) A
floppy disk covered by a hard plastic jacket with a metal slide moved to
read or write information.
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- DOS
- Disk Operating System
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- Double space
- When keying text, the act of spacing text two lines
apart.
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- Download
- Transferring information electronically from
another computer to your computer.
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- Edit/editing
- 1. To change or make corrections in a document. 2.
To make any change to the contents of a database.
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- EDO RAM
- EDO RAM stands for Extended Data-Out RAM and is
about 10% faster than regular old RAM. Why? We don't know ... if you find
out could ya let us know? We don't pretend to know everything!
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- Electronic thesaurus
- A disk-based thesaurus for on-screen use.
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- E-mail
- Private messages, called electronic mail, that are
sent and received over a computer network.
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- Enter/Entering
- To type an item of information into a field in a
database.
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- EPS
- Encapsulated PostScript is a file format, commonly
referred to as simply "postscript". An EPS file contains
postscript code that only a PostScript printer can print (very expensive) as
well as a "preview" image of the file that can be seen and
manipulated on screen. Usually used by printing companies for high
resolution output.
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- ESC key
- Key on a keyboard that is used to "move
around"
- with a program.
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- Ethical
- Conforming to accepted professional standards of
conduct.
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- Extensions
- Programs that are loaded automatically when you
start up the computer. These include printer drivers (Chooser items) which
let your computer access different printers and other
system extensions that enable functions
such as file-sharing.
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- Field/category
- 1. An item of information in a record of a file in
a database. 2. In hypermedia, an object or area on a card or page where text
is entered.
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- File
- 1. A collection of related records in a database.
2. A word processing document.
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- File format
- File format refers a files' type based on a files'
structure, layout ... basically how a particular file handles the
information contained within that file. A files' format is usually indicated
by the three or four letter extension in the filename (filename.xxx).
Examples of file formats are; .gif, .html, .doc, .txt, .wav ... etc. All of
these file formats handle different information (sounds, words, images) in
different ways.
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- Finder
- The application program that maintains the
Macintosh desktop and starts up other programs at your request. You use it
to manage programs and documents, and to get information to and from disks.
The Finder is what you see when you start up your computer.
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- Firewall
- Not the same as in an apartment but does serve a
similar purpose in that it keeps things out. For an apartment that would be
fire. For a computer that would be users or intruders trying to access
unauthorized information on a network system which could include the
internet.
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- Flip book
- A book of images and words created for the purpose
of producing an "animation" or action by flipping the pages
rapidly.
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- Floppy disk
- A removable storage device, the capacity of which
is usually 800k (kilobytes) or 1.4 Mb (megabytes) used to store information
or to transport data from one drive to another.
-
- Floppy drive
- The small, "external," drive on a
computer where floppy disks are inserted and from which files may be copied,
run, and otherwise manipulated.
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- Font
- A specific design for a set of letters and
characters.
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- Formula
- A type of information that can be entered into a
spreadsheet cell. It is a mathematical equation consisting of numbers, other
cell designators, and symbols for mathematical operations. The result of the
formula is displayed in the cell that holds the formula.
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- Freeware
- A copyrighted program for which the user is not
obligated to compensate the author in any manner; a form of shareware.
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- FTP
- File Transfer Protocol, a protocol which allows a
user on one computer to access and transfer files to and from another
computer over a network.
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- GIF
- Graphic Interchange Format, a universal format for
storing and viewing graphics and images, especially pn the Worldwide Web.
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- Gigabyte or GB
- One billion bytes ... ouch! Now that's depending on
who you talk to. Hard drive manufacturers use an even number as a mutliplier.
In this case 1 GB would be 1,000,000,000 Bytes. Computer programmers use a
slightly different approach. Everything in computers evolves from a multiple
of 2, it is either on or off. Therefore 1 GB would be 1,073,741,824 bytes or
2 to the power of 30 bytes. The first approach is more commonly used.
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- Gopher
- A huge menu system for the Internet that was
developed at the University of Minnesota, whose mascot is the Golden Gopher.
It will "Go-fer information on the Internet". Get it?
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- Grammar checker
- A software program that checks for possible grammar
mistakes. Suggestions or corrections are often given.
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- Graphic
- A pictorial display generated by a computer or
imaging device.
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- Graphing
- A feature in a software program that allows
numerical data to be interpreted as a graph or chart.
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- GUI
- Graphical User Interface, mouse/icon oriented
software used to access software applications.
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- Hacker
- Computer users who enjoy tinkering with computers
as a way to develop new features or who intentionally access a single
computer, system or a network without permission to do so. They can be there
simply to look around or they can be there to destroy.
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