- active program or window – The application or window at the front (foreground) on the monitor.
- alert – a message that appears on screen, usually to tell you something went wrong.
- application – a software program.
- bug – a programming error that causes a program to behave in an unexpected way.
- CD-ROM – an acronym for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory.
- 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.
- database – an electronic list of information that can be sorted and/or searched.
- defragment – (also known as optimise) to swtore fragments of data into contiguous blocks in memory or on a hard drive.
- desktop – 1. the backdrop of the computer's screen.
- dialog box – an on-screen message box that appears when the program requires additional information before completing a command.
- DOS – acronym for the Disk Operating System used in IBM PCs and their clones.
- download – to transfer data from one computer to another. (If you are receiving the data, you are downloading. If you are sending it, you are uploading).
- driver – a file which tells a computer how to communicate with an added piece of equipment (like a printer).
- 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.
- gig – a gigabyte = 1024 megabytes.
- GUI – a graphic user interface (like Windows). It's the system that renders your computer screen as a series of graphics that you only need to click, as compared to the complex lines of instructions we needed to type in the bad old days of DOS.
- hard drive - a large capacity storage device made of multiple disks housed in a rigid case. - a large capacity storage device made of multiple disks housed in a rigid case.
- highlight – to select by clicking once on an icon or by highlighting text in a document.
- icon - a graphic symbol for an application, file or folder.
- K, or kilobyte – 1024 bytes.
- LAN – local area network. It may be as simple as connecting two computers at home or as complex as a whole network of equipment in a commercial setting.
- landscape – to print sideways on the page.
- launch – start an application.
- MB or megabyte – 1024 kilobytes.
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- memory – the temporary holding area where data is stored while it is being used or changed; the amount of RAM a computer has installed.
- menu – a list of program commands listed by topic.
- nanosecond – one billionth of a second.
- operating system – the system software that controls the computer.
- palette – a small floating window that contains tools used in a given application.
- partition – a subdivision of a hard drives surface that is defined and used as a separate drive.
- paste – to insert text, or other material, from the clipboard.
- pop-up menu – any menu that does not appear at the top of the screen in the menu bar—may pop up or down.
- port – a connection socket.
- RAM – acronym for Random-Access Memory. (I've heard it called random "excess" memory, but you can't get enough of that...
- ROM – acronym for Read Only Memory; memory that can only be read from and not written to.
- root directory - the basic hard drive directory.
- save – to write a file onto a disk.
- save as – (a File menu item) to save a previously saved file in a new location and/or with a new name.
- scroll – to shift the contents of a window to bring hidden items into view.
- scroll bar – a bar at the bottom or right side of a window that contains the scroll box and allows scrolling.
- server – a central computer dedicated to sending and receiving data from other computers on a network.
- software – files on disk that contain instructions for a computer.
- spreadsheet – a program designed to look like an electronic ledger.
- surge protector – a power strip that has circuits designed to reduce the effects of surge in electrical power. (see also, UPS)
- upload – to send a file from one computer to another through a network.
- UPS, or Uninterrupted 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.
- virtual memory – part of your hard drive being used as though it were "RAM".
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