New Vocabularies

1. CHAPTER 2

2. APPLICATION SOFTWARE
APPLICATION SOFTWARE MIGHT BE DESCRIBED AS END USER SOFTWARE.

3. BASIC APPLICATION
BASIC APPLICATION OR GENERAL-PURPOSE APPLICATION ARE WIDELY USED
IN NEARLY ALL CAREER AREAS.

4. COMMUNICATION DEVICE
A COMMUNICATION DEVICE IS PIECE OF EQUIPMENT OR HARDWARE
DESIGNED TO MOVE INFORMATION OR DATA FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER,
IN OTHER WORDS, ALLOWING ONE COMPUTER DEVICE

5. COMPACT DISC (CD)
COMPACT DISC (CD) IS A DIGITAL OPTICAL DISC DATA STORAGE FORMAT. THE
FORMAT WAS ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED TO STORE AND PLAY SOUND
RECORDINGS ONLY (CD-DA), BUT WAS LATER ADAPTED FOR STORAGE OF
DATA (CD-ROM).

6. COMPUTER COMPETENCY
COMPUTER COMPETENCY IS A PROCESS WHEREBY A STUDENT
DEMONSTRATES HIS OR HER ABILITY TO PERFORM COLLEGE LEVEL BASIC
COMPUTING WORK. THIS PROCESS INCLUDES THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION
OF A COMPUTER COMPETENCY EXAM OR THE COMPLETION OF A SPECIFIED
COMPUTER COURSE.

7. COMPUTER NETWORK
COMPUTER NETWORK IS A GROUP OF COMPUTERS CONNECTED TO EACH
OTHER ELECTRONICALLY. THIS MEANS THAT THE COMPUTERS CAN "TALK" TO
EACH OTHER AND THAT EVERY COMPUTER IN THE NETWORK CAN SEND
INFORMATION TO THE OTHERS.

8. CONNECTIVITY
CONNECTIVITY, ALLOWS COMPUTERS TO CONNECT AND TO SHARE
INFORMATION.

9. DATA
THE RAW, UNPROCESSED FACTS, INCLUDING TEXT , NUMBERS , IMAGES AND
SOUNDS ARE CALLED DATA.

10. DATABASE FILE
A DATABASE FILE IS AN ORGANIZED COLLECTION OF DATA. THE DATA ARE
TYPICALLY ORGANIZED TO MODEL ASPECTS OF REALITY IN A WAY THAT
SUPPORTS PROCESSES REQUIRING THIS INFORMATION.

11. DEVICE DRIVER
IN COMPUTING, A DEVICE DRIVER (COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS SIMPLY A
DRIVER) IS A COMPUTER PROGRAM THAT OPERATES OR CONTROLS A
PARTICULAR TYPE OF DEVICE THAT IS ATTACHED TO A COMPUTER.

12. DESKTOP COMPUTER
A DESKTOP COMPUTER IS A PERSONAL COMPUTER IN A FORM INTENDED FOR
REGULAR USE AT A SINGLE LOCATION DESK/TABLE DUE TO ITS SIZE AND
POWER REQUIREMENTS, AS OPPOSED TO A LAPTOP WHOSE RECHARGEABLE
BATTERY AND COMPACT DIMENSIONS ALLOW IT TO BE REGULARLY CARRIED
AND USED IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.

13. DIGITAL VERSATILE DISC (DVD)
DVD (SOMETIMES EXPLAINED AS "DIGITAL VIDEO DISC" OR "DIGITAL VERSATILE
DISC"[5][6]) IS A DIGITAL OPTICAL DISC STORAGE FORMAT, INVENTED AND
DEVELOPED BY PHILIPS, SONY, TOSHIBA, AND PANASONIC IN 1995. DVDS CAN
BE PLAYED IN MANY TYPES OF PLAYERS, INCLUDING DVD PLAYERS. DVDS
OFFER HIGHER STORAGE CAPACITY THAN COMPACT DISCS WHILE HAVING THE
SAME DIMENSIONS.

14. DIGITAL VIDEO DISC (DVD)
DVD (SOMETIMES EXPLAINED AS "DIGITAL VIDEO DISC" OR "DIGITAL VERSATILE
DISC"[5][6]) IS A DIGITAL OPTICAL DISC STORAGE FORMAT, INVENTED AND
DEVELOPED BY PHILIPS, SONY, TOSHIBA, AND PANASONIC IN 1995. DVDS CAN
BE PLAYED IN MANY TYPES OF PLAYERS, INCLUDING DVD PLAYERS. DVDS
OFFER HIGHER STORAGE CAPACITY THAN COMPACT DISCS WHILE HAVING THE
SAME DIMENSIONS.

15. DOCUMENT FILE
A DOCUMENT FILE FORMAT IS A TEXT OR BINARY FILE FORMAT FOR STORING
DOCUMENTS ON A STORAGE MEDIA, ESPECIALLY FOR USE BY COMPUTERS.
THERE CURRENTLY EXISTS A MULTITUDE OF INCOMPATIBLE DOCUMENT FILE
FORMATS.

16. END USER
PEOPLE, END USERS LIKE YOU, MORE PRODUCTIVE.

17. FLOPPY DISK
A FLOPPY DISK, OR DISKETTE, IS A DISK STORAGE MEDIUM COMPOSED OF A
DISK OF THIN AND FLEXIBLE MAGNETIC STORAGE MEDIUM, SEALED IN A
RECTANGULAR PLASTIC CARRIER LINED WITH FABRIC THAT REMOVES DUST
PARTICLES. FLOPPY DISKS ARE READ AND WRITTEN BY A FLOPPY DISK DRIVE
(FDD).

18. GENERAL-PURPOSE APPLICATION
BASIC APPLICATION OR GENERAL-PURPOSE APPLICATION ARE WIDELY USED
IN NEARLY ALL CAREER AREAS. THEY ARE THE KINDS OF PROGRAMS YOU
HAVE TO KNOW TO BE CONSIDCAREER AREAS.

19. HANDHELD COMPUTER
A HANDHELD PC, OR H/PC FOR SHORT, IS A COMPUTER BUILT AROUND A FORM
FACTOR WHICH IS SMALLER THAN ANY STANDARD LAPTOP COMPUTER. IT IS
SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS A PALMTOP. THE FIRST HAND-HELD DEVICE
COMPATIBLE WITH DESKTOP IBM PERSONAL COMPUTERS OF THE TIME WAS
THE ATARI PORTFOLIO OF 1989. OTHER EARLY MODELS WERE THE POQET PC
OF 1989 AND THE HEWLETT PACKARD HP 95LX OF 1991. OTHER DOS-
COMPATIBLE HAND-HELD COMPUTERS ALSO EXISTED.

20. HARD DISK
A HARD DISK DRIVE (HDD)[B] IS A DATA STORAGE DEVICE USED FOR STORING
AND RETRIEVING DIGITAL INFORMATION USING RAPIDLY ROTATING DISKS
(PLATTERS) COATED WITH MAGNETIC MATERIAL.[2] AN HDD RETAINS ITS DATA
EVEN WHEN POWERED OFF. DATA IS READ IN A RANDOM-ACCESS MANNER,
MEANING INDIVIDUAL BLOCKS OF DATA CAN BE STORED OR RETRIEVED IN ANY
ORDER RATHER THAN SEQUENTIALLY. AN HDD CONSISTS OF ONE OR MORE
RIGID ("HARD") RAPIDLY ROTATING DISKS (PLATTERS) WITH MAGNETIC HEADS
ARRANGED ON A MOVING ACTUATOR ARM TO READ AND WRITE DATA TO THE
SURFACES.

21. HARDWARE
THE EQUIPMENT THAT PROCESSES THE DATA TO CREATE INFORMATION IS
CALLED HARDWARE

22. INFORMATION
THE PURPOSE OF SOFTWARE IS TO CONVERT DATA INTO INFORMATION.

23. INFORMATION SYSTEM
AN INFORMATION SYSTEM HAS FIVE PARTS : PEOPLE , PROCEDURES ,
SOFTWARE , HARDWARE AND DATA.

24. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT), INCLUDING SOFTWARE , HARDWARE AND
DATA

25. INPUT DEVICE
TRANSLATE DATA AND PROGRAM THAT HUMANS CAN UNDERSTAND INTO A
FORM THAT THE COMPUTER CAN PROCESS.

26. INTERNET
THE INTERNET IS A GLOBAL SYSTEM OF INTERCONNECTED COMPUTER
NETWORKS THAT USE THE STANDARD INTERNET PROTOCOL SUITE (TCP/IP) TO
LINK SEVERAL BILLION DEVICES WORLDWIDE. IT IS AN INTERNATIONAL
NETWORK OF NETWORKS THAT CONSISTS OF MILLIONS OF PRIVATE, PUBLIC,
ACADEMIC, BUSINESS, AND GOVERNMENT PACKET SWITCHED NETWORKS,
LINKED BY A BROAD ARRAY OF ELECTRONIC, WIRELESS, AND OPTICAL
NETWORKING TECHNOLOGIES. THE INTERNET CARRIES AN EXTENSIVE RANGE
OF INFORMATION RESOURCES AND SERVICES, SUCH AS THE INTER-LINKED
HYPERTEXT DOCUMENTS AND APPLICATIONS OF THE WORLD WIDE WEB
(WWW), THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT EMAIL, AND PEER-TO-PEER
NETWORKS FOR FILE SHARING AND TELEPHONY.

27. KEYBOARD
TRANSLATE DATA AND PROGRAM THAT HUMANS CAN UNDERSTAND INTO A
FORM THAT THE COMPUTER CAN PROCESS. THE MOST COMMON INPUT
DEVICES ARE THE KEYBOARD.

28. LAPTOP COMPUTER
ALTERNATIVELY REFERRED TO AS A NOTEBOOK, A LAPTOP IS A PORTABLE
COMPUTER THAT WITH THE SAME ABILITIES AS A DESKTOP, BUT IS SMALL
ENOUGH FOR EASY MOBILITY. PORTABLE COMPUTERS RUN OFF AC POWER
OR BATTERIES, SUCH AS NIMH OR NICAD PACKS, FOR A FEW HOURS.

29. MAINFRAME COMPUTER
MAINFRAME COMPUTERS (COLLOQUIALLY REFERRED TO AS "BIG IRON"[1]) ARE
COMPUTERS USED PRIMARILY BY CORPORATE AND GOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS FOR CRITICAL APPLICATIONS, BULK DATA PROCESSING SUCH
AS CENSUS, INDUSTRY AND CONSUMER STATISTICS, ENTERPRISE RESOURCE
PLANNING AND TRANSACTION PROCESSING.

30. MEMORY
MEMORY, ALSO KNOWN AS PRIMARY STORAGE OR RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY
(RAM)

31. MICROCOMPUTER
A MICROCOMPUTER IS A SMALL, RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE COMPUTER WITH A
MICROPROCESSOR AS ITS CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU).[2] IT INCLUDES
A MICROPROCESSOR, MEMORY, AND INPUT/OUTPUT (I/O) FACILITIES.

32. MICROPROCESSOR
THE MICROPROCESSOR CONTROLS AND MANIPULATES DATA TO PRODUCE
INFORMATION.

33. MIDRANGE COMPUTER
MIDRANGE COMPUTERS, OR MIDRANGE SYSTEMS, ARE A CLASS OF
COMPUTER SYSTEMS WHICH FALL IN BETWEEN MAINFRAME COMPUTERS AND
MICROCOMPUTERS.
THE CLASS EMERGED IN THE 1960S AND MACHINES WERE GENERALLY KNOWN
AT THE TIME AS MINICOMPUTERS - ESPECIALLY MODELS FROM DIGITAL
EQUIPMENT CORPORATION (PDP LINE), DATA GENERAL, HEWLETT-PACKARD
(HP3000 LINE AND SUCCESSORS), AND SUN MICROSYSTEMS (SPARC
ENTERPRISE). THESE WERE WIDELY USED IN SCIENCE AND RESEARCH AS
WELL AS FOR BUSINESS.

34. MINICOMPUTER
A MINICOMPUTER, OR COLLOQUIALLY MINI, IS A CLASS OF
SMALLER COMPUTERS THAT EVOLVED IN THE MID-1960S AND SOLD FOR MUCH
LESS THAN MAINFRAMEAND MID-SIZE COMPUTERS FROM IBM AND ITS DIRECT
COMPETITORS.

35. MODEM
A MODEM (MODULATOR-DEMODULATOR) IS A DEVICE THAT MODULATES AN
ANALOG CARRIER SIGNAL TO ENCODE DIGITAL INFORMATION AND
DEMODULATES THE SIGNAL TO DECODE THE TRANSMITTED INFORMATION.

36. MONITOR
THE MOST COMMON OUTPUT DEVICES ARE MONITORS.

37. NETWORK
A NETWORK CONSISTS OF TWO OR MORE COMPUTERS THAT ARE LINKED IN
ORDER TO SHARE RESOURCES (SUCH AS PRINTERS AND CDS), EXCHANGE
FILES, OR ALLOW ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS. THE COMPUTERS ON A
NETWORK MAY BE LINKED THROUGH CABLES, TELEPHONE LINES, RADIO
WAVES, SATELLITES, OR INFRARED LIGHT BEAMS.

38. NOTEBOOK COMPUTER
A LAPTOP IS A PORTABLE PERSONAL COMPUTER WITH A CLAMSHELL FORM
FACTOR, SUITABLE FOR MOBILE USE.[1] THEY ARE ALSO SOMETIMES CALLED
NOTEBOOK COMPUTERS OR NOTEBOOKS. LAPTOPS ARE COMMONLY USED IN
A VARIETY OF SETTINGS, INCLUDING WORK, EDUCATION, AND PERSONAL
MULTIMEDIA.

39. OPERATING SYSTEM
OPERATING SYSTEM ARE PROGRAMS THAT COORDINATE COMPUTER
RESOURCES, PROVIDE AN INTERFACE BETWEEN USERS AND THE COMPUTER,
AND RUN APPLICATION.

40. OPTICAL DISK
IN COMPUTING AND OPTICAL DISC RECORDING TECHNOLOGIES, AN OPTICAL
DISC (OD) IS A FLAT, USUALLY CIRCULAR DISC WHICH ENCODES BINARY DATA
(BITS) IN THE FORM OF PITS (BINARY VALUE OF 0 OR OFF, DUE TO LACK OF
REFLECTION WHEN READ) AND LANDS (BINARY VALUE OF 1 OR ON, DUE TO A
REFLECTION WHEN READ) ON A SPECIAL MATERIAL ON ONE OF ITS FLAT
SURFACES.

41. OUTPUT DEVICE
TRANSLATE THE PROCESSED INFORMATION FROM THE COMPUTER INTO A
FORM THAT HUMANS CAN UNDERSTAND.

42. PALM COMPUTER
PALM HANDHELDS WERE PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANTS (PDAS) THAT RAN
THE PALM OS.ON 28 APRIL 2010 IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT HEWLETT-PACKARD
WOULD ACQUIRE PALM FOR AROUND US$1.2BN. ALTHOUGH HP KEPT THE PALM
BRAND INITIALLY, ALL NEW PDA DEVICES ANNOUNCED AT PRESS
ANNOUNCEMENT ON FEBRUARY 9, 2011, WERE BRANDED AS HP DEVICES, NOT
AS PALM DEVICES.

43. PEOPLE
IT IS EASY TO OVERLOOK PEOPLE AS ONE OF THE FIVE PARTS OF AN
INFORMATION SYSTEM.

44. PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANT (PDA)
A PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANT (PDA), ALSO KNOWN AS A PALMTOP
COMPUTER, OR PERSONAL DATA ASSISTANT IS A MOBILE DEVICE THAT
FUNCTIONS AS A PERSONAL INFORMATION MANAGER. PDAS ARE LARGELY
CONSIDERED OBSOLETE WITH THE WIDESPREAD ADOPTION OF
SMARTPHONES.

45. PRESENTATION FILE
A PRESENTATION IS THE PROCESS OF PRESENTING A TOPIC TO AN AUDIENCE.
IT IS TYPICALLY A DEMONSTRATION, LECTURE, OR SPEECH MEANT TO INFORM,
PERSUADE, OR BUILD GOOD WILL. THE TERM CAN ALSO BE USED FOR A
FORMAL OR RITUALIZED INTRODUCTION OR OFFERING, AS WITH THE
PRESENTATION OF A DEBUTANTE.

46. PRIMARY STORAGE
MEMORY, ALSO KNOWN AS PRIMARY STORAGE OR RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY,
HOLDS DATA AND PROGRAM INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROCESSING THE DATA.

47. PRINTER
THE MOST COMMON OUTPUT DEVICES ARE PRINTERS.

48. PROCEDURES
THE RULES OR GUIDELINES FOR PEOPLE TO FOLLOW WHEN USING
SOFTWARE , HARDWARE AND DATA ARE PROCEDURES.

49. PROGRAM
A PROGRAM CONSISTS OF THE STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS THAT TELL THE
COMPUTER HOW TO DO ITS WORK.

50. RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY (RAM)
MEMORY, ALSO KNOWN AS PRIMARY STORAGE OR RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY,
HOLDS DATA AND PROGRAM INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROCESSING THE DATA.

51. SECONDARY STORAGE DEVICE
SECONDARY STORAGE TECHNOLOGY REFERS TO STORAGE DEVICES AND
STORAGE MEDIA THAT ARE NOT ALWAYS DIRECTLY ACCESSIBLE BY A
COMPUTER. THIS DIFFERS FROM PRIMARY STORAGE TECHNOLOGY, SUCH AS
AN INTERNAL HARD DRIVE, WHICH IS CONSTANTLY AVAILABLE.

52. SERVICE PROGRAM
SERVICE PROGRAM, PERFORM SPECIFIC TASKS RELATED TO MANAGING
COMPUTER RESOURCES.

53. SOFTWARE
SOFTWARE IS ANOTHER NAME FOR A PROGRAM OR PROGRAMS.

54. SPECIALIZED APPLICATION
SPECIALIZED APPLICATIONS, ALSO KNOWN AS SPECIAL-PURPOSE
APPLICATION, INCLUDE THOUSANDS OF OTHER PROGRAMS THAT ARE MORE
NARROWLY FOCUSED ON SPECIFIC DISCIPLINES AND OCCUPATIONS.

55. SPECIAL-PURPOSE APPLICATION
SPECIALIZED APPLICATIONS, ALSO KNOWN AS SPECIAL-PURPOSE
APPLICATION, INCLUDE THOUSANDS OF OTHER PROGRAMS THAT ARE MORE
NARROWLY FOCUSED ON SPECIFIC DISCIPLINES AND OCCUPATIONS.

56. SUPER COMPUTER
A SUPERCOMPUTER IS A COMPUTER AT THE FRONTLINE OF CONTEMPORARY
PROCESSING CAPACITY – PARTICULARLY SPEED OF CALCULATION WHICH CAN
HAPPEN AT SPEEDS OF NANOSECONDS.

57. SYSTEM CABINET
SYSTEM CABINET OR CHASSIS, IS A CONTAINER THAT HOUSES MOST OF THE
ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS THAT MAKE UP A COMPUTER SYSTEM.

58. SYSTEM SOFTWARE
SYSTEM SOFTWARE ENABLES THE APPLICATION SOFTWARE TO INTERACT
WITH THE COMPUTER HARDWARE.

59. SYSTEM UNIT
SYSTEM UNIT, ALSO KNOWN AS THE SYSTEM CABINET OR CHASSIS, IS A
CONTAINER THAT HOUSES MOST OF THE ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS THAT
MAKE UP A COMPUTER SYSTEM.

60. TABLET PC
A KIND OF MOBILE COMPUTER, USUALLY HAVING A TOUCHSCREEN OR PEN-
ENABLED INTERFACE.

61. TEMPORARY STORAGE
MEMORY IS SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS TEMPORARY STORAGE BECAUSE
ITS CONTENTS WILL TYPICALLY BE LOST IF THE ELECTRICAL POWER TO THE
COMPUTER IS DISRUPTED.

62. UTILITY
UTILITY, ALSO KNOWN AS SERVICE PROGRAM, PERFORM SPECIFIC TASKS
RELATED TO MANAGING COMPUTER RESOURCES.

63. VIDEO DISPLAY SCREEN
THE MOST COMMON OUTPUT DEVICES ARE VIDEO DISPLAY SCREEN.

64. WEB
THE WORLD WIDE WEB (ABBREVIATED AS WWW OR W3,[1] COMMONLY KNOWN
AS THE WEB) IS A SYSTEM OF INTERLINKED HYPERTEXT DOCUMENTS THAT
ARE ACCESSED VIA THE INTERNET. WITH A WEB BROWSER, ONE CAN VIEW
WEB PAGES THAT MAY CONTAIN TEXT, IMAGES, VIDEOS, AND OTHER
MULTIMEDIA AND NAVIGATE BETWEEN THEM VIA HYPERLINKS.

65. WIRELESS REVOLUTION
THE BEST WAY TO EXPLAIN THE WIRELESS REVOLUTION IS THAT IT IS WHEN
INTERNET AND NETWORKING WAS BREAKING FREE OF THE CONSTRAINTS OF
CABLES. FOR EXAMPLE, MANY OLDER NETWORKS WERE LAN BASED. NOW
MOST SMALLER NETWORKS HAVE BECOME COMPLETELY WIRELESS.

66. WORKSHEET FILE
A WORKSHEET GENERATOR IS A SOFTWARE PROGRAM THAT GENERATES
PROBLEMS, PARTICULARLY IN MATHEMATICS OR NUMERACY. SUCH SOFTWARE
IS OFTEN USED BY TEACHERS TO MAKE CLASSROOM MATERIALS AND TESTS.

67. WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW)
THE WORLD WIDE WEB (ABBREVIATED AS WWW OR W3,[1] COMMONLY KNOWN
AS THE WEB) IS A SYSTEM OF INTERLINKED HYPERTEXT DOCUMENTS THAT
ARE ACCESSED VIA THE INTERNET. WITH A WEB BROWSER, ONE CAN VIEW
WEB PAGES THAT MAY CONTAIN TEXT, IMAGES, VIDEOS, AND OTHER
MULTIMEDIA AND NAVIGATE BETWEEN THEM VIA HYPERLINKS.