Computer Hardware and Networking Terms List By: Christian Lawrence.

Computer Hardware and Networking Terms List

By: Christian Lawrence

Operating Systems

• Operating System is an interface between software and hardware

CPU

• A CPU is an electronic circuit that executes programs

RAM

• RAM is a form of storage for computers

Hard Disk

• A hard drive is a device that stores digitally encoded data on rapidly spinning platters with magnetic surfaces.

Serial cable

• A serial cable is a cable that can transfer information between two devices using serial communication

• Maximum transfer rate of 115 Kbps

Parallel Cable

• A parallel cable sends several data signals simultaneously over several parallel channels

• Maximum transfer rate is 150kbps

SCIS

• SCIS is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and devices.

USB

• USB is intended to replace many varieties of serial and parallel ports.

FireWire

• FireWire is is a serial bus interface standard for high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data transfer.

• 400 Mb/s

Ethernet

• Ethernet is a family of frame-based computer networking technologies for local area networks (LANs).

Monitor

• A monitor displays images generated by devices such as computers, without producing a permanent record.

• CRT and LCD

Keyboard

• A keyboard uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches.

Mouse

• A mouse is a pointing device that functions by detecting two-dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface. 

Drawing Tablet

• A drawing tablet is a computer input device that allows one to hand-draw images and graphics, similar to the way one draws images with a pencil and paper.

Scanner

• A scanner is a device that optically scans images, printed text, handwriting, or an object, and converts it to a digital image. 

Digital Camera

• A digital camera takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor.

Postscript

• PostScript (PS) is a dynamically typed programming language best known for its use as a page description language in the electronic and desktop publishing areas

Inkjet printer

• Inkjet printers operate by propelling variably-sized droplets of liquid or molten material (ink) onto almost any sized page.

Laser Printer

• A printer rapidly produces high quality text and graphics on plain paper.

Imagesetter

• An imagesetter is an ultra-high resolution large-format computer output device

Zip Disk

• The Zip drive is a medium-capacity removable disk storage system .

Jaz disk

• The Jaz drive was a removable disk storage system.

• 250 MB

CD

• A CD is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible.

• 700 MB

DVD

• DVD s an optical disc storage media format.

• 4.7 GB

Removable Drive

• A removable disk is storage media which is designed to be removed from the computer without powering the computer off.

Network

• A computer network is a group of interconnected computers.

LAN

• A local area network (LAN) is a computer network covering a small physical area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings, such as a school, or an airport.

WAN

• Wide Area Network (WAN) is a computer network that covers a broad area.

Internet

• The Internet is a standardized, global system of interconnected computer networks that connects millions of people.

Intranet

• An intranet is a private computer network that uses Internet technologies to securely share any part of an organization's information or operational systems with its employees.

TCP

• The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is one of the core protocols of the Internet Protocol Suite.

Internet Protocal

• The Internet Protocol (IP) is a protocol used for communicating data across a packet-switched internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite.

Internet Backbone

• The Internet backbone is made up of a large collection of interconnected commercial, government, academic and other high-capacity data routes and core routers that carry data across the countries, continents and oceans of the world.

Modem

• Modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information.

Cable Modem

• A cable modem is a type of modem that provides bi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on a cable television (CATV) infrastructure.

DSL

• DSL is a family of technologies that provides digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network.

ISDN, T1, & T3

• Integrated Services Digital Network is a telephone system network.

Data transfer

• Data transfer is the physical transfer of data (a digital bit stream) over a point-to-point or point-to-multipoint transmission medium.

Web browser

• A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web.

Firewall

• A firewall is a part of a computer system or network that is designed to block unauthorized access while permitting authorized communications.

ISP

• An Internet service provider is a company that offers its customers access to the Internet.

NSP

• A network service provider (NSP) is a business or organization that sells bandwidth or network access by providing direct backbone access to the Internet and usually access to its network access points. 

Router

• A router is a networking device whose software and hardware are usually tailored to the tasks of routing and forwarding information.

WWW

• The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet.