Secondary Storage

File Compression:
The process of reducing the overall number of bits and bytes in a file (making the file smaller) so it can be sent faster over a slow internet connection or increasing storage capacity by reducing the amount of space required to store the data in storage devices.

Head Crash:
A hard-disk malfunction that is caused by the collision of the read-write head and the magnetic recording surface. It usually means that the head has scratched or burned the disk, resulting in permanent and usually fatal damage to the disk surface.

Internet Hard Drive:
The internet hard drive is a low cost online storage system, where files, documents and other digital items can be stored online and can be accessed at any location on a computer with an internet connection.

Optical Disc Drive:
A disk drive that can retrieve or store data by reading or writing the information on to or from optical discs like CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray and more by laser.

Solid-State Storage:
A removable data storage device that can store information. The data stored can be retrieved or stored electronically directly to and from the device. It is different from secondary storage devices because unlike secondary storage, solid-state storage has no moving parts.

Input And Output

Ergonomic Keyboard:
A keyboard designed for ergonomic purposes as in to suit human hands, make typing more comfortable and to avoid or minimize repetitive strain injury.

Ink jet Printer:
A type of computer printer that creates digital images by spraying or propelling variable-sized droplets of ionized ink on to a sheet of paper.Magnetized plates in the ink's path direct the ink on to the paper in the desired shape.

Laser Printer:
Similar to a photocopy machine, it is type of computer printer that utilizes a laser beam to produce high quality text and graphics on to a sheet of paper. It uses a dry photocopying technique but is different from a photocopier in that the image is produced by direct scanning of a laser beam.

Magnetic - ink character reader (M.I.C.R.):
An input device widely used by banks to process large volumes of checks and deposit forms written everyday. It consist of special ink used not only for writing characters but the ink contains magnetic particles to allow the reading of printed characters by the (M.I.C.R.).

Optical – character recognition (OCR):
The mechanical or electronic recognition/translation of scanned images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text into machine-encoded text . Widely used to convert books, documents and others into electronic files which can then be manipulated or edited through computer.

Optical – mark recognition (OMR):
The technology/process of electronically extracting human-marked data from check-boxes and fill-in fields from printed forms like surveys and tests.

The System unit

Flash Memory:
It is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed.Can retain data even if power is disrupted .For digital video camera, mobile phone, portable computers (PDA). A computer chip with a read-only memory that retains its data when the power is turned off and that can be electronically erased and reprogrammed without being removed from the circuit board, often used in fax machines.

Graphic Cards:
They are expansion cards whose function is to generate output images to a display. A piece of hardware installed in a computer that is responsible for rendering the image on the computer’s monitor or display screen.

Sound Cards:

A sound card  (also known as an audio card) is a computer expansion card that facilitates the input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under control of computer programs.

Network interface card (NIC):

NIC, an expansion board you insert into a computer so the computer can be connected to a network. Most NICs are designed for a particular type of network, protocol, and media, although some can serve multiple networks. . Referred to as a network adapter and is an expansion card that enables a computer to connect to a network such as a home network or the Internet using an Ethernet cable with a RJ-45 connector.

Plug & Play:

A term used to describe the characteristic of a universal serial bus or device specification, which facilitates the discovery of a hardware component in a system, without the need for physical device configuration, or user intervention in resolving resource conflicts. The ability to add a new component to a system and have it work automatically without having to do any technical analysis or manual configuration.

 

Bus Line:
Device on a computer's motherboard that provides a data path between the CPU and attached devices (keyboard, mouse, disk drives, video cards, etc.). Like a vehicular bus that stops at designated stations to pick up or drop off riders, a computer bus receives a data signal from the CPU and drops it off at the appropriate device (for example, the contents of a file in RAM are sent, via the bus, to a disk drive to be stored permanently). Conversely, data signals from devices are sent back to the CPU. On a network, a bus provides the data path between the various computers and devices.

HDMI:
HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a compact audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed digital data. A digital interface for audio and video that provides a single-cable solution for home theater and consumer electronics equipment. Introduced in 2002, one HDMI cable commonly replaces from two to five cables, and in some cases even as many as 11 cables, when connecting devices such as TVs, DVD players, set-top boxes and A/V receivers.

Cache Memory:
Cache memory is random access memory (RAM) that a computer microprocessor can access more quickly than it can access regular RAM. As the microprocessor processes data, it looks first in the cache memory and if it finds the data there (from a previous reading of data), it does not have to do the more time-consuming reading of data from larger memory.

Specailized Application Software

Audio Editing Software:
A very easy-to-use software for editing different audio formats is now available and is highly recommended for those who are just starting out with sound manipulation and to those who are professionally working with sounds.

Bitmap Image:
It is one of many types of file formats for images stored in a computerized form. It is literally a map of bits that form a particular picture when rendered to a display like a computer monitor. It is a digital image made entirely out of pixels (tiny dots of individual color) in a grid.

HTML Editor:
A software application for creating web pages. Although the HTML markup of a web page can be written with any text editor, specialized HTML editors can offer convenience and added functionality.

Multimedia:

It is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms or information in more than one form. It includes the use of text, audio, graphics, animation and full-motion video. Multimedia programs are typically games, encyclopedias and training courses on CD-ROM or DVD. However, any application with sound and/or video can be called a multimedia program. An application that can combine text, graphics, full-motion video, and sound into an integrated package. 

Vector Image:

Images made with the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon(s), which are all based on mathematical equations in computer graphics. These images are made up of many individual, scalable objects. These objects are defined by mathematical equations rather than pixels, so they always render at the highest quality. Objects may consist of lines, curves, and shapes with editable attributes such as color, fill, and outline.

Web Authoring:

A category of software that enables the user to develop a Web site in a desktop publishing format. The software will generate the required HTML coding for the layout of the Web pages based on what the user designs.

Basic Application Software

Graphical User Interface (GUI):
A type of user interface that allows users to interact with programs in more ways than typing such as computers; hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices; household appliances and office equipment with images rather than text commands. It offers graphical icons, and visual indicators, as opposed to text-based interfaces, typed command labels or text navigation to fully represent the information and actions available to a user.

Word Processor:
1. A word processor (more formally known as document preparation system) is a computer application used for the production (including composition, editing, formatting, and possibly printing) of any sort of printable material.
2. Word processor may also refer to a type of stand-alone office machine, popular in the 1970s and 80s, combining the keyboard text-entry and printing functions of an electric typewriter with a dedicated processor (like a computer processor) for the editing of text.

Spreadsheet:
A spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper, accounting worksheet. It displays multiple cells that together make up a grid consisting of rows and columns, each cell containing alphanumeric text, numeric values or formulas. A formula defines how the content of that cell is to be calculated from the contents of any other cell (or combination of cells) each time any cell is updated. Spreadsheets are frequently used for financial information because of their ability to re-calculate the entire sheet automatically after a change to a single cell is made.

Database Management System (DBSM):
A Database Management System (DBMS) is a set of computer programs that controls the creation, maintenance, and the use of a database. It allows organizations to place control of database development in the hands of database administrators (DBAs) and other specialists. A DBMS is a system software package that helps the use of integrated collection of data records and files known as databases. It allows different user application programs to easily access the same database.

Utility Suites:
A system software that is designed to hold and categorize several utilities, which are system software that help analyze, configure, optimize and maintain the computer.

Utility Suites:
A kind of system software designed to help analyze, configure, optimize and maintain the computer. A single piece of utility software is usually called a utility or tool. It is contrasted with application software, which allows users to do things like creating text documents, playing games, listening to music or surfing the web. Rather than providing these kinds of user-oriented or output-oriented functionality, utility software usually focuses on how the computer infrastructure (including the computer hardware, operating system, application software and data storage) operates.

The Internet & The Web

F.T.P. (File Transfer Protocol):
A standard network protocol used to copy a file from one host to another over a TCP/IP-based network, like the internet.

Plug-Ins:
A set of software components that adds specific capabilities to a larger software application. They enable customizing the functionality of an application, commonly used in web browsers, scan for viruses and display new file types.

Filters:
1. A higher-order function that processes a data structure (typically a list) in some order to produce a new data structure containing exactly those elements of the original data structure for which a given predicate returns the boolean value true.
2. A computer program to process a data stream.


Internet Security Suite:
A branch of computer security  specifically related to the internet. It is used to establish rules and measure to use against attacks over the Internet.

Wiki:
A website that allows the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor.

Java Scripts:
An implementation of the ECMAScript language standard and is typically used to enable programmatic access to computational objects within a host environment. It is used to add functionality to a webpage.

Applets:
An applet is a small program that can be included in an HTML page (web page), much in the same way an image is included in a page. A small application that performs one specific task, sometimes running within the context of a larger program.

HTML:
HTML, which stands for HyperText Markup Language, is the predominant markup language for web pages. A markup language is a set of markup tags, and HTML uses markup tags to describe web pages.
 

URL:
A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) that specifies where an identified resource is available and the mechanism for retrieving it. Addresses of webpages used on the World Wide Web such as http://www.blahblah.com/.

Careers In IT

Webmaster:
A webmaster also known as a web architect or web developer is a person responsible for managing or maintaining one or many websites. A webmaster's duties are ensuring that the web servers, hardware and software are operating accurately, designing the website, generating and revising web pages, replying to user comments, and examining traffic through the site. He or she must also be well-versed in Web transaction software, payment-processing software, and security software.
Alternate definition: a person who uses online media to sell products and/or services.

System Analyst :
A system analyst is a person who analyze business or scientific tasks and plan and develop the hardware systems and software that allow a computer to perform these tasks. They also work on improving computer systems already in use. They are usually employed by a wide variety of organizations, including business, universities, hospitals and more.

Programmer:

A computer programmer is someone who writes computer software. A specialist in one area of computer programming or a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. Also known as a programmer analyst.

Software Engineer:
A person who designs and programs system-level software, such as operating systems, database management systems (DBMS) and embedded systems. This person creates commercial software packages, whether they are system level or application level.

Computer Support Specialist:
Someone who helps people use computers. When something goes wrong, support specialists figure out why. They check computer systems to make sure they are working well. They also install printers, software and other computer tools. They instruct and teach people how to use them.

Technical Writer :
Also known as a Technical Communicator is a person responsible for writing hardware and software documentation, online help, technical definitions and technical product descriptions on Web sites.

Network Administrator:

A person who manages  a local area communications network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN) for an organization. Responsibilities include network security, installing new hardware and applications, monitoring software upgrades and daily activity, enforcing licensing agreements, developing a storage management program and providing for routine backups, ensuring that it is running.

Data Administrator:

A person who coordinates activities within the data administration department. Also called a database analyst.