Ifsm 201 Midterm - Umuc

Front 1

Application Software

Back 1

Programs that enable users to perform specific tasks such as writing a letter or playing a game.

Front 2

Boot

Back 2

To start up a computer.

Front 3

Communications

Back 3

The transmission of data from one device to another.

Front 4

Computer

Back 4

A programmable, electronic device that accepts data input, performs processing operations on that data, and outputs and stores the results.

Front 5

Computer literacy

Back 5

The knowledge and understanding of basic computer fundamentals.

Front 6

Computer Network

Back 6

A collection of computers and other hardware devices that are connected together to share hardware, software, and data, as well as to communicate electronically with one another.

Front 7

Computer User

Back 7

A person who uses a computer.

Front 8

Data

Back 8

Raw, unorganized facts.

Front 9

Desktop

Back 9

The background work area displayed on the screen in Microsoft Windows.

Front 10

Dialog Box

Back 10

A window that requires the user to supply additional information.

Front 11

Domain name

Back 11

A text-based Internet address used to uniquely identify a computer on the internet.

Front 12

Information

Back 12

Data processed into a meaningful form.

Front 13

Internet Address

Back 13

What identifies a computer, person or web page on the Internet, such as an IP address, domain name, or e-mail address.

Front 14

Mainframe computer

Back 14

A computer used in large organizations that needs to manage large amounts of centralized data and run multiple programs simultaneously.

Front 15

Processing

Back 15

Performing operations on data that has been input into a computer to convert that input to output.

Front 16

Sizing button

Back 16

Small buttons located at the top-right corner of a window used to resize the window.

Front 17

Thin client

Back 17

A PC designed to access a network for processing and data storage, instead of performing those tasks locally; also called a network computer.

Front 18

URL

Back 18

Uniform resource locator

Front 19

Web server

Back 19

A computer that is continually connected to the internet and hosts Web pages that are accessible through the Internet

Front 20

Arithmetic/logic unit (ALU)

Back 20

The part of the CPU that performs logical operations and integer arithmetic.

Front 21

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)

Back 21

A fixed-length, binary coding system widely used to represent text-based data for comptuer processing.

Front 22

Benchmark test

Back 22

A test that measures the performance of a computer system to evaluate certain hardware or software components.

Front 23

Bus

Back 23

An electronic path on the motherboard or within the CPU or other computer component along which data is transferred.

Front 24

Bus interface unit

Back 24

The part of the CPU where instructions and data flow in and out of the CPU.

Front 25

Byte

Back 25

A group of 8 bits.

Front 26

Cache memory

Back 26

Fast memory chips located on or near the CPU to help speed processing.

Front 27

CPU

Back 27

Chip located inside the system unit of a computer that performs the processing.

Front 28

Control unit

Back 28

The part of the CPU that coordinates its operations.

Front 29

Decode unit

Back 29

The part of the CPU that translates instructions into a form that can be processed by the ALU.

Front 30

EBCDIC (Extended Binary-Coded Decimal Interchange Code)

Back 30

A fixed-length, binary coding system widely used to represent text-based data on IBM mainframe computers

Front 31

Exabyte (EB)

Back 31

~1,000 petabytes.

Front 32

Expansion bus

Back 32

A bus that connects the CPU to peripheral devices.

Front 33

Expansion card

Back 33

A circuit board that can be inserted into an expansion slot on a PC's motherboard to add additional functionality or to attach a peripheral device.

Front 34

Expansion slot

Back 34

A location on the motherbaord into which expansion cards are inserted.

Front 35

Firewire

Back 35

A bus standard often used to connect digital video cameras to a PC.

Front 36

Flash memory

Back 36

A type of nonvolatile memory that can be erased and reprogrammed; commonly implemented in the form of sticks or cards.

Front 37

Floating point unit (FPU)

Back 37

The part of the CPU that performs decimal arithmetic.

Front 38

Machine cycle

Back 38

The series of operations involved in the execution of a single machine level instruction.

Front 39

Machine language

Back 39

A binary-based language for representing computer programs that the computer can execute directly.

Front 40

Multiprocessing

Back 40

Capability of an OS to use multiple processors in a single computer, usually to process multiple jobs at one time faster than could be performed with a single processor.

Front 41

Parallel processing

Back 41

A processing technique that uses multiple processors simultaneously in a single computer, usually to process a single job as fast as possible

Front 42

PCI Express (PCIe)

Back 42

One of the buses most commonly used to connect peripheral devices.

Front 43

Petabyte (PB)

Back 43

~1,000 TB

Front 44

Pipelining

Back 44

A CPU feature designed to begin processing a new instruction as soon as the previous instruction completes the first stage of the machine cycle.

Front 45

Prefetch unit

Back 45

The part of the CPU that attempts to retrieve data and instructions before they are needed for processing, in order to avoid delays.

Front 46

Quantum computing

Back 46

A technology that applies the principle of quantum physics to computers to direct atoms or nuclei to work together as quantum bits (qubits), which function simultaneously as the computer's processor and memory.

Front 47

RAM

Back 47

Temporary (volatile) location for data.

Front 48

ROM

Back 48

Nonerasable chips located on the motherboard into which data or programs have been permanently stored.

Front 49

Register

Back 49

High-speed memory built into the CPU that temporarily stores data during processing.

Front 50

Unicode

Back 50

A coding system for text-based data using any written language.

Front 51

Cluster

Back 51

The part of a track on a disk that crosses a fixed number of contiguous sectors; it is the smallest addressable area of a disk.

Front 52

Cylinder

Back 52

The collection of tracks located in the same location on a set of hard disk surfaces.

Front 53

Hard disk drive

Back 53

A storage system consisting of one or more metal magnetic disks permanently sealed with an access mechanism inside its drive.

Front 54

Holographic storage

Back 54

Storage technology that uses multiple blue laser beams to store data in three dimensions.

Front 55

Network attached storage (NAS)

Back 55

A high-performance storage server individually connected to a network to provide storage for computers on that network.

Front 56

Nonvolatile

Back 56

Storage medium that retains its contents when the power is shut off.

Front 57

Redundant Arrays of Independent Disks (RAID)

Back 57

A storage method that uses several small hard disks in parallel to do the job of a larger disk.

Front 58

Sector

Back 58

Pie-shaped area of a disk surface

Front 59

Storage area network (SAN)

Back 59

A network of hard drives or other storage devices that provide storage for another network of computers.

Front 60

Track

Back 60

Concentric path on a disk where data is recorded.

Front 61

Volatile

Back 61

Medium whose content is erased when the power is shut off.

Front 62

Laser printer

Back 62

Uses toner powder and technology similar to that of a photocopier to produce images on paper.

Front 63

RFID tag

Back 63

A device containing tiny chips and radio antennas that is attached to objects that will be identified using RFID technology.

Front 64

Buffer

Back 64

An area in RAM or on the hard drive designated to hold input and output on their way in or out of the system.

Front 65

Device driver

Back 65

A program that enables an operating system to communicate with a specific hardware device.

Front 66

Embedded Linux

Back 66

The version of Linux designed for handheld PCs and mobile devices.

Front 67

Linux

Back 67

A version of UNIX that is available without charge over the Internet and is increasingly being used with PCs, servers, mainframes, and supercomputers.

Front 68

Mac OS X

Back 68

The most recent version of the operating system used on Apple computers.

Front 69

Netware

Back 69

A widely used operating system for PC-based networks

Front 70

Symbian OS

Back 70

A leading operating system for smart phones.

Front 71

System Software

Back 71

Programs, such as the operating system that control operation of a computer and its devices, as well as enable application software to run on the PC.

Front 72

UNIX

Back 72

Operating system developed in the 1970s for midrange servers and mainframes; many variations of this operating system are in use today.

Front 73

Virtual memory

Back 73

A memory-management tecnique that uses hard drive space as additional RAM

Front 74

Windows embedded.

Back 74

A family of operating systems, based on windows and designed for nonpersonal computer devices, such as cash registers and consumer electronic devices.

Front 75

Database

Back 75

A collection of related data that is stored in a manner enabling information to be retrieved as needed.

Front 76

Insertion point

Back 76

An onscreen character that indicates the current location in a document, which is where the next change will be made to the document.

Front 77

Open source software

Back 77

Software programs whose source code is made available to the general public.

Front 78

Record

Back 78

A collection of related field in a database, also called a row.

Front 79

Shareware

Back 79

copyrighted software that is distributed on the honor system; consumers should either pay for it or uninstall it after the trial period.

Front 80

Word wrap

Back 80

The feature in a word processing program that automagically returns the insertion point to the next line when the end of the screen line is reached.

Front 81

Bandwidth

Back 81

The amount of data that can be transmitted over a communications medium at one time.

Front 82

Bluetooth

Back 82

A comm. standard for very short-range wireless connections; the devices are automatically connected once they get within the allowable range.

Front 83

Bus network

Back 83

A network consisting of a central cable to which all network devices are attached.

Front 84

Coaxial cable

Back 84

A comm. medium consisting of a center wire inside a grounded, cylindrical shield, capable of sending data at high speeds

Front 85

Ethernet

Back 85

Widely used comm. protocol for a LAN

Front 86

Extranet

Back 86

An intranet that is at least partially accessible to authorized outsiders.

Front 87

Fiber-optic cable

Back 87

A comm. medium that utilizes hundreds of hair-thin, transparent fibers over which lasers transmit data as light.

Front 88

Intranet

Back 88

A private network that is set up similar to the Internet and is accessed via a Web browser

Front 89

Mesh network

Back 89

A network in which there are multiple connections between the devices on the network so that messages can take any of several possible paths.

Front 90

Microwave station

Back 90

An earth-based device that sends and receives high-frequency, high-speed radio signals.

Front 91

Mesh network

Back 91

A network in which there are multiple connections between the devices on the network so that messages can take any of several possible paths.

Front 92

Parallel transmission

Back 92

Data transmission in which bytes of dta are transmitted at one time, with the bits in each byte taking a separate path.

Front 93

Router

Back 93

A device on a network that sends data via the most efficient route to travel to a specific location.

Front 94

Serial transmission

Back 94

Data transmission in which the bits in a byte travel down the same path one after the other.

Front 95

Switch

Back 95

A device on a network to which data is sent so it can be forwarded to the appropriate network node.

Front 96

TCP/IP

Back 96

A communications protocol that uses packet switching to facilitate the transmission of messages; the protocol used with the Internet.

Front 97

Twisted-pair cable

Back 97

A comm. medium consisting of wire strands twisted in sets of two and bound into a cable.

Front 98

Virtual private network (VPN)

Back 98

A group of secure paths over the Internet that provide authorized users a secure means of accessing a private network via the Internet.

Front 99

Wi-MAX

Back 99

An emerging wireless networking standard that is faster and has a greater range than Wi-Fi

Front 100

Application service provider (ASP)

Back 100

A company that manages and distributes software-based services over the Internet

Front 101

Directory Search

Back 101

A type of Internet search in which categories are selected to locate information on the internet.

Front 102

ISDN Internet access

Back 102

Dial-up Internet access that is faster than conventional dial-up, but still uses standard telephone lines.

Front 103

Portal

Back 103

A web site designed to be designated as a browser home page, typically can be customized to display personzlied content.

Front 104

Web bug

Back 104

A very small (usually invisible) image on a Web page that transmits data about the web page visitor to a web server.