access time The time it takes a storage device to locate its stored data Blu ray disc method of optical storage for digital data developed for storing high definition media It has the largest storage capacity of all optical storage options cache memory Small blocks of memory located directly on and next to the central processing unit CPU chip that act as holding places for recently or frequently used instructions or data that the CPU accesses the most When these instructions or data are stored in cache memory the CPU can more quickly retrieve them than if it had to access the instructions or data from random access memory RAM CPU usage The percentage of time a central processing unit CPU is working data transfer rate The maximum speed at which data can be transmitted between two nodes on a network usually measured in megabits per second Mbps eSATA used to connect an external hard drive express cards can add a solid state drive SSD eSATA and FireWire ports and other capabilities to your system front side bus determines how fast data is exchanged between the CPU and RAM GPU A specialized logic chip that is dedicated to quickly displaying and calculating visual data such as shadows textures and luminosity hard drive A device that holds all permanently stored programs and data can be located inside the system unit or attached to the system unit via a USB port memory module A small circuit board that holds a series of random access memory RAM chips Moore s law A prediction named after Gordon Moore the cofounder of Intel states that the number of transistors on a CPU chip will double every two years RAM The computer s temporary storage space or short term memory It is located in a set of chips on the system unit s motherboard and its capacity is measured in megabytes or gigabytes sound card An expansion card that attaches to the motherboard inside the system unit and that enables the computer to produce sounds by providing a connection for the speakers and microphone SSD A drive that uses the same kind of memory that flash drives use but can reach data in only a tenth of the time a flash drive requires surround sound A type of audio processing that makes the listener experience sound as if it were coming from all directions system evaluation The process of looking at a computer s subsystems what they do and how they perform to determine whether the computer system has the right hardware components to do what the user ultimately wants it to do Cat 6 cable A UTP cable type that provides more than 1 GB of throughput client server A way of describing typical network functions Client computers such as your desktop PC request services and servers provide serve up those services to the clients data transfer rate The maximum speed at which data can be transmitted between two nodes on a network usually measured in megabits per second Mbps hacker s Anyone who unlawfully breaks into a computer system whether an individual computer or a network home network server A device designed to store media share media across the network and back up files on computers connected to a home network LAN A network in which the nodes are located within a small geographic area network adapter s A device that enables the computer or peripheral to communicate with the network using a common data communication language or protocol network ready A device such as a printer or external hard drive that can be attached directly to a network instead of needing to attach to a computer on the network peer to peer P2P A network in which each node connected to the network can communicate directly with every other node on the network Piggybacking The process of connecting to a wireless network without the permission of the owner of the network Router A device that routes packets of data between two or more networks Switch Adevice for transmitting data on a network Aswitch makes decisions based on the media access control MAC address of the data as to where the data is to be sent Throughput The actual speed of data transfer that is achieved It is usually less than the data transfer rate and is measured in megabits per second Mbps twisted pair cable Cables made of copper wires that are twisted around each other and are surrounded by a plastic jacket such as traditional home phone wire WAN A network made up of local area networks LANs connected over long distances Wired use various types of cable wires to connect nodes Wireless use radio waves to connect Nodes wireless range expander A device that amplifies your wireless signal to get it out to parts of your home that are experiencing poor connectivity analog to digital converter Converts analog signals into digital signals Bluetooth A type of wireless technology that uses radio waves to transmit data over short distances approximately 30 feet for Bluetooth 1 and 60 feet for Bluetooth 2 Often used to connect peripherals such as printers and keyboards to computers or headsets to cell phones cell phone telephone that operates over a wireless network GPS A system of 21 satellites plus 3 working spares built and operated by the U S military that constantly orbit the earth They provide information to GPS capable devices to pinpoint locations on the earth Internet tablet A very light portable computing device without a keyboard Microbrowser Software that makes it possible to access the Internet from a PDA smartphone MMS An extension of short message service SMS that enables messages that include text sound images and video clips to be sent from a cell phone or PDA to other phones or e mail addresses Netbook computing device that runs a full featured operating system but weighs two pounds or less P2P A network in which each node connected to the network can communicate directly with every other node on the network PMP A small portable device such as an iPod that enables you to carry your MP3s or other media files around with you sampling rate The number of times per second a signal is measured and converted to a digital value Sampling rates are measured in kilobits per second Smartphone A device that combines the functionality of a cell phone a PMP and a PDA into one unit SMS Technology that enables short text messages up to 160 characters to be sent over mobile networks Synchronize The process of updating data on portable devices such as a cell phone or iPod and computer so that they contain the same data Telephony The use of equipment to provide voice communications over a distance
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