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Common Computer Acronyms :: Motherboards.org

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

ACPI - Advanced Configuration and Power Interface. Power management controlled by the OS.
ADC - Analogue to Digital Converter. Changes analogue signals into digital ones.
ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. Broadband through the phone line.
AGP - Accelerated Graphics Port. Where you would plug in a graphics card
AMD - Advanced Micro Devices. The company that makes CPU's
AMR - Audio Modem Riser. A specific modem port on a motherboard
AUTOEXEC - Automatic Execution. When a program is executed on it's own.
AUX - Auxiliary. Another option to use.
AV - Audio/Video. Term used for equipment that uses both.

B

BIOS - Basic Input/Output System. The basic settings of your PC. Keeps information such as drives, time, and ram latency.
BIT - Binary Digit. A single digit in the PC's operating.
BLOG - Web Log.

C

CAD - Computer Aided Design. Using a computer to develop a product or item.
CAM - Computer Aided Manufacture. Building an item with the use of a computer
CAPS - Capital letters.
CASE - Computer Aided Software Engineering. Gives software developers a structure to work with.
CAT5 - Category 5 Networking cable.
CCD - Charged Coupled Device. Converts light into electrical current.
CCFL - Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps. Tubes that give off light, used by modders
CD - Compact Disc. What your software may be saved on.
CD-A - Compact Disc Audio. An audio CD.
CD-R - Compact Disc - Recordable. You can write data on to these once.
CD-RW - Compact Disc - Re-Writeable. You can write data to these again and again.
CISC - Complex Instruction Set Computing. Used in Intel and AMD CPU's to do tasks.
CLI - Command Line Interface.
CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor. Used to save data for your BIOS and used in low quality digital cameras as a replacement to film.
CNR - Communications Network Riser. Very similar to AMR.
CODEC - Coder/Decoder or Compression/Decompression. Used to aid play back audio/video files.
CPU - Central Processing Unit. The 'brain' of your computer.
CRT - Cathode Ray Tube. The older type of monitor.

D

DAC - Digital to Analogue Converter. Changes digital signals into analogue.
dB(A) - Decibel (Adjusted) - measurement of power or audio.
DBBD - Dynamic Bass Boost System. Add a nice level of bass to your music.
DDR - Double Data Rate. Sends data through at twice the speed.
DEFRAG - Defragment. Move data into one clump on the disk drive.
DHCP - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. Used in networks to set up IP addresses.
DIVX - Digital Video Express. A video format.
DMA - Direct Memory Access. A means of handling data transfer between memory and a peripheral device that bypasses the central processing unit.
DOA - Dead On Arrival. Term given to goods that don't work from when the user gets them home.
DOS - Disk Operating System. A basic operating system in command line.
DRM - Digital Rights/Distributed Resource Management. Controversial way of editing music and videos so they cannot be copied or distributed.
DSL - Digital Subscriber Line. Broadband Internet.
DSP - Digital Sound Processing. Adjusting audio to make the output change.
DTD - Document Type Definition. A statement that contains the document's encoding
DTMF - Data Tone Multiple Frequency. Used with modems to put more data down one line.
DUN - Dial-Up Networking. Creating a WAN over dial-up internet.
DVD - Digital Versatile Disc. Used originally to save movies on.
DVI - Digital Visual Interface. A digital connection from your PC to monitor

E

EEPROM - Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory. A type of ROM that can be wiped and re-written using electronics.
EIDE - Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics. A better form of IDE.
E-MAIL - Electronic Mail. Messages sent electronically.
EPP - Enhanced Parallel Port. An enhanced mode for your parallel port.

F

FAT - File Allocation Table. File system for Har Drives.
FDD - Floppy Disc Drive. An archaic form of data storage. Still used to load S-ATA drivers.
FPS - Frames Per Second. How many images are shown on the screen every second. Used as a measure of graphics card performance.
FTP - File Transfer Protocol. The way that files are moved over the internet.

G

Gb - Gigabyte. 1,073,741,824 bytes.
Ghz - Gigahertz. 1000 MHz
GIGO - Garbage In, Garbage Out. If a program is given rubbish, the result will be rubbish.
GIMP - GNU Image Manipulation Program. Great free alternative to Photoshop.
GNU - Gnu's Not Unix (operating system). A free software ideology.
GUI - Graphical User Interface. A way for a user to interact with the computer with buttons and windows
GPS - Global Positioning System. Tells the user where they are in the world.
GPU - Graphical Processing Unit. The 'brain' of your graphics card to add realism to games

H

HD - High Definition. High quality display.
HDCP - High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection. Another way to stop you making 'backups' of your DVD's
HDD - Hard Disc Drive. Where your programs and files get stored. Equivalent to long-term memory.
HDMI - High Definition Multimedia Interface. The type of cable used with HD displays.
HID - Human Interface Device. Fancy term for Keyboards, Mice and other peripherals a human uses to interact with a computer.
HP - Hewlett Packard. A computer company.
HTML - HyperText Markup Language. Language used to build web sites.
HTTP - HyperText Transfer Protocol. The actual communications protocol that enables Web browsing.
HTTPS - HTTP Secure. Used for online banking and secure data transfer. Hoax sites won't generally use this, an easy way to spot a con.
HUD - Head Up Display. A display that is usually projected to a position where the user only has to look up to see.

I

IDE - Integrated Drive Electronics. An interface for your disk drives.
IM - Instant Messenger. MSN Messenger, AOL Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, etc.
IMEI - International Mobile Equipment Identifier. Unique code given to mobile phones to identify them. The code is locked to the phone and not the sim.
IPX - Internetwork Packet Exchange. Data transfer over networks.
IR - Infrared. Sending data with light.
IrDA - Infrared Data Association. The people that regulate IR
IRQ - Interrupt Request. Allows hardware to interrupt the current process if an error occurs.
ISP - Internet Service Provider. A company that gives you a connection to the internet.

J

JDK - Java Development Kit. Allows the programming of Java
JPEG - Joint Photographic Experts Group. A photo file type.
JRE - Java Runtime Environment. Allows the user to run Java programs.

K

Kb - Kilobyte. 1024 Bytes.
KVM - Keyboard, Video, Mouse. A switch to use more than one PC on a single keyboard, monitor and mouse.

L

LAN - Local Area Network. A network of computers on one site.
LCD - Liquid Crystal Display. A display that works by passing current through liquid Crystals. Found in watches and screens.
LED - Light Emitting Diode. A little light.
LMB - Left Mouse Button.

M

MAC - Multiple Access Computers. Unique address given to network cards.
MALWARE - Malicious Software. Programs with the intent to cause problems.
Mb - Megabyte. 1024 Kb.
MHz - Megahertz. A measurement of frequency equal to one million cycles per second.
MMC - Multi-Media Card. Storage card found in some digital camera's
MMX - Multimedia Instructions. Enhanced multimedia support on CPU's.
MOBO - Motherboard.
MODEM - Modulator/Demodulator.
MP3 - Mpeg Layer 3. Audio file type.
MPEG - Moving Picture Experts Group. File format for videos.
MSDN - Microsoft Developers Network. Group of software developers linked to Microsoft.
MSN - Microsoft Network.

N

NDIS - Network Device/Driver Interface Specification. Rules for network cards and their interface to the network and computer.
NIC - Network Interface Card. Allows a computer to connect to a network.
NTFS - New Technology File System. File System for hard drives.
NTSC - National Television Standards Committee. Television format for the US

O

OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer. Non-retail version of products. "White Box."
OLED - Organic Light Emitting Diode. A light made of carbon molecules.
OS - Operating System. Foundation software on a computer.

P

PAL - Phase-Alternating Line. TV Format for most of the world.
PAN - Personal Area Network. Usually for Bluetooth networks. A very small network, usually of two clients.
PC - Personal Computer. A computer.
PCI - Peripheral Component Interconnect. Where you would plug your add-on card into on the motherboard.
PCMCIA - Personal Computer Memory Card International Association. Add-on cards for laptops. Also known as PC-Cards.
POP3 - Post Office Protocol, Version 3. Used for sending e-mails.
POST - Power-On Self Test. Test performed by the BIOS at start-up.
PPP - Point-to-Point Protocol [Internet]. Protocol between two clients on the internet.
PPPOE - Point-to-Point Protocol Over Ethernet. PPP over Ethernet rather than the internet.
PSU - Power Supply Unit. Converts mains voltage into 12V, 5V and 3V.

Q

R

RAID - Redundant Arrays of Independent Disks. Using multiple drives. There are various configurations.
RAM - Random Access Memory. Quick to access memory, data is lost when power is taken away. Equivalent to short-term memory.
R&D - Research and Development.
RDRAM - Rambus DRAM. DDR's predecessor.
RMA - Return to Manufacturer Authorization. Sending faulty goods back to the manufacturer.
ROM - Read Only Memory. Data that can only be read and not modified.
RS-MMC - Reduced Size Multi-Media Card. Found mostly in camera phones.

S

S-ATA - Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. A way to connect hard drives to the motherboard for data transfer.
SD Card - Secure Digital Card. Found in some camera's and PDA's
SDRam - Synchronous DRAM. A type of RAM.
SIMM - Single In-line Memory Module.
SQL - Structured Query Language. Programming language for databases.
SVCD - Super Video Compact Disk. A CD with video saved on it.
SVGA - Super Video Graphics Array. Successor of VGA, runs at 800x600.

T

TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. Networking communication.
TFT - Thin-Film Transistor. Used in thin monitors.
TWAIN - Technology Without an Industry/Interesting Name (There are mixed feeling about the correct version, but I believe Industry Name to be true). This refers to scanners and digital camera's, allowing them to connect to the PC.

U

UPS - Uninterruptible Power Supply/System. Keeps power stored in-case of a power cut/spike.
USB - Universal Serial Bus. A popular way to connect external peripherals.

V

VDU - Visual Display Unit. A monitor.
VESA - Video Electronics Standards Association. A group of manufacturers trying to create standards.

W

W3C - World Wide Web Consortium. Group who aim to standardise the internet.
WAN - Wide Area Network. A network that extends over more than one site. The Internet is the best example.
Wi-Fi - Wireless Fidelity. Communication between PC's using wireless signals.
WIMP - Windows, Icons, Menus and Pulldowns. Standard GUI components.
WMP - Windows Media Player.
WWW - World-Wide Web.