Glossary
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Numbers
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10Base2 Network standard using co-axial cable. Sometimes called ThinNet
10Base5 Network standard used mainly for backbones (qv). Sometimes called
ThickNet
10BaseT Network standard. Sometimes called Twisted Pair
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A
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AKF The first part of the code for Acorn Monitors, e.g. AKF50.
ANSI American National Standards Institute
ANT A company producing RISC OS-related network products
AOF Acorn Object Format, a way of storing computer code
ARM 1. Acorn RISC Machine, the name of the processor that powers Acorn's
advanced computer systems. There are various types: ARM2, ARM250,
ARM3, ARM610, ARM7500 and so on
2. Advanced Risc Machines Ltd, the company that designs the ARM
(def.1).
ART Acorn RISC Technologies. A subcompany of the Acorn Computer Group.
ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange.
A standard for coding alphabetic, numeric and other symbols as
numbers (A=65, B=66 and so on).
ATM At The Moment (an Internet abbreviation)
(B)AU (BBC) Acorn User magazine
AUN Acorn Universal Networking, a system for linking Acorn computers,
and others, together via networks.
A/V Audio/Visual
AVA Audio Visual Aid
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B
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Backbone A network cable to which small, self-contained networks can be
attached.
BASIC Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code, a relatively
simple computer language for humans.
BAUD A unit of speed in telecommunications, in bits per second.
BBS Bulletin Board System, software for driving a phone-up bulletin
board service.
BETT British Education Teaching Technology (?) an annual information
technology show for teachers.
Bit Binary Digit - a 1 or 0
BNC A specific type of cable connector, used often with networks.
BFN Bye For Now (an Internet abbreviation)
BNC A specific type of cable connector that's fiddly to assemble. Used by
Thin Ethernet, Video Monitors.
BOOT Short for Bootstrap, the name given to an automatic program
loading process when a computer is switched on, or a program run.
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C
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C A high level compiled programming language available for many
platforms
C++ A computer language with advanced OOP (qv) facilities, the next
stage on from, but similar to, C.
CAD Computer Aided Design.
CAD/CAM Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing Process.
CAL Computer Aided Learning.
CBT Computer Based Training.
CDT Craft, Design and Technology, a school subject.
CISC Complex Instruction Set Computer (or Chip ?). The chip that makes
PCs work (e.g. 486, Pentium). Performs complex instructions fairly
slowly, see also RISC.
CGA A graphics resolution used primarily on IBM PCs and their clones.
CPI Characters Per Inch. How small a printer prints its characters.
CPS Characters Per Second. Unit of speed for printers.
CPU Central Processing Unit. The main part of a computer.
CSH Cambridgeshire Software House. Award winning software producer, of
RISC OS-related products
CSV Comma Separated Values, a format of computer file where information
is stored separated by commas. Used in Database files, amongst other
things.
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D
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DD Double Density (refers to floppy discs). A DD disc can hold 800K on
an Acorn.
DEBI The interface for connecting expansion cards to the Risc PC
DIL Dual In Line. A design of chip using two straight rows of pins
DIP Dual In-line Package switch. The small internal switches used to
set-up a printer.
DOS Disc Operating System. The low level operating system used by IBM
PCs and their clones.
DSP Digital Signal Processor. A particular type of processor chip.
DTP Desk Top Publishing. Creating page layouts using a computer.
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E
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EASI Extended Acorn System Inferface - new expansion bus for Risc PCs and
A7000.
EGA A graphics resolution used primarily on IBM PCs and their clones.
E-MAIL Electronic data transfer system for personal messages
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F
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FDD Floppy disc drive
FIFO First in, first out
FS Filing system
FTP File Transfer Protocol, the rules by which files may be transferred
across the Internet. Also used as a verb "you can FTP it"
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G
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Gb 1 Gigabyte = 1024 x 1024 x 1024 bytes.
GIF Graphics Image Format, a format for storing pictures
GUI Graphical User Interface, a way of presenting a computer to its
user. A GUI usually implies the use of graphical elements such as
windows and icons, plus a pointing tool such as the mouse.
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H
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HD 1. High Density (refers to floppy discs). A HD disc can hold 1.6Mb
on an Acorn.
2. High Definition (refers to Monitors). Better than VGA resolution.
HDD Hard disc drive
HP Hewlett Packard, a company known for making printers
HCCS A company producing RISC OS-related products
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I
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ICON A small picture displayed on screen to communicate something
IDE Integrated Drive Electronics, a method of attaching hard drives,
CD-ROMs etc. to a computer. A maximum of 2 devices per interface,
internally mounting devices only.
IIRC If I Remember Correctly (an Internet abbreviation)
IOMD Input/Output Memory Device, chip for controlling memory and
peripherals on the Risc PC and A7000.
ISP Internet Service Provider, a company which provides access to the
Internet, by allowing its customers to dial-in and connect.
IT Information Technology.
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J
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JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group. A format for storing pictures in a
highly compressed format. It reaches high compression by
actually losing parts of the original file, but hopefully only
those parts you wouldn't notice anyway. Good for photos.
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K
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KA9Q Freeware program used to connect to the Internet. Gradually becoming
obsolete.
Kb 1 Kilobyte = 1,024 bytes.
KS1,KS2 School development ranges, Key Stages.
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L
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LAN Local Area Network. A network that is run across one site, e.g. a
school's AUN.
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M
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Mb 1 Megabyte = 1024 x 1024 bytes.
MDF Monitor Definition File. Text file that tells a Risc PC what sort of
monitor it is connected to and what screen resolutions, colours etc.
are available.
MEMC The memory control chip in ARM2 and ARM3-based computer systems
MIPS Millions of Instructions per Second, speed of processing of a CPU (qv)
not very useful when comparing different types of processor.
Modulus11 a type of file encryption
MPEG Motion Picture Experts Group. Similar to JPEG, but used with movies
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N
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NLQ Near Letter Quality. A middle range printing standard.
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O
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OCR Optical Character Recognition, a computer system for reading written
words, e.g. a received fax, and converting it to ASCII text.
OLE Object Linking and Embedding, the technique of placing files
belonging to one type of application into the files of another and
having them display correctly.
OLR Off-Line Reader. A program to read and reply to email off-line, i.e.
while not connected to a BBS or the Internet.
OM Online Media. A sub-company of the Acorn Computer Group.
OMR Optical Mark Reader. A method of reading special forms eg multiple
choice exams
OOP Object Oriented Programming, a technique for writing programs which
helps in the development of large programs by reducing (hopefully)
the number of errors.
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P
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PBII PocketBook 2, a palmtop computer.
PD Public Domain. Free software, it may or may not still have its
author's copyright attached.
PERITEL The new name for SCART. A type of A/V connector.
PGP Pretty Good Privacy. A very powerful type of encryption software.
POP 1. Point of Presence, a physical location where you can dial to
connect to an Internet Service Provider (qv). Also 'PoP'.
2. Post Office Protocol, a system for receiving email where mail
is kept on a central 'post office' computer and retrieved
when required, as opposed to SMTP (qv).
PPP A protocol for connecting computers over a distance.
Protocol A set of rules for achieving something
PSU Power Supply Unit. Circuit converting mains power to the low voltages
required for most electronics.
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Q
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QWERTY The standard keyboard layout, starting with the keys Q,W,E,R,T,Y.
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R
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RAM Random Access Memory. The memory available to hold data in a computer
without having to access the data storage medium (such as a hard disc).
RF Radio Frequency
RGB Red-Green-Blue
RISC Reduced Instruction Set Compiler, the design philosophy which
the ARM (qv) chip is based on. Performs limited number of simple
instructions very fast.
ROM Read Only Memory. The memory in which data can only be read from and
not written to.
ROT13 A type of encryption for text files to obscure their meaning
ROTFL Rolls On The Floor Laughing (an Internet abbreviation)
RPC Common Internet abbreviation for Risc PC
RS232 Communications standard for cable connections to a computer.
RTFM Read The "Friendly"(?) Manual !
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S
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SCART A type of connector for video cables, now called PERITEL.
SCSI Small Computer Systems Interface, a method of connecting up to eight
peripheral devices to a computer, such as hard discs and scanners.
The devices can be internally mounted or external.
SECA Special Extra Curricular Activity
SIMM Single In-line Memory Module, a standard format for memory devices
to be plugged into computers
SLIP Serial Line Internet Protocol, a protocol for connecting computers
over a distance by a serial connection.
SMS Short Message Service - a method of sending short text messages via
a digital telephone
SMTP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, a protocol (qv) for receiving
e-mail where the messages are sent directly to the recipient
machine, as opposed to POP (qv).
SSD Solid State Drive - a memory chip used like a disc drive in Pocket
Book / Psion 3
SVGA Super-VGA, a graphics resolution better than VGA, used primarily on
IBM PCs and their clones. Also the monitors supplied with Risc PCs.
Syquest A brand name, refers to a removable hard-disc system
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T
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Taos A new operating system that permits programs to split their work
across multiple processors.
TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, the main communication
protocols used on the Internet.
Telnet A simple text-based method of communicating with other computers
across the internet; used often for chatting or games.
TIFF Tagged Image File Format, a versatile format for storing pictures
TLA Three Letter Acronym
TSV Tab Separated Values, a format of computer file where information
is stored separated by Tabs. Used in Database files, amongst other
things.
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U
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UART Universal Asychronous Reciever/Transmitter ?? The chip used by PCs
to drive their serial ports.
UNIX An operating system suitable for multitasking on networks.
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V
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VDU Visual Display Unit. The monitor display unit.
VGA Video Graphics Array. A graphics resolution used primarily on IBM PCs
and their clones. Better than XGA, worse than SVGA.
VIDC Video Controller. Chip that handles screen display, mouse and sound on
Acorn machines.
vPOP Virtual PoP (qv), a PoP (qv) which is located locally in terms
of phone calls, but is geographically located somewhere else.
VRAM Video RAM, a special form of computer memory used for holding video
images, it can be read from and written to simultaneously.
VTi A company producing RISC OS-related products
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W
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WAN Wide Area Network. A network of computers that is spread over a
large geographic area.
WIMP Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers, the requisites for a GUI (qv)
WP Word processing. The manipulation of text on a computer.
WWW World Wide Web, the millions of electronic 'pages' located on the
computers across the world that make up the Internet.
WYSIWYG What You See Is What You Get. Whatever appears on screen is what will
be printed.
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X
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XGA Extended Graphics Adaptor. A graphics resolution used primarily on
IBM PCs and their clones.
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Y
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Z
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ZIF Zero Insertion Force. A type of socket that allows chips to be plugged
in without any force, a lever is then pulled to grab the chip's legs.
ZIP A type of compressed archive for storing files.
ZOO Another type of compressed archive.