Technical support
Terms related to computer fundamentals, including computer hardware definitions and words and phrases about software, operating systems, peripherals and troubleshooting.INF - PAR
- infonesia - Infonesia is an inability to remember where you saw or heard an item of information.
- information - Information is stimuli that has meaning in some context for its receiver.
- information systems (IS) - An information system (IS) is an interconnected set of components used to collect, store, process and transmit data and digital information.
- information technology (IT) - Information technology (IT) is the use of any computers, storage, networking and other physical devices, infrastructure and processes to create, process, store, secure and exchange all forms of electronic data.
- inline frame (iframe) - An inline frame (iframe) is a HTML element that loads another HTML page within the document.
- instruction set - An instruction set is a group of commands for a central processing unit (CPU) in machine language.
- integer - An integer (pronounced IN-tuh-jer) is a whole number (not a fractional number) that can be positive, negative, or zero.
- integration - Integration is the act of bringing together smaller components or information stored in different subsystems into a single functioning unit.
- intelligent system - An intelligent system is an advanced computer system that can gather, analyze and respond to the data it collects from its surrounding environment.
- interoperability - Interoperability (pronounced IHN-tuhr-AHP-uhr-uh-BIHL-ih-tee) is the ability of different systems, devices, applications or products to connect and communicate in a coordinated way, without effort from the end user.
- interrupt request (IRQ) - An interrupt request (IRQ) is a signal sent to a computer's processor to momentarily stop (interrupt) its operations.
- iSCSI switch (Internet Small Computer System Interface switch) - An iSCSI switch is an appliance that processes and channels data between an iSCSI initiator and target on a storage device.
- ISV (independent software vendor) - An ISV (independent software vendor) makes and sells software products that run on one or more computer hardware or operating system (OS) platforms.
- iterative development - Iterative development is a way of breaking down the software development lifecycle (SDLC) of a large application into smaller chunks.
- JBoss - JBoss is a division of Red Hat that provides support for the JBoss open source application server program and related middleware services marketed under the JBoss Enterprise Middleware brand.
- job - In certain computer operating systems, a job is the unit of work that a computer operator -- or a program called a job scheduler -- gives to the OS.
- job step - In certain computer operating systems, a job step is part of a job, a unit of work that a computer operator (or a program called a job scheduler) gives to the operating system.
- K-12 - K-12, a term used in education and educational technology in the United States, Canada and some other countries, is a short form for the publicly supported school grades prior to college.
- Kbps (kilobits per second) - In the U.S.
- kelvin (K) - The kelvin (abbreviation K), less commonly called the degree Kelvin (symbol, o K), is the Standard International (SI) unit of thermodynamic temperature.
- kinetic energy - Kinetic energy is the energy of motion, observable as the movement of an object or subatomic particle.
- knowledge base - In general, a knowledge base is a centralized repository of information.
- Kryder's Law - Kryder's Law describes the rate at which former Seagate CTO Mark Kryder predicted disk drive density would grow.
- lambda - Lambda, the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet, is used as both a symbol and a concept in various fields of science, mathematics and computing.
- laser - A laser is a coherent and focused beam of photons; coherent, in this context, means that it is all one wavelength, unlike ordinary light which showers on us in many wavelengths.
- latitude and longitude - Latitude and longitude are parameters or coordinates that help determine the location of any place on Earth.
- lean manufacturing (lean production) - Lean manufacturing is a methodology that focuses on minimizing waste within manufacturing systems while simultaneously maximizing productivity.
- learning curve - Learning curves are a visualization of the difficulty estimated in learning a subject over a period of time as well as relative progress throughout the process of learning.
- lemniscate - A lemniscate is a plane curve with a characteristic shape, consisting of two loops that meet at a central point as shown below.
- lights-out management (LOM) - Lights-out management (LOM) is a form of out-of-band management.
- line of sight (LOS) - Line of sight (LOS) is the imaginary line between an observer and the target.
- linearity - Linearity is the behavior of a circuit, particularly an amplifier, in which the output signal strength varies in direct proportion to the input signal strength.
- load balancing - Load balancing is a technique used to distribute network traffic across a pool of servers known as a server farm.
- localization - Localization (sometimes shortened to "L10n") is the process of adapting a product or service to a particular language, culture and desired local "look-and-feel.
- logical block addressing (LBA) - Logical block addressing (LBA) is a technique to specify the addresses of blocks of data on a storage device, such as a hard disk.
- logical equivalence - Logical equivalence is the condition of equality that exists between two statements or sentences in propositional logic or Boolean algebra.
- logical implication - Logical implication is a type of relationship between two statements or sentences.
- logical OR symbol - In mathematics, the logical OR symbol is a Boolean function that is positioned between two statements to indicate an inclusive disjunction between them.
- logon (or login) - In computing, a logon is a procedure that enables an entity to access a secure system such as an operating system, application, service, website or other resource.
- longitudinal time code (LTC) - Longitidinal time code (LTC) is a timing signal that is part of an audio tape recording.
- lossless and lossy compression - Lossless and lossy file compression describe whether all original data can be recovered when the file is uncompressed.
- lowerCamelCase - A part of CamelCase, lowerCamelCase is a naming convention in which a name contains multiple words that are joined together as a single word.
- Luddite - A Luddite is a person resistant to increased industrialization or new technologies, especially computers.
- LZW compression - LZW compression is a method to reduce the size of Tag Image File Format (TIFF) or Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) files.
- m-commerce (mobile commerce) - M-commerce (mobile commerce) is the buying and selling of goods and services through wireless handheld devices such as smartphones and tablets.
- machine code (machine language) - Machine code, also known as machine language, is the elemental language of computers.
- magnetic stripe reader (magstripe reader) - A magnetic stripe reader, also called a magstripe reader, is a hardware device that reads the information encoded in the magnetic stripe located on the back of a plastic badge.
- management information systems (MIS) - Management information systems (MIS) is a department within an enterprise responsible for controlling the hardware and software systems that the organization uses to make business-critical decisions.
- marcom (or marcomm) - Marcom (sometimes spelled 'marcomm') is an abbreviation for 'marketing communications.
- Master Boot Record (MBR) - The Master Boot Record (MBR) is the information in the first sector of a hard disk or a removable drive.
- Mathematical symbols - This table contains mathematical symbols and links to definitions of what they represent and how they are used.
- matter - Matter is a substance made up of various types of particles that occupies physical space and has inertia.
- mean time to innocence - Mean time to innocence is the average elapsed time between when a system problem is detected and any given team's ability to say the team or part of its system is not the root cause of the problem.
- mebibyte (MiB) - A mebibyte (MiB) is a unit of measurement used in computer data storage.
- megabits per second (Mbps) - Megabits per second (Mbps) are units of measurement for network bandwidth and throughput.
- megabyte (MB) - As a measure of computer processor storage and real and virtual memory, a megabyte (abbreviated MB) is 2 to the 20th power bytes, or 1,048,576 bytes in decimal notation.
- memory - Memory is the electronic holding place for the instructions and data a computer needs to reach quickly.
- memory dump - A memory dump is the process of taking all information content in RAM and writing it to a storage drive as a memory dump file (*.
- memory management - Memory management is the process of controlling and coordinating a computer's main memory.
- memory read error - A memory read error is a malfunction that occurs when data is being accessed from memory for use by a program, or when a value read from RAM fails to match an expected value.
- metered services (pay-per-use) - Metered services (also called pay-per-use) are any type of payment structure in which a customer has access to potentially unlimited resources but only pays for what they actually use.
- microsecond - A microsecond (us or Greek letter mu plus s) is one millionth (10 -6) of a second.
- Microsoft Remote Desktop Web Access (Microsoft RD Web Access) - Microsoft Remote Desktop Web Access (Microsoft RD Web Access) is a feature in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2012 that allows users to access RemoteApp and Desktop Connection through the Start menu or a Web browser.
- middleware - Middleware is software that is used to bridge the gap between applications and operating systems.
- MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) - Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) is a standard to transmit and store music, originally designed for digital music synthesizers.
- millimeter (mm, millimetre) - A millimeter (abbreviated as mm and sometimes spelled as millimetre) is a small unit of length/distance in the metric system, one-thousandth of a meter (which is similar in length to a yard in the Imperial system of measurement).
- mobile device - A mobile device is essentially a handheld computer.
- modeling and simulation (M&S) - Modeling and simulation (M&S) is the use of a physical or logical representation of a given system to generate data and help determine decisions or make predictions about the system.
- mole per meter cubed (Avogadro constant) - The mole per meter cubed (mol / m 3) is the International Unit of amount-of-substance concentration.
- molecule - A molecule is two or more atoms connected by chemical bonds, which form the smallest unit of a substance that retains the composition and properties of that substance.
- monolithic - Monolithic, in information technology, means either very large or composed all in one piece, depending on the particular context.
- most significant bit (MSB) - The most significant bit (MSB) is the bit in a multiple-bit binary number with the largest value.
- motherboard - A motherboard is the main printed circuit board (PCB) in a computer.
- MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3) - MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3) is a method to compress and store audio.
- mu - The lowercase Greek letter µ (pronounced mu) generally represents the prefix multiplier 0.
- multicore processor - A multicore processor is an integrated circuit that has two or more processors attached for enhanced performance and reduced power consumption.
- multiprocessing - Multiprocessing is the utilization of two or more central processing units (CPUs) in a single computer system.
- NACK (NAK, negative acknowledgment, not acknowledged) - NACK, or NAK, an abbreviation for negative acknowledgment or not acknowledged, is a signal used by computers or other devices to indicate that data transmitted over a network was received with errors or was otherwise unreadable.
- nanomachine (nanite) - A nanomachine, also called a nanite, is a mechanical or electromechanical device whose dimensions are measured in nanometers (millionths of a millimeter, or units of 10 -9 meter).
- nanosecond (ns or nsec) - A nanosecond (ns or nsec) is one-billionth of a second.
- native app - A native application is a software program developers build for use on a particular platform or device.
- native code - Native code is binary data compiled to run on a processor, such as an Intel x86-class processor.
- nearline storage - Nearline storage is the on-site storage of data on removable media.
- nearshore outsourcing - Nearshore outsourcing is the practice of getting work done or services performed by people in neighboring countries rather than an organization's country.
- network availability - Network availability is the amount of uptime in a network system over a specific time interval.
- network protocol - A network protocol is a set of established rules that specify how to format, send and receive data so that computer network endpoints, including computers, servers, routers and virtual machines, can communicate despite differences in their underlying infrastructures, designs or standards.
- network socket - Sockets are created and used with a set of programming requests or "function calls" sometimes called the sockets application programming interface (API).
- neuromarketing - Neuromarketing is the study of how people's brains respond to advertising and other brand-related messages by scientifically monitoring brainwave activity, eye tracking and skin response.
- nibble - In computing and digital technology, a nibble is four consecutive binary digits or half of an 8-bit byte.
- nil - In general use, nil (a contraction of Latin "nihil") means "nothing" or the absence of something.
- null set - In mathematical sets, a null set is a set that does not contain any values or elements.
- OEM (original equipment manufacturer) - OEM, or original equipment manufacturer, is a broad term that describes a web of relationships among IT hardware vendors, hardware component makers, software vendors and channel partners such as resellers and distributors.
- ohnosecond - An ohnosecond is that very short moment in time during which you realize that you have pressed the wrong key and deleted hours, days, or weeks of work.
- on-demand computing - On-demand computing (ODC) is an enterprise computing delivery model in which computing resources are made available to the user as needed.
- onshore outsourcing (domestic outsourcing) - Onshore outsourcing, also known as domestic outsourcing, is the obtaining of services from someone outside a company but within the same country.
- open system - In computing, an open system is a platform that can be modified and extended and has freely available documentation.
- operand - In computing and mathematics, an operand is an object that is operated on by some type of operator.
- operation (computing) - An operation, in computing, is an action that is carried out to accomplish a given task.
- operations research (OR) - Operations research (OR) is an analytical method of problem-solving and decision-making that is useful in the management of organizations.
- outsourcing - Outsourcing is a business practice in which a company hires a third party to perform tasks, handle operations or provide services for the company.