Berry Computer Services Jargon Buster has
been compiled to help eliminate confusion over technical terms that are frequently used in the
IT industry.

VPN: (Virtual private networking)
Enables remote users to connect to their office network securely over the internet.

SMTP: (Simple Mail Transport Protocol)
A protocol used by mail server to transfer mail.

POP: (Post Office Protocol)
A Protocol which allows you to collect mail over the internet.

RAM: (Random Access Memory)
The computer's main memory, which it uses to hold whatever you are currently working on.

ROM: (Read Only Memory)
Memory whose contents are preset and cannot (usually) be changed by the user.

RAID: (Redundant array of inexpensive disks)
Spreads data across 2 or more disks.

BIOS: (Basic Input out put system)
Built in programme to help configure your PC and start the operating system.

RGB: (Red, Green and Blue colours)
The three colours used by a computer screen
- all the other colours can be made up by mixing red, blue and green.

CMYK:
(Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Keystone - Black)
The standard four colours used by most printers.

MIME: (Multipurpose internet mail extension)
The standard way of attaching binary files to an email.

HTML: (Hyper Text Markup Language)
Internet Language which web pages are written.

ADSL: (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line)
A method of connecting a computer to the internet over an ordinary phone line using ethernet office networking technology instead of an ordinary modem, which produces a much faster (broadband) connection.

Adware:
Software which displays advertisements on your computer. Sometimes installed as part of a "free" application, sometimes by stealth.

AGP: (Advanced Graphics Port)
A special slot on the PC motherboard for the latest graphics cards, and the format of the cards themselves.

ASCII: (American Standard Code
for Information Interchange)
An early and very basic format for text files, standard across pretty much all computers and mail systems.

Bandwidth:
A measure of total amount of data transferred over a period of time, often used to measure how busy a
website is.

BMP: (Bitmap)
A standard type of graphics file. An uncompressed format, so the files tend to be fairly big.

Cookie:
A small data file stored on your computer by a website,
in theory to allow it to "remember" your preferences,
but in practise mostly used to track which adverts you have seen.

CPU: (Central Processing Unit)
The nerve centre of the computer: everything flows through it.

DVD: (Digital Versatile Disk)
A more advanced version of the standard CD which can hold far more information, now standard on most new PCs. Widely used for high-quality digital movies.

FTP: (File Transfer Protocol)
A way of transferring files to or from an internet server. Often how you upload webpage’s to the internet.

IP: (Internet Protocol)
A protocol (computer language) which computers use to communicate with and over the internet.

SCSI: (Small Computer Systems Interface;
pr. "scuzzy")
A fast system for controlling hard disks, tape drives, and various other add-ons.

PDA: (Personal Digital Assistant)
A small handheld computer used for taking notes on the move, keeping contact information and so on.

PDF: (Portable Document Format)
A popular document format, used mainly for online computer manuals, which retains the look of a printed book onscreen.

SP2: (Service Pack 2)
A major enhancement to Windows XP, particularly its security vulnerabilities.

TCP/IP:
(Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)
A common protocol (language) which a computer can
use to communicate with other computers, particularly
on the internet.

TFT: (Thin Film Transistor)
A technology used mainly in laptop screens for giving a sharp and vibrant colour display.

TWAIN: (Technology Without An Interesting Name, according to legend)
A standard "language" or protocol which computers use to communicate with scanners.

USB: (Universal Serial Bus)
A type of serial port (or connector), used to attach extra devices such as a scanner to a PC.

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