The term hardware refers to those parts of the computer
which you can touch and are usually hard. Computer
hardware is usually referring to the parts inside
the computer box, such as the hard drive, the floppy
drive, the CD Rom drive, or the sound or video card.
I.e. all the physical apparatus or the machinery
part of the computer is hardware.
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The Motherboard is the big printed circuit that
covers most of the bottom of the system unit. The
motherboard's main job is to provide an area where
all of the internal components of the PC can connect.
All motherboard have connections for the microprocessor,
the RAM chips, the RAM cache, several ROM BIOS chips,
CMOS RAM, the real-time clock and several support
chips, as well as a variety of general purpose expansion
slots.
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At the heart of every computer is the computer’s
Central Processing Unit or CPU. A CPU is an electronic
device that accepts input and performs hundreds
of different types of functions on that input. The
collection of all of the functions that a CPU can
perform is called the CPU’s instruction set. Commands
sent to the CPU to tell the CPU to do something
are called programs. More than any other single
component this programmable chip defines the capabilities,
the character and the speed of the computer.
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Expansion slots enable you to expand the capabilities
of your system by adding extra components. Any device
that snaps into an expansion slot is generally known
as an expansion card. Many expansion cards are designed
with long, thin metal plate one end that shows through
a matching hole in the back of the case. The plate
contains connections for devices that use that card.
E.g. Sound card, Network card.
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Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) is a relatively
new type of dedicated PC graphics bus designed by
Intel Corp to more efficiently render 3D graphics.
The AGP can transfer data at a rate up to 528MB/sec.
By comparison, the more common PCI (Peripheral Component
Interconnect) bus, used in Pentium and Mac machines,
has a maximum transfer rate of 132MB/sec. AGP's
big bandwidth allows games and 3D apps to use more
realistically-rendered textures and faster frame
rates and to store this data in system, instead
of video, memory. This reduces the performance hit
to the system as graphics are presented.
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Video Card is also known as a Graphics Adapter.
This card is used to process the video signal that
goes to your monitor. The Video Card acts as the
interface between the computer and the monitor.
It takes a lot of computing power to generate the
complex visual displays on the average computer
screen. So most of the Video Cards come with there
own on-board CPUs.
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Sound Card is one of the little boards the plug-in
to the motherboard. It's the part that makes all
the sound you hear when you use the computer. This
card enables you to play music CDs on your computer.
The speaker, the microphone, and joystick all plug
into to the sound card. Modern sound cards often
come with surround-sound capabilities, digital inputs,
and most recently support for the DVDs. Technically
speaking, it is a digital to analog and analog to
digital converter. Many PCs have the sound built
into the motherboard.
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The Monitor is the computer’s primary output device.
Over the years, monitors have progressed from small,
black screen with crudely formed glowing green or
orange characters to large, flat-panel screens that
display photographic-quality images in over 4 billion
colors.
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Compact Disk-Read-Only Memory drives or CD-ROM Drives
are designed to read CDs. All modern computers come
with some version of a CD-ROM Drive. Basic CD-ROM
disks can only be read from-you cannot write any
data onto a CD-ROM disk. Compact disk-recordable
(CD-R) disks allow you to write data to them. Newer
PC models usually include Compact Disk-Rewritable
(CD-RW) drives that enable you to read and write
repeatedly to special CD-RW disks.
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Floppy drives are used to read and write floppy
disks. The disks are simply known as floppies. Floppies
were the first kind of storage used by PCs, even
before hard drives. Compared to modern storage Medias,
floppies hold only a very small amount of information,
but they can hold a good number of documents or
pictures, and they are cheep, small, and easy to
buy.
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RAM –“Random Access Memory”- is the little integrated
circuit board with a bunch of memory chips on it
that plug into your motherboard. RAM allows information
to be temporarily stored or accessed by the operating
system and any programs being run. When a program
operates, it uses a certain amount of the computer's
RAM. A computer with 512 Mb of RAM will be able
to run many more programs simultaneously than a
computer with 128 Mb of RAM. When the PC shutdowns,
or suddenly lost power supply, all the data in the
RAM will be lost. So RAM is volatile.
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SDRAM is Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory.
SDRAM is tied to the system clock and is designed
to be able to read or write from memory in burst
mode at 1 clock cycle per access at memory bus speeds
up to 133 MHz. SDRAM supports 5-1-1-1 system timing
when used with a supporting chipset. The 5-1-1-1
means that it takes the RAM five clock cycles to
access the first piece of data in a row. After that
row is activated, it only takes one clock cycles
each for the next three pieces of data contained
within the same row.
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Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory -“RDRAM”- is
a very high-speed type of clocked RAM that runs
at 400 or 533 MHz, achieving these high speeds by
accessing RAM four times per clock cycle. RDRAM
is more expansive than DDR SDRAM, so it tends to
show up only in high-end systems that can use the
slight advantage of RDRAM as compared to DDR SDRAM.
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Double Data Rate SDRAM -“DDR SDRAM”- is “SDRAM”,
but it can make two RAM accesses in each clock cycle,
hence the double. DDR SDRAM comes in four common
speeds: 200, 266, 333, and 400 MHz.
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The Hard Disk is your PC’s secondary storage area.
It is like the computer’s long-term memory; data
stored there remains available for later use. However,
the Hard Drive cannot be accessed as quickly as
RAM, which is the primary memory. The computer uses
the hard drive to store all of the software that
it uses and all of the documents and pictures and
other data that you create and save on the PC. Hard
drive storage is measured in GB.
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A Heat sink snaps into place directly on top of
the CPU and draw heat from the core of the processor
up copper or aluminum vanes to be dissipated by
the fan.
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To access Local Area Network (LAN) like the one
connecting many office computers, most PCs require
a special expansion card called Network Interface
Card (NIC) that snaps into one of the PC’s expansion
slots. Many newer motherboards have this capability
built in.
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Router is the device that connects multiple computer
networks by reading the address information on all
data packets. The packet information is read, and
the packets are then forwarded to the appropriate
end station. Routers provide more functionality
than bridges, which simply connect dissimilar networks.
Routers may be used to connect LANs to LANs or LANs
to WANs.
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A scanner is like a camera for your computer. It
takes a picture of whatever you place on its glass
surface. Once you close the lid and start the scanner
program, the scanner takes a picture that shows
up on your computer screen, ready to be printed
or exported into an image editing program.
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Speakers provide the audio output for your system.
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USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. It is a port
through which data passes from the computer to an
external device. Printers, mice, scanners, digital
cameras, joysticks and many other devices are now
connected to the computer via the USB port. A USB
device is able to be plugged in and unplugged while
the computer is running. This is called hot swapping.
Most computer components are available today with
the USB with a top data transfer speed of 12 Megabytes
per second. There is also a newer version of USB
called USB2. This new interface can transfer data
at speeds of up to 480 Megabytes per second or 40
times faster than the original USB.
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A computer keyboard is a peripheral modelled after
the typewriter keyboard. Keyboards are designed
for the input of text and characters, and also to
control the operation of the computer. Physically,
computer keyboards are an arrangement of rectangular
or near-rectangular buttons, or "keys". Keyboards
typically have characters engraved or printed on
the keys; in most cases, each press of a key corresponds
to a single written symbol. However, to produce
some symbols requires pressing and holding several
keys simultaneously, or in sequence.
The keys on computer keyboards are often classified
as follows:
- Alphanumeric Keys -- Letters and Numbers
- Punctuation Keys -- Comma, Period, Semicolon,
and so on.
- Special Keys -- Function keys, Control Keys,
Arrow Keys, Caps Lock Key, and so on.
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Modem stands for modulator-demodulator. It is the
device that converts signals from your phone line
or cable connection into a digital signal that can
be understood by your computer. It also works in
reverse, connecting your computer to the phone or
cable system.
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The Mouse is a primary input device on modern computer.
It enables you to interact with images on the monitor
screen by controlling an on-screen icon called a
cursor. A mouse has usually two or three buttons.
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ATX form factor was designed to replace the AT form
factor. It improves on the AT design by rotating
the board ninety degrees, so that the IDE connectors
are closer to the drive bays, and the CPU is closer
to the power supply and cooling fan. The keyboard,
mouse, serial, USB, and parallel ports are built
in.
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PCI - "Peripheral Component Interface or Interconnect"
is a 64-bit local bus that was introduced to meet
the more demanding needs of Pentium processors.
The PCI bus has 33 MHz clock speed and a maximum
data transfer rate of 132 MB/sec.
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ATAPI –“AT Attachment Packet Interface”- also known
as IDE or ATA, is a drive implementation that includes
the disk controller on the device itself. It allows
CD-ROMs and tape drives to be configured as master
or slave devices, just like hard drives.
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Bus is a portion of computer architecture which
carries data from one component to another. As a
general rule, more than one component is attached
to a bus, and the particular component or section
of memory being used is selected through the use
of address lines in the bus.
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The process of transferring files from a remote
computer (Usually on the internet) to your computer
is called downloading. These files could be anything;
text files, pictures, music (MP3) files, video,
or software.
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Electronic Commerce (e-Commerce) is a general concept
covering any form of business transaction or information
exchange executed using information and communication
technologies. E-Commerce takes place between companies,
between companies and their customers, or between
companies and public administrations. Electronic
Commerce includes electronic trading of goods, services
and electronic material.
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Firewall is a hardware or software device that protects
a computer from various types of attacks and intrusion
from the internet. A computer without a firewall
is like leaving your front door open for anyone
to come in. The firewall is like having a deadbolt
on a steel door. Nobody is getting in. All computers
connected to the internet should have a firewall.
A firewall controls access in both directions -
uploading and downloading data.
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The Internet is truly network of networks. It is
a massive collection of computer networks that connects
millions of computer, people, software programs,
databases, and files. The parts and players are
spread around the world and interact continuously.
No particular group or organization owns the Internet.
It is actually a worldwide network that links approximately
20,000 other networks together.
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An Intranet is an internal corporate or organizational
network that uses Internet technologies to let employees
browse and share electronic information remarkably
easy. An Intranet is a private version of the Internets
World Wide Web, but its availability only to people
inside the organization.
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Every computer on the Internet has a unique numerical
IP or Internet Protocol address assigned to it,
such as 123.456.78.9. It is a 32-bit address assigned
to computers using TCP/IP. An IP address belongs
to one of five classes A, B, C, D, or E and is written
as four octets separated by periods that is, dotted-decimal
format. Each address consists of a network number,
an optional subnetwork number, and a host number.
The network and subnetwork numbers together are
used for routing, and the host number is used to
address and individual host within the network or
subnetwork. A subnet mask is used to extract network
and subnetwork information from the IP address.
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Mail Server is a software that acts as a “Post Office”
for the e-Mail system. Mail created on the client
sites is passed to the appropriate post-box within
the system or sent out over the internet to its
intended destination. Mail from out side is stored
in post-box files and uploaded to the user’s machine
when requested by the mail client.
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A plug-in extends the capabilities of a web browser,
such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet
Explorer, allowing the browser to run multimedia
files. The term "plug-in" is used in two ways on
the Internet. The technical definition of a plug-in
is a small add-on piece of software that conforms
to Netscape Navigator standard. Other browsers however,
including Internet Explorer, support many Netscape
plug-ins. But Explorer actually uses a different
software standard, called an ActiveX control, instead
of plug-ins.
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A Proxy Server sits in between a Client and the
"real" Server that a Client is trying to use. Clients
are sometimes configured to use a Proxy Server,
usually an HTTP server. The clients makes all of
it's requests from the Proxy Server, which then
makes requests from the "real" server and passes
the result back to the Client. Sometimes the Proxy
server will store the results and give a stored
result instead of making a new one. Proxy servers
are commonly established on Local Area Networks.
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A search engine is a type of software that creates
indexes of databases or Internet sites based on
the titles of files, keywords, or the full text
of files. The search engine has an interface that
allows you to type what you're looking for into
a blank field. It then gives you a list of the results
of the search. When you use a search engine on the
Web, the results are presented to you in hypertext,
which means you can click on any item in the list
to get the actual file.
Popular search engines are: - Goggle, Yahoo, msn….
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Spyware is a somewhat vague term generally referring
to software that is secretly installed on a user’s
computer and that monitors use of the computer in
some way without the users' knowledge or consent.
Most spyware tries to get the user to view advertising
and/or particular web pages. Some spyware also sends
information about the user to another machine over
the Internet.
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TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol, and is the language governing communications
between all computers on the Internet. TCP/IP is
a set of instructions that dictates how packets
of information are sent across multiple networks.
It also includes a built-in error-checking capability
to ensure that data packets arrive at their final
destination in the proper order. Transmission Control
Protocol makes sure that the packets arrive correctly
at their destination address. If TCP determines
that a packet was not received, it will try to resend
the packet until it is received properly.
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Telnet is a software program that allows you to
log in to other remote computers on the Internet
to which you have access. Once you are logged into
the remote system, you can download files, engage
in conferencing, and perform the same commands as
if you were directly connected by computer. You
need an Internet account to be able to use a telnet
program.
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Trojan Horse is a computer program is either hidden
inside another program or that masquerades as something
it is not in order to trick potential users into
running it. For example a program that appears to
be a game or image files but in reality performs
some other function. A Trojan Horse computer program
may spread itself by sending copies of itself from
the host computer to other computers, but unlike
a virus usually it will not infect other programs
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The process of transferring files from your computer
to a remote computer is called uploading. (Usually
to a server on the internet). These files could
be anything; text files, pictures, music (MP3) files,
video, or software.
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URL is Uniform Resource Locator, a standard way
of specifying the location of an object, typically
a web page, on the Internet. URLs are the form of
address used on the World-Wide Web. They are used
in HTML documents to specify the target of a hyperlink
which is often another HTML document.
E.g. http://www.serverandclients.com
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Web based e-mail is a software on a POP3 server
that allows you the luxury, if desired, to access
your POP accounts by simply using a web-browser.
It allows users to send and receive emails via any
web-browser by viewing an HTML web page. Users have
instant access to their email-accounts via POP3
protocol with their assigned username and password
for that account. Web based email is similar to
services such as HotMail or Yahoo and allows you
to access your email from any computer anywhere
in the world through the Internet and a web-browser.
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The software that takes request from client browser,
searches the web and passes back the resultant pages
to the browser is called a Web Server. The server
software will support TCP/IP. The server will, very
probably, store a number of home pages that are
available to local users and other internet users.
E.g. for web server: - Personal Web Server and Internet
Information System.
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The exact definition of the World Wide Web varies,
depending on whom you ask. Three common descriptions
are:
1 A collection of resources
that can be accessed via a web browser.
2 A collection of hypertext
files available on web servers.
3 A set of specifications
or protocols that allows the transmission of web
pages over the Internet.
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A computer worm is a self-replicating computer program,
similar to a computer virus. The main difference
between the two is that a virus attaches itself
to, and becomes part of, another executable program,
while a worm is self-contained; it does not need
to be part of another program to propagate itself.
In addition to replication, a worm may be designed
to do any number of things, such as delete files
on a host computer, or send documents via email.
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Browser is an application on your computer that
allows you to access and display information from
the World Wide Web.
E.g. Internet explorer, Opera, Netscape Navigator
etc…
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Domain Naming System (DNS) is a hierarchal client/server
distributed database management system. In the DNS,
the clients are called resolvers and the servers
are called name servers. DNS servers are strategically
located on the internet of convert domain names
to IP address. When you type a domain name in the
Web browser, a query is sent to the primary DNS
server defined in your Web Browsers configuration
dialog box. The DNS server converts the name you
specified to an IP address to your system. From
then on, the IP address is used in all subsequent
communication.
E.g. For domain name: - serverandclients.com
The top level domains are:-
COM commercial
EDU education
GOV government
ORG organizational
NET networks
INT International treaty organizations
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API - "Application Program Interface" is a series
of software routines and development tools that
comprise an interface between a computer application
and lower-level services and functions (e.g. the
operating system, device drivers, and other low-level
software). APIs serve as building blocks for programmers
putting together software applications.
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BIOS - "Basic Input/Output System" - The BIOS is
the root software in a PC that contains all of the
basic code for controlling drives, keyboard, monitor,
mouse, serial ports, etc. The BIOS acts as a bridge
between the hardware and the operating system. The
BIOS resides on a ROM chip (rather than in RAM),
so that a computer can be booted.
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A database is a structured format for organizing
and maintaining information that can be easily retrieved.
A simple example of a database is a table or a spreadsheet.
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A driver is the software needed to run a hardware
device, such as a printer, sound card, monitor,
or scanner. New computers usually come with all
the drivers already installed. But if you buy a
new printer later or upgrade you video card, you
will have to install the driver for it from the
manufacturer. The driver may be stored on a floppy
disk, a CD Rom, or you may have to download it from
the manufacturer's web site. Usually the driver
comes packaged with the software that came with
your new hardware. You just have to install it.
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Encryption is the way of coding the information
in a file or e-mail message so that if it is intercepted
by a third party as it travels over a network it
cannot be read or understand. Only the persons sending
and receiving the information have the key and this
makes it unreadable to anyone except those persons.
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Any bit of information you save in your computer
is saved as a file. Files can be huge. You can download
a 750 Mb video and it will be saved as a file. Or
they can be tiny. You can type a single letter of
the alphabet or a number and it can be saved as
a file. Text, photos, music, video or any other
data will be saved as a file.
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Operating System is a software, that provides an
interface between the computer and the user. Operating
System is the program that initially loaded into
the computer. It manages all other programs in the
computer. It determines which application should
run in what order and how much time should be allowed
for each application before giving chance to another
application. It manages the sharing of internal
memory among many applications. It also handles
input and output to and from attached hardware devices
such as hard disk, keyboard etc…. It sends messages
to the applications or interactive user about the
status of operation and any error that may have
occurred. E.g. MS-DOS, UNIX, Windows98, Windows
Xp, Windows NT….
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Just like the filing cabinet in your office or home,
in windows operating system, your files are stored
in folders. A folder may contain any number of files
and are only limited by the size of your hard disk.
A folder may also contain other folders within itself.
A folder named "My Documents" can have other folders
within itself called "Personal Letters", "My Photos"
and "My Music" for holding your personal letters,
photos and music respectively. It is a very convenient
and useful method of keeping your computer organized
so that you can quickly find a particular file when
needed.
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Partitioning is the method of dividing a large hard
drive into smaller chunks that can each be assigned
a separate drive letter. For instance, an 80 Gigabyte
drive might be partitioned into four 20 gigabyte
drives, each with its own drive letter; C, D, E
and F.
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A password is a secrete code or word used to gain
access to restricted data on a computer network.
While passwords provide security against unauthorized
users, the security system can only confirm that
the password is legitimate, not whether the user
is authorized to use the password. That's why it
is important to safeguard passwords.
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PDF or "Portable Document Format" is a document
format developed by Adobe to allow documents to
be read "cross-platform," without the viewer needing
the program in which the document was created. The
Adobe Acrobat is needed to view or print a document
saved in PDF format. Corporations that have invested
in brand name identification use PDF to display
the original look of their logos and advertising.
Publishers can create a high-quality brochure and
then "publish" it as is, without converting it to
HTML. Anyone interested in presenting documents
with the highest possible resolution or a complex
layout might choose to use PDF.
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RGB is short term for red, green, and blue. It is
a color model commonly used to display color in
video systems, film recorders, and computer monitors.
It represents all colors as combinations of red,
green and blue light. RGB mode is the most common
color mode for viewing and working with digital
images on a screen.
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Safemode is a special operating mode of windows
that loads when windows detect a problem and cannot
start in normal mode. It operated with a minimum
of device drivers so nothing works but the keyboard
and mouse. It allows you to find and fix the problem.
Scanning for viruses is best done in safe mode.
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Each alphabetic character is represented in a storage
location as a combination of binary digits (0s and
1s) or bits to form a byte. A byte typically stores
8 bits. The higher units are called megabytes, gigabytes,
terabytes, and petabytes.
8 bits = 1 Byte
1024 Bytes = 1 Kilo Byte (KB)
1024 KB = 1 Mega Byte (MB)
1024 MB = 1 Giga Byte (GB)
1024 GB = 1 Tera Byte (TB)
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Virtual reality, sometimes called VR, refers to
computer simulations of real-world "environments"
that use 3-D graphics and external devices like
a data glove or helmet to allow users to interact
with the simulation. Users move through virtual
reality environments as though they were navigating
in real worlds -- walking through structures and
interacting with objects in the environment.
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Software is a part of the computer system, which
enables the computer hardware to operate. Computer
software can be divided into system software and
application software. System software includes all
the computer programs that run the computer; it
also includes the documentation of how these programs
operate. Application software includes the programs
and related documentation that accomplish end-user
data processing tasks.
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A computer virus is a little program that can only
run when the program it is attached to is opened.
They are created by mean human beings, the purpose
of which is to do damage to your files and lately,
to shut down or make inaccessible certain corporate
web sites. Some viruses can wipe out all the information
on your computers and others just replicate themselves
by sending a copy of itself to all the contacts
in your address book. They can make strange or annoying
messages appear in your screen. You can get viruses
by sharing disks or programs with friends or you
can get them by downloading files or programs from
the Internet. Computer viruses can be really nasty.
Special programs called anti virus programs are
available that will help you find and remove any
viruses that you have on your computer. Every computer
should be equipped with anti-virus software which
must be kept up to date.
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Zip is a popular standard for file compression on
the PC. You can recognize it by the .zip file extension.
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