802.11 A set of Standards for short-range radio frequency wireless networks – has A, B, G and N flavors
Airport Apple’s name for it’s 802.11 compliant wireless hardware and software
alias a small file which points to another file – user action on an alias affects the file pointed to
analog using information represented by a continuously variable physical quantity such as spatial position or voltage
application a complex program, generally with a polished GUI and large range of user controlled capabilities
ASCII (pronounced “ask’ ee”) American Standard Code for Information Interchange – a character encoding based on the English alphabet (128 characters/95 Printable)
ASP Active Server Pages – a Microsoft method for imbedding code on a web page
bandwidth the range of frequencies which a device can handle, Commonly used to refer to a network’s carrying capacity
binary using base two numbers
bit one binary digit – “1” or “0”
black box a component of a system that has known inputs and outputs but of which the internal workings are unknown
boot from “bootstrap” – computer startup involving the loading of instructions on how to load further instructions (i.e the OS )
broadband a high bandwidth internet connection (what is considered “high” tends to increase over time)
byte eight bits
Classic 1) original Macintosh operating system (versions 1 – 9)OS 9 from within some versions of OS X
click to press and release a pointing device button
client the data requester in a client -server relationship
client-server a software model for the movement of data on a network in which one computer acts as a file ?server’, granting or refusing requests for data from other computers acting as “clients”
clipboard logical area which holds information cut or copied
command key key on either side of the space-bar ? represented by “?” AKA “the Apple key”
command line text based interface
computer data processing machine
contextual menu context-sensitive menu revealed by right(or control)-clicking
control key third key to left of the space-bar ? represented by “^”
CPU central processing unit ?refers to the processor or the case which contains it
CSS Cascading Style Sheets – a way of separating formating information from content in web pages
cursor element on the screen which responds to pointing device input
data information
default preset value or behavior
desktop computer screen background
device an electronic and/or electro-mechanical peripheral connected to a computer
digital using information represented by discrete values (digits)
directory 1) a file containing location information for the set of files on a volume or within a folder
DNS Domain Name Server – index on a network which cross-references domain names (i.e. apple.com) with IP addresses
Dock graphical bar containing icons of application s and/or document s allowing for quick access
document a file created within an application by a user
double-click two rapid clicks of primary or left mouse button
drag a pointing device action involving:
drag and drop dragging to move (or copy with option key) a selected item
eject un-mount a volume and/or physically remove disk from computer
file a logical unit of information storage
Finder The application on the Mac OS which allows the user to view, move, copy and otherwise manipulate the files on any volume mounted on that system. The Finder, which always runs on a booted Mac system, is more or less analogous to the Windows Explorer on the Windows OS.
filename extension three or more letters following a dot (.) at the end of a file name identifying the file’s type
Flash a program developed by Macromedia (and now owned by Adobe) for delivering vector based graphics and animation over the web.
folder a logical arrangement of files often appearing as a file folder icon in a GUI – AKA directory
FTP File Transfer protocol – a client -server protocol for exchanging files over a network
GUI graphical user interface ? sometimes pronounced “gooey” – generally involves a pointing device, drop down menus, icons
hard drive a device which stores data magnetically on a spinning metal disk
Home folder place where all of a user’s files are stored (OS X path: Macintosh HD:Users:yourusername)
HTML Hypertext Markup Language – a standard for the creation of hypertext document s
HTTP Hypertext Transport protocol – client server protocol designed for the delivery of hypertext document s
hypertext document containing automated cross-references to other document s called hyperlinks. Selecting a hyperlink causes the computer to load and display the linked document .
icon a small onscreen graphic representing something – usually a volume , directory , file or application
IMAP Internet Message Access protocol – common e-mail protocol allowing a client to receive incoming mail from the server. It allows users to access new messages instantly
insertion point blinking vertical bar indicating where typed text input will appear ? sometimes also called the caret
install to place a program’s files onto the hard drive of a computer in a way which allows the program to be accessed and run
installer a program which installs another program
internet internetwork – a network of networks. “The Internet” is the worldwide, publicly accessible network of interconnected computer networks that transmit data by packet switching using the standard Internet protocol (IP).
IP Internet protocol – a method used for communicating data across a packet-switched internet work.
IP address a computer address – a unique address used by some electronic devices to identify and communicate with each other on a computer network by means of IP
ISP Internet Service Provider – company providing computer internet connection
Java an object oriented programing language well suited for use on the internet
Java Applet a client side method for creating rich web content using Java – a small Java application which runs through a web browser
Javascript a scripting language for adding interactivity to web pages, it appears similar to Java, but is not related
JSP Java Sever Pages – a method of imbedding Java instructions on the web page
kernel the core of a Unix OS ? the open source OS X kernel is called “Darwin”
launch to activate an application
library file or folder containing information used by the OS or an application generally not directly accessed by user
Local Area network (LAN)a network, generally ethernet or wireless, shared by a physically local set of devices.
log in opening and activating a user account on a computer, network, or website – generally requires entering a user name and password
memory data storage area
menu a list of commands – generally refers to a “drop-down” menu revealed by clicking in an appropriate place
menu bar graphical bar at top of screen with words or icons which can be clicked to reveal drop-down menus
modifier keys keys pressed while clicking which modify the effect of the click
mount cause the OS to recognize a volume – generally includes displaying it within the interface
mouse common pointing device
network a group of computers and/or peripherals connected together to allow file sharing and shared access to resources like internet and peripherals
open source software for which the editable source code is freely available
operating system (OS) software which handles basic computer operations such as communications among the CPU , memory and devices, maintaining the user interface, and handling user input
option key key between control and command – represented by “?”
OS X (pronounced “oh ess ten”) the current Macintosh OS built on Unix
P2P Peer-to-Peer – as opposed to client -server, a connection between equal peer nodes that simultaneously function as both “clients” and “servers” to the other nodes on the network
packet formatted block of information carried by a computer network
path a method of describing the location of a file or directory – for example, the location of the Safari web browser on Mac OS X is represented as /Applications/Safari (UNIX style) or Macintosh HD:Applications:Safari (Macintosh style)
PDF Portable document Format – A format for “cross-platform” document s – a standard way of share document s by e-mail and web
permissions information attached to a file or folder controlling who has access – can include read, write and/or execute
pointing device a device by which the cursor can be moved
POP Post Office protocol – common e-mail protocol allowing a client to receive incoming mail from the server
Postscript a page description language used by many printers – the basis for the PDF format
preferences user alterable behaviors
processor the integrated circuit chip which performs data processing
program n. computer code which performs a task – v. to create such code
protocol the special set of rules that end points in a network connection use when they communicate
RAM random access memory – integrated circuit chips which hold data temporarily for quick CPU access
restart (or reboot) to shutdown a running system and then boot it again
right-click click the right-hand mouse button (Control-click produces same result on Mac OS X)
router networking device that forwards data packets across an internet toward their destinations – for example, Apple’s Airport Express or Extreme base stations
RTF Rich Text Format – a common file format for text document s which allows for styled text (i.e. – mixed fonts, bold, italic, centered, justified, etc.)
scroll move window contents around in the window by using scrollbar, mouse scroll wheel, or trackpad
scrollbar graphical bar at right or bottom of a window which can be manipulated to reveal window contents hidden due to window size
select highlight an onscreen object – i.e. by clicking on it or dragging over it
server the data source in a client -server relationship
Servlets a server side method for creating rich web content using Java
Shockwave the name given to the technology of Flash and to the plug-in client needed to view Flash content
SMTP Simple Mail Transfer protocol – a basic client -server protocol for the sending of e-mail.
software data containing instructions which the CPU can execute
startup ? same as boot above
switch device which connects various devices on a LAN . Unlike routers, switches do not assign IP addresses, or forward packets to addresses.
Unicode an industry standard character encoding designed to allow text and symbols from all of the writing systems of the world to be consistently represented and manipulated by computers
UNIX a robust, multi-user OS which underlies the Mac OS X GUI
user account a user’s access to the OS including a login and password, preferences, and file storage
user interface (UI) the human/computer communications channel
volume a logical portion of a hard drive or other storage device comprised of a directory and its contents
Web short for “World Wide Web”
wi-fi local area wireless networking – see 802.11
Wide Area network (WAN) a network which connects devices which may be spread over a large physical area, i.e. – the internet
window a rectangular pane containing a view of the file system, or a document
wireless without wires, commonly refers to radio frequency 802.11 networks, though now used to refer to internet access through mobile phone technology and short range connectivity via Bluetooth
< Back to Support
Sign up today!
Newsletter!
