Questions tagged [terminology]

Questions regarding computer-specific terms and jargon. Make sure you show research effort and that your question can be objectively answered.

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What does it mean for software to run natively?

I've been wondering what it means for software to run natively. What exactly is such software and how is it different from software that does not run natively? How can I tell if a given peice of ...
Throsby's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
29k views

What is ecosystem in IT world? [closed]

I am an IT engineer and I've been asked a few days ago a question on which I was unable to answer. I've started looking on the Internet for it, and unfortunately I didn't find anything. The friend of ...
sebap123's user avatar
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29 votes
4 answers
37k views

What exactly is VGA, and what is the difference between it and a video card?

Operating system development tutorials pinpoint reaching screen data by writing directly to VGA or EGA or Super VGA, but what I do not get is what is the real difference between writing to a fixed ...
user avatar
19 votes
8 answers
2k views

What's the meaning of "foo"? [closed]

I've been here around 4 months and several times I saw that people use foo but I don't know what it means. I would like others to explain me about this variable... Why is it important? How do I use ...
poz2k4444's user avatar
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18 votes
3 answers
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Is there a name for the text that shows up at the front of each command in a CLI?

For example, in Ubuntu when I start up a terminal, it says: username@computer:~$ And in Windows: C:\Users\Username> Is there a formal way to refer to that text?
Erty Seidohl's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
79 views

What's the correct term for this network connection? [closed]

What is the correct general term for the network connection on mobile devices that can connect to networks via telecoms links? Question asked "my device is not connecting to my local web server here"....
Preet Sangha's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
15k views

What are 'Toasts' or 'Toast Notifications' in Windows 8?

I have seen the term 'Toast' used in the Windows 8 context. I have also seen them referred to as 'Toast Notifications'. What exactly are 'Toasts' in Windows 8?
mcqwerty's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
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What is the difference between "load" and "fetch"?

I often encounter the words load and fetch in contexts where data are being read from some source, and they seem to have slightly different meanings. What's the difference? I've done some research ...
bwDraco's user avatar
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9 votes
1 answer
19k views

How does uploading a file actually work?

Uploading is described as transferring a file(s) like photo, audio file etc. to a server on the web. I wonder a couple of things how uploading occurs as network/communication means. For example, when ...
Ozgun S's user avatar
  • 315
3 votes
2 answers
2k views

Terminology used for CPU/Processors

Suppose a system has 4 Intel Xeon processors each having 10 physical cores with HyperThreading enabled which makes a total of 80 cores Now it is completely confusing when in documentation they start ...
Basit Anwer's user avatar
77 votes
7 answers
80k views

What is the correct term for the mouse pointer/nipple/joystick thingy in the middle of a laptop's keyboard?

I want to call it a "mouse nipple" or maybe a "joystick", although I know these are not correct. It's different from the touchpad, which is below the keyboard and has dedicated click buttons. Instead,...
Doug T.'s user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
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Is EM64T the same as VT-Enabled?

I have here a Dell Poweredge 850 which I got from my old work, I just install windows 7 to test and see if everything is ok, I want to set it up as a linux ubuntu server using Virtualbox, and or ...
Plastkort's user avatar
  • 349
0 votes
1 answer
356 views

What is “Virtual Single-Channel”?

As seen below (Figure 1), I have two 512MB sticks in alternate slots (one channel) and a 1GB stick in one of the remaining slots (a different channel). This is on an Asus P4P800. When I boot, it says ...
Synetech's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
11k views

What is the difference between RTM, GA and GOLD versions?

I am absolutely puzzled here: What is the difference between RTM, GA(Gerneral Availability) and final GOLD version? For example for Windows 8: RTM - Microsoft sends this version to ASUS, Acer, DELL,...
Einsteins Grandson's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
4k views

File system "extents" and "clusters"

I'm trying to learn about HFS+ and it keeps referring to "extents." Wikipedia Fork Data Attribute records contain references to a maximum of eight extents that can hold larger attributes. ...
rubixibuc's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
67 views

How is it called when audio streaming "freezes" or "stucks"?

How is it called when streaming (e.g. FireWire streaming) of video or audio stucks (or freezes) after about 10 minutes and I need to reset the streaming process (or reset the FireWire bus) to make it ...
ezpresso's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
2k views

When referring to filesystems and disks, are "disk sectors", "disk blocks", "chunk size", and "disk records" the same thing?

I'm pretty sure that a sector is basically a block, but I was moreso confused about chunk sizes and especially records. Some system calls require that your area in memory that buffers data from disk ...
Kaitlyn Mcmordie's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
194 views

What is a CFM-based application?

When reading up about Mac OS X Kerberos Extras while trying to get Kerberos working, I came across the phrase 'CFM-based application'. What does this mean?
fredley's user avatar
  • 3,417
0 votes
1 answer
4k views

What's the difference between a console, terminal and command-line? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: What is the difference between shell, console, and terminal? My non-tech-savvy friends unanimously agree that console refers to hardware and terminal refers to software. A ...
Maxpm's user avatar
  • 195
0 votes
2 answers
103 views

Linux terms a newbie should know about [closed]

I'm new to Linux, particularly the distributions I'm using - Ubuntu and openSUSE. I've looked on the Internet for how to install software on these operating systems, but I can't seem to understand ...
user913233's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
9k views

What do we mean by mounting a filesystem?

I am new to filesystems and trying to understand mounting. Is it something like adding a node in tree?
user avatar
5 votes
4 answers
90k views

Is there a way to stream wirelessly from a laptop to a TV?

I heard of such a thing like a box or a media player such thing that can connect wirelessly to stream movies from my laptop? Is there such a thing that can do it? How is the latency on it? I have ...
Robolisk's user avatar
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41 votes
4 answers
85k views

What is meant by the terms CPU, Core, Die and Package?

Now this might sound like too many previous questions, but I am really confused about these terms. I was trying to understand how "dual core" is different from "Core 2 Duo", and I came across some ...
lovesh's user avatar
  • 552
1 vote
1 answer
225 views

What's a dual core? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Can someone clear up the terms Core Duo CPU, Quad Core, Dual CPU, etc.? Does "core" mean CPU or memory or both? I'm thinking of buying a new computer. But what's a ...
Nj65's user avatar
  • 11
7 votes
3 answers
8k views

What is a dongle used for?

I saw the word "dongle" while reading, but what does it do? Why would you want to have one on your system?
PBJSandwich's user avatar
23 votes
5 answers
29k views

What are the differences between firmware and software/OS?

I was wondering what differences are between firmware and software? What differences are between firmware and OS? Are boot-loaders firmware? Bios is. How about GNU grub? Is grub software or firmware?
Tim's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
1k views

Bits of CPU, architecture and OS

I was wondering if the bits of OS, of instruction set, of CPU registers, of data bus from CPU to memory, and of address bus from CPU to memory must be consistent in some sense and how? When we cay ...
Tim's user avatar
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4 votes
4 answers
2k views

Term used for a motherboard without integrated audio or video

I'm trying to look for motherboards without any bells and whistles (audio and video) in order to build an Audio Production workstation. Is there any special keyword I can use in my research that would ...
chamberlainpi's user avatar
8 votes
4 answers
7k views

What is a router? What is a switch? and What is a hub?

I always mess up with the basic concepts in networking. This are the very basic questions. What is a router, its functions and what is meant by routing? What is a switch, its functions? Many time I ...
narayanpatra's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
137 views

RFC 2068 statement about HTTP

In RFC 2068, it states, "[HTTP] is a generic, stateless, object-oriented protocol which can be used for many tasks, such as name servers and distributed object management systems, through extension of ...
user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
18k views

What Exactly is a Threaded Web Server?

I would like to know what a threaded web server is? I have performed many searches but am unable to find anything that gives a clear explanation or definition; perhaps somebody can enlighten me.
SnookerFan's user avatar
  • 1,134
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

When the term 'x86' is used, does it always refer to 32-bit?

When the term 'x86' is used, does it always refer to 32-bit? And is it only about Intel processors?
Sergey's user avatar
  • 1,745
9 votes
4 answers
3k views

What does COM object mean?

What is it? As I understood it's a kind of Microsoft special technology for some objects. But what exactly?
Sergey's user avatar
  • 1,745
1 vote
6 answers
9k views

"Stable" operating system - what does it mean exactly?

I've been using Linux for more than 2 years now, and I'm a satisfied user. I started with Ubuntu, then switched to Fedora and now I'm fond of Linux Mint. Linux is often described as "stable". I have ...
Maciej Ziarko's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
13k views

What is the meaning of dual core vs. dual cpus?

What is the difference between multiple CPU processors (ie: Pentium D) and multicore processors (ie: Core 2 duo)?
sumeyye's user avatar
  • 65
12 votes
7 answers
9k views

How to name/describe the Windows 7 Start Button?

When troubleshooting trivial problems via phone, I'm often in this situation: Me: Click on the Start Button Other: What button? Me: sigh The blue circle on the lower left with the windows logo on it ...
Martin's user avatar
  • 2,296
66 votes
2 answers
149k views

What does "LFF SATA" mean?

I've heard of SATA, but "LFF SATA" as listed on HP's specs page (archive) is a new one for me. What does the "LFF" bit mean?
Billy ONeal's user avatar
  • 8,271
6 votes
3 answers
3k views

What kind of device receives wireless signal and provides wired output?

My wife uses an old computer which doesn't really like having an Internet connection via a USB wireless adapter. I've tried several, and none have been satisfactory. The connection gets dropped ...
Mark T's user avatar
  • 247
1 vote
2 answers
217 views

Harddrive 9 in 1 capacity? What does that mean?

I have to define some stuff for my operating systems class based on a computer ad, and it says the hard disk capacity is "9-in-1." What does that mean?
George's user avatar
  • 123
7 votes
6 answers
7k views

What does etc stand for/mean?

In most (all?) *nix systems there's a directory named /etc, what does etc stand for?
Gavin Miller's user avatar
  • 2,406
2 votes
2 answers
171 views

What is the name of this component?

I was wondering what the name of the 5th component was. Dell 1747 Studio 17
jmasterx's user avatar
  • 545
8 votes
3 answers
27k views

What is the difference between CPU and Microprocessor?

What is the difference between CPU and Microprocessor?
user avatar
1 vote
5 answers
986 views

What happened to the term motherboard? [closed]

I'm on Dell Support and they seem to constantly refer to the motherboard as a mainboard or a logicboard. Seems like a strange shift in usage to me. What happened?
digitxp's user avatar
  • 14.5k
18 votes
5 answers
15k views

What does it mean to "align" partitions?

I am familiar with what partitions are, but I saw a question about aligned partitions on Ask Ubuntu, and realised I didn't know what "aligned partitions" are. So what does it mean to "align" ...
8128's user avatar
  • 346
2 votes
1 answer
6k views

"bus speed", "rated bus speed", "stock bus speed"

I was wondering what are differences between "bus speed", "rated bus speed", "stock bus speed"? I saw in Speccy running on my laptop: Bus Speed 200.0 MHz Rated Bus Speed 800.1 MHz Stock Core ...
Tim's user avatar
  • 17.3k
0 votes
1 answer
79 views

When using 'bash' or 'ksh', is there any alternative name for '\' when connecting lines?

Two lines can be linked together as a unit using '\' (which is a somewhat arbitrarily chosen character). Accordingly both are parsed together. What do you call the linking character. I know that '#!...
Rolnik's user avatar
  • 1,727
43 votes
5 answers
47k views

What is the difference between a directory and a folder? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Directory vs. Folder Most people use the terms "folder" and "directory" interchangeably. Is there a difference, and if so, what is it?
mafu's user avatar
  • 2,865
2 votes
2 answers
2k views

Is TRIM an acronym?

I'm investigating the use of SSDs for a program that does some very sustained sequential reads. I have seen "TRIM" in capitals in various online references and explanations, but no reference to what ...
timbo's user avatar
  • 180
2 votes
3 answers
2k views

What is a network segment?

Can anyone explain exactly what a network segment is? For example, is my PC a network segment? And my modem or router?
wantStudy's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
933 views

Why some standards are called Request For Comments? [closed]

Is it just historic name or it has some real ground? Should I use the term "request for comments, RFC" when putting some document just to receive comments, not to establish a standard?
Vi.'s user avatar
  • 17.2k