See "Spyware".

Processor produced by AMD. Comparable to the Pentium 3.

Also known as a "Cap". An electrical device which serves to store electricity or electrical energy used on pretty much all motherboards. If you have blown "caps" on your motherboard you will notice any number of strange activities you have never seen your system do before.

Case that holds the major parts of the computer such as the CPU, hard drive, and disk drives.

Central Processing Unit. The main processing chip of a computer.

"Double Data Rate" is a type of SDRAM in which data is sent on both the rising and falling edges of clock cycles in a data burst.

A very common method of networking computers in a LAN using copper cabling . Ethernet will handle about 10,000,000 bits-per-second and can be used with almost any kind of computer. See Also: Bandwidth, LAN , Fast Ethernet

Electronic Commerce. Refers to the general exchange of goods and services via the Internet.

If one "format's" their hard drive that erases the existing operating system and everything on the hard drive. It is good every once in a while to format your hard drive and reload windows fresh. Cleans out unnecessary registry files, old files, old programs, etc.

The File Allocation Table (FAT) file system organizes data on fixed disks and floppy disks. The main advantage of FAT volumes is that they are accessible by MS-DOS®, Microsoft® Windows®, and OS/2 systems.

A very thin display screen used in portable computers. Nearly all modern flat-panel displays use LCD technologies. Most LCD screens are backlit to make them easier to read in bright environments .

File Transfer Protocol, the protocol used on the Internet for exchanging files.

One of our services includes "Ghosting" your hard drive. When we "Ghost" your hard drive we make an exact copy of your hard drive to another bench hard drive, numbered for organization we can now simply format your hard drive with out worrying about lost information.

"Gigahertz" This unit is typically used to measure the processor speeds of computers. One billion radio waves, or cycles, per second. Equal to 1,000 megahertz, which is equal to 1,000 kilohertz, which is equal to 1,000 hertz. The abbreviations used are: GHz, MHz, KHz, and Hz. A measure of signal frequency expressing thousands of million cycles per second.

A permanent data storage device built into all desktop PCs that permits you to save and retrieve information, and that stores the computer's operating system and other software. The size of a hard drive is usually expressed in gigabytes.

The protocol for moving hypertext files across the Internet. Requires a HTTP client program on one end, and an HTTP server program on the other end. HTTP is the most important protocol used in the World Wide Web (WWW).

A worldwide network of computer networks. It is an interconnection of large and small networks around the globe. The Internet began in 1962 as a computer network for the U.S. military and over time has grown into a global communication tool of many thousands of computer networks that share a common addressing scheme. Unlike online services, which are centrally controlled, the Internet is decentralized by design. Each Internet computer, called a host, is independent. Its operators can choose which Internet services to use and which local services to make available to the global Internet community.

A private network inside a company or organization, which uses software like that used on the Internet, but is for internal use only, and is not accessible to the public. Companies use Intranet's to manage projects, provide employee information, distribute data and information, etc.

Industry Standard Architecture. The original specification for the EXPANSION SLOTS used on the first IBM PC. Nowadays replaced by its successor - the PCI SLOT.

Short for Liquid Crystal Display, a type of display used in digital watches and many portable computers . LCD displays utilize two sheets of polarizing material with a liquid crystal solution between them. An electric current passed through the liquid causes the crystals to align so that light cannot pass through them. Each crystal, therefore, is like a shutter, either allowing light to pass through or blocking the light.

Short for megahertz. This unit is typically used to measure the processor speeds of computers. One megahertz is one million cycles per second. Every command given to a computer (from the keyboard, mouse, software, hardware, etc.) requires a fixed number of megahertz to execute. The more megahertz available, the faster commands can be executed, and the faster a computer will perform.

The main circuit board inside a computer, containing the central processing unit, the bus, memory sockets, expansion slots, and more.

Also known as a "Network Card" or "Ethernet Card". A piece of hardware that fits into a computer and allows it to communicate with other computers across a network. Also see, "Ethernet".

The NTFS file system is the preferred file system on Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows NT. It is designed to address the requirements of high-performance file servers and server networks as well as desktop computers, and in doing so, address many of the limitations of the earlier FAT16 and FAT32 file systems.

OS refers to an "Operating System" for instance, Microsoft's Windows, Linux, Unix, MacOSX, OS/2.

A part of the computer that converts the power from a wall outlet into the lower voltages, typically 5 to 12 volts DC, required internally in the computer. PC power supplies are usually rated in watts, ranging from 90 watts at the low end to 500 watts at the high end. If the power supply in your computer fails, nothing works, not even the fan.

Peripheral Component Interconnect Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) Peripheral Component Interconnect is an interconnection system between a microprocessor and attached devices in which expansion slots are spaced closely for high-speed operation. Using PCI, a computer can support both new PCI cards while continuing to support Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) expansion cards, an older standard. PCI Express is the newest and fastest PCI slots at the moment.

Personal Computer Memory Card International Association. A standard for miniaturized laptop expansion cards for modems, storage, and other devices. Often called PC cards.

Stands for "Random Access Memory". RAM is used in all systems and comes in different types, the most popular in this day and age is DDR or "Double Data Rate". Windows XP requires 128 standard is 256/512.

Return Materials Authorization is frequently used to refer to all returned product, whether authorized or not. RMA administration typically requires the company receiving the goods to identify the goods, reimburse the person who returned the goods, and finally to sort the materials into three groups: Store-and-use-as-is, rework, or scrap.

Stands for "Single Data Rate RAM"... Synchronous dynamic random access memory delivers bursts of data at high speeds using a synchronous interface. Its is actually SDR SDRAM (single data rate SDRAM) but is usually used to referred to as just "SDRAM." SDRAM is a little dated, and actually cost more per stick then DDR which is also faster.

A general term for a program that surreptitiously monitors your actions. While they are sometimes sinister, like a remote control program used by a hacker, software companies have been known to use spyware to gather data about customers. The practice is generally frowned upon. It is also a hidden software program that transmits user information via the Internet to advertisers in exchange for free downloaded software.

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, the suite of communications protocols used to connect hosts on the Internet. Other Internet protocols like FTP, Gopher, and HTTP sit on top of TCP/IP.

A program or piece of code that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge and runs against your wishes. Most viruses can also replicate themselves and spread to other computers. All computer viruses are man made. Antivirus programs periodically check your computer system for the best-known types of viruses.

File system Microsoft uses for it's XBOX portable gaming station.