STUDY GUIDE FOR TEST - Glossary of Common Computer Terms
Blog: (short for ‘web log’) is a type of web page that offers a series of posted items (short articles, photos, diary entries, etc.). Blogs have become a common medium for communication for both personal and business use.
Bookmarks/Favorites: A way to store web links for fasting viewing later.
Browser: Software programs that enable you to view web pages and other documents on the Internet. They ‘translate’ HTML-encoded files in to the text, images, sounds, and other features you see. The most commonly used browsers are Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari (Mac), Opera and Chrome.
Cache: This term is pronounced like "cash". A cache stores recently-used information in a place where it can be accessed extremely fast. For example, a Web browser like Internet Explorer uses a cache to store the pages, images, and URLs of recently visited Web sites on your hard drive. When you visit a page you have recently been to, the pages and images don't have to be downloaded to your computer all over again. Because accessing your computer's hard disk is much faster than accessing the Internet, caching Web sites can speed up Web browsing significantly. (from techterms.com)
Cookies: In computer terminology, a cookie is data sent to your computer by a Web server that records your actions on a certain Web site. It's a lot like a preference file for a typical computer program. When you visit the site after being sent the cookie, the site will load certain pages according to the information stored in the cookie. For example, some sites can remember information like your user name and password, so you don't have to re-enter it each time you visit the site. While cookies have many benefits, some people don't like to have their information recorded by Web sites that they visit. For this reason, most Web browsers have an option to accept or deny cookies.
CPU: Acronym for Central Processing Unit. You can think of the CPU as the brain of the computer; it is responsible for every task the PC performs. There are different brands of processors such as Pentium or Celeron. The speed at which a CPU processes information is measured in Megahertz (MHz) or Gigahertz (GHz, faster than MHz). The higher the number, the faster it goes.
Copy & Paste text: Using the mouse, highlight the text you want to copy. On the toolbar, click Edit. Select Copy. Place the cursor where you want to add the text. On the toolbar, click Edit. Select Paste.
Cut & Paste text: Same as above, but select ‘Cut’ instead of ‘Copy’. The text will be removed from one location and moved to where you Paste.
Download/Upload: To receive or send a file from another computer. Clicking on a link will start the download process. When you are prompted, you will select the folder where the file will be saved after it is downloaded. When you send or receive an attached file with an e-mail note, this is just an attachment, not a download or an upload. However, in practice, many people use "upload" to mean "send" and "download" to mean receive. The term is used loosely in practice and if someone says to you "Download (or upload) such--and-such a file to me" via e-mail, they simply mean "Send it to me." In short, from the ordinary workstation or small computer user's point-of-view, to upload is to send a file and to download is to receive a file.
Dragging/Dropping: Dragging is a variation of clicking. To drag an object, point at it with the cursor and then press and hold down the left mouse button. Move the mouse without releasing the mouse button, and drag the object to a new location. When you’re done moving the object, release the mouse button to drop it onto the new location.
File Extension: One or several letters at the end of a filename. Filename extensions usually follow a period (dot) and indicate the type of file. For example, ‘this.doc’ indicates a Microsoft Word document file (.doc or .docx). Common image file extensions are ‘picture.jpg’ or ‘picture.gif’.
Gigabyte: A unit of measurement for digital information storage. Most new desktop PC’s have at least 150 Gigabytes (GB) of storage space.
Hard Drive: The primary storage area within your computer, usually a hard metal disk. Hard drive space is generally measured in Gigabytes (GB). The higher the number, the more storage space you have.
Hardware: Anything you can physically touch, such as the mouse, keyboard, and printer.
Hovering: When you position the cursor over an item without clicking your mouse, you’re hovering over that item. In most programs you can hover over an icon and a small label will appear telling you what action will be taken by clicking that icon.
ISP: Internet Service Provider. A company that provides access to the Internet, such as Comcast, AT&T.
Megabyte: A unit of measurement for digital information storage. Most music files and image files are 1-5 Megabytes in size (MB). It takes 1,024 Megabytes (MB) to make one Gigabyte.
Operating System: The operating system (or OS), is a piece of software that runs the computer. The operating system is responsible for starting the computer and executing commands like printing documents, opening programs, and so forth. There are different brands of operating systems; Microsoft Windows and Apple’s Mac OS X are the most popular. When you first turn on your computer, one of
the first things your computer does is search for its operating system. The operating system manages the CPU (central processing unit) and ensures that the commands you give the computer—like opening a program—will be performed.
PC: Stands for personal computer.
Software: Software is installed on your computer. The words ‘program’ or ‘application’ are often used to refer to a piece of software.
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS BELOW….
PC - use the CTRL Key & Mac or Apple use the COMMAND Key.
INSTEAD OF CTRL USE COMMAND A MAC⌘