Page 22 - Computer Terms

What Is AVI?

Difficulty: Medium

Stands for Audio Video Interleave. AVI is a standard file format developed in 1992 by Microsoft that can store both high-quality video and audio output in a single file.

What Is GIF?

Difficulty: Medium

Stands for Graphics Interchange Format. GIF is an image format with an 8-bit colour depth, meaning that it can only display 256 different colours from the 24-bit RGB colour space.

What Is BMP?

Difficulty: Medium

Short for Bitmap, the BMP file format is used to store Bitmap digital images. It is an uncompressed file format, meaning that high quality is retained, but file sizes are extremely large.

What Is PNG?

Difficulty: Medium

Stands for Portable Network Graphics. PNG is an image format that uses lossless compression to save high-quality images in a low file size.

What Is JPEG?

Difficulty: Medium

Stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. JPEG is an image format that has a 24-bit colour depth, the same as BMP images, and uses lossy compression to reduce the number of...

What Is Proprietary Software?

Difficulty: Medium

Proprietary software is a type of software that remains the property of its developer, meaning that it is not made freely available to modify and distribute to others.

What Is The Digital Divide?

Difficulty: Medium

The digital divide refers to the gap between people who have full access to computers and the internet and those who do not.

What Is The 3D Secure Protocol?

Difficulty: Medium

The 3D Secure protocol, also known as the 3DS protocol, is designed to add an extra layer of security for credit card and debit card transactions online.

What Is The SET Protocol?

Difficulty: Medium

Stands for the Secure Electronic Transmission protocol. The SET protocol is a communications protocol used to secure electronic payments made using a debit or credit card.

What Is Netiquette?

Difficulty: Medium

Short for internet etiquette. Netiquette describes acceptable behaviour when communicating online. The anonymity of online communication has led to problems with...

What Is Technotrash?

Difficulty: Medium

Technotrash, also known as e-waste, describes the waste created when throwing out technology that breaks or becomes outdated.

What Is Virtual Memory?

Difficulty: Medium

Virtual memory is a portion of a hard drive or solid-state drive (SSD) that is reserved to compensate for shortages of RAM. This happens when the amount of RAM needed to...

What Is Open-Source Software?

Difficulty: Medium

Open-source software is a type of software that is made freely available to use, modify, and distribute to the public for personal, educational, or organisation use without restrictions.

What Is An Adaptive User Interface?

Difficulty: Medium

An adaptive user interface, also known as an adapted user interface or an AUI, is a type of user interface that adapts its layout, presentation, elements, and options to suit the needs of users and the technology it is running on.

What Is USB?

Difficulty: Easy

Stands for Universal Serial Bus. USB is a widely used wired connection standard used to connect peripheral devices, such as keyboards, mouses, printers, webcams, scanners, and external storage devices to a computer.

What Is SATA?

Difficulty: Medium

Stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment or Serial ATA. SATA is a wired standard used to connect storage devices, such as hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), and optical drives to a computer.

What Is HDMI?

Difficulty: Medium

Stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface. HDMI is a digital graphics standard used to connect display devices, such as monitors, televisions, and projectors.

What Is VGA?

Difficulty: Medium

Stands for Video Graphics Array. VGA is a computer graphics standard used for display devices, such as monitors and projectors.

What Is A Projector?

Difficulty: Easy

A projector is an output device that projects visual images and text from a computer onto a wall, screen, or another large surface.

What Is A Photocopier?

Difficulty: Easy

A photocopier is a device that reproduces hard copies of documents, photos, and illustrations. Most photocopiers use a technology called xerography to do this.

What Is A Scanner?

Difficulty: Easy

A scanner is an input device that scans hard-copy documents and converts them into a digital format. This creates an electronic version of a document that can be stored, viewed and edited on a computer system.

What Is A Screen Magnifier?

Difficulty: Medium

A screen magnifier is an accessibility device that attaches to a monitor and magnifies the contents of the screen, including the pointer, words and visual media, to make it easier for people to see.

What Is A Braille Embosser?

Difficulty: Medium

A braille embosser, also known as a braille printer, is a type of printer that outputs text as braille cells rather than standard ink text.

What Is An Eye Typer?

Difficulty: Medium

An eye typer is an input device that tracks the user's eye movements and determines where the user is looking. A camera is mounted on the computer that focuses...

What Is A Trackball?

Difficulty: Easy

A trackball is an input device that acts as an alternative to a mouse. It is made up of a moveable ball on the top that sits within the holder and can be...

What Is A Printer?

Difficulty: Easy

A printer is an output device that receives electronic data from a computer and prints documents on paper as a hard copy. For example, a printer can be used to...

What Is A Passphrase?

Difficulty: Easy

A passphrase is a sequence of words and letters, separated by spaces that is used to authenticate a user before signing in. They are used in combination with usernames.

What Are Speakers?

Difficulty: Easy

Speakers are output devices used by computers to generate sound that can be heard by the listener. They are most commonly used to listen to music and take part in VoIP conversations.

What Is A Computer Monitor?

Difficulty: Easy

A monitor is a basic output device that receives and interprets signals from the graphics card of the computer and displays it in the form of graphic images, videos, and text, providing real-time feedback as users work or play.

What Is An Output Device?

Difficulty: Easy

An output device is any physical hardware device that receives incoming data from a digital device and outputs it to the user. The most commonly used output devices are...