folder (directory) - A sub-division of acomputer's hard disk into which you putfiles.font - A particular sort of lettering (onthe screen or on paper). Arial is a font.Times New Roman is another.format - All hard disks and floppy diskshave to be electronically prepared foruse by a process called formatting.Hard disks are pre-formatted by thecomputer manufacturer. If you buy afloppy disk that is not pre-formatted,you format it yourself, using a programthat comes with your PC.graphics card - The equipment inside acomputer that creates the image on thescreen.hard disk - The main disk inside acomputer used for storing programsand information. It is hard because it ismetal. See floppy disk .hotspot - an area that has an availablewireless signal for Internet access(usually public).icon - A small image or picture on acomputer screen that is a symbol forfolders, disks, peripherals, programsetc.Internet - International net work ofcomputers that you connect to bytelephone line. Two popular services ofthe Internet are the World Wide Weband electronic mail.iPad - a tablet computer created byApple.Kb, Mb, Gb - kilobytes, megabytes,gigabytes. Used to measure computermemory and storage.Kindle - a device for downloading andreading ebooks , developed byAmazon.com.memory - Memory is for the temporarystoring of information while a computeris being used. See RAM, ROM andCache .MHz - Megahertz. This describes thespeed of computer equipment. Thehigher the MHz the better the

performance.modem - Equipment connected to acomputer for sending/receiving digitalinformation by telephone line. You mayneed a modem to connect to theInternet, to send electronic mail and tofax.notebook - a notebook computer; alaptop computer; a folding, portablecomputer.operating system (OS) - The basicsoftware that manages a computer (forexample, Windows 7, OS X, Unix, iOS).OCR - Optical Character Recognition.OCR lets a PC read a fax or scannedimage and convert it to actual lettering.palmtop - a computer that is smallenough to sit on the palm of the hand.parallel port - A socket at the back of acomputer for connecting externalequipment or peripherals, especiallyprinters.PC card - A device that is the same sizeas a thick credit card, for plugging into aslot on notebook computers. You canbuy memory, modems and hard disksas PC cards.PDA - abbreviation of "personal digitalassistant".peripheral - Any equipment that isconnected externally to a computer. Forexample, printers, scanners andmodems are peripherals.pixel - The image that you see on thescreen is made of thousands of tinydots, points or pixels.program Software that operates a PCand does various things, such as writingtext (word-processing program),keeping accounts (accounts program)and drawing pictures (graphicsprogram).QWERTY - The first 6 letters on English-language keyboards are Q-W-E-R-T-Y.The first 6 letters on French-languagekeyboards are A-Z-E-R-T-Y.RAM, ROM - Two types of memory.RAM (Random Access Memory) is themain memory used while the PC is

working. RAM is temporary. ROM (ReadOnly Memory) is for information neededby the PC and cannot be changed.resolution - The number of dots orpixels per inch (sometimes percentimetre) used to create the screenimage.scanner - Equipment for convertingpaper documents to electronicdocuments that can be used by acomputer.serial port - Socket at the back of a PCfor connecting peripherals(obsolescent).smartphone - a mobile phone thatincludes a palmtop computer or PDAand also gives access to Internet andemail.tablet - a tablet computer; a mobilecomputer consisting of a screen only,and controlled by touching the screen.TFT - Thin Film Transistor, a type of highquality screen for notebook computers.USB - abbreviation of "universal serialbus"; a standardized connection forattaching devices to computers etc.USB flash drive - a small, externaldevice for storing data; it connectsthrough the USB socket.virus - A small, unauthorized programthat can damage a PC.Wi-Fi - a system for communicatingwithout wires over a computer network.Windows - An operating system used bythe majority of PCs.World Wide Web, WWW, the Web -WWW are initials that stand for WorldWide Web. The Web is one of theservices available on the Internet. It letsyou access millions of pages through asystem of links. Because it is "world-wide", it was originally called the WorldWide Web or WWW.WYSIWIG - "What You See Is What YouGet." With a WYSIWIG program, if youprint a document it looks the same onpaper as it looks on the screen.