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| There are 226 entries in the glossary. |
| Pages: «1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 » |
| LAN | (Local Area Network; pr.[lan]) A network of computers connected together, usually in a single department or building. See also WAN. |
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| Laptop | A portable PC, with system unit, screen and keyboard crammed into one small package. They can do pretty much everything a desktop PC can do, but are substantially more expensive because of the extra miniaturisation required. Also called a notebook. |
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| Linux | A rival PC operating system to Microsoft Windows, but unlike Windows it is (open source), which means that anyone can create their own version of it without having to pay royalties, and requires a much less powerful computer. Initially required a lot of technical knowledge, but is rapidly being made much more user-friendly and may soon start to challenge Windows\\\' dominance. |
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| Lockup, locked up | An event which causes a computer to get stuck and refuse to do anything is a lockup. The computer is then said to be hung or locked up. |
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| Mac address | The unique serial number of an Ethernet card, required for connecting a PC to a network. (Nothing to do with Apple Macs, despite the name). |
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| Mac, Macintosh | The Apple Corporation\\\'s alternative to the PC, much loved by its devotees but completely incompatible with PCs, though some popular software is also released in Mac format. |
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| Macro | A small program used to automate repetitive or complex tasks. The Windows equivalent is a wizard. |
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| Mailbomb | One or more very large emails, sent to someone maliciously to stop them being able to use their mailbox and/or internet connection, because all the available bandwidth is being used up downloading the mailbomb(s). Most ISPs will close down any account responsible for mailbombing. See also DoS (Denial of Service). |
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| Malware | A catch-all term for software installed by stealth onto a PC for malevolent purposes (hence the name). These may include displaying unwanted ads (adware), installing software you didn\\\'t ask for, or spying on your activities (spyware) and reporting them back to the culprit so that he can steal your bank account, address book etc. |
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| Mbps | (MegaBits Per Second) A measure of speed of information flow over a network (and if it\\\'s measured in Mbps, it\\\'s reasonably quick.) A Megabit is one million bits. See also bps, Kbps. |
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| Megabyte | Unit of measurement for pieces of information : approximately 1 million bytes or a thousand kilobytes. Often shortened to Meg or just M. See also Gigabyte, Kilobyte, Byte. |
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| MegaHertz | See MHz. |
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| Megapixel | A million pixels. Often used to measure the quality of digital cameras : the higher the number the better the camera. |
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| Memory | Also known as RAM. Where the computer holds whatever you are currently working on. The contents of memory are lost when the computer is switched off. |
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| MFD | (Multi Function Device). A combined printer, scanner, photocopier and fax machine. |
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| MHz | (Megahertz). Millions of cycles per second. Most often used as a measurement of a PC processor chip\\\'s speed and power, with bigger numbers meaning more speed and a higher price. See also GHz. |
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| Micro | (Microcomputer) When desktop computers first appeared in the 1970\\\'s, they were often called microcomputers, later shortened to micro, to distinguish them from the so-called minicomputers of the day, which far from sitting on a desk were a good deal bigger than it! There was also a popular home computer called the BBC Micro, now long obsolete. |
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| Micro-filter | A device which allows you to use an ordinary phone over a telephone line set up for an ADSL internet connection. Sometimes just called a filter. |
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| Microsoft | By far the largest software provider for PCs, they created Windows, Microsoft Office (which includes Word, Excel, Access and Powerpoint), Internet Explorer, Outlook and many other widely used programs. |
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| MIDI | (Musical Instrument Digital Interface; pr. [middy]) A very popular standard for controlling musical instruments connected to computers. Many soundcards have a built-in synthesizer which can play back MIDI files, though if it\\\'s a cheap one they probably won\\\'t sound very good. A MIDI file is a set of instructions to play particular notes at particular intervals in particular styles, not a recording. |
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