| Safe Mode |
Safe Mode is a way for the Windows operating system to run with the minimum system files necessary. It uses a generic... |
| Samba |
Most people know of samba as a type of rhythmic dance music from Brazil that uses a 2/4 time signature. In the... |
| Sample |
A sample is a digital representation of an analog signal. Both digital video and digital audio files are created using... |
| Sampling |
Before digital recording took over the audio and video industries, everything was recorded in analog. Audio was... |
| SAN |
Stands for "Storage Area Network." A SAN is a network of storage devices that can be accessed by multiple computers... |
| SATA |
Stands for "Serial Advanced Technology Attachment," or "Serial ATA." It is an interface used to connect ATA hard... |
| Scanner |
A scanner is an input device that scans documents and images, which can be imported into a computer. They are... |
| Schema |
In computing, a schema is an outline or diagram that describes the structure of a specific type of data. Schemas are... |
| Screenshot |
A screenshot, or screen capture, is a picture taken of your computer's desktop. This may include the desktop... |
| Script |
A computer script is a list of commands that are executed by a certain program or scripting engine. Scripts may be... |
| Scroll Bar |
When the contents of a window are too large to be displayed entirely within the window, a scroll bar will appear. For... |
| Scroll Wheel |
Computer windows are often not large enough to display the entire contents of the window at one time. Therefore, you... |
| Scrolling |
Most computer programs display their content within a window. However, windows are often not large enough to display... |
| SCSI |
Stands for "Small Computer System Interface," and is pronounced "scuzzy." SCSI is a computer interface used primarily... |
| SD |
Stands for "Secure Digital." It is a type of memory card used for storing data in devices such as digital cameras... |
| SDK |
SDK is short for "Software Development Kit." An SDK is a collection of software used for developing applications for a... |
| SDRAM |
Stands for "Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory." Yeah, it's a mouthful, but if you memorize it, you can really... |
| SDSL |
Stands for "Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line." SDSL is a type of of DSL, which is used for transferring data over... |
| Search Engine |
Google, Excite, Lycos, AltaVista, Infoseek, and Yahoo are all search engines. They index millions of sites on the Web... |
| Secondary Memory |
While primary memory refers to RAM and processor caches, secondary memory refers to memory that is not accessed... |
| Secondary Storage |
Secondary storage refers to storage devices and media that are not constantly accessible by a computer system... |
| Sector |
A sector is the smallest unit that can be accessed on a hard disk. Each platter, or circular disk of a hard disk is... |
| SEO |
Stands for "Search Engine Optimization." Just about every Webmaster wants his or her site to appear in the top... |
| Serial Port |
The serial port is a type of connection on PCs that is used for peripherals such as mice, gaming controllers, modems... |
| SERP |
SERP is an acronym for "Search Engine Results Page." This is the Web page that displays the results of search... |
| Server |
As the name implies, a server serves information to computers that connect to it. When users connect to a server, they... |
| Service Pack |
A service pack is a software package that contains several updates for an application or operating system. Individual... |
| Shareware |
There is commercial software and then there is shareware. With commercial software, you have to pay for the product... |
| Shell |
Most people know of shells as small protective coverings for certain animals, such as clams, crabs, and mollusks. You... |
| Shift Key |
Shift is a modifier key that allows you to capitalize lowercase letters and enter various symbols and punctuation... |
| SIMM |
Stands for "Single In-Line Memory Module." This is an older type of computer memory. A SIMM is a small circuit board... |
| Site Map |
A site map, sometimes written "sitemap," is an overview of the pages within a website. Site maps of smaller sites may... |
| Skin |
This strange term refers to the appearance of a program's interface. By changing the skin of a program, you can make... |
| SKU |
Stands for "Stock Keeping Unit," and is conveniently pronounced "skew." A SKU is a number or string of alpha and... |
| Skyscraper |
While not as common as the banner ad, the skyscraper is another prevalent form of Web advertising. Skyscraper ads... |
| Slashdot |
Press releases can often trigger increased interest in a certain topic, and if a Web site link is provided in the... |
| SLI |
Stands for "Scalable Link Interface." SLI is a technology developed by NVIDIA that allows multiple graphics cards to... |
| SMART |
Stands for "Self-Monitoring Analysis And Reporting Technology." It is used to protect and prevent errors in hard... |
| Smartphone |
A smartphone combines standard mobile phone features with advanced features found on personal device assistants (PDAs... |
| SMB |
Stands for "Server Message Block." SMB is a network protocol used by Windows-based computers that allows systems... |
| SMM |
SMM is short for "Social Media Marketing." It refers to marketing through social networking websites and is a popular... |
| SMS |
Stands for "Short Message Service." SMS is used to send text messages to mobile phones. The messages can typically be... |
| SMTP |
Stands for "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol." This is the protocol used for sending e-mail over the Internet. Your... |
| Snapchat |
Snapchat is mobile app available for iOS and Android that allows users to send messages to each other. Messages may be... |
| Snapshot |
While the term "snapshot" is often used in photography, it is also a computing term that refers to a copy made of a... |
| Snippet |
A snippet is a small block of source code or text that can be inserted into a program or Web page. Program snippets... |
| SNMP |
Stands for "Simple Network Management Protocol." SNMP is used for exchanging management information between network... |
| SO-DIMM |
Stands for "Small Outline Dual In-Line Memory Module." Most desktop computers have plenty of space for RAM chips, so... |
| SOA |
Stands for "Service Oriented Architecture." When businesses grow, they often add new products and services. While... |
| SOAP |
Stands for "Simple Object Access Protocol," and can do more than just get your hands clean. SOAP is a method of... |
| Social Networking |
When the Web became popular in the mid-1990s, it enabled people to share information in ways that were never possible... |
| Socket |
When a computer program needs to connect to a local or wide area network such as the Internet, it uses a software... |
| Soft Copy |
A soft copy is a document saved on a computer. It is the electronic version of a document, which can be opened and... |
| Soft Token |
A soft token is a software version of a hard token, which is a security device used to give authorized users access to... |
| Software |
Computer software is a general term that describes computer programs. Related terms such as software programs... |
| Solid State |
Solid state, at its most basic level, means "no moving parts." Therefore, solid state electronic devices are made up... |
| Sound Card |
The sound card is a component inside the computer that provides audio input and output capabilities. Most sound cards... |
| Source Code |
Every computer program is written in a programming language, such as Java, (C/C++|cplusplus), or Perl. These programs... |
| Southbridge |
The southbridge is a chip that connects the northbridge to other components inside the computer, including hard drives... |
| Spam |
Originating from the name of Hormel's canned meat, "spam" now also refers to junk e-mail or irrelevant postings to a... |
| Speakers |
Speakers are popular output devices used with computer systems. They receive audio input from the computer's sound... |
| Spider |
A spider is a software program that travels the Web (hence the name "spider"), locating and indexing websites for... |
| Spoofing |
The word "spoof" means to hoax, trick, or deceive. Therefore, in the IT world, spoofing refers tricking or deceiving... |
| Spool |
A spool is a temporary storage area within the computer's RAM that contains input or output data. When a job or... |
| Spooling |
Spooling is the process of sending data to a spool, or temporary storage area in the computer's memory. This data may... |
| Spreadsheet |
A spreadsheet is a document that stores data in a grid of horizontal rows and vertical columns. Rows are typically... |
| Spyware |
As the name implies, this is software that "spies" on your computer. Nobody likes to be spied on, and your computer... |
| SQL |
Stands for "Structured Query Language," and can be pronounced as either "sequel" or "S-Q-L." It is a query language... |
| SRAM |
Stands for "Static Random Access Memory." I know it is tempting to pronounce this term as "Sram," but it is correctly... |
| sRGB |
Stands for "Standard RGB" (and RGB stands for Red-Green-Blue"). All the colors you see on your computer display are... |
| SSD |
SSD is short for "Solid State Drive." An SSD serves the same purpose as a (hard drive|hard drive), but uses flash... |
| SSH |
Stands for "Secure Shell." SSH is a method of securely communicating with another computer. The "secure" part of the... |
| SSID |
Stands for "Service Set Identifier." An SSID is a unique ID that consists of 32 characters and is used for naming... |
| SSL |
Stands for "Secure Sockets Layer." SSL is a secure protocol developed for sending information securely over the... |
| Stack |
A stack is a type of data structure -- a means of storing information in a computer. When a new object is entered in a... |
| Standalone |
A standalone device is able to function independently of other hardware. This means it is not integrated into another... |
| Standby |
When electronic devices are receiving power but are not running, they are in standby mode. For example, a television... |
| Static Website |
A static website contains Web pages coded in HTML. The content of each page is fixed and does not change unless it is... |
| Status Bar |
A status bar is a small area at the bottom of a window. It is used by some applications to display helpful information... |
| Storage Capacity |
Storage capacity is another term for "disk space." It measures how much data a computer system may contain. For... |
| Storage Device |
A computer storage device is any type of hardware that stores data. The most common type of storage device, which... |
| Streaming |
Data streaming, commonly seen in the forms of audio and video streaming, is when a multimedia file can be played back... |
| String |
A string is a data type used in programming, such as an integer and floating point unit, but is used to represent text... |
| Subdirectory |
A subdirectory, or subfolder, is a folder that is nested within another folder. Subdirectories are used to organize... |
| Subnet Mask |
A subnet mask is a number that defines a range of IP addresses that can be used in a network. (It is not something you... |
| Supercomputer |
A supercomputer is a high-powered computer system that has processing capabilities far greater than a typical... |
| Superscalar |
A superscalar CPU can execute more than one instruction per clock cycle. Because processing speeds are measured in... |
| Surge Protector |
The surge protector is an important, yet often overlooked part of a computer setup. It allows multiple devices to... |
| Switch |
A switch is used to network multiple computers together. Switches made for the consumer market are typically small... |
| Sync |
When you "sync" a device, you synchronize it with your computer. Syncing is commonly done with iPods, PDAs, cell... |
| Syntax |
Each spoken language has a general set of rules for how words and sentences should be structured. These rules are... |
| System Analyst |
A system analyst is the person who selects and configures computer systems for an organization or business. His or her... |
| System Hardening |
Most computers offer network security features to limit outside access to the system. Software such as antivirus... |
| System Requirements |
Whenever you purchase software or hardware for your computer, you should first make sure your computer supports the... |
| System Resources |
Your computer has many types of resources. They include the CPU, video card, hard drive, and memory. In most cases... |
| System Software |
System software refers to the files and programs that make up your computer's operating system. System files include... |
| System Unit |
This is the technical term that refers to the box that houses your computer. The system unit refers to the computer... |
| Systray |
The systray, short for "system tray," is located on the right side of the Windows toolbar. It is the collection of... |
