Personal computing

Terms related to personal computers, including definitions about computers sold as consumer products and words and phrases about laptops, tablets and smartphones.
  • visitor-based networking (visitor-based network) - Visitor-based networking (VBN) is a computer network with high-speed internet access provided by an organization for temporary use by visitors, guests or other users in a public area.
  • von Neumann bottleneck - The von Neumann bottleneck is a limitation on throughput caused by the standard personal computer architecture.
  • VR locomotion (virtual reality locomotion) - VR locomotion is technology that enables movement from one place to another (locomotion) within a virtual reality environment.
  • walled garden - On the internet, a walled garden is an environment that controls the user's access to network-based content and services.
  • WAN (wide area network) - A wide area network (WAN) is a geographically distributed private telecommunications network that interconnects multiple local area networks (LANs).
  • war driving (access point mapping) - War driving, also called access point mapping, is the act of locating and possibly exploiting connections to wireless local area networks (WLANs) while driving around a city or elsewhere.
  • water cooling - Water cooling, also called liquid cooling, is a method used to lower the temperature of computer processor units (CPUs), and sometimes graphics processor units (GPUs).
  • wearable computer - A wearable computer is any small technological device capable of storing and processing data that can be worn on the body.
  • wearable technology - Wearable technology is any kind of electronic device designed to be worn on the user's body.
  • Web 2.0 - Web 2.0 are websites and applications that make use of user-generated content for end users.
  • Web texting - Web texting is two-way text messaging from the Web to a handheld mobile device, usually a cellular phone.
  • WebGL - WebGL is a graphics application programming interface (API) created for use in web applications.
  • weblog - A blog, short for weblog, is a frequently updated web page used for personal commentary or business content.
  • webOS - WebOS is an LG-owned, Linux-based operating system for smart devices, particularly smart TVs.
  • What are Internet data caps and why do providers use them? - A data cap, also known as a bandwidth cap, is a limit that service providers impose on the amount of data a user account can transfer at a specified level of throughput over a given time period, for a specified fee.
  • What is a cloud access security broker (CASB)? - A cloud access security broker (CASB) is a software tool or service that sits between an organization's on-premises infrastructure and a cloud provider's infrastructure.
  • What is a command prompt? - A command prompt is the input field in a text-based user interface screen for an operating system (OS) or program.
  • What is a Consensus Algorithm? - A consensus algorithm is a process in computer science used to achieve agreement on a single data value among distributed processes or systems.
  • What is a device driver? - A device driver, or driver, is a special kind of software program that controls a specific hardware device attached to a computer.
  • What is a drone (UAV)? - A drone is an unmanned aircraft.
  • What is a microcomputer? - A microcomputer is a complete computer on a small scale, designed for use by one person at a time.
  • What is a personal area network (PAN)? - A personal area network (PAN) is a small network that interconnects technology devices within a limited range of just a few meters.
  • What is a Request for Comments (RFC)? - A Request for Comments (RFC) is a formal document created by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that outlines technical specifications, organizational notes and standards relevant to internet and networking technologies, including protocols such as routing, addressing and transport technologies.
  • What is a server? - A server is a computer program or device that provides a service to another computer program and its user, also known as the client.
  • What is a spam trap? - A spam trap is an email address that's used to identify and monitor spam email.
  • What is a thin client (lean client)? - A thin client (or lean client) is a virtual desktop computing model that runs on the resources stores on a central server instead of a computer's resources.
  • What is a third-party cookie? - A third-party cookie is a cookie that's placed on a user's device -- computer, cellphone or tablet -- by a website from a domain other than the one the user is visiting.
  • What is a URL (Uniform Resource Locator)? - A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is a unique identifier used to locate a resource on the internet.
  • What is a web server? - A web server is software and hardware that uses HTTP and other protocols to respond to client requests made over the World Wide Web.
  • What is acceptable use policy (AUP)? - An acceptable use policy (AUP) is a document stipulating constraints and practices that a user must agree to for access to or use of a corporate network, the internet or other computing resources.
  • What is AMD Ryzen? - AMD Ryzen is the brand name for Advanced Micro Devices' line of desktop and mobile processors.
  • What is an AI assistant? - An AI assistant, or digital assistant, is software that uses artificial intelligence to understand natural language voice commands and complete tasks for the user.
  • What is an inbound call? - An inbound call is typically initiated by a customer to a call center or contact center.
  • What is an operating system (OS)? - An operating system (OS) is the program that, after being initially loaded into the computer by a boot program, manages all the other application programs in a computer.
  • What is an uninterruptible power supply (UPS)? - An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is a device that allows a computer to keep running for at least a short time when incoming power is interrupted.
  • What is email spam and how to fight it? - Email spam, also known as 'junk email,' refers to unsolicited email messages, usually sent in bulk to a large list of recipients.
  • What is FTP? - File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a network protocol for transmitting files between computers over TCP/IP connections.
  • What is geolocation? Explaining how geolocation data works - Geolocation technology identifies physical locations of devices and individuals based on information such as geographic coordinates and internet protocol addresses (IP address).
  • What is Google Glass? - Google Glass was a wearable, voice and motion-controlled Android device that resembled a pair of eyeglasses and displayed information directly in the user's field of vision.
  • What is Group Policy Object (GPO) and why is it important? - Microsoft’s Group Policy Object (GPO) is a collection of Group Policy settings that defines what a system will look like and how it will behave for a defined group of users.
  • What is image metadata and how is it used? - Image metadata is text information pertaining to an image file that is embedded into the file or saved to a separate file that is associated with the image file.
  • What is IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6)? - Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is a set of specifications from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that is responsible for identifying network devices and routing traffic across the internet.
  • What is malware? Prevention, detection and how attacks work - Malware, or malicious software, is any program or file that's intentionally harmful to a computer, network or server.
  • What is mixed reality? - Mixed reality refers to advanced technology that combines both virtual reality (VR), a fully immersive computer-generated experience, and augmented reality (AR), which integrates digital elements into the physical world.
  • What is National Electrical Code (NEC)? - National Electrical Code (NEC) is a set of regularly updated standards for the safe installation of electric wiring in the Americas.
  • What is PaaS? Platform as a service definition and guide - Platform as a service (PaaS) is a cloud computing model where a third-party provider delivers hardware and software tools to users over the internet.
  • What is quantum computing? How it works and examples - Quantum computing is an area of computer science focused on the development of computers based on the principles of quantum theory.
  • What is remote desktop protocol (RDP)? - Remote desktop protocol (RDP) is a secure network communications protocol developed by Microsoft.
  • What is SaaS (software as a service)? - Software as a service (SaaS) is a software distribution model in which a cloud provider hosts applications and makes them available to end users over the internet.
  • What is Secure Digital Extended Capacity card (SDXC)? - A Secure Digital Extended Capacity (SDXC) card is a very small flash memory card that has greater storage capacity than the original SD (Secure Digital) memory cards.
  • What is SMS (Short Message Service)? - SMS (Short Message Service), commonly referred to as 'text messaging,' is a service for sending short messages of up to 160 characters (224 character limit if using a 5-bit mode) to mobile devices, including cellular phones, smartphones and tablets.
  • What is SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)? - SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is a TCP/IP protocol used in sending and receiving emails over a network such as the internet.
  • What is the dark web (darknet)? - The dark web is an encrypted portion of the internet not visible to the general public via a traditional search engine such as Google.
  • What is the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)? - Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is a specification for a software program that connects a computer's firmware to its operating system (OS).
  • What is user-generated content and why is it important? - User-generated content (UGC) is published information that an unpaid contributor provides to a website.
  • What is virtual reality? How it's used and how it will evolve - Virtual reality, or VR, is a simulated three-dimensional (3D) environment that lets users explore and interact with a virtual surrounding in a way that approximates reality, as it's perceived through the users' senses.
  • What is voice recognition and how does it work? - Voice or speaker recognition is the ability of a machine or program to receive and interpret dictation or to understand and perform spoken commands.
  • WhatsApp - WhatsApp is a free cross-platform messaging service.
  • whitelist (allowlist) - A whitelist (allowlist) is a cybersecurity strategy that approves a list of email addresses, IP addresses, domain names or applications, while denying all others.
  • wiki - A wiki is a web-based collaborative platform that enables users to store, create and modify content in an organized manner.
  • Windows 7 - Windows 7 is the Microsoft Windows operating system (OS) released commercially in October 2009 as the successor to Windows Vista.
  • Windows as a service - Windows as a service is the approach Microsoft introduced with Windows 10 to deploy, update and service the operating system.
  • Windows event log - The Windows event log is a detailed record of system, security and application notifications stored by the Windows operating system that is used by administrators to diagnose system problems and predict future issues.
  • Windows key (winkey) - The Windows key (winkey) is a button on a Windows computer keyboard.
  • Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) - Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is a specification for a set of communication protocols to standardize the way wireless devices, such as mobile phones and radio transceivers, can be used for internet access, including email, the web, newsgroups and instant messaging.
  • World Wide Web (WWW) - The World Wide Web -- also known as the web, WWW or W3 -- refers to all the public websites or pages that users can access on their local computers and other devices through the internet.
  • WXGA - WXGA, which stands for wide XGA, is a term used in product specifications to describe a display screen that is appropriate for business but is also suitable for watching DVDs.
  • WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) - WYSIWYG (pronounced wiz-ee-wig) is a type of editing software that allows users to see and edit content in a form that appears as it would when displayed on an interface, webpage, slide presentation or printed document.
  • x and y coordinates - X and y coordinates are, respectively, the horizontal and vertical addresses of a point in any two-dimensional (2D) space, such as a sheet of paper or a computer display screen.
  • XACML (Extensible Access Control Markup Language) - XACML (Extensible Access Control Markup Language) is an attribute-based access control policy language (ABAC) or XML-based language, designed to express security policies and access requests to information.
  • XML (Extensible Markup Language) - XML (Extensible Markup Language) is used to describe data.
  • XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language) - XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language) is a family of standards that specifies how to define Extensible Markup Language (XML) document transformation and presentation.
  • yak shaving - Yak shaving is programming lingo for the seemingly endless series of small tasks that have to be completed before the next step in a project can move forward.
  • zero client - Zero client, also known as ultrathin client, is a server-based computing model in which the end user's computing device has no local storage.
  • Zoom fatigue (virtual meeting fatigue) - Zoom fatigue, also known as 'virtual meeting fatigue,' is the feeling of exhaustion that often occurs after attending a series of virtual video meetings.