Digital Devices & Communication Vocabulary

Flashcards for vocabulary review based on lecture notes.

Mainframe Computers

A large powerful computer that can do a lot of complicated jobs quickly and can be used by a lot of people at the same time.

Microprocessor

The device that controls what a computer does; it takes data as input, does something with it and provides output. Used to control washing machines, televisions and other household appliances.

Embedded computing

Computing hardware that is fixed into position and carries out a specialist task.

Physical computing

Interactive systems that can sense and respond to the world around them.

SIM

Subscriber identity module, and a SIM card is used to identify the subscriber to a mobile phone network.

Pixel

A small dot that helps to make up an image

Resolution

The number of pixels used by a screen to display an image.

Pixelated

An effect that creates an unclear image consisting of large individual pixels that are visible to the human eye.

Stream

Play a file on your computer while it is being downloaded from the internet, rather than saving it as a file and then playing it.

USB

Universal Serial Bus, a standard for wired connectivity that can also supply electric power

Set-top box (STB)

A device that sends video and audio received from a broadcaster to a television.

Personal video recorders (PVR)

A device that records broadcasted content so that it can be watched at a later date.

Global positioning system (GPS)

Uses radio signals from satellites to show your exact position on the earth on a special piece of equipment.

Convergence

When the designs of devices change so that they become similar to one another.

User Interface

The system that allows a user to interact with a device.

Command Line Interface (CLI)

Often found on older systems or for devices with limited storage because it requires little memory. Commands have to be typed precisely because the interface only recognizes certain commands. There is usually a help menu for users that lists and explains the acceptable commands.

Menu Driven Interface

Displays a list of options as a menu. Selecting one of these options will either trigger a command or display another menu with further options to choose from. Easier to use than command line interfaces, but can take more time as you have to go through the menu structure each time you want to carry out a command, rather than typing the command directly on the system. Used in many devices including ATMs and televisions.

Graphical User Interface (GUI)

Controlled by a pointer on the screen and uses a screen made up of windows, icons and menus.

Voice Interface

Allows the user to give spoken commands to a device. The device has voice recognition software which matches the spoken words against a library of words to find a match. To save storage on the device, the library of words is often stored online, so these devices usually require internet access. The disadvantage of using a voice interface is that sometimes the software can not find a match or return an incorrect match, which produces unwanted results. For this reason, voice interfaces sometimes check the instruction with the user before searching for a match. The advantage of voice interfaces is that hands-free operation is possible. This means that they are often used in vehicles in order to improve road safety.

Gesture interface

Allows the user to control the device by swiping their finger or fingers across the screen, or by pinching their fingers together to zoom in or out. This type of interface is commonly found on devices with touch screens.

Backup

Making a copy of information stored on a computer in case the original is lost or damaged.

Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

Software that allows scanners to read characters on the document and store the result in a text file.

Optical Mark Recognition (OMR)

Software can also be used with scanners to detect simple marks on a document. A common use for OMR is for recognizing and recording responses to multiple choice tests.

Barcode scanner

A barcode is a pattern of lines and gaps that can be read by barcode scanners, which detect the width of lines and gaps in a barcode.

VOIP

Voice over internet protocol, which is the technology that allows people to use internet connections to speak to other people, rather than using a conventional telephone.

Bandwidth

The number of bits that can be carried by a connection in one second.

Latency

The delay in the time it takes to send data between devices.

Tethering

Is the process of connecting a host device, such as a smartphone or a tablet device, that uses a mobile broadband connection with one or more other devices. This enables the other device or devices to share the host device’s broadband connection.

LAN

Local Area Network

WAN

Wide Area Network

PAN

Personal Area Network

WPAN

Wireless Personal Area Network

DVB

Digital video broadcasting

DVB-S

Digital Video Broadcasting – Satellite

DVB-T

Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial

DAB

Digital Audio Broadcasting

Protocols

Rules that allow the exchange and transmission of data between devices.

Internet Protocol (IP)

An IP address is a unique address that networked devices use to send data to each other. Each piece of data that is sent across a network carries the IP address of the destination, so that each device in the network knows where to send it.

DHCP

A networked computer that automatically assigns an IP address to other computers when they join the network.

Media Access Control (MAC)

Unlike IP addresses, which can be dynamically allocated by users or servers, MAC addresses are universally unique identifies given to the network interface card (NIC).

Gateway

A gateway connects two different types of network, for example, a LAN is connected to a WAN using a gateway.

Server

A computer that shares its resources with connected devices.

Authentication Server

Checks usernames and passwords. When a user successfully logs in, the client receives an electronic certificate that it can then use to access various resources, including applications and storage.

Print Server

Manages multiple printers at a time, dealing with print requests from client computers and adding jobs to a queue so that individual printers are not overloaded with requests.

File Server

Allow users to access shared and private storage.

Application Server

Provide clients with access to applications that can be run directly from the server.

Web Server

Process requests for data made via Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Together, all of the content stored on all web servers is known as the World Wide Web.

Internet Service Provider (ISP)

The company that provides customers with access to the internet.

Syntax

Rules that dictate how words and phrases are used in languages, including computing languages.

Phishing

The criminal activity of sending emails that appear to be from real organizations, such as shops, banks or charities. These emails ask the user to provide their information by replying to the message or following a hyperlink that opens a webpage into which the user is asked to type their personal details.

Privacy

The ethical principle that an investigator should respect the privacy of research participants.

Hacking

The unauthorized access to or modification of computer systems and the information contained within them.

Malware

Malicious software such as viruses and spyware.