Computer Systems, Application Software, and Computing History

A comprehensive vocabulary review set covering hardware storage devices, networking concepts, application and system software, and key historical milestones in computing.

Storage Medium

The physical material on which a computer keeps data, information, programs, and applications.

Cloud Storage

An Internet service that keeps information on servers on the Internet, where actual physical media are transparent to the user.

Storage Device

The hardware that records and/or retrieves items to and from storage media.

Capacity

The number of bytes a storage medium can hold.

Kilobyte (KB)

A storage measurement representing approximately $1$ thousand bytes, with an exact value of $2^{10}$ or $1,024$ bytes.

Megabyte (MB)

A storage measurement representing approximately $1$ million bytes, with an exact value of $2^{20}$ or $1,048,576$ bytes.

Gigabyte (GB)

A storage measurement representing approximately $1$ billion bytes, with an exact value of $2^{30}$ or $1,073,741,824$ bytes.

Terabyte (TB)

A storage measurement representing approximately $1$ trillion bytes, with an exact value of $2^{40}$ or $1,099,511,627,776$ bytes.

Access Time

A measurement of the time it takes a storage device to locate an item on a storage medium, or the time required to deliver an item from memory to the processor.

Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

A storage device containing one or more inflexible, circular platters that use magnetic particles to store data, instructions, and information.

Formatting

The process of dividing a disk into tracks (concentric circles) and sectors (wedge-shaped arcs).

Head Crash

An event that occurs when a read/write head touches the surface of a platter on a hard disk.

Solid State Drive (SSD)

A flash memory storage device containing its own processor to manage storage, offering advantages such as faster access times, lower power consumption, and no required defragmentation.

Network-Attached Storage (NAS)

A server placed on a network with the sole purpose of providing storage to users, computers, and devices attached to the network.

Storage Area Network (SAN)

A high-speed network dedicated solely to providing storage to other attached servers.

RFID Tag

A tracking component consisting of an antenna and a memory chip that contains information transmitted via radio waves.

Local Area Network (LAN)

A network that connects computers and devices in a limited geographical area.

Wide Area Network (WAN)

A network that covers a large geographic area.

Network Topology

The physical or logical arrangement of devices and connections in a network.

Router

A communications device that connects multiple computers or other routers together and transmits data to its correct destination on a network.

Bandwidth

The amount of data, instructions, and information that can travel over transmission media.

Latency

The time it takes a signal to travel from one location to another on a network.

Fiber-Optic Cable

A physical transmission medium consisting of hair-thin strands of glass or plastic that carry data as pulses of light.

System Software

Programs that control or maintain the operations of the computer and its devices.

Application Software

Programs designed to make users more productive and/or assist them with personal tasks.

Operating System (OS)

A set of programs coordinating all activities among computer or mobile device hardware, acting as both an interpreter between user and hardware and a manager of system resources.

Web App

Software that runs on a remote server through a browser interface.

Shareware

Software distributed free on a trial basis with the understanding that the user may need or want to pay for it later.

Open Source Software

Software distributed with its source code available for use, modification, and distribution under its original rights.

Public Domain Software

Creative materials or software not protected by intellectual property laws (such as copyright, trademark, or patent), owned by the public.

Word Processing Software

Productivity application that allows users to create and manipulate text documents easily.

Spreadsheet Software

Productivity application allowing users to organize data in columns and rows and perform calculations on the data.

Database Software

Application that allows users to create, access, retrieve, and manage a structured collection of data.

Software Suite

A collection of individual related applications available together as a unit.

Abacus

An early computation tool used as early as $2400\text{ BC}$ in Mesopotamia.

Antikythera Mechanism

An mechanical device used in ancient Greece for astronomical calculations.

Charles Babbage

Historical figure known as the Father of the Computer who designed the Analytical Engine as a blueprint for modern computers.

Analytical Engine

A computer design by Charles Babbage that introduced fundamental concepts like memory and control flow.

Ada Lovelace

Recognized as the first computer programmer, who developed instructions and the first algorithm intended for Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine.

Alan Turing

Computer science pioneer who introduced the concept of algorithms and computation with the Turing Machine, formulated the Turing Test, and helped break German codes in WWII.

Jacquard's Loom

A power loom invented by Marie Jacquard that automatically controlled fabric weave patterns using punched wooden cards linked by rope.

Herman Hollerith

Inventor of the Hollerith desk card reader/tabulator and founder of the Tabulating Machine Company, which later became IBM.

Harvard Mark I

The first programmable digital computer built in the U.S. ($1944$), constructed out of switches, relays, rotating shafts, and clutches.

Grace Hopper

A primary programmer for the Harvard Mark I credited with coining the word 'debugging' after finding a dead moth trapped inside the computer.

First Generation Computers

Computers from the $1940\text{s}$ to $1950\text{s}$ characterized by the use of vacuum tubes for circuitry.

ENIAC

An early electronic computer constructed by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert ($1943$-$1945$) that filled a $20 \times 40\text{ foot}$ room and used over $18,000$ vacuum tubes.

Second Generation Computers

Computers from the $1950\text{s}$ to $1960\text{s}$ that replaced vacuum tubes with transistors and magnetic tape.

UNIVAC

The first commercial (mass-produced) computer and the first to employ magnetic tape.

Third Generation Computers

Computers from the $1960\text{s}$ to $1970\text{s}$ that replaced individual transistors with integrated circuits (IC).

Fourth Generation Computers

Computers from the $1970\text{s}$ to today that utilize microprocessors, enabling personal computers such as the Apple II and IBM PC.

Fifth Generation Computers

Computing era from today onward focused on artificial intelligence and parallel processing.

Vint Cerf

Pioneer recognized as the Father of the Internet who co-designed TCP/IP protocols for Internet architecture.

Tim Berners-Lee

Inventor of the World Wide Web, the HTTP protocol, and the first web browser.