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Access time Amount of time it takes for a hard drive to find and
retrieve a piece of information. Also known as seek time.
ACPI advanced configuration and power interface. The latest
standard that specifies how PC or laptop power can be
efficiently managed. Features include activating devices only
when required and reducing clock speed when full processing
power is not needed.
ActiveX unlike Java, ActiveX is not a programming language, but
a set of instructions on how an object should be used. ActiveX
controls can be downloaded from the internet, and run just like
Java applets. However, Java will only interact with your web
browser, while ActiveX controls can access your Windows
operating system.
ADSL asymmetric digital subscriber line. A permanently on,
broadband connection to the internet using conventional
phonelines. Data is downloaded to the PC faster than it is
uploaded from the PC – hence the term ‘asymmetric’ is used
to describe the connection.
AGP accelerated graphics port. An expansion slot linked directly
to the motherboard’s system bus, enabling high-performance
graphics. AGP graphics cards can access system memory
directly, as well as using their own video memory. AGP 2X has a
peak transfer rate of 512MBps (megabytes per second), while
AGP 4X runs at 1.1GBps (gigabytes per second).
Ansi lumens Refers to the brightness of a projector. The higher
this figure, the brighter the image will be. Anything in excess of
800 Ansi lumens should be viewable in daylight.
Anti-aliasing is a technique used to adjust jagged diagonal lines and
curves in images caused by false frequencies (aliases) to make
them look smoother. This process is commonly used to improve
the appearance of fonts and pictures.
API application program interface. A common interface that
allows programs to make use of services provided by the
operating system or other applications. Winsock, for example,
is an API that allows Windows and other programs to talk to
TCP/IP for internet access.
Applet Program designed to be executed from within another
program. Applets cannot be activated from an operating system.
Application Software program, such as a word processor,
spreadsheet or game, that is designed for a specific purpose.
Ascii american standard code for information interchange.
Ascii is the most common format for text files in computers
and on the internet.
Atapi attachment packet interface. This is an extension to the
EIDE interface specification that additionally supports CD-ROM
and tape drives.
Athlon XP AMD’s processor, the Athlon XP, has a slower clock
speed than its predecessors, but thanks to some clever tweaks
of the architecture it is outperforming all the competition.
AVI audio video interleave. Designed by Microsoft to combine
audio and video in a single track or frame to keep them
synchronised. Files can be compressed using various audio
and video coders (coder/decoder).
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