Sunday, 15 December 2013

OCP 100 : INTRODUCTION TO MICROCOMPUTER STUDIES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ---- THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA.

Windows XP

Microsoft Windows XP was introduced in 2001 and is the most significant upgrade to the Windows operating system since Windows 95. The previous version of Windows, called Windows Me (or Millennium Edition) still had the look and feel of Windows 95 and was known to have stability issues and incompatibilities with certain hardware.
Windows XP addressed many issues of its predecessor and added a number of other improvements as well. It is a stable operating system since it is built on the Windows 2000 kernel, which is known for its reliability. XP also has a new, more modern look, and an interface that is more easy to navigate than previous versions of Windows. While not written from the ground up, like Mac OS X, Windows XP is a substantial system update. The letters "XP" stand for "eXPerience," meaning the operating system is meant to be a new type of user experience.

What is Microsoft Excel and When Would I Use it?

Question: What is Microsoft Excel and When Would I Use it?

Answer: Excel is an Electronic Spreadsheet Program
Excel is an electronic spreadsheet program that can be used for storing, organizing and manipulating data.
When you look at the Excel screen (refer to the example on this page) you see a rectangular table or grid of rows and columns. The horizontal rows are identified by numbers (1,2,3) and the vertical columns with letters of the alphabet (A,B,C). For columns beyond 26, columns are identified by two or more letters such as AA, AB, AC.
The intersection point between a column and a row is a small rectangular box known as a cell. A cell is the basic unit for storing data in the spreadsheet. Because an Excel spreadsheet contains thousands of these cells, each is given a cell reference or address to identify it.
The cell reference is a combination of the column letter and the row number such as A3, B6, AA345.
Data Types, Formulas, and Functions
The types of data that a cell can hold include numbers, text or formulas. Just as in math class, formulas are used for calculations usually involving data contained in other cells. Excel and other electronic spreadsheets include a number of built in formulas used for common tasks known as functions.
Excel and Financial Data
Spreadsheets are often used to store financial data. Formulas and functions that are used on this type of data include:

Performing basic mathematical operations such as summing columns and rows of figures.
Finding values such as profit or loss.
Calculating repayment plans for loans or mortgages.
Finding the average, maximum, or minimum values in a specified range of data.

Excel's Other Uses
Other common operations that Excel can be used for include:

graphing or charting data to assist users in identifying data trends.
sorting and filtering data to find specific information.

The information garnered in a spreadsheet can easily be incorporated into electronic presentations, web pages, or printed off in report form.
The Original "Killer App"
Spreadsheets were the original killer apps for personal computers. Early spreadsheet programs such as VisiCalc and Lotus 1-2-3 were largely responsible for the growth in popularity of computers like the Apple II and the IBM PC as a business tool.

Introducing Microsoft Office Access 2003

Microsoft® Office Access 2003 is the database management program that gives you an improved user experience and an expanded ability to import, export, and work with XML data files. Working in Access 2003 is easier because common errors are identified and flagged for you with options to correct them. Additionally, a new feature to Access 2003 also helps database developers view information on dependencies between database objects.

What is Electronic Mail?

Electronic mail, or e-mail (and mail) for short, is one of the most popular uses of the Internet. Once you have an e-mail account you can send an electronic message (sort of like a letter) to just about anyone else with an e-mail account so long as you know their e-mail address.

If you have an internet service provider (ISP) or commercial online service you probably already have and know your e-mail address (If you don't know it, you can always badger technical support!) Most e-mail addresses are set up like this: it is your username, then an @ ('at') symbol, and then a domain name (something .com, .net, or .org in most cases).

For example, if you are on America Online (AOL) your e-mail address is username@aol.com where username is your AOL screen name. (Contrary to popular belief, not everyone uses AOL, so if you use AOL and someone asks you for your e-mail address, always remember to add the @aol.com part or they might get an error message!)

Using e-mail is rather straightforward. Once you have an account set up, you just select the option that says something like "new e-mail message" or "create a new message". You'll probably be prompted with three boxes (called fields):

To:

Subject:

Body: (sometimes the body doesn't actually say body, it's just the big area where you type your actual message.)

In the To: field you type the complete e-mail address of the person who will receive the e-mail. You can type anything you want as the subject and body, although the length of the subject is limited. You usually want to keep the subject to just a few words describing the content of the body of the e-mail message.

You may also see options for attachments and forwards. You can add files to your e-mail by using the attachment option. You can forward (make a copy) of a message you receive from someone (if you have their permission if necessary) and mail it to someone else with the forward option.

You may also see fields for CC: and BCC: close to your To: field. CC stands for carbon copy. If you want to send a message to multiple people, add the extra people in the CC: field (usually you separate their e-mail addresses by commas). BCC stands for blind carbon copy. BCC works just like a carbon copy, except the e-mail addresses you type in BCC do not show up to the other recipients. (Example: You send a message To: Mary and BCC: Joey. Joey will see Mary's e-mail address, but Mary won't see Joey's e-mail address because you "blinded" it by putting it in the BCC field.)

There are two things about file attachments you need to be careful of. The first thing is that you need to limit the size of files you are sending. An attachment the size of a floppy disk (1.44MB) can take anywhere from a few seconds to a few hours for someone to receive, depending on the speed of their Internet connection. Get permission before sending large files to someone.

Caution: Be careful when reading e-mail. Most email that looks like its from a bank, credit card company, mortgage company, eBay, PayPal, etc, is actually a criminal trying to rip you off or steal your info.

To stay safe, NEVER click links in an e-mail message that takes you to a page that asks for ANY INFORMATION from you. Instead, go directly to the site. For example, if you want to check on your eBay account, open your web brower and type www.ebay.com. If you'd like to learn more about protecting yourself from this crime, go to Google and search for "phishing."

Click the yellow Norton box on the left to learn about Internet Security.

Always keep your security software up to date.

Get $30 Off Norton Internet Security 2013. Now $49.99. DISCOUNT AUTOMATICALLY APPLIED. CLICK HERE.

The second reason you need to be careful with attachments is because they are one of the most common ways for computer viruses to spread. As a rule you should never open an attachment from someone you don't know or don't trust. And even if you know the sender, don't open an attachment you are not expecting or an attachment that looks suspicious. Some viruses can destroy all the data on your computer so it's best to play it safe.
CAUTION: You can also get viruses by downloading executable files (usually .com and .exe on Windows computers) from web sites. While only a very small percentage of executable files contain viruses you still may get one. Don't download or run executable files from web sites you don't trust.
What is Chat?
So now you know all sorts of things about the Internet. But you're probably wondering, wouldn't it be nice to talk back and forth with someone without having to continuously send e-mails? Online conversations in which you are immediately able to send messages back and forth to one another is called chat.
Often you'll hear people say, "I was chatting last night to someone from [this state.]" Other times you'll hear them say "I was chatting to someone from [this country.]" Chances are they weren't talking about the telephone, which can cost a few cents every minute. They were probably talking about online chat. Online chat doesn't cost anything extra, as long as you have an Internet connection.
There are three commonly used types of chat. They are Instant Messaging, ICQ, and IRC.
Instant Messaging
Instant messaging (IM) is one of the most popular forms of chat. Most of the time, instant messaging (IM'ing) is just between two people, although most IM software can handle group chats (with 3 or more people.) When you first start out IM'ing, you have to choose a name that people see you as. This name is commonly referred to as a nick (as in nickname) and is sometimes called a handle.
The most popular form of IM is AOL Instant Messenger. AOL IM allows anyone who downloads their free software to choose a nick (AOL calls their nicks Screen names) and 'chat' with anyone else with AOL IM or the America Online Service itself. Nearly everyone with America Online is reachable by AOL IM. If you see an AOL e-mail address, you can often cut off the @aol.com to get the IM screen name to contact the person directly.
Example: You get an e-mail from Bob12345@aol.com and want to contact them by IM. Cut off the @aol.com. You're left with Bob12345. You can add Bob12345 to your "Buddy List" with AOL IM and send them a message almost anytime they are online.
No two people with AOL IM or AOL can have the same screen name.
AOL IM is free. You can download it here. The software and web site have detailed instructions on how to get started.

ICQ ("I seek you")
ICQ is an extremely useful communication program. It allows you to message (chat), send files, send URLs, and more to anyone else with ICQ.
When you download ICQ (which is free) you are assigned an ICQ number. Two or more people using ICQ can have the same nickname, but no two people can have the same ICQ number. If you want to let someone contact you by ICQ, give them both your ICQ# and your nickname, so they won't accidentally contact someone else with the same nickname by mistake.
ICQ is a great tool to keep in touch. You can learn more about using ICQ at icq.com.
IRC - Internet Relay Chat
Unlike AOL IM and ICQ, IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is not owned by any company. To use IRC, you need an IRC client program. I recommend the shareware program mIRC if you are using Microsoft Windows.
IRC has many networks that are completely separate from one another. Some popular networks include The Undernet, EFnet, and DALnet. If you want to chat with someone on IRC, you need to make sure that both of you are on the same network (you can set it and change it each time your start your IRC program.)
IRC has very few rules. You are allowed to say pretty much anything to want to pretty much anyone you want. For example, if you are on AOL, and someone keeps bothering you, you could report that screen name to the AOL company. There is no high authority on IRC, but there is still an ignore option to use if someone annoys you.
IRC is probably the best way to meet new people. Most people who use IRC are very friendly and helpful.
Once you connect to an IRC network with an IRC client program, there are often thousands of rooms (they are called channels, and all start with a pound sign [#]) on nearly any topic, and tens of thousands of different people to chat with. If you have some free time and you're pretty bored, IRC is an excellent way to have a nice chat.
Note: Although only one person can be using a nickname at a time on an IRC network, there is no central registration. It is conceivable that someone else may be using the same nickname as you when you aren't online just by pure coincidence. Please pick a unique nickname to reduce the chances of being mistaken for someone else.
Other Chat Possibilities
The programs and services mentioned above are just a few of the more popular ways to chat. If there is someone you wish to chat with, contact that person by e-mail first. You can ask them if they use a chat or IM service. It is possible they may be using one that I haven't mentioned above. Lots of web sites also have chats built into them.

What are Discussion Boards and Newsgroups?
Discussion boards (which are often called message boards) and newsgroups in general both accomplish the same task. They each have general topics, and visitors can post messages about those topics on them. Anyone who has access to the board of newsgroup can read and reply to a message, which again, will be able to read and replied to by anyone else with access.
Discussion boards are usually read through a web browser, while newsgroups are usually read through a special program called a (newsgroup) reader. I prefer discussion boards on the web to newsgroups because I find them easier to use.
Some popular web sites that have discussion boards include delphi.com and theglobe.com. If you want access to a newsgroup (like alt.something or comp.something) and don't have or don't want to set up a reader you can access them through the USENET newsgroup section of deja.com.
(Some people with the technical know-how set up message boards on their web sites. An alternative to setting one up on your site is to setting one up on a free server like delphi.com and linking to it from your web site.)

What is the World Wide Web?
The World Wide Web is what you are using right now (unless you printed out the guide, then you're probably reading a piece of paper). The World Wide Web is the name given to the entire part of the Internet you can access with your web browser software. (Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer are the two most popular web browsers.) The World Wide Web, or WWW or web for short, consists of millions of web sites (like yahoo.com, microsoft.com, and davesite.com) and millions of web pages.
A web page is what you are viewing right now. It's kind of like a word-processing document, except it can contain pictures, sounds, and even movies along with text. Anyone who knows a little HTML (hyper-text markup language) or has a program capable of saving in HTML can make a web page. (For a free course in HTML, you can visit HTML: An Interactive Tutorial for Beginners, which is one of my other sites.)
The main difference between a web page (or 'home page') and a web site is that a web site generally contains multiple web pages, all linked to one another in some fashion. Some people use the term web page and web site interchangeably but those with Internet experience know the difference.
One of the beauties of the World Wide Web is the ability to hyperlink. (A hyperlink is one of those cool little [usually] blue and [usually] underlined pieces of text that you can click on to go to a different web page.) When someone makes a web page they can place a link on it to virtually anywhere they wish on the web. When someone visits their web page they can just click the link and the visitor's computer automatically loads the linked site in the web browser window. Most people use links to help their sites' visitors find other useful sites. When someone makes a page about himself or herself just for fun they'll usually add links to pages created by their friends.
Links can connect different web sites on different servers. You can even make a link to this guide if you really wanted to!

What is the Internet?
The Internet, in simplest terms, is the large group of millions of computers around the world that are all connected to one another. These computers are connected by phone lines, fiber optic lines, coaxial cable, satellites, and wireless connections.
When you log on to the Internet you are given access to many of the other computers that are connected around the world.
Some common ways of connecting to the Internet include:

Internet service provider ( ISP ) by modem
Internet ready cable
digital subscriber line ( ADSL )
simply turning on your computer which is on a network at work or school connected to the Internet

Today you can even get a wireless connection to the Internet with a handheld PC or notebook computer.

Once you are connected to the Internet you are able to do many things. You can send and receive e-mail. You can chat with text or voice. You can browse the World Wide Web. And you can perform countless other tasks with the appropriate software.
The Internet works a lot like a postal or parcel delivery system, except it is much, much faster. Say, for example, you are in California and want to send an e-mail to a friend in London. After you press the send button, your e-mail goes to your mail server. (Your mail server isn't usually part of your computer, but rather part of your internet service provider's computer network, so you can disconnect as soon as you press the send button and it won't interrupt delivery.) The mail server will attempt to contact your friend's mail server in London. But chances are your mail server doesn't have a direct line connecting it to your friend's mail server in London. Your mail server may have to "talk" to a computer in Chicago, which then takes to a computer in Washington, D.C., which contacts the London server via satellite. Or the Washington, D.C. computer might contact London via an undersea cable.
If the satellite or undersea cable appeared to be busy with other Internet data, your mail server may try sending west through Australia or Japan. In theory, the e-mail, although probably just a few paragraphs may possibly be broken into two or more parts and half of it would be sent east and half west. All the pieces would be reconstructed in London in one piece for your friend to read next time they log on.
The Internet is very dynamic. Routers and other computer server hardware try to find the best lines between servers so you get the best possible service. All of these connections are transparent to you, the Internet User. All of these connections look just like a direct connection to you. It makes using the Internet a lot easier.
CAUTION: It is important that you use a secure server when transferring personal information like credit card numbers over the Internet because any stop along the way (again, in theory) could log your credit card number. When you use a secure server, the number is encrypted (coded) and looks like gibberish to every computer except the one you are sending the number to. Look for a "secure server" option before entering your credit card number online.

Net Etiquette and Shorthand

Net Etiquette

There are a few things you should try to remember if you want to be treated with respect from the online community.

Don't type everything in CAPITAL LETTERS. A sentence typed in capital letters is considered yelling by the online community, and it makes you look like a goof.
If you are sending an e-mail to or communicating with someone you don't know well enough to be informal with:

Address them with respect.
Use complete sentences with proper capitalization and punctuation.
Do not use shorthand abbreviations, especially u for you, because you'll look like a goof.
Don't use profane language.

Laws applicable offline are almost always applicable online. Do not break a law. Do not harass or defame individuals. Do not pirate (that is, make illegal copies of) copyrighted material such as web sites, music, and software. You can be sued or prosecuted from your online activity just as you can be sued or prosecuted from your offline activities.

Shorthand

In many informal situations on the Internet you may see a lot of shorthand. It saves times to use shorthand. Just remember not to use shorthand in formal situations where it may not be appropriate.
Some common shorthand includes:

wb - welcome back (sometimes write back in an e-mail)
lol - lots of laughter or laughing out loud
rofl - rolls on floor laughing
roflmao - rolls on floor laughing my a** off
asl or a/s/l - age / sex / location query. Used in informal chat situations to get to know people. A proper response would be something like 25/f/ca if you were a 25 year old female from California.

This is just a tiny list of shorthand. If you don't know what an abbreviation means, ask the person who wrote it. You should get used to it pretty quickly.

Anonymity and Privacy
Anonymity and privacy on the Internet come hand in hand. In general, people on the Internet do not know anything more about you than you offer to tell them.
If you e-mail someone, they may be able to see your first and last name, depending on how you set up your e-mail account. You may wish to check those setting if you don't want people to know your full name.
Before you submit data to enter a contest online or for a free offer, check for a site privacy policy. (You can see the davesite.com privacy policy here if you'd like.) Some sites will sell your e-mail address and/or mailing address to direct marketers. Most privacy policies will tell you what practices a web site will follow with your personal information. If you have a suspicion about a web site, don't give them your information.
When you surf the web or chat the only thing visible to other users that can identify you in remote circumstances is your IP address. This number, which either changes every time you log on (dynamic IP address) or stays the same every time you log on (static IP address) allows data to be transferred to and from your computer and other computers on the Internet.
An IP address is kind of like a phone number. Say you ordered pizza, you'd have to tell them where you lived in order for it to be delivered. An IP address is just like your delivery address for the Internet. It lets you get what you want while you are online.
While the common person cannot figure out who you are from an IP address, government agencies like the FBI and Secret Service in the U.S. can contact your internet service provider (ISP) if you broke the law to figure out who was using a certain IP address when a crime occurred online. (Cracking [breaking into someone else's computer or server illegally] and piracy can be tracked, so don't do these things and other things that can get you in trouble unless you really like prison food!)

To stay on the safe side, don't give out information to those that you don't trust. And never give out your password to anyone. Remember to check out privacy policies, and remember you can be held accountable for any crimes you commit.
Safety Issues
Safety is important on the Internet, especially for children. If you are a parent concerned with what your child may find on the Internet, you may wish to consider filtering software. Filtering software will block most objectionable sites and can usually be disabled with a password you set. (A disadvantage of filtering software is that it also blocks a lot of non-objectionable content, like information on breast cancer, because it could find breast as an objectionable word.)
Other ways to stay safe:

Don't give out personal information like street addresses and phone numbers on your personal web site or in chats.
If you are chatting or have an e-mail contact you are not completely comfortable with, do not tell them the exact area you live. Give then your general area (example: Southern California) or general metropolitan area (example: near San Diego).
Don't give out bank account numbers or credit card numbers in e-mail or enter them on non-secure web servers. If you want to purchase something, make sure you are on a secure server before you start typing a credit card number. (You can usually tell the difference between a secure server and a non-secure server because secure servers start with https:// in the Location: field at the top of the web browser, while non-secure servers start with http://) Secure servers encrypt your data so no one else can get your information except the computer at the other end.
Use a virus scanner. Don't download files from web sites you don't trust or from e-mails that look suspicious. Be careful even if you have a virus scanner installed, because your scanning software does not recognize undiscovered and new viruses. Update your virus definitions so you have the best protection with your software (consult your scanner manual if you need help with that.)

NOTE: In the United States, you are only held responsible for the first $50 of an unauthorized charge on your credit card (unfortunately this does not include purchases your children may make.) It doesn't matter whether the charge came from an online or offline store. So don't be afraid to buy online from reputable vendors.
Finding Stuff on the Web
In order to find something on the web, first you need to determine the category what you are looking for falls into.
If you are looking for online information on a certain topic, you’ll probably want to use a regular search engine.
But perhaps you are looking for a recipe for a dinner. Sure, you could try searching at a search engine for a specific recipe, but it might be better to get to a recipe site first. So you’d want to search for “recipes” in general and then, once you find a reliable-looking site, use its own search engine or browse its categories for an appropriate recipe.
Or perhaps you are looking for a phone number. You’ll want to find some white pages or yellow pages. Have a phone number and need to know to whom it belongs? You’ll need to do a reverse phone number lookup.
This last example probably illustrates the problem the best. If you were to go to Yahoo.com and type in your home phone number in the main search engine, chances are you’d get nothing. However, if you took a different approach, and went to the Reverse Lookup section of anywho.com, you’d probably get the right result. But of course, you didn’t know that anywho.com existed before I mentioned it. So you’d have to take three steps:

Search for "Reverse Lookup" at a popular search engine.
Visit the sites that are in the search result for one you think would work.
Once you’ve found a site that worked, enter the number you’re looking up.

Say you are looking for a recent unbiased product review. Sure, you could type "[product name here] review" in a major search engine, but there may be better places to look. Perhaps you'd want to check out epinions.com, a place where thousands of people submit and rate reviews about thousands of products.
Obviously, you are not going to know the best site for what you need when you are starting out. So, just test out a few different search engines. When you find a site you think is useful, Bookmark it. Right away, you'll probably want to bookmark a few major search engines, just to get started. Sometimes one search engine will give you better results than another one.
My personal favorites for search engines are yahoo.com, directhit.com, askjeeves.com, altavista.com, and northernlight.com. Other popular search engines include excite.com, lycos.com, infoseek.com, and google.com. There are a dozen more extremely popular search engines. I'd suggest that you try a few out. Sometimes it's best to use different engines depending on your circustances.
Here's a few examples of specialized searches:

How would you find the capital of Vermont?

Well, you could search for "Vermont" at a major search engine, but you'd probably come up with thousands of results, ranging from hotels and resorts to small businesses, high schools, and personal webpages from people who live in the state.
In this case, you might want to use a question-answering engine like askjeeves.com. Go to askjeeves.com and type in the question box: What is the capital of Vermont?

How would you find a local restaurant with genuine Thai cuisine?

Well, you could search for "Thai cusuine" at a major search engine, but it'd probably take you hours to find a restaurant that is within an hour's drive.
In this case, you'd probably want to check out an Online Yellow pages web site. Enter your City, find the restaurants category, and type in 'thai food' or 'thai cuisuine.'

So when you are searching, think a little bit about where you might find the best result. It'll take time to get used to all the different ways you can find what you want, but you're sure to enjoy the learning process.
Want an amusing search to start off with? Go to altavista.com, and type your regular full name (what you commonly go by) in quotes, e.g. "Bob Smith" You might be amazed at how many people have the same name as you, or you might find out you already have a few fan clubs. If you have a really unique name, I'm sorry! :)
Glossary
You've finished the lessons. This page is for reference.

Browser

common name for a web browser. A piece of software that displays web sites and web pages on a computer or other Internet-ready device.

Chat

communication between two or more people, typically in real-time. Electronic mail is generally not considered chat, because it is not two people writing back and forth in conversation simultaneously.

E-mail

Electronic mail. One of the most popular uses of the Internet. Allows for communication between people when one person is online and one person is not online. An e-mail address is a place where someone can contact another person, typically in the format username@host.com.

HTML

HyperText Markup Language. The code that tells the web browser how to interpret a web page.

Internet

Global Network of millions of computers that are able to communicate with one another based on a standard protocol.

Internet Protocol, typically refers to the Internet Protocol number, such as 127.0.0.1, which is much like a house address or phone number. When you request information such as a web page, or send e-mail, this IP is recorded along with it. In addition, IP's are used to track crackers (computer hackers who break the law.)

ISP

Internet Service Provider. Someone you typically pay in order to be connected to the Internet. Usually provides you with an e-mail address and a phone number to dial into with your modem.

Link

something embedded in a web page that gives instructions on what a web browser should do once the user clicks it. Kind of like a "shortcut" for the Internet.

Modem

Computer hardware that "talks" to an ISP, tranfers data, and such. Most modems can also be set up to receive and send faxes (when they are not connected to the Internet.)

Online

to be logged on to the Internet, typically actively doing something.

Search engine

a piece of computer software that retrieves data relative to a query from a large database of information. Typically, a search engine is a web site with this software, and is used to find other web sites after the user enters keywords.

WWW / World Wide Web

the part of the Internet based on the HTTP protocol. Commonly accessed with a web browser.

List of computing and IT abbreviations

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This is a list of computing and IT acronyms and abbreviations.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

0–9

/.—Slashdot
1GL—First-Generation Programming Language
1NF—First Normal Form
10B2—10BASE-2
10B5—10BASE-5
10B-F—10BASE-F
10B-FB—10BASE-FB
10B-FL—10BASE-FL
10B-FP—10BASE-FP
10B-T—10BASE-T
100B-FX—100BASE-FX
100B-T—100BASE-T
100B-TX—100BASE-TX
100BVG—100BASE-VG
286—Intel 80286 processor
2B1Q—2 Binary 1 Quaternary
2GL—Second-Generation Programming Language
2NF—Second Normal Form
3GL—Third-Generation Programming Language
3GPP—mobile broadband "3G" Partnership Project
3NF—Third Normal Form
386—Intel 80386 processor
486—Intel 80486 processor
4B5BLF—4 Byte 5 Byte Local Fiber
4GL—Fourth-Generation Programming Language
4NF—Fourth Normal Form
5GL—Fifth-Generation Programming Language
5NF—Fifth Normal Form
6NF—Sixth Normal Form
8B10BLF—8 Byte 10 Byte Local Fiber

A

AAT—Average Access Time
AA—Anti-Aliasing
AAA—Authentication Authorization, Accounting
AABB—Axis Aligned Bounding Box
AAC—Advanced Audio Coding
AAL—ATM Adaptation Layer
AALC—ATM Adaptation Layer Connection
AARP—AppleTalk Address Resolution Protocol
ABCL—Actor-Based Concurrent Language
ABI—Application Binary Interface
ABM—Asynchronous Balanced Mode
ABR—Area Border Router
ABR—Auto Baud-Rate detection
ABR—Available Bitrate
ABR—Average Bitrate
AC—Acoustic Coupler
AC—Alternating Current
ACD—Automatic Call Distributor
ACE—Advanced Computing Environment
ACID—Atomicity Consistency Isolation Durability
ACK—ACKnowledgement
ACK—Amsterdam Compiler Kit
ACL—Access Control List
ACL—Active Current Loop
ACM—Association for Computing Machinery
ACME—Automated Classification of Medical Entities
ACP—Airline Control Program
ACPI—Advanced Configuration and Power Interface
ACR—Allowed Cell Rate
ACR—Attenuation to Crosstalk Ratio
AD—Active Directory
AD—Administrative Domain
ADC—Analog-to-Digital Converter
ADC—Apple Display Connector
ADB—Apple Desktop Bus
ADCCP—Advanced Data Communications Control Procedures
ADO—ActiveX Data Objects
ADSL—Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
ADT—Abstract Data Type
AE—Adaptive Equalizer
AES—Advanced Encryption Standard
AF—Anisotropic Filtering
AFP—Apple Filing Protocol
AGP—Accelerated Graphics Port
AH—Active Hub
AI—Artificial Intelligence
AIX—Advanced Interactive eXecutive
Ajax—Asynchronous JavaScript and XML
AL—Active Link
AL—Access List
ALAC—Apple Lossless Audio Codec
ALGOL—Algorithmic Language
ALSA—Advanced Linux Sound Architecture
ALU—Arithmetic and Logical Unit
AM—Access Method
AM—Active Matrix
AMOLED—Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode
AM—Active Monitor
AM—Allied Mastercomputer
AM—Amplitude Modulation
AMD—Advanced Micro Devices
AMQP—Advanced Message Queuing Protocol
AMR—Audio Modem Riser
ANN—Artificial Neural Network
ANSI—American National Standards Institute
ANT—Another Neat Tool
AoE—ATA over Ethernet
AOP—Aspect-Oriented Programming
APCI—Application-Layer Protocol Control Information
API—Application Programming Interface
APIC—Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller
APIPA—Automatic Private IP Addressing
APL—A Programming Language
APR—Apache Portable Runtime
ARC—Adaptive Replacement Cache
ARC—Advanced RISC Computing
ARIN—American Registry for Internet Numbers
ARM—Advanced RISC Machines
AROS—AROS Research Operating System
ARP—Address Resolution Protocol
ARPA—Address and Routing Parameter Area
ARPA—Advanced Research Projects Agency
ARPANET—Advanced Research Projects Agency Network
AS—Access Server
ASCII—American Standard Code for Information Interchange
ASG—Abstract Semantic Graph
ASIC—Application-Specific Integrated Circuit
ASIMO—Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility
ASLR—Address Space Layout Randomization
ASM—Algorithmic State Machine
ASMP—Asymmetric Multiprocessing
ASN.1—Abstract Syntax Notation 1
ASP—Active Server Pages
ASP—Application Service Provider
ASR—Asynchronous Signal Routine
AST—Abstract Syntax Tree
ASSP—Application-Specific Standard Product
AT—Advanced Technology
AT—Access Time
AT—Active Terminator
ATA—Advanced Technology Attachment
ATAG—Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines
ATAPI—Advanced Technology Attachment Packet Interface
ATM—Asynchronous Transfer Mode
AVC—Advanced Video Coding
AVI—Audio Video Interleaved
AWK—Aho Weinberger Kernighan
AWT—Abstract Window Toolkit

B

B2B—Business-to-Business
B2C—Business-to-Consumer
BAL—Basic Assembly Language
BAM—Block Availability Map
Bash—Bourne-again shell
BASIC—Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code
BBP—Baseband Processor
BBS—Bulletin Board System
BCD—Binary Coded Decimal
BCNF—Boyce–Codd normal form
BEEP—Blocks Extensible Exchange Protocol
BER—Bit Error Rate
BFD—Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
BFD—Binary File Descriptor
BFS—Breadth-First Search
BFT—Byzantine Fault Tolerant
BGP—Border Gateway Protocol
BiDi—Bi-Directional
bin—binary
BINAC—Binary Automatic Computer
BIND—Berkeley Internet Name Domain
BIOS—Basic Input Output System
BJT—Bipolar Junction Transistor
bit—binary digit
Blob—Binary large object
Blog—Web Log
BMP—Basic Multilingual Plane
BNC—Bayonet Neill-Concelman
BOINC—Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing
BOM—Byte Order Mark
BOOTP—Bootstrap Protocol
BPDU—Bridge Protocol Data Unit
BPEL—Business Process Execution Language
BPL—Broadband over Power Lines
BPM—Business Process Modeling
bps—bits per second
BRM—Business Reference Model
BRMS—Business Rule Management System
BRR—Business Readiness Rating
BSA—Business Software Alliance
BSB—Backside Bus
BSD—Berkeley Software Distribution
BSoD—Blue Screen of Death
BSS—Block Started by Symbol
BT—BitTorrent
BT—Bluetooth
BTAM—Basic Telecommunications Access Method
BW—Bandwidth
BYOD—Bring Your Own Device

C

CA—Certificate Authority
CAD—Computer-Aided Design
CAE—Computer-Aided Engineering
CAID—Computer-Aided Industrial Design
CAI—Computer-Aided Instruction
CAM—Computer-Aided Manufacturing
CAPTCHA—Completely Automated Public Turing Test to tell Computers and Humans Apart
CAT—Computer-Aided Translation
CAQ—Computer-Aided Quality Assurance
CASE—Computer-Aided Software Engineering
cc—C Compiler
CD—Compact Disc
CDE—Common Desktop Environment
CDMA—Code Division Multiple Access
CDN—Content Delivery Network
CDP—Continuous Data Protection
CD-R—CD-Recordable
CD-ROM—CD Read-Only Memory
CD-RW—CD-Rewritable
CDSA—Common Data Security Architecture
CERT—Computer Emergency Response Team
CES—Consumer Electronics Show
CF—Compact Flash
CFD—Computational Fluid Dynamics
CFG—Context-Free Grammar
CFG—Control Flow Graph
CG—Computer Graphics
CGA—Color Graphics Array
CGI—Common Gateway Interface
CGI—Computer-Generated Imagery
CGT—Computational Graph Theory
CHAP—Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol
CHS—Cylinder-Head-Sector
CIDR—Classless Inter-Domain Routing
CIFS—Common Internet Filesystem
CIM—Common Information Model
CIM—Computationally Independent Model
CISC—Complex Instruction Set Computer
CJK—Chinese, Japanese, and Korean
CJKV—Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese
CLI—Command Line Interface
CLR—Common Language Runtime
CM—Configuration Management
CM—Content Management
CMMI—Capability Maturity Model Integration
CMOS—Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor
CMS—Content Management System
CN—Canonical Name
CN—Common Name
CNC—Computer Numerical Control
CNR—Communications and Networking Riser
COBOL—Common Business-Oriented Language
COMPUTER-Common Operating Machine Particularly Used for Trade, Education, and Research
COM—Component Object Model
CORBA—Common Object Request Broker Architecture
COTS—Commercial Off-The-Shelf
CPA—Cell Processor Architecture
CPAN—Comprehensive Perl Archive Network
CP/M—Control Program/Monitor
CPRI—Common Public Radio Interface
CPS—characters per second
CPU—Central Processing Unit
CR—Carriage Return
CRAN—Comprehensive R Archive Network
CRC—Cyclic Redundancy Check
CRLF—Carriage Return Line Feeds
CRM—Customer Relationship Management
CRS—Computer Reservations System
CRT—Cathode Ray Tube
CRUD—Create, Read, Update and Delete
CS—Cable Select
CS—Computer Science
CSE—Computer Science and Engineering
CSI—Common System Interface
CSP—Communicating Sequential Processes
CSRF—Cross-Site Request Forgery
CSS—Cascading Style Sheets
CSS—Content-Scrambling System
CSS—Closed Source Software
CSS—Cross-Site Scripting
CSV—Comma-Separated Values
CT—Computerized Tomography
CTAN—Comprehensive TeX Archive Network
CTCP—Client-To-Client Protocol
CTI—Computer Telephony Integration
CTL—Computational Tree Logic
CTM—Close To Metal
CTS—Clear To Send
CTSS—Compatible Time-Sharing System
CUA—Common User Access
CVS—Concurrent Versioning System

D

DAC—Digital-To-Analog Converter
DAC—Discretionary Access Control
DAL—Database Abstraction Layer
DAO—Data Access Objects
DAO—Disk-At-Once
DAP—Directory Access Protocol
DARPA—Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
DAT—Digital Audio Tape
DB—Database
DBA—Database Administrator
DBCS—Double Byte Character Set
DBMS—Database Management System
DCC—Direct Client-to-Client
DCCP—Datagram Congestion Control Protocol
DCCA—Debian Common Core Alliance
DCL—Data Control Language
DCMI—Dublin Core Metadata Initiative
DCOM—Distributed Component Object Model
DD—Double Density
DDE—Dynamic Data Exchange
DDL—Data Definition Language
DDoS—Distributed Denial of Service
DDR—Double Data Rate
DEC—Digital Equipment Corporation
DES—Data Encryption Standard
dev—development
DFA—Deterministic Finite Automaton
DFD—Data Flow Diagram
DFS—Depth-First Search
DFS—Distributed File System
DGD—Dworkin's Game Driver
DHCP—Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
DHTML—Dynamic Hypertext Markup Language
DIF—Data Integrity Field
DIMM—Dual Inline Memory Module
DIN—Deutsches Institut für Normung
DIP—Dual In-line Package
DIVX—Digital Video Express
DKIM—Domain Keys Identified Mail
DL—Download
DLL—Dynamic Link Library
DLNA—Digital Living Network Alliance
DLP—Digital Light Processing
DMA—Direct Memory Access
DMCA—Digital Millennium Copyright Act
DMI—Direct Media Interface
DML—Data Manipulation Language
DML—Definitive Media Library
DMR—Dennis M. Ritchie
DN—Distinguished Name
DND—Drag-and-Drop
DNS—Domain Name System
DOCSIS—Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification
DOM—Document Object Model
DoS—Denial of Service
DOS—Disk Operating System
DP—Dot Pitch
DPC—Deferred Procedure Call
DPI—Deep Packet Inspection
DPI—Dots Per Inch
DPMI—DOS Protected Mode Interface
DPMS—Display Power Management Signaling
DRAM—Dynamic Random Access Memory
DR-DOS—Digital Research - Disk Operating System
DRI—Direct Rendering Infrastructure
DRM—Digital Rights Management
DRM—Direct Rendering Manager
DSDL—Document Schema Definition Languages
DSDM—Dynamic Systems Development Method
DSL—Digital Subscriber Line
DSL—Domain-Specific Language
DSLAM—Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer
DSN—Database Source Name
DSN—Data Set Name
DSP—Digital Signal Processor
DSSSL—Document Style Semantics and Specification Language
DTD—Document Type Definition
DTE—Data Terminal Equipment
DTP—Desktop Publishing
DTR—Data Terminal Ready
DVD—Digital Versatile Disc
DVD—Digital Video Disc
DVD-R—DVD-Recordable
DVD-ROM—DVD-Read Only Memory
DVD-RW—DVD-Rewritable
DVI—Digital Visual Interface
DVR—Digital Video Recorder

E

EAI—Enterprise Application Integration
EAP—Extensible Authentication Protocol
EBCDIC—Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
EBML—Extensible Binary Meta Language
ECC—Elliptic Curve Cryptography
ECMA—European Computer Manufacturers Association
ECN—Explicit Congestion Notification
ECOS—Embedded Configurable Operating System
ECRS—Expense and Cost Recovery System
EDA—Electronic Design Automation
EDI—Electronic Data Interchange
EDO—Extended Data Out
EDSAC—Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator
EDVAC—Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer
EEPROM—Electronically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EFF—Electronic Frontier Foundation
EFI—Extensible Firmware Interface
EFM—Eight-to-Fourteen Modulation
EGA—Enhanced Graphics Array
EGP—Exterior Gateway Protocol
eID—electronic ID card
EIDE—Enhanced IDE
EIGRP—Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol
EISA—Extended Industry Standard Architecture
ELF—Extremely Low Frequency
ELF—Executable and Linkable Format
ELM—ELectronic Mail
EMACS—Editor MACroS
EMS—Expanded Memory Specification
ENIAC—Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer
EOF—End of File
EOL—End of Life
EOL—End of Line
EOM—End Of Message
EPIC—Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing
EPROM—Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
ERD—Entity-Relationship Diagram
ERM—Entity-Relationship Model
ERP—Enterprise Resource Planning
ESB—Enterprise service bus
ESCON—Enterprise Systems Connection
ESD—Electrostatic Discharge
ETL—Extract, Transform, Load
ESR—Eric Steven Raymond
EUC—Extended Unix Code
EULA—End User License Agreement
EWMH—Extended Window Manager Hints
EXT—EXTended file system

F

FAP—FORTRAN Assembly Program
FASM—Flat ASseMbler
FAT—File Allocation Table
FAQ—Frequently Asked Questions
FBDIMM—Fully Buffered Dual Inline Memory Module
FC-AL—Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop
FCB—File Control Block
FCS—Frame Check Sequence
FDC—Floppy Disk Controller
FDS—Fedora Directory Server
FDD—Floppy Disk Drive
FDDI—Fiber Distributed Data Interface
FDMA—Frequency-Division Multiple Access
FEC—Forward Error Correction
FEMB—Front-End Motherboard
FET—Field Effect Transistor
FHS—Filesystem Hierarchy Standard
FICON—FIber CONnectivity
FIFO—First In First Out
FIPS—Federal Information Processing Standards
FL—Function Level
FLAC—Free Lossless Audio Codec
FLOPS—FLoating-Point Operations Per Second
FLOSS—Free/Libre/Open Source Software
FMC— Fixed Mobile Convergence "Mobile UC or Unified Communications over Wireless"
FOLDOC—Free On-line Dictionary of Computing
FOSDEM—Free and Open source Software Developers' European Meeting
FOSI—Formatted Output Specification Instance
FOSS—Free and Open Source Software
FP—Function Programming
FPGA—Field Programmable Gate Array
FPS—Floating Point Systems
FPU—Floating Point Unit
FRU—Field Replaceable Unit
FS—File System
FSB—Front Side Bus
fsck—File System Check
FSF—Free Software Foundation
FSM—Finite State Machine
FTTC—Fiber To The Curb
FTTH—Fiber To The Home
FTTP—Fiber To The Premises
FTP—File Transfer Protocol
FQDN—Fully Qualified Domain Name
FUD—Fear Uncertainty Doubt
FWS—Folding White Space
FXP—File eXchange Protocol