Basic Computer Terminology

By Giuseppe Lamanna

Motherboard
Motherboard o Mainboard . It is a part

of a modern personal computer: the

form of the main electronic board brings
together all the electronic circuitry and
interface connections between the
various components inside the main PC

CPU
It is the central unit processing of a

computer.
CPU is the abbreviation of the English
term Central Processing Unit and the
integrated circuit (chip) which is
entrusted with the task of reading the
data in the computer's memory

Ram
the working memory of a computer
whose content can be edited, but is lost
when the machine is turned off; in it are
in turn loaded data or programs needed
for the development.

Bug
a programming error that causes a program to

behave in an unexpected way.

Compression
a technique that reduces the size of a saved file by

elimination or encoding redundancies (i.e., JPEG, MPEG,

LZW, etc.)

Control panel
a program that allows you to change settings in a

program

Fragmentation
The breaking up of a file into many separate locations in

memory or on a disk.

Surge suppressor
a power strip that has circuits
designed to reduce the effects of surge
in electrical power

Defragment
(also - optimize) to concatenate
fragments of data into contiguous
blocks in memory or on a hard drive.

Malware
The term "malware" is short for

"malicious software", and indicates any

software specifically designed to harm a
computer. Unfortunately malware they
are installed without the user's consent.

Suspension
Putting a computer to suspension is like

putting a computer break: The computer

is always on and all jobs are open, but is
consumed much less energy. To wake
the computer, simply press any key or
click the mouse.

Hibernation
Hibernation is turning the computer off

completely by saving the state (such as

open documents). To restore the
computer, all work should be restored as
before. During hibernation it is not
consumed current.