Updated 03/14/01 Copyright 2001, J.Graham; All rights reserved.
IBM PC: The first mass marketed IBM microcomputer.
IBM XT: The first mass marketed IBM microcomputer with a hard disk.
Icon: A small picture on the screen used to start a program or give a command.
Implementation: Two meanings: (1) The stage of system development where programs are written, software and hardware are purchased and installed, the system is tested and put into operation. (2) The particular way that the hardware and/or software are constructed and set up to perform a particular task.
Information: Anything that has meaning beyond itself. Information is abstract. Material objects are not in themselves information. For example, the information in a book is not the same as the book itself. The difference between data and information is that data is not in a form which is immediately useable.
Input: (verb) To put data into a system or (noun) the data being put into the system.
Input Device: A device used for getting data into the computer system. There are many kinds of input devices, but the most common are the keyboard and the mouse. To see examples of various keyboards and mice, click here and scroll down.
Input/Output (IO): Input and/or output.
Instructions: The commands that the CPU can carry out and which comprise computer programs.
Instruction Set: The set of instructions that a particular CPU can carry out.
Intellectual Property: Creations of the mind that are considered property. The rights to intellectual property are protected by copyright and patent law. Book suggestion: Internet Publishing and Beyond: The Economics of Digital Information and Intellectual Property
Internet: Huge world wide network comprised of smaller networks.
Internet Relay Chat: An protocol which is used by several systems of public chat servers. The popular client program to use with these chat servers is called MIRC.
Internet Service Provider (ISP): A company that connects people and/or organizations to the Internet.
Intranet: A network which is similar in function to the Internet, but is for use within an organization. An intranet may make use of the infrastructure of the internet. Book suggestion: Internet and Intranet Development for Business Advantage (ComputerWeekly Professional Series)
Java: A programming language used to write small programs called "applets" which can download automatically from web pages. Java is machine independent, which means that the same program can, in effect, be run on different types of machines. Book suggestions: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1861002238/newyorkstarwebad"> Beginning Java 2, Asunder : An Unauthorized History of the Origins of Java Programming Language.
Knowledge: Consists of information, techniques, understanding, and reasoning.
Knowledge Management System:: A system which manages knowledge.
Library: A collection of reuseable program parts used by programmers to help create programs. In object oriented programming, libraries of objects are used.
Linux: An operating system based on UNIX which can be used on microcomputers. The Linux operating system itself is free, but it is often packaged with books or utility programs which people pay for. For more information on Linux, click here. To see a popular commercially available LINUX package click here.
Logic Bomb: When a program is programmed to perform a malicious action at a certain date or time, or when a certain condition is reached.
Lotus 1-2-3: A spreadsheet program. Book suggestion: 1-2-3 For Windows Release 5 Essentials.
Low Level: Closer to the machinery than to the user.
Low Level Language: Machine language or assembly language.