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Terms for computer junkies
PUMP up your computer-related vocabulary! Load your brains with these frequenty used i-terms.
Hardware engineer: A person involved with the design, implementation and testing of hardware (circuits, components, systems, etc.).
Hard space: A special space character that acts like a letter or digit, used to prevent multiple-word, proper names from breaking between lines.
Hard token: A physical authentication device such as a smart card.
CPM: (1) (Critical Path Method) A project management planning and control technique implemented on computers. The critical path is the series of activities and tasks in the project that have no built-in slack time. Any task in the critical path that takes longer than expected will lengthen the total time of the project.
(2) (Cost Per Milli or Mille) Refers to the cost for a thousand of something. For example, banner ads on the Web, which are also known as “impressions,” are typically sold on a CPM basis. See banner ad.
(3) (Copies Per Minute) The rated speed of a computer printer or copy machine.
CPO: (Chief Privacy Officer) An individual who manages the privacy issues within an organization. Arising out of the privacy regulations in finance and health care in the late 1990s, the CPO position eventually crossed over to all industries.
The CPO, typically an attorney, is involved with setting privacy policy which determines how much information should be collected and how much can be shared both inside and outside of the company.
Microprocessor: A CPU on a single chip. The term is also abbreviated to MPU for “microprocessor unit.” In order to function as a computer, a microprocessor requires a power supply, clock and memor. The first microprocessor was created by Intel, and first-generation 8-bit familes were Intel’s 8080, Zilog’s Z80, Motorola’s 6800 and Rockwell’s 6502.
The 32-bit and 64-bit microprocessor lines found in today’s workstations and servers are the x86, PowerPC, Alpha, MIPS and SPARC series. In 2000, more than 150 million of these microprocessors were shipped.
For embedded systems, the latest incarnations of the first-generation families are widely used and dwarf the personal computer and server market in volume. In 2000, more than eight billion 8-bit CPUs were shipped including Intel 8051s, Zilog Z80s and Motorola
6805s. Such low-cost chips are used in a myriad of applications. See chip, embedded system and computer on a chip.
SunSoft: The unit within Sun that sells software. It was spun off as an independent subsidiary in 1991 and later brought back into the company.
Cps: (Characters Per Second) The measurement of the speed of a serial printer or the speed of a data transfer between hardware devices or over a communications channel. CPS is equivalent to bytes per second.
CPI-C: (Common Programming Interface for Communications) A general-purpose communications interface under IBM’s SAA. Using APPC verbs as its foundation, it provides a common programming interface across IBM platforms.
Broadcast: To simultaneously send the same message to multiple recipients. Broadcasting is a useful feature in e-mail systems. It is also supported by some fax systems. In networking, a distinction is made between broadcasting and multicasting. Broadcasting sends a message to everyone on the network whereas multicasting sends a message to a select list of recipients.
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