Ideal Home's guide to understanding computer language

Bamboozled by bytes and confused by graphics cards? Here's what all the mumbo-jumbo related to computers really means...

A. Computer speak can be hard to understand. Put an end to confusing terminology with our jargon-buster.

Attachment
Any file that is attached to an email such as pictures, a letter or computer programs.

Byte
The unit of data used by computers, often expressed as KB (Kilobyte = 1,000bytes), MB (Megabyte = 1million bytes) or GB (Gigabyte 1,000million bytes)

ISP – Internet service Provider
The company that gives you access to the internet eg. AOL, BT, Yahoo etc.

Hard Disc Drive
The main storage area of your PC. A large capacity hard disc drive will allow you to store many thousands of pictures, songs, emails and documents.

HTML – Hypertext Markup Language
The language used by most web pages that enables easy viewing of pictures as well as text.

GigaHertz
The speed of a computer processor. A 3.0GHz processor will make 3,000 million instructions per second.

Grapics Card
A high power optional add-on that enables your computer to run the latest graphics and the fastest of PC games.

Modem
A device that connects your computer to the internet through your phone line – a standard features on most computers.

Optical Drive
An internal disc drive that can be read programs and files on CDs or DVDs. Advanced optical drives (writers) can record your files to recordable CDs and DVD.

Pixel
The individual dots on you computer monitor that form the whole picture, ie the monitor's resolution, such as 1280 x 1024 pixels.

Processor
The working heart of a computer. The faster the computer's processor (expressed in GHz) the faster programs will load and run.

RAM – Random Access Memory
The fast working memory of your computer that allows it to run large and complex programs very quickly.

Sound Card
An optional add-on that will upgrade your computer from stereo to surround sound for movies and games.

Spam
An unsolicited email that arrives in your inbox – often offers to sell you products that you don't need or used to reveal your credit card details to fraudsters if you reply to them.

USB port
A high speed connection that allows you to connect printer,s scanners and digital camers easily to your computer.

USB Drive
A small stick-like device than plugs into a USB port and can store and transfer files and pictures so they can be moved between computers.

Virus
A malicious computer program designed to disable your computer or destroy your data and files.

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