AAC
(Advanced Audio Coding )
A file format that provides highly compressed audio files with very little loss of sound
quality and is promoted by Apple on its iTunes Web site.
ALU
(Arithmetic Logic Unit)
The part of the CPU that performs arithmetic and logical operations on the numbers
stored in its registers.
ARPANET
(Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) One of the first packet switching
computer networks using TCP/IP, and the prototype for the Internet.
ASCII
(American Standard Code for Information Interchange)
A code that represents characters as a series of 1s and 0s. Most computers use ASCII
code to represent text, making it possible to transfer data between computers.
Bandwidth
The data transmission capacity of a communications channel. Digital signals are
measured in bits per second; analog signals in hertz.
Binary
The representation of data using two states, such as off-on or 1-0.
BMP
(File Extension .bmp)
The native bitmap graphics file format of Microsoft Windows.
BN
(Backbone Network)
high-speed network that connects many networks.
Broadband
A term used to refer to communications channels that have bandwidth that equals or
exceeds 25 Mbps.
CISC
(Complex Instruction Set Computer)
A general-purpose microprocessor chip designed to handle a wider array of instructions
than a RISC chip.
Compression Types
Core
A core is part of a CPU that receives instructions and performs calculations, or actions,
based on those instructions. A set of instructions can allow a software program perform
a specific function. Processors can have a single core or multiple cores.
CPU
(Central Processing Unit)
The main processing circuitry, or "chip," within a computer that contains the ALU,
control unit, and registers.
Data Bus