| ISP Dictionary - ISP Glossary Definitions for 's' |
| S-Video - A video cabling standard that splits video information into two separate signals: one for brightness (luminance), and the other for color information (chrominance).... |
| S.M.A.R.T. - This technology reports on a variety of hard drive attributes. You need a compliant BIOS and SCSI and/or IDE controller, a hard drive that supports SMART,... |
| Safe Mode - An operating mode used in Microsoft operating systems. It was first introduced in Windows 95 and was loaded automatically if Windows 95 crashed during... |
| Sample - A small portion representative of something. It usually means a small amount of sound from an instrument, enough to reproduce the sounds of that instrument.... |
| SAN - Storage Area Network. A high speed network of shared storage devices. |
| SAP - This protocol is used on NetWare networks to advertise available network services. For example, a NetWare server uses SAP to let other computers know that... |
| SATA - A specification for consumer hard drive connections that boosts the data transfer rate up to 150MB/second. In addition, it changes IDE/ATA from a parallel... |
| Save - This term describes the movement of data from a computer's volatile DRAM to the non-volatile hard disk or other media. Basically, when you save something... |
| SC242 - A 242-pin connection form factor after which Slot 1 and Slot A cartridges and connections are modeled. |
| SC330 - A 330-pin connection form factor after which Slot 2 and Slot B cartridges and connections are modeled. |
| Scalability - The ability to grow with your needs. A scalable software package means that you only buy the parts you need, and that it has the ability to grow by adding... |
| Scalable - Applications or systems that are able to scale to large amounts of users. For example, a database that completely locks out every other user when someone... |
| Scalar - This value, in mathematical terms, is any single real (not imaginary) number. The term superscalar is used by the semiconductor industry and refers to... |
| Scandisk - A Microsoft program that first shipped with DOS version 6, replacing the venerable chkdsk.exe program. Technically the program is scandisk.exe. It is available... |
| Scanner - A device used to copy an image from a physical source (e.g., a photograph) into a computer. |
| Screensaver - A program that displays an image, animation, or just a blank screen on a computer after no input has been received for a certain length of time. Screensavers... |
| Script - A group of commands usually stored in a file and run one at a time so that you don't have to type them in one at a time. Script is the newer, sexier term... |
| Scroll Lock - The scroll lock key is, for most, a way to turn the "scroll lock" light on and off on your keyboard and nothing more. The scroll lock key was intended... |
| SCSI - Pronounced "skuzzy," this is a standard data pathway used mostly for hard drives and CD-ROM drives; but it was also a common interface for scanners and... |
| SCSI bus termination - Because of the amount of signals that SCSI format sends through small wiring, termination is required. The termination is accomplished by using resistors... |
| SCSI Configured Auto-Magically - This SCAM is actually a good thing. It allows SCSI devices to automatically (or automagically--don't make me barf) be configured with an ID number, even... |
| SCSI Termination - Because of the amount of signals that SCSI format sends through small wiring, termination is required. The termination is accomplished by using resistors... |
| SCSI-2 - This version of SCSI originally came in two varieties: Fast-SCSI 2 and Fast-Wide SCSI 2. Recent extensions to the SCSI 2 specification include Ultra SCSI... |
| SCSI-3 - The SCSI 3 specification doesn't technically exist, but SCSI-3 is often used to describe the Ultra SCSI standard. Before the time of Ultra SCSI, SCSI-3... |
| Scuzzy - This is how the abbreviation SCSI is pronounced. Pronounced "skuzzy," this is a standard data pathway used mostly for hard drives and CD-ROM drives; but... |
| SDK - A programming tool that is tailored towards a particular purpose. The kit includes a compiler, linker, and an editor. Most hardware manufacturers have... |
| SDRAM - This is like Fast Page mode DRAM, but arranged with a more efficient data pathway that allows for faster throughput. |
| SDSL - A form of digital subscriber line that has the same transmission speed upstream and downstream. It is most often used for business use, and is more expensive... |
| SDX - This technology was introduced by Western Digital. The idea behind it is that slower drives such as CD and DVD drives would attach directly to larger,... |
| search engine - A utility that will search the Internet, an Intranet, a site, or a database for terms that you select. Search engines on the web consist of four elements: |
| Seat - The installation of memory or other accessories into a computer. It can also be used as a noun to describe a single license, or a single client workstation... |
| SECC - The SECC is a processor cartridge designed to hold Intel's Pentium II and some external cache. It then plugs into a motherboard that supports Slot 1. This... |
| SECC2 - The SECC is a processor cartridge designed to hold Intel's Pentium II and some external cache. It then plugs into a motherboard that supports Slot 1. This... |
| Sector - A piece of a track of a hard drive or other disk media. Each track is split up into groups of sectors. |
| Secure HyperText Transfer Protocol - A secure means of transferring data using the HTTP protocol. Typically HTTP data is sent over TCP/IP port 80, but HTTPS data is sent over port 443. This... |
| Secure Sockets Layer - A protocol specified by Netscape that allows for "secure" passage of data. It uses public key encryption, including digital certificates and digital signatures,... |
| Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Tool - This technology reports on a variety of hard drive attributes. You need a compliant BIOS and SCSI and/or IDE controller, a hard drive that supports SMART,... |
| Semiconductor - A substance (usually silicon doped with germanium or arsenic) that selectively conducts electricity. The selection usually occurs by running another current... |
| Serial - A means of operation meaning in series, or one after the other. It refers to connection standards that use a single wire. See also parallel. |
| Serial ATA - A specification for consumer hard drive connections that boosts the data transfer rate up to 150MB/second. In addition, it changes IDE/ATA from a parallel... |
| Serial Line Internet Protocol - A protocol used to connect your computer to the Internet using a serial connection, such as over a dial-up modem. SLIP isn't used often anymore, as PPP... |
| Serial Port - A data port/connection standard that is usually used to connect modems and mice. It comes in 9- and 25-pin varieties, both of which effectively function... |
| Serial Presence Detect - An 8-pin serial EEPROM chip available on some SDRAM memory that keeps specific information about a DIMM's size, speed, voltage, drive strength, number... |
| server - A computer in a network that provides access to other computers in the network to programs, web pages, data, or other files and services, such as printer... |
| Server Farm - A group of servers usually located in a secure area, and sometimes collocated at an ISP. These servers all serve a single purpose (such as serving Web... |
| Server Message Block - A client/server method of communication that allows a client to make requests for resources over a network. A server responds to these requests. SMB runs... |
| Server Side Includes - A method of calling, or "including," code into a Web page. To utilize SSI your webserver must be set to check for and respond to these codes called in... |
| Service Advertising Protocol - This protocol is used on NetWare networks to advertise available network services. For example, a NetWare server uses SAP to let other computers know that... |
| Service Level Agreement - A promise of maintaining a consistent level of data transfer over a network. Every ISP typically has an SLA that states the promise of data availability... |
| Service Protocol Identifier - A unique identifier that an ISDN provider's ISDN switch uses to identify ISDN clients. SPIDs are often similar in format to a phone number, but vary between... |
| Servlet - A program written for the Java Servlet API and run on a webserver. Servlets are a potentially more efficient replacement for CGI programs written in Java... |
| SGML - Acronym for Standard Generalized Markup Language. It was adopted in 1986 as an international standard (ISO 8879) for the creation, management, storage,... |
| SGRAM - This is actually a form of SDRAM with some additional features to speed up 3D graphics. It is used on some graphics cards. |
| Shading - This synonym for hacking up animals for human consumption determines how colors are used on each triangle displayed in a 3D image. Very complex images... |
| Shadow Mask - A thin sheet of metal with small holes poked through it. It is used to focus the light from the electron beam on most CRT monitors. See also Slot Mask.... |
| shareware - Software that is offered for free download in hopes that the user will decide to keep it and pay a fee for it after trying it out. See freeware. |
| Shell - This most commonly refers to the various text-based user interface programs available for UNIX or Linux. The shell is the part of the OS that interacts... |
| Shell Account - A term used with Internet dial-up accounts that can access a UNIX system at the command line instead of just connecting to the Internet through a browser.... |
| shell, - An Internet account, usually unix based, that provides the Internet software for you. In contrast, SLIP, PPP, and ethernet accounts give you a connection... |
| Short Message Service - A method of sending text messages that are 160 characters in length or shorter over a mobile phone. More and more mobile phones are supporting the sending... |
| Shortcut - A pointer to an actual program or file, as opposed to a full copy of that file. Shortcuts can also point to other shortcuts, and are used mainly because... |
| Silicon - Not to be confused with "silicone," silicon is the main component of computer chips. It is an element commonly associated with glass. It is called silica... |
| Silicon on Insulator - The practice of placing a thin layer of silicon on top of an insulating material in order to speed up the performance of a microprocessor by reducing the... |
| SIMD - A processor instruction that can perform operations across multiple data instructions. So, instead of saying "Add A,B" several times to add two groups... |
| SIMM - A small memory card used with Fast Page Mode DRAM and EDO DRAM standards. SIMMs are 8-bit memory modules that had to be added in groups of four for processors... |
| Simple Mail Transfer Protocol - The Internet standard for transferring e-mail. It uses TCP/IP port 25 and allows for file attachments. |
| Simple Network Management Protocol - A protocol used to manage network devices, usually hubs and routers. It operates over UDP, which is part of TCP/IP. Devices that support SNMP send messages... |
| Simple Screen Management Protocol - A communications protocol for text-based terminals. |
| Single Edge Contact Cartridge - The SECC is a processor cartridge designed to hold Intel's Pentium II and some external cache. It then plugs into a motherboard that supports Slot 1. This... |
| Single In-Line Memory Module - A small memory card used with Fast Page Mode DRAM and EDO DRAM standards. SIMMs are 8-bit memory modules that had to be added in groups of four for processors... |
| Single Instruction Multiple Data - A processor instruction that can perform operations across multiple data instructions. So, instead of saying "Add A,B" several times to add two groups... |
| Single Large Expensive Drive - Back in the early days of hard disks you had two choices: SLED or RAID. SLED systems used a single high capacity hard drive to store lots of data. The... |
| Single-Ended SCSI - The standard form of SCSI. It implies that there is a wire for each SCSI signal sent. |
| site - A host on the Internet which allows remote access by such protocols as http, ftp, telnet, or gopher. A site may consist of a single page or many pages... |
| Site License - Usually software manufacturers will sell their software based on the amount of users using the software. As the amount of users increases and prices get... |
| Skin - A graphic or graphic scheme that is placed over a 2D or 3D object. For 3D games such as Quake, you can wrap a 2D graphic skin around your 3D character... |
| SKU - A number associated with a particular product, often represented by a barcode. The SKU is used to track inventory and may or may not be shown to customers... |
| SLA - A promise of maintaining a consistent level of data transfer over a network. Every ISP typically has an SLA that states the promise of data availability... |
| slam, slamming - Slamming is the practice of telephone companies shifting you to their long distance service without your permission or obtaining your permission deceptively. |
| Slashdot Effect - This describes what happens when a highly trafficked website links to a smaller website, and sends such a large amount of traffic towards the smaller website... |
| Slave - This usually refers to an IDE setting on a hard drive or other IDE device. When two devices are used on a single IDE channel, one is set to master and... |
| SLED - Back in the early days of hard disks you had two choices: SLED or RAID. SLED systems used a single high capacity hard drive to store lots of data. The... |
| Sleep mode - The placement of a computing device into an inoperable mode, where less power is consumed by shutting down unnecessary devices, but leaving all data in... |
| SLIP - Serial Line Interface Protocol. Along with the newer PPP, a protocol that |
| Slocket - A circuit board that most commonly accepts a Socket 370 and/or FC-PGA microprocessor, and in turn plugs into a Slot 1 motherboard connection. Thus, socketed... |
| Slocket2 - Similar to the Slocket1, or just plain Slocket, this is an adapter so that Socket 370/PPGA and also FC-PGA processors can fit into Slot 1 motherboards.... |
| Slot 1 - A cartridge slot found on motherboards that accepts an SECC or SECC2 cartridge. It works with Intel's Pentium II and III chips, and some Celerons were... |
| Slot 2 - An Intel-designed specification that accepts a slot 2 cartridge. Intel ships its Xeon family of processors in a slot 2 cartridge. Slot 2 motherboards always... |
| Slot A - This slot developed by AMD is mechanically compatible with Intel's Slot 1, but not electrically compatible. This slot uses the Alpha chip's EV-6 memory... |
| Slot B - This slot developed by AMD is similar to Intel's Slot 2. It is mechanically compatible, but not electrically compatible. Just as Intel uses Slot 2 for... |
| Slot Mask - This form of mask is similar to a shadow mask, but instead of a sheet of metal with holes poked into it it is a series of fine, vertically-aligned metal... |
| Slotket - A circuit board that most commonly accepts a Socket 370 and/or FC-PGA microprocessor, and in turn plugs into a Slot 1 motherboard connection. Thus, socketed... |
| Slotket II - Similar to the Slotket1, or just plain Slotket, this is an adapter so that Socket 370/PPGA and also FC-PGA processors can fit into Slot 1 motherboards.... |
| SLS - One of the first Linux distributions, originally shipped on a number of floppies, that eventually became the Slackware distribution. |
| Small Computer Systems Interface - Pronounced "skuzzy," this is a standard data pathway used mostly for hard drives and CD-ROM drives; but it was also a common interface for scanners and... |
| Small Outline DIMM - A small form factor DIMM that is designed for use in laptops, graphics cards, and other devices that require a smaller than normal DIMM. The SO-DIMM allowed... |
| Small Scale Integration - Chips containing tens of transistors, but not hundreds. Today that's a very simple chip. See also VLSI, LSI, and MSI. |
| Smalltalk - An early object-oriented programming language developed in 1972 by the Software Concepts Group (led by Alan Kay) for the Xerox PARC project. It added onto... |
| SMART - This technology reports on a variety of hard drive attributes. You need a compliant BIOS and SCSI and/or IDE controller, a hard drive that supports SMART,... |
| SmartMedia - A type of Flash memory card that is roughly one-third the size of a PC Card (PCMCIA card) and less than 1 mm thick. It is used to store data from and exchange... |
| SMB - A client/server method of communication that allows a client to make requests for resources over a network. A server responds to these requests. SMB runs... |
| smiley face - A happy face or other expression formed with typed characters, |
| SMP - A technology where a computer uses multiple processors to process different instructions at the same time, in separate processing units. It is a form of... |
| SMS - A method of sending text messages that are 160 characters in length or shorter over a mobile phone. More and more mobile phones are supporting the sending... |
| SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. The protocol used to send mail between servers and to send mail from your client to a mail server. Your address to |
| Smurf Attack - A network-based attack where the attacker(s) send out false ICMP echo requests that appear to originate from the IP address of the machine or network under... |
| SNA - An IBM architecture for enterprise computing systems. IBM has created a complete suite of programs to work on its proprietary hardware for enterprise computing.... |
| Snail Mail - This simply refers to physical mail that travels via postal service as opposed to e-mail. The slow-moving snail is a reference to the relative speed of... |
| SNMP - Simple Network Management Protocol, a standard for managment of devices such as hubs, routers, and switches attached to an IP network. It operates at the... |
| SO-DIMM - A small form factor DIMM that is designed for use in laptops, graphics cards, and other devices that require a smaller than normal DIMM. The SO-DIMM allowed... |
| social engineering - A cracker term for tricking users of a system to reveal passwords so that the cracker can gain entry to the system. A common technique is to contact users... |
| Socket - Normally a socket is where your limbs are attached to, as in "I'm going to rip your arm out of the socket." In network speak a socket is composed of an... |
| Socket 3 - The PGA socket into which a 486 class chip plugs. |
| Socket 370 - The common name for Intel's PGA processor socket, called the PPGA form factor. Intel initially designed Socket 370 to work with Celeron processors because... |
| Socket 4 - A comparably large socket that was used with the original Pentium 60 and 66 processors. This quickly gave way to the smaller and more widely used Socket... |
| Socket 5 - This socket was first used with the Pentium 90 processor. However, its electrical capacity proved limiting, and it was done away with in favor of Socket... |
| Socket 7 - A PGA socket designed to accept an Intel P54c or P55c (Pentium class) chip, an AMD K5, K6, or K6-2 chip, or a Cyrix 6x86 or MII chip. Its memory bus is... |
| Socket 8 - This PGA socket is designed to accept an Intel Pentium Pro chip. |
| SOCKS - A protocol for communication through a firewall or proxy server. The SOCKS protocol uses TCP/IP sockets for communication. SOCKS is supported by most browsers,... |
| Soft Copy - An electronic copy of a document, as opposed to a hard copy, or physical printout, of that document. |
| Soft Reset - The controlled shutdown and restart of a PDA or other device by means of using a mechanism supplied by the operating system or software that runs the device.... |
| Softlanding Linux System - One of the first Linux distributions, originally shipped on a number of floppies, that eventually became the Slackware distribution. |
| Software - The programs that run on computer hardware. This can include operating systems, office suites, games, Web browsers, and more. Software runs on hardware.... |
| Software Developer's Kit - A programming tool that is tailored towards a particular purpose. The kit includes a compiler, linker, and an editor. Most hardware manufacturers have... |
| Software License - Most corporations need multiple copies of software, but do not need the media in which they come, either because they already have it or because they allow... |
| SOHO - A class of equipment purchasers characterized by their requirements for low-cost but functional computers, fax machines, printers, and other office equipment.... |
| SOI - The practice of placing a thin layer of silicon on top of an insulating material in order to speed up the performance of a microprocessor by reducing the... |
| Solaris - A UNIX-based operating system developed by Sun Microsystems and used widely for enterprise-class servers. It is designed to work with Sun's own SPARC chips... |
| Solid State Drive - This type of storage is basically a huge block of RAM chips that functions like a hard drive. Solid state drives are extremely expensive, but offer very... |
| SONET - A fiber optic network in a ring topology, often used to carry voice signals or Internet traffic. One ring is described as hot, or carrying data. The other... |
| Sonictron - This is Viewsonic's answer to Sony's Trinitron. Like Trinitron, it uses an aperture grill, or slot mask, instead of a shadow mask. |
| Sound Card - A peripheral device in the form of a card used for producing sound and music. Although PCs come with a built-in speaker, it was originally tied to the... |
| Sound Pressure Level - A measure in decibels of the sound power produced by an object. It is measured with a sound level meter. There are contests held to see what vehicle can... |
| Source - The uncompiled code of a computer program. Before compiling you can look at the instructions and tell what the program does--if you are familiar with the... |
| Source Code - The uncompiled code of a computer program. Before compiling you can look at the instructions and tell what the program does--if you are familiar with the... |
| Southbridge - Part of a chipset in a PC that controls communications between among the PCI bus, IDE controller, BIOS, USB, power control, and PS/2 ports. See also northbridge.... |
| spam - Traditionally, spam is flooding message boards, newsgroups, mailing lists, or your mailbox with unwanted, unsolicited off-topic messages--usually ads or... |
| Spatial Database - This is simply a database that contains geographical or "spatial" information. For example, you could have a database of population by county in the United... |
| SPD - An 8-pin serial EEPROM chip available on some SDRAM memory that keeps specific information about a DIMM's size, speed, voltage, drive strength, number... |
| Speaker Shielding - The ferro-magnetic shielding around the magnets of speakers that prevents interference with a CRT monitor and prevents damage to magnetic media such as... |
| Specular Highlights - This allows for the appearance of light reflecting off an object when represented on 3D computer graphics. White or light-colored pixels are blended into... |
| SpeedStep - An Intel standard that allows its mobile processors to run at a lower MHz speed when used in a notebook that is not plugged into a power source. |
| SPID - A unique identifier that an ISDN provider's ISDN switch uses to identify ISDN clients. SPIDs are often similar in format to a phone number, but vary between... |
| spider - A software robot that serves a search engine by exploring the net, collecting web page addresses and page contents, and following links from them to other... |
| Spindle - The centerpiece of a hard drive which holds one or more hard drive platters. Often the term spindle is used to differentiate hard drives from hard disk... |
| SPL - A measure in decibels of the sound power produced by an object. It is measured with a sound level meter. There are contests held to see what vehicle can... |
| Spoof - A generic term for misleading a computer system into believing that you are not who you say you are. Most commonly, it refers to a TCP/IP trick that allows... |
| Spool - The intermediary device between a computer and a printer. In the old days, if you had no spooler your computer would wait as the printer slowly printed... |
| Spooler - The intermediary device between a computer and a printer. In the old days, if you had no spooler your computer would wait as the printer slowly printed... |
| Spreadsheet - A type of computer program that displays a group of cells (a 2D graph pattern) and allows for easy mathematical operations and relationships among the... |
| spyware - Software planted on your system to capture and reveal information to someone outside your system. It can do such things as capture your keystrokes while... |
| SQL - This is a means of managing data in a relational database. There is a SQL standard, and there are also many vendor-specific SQL packages which combine... |
| SRAM - This type of memory is much more expensive and physically larger than DRAM, but is also much faster. SRAM typically has much lower latency than DRAM. |
| SS7 - A motherboard that is built on the Super 7 platform, which is an extension to the Socket 7 platform that accepts Super 7 microprocessors with bus speeds... |
| SSD - This type of storage is basically a huge block of RAM chips that functions like a hard drive. Solid state drives are extremely expensive, but offer very... |
| SSE - The name for Intel's additions to the x86 instructions set, introduced in its Pentium III processor. The SSE extensions are similar to AMD's 3DNow! set... |
| SSI - see Small Scale Integration or Server Side Includes |
| SSL - Secure Sockets Layer. A security protocol developed by Netscape for commercial transactions on the Internet. Using public-key cryptography, it provides... |
| SSMP - A communications protocol for text-based terminals. |
| Stack - A data construct that uses first-in, last-out (FILO). Think of a stack of pancakes. The first pancake cooked (first in) is put on a plate and then covered... |
| Standalone - A hardware device or piece of software that works with nothing else required. Examples include a hardware-based MP3 player, a RAID server that hooks up... |
| Standard Template Library - A C++ library first available in 1994. When compiling C++ programs, using the STL allows you to make use of general container classes and generic algorithms... |
| star - A network configuration (topology) in which all computers and devices are connected by direct cables to a central hub. |
| Star topology - A network topology that has network hubs at the center, with all connected computers linked back to the hub by a single cable. Thus, if one cable goes... |
| Stateful Inspection - The ability of a firewall to retain "state" information about ongoing network sessions. When a packet goes out through a stateful firewall (TCP/UDP/ICMP)... |
| Static IP Address - An IP address that does not change. Most IP addresses for client machines are handed out by a method such as a DHCP server that manages a range of IP addresses.... |
| Static Random Access Memory - This type of memory is much more expensive and physically larger than DRAM, but is also much faster. SRAM typically has much lower latency than DRAM. |
| Stepping - The version of a particular chip. Microprocessors typically have many different steppings where performance is increased or minor bugs are fixed. The steppings... |
| STL - A C++ library first available in 1994. When compiling C++ programs, using the STL allows you to make use of general container classes and generic algorithms... |
| Stock Keeping Unit - A number associated with a particular product, often represented by a barcode. The SKU is used to track inventory and may or may not be shown to customers... |
| stopword - Stopwords are very commonly used words that are normally excluded from automated searches. Examples: a, an, the, for, to, in, on, and, etc. |
| Storage Area Network - A network of connected storage devices typically on the same high speed connections as servers in an enterprise. Often the storage devices in a SAN are... |
| Storage Data Acceleration - This technology was introduced by Western Digital. The idea behind it is that slower drives such as CD and DVD drives would attach directly to larger,... |
| Streaming - This term is often used to describe technology that is capable of playing audio or video while it is still downloading. This saves you some waiting. Without... |
| streaming audio, streaming video - Technologies which permit listening and watching continuously as the signal is transferred to your system from a remote web site. It requires a high degree... |
| Streaming SIMD Extensions - The name for Intel's additions to the x86 instructions set, introduced in its Pentium III processor. The SSE extensions are similar to AMD's 3DNow! set... |
| Structured Query Language - This is a means of managing data in a relational database. There is a SQL standard, and there are also many vendor-specific SQL packages which combine... |
| Stub - A discontinuity in a SCSI bus. There are required lengths between stubs for the various SCSI standards. Each SCSI device counts as a stub. You can think... |
| Subnet - A term that refers to a group of TCP/IP addresses defined by a subnet mask. A subnet mask determines how many addresses are in the same subnet as a particular... |
| Subnet Mask - A TCP/IP number used to determine to which TCP/IP subnet a device belongs. Devices in the same subnet can be communicated with locally without going through... |
| Subroutine - A mini program that resides inside another program and is called within that program. Typically you put together a subroutine when you have to do similar... |
| Super 7 - A specification designed by an alliance of non-Intel companies. The Super 7 architecture extends the socket 7 architecture to include support for an AGP... |
| Super Bypass - A means of reducing memory latency in the AMD 750 chipset, the first chipset designed to work with the AMD Athlon. It was implemented in all versions of... |
| Super VGA - An extension to the original VGA standard which allows resolutions of 800x600. See also VGA. |
| Super Video CD - Backwards-compatible with VCD 1.1, 2.0, and 3.0, SVCD supports higher resolutions and 2.2Mbps variable bitrate (VBR) MPEG-2 video encoding, as well as... |
| Super XGA - A display with 1280x1024 pixel resolution. |
| Super XGA+ - A display with 1400x1050 pixel resolution. It is a hybrid resolution between SXGA and UXGA found on some LCD screens in laptop PCs. |
| Super-Video - A video cabling standard that splits video information into two separate signals: one for brightness (luminance), and the other for color information (chrominance).... |
| Supercluster - A group of computers linked together via a high speed local network. The performance of such a supercluster compares with the performance of a supercomputer.... |
| Supercomputer - A computer that is able to operate at a speed that places it at or near the top speed of currently produced computers. Most supercomputers cost millions... |
| Superscalar - A processor that is capable of executing more than one instruction during a processor cycle. Processors can do this by fetching multiple instructions in... |
| Superstitial ad - A pop-up banner ad format created by Unicast. Superstitial ads load after a Web page is done loading, and pop up when a link is clicked. The pre-loading... |
| surf - To explore the nets without any more specific a purpose than to see what is out there. |
| Surge Protector - A specialized power outlet that uses capacitors to keep spikes in the power supply from damaging electronic devices. |
| SVCD - Backwards-compatible with VCD 1.1, 2.0, and 3.0, SVCD supports higher resolutions and 2.2Mbps variable bitrate (VBR) MPEG-2 video encoding, as well as... |
| SVG - Scalable Vector Graphics. A proposed format by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) for web page graphics based on vectors, rather than bitmap formats.... |
| SVGA - An extension to the original VGA standard which allows resolutions of 800x600. See also VGA. |
| Swap file - An area of your hard drive that the operating system uses for additional memory when main memory is used up. Although slower, it is usually much more abundant.... |
| SXGA - A display with 1280x1024 pixel resolution. |
| SXGA+ - A display with 1400x1050 pixel resolution. It is a hybrid resolution between SXGA and UXGA found on some LCD screens in laptop PCs. |
| Sybase - This company makes a SQL database product that competes with Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server. It's also the type of SQL upon which Microsoft based Microsoft... |
| Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line - A form of digital subscriber line that has the same transmission speed upstream and downstream. It is most often used for business use, and is more expensive... |
| Symmetric Multi Processing - A technology where a computer uses multiple processors to process different instructions at the same time, in separate processing units. It is a form of... |
| Synchronize - The act of updating one set of data based on another similar set which may be more up to date. Synchronization can go one way or two ways, and follows... |
| Synchronous - This refers to things that happen at the same time. More commonly, it is used in electronics to signify something occurring at the set pace of a clock,... |
| Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory - This is like Fast Page mode DRAM, but arranged with a more efficient data pathway that allows for faster throughput. |
| Synchronous Graphics RAM - This is actually a form of SDRAM with some additional features to speed up 3D graphics. It is used on some graphics cards. |
| Synchronous Optical NETwork - A fiber optic network in a ring topology, often used to carry voice signals or Internet traffic. One ring is described as hot, or carrying data. The other... |
| System Bus - The path between a microprocessor and the chipset on the motherboard. This bus may or may not run at the same speed as the memory bus. |
| System Management Bus - A standard created by Intel in 1995. It is a two-wire specification that uses a connector the size of an RJ-45 plug and allows for communications between... |
| System Software - The software that comes with a computer system, or more specifically, the operating system. |
| System Tray - The system tray is the location on the far right of the Windows 95/NT 4.0 (or newer version of Windows) taskbar. Within it always resides the clock, and... |
| Systems Network Architecture - An IBM architecture for enterprise computing systems. IBM has created a complete suite of programs to work on its proprietary hardware for enterprise computing.... |
| Systray - The system tray is the location on the far right of the Windows 95/NT 4.0 (or newer version of Windows) taskbar. Within it always resides the clock, and... |
