term for a program installed and used on a computer system. Examples are: Web Browsers, word processors, and chat programs. Windows file extension is .exe. Macs use the .app extension.

java application embedded into a website. The applet cannot use resources from the local machine.

storage of short term information in use by the computer. There are memory caches, Internet caches, and other types of caches all used to store this data.

process that reorganizes the hard drive to help it run more efficiently.

form of connectivity that appears like a slightly larger telephone jack. It is used to connect one computer to another, connect to a local area network, or connect to high speed Internet modems.

form of connectivity similar to USB, meant to connect peripherals such as MP3 Players and digital cameras to the computer. It operates around 30 times faster than a USB 1.1 connection.

piece of equipment meant to connect two or more computers to the Internet or another network.

unit of storage space equal to 1,073,741,824 bytes or 1024 megabytes. It is better estimated to be 1 billion bytes, or 1000 megabytes. It is the unit of measurement before the terabyte.

piece of equipment that takes heat away from the processor to prevent it from overheating and malfunctioning.

number system using a 16 base. It is used to name colors displayed on monitors.