Technical Corner > The PC Glossary - Definitions of Computer and Internet Terms

Computer Terms Beginning with "T"

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MysteRy:
Source : PC.net


T1

This is a data transfer system that transfers digital signals at 1.544 megabits per second (quite a bit faster than a 56K modem, which maxes out at around 0.056 Mbps). Most small to mid-sized colleges and business have T1 lines for their Internet connections. Because of the T1's large bandwidth, hundreds of people can be accessing the Internet from one T1 line. However, like all good things, too many people on one T1 line can cause dramatic decreases in data transfer speeds. For this reason, multiple T1s are often used.

MysteRy:
T3

What about T2, you ask? For some reason, there just is no such thing. (There was probably some legal dispute about it involving the name of a popular Arnold Schwarzenegger movie). If a T1 connection just isn't going to cut it for you, a T3 should do the trick. However, if you thought a T3 was 3 times faster than a T1 connection, you're slightly off. A T3 line actually 30 times faster, supporting data transfer rates of 44.736 megabits per second. What I wouldn't do to have one of those in my basement...

MysteRy:
Tablet

A tablet is a flat, portable computer with a touchscreen interface. Early tablets required a stylus or light pen, but most modern tablets allow you to perform actions by simply tapping or swiping the screen. Some tablets allow you to use either your finger or a stylus as an input device.

For several years, tablets had limited success. Then in 2007, the iPhone came along and popularized touchscreen devices. In 2010, Apple introduced the iPad, which brought tablets to the masses. Since then, other manufacturers have released several Android tablets and Microsoft has released their own "Surface" tablet.

While tablets appear similar to laptops, the software programs are different since they are typically designed for a touchscreen interface. Many tablet programs, called "apps," are more simplistic and lack the advanced functionality of their desktop counterparts. Additionally, most tablet software must be downloaded from an online store such as the App Store (iPad), the Windows Store (Surface), or Google Play (Android).

Important: The name "tablet" comes from the traditional definition of a tablet, which is a flat piece of stone or wood, typically used for inscribing words. To avoid ambiguity, tablets are often called tablet computers or tablet PCs.

MysteRy:
Tag

On clothes, tags usually indicate the brand, size of the garment, fabrics used, and the washing instructions. In Web pages, tags indicate what should be displayed on the screen when the page loads. Tags are the basic formatting tool used in HTML (hypertext markup language) and other markup languages, such as XML. For example, to create a table on a Web page, the <table> tag is used. The data that should be inside the table follows the <table> tag, and the table is closed with a </table> tag.

If you want something to show up in bold on a Web page, you would use the bold tag. For example, the line:

This site is the best website ever!

would show up as: This site is the best website ever!

Since there is often a need to format content within more general tags, the tags can be "nested," meaning one tag can enclose one or more other tags. For example:

<font="Times">This is the Times font, and this is in italics. Pretty exciting, huh?</font>

would should up as: This is the Times font, and this is in italics. Pretty exciting, huh?

Tags are a fundemental part of HTML and they are pretty simple to understand. If you want to build a Web site of your own, you can either create it from scratch (using a text editor and typing your own tags) or you can use a layout program like Macromedia Dreamweaver, which will generate the tags for you. Best of all, tags used in markup languages don't itch or chafe your neck.

MysteRy:
Tape Drive

This is a removable storage device mainly used for backing up data. It is similar to a Zip Drive, but instead of Zip disks, it uses small tapes. The drive acts like a tape recorder, reading data from the computer and writing it onto the tape. Since tape drives have to scan through lots of tape to read small amounts of scattered data, they are not practical for most storage purposes. That is why they are used almost exclusively for data backup. The benefit of tape drives is that they typically have large capacities for storing data, for a lower cost than hard drives similar in size. Also, multiple tapes can be used to make incremental backups (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.), which is much cheaper than using multiple hard drives.

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