Computer Terms Beginning with "C"

[MysteRy]

Crop

When you crop an image or photo, you remove part of the image. This may involve cutting some of the image from the left, right, top, bottom, or any combination thereof. It may also mean just cutting out a small rectangular of the image.

For example, your friend takes a picture of your family and leaves a good five feet of headroom above the tallest person. If you are going to use the photo as your Christmas card picture, you probably don't want half the picture to be filled with sky. Therefore, you can use an image-editing program to crop the top part of the image, leaving only a small area above the tallest person's head. If the camera was zoomed out too far, you may want to crop some of the sides as well.

Most image editing programs include a crop function. Typically, you select a rectangular area using the mouse and click "Crop" to remove the area outside the selection. Once the image is cropped, the cropped section is discarded, leaving only the remainder. Therefore, if you are working with an original photo, you may want to create a duplicate file before cropping and saving it. Note that cropping is different than simply reducing a image's size, which involves lowering the image resolution.

[MysteRy]

Cross-Browser

Example: "The Web developer designed a cross-browser website that looked identical in Firefox and Internet Explorer."

Cross-browser means that a website is compatible with multiple Web browsers. This means the Web pages show up correctly in different browsers, such as Safari, Internet Explorer, and Firefox. Cross-browser sites may need to generate custom HTML or JavaScript in order to be compatible across multiple sites.

[MysteRy]

Crossplatform

Software that can run on multiple types of computer systems. For example, the graphics program Adobe Photoshop and the word processor Microsoft Word are both available for the Windows and Macintosh operating systems. Therefore, Photoshop and Word are considered to be crossplatform applications.

While "crossplatorm" is typically used to describe computer software, it can refer to hardware as well. For example, peripherals such as keyboards, mice, printers, scanners, and digital cameras that work on both Mac and PC are crossplatorm. Software and hardware that work on more than one platform are also called multiplatform.

[MysteRy]

CRT

Stands for "Cathode Ray Tube." CRT is the technology used in traditional computer monitors and televisions. The image on a CRT display is created by firing electrons from the back of the tube to phosphors located towards the front of the display. Once the electrons hit the phosphors, they light up and are projected on the screen. The color you see on the screen is produced by a blend of red, blue, and green light, often referred to as RGB.

The stream of electrons is guiding by magnetic charges, which is why you may get interference with unshielded speakers or other magnetic devices that are placed close to a CRT monitor. Flat screen or LCD displays don't have this problem, since they don't require a magnetic charge. LCD monitors also don't use a tube, which is what enables them to be much thinner than CRT monitors. While CRT displays are still used by graphics professionals because of their vibrant and accurate color, LCD displays now nearly match the quality of CRT monitors. Therefore, flat screen displays are well on their way to replacing CRT monitors in both the consumer and professional markets.

[MysteRy]

CSS

Stands for "Cascading Style Sheet." Cascading style sheets are used to format the layout of Web pages. They can be used to define text styles, table sizes, and other aspects of Web pages that previously could only be defined in a page's HTML.

CSS helps Web developers create a uniform look across several pages of a Web site. Instead of defining the style of each table and each block of text within a page's HTML, commonly used styles need to be defined only once in a CSS document. Once the style is defined in cascading style sheet, it can be used by any page that references the CSS file. Plus, CSS makes it easy to change styles across several pages at once. For example, a Web developer may want to increase the default text size from 10pt to 12pt for fifty pages of a Web site. If the pages all reference the same style sheet, the text size only needs to be changed on the style sheet and all the pages will show the larger text.

While CSS is great for creating text styles, it is helpful for formatting other aspects of Web page layout as well. For example, CSS can be used to define the cell padding of table cells, the style, thickness, and color of a table's border, and the padding around images or other objects. CSS gives Web developers more exact control over how Web pages will look than HTML does. This is why most Web pages today incorporate cascading style sheets.

[MysteRy]

CTP

Stands for "Composite Theoretical Performance." CTP is used to measure the performance of computer processors. The values returned by CTP calculations are used for benchmarking purposes, which compare the performance of different processors. For example, Intel and AMD use CTP calculations to measure how many millions of theoretical operations per second (MTOPS) their processors can perform. An Intel Pentium M 770, which runs at 2.13 GHz, has a CTP of 7100 MTOPs, while an AMD Opteron 146, which runs at 2.0 GHz, has a CTP of 7168 MTOPS.

As seen in the example above, faster processor speeds do not always result in a higher CTP. Other considerations, such as the processor's architecture and the speed of the frontside bus also affect the overall performance. CTP is useful for comparing different brands of processors, as well as comparing different models of processors made by the same company. With dual and quad processors becoming more prevalent, CTP is now also being used to measure the performance increase when multiple processors are used together.

CTP also stands for "Computer to Plate." This is a process where printing plates are made without using costly film. Instead, the images are sent directly to the plate from the computer.

[MysteRy]

CTR

Stands for "Click-Through Rate," and is used in online advertising. Web publishers typically generate revenue from advertisers each time a visitor clicks on one of the advertisements (the PPC model). Therefore, publishers are interested what percentage of page views result in clicks on the advertisements. The higher the click-through rate, the more revenue a publisher will generate. So, what would you guess is a common CTR for a website? 10%? 5%? Try 1%. Since the average CTR across the web is only around 1%, publishers need to attract thousands of visitors each day to generate substantial revenue.

[MysteRy]

Cursor

The cursor on your screen can indicate two things: 1) where your mouse pointer is, or 2) where the next character typed will be entered in a line of text.

The mouse cursor is most often an arrow that you can use to point to different objects on your screen. When the cursor is over an object, you can click or double-click the mouse button to perform an action on that object (such as opening a program). The mouse cursor can change into other images, such as a small hand (when you roll over a link in a Web page), or an hourglass (when Windows is "thinking" so hard, it won't let you click on anything).

The text cursor is typically a straight vertical line or I-shaped object that flashes in a line of text. Typically, when you are typing a paper, the cursor will be at the end of the line, because you are adding new text to the uncharted white area of the page. However, if you want to insert a word or phrase somewhere else in a line of text, you can use the mouse cursor to click the position where you would like to insert the text. In most word processing programs, once you start typing, the text cursor continues to flash, but the mouse pointer disappears until you move the mouse again. This is to avoid "cursor confusion," since most people can't type and click on things at the same time.

[MysteRy]

Cut

Example: "The editor cut the third paragraph and pasted it later in the document."

The Cut command removes a selected object and copies it to the clipboard. It performs both a Delete and Copy operation at the same time. After data has been cut from a document, it can be pasted into another similar document. Objects like text, images, audio, and video selections can be cut. However, only editable items can be cut since the command removes the selection from the document.

[MysteRy]

Cyberbullying

Example: "If you experience cyberbullying, you should report it to a parent or teacher."

Cyberbullying involves harassing, embarrassing, or threatening a young person via cyberspace. It encompasses several different mediums, including the Web, e-mail, and cell phone communication. Cyberbullying can take place in many ways. Some examples include posting unflattering comments or pictures of another person online, sending lewd text messages, or spamming a person with unsolicited e-mails. It may also involve teaming up on a specific person and posting defamatory comments on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.

If cyberbullying involves adults, it is typically referred to as cyber-harassment or cyberstalking.

[MysteRy]

Cybercrime

Cybercrime is criminal activity done using computers and the Internet. This includes anything from downloading illegal music files to stealing millions of dollars from online bank accounts. Cybercrime also includes non-monetary offenses, such as creating and distributing viruses on other computers or posting confidential business information on the Internet.

Perhaps the most prominent form of cybercrime is identity theft, in which criminals use the Internet to steal personal information from other users. Two of the most common ways this is done is through phishing and pharming. Both of these methods lure users to fake websites (that appear to be legitimate), where they are asked to enter personal information. This includes login information, such as usernames and passwords, phone numbers, addresses, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and other information criminals can use to "steal" another person's identity. For this reason, it is smart to always check the URL or Web address of a site to make sure it is legitimate before entering your personal information.

Because cybercrime covers such a broad scope of criminal activity, the examples above are only a few of the thousands of crimes that are considered cybercrimes. While computers and the Internet have made our lives easier in many ways, it is unfortunate that people also use these technologies to take advantage of others. Therefore, it is smart to protect yourself by using antivirus and spyware blocking software and being careful where you enter your personal information.

[MysteRy]

Cyberspace

Unlike most computer terms, "cyberspace" does not have a standard, objective definition. Instead, it is used to describe the virtual world of computers. For example, an object in cyberspace refers to a block of data floating around a computer system or network. With the advent of the Internet, cyberspace now extends to the global network of computers. So, after sending an e-mail to your friend, you could say you sent the message to her through cyberspace. However, use this term sparingly, as it is a popular newbie term and is well overused.

The word "cyberspace" is credited to William Gibson, who used it in his book, Neuromancer, written in 1984. Gibson defines cyberspace as "a consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts... A graphical representation of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the non-space of the mind, clusters and constellations of data" (New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 1989), pp. 128.

[MysteRy]

Cybersquatter

Example: "Cybersquatters often register hundreds or even thousands of domain names."

A cybersquatter, or "domainer," is someone who registers a domain name without intending to create a website for it. Cybersquatters typically register domain names with common words or phrases with the hope of selling the domains at a profit to interested buyers. Many cybersquatters also create parked pages for their domain names, which may provide revenue through advertisements. While cybersquatters often profit by selling domain names, they may be forced to give up others. Due to the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), cybersquatters cannot withhold domains from individuals or businesses who have already trademarked or registered similar names.