Computer Terms Beginning with "B"

[MysteRy]

Source : PC.net

Backbone

Just like the human backbone carries signals to many smaller nerves in the body, a network backbone carries data to smaller lines of transmission. A local backbone refers to the main network lines that connect several local area networks (LANs) together. The result is a wide area network (WAN) linked by a backbone connection.

The Internet, which is the ultimate wide area network, relies on a backbone to carry data over long distances. The Internet backbone consists of several ultra-high bandwidth connections that link together many different nodes around the world. These nodes route incoming data to smaller networks in the local region. The fewer "hops" your data needs to make before reaching the backbone, the faster it will get sent to the destination. This is why many Web hosts and ISPs have direct connections to the Internet backbone.

[MysteRy]

Backside Bus

There are two types of buses that carry data to and from a computer's CPU. They are the frontside bus and backside bus. Surprisingly, there is no correlation between these and the backside and frontside airs that snowboarders talk about.

While the frontside bus carries data between the CPU and memory, the backside bus transfers data to and from the computer's secondary cache. The secondary, or L2 cache stores frequently used functions and other data close to the processor. This allows the computer's CPU to work more efficiently since it can repeat processes faster.

When the processor needs information from the L2 cache, it is sent over the backside bus. Because this process needs to be extremely fast, the clock speed of the backside bus cannot afford to lag behind. For this reason, the backside bus is often as fast as the processor. The frontside bus, on the other hand, is typically half the speed of the processor or slower.

[MysteRy]

Backup

ackup is the most important computer term you should know.

A backup is a copy of one or more files created as an alternate in case the original data is lost or becomes unusable. For example, you may save several copies of a research paper on your hard drive as backup files incase you decide to use a previous revision. Better yet, you could save the backups to a USB flash disk, which would also protect the files if the hard drive failed.

Hard drives are meant to run for many years without crashing. But just like all electronic devices, they are not immune to problems. Because they are not solid state devices, hard drives rely on moving parts to access data, which can malfunction and cause your data to become unrecoverable. If you need proof of how fragile hard drives really are, go to your local computer store and have someone show you an open hard drive. When you realize all your data is stored in such a small, delicate device, you may have a new understanding of why you need to backup your data.

But it's not just hardware malfunctions you have to worry about. Software corruption can also damage your files. Directory structures can become damaged and cause entire folders to disappear. Files can be mistakenly deleted or corrupted by viruses or other software attacks. Program installation conflicts can make applications or files unusable. There are unfortunately many ways for your data to become damaged or disappear.

That is why it is so important to backup your data. Most people don't realize the importance of having a backup until it is too late. Of course, when you have lost years of photos, school papers, business documents, e-mail archives, music, movies, or any other data that you cannot recover, the importance of having a backup becomes all too real.

So how do you backup your data? The best way is to use an external storage device, such as an external hard drive, flash memory device, or even another computer. You can also create permanent backups using optical media, such as CD-R and DVD-R discs. Backing up individual folders and files is as easy copying them from the source media (your computer's hard disk) to the destination (an external hard drive). If you want to backup your entire system or would like to have regular backups automatically performed, you can use backup software that will backup your data for you. Many programs are available for both Mac and Windows that provide automatic backups and system restore capabilities.

If you have not yet backed up your hard drive, now is a good time to do so. It's much better to back up your data now than once it is too late.

[MysteRy]

Bandwidth

Bandwidth refers to how much data you can send through a network or modem connection. It is usually measured in bits per second, or "bps." You can think of bandwidth as a highway with cars travelling on it. The highway is the network connection and the cars are the data. The wider the highway, the more cars can travel on it at one time. Therefore more cars can get to their destinations faster. The same principle applies to computer data -- the more bandwidth, the more information that can be transferred within a given amount of time.

[MysteRy]

Banner Ad

Whether you like it or not, much of the Web is run by advertising. Just like television or radio, websites can offer free content by generating revenue from advertising. While you may get tired of Web ads from time to time, most people would agree that seeing a few advertisements here and there is better than paying a usage fee for each website.

Perhaps the most prolific form of Web advertising is the banner ad. It is a long, rectangular image that can be placed just about anywhere on a Web page. Most banner ads are 468 pixels wide by 60 pixels high (468x60). They may contain text, images, or sometimes those annoying animations that make it hard to focus on the page's content. Regardless of the type of banner ad, when a user clicks the advertisement, he or she is redirected to the advertiser's website.

[MysteRy]

Base Station

The term "base station" was first used to refer to the towers you see on the side of the road that relay cell phone calls. These stations handle all cellular calls made within their area, receiving information from one end of the call and transmitting it to the other.

In the computer world, however, a base station refers to the wireless access point for computers with wireless cards. It is basically a router that communicates with devices based on the Wi-Fi standard. Some common Wi-Fi configurations include 802.11b and 802.11g. Wireless base stations are made by companies such as Netgear, Linksys, D-Link, Apple Computer, and other manufacturers. Fortunately, as long as the hardware is based on the Wi-Fi standard, all wireless cards can communicate with base stations from any manufacturer.

[MysteRy]

Baseband

Example: "Baseband signals must be modulated to higher frequencies for radio transmission."

A baseband signal is an original transmission signal that has not be modulated, or has been demodulated to its original frequency. Most telecommunications protocols require baseband signals to be converted, or modulated, to a higher frequency so they can be transmitted over long distances. Therefore, the original baseband, or lowpass, signals are converted during the transmission process. When the signal arrives at the destination, it is demodulated so that the recipient receives the original baseband signal. Ethernet is an example of a protocol that does not require signal modulation, since it transmits data in baseband.

[MysteRy]

BASIC

Stands for "Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code." BASIC is a computer programming language that was developed in the mid-1960s to provide a way for students to write simple computer programs. Since then, the language has evolved into a more robust and powerful language and can be used to create advanced programs for today's computer systems.

BASIC originally used numbers at the beginning of each instruction (or line) to tell the computer what order to process the instructions. Lines would be numbered as 10, 20, 30, etc., which would allow additional instructions to be placed between commands later on if needed. "GOTO" statements enabled programs to loop back to earlier instructions during execution. For example, line 230 of a BASIC program may have an "if" clause that tells the computer to jump back to line 50 if a variable is less than 10. This instruction might look something like this:

230 IF (N < 10) THEN GOTO 50

More modern BASIC implementations use "while loops," which perform a series of instructions as long as a certain case is true. Newer BASIC development software also supports more data types, such as integers, strings, and arrays, for storing variables and other data. While the first BASIC development environments were strictly text-based, today's BASIC programming software allows developers to design much of their programs visually, using a graphical user interface. Some of the more popular BASIC development programs used today include REALbasic and Microsoft Visual Basic.

[MysteRy]

Batch File

A batch file is a type of script that contains a list of commands. These commands are executed in sequence and can be used to automate processes. For example, some programs may include a batch file that executes a number of commands as the program starts up. A user can also create a custom batch file to automate tedious processes such as copying multiple directories or renaming several files at once.

Batch files are run by the COMMAND.COM program, which is part of DOS and Windows. Therefore, batch files can only be run within the Windows operating system. Macintosh and Unix have other scripting tools, such as AppleScript and Unix shell commands, that can be used for similar tasks. Because batch files contain executable commands, it is important not to open unknown batch files on your hard disk or in e-mail attachments.

[MysteRy]

Batch Process

As most computer users know, some computing tasks can be tedious and repetitive. Fortunately, if a task is indeed repetitive, a batch process can be used to automate much of the work.

A batch process performs a list of commands in sequence. It be run by a computer's operating system using a script or batch file, or may be executed within a program using a macro or internal scripting tool. For example, an accountant may create a script to open several financial programs at once, saving him the hassle of opening each program individually. This type of batch process would be executed by the operating system, such as Windows or the Mac OS. A Photoshop user, on the other hand, might use a batch process to modify several images at one time. For example, she might record an action within Photoshop that resizes and crops an image. Once the action has been recorded, she can batch process a folder of images, which will perform the action on all the images in the folder.

Batch processing can save time and energy by automating repetitive tasks. While it may take awhile to write the script or record the repetitive actions, doing it once is certainly better than having to do it many times.

[MysteRy]

Baud

Contrary to popular belief, baud is not a direct measurement of data transfer speed, but instead it measures how many electrical signals are sent per second. Baud is used to measure the rate of electrical signals, or "signaling elements," for modems, networks, serial cables, and other data transfer mediums.

Some people think that baud and bits per second are equal. For example, they'll say a 28,800 bps modem transmits at 28,800 baud, and act like they know everything. But the fact is, most modems transmit multiple bits of data per baud, so while the the two values are related, they are typically not equal. So the next time your friend says his 56K v.90 modem can transfer data at 56,000 baud, you can kindly tell him that he is incorrect and explain to him the difference between baud and bps.

[MysteRy]

Bcc

Stands for "Blind Carbon Copy." When you send an e-mail to only one person, you type the recipient's address in the "To:" field. When you send a message to more than one person, you have the option to enter addresses in the "Cc:" and "Bcc:" fields. "Cc" stands for "Carbon Copy," while "Bcc" stands for "Blind Carbon Copy."

A carbon copy, or "Cc'd" message is an e-mail that is copied to one or more recipients. Both the main recipient (whose address is in the "To:" field) and the Cc'd recipients can see all the addresses the message was sent to. When a message is blind carbon copied, neither the main recipient nor the Bcc'd recipients can see the addresses in the "Bcc:" field.

Blind carbon copying is a useful way to let others see an e-mail you sent without the main recipient knowing. It is faster than sending the original message and then forwarding the sent message to the other recipients. It is also good netiquette to use Bcc when copying a message to many people. This prevents the e-mail addresses from being captured by someone in the list who might use them for spamming purposes. However, if it is important that each recipient knows who your message was sent to, use carbon copy (Cc) instead.

[MysteRy]

Bespoke

The term "bespoke" comes from England where it originally referred to custom or tailor-made clothing. In recent years, however, the term has been applied to information technology (IT), and refers to custom services or products.

For example, bespoke software is software customized for a specific purpose. Bespoke programs may include custom accounting software for a certain company or a network monitoring tool for a specific network. Because bespoke software is custom-made for a specific purpose, bespoke programs are also considered vertical market software.

Another area where bespoke is used in the computer industry is in reference to websites. A bespoke website is one that is custom-built, often from scratch, to suit the needs of a business or organization. This may include a custom layout, custom database integration, and other extra features the client may require. Because bespoke websites must be individually tailored to a client's needs, they often take longer to develop and are more expensive than websites built from templates.

Finally, bespoke can also be used to refer to hardware. Computer companies, such as Dell, HP, and Apple may provide customers with custom options for the systems they buy. For example, one person may choose to build his system with a high-end graphics card for video production, while another person may choose a basic graphics card, but may add additional RAM so her computer will be able to run several programs at once. These custom configurations are sometimes referred to as bespoke systems.

[MysteRy]

Beta Software

Before a commercial software program is released to the public, it usually goes through a "beta" phase. During this stage, the software is tested for bugs, crashes, errors, inconsistencies, and any other problems. Though beta versions of software used to be made available only to developers, they are now sometimes made available for the general public to test, usually through the software company's Web site. However, because beta software is free, the programs usually expire after a period of time. If you choose to test a beta software program, don't be surprised if it has multiple problems and causes your computer to repeatedly crash. After all, it is the beta version. You can tell if a program is still in beta by checking the program's properties. If there is a "b" in the version number (i.e. Version: 1.2 b3) that means it's a beta version.

[MysteRy]

Binary

Binary is a two-digit (Base-2) numerical system, which computers use to store data and compute functions. The reason computers use the binary system is because digital switches inside the computer can only be set to either on or off, which are represented by a 1 or 0. Though the binary system consists of only ones and zeros, the two digits can be used to represent any number.
For example:

A single 0 in binary represents zero.
A single 1 represents (2^0) or 1.
10 represents (2^1) or 2.
11 represents (2^1 + 2^0) or 3.
100 represents (2^2) or 4.
101 represents (2^2 + 2^0) or 5.
110 represents (2^2 + 2^1) or 6.
111 represents (2^2 + 2^1 + 2^0) or 7.
1000 represents (2^3) or 8, and so on.