Author Topic: Computer Terms Beginning with "P"  (Read 19436 times)

Offline MysteRy

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "P"
« Reply #45 on: April 10, 2014, 02:29:54 PM »
Pop-Up

The term "pop-up" has two computer-related meanings. One refers to a window and the other is a type of menu.

1. Pop-Up Window A pop-up window is a type of window that opens without the user selecting "New Window" from a program's File menu. Pop-up windows are often generated by websites that include pop-up advertisements. These ads are produced with JavaScript code that is inserted into the HTML of a Web page. They typically appear when a user visits a page or closes a window. Some pop-up ads show up in front of the main window, while others show up behind the main browser window. Ads that appear behind open windows are also called "pop-under" ads.

Regardless of where pop-up advertisements appear on your screen, they can be pretty annoying. Fortunately, browser developers have realized this and most Web browsers now include an option to block pop-up windows. If you are noticing pop-up windows appear on your computer when your browser is not open, you may have an adware program running on your computer. The best solution to this problem is to run an anti-spyware program that will locate and remove the malware from your system.

2. Pop-Up Menu A pop-up menu is a type of menu that pops up on the screen when the user right-clicks a certain object or area. It can be also called a contextual menu since the menu options are relevant to where the user right-clicked on the screen. Pop-up menus provide quick access to common program functions and are used by most operating systems and applications.

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "P"
« Reply #46 on: April 10, 2014, 02:30:28 PM »
POP3

Stands for "Post Office Protocol." POP3, sometimes referred to as just "POP," is a simple, standardized method of delivering e-mail messages. A POP3 mail server receives e-mails and filters them into the appropriate user folders. When a user connects to the mail server to retrieve his mail, the messages are downloaded from mail server to the user's hard disk.

When you configure your e-mail client, such as Outlook (Windows) or Mail (Mac OS X), you will need to enter the type of mail server your e-mail account uses. This will typically be either a POP3 or IMAP server. IMAP mail servers are a bit more complex than POP3 servers and allow e-mail messages to be read and stored on the server. Many "webmail" interfaces use IMAP mail servers so that users can manage all their mail online.

Still, most mail servers use the POP3 mail protocol because it is simple and well-supported. You may have to check with your ISP or whoever manages your mail account to find out what settings to use for configuring your mail program. If your e-mail account is on a POP3 mail server, you will need to enter the correct POP3 server address in your e-mail program settings. Typically, this is something like "mail.servername.com" or "pop.servername.com." Of course, to successfully retrieve your mail, you will have to enter a valid username and password too.

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "P"
« Reply #47 on: April 10, 2014, 02:31:05 PM »
Port

As if computer terms weren't hard enough to understand, there are three different meanings of the word "port."

1. An Internet port. This is a number that indicates what kind of protocol a server on the Internet is using. For example, Web servers typically are listed on port 80. Web browsers use this port by default when accessing Web pages, but you can also specify what port you would like to use in the URL like this: http://www.excite.com:80. FTP uses port 21, e-mail uses port 25, and game servers, like a Quake server or Blizzard.net use various other ports. It is good to know what a port is, but you seldom have to specify it manually, so don't worry if this is new to you.

2. A hardware port. This refers to any one of the ports that are on the back of a computer where devices can be hooked up (like a keyboard, mouse, printer, digital camera, etc). Some common ports found on today's computers are USB, Firewire, and Ethernet.

3. The verb, "port." This refers to the editing of a software program's code so that it can run on another platform. For example, to get Final Fantasy VII to run on a PC, programmers needed to port it to the PC from the Playstation. Popular Windows games are often ported to the Macintosh as well.

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "P"
« Reply #48 on: April 10, 2014, 02:32:07 PM »
Portal

While this term can also refer to a matterless vortex used to travel between different dimensions, an Internet portal is a Web site that acts as a starting point for browsing the Web. Portals typically include search engines and large directories of websites. Some popular portals are Yahoo, Excite, Lycos, Netscape, AltaVista, MSN, and AOL.com. There are also many smaller portals, known as "niche portals," for specific interests. These sites include C|net (for computers and technology), Fool.com (for investors), and Garden.com (for gardeners).

Most large portals have millions of Web pages indexed for visitors to search though. They also have large directories of Web sites, which are categorized by topic. Though the primary purpose of a portal is to find other sites for you, many now include a lot of information within their own sites.

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "P"
« Reply #49 on: April 10, 2014, 02:33:49 PM »
PostScript

PostScript is a page description language (PDL) that describes a page's text and graphical content. It can be used to define the appearance of graphics and text for both screen and print. The language was developed by Adobe in 1984 and has since gone through many revisions and updates.

Before PostScript was introduced, publishing systems relied on proprietary typesetting systems, which often caused incompatibilities between computers and printing systems. In fact, before the days of PostScript, pages that incorporated text, images, and line art had to be manually assembled on a paste-up board and then photographed. The resulting picture was sent to a printing plate, which was used to make copies of the document -- pretty archaic compared to the simple printing options available today.

Adobe PostScript makes it possible to produce high quality page content that can include text, images, and line art in a standard format compatible with multiple devices. For example, PostScript (.PS) files will print the exact same way from different PostScript compatible printers. They can also be opened using Adobe Acrobat and will look the same on Macintosh and Windows platforms. In fact, the evolution of PostScript led to the development of Adobe Acrobat, which creates PDF documents.

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "P"
« Reply #50 on: April 10, 2014, 02:34:18 PM »
Power Cycle

While the phrase "power cycle" appears to be a noun, it is actually more commonly used as a verb. In simple terms, to power cycle a device means to turn it off and turn it back on again. For example, the user manual of a router may ask you to power cycle the router if it stops responding. This may mean switching the power to OFF and then ON again or may require physically unplugging the device and then plugging it back in again. Power cycling is often synonymous with resetting a device.

As we all know, computer equipment can be rather finicky at times. A device that was working fine ten minutes ago may begin acting strangely or may not be responding at all. Often the low-tech solution of simply turning off the device and turning it back on again will fix the problem. This is because information stored in the device's RAM may have gotten corrupted and caused the device to hang up or stall on a certain instruction. Power cycling the device erases the RAM and allows it to boot up with fresh information. Typically it is a good idea to wait 5 to 10 seconds before turning the device back on to make sure it has chance to fully reset. Of course, if you need to power cycle your computer, you should save any work you currently have open, since it will be erased from the RAM once the system is restarted.

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "P"
« Reply #51 on: April 10, 2014, 02:34:46 PM »
Power Supply

Example: "The computer would not start up because it had a bad power supply."

A power supply is a component that regulates and provides power to an electrical device. It receives power from a wall outlet, battery pack, or other electrical source and converts the current and voltage to the correct amount required by the connected device. Most computers have internal power supplies, while other devices may use external power supplies that are attached directly to the power cable.

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "P"
« Reply #52 on: April 10, 2014, 02:35:18 PM »
Power User

When it comes to computers, there are regular users and there are power users. Most people fall into the regular computer user category. These types of people use their computers for basic functions like Web browsing, sending e-mails, typing papers, working with spreadsheets, doing finances, and playing games. Regular computer users can typically get by with a middle-of-the-line computer that is fast enough to do their everyday work.

Power users, however, require top-of-the-line machines that are optimized for their work purposes. Power users include video-editing professionals, high-end graphic designers, audio producers, and those who use their computers for scientific research. Professional gamers (yes, there is such a thing) also fall under this category. These users seek the latest and greatest systems because no computer is really "fast enough" to suit their needs. Even the fastest computers can take substantial time to render large amounts of video and audio or to manipulate large images. Gamers want machines that will play their games in as many frames per second (FPS) as possible. So, to be a power user means to never be really satisfied with your system, but to always want something faster and better. Then again, that sounds like most of us, but power users usally have justifiable reasons.

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "P"
« Reply #53 on: April 10, 2014, 02:36:01 PM »
PowerPoint

PowerPoint is a presentation program developed by Microsoft. It is included in the standard Office suite along with Microsoft Word and Excel. The software allows users to create anything from basic slide shows to complex presentations.

PowerPoint is often used to create business presentations, but can also be used for educational or informal purposes. The presentations are comprised of slides, which may contain text, images, and other media, such as audio clips and movies. Sound effects and animated transitions can also be included to add extra appeal to the presentation. However, overusing sound effects and transitions will probably do more to annoy your audience than draw their attention. (Yes, we have all heard the car screeching noise enough times for one lifetime.)

Most PowerPoint presentations are created from a template, which includes a background color or image, a standard font, and a choice of several slide layouts. Changes to the template can be saved to a "master slide," which stores the main slide theme used in the presentation. When changes are made to the master slide, such as choosing a new background image, the changes are propagated to all the other slides. This keeps a uniform look among all the slides in the presentation.

When presenting a PowerPoint presentation, the presenter may choose to have the slides change at preset intervals or may decide to control the flow manually. This can be done using the mouse, keyboard, or a remote control. The flow of the presentation can be further customized by having slides load completely or one bullet at a time. For example, if the presenter has several bullet points on a page, he might have individual points appear when he clicks the mouse. This allows more interactivity with the audience and brings greater focus to each point.

PowerPoint presentations can be created and viewed using Microsoft PowerPoint. They can also be imported and exported with Apple Keynote, Apple's presentation program for the Macintosh platform. Since most people prefer not to watch presentations on a laptop, PowerPoint presentations are often displayed using a projector. Therefore, if you are preparing a PowerPoint presentation for a room full of people, just make sure you have the correct video adapter.

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "P"
« Reply #54 on: April 10, 2014, 02:36:28 PM »
PPC

Stands for "Pay Per Click," and is used in online advertising. PPC advertisements generate revenue for Web publishers each time a visitor clicks on an ad. Banner ads, Flash ads, and textual ads can all be used to generate pay per click revenue for publishers. Many search engines also use the pay per click model, showing sponsored results along with other relevant results for searches. PPC is an attractive model for advertisers because they only have to pay for actual traffic generated by their ads.

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "P"
« Reply #55 on: April 10, 2014, 02:37:09 PM »
PPGA

Stands for "Plastic Pin Grid Array" (not the Pretty People Golfer's Association). PPGA is a type of processor design or "form factor" used by the Intel Celeron processor. The design allows the heat generated by the chip to dissipate more quickly. This enables the processor to use more transistors and run at higher speeds without burning a hole in the side of your computer. If you'd like to know more about PPGA, check out Intel's own documention.
« Last Edit: April 10, 2014, 02:39:00 PM by MysteRy »

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "P"
« Reply #56 on: April 10, 2014, 02:39:41 PM »
PPI

Stands for "Pixels Per Inch." The resolution of a printed photo is often measured in DPI, or "dots per inch." The DPI describes how many dots of ink the printer prints per line per inch. Therefore, the higher the DPI, the greater the detail of the printed image. However, even if a photo is printed with a high DPI, the detail represented in the photo can only be as high as the PPI.

PPI measures the number of pixels per line per inch in a digital photo. This number is directly related to the number of megapixels a digital camera can capture. For example, the original Canon Digital Rebel is a 6.3 megapixel camera and captures 2048 vertical by 3072 horizontal pixels. Therefore, when printing a 4x6 image, the PPI would be 3072 px. / 6 in. = 512 PPI. That is high enough to print a very detailed 4x6 photo. However, if you were to print a large 20x30 poster image from a 6.3 megapixel image, the PPI would be 3072 px. / 30 in. = 102.4 PPI.

Most modern printers print images with a minimum resolution of 300 DPI. Therefore, if you print a photo with a PPI of less than 300, you may notice the image is not as sharp as you would like. Of course, the detail in a 20x30 image may not need to be as clear as a 4x6 photo. But a good rule of thumb is to keep your PPI above 300 so your prints will look nice and clear.

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "P"
« Reply #57 on: April 10, 2014, 02:40:16 PM »
PPL

Stands for "Pay Per Lead." PPL is similar to CPL, but measures the cost per lead from the advertiser's perspective. For example, if an advertiser pays $500 for 1,000 leads, the advertiser's average PPL is $0.50 ($500 ? 1000). Leads can be anything from basic page views to product purchases or new service signups. Leads that generate more revenue generally have a higher PPL.

Advertisers often monitor PPL to measure the effectiveness of certain ads. By comparing the average revenue per lead to the PPL cost, the advertiser can determine if the ads are increasing or decreasing profit. For example, if a the average return on a lead is $0.80 and the PPL is $0.50, there is an average profit of $0.30 per ad. However, if the average return is less than $0.50, the ads should be modified or stopped since the leads cost more than the revenue they are generating.

"PPL" is also used in online chat as an abbreviation for "people."

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "P"
« Reply #58 on: April 10, 2014, 02:40:52 PM »
PPM

Stands for "Pages Per Minute." PPM is used to measure the printing speed of both inkjet and laser printers. Most printers include a PPM rating for both black and color documents. These speed measurements are typically listed in the printer's technical specifications.

While a higher pages per minute rating does indicate a faster printing speed, this measurement can be misleading. This is because manufacturers measure the maximum PPM in the fastest printing mode, a.k.a. "economy mode," which is also the lowest quality. When printing in regular mode, the speed may be twice as slow. When printing in fine or high-quality mode, the speed will likely be reduced even further.

Furthermore, a printer's maximum PPM speed is measured using basic text pages, with no graphics, lines, or other objects. Therefore, if you have a text document that includes a picture, the page could take several times longer to print than a plain text document. If you are going to be printing a lot of color photos, make sure to check the printer's photo printing speed, which is often significantly slower than the printer's maximum PPM. Finally, the PPM measurement does not take into account how long it takes the printer to warm up and begin printing. Therefore, if you are only printing one or two pages, the warm up time may be longer than the actual time it takes to print the document.

In summary, PPM gives a general idea of how fast a printer is. But since there are several other variables involved that determine a printer's speed, PPM does not always accurately reflect a printer's speed. Therefore, when choosing a printer, it may be helpful to read some reviews about the printer you are interested in. The reviews may give you a better idea of the printer's real-world speed an quality than the numbers on the box do.

Important: PPM can also be used to measure a scanner's scanning speed. This measurement is particularly important for scanners that use an automatic document feeder ADF, which allows multiple documents to be scanned consecutively.

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "P"
« Reply #59 on: April 10, 2014, 02:41:21 PM »
PPP

Stands for "Point to Point Protocol." It is the Internet standard for dial-up modem connections. PPP is a set of rules that defines how your modem exchanges packets of data with other systems on the Internet. If you connect to your ISP with a dial-up modem, you are most likely using PPP.