Author Topic: Computer Terms Beginning with "F"  (Read 5259 times)

Offline MysteRy

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "F"
« Reply #30 on: March 30, 2014, 07:55:07 AM »
Formula

Example: "A spreadsheet formula can be used to determine the total sum of multiple cells."

A formula is a calculation performed on one or more variables. It may be a simple operation, such as the addition of two numbers, or a complex calculation involving several operations. Formulas are often used within functions to process data within the function. They receive input from the function and return the resulting output. Formulas may also be placed in cells within a spreadsheet to calculate values based on the data stored in other cells.

Offline MysteRy

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "F"
« Reply #31 on: March 30, 2014, 07:55:43 AM »
FPU

Stands for "Floating Point Unit." The first computer processors were far better at dealing with integers than with real numbers (a.k.a. floating point numbers). So a separate FPU processor was developed to handle the floating point calculations. That way, when the CPU encountered a floating-point expresion (ie. 1.62 * 0.87359), it would send the calculation to the FPU. Since the FPU is specifically designed to handle floating-point math, it computes expressions involving real numbers more efficiently. While the first floating point units used to be manufactured as individual chips, they are now typically integrated into the CPU.

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "F"
« Reply #32 on: March 30, 2014, 07:56:22 AM »
Frame

In the computer world, a frame can be many different things. The different definitions of "frame" are listed below:

Some Web sites use HTML frames, where the pages are broken up into various areas. Each area consists of an independent Web page. Frames allow the multiple Web pages to all show up in the same page.

Graphics and desktop publishing programs also use frames. In these programs, frames are rectangular areas meant for inserting graphics and text. They allow users to place objects wherever they want to on the page.

In video and animation, frames are individual pictures in a sequence of images. For example, a Flash movie you see on the Web may play 12 frames per second, creating the appearance of motion. Most video is shot at 24 or 30 frames per second, or FPS. FPS is often measured in 3D games as a way of checking how fast the graphics processor of a computer is.

Offline MysteRy

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "F"
« Reply #33 on: March 30, 2014, 07:57:05 AM »
Freeware

Like shareware, freeware is software you can download, pass around, and distribute without any initial payment. However, the great part about freeware is that you never have to pay for it. No 30 day limit, no demo versions, no disabled features -- it's totally free. Things like minor program updates and small games are commonly distributed as freeware. Though freeware does not cost anything, it is still copyrighted, so other people can't market the software as their own.

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "F"
« Reply #34 on: March 30, 2014, 07:58:11 AM »
Frequency

Frequency is the number times something occurs in a specific amount of time. In computing, frequency is used to measure processing speed, such as the clock speed of a CPU. For example, a 3.2 GHz processor has a frequency of 3.2 gigahertz, or 3,200,000,000 hertz. This means the processor performs 3,200,000,000 cycles each second. Since most instructions require multiple cycles, the number of instructions per second is typically less than the number of clock cycles. Therefore, MIPS, which measures instructions per second, is sometimes used to measure raw computing performance.

Frequency is also used to measure oscillation rates of waves within the electromagnetic spectrum. Some examples include radio waves, microwaves, visible light, and ultraviolet rays. FM radio broadcasts in the range of 87.5 to 108 megahertz. When you tune to 93.7, for example, you are instructing your radio to only receive signals that have an oscillation frequency of 93,700,000 hertz. Wi-Fi signals are broadcast at either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz, both of which are much higher than the FM radio frequency band. The higher frequency prevents wireless interference and provides a stronger, more reliable signal over shorter distances.

Important: In mathematics, frequency is often abbreviated as "ƒ". It is inversely related to the period of a wave cycle, which is calculated as 1 / ƒ.

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "F"
« Reply #35 on: March 30, 2014, 07:58:54 AM »
Friend

Example: "Many Facebook users have several hundred Facebook friends."

An online friend is a person added to your list of friends on a social networking website, such as Facebook or MySpace. Once you add a user as a friend, he or she will be able to view your profile page with "friend" viewing privileges. This means the user may be able to view your photos and post comments on your wall.

The word "friend" can also be used as a verb, which refers to the action of adding a person as a friend. When you remove a friend, you "unfriend" the user.

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "F"
« Reply #36 on: March 30, 2014, 07:59:45 AM »
Frozen

While "frozen" describes the state of Minnesota from November to March, it also refers to an unresponsive computer. When a computer does not respond to any user input, it is said to be frozen. When a computer system freezes, or "locks up," the screen stays the same and does not change no matter what buttons you press on your mouse or keyboard. You can tell if you computer has frozen if the cursor will not move when you move the mouse.

A computer typically freezes due to a software malfunction that causes the operating system to "hang." This may happen because of many possible reasons, including a memory leak, an infinite calculation, or another reason. A computer can also freeze because of a hardware malfunction, such as a bad RAM chip or a processor error.

Since computers are not supposed to freeze, a software crash is often due to a software programming error or unrecognizable input. Fortunately, modern operating systems, such as Mac OS X are designed so that if one program crashes, it will not affect other programs and the computer will not freeze.

If your computer does freeze, you will need to restart the computer to make it function again. You can typically force your computer to shut down by holding the power button for several seconds. And remember - since most computer freezes happen unexpectedly, it is a good idea to save your work frequently!

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "F"
« Reply #37 on: March 30, 2014, 08:00:57 AM »
FSB

Stands for "frontside bus." The FSB connects the computer's processor to the system memory (RAM) and other components on the motherboard. These components include the system chipset, AGP card, PCI devices, and other peripherals. Because the FSB serves as the main path from the processor to the rest of the motherboard, it is also called the "system bus."

The speed of the frontside bus is measured in Megahertz or Gigahertz, just like the processor. Most computers' processors run faster than their system buses, so the FSB speed is typically a ratio of the processor speed. For example, a Pentium 4 processor that runs at 2.4 GHz may have an FSB speed of only 400 MHz. The CPU to FSB ratio would be 6:1. A Power Mac G5, however, with a 2.0 GHz processor, has a 1.0 GHz frontside bus. Therefore, its CPU to FSB ratio is 2:1.

The smaller the ratio, the more efficiently the processor can work. Therefore, faster frontside bus speeds lead to faster overall performance. When the CPU to FSB ratio is high, the processor often has to wait for data to be sent out over the system bus before getting new data to process. For this reason, the FSB can be a bottleneck in a computer's performance. So if you are looking for a fast computer, don't just check the processor speed, but find out what the frontside bus speed is as well.

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Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "F"
« Reply #38 on: March 30, 2014, 08:01:38 AM »
FTP

Stands for "File Transfer Protocol." It is a common method of transferring files via the Internet from one computer to another. Some common FTP programs are "Fetch" for the Mac, and "WS_FTP" for Windows. However, you can also use a Web browser like Netscape or Internet Explorer to access FTP servers. To do this, you need to type the URL of the server into the location field of the browser. For example: "ftp://ftp.servername.com/" will give you a listing of all the directories of the FTP server, "ftp://ftp.servername.com/directory/" will give you a listing of all the files available in that directory, and "ftp://ftp.servername.com/directory/filename" will download the actual file to your computer. Many FTP servers are "anonymous FTP" servers which means you can log in with the user name "anonymous" and your e-mail address as the password. Other FTP servers require a specific login in order to access the files.