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

Computer Terms Beginning with "I"

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Source : PC.net


I/O

Stands for "Input/Output" and is pronounced simply "eye-oh." Computers are based on the fundamental idea that every input results in an output. For example, if you are running a word processor program and type a sentence on your keyboard, the text will appear on the screen. The keyboard is an input device and the screen is an output device. You might also print the text using a printer, which is another output device. The computer's CPU handles all the I/O operations, sending the data it receives to the correct path. The path may be to the video card, to the hard drive, or to the RAM, just to name a few.

The ports on the outside of a computer are commonly referred to as "I/O ports" because they are what connect input and output devices to the computer. Software developers use I/O to describe how a program will function, depending on what a user enters. For example, if the user presses the space bar key in a game, say "Super Jumper Man," the character on the screen will jump. Multiply that by several thousand other scenarios of user input and you have yourself a computer game.

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I/O Address

Each I/O device connected to your computer is mapped to a unique I/O (Input/Output) address. These addresses are assigned to every I/O port on your computer, including USB, Firewire, Ethernet, VGA, and DVI ports, as well as any other ports your computer might have.

Having a unique address assigned to each port allows your computer to easily recognize and locate devices attached to your computer. Whether it is a keyboard, mouse, monitor, printer, or any other device, the computer can locate it by its I/O address. Because I/O addresses are controlled by the computer's motherboard, they do not use up any system memory, or RAM.

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IBM Compatible

The personal computer market in the early 1980's consisted primarily of Apple and IBM computers. Apple's systems ran a proprietary operating system developed by Apple, while IBM machines primarily ran PC-DOS. As the demand for personal computers began to grow, IBM decided to license the DOS operating system to other manufacturers. These companies began producing personal computers that were called PC clones or IBM compatibles.

As several other manufacturers began producing PCs, supplies grew and costs began to drop. This enabled more people to afford PCs and sales of IBM compatibles began to dominate the personal computer market. It wasn't long until the new manufacturers' PC sales surpassed the number of computers sold directly by IBM. The Apple Macintosh also gained substantial market share when it was introduced in 1984, but the low cost and wide availability of IBM compatibles kept their sales strong.

Sales of IBM compatibles surged again in 1995, when Microsoft introduced the Windows 95 operating system. However, by that time, the term "IBM compatible" had become almost irrelevant, since most PCs used Microsoft Windows as the primary operating system. Also, PC manufacturers had been building their own computers for many years, and there were few similarities between IBM's own PCs and IBM compatibles.

In 2005, IBM stopped manufacturing personal computers. The company that started the PC revolution is no longer in the market. Therefore, the term "IBM compatible" is a bit outdated, though it can still be used to describe Windows-based computers. The term "PC" is more appropriate, albeit a bit ambiguous, since Macs are technically PCs too. Therefore, the term "Windows computer" seems to be the best way to describe a modern day IBM compatible.

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ICANN

Stands for "Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers." The ICANN is an non-profit corporation that is responsible for allocating IP addresses and managing the domain name system.

Every computer connected to the Internet, from servers to home PCs, has an IP address. However, it would be unrealistic for the ICANN to directly assign each computer an individual IP address. Instead, the ICANN allocates blocks of IP addresses to companies, educational institutions, and Internet service providers. These organizations then allocate IP addresses to computers that use their Internet connections.

While the ICANN is a US-based organization, it is also a global Internet community. According to ICANN's website, the organization is "dedicated to preserving the operational stability of the Internet; to promoting competition; to achieving broad representation of global Internet communities; and to developing policy appropriate to its mission through bottom-up, consensus-based processes" (icann.org).

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ICF

Stands for "Internet Connection Firewall." ICF is a Windows XP feature that protects computers connected to the Internet from unauthorized access. When ICF is enabled, Windows keeps a log of incoming requests from other systems on the Internet. If the request is something the user has requested, like a Web page, the transmission will not be affected. However, if the request is unsolicited and is not recognized by the system, the transmission will be dropped. This helps prevent intrusion by hackers or malicious software such as spyware.

While ICF limits incoming traffic from the Internet, it does not affect outgoing traffic. This means data sent from your computer is still vulnerable to viruses or other disruptions even when ICF is enabled. If you have multiple computers sharing the same Internet connection via ICS, you can enable ICF for all the computers. However, you should enable ICF for the router or system connected directly to the Internet connection, not for each individual system.

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