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Technical Corner => The PC Glossary - Definitions of Computer and Internet Terms => Topic started by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:30:39 AM

Title: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:30:39 AM

Source : PC.net (http://pc.net/glossary/)

Gamma Correction

Example: "The photographer applied gamma correction to his display to enhance the contrast of his photos."

Gamma correction is used to alter the output levels of a display. Since the standard input signal (or voltage level) is not high enough to create a bright picture, gamma correction is used to boost the brightness and contrast of the display. PCs typically use a gamma setting of 2.2, while Macs have a default gamma setting of 1.8. Some systems include a display utility that can be used to apply custom gamma settings.

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:31:12 AM

Gateway

A gateway is either hardware or software that acts as a bridge between two networks so that data can be transferred between a number of computers. For example, when you send an e-mail to a friend or when you log in to a Web site, there is a gateway that allows the connection take place. Often, your connection to a Web site will involve many smaller connections to other servers along the way. In these cases, a number of gateways are used.

In a completely unrelated story, Gateway is also the name of a popular direct-order PC manufacturer.

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:31:47 AM

Gibibyte

A gibibyte is a unit of data storage that equals 2 to the 30th power, or 1,073,741,824 bytes.

While a gigabyte can be estimated as 10^9 or 1,000,000,000 bytes, a gibibyte is defined as exactly 1,073,741,824 bytes. This helps avoid the ambiguity associated with the size of gigabytes. A gibibyte is 1,024 mebibytes and precedes the tebibyte unit of measurement.

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:32:26 AM

GIF

The letters "GIF" actually stand for "Graphics Interchange Format," but you don't need to remember that. What you should know is that a GIF is a compressed image file format. GIF images use a compression formula originally developed by CompuServe (which is why you see the term "CompuServe GIF" in Photoshop, for those of you that care). GIFs are based on indexed colors, which is a palette of at most 256 colors. This helps greatly reduce their file size. These compressed image files can be quickly transmitted over a network or the Internet, which is why you often see them on Web pages. GIF files are great for small icons and animated images, but they lack the color range to be used for high-quality photos.

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:32:59 AM

Gigabyte

A gigabyte is 2 to the 30th power, or 1,073,741,824 bytes.

It can be estimated as 10 to the 9th power, or one billion (1,000,000,000) bytes. A gigabyte is 1,024 megabytes and precedes the terabyte unit of measurement. Hard drive sizes are typically measured in gigabytes, such as a 160GB or 250GB drive. The term gigabyte is often often abbreviated as simply a "gig" in speech. For example, if you have a 250GB hard drive, you could say, "I have 250 gigs of disk space." The prefix "giga" comes from the Greek word "gigas," meaning giant.

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:33:31 AM

Gigaflops

Example: "The processor's floating point unit performs at 70 gigaflops."

Gigaflops is a unit of measurement that measures the processing power of a processor's floating point unit, or FPU. One gigaflops (or gigaFLOPS) is equal to one billion FLOPS, or floating point operations, per second.

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:34:13 AM

Gigahertz

One gigahertz is equal to 1,000 megahertz (MHz) or 1,000,000,000 Hz. It is commonly used to measure computer processing speeds. For many years, computer CPU speeds were measured in megahertz, but after personal computers eclipsed the 1,000 Mhz mark around the year 2000, gigahertz became the standard measurement unit. After all, it is easier to say "2.4 Gigahertz" than "2,400 Megahertz."

While gigahertz is most commonly used to measure processor speed, it can also measure the speed of other parts of the computer, such as the RAM and backside cache. The speed of these components, along with other parts of the computer, also impact the computer's overall performance. Therefore, when comparing computers, remember the number of gigahertz is not the only thing that matters.

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:34:48 AM

GIGO

Stands for "Garbage In, Garbage Out." It means that if invalid data is entered in a computer program, the resulting output will also be invalid. So if a program asked you to enter a letter of the alphabet and you decided to be funny and enter "3.14159", there's a good chance the results you would get back would be pretty messed up, or "garbage." Because we computer users aren't always smart enough to enter valid data, programmers have to take extensive measures to prevent GIGO errors.

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:35:25 AM

GIS

Stands for "Geographic Information Systems." GIS tools are used to gather and analyze data about the surface of the earth. The data can be used to create charts, maps, and 3D models of the earth's surface. This includes hills, mountains, trees, buildings, streets, rivers, and pretty much anything else. Sounds fun, but how is it used? Well, organizations such as the police and fire department can use the data to develop emergency routes. The government can use the data to measure the growth and expansion of cities or the depletion of forests. Most importantly, however, GIS can assist with special effects by simulating landscapes and terrain in action movies.

GIS files created with ArcGIS software use the .e00 file extension.

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:36:00 AM

GNU

Example: "The developer installed a GNU operating system on his secondary computer."

GNU (a recursive acronym for "GNU's Not Unix") is a Unix-like operating system that is available in several distributions. Most use the Linux kernel and are collectively called GNU/Linux operating systems. Some popular examples include gNewSense, Trisquel, and Venenux.

All GNU systems and programs are distributed as free software, without requiring a commercial license. Instead, they are made available under the GNU General Public License (or GPL), which states that the software may be freely used and distributed and the same rights must be passed on to other users. While the GNU General Public License was originally designed for GNU software, it is now used by many other free software programs as well.

Now when someone tells you about GNU, you can say you already "gnu" what it was.

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:36:39 AM

Gnutella

Gnutella is a file sharing network that allows users to send and receive files over the Internet. The first part of its name comes from the GNU General Public License, which originally allowed the source of the program to be made available to the public. The second part of the name comes from Nutella, a chocolate hazelnut spread, which apparently the developers ate a lot of while working on the project.

The Gnutella network is a peer-to-peer (P2P) network, which allows users on different networks to share files. However, each user still must connect to an "ultrapeer," which is a server that lists files shared by connected users. This makes it possible to search for files across hundreds or even thousands of other computers connected to the network.

Gnutella is a network protocol, not an actual program. Therefore, to access other computers on the Gnutella network, you must install a P2P program that supports Gnutella. Fortunately, many of these programs are available as shareware and can be downloaded from the Internet. Some popular Gnutella clients include Acquisition for the Mac and BearShare and Morpheus for Windows.

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:37:12 AM

Golden Master

Example: "The latest release candidate of the software is expected to be the golden master."

Golden master is the final stage of the software development process. It describes the "Release to Manufacturing" or RTM version of a software package that is sent to a manufacturing facility for replication. When software reaches the golden master (GM) version, it means the development is complete and the software will soon be publicly available.

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:37:50 AM

Goodput

Example: "Network congestion may cause the goodput to decrease relative to the throughput."

Goodput sounds like a golf term that describes sinking a 20 foot birdie putt. However, in the computer world, goodput is related to throughput, which measures the average data transfer speed over a communications protocol.

Throughput is calculated by dividing the amount of data transferred over the time it takes to transfer the data. This includes packet headers, acknowledgements that packets have been received, and retransmitted data. Goodput is calculated by dividing the original data divided by the transfer time.

For example, a 5 megabyte file may require 300 kilobytes of header information and acknowledgements to be sent during the data transfer process. Therefore, the throughput would be roughly 5.3 megabytes divided by the transfer time. The goodput would be the original 5 megabytes divided by the transfer time. Therefore, goodput is always less than or equal to the throughput measurement.

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:39:17 AM

Google

Google is the world's most popular search engine. It began as a search project in 1996 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who were two Ph.D. students at Stanford University. They developed a search engine algorithm that ranked Web pages not just by content and keywords, but by how many other Web pages linked to each page. This strategy produced more useful results than other search engines, and led to a rapid increase in Google's Web search marketshare. The Google ranking algorithm was later named "PageRank" and was patented in September of 2001. In only a short time, Google became the number one search engine in the world.

According to Google's website, the company's mission is to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." While the Web search remains Google's primary tool for helping users access information, the company offers several other services as well. Some of these include:

Froogle - price comparison shopping
Image Search - search for images on the Web
Google Groups - online discussion forums
Google Answers - answers to questions based on a bidding system
Google Maps - maps and directions
Google Toolbar - a downloadable search tool
Blogger - a free blogging service
Gmail - Web-based e-mail with several gigabytes of storage
AdWords - Advertising services for advertisers
AdSense - Advertising services for Web publishers

Google has become such a popular search engine that the term "Google" is now often used as a verb, synonymous with "search." For example, if you are looking for information about someone, you can Google that person using Google's search engine.

To Google your own term or phrase, visit Google's home page (https://www.google.com/).

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:42:07 AM

Google Drive

oogle Drive is a service offered by Google that allows you to store and share files online. The service was launched on April 24, 2012 and provides 5 GB of free storage. Additional storage can be purchased for a monthly fee.

The goal of Google Drive is to provide a central place to store your files online so that you can access them from anywhere. Additionally, you can access your Google Drive from multiple devices, since the software is available for Windows, Mac OS X, Android, and iOS platforms. The service also provides a web-based interface that allows you to organize your files and search for documents by filename or content.

Besides online file storage, Google Drive provides tools for sharing files and collaborating on projects with other users over the Web. For example, instead of emailing large attachments, you can send links to the files from your Google Drive to one or more users. You can also use the web-based Google Docs applications to create or edit documents online. When you share a document with other Google Drive users, everyone can view and edit the document at the same time.

Google Drive allows you to view over 30 file types directly in your web browser. These include Google's proprietary formats, as well as other popular file types, such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator documents.

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:42:43 AM

Gopher

The Gopher technology was invented at the University of Minnesota, whose mascot is, not surprisingly, the Golden Gopher. The gopher system allows people to search for and retrieve information using a text interface. The technology is based on a client-server structure, where a gopher client program is used to search gopher servers. These servers can store documents, articles, programs, and other information. Instead of hyperlinks, the gopher interface uses menus of links to other documents and programs.

The University of Minnesota began a licensing program for the gopher technology in 1993 as the use of gopher was spreading rapidly over the Internet. However, this was around the same time that the World Wide Web was introduced. Because the Web used hypertext and images, it soon became the preferred way to search and browse for information. While there are still servers and client programs that use gopher technology, their use is not nearly as widespread as the Web.

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:43:19 AM

GPS

Stands for "Global Positioning System." GPS is a satellite navigation system used to determine ground position and velocity (location, speed, and direction). Though it was created and originally used by the U.S. military, GPS is now available to the general public all over the world. GPS navigation systems are currently installed in a number of luxury cars, complete with an LCD map that shows the driver exactly where in the world he is. Advanced car GPS units can actually speak the directions to a certain destination and tell the driver when to turn. Cool, huh?

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:43:56 AM

GPU

Stands for "Graphics Processing Unit." Like the CPU (Central Processing Unit), it is a single-chip processor. However, the GPU is used primarily for computing 3D functions. This includes things such as lighting effects, object transformations, and 3D motion. Because these types of calculations are rather taxing on the CPU, the GPU can help the computer run more effienciently.

The first company to develop the GPU was NVidia, Inc. Its GeForce 256 GPU can process 10 million polygons per second and has over 22 million transistors. Compare that to the 9 million transistors found on the Pentium III chip. Wow -- that's a lot of processing power. There is also a workstation version of the chip called the Quadro, designed for CAD applications. This chip can process over 200 billion operations a second and deliver up to 17 million polygons per second. If only you could think that fast during those darn Calculus tests...

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:44:32 AM

Graphics

Example: "Modern video games have 3D graphics that can appear incredibly realistic."

Computer graphics are images displayed on a computer screen. They can be either two or three-dimensional. Two-dimensional graphics come in raster or vector formats.

Raster graphics are the most common type of computer graphic and are used for icons, photos, and other basic images. Vector graphics are used for drawings, logos, and other scalable objects. 3D graphics are made up of polygons and can be created with CAD and 3D modeling programs. They are most commonly seen in video games and 3D animations.

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:45:11 AM

GUI

Stands for "Graphical User Interface," and is pronounced "gooey." It refers to the graphical interface of a computer that allows users to click and drag objects with a mouse instead of entering text at a command line. Two of the most popular operating systems, Windows and the Mac OS, are GUI-based. The graphical user interface was first introduced to the public by Apple with the Macintosh in 1984. However, the idea was actually taken from an earlier user interface developed by Xerox.

Title: Re: Computer Terms Beginning with "G"
Post by: MysteRy on March 31, 2014, 07:45:47 AM

GUID

Stands for "Globally Unique Identifier." A GUID is a 128-bit (16 byte) number used by software programs to uniquely identify the location of a data object. Some examples of data that include GUIDs are streaming media files, Windows registry entries, database keys, and various file types. GUIDs are typically written in hexadecimal notation, containing 32 digits, and may look something like this:

{12345678-9012-3456-7890-123456789012}

Globally unique identifiers are also the basis of the GUID Partition Table (GPT). This is a hard disk partitioning scheme proposed by Intel as part of the Extensible Firmware Interface. It is used by Windows PCs as well as Intel-based Macintosh computers. GPT uses GUIDs to define the different partitions on a hard drive. Some examples include the boot partition, the file system partition, and the data partition. Each operating system that supports the GPT partitioning scheme uses specific GUIDs to label each partition.