Questions tagged [terminology]

Questions regarding computer-specific terms and jargon. Make sure you show research effort and that your question can be objectively answered.

Use this tag for questions regarding computer-specific terms and jargon, including those about differences between similar or easily confused terms.

To prevent your question from being closed, please make sure that you show research effort and that your question can be objectively answered, because these types of questions are prone to being closed as not constructive if poorly written.

187 questions
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What does the "Fi" in "Wi-Fi" mean?

I just got into a heated discussion about Wi-Fi. What does the Fi in Wi-Fi mean? I would have thought potentially "frequency interface" since all network adapters are classified as interfaces. However I'm not certain.
138
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2 answers

What is the difference between 4K, UHD and QHD? Do we agree on one official resolution?

Nowadays it seems that Full HD isn’t enough anymore and the terms “4K,” “QHD” and “UHD” are thrown around interchangeably. At the same time, there is not just one “4K” resolution in the catalogs. I have seen resolutions such as 2560 x 1600, 3440 x…
96
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2 answers

What's the difference between 'C' and 'CE' functions on Windows calculator?

I have always seen the C and CE buttons on physical calculators just as they are displayed on the Windows Calculator, but I never really understood what the abbreviations mean and what exactly is the difference between them: So, what do the…
Diogo
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87
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5 answers

What is the name of the 8 white squares surrounding resizable views?

I came across this annoying moment while writing a how-to article and realized I didn't know the name of those white squares that surround views. Here some images for clarification. Windows PowerPoint: Mac Xcode:
77
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7 answers

What is the correct term for the mouse pointer/nipple/joystick thingy in the middle of a laptop's keyboard?

I want to call it a "mouse nipple" or maybe a "joystick", although I know these are not correct. It's different from the touchpad, which is below the keyboard and has dedicated click buttons. Instead, it sits smack in the middle of the keyboard at…
Doug T.
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73
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3 answers

What is the email address format "Name " called?

Given an email address in the format John Doe I wonder where this format is explicitly defined and what the whole thing is called. It doesn't seem to be specified in rfc5322 (at least I didn't find it). So given the address…
user52375
69
votes
14 answers

What exactly is microcode and how does it differ from firmware?

Insofar as terminology, what exactly is "microcode" and if it can be updated, how does it differ from firmware? This question is not a duplicate of this question (as far as I can tell) which I've also asked about modifying microcode. Here I'm…
Evan Carroll
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66
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What does "LFF SATA" mean?

I've heard of SATA, but "LFF SATA" as listed on HP's specs page (archive) is a new one for me. What does the "LFF" bit mean?
Billy ONeal
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54
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Where did the term "superuser" originate?

Where did the term "superuser" originate? Is it a shortening of "supervisory user", or is it just an indicator of the level of power one such user holds in a system?
VortixDev
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45
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What are the origins of "Download", "upload", "downstream", "upstream", and why are they respectively down or up?

I assume that the term download was coined first and then similar terms as upload, downstream, upstream followed. But why are servers up, while clients are down? Who coined (one of) these terms and when?
MarianD
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42
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What is meant by the terms CPU, Core, Die and Package?

Now this might sound like too many previous questions, but I am really confused about these terms. I was trying to understand how "dual core" is different from "Core 2 Duo", and I came across some answers. For example, this answer states: Core 2…
lovesh
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42
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What is the difference between a directory and a folder?

Possible Duplicate: Directory vs. Folder Most people use the terms "folder" and "directory" interchangeably. Is there a difference, and if so, what is it?
mafu
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41
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1 answer

What does XDG stand for?

The XDG Base Directory Specification standardizes best practices for which folders a user-scoped programs may write to. What does XDG stand for, what's the story behind the name?
30
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3 answers

SSD, SD, eMMC, Raw NAND what are the differences?

so the underlying technology with SSD, eMMC, SD, USB Flash etc... is NAND flash correct? So is the difference between all of them just the way controllers are implemented? Or are the technologies different all together? From what I know, I think…
Alistair
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29
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4 answers

What exactly is VGA, and what is the difference between it and a video card?

Operating system development tutorials pinpoint reaching screen data by writing directly to VGA or EGA or Super VGA, but what I do not get is what is the real difference between writing to a fixed address for display, and writing to a video card…
user192573
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