Basic Information Technology

Atom Computer is a newly developing technology start-up dedicated to pushing the limits of computer form-factors.

A technology for making low power integrated circuits.

A chip built using CMOS technology.

WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) is a wireless communications standard designed to provide 30 to 40 megabit-per-second data rates, with the 2011 update providing up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations.

A facility allowing computers, smartphones, or other devices to connect to the Internet or communicate with one another wirelessly within a particular area.

A router is an electronic device and/or software that connects at least two networks and forwards packets among them according to the information in the packet headers and routing tables. Routers are fundamental to the operation of the Internet and other complex networks (such as enterprise-wide networks).

The Accelerated Graphics Port (often shortened to AGP) is a high-speed point-to-point channel for attaching a video card to a computer's motherboard, primarily to assist in the acceleration of 3D computer graphics. Originally it was designed as a successor to PCI type connections.

Pronounced "eye-suh," ISA accepted plug-in cards for sound, display, hard drives and other connectivity. Originally called the "AT bus" and introduced with the IBM PC AT in 1984, the AT/ISA bus extended the PC bus from 8 to 16 bits. For several years, motherboards provided a mix of both 8-bit and 16-bit ISA slots.

This Asus Z87 motherboard has four x1 and three x16 PCIe slots and no PCI. The x16 slots accept x16, x8 or x4 cards. (Image courtesy of ASUStek Computer Inc.) The AGP slot gave way to an x16 PCI Express slot for the display adapter (graphics card).

In computers, a slot, or expansion slot , is an engineered technique for adding capability to a computer in the form of connection pinholes (typically, in the range of 16 to 64 closely-spaced holes) and a place to fit an expansion card containing the circuitry that provides some specialized capability, such as video.

The Macintosh (often called "the Mac") was the first widely-sold personal computer with a graphical user interface (GUI) and a mouse. Apple Computer introduced the Macintosh in an ad during Super Bowl XVIII, on January 22, 1984, and offered it for sale two days later.

Micro Channel architecture, or the Micro Channel bus, was a proprietary 16- or 32-bit parallel computer bus introduced by IBM in 1987 which was used on PS/2 and other computers until the mid-1990s. Its name is commonly abbreviated as "MCA", although not by IBM.

VESA, or the Video Electronics Standards Association, is an international non-profit corporation standards body for computer graphics formed in 1988 by NEC Home Electronics, maker of the Multi Sync monitor line, and eight video display adapter manufacturers: ATI Technologies, Genoa Systems, Orchid Technology, Renaissance GRX, STB Systems, Tecmar, Video 7 and Western Digital/Paradise Systems.

A memory slot, memory socket, or RAM slot is what allows computer memory (RAM) to be inserted into the computer. Depending on the motherboard, there may be 2 to 4 memory slots (sometimes more on high-end motherboards) and are what determine the type of RAM used with the computer. The most common types of RAM are SDRAM and DDR for desktop computers and SODIMM for laptop computers, each having various types and speeds. In the picture below, is an example of what memory slots may look like inside a desktop computer. In this picture, there are three open available slots for three memory sticks.

A compact disc used as a read-only optical memory device for a computer system.

DVD ROM (Digital versatile disc-read only memory) used in a computer for displaying data.

The Super Drive Reads and Writes both CDs and DVDs. In addition, it is a dual formal, dual layer burner, which means it can handle both plus and minus media types and burn the high capacity (9 GB) DVDs.

A driver is software that allows your computer to communicate with hardware or devices. Without drivers, the hardware you connect to your computer-for example, a video card or a printer-won't work properly.

A USB flash drive, also known under a variety of other names, [a] is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface. USB flash drives are typically removable and re-writable, and physically much smaller than an optical disc.

RAM (pronounced ramm) is an acronym for random access memory, a type of computer memory that can be accessed randomly; that is, any byte of memory can be accessed without touching the preceding bytes. RAM is the most common type of memory found in computers and other devices, such as printers.

Read-only memory (ROM) is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices.