Q:
It seems that every computer term has an acronym to go along with it and half the time, I have no idea what it means. Can you help by giving me some examples?
A:
Sure, that’s no problem. There are tons of terms that usually only go by certain letters and it can be hard to keep them all straight. There are obviously too many to put into one tip, so below is a list of some of the more common used acronyms, along with their real meanings.
ATA – Advanced Technology Attachment
ATM – Asynchronous Transfer Mode
BIOS – Basic Input/Output System
BMP – Bitmap
CD – Compact Disc
CGI – Common Gateway Interface
CPU – Central Processing Unit
DBMS – Database Management System
DLL – Dynamic Link Library
DNS – Domain Name System
DSL – Digital Subscriber Line
DVD – Digital Versatile Disc
FTP – File Transfer Protocol
JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts Group
LAN – Local Area Network
MPEG – Moving Picture Experts Group
P2P – Peer To Peer
POP3 – Post Office Protocol
RGB – Red Green Blue
TCP/IP – Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
USB – Universal Serial Bus
WiFi – Wireless Fidelity
WWW – World Wide Web
Did you learn something? I sure hope so!
Now, these are obviously just the acronyms and if you’re not sure of the operation of each item, you can always do a quick search on our Web site at http://www.worldstart.com/tips/index.php. We’ve done several articles on some of these terms. Or, you can do a search on Google or Yahoo! to learn more about what each of them actually do.
~ Erin