In the past I have written about net language, what they mean and how we use them. So this time I will be writing about things you’ll find on your personal computer, at home or at work, what they mean and what you can do with them. You need to use this to shock your IT support person the next time he comes by for a visit.

Icon

An icon is a graphical illustration of a file or program on your computer. Clicking on it will launch the application itself, or if it’s a file, then it will usually launch the programme linked with it. Sometimes right clicking on an icon will permit you to do different things, but we shall discuss that next.

Double Clicking/Right Clicking

When you’re asked to double click something this means that you’ve got to do 2 left clicks in quick succession. This can then do the default action connected with the file or programme. When you right click something this will bring up a small menu called a context menu, which can give you an extended list of actions, such as duplicating or opening the file with a different application.

Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

This is the most important storage device on your P. C. A normal hard drive has solid disks stored in a stack and has information written onto it with a pin, therefore the name hard drive. A more modern technology has emerged lately which is Solid State Drive (SSD). This also stores your information, but as there aren’t any moving parts, it’s possible to get to your information noticeably quicker.

Resolution

This refers to how your display is shown on your monitor. Small dots called pixels display colour on your monitor, and the tighter these pixels are placed the clearer the image is on your screen. The same thing is also relevant on TVs. I’m sure you’ve heard about hi-def TVs saying that it’s 1080p: That basically means that they have enough pixel density to show the image at that resolution.

Michael Kiruba-Raja has been working in the IT industry for just about 20 years, looking after both corporations and private clients. He’s now with Prosyn, a business IT support company that aids clients in countless industries. Prosyn focuses their IT support in London and surrounding counties, providing both remote and on-site help.

When you’re online, there can be a few terms thrown about that we here all of the time, but you don’t quite understand or grasp them. Often we have the terms confused with something completely different. I’m aware that I have done it in the past. So below you will find an inventory of terms that you may have come across online, and what they really mean, with no need to resort to going to the Computer department and asking the IT support guy.

Address Bar

Now this one most people know as the bar towards the top of your net browser where you enter the website of where you need to go to. It is infrequently confused with the Google search bar. When you enter a web address here, your web browser converts the link (a. k. a the Uniform Resource Locator or URL) into a collection of numbers that locates where the server of that website is. It is a slight simplification of what actually happens but at least you get the picture of what occurs.

Captcha

This is a tool used on certain websites having a high amount of folk visiting and don’t want to be bogged down by automatic bots or PC programs that pretend to be human in order to bring their server down. You will have seen a text box with funny blotches and squiggly letters that you then have to type out what you see. Certain security gurus claim that this only makes it tougher for real, genuine humans to log in and less complicated for smart computer programs to bypass, but something is better than nothing.

Upload/Download

This is when you send a file, whether or not that be a document, a movie or some music for instance, from or to your computer. When you are uploading something, you are sending something from your PC, for example attaching a file to an e-mail. When you’re downloading something, that is when you are putting a file onto your personal computer, for example a picture from a site. Technically any information transmitted from your personal computer is an upload, and similarly any info sent to your PC is a download, but whenever you see those terms on an internet site that usually implies that you’re doing something with a file.

I am hoping you find this article helpful and decreases the bewilderment when you see these terms next time.

Michael Kiruba-Raja has been handling IT systems for almost 20 years. He now is with Prosyn, a business IT support specialist. Prosyn bring enterprise level IT support in London and surrounding counties, for clients within various industries.