Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section of the glossary or type the term on which you want to search.

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archive

a back-up system designed for the storage of files to be kept for long periods of time. Some Websites that offer fresh information daily will allow access to older files by making them available through a link to an archives page. see archival storage.

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ARCnet

(Attached Resource Computer network) a simple and economical type of local-area network (LAN) using token-ring architecture. A token ring system is a group of computers connected in a circular fashion using a special message or password (the token). To communicate with a member of the network, the sender stores the token, attaches a message to it, and allows it to proceed around the ring. see token, token ring network.

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ARPANET

(Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) the predecessor of the present day Internet. ARPNET was developed in the 1960s by the US Defense Department. ARPANET was designed so that the network would continue to function through peripheral channels even if part of it were destroyed by nuclear attack or sabotage.

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arrange

to systematically place symbols or icons in columns or rows on a computer desktop. In Windows 95, 98 and 2000 this can be achieved by right clicking on any unoccupied space on the desktop and selecting one of several Arrange commands.

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arrow keys

four command keys on the keyboard that move the cursor up down, left or right. The arrow keys may be used as an alternative to the mouse.

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Artificial Intelligence

(AI) the attempt to use computers to think and reason as humans. Among the functions of contemporary IA are, playing games, and robotics.

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ASCII

(American Standard Code for Information Interchange) pronounced as-key, a global standard computer code used to represent upper and lower case characters, punctuation, numerals, and all other keyboard symbols as numbers. There are 128 standard ASCII codes, each represented by a 7 digit binary number: 0000000 through 1111111.

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ASCII file

a text file in which each byte is represented by one character of the ASCII code.

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ASCII graphics

sometimes called ASCII art, a technique for drawing, making use of standard keyboard characters. ASCII art often uses the single character X to create images. The character may be repeated line after line, thousands of times, forming silhouettes and outlined forms. It was popular in the 1980s and was sometimes used to create large banners or signs with perforated computer printing paper. Best results are obtained when displayed in a fixed-pitch font. see fixed-pitch type.

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ASIC

(Application Specific Integrated Circuit) a specially designated integrated circuit designed for a particular function such as a sound card or video adapter.