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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Energy Star

guidelines proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency in the early 1990s designed to reduce the amount of energy used by Personal Computers.

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ENIAC

(Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator) developed at the University of Pennsylvania in the mid-1940s by John Mauchly and Presper Eckert, ENIAC was the first digital, general-purpose, electronic computer. It occupied 1,800 square feet, weighed 30 tons, housed 18,000 vacuum tubes, and performed simple calculations.

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Enter Key

the keyboard key that moves the cursor to the next line. It also initiates a function or command. For example, when a program displays a prompt such as Save, pressing the Enter key confirms the command. Pointing the mouse cursor to the Save button and left clicking would accomplish the same function. see Return key.

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envelope

see bounding box.

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environment

the condition of a computer or computer system as determined by several factors including the hardware and operating software it is running. For example, Windows compatible applications run in the Windows environment.

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ergonomics

the science of developing equipment and working environments that are safe, comfortable and efficient for humans. Ergonomics evaluates the design of machines and workspaces with the goal of reducing muscle and eyestrain. Ergonomic concerns also address proper posture and seating to reduce neck and back strain, mouse and keyboard position to minimize the occurrence of carpal tunnel syndrome, as well as monitor placement, and lighting.

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Escape key

a keyboard key usually labeled Esc. In the Windows environment, pressing the Escape key sometimes ends the present function and returns the user to the previous function. The term sometimes is used here because at other times, pressing Esc does absolutely nothing. This usually means more dramatic measures must be taken to end the function.

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etailing

(electronic retailing) using the Internet to sell goods and services. see e-commerce.

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Ethernet

a local area network (LAN) first developed by Dr. Robert M. Metcalfe and D.R. Boggs while working for Xerox in the 1970s. Transmission of data takes place by radio signals broadcast over one of several types of coaxial cable. see LAN, LAWN.

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Eudora

one of the leading email software programs distributed by Qualcomm Enterprises. The Eudora email application is available for both Windows and Macintosh.