A bootable floppy is a diskette containing a back-up copy of your hard disk master boot record (MBR). In the event that the master boot record becomes “infected” by a boot virus, having a bootable floppy will allow you to load it back onto your hard disk. (Otherwise, you may have to reformat your hard disk which first erases
DEFINITION of archive
1) An archive is a collection of computer files that have been packaged together for backup, to transport to some other location, for saving away from the computer so that more hard disk storage can be made available, or for some other purpose. An archive can include a simple list of files or files organized under a directory or catalog structure (depending on how a particular program supports archiving).
DEFINITION of bootstrap
A bootstrap is a small strap or loop at the back of a leather boot that enables you to pull the entire boot on. In computers, to bootstrap (or “to boot”) is to load a program into a computer using a much smaller initial program to load in the desired program (which is usually an operating system). In general usage, bootstrapping is the
DEFINITION of device driver
A device driver is a program that controls a particular type of device that is attached to your computer. There are device drivers for printers, displays, CD-ROM readers, diskette drives, and so on. When you buy an operating system, many device drivers are built into the product. However, if you later buy a new type of device
DEFINITION of denial of service
A denial of service (DoS) attack is an incident in which a user or organization is deprived of the services of a resource they would normally expect to have. In a distributed denial-of-service, large numbers of compromised systems (sometimes called a botnet) attack a single target.
DEFINITION of debugging
In computers, debugging is the process of locating and fixing or bypassing bugs (errors) in computer program code or the engineering of a hardware device. To debug a program or hardware device is to start with a problem, isolate the source of the problem, and then fix it. A user of a program that does not know how to fix
DEFINITION of ANSI
ANSI (American National Standards Institute) is the primary organization for fostering the development of technology standards in the United States. ANSI works with industry groups and is the U.S. member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
DEFINITION of anonymous FTP
Using the Internet’s File Transfer Protocol (FTP), anonymous FTP is a method for giving users access to files so that they don’t need to identify themselves to the server. Using an FTP program or the FTP command interface, the user enters “anonymous” as a user ID. Usually, the password is defaulted or furnished by the FTP server.
DEFINITION of algorithm
An algorithm (pronounced AL-go-rith-um) is a procedure or formula for solving a problem. The word derives from the name of the mathematician, Mohammed ibn-Musa al-Khwarizmi, who was part of the royal court in Baghdad and who lived from about 780 to 850. Al-Khwarizmi’s work is the likely source for the word algebra as well.
DEFINITION of AI
AI (pronounced AYE-EYE) or artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. These processes include learning (the acquisition of information and rules for using the information), reasoning (using the rules to reach approximate or definite conclusions), and self-correction. Particular applications of AI include expert systems, speech recognition, and machine vision.
