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M
- Refer to mega.
Mac
- Term used for Macintosh computers; refer to Macintosh for more
information.
MAC
- Refer to Medium
access control.
Machine
address - Refer to
direct address.
Machine
code - Refer to
machine language.
Machine
cycle - After the CPU
is given machine language instructions, which is in the programming code
a computer reads and interprets, it carries out for steps in its cycle
fetch, decode, execute, and store.
Machine-dependent
- Device designed to
operate on a specific computer.
Machine
error - Hardware error
as opposed to a human error.
Machine-Independent
- Able to be used on
different computers with very little change or none at all in performance
and functionality.
Machine
language - Binary
encoded programming that a computer reads and interprets. Machine
language is the only way to communicate with a computer; all other
instructions must be translated into machine language.
Machine-readable
- Describes
information in a form a computer can read.
Macintosh
- Computer designed by
Apple Computer Inc. and introduced in 1984, the Macintosh is a computer
known for its ease-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) that uses icons,
windows, and a mouse for point and click operation. Macintosh computers
are different platforms then IBM computers therefore programs designed
for Macintosh will not work for PC computers unless a special program is
used to open it.
Macro
- Series of keyboard
and mouse actions recorded to a single key, symbol, or name.
Macro
recorder - One of the
programs that shipped with Windows 3.1 and was not included thereafter to
record macro's.
Magnetic
card - Thin, flexible
card that stores information on a coating of magnetic oxide. For example,
most credit cards include a magnetic strip.
Magnetic
card reader - Device
that can retrieve stored information from a magnetic card. For example a
bank teller machine contains a magnetic card reader.
Magnetic
disk - Refer to
diskette.
Magnetic-ink
character recognition (MICR)
- Type of character recognition using magnetically charged ink. Computers
equipped with the right hardware can read the character printed in such
ink.
Magnetic
media - Any type of
storage medium, such as a floppy disk, in which magnetic patters
represent stored information.
Magnetic
oxide - Refer to
ferric oxide.
Magnetic
storage - Holding
information on a type, disk, or other form of magnetic media using
different patterns of magnetization.
Magnetic
tape - Refer to type.
Magneto-optical
disk (MO diskette) -
Diskettes used in magneto-optical drive that can be read from and written
to.
Magneto-optical
drive (MO drive) -
Combines the qualities of magnetic drives and CD-ROM drives and features
the read and write capabilities of magnetic drives as well as the higher
storage capabilities of CD-ROM (more than 200MB).
Magneto-optical
recording - Way of
recording information using both a laser and a magnet. All bits on a
diskette are initially magnetized with the same polarity; then a laser is
used to heat an individual bit to a temperature high enough to allow the
polarization of molecules to be modified via the magnet.
Mail
- Refer to electronic
mail, snail mail.
Mailbox
- Storage are, either
in memory or on disk, for electronic mail messages. This area is usually
divided into folders, notably Inbox and Outbox folders.
Mail
exploder - Program
that forwards electronic mail messages to multiple addresses.
Mailing
list - Discussion
groups over the internet that link a group of people together with common
interests. If you belong to a mailing list you receive every message
posted to that list via mail.
Mail
merge - Ability of
some word processing applications used to automatically insert a list of
addresses and other information into form letters. The user sets up a
document laced with special codes indicating where varying addresses and
names will be inserted.
Mail
reflector - Electronic
mail account that follows a program to automatically distribute incoming
mail to a list of addresses.
Mail
server - Computer that
holds electronic mail messages for clients on a network.
Mail
transfer agent -
Software responsible for the delivery of electronic mail. The transfer
agent gets mail from a user agent or another transfer agent then delivers
the mail or routes it to another transfer agent.
Mail
user agent - Software
used for access and management of electronic mail.
Main
- Program group in the
Windows 3.x Program Manager that contains many of the features needed to
manage windows including file manager, control panel, and windows setup.
Mainframe
- Large, central
computer with lots of memory, storage space and fast microprocessors that
handle all the processing.
Main
memory - Refer to
random-access memory
Majordomo
- Type of software
designed to manage internet groups and discussion and mailing lists on
the Internet, Majordomo does not deliver the mail, but it organizes it
and takes care of basic management such as formatting and achieving
messages.
Male
connector - One of two
types of cable connectors, the mail connector has pins that fit into the
receptacles of the female connector.
MAN
- Refer to
Metropolitan-area network.
Management
Information system (MIS)
- Data processing that provides an organization's management with
information necessary for supervisory tasks, such as creating schedules
and evaluation procedures.
Manual
- Book or a computer
program that contains a set of instructions on how to trouble shoot or do
a certain task or procedure with a computer or another product.
Map
- As a verb, the
reproduction of a set of values from one place to another. As a noun, a
file that shows the structure of a program, such as a map file, which
breaks down a program into its individual character.
MAPI
- Refer to messaging application programming interface.
Mark
- Tag that draws the
user's attention to a certain item in a list or a folder. For example, in
an online news group, you can mark any messages that you might want to
save or read in the future.
Mask
- Filter used to allow
certain information to pass and to hold data back. For example, when
defining numeric fields for a spreadsheet.
Mass
storage - Describes
techniques for holding large quantities of data.
Master
Boot Record (MBR) - Small
program used to determine which partition a computer will boot from. The
MBR tells the computer where to find and how to load the operating
system. It also tells the computer how the hard drive is organized and
provides information about the drive's partitions. The master boot record
is located on the first sector of the hard drive; it's the first program
the computer runs after performing a memory check and looking for a
bootable disk (if set in CMOS). MBR is also susceptible to boot sector
viruses that can corrupt or delete the MBR, which can leave the hard
drive unusable and prevent the computer from booting up. A well known MBR
virus is the Monkey Virus.
Master
diskette - Refer to
system diskette.
Master/slave
arrangement - A
situation in which one apparatus controls another that are plugged into
it.
Math
coprocessor - Like all
coprocessors this helps a microprocessor perform a certain function, in
this case, mathematical calculations.
Matrix
- Two-dimensional
display of rows and columns used to organize and compare data. For
example, a spreadsheet uses a matrix.
Maximize
- Enlarging a window to its maximum size, usually the full amount of the
viewable screen on a monitor.
Maximize
button - Picture that
either displays a up arrow for Windows 3.x and for Windows 95 / 98 / NT
will be displayed by a single box, both icons are in the top right hand
side of the application window.
Mb
- Refer to megabit.
MB
- Refer to megabyte.
MBPS
- Refer to megabits per second.
MBR
- Refer to Master Boot
Record.
MC
- Refer to megacycle
MCA
- Refer to micro-channel architecture.
MCGA
- Refer to multi-color graphics array.
MDA
- Refer to monochrome
display adapter.
Mean
time between failure (MTBF)
- The estimated time it takes before a system or piece of hardware breaks
down. Usually determined in thousands of hours.
Mechanical
mouse - One of three
types of computer mice, a mechanical mouse contains a metal or rubber
ball on its under side. When the ball is rolled in a certain direction,
sensors inside the mouse detect this motion and move the on-screen mouse
pointer in the same direction. Also see optical mouse, optical mechanical
mouse.
Media
- The plural term for
computer storage material such as diskette and tapes.
Medium
access control (MAC) -
The protocol that determines the transmission of information on a
local-area network.
Medium
scale integration -
Type of integrated circuit that contains between 30 and 1,000 electronic
components on a single chip.
Mendocino - A new variant of Pentium II is the code name Mendocino. It will
be a 333 MHz version of Celeron holding 128 KB L2 cache inside the CPU it
self. This will probably be a very good performer, since the L2 cache
runs at full CPU speed. The manufacturing price is increased with only
10% adding the 128 KB integrated L2 cache, while the performance probably
increases 30-40%.
Meg
- Refer to megabyte.
Mega
- Prefix that denotes 1 million. In reference to computers, it is two to
the 20th power (1,048,576).
Megabit
(Mb) - Approximately 1
million characters of information (1,048,576) that usually expresses the
rate at which data is transferred.
Megabits
per second (Mbps) - A
measurement used to determine the amount of data being transmitted per
second.
Megabyte
(MB) - A common
measurement of computer storage equaling approximately 1 million bytes.
Also referred to as a meg.
Megacycle
(MC) - Equals 1
million cycles. Usually used as 1 million cycles per second.
Megaflops
- Represents 1 million
floating-point operations per second. A way to measure a computers speed
in performing floating-point calculations.
Megahertz
(MHz) - Used to
measure a CPU's speed, one megahertz is equivalent to 1 million cycles
per second.
Memory
- The place a computer
holds information that is currently being used or worked on. Programs
must be loaded into memory before they can be run, so the amount or
capacity of memory determines which programs a computer can run, how many
it can run at once, and how quickly data can be processed.
Memory
cache - Refer to
cache.
Memory
capacity - The amount
of RAM, and, sometimes, ROM on a computer. A computer's memory capacity
determines which programs it can run, how many it can run at once, and
how quickly data can be processed.
Memory
cartridge - Ram
cartridge usually used in portable computers to store information.
Memory
chips - Integrated
circuits that hold information. RAM is usually used for temporary storage
of data that is currently being used or worked on; ROM is for permanent
storage, including the instructions of a computer reads when it is turned
on.
Memory
management - Process
of keeping certain applications loading in portions of the memory such as
applications to be swapped from Conventional or used memory to extended,
base, or high memory. Also refer to Conventional memory, expanded memory.
Memory
manager - Program or
portion of an operation system that organizes a computer's memory so it
can run more efficiently DOS 5.0 and newer versions have built in memory
managers, Himem.sys for extended memory and emm386.exe for expanded
memory.
Memory
management unit (MMU)
- The section of a CPU that controls the assignment and usage of memory
in the CPU.
Memory
resident - Refer to
terminate-and-stay resident program.
Menu
- A list of command
choices offered to the user.
Menu
Bar - Located usually
below the title bar of a window that lists the options for various menus.
Menu-driven
- Type of program with menus that display commands for the user to select
from. Opposite of menu-driven program (such as Windows) is a command
driven program, in which the user must type choices at the command line
(such as DOS).
Merge
- To put two sets of
data together while keeping the integrity of each intact.
Merged
transistor logic -
Refer to integrated injection logic.
Message
- Set of information
electronically transferred between devices. Once example is electronic
mail, which is transferred from one person to another via computer and a
communication line.
Message
body - The text of an
electronic mail message the message body doesn't include the fields for
recipient, carbon copy.
Message
queue - Storage place
for messages on a network. Messages line up to be transmitted and usually
are sent out in the order in which they were received.
Messaging
application programming interface (MAPI) - Microsoft Windows interface that allows an application to send and
receive mail through the Microsoft Mail messaging system.
Metacharacter
- Refer to wildcard
character.
Metalanguage
- Language used to
describe aspects about another language or languages.
Metal-oxide
semiconductor (MOS) -
Type of transistor that can be easily fabricated in mass quantities,
leading to its popular use in computer chips and audio amplification
circuitry.
Metal-oxide
semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET)
- Single transistor made with metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) technology.
Metropolitan-area
network (MAN) -
Network that serves an area anywhere from a few kilometers to more than
50 kilometers in size, such as a city or university. A MAN is bigger than
a local-area network (LAN), which serves one building or complex, but
smaller than a wide-area network (WAN).
Mflops
- Refer to Megaflops
MFM
encoding - Refer to
modified frequency modification encoding.
MHz
- Refer to megahertz.
MICR
- Refer to magnetic-ink character recognition.
Micro
- Prefix meaning one
millionth. Also can be used to indicate that an object is tiny.
Micro-channel
architecture (MCA) -
Bus architecture used in some IBM PS/2 computers. This bus had more
capacity than earlier architectures, but never caught on in the computing
industry due to the industry widespread acceptance of the ISA and EISA
bus.
Microchip
- Refer to integrated
circuit.
Microcom
Networking Protocol (MNP)
- Communications protocol developed by Microcom Inc. that is embedded
into many high speed modems. It specifies data compression and error
control, which corrects unwanted changes caused by telephone line
interference during data transmissions.
Microcomputer
- Refers to a personal
computer. Technically, a microcomputer has a CPU and peripherals. It's
smaller and slower than a minicomputer or a mainframe.
Microfloppy
disk - Refer to
diskette.
Microprocessor
- The integrated
circuit that controls the computer, also known as the central processing
unit (CPU). Newer processors can contain more than 1 million transistors
into 1 square inch of space.
Microsecond
- One millionth of a
second. Sometimes used to measure how quickly data can be transmitted.
Microsoft
disk operating system (MS-DOS)
- Microsoft Corp.'s version of DOS, which shares many of the same
functions as IBM's PC DOS, was first released in 1981.
Microsoft
Diagnostics - Utility
that came with Windows 3.x that would give important system information
such as IRQ settings, RAM, etc.
Microsoft
Windows - Refer to
Windows.
MIDI
- Refer to musical
instrument digital interface.
Milli
- Prefix meaning one-thousandth of a unit of measurement, as in
millimeter (one-thousandth of a meter).
Millisecond
- One-thousandth of a
second.
Milli
Instructions per second (MIPS)
- The approximate number of commands carried out in one second.
Microprocessor power is sometime measured in MIPS as a way of comparing
chips.
MIME
- Refer to
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions.
MIME
encoding - Refer to
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions.
Minicomputer
- Mid-sized computer
between microcomputers and mainframes in a terms of power, size, and
price.
Minifloppy
- Refer to diskette.
Minimize
- Reducing a window to
a small icon, while keeping the application running inside it open. In
Windows 3.x this is represented by a small down arrow. In windows 95,
windows 98, and windows NT it is represented by a underscore in the top
right hand side of the window.
Minimize
button - Refer to
minimize.
Minimize
icon - Refer to
minimize.
Minitower
- Refer to tower
model.
Minor
key - Refer to ALT
key.
MIPS
- Refer to million
instructions per second.
Mirroring
- Refer to disk
mirroring.
Mirror
site - Site, or
directory that contains the small directory structure of another area.
Mirror sites were developed after heavy traffic slowed access to popular
locations on the World Wide Web.
MIS
- Refer to management
information system.
MMU
- Refer to memory management unit.
MNP
- Refer to Microcom
Networking Protocol.
Mode
- State a program or a
computer is in. The model gives some hint to which operations the
computer is prepared to handle.
Modem
- Acronym for Modulator/demodulator. Lets a computer or computers to
transmit and receive information over the telephone lines. Modems convert
analog data into digital data computers can read, and convert digital
data into analog data so it can be transmitted over telephone lines.
Modems are the primary way home computer users connect to outside
networks / Internet services. Modems come in speeds 300, 1200, 2400,
9600, 14400, 28800, 33600, 56600.
Moderator
- Manager of online exchanges, such as mail lists, newsgroups, and
discussion forms, for major Internet servers. A moderator attempts to
ensure each new article adheres to the previously selected topic.
Modified
frequency modulation (MFM) encoding - Common way for a disk controller to record information on disks with
MFM encoding data is recorded into a bit based upon the data recorded on
the preceding bit.
Modifier
key - Keyboard key
that changes or modifies the output of another key.
Modulate
- In a communication
program, the process of changing a signal prior to transmission so
signals are translated into meaningful information.
Modulator
- Device in a modem
that converts a digital signal into a analog signal.
Modulator/Demodulator
- Refer to Modem.
Moire
- The distortion of an
image, either on the screen or on a printed copy, resulting from mixed
signals of differences in resolutions from the image and its display.
Monitor
- Video display screen and the hard shell that holds it. Also called
video display terminal (VDT). In its most common usage, monitor refers
only to devices that contain no electronic equipment other than what is
essentially needed to display and adjust the characters of an image.
Monochrome
- Literally, one
color. So called monochrome monitors, however actually use two colors,
one for foreground and the other for background.
Monochrome
display adapter (MDA)
- The first text-only video display standard from IBM, MDA cards were
often replaced with cards that allowed to display of graphics.
Monochrome
graphics adapter -
Refer to monochrome display adapter.
Monochrome
monitor - Monitor that
has one background color in one foreground color. Such as black and
white.
Monospacing
- Using a type of font
refereed to as fixed-width where each character is in the same width.
Morphing
- Method of animation
that transforms one image into another. Morphing was introduced to most
of the public in 1993 Michael Jackson music video, and has since become a
mainstay of political ads, television commercials, and special effects
for movies.
MOS
- Refer to metal-oxide
semiconductor.
Mosaic
- First widely available, graphical World Wide Web browser,Mosaic is an
application that reproduces the text, graphics, and sound files from the
Web into viewable documents on your computer. Developed by the National
Center for Supercomputing Applications, Mosaic is generally given credit
for expanding the popularity of the web.
MOSFET
- Refer to metal-oxide
semiconductor field-effect transistor.
Most
significant bit - The
leftmost bit in a string of bits.
Most
significant byte - The
leftmost byte in a string of bytes.
Most
significant character (MSC)
- The leftmost character in a string of characters.
Most
significant digit (MSD)
- The leftmost digit in a string of digits.
Motherboard
- The printed circuit
that is the foundation of a computers CPU, RAM, and other computer
components.
Motion
Picture Experts Group (MPEG)
- Widely-used video compression standard used by most computers that can
show video, produced through either software or hardware. The major
difference between MPEG and other standards, such as QuickTime and Video
for Windows, is the special components that MPEG requires for the
decompression of video.
Mount
- To insert a diskette
or tape so the computer has access to it. It also can mean to install
hardware into a computer.
Mouse
- An input device that
lets a user control an on-screen pointer in a graphical user interface
that allows you to control a graphical pointer to do various functions
with the software such as open files, move files, etc.
Mouse
button - One of two or
more buttons on the top side of a mouse that let the user interface with
the computer via the mouse pointer.
Mouse
cursor - Refer to
mouse pointer.
Mouse
driver - Program that
allows a CPU to communicate with a mouse.
Mouse
pointer - The cursor,
often shaped like an arrow, that moves when the mouse is moved.
Mousepad
- Flat usually
rectangular pad that is usually foam on which a mouse is moved to give
its trackball more traction.
Mouse
sensitivity - Speed at
which the mouse pointer moves and reaches when the mouse or trackball is
moved.
Mouse
tracking - Refer to
mouse sensitivity.
MP3
- A new technology
using MPEG compression shrinking down that data by a factor of 12 and
still gain CD-like quality. Factors of up to 24 and more still allow for
a quality significantly better than just reducing linearly the sampling
frequency and the number of bits. This is realized by "perceptual
coding" techniques taking into account the limited resolution of the
human ear. Maybe you already heard about MP3. As interest in audio over
the Internet increased, MPEG Layer-3 files, music files that are capable
of storing long audio tracks with CD quality sound in a fraction of the
space, appeared. With this ease of piracy, it's a shock to the entire
music industry.
MPC
- Refereed to
multimedia PC.
MPEG
- Refer to Motion Picture Experts Group.
ms
- Refer to
millisecond.
MSC
- Refer to most
significant character.
MSD
- Refer to most
significant digit or Microsoft Diagnostics.
MS-DOS
- Refer to Microsoft disk operating system.
MS-DOS
prompt - Refer to
prompt.
MS
Windows - Refer to
Windows.
MTBF
- Refer to mean time
between failures.
MUD
- Refer to multi-user
dungeon.
Multi-color
graphics array (MCGA) -
Type of graphics system built into some older IBM PS/2 computers
manufactured in the 1980s.
Multifrequency
monitor - Monitor that
can accept video signals at more than one frequency. Whereas
multiscanning monitors can accept signals at any frequency in a range,
Multifrequency monitors can only be set to a certain number.
Multimedia
- The combination of
audio, video, animation, and graphics. Multimedia software presents, and
graphics.
Multimedia
PC - Generically, any
computer that is able to run programs that combine video, animation,
audio, and graphics.
Multiple
frequency monitor -
Refer to Multifrequency monitor.
Multiple-user
system - Refer to
multi-user system.
Multiplexer
- Circuit that allows
several devices to send data over a single communication line.
Multiplexing
- The process of
allowing simultaneous use of a single communications line by several
devices.
Multipoint
- Type of
communication where many devices share a single communication line.
Multiprocessing
- System's ability to
carry out more than one program at the same time with the use of more
than one processor.
Multipose
Internet Mail Extensions (MIME)
- Standard format for attaching non-text files, such as graphics and
other files to a text base electronic mail message.
Multiscanning
monitor - Monitor that
has the ability to respond to any frequency within a range, as opposed to
a fixed-frequency monitor that can only respond to one frequency, or a
Multifrequency monitors, which can respond to a set of frequencies.
Multisync
monitor - Refer to
multiscanning monitor.
Multitasking
- Process of having a
computer perform multiple tasks simultaneously. During multitasking, some
tasks such as listening to a cd can be be preformed in the background
while doing other programs in the foreground.
Multithreading
- The process of
having a computer run several threads inside a program at the same time.
Multi-user
dungeon (MUD) - Text-
or graphics enhanced virtual online environments used for everything from
cooperative research to idle chatting and role-playing.
Multi-user
system - Term
traditionally used to define a centralized computer system that allows
access to more than one person at a time, such a server or mainframe.
Musical
Instrument digital interface (MIDI) - Standard for digitally representing and transmitting sounds that
electronic devices, such as keyboards and sound cards, can universally
understand.
Mux
- Refer to Multiplexer
Mylar ribbon - Refer to carbon ribbon.
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