G

  Gigabyte  

One thousand million (billion) bytes.

See also Megabyte

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  GUI  

Graphical User Interface. This is a system of representing files, functions and folders as small images. In this way, the user can access these by using a mouse to click and execute a number of instructions. Windows is a GUI-based operating system. Before the advent of GUI systems, the user would have to face a blank monitor screen and type in the instructions through the keyboard. This meant that a specific syntax had to be keyed in, otherwise the computer would not respond properly. GUI is more user friendly, and has enabled a wider public to be able to use computers.

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H

  Hard Disk  

The hard disk is the magnetic storage device inside the computer. Data is saved on it in the same way as the floppy disk with two main differences: the hard disk is fixed (ie. usually cannot be removed) and it has a much larger capacity than a floppy. Modern computers usually automatically boot from the hard disk; ie. as soon as they are switched on, they look for the set-up information on the hard disk. The hard disk is usually recognised by the computer as Drive C:\. The hard disk can be partitioned or additional hard disks can be attached to the computer.

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  Hardware  

As opposed to software, the hardware consists of all those physical units of the computer such as the hard disk, the monitor or even the motherboard.

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  HTML  

HyperText Markup Language. A programming language used to create web pages. More than a language in itself, it is a set of codes or tags which are inserted into a normal text file. The code is surrounded by a set of angular brackets ( < and > ). The Internet browser interprets these as instructions, and displays the text and the other file content on the screen accordingly.

Since HTML consists of plain text, web pages can even be written using only such simple accplications as Notepad or WordPad, but nowadays there are dedicated web page builders such as Microsoft FrontPage and HoTMeL which enable even novices to create pages on the screen without having to think about HTML coding.

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  HTTP  

Hypertext Transfer (or Transport) Protocol. This is the protocol, or special form of communication, used for the World Wide Web. Internet browsers are the applications usually used to read this protocol. When an Internet address starts off with these letters, it indicates that the information within that address needs to be read by a browser.

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  Hypertext  

The term describes a system of non-linear writing, where particular words on a document are associated with other parts of the same document, or a completely different one. As opposed to linear text, these associations need not necessarily be in sequence. The nearest equivalent to hypertext in printed text is the cross-reference.

Due to the potential of electronic text, a user can easily refer to another part of the document by clicking on a word. Such words which refer to other parts of the document are usually highlighted in a different colour or underlined.

The most widespread example of hypertext use is the Internet itself. For instance, most of the words in this Glossary are hypertext. Other examples of the use of hypertext are multimedia encyclopedias, such as Microsoft Encarta, and electronic reading books such as Just Grandma and Me or the Reading Development Library series. In the case of the latter two, hypertext can also act as a button to eneble certain features, such as the reading of the word, for instance.

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I

  Icon  

In the Windows environment an icon is the small image associated with the shortcut on the Windows desktop. Icons are 32 pixels wide by 32 pixels high.

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  Inkjet Printers  

Inkjet printers work by squirting tiny amounts of ink on the paper. As opposed to dot-matrix printers, inkjet printers have few moving parts, and are therefore much more quiet during printing. The print quality is also much higher, although not as high as that of laser printers.

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  Installing Software  

Installing software involves the procedure of setting up your computer to run a particular software. Usually, a software will require certain files to be saved on the computer's hard disk in order to run properly. When you are insalling the software, you are actually copying these files from the software's CD-ROM to the hard disk so that the program will find them in the right place once it starts running.

Although some software nowadays can be run completely from the CD-ROM, there may still be some elements which are transferred to the Windows system, such as the program's shortcut.

With the more recent software, installation is usually automatic. As soon as you insert the CD-ROM, Autorun will start off if it is available. This will execute the installation program. Installation programs are usually recognizable by their name, most commonly install.exe or setup.exe.

There is also the facility of uninstalling programs.

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  Internet  

This is the INTERnational NETwork which connects thousands of computers (or servers) from around the world via telephone and cable links. In order to connect to the Internet a home user needs a modem installed on the computer system as well as a subscription to an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Through the Internet you can access files which are resident on other computers, transfer information from, say, New York to London and exchange e-mail.

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  ISDN  

Integrated Services Digitial Network. This is a method of sending computer data across digital telephone networks. ISDN lines usually have a bandwidth of 128 kilobytes per second (kbps), much faster than the normal telephone lines. In order for a user to benefit from this kind of transfer speed, a connection with an ISDN line is required as well as ISDN hardware and software installed on the computer.

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  ISP  

Internet Service Provider. This is usually a local company that sells Inertent connections. Generally, whenever you subscribe for an Internet connection, apart from Internet access an ISP will provide, according to the kind of package offered, an e-mail address as well as 1 to 5 MB of Web space on the server.

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K

  Keyboard  

The keyboard is the somputer's traditional input device. It follows the model of the typewriter keyboard, but also has a number of functions specific to computer use, including the numeric keypad, the function keys, ESC, CTRL, ENTER, PRNT SCRN and others. Keyboards specifically constructed to work with Windows 95 and Windows 98 may have further functions.

Although keyboards for desktop computers are more or less the same, the keyboards designed for Notebook and Laptop computers may have additional keys or keys with multiple functions.

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  Kilobyte  

One kilobyte (1 Kb) is equivalent to 1,024 bytes (which equals to 2 to the power of 10).

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L

  Laptop Computer  

Laptop computers are called so as they can actually be held on the lap. They are small portable computers with their own battery power and flat LCD screen. The 'laptops' available to state school teachers in Malta are actually Notebooks rather than laptops.

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  Laser Printer  

The laser printer uses a laser to actually 'burn' dot-matrix characters on a paper. Since it uses a resolution of dots per inch much higher than inkjet or dot-matrix printers, its output is of a much higher quality, in some cases as high as offset-printing.

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