| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Starting or booting the computer by turning on the power is a “cold boot.” Restarting a computer while the computer is powered on is called a “warm boot.” | Cold Or Warm Boot: |
| A collection of system programs that manage hardware and other programs on a personal computer. The operating system is loaded first and controls the execution of computer applications programs and other various services. | Desktop Operating System: |
| Configuring a computer so that two or more different operating systems are installed and available to run. | Dual Boot: |
| Software that translates a user’s commands into instructions that the CPU can pass on to a piece of hardware. For example, when you click the mouse on an icon to print a report in Word, the printer driver translates that command so that the printer understands and prints your document. | Driver: |
| Graphical User Interface; A user-friendly interface that allows users to use a mouse to click on icons, pictures, words, and drop-down menus instead of requiring them to remember command lines and/or a complicated list of instructions. | GUI: |
| A fundamental part of an operating system that manages all the other system programs. The kernel oversees basic functions such as hardware interfaces, resource allocation, security, etc. | Kernel: |
| Refers to a device that was designed for an older version of software than the one you’re operating. | Legacy Device: |
| Running more than one program at a time. CPUs handle this by dividing processing time among all the active programs. The operating system manages this. | Multi-Tasking: |
| An operating system that supports communication among computers, users, devices and resources in a networked environment. | Network Operating System: |
| A section of a hard drive. DOS uses partitions to designate space for particular purposes, and partitions may be formatted using different file systems, such as FAT or NTFS. A hard disk might be partitioned to enable a dual-boot environment. A DOS utility called FDISK is used to set up partitioning on a hard drive. GDISK is another DOS utility for this. | Partition: |
| A feature of Windows that enables users to install peripheral devices without having to manually install related drivers. Windows automatically detects the device, automatically finds the appropriate driver, and automatically installs it. | Plug-N-Play: |
| Updates or “patches” that fix known problems in program such as operating systems. In other cases, service packs may provide enhancements to the original program. | Service Packs: |
| Placing data into a temporary storage area while it waits for further processing. | Spooling/Queues: |
| A list of the hardware specifications necessary for a program to run. Operating systems, like other programs, have minimum requirements including RAM, free hard drive space, video support, and CPU speed, just as most programs. | System Requirements: |
| To replace a specific program with a newer version. Because an older version was resident, upgrades are generally cheaper than purchasing programs outright | Upgrade: |
| Defines how the user works with the operating system. There are two major types: Command-line interfaces such as DOS or UNIX require the user to remember and type very specific commands. Graphical user interfaces (GUIs – pronounced “gooeys”) such as Windows, Mac, or Gnome provide icons to represent commands to open files or execute programs. | User Interface: |
| The organizational tool for Microsoft Server products. | Active Directory - |
| A popular Linux-based software for Web servers | Apache - |
| The management units in Novell Directory Services or NDS. | Container Objects - |
| A highly customizable windows-like desktop for Linux. | Gnome - |
| The network protocol for Novell systems prior to v5.x. | IPX-SPX - |
| The name used for Linux help files. | Man Pages - |
| The organizational tool for Novell Server products. | Novell Directory Services - |
| The file system of choice for Novell servers. | Novell Storage System (NSS) - |
| The file system of choice for Windows desktop and server environments. | NTFS - |
| The management units in Active Directory (Microsoft). | Organizational Units - |
| Similar to Terminal Services, developed for Windows XP. | Remote Assistance - |
| Widely used software for Linux file and print services. | Samba - |
| A mail delivery service for Linux | Sendmail - |
| Widely used office applications suite for Linux | StarOffice - |
| The network protocol for all Windows systems and all Novell 5.x or greater. | TCP-IP - |
| Enables remote administration of Windows Server. | Terminal Services - |
| Enables Web-based administration of Linux system & network services | Webmin - |
| Provides a windows-like graphic user interface (GUI) for Linux. | X Window - |
| Allows remote network administration for Novell | Zero Effect Networks - |
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