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| There are 36 entries in the glossary. |
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| Mac Address (Media Access Control Address) is a term that describes the unique number assigned to each device that is located on a network. Every single Ethernet or WiFi card has them as do network cards and as they are entered during the manufacture they cannot be altered. |
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| Mac OS is the operating system for Macintosh computers and it has been in existence for a number of years now (since 1984). It has been updated several times and there are newer versions in existence. |
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| Mac OS X is the newest version of the Mac OS operating system. It's development began in the 1990s when Apple realised that their system needed an overhaul. The majority of the system was written from scratch but some of it was based on the NEXTSTEP operating system that was used on the now defunct NeXT computers. |
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| Macintosh is the name of the computers that are made by Apple computers. The Macintosh was the first computer to use click and drag (graphical user interface) technology which meant that the user could directly interact with the system. Macintosh have extended their range and now produce many different types of product such as the iMac, Power Mac and PowerBook |
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| Macro is the term used for a set of individual commands that are used in a group in certain programs, such as Word and Excel. |
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| A Mainframe is a computer that is used for very high volume work such as controlling massive databases and generating reports. |
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| Malware (Malicious Software) is a term used to describe any software that has a malicious intent. These include things like viruses and worms which can cause untold damage to your computer if allowed. In order to protect your computer it is essential that you have up to date anti-virus protection. |
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| Mbps (Megabits Per Second) is a measurement of data transfer speeds over high bandwidth connections such as Ethernet. It is equal to 1,000 kilobits. |
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| MCA (Micro Channel Architecture) is an IBM developed expansion bus that enables the fitting of extra cards on a computers motherboard. Examples are USB, Firewire or SCSI. |
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| A Mebibyte is a single unit of storage used for data that can be expressed as 2 to the 20th power, or 1,048,576 bytes. |
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| Media is a term used to describe any kind of communication device such as a radio, television set or telephone. In computer terms it is more commonly referred to as equipment such as hard drives, memory cards and other such media storage devices. |
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| A Megabyte is a unit of storage for data and can be expressed as 2 to the 20th power, or 1,048,576 bytes. |
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| Megahertz is a term used in the measurement of processor speeds and equals 1,000,000 cycles per second. |
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| Memory is the term used to describe the digital storage of data. |
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| Memory Stick is a removable storage device that was developed by Sony and is used in digital camcorders and cameras. There are two types of memory stick which are different sizes and have different storage sizes. |
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| A Menu Bar is a horizontal strip that goes across the top of various programs and is used to access and use different parts of a program. |
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| A Meta Search Engine is a type of search engine that performs its search by searching other search engines. As a result it gives a comprehensive list of many other searches. |
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| A Meta Tag is used to provide data about data in a structured way. |
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| Metadata provides additional information about data, for example if there is an image in a body of text it provides the information about the image, the size of it, colours etc. Metadata in the form of meta tags are commonly used on Web sites to give information regarding keywords and other SEO data. |
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| A Metafile can have two meanings, the first one refers to a file which contains all the data about other files, or metadata. The second type is used to define the coordinates of images and objects in computer graphics. They are mainly used for vector graphics, although they can also be used in raster graphics. |
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| A Microprocessor lays inside a computer and is responsible for the computations the computer performs. Microprocessors come in different speeds but their performance is heavily reliant on other factors such as the amount of RAM your computer has, the bus and the programs your computer runs. |
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| MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is the term used for the tool that musicians use in order to link instruments which are electrical to computer equipment. As every single note is digitally recorded it is easy to edit and alter the sound of the music and this makes it a favourite. The only drawback to this is that you need to have MIDI compatible software and hardware to play tracks. |
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| Mini DV are the tapes that record digital video and audio from a digital camcorder and a single tape measuring 2.6 ?1.9 x 0.5 inches will hold 80 minutes of data. This makes vastly reduces the size of the camcorders and makes for increased usability. |
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| MIPS (Million Instructions Per Second) is the term used to measure a computer processors raw speed. However as the measurement doesn't factor in things such as a computers RAM and other aspects which can effect its speed. |
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| A Mirror is a computer term that means an FTP or Web server that has the same files on it as another server. They are used to provide an access point when the main server is overrun with requests. |
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| A Mirror Site is an exact copy of a Web site and are used to provide more access to the information contained on it. |
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| A Mnemonic is an aid to memory that is made up of words or numbers. For example Naughty Elephants Squirt Water is used by children to remember the compass points. |
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| Modem (Modulator/Demodulator) is a term used to describe the internal or external device that is used to communicate computer to computer via telephone lines. Originally modems were dial up but due to their slow speeds they are being replaced by DSL and cable modems. |
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| Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) is a form of interface that is organised so large organisations can utilise e-learning or learn over the Internet. This method of learning is opening up new gateways to learners who wish to learn at home and educators can provide the appropriate online course. |
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| The Motherboard is the main circuit containing board inside a computer and it holds memory expansion slots, CPU, the ROM and many other things. In short it controls your computer. |
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| A Mouse is a device that is controlled by the users hand and has two buttons which allow the user to click on objects and moving the mouse will point the mouse to whichever function is needed. The mouse's motion is controlled by a wheel which shows through the underside. |
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| MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3) is a compressed audio file that is normally one tenth of the size of an audio clip. They produce near CD quality and they are very popular as they are an excellent storage option. |
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| MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) is a standard developing group that defines the standards for digital video and audio compression. The term can also be used with reference to a type of video or audio file that contains the same quality as a standard recording. |
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| Multimedia is the term used to describe multiple integrated forms of media. A multimedia presentation would include both audio and video clips for example. DVDs and CDs are thought to be multimedia formats as they can hold different types of data. |
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| Multiplatform is the term used to describe software that can be run on different operating systems. Games for example are developed to run on various gaming devices. |
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| MySQL is a type of structure/ query language- based open source (free to download) relational database management system. It is mainly used for modifying information within a database and can be used in many applications but is most commonly used in web servers. Web sites that use MySQL have database information on them which needs to be accessed from the source so it stays relevant, and these are known as being dynamic Web pages. sharpened.net is one example of a database driven Web site and a language like PHP will be used to access the script. |
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