Computer Glossary (M)

Computer Glossary

G-H

N-O

Machine Language:- The lowest-level computer language, consisting of strings of
binary digits and readable by the CPU.

Macintosh:- Computer developed by Apple Computers. The Macintosh was one of
the first computers to use a Graphical User Interface (GUI) - Today, Apple continues
to produce many different models of Macintosh.

MacOS:- The operating system produced for their Macintosh computers.

Macro:- A stored list of commands in a program that can be launched at the push of
a button. Macros used properly can automate tedious and often repeated tasks.

Mailing List:- A collection of E-mail addresses of people who have an account with
an on-line service or Internet Service Provider.

Mailto:- Is a clickable function (hyperlink) on a web page that will allow the viewer to
send an E-mail message to the person listed as the mailto contact.

Mainframe:- A large computer with enormous memory capacity and the ability to
handle multiple input-output units.

MBPS:- Megabits per second (one million bits per second). Speed at which data is
transferred.

Media:- Items used to hold data, including floppy disks, hard disks, tapes,
CD-R0Ms, etc.

Megabyte (MB):- Equal to 1,048,576 bytes, usually rounded off to one million bytes.

Megahertz (MHz):- One million cycles per second. Describes the speed at which a
computer runs. Abbreviated MHz or Mhz. Do not take the speed at which a processor
runs to be absolute.

Memory:- A computer device or series of devices that store information. This is a
temporary storage area for information that empties out when the computer is turned
off or re-booted.

Memory Protection:- A capability of some operating systems to control a program's
access to memory, so that one program cannot corrupt the memory allocated to
another program.

Menu:- A list of options displayed on the computer monitor that you can choose from.

Menu Bar:- A one-line, horizontal menu at the top of the screen, usually found in
GUIs.

Menu Driven:- A system operated by selecting from a list of options that are
displayed on the screen. It is much more "user friendly" than Command Driven
systems.

Merge:- To combine two or more files into a single file arrangement.

Metafile:- A vector-based graphic. Metafiles are represented as collections of lines
rather than pixels, so you can manipulate them without the distortions common to
bitmap graphics.

MFLOPS:- Million Floating point Operations Per Second.

Micro Channel Architecture (MCA):- A non-industrial standard architecture used by
some IBM PS/2's.

Microchip:- A small, silicon object containing microscopic circuitry.

Microcomputer:- A personal computer containing a central processing unit (CPU)
and one or more memory circuits.

Microprocessor:- A complete central processing unit (CPU) contained on a single
silicon chip.

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface):- The interface between computers and
digital devices that simulate musical instruments. This allows your computer to be
used as a pseudo-music studio.

MIME:- Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. A protocol for allowing E-mail
messages to contain various types of media (text, audio, video, images, etc.).

MIPS (Million Instructions Per Second):- Used to describe speeds at which a CPU
can process instructions.

Modem:- Modulate-Demodulate. A hardware device that allows communication with
another computer or fax machine over a telephone line.

Moderator:- Someone who controls the posting of messages in a forum or
discussion group to ensure conformity with the topic and policies.

Modified Frequency Modulation (MFM):- An early standard for hard disk data
storage and transfer that is no longer used.

Module:- A collection of declarations, statements, and procedures stored together
as one named unit.

Monitor:- A video display terminal used to display the visual output of a computer.

Monochrome:- A monitor that displays only one color. Some monochrome monitors
can also display various shades of gray and are called gray-scale monitors.

MOSAIC:- a software program designed to provide a user-friendly graphical
interface when browsing the World Wide Web.

Mother Board:- The main circuit board in a computer, also called the system board.
The CPU is located on the motherboard.

Mouse:- A small hand-held device for controlling the cursor movement on the
screen by moving the "mouse" back and forth on a flat surface.

MPEG:- Motion Picture Experts Group. A video file format offering excellent quality in
a relatively small file.

MS-DOS:- An operating system developed by Microsoft Corporation.

Multimedia:- Software application technology that combines text and graphics with
sound and animation. A multimedia PC contains the hardware to support these
capabilities.

Multiprocessor:- A computer system that uses more than one CPU running in
parallel for faster performance.

MultiSync:- In a monitor, the ability to run at different scan rates, allowing the
monitor to display different resolutions.

Multitasking:- The execution of more than one computer program at a time. An
example would be receiving a fax at the same time you were printing a document
without noticing any delay. Windows 95 is an example of a true multi-tasking
environment.

Multithreading:- The ability to have more than one task occurring in an application.