This will hopefully grow into a good resource for people who have trouble understanding nerd speek.
The purpose of this page is to help normal people understand the gibberish that comes out of the mouths of the pale, skinny, computer geeks who rule the internet. (Note: This is still under construction. More will be added as we complete the database. But for now, we hope what little we have can aid you to understand our language.)
*Under Construction*
Database:
An orderly collection of information. A database is usually set up in such a fashion that a couputer program can easily access the information. Usually set up for programs (or websites) to pull information out of it.
(Database ex. an excell spreadsheet with categories along the top and item names along the left side.)
Download:
When a file, picture, etc. goes from the internet (Remote Server) down to your computer.
Flash Drive:
A flash drive (also called thumb drive) is a very small hard drive, usually about the size of a human thumb. This hard drive has a male USB connection that you can plug into your computer and use like a normal hard drive. This is a great way of transferring information from one computer to another, especially since many new laptops don't have floppy drives, but they do have USB ports.
Hard Drive:
The hard drive is where files, folders, programs, etc. are stored or saved. Hard drives are the universal storage system for computers. They are used on the internet as well as in your own personal computer. They are organized using a very simple folder system where inside the hard drive, there are folders and files. Inside each folder there are more folders/files, etc.
.jpeg or jpg:
This is the extension for a picture file. (ex. "database.jpg" is a picture of a database.) The jpeg picture is great for detailed pictures like those taken with a camera, but on the other hand, jpeg's don't work very well with large solid colors. Jpeg's smear the edges near solid colors.
Plug-in:
A file used to enhance, change or update a program. (ex. Internet Explorer has a plug-in that will allow you to view Flash.)
Remote Server:
The residence of your website; Where it is actually located: on a hard drive that is connected to the internet. When someone goes to your website, they connect to your remote server. They then load your website from this server.
Thumb Drive:
See: Flash Drive
Upload:
When a file, picture, etc. goes from your computer up to the remote server or internet.