TLAs, or Three-Letter Acronyms
Internet and computer terminology might at times seem designed to confuse rather than enlighten.
Awash in large broths of alphabet soup, a newcomer might be tempted to give up in despair at the number of TLAs ( Three Letter Acronyms ) he or she is expected to grasp.
But while they may temporarily shut a newcomer out,
they’ve sprouted because they’ve evolved over time due
to repetitive or common usage, and once learned can
function as effective shortcuts.
So to help newcomers make sense of that alphabet soup, this column will list and briefly explain some basic computing and internet acronyms.
First, some general terms you might run across on websites, or in general computing conversations. FAQ is for ‘Frequently Asked Questions’, a GUI ( pronounced Goo-ee ) is a Graphical User Interface, which lets you point and click to execute commands, and WYSIWYG is for ‘What You See Is What You Get’.
Next, here are some terms most often used in chat conversations, for example in online forums or via one-to-one chat applications like Microsoft’s Messanger.
A/S/L? is a request for someone’s age, sex, and location,
and ‘brb’ is for ‘be right back’, both shortcuts most
often seen in online forums.
IIRC, ‘if I recall correctly’, AFAIK, ‘as far as I know’, and FUD, for ‘fear, uncertainty, and doubt’ are terms used both in email and in chat applications.
You might run across some ( slightly more ) technical internet terms in conversation with help-desk personnel, or in general internet reading.
A URL is a Uniform Resource Locator, or webpage address, such as http://www.msn.com. An ISP is an Internet Service Provider, such as Xtra, Clear, Ihug, or any of a number of smaller outfits which provide your connection to the internet.
Bandwidth describes the capacity at which a channel,
such as your telephone line or wireless connection, can
transfer information. The more bandwidth available, the
faster a webpage will load, or a music file will be
downloaded.
A LAN is a Local Area Network, and typically refers to an office or home network of one or more computers which can ‘talk’ to each other, while a WAN is a Wide Area Network, usually describing larger networks which operate over distances.
HTTP stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol, and is the set of agreed rules governing the transfer of files over the ‘net, while an IP ( Internet Protocol ) address is a unique four-part number which identifies each computer on a network, such as the internet.
Following are some general computing terms, which you might run across in conversation with your 10-year-old son, or with computer repair staff.
‘Boot up’ means to start your computer, usually from a
set of basic files which then start the OS, or
Operating System, examples being various versions of
Windows, UNIX, and MacIntosh. All other programs are
run by the OS.
A CPU is a Central Processing Unit, which is the brains of the computer. You'll hear computers described in terms of which CPU is installed in them, examples being a 486 computer, a Pentium, and a 386DX.
A bit is a binary digit, the smallest unit of computer information, being either a 0 or 1, while a byte is a collection of eight bits.
RAM stands for Random Access Memory, usually measured in mega-bytes, or millions of bytes. Information in RAM is lost when your machine is turned off, but adding RAM should speed up your machine, because it responds faster than the permanent storage of your hard-drive.
To get to grips with more technical terms, you can search
Google for ‘technical dictionary’, or visit
http://www.pcwebopedia.com/, and type in your
search term.
July 26, 2004
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