Communications terminology explained

3G
Third-generation (mobile services). 3G is now offered by the 3 and Vodafone networks in the UK, and enables users to take advantage of services such as video calls and fast Internet access – although the services on offer vary between networks.

ADSL
Asymmetric digital subscriber line. Clever tech trickery that enables copper telephone wire to be used for Broadband Internet access.

Bluetooth
A short-range (usually 10m) radio standard that allows devices such as mobiles, headsets and notebooks to talk to each other.

Broadband
High-speed Internet access via ADSL, satellite or cable. The most common speed you can get is 512Kbps, but it can now go as quickly as 8Mbps.

DECT
Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications. A digital wireless link for home phones.

GPRS
Global System for Mobile Communications. The mobile phone system underlying most of Europe and Asia’s networks. It’ll ultimately be superseded by 3G.

Instant Messaging
A service that enables you to see if a mate’s connected to the Internet – and to send a message to them instantly.

MMS
Multimedia Messaging Service. Like text messaging but better, MMS enables you to send photos, sound and videos to your friends with compatible phones and tariffs.

SMS
Short Message Service, more commonly known as text messaging.

Tri-Band

Mobile phones that are tri-band can receive calls using certain networks in the United States, as well as in Europe and Asia. Phones that are quad-band can do the same, but will work with addition networks in the US. Dual-band mobiles only work in Europe and Asia.

WAP
Wireless Application Protocol. Cut-down Web pages for mobiles.

WI-FI
A badge that should guarantee that one wireless product will work with another (although it‘s not a total guarantee, in our experience). Products that feature the badge employ a technology called 802.11, followed by a letter. The letter indicates how fast the wireless transmission system is. The letters “a” and “g” indicate a maximum speed of 54Mbps, while “b” means a maximum speed of 11Mbps.

Entertainment terminology explained

AAC
Advanced Audio Coding, a digital music format

Blu-Ray
The next-generation DVD recordable standard, available now in Japan

Coaxial Digital
A digital connection for audio that uses electrical conduction

Component Video
The best-quality video connection – it separates red, green and blue signals.

Composite Video
Basic video connection

DAB
Digital Audio Broadcasting – or simply digital radio. Offers more channels and better audio fidelity.

Dolby Digital
The de facto encoding and decoding standard for digital 5.1 multichannel sound.

DTS
Digital Theatre Systems. Dolby’s main competitor for 5.1 encoding and decoding.

DTV
Digital television – Freeview in the UK. Offers more channels and better audio and video.

DVD
Digital Versatile Disc. Eight times the storage of CDs – perfect for pin-sharp video and audio.

DVD-A
DVD-Audio. A new 5.1 music format with top-notch sound quality.

DVI
Digital Visual Interface. A digital-quality connection found on PCs, projectors and plasmas.

DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM
The four main DVD-recordable formats. DVD-Rs are write-once discs that are more widely compatible than the other (incompatible and competing) rewritable formats.

HDMI
High Definition Multimedia Interface. A new AV connection that’s like a digital version of Scart.

HDTV
High Definition Television. A digital standard for high-quality telly. There are two standards for HD-ready displays – 720p (1,280 x 720 pixels) and 1080i (1,920 x 1,080).

LCD
Liquid crystal display – a flat-screen technology.

MD
Sony’s MiniDisc audio format.

MP3
Short for MPEG Audio Layer 3. MP3 is still the most popular digital audio format in the world.

SCART
A Europe-only connection that provides top-drawer pictures for TVs.

S-Video
Super-Video – a video connection that improves picture quality by splitting colour and luminance signals

WMA
Windows Media Audio – Microsoft’s proprietary digital audio format.

Imaging termanology explained

CCD
Charge-coupled device. A chip that turns light into electrical signals in cameras.

Compactflash
A memory card format.

Digital Zoom
A software facility for zooming in on a subject. It lowers the image quality.

DV
Digital video. The recording format that most digital camcorders use, the majority employing a variant known as MiniDV.

Firewire
Also called iLink and IEEE 1394, this fast connection interface is found on many camcorders, all new Macs and most PCs.

Lithium-Ion
This is a common type of rechargeable battery.

Macro
A camera mode that maintains focus on subjects that are around 10cm or less from the lens.

Megapixel
One million pixels, a measure of resolution. The higher the number of pixels, the larger you can print your digital pictures – three megapixels is enough for a 7 x 5-inch print.

Memory Stick
Sony’s memory card format, also available in high-capacity PRO and small Duo versions.

Noise
A term describing randomly generated pixels that can appear in areas of solid colour or shadow.

Optical Zoom
A camera’s mechanical facility for zooming in on a subject. Measured in 35mm equivalent, with sub-35mm focal lengths giving wide-angle shots and 70mm-plus a telephoto effect. It’s usually expressed as 2x, 3x and so on.

SD
Secure Digital. This is a postage stamp-sized memory card.

Shutter Lag
The time delay between pressing the shutter-release button and the picture actually being taken. Too much lag could result in you missing the best moment.

Shutter Speed
The length of time the CCD is exposed to light. Slow shutter speeds give blurry video or photos if the camera’s handheld, but are useful for shooting in low light.

USB 2.0
The latest USB interfaces can transfer data 40 times faster than older USB 1.1 ports.

XD-picture card
A tiny memory card

Other General termanology explained

DRM
Digital rights management. The catch-all term for copyright-protection technologies that prevent or restrict the copying of files such as music, pictures and videos.

EQ
Short for equaliser. The EQ settings define how your music sounds.

GPS
Global positioning system. A satellite-based radio navigation system that can pinpoint exactly where you are, anywhere in the world.

Hot Spot
Wi-Fi hot spots can be in coffee shops, stations or any public space, and enable you to access the Internet wirelessly using a Wi-Fi laptop or PDA.

HTML
Hypertext Mark-Up Language. The language that Web pages are written in.

Java
A programming language. Lots of mobile phone games are written using Java.

Kbps
Kilobytes per second. Used to measure the speed of data transfer.

MIDI
Musical instrument digital interface. A protocol that enables musical devices to talk to each other. It’s also used to describe a certain type of computer or mobile phone music.

OS
Operating system. The software that tells a device how to work and what to do (such as Windows XP).

PDA
Personal digital assistant. Twenty-first-century Filofaxes. These are handheld organisers that can sometimes also plat MP3s and take digital photographs.

RAM
Random access memory. This is the instant-access memory in a computer or handheld device that holds data. It’s erased when the device is turned off. Not to be confused with a hard disk, which stores files permanently.

Resolution
The number of dots per inch in the case of scanners and printers; the number of pixels a digital camera captures and the number of pixels a monitor or TV can display.

RIP
The word used to describe the process of turning a CD audio track into an MP3 file or similar.

TFT
Thin-film transistor. This is a type of LCD screen.

USB
Universal serial bus. The near-ubiquitous connection for PCs and peripherals.

WATTS
The level of oomph powering your speakers – more watts equals louder, although manufacturers’ figures can be a bit misleading.

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Special Thanks To Yash For This Signature
Thug Life
Xtremerz

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great info .... nice one ...

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