Guide to abbreviations: Difference between revisions

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; BIOS : Basic Input/Output System, which is a software system that resides in EPROM or Flash memory in PCs and takes care of booting the operating system and hiding the hardware details from it
; BIOS : Basic Input/Output System, which is a software system that resides in EPROM or Flash memory in PCs. The BIOS configures the system to boot the operating system and provides interfaces to the hardware. OLPC plans to use LinuxBIOS, which strives to do the minimal amount of configuration necessary to boot Linux.


; CD : Compact Disc
; CD : Compact Disc


; CMOS : Complementary Metal-Oxide-Silicon, which is an integrated circuit manufacturing technology used in most current digital chips
; CMOS : Complementary Metal-Oxide-Silicon, which is an integrated circuit manufacturing technology used in most current digital chips. Also a common shortening of "CMOS RAM", which is a small, battery-powered RAM that stores information like the date and BIOS settings while a PC is powered off.


; CPU : the central processing unit of a computer or microcomputer
; CPU : The central processing unit of a computer or microcomputer.


; DNS : Domain Name System, which is how human readable names like "laptop.org" are translated into the IP addresses actually used by computers to talk to each other on the Internet
; DNS : Domain Name System, which is how human readable names like "laptop.org" are translated into the IP addresses actually used by computers to talk to each other on the Internet.


; ECC : Error Correcting Code, which can be used as a mechanism to correct and detect errors in a storage medium. Relative to OLPC, ECC is required for operation of NAND flash. NAND flash has a high probability of single bits getting "stuck". With extra ECC information stored with each sector, a single bit error can be corrected, and 2 bit errors can be detected.
; ECC : Error Checking and Correction, which adds bits to each memory word so things won't fail if cosmic radiation randomly changes a few bits. Low cost computers rarely have this


; ESD : Electrostatic Discharge, which a person can generate when touching a metal object after, for example, walking on a carpet in a very dry environment. This little shock can be over 3000V and easily damage electronic circuits
; ESD : Electrostatic Discharge, which a person can generate when touching a metal object after, for example, walking on a carpet in a very dry environment. This little shock can be over 3000V and easily damage electronic circuits.


; I/O : Input/Output
; I/O : Input/Output


; ISP : an Information Service Provider which is an organization which allows, often for a fee, individuals to connect to the internet.
; ISP : Information Service Provider, which is an organization which allows, often for a fee, individuals to connect to the internet.


; JFFS2 : [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JFFS2 Journaling Flash File System, Version 2].
; JFFS2 : [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JFFS2 Journaling Flash File System, Version 2]


; NAND : A type of flash that has overtaken older NOR technology in low cost and density. This flash is commonly used in cellphones, PDAs, and USB keys. The NAND moniker for the flash comes from the arrangment of the memory cells resembling a NAND gate (inverting AND gate).
; NAND : Not AND


; OLPC : One Laptop per Child
; OLPC : [http://www.laptop.org/ One Laptop per Child]


⚫
; p2p : Peer to Peer, which is a network architecture in which all computers have the same functionality in contrast to a client/server system.
http://www.laptop.org/


⚫
; PCI : [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peripheral_Component_Interconnect Peripheral Component Interconnect], a computer bus for attaching peripheral devices to a computer motherboard.
⚫
; p2p : Peer to Peer, which is a network architecture in which all computers have the same functionality in contrast to a client/server system

⚫
; PCI : [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peripheral_Component_Interconnect peripheral component interconnect], a computer bus for attaching peripheral devices to a computer motherboard.


; USB : Universal Serial Bus
; USB : Universal Serial Bus

Revision as of 04:15, 16 May 2006

Sometimes authors of text in a document in this wiki use an abbreviation without explaining what it means. The meaning of the abbreviation may be well-known to many readers yet unknown to some other readers.

The purpose of this page is to show the meanings of abbreviations which occur in pages of this wiki. Readers are asked not to include abbreviations which are not mentioned in at least one other page of the wiki. Readers are asked to maintain this as an alphabetically arranged list.

BIOS
Basic Input/Output System, which is a software system that resides in EPROM or Flash memory in PCs. The BIOS configures the system to boot the operating system and provides interfaces to the hardware. OLPC plans to use LinuxBIOS, which strives to do the minimal amount of configuration necessary to boot Linux.
CD
Compact Disc
CMOS
Complementary Metal-Oxide-Silicon, which is an integrated circuit manufacturing technology used in most current digital chips. Also a common shortening of "CMOS RAM", which is a small, battery-powered RAM that stores information like the date and BIOS settings while a PC is powered off.
CPU
The central processing unit of a computer or microcomputer.
DNS
Domain Name System, which is how human readable names like "laptop.org" are translated into the IP addresses actually used by computers to talk to each other on the Internet.
ECC
Error Correcting Code, which can be used as a mechanism to correct and detect errors in a storage medium. Relative to OLPC, ECC is required for operation of NAND flash. NAND flash has a high probability of single bits getting "stuck". With extra ECC information stored with each sector, a single bit error can be corrected, and 2 bit errors can be detected.
ESD
Electrostatic Discharge, which a person can generate when touching a metal object after, for example, walking on a carpet in a very dry environment. This little shock can be over 3000V and easily damage electronic circuits.
I/O
Input/Output
ISP
Information Service Provider, which is an organization which allows, often for a fee, individuals to connect to the internet.
JFFS2
Journaling Flash File System, Version 2
NAND
A type of flash that has overtaken older NOR technology in low cost and density. This flash is commonly used in cellphones, PDAs, and USB keys. The NAND moniker for the flash comes from the arrangment of the memory cells resembling a NAND gate (inverting AND gate).
OLPC
One Laptop per Child
p2p
Peer to Peer, which is a network architecture in which all computers have the same functionality in contrast to a client/server system.
PCI
Peripheral Component Interconnect, a computer bus for attaching peripheral devices to a computer motherboard.
USB
Universal Serial Bus
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