| Safe Mode | Safe Mode is a way for the Windows operating system to run with the minimum system... |
| Samba | Most people know of samba as a type of rhythmic dance music from Brazil that uses a... |
| Sample | A sample is a digital representation of an analog signal. Both digital video and... |
| Sampling | Before digital recording took over the audio and video industries, everything was... |
| SAN | Stands for "Storage Area Network." A SAN is a network of storage devices that can... |
| SATA | Stands for "Serial Advanced Technology Attachment," or "Serial ATA." It is an... |
| Scanner | A scanner is an input device that scans documents and images, which can be imported... |
| Screenshot | A screenshot, or screen capture, is a picture taken of your computer's desktop... |
| Script | A computer script is a list of commands that are executed by a certain program or... |
| Scroll Bar | When the contents of a window are too large to be displayed entirely within the... |
| Scroll Wheel | Computer windows are often not large enough to display the entire contents of the... |
| Scrolling | Most computer programs display their content within a window. However, windows are... |
| SCSI | Stands for "Small Computer System Interface," and is pronounced "scuzzy." SCSI is... |
| SD | Stands for "Secure Digital." It is a type of memory card used for storing data in... |
| SDRAM | Stands for "Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory." Yeah, it's a mouthful, but... |
| SDSL | Stands for "Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line." SDSL is a type of of DSL, which is... |
| Search Engine | Google, Excite, Lycos, AltaVista, Infoseek, and Yahoo are all search engines. They... |
| Secondary Storage | Secondary storage refers to storage devices and media that are not constantly... |
| Sector | A sector is the smallest unit that can be accessed on a hard disk. Each platter... |
| SEO | Stands for "Search Engine Optimization." Just about every Webmaster wants his or... |
| Serial Port | The serial port is a type of connection on PCs that is used for peripherals such as... |
| SERP | SERP is an acronym for "Search Engine Results Page." This is the Web page that... |
| Server | As the name implies, a server serves information to computers that connect to it... |
| Service Pack | A service pack is a software package that contains several updates for an... |
| Shareware | There is commercial software and then there is shareware. With commercial... |
| Shell | Most people know of shells as small protective coverings for certain animals, such... |
| Shift Key | Shift is a modifier key that allows you to capitalize lowercase letters and enter... |
| SIMM | Stands for "Single In-Line Memory Module." This is an older type of computer... |
| Site Map | A site map, sometimes written "sitemap," is an overview of the pages within a... |
| Skin | This strange term refers to the appearance of a program's interface. By changing... |
| SKU | Stands for "Stock Keeping Unit," and is conveniently pronounced "skew." A SKU is a... |
| Skyscraper | While not as common as the banner ad, the skyscraper is another prevalent form of... |
| Slashdot | Press releases can often trigger increased interest in a certain topic, and if a... |
| SLI | Stands for "Scalable Link Interface." SLI is a technology developed by NVIDIA that... |
| SMART | Stands for "Self-Monitoring Analysis And Reporting Technology." It is used to... |
| SMB | Stands for "Server Message Block." SMB is a network protocol used by Windows-based... |
| SMS | Stands for "Short Message Service." SMS is used to send text messages to mobile... |
| SMTP | Stands for "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol." This is the protocol used for sending... |
| Snapshot | While the term "snapshot" is often used in photography, it is also a computing term... |
| Snippet | A snippet is a small block of source code or text that can be inserted into a... |
| SNMP | Stands for "Simple Network Management Protocol." SNMP is used for exchanging... |
| SO-DIMM | Stands for "Small Outline Dual In-Line Memory Module." Most desktop computers have... |
| SOA | Stands for "Service Oriented Architecture." When businesses grow, they often add... |
| SOAP | Stands for "Simple Object Access Protocol," and can do more than just get your... |
| Social Networking | When the Web became popular in the mid-1990s, it enabled people to share... |
| Socket | When a computer program needs to connect to a local or wide area network such as... |
| Soft Copy | A soft copy is a document saved on a computer. It is the electronic version of a... |
| Soft Token | A soft token is a software version of a hard token, which is a security device used... |
| Software | Computer software is a general term that describes computer programs. Related... |
| Solid State | Solid state, at its most basic level, means "no moving parts." Therefore, solid... |
| Sound Card | The sound card is a component inside the computer that provides audio input and... |
| Source Code | Every computer program is written in a programming language, such as Java, (C/C++|... |
| Southbridge | The southbridge is a chip that connects the northbridge to other components inside... |
| Spam | Originating from the name of Hormel's canned meat, "spam" now also refers to junk... |
| Spider | A spider is a software program that travels the Web (hence the name "spider... |
| Spoofing | The word "spoof" means to hoax, trick, or deceive. Therefore, in the IT world... |
| Spool | A spool is a temporary storage area within the computer's RAM that contains input... |
| Spooling | Spooling is the process of a sending data to a spool, or temporary storage area in... |
| Spreadsheet | A spreadsheet is a document that stores data in a grid of horizontal rows and... |
| Spyware | As the name implies, this is software that "spies" on your computer. Nobody likes... |
| SQL | Stands for "Structured Query Language," and can be pronounced as either "sequel" or... |
| SRAM | Stands for "Static Random Access Memory." I know it is tempting to pronounce this... |
| sRGB | Stands for "Standard RGB" (and RGB stands for Red-Green-Blue"). All the colors you... |
| SSH | Stands for "Secure Shell." SSH is a method of securely communicating with another... |
| SSID | Stands for "Service Set Identifier." An SSID is a unique ID that consists of... |
| SSL | Stands for "Secure Sockets Layer." SSL is a secure protocol developed for sending... |
| Stack | A stack is a type of data structure -- a means of storing information in a... |
| Standalone | A standalone device is able to function independently of other hardware. This... |
| Standby | When electronic devices are receiving power but are not running, they are in... |
| Static Website | A static website contains Web pages coded in HTML. The content of each page is... |
| Status Bar | A status bar is a small area at the bottom of a window. It is used by some... |
| Storage Capacity | Storage capacity is another term for "disk space." It measures how much data a... |
| Storage Device | A computer storage device is any type of hardware that stores data. The most... |
| Streaming | Data streaming, commonly seen in the forms of audio and video streaming, is when a... |
| String | A string is a data type used in programming, such as an integer and floating point... |
| Subdirectory | A subdirectory, or subfolder, is a folder that is nested within another folder... |
| Subnet Mask | A subnet mask is a number that defines a range of IP addresses that can be used in... |
| Supercomputer | A supercomputer is a high-powered computer system that has processing capabilities... |
| Superscalar | A superscalar CPU can execute more than one instruction per clock cycle. Because... |
| Surge Protector | The surge protector is an important, yet often overlooked part of a computer setup... |
| Switch | A switch is used to network multiple computers together. Switches made for the... |
| Sync | When you "sync" a device, you synchronize it with your computer. Syncing is... |
| Syntax | Each spoken language has a general set of rules for how words and sentences should... |
| System Analyst | A system analyst is the person who selects and configures computer systems for an... |
| System Hardening | Most computers offer network security features to limit outside access to the... |
| System Requirements | Whenever you purchase software or hardware for your computer, you should first make... |
| System Resources | Your computer has many types of resources. They include the CPU, video card, hard... |
| System Software | System software refers to the files and programs that make up your computer's... |
| System Unit | This is the technical term that refers to the box that houses your computer. The... |
| Systray | The systray, short for "system tray," is located on the right side of the Windows... |
