Glossary of Terms

This list of terms is not designed to be exhaustive. Rather, the goal is to cover any terms that may come up in our walkthroughs or videos. If you have any questions, you are always encouraged to contact the Help Desk at (719) 389-6449.

CD /-R- Compact Disc/writeable. You can write to this disc to store your own data.
CD /-R Drive- A drive that can read CD-Rs
Chrome- A web browser developed by Google
Codec- A piece of software or hardware used to encode or decode digital data. You may need a specific codec to watch certain videos on your computer.
Computer- Most often refers to the entire machine, excluding any peripherals.
CPU- Central Processing Unit. The chip which does the work in a computer.
Digest- A digital mailing regularly sent out via email to CC subscribers.
Drive Letter- Every drive in your PC is assigned a unique letter, A-Z. Your hard drive is usually drive C:. For mapping network drives, the letter is usually arbitrary, but must still be unique.
DVD /-R- Digital Video Disc/writeable. You can write to this disc to store your own data. It stores significantly more data than a CD-R.
DVD /-R Drive- A drive that can read DVD-Rs
Ethernet cable- A data cable used to connect your computer to another connectivity device, or an ethernet port in the wall
Extension- Most files on your computer have some sort of extension, giving a clue as to what they are. A .exe is an executable program that you can run, while a .doc is a Word document.
File- A container for data. Word Documents, music, drivers, etc, are all examples of files.
Firefox- A web browser developed by Mozilla
Floppy Disk- A small, plastic disk used by older computers. Data is stored magnetically.  Not actually floppy.
Floppy Drive- A drive which reads floppy Disks
Folder- A type of file which contains other files
Hard Disk- The primary, non-removable, storage for your computer.
HTML- Hypertext Markup Language. This is the language of code generally used to create web sites.
Hub- A connectivity device. These are not allowed on campus, and will automatically disable your port if one is plugged in.
Internet Explorer- A web browser developed by Microsoft
IP Address- Internet Protocol Address. A unique identifier for your computer on the network.
Listserv- General news sent out via email to specific groups of people on campus
MAC Address- Media Access Control Address. This is the address of the hardware in your computer, phone, or gaming device.
Microsoft Office- A suite of programs developed by Microsoft
Monitor- The display of your computer
Network Drive- A drive accessible through the network
Network Printer- A printer accessible through the network
PDF- Portable Document Format. A file format often used for forms. The file is difficult to edit.
Phone cable- A cable used to attach your phone, modem, fax machine, or other device to a phone jack in the wall
Plugin- Software that supports various functions on your computer
Power Supply- The large plug for a laptop or other portable device, or the power unit for built in to a desktop.
PROWL- Colorado College's learning management system using the open source platform "moodle"
Router- A connectivity device. These are not allowed on campus, and will automatically disable your port if one is plugged in.
Self Service Banner (SSB)- Self Service Banner is an online management system for time sheets, grades, classes, etc.
Server- computer which hosts content of some sort, such as files or programs
Share- Something shared on the network. A file, folder, printer, or anything else can be shared on the network.
SSLVPN- Secure Sockets Layer Virtual Private Network. This is a method of accessing Colorado College resources while you are not directly connected to our network.
Thumb Drive- A small drive which connects via USB
Torrent- A data transmission method
USB- Universal Serial Bus. The small, rectangular ports on your computer allow you to connect USB devices. These are usually hot-swappable.
USB Drive- A small drive which connects via USB
Web Browser- A program used to access and display content on the internet, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Chrome.