When purchasing a computer the jargon used is often confusing. This glossary attempts to de-mystify the terms.
Operating System (OS) - The software that runs the computer. Microsoft makes several version of the OS that runs on PCs - Windows XP Professional (our recommendation), Windows XP Home, Windows Vista. Apple makes OS X (pronounced O S Ten) aka Tiger (10.4) and the soon to be released Leopard (10.5).
Processor (aka CPU, chip) - This is the brain of the computer. The faster the clock speed (measured in Ghz (gigahertz)) for a particular model processor, the faster the computer. Intel and AMD make most of the worlds CPUs. Intel's current standard model is called the "Core 2 Duo" and is touted as being a dual processor. Both Dell and Apple use these chips in their standard models.
Harddrive - This is the physical device where your files are stored and where the operating system is installed. The larger the drive (measured in Gb (gigabytes)) the more files you can store. If you will be keeping music and video files on your computer then larger is better. Currently 160gb is standard on desktop computers and 60gb is standard on laptops.
RAM (memory) - RAM can be thought of as a very fast form of storage (and is also measured in Gb). When you run an application like Internet Explorer the program is loaded into memory and takes up some space. The operating system is also taking up some space. As you open more programs, or open files that are large (pictures, word documents), the available RAM decreases. The speed of a computer is only affected by the amount of RAM you have when it starts to run low. Our current recommendation is to have 1gb of RAM. More than that tends to be prohibitively expensive.
Video card (graphics card) - This device controls your monitor. The more RAM you have in a video card usually increases the performance of things like games.
Monitor (screen) - CRTs are cathode ray tubes, similar to your TV. They are big and bulky. LCD screens are thin and light. We recommend LCD screens that are 15" or bigger (the 15" is measured diagonally from one corner of the visible screen to the other).
Network card (ethernet card, wireless card) - All modern desktop computers with come with an ethernet network card built in. Almost all modern laptops will have a wireless card built in.
Optical drive (DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-ROM, CD-RW, CD-R, CD-ROM, superdrive) - Very confusing terminology. RW stands for re-writeable. R stands for recordable. ROM stand for read only. Most optical drives in a computer combine some of these features, for example a DVD/CD-RW (if there is no - after the DVD you should assume DVD-ROM) which would be a drive that can read and play DVDs, and read, write (burn) and re-write CDs.
