Technical information

© CLEAPSS 2005 1655 ICT in the Science Department
RGB Red Green Blue. Referring to displays that produce their image by illuminating red, green
and blue elements to make up a full colour image.
Ribbon cable One where the wires are laid side-by-side in the form of a flat ribbon instead of a
collection of wires bunched together to form a circular cross-section.
RISC OS™ Reduced Instruction Set Computer Operating System. An operating system developed by
Acorn Computers Limited for use on their computer systems.
RJ-11 Registered Jack 11. Common standard for telephone connectors.
RJ-45 Registered Jack 45. Common standard for network cables.
Robot A robot is a mechanical device that performs automated tasks.
ROM Read-Only Memory: memory in a computer that permanently stores a set of instructions.
For instance, the BIOS is a ROM that stores routines that test hardware at start up, starts
the operating system and supports the transfer of data between hardware devices.
RS Recommended Standard.
RS 232 A type of serial port.
RSI Repetitive Strain Injury (also referred to as Upper Limb disorder - ULD). An injury
acquired through long-term repetitive movement such as use of a computer keyboard or
mouse.
Run, running To run a program: to make a program start working. Running is the process when a
program is working (operating).
Sampling The conversion of analogue signals to a digital format, eg, capturing analogue audio into
a digital sound file.
Sampling rate The frequency at which samples of a signal or variable are taken. The higher the
frequency, the more accurate the reproduction.
SATA Serial Advances Technology Attachment. Improved version of ATA disk interface
standard.
Saturation The degree to which a colour is undiluted by white light.
Scanner (Optical scanner). A device that scans and captures an image.
SCART Syndicat des Constructeurs d'Appareils Radiorécepteurs et Téléviseurs. A connector
consisting of 21 pins with the capacity to be configured for different inputs and outputs.
Screen dump A copy or image of the displayed screen saved as a file or printed.
Screen image The display on a computer screen.
SCSI Small Computer System Interface. A disk interface system similar to IDE.
Sensor A device that can detect some aspect of its environment and translate that information
into a form a computer can understand.
Serial interface See serial port.
Serial port A connection for sending or receiving patterns one bit after another.
Serial
transmission
The transfer of separate signals one after the other over a single connection.
Server A computer on a LAN or on the Internet that controls or provides access to resources or
serves data to client computers.
Shareware Software that is copyright but can be used for free for a limited time or with limited
functionality. Continued use requires a payment or donation.
Shell A program that provides direct command of the operating system, typically text command
based.
Shockwave A cross platform technology developed by Macromedia that enables web pages to include
multimedia objects.
SLR Single Lens Reflex. A type of camera in which the object is viewed and the imaged is
focussed by the same lens.
SMTP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. A protocol for sending e-mails over the Internet.