The Internet can be accessed through a high-speed connection provided by a cable television line. This type of connection is much faster than the usual connection which uses a regular modem and a telephone line. To implement a cable connection to the Internet, a cable modem must be attached to a network connection (Ethernet connection) on your computer. Both the modem and the necessary network card are usually supplied by the cable company as part of their package. If you don’t have a cable outlet near the computer, the company that provides the service will install one for you.

To use this type of connection, your cable television company must have it available, and not all cable companies offer this service. Some companies that are not cable television companies are able offer this service because they have made affiliations and/or rental agreements with the cable television operators.

If you currently subscribe to cable television and you add cable Internet service, most cable companies will give you a reduced rate for this combination service. Also, you can watch television and surf the Internet at the same time.

A cable Internet connection is an always-on connection, meaning you don’t have to dial up the Internet when you want access. Just turn your computer on, and you are connected to the Internet. This always-on type of connection is convenient, but makes it easier for a hacker to access your computer data. Therefore, if you use cable to access the Internet, you should implement a firewall to protect your computer.

The drawback to cable Internet is that it is shared access, meaning that you share the bandwidth with your neighbors. If every one of your neighbors gets cable Internet access and every one of them is online simultaneously, your Internet connection will slow considerably. Slow speed is currently not a problem or even a consideration in most cases. However, if cable access becomes more widespread, speed slow-downs could become a drawback to cable Internet access.

The use of hardware and software for designing products. Many architects and design engineers use computer-aided design to generate three-dimensional images of various products, such as houses, automobiles, furniture, and airplanes.

A language used to describe a documents color, font, layout, and other characteristics. It is often used for web documents.

The cloud is a reference to the Internet. More and more applications and services that originally ran on a computer desktop are moving to the Internet. It is said that these applications and services run in “the cloud”.

An abbreviation for cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow(Y), and black (K). These are the four colors used in four-color printing.

A piece of software that is used to encode and decode digital data. A codec compresses and decompresses large files, such as video files, so they can be transmitted more quickly. If a file was encoded using a certain codec, you must have that codec in order to decode it.

A list of terms that are each separated by a comma. The comma tells the operating system how to separate the terms.

A type of memory card that is often used in a digital camera to store images. Compact Flash cards are slightly larger than many other types of memory cards.

are websites that will find and compare the prices of items from several competing online stores.

Qualifying to purchase an upgrade version of a software program because you already own a similar software program from a competing company.  An upgrade version is always considerably cheaper than a full version, so you can save money by purchasing a competitive upgrade.

The American Optometric Association defines Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) as eye and vision problems related to computer use. The symptoms of CVS include tired eyes, eyestrain, sore eyes, periodic blurred near vision, occasional blurred distance vision, headaches, dry eyes, slowness in changing the focus of your eyes, red eyes, and burning eyes. Bausch & Lomb reports that nearly sixty million people suffer from eye or vision problems due to computer work. One million new cases are reported each year. See the Computer Vision Center for more information about how the computer affects your eyes and how to protect your vision.

A number of small thumbnail-sized images printed on one sheet. These are used to preview and select images.

The merging or blending of distinct technologies, industries or devices into one. This is often used to describe the coming together of technologies like television, the computer, and the cell phone.

A cookie is a tiny piece of text that is placed on your hard drive.  Its job is to record bits of information such as the pages you've visited, items you've put into an online shopping cart, and your user name and password for a specific site that you have visited. Cookie files allow a Web server to store information about you on your computer, retrieve, and then use that information in the future. Cookies are activated when you use your browser to visit Web sites on the Internet. The two main browsers, Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, both support cookies.   For more information on cookies, see Cookies made Easy.

Simply put, the Core 2 Duo is the second rendition of Intel’s dual-core processor. It is faster than the Core Duo, which was the first release of this processor. Also, see Core Duo, and dual-core.

Simply put, this is a brand that refers to Intel’s computer processor that is dual-core, meaning that it contains two chips for faster processing. Also, see Core 2 Duo, and dual-core.

A serious computer failure caused by a hardware or software malfunction. A crash is said to happen when either the computer or the program stops responding. A computer crash can often be rectified by restarting the computer. Constant crashes, however, need to be eliminated by finding the source of the problem.

Using the skills of a wide variety of people to do a job or perform a task is called crowdsourcing. The people who perform such a function are often found on the Internet. Although these people can be paid, they are often volunteers.

An older analog technology used for televisions and computer monitors. CRTs are large and bulky and consume a considerable amount of electricity. They work by an electron gun that illuminates phosphor dots inside a glass tube producing screen images.

A common operation done on a computer to move and/or copy information from one place to another. This can be done with images as well as text. The text or object is highlighted by running the cursor over it. Then the cut or copy command is initiated by a menu selection, by clicking on the appropriate icon, or by pressing the appropriate shortcut key combination. The cursor is then placed in the new location and the paste command is issued. The cut command removes the text or object from the original location. The copy command copies the text or object without removing it from its original location.