A disk partition divides a single hard disk into multiple logical pieces, each of which can function as though it were a separate disk. They can be used for organisational reasons or to allow different file systems or operating systems to be installed on one hard disk.
PCM. Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a method used to digitally represent sampled analog signals. It is the standard form of digital audio in computers, Compact Discs, digital telephony and other digital audio applications.
In a peer-to-peer network, each computer or device both sends and receives data without the need for a central server. This results in a sharing of resources and bandwidth, which reduces the demand on any individual participant.
Colour displays on smartphones and PC monitors use a grid of coloured dots, or pixels, which are themselves each made from red, green and blue subpixels. A standard RGB display typically uses one subpixel of each primary colour to create each pixel, varying the intensity of each to create the full range of displayable colours.
The PenTile system uses a different layout with more green subpixels than red or blue, reducing the total number of subpixels required for a given display resolution and relying on image processing to reconstruct the full-resolution image. In LCD panels, a different PenTile technology is used, adding a white subpixel to the matrix that can allow for significant power savings as more of the backlight can be allowed to shine through. Technically, PenTile displays offer lower image resolution than standard RGB ones, but in modern HD displays this difference is rarely perceptible.
Short for Practical Extraction and Report Language, Perl is a programming language developed by Larry Wall, especially designed for processing text. Because of its strong text processing abilities, Perl has become one of the most popular languages for writing CGI (Common Gateway Interface) scripts. Perl is an interpretive language, which makes it easy to build and test simple programs.
Bridging the gap between a large smartphone and a small tablet, a phablet combines the portability of the former with the large-screen usability of the latter. With screen sizes typically between five and seven inches, they are often just small enough to use as a phone, but provide a preferable screen size for multimedia viewing.
Examples include the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Sony Xperia Z1.
This is a device that allows you to run a network connection over the existing electric mains wiring in your building. It offers the advantages of a wired connection without the need to run existing cables and is a good way to extend the range of your network when a Wi-Fi signal won’t reach.
Most modern computer processors are multicore processors. This means they contain more than one internal CPU, each of which is capable of running program code independently and simultaneously. Each of these CPUs is called a core. The more cores a processor has, the more instructions it can process simultaneously, allowing more programs to be run at the same time without slowing down the host computing device.
This is a port used to connect a keyboard or a mouse to a PC. Usually coloured purple for a keyboard or green for a mouse, these small, round 6-pin connectors are now considered legacy ports and have generally been replaced by USB connections. However, gaming keyboards are often provided in PS/2 versions to allow an unlimited number of simultaneous keypresses to be detected. The use of PS/2 peripherals also allows all USB ports to be disabled where required for security reasons.