The s

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*facsimile*		See fax.
*fan*		A blower that circulates air and keeps components from overheating.
FAT		File Allocation Table. A table near the beginning of a disk that identifies the location of everything on the disk.
fax		Short for facsimile. A means of transmitting paper (and sometimes electronic) documents over phone lines. The output is usually a paper document. The output document itself is also called a fax. Also used as a verb meaning to use facsimile transmission.
fax modem		A modem able to send or receive faxes without the need to convert the document in the computer to paper.
FCC		Federal Communications Commission. FCC Class B certification means that the device emits so little radio frequency energy that it is suitable for home use.
FDD		Floppy Disk Drive.
feature		A (desirable) characteristic. For example, a feature of notebook computers is that they are lightweight. See benefit.
field		An area in a database or database entry form for a single type of information, especially a single instance of the field. For example; name, address, and phone number are fields. Compare record.
file		Any single collection of stored information, typically on floppy or hard disks. A file may be a part of the operating system, an application, or data (such as word processing, graphics, or spreadsheet documents). Anything on a disk that has a filename.
file locking		Preventing more than one person or application from simultaneously being able to change a file.
file server		A computer on a network that has the main hard disk storage for the other stations on the network. The file server usually also runs the network operating system.
file sharing		When more than one person or application has access a to file, especially to read the file. Usually the file is on a file server.
file size		The information in the third column on the screen when you execute a DIR command. Shows the length of a file in bytes. Since space on a disk is allocated in blocks of bytes, a file may take up more room on the disk than its file size indicates.
file transfer software		Software to transmit files between computers, especially using direct connection with a serial cable rather than a modem and phone lines.
filename		The DOS identifier for a collection of information on a disk. Filenames may be as long as eleven characters, including a three-character extension. Within a directory, filenames, counting the extension, must be unique. When you execute a DIR command, filenames appear in the first column and extensions appear in the second column. See extension.
film		Transparent plastic sheets upon which printers may print as if on paper. Frequently used to make overhead transparencies.
filter		A program or part of a program that converts files from one format to another. For example, PageMaker has a filter that converts Microsoft Word documents into a form readable by PageMaker.
finger		A program that displays information about users logged on to a particular system. Typical information is name, last login time, idle time, and can include a user-created plan.
firewall		A network security system that helps prevent unauthorized access and also prevents legitimate users accessing the Internet from the local network. A firewall usually consists of a single machine that's connected to the Internet and all Internet traffic must pass through that machine.
firewire		Also knows as IEEE 1394. A high performance serial bus interface standard offering high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data services.
firmware		Same as software, but written in ROM or some other nonvolatile medium. Software that is made of hardware.
fixed disk		Old name for hard disk.
flash BIOS		A user-upgradable memory device that is mapped into a PC's upper memory. Used to implement Plug-n-Play and other quickly changing specifications. See also BIOS
floating point		Using an exponent with numbers in order to indicate the location of the decimal point. More precise than integer but slower.
FLOP		Floating-point Operation. Performing an operation on a floating point number. One measure of microprocessor speed is millions of FLOPs per second (MFLOPS).
floppy disk		A 3.5" or 5.25" removable magnetic medium used for storing programs and other files. See disk.
floppy disk controller		See controller.
floppy disk drive		See disk drive.
font		A set of all the characters of a single size and weight for a given typeface. For example, 12pt bold Palatino. Compare typeface
footprint		The area on a desk or the floor that a computer covers. Usually specified simply as small or large.
form factor		The physical shape of an item, especially as a reference to some standard shape.
form feed		To advance the paper in a printer to the top of the next page. Compare linefeed.
format		A process which prepares a disk (floppy or hard) to hold data. For hard disks, there are two formatting processes-low-level formatting and high-level formatting. Both types of formatting must be done before a hard disk can be used. See low level format. Also the way data is arranged in its medium, for example, the choice of font and alignment of the contents of a cell in a spreadsheet.
FPM DRAM		Fast Page Mode Dynamic Random Access Memory.
frame		An HTML format invented by Netscape to divide a browser up into different pieces, or "frames". These frames support independent movement between them, allowing for more information to be displayed in a smaller space.
FTP		File Transfer Protocol. A method of transferring file between two computers on a TCP/IP network (such as the Internet). "Anonymous FTP" (the most common usage on the Internet) allows a user to download files without having an account at the remote computer.
full duplex		When two communicating terminals send their received transmission back to the sending terminal, and this returned signal is what the sending terminal displays on its screen. Both terminals are able to transmit simultaneously. Compare half duplex, simplex.
function key		Any of several keys on a computer keyboard labeled F1 through F10 or F12. These keys have uses that depend on the software being run.

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