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V.120 ~ view2

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V.120

n. An International Telecommunications Union (ITU) standard that governs serial communications over ISDN lines. Data is encapsulated using a protocol similar to the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), and more than one connection may be multiplexed on a communications channel. See also communications channel, communications protocol, International Telecommunications Union, ISDN, Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, multiplexing, standard (definition 1).

V20, V30

n. NEC microprocessors that were slight improvements on Intel's 8088 and 8086, using the same command sets but different microcode.

V.27ter

n. The CCITT (now ITU-T) recommendation that specifies the modulation scheme used in Group 3 facsimile for image transfer at 2,400 and 4,800 bits per second (bps). See also CCITT V series, fax, International Telecommunications Union.

V.29

n. The CCITT (now ITU-T) recommendation that specifies the modulation scheme used in Group 3 facsimile for image transfer at 9,600 and 7,200 bits per second (bps) over dial-up telephone lines. See also CCITT V series, fax, International Telecommunications Union.

V.2x, V.3x, V.4x, V.5x series

n. See CCITT V series, International Telecommunications Union.

V.32terbo

n. A modem protocol developed by AT&T for 19,200-bps modems, with fallback to the speeds supported by the CCITT V.32 standard. This protocol is proprietary to AT&T and was not adopted by CCITT. In the CCITT V series, V.34 takes the place of V.32terbo See also CCITT V series, International Telecommunications Union.

V.54

n. The CCITT (now ITU-T) recommendation that specifies the operation of loop test devices in modems. See also CCITT V series, International Telecommunications Union.

V.56 bis

n. The ITU-T recommendation that defines a network transmission model for evaluating modem performance over two-wire voice-grade connections. See also International Telecommunications Union.

value

n. A quantity assigned to an element such as a variable, symbol, or label. See tone (definition 1).

value-added network

n. A communications network that offers additional services, such as message routing, resource management, and conversion facilities, for computers communicating at different speeds or using different protocols. Acronym: VAN.

value-added reseller

n. A company that buys hardware and software and resells it to the public with added services, such as user support. Acronym: VAR.

vaporware

n. Software that has been announced but not released to customers. The term implies sarcastically that the product exists only in the minds of the marketing staff. Compare freeware, shareware.

variable

n. In programming, a named storage location capable of containing data that can be modified during program execution. See also data structure, data type, global variable, local variable. Compare constant.

VAX

n. Acronym for virtual address extension. A family of 32-bit minicomputers introduced by Digital Equipment Corporation in 1978. The VAX, like the later 68000 microprocessor, has a flat address space and a large instruction set. The VAX was highly favored within the hacker community but has been superseded by microprocessors and RISC workstations. See also flat address space, instruction set, microprocessor, minicomputer, RISC.

VBA

n. See Visual Basic for Applications.

VBScript

n. See Visual Basic, Scripting Edition.

VBX

n. Short for Visual Basic custom control. A software module that, when called by a Visual Basic application, produces a control that adds some desired feature to the application. A VBX is a separate executable file, usually written in C, that is dynamically linked to the application at run time and can be used by other applications, including some applications not developed in Visual Basic. Although VBX technology was developed by Microsoft, most VBXs have been written by third-party developers. VBXs are still in use, but the technology has been superseded by OCXs and ActiveX controls. See also control (definition 2), Visual Basic. Compare ActiveX controls, dynamic-link library, OCX.

VCACHE

n. The disk caching software used with Windows 95's VFAT driver. VCACHE uses 32-bit code, runs in protected mode, and automatically allocates space in RAM rather than requiring the user to reserve space for the cache. See also cache, driver, protected mode, RAM, VFAT.

VCOMM

n. The communications device driver in Windows 95 that provides the interface between Windows-based applications and drivers on one side, and port drivers and modems on the other. See also driver.

VCR-style mechanism

n. 1. A user interface for playing movie files that has controls similar to those on a videocassette recorder (VCR). 2. A type of motorized docking mechanism in which a laptop or notebook computer is physically locked into place by the docking station. The advantage to a VCR-style mechanism is that it provides an electrically consistent, secure bus connection. See also docking mechanism, docking station, laptop, portable computer.

VDD

n. Acronym for virtual display device driver. See virtual device driver.

vector

n. 1. In mathematics and physics, a variable that has both distance and direction. Compare scalar. 2. In computer graphics, a line drawn in a certain direction from a starting point to an endpoint, both of whose locations are identified by the computer using x-y-coordinates on a grid. Vectors are used in the output of some graphics programs instead of groups of dots (on paper) or pixels (on screen). See also vector graphics. 3. In data structures, a one-dimensional array--a set of items arranged in a single column or row. See also array, matrix.

vector display

n. A CRT (cathode-ray tube), commonly used in oscilloscopes and DVST (direct view storage tube) displays, that allows the electron beam to be arbitrarily deflected, based on x-y-coordinate signals. For example, to draw a line on a vector display, the video adapter sends signals to the X and Y yokes to move the electron beam over the path of the line; there is no background composed of scan lines, so the line drawn on the screen is not constructed of pixels. See also CRT, yoke. Compare raster display.

vector font

n. A font in which the characters are drawn using arrangements of line segments rather than arrangements of bits. See also font. Compare bitmapped font.

vector graphics

n. Images generated from mathematical descriptions that determine the position, length, and direction in which lines are drawn. Objects are created as collections of lines rather than as patterns of individual dots or pixels. Compare raster graphics.

verbose

adj. Displaying messages as English text rather than as concise (but cryptic) codes.

version

n. A particular issue or release of a hardware product or software title.

version number

n. A number assigned by a software developer to identify a particular program at a particular stage, before and after public release. Successive public releases of a program are assigned increasingly higher numbers. Version numbers usually include decimal fractions. Major changes are usually marked by a change in the whole number, whereas for minor changes only the number after the decimal point increases.

VESA1

adj. Having VL bus expansion slots. Also called VLB. See also expansion slot, VL bus. Compare VESA/EISA, VESA/ISA.

VESA2

n. Acronym for Video Electronics Standards Association. An organization of hardware manufacturers and vendors dedicated to drafting and improving standards for video and multimedia devices. Standards developed by VESA include the Display Data Channel (DDC), Display Power Management Signaling (DPMS), and the VESA local bus (VL bus). See also DDC, DPMS, VL bus.

VESA/EISA

adj. Having both EISA and VL bus expansion slots. See also EISA, expansion slot, VESA2, VL bus. Compare VESA1, VESA/ISA.

VESA/ISA

adj. Having both ISA and VL bus expansion slots. See also expansion slot, ISA, VESA2, VL bus. Compare VESA1, VESA/EISA.

VESA local bus

n. See VL bus.

V.everything

n. A marketing term used by some modem manufacturers to describe modems that comply with both the CCITT V.34 standard and the various proprietary protocols that were used before the standard was adopted, such as V.Fast Class. A V.everything modem should be compatible with any other modem that operates at the same speed. See also CCITT V series, V.Fast Class.

V.Fast Class

n. A de facto modulation standard for modems implemented by Rockwell International prior to approval of the V.34 protocol, which is the standard. Although both V.Fast Class and V.34 are capable of 28.8-Kbps transmission, V.Fast Class modems cannot communicate with V.34 modems without an upgrade. See also CCITT V series. Acronym: V.FC.

VFAT

n. Acronym for Virtual File Allocation Table. The file system driver software used under Windows 95's Installable File System Manager (IFS) for accessing disks. VFAT is compatible with MS-DOS disks but runs more efficiently. VFAT uses 32-bit code, runs in protected mode, uses VCACHE for disk caching, and supports long filenames. See also Installable File System Manager, long filenames, protected mode, VCACHE, Windows 95. Compare file allocation table.

V.FC

See V.Fast Class.

VGA

n. Acronym for Video Graphics Adapter. A video adapter that duplicates all the video modes of the EGA (Enhanced Graphics Adapter) and adds several more. See also video adapter. Compare EGA.

video

adj. Of or pertaining to the visual component of a television signal. In relation to computers, video refers to the rendering of text and graphics images on displays. Compare audio.

video accelerator

n. See graphics engine (definition 1).

video adapter

n. The electronic components that generate the video signal sent through a cable to a video display. The video adapter is usually located on the computer's main system board or on an expansion board, but it is sometimes built into the terminal. Also called video adapter board, video board, video card, video controller, video display adapter.

video capture device

n. An expansion board that converts analog video signals to digital form and stores them in a computer's hard disk or other mass storage device. Some video capture devices are also capable of converting digital video to analog video for use in a VCR. Also called video capture board, video capture card. See also expansion board.

video clip

n. A file that contains a short video item, usually an excerpt from a longer recording.

video compression

n. Reduction of the size of files containing video images stored in digital form. If no compression were done, 24-bit color video at 640 × 480 pixels would occupy almost one megabyte per frame, or over a gigabyte per minute. Video compression can, however, be lossy without affecting the perceived quality of the image. See also lossy compression, Motion JPEG, MPEG.

video conferencing

n. Teleconferencing in which video images are transmitted among the various geographically separated participants in a meeting. Originally done using analog video and satellite links, today video conferencing uses compressed digital images transmitted over wide area networks or the Internet. A 56K communications channel supports freeze-frame video; with a 1.544-Mbps (T1) channel, full-motion video can be used. See also 56K, desktop conferencing, freeze-frame video, full-motion video, T1, teleconferencing. Compare data conferencing.

video driver

n. Software that provides the interface between the video adapter hardware and other programs, including the operating system. The user can access the video driver to specify the resolution and color-bit depth of images on the monitor during the setup process. See also driver, monitor, video adapter.

video memory

n. Memory from which a display image is created, located in the video adapter or video subsystem. If both the video processor and the central processing unit (CPU) have access to video memory, images are produced by the CPU's modification of video memory. Video circuitry normally has priority over the processor when both attempt to read or write to a video memory location, so updating video memory is often slower than accessing main memory. See also video RAM.

video RAM

n. A special type of dynamic RAM (DRAM) used in high-speed video applications. Video RAM uses separate pins for the processor and the video circuitry, providing the video circuitry with a "back door" to the video RAM. The video circuitry can access the video RAM serially (bit by bit), which is more appropriate for transferring pixels to the screen than is the parallel access provided by conventional DRAM. See also dynamic RAM. Acronym: VRAM.

view1

n. 1. The display of data or an image from a given perspective or location. 2. In relational database management systems, a logical table created through the specification of one or more relational operations on one or more tables. A view is equivalent to a divided relation in the relational model. See also relational database, relational model.

view2

vb. To cause an application to display information on a computer screen.

 

A/B Switch box ~ America On-line  AMI BIOS ~ Arithmetic Operation  ARP ~ AVI  Backbone ~ Bit Image  Bit Map ~ Boot Disk  Boot Drive ~ Bytes Per Inch  C++ ~ Carrier Frequency  carrier system ~ certification  CGI ~ Chooser extension  cipher ~ Clipper Chip  clock ~ color  color bits ~ communications satellite  communications server ~ computer security  CON ~ copy  copy program ~ cycle time  daemon ~ defragmentation  demand paging ~ digitize  DikuMUD ~ disk  disk buffer ~ Document Style Semantics and Specification Language  document window ~ dynamic Web page  Easter egg ~ erase  erase head ~ ezine  F2F ~ finger2  firewall ~ font suitcase  footer ~ FYI  Game Control Adapter ~ GUI  HAL ~ hot key1  hot key2 ~ Hz  i486DX ~ internal modem  internet ~ ISO 9660  ISO/OSI model ~ just-in-time  K1 ~ knowledge base  L1 cache ~ LU  luggable computer ~ LZW compression  MAC ~ MILNET  mime ~ msec  MTBF ~ MYOB  named anchor ~ network drive  Network File System ~ number crunching  object ~ overwrite mode  P5 ~ PC/XT keyboard  PDA ~ pipeline processing  piracy ~ preventive maintenance  preview ~ pwd  quasi-language ~ QWERTY keyboard  R&D ~ registration marks  Registry ~ RFI  RF shielding ~ run-time library  SAA ~ server error  server push-pull ~ soft return  software ~ style sheet  stylus ~ System  T1 ~ ToggleKeys  token ~ typography  UART ~ uupc  V.120 ~ view2  viewer ~ VxD  w3 ~ WinG  WINS ~ WWW  X.25 ~ X Windows  Yahoo! ~ yotta-  Z39.50 standard ~ Zulu time

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