M
- machine cycle
- one round of steps from getting an instruction back to getting the next instruction. The four steps are fetch, decode, execute, store.
- machine language
- The language of the CPU. The lowest level language. Composed of 0's and 1's
- macro
- small program to automate actions within a major application
- magnetic ink character recognition
- machine reads characters printed with a special ink with magnetic properties. Used on bank documents
- magnetic disk
- storage device which uses magnetism of the surface to store data
- magnetic tape
- a storage medium using a long tape with magnetic properties.
- main circuit board
- the largest circuit board in the computer, to which all peripherals and the CPU attach. Also called motherboard.
- main frame
- computer that is the heart of a network of computers or terminals which allows hundreds of people to work at the same time on the same data. It requires a special environment - cold and dry.
- main memory
- where the computer stores the data and commands that are currently being used.
- male connector
- cable connection with pins to match a connector with holes
- malware
- Any of several types of programs that do undesirable things to your computer. Includes viruses, trojans, worms.
- margin
- space at the borders of the page or other document object
- mass storage
- sets of cartridges containing data. Accessed using robot arms.
- megabyte (MB)
- 1024 kilobytes historically. Different
scientific and technical areas are using the words for quantity
differently. For data storage devices and telecommunications a
megabyte is 1 000 000 bytes. For data transmission in LANs a
megabyte is 1 048 576 bytes as described above. But for
data storage on a floppy disk a megabyte is 1 024 000 bytes!
A new set of words has been created to make it clear what size is really being used. See http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html for a further explanation.
- megahertz (MHz)
- 1 million cycles per second.
- memory address
- the unique numerical name for a location in memory
- memory management
- program to handle where in RAM programs put their data
- menu
- part of a user interface which lists the available commands. A menu item might contain other commands as a submenu
- microcomputer
- also known as Personal Computer (PC)
- microprocessor
- silicon chip containing the CPU, ALU, and some memory
- minicomputer
- size of computer between the PC and a main frame. Originally developed to do tasks requiring intensive calculations to relieve the load on the main frame.
- MIPS
- millions of instructions per second. A measure of computer speed.
- modem
- device which translates between the analog phone line and the digital computer. From Modulate/Demodulate
- monitor
- device which displays computer output. From its use to "monitor" progress of a program.
- monochrome
- one color text on one color background, like white letters on blue or green characters on black
- motherboard
- main circuit board of the computer. Has on it the CPU, memory boards, device boards, power plugs, etc.
- mouse
- an input device consisting of 2 or more buttons with a rolling ball underneath. The cursor on the screen follows the motion of the mouse ball.
- multiprocessing
- using more than one CPU at the same time
- multimedia
- combination of sound and images with text and graphics. This would include movies, animations, music, people talking, sound effects like the roar of a crowd and smashing glass.
- multi-tasking
- programs take turns using the processor.