The field of computers have quite a few confusing definitions. I will attempt to explain some of the definitions used in this ISU below.
1. ENIAC - One of the first computers. This computer was designed by the American navy to quickly calculate the path of artillery shells taking wind and elevation into account. The ENIAC performed perfectly, and allowed the navy to quickly calculate what velocity and angle was necessary to hit the right spot.
2. Transistor - An electronic component which stops or sends electronic pulses depending on the pulse it recieves. A single chip could contain millions of transistors.
3. NBS - The National Beaureau of Standards. This group of people during the period of World War II was in charge of making sure that all equipment was assembled following certain standards so that there would be less defects in military equipment. This group helped to implement the printed circuit.
4. Magnetic Core Memory - A form of memory in which rings are magnetized, and can be read later. This method cost a great deal of money, and had a very small capacity.
5. MPU - A microprocessing unit. This consists of the Control Unit and the ALU (Arithmatic Logic Unit).
6. Bunny Suit - The name for the clothes worn by Intel workers (called "Bunnymen" collectively) that greatly reduce the amount of dirt present in the laboratories responsible for the manufacturing of computer chips.
7. CP/M - (Control Program for Micros). An operating system for micros that was loosely based on the PDP-10's simple language (TOPS-20).
8. MS-DOS - An operating system released in 1981 that was loosely based on CP/M. This operating system was packaged with the IBM PCs.
9. Altair - A popular computer system that was available in the 1970's that was inexpensive, but required to be assembled.
10. GUI - A Graphical User Interface. This form of operating system has become popular in recent years. Some examples of GUI operating systems are: Windows 95/98/200/ME, OS/2 Warp, and MacOS IX.
11. Clock speed - The speed in which the computer's clock functions. This determines the performance of the computer.
12. MRAM - A form of memory that is still being developed that would mean a great reduction in start-up times, and less devestation from a crash.
13. Intel - The company formed in 1971 initially selling memory chips. Intel later moved into the MPU market, and has been the driving force in that market for approximately 30 years.
14. Photomask - A thin sheet in which the outline of the wires for several hundred chips side by side are contained. These photomasks are then transferred onto the silicon by a series of steps.
15. Dopents - The ions implanted into the bare silicon that alter the way that the silicon conducts electricity.