A combination RAID mode implemented by SansDigital in their external hard drive enclosures. In this mode, one-half of the drive array is set up as RAID 1, where the other half of the drive space is JBOD or RAID 0.
When this device is plugged into a host computer, two drive letters are mapped: one for the SAFE50 partition and another for the JBOD partition.
A combination RAID mode implemented by SansDigital in their external hard drive enclosures. In this mode, one-third of the drive array is set up as RAID 1, where the remaining portion of the drive space is JBOD or RAID 0.
When this device is plugged into a host computer, two drive letters are mapped: one for the SAFE33 partition and another for the JBOD partition.
Just a Bunch of Disks or Just a Bunch of Drives.
This is a RAID term that basically means drive spanning. One large virtual drive is creates from two or more physical drives. A user may create a large 1TB virtual drive out of several smaller hard drives…
2 x 500GB drives
1 x 500GB drive + 2 x 250GB drives
10 x 100GB drives
…or any other combination. Data is written to one drive until it runs out of space, and then data is written to the next drive.
There is no redundancy in a JBOD array, so if one drive fails then you may lose all of your data on the array, or just the data on that drive, depending on the quality of your RAID controller.
One of the best online resources for computer hardware and video games.
“Card reader” is the generic term for an input device that reads flash memory cards. It can be a standalone device that connects to a computer via USB or it may be integrated into a computer, printer, or multifunction device. In fact, most multifunction printer/scanner/copiers now have built-in card readers.
Most card readers accept multiple memory card formats, including compact flash (CF), secure digital (SD), and Sony’s Memory Stick. Some card readers accept various other formats such as XD, SmartMedia, Microdrive, and Memory Stick Pro Duo cards.
The purpose of a card reader is, not surprisingly, to read the data from a memory card. When you place a memory card into a card reader, it will often show up on your computer as a mounted disk. You can then view the contents of the memory card by double-clicking the card’s icon. This icon typically appears on the desktop of Macintosh computers or inside “My Computer” on Windows machines.
Since memory cards most often contain pictures from digital cameras, a photo organization program may automatically open when you insert a memory card into you card reader. This provides an easy way of importing your pictures into your photo album. If you don’t want to import photos using the program, you can simply close the program and the card will still be mounted on your computer.
Once you decide to remove the card, make sure you unmount or “eject” the disk before physically removing the card. This will help prevent the data on the card from becoming corrupted.
Caps lock is a feature nearly all keyboards have that, when active, capitalizes each letter typed on the keyboard. Unlike most keys on the keyboard, the caps lock key is a “toggle key,” which is always in either an on or off position. When off, the letters typed are input like usual. When on, each letter typed is transmitted as an upper-case character. Caps lock does not alter the input from the rest of the keys, such as numbers and symbols.
Because caps lock changes the input of the letters on the keyboard, it is important to know whether it is on or off. Therefore, most keyboards have a light on the caps lock key that turns on when active, indicating caps lock is on. Because passwords are often case-sensitive, it is smart to make sure caps lock is not active when entering login information. Also, it is best not to use caps lock when typing e-mails because IT MAKES IT SEEM LIKE YOU ARE YELLING when you type in all caps.
Most digital cameras process and compress the pictures you take immediately after capturing the image. This can be helpful, as it keeps the file sizes low (using JPEG compression) and takes care of color correction, including white-balance, tint, and exposure, so you don’t have to. However, some people, such as professional photographers, prefer to have more control over how each image is processed. Therefore, many high-end cameras have the ability to shoot in RAW mode. This mode does not compress the images at all and leaves them completely unprocessed.
Because Camera RAW files are uncompressed, they take up more space than typical JPEG images. In fact, RAW files often require 2 to 3 times more space for each image captured. So, you’ll want to have an extra-large memory card in your camera if you plan on shooting in RAW mode. But since RAW photos are not compressed, you maintain the full quality of each image. This can make a noticeable difference when printing images, especially for large prints.
Camera RAW files are also unprocessed, meaning all the photo processing is done on the computer. It is like taking a film negative to a dark room to be developed. The RAW file is the negative and the computer serves as the dark room. With a RAW file, you have complete control over the temperature adjustments (for white-balance), tint, hue, and exposure. However, since Camera RAW files are not typical images, most image-viewing programs will not open them. Therefore, most camera companies include Camera RAW editing software with their high-end cameras. These programs allow you to open RAW files, do the necessary processing, and save them in common image formats such as bitmap, TIFF, and JPEG.
While shooting in Camera RAW mode offers a lot of control over your photos, it takes additional software and extra time to open and edit each picture you take. For most casual photography, using the camera’s built-in processing is the most suitable option.
Stands for “Computer-Aided Design.” Also known by engineers and architects as the best invention of all time. Today, CAD software is used for nearly all three-dimensional designing. Designers can turn an object into an electronic representation more quickly and accurately than by diagraming it with a pencil and paper. Better yet, objects created with CAD software can be moved, resized, and rotated instantly. With a pencil and paper, you can only erase so much before it starts to smudge.
This term is pronounced like “cash” — not “catch,” and definitely not “cash?.” There are many different types of caches but they all serve the same purpose. A cache stores recently-used information in a place where it can be accessed extremely fast. For example, a Web browser like Internet Explorer uses a cache to store the pages, images, and URLs of recently visted Web sites on your hard drive. With this neat strategy, when you visit a page you have recently been to, the pages and images don’t have to be downloaded to your computer all over again. Because accessing your computer’s hard disk is much faster than accessing the Internet, caching Web sites can speed up Web browsing significantly. Most Web browsers allow you to adjust the size of the cache in in browser preferenecs.
Another common type of cache is a disk cache. This stores information you have recently read from your hard disk in the computer’s RAM, or memory. Since accessing RAM is much faster than reading data off the hard disk, this can help you access common files and folders on your hard drive much faster.
Another type of cache is a processor cache which stores small amounts of information right next to the processor. This helps make the processing of common instructions much more efficient, thereby speeding up computation time.
A cable modem is used for connecting to the Internet and is much faster than a typical dial-up modem. While a 56K modem can receive data at about 53 Kbps, cable modems support data transfer rates of up to 30 Mbps. That’s over 500 times faster. However, most ISPs limit their subscribers’ transfer rates to less than 6 Mbps to conserve bandwidth.
Another important way that a cable modem is different than a dial-up modem is that it doesn’t connect to a phone line. Instead, the cable modem connects to a local cable TV line, hence the term “cable modem.” This allows cable modems to have a continuous connection to the Internet. Therefore, there is no need to dial your ISP every time you want to check your e-mail.
Cable modems, which have a much more complex design than dial-up modems, are usually external devices, but some models can be integrated within a computer. Instead of connecting to a serial port like a external dial-up modem, cable modems attach to a standard Ethernet port so they can transfer data at the fastest speed possible.