| f |
(femto-). One quadrillionth or 10-15.
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| F |
(farad). A measurement of electrical charge, named after Michael Farady. One farad is the storage capacity of a capacitor having a charge of 1 coulomb on each plate and a potential difference of 1 volt between the plates.
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| F keys |
Function keys. A set of special keys on a computer keyboard that are numbered F1, F2, etc. that perform special functions depending on the application program in use.
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| face change character |
A control character that changes the shape and/or size of a selected area of type.
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| face time |
Time that is spent face-to-face with someone, rather than communicating through a computer.
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| facsimile |
(FAX). A document sent over telephone lines, originally by means of a special facsimile machine which scans a document and transmits electrical signals to print a copy of the document on the other end. Now computers can send faxes with fax software and a modem, so a fax can be sent from computer to fax machine, from fax machine to computer, or from computer to computer without requiring a printout.
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| factor |
A quantity by which another quantity is multiplied or divided.
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| failure |
The malfunction of a system or component; the inability of a system or component to perform its intended function. A failure may be caused by a fault.
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| failure-directed testing |
Software testing using knowledge of the types of errors made by the system in the past that are likely to reoccur.
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| fall back |
A modem protocol feature which allows two modems which are experiencing transmission errors to renegotiate their connection at a lower speed.
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| fall forward |
A modem protocol feature which allows two modems which used the fall back option because of data corruption to return to a higher speed connection if the transmission improves.
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| fan |
A cooling device that circulates air in a computer; fans are necessary to keep the computer from overheating.
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| fanfold paper |
Continuous paper with holes on the edges, folded like a fan with each page folded the opposite direction of the page before. Fanfold paper is used in tractor-feed dot matrix printers; after printing, the pages are separated along the perforations and the edge strips are torn off.
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| FAP |
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| FAQ |
Abbreviation for Frequently Asked Questions. Newsgroups, mailing lists and Internet sites often have a list of the most frequently asked questions about their subject, with answers. Newbies who have questions will find it useful to check the FAQ first. There are readily available FAQs about general use of the Internet and online services.
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| farad |
(F). A measurement of electrical charge, named after Michael Faraday. One farad is the storage capacity of a capacitor having a charge of 1 coulomb on each plate and a potential difference of 1 volt between the plates.
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| FARNET |
Federation of American Research Networks.A nonprofit corporation, established in 1987, dedicated to advancing the use of computer networks for research and education.
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| FAST |
Federation Against Software Theft. A nonprofit organization in the UK, formed in 1984 by the software industry, whose aim is eliminating software piracy and educating the public about the effects of software theft.
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| fast packet multiplexing |
A combination of fast packet technology and time-division multiplexing. Fast packet multiplexing speeds transmission by making it possible to start sending a packet before the whole packet has been received.
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| fast packet switching |
A technology used to transmit data, voice, and images over wide area networks at high speed, by sending short packets of data. Asynchronous transfer mode is one form of fast packet switching.
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| fast page mode |
A kind of DRAM memory. Fast page mode improved upon the original page mode memory by eliminating the column address setup time during the page cycle. For a while, fast page mode was the most widely used access method for DRAMs; it is still used on many systems. One benefit of FPM over page mode memory is reduced power consumption. See also page mode memory.
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| fast page mode memory |
A kind of DRAM memory. Fast page mode improved upon the original page mode memory by eliminating the column address setup time during the page cycle. For a while, fast page mode was the most widely used access method for DRAMs; it is still used on many systems. One benefit of FPM over page mode memory is reduced power consumption. See also page mode memory.
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| fast page mode RAM |
A kind of DRAM memory. Fast page mode improved upon the original page mode memory by eliminating the column address setup time during the page cycle. For a while, fast page mode was the most widely used access method for DRAMs; it is still used on many systems. One benefit of FPM over page mode memory is reduced power consumption. See also page mode memory.
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| Fast Wide SCSI-2 |
A version of SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) that has a 16-bit bus, a 68-pin adapter, and a maximum cable length of 9.8 feet. It can transfer data at 10-20 megabytes per second, and can be used attach a maximum of 16 devices.
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| FAT |
File Allocation Table. A special file located in sector 0 on a disk, which contains information about the sizes of files stored on the disk and which clusters contain which files.
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