Monday, November 27, 2000		Bits & Bytes

Active matrix: Active matrix is basically referred to the higher-quality type of flat-panel display. This term is normally used in connection with laptops and other LCD-based monitors. This is an advanced technology and thus is quite expensive also. In Active matrix display, laying diodes over a grid of ultra-small wires creates the images on the screen. When the current passes through the diodes, they are activated, forming an image. The opposite of active matrix is passive matrix, which is basically of lower quality.

AGP: AGP is a common term of computer hardware terminology, and is referred to the display card. It stands for "accelerated graphics port." and is actually a bus slot, which is designed by Intel for providing enhanced graphic features on its platform. It is normally installed in the PCI slot of the motherboard. It is the AGP card in the computer, which makes it possible to see jerk free video and other 3D images.

Ping: Ping is the term, which is associated with the Internet and the Internet service providers. Basically, ping is a way of testing a system on the Internet, to check whether it is working. It is also used and testing the record and the response time of the servers. Thus, ping is very crucial in troubleshooting in the Internet as one can judge the performance of the Internet servers by knowing the data transfer paths and also the alternative paths to work out best data path for the Internet connectivity.

Encryption: Encryption is the term, which is normally used for e-mails and data sources and refers to the scrambling or coding the data in a particular form so that the person, who has the decoder could read it. It is thus, a security measure that is commonly used by persons for the purpose of confidential and secured communication.