by Joy Arrieta angelenensis@hotmail.com

Runtime Version

It is a subset of a program that lets you run an application created with that program. For example, some database programs (dBase and FoxPro, for example) let you include a runtime version of the program with the database applications you create so that people who don't have your database program can still run your database application on their computer.

VRM

VRM or the "voltage regulator module for short is a small part in your computer's motherboard (or main system board) that controls how much voltage gets flowed to the microprocessor chip.

Heat sink

A heat sink is a device that is either built onto or attached to a microprocessor chip to help keep the chip cool. Typically, a heat sink looks like a series of spikes or fins rising out of the top of the chip, which channel heat away from the chip. Occasionally, the device takes the form of a fan that spins while the computer is on and blows the hot air away from the chip.

Netcheque

Netcheque is a technology that enables individuals--more specifically, registered Netcheque users--to write checks to one another via e-mail or Web applications. The checks are "deposited" to a server, which then authorizes a transfer from the writer's bank account to the recipient's bank account.

Digital coins

Knowing full well that nobody wants to put nickel-and-dime charges on a credit card, some intelligent folks came up with digital coins: software "markers" you store in a "wallet" on your hard disk, which you can use to pay for low-cost Web items (icons and other cheap software, online game tokens, and so on).

IPP

IPP stands for "Internet Printing Protocol." It's a set of standards for printing over the Internet--that is, for printing a file on your computer to a printer via an Internet connection. Among other things, Internet printing would enable you to print a document from your home PC directly to a printer at work.

CAD

CAD or computer-aided design for short, is a kind of software used by architects and engineers to design three-dimensional objects, like cars, houses, light switches.

Light pen

A light pen is a pen with a special tip that lets you select and move objects on your computer screen by touching the pen tip directly to the screen. Light pens are popular for giving presentations on huge, TV-sized monitors. However, you don't see many light pens on people's desks because they're not as comfortable to use as a mouse or a keyboard.

WML

WML stands for "wireless markup language." It is the language that programmers use--or WILL use--to display Web content on an emerging class of wireless devices, including smartphones, large-screen pagers, and Web-ready personal digital assistants (PDAs).

Vertiport

Vertiport is the marketing term for a Web site that's focused on one topic.