Technosaurus
CNET.co.uk's guide to all the must-know terms and evolving technologies
- P2P (peer-to-peer)
- Networking technologies in which each computer on a network can act as both client and server > More
- PAL (Phase Alternation Line)
- Television broadcast standard used in the UK and in much of Europe > More
- PC Card
- Credit-card-size device that plugs into a laptop computer to add functionality > More
- PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect)
- Self-configuring I/O bus -- a data pathway that connects devices in the computer directly to the CPU > More
- PNG (Portable Network Graphics)
- Graphics file format that combines benefits of GIF and JPEG > More
- POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3)
- Standard for accessing email on the Internet > More
- Palm OS
- Operating system from PalmSource designed for handheld computing devices > More
- Pocket PC
- Microsoft's technology framework for small, mobile computing devices that incorporate the Windows Mobile 2003 Software for Pocket PC operating system > More
- pan-and-scan
- Process of transferring a film or other material to videocassette, DVD or broadcast so that it fits the 4:3 aspect ratio of most current TVs > More
- passive matrix
- Type of flat-panel display > More
- pincushioning
- Distortion on CRT monitors in which lines bend toward the centre > More
- pixel
- Single point on a computer display > More
- pixelation
- When a monitor doesn't have enough video memory to render graphics properly and individual pixels become visible > More
- plasma display panel
- Emissive flat-screen technology in which ionised gas is sandwiched between panels of glass that are embedded with wire > More
- playlist
- Sequential list of songs that can include any kind of audio file > More
- polyphonic ring tone
- Melodies created by several tones playing simultaneously -- rather than a series of single (monophonic) tones > More
- ppi (pixels per inch)
- Measure of screen resolution > More
- predictive text input
- Function of many mobile phones that makes it easier to type text messages > More
- progressive scan
- Method of displaying images on a CRT monitor or high-definition TV > More
- psychoacoustics
- Science of how ears perceive the loudness, pitch and quality of sound > More
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