Wait State

A short pause or delay added before the microprocessor executes an instruction.  This allows time for slower memory chips or external devices to catch up to the process. 

Wall

A UNIX command meaning "write all". It sends a message to
everyone logged in at the time


 

Wallpaper

An image being displayed on the desktop background.


WAN  

Stands for wide area network. It is a really big network. The Internet
would be a great example of a WAN.
 

WAP

Stands for Wireless Application Protocol.  This is a standard for developing applications over wireless communication networks.
To standardize the way wireless devices can be used for internet
access.

War Dialer


a computer program used to identify the phone numbers that can successfully make a connection with a computer modem.

War Driving

Basically this is the act of driving around a city or town with the
intent of locating and possibly exploiting connections to wireless local area networks, using a laptop and a wireless Ethernet card set to work in promiscuous mode.
 

Warez


Software that is illegally made available, for example on an FTP or Telnet site
 

Warm Boot

Simply means restarting your computer by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Delete 
twice or in using the shutdown-restart. It means restarting without
turning the computer off.

Watch Icon

Usually found in Macintosh programs this is the little wristwatch
that replaces the pointer to indicate the system is busy working on something.  In Windows programs this is often an hourglass.
 

Watchdog Timer

a device or electronic card that performs a specific operation after a certain period of time if something goes wrong with an electronic system and the system does not recover on its own.

 

Watermark

Some computer files have digital watermarks embedded in them as a pattern of bits which appear to be part of the file and are not noticeable to the user. Used to protect some files such as graphic files from freeloaders who try to copy and use your work. 

Watt


A unit of electrical power produced by a current of one ampere
across a potential difference of one volt
 

Watt Hour

The watt-hour (symbolized Wh) is a unit of energy equivalent to one watt (1 W) of power expended for one hour (1 h) of time. The watt-hour is not a standard unit in any formal system, but it is commonly used in electrical applications.

WAV 

Files a common file format in the DOS/Windows world. WAV
files generally end with the characters .WAV.
 

Waveform

A graphic representation of the pattern of a wave showing characteristics such as frequency and amplitude.
 

Wavelength

In a periodic waveform this is the distance between one point on a wave and the same point in the next cycle. The waveform can be determined mathematically by dividing the speed by the frequency.
 

Wavelet

A wavelet is a mathematical function useful in digital signal
processing and image compression.

Wavetable Synthesis

Digital samples of sounds created by recording actual instruments.
It's high-quality output can be generated by hardware or software.

 

WAX

Wireless Abstract XML (WAX) is an abstract markup language and associated tools that facilitate wireless application development
 

Web Cam

A digital camera that uploads images to a Web site for broadcast.

Web Crawler

A program which visits remote sites and automatically downloads
their contents for indexing

WEB DESIGNER

The person responsible for how a site looks, the artistic side
of Web site building/developing. A web designer usually has
an extensive knowledge of Web based programming, art, and
lots of patience <g> 

Web Developer

The person responsible for the building of a web site technically. 
Programming the means for a particular Web product to work. 
Has even more patience <grin> 

Web Hosting

A web hosting company that rents out server space and web services to those who want to have a website but do not wish to maintain their own servers

Web Mining

Web mining is the integration of information gathered by traditional data mining methodologies and techniques with information gathered over the World Wide Web. Web mining is used to understand customer behavior, evaluate the effectiveness of a particular Web site, and help quantify the success of a marketing campaign

Web Page

The correct definition would be a single HTML file, which when
viewed by a browser on the World Wide Web.  However it is also
used to refer to a whole site of pages under one domain name.

WebTV

WebTV is a way to access the Internet from your TV. You don't 
need a computer and there's no software to load. All you need
is a television, a phone line, and a WebTV Internet terminal, and
you're on the Internet.  Submitted by: Allison

 

Webcasting

Using the Internet,  to broadcast information using push technologies.

Webmaster

The person who maintains, "runs", or "watches over" the content
and functionality of a Web site.

White Noise

Interference generated by the movement of electricity in a communications line.

White noise can be generated on a sound synthesizer. Sound designers can use this sound, with some processing and filtering, to create a multitude of effects such as wind and surf.

Whiteboard

The electronic equivalent to the common blackboard found in your classroom.  A whiteboard allows one or more users to draw on the screen while others on the network watch.

Whois

whois is a program that will tell you the owner of any second-level domain name.  You can do a whois search by going to http://www.betterwhois.com

Wideband

A medium-capacity communications circuit/path. It usually implies a
speed from 64Kbps to 1.544Mbps

Wildcard

A character string that is used in text searches to make finding a
match easier. An asterisk (*) usually means find any character or
set of characters.
 

Win 32s

An extension for Windows 3 which allows it to run 32-bit applications



Win9x

Windows 9x is short for "Windows 95 or Windows 98

WinAmp

A program that you can use to play MP3 files and other media files.
Submitted By: ItoldYouSo

WIN.INI.file 

A windows initialization file that contains settings you can use to
customize your windows environment.


Window

A square that pops out of folders, word processors and graphic
programs and other things that you do work in.


Windows

Short for Microsoft Windows, a graphical user interface for DOS
computers.


Windows 95 

Unlike previous versions, is an operating system on its own.


Windows NT

Microsoft's networking operating system, very much like Windows9x
but coded to handle more operations smoother. 
Suggested By YTCC Guru


 

Windows Product Activation

Windows Product Activation (WPA) is the mandatory product registration system included in Microsoft's Windows XP, Office XP, and recent Office products (such as Word 2002 or Excel 2002) as a means of enforcing compliance with the company's End User License Agreement (EULA). Essentially a copy protection system, product activation creates an association between each copy of a product and the computer it is installed on, so that the software cannot be copied to other, unauthorized machines.

 

Windows XP

Operating system released by Microsoft Corporation in 2001 as a successor to Windows Me.Windows XP is built on the Windows 2000 kernel to ensure greater stability and has a redesigned user interface

WINS

Windows Internet Naming Service. A program that runs under Windows NT and Windows 2000 Server which correlates the host name of a computer on a network with its physical IP address, thus making it possible to find computers on other networks
 

Winsock

a technical specification that defines a standard interface between a
Windows TCP/IP client application and the underlying TCP/IP protocol
stack

Wireless

Wireless is a term used to describe telecommunications in which electromagnetic waves carry the signal over part or all of the communication path.
 

Wireless Bitmap

A Wireless Bitmap (WBMP) is a graphic image format for use when sending Web content to handheld wireless devices.

Word Processor

An application that lets you write and edit documents. 

Word Wrap

Word wrap refers to the way a word processor or other program,
automatically determines whether the word you are typing will fit
within the right margin, or, if it won't fit, whether it needs to put the
word on the next line. With word wrap you don't have to press the
enter key at the end of each line.

Workstation

1.A  computer that is more powerful and faster than most personal
   computers, and is typically used for graphics, CAD, CAE, and other
   applications requiring high performance and memory.

 2. A terminal in a network, which may have its own processing
     capability.

 3. A terminal or personal computer where one person works.

Worm

A type of virus.

Write

To record data onto a disk, tape, or other storage medium



Write Error 

An error that occurs when you try to save data to a disk. Write errors
can occur because of glitches on the disk surface, not enough space
on the disk, or attempts to save to a write protected disk.

Write Protection

Various hardware or software methods of preventing data from being
written to a disk or other medium


WYSIWYG

Stands for what you see is what you get. It means whatever you see
on your monitor will match your printout. Almost never true.