PCMag Encyclopedia

Some number of short beeps that are sounded by the BIOS upon startup when a memory, cache or processor error is encountered. There are numerous beep code patterns, and Phoenix BIOS codes are long and short beeps delivered in groups. The follow...Read More

(Domain Name System) The Internet's system for converting alphabetic names into numeric IP addresses. For example, when a Web address (URL) is typed into a browser, DNS servers return the IP address of the Web server associated with that name....Read More

(Graphics Processing Unit) A programmable processor specialized for rendering all images on the computer's screen. A GPU provides the fastest graphics processing, and for gamers, the GPU is a stand-alone card plugged into the PCI Express (PCIe...Read More

A programming language structure wherein the data and their associated processing ("methods") are defined as self-contained entities called "objects." The norm today, object-oriented programming (OOP) languages, such as C++ and Java, provide a...Read More

(Small Form-factor Pluggable) A small transceiver that plugs into the SFP port of a network switch and connects to Fibre Channel and Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) optical fiber cables at the other end. Superseding the GBIC transceiver, SFP modules ar...Read More

(Universal Naming Convention) A standard for identifying servers, printers and other resources in a network, which originated in the Unix community. A UNC path uses double slashes or backslashes to precede the name of the computer. The path (...Read More