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Shortcuts to Common Abbreviations and Acronyms
ODI
ODR
OEM
OS
OS/2
- object-oriented
- A term that can be applied to any computer system, OS, programming language, application program, or GUI that supports the use of objects.
- octet
- The Internet's own term for eight bits or a byte. Some computer systems attached to the Internet have used a byte with more than eight bits, hence the need for this term.
- OEM
- Acronym for Original Equipment Manufacturer. The original manufacturer of a hardware subsystem or component. Fore example, Canon makes the print engine used in many laser printers, including those from Hewlett-Packard; in this case, Canon is the OEM and HP is a value-added reseller(VAR)
- off-the-shelf
- Describes a ready-to-use hardware or software productthat is packaged and ready for sale, as opposed to one that is proprietary or has been customized.
- open architecture
- A vendor-independent cmputer design that is publicly available and well understood within the industry. An open architecture allows the user to configure the computer easily by adding expansion cards.
- Open Data-Link Interface
- Open Data-Link Interface is a LAN driver interface from Novell.
- open systems
- Open systems provide a standards-based computing environment, possibly including but not limited to UNIX,TCP/IP,APIs,and GUIs.
- operating system
- The software responsible for allocating system resources,including memory, processor time, disk space, and peripheral devices such as printers, modems, and the monitor. All application programs use the OS to gain access to these system resources as they are needed. The OS is the first program loaded into the computer as it boots, and it remains in memory at all times thereafter. DOS,OS/2,Win 9x&2000, Unix and Sun are all operating systems.
- optical character recognition
- OCR is the computer recognition of printed or typed characters. OCR is usually performed using a standard optical scanner and special software, although some systems use special readers. The text is reproduced just as though it had been typed. Certain advanced systems can resolve neat hand -written characters.
- Optical Fiber
- Long strands of glass, thinner than a human hair, which propagate a lightwave signal for use in broadband communications. Synonym for fiber, lightguide.
- Optical Network
- A network that carries digitized voice or data at very high rates on multiple channels of light.
- OS/2
- A 32-bit multitasking operating system for Intel 80386(or later) processors, originally developed by Microsoft and IBM, but now wholly supported by IBM.
Originally OS/2 was developed jointly by Microsoft and IBM as the successor to DOS, while Windows was developed as a stop-gap measure until OS/2 was ready. However, Microsoft chose to back Windows, placing considerable resources behind the breakthrough release of Windows 3.0 IBm took control of OS/2 development, and in spring 92 released OS/2 version 2.0, which was widely hailed as a major technical achievement.
- output
- Computer generated information that is displayed on the screen, printed, written to disk or tape, or sent over a communications link to another computer.
- Open Systems Interconnect
- A set of protocols specified by ISO for interconnectiong networks. SeeISO/OSI
- Overdrive
- an Intel CPU that increases the speed of the original CPU. There are overdrive chips for most 486 and Pentium PCs.
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