From the Publisher
The Dictionary of PC Hardware and Data Communications Terms covers terms in two of the most volatile and interesting areas of computer development: personal computers and networks. It provides up-to-date information about everything from a common item like "batteries" to an obscure font technology called "Speedo." The book's strength is that it is comprehensive. The author has combed the Internet and other online services to find the latest and most vexing acronyms and terms. Each entry has three sections. First, it lists the acronym; then the expansion of that acronym; and third, the definition of it. In a way, it's inaccurate to call this a dictionary because it provides long and useful descriptions of the complex terms in these two computer areas. For example, the description of PGP (Pretty Good Privacy), a popular data encryption protocol, covers three and one-half pages. The entry for PowerPC contains a table listing the clock speed, number of transistors, width in bits, cache in kilobytes, and pins of each PowerPC processor currently in use. The author has carefully cross-referenced the terms as well (to other sections of the book, and to ftp and www sites on the Internet). O'Reilly's new Dictionary of PC Hardware and Data Communications Terms is now freely available on the World Wide Web. Web content providers can link to definitions in the online version of this book. The terms are updated frequently to provide immediate access to new definitions. By linking your documents to these terms over the World Wide Web, you can avoid having to update your own documents' definitions. See http://www.ora.com/reference/dictionary/ for details.
From the Back Cover
Traditional computer dictionaries provide a short identifying definition, but the information is often frustratingly incomplete. You need more than an expansion of the acronym - you need enough information to understand the term's importance, context, and scope. The Dictionary of PC Hardware and Data Communications Terms gives each term the breadth of definition it deserves. It tells you what the acronym stands for; where the technology is used and what it does; which other terms are related to it; which technologies it competes with; whether it is a standard, and if so, who supports it; whether there are problems or shortcomings you need to know about; when it was released, and what enhancements you can find in its current version; and where you can get more information about it. More importantly, this book won't go stale. O'Reilly & Associates has created a Web site, maintained by the author, where you'll always be able to find the latest information. You'll be able to look up a term by acronym or expansion and see what's new. Get started with this book; it's the one source you need.
