Glossary of Computer Terms—V

Glossary of Computer Terms—V

V

V.42bis: A worldwide modem standard for data compression that lets modems reach data transfer speeds of up to 34,000 bits per second.

VDD: Stands for Virtual Device Driver.

VERONICA: Stands for Very Easy Rodent Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerized Archives. A database of menu names from a large number of Gopher servers. A quick and easy way to search Gopher resources for information by keyword.

VGA: Stands for Video Graphics Adapter. This is a lower level color monitor.

VIRUS: An unauthorized piece of computer code attached to a computer program or portions of a computer system that secretly copies itself from one computer to another by shared discs and over telephone and cable lines. It can destroy information stored on the computer, and in extreme cases, can destroy operability.

VIDEO TELECONFERENCING: A remote “face-to-face chat,” when two or more people using a webcam and an Internet telephone connection chat online. The webcam enables both live voice and video.

VIRTUAL REALITY (VR): A technology that allows one to experience and interact with images in a simulated three-dimensional environment. For example, you could design a room in a house on your computer and actually feel that you are walking around in it even though it was never built. (The Holodeck in the science-fiction TV series Star Trek: Voyager would be the ultimate virtual reality.) Current technology requires the user to wear a special helmet, viewing goggles, gloves, and other equipment that transmits and receives information from the computer.

VOCABULARY: A list of operating codes or instructions available to the software programmer for writing a program in a specific language.

VOLATILE MEMORY: A memory whose contents are irretrievably lost when power is removed. If data in RAM must be saved after power shut-down, back-up in nonvolatile memory (magnetic disk, tape, or CD-R) is essential. 
VRML: Stands for Virtual Reality Modeling Language. It’s a form of application that gives a 3-D effect to pictures sometimes allowing you to “move” through them.