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V.90:
A standard for 56-Kpbs modems approved by the International
Telecommunication Union(ITU) in February, 1998. The V.90 standard resolves
the battle between the two competing 56 Kbps technologies –X2 from 3COM and
K56Flex from Rockwell Semiconductor. Both manufacturers have announced that
their future modems will conform to V.90. In addition, most users who
already purchased 56 Kbps modems will be able to apply a software upgrade to
make their modems support V.90.
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VBScript:
Based on the Visual Basic programming language. VBScript was developed
by Microsoft as an answer for Netscape's JavaScript programming language.
Like JavaScript, VBScript is embedded in to a web page where the script is
interpreted and executed by a Web client. VBScript is often used as a
replacement for DOS batch files. Programs written in VBScript will carry a .VBS
extension.
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VDD:
Stands for Virtual Device Driver.
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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.
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VGA:
Stands for Video Graphics Adapter. This is a lower level color monitor.
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Virtual
Device Driver:
In Windows systems, a special type of device driver that has direct
access to the operating system kernel. This allows them to interact with
system and hardware resources at a very low level. In Windows 95, virtual
device drivers are often called VxDs because the filenames end with the .vxd
extension.
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Virtual
Environment:
An environment that uses audio and video computer simulations.
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Virtual
Machine:
A self-contained operating environment that behaves as if it is a
separate computer. For example, Java applets run in a Java virtual machine (VM)
that has no access to the host operating system. This design has two
advantages:
System Independence: A Java application will run the same in any Java VM,
regardless of the hardware and software underlying the system.
Security: Because the VM has no contact with the operating system, there is
little possibility of a Java program damaging other files or applications.
The second advantage, however, has a downside. Because programs running in a
VM are separate from the operating system, they cannot take advantage of
special operating system features.
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Virtual
Memory:
When applications call for more random access memory (RAM than is
installed on a computer, the operating system will automatically use empty
sectors on the hard drive to simulate more memory. However, when this action
is performed, a great reduction in the systems performance will be noticed.
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Virtual
Private Network (VPN):
A data network that uses the public telecommunications infrastructure,
but maintains privacy through the use of a tunneling protocol and security
procedures. A VPN gives a company the same capabilities as a system of owned
or leased lines to which that company has exclusive access. However, costs
are much lower because the VPN uses the shared public infrastructure rather
than exclusive line access.
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Virus:
A program or piece of code that is loaded onto your computer without
your knowledge and runs against your wishes. Most viruses can also replicate
themselves. All computer viruses are manmade. A simple virus that can make a
copy of itself over and over again is relatively easy to produce. Even such
a simple virus is dangerous because it will quickly use all available memory
and bring the system to a halt. An even more dangerous type of virus is one
capable of transmitting itself across networks and bypassing security
systems.
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VMS:
Stands for Virtual Memory System
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VoIP:
(Voice Over Internet Protocol) A network that allows for real-time
conversation by sending digital voice information in the form of packets
over the Internet rather than the traditional circuit-committed protocols
used by public telephone networks.
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Voltage
Regulator:
A device which maintains constant voltage in an electrical line in case
of brownout.
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VRAM:
Video Random Access Memory. A kind of high-speed memory used for the
computer's display. VRAM must be fast to keep up with the speed at which the
screen is scanned. The VRAM in a PC is on a display adapter card.VRAM has
two ports so it can send the data for text and images to memory and to the
display at the same time.
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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.
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VTAM:
Virtual Telecommunications Access Method. The SNA software that runs on
IBM mainframes and implements the functions of network control, network
management interface, and SNA support for host based application programs.
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VxD:
Virtual Device Driver
<operating system> A device driver under Windows 3.x/Windows 95 running as
part of the kernel and thus having access to the memory of the kernel and
all running processes as well as raw access to the hardware. VxD's usually
have the filename extension .386 under Windows 3.x and .vxd under Windows
95. VxD's written for Windows 3.x can be used under Windows 95 but not vice
versa.
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VxWorks:
An Operating System developed by Wind River Systems. It is a real-time
software development environment and a multitasking operating system similar
to; QNX, Lynx, pSOS etc.. VxWorks uses the VRTX kernel.