[ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 0-9 ]

Backup: A duplicate copy of files or an entire hard drive. A backup of your important files should be done regularly.

Bandwidth: The amount of data that can be transmitted along a communications channel in a fixed amount of time. Usually expressed in bits per second (bps).

Benchmarks: A set of conditions or criteria against which a product or system is measured.

Beta: Beta versions of commercial software are work-in-progress test copies released prior to the full version. They're used to put the product through real-world tests and to ferret out bugs before the finished software hits the shelves. Betas often expire after a period of time, usually when the full version or the next beta is released.

BGA: Ball Grid Array - the method chipsets are attached to motherboards, using solder balls.

Bios: Basic Input/Output System.Software that determines what a computer can do without accessing programs. Your BIOS has the information to control the keyboard, screen, drives, serial communications, and other functions. BIOS is typically built into a ROM chip installed on the motherboard.

Boot Sequence: The order of drives that a system’s BIOS follows when looking for the operating system to boot after the computer has performed POST. This can be defined by you in your computers BIOS.

Borked: To really screw something up. Usually code. As in "Wow, you really borked that script."

Broadband: High speed internet access via cable lines or ADSL phone lines.

BSOD: Blue Screen of Death - when the Windows OS continually shows a blue screen and a reboot is required.

Burn: To record information onto a writable optical medium such as a CD-R or CD-RW.

Burn in: A given period of time in which a new computer is fully stressed to make sure there are no faults.

Bus Mastering: Allows for peripherals to directly communicate to each other without the help of the CPU. This often results in higher performance as well as less CPU utilization.