1080p - 1080p is the shorthand name for a category of video modes. The number 1080 stands for 1080 lines of vertical resolution, while the letter p stands for progressive scan or non-interlaced. 1080p is considered to be an HDTV video mode. The term usually assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a horizontal resolution of 1920 lines and a frame resolution of 1920 x 1080 or about 2.07 million pixels. The frame rate in hertz can be either implied by the context or specified after the letter p (such as 1080p30, meaning 30 frames per second).

While 1080p is sometimes referred to in marketing materials as "True High-Definition" or "Full High-Definition", what constitutes high-definition is continually evolving over time.

IEEE 802.11g - IEEE 802.11, the Wi-Fi standard, denotes a set of Wireless LAN/WLAN standards developed by working group 11 of the IEEE LAN/MAN Standards Committee (IEEE 802). The term 802.11x is also used to denote this set of standards, and is not to be mistaken for any one of its elements. There is no single 802.11x standard. The term IEEE 802.11 is also used to refer to the original 802.11, which is now sometimes called "802.11legacy." For the application of these standards see Wi-Fi.

The 802.11 family currently includes six over-the-air modulation techniques that all use the same protocol, the most popular (and prolific) techniques are those defined by the b, a, and g amendments to the original standard; security was originally included, and was later enhanced via the 802.11i amendment. Other standards in the family (c–f, h–j, n) are service enhancement and extensions, or corrections to previous specifications. 802.11b was the first widely accepted wireless networking standard, followed (somewhat counterintuitively) by 802.11a and 802.11g.

802.11b and 802.11g standards use the 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) band, operating under Part 15 of the FCC Rules and Regulations. The 802.11a standard uses the 5 GHz band. Operating in the 2.4 gigahertz frequency band, 802.11b and 802.11g equipment can incur interference from microwave ovens, cordless telephones, Bluetooth devices, and other appliances using the same 2.4 GHz band.

While it is true that 802.11a and g devices may be legally operated in the US without a license, it is not true that 802.11a and g operate in an unlicensed portion of the radio frequency spectrum. Unlicensed (legal) operation of 802.11 a & g is covered under Part 15 of the FCC Rules and Regulations. Frequencies used by channels one (1) through six (6) (802.11b) fall within the range of the 2.4 gigahertz Amateur Radio band. Licensed amateur radio operators may operate 802.11b devices under Part 97 of the FCC Rules and Regulations that apply.

Blu-ray Disc - Blu-ray Disc (BD) is a next-generation optical disc format meant for storage of high-definition video and high-density data. The Blu-ray standard was jointly developed by a group of consumer electronics and PC companies called the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). As compared to the HD DVD format, its main competitor, Blu-ray has more information capacity per layer, 25 instead of 15 gigabytes, but may initially be more expensive to produce.

Blu-ray gets its name from the shorter wavelength (405 nm) of a "blue" (technically blue-violet) laser that allows it to store substantially more data than a DVD, which has the same physical dimensions but uses a longer wavelength (650 nm) red laser.

Blu-ray unveiled their plans for a Spring 2006 launch at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2006.

Bluetooth - Bluetooth is an industrial specification for wireless personal area networks (PANs). Bluetooth provides a way to connect and exchange information between devices like personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, laptops, PCs, printers and digital cameras via a secure, low-cost, globally available short range radio frequency.

The name Bluetooth was born from the 10th century king of Denmark, King Harold Bluetooth who engaged in diplomacy which led warring parties to negotiate with each other. The inventors of the Bluetooth technology thought this a fitting name for their technology which allowed different devices to talk to each other.

CompactFlash - CompactFlash (CF) was originally a type of data storage device, used in portable electronic devices. As a storage device, it typically uses flash memory in a standardized enclosure, and was first specified and produced by SanDisk Corporation in 1994. The physical format is now used for a variety of devices. There are two main subdivisions of CF cards, Type I and the slightly thicker Type II cards. There are two, soon to be three, main speeds of cards including the original CF, CF High Speed (using CF+/CF2.0), and an even faster CF3.0 standard that is being adopted as of 2005. The CF Type II slot is used by Microdrives and some other devices.

CF was among the first flash memory standards to compete with the earlier and larger PC Card Type I memory cards, and was originally built around Intel's NOR-based flash memory, though it switched over to NAND. CF is among the oldest and most successful formats, and has held on to a niche in the professional camera market especially well. It has benefited from having both a good cost to memory size ratio relative to other formats for much of its life, and generally having larger capacities available than smaller formats.

CF cards can be used directly in PC Card slot with a plug adapter, and with a reader, to any number of common ports like USB or FireWire. More impressively, thanks to its bigger size relative to the smaller cards that came later, many other formats can be used directly in a CF card slot with an adapter (including SD/MMC, Memory Stick Duo, xD-Picture Card in a Type I slot, and SmartMedia in a Type II slot, as of 2005) (some multi-card readers use CF for I/O as well).

Cell processor - Cell is a microprocessor jointly developed by Sony, Toshiba, and IBM. The Cell architecture is intended to be scalable through the use of vector processing. The first major commercial application of Cell is in Sony's upcoming PlayStation 3 game console. Cell is a shorthand for Cell Broadband Engine Architecture. The project's budget is estimate in US $400 million. Cell was developed to be a general purpose processor and also a multimedia processor.

Component video - Component video is a type of analog video information that is transmitted or stored as two or more separate signals. Component video can be contrasted with composite video ( such as NTSC or PAL) in which all the video information is combined into a single signal such as a TV broadcast. However, component video cables are gradually being replaced by the higher quality DVI and HDMI cables.

Composite video - Composite video is the format of an analog television (picture only) signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. It is usually in a standard format such as NTSC, PAL, or SECAM. It is a composite of three source signals called Y, U and V (together referred to as YUV) with sync pulses. Y represents the brightness or luminance of the picture and includes synchronizing pulses, so that by itself it could be displayed as a monochrome picture. U and V between them carry the colour information. They are first mixed with two orthogonal phases of a colour carrier signal to form a signal called the chrominance. Y and UV are then added together. Since Y is a baseband signal and UV has been mixed with a carrier, this addition is equivalent to frequency-division multiplexing.

Composite video can easily be directed to any broadcast channel simply by modulating the proper RF carrier frequency with it. Most analogue home video equipment records a signal in (roughly) composite format: LaserDiscs store a true composite signal, while VHS tapes use a slightly modified composite signal. These devices then give the user the option of outputting the raw signal, or modulating it on to a VHF or UHF frequency to appear on a selected TV channel. In typical home applications, the composite video signal is typically connected using an RCA jack, normally yellow (often accompanied with red and white for right and left audio channels respectively). BNC connectors and higher quality co-axial cable are often used in more professional applications.

In Europe, SCART connections are often used instead of RCA jacks — though SCART can also carry far superior RGB component video signals (and to a lesser extent, S-Video), so where available, RGB is used instead of composite video with computers, video game consoles, and DVD players.

Some devices that connect to a TV, such as videogame consoles (and the ubiquitous home computers of the 1980s), naturally output a composite signal. This may then be converted to RF with an external box known as an RF modulator that generates the proper carrier (often for channel 3 or 4 in North America). The RF modulator is preferably left outside the console so the RF doesn't interfere with the components inside the machine. VCRs and similar devices already have to deal with RF signals in their tuners, so the modulator is located inside the box. Also, most early home computers usually employed an internal RF modulator.

The process of modulating RF with the original video signal, and then demodulating the original signal again in the TV, introduces several losses into the signal. RF is also "noisy" because of all of the video and radio signals already being broadcast, so this conversion also typically adds noise or interference to the signal as well. For these reasons, it is typically best to use composite connections instead of RF connections if possible. Almost all modern video equipment has composite connectors, so this typically isn't a problem.

However, just as the modulation and demodulation of RF loses quality, the mixing of the various signals into the original composite signal does the same. This has led to a proliferation of systems such as S-Video and component video to separate out one or more of the mixed signals.

Composite video is often designated by the CVBS acronym, meaning either "Color, Video, Blank and Sync", "Composite Video Baseband Signal", "Composite Video Burst Signal", or "Composite Video with Burst and Sync".

Digital audio - Digital audio refers to audio signals stored in a digital format.

DTS - DTS (formerly known as Digital Theater Systems) is a multi-channel surround sound format used for both commercial/theatrical and consumer grade applications (with significant technical differences between home and commercial/theatrical variants: the latter being a traditional ADPCM compression system and the former a sophisticated hybrid perceptual and signal-redundancy compressor). It is used for in-movie sound both on film and on DVD, and during the last few years of the format's existence, several Laserdisc releases had DTS soundtracks. The company which created it, Digital Theater Systems, is now referred to simply as DTS. One of the company's initial investors was film director Steven Spielberg, who felt that theatrical sound formats up until the company's founding were no longer state of the art, and as a result were no longer optimal for use on projects where quality sound reproduction was of the utmost importance. Work on the format started in 1991, four years after Dolby Labs started work on their new codec, Dolby Digital. The basic and most common version of the format is a 5.1 channel system, supporting five primary speakers and a subwoofer, referred to as an LFE (Low Frequency Effects) channel. Note however that encoders and decoders support numerous channel combinations and stereo, four-channel and four-channel+LFE soundtracks have been released commercially on DVD, CD and LaserDisc.

Other newer DTS variants are also currently available, including versions that support up to 7 primary audio channels (DTS-ES). DTS's main competitors in multichannel theatrical audio are Dolby Digital and SDDS, although only Dolby Digital and DTS are used on DVDs and implemented in home theater hardware. Spielberg debuted the format with his 1993 production of Jurassic Park, which came slightly less than a full year after the 'official' theatrical debut of Dolby Digital ('Batman Returns'). In addition, Jurassic Park also became the first home video release to contain DTS sound when it was released on Laserdisc in January 1997, two years after the first Dolby Digital home video release ('Clear and Present Danger' on LaserDisc) which debuted in January 1995.

In theatrical use, information in the form of a modified time code is optically imaged onto the film, a DTS processor in the projection booth uses this timecode to synchronize the projected image with the soundtrack audio, which is recorded in compressed form on standard CD-ROM media at 1.5 Mbit/s. The processor also acts as a transport mechanism, it holds and reads the audio discs. The units can generally hold 3 discs, allowing a single processor/transport to handle 2-disc film soundtracks along with a 3rd disc containing sound for theatrical trailers. In addition, specific elements of the imprinted timecode allow identifying data to be embedded within the code, ensuring that a certain film's soundtrack will only run with that film.

One of the main advantages of DTS (for DVDs) is that it has a much higher bitrate than an equivalent Dolby track. DTS typically uses 768-1536 kbps (overall), while Dolby only uses 192-448 kbps. Proponents claim that the extra bits give higher fidelity and a greater dynamic range, providing richer and more life-like sound.

GDDR3 - GDDR3 (Graphics Double Data Rate, version 3) is a graphics card-specific memory technology, designed by ATI Technologies.

It has much the same technological base as DDR2, but the power and heat dispersal requirements have been reduced somewhat, allowing for higher-speed memory modules, and simplified cooling systems. Unlike the DDR2 used on graphics cards, GDDR3 is unrelated to the upcoming JEDEC DDR3 specification. This memory uses internal terminators, enabling it to better handle certain graphics demands. To improve bandwidth, GDDR3 memory transfers 4 bits of data per pin in 2 clock cycles.

Despite being designed by ATI, the first card to use the technology was nVidia's GeForce FX 5700 Ultra, where it replaced the DDR2 modules used up to that time. The next card to use GDDR3 was nVidia's GeForce 6800 Ultra, where it was key in maintaining reasonable power requirements compared to the cards predecessor, the GeForce 5950 Ultra. ATI began using the memory on its Radeon X800 cards. GDDR3 is Sony's choice for the PlayStation 3 gaming console's graphics processor, although the main system memory will be comprised of XDR DRAM. Microsoft's Xbox 360 is also shipped with 512 MB of GDDR3 memory, and is helping to pioneer the use of this memory as standard system memory rather than only video memory.

DDR3 memory is a different technology from GDDR3.

Gigabit Ethernet - Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) is a term describing various technologies for implementing Ethernet networking at a nominal speed of one gigabit per second.

As a result of research done at Xerox Corporation in the early 1970s, Ethernet has evolved into the most widely implemented networking protocol today. Fast Ethernet increased speed from 10 to 100 megabits per second (Mbit/s). Gigabit Ethernet was the next iteration, increasing the speed to 1000 Mbit/s. It was standardized in June 1998.

Gigabit Ethernet is supported over both optical fiber and twisted pair cable. Physical layer standards include the obsolete 1000BASE-CX and 1000BASE-T for copper cabling; and 1000BASE-SX and 1000BASE-LX over optic fiber.

Initially, Gigabit Ethernet was deployed in high-capacity backbone network links (for instance, on a high-capacity campus network). In 2000, Apple's Power Mac G4 and PowerBook G4 featured the connection. Recently, it has become a built-in feature in many motherboards. In May 2005, the Apple iMac G5 was redesigned to include Gigabit Ethernet. Its desktop and small-network applications include providing connectivity between cluster nodes, video editing and file transfers.

Gigabit Ethernet is not the fastest Ethernet standard, with the ratification of 10 Gigabit Ethernet in 2002, which is 10 times faster.

High dynamic range imaging - In computer graphics and cinematography, high dynamic range imaging (HDRI for short) is a set of techniques that allow a far greater dynamic range of exposures than normal digital imaging techniques. The intention is to accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes, ranging from direct sunlight to the deepest shadows.

This provides the opportunity to shoot a scene and have total control of the final imaging from the beginning to the end of the photography project. An example would be that it provides the possibility to re-expose. One can capture as wide a range of information as possible on location and choose what is wanted later.

Gregory Ward is widely considered to be the founder of the file format for high dynamic range imaging. The use of high dynamic range imaging in computer graphics has been pioneered by Paul Debevec. He is considered to be the first person to create computer graphic images using HDRI maps to realistically light and animate CG objects.

When preparing for display, a high dynamic range image is often tone mapped and combined with several full screen effects.

HDMI - The High-Definition Multi-media Interface (HDMI) is an industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface. HDMI provides an interface between any compatible digital audio/video source, such as a set-top box, DVD player, and A/V receiver and a compatible digital audio and/or video monitor, such as a digital television (DTV).

HDMI supports standard, enhanced, or high-definition video, plus multi-channel digital audio on a single cable. It is independent of the various DTV standards such as ATSC, DVB(-T,-S,-C), as these are encapsulations of the MPEG data streams, which are passed off to a decoder, and output as uncompressed video data, which can be high-definition. This video data is then encoded into TMDS for transmission digitally over HDMI. HDMI also includes support for 8-channel uncompressed digital audio. Beginning with version 1.2, HDMI now supports up to 8 channels of one-bit audio. One-bit audio is what is used on Super Audio CDs.

The standard Type A HDMI connector has 19 pins, and a higher resolution version called Type B, has been defined, although it is not yet in common use. Type B has 29 pins, allowing it to carry an expanded video channel for use with high-resolution displays. Type-B is designed to support resolutions higher than 1080p.

Type A HDMI is backward-compatible with the single-link Digital Visual Interface (DVI) used on modern computer monitors and graphics cards. This means that a DVI source can drive an HDMI monitor, or vice versa, by means of a suitable adapter or cable, but the audio and remote control features of HDMI will not be available. Additionally, without support for HDCP, the video quality and resolution may be artificially downgraded by the signal source to prevent the end user from viewing or especially copying legally protected content. Type B HDMI is similarly backward-compatible with dual-link DVI.

The HDMI Founders include leading consumer electronics manufacturers Hitachi, Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic), Philips, Sony, Thomson (RCA), Toshiba, and Silicon Image. Digital Content Protection, LLC (a subsidiary of Intel) is providing High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) for HDMI. In addition, HDMI has the support of major motion picture producers Fox, Universal, Warner Bros., and Disney, and system operators DirecTV and EchoStar (Dish Network) as well as CableLabs and Samsung.

HDTV - High-definition television (HDTV) means broadcast of television signals with a higher resolution than traditional formats (NTSC, SÉCAM, PAL) allow. Except for early analog formats in Europe and Japan, HDTV is broadcast digitally, and therefore its introduction sometimes coincides with the introduction of digital television (DTV).

Historically, the term high-definition television was also used to refer to television standards developed in the 1930s to replace the early experimental systems, although, not so long afterwards, Philo T. Farnsworth, John Logie Baird and Vladimir Zworkin had each developed competing TV systems but resolution was not the issue that separated their substantially different technologies. It was patent interference lawsuits and deployment issues given the tumultuous financial climate of the late 20's and 30's. Most patents were expiring by the end of World War II leaving the market wide open and no worldwide standard for television agreed upon. The world used analog PAL, NTSC, SECAM and other standards for over half a century.

The terms HD ready and HD compatible are being used around the industrial world for marketing purposes. They indicate that a TV or display is able to accept video over an HDMI connection, using a new connector design, the main purpose of which seems to be to ensure that digital video is only passed over an interface which, by agreement, incorporates copyright protection. Even HD-ready sets do not necessarily have enough pixels to display video to the 1080-line (1920x1080) or 720-line (1280x720) HD standards in full resolution without interpolation, and HD-compatible sets are often just standard-definition sets with an HDMI input. This is a confusing use of the terms HD and HDTV.

Linux - Linux is a computer operating system and its kernel. It is one of the most prominent examples of free software and of open-source development: unlike proprietary operating systems such as Windows and Mac OS, all of its underlying source code is available to the public for anyone to freely use, modify, improve, and redistribute.

In the narrowest sense, the term Linux refers to the Linux kernel, but it is commonly used to describe entire Unix-like operating systems (also known as GNU/Linux) that are based on the Linux kernel combined with libraries and tools from the GNU Project and other sources. Most broadly, a Linux distribution bundles large quantities of application software with the core system, and provides more user-friendly installation and upgrades.

Initially, Linux was primarily developed and used by individual enthusiasts. Since then, Linux has gained the support of major corporations such as IBM, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, and Novell for use in servers and is gaining popularity in the desktop market. Proponents and analysts attribute this success to its vendor independence (the opposite of vendor lock-in), low cost, security, and reliability.

Linux was originally developed for Intel 386 microprocessors and now supports all popular computer architectures (and several obscure ones). It is deployed in applications ranging from embedded systems (such as mobile phones and personal video recorders) to personal computers to supercomputers.

LPCM - Linear Pulse Code Modulation (or LPCM) is a format that is a popular choice in music production. It can have up to 8 channels of audio at 48 kHz or 96 kHz sampling frequency and 16, 20 or 24-bits per sample. It has a maximum bit rate of 6.144 MB/s.

The format, without compressing the sound data, simultaneously samples and captures analog signals and transforms them into digital signals. The uncompressed digital audio is the same format as what is used for music CDs. LPCM has been defined as a part of the DVD standard, but most average DVD players only support 48 kHz/16-bit capability. Only relatively more expensive players have built-in 96 kHz/24-bit capabilities.

To start enjoying the benefits of 24-bit/96 kHz LPCM audio, you will need to make sure you have the right hardware to support it. For the PC, you will need to have a sound card that fully supports 24-bit/96 kHz LPCM. In addition to that, the DVD movie you are playing has to be recorded in 24-bit/96 kHz LPCM format (generally these are musicals or concerts).

MB - A megabyte is a unit of information or computer storage equal to approximately one million bytes. Megabyte is commonly abbreviated as MB (not to be confused with Mb, which is used for megabits), and sometimes as meg.

MMC - The Multimedia Card (MMC) is a flash memory memory card standard. Unveiled in 1997 by Siemens AG and SanDisk, it is based on Toshiba's NAND-based flash memory, and is therefore much smaller than earlier systems based on Intel NOR-based memory such as Compact Flash. MMC is about the size of a postage stamp: 24 mm x 32 mm x 1.5 mm. MMC originally used a 1-bit serial interface, but newer versions of the specification allow transfers of 4 or sometimes even 8 bits at a time. They have been more or less superseded by Secure Digital cards, but still see significant use because MMC cards can be used in any device which supports SD cards.

Typically, an MMC card is used as storage media for a portable device, in a form that can easily be removed for access by a PC. For example, a digital camera would use an MMC card for storing image files. With an MMC reader (typically a small box that connects via USB or some other serial connection, although some can be found integrated into the computer itself), a user could copy the pictures taken with the digital camera off to his or her computer. Modern computers, both laptops and desktops, often have SD slots, which can read MMC cards.

MMC cards are currently available in sizes up to and including 2 GB, and are used in almost every context in which memory cards are used, like cellular phones, digital audio players, digital cameras, and PDAs. Since the introduction of Secure Digital few companies build MMC slots into their devices, but the slightly-thinner, pin-compatible MMC cards can be used in any device that supports SD cards. A handful of companies, most notably Nokia, still support MMC exclusively, however.

Memory Stick - Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, launched by Sony in October 1998, and is also used in general to describe the whole family of Memory Sticks. This family includes the Memory Stick Pro, a revision that allows greater maximum storage capacity and faster file transfer speeds, and Memory Stick Duo, a small-form-factor version of the Memory Stick, and the even smaller Memory Stick Micro.

Typically, a Memory Stick is used as storage media for a portable device, in a form that can easily be removed for access by a PC. For example, Sony digital cameras use Memory Sticks for storing image files. With a Memory Stick reader (typically a small box that connects via USB or some other serial connection), a user could copy the pictures taken with the Sony digital camera off to his or her computer. Sony uses and has used Memory Sticks in digital cameras, digital music players, PDAs, cellular phones, the PlayStation Portable, and in other devices, and the Sony VAIO line of personal computers has long included Memory Stick slots.

Aside from copying image files from digital cameras, a user could also copy any type of file to or from a stick. There are also readers that use PCMCIA, CompactFlash, 3.5" inch floppy drive, and other formats. In terms of compatibility, older Memory Sticks can be used in newer MS drives (Memory Stick Duo with an adapter can be used in newer drives as well). However, Memory Stick Pro and Memory Stick Pro Duo are often not supported in older drives. Also, while high-speed Pro or Pro Duo cards will work in Pro drives (Pro Duo needing an adapter), their higher speed may not be available. The original memory stick was avaible in sizes up to 128 MB, and a sub-version, Memory Stick Select allows two banks of 128 MB to be on the same card. Memory Stick Pro has a maximum potential size of 32 GB according to Sony, with sizes up to 4 GB available as of 2005.

The Memory Stick is defined in the minds of many by its proprietary nature, as the majority of portable devices that use it are Sony devices. The significant third-party licensees that make Memory Sticks are SanDisk and Lexar.) In spite of its proprietary nature (or because of Sony's support for the format), the Memory Stick has outlived almost all other strictly proprietary flash memory formats, and has a longevity comparable only to CompactFlash and Secure Digital.

Synergistic Processing Elements (SPE) - Each SPE is composed of a "Synergistic Processing Unit" ("SPU"), and an SMF unit (DMA, MMU, and bus interface). [5] An SPE is a RISC processor with 128-bit SIMD organization [6] for single and double precision instructions. Each SPE contains a 256 KiB instruction and data local memory area (called "local store") which is visible to the PPE and can be addressed directly by software. The local store does not operate like a conventional CPU cache since it is neither transparent to software nor does it contain hardware structures that predict what data to load. The SPEs contain a 128 × 128 register file and measure 14.5 mm² on a 90 nm process. An SPE can operate on 16 8-bit integers, 8 16-bit integers, 4 32-bit integers, or 4 single precision floating-point numbers in a single clock cycle.

In one typical usage scenario, the system will load the SPEs with small programs (similar to threads), chaining the SPEs together to handle each step in a complex operation. For instance, a set-top box might load programs for reading a DVD, video and audio decoding, and display, and the data would be passed off from SPE to SPE until finally ending up on the TV. Another possibility is to partition the input data set and have several SPEs performing the same kind of operation in parallel. At 3.2 GHz, each SPE gives a theoretical 25.6 GFLOPS of performance. Performance of the PPE's VMX unit is unclear, but should be around 12 GFLOPS in addition to the SPEs.

In comparison to a modern personal computer, the comparatively high overall floating point performance of the Cell processor seemingly dwarfs the capabilities of the SIMD unit in desktop CPUs like the Pentium 4 and the Athlon 64. However, it should be noted that comparing only the floating point capabilities of the system is a single-dimensional and application-specific metric. Unlike the Cell processor, the aforementioned desktop CPUs are more suited to the general purpose software one might run on a personal computer. Furthermore, Cell is optimized for single-precision calculations; for double-precision, as used on personal computers, the performance drops by an order of magnitude to levels similar to desktops.

According to recent testing by IBM [7], SPEs can be expected to reach 75.9% of their theoretical performance.

S/PDIF - S/PDIF or S/P-DIF stands for Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format, also IEC 958 type II, part of IEC-60958. It is a collection of hardware and low-level protocol specifications for carrying PCM stereo digital audio signals between devices and stereo components.

S/P-DIF is a consumer version of the standard known as AES/EBU; it provides small differences in the protocol and requires less expensive hardware.

S-Video - Separate video, abbreviated S-Video and also known as Y/C (or erroneously, S-VHS and "super video") is an analog video signal that carries the video data as two separate signals (brightness and colour), unlike composite video which carries the entire set of signals in one package.

SD - Secure Digital (SD) is a flash memory memory card format. It is used in portable devices, including digital cameras and handheld computers. SD cards are based on the older Multi Media Card (MMC) format, but most (not all) are physically slightly thicker than MMC cards. They also boast higher data transfer rates, but this is always changing, particularly in light of recent improvements to the MMC standard. Most (not all) offer an optional lock switch on the side to prevent accidental overwriting, and (little-used) DRM features. SD cards generally measure 32 mm × 24 mm × 2.1 mm, but can be as thin as 1.4 mm, just like MMC cards (see below).

There are different speed grades available. They are referred to with the same nx notation as CD-ROMs; a multiple of 150 kB/s. Basic cards transfer data up to 6 times as fast (900 kB/s) as the standard CD-ROM speed. High-speed cards are made with higher data transfer rates like 66x (10 MB/s), and high-end cards have speeds of 133x or higher. Some digital cameras require high-speed cards to record video smoothly or capture multiple still photographs in rapid succession. As of December 2005, most devices comply to the SD card specification 1.01, with maximum speed of 66x. Higher speeds of up to 133x are defined by specification 1.1.

Devices with SD slots can use the thinner MMC cards, but the standard SD cards will not fit into the thinner MMC slots. SD cards can be used directly in CompactFlash or PC Card slots with an adapter. MiniSD and MicroSD cards can be used directly in SD slots with an adapter. There are some SD cards that have a USB connector built in for dual-purpose use, and there are readers which allow SD cards to be accessed via many connectivity ports such as USB, FireWire, and the common parallel port. SD cards can also be accessed via a floppy disk drive with a FlashPath adapter.

TFLOPS - In computing, FLOPS is an abbreviation of FLoating point Operations Per Second. This is used as a measure of a computer's performance, especially in fields of scientific calculations that make heavy use of floating point calculations. (Compare to MIPS -- million instructions per second.) One should speak in the singular of a FLOPS and not of a FLOP, although the latter is frequently encountered. The final S stands for second and does not indicate a plural.

Computing devices exhibit an enormous range of performance levels in floating-point applications, so it makes sense to introduce larger units than the FLOPS. The standard SI prefixes can be used for this purpose, resulting in such units as the megaFLOPS (MFLOPS, 106 FLOPS), the gigaFLOPS (GFLOPS, 109 FLOPS), the teraFLOPS (TFLOPS, 1012 FLOPS), and the petaFLOPS (PFLOPS, 1015 FLOPS).

USB - Universal Serial Bus (USB) provides a serial bus standard for connecting devices, usually to computers such as PCs and the Apple Macintosh, but is also becoming commonplace on video game consoles such as Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Revolution, and PDAs, and even devices like televisions and home stereo equipment.

VRAM - Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is a type of random access memory that stores each bit of data in a separate capacitor. As real-world capacitors are not ideal and hence leak electrons, the information eventually fades unless the capacitor charge is refreshed periodically. Because of this refresh requirement, it is a dynamic memory as opposed to SRAM and other static memory. Its advantage over SRAM is its structural simplicity: only one transistor and a capacitor are required per bit, compared to six transistors in SRAM. This allows DRAM to reach very high density. Since DRAM loses its data when the power supply is removed, it is in the class of volatile memory devices.

Wi-Fi - Wi-Fi (also WiFi, Wi-fi, Wifi, or wifi) is a set of product compatibility standards for wireless local area networks (WLAN) based on the IEEE 802.11 specifications. New standards beyond the 802.11 specifications, such as 802.16(WiMAX), are currently in the works and offer many enhancements, anywhere from longer range to greater transfer speeds.

Wi-Fi was intended to be used for mobile devices and LANs, but is now often used for Internet access. It enables a person with a wireless-enabled computer or personal digital assistant (PDA) to connect to the Internet when in proximity of an access point. The geographical region covered by one or several access points is called a hotspot.

Contrary to popular belief, Wi-Fi did not originally stand for Wireless-Fidelity. The term "Wi-Fi" was developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance along with the Interbrand Corporation (here) to describe WLAN products that are based on the IEEE 802.11 standards. Phil Belanger of the Wi-Fi Alliance quoted, "Wi-Fi and the yin yang style logo were invented by Interbrand. We (the founding members of the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance, now called the Wi-Fi Alliance) hired Interbrand to come up with the name and logo that we could use for our interoperability seal and marketing efforts. We needed something that was a little catchier than “IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence”. Later, the term "Wireless Fidelity" was coined with the marketing of a new tag line, "The Standard for Wireless Fidelity." But that was soon dropped due to confusion among customers and consumers.

Certified products can use the official Wi-Fi logo, which indicates that the product is interoperable with any other product also showing the logo.

XDR DRAM - XDR DRAM is a high performance RAM Interface like SDR-SDRAM and DDR-SDRAM. The XDR solution was engineered to be effective in small high-bandwidth consumer systems as well as in high-performance main memory applications. Rambus owns the technology. XDR is the official choice by Sony for the PlayStation 3 console.