floppy disk - Article Index

Article - Past Life Therapy: The New Psychiatry - Past Life Therapy
Past Life Therapy is not for the weakminded or frail-hearted. It leads a person into the depths of his own psychological makeup, but the ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Computer Surveillance: Encyclopedia Ii - Computer Surveillance - Surveillance Techniques
Packet sniffing is the monitoring of data traffic into and out of a computer or network. In some networks, data transmissions are sent on...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Apple Ii Family: Encyclopedia - Apple Ii Family
The Apple II, one of the very first personal computers, is widely seen as the founding pioneer and literal grandfather of the personal co...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Atari St: Encyclopedia - Atari St
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was commercially popular from 1985 to the early 1990s. It was released by Atari in 1985. Th...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Dennis Rader: Encyclopedia - Dennis Rader
Dennis Lynn Rader (born March 9, 1945) is an American serial killer, who murdered at least ten people in Sedgwick County (in and around W...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Cd-rom: Encyclopedia - Cd-rom
The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for "Compact Disc Read-Only Memory") is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical fo...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Boot Sector: Encyclopedia - Boot Sector
The boot sector is a region (typically the first 512 bytes) of a hard disk, floppy disk, or similar data storage device, or a partition t...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Bbc Micro: Encyclopedia - Bbc Micro
The BBC Micro, affectionately known as the Beeb, was an early home computer. It was designed and built by Acorn Computers Ltd for the Bri...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Acorn Computers: Encyclopedia - Acorn Computers
Acorn Computers was a British computer company established in Cambridge, England, in 1978. The company produced a number of computers whi...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Image: Encyclopedia - Image
In common usage, an image (from Latin imago) or picture is an artifact that reproduces the likeness of some subject—usually a physical ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Loom: Encyclopedia - Loom
LOOM is a graphical adventure game originally released in 1990 and was both developed and published by Lucasfilm Games (now known as Luca...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Computer Virus: Encyclopedia - Computer Virus
In computer security technology, a virus is a self-replicating program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other executable c...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Calculator: Encyclopedia - Calculator
A calculator is a device for performing numerical calculations. The type is considered distinct from both a calculating machine and a com...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Another World Video Game: Encyclopedia - Another World Video Game
Another World (published in the USA as Out of this World) is an action-adventure video game, developed by Delphine Software, released in ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Computer Surveillance: Encyclopedia - Computer Surveillance
Computer surveillance is the act of surveilling people's computer activity without their knowledge, by accessing the computer itself. Com...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Zx Spectrum: Encyclopedia - Zx Spectrum
The Sinclair ZX Spectrum was a home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research. Based on a Zilog Z80 CPU runnin...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Credit Card: Encyclopedia - Credit Card
A credit card system is a type of retail transaction settlement and credit system, named after the small plastic card issued to users of ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Dos: Encyclopedia - Dos
The acronym DOS stands for disk operating system, an operating system component for computers that provides the abstraction of a file sys...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Data Remanence: Encyclopedia - Data Remanence
Data remanence is the residual physical representation of data that has been in some way erased. After storage media is erased there may ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Write Once Read Many: Encyclopedia - Write Once Read Many
WORM means Write Once, Read Many (or Write Once Read Multiple times). It is sometimes used when discussing computer storage media that ca...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Disk: Encyclopedia - Disk
A disk or disc (see below) is anything that resembles a flattened cylinder in shape. More specifically: In biology, an intervertebral di...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Cbrain Computer Virus: Encyclopedia - Cbrain Computer Virus
(c)Brain (the industry standard name being Brain) is a 1986 computer virus that infects DOS File Allocation Table file systems. The virus...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Bios: Encyclopedia - Bios
This article is about the software. BIOS can also refer to the Biological Innovation for Open Society. BIOS, in computing, stands for ba...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Day Of The Tentacle: Encyclopedia - Day Of The Tentacle
Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle (DoTT) is a graphical adventure game, originally released in 1993, and published by LucasArts. It is ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Computer Hardware: Encyclopedia - Computer Hardware
Computer hardware is the physical parts of a computer, as distinguished from the computer software or computer programs and data that ope...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Password: Encyclopedia - Password
A password is a form of secret authentication data that is used to control access to a resource. The password is kept secret from those n...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - William Gibson Novelist: Encyclopedia - William Gibson Novelist
William Ford Gibson (born in Conway, South Carolina, March 17, 1948) is an author, mostly of science fiction novels, who lives in Canada....   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Zork: Encyclopedia - Zork
Zork universe Zork games Zork trilogy Zork I Zork II Zork III Enchanter trilogy Enchanter Sorcerer Spellbreaker Wishbringer Beyond Zork Z...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Zork: Encyclopedia Ii - Zork - Dungeon Fortran Version
While the authors of Zork were at MIT, a programmer from DEC broke into MIT's computer systems and stole the MDL source code to the origi...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Zx Spectrum: Encyclopedia Ii - Zx Spectrum - Models
ZX Spectrum - ZX Spectrum 16K/48K 1982. Released by Sinclair in 1982 and available with either 16 kB (£125, later £99) or 48 kB (£17...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - William Gibson Novelist: Encyclopedia Ii - William Gibson Novelist - Bio
In 1968, he fled to Canada to avoid the Vietnam era draft in the United States, and in 1972, he settled in Vancouver, B.C., where he bega...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Mips Magnum: Encyclopedia Ii - Mips Magnum - Components
MIPS Magnum - Processors. As mentioned, the MIPS Magnum 3000 includes a MIPS R3000A processor running at either 25 MHz or 33 MHz. The M...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Optimus Prime: Encyclopedia Ii - Optimus Prime - G1 Optimus Prime
There is no nobler being than Optimus Prime. Were he human, he would be a doctor, a mechanic, a scientist and a warrior - but on Cybertro...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Ibm: Encyclopedia Ii - Ibm - History
IBM - Early years. IBM's history dates back decades before the development of electronic computers – before that it developed punched...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Isopropyl Alcohol: Encyclopedia Ii - Isopropyl Alcohol - Uses
Sterilizing pads typically contain a 60-70% solution of isopropanol in water. Isopropyl alcohol is also commonly used as a cleaner and so...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Password: Encyclopedia Ii - Password - Factors In The Security Of A Password System
The security of a password-protected system depends on several factors. The system must, of course, be designed for sound overall securit...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Jef Raskin: Encyclopedia Ii - Jef Raskin - Career At Apple
Raskin first met Apple Computer's Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak following the debut of their Apple II personal computer at the First West ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Peripheral Interchange Program: Encyclopedia Ii - Peripheral Interchange Program - History
PIP was originally named ATLATL, which was an acronym for "Anything Lord to Anything Lord". This described its purpose as a device indepe...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Calculator: Encyclopedia Ii - Calculator - History
Calculator - Origin: The Abacus. Main articles: Abacus, and [[]], and [[]], and [[]]   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Hitler's Death: Encyclopedia Ii - Hitler's Death - Standard Account Of Hitler's Death
Hitler relocated to the Führerbunker on January 16, 1945, where he presided over the rapid disintegration of his Third Reich as the Alli...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Power Macintosh G3: Encyclopedia Ii - Power Macintosh G3 - Beige G3s
The original "Platinum" Power Macintosh G3 series (commonly called "beige G3s") came in three versions: a desktop enclosure inherited dir...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Home Computer: Encyclopedia Ii - Home Computer - Concise History
In a manner resembling the expansion of new animal forms in the Cambrian period, large numbers of new machines of all types, including su...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Policenauts: Encyclopedia Ii - Policenauts - Versions
Policenauts - NEC PC-9821. The initial version of Policenauts for the PC-98 is the most primitive of all four. The graphics aren't up t...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Optical Disc Recording Technologies: Encyclopedia Ii - Optical Disc Recording Technologies - Overburning
Overburning is the process of recording data past the normal size limit. Many disc manufacturers extend a recordable disc to leave a smal...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Oberon Programming Language: Encyclopedia Ii - Oberon Programming Language - Design Goals
Oberon is designed to be a 'safe' language; it employs array bounds checking, garbage collection and strong type checking. These features...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - New Order: Encyclopedia Ii - New Order - History
From 1978 to 1980, Curtis, Hook, Morris, and Sumner formed a creative and influential body of work as Joy Division, often featuring heavy...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Miranda Im: Encyclopedia Ii - Miranda Im - Development History
Miranda IM - Early days. Miranda IM was first started by Roland Rabien (figbug) on February 2, 2000. At that time, it was a minimalist ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - No Symbol: Encyclopedia Ii - No Symbol - Uses
The "no" symbol is used on traffic signs, so that drivers can interpret traffic laws quickly while driving. For example: No left turn ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Memory Card: Encyclopedia Ii - Memory Card - Data Table Of Selected Memory Card Formats
Since many EEPROM devices only allow a finite number of write cycles, some of these cards incorporate wear levelling algorithms to spread...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Murphy's Law: Encyclopedia Ii - Murphy's Law - The Spirit Of The Law
Regardless of the exact composition and origin of the phrase, its spirit embodies the principle of defensive design — anticipating the ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Calculator: Encyclopedia Ii - Calculator - History
Calculator - Origin: The Abacus. The first calculators were abacuses, and were often constructed as a wooden frame with beads sliding o...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Non-volatile Memory: Encyclopedia Ii - Non-volatile Memory - Mask-programmed Rom
One of the earliest forms of non-volatile read-only memory, the mask-programmed ROM was prewired at the design stage to contain specific ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Modified Frequency Modulation: Encyclopedia Ii - Modified Frequency Modulation - Coding
Notice that two "ones" can't appear together, and the maximum number of zeros in a row is three. This bit stream is then NRZI encoded to ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Linux: Encyclopedia Ii - Linux - Usability And Market Share
Once viewed as an operating system only computer professionals and aficionados could use, Linux distributions have become user-friendly, ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Mos Technology Sid: Encyclopedia Ii - Mos Technology Sid - Technical Details
The SID is a mixed-mode integrated circuit, featuring both digital and analog circuitry. All control ports are digital, but the output po...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Low Bit: Encyclopedia Ii - Low Bit - Overview
The low bit style emerged as an Avant-garde reaction to the bit rate snobbery in the organized music piracy (on peer-to-peer networks) an...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Commodore Sx-64: Encyclopedia Ii - Commodore Sx-64 - Description
Aside from its built-in features and different form factor, there were several other subtle differences between the SX-64 and the regular...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Copland: Encyclopedia Ii - Copland - Design
With System 7.5 released in autumn 1994, Apple management decided that the decade-old Macintosh operating system had run its course. The ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Cornerstone Software: Encyclopedia Ii - Cornerstone Software - History And Development
In the 1980s, Infocom was widely-known as a computer game developer and publisher. It developed the most popular works of interactive fic...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Cosmic Osmo: Encyclopedia Ii - Cosmic Osmo - Game Mechanics
The game features a point and click interface. The player clicks on various elements on a scene to trigger events. To move between scenes...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Commodore Plus/4: Encyclopedia Ii - Commodore Plus/4 - Plus/4 Weaknesses
The Plus/4 had three shortcomings, which proved fatal: unlike the C64's VIC II, the TED had no sprite capability, which strongly limited ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Commodore 64 Peripherals: Encyclopedia Ii - Commodore 64 Peripherals - Storage
Commodore 64 peripherals - Floppy disk drives. Although not always supplied with the machine, floppy disk drives of the 5¼ inch (Commo...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Commodore 128: Encyclopedia Ii - Commodore 128 - Technical Overview
The C128 was a significantly expanded, and compatible, successor to the earlier C64, the new machine featuring 128 KB RAM (externall...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Hard Disk: Encyclopedia Ii - Hard Disk - Mechanics
A hard disk uses rigid rotating platters (disks). Each platter has a planar magnetic surface on which digital data may be stored. Informa...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Commodore 1541: Encyclopedia Ii - Commodore 1541 - The Serial Computer Interface
The 1541 used a bit-serial version of the IEEE-488 interface, the speedier parallel version of which was used on Commodore's earlier driv...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Calculator: Encyclopedia Ii - Calculator - History
Calculator - Origin: The Abacus. Main article: Abacus The first calculators were abacuses, and were often constructed as a wooden fra...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Credit Card: Encyclopedia Ii - Credit Card - How They Work
A user is issued a credit card after an account has been approved by the credit provider (often a general bank, but sometimes a captive b...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Game Development: Encyclopedia Ii - Game Development - The Development Process
The development process of a game varies depending on the company and project. However development of a commercial game usually includes ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Disk Formatting: Encyclopedia Ii - Disk Formatting - Formatting A Floppy Disk
Disk formatting - Low-level formatting. Warning: The below information on low-level formatting of floppy disks may be technically incor...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Drive Letter Assignment: Encyclopedia Ii - Drive Letter Assignment - Order Of Assignment
Except for CP/M and early versions of MS-DOS, each of these operating systems assign drive letters according to the following algorithm: ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Fm Towns: Encyclopedia Ii - Fm Towns - Details
Several variants were built; the first system was based on an Intel 80386DX processor running at a clock speed of 16 MHz, with the option...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Electronic Organ: Encyclopedia Ii - Electronic Organ - The 1950s And 1960s
Electronic organ - The spinet organ. Following World War II, most electronic home organs were built in a configuration usually called a...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Disk Operating System: Encyclopedia Ii - Disk Operating System - History
In the early days of computers, there were no disk drives; delay lines, punched cards, paper tape, magnetic tape, magnetic drums, were us...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Datassette: Encyclopedia Ii - Datassette - Description And History
The Datassette contained built-in A/D converters and audio filters to convert the computer's digital information into analog sound and vi...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Linux: Encyclopedia Ii - Linux - Usability And Market Share
Once viewed as an operating system only computer professionals and aficionados could use, Linux distributions have become user-friendly, ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Dvd-ram: Encyclopedia Ii - Dvd-ram - Comparison
Currently there are three competing formats for rewritable DVDs: DVD-RAM, DVD+RW and DVD-RW. DVD-RAM is more suited to data backups and u...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Datapoint 2200: Encyclopedia Ii - Datapoint 2200 - The Seed Of The X86 Architecture
Aside from being the first personal computer, the Datapoint 2200 has another connection to computer history. Its original design called f...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Canon Cat: Encyclopedia Ii - Canon Cat - Description
The Cat was primarily the brainchild of Jef Raskin, originator of the Macintosh project at Apple in 1979. It featured a text user interfa...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Cd-rom: Encyclopedia Ii - Cd-rom - Cd-rom Drives
CD-ROMs are read using CD-ROM drives and written with CD recorders (often referred to as "burners"). CD-ROM drives—now almost-universal...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Read-only Memory: Encyclopedia Ii - Read-only Memory - Types Of Roms
Read-only memory - Semiconductor based. Classic mask-programmed ROM chips are written to during production and cannot change content af...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Ibm: Encyclopedia Ii - Ibm - History
IBM - Early years. IBM's history dates back decades before the development of electronic computers – before that it developed punched...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Retronym: Encyclopedia Ii - Retronym - Examples
Retronym - Retronymic adjectives. Analog/analogue  Describes non-digital devices: analog clock, analog recording. Conventional, c...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Sam Coupé: Encyclopedia Ii - Sam Coupé - Hardware Overview
The machine was based around a Z80B CPU clocked at 6 MHz, and contained an ASIC that is comparable to the Spectrum's ULA. The basic model...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Self-modifying Code: Encyclopedia Ii - Self-modifying Code - Usage Of Self-modifying Code
Self-modifying code can be used for various purposes: Optimisation of a state dependent loop. Runtime code generation, or specialisation...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Jvc: Encyclopedia Ii - Jvc - History
JVC - 1920s - 1960s. JVC was founded in 1927 as "The Victor Company of Japan" as a subsidiary of the United States' leading phonograph ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - The Legend Of Kyrandia: Encyclopedia Ii - The Legend Of Kyrandia - Plot
The Legend of Kyrandia - Book One: The Legend of Kyrandia. In the fantasy kingdom of Kyrandia, King William and his wife have been murd...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Sinclair Research Ltd: Encyclopedia Ii - Sinclair Research Ltd - The First Twenty Years: 1961 To 1980
Sinclair Research Ltd - Sinclair Radionics. On 25 July 1961 Sir Clive Sinclair founded Sinclair Radionics in Cambridge, England after r...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Prodigy Isp: Encyclopedia Ii - Prodigy Isp - Development
Initially, Prodigy had hoped that its service would be much like today's Internet portals, offering news, weather, sports, shopping for g...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Unisys Icon: Encyclopedia Ii - Unisys Icon - History
By the mid-1980s most high schools had computer labs of one sort or another, typically using Apple IIs or Commodore PETs. The Apple was c...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Scumm: Encyclopedia Ii - Scumm - Versions
SCUMM - Version 1. Maniac Mansion (Commodore 64, NES, and original PC versions) Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders (Commodore 64 ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - History Of Computing Hardware 1960s-present: Encyclopedia Ii - History Of Computing Hardware 1960s-present - Fourth Generation
The basis of the fourth generation was Marcian Hoff's invention of the microprocessor. Unlike Third generation minicomputers, which were ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Atari Dos: Encyclopedia Ii - Atari Dos - Versions Of Atari Dos
There were several versions of Atari DOS available. Atari DOS - DOS 1.0. The first version of DOS from Atari. Came with the 810 disk-dr...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Bbc Master: Encyclopedia Ii - Bbc Master - Models
The Master was available in several different models. BBC Master - Master 128. This was the standard issue computer. The 128 in the nam...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Cd-i: Encyclopedia Ii - Cd-i - Cd-i Software
Early software releases in the CD-i format focused heavily on educational and self-improvement titles, with only a handful of video games...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Atari 8-bit Family: Encyclopedia Ii - Atari 8-bit Family - History
Atari 8-bit family - Origins. As soon as the Atari 2600 was released the engineering team, calling themselves Cyan, started work on its...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Amstrad Pcw: Encyclopedia Ii - Amstrad Pcw - General Features
The PCWs came as complete setups bundled with a full-size word processor keyboard, high resolution monochrome CRT monitor, printers of va...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Ibm Pc: Encyclopedia Ii - Ibm Pc - Technology
IBM PC - Electronics. The main circuit board in an IBM PC is called the motherboard. This carries the CPU and memory, and has a bus wit...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Altair 8800: Encyclopedia Ii - Altair 8800 - History
While serving at the Air Force Weapons Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force base, New Mexico, Ed Roberts and Forrest M. Mims III decided to u...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Amstrad: Encyclopedia Ii - Amstrad - History
Amstrad - 1980s. In 1984 the Amstrad CPC 464 home computer range was launched in the UK, France, Australia and Germany. It was followed...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Thomas M. Disch: Encyclopedia Ii - Thomas M. Disch - Biography
Thomas Michael Disch came into the world in Des Moines, Iowa, on 2 February 1940. Because of a polio epidemic in 1946, his mother Helen h...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Kaypro: Encyclopedia Ii - Kaypro - Company History
Kaypro started life as Non-Linear Systems, a maker of electronic test equipment founded in 1952 by Andrew Kay, the inventor of the digita...   » Read the article