Swipe Definition Swipe is a command used primarily with touchscreen devices, such as smartphones and tablets. It is also supported by some laptops with trackpads and desktop computers with trackpad input. A swipe involves quickly moving (or "swiping") your finger across a touchscreen or trackpad. For example, swiping the screen from right to left in a photo viewing application typically displays the next photo. While browsing multiple photos, swiping up or down may allow you scroll through the ...

SMS Definition Stands for "Short Message Service." SMS is used to send text messages to mobile phones. The messages can typically be up to 160 characters in length, though some services use 5-bit mode, which supports 224 characters. SMS was originally created for phones that use GSM (Global System for Mobile) communication, but now all the major cell phone systems support it. While SMS is most commonly used for text messaging between friends or co-workers, it has several other uses as well. For...

Dynamic Website Definition Dynamic websites contain Web pages that are generated in real-time. These pages include Web scripting code, such as PHP or ASP. When a dynamic page is accessed, the code within the page is parsed on the Web server and the resulting HTML is sent to the client's Web browser. Most large websites are dynamic, since they are easier to maintain than static websites. This is because static pages each contain unique content, meaning they must be manually opened, edited, and p...

IMEI Definition Stands for "International Mobile Equipment Identity." Every mobile device that connects to a cellular network has a unique IMEI number. This includes cell phones, smartphones, cellular-enabled tablets and smartwatches, and other devices that support cellular data. The IMEI number uniquely identifies a mobile device. It is separate from the SIM card or UICC number which is linked to a removable card in the device. This means the IMEI can be used to track or locate a specific devi...

Processor Core Definition A processor core (or simply “core”) is an individual processor within a CPU. Many computers today have multi-core processors, meaning the CPU contains more than one core. For many years, computer CPUs only had a single core. In the early 2000s, as processor clock speeds began plateauing, CPU manufacturers needed to find other ways to increase processing performance. Initially, they achieved this by putting multiple processors in high-end computers. While this was effec...

External Hard Drive Definition Nearly all personal computers come with an internal hard drive. This drive stores the computer's operating system, programs, and other files. For most users, the internal hard drive provides enough disk space to store all the programs and files. However, if the internal hard drive becomes full or if the user wants to back up the data on the internal hard drive, and external hard drive may be useful. External hard drives typically have one of two interfaces - USB o...

IP Definition Stands for "Internet Protocol." IP provides a standard set of rules for sending and receiving data over the Internet. It allows devices running on different platforms to communicate with each other as long as they are connected to the Internet. In order for a Internet-connected host to be recognized by other devices, it must have an IP address. This may be either an IPv4 or IPv6 address, but either way it uniquely defines a device on the Internet. The Internet Protocol also provi...