# Mac Abbreviation and Jargon Glossary Thread



## elmer (Dec 19, 2002)

*Apple Abbreviation and Jargon Glossary Thread*

FW = Firewire
AE = Airport Extreme or Airport Express
PB = PowerBook
PM = PowerMac
Dualie = Dual Processor PowerMac

*update:*
MDD = Mirror Drive Door (last revs of PowerMac G4)
Ti = Titanium
Al = Aluminum


----------



## thejst (Feb 1, 2005)

X- mac os X
TiBook- Titanium PowerBook
AlBook- Aluminum PowerBook
M$- Derogatory Microsoft Shorthand
SJ- Steve Jobs


----------



## thejst (Feb 1, 2005)

G3, G4, G5- Macintosh IBM/Motorola processors


----------



## Chealion (Jan 16, 2001)

thejst - The G4 is actually a Motorola processor, while the G3 was made by both IBM and Motorola.


----------



## thejst (Feb 1, 2005)

Thanks Chealion- I edited my post accordingly.


----------



## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

Mac = short form of "Macintosh"
MAC = Media Access Control


----------



## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Dual boot - boots OS9 and OS X

Single boot - boots OS X only runs OS 9 in CLassic mode only

SODimm - for powerbooks iBooks and G4 iMacs -
two basic flavours PC 133 ( PC 100 and PC 133 ) 32/64/128/256/512

and DDR (2100, 2700, 3200) 128/256/512/1 gig

Dimm - for desktops again two basic flavours as above ( there are earlier ones but not for this thread. Sizes also as above. 

Bottom line with RAM - ask carefully it's complicated.

••

PATA - more often ATA - all Macs from G3 up
3.5" version for desktops -40 to 400 gig
2.5" versions for laptops 20-100 gig

SATA - newer standard drive for G5s - desktop only 80 gig to 400

RAID - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Drives......often just called an array.
Several levels but most often 

Level 0 for speed ( two or more drives striped for speed shows one volume cumulative size of drives added together )

Level 1 for Mirroring ( two drives with the same data shows as single volume size of one drive

There are other levels.
••

SD = Superdrive - Apple ROM version of a DVDRW
Combo - Reads DVDs writes and reads CDs.

Wallstreet - early Powerbook scsi ports no USB - various models
Lombard - first PB with USB - also has scsi 333 and 400
Pismo - lookalike to Lombard - very different - FW and USB 400 and 500
Clamshell - cute colourful iBooks - various features ( some with FW all with USB )
White or Dual USB iBooks - after the Clamshells - all with FW and all with dual USB

•••

If errors in this PM me I'll edit.


----------



## ncoffey (Apr 6, 2005)

Dual boot could also be OS X/Ubuntu Linux. (Or other distributions) Although I would imagine this is a bit rarer than running Linux on Intel/AMD based systems.


----------



## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Yeah I think the thinking is common usage tho


----------



## scootsandludes (Nov 28, 2003)

MacDoc said:


> RAID - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Drives......often just called an array.
> Several levels but most often


I didn't know that's what it stood for. Are there any other funny abbreviations out there?

I can only think of one other:
TWAIN- Technology Without An Interesting Name.

vince


----------



## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

> he TWAIN Working Group says that after the name chosen originally turned out to be already trademarked, an 11th hour meeting of the group came up with TWAIN, deriving it from the saying *"Ne'er the twain shall meet,"* because the program sits between the driver and the application. The name is not intended to be an acronym.


Forgot WYSIWYG.......a Mac feature for sure 
What You See Is What You Get

Early Pagemaker etc you actually got to see on the screen what docs would look like. No weird formatting symbols in the way.


----------



## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

*RAM Nomenclature*



MacDoc said:


> SODimm - for powerbooks iBooks and G4 iMacs -
> two basic flavours PC 133 ( PC 100 and PC 133 ) 32/64/128/256/512
> 
> and DDR (2100, 2700, 3200) 128/256/512/1 gig
> ...


RAM deserves elaboration! This is going to contain a lot of technical jargon, so you may want to either get comfy or skip right past it. The use (or rather misuse) of RAM nomenclature is something that irks me, so I'll be going into some detail.

<strong>RAM</strong> == Random Access Memory. Memory, contrary to what some people have been told, is not storage. Memory == RAM. Storage == Hard Drive.

<strong>SDRAM</strong> == Synchronous Dynamic RAM. All RAM currently used in Macs falls under this general category, albeit divided into sub-categories. SDRAM is an improvement on DRAM (Dynamic RAM). While both store bits of information on individual capacitors, the Coles notes on the difference is that DRAM is asynchronous, responding to control inputs immediately, while SDRAM waits for the clock to pulse before responding. This allows for input to be pipelined, which allows for new input to be sent before the previous input is finished processing, which reduces overall latency.

Bottom line: SDRAM == Good.

<strong>SDR SDRAM</strong> == Single Data Rate SDRAM. This is what is found in G3 machines and a lot of G4 machines. The "SDR" part is a relatively new addition to the name, typically this is just called "SDRAM". It comes in a number of flavours, but basically all Macs that use SDR SDRAM use either PC100 or PC133, so that is all you really need to be concerned with.

PC100 == SDR SDRAM running with a clock speed of 100 MHz.
PC133 == SDR SDRAM running with a clock speed of 133 MHz. PC133 has the distinction of being the fastest SDR SDRAM approved by the JEDEC[1], allowing for a total bandwidth of almost 1100 MB/s.

<strong>DDR SDRAM</strong> == Double Data Rate SDRAM. Why double you say? Basically, the clock signal to SDRAM is like a wave, the clock alternating from one voltage to another, low to high. There is an rising part of the wave and a falling part of the wave. SDR SDRAM only acts on the rising part of the wave, whereas DDR SDRAM operates on both the rising and the falling part of the wave, essentially doubling the rate at which it can send/receive data, or, in more technical terms, effectively halving the required clock speed to archive the same data rate as SDR SDRAM.

DDR SDRAM is typically referred to simply as DDR RAM, and comes in a variety of speeds, each of which is referred to two ways.

DDR200 or PC1600 == DDR SDRAM running at 100 MHz (x2), delivering 1.6 GB/s (~1600 MB/s) bandwidth per channel. There are no Macs that used DDR200.
DDR266 or PC2100 == DDR SDRAM running at 133 MHz (x2), delivering 2.1 GB/s bandwidth per channel.
DDR333 or PC2700 == DDR SDRAM running at 166 MHz (x2), delivering 2.7 GB/s bandwidth per channel.
DDR400 or PC3200 == DDR SDRAM running at 200 MHz (x2), delivering 3.2 GB/s bandwidth per channel.

These are all the specs that are fully approved by the JEDEC, but also slated are DDR466/PC3700, DDR533/PC4200 and DDR600/PC4800. I don't know if these specs will receive full JEDEC approval and ECC support, but probably not as manufacturers say that it's hard to manufacture anything faster than PC3200 in significant quantities. Also, DDR2 is likely to start taking over later this year anyway.

There are a few other things to cover when talking about RAM, like the Dual Channel variant of DDR that Apple uses in the PowerMac G5. Basically, by using matched pairs of RAM, 2 separate pipelines are opened up from the CPU to each pair of RAM modules, meaning that each chip can be used essentially at the same time. The advantages of this are fairly plain when you consider that the system bus of the PowerMac G5 is often over 1 GHz and the RAM only operates at 400 MHz. The more RAM it can use at one time, the less overall latency, the faster your machine will run.

Now that I've covered what types of RAM there is, here is what forms it comes in.

<strong>SIMM</strong> == Single In-line Memory Module. Don't worry about this as the last Mac that actually used them came out before the G3 did.

<strong>DIMM</strong> == Dual In-line Memory Module. Predominantly used in desktop systems like the PowerMac G5, the iMac G5 or the PowerMac G4.

<strong>SO-DIMM</strong> == Small Outline DIMM. Used in basically all laptops, and small form factor computers. iBooks, PowerBooks, original iMac G3s, and iMac G4s[2] use SO-DIMMs.

All RAM used in todays Macs uses a DIMM or SO-DIMM. They vary slightly depending on whether it's SDR or DDR SDRAM.

PC100/133 SDRAM SO-DIMMs come in 72 or 144 pin configurations (usually 144 pin), and regular DIMMs have 168 pins. Full sized DIMMs have 2 notches.

DDR SDRAM comes in 200 pin SO-DIMMs and 184 pin DIMMs. Full sized DIMMs have one notch.

<strong><em>So</em></strong>, I <em>think</em> I covered everything. I'm tired though, so I might have missed a few pertinent things. If you have questions, feel free to ask.


-----
[1[JEDEC == Joint Electron Device Engineering Council. For more info, see here.

[2] Technically speaking, only the user accessibly slot in the iMac G4 was an SO-DIMM slot. The internal RAM was a full sized DIMM slot.


----------



## elmer (Dec 19, 2002)

GCC = GNU Compiler Collection (Tiger includes version 4)
GNU = GNU's Not UNIX (there's another funny one)

UNIX =  


Dennis M. Ritchie said:


> It's a created word, not an acronym, and is a bit of a pun on Multics. At some point Kernighan was asked to explain it, and he said approximately, "Maybe 'Unix' is one of whatever Multics is many of." http://www.roesler-ac.de/wolfram/acro/credits.htm#14


MULTICS = Multiplexed Information and Computing Service


----------



## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Just a minor caveat on PB good explanation of a complex topic and one more jargon bit.

In the case of *Flash RAM* - it actually IS storage. No macs use this memory but camera's do and your USB keychain drives do amongst some other devices ( Shuffle etc )

RAM as referred to below is volatile meaning anything stored in it is technically ( tho not absolutely ) lost when the power source is removed.

Flash memory maintains the information without the power source.

Volatile memory used in desktops and portables requires a power source.


----------



## elmer (Dec 19, 2002)

Palm handhelds are another good example of something that uses Flash.

Also MRAM is coming soon and will be like regular RAM except that it's non-volatile, which means you'll be able to turn the computer on and off without saving or shutting down.
Links:
Freescale
IBM

*edit*: a couple of additions:
B/W = Blue and White (PowerMac G3)
WDTSF = What Does That Stand For


----------



## farfisa (Nov 5, 2003)

and PRAM -- Parameter random access memory, which nobody knows about until it's messed up and they need to reset it!

NVRAM -- nonvolatile RAM.... ditto.


----------



## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

You are right - Flash IS used in Macs. 

PRAM - holds all the settings when you power down. Clock etc.

NVRAM does the same for your video settings when handshaking with the screen on power up it supplies the remembered settings.

Neither of these is removable but they may be reset.


----------



## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

*Flash vs. RAM, FIGHT!*



MacDoc said:


> In the case of Flash RAM - it actually IS storage.


Flash memory actually isn't RAM. Flash memory is non-volatile, meaning it retains the information stored on it even if there is no power connected to it. RAM is volatile, meaning it does require an active power source connected to it in order to retain the information stored in it. Basically, Flash memory stores information in transistors, whereas DRAM stores information as a charge in a capacitor.

Flash memory is also a hell of a lot more durable that RAM is in most cases, being solid state and all. Another big difference is that although Flash memory can be randomly read or programmed, it cannot be randomly re-written or erased.

Flash based memory is technically a later development of EEPROM (Electronically-Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), rather than of RAM.



elmer said:


> Palm handhelds are another good example of something that uses Flash.


Actually, the only current handhelds that use Flash memory are the Tungsten T5, the Treo 650 and the Tungsten E2, which is why they are the only three that retain the information stored on them if the batteries die completely. palmOne calls this "non-volatile file system" or NVFS.



elmer said:


> Also MRAM is coming soon and will be like regular RAM except that it's non-volatile, which means you'll be able to turn the computer on and off without saving or shutting down.


It's coming, but unfortunately, it's a long way off. We'll probably get all the way through DDR3 before MRAM is ready for the mainstream, if it happens that soon.



farfisa said:


> and PRAM, NVRAM -- nonvolatile RAM


PRAM is just a small amount of RAM kept alive via a battery when the power is off. It holds information that is non-static, like the time. It is not a form of Flash memory.

NVRAMs main function is to hold the open firmware and some display settings, as well as the PRAM settings. On a Windows machine it is usually referred to as CMOS RAM (which is a bit of a misnomer) or as the BIOS chip. I hope that the NVRAM on Macs has been changed over to Flash memory (it has on basicaly all Windows machines), if only because Flash memory is cheaper than pretty much all types of NVRAM.

----

I didn't cover SRAM either, which is the primary type of RAM used in CPU Caches.

<strong>SRAM</strong> == Static RAM. It offers much speed over DRAM, but at signficant expense. Because of this, SRAM is generally only used as CPU caches these days, as it is pretty much too expensive to use in any larger quantities.

SRAM differs from DRAM in that it stores informatation in a sets of transistors rather than capacitors. This doesn't however make it non-volitile and shouldn't be confused with Flash memory or any other non-volatile memory.

The S in SRAM comes from the fact that SRAM will retain information as long as there is a power source connected to it. DRAM does require being refreshed on a periodic basis.


----------



## elmer (Dec 19, 2002)

> the only current handhelds that use Flash memory are the Tungsten T5, the Treo 650 and the Tungsten E2


 are there any other handhelds worth talking about?? 



> [MRAM] It's coming, but unfortunately, it's a long way off


Maybe a long way off for some applications, but not for all...
*edit - forgot the link* http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20050120_125058.html


----------



## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

elmer said:


> are there any other handhelds worth talking about??


Of the current models from palmOne? No, not really. 



elmer said:


> Maybe a long way off for some applications, but not for all...


It's a long way off from being commercially viable for the consumer market. In other words, it's a long way off from being cheap. :/


----------



## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

RAM is in common use for flash memory for cameras and whether volatile or not its still Random Access Memory.

This IS terms and jargon.

ADC = Apple Display Connector for Apple screens - elegant non standard solution - no power cord for displays - carried, power, video and USB in a single cable and connector. Now phased out on Apple displays.

DVI = Digital Video Interface - industry standard which Apple has adopted entirely to it's displays and soon for output - most Macs have a DVi out including portables with a Mini version.

VGA = Video Graphics Array ( there are variations not really critical here ) and is a standard connector that is not digital - most often a 15 pin - there are adapters from DVi and ADC to VGA to allow use of monitors with a VGA connector.

All Apple towers currently can handle all three standards out of the box.

Some LCD monitors have both DVi and VGA, some only VGA.


----------



## Chealion (Jan 16, 2001)

MacDoc said:


> RAM is in common use for flash memory for cameras and whether volatile or not its still Random Access Memory.


Not since I've been involved in the camera industry. I may only be a slightly knowledgeable sales guy, but I've never ever heard of flash memory referred to as RAM. RAM and Flash memory are very different as PosterBoy said earlier.



Wikipedia said:


> In layman's terms, it is a rewritable memory chip that holds its content without power.


 (RE: Flash Memory)

After all only the very first flash memory cards used random access, anything else is using NAND flash which reads and writes sequentially.



MacDoc said:


> This IS terms and jargon.


Just because you don't agree with PosterBoy does not mean you have to rule anything he said as nonsensical or not needed. It may be implied, but implications can be as strong as coming out and saying them. You two can fight like an old married couple at times.


----------



## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

> Canada RAM sells memory in Canada - DIMMs, SIMMs, PowerBook, VRAM ...
> RAM for digital cameras,





> Kodak DCS-14n now with 512 MB: Digital Photography Review
> ... an updated version of the DCS Pro 14n Digital Camera in a 512MB RAM version that ... Camera With 512MB RAM;


and lots more.......common use.



> Coast to Coast Memory - Camera/Flash RAM
> computer memory upgrades for your dell, apple, imac, powerbook, kahlon, memoryx,
> memory-x, ibook, powermac, notebook, printer, digital film, compact flash ...





> Kodak upgrades DCS PRO 14n to 512MB RAM | Digital Camera Magazine
> ... the Kodak Professional DCS Pro 14n Digital Camera in a 512MB RAM version that
> ... Kodak's Pro 14n camera with 512MB RAM ideal for commercial, portrait


Chealion - I didn't do the nitpicking - I complimented him on his outline.
RAM IS in COMMON use for cameras. I didn't harp on it then but since you mentioned it AGAIN I'll say it AGAIN......common use.


----------



## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

*Flash Gordon*



MacDoc said:


> RAM is in common use for flash memory for cameras and whether volatile or not its still Random Access Memory.


I think I need to qualify something I said earlier. I wrote: "<em>Another big difference is that although Flash memory can be randomly read or programmed, it cannot be randomly re-written or erased.</em>" Which is true, but only half so.

There are two types of Flash memory in the world, NOR and NAND[1]. NOR Flash memory is what I was referring to, as it is closer of the two to RAM. It still isn't RAM though, due to the limitations on re-writing and erasing NOR Flash. The most important thing I left out, though, is that NOR Flash hasn't been used as flash memory (as we know it) in, oh, 5 years or so for anything other than BIOS chips/NVRAM on computer motherboards (and even then, I'm pretty sure there are motherboards that use NAND Flash for their NVRAM). 

Main reason being is that due to the limitations on re-writing and erasing[2], it can freaking <em>slow</em>. It's good for holding information, and for letting information be read, but not so much for the frequent re-writing/erasing that flash memory in every other instance is subjected to.

The Flash memory that is shiping today is called NAND Flash, and it writes sequentially (alike to hard drives and other magnetic storage devices, though obviously not by the same method).

In other words, the older, more expensive and infrequently used flash memory is a type of random access memory, but basically 100% of what consumers see today (in flash cards/keychain drives/MP3 players/etc)? Not at all. 

But none of this is really relavent to the point that RAM is not a common term used to describe flash memory. If anything is a common term to describe flash memory, it's "flash memory" (or simply "flash cards") followed closely by the name of the individual format (SecureDigital, MultiMedia Cards, Compact Flash, XD-Picture Cards, Memory Stick/Memory Stick Pro, Smart Media, etc). But I've only worked selling the stuff for four years, who knows, maybe the days it was called "Flash RAM" by customers were the days I was off.

If people are using it, well, they're wrong. More importantly, they're only serving to confuse and conflate an already confused and conflated naming convention. Do your part and set them straight.

On a final note, It's worth pointing out that the reference to RAM in the headlines that MacDoc grabbed about the Kodak DC PRO 14n is in reference to the RAM buffer for the cameras burst mode, not the storage card type or size. Sites like DPReview do know the difference. the headline from CanadaRAM is also kind of old, if you do a search of their site for "ram for digital camera" nothing comes up. It comes up if you do a general search, probably to capitalize on people searching using similar terms for different products.

Anyway, this has turned into just a <em>little</em> bit of a rant, so I should probably stop. If I've offended anyone sensibilities, I'm sorry, it's just that the misuse of the nomenclature for this kind of thing really bothers me.



[1] For more information about NOR and NAND, see the articles on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nor and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nand

[2]If anyone wants me to go into this limitation, I will, but it's just more technobabble.


----------

